Narendra Modi vs the Dynasty: Contrasting Ideas of India

[Yagnasri]

That would be admitting that they were wrong in their treatment of NaMo. I never expect any INC fellow to support NaMo. Look at Salman Kurshid who was very happy that a State CM is insulted in this manner. Modi was right - In the eyes of India has no respect and identity than Serving one Italian family. Individual respect of any Indian is not important.

[chetak]

How Wharton Scored a Huge Self-Goal

Wharton’s fault is not so much as cancelling Modi’s invitation but cancelling it in the face of bullying tactics by a handful of fascist bigots that includes both professors and students. With this, Wharton has accomplished two things together: it has demonstrated that it’s no longer a stalwart institution, and it has violated the spirit of the American First Amendment.

Rajiv Malhotra’s point is closer home, and a deeper examination of the folks and forces who orchestrated the invitation-revocation reveals disturbing things.

The first point is that the Government of India is a sponsor to this event. As we note, the Government hasn’t uttered a single word of condemnation against the band of bigots who got Modi’s invitation revoked. As a Constitutionally-elected (thrice) Chief Minister, it becomes the Government’s responsibility to refuse to kowtow to this ragtag group of muckrakers. Whatever the ruling party’s politics at home, it should realize a basic fact when abroad: it needs to strongly condemn people of other countries who try to dictate who gets invited or whose invite gets cancelled. And when such a thing occurs, it needs to unilaterally withdraw from the event on moral grounds. As we see, it hasn’t done so. Why? The simple answer: the current dispensation doesn’t mind being held hostage to a group of virulent Narendra Modi-haters even if it means India’s image abroad takes a beating.

The longer answer lies precisely in the composition and agenda of these Professor-Sepoys. But first, here’s the Facebook group that lists more than 900 people who wanted—and got—the cancellation of Modi’s invitation. What also unites these folks is the fact a whole lot of them supported mercy petitions for the Indian Parliament attack mastermind Afzal Guru, and the Pakistani terrorist Ajmal Kasab who mowed down innocent Indians in cold blood on 26/11/2008 in Mumbai.

But when we distill this group to get to the key players who assiduously worked towards and pulled off this shameful deed, we get the following key names:

Ania Loomba and Suvir Kaul—Professors of English at University of Pennsylvania, they were two of the three professors who kickstarted this free-speech-violating petition.
Toorjo Ghosh—Assistant Professor of English, the third kickstarter. Here’s how he gloats about the cancellation: “It is the result of the pressure that we were able to bring over the organisers… in the last two days. I am very very proud of Wharton as well as the Penn University.” In other words, he’s proud that Wharton and Penn acquiescence in choking free speech and democracy.
Shabnam Hashmi—No surprises here. Owner of the highly communal NGO named ANHAD, she’s been one of the key players in the Gujarat Riots Cottage Industry, and continues to be highly active in demonizing Narendra Modi.
TV18—A sponsor of the IEF. This is the same group that owns the news channel CNN-IBN, headed by Rajdeep Sardesai, a known Modi-baiter. He was also caught with his pants down in that shameful Cash for Votes scandal of 2008.
Adani Group—Another sponsor, which withdrew after Modi’s invite was cancelled.

Indeed, the name of that Facebook group is very telling of the attitude of these academic fascists and the students and others who supported them: Ban Narendra Modi From Speaking At Wharton. A terminology typically representative of the free-speech-hating Left. Nobody is denying them their right to criticize Modi, yet what is their first response when they hear that Modi is invited to speak at Wharton? BAN him, muzzle free speech, and murder democracy. However, something else also becomes clear when we look at a partial list of participants at the IEF:

Montek Ahluwalia
Dilip Cherian
Milind Deora
Javed Akhtar and his wife, Shabana Azmi
Rajeev Masand
Samir Mitra
Suresh Prabhu (who dropped out after news of Modi)

All of these except Suresh Prabhu are in one way or the other related either to the ruling Congress party or supportive of its brand of twisted secularism. But it doesn’t end there. Here’s what the note sent out by the IEF Organizing team says:

our goal as a team is to provide a neutral platform to encourage cross pollination of ideas as we all work towards contributing to India’s success…We do not endorse any political views and do not support any specific ideology.

