Washington, Sep 4 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra
Modi's Digital India initiative has sparked a war of words between pro-
and anti-Modi academics of Indian descent spread over major American
universities ahead of his visit to Silicon Valley.
The first
salvo was fired by over 100 professors "who engage South Asia in our
research and teaching" asking US technology executives to be wary of
supporting Modi's Digital India initiative when he visits Silicon Valley
on Sep 27.
Two English professors at Pennsylvania University,
Ania Loomba and Suvir Kaul, who in 2013 led an effort to cancel a video
speech by Modi at a conference hosted by the prestigious Wharton
business school, were among the signatories to the faculty statement
posted on the Academe Blog.
The other group hit back with Aseem
Shukla, an associate professor of surgery at the University of
Pennsylvania and a co-founder of the Hindu American Foundation,
describing the anti-Modi petition "as a fine example of the Left's
illiberal attitude towards those who do not agree with them".
"A
counter petition against the anti-Modi statement given by some faculty
of South Asian studies" was initiated by Kare Kankanam on Change.org, an
American website providing a petition tool backed by nonprofits and
political campaigns.
By Friday morning, the counter-petition
accusing the anti-Modi group of lacking "the slightest respect for facts
and for academic integrity" had gathered 1,230 supporters.
"The
allegation that Narendra Modi ought to be viewed with suspicion, if not
disdain, by business leaders in Silicon Valley because of surveillance
implications in the Digital India initiative seems a desperate ploy
rather than any genuine concern for India," said the counter petition.
"Their
attempt to invoke an admitted mistake on the part of the US government
in denying Modi a visa as a 'powerful signal' is a stark case of false
reasoning ...and a deplorable attempt to exhume ugly lies about Modi's
attitude towards Muslims," it said.
The "allegations that somehow
academic freedom is under threat in India because of administrative
changes at a couple of institutions are completely belied by the reality
of what Indian citizens see in their news media every day", the counter
petition said.
"On the contrary, for all their talk about
assaults on academic freedom, the signatories of the anti-Modi letter
have never admitted that the subject of the greatest censorship and
distortion in South Asian academics in recent years has been Narendra
Modi," it said.
Rejecting "the faculty statement against Modi in
its entirety", the pro-Modi group asked the other "to introspect,
change, and for once seek to earn the trust and respect of the community
in whose name they have been making a living all these years".
Responding
on the Academe Blog, the anti-Modi group said "despite the intimidation
and harassment we have received at this blog site and elsewhere", their
numbers had swelled from 125 to 135.
The group claimed that it
"did not ask Silicon Valley companies not to invest in India; we asked
them to consider carefully the terms of partnership with India".
"The
objective of our letter is to raise awareness and debate in Silicon
Valley and elsewhere, of Mr. Modi's record on key issues related to
'Digital India'," it said.
"Given the Modi administration's
intolerance of dissent, its poor record on freedom of expression in
general, and on freedom of religion in particular", the group asked
"What does aDigital India' look like."
Even as they raised
questions about Digital India, the group in its original Aug 27 letter
acknowledged that Modi, "as prime minister of a country that has
contributed much to the growth and development of Silicon Valley
industries, has the right to visit the United States, and to seek
American business collaboration and partnerships with India".
(Arun Kumar can be contacted at arun.kumar@ians.in)
I don't know how you developed your world view and American view. But fact is in every sector( supposedly high profile) you can come across people with some spelling mistake. Just because America doesn't mean... system worked perfectly here.
Since you are Indian, let me take to today's Kerala news about a professor ( actually Pro VC of MG University ) and govt. nominee to become next VC of Calicut university. Governor is not going to sgn the Kerala govt order . Please go and find out why.. So much for professors and Vice chancellors of today be it in India or America.