David Sassoon Library gives ex-president Vivekanand Ajgaonkar the boot

Vivekanand Ajgaonkar at the staircase inside David Sassoon libraryVivekanand Ajgaonkar former president of the David Sassoon Library amp Reading Room at Kala Ghoda has been removed from the Librarys membership Ajgaonkar who had resigned as president of the institution last year in June has in a letter dated February 3 2017 a copy of which is with this paper been informed that he is no longer a member of the Library too and cannot access the buildingThe stunning interior of the libraryAn excerpt from the letter signed by current David Sassoon library president Hemant Bhalekar on behalf of the managing committee states You are aware that the AGM had adopted the resolution with termination of your membership for life The resolution was passed with majority of 76 against five votesAnother paragraph in the letter reads Since the AGM had adopted the resolution with termination of your membership So also question of alleged designation as President Emeritus does not survive Hence you are not supposed to enter the Library andor use any ornamental designation as President EmeritusDavid Sassoon Library amp Reading RoomAjgaonkar was president of the Sassoon from 1995 to 1999 In 1999 he was elected as President Emeritus Emeritus is a mark of distinguished service awarded to a few on retirement Trouble came to the fore early last year when Ajgaonkar resigned as president While that resignation made big news putting one of Mumbais oldest libraries squarely in the spotlight the current letter means all ties with the library are cutMalign the nameWhen this reporter met the current managing committee of the library in the premises they accused Ajgaonkar of spoiling the name of the Library amp Reading Room through various ways He has attempted to influence potential donors to the Library he has held a press conference to malign our image they said Bhalekar added that one of the seminal charges against Ajgaonkar was that he went to the Librarys bank in August 2016 two months after giving his resignation and because of this the Library amp Reading Rooms account was frozen We suffered humiliation as cheques issues by the institution bounced His charge was seconded by committee member Sameer Sinkar Some committee members asked angrily Are we goondas thugsInfluencing the donorsThe committee claimed that donor Kala Ghoda Associations KGA Manek Davar and an artist had even visited the library because of all the alleged defamation Davar though refused to get into the controversy He said when contacted The KGA had committed approximately R30 lakh for repairs and restoration of the Library when Ajgaonkar was in power That commitment still stands We are committed to the institution We have little to do with the internal workings of the LibraryAsked whether the step to terminate a membership was very extreme Bhalekar shot back to this reporter why are you trying to say that we should reinstate Ajgaonkar Swati Kapadia secretary though said We did not want things to come to this we tried not to terminate his membershipYet the entire committee said they had no choice after a private resolution was passed in the September 2016 AGM to remove Ajgaonkar from membership The managing committee has to bow to the decision of the AGMBaseless and vindictiveAjgaonkar refutes all charges as baseless and says he never went to the bank to freeze the Librarys accounts Ajgaonkar adds I am dismayed at the unconstitutional and undemocratic way in which my membership has been taken away This is baseless vindictiveness If this continues to happen righteous people will not dare to venture into charitable honourable work Jagdish Joshi former president of the Library adds There was a predetermined agenda to remove Ajgaonkar because he posed as a threat to them the committee Joshi also claimed the atmosphere was dictatorialAjgaonkar signs off philosophically the 25 years of my life that I was associated with David Sassoon Library are very important to me My efforts were to put the institution on the world map and I think I have been successful in that I have been true to the Library and do not need to prove it to the worldAs one exited both meetings the breathtaking edifice seemed deceptively calmIts ethereal exterior with sunbeams glancing off the heritage clock on the building giving little indication of the turmoil within