I suppose the neutral and “not endors(ing) any political views” part doesn’t apply to Union Minister Milind Deora.

The strident opposition to Narendra Modi stems from two reasons. The first is the obvious desire to push a Leftist agenda that thrives on India-baiting. The second is the string of successes that Narendra Modi has recently achieved beginning with his third consecutive, thumping electoral victory and his massive show-stealer at the BJP National Council in Delhi yesterday. These have decisively set the stage for a larger role in national politics. Except a few motivated folks, nobody has really been able to dispute his stupendous Gujarat Development Story that has consistently delivered quality governance and economic development. This precisely is the fear of the fascist professors and other fellow travellers: a scenario in which Narendra Modi had spoken at Wharton. There’s little doubt that he’d be the undisputed giant in that assemblage of the aforementioned pygmies who simply cannot think beyond spurious secularism and socialist platitudes. Indeed, that cancellation note explicitly records all these achievements of Modi.

Equally, the fact that the fascist pressure group was led by Left academics is also consistent with their decade-long record of Modi-baiting. It’s both symbolic and symptomatic of the rot that pervades almost all humanities departments in universities worldwide. These Left-infiltrated universities actively discourage critical thinking by substituting reason with theory and rhetoric. Be it the Jaipur Literary Festival or the current disgrace at Wharton, we see the same or familiar faces. What business does Javed Akhtar and Shabana Azmi have in a Business School? And why were they even invited? Which exposes—yet again—another facet common to events where the Left is involved: preying on taxpayer money.

But what’s clear is this: Wharton and indeed, UPenn itself has scored a massive self-goal by giving in to these Left Professors’ bullying tactics. A goldmine of a sponsor like Adani has pulled out. The former Union Minister, Suresh Prabhu has pulled out. And they haven’t taken this lightly. The social media world began to slam Wharton almost as soon as news of the invite cancellation was reported, and the slamming torrent hasn’t abated. More importantly, Narendra Modi doesn’t need Wharton.

We end this with a self-explanatory and highly revealing snippet:

Curiously enough, not a single professor from the Wharton School, one of the most prestigious business schools of the US, which is part of the University of Pennsylvania, was a signatory to this letter

.

ALSO

Wharton caves to Muslim bigotry, Cancels Chief Minister Narendra Modi's keynote

among the telling comments

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is allowed to come to the U.S. and give a speech at Cornell University, but this individual cannot even give speech via video conference. What a country (USA) we live in!!!

[Sridhar K]

Is there a link between Modi tearing into the family a few days back and Wharton cancelling the invite based on lobbying by liberals?

[Atri]

i do not think so.. this would have happened anyways.. they are always after NM..

[Singha]

NM in my opinion needs to and is practising the old soviet "deep battle" concept or even earlier the mongol tactic of crossing 100s of miles of desert and grassland and appearing in some unexpected point. attacking with surprise at multiple points ... and then withdrawing...his 'raids' on dilli , always with sudden appearance of splittists and counter revolutionary elements who melt away post raid, his popularity with nri's , legates and consuls of foreign nations trekking to his big Yurt to discuss dark deeds....every time someone screams "Namo" in the darkness of the foliage around lutyens delhi.... panic stricken run by courtiers and retainers to form a pike circle around the palace and start shooting arrows randomly at moving shadows.

deny them sleep.

[Muppalla]

People being dismissive of US Liberal Arts programs are being blinded by the camouflage.

True, most Liberal Arts curricula are easier to secure a "pass" in and graduate, as opposed to STEM curricula which are so demanding that only the most rigorous students are able to achieve degrees. So a lot of the dimwits do end up taking Liberal Arts degrees.

Don't let this blind you to what happens with the smart students in those courses (and believe me, they exist.) A professor at a major East Coast Univ who is a friend of mine, was among those. Speaks four languages fluently, went to a top Lib Arts school and then a prestigious grad school for a specialization in a particular non-US culture. She was scouted by the CIA before she had even finished undergrad. Didn't take it on because she didn't agree with US foreign policy but the fact remains... these are the breeding grounds for top-cadre talent in government, intelligence and policymaking circles. You know that "Social Engineering" that Acharya ji is always warning about... who do you think they get to do that stuff?

