Narendra Modi vs the Dynasty: Contrasting Ideas of India

Comer · Post by **Comer** » 19 Mar 2014 18:47

^^ This guy is one of the few people in India, when they join a cause, it has officially "jumped the shark".

SwamyG · Post by **SwamyG** » 19 Mar 2014 18:48

Marten wrote:
Chandragupta wrote:Lota almost final to contest from Bhopal. Seems like SSC sent a proposal to Lota to stand from Bhopal and not Gandhinagar after Lota's sympathizers withing the BJP warned him of possible sabotage.
Who is Lota?

I asked a similar question exactly an year ago - March 18th 2013

http://forums.bharat-rakshak.com/viewto ... 7#p1426847 Nukkadwaasis and internet did the explanation for the term 'lotta'. It could be Advani or anybody, I guess, based on the context onlee.

Comer · Post by **Comer** » 19 Mar 2014 18:52

^^ If the convex shape of the base is the key point here, then the closest would be this

Comer · Post by **Comer** » 19 Mar 2014 18:57

Times now flash: BJP wants LKA to contest in Gandhinagar, final decision to be taken by him.
Headlines Today: LKA still not acceded.

Rahul Mehta · Post by **Rahul Mehta** » 19 Mar 2014 18:59

ramana wrote:Media reports ths morning that LKA to ontest from Bhopal.
This raises two issues:
- LKA is not sure of winning from Gandhinagar which he (mis)represented all these years. The flip side is he was allowed to win all these years and refelcts on his lack of appeal to voters.
- LKA does not trust his own party in Gujarat.

Ramana , the real reason is --- LKA is scared of Rahul Mehta, a common .

Just kidding.

As such kapilrdave is right. Only way BJP can lose in Gandhinagar is by not contesting. Otherwise, no matter who comes on BJP tix, he will win by landslide.

===

Rahul Mehta: BJP-leaders didnt oppose gas price rise with much weight. There was token opposition only. They also didnt make it election issue.

saravana: Setting aside the rights and wrongs of that policy, do you really think an esoteric topic like gas pricing is popular enough to make it an election issue? Should Modi be expending efforts in his speeches deriving gas prices from different variables? Right now he has a very simple and effective message - Development. It resonates with people and they see Modi as a viable candidate. Why move away from such a simple, proven and effective message? The issues you want to highlight and too varied and disparate to be communicated effectively.
Iff you think that NaMo is the best among the lot and more chances of him than anyone else closer to your positions, why not support him now and continue to question him on these issues post election? Why make it an election issue?

Gas price issue is not in top 10 issues. But the paid media owners can make gas issue very important issue. AK will try his best to make it an election issue. And then , it will depend on paid-media

kapilrdave · Post by **kapilrdave** » 19 Mar 2014 19:21

LK Advani to contest from Gandhinagar, Narendra Modi from Vadodara: Reports

mai ka karu ram muje buddha mil gaya

Sorry Rahulbhai, I consider you a good candidate. Believe me or not, I support your views but not sure about your solutions. If this was not an important election my vote would have gone to you. I hope to vote for you sometime. Also, the old man needs a grand farewell. In all likelyhood this is his last election. He deserves my vote for the work he has done for the party.

but.. but.. but.. I might change my view if you have a batli to offer

what's the deal?

kapilrdave · Post by **kapilrdave** » 19 Mar 2014 19:52

now they changed it to "Efforts on to placate LK Advani to contest from Gandhinagar: Reports"

Yagnasri · Post by **Yagnasri** » 19 Mar 2014 21:44

Old man being engged on by Sushma didi.

panduranghari · Post by **panduranghari** » 19 Mar 2014 21:54

RajeshA wrote:Rahul Mehta ji,

swear your fidelity to #NaMo, tatoo his fotu on your chest and fight the election from Vidisha as an Independent. Very very good chances!

Then you will not have to hang around with the riff-raff of BRF, teaching to the unconvertibles, and can finally do some good work in the Indian Parliament.

+100

In Gary Gilmore's famous last words - Just Do It.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 19 Mar 2014 21:56

The Fifth list released by BJP shows LKA in Gandhinagar. So all the paper reports are really toilet paper reports.

