Over 50 writers, thinkers and activists have written to Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar against Vishnu Vardhan, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Horticulture Sciences, Bagalkot, for inviting the public to a religious ceremony in his official residence, on his official letter pad. An individual’s faith and the functioning of a public institution are different issues. Following such a letter, subordinate employees and students will not have the courage to reject the invitation from the Vice-Chancellor. It is alarming that such practices are becoming “normal” in all the universities of the State in recent days.