Even more interesting is what these faculties do with non-US students. They're groomed to be representatives of their national/cultural narratives speaking in a US approved voice. It's no accident that this Turdjoy Ghosh or whatever his name is, didn't have his H1 revoked and/or get deported and/or end up in Guantanamo after being arrested while protesting at Occupy Philadelphia (can you imagine what would happen to one of us, getting arrested while taking part in an anti-GOTUS political movement?) There is a LOT of money and influence lavished on these creatures, obviously because people in the US deep state think they're a good investment for the resources. Organizations like the Templeton Trust and Ford Foundation are no fools.

Sepoys like these are the instrument of perpetuating the intellectual colonization of many countries... India being one of the most heavily targeted.

Excellent post.

Sepoys like these are the instrument of perpetuating the intellectual colonization of many countries... India being one of the most heavily targeted.

Well you are getting into whether these are 'home grown' free-lance intellectual terrorists or state-sponsored - which is the same debate one hears on Pakistan. First step is for the world and most especially, India - to recognize them as the intellectual terrorists that they are - and maybe initiate dialogue with the US to put a rein on their jihadis.

Arjun, you are becoming complacent in your thought process. They are chosen ones because they are motivated.

(1) Free-lanced ones gets funding via state sponsorship
(2) Investments create more free-lanced

The above two point model creates a win-win situation. The model worked/working so well even in case of Pakistan. It is a huge and great factory of terror (like the machinery that created Orc in the Lord of the Rings). All US needs to do is once in a bluemoon take a 9/11 but who will be really destroyed one day? India because of 100 million terrorists and 100 nukes.

The strategy is same.

I also disagree with those softies on this forum who think Warton was not a deliberate one on Modi. In fact I would say the links between US top families and India's top families would have orchestrated the whole drama.

[RoyG]

Compared to a 'technical' education a liberals arts degree is quite cheap and less rigorous. Not everyone can keep up with the relentless demands of the better technical schools. In my first year of PG recitation my engineering course had 380+ students in 2 shifts as it was required course for all other specialties. By the second semester we were down to 200 or so. By the second year it dropped further to 120. I think my prof. told me that only 80 or so of the original 380 actually graduated with a technical degree. Recently one interns told me it is much worse now with only 20% graduation rates. All those drop outs have to go some where. Liberal arts it is and if that fails they can always become a lawyer...

In the USA it functions as a cheap way to get 1/3 the population a college degree. It improves the averages of work performance if not the commanding heights.

A degree that is useless doesn't improve anything.

[Sushupti]

Why I’m Not Speaking at Wharton

By Sadanand Dhume


http://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2013 ... t-wharton/

[member_20317]

I also disagree with those softies on this forum who think Warton was not a deliberate one on Modi. In fact I would say the links between US top families and India's top families would have orchestrated the whole drama.

Bingo, just observe the media hype. Most people ignore it. But for the dynasty chaps this kind of news is big.

But at the same time, how the hell does NM gets into this BS. Why in the world did Adanis got into this nonsense in the first place. Is there some kind of power struggle within the NRI community?

In any case there has to be a good reason to get into all this.

[member_20317]

Compared to a 'technical' education a liberals arts degree is quite cheap and less rigorous. Not everyone can keep up with the relentless demands of the better technical schools. In my first year of PG recitation my engineering course had 380+ students in 2 shifts as it was required course for all other specialties. By the second semester we were down to 200 or so. By the second year it dropped further to 120. I think my prof. told me that only 80 or so of the original 380 actually graduated with a technical degree. Recently one interns told me it is much worse now with only 20% graduation rates. All those drop outs have to go some where. Liberal arts it is and if that fails they can always become a lawyer...

In the USA it functions as a cheap way to get 1/3 the population a college degree. It improves the averages of work performance if not the commanding heights.

A degree that is useless doesn't improve anything.

@ RogG ji - What about Development Economics. Sounds serious man.

@ Theo ji - The lawyers are really the ones it is. Saala everybody does law when they have nothing else to do. But I would take NLS & DU out of this. These two schools have serious students. Though the touchstone still remains the Practice. No point learning law if you are only going to push papers.