SwamyG · Post by **SwamyG** » 19 Mar 2014 22:55

I hope, NaMo has lined up some of the best, honest and brightest legal minds in his time as well. Congress will continue legal routes to stop Modi, apart from unethical and illegal means

All government institutions can be used including EC. So crack investigative and legal teams should be waiting on hand, just like a team of emergency doctors or armed forces. Time will become an essence.

sunnyP · Post by **sunnyP** » 19 Mar 2014 23:02

Advani is almost 90 yet he still wants to contest elections - what the hell.

SanjayC · Post by **SanjayC** » 19 Mar 2014 23:27

sunnyP wrote:Advani is almost 90 yet he still wants to contest elections - what the hell.

This is why our dharma mandated "van prasth" for old age -- give up all worldly things, free yourself of all attachments to money, power and lust, and go live in forest where you can spend your last days in meditation and prepare yourself to move on from this world. Our sages knew some dudes will never let go and never give way for the next generation even if they turned 100. Advani is making a laughing stock of himself at this age and undoing whatever credit he gathered in his long life.

chetak · Post by **chetak** » 19 Mar 2014 23:29

sunnyP wrote:Advani is almost 90 yet he still wants to contest elections - what the hell.

and become PM, if Modi falters on the home stretch.

Forgets that many others in the BJP, more qualified and even hungrier than him and who are just biding their time, waiting to pounce on the prize, including the deceptively sweet and motherly SS who has farsightedly kept the roman brigade on her right side.

Wants his revenge on MMS who, rather uncharacteristically, showing very rare emotion (and bad blood), publicly derided and mocked advani's PM ambitions. Also note that both of them have not been born in India.

hell hath no fury like an advani scorned?

vivek.rao · Post by **vivek.rao** » 19 Mar 2014 23:57

How to make DIEnasty survive?

The scums of Indian media started it.
How Modi can change the BJP in Varanasi

The same logic Kulkarni used to corrupt Modi is being used by Sheela the servant of SONIA clique

Modi's stakes are far, far higher, when compared to any other contestant in this election.

There is no option for Modi but to rise above expectations, to do something that he has not done since 2002.

In the past he had many opportunities to address the issue of secularism and its intricate link to India's future, but either he failed (as in his Sadbhavana mission) or his expression was found to be a case of too little, too late by the targeted audience when he issued this statement after getting a clean chit in the Gujarat riots in the lower court.

Once again, an opportunity has arrived before Modi and the BJP to break away from their past and make the party politically robust in every sense to take on the Congress in the coming decades.

In all past elections BJP candidates invariably complained that their nearest rival, the Congress, started its election with 20 plus on a scale of 100 while the BJP started with zero.

In one-on-one electoral contests between the Congress and BJP, it is taken for granted that Muslim voters will go with the Congress, giving it an automatic advantage before even a single vote is cast. It will be so even this time.

Varanasi should be considered a godsend to change the status quo.

It is the appropriate time to remember the Varanasi that lives in our subconscious. Much before the days of the Ram Janambhoomi movement and many decades before Hindutva and Hindutvawallah became dirty words in the public discourse , Hinduism as reflected in Varanasi was enchanting and moving, and still is.

Modi was taken aback by the Muslim lads' greeting. The report claims that he, too, greeted them back saying, 'Waalaikum-as-salaam', meaning 'Peace be with you, too'. Some other reports noted he said, 'Thank you'.

The Hindi report was titled, 'Varanasi main badle, badle se Modi'. His image that has travelled out of Gujarat is such that a mere courteous response to a few Muslim youth is branded as the 'changed Modi' (badle, badle se Modi), making it to the front page of the local newspaper.

In the coming weeks the Modi team's attitude, his politics, his speeches, his political plank and his means to score a victory from here will be closely monitored.

Modi's performance in Varanasi would make a difference to him and his party all over India. Varanasi is not a hopeless case like Gujarat's Juhapura-Vejalpur, so Modi will have a chance to start afresh.

In Ahmedabad many BJP leaders don't go even once to the Muslim basti (Muslim-dominated areas) to seek votes. The vicious circle has to be broken where the BJP is unable to give tickets to Muslims just because when they fight on its election symbol they are unable to get the votes of their community or even the BJP's core Hindu votes.

