Hyderabad: The University of Hyderabad is embarrassed over the human resource development (HRD) ministry withholding clearance to its proposal to confer an honorary doctorate on world chess champion Vishwanathan Anand and has apologized to the grandmaster.

The university, which was planning to confer the honor on Anand along with renowned mathematician David Mumford of Harvard University on Monday, had to cancel the programme.

The controversy began after HRD ministry officials asked for confirmation of Anand's citizenship before the centrally-run university could confer the doctorate on the chess star at the ongoing International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM).

Though HRD Minister Kapil Sibal on Tuesday said he had apologized to Anand over questions on his nationality, blaming these on "procedural issues", the university officials said this would not lessen their embarrassment.

"This (apology by Sibal) will not lessen our embarrassment. I am as head of the department of mathematics feeling more embarrassed over this," Rajat Tandon of the university told the sources.

"We wanted to confer the degrees on Anand and Mumford on Monday as we felt the ICM in Hyderabad was the right occasion and it would be ideal to have it in the presence of mathematicians from around the world. But it was not to be," lamented Tandon.

M.S. Raghunathan, chairman, executive organizing committee (EOC) of the ICM 2010, spoke to Anand, who is in Spain, and apologized to him. "Anand was gracious. He is a great champion and a gentleman," Tandon said.

The university is now looking for a convenient date to honor Anand and Mumford. "I don't know when it will be possible. While Anand will be available as he lives in Chennai, we don't know when Mumford's next visit to India will be. We have to fix a date convenient to them," he said.

Tandon blamed the bureaucracy for the controversy. "This is how bureaucrats function," said Tandon, visibly upset over the turn of events.

He also hit out at the bureaucracy over the manner in which the ICM was organized. "This is a gathering of mathematicians. We have come to listen to the academic talk and I don't want to embroil it in a controversy," he said.

He recalled that the EOC had mooted the proposal to honor Anand and Mumford about a year ago. "The vice-chancellor had enthusiastically embraced this proposal and the university forwarded the proposal to the ministry," he said. IANS