You guys made my day.

[RamaY]

I also disagree with those softies on this forum who think Warton was not a deliberate one on Modi. In fact I would say the links between US top families and India's top families would have orchestrated the whole drama.

Bingo, just observe the media hype. Most people ignore it. But for the dynasty chaps this kind of news is big.

But at the same time, how the hell does NM gets into this BS. Why in the world did Adanis got into this nonsense in the first place. Is there some kind of power struggle within the NRI community?

In any case there has to be a good reason to get into all this.

http://forums.bharat-rakshak.com/viewto ... 8#p1419928

1. Firstly I would like to know if these professors and students who signed the petition were part of the agenda and invitee selection process. If they were, did they accept invitation to NM, if so why? If they did, why are they complaining now about it or are they prompted by their political masters to trigger their sleeper cells once their masters came to know about NM's acceptance of Wharton invitation. Where we're all these professors and students when the invitation was sent to NM?

Generally the student body forms an organizing committee and will have separate teams to garner sponsors, invitees etc., Looks like the student leader body invited NM. And NM has all the reasons to accept such an invitation. It will give him another forum to share his vision of Bharat and garner support for it. After all Wharton alumni body has lot of high level pullers in the medium-run (5-15 years before Bharat becomes self-assertive).

The leftist activists must have gotten their hands on the final brochure only few days/weeks ago and started pulling their levers within the organization.

To be fair, they have a valid point. Why would anyone invite someone who is denied a diplomatic (or any other) visa by state department? That is their only support base.

That is why this is a blessing in disguise. Either US-DoS removes this nonsensical ban on NM and accept the verdicts of Indian justice system and SIT reports or continue this nonsense till he becomes PM, when it will turn into insulting >60 crore Bharatiyas.

Please note that as we get closure to 2014 elections, the shrill of MSM, Secularists, PSecs, INC voices will get louder. We already started seeing farticles that hint "is majority opinion == democracy?" from the "secularism at any cost" corners. That will alienate/liberatemore and more Hindu dhimmis from secularism culminating in death of P/Secularism in Bharat.

[member_20317]

Generally the student body forms an organizing committee and will have separate teams to garner sponsors, invitees etc., Looks like the student leader body invited NM. And NM has all the reasons to accept such an invitation. It will give him another forum to share his vision of Bharat and garner support for it. After all Wharton alumni body has lot of high level pullers in the medium-run (5-15 years before Bharat becomes self-assertive).

So how would you typify them, would these high level pullers be willingn to look at India because it represents a business potential or is it that some part of it actually is something of an Indian Yale Type school providing recruits for the cause of India the way Yale is supposed to be the recruiting grounds for their Intel community.

If its the later kind the ideologocially motivated kind that would be a really great asset. But if its only about business then I guess such things can be clubbed with some inter state summits as and when NM wins. Which shifts the focus on to the electioneering and the stark choices that NM vs. Dynasty presents us with.

To be fair, they have a valid point. Why would anyone invite someone who is denied a diplomatic (or any other) visa by state department? That is their only support base.

That is why this is a blessing in disguise. Either US-DoS removes this nonsensical ban on NM and accept the verdicts of Indian justice system and SIT reports or continue this nonsense till he becomes PM, when it will turn into insulting >60 crore Bharatiyas.

I guess the best thing to happen would be that the US ambasador lands up on the Pradhan Mantri Niwas and requests NM to accept the invitation.

[SBajwa]

by Verak_k
For instance, India is destined to have conservative governments for a long time, simply because men vastly outnumber women due to the sex ratio. Unless the liberal arts crowd can come up with a way to reduce testosterone

You are saying that Manmohan Singh, Chidambaram, et all are full of manly harmones?

[RamaY]

Generally the student body forms an organizing committee and will have separate teams to garner sponsors, invitees etc., Looks like the student leader body invited NM. And NM has all the reasons to accept such an invitation. It will give him another forum to share his vision of Bharat and garner support for it. After all Wharton alumni body has lot of high level pullers in the medium-run (5-15 years before Bharat becomes self-assertive).