This is the in-built limitation of the BJP's politics. Some argue that they get votes, whatever they get, precisely for this reason. This is a convoluted argument in today's India.

When the atmosphere is not surcharged with communal passion, as is the case right now, the BJP is at a disadvantage because the counting of votes begins with 'minus Muslim votes'.

Sure, it is due to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh ideology, image and branding that they get Hindu votes which constitute their core constituency, but as Modi is selling himself as 'Vikas Purush', the deceptive argument that 'Development and Hindutva are not contradictory' and talking development and propagating exclusive politics secretly will not succeed for long.

Varanasi city, if not the district, is unique if compared to many communally sensitive parts of India.

The writer Ashok Vajpayee has written beautifully on Banaras in a book: 'Banaras exists partly in myth, partly in history. Partly in time, partly in eternity. The Ganga takes away all the dirt of life and living; it soils itself every moment and yet is holy. The divine cohabitates with the profane, immortal goes with utterly moral.'

Modi has a once in a lifetime chance to change and take the RSS-BJP-Vishwa Hindu Parishad to a new level. L K Advani tried to moderate his image, but it failed.

Varanasi is the right place to turn the page on saffron history.

Modi should not forget how it has taken blood and tears to get the BJP leaders entry again into the Juhapura-Sarkhej area in the 2012 assembly election. After 2002, they did not get even one vote in many ballot boxes in Sarkhej.

In 2012, things changed, but just a little.

How can Modi change India profoundly without taking all kinds of Indians within his party fold?

Surely, a tough call for the saffron Modi, but to mix the potency of the Varanasi model with the Gujarat model is an idea worth trying.

All analyses so far claim that Modi may find it difficult to cover the last mile. What they mean is that due to his Hindutva poster boy image, even if his party gets 200 plus seats, allies will be either difficult to get, or will come at a high cost.

If Modi avoids the usual political tactic of polarisation through his campaign style in Varanasi, it may ease the pressure, post-election, in travelling the last mile, if the need arises.

As Vinod Mehta and many anti-Modi voices have noted, Modi is not talking about the Ram temple or other contentious issues this time, so he has to now take the logical next step, soon.

Notwithstanding the Arvind Kejriwal factor, ethical and tactical politics both demand that the BJP should not go for religious polarisation in Varanasi.

The Hindustan Times reported on Monday that, 'If Mukhtar (Ansari) manages to polarise Muslims in his favour, it may become an all-Hindu-votes-for-Modi situation.'

Kaushal Kishore Mishra, head of the political science department at the Banaras Hindu University, says such a situation will 'add to Modi's margin.'

This is the easiest short cut that Modi must avoid. (So Ansai polarising Muslims in his favour is what Modi has to avoid. WOW! What kind of logic is that! SICKULAR I guess. )

The polarisation on Hindu-Muslim lines will create fear.

Varanasi is not about fear. It is about the life and beliefs of the aam aadmi which symbolises India since ancient times.

One wishes that on his next visit to Varanasi, Modi speaks the language of Ustad Bismillah Khan and N Rajam's music that makes Varanasi indelible in our minds.

The Kejriwal challenge will remain a non-event if Narendra Modi charts a new course. In the process, Modi can overgrow the stature of Atal Bihari Vajpayee even before he lands in New Delhi.

IndraD · Post by **IndraD** » 20 Mar 2014 00:01

panduranghari wrote:
RajeshA wrote:Rahul Mehta ji,

swear your fidelity to #NaMo, tatoo his fotu on your chest and fight the election from Vidisha as an Independent. Very very good chances!

Then you will not have to hang around with the riff-raff of BRF, teaching to the unconvertibles, and can finally do some good work in the Indian Parliament.

+100

In Gary Gilmore's famous last words - Just Do It.

wah 100 take ki baat ! Wish you all the best RMji.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 20 Mar 2014 00:08

Indian media has a bunch of over the hill, ossfied quacks claiming to be journalists who hide under Freedom of Press to (who) take pot shots and give gratitous advice.
There sounded like Philip!

SanjayC · Post by **SanjayC** » 20 Mar 2014 00:10

vivek.rao wrote:How to make DIEnasty survive?