So how would you typify them, would these high level pullers be willingn to look at India because it represents a business potential or is it that some part of it actually is something of an Indian Yale Type school providing recruits for the cause of India the way Yale is supposed to be the recruiting grounds for their Intel community.

If its the later kind the ideologocially motivated kind that would be a really great asset. But if its only about business then I guess such things can be clubbed with some inter state summits as and when NM wins. Which shifts the focus on to the electioneering and the stark choices that NM vs. Dynasty presents us with.

My fundamental (and non-compromising) premise (in any realm of national discourse) is that Bharat doesn't need any ideological, intellectual help from outside. Yes it can learn some tactics and strategies from anyone but nothing beyond it.

Thus Bharat doesn't need anything from the Ivy Leagues w.r.t Ideology or Intellectualism. These Ivy Leaguers (I am talking about the international schools) will always work on India's business potential and the amount of profits they can make. It is up to us on how to use them instead of being used by them.

But the past/current crop of Ivy Leaguers are in key positions in various social structures - International bodies, Corporations, Academia and so on. Since they have significant influence in these key areas, it is in one's (as well as Bharat's) interests to engage them and keep them informed about Bharat's vision. Even if this gets 1% converts a year, that is a good investment.

As and when Nationalists come to power in Bharat, they will have lot of work in their hands in first term and they cannot achieve much in structural areas in the first term. Only in a second term they can work on the structural areas such as National Vision, Education, Bureaucracy, Cultural identity and so on.

In order to get ideological agents for Bharat, they would have to have a strong core they can melt into or hide in times of crisis. For example Islam and Christianity provide these sanctuaries in ME and EU/US respectively. Bharatiya core is currently in Himalayas and do not have any state support. This conversion happens only when Bharat becomes a overt Hindu nation, that too a strong one; which is at least 20-30 years away.

[Pratyush]

Kejriwal denies replacing Modi at Wharton forum

Dont know what to make of this.

[Sushupti]

Falling dominoes: Yet another speaker pulls out from Wharton

Atul Nishar of Hexaware on Tuesday withdrew from the speakers' list at the Wharton India Economic Forum (WIEF) programme.


Read more at: http://news.oneindia.in/2013/03/05/fall ... 64591.html

[Atri]

manish kumar of chauthi duniya saying that NM will contest LS polls from Lakhnau seat (same as ABV)... is it true? why lakhnau?

[member_20317]

RamaY ji, your point about engagement makes sense. No doubt. I wished to go a step further - had there been say our team in the rink I would have supported such an excercise at this time. But if there is not such fight club going on then at this time this is effectively a brownie point for the Dynasty sidekicks. Now had it been a regular guy to be so used perhaps that would have been tolerated but at this stage getting NM's name muddied in the MSM in this manner does not seems worth it. These types of brownie points cannot get new converts into the Kongi fold but those already within get their tamasha at the expense of NM.

About the Lakhnau seat could it be that the Shia Sunni angle makes things manageable. Or it could just be some old guards trying to build up the ABV hagiography.

[Sushupti]

[Sushupti]

[vijayk]

http://www.firstpost.com/world/beyond-w ... _medium=hp
Beyond Wharton: Can Modi continue to ignore his critics?

The controversy surrounding the Wharton India Economic Forum’s ‘disinvitation’ to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi is getting curiouser and curiouser. The unlikely beneficiary of the vacuum created by Modi’s absence – or, should one say, virtual absence, since he was only going to be ‘beamed in’ as a video image – is newbie politician Arvind Kejriwal, who has been offered a platform, such as it is, to hold forth with his economic worldview.

For Kejriwal, the curious twist of circumstances may seem a propitious metaphor for what he wishes to do in the political space in India: fill in the vacuum created when the ‘big elephants’ fight. In the Delhi Assembly election, he is looking to do precisely that: ride the anti-incumbency factor against the Sheila Dikshit government, which the BJP appears not to have capitalised on as well as it ought to have.

In any case, it will be interesting to see how Kejriwal tailors his somewhat unrefined economic worldview – which seems calculated to out-Left the Left, so to speak – to an audience that, by its own admission, has a sneaking admiration for the “Gujarat model” of development under Modi. The contrast between the ‘Modi model’ and Kejriwal’s still-nebulous (and completely untested) developmental philosophy couldn’t have been starker, and it’s a fair bet that even in his absence, the ‘idea of Modi’ will hover over the Forum proceedings like an astral spirit.

In that sense, as Firstpost noted on Monday, the back-and-forth over the invitation to Modi has only played to his political advantage by allowing his party leaders and supporters to project him as a free-speech martyr who is being hounded by “wine-sipping limousine liberals” in the US who are completely disconnected from the emerging developmental discourse back in India.

Even some of Modi’s critics in India have been compelled to acknowledge that the disinvitation reeks of churlishness, and that Modi deserved to be heard – and perhaps have his record in office challenged.

His vocal army of online supporters too portrays Modi as a sort of stately temple elephant on its perambulations, which will not allow itself to be perturbed by the excitable exertions of roadside canines.

It’s a strategy that has worked well thus far, not least because Modi’s critics – in the political space as well as in the media – haven’t done a credible job of nailing him more forcefully to the riots of 2002 or even of stripping him of his developmental halo. If anything, it is the NGOs who claim to be working to secure justice for the riot victims who stand discredited today as money-minting operators from whom the victims themselves now want protection (as this report establishes). Even the efforts to deny Modi any credit for having advanced Gujarat’s development suffer from the convenient shifting of goalposts and the wilful overlooking of data that doesn’t fit in with prejudicial hypotheses.

Yet, as columnist Aakar Patel (who believes that the ‘disinvitation’ to Modi was an overreaction) pointed out on a CNN-IBN talk show, the backlash that Modi faced from left-liberal academicians in Ivy League US universities is symptomatic of what Modi can expect to face in the next year or so as he spreads his wings to go national. Just as Modi is starting up his engines and is being embraced by his party, so too are his detractors, all over again. Even in the event that Modi becomes Prime Minister, reasons Patel, he will likely face protests wherever he goes.

The parasites need a cause to suck the funds from general public.

Modi’s dilemma is that in the decade gone by, for all the visceral opposition he has faced, he has been able to persuade larger numbers of Indians that the campaign against him is motivated. He perhaps reckons, as do his supporters, that 2002 is a closed chapter and any move on his part to address it now would change the narrative that he has structured over the past decade, which is focussed on his record of development and governance.

In the end, it’s a political calculation that Modi and his party need to make. For now, they seem to have reasoned that the caravan can proceed at a stately pace unmindful of the roadside critics. But the efficacy of that approach may be tested more virulently in the year ahead.

[Suraj]

Wharton is making themselves look like fools in public now. They've failed to detect the undercurrent of change in Modi's general acceptability that leads business leaders and even people like Dhume see a reason to withdraw as an act of solidarity. Dhume seems quite shrewd - knows which way the wind is blowing.

After 15 years of building up a forum they took a double barreled shotgun, pointed it at their own feet and pulled the trigger

Singha: that's some FANTASTIC imagery you create

[RoyG]

Wharton is making themselves look like fools in public now. They've failed to detect the undercurrent of change in Modi's general acceptability that leads business leaders and even people like Dhume see a reason to withdraw as an act of solidarity. Dhume seems quite shrewd - knows which way the wind is blowing.

After 15 years of building up a forum they took a double barreled shotgun, pointed it at their own feet and pulled the trigger

Singha: that's some FANTASTIC imagery you create

I agree Suraj ji. One thing is for sure, these secularists and leftists who occupy these top positions in the social science programs at major schools are feeling the heat. These schools can't afford to ignore Modi for long.

[Neela]

http://www.firstpost.com/world/beyond-w ... _medium=hp
Beyond Wharton: Can Modi continue to ignore his critics?

I would urge everyone to read the first comment by Satyam Sharma.

[vijayk]

Why I’m Not Speaking at Wharton

By Sadanand Dhume


http://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2013 ... t-wharton/

While it’s true that no court has found Mr. Modi guilty of involvement in the violence and he denies wrongdoing, the fact that more than 1,000 people died on his watch, about four-fifths of them Muslim, can’t simply be wished away. America has denied Mr. Modi a visa since 2005.

Neither am I objecting to Mr. Modi’s absence from the conference. Indeed, nobody would have raised an eyebrow if the forum had not invited the Gujarat chief minister at all.