The scums of Indian media started it.
How Modi can change the BJP in Varanasi

The same logic Kulkarni used to corrupt Modi is being used by Sheela the servant of SONIA clique

This Sheela Bhatt lady of Rediff is a known BJP baiter and Cong stooge.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 20 Mar 2014 00:39

TOI hence TIFWIW;

LKA coveys displeasure to BJP over Gandhinagar seat

I think he should not contest in protest and let some oen more willing stand for Gandhinagar seat.
He has done enough nakra so far.

Suraj · Post by **Suraj** » 20 Mar 2014 02:12

Bloomberg posts some interesting forex rate related projections - they estimate that a Modi victory will catalyze a move towards Rs.45/$ exchange rate once again, effectively suggesting that a lot of money will come back into Indian equities and in the form of FDI.
Rupee Gains of 35% Seen in Decisive Victory for Modi

Polls show Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party is poised to oust the incumbent Congress party, a result that would be a “catalyst” for a long-term advance in the rupee toward 40 to 45 per dollar, from 61.19 on March 14, according to Adam Gilmour, Citigroup Inc.’s head of Asia-Pacific currency and derivatives sales. A weak coalition would be the “worst-case” outcome, he said, and might send the currency sliding beyond August’s record low of 68.845.

“The market view is that if Modi gets in, it will be a game-changer,” Gilmour, who has worked at the second-largest currency trader for two decades, said in a March 12 interview in Singapore. “We always take politics with a pinch of salt, with the rare exceptions like India, where it’s going to really make a difference.”

At stake is the pace of recovery in Asia’s third-largest economy, which is only now gaining traction six years after the start of the global financial crisis. While an improvement in India’s current account helped the rupee beat its regional peers over the past six months, the victor in next month’s poll will take on the task of steering a country whose economy is expanding at close to the slowest pace in a decade.

Karan M · Post by **Karan M** » 20 Mar 2014 02:32

Suraj, by what timeframe?

Suraj · Post by **Suraj** » 20 Mar 2014 02:40

They've clearly sidestepped that question. But if you asked me to guess, 2-3 years sounds reasonable with an effective administration in place.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 20 Mar 2014 02:42

Karan M wrote:Suraj, by what timeframe?

The article says:

....A jump in the rupee to as high as 40 per dollar would represent a 35 percent rally in India’s currency from the end of last week, and send it to the strongest level since April 2008. Gilmour’s prediction, for which he didn’t give a timeframe, is 5 rupees higher than the most bullish forecaster in a Bloomberg survey of more than 30 strategists, whose median estimate foresees the currency at 63 on Dec. 31 and at 58.50 by the end of 2016.

The rupee was at 61.21 as of 12:52 p.m. in New York, little changed from March 14. Indian markets were shut yesterday for a holiday.

“These are good levels to sell dollars against the rupee,” said Gilmour, 40. “Waiting until after the election could be way too late.”

....

Long term so greater than 2016.

gandharva · Post by **gandharva** » 20 Mar 2014 02:54

ramana wrote:TOI hence TIFWIW;

LKA coveys displeasure to BJP over Gandhinagar seat

I think he should not contest in protest and let some oen more willing stand for Gandhinagar seat.
He has done enough nakra so far.

gandharva · Post by **gandharva** » 20 Mar 2014 02:55

Where is Sanku? Is he lurking in the background and bidding for his time on 16th May?

RajeshA · Post by **RajeshA** » 20 Mar 2014 02:59

gandharva wrote:Where is Sanku? Is he lurking in the background and bidding for his time on 16th May?

There are no differences. There is complete understanding between LKA, SS and NaMo how to calibrate this drama to get maximum media attention onto them, diverting it from upstarts like Kejriwal.

RajeshA · Post by **RajeshA** » 20 Mar 2014 03:25

I wonder who in the world has the remote control with Advani ji's Sulk Button.

Just a few days ago he was saying, he would want to again stand from Gandhinagar, as there were rumors that the party would prefer to give him a Rajya Sabha seat instead. Then something changed.

Somebody must be having something on him, which forces him to stage a drama every once in a while that he and Modi are poles apart.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 20 Mar 2014 03:45

One CT is that he and Ss are signalling their old controllers that they are keeping their side of the bargain to prevent/put hurdles NaMo rise.

gandharva · Post by **gandharva** » 20 Mar 2014 03:48

Advani’s candidacy from Gandhinagar signalled the message that the old order was irrevocably on its way out and the Modi regime was here to stay — for at least some time. Unlike Modi and Rajnath, who personally opted to contest from Varanasi and Lucknow, Advani was not given a choice. Like his peer, Murli Manohar Joshi, who too forfeited Varanasi for Modi, kicking and screaming, and later consented to move to Kanpur.

It is learnt that the RSS’s diktat was clear: contest in the places the party chooses or else leave the fray. A month ago, when the Rajya Sabha biennial elections took place, Advani and Joshi were offered the option of going to the Upper House. Both said no. The BJP and RSS “reluctantly” agreed but sources said they were not willing to brook the shenanigans the veterans threw up.

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1140320/j ... yod6NvoFUE

gandharva · Post by **gandharva** » 20 Mar 2014 04:03

New Delhi, March 19: The BJP tonight declared L.K. Advani as its candidate from Gandhinagar, overlooking his reservations and eagerness for a “safer” seat and suggesting that the party is veering towards a “so-be-it” moment if the octogenarian refused to contest the election.

Late tonight, Advani, who is keen on moving to Bhopal, is learnt to have conveyed to BJP president Rajnath Singh that he would not want to fight from Gandhinagar. If the BJP still insisted, he said he would opt out of the Lok Sabha fray altogether, according to sources.

A close Advani aide said: “So what if an announcement has been made? As of now, there is only a proposal from the central election committee. There is also a proposal that he should fight from Bhopal. He should be allowed to choose from one of the two options. I hope he is given this privilege just as the others were allowed to.”

When BJP general secretary Thawarchand Gehlot read out Advani’s name first from the list of candidates, it sounded like a formal announcement, not a proposal.

But the Advani aide’s reference to “privilege” reflected the churn and whispers among the old guard.

The aide pointed out that Rajnath was given the “privilege” of relocating from Ghaziabad to Lucknow and Modi was allowed to choose to fight both from Varanasi as well as Vadodara. Advani’s peer Murli Manohar Joshi was told to vacate Varanasi for Modi and move to Kanpur.

Behind the brewing war over “privileges” and “entitlements” is an increasing apprehension among older leaders like Advani and Joshi that they have been pushed to the margins by Modi and Rajnath.

Some aides had “convinced” Advani that Madhya Pradesh’s capital would be more “hospitable” than that of Gujarat because of the fear of “sabotage” by BJP cadres. The party ranks are yet to forget the dissent Advani openly displayed when Modi was declared as the BJP’s pick for Prime Minister.

Sources said that unlike Joshi, Advani was unprepared to accept Gandhinagar without “putting up a fight”.

But the BJP leadership, the sources indicated, was not willing to brook the tantrums beyond a point. Modi called on the RSS sarsanghachalak tonight and explained the situation arising out of Advani’s newest challenge to the BJP.

A senior BJP leader was directed by the RSS to speak to Advani and reason with him that “abandoning” Gandhinagar would send a “negative” signal three weeks before polling.

Such a move would be projected as fresh evidence of a war between Modi and Advani. The Congress has already alleged that Advani was a “casualty” of the “terror” unleashed by Modi in Gujarat.

A personal well-wisher who is very close to Advani squarely asked him if he would like to sign off his “distinguished” political innings by bailing out of a constituency he won since 1991.

However, Advani reportedly went into a “sulk” after Gehlot declared his candidacy from Gandhinagar late in the evening.

Advani had made his unhappiness evident by staying away from the central parliamentary board meeting this morning and the central election committee that met subsequently.

The official explanation was that since Advani’s candidacy was under discussion, it was “inappropriate” for him to be present. Some sources, however, drew attention to precedents: when the candidacy of a member of one or both these panels was on the table, he or she left the room for the duration of the discussion.

Apart from a call from Rajnath indicating the party was keen that Advani contest from Gandhinagar and that Modi wanted him to win from the “bottom of his heart”, there was no active outreach during the day.

After the name was announced, Nitin Gadkari and Sushma Swaraj called on Advani, followed by Rajnath. Modi did not directly communicate with Advani.

The BJP also announced that in deference to the “wishes of six crore Gujaratis”, Modi will contest from a second seat, Vadodara.

Other sources said that Modi had directed the Gujarat BJP to pull out all stops and ensure Advani won Gandhinagar by a “record” margin. “Unfortunately, the coterie ringing Advaniji has poisoned his mind about Modiji. Modiji wants to dispel his senior’s misgivings once and for all,” a Gujarat BJP leader claimed.

A section of leaders said while Modi was expected to extend courtesies to Advani, that could not mask an emerging reality in the BJP. “The old order has to make way for the new dispensation headed by Modi,” a source said.

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1140320/j ... yogAtvoFUE

SwamyG · Post by **SwamyG** » 20 Mar 2014 04:03

I do not know about Advani's case, sometimes it all boils too simple ego, personal or petty issues. At the levels they operate, they have their name, fame, shame, power and money. They are not really 'aam admi' so to speak. While there might be profound, deep and sinister reasons, but we cannot dismiss these smaller issues as well. This is definitely true in the *MK parties in TN. I do not see the national parties being any different or holier.

BTW, PM post, MPs, MLA all government positions should have a retirement age as well. I hope India will set 70-72yrs as the maximum age.

Prem · Post by **Prem** » 20 Mar 2014 04:11

ramana wrote:
Karan M wrote:Suraj, by what timeframe?
“These are good levels to sell dollars against the rupee,” said Gilmour, 40. “Waiting until after the election could be way too late.”
Long term so greater than 2016.

In Fact i had been debating this with one of my gooooooood buddy in Delhi for the last 2 weeks when i posted "hare" that Ruppiya gonna go North from Now on. Bad that not many folks in India realize this. Not only RS but property values too will be Do Masai Jumping Dance for next 3-4 years.

panduranghari · Post by **panduranghari** » 20 Mar 2014 04:26

RajeshA wrote:I wonder who in the world has the remote control with Advani ji's Sulk Button.

Just a few days ago he was saying, he would want to again stand from Gandhinagar, as there were rumors that the party would prefer to give him a Rajya Sabha seat instead. Then something changed.

Somebody must be having something on him, which forces him to stage a drama every once in a while that he and Modi are poles apart.

Many images I have seen on television of lolpurush are with folded hands- a defensive postures the images from the past were mostly hands clasped with fingers pointing upwards- indicating control.

Body language exuded indicates a certain reluctance and disagreement. Of course the same file image may be used again and again.

SwamyG · Post by **SwamyG** » 20 Mar 2014 04:31

How come Barkha Dutt cannot find any anti-Modi people in Varanasi? Seriously? Is she trying some gimmick or sending some complacency-vibes to Modi? Totally, overwhelming response from the crowd. People do not care if he fights from 2 or 1 seat. Some even are okay if Modi, after the win, gives up Varanasi. The pride seems to be enough for them - so I think. I think he has captured the imagination of the people - who want to be part of history. Mind-boggling.

Kakkaji · Post by **Kakkaji** » 20 Mar 2014 04:35

LKA is losing all the respect he earned through a long political innings.

What a comedown.

Shanmukh · Post by **Shanmukh** » 20 Mar 2014 04:43

Folks,
Has Advani himself said anything in press actually, or is this all MSM chaiwala news? Personally, I have trouble believing that Advani thinks NaMo would sabotage his election in the heart of Gujarat. It would be a huge blot on NaMo if he did that, and NaMo is not a vindictive man, particularly towards a man who has been his mentor. Advani knows that. Is our MSM out to create a controversy where none exists to cater to their masters?

LakshO · Post by **LakshO** » 20 Mar 2014 05:43

ramana wrote:TOI hence TIFWIW;

LKA coveys displeasure to BJP over Gandhinagar seat

I think he should not contest in protest and let some oen more willing stand for Gandhinagar seat.
He has done enough nakra so far.

This is like dragging a 4 year old to school, kicking & screaming!

This so-called varishta neta is 85-90 years old and yet can't behave himself!

Wish he learnt a few things from his fellow traveler & colleague ABV. Or, is this all of media created hysteria?

KJo · Post by **KJo** » 20 Mar 2014 05:53

chetak · Post by **chetak** » 20 Mar 2014 07:41

It was wrong to disinvite Modi, writes Upenn professor (Part 1)

It is by now common knowledge that a conference under the aegis of the Wharton School at Upenn retracted an invitation for a plenary speech to Narendra Modi, the third time democratically-elected Chief Minister of a State of the world’s largest democracy. I will present an academic analysis of the implications of this saga. It would be worthwhile to note that I am a faculty member of the engineering school of Upenn, but the assessments offered are entirely in my personal capacity.

How we failed our students

I am personally convinced that the decision is severely flawed. It would perhaps have been easier to persuade my readers as to the merits of my argument if I could denounce Modi’s politics right at the start and then present my case based entirely on the virtues of exposure to plurality of ideas. But, the truth is that I am sanguine that Modi represents a new political phenomenon that draws from sound economics, if the repeatedly dissected Gujarat growth story is anything to go by. And, that is why I hoped that the bright students of a premier Ivy League business school would have had the opportunity to hear him. They may have bought into whole or parts of his message or may have summarily rejected it. But, the process of rejection would have significantly contributed to their intellectual nourishment.

Yet, divesting our students of an opportunity to attend Modi’s lecture in itself has been the least of our failings as Penn academicians. As enthusiastic citizens of this new information age, they will have every opportunity to tune into one of the addresses of the tech-savvy Chief Minister of Gujarat. If at all, the censorship that we enforced and the resulting publicity will stimulate their curiosity and thereby facilitate their exposure to Modi’s vision. We, however, failed to instil key values that constitute the core of academic ethos. Let us then investigate the sequence of events as it unfolded.

The conference extended an unsolicited invitation for a keynote speech to Modi which he was gracious enough to accept. The conference extensively publicised the keynote speech, as it should. Subsequently, a group of three faculty members affiliated with the School of Arts and Sciences led a petition for cancellation of the plenary speech and communicated their intent to protest if their request was not granted. The petition was directed to the university management and, as I am given to understand, a decision to unceremoniously rescind the invitation on the basis of “potential polarising reactions from sub-segments of the alumni base” was arrived at within an unusually short time, likely spanning a day.

This decision troubles me on several counts. First, Modi is very much a public figure. His Wikipedia bio mentions the controversies surrounding the Gujarat riots which outraged the petitioners. Was the invitation process for plenary speakers appropriately vetted? I learned from an informative article authored by a Wharton alumnus, Praveen Chakravarty, who co-chaired the conference a decade back, that the speakers are selected through a “meticulous process undertaken by the speaker sub-committee of the conference” based on “student interests” and “diversity of views”. It is therefore safe to presume that the organisers decided that Modi’s plenary talk will add substantial value to the conference notwithstanding the controversies.

There were no material changes regarding the controversies in recent past. Is it, therefore, the case that the invitation was retracted based on the outrage that a section of the Penn community expressed? But, then brilliant ideas are often disruptive and may well spark an outrage within another sub-section of our ecosystem. Should that prevent us from exposing our students to the same and providing them the opportunity to challenge them in an academic forum? Is this then laying the groundwork for allowing violations of academic freedom so as to avert offending sensibilities of constituents? Are we then dangerously close to a concept non grata in any vibrant academic community?

Hypothetically, even if there were extenuating circumstances compelling the disinvite that we do not understand, shouldn’t the decision at least be preceded by an elaborate debate involving all stake-holders? This question emerges from my presumption that the retraction was enacted based on the merits of the views presented in the petition rather than on the basis of the mere fact that there exists a section of Penn or Indian American community that disapproves of Modi. It was then mandatory to provide an opportunity for challenging the arguments presented in the petition.

I will make my point through three chosen examples. First, the petition relies heavily on a Human Rights Watch report that alleges complicity of a section of the police and politicians in Gujarat in the riots. It conveniently forgets the fact that the report was issued in 2002 and since then several participants have been convicted in Indian courts; they are currently serving hefty prison sentences. Modi’s personal complicity has been repeatedly investigated by multiple commissions, including a Special Investigative Team (SIT) whose investigation was monitored by the Supreme Court of India.

Modi subjected himself to a lengthy deposition before the SIT. The task force submitted a detailed report conducted through several years of investigation (Human Rights Watch released its report within a few months of the violence) which exonerates Modi of all complicity in the riots and acknowledges that he called in the Army to control the riots.

Next, the petition appealed that the invitation be rescinded lest