But it’s one thing to acknowledge that Mr. Modi carries considerable baggage, or that his detractors have a right to protest his participation in the conference, and quite another to support the intellectual equivalent of an eviction notice.

With more courage and creativity, Wharton might have instead made Mr. Modi engage with his critics.

The speech could easily have been followed by a question and answer session with students, or by a panel discussion on Gujarat that featured friend and foe alike.

Rescinding his invitation after Mr. Modi had accepted it amounts to little more than ritual humiliation. In the run-up to next year’s national election, it’s also a nakedly partisan act by conference organizers who claim to be non-partisan.

More broadly, the Wharton affair underscores just how cut off America’s ivory tower is from Indian reality. For some of Mr. Modi’s academic detractors,he’s a one-dimensional cut-out, to be viewed purely through the prism of the 2002 riots.

For many Indians, however, Mr. Modi is considered a more complex character today than a decade ago. I’ve lost count of the number of people who have told me that they regret the riots, but nonetheless admire Mr. Modi for his rise from humble origins, reputation for probity, and record as India’s most efficient administrator and business-friendly politician.

Some Modi supporters, as anyone who has criticized him on Twitter knows, are undoubtedly bigots, and far too many seem to prefer abuse to reasoned discourse. Nonetheless, the chief minister’s steadily rising poll numbers—both Outlook and India Today say he’s India’s most popular politician—underscore the nation’s hunger for good governance more than any special animus toward Islam. This explains why Mr. Modi is vastly more popular today than a decade ago in the immediate aftermath of the riots.

[RoyG]

Vijayk, he know's the truth. He did after all pull out of the event. You have to chip away at the sec-left architecture slowly. All at once and you and all your hard work will be cast aside. He is doing his part:

http://www.ndtv.com/video/player/the-so ... v_also_see

[VikramS]

vijayK:

Dhume is one of the most balanced out there.

His position is nuanced and well thought through. He clearly states that Modi has been acquitted though the riots happened under his rule. He also mentioned that 20% of those dead were not Muslims.

I will be happy if every one in MSM says that.

One Ghose from DU has taken the numbers to millions, and was taken to task by dhume.
https://twitter.com/dtfsaikatghosh/stat ... 1690831873

[Theo_Fidel]

It should also be mentioned that while Modi himself was acquitted, at least one of his ministers was indeed convicted and sent to jail. AFAIK he has not condemned those actions either. There is one point of view that he actively worked to shield that minister from the consequences of her actions. It is impossible to know as all levers of power are on one side only. It is unclear if he has progressed beyond the RSS phase. I suspect he is still an RSS guy as per the electorate point of view. It is to be noted that many innocents from both sides were killed on his watch.

The electorate will decide one way or the other...

[fanne]

What is wrong in being with RSS.

[Sanku]

It should also be mentioned that while Modi himself was acquitted,

Modi was not acquitted. For that to happen, he has to be charged.

There is no material for even a charge.

This is a play on words.

On the issue of "people died on his watch" --> his record is better than pretty much all CMs. Unless there is a special category of deaths that only applies to NaMo, people have died due to internal security/riot issues on any number of CM/PM watches, with many like Karunanidhi et al also being equally involved.

This "special status for NaMo" is getting tiresome in extreme.

And lets cut the crap about "electorate will judge" --> when the electorate HAS judged, very specifically on the issue, in Gj, when the matter was new, that judgement is not accepted, but 12 years hence on a scale where no one gives a damn about the riots, including the so called people who supposedly care for it, the vote will suddenly be a judgement?

Come on, you can do better.

[SwamyG]

Sometimes in a war, one needs to be perceived as a victim. Especially in elections. Wharton has done a great thing for Modi. Modi is going to give countless speeches, so missing a speech here or there is no biggie from a larger perspective. Like I said earlier, this is a varaprasadam, Modi and his supporters need to play it coolly. This will move many of the fence sitters to Modi's camp. One brick at a time.

[Sanku]

And Modi == RSS. People need to deal with it. Just as ABV == RSS, through and through.

[RoyG]

It should also be mentioned that while Modi himself was acquitted, at least one of his ministers was indeed convicted and sent to jail. AFAIK he has not condemned those actions either. There is one point of view that he actively worked to shield that minister from the consequences of her actions. It is impossible to know as all levers of power are on one side only. It is unclear if he has progressed beyond the RSS phase. I suspect he is still an RSS guy as per the electorate point of view. It is to be noted that many innocents from both sides were killed on his watch.

The electorate will decide one way or the other...

“You can hear rumors. But you can't know them.”
― Jay Asher, Thirteen Reasons Why

[RamaY]

It should also be mentioned that while Modi himself was acquitted, at least one of his ministers was indeed convicted and sent to jail. AFAIK he has not condemned those actions either. There is one point of view that he actively worked to shield that minister from the consequences of her actions. It is impossible to know as all levers of power are on one side only. It is unclear if he has progressed beyond the RSS phase. I suspect he is still an RSS guy as per the electorate point of view. It is to be noted that many innocents from both sides were killed on his watch.

The electorate will decide one way or the other...

By this logic (can idiotic be some kind of logic?) Gandhi and Nehru are worst mass murderers in entire Indian history, even before the Islamic hordes.

[Suraj]

The most interesting aspect of Dhume's article is that he uses a cherished liberal tenet - freedom of speech - as a defense of Modi. The narrative of Modi has so far been that of guilty until proven innocent, or at best (e.g. Theo's position) that Modi needs to 'prove himself', to standards defined by others. Even if Dhume, or for that matter any other press hack, had been previously in the anti-Modi camp, I'm all for supporting the winds of change. Rather than wail and rant about Modi not being perceived as one desires, it's more productive to help sway the narrative positively; it will not happen if gentle moves in the right direction are repeatedly criticized as not good enough.

[vijayk]

Vijayk, he know's the truth. He did after all pull out of the event. You have to chip away at the sec-left architecture slowly. All at once and you and all your hard work will be cast aside. He is doing his part:

http://www.ndtv.com/video/player/the-so ... v_also_see

Sorry guys! I mistook him to be some other Fiberal who writes in WSJ. My bad...

[Supratik]

Is there some kind of power struggle within the NRI community?

Yes, there is. It started in the early 90s with Kashmir and Babri Masjid. The NRIs are divided into the nationalists and leftists with the latter aligned with various anti-India, anti-Hindu elements including Pakis. I also posed the same question to myself as ramana did. How did this elements get in and how were they preserved and I have come to the same conclusion as Rudradev that these elements are useful to the US establishment in keeping a grip on India.

[Sushupti]

From the adviser of Loh Purush

https://twitter.com/sudheenkulkarni/sta ... 6444406784

#RahulGandhi deserves praise for saying prime ministership is not his priority. Good for revitalization of the Congress, a national need.

[Theo_Fidel]

RSS hmm...

Well for one they wish to expunge the constitution of india. For two they are an explicitly communal organization. There nothing quite so openly communal yet politically powerful on the other side despite claims to the contrary.

Still it is up to the electorate to decide....

It doesn't bother me or folks like me at all that folks level charges on the basis of EJ this or macaulay that or commie this. These are all valid points of view as long as no threats and bad language is used.

---------------------------

BTW I would not characterize all NRI's so simply. There are many different points of view. For instance one can be economically center right but socially center left. There are at least a few groups like that out there.

[VikramS]

RSS hmm...

Well for one they wish to expunge the constitution of india. For two they are an explicitly communal organization. There nothing quite so openly communal yet on the other side despite claims to the contrary.

Still it is up to the electorate to decide....

It doesn't bother me or folks like me at all that folks level charges on the basis of EJ this or macaulay that or commie this. These are all valid points of view as long as no threats and bad language is used.

Theo Sar, I have been keeping out of this debate but you forced me in.

What exactly do you mean by communal? And what exactly does the RSS wants to expunge? I do not have the slightest idea but please educate me.

The other side is a multinational corporation. And if you compare the HQers of the multinationals, the RSS is a small player both in terms of its organization and its communalism.

On BR we have studies Islamism so I am not going into those details.

Lets start with the US. Santorum won the Republican primary in Lousiana, where the great Bobby "I support teaching Intelligent Design as Science in schools" Jinal is the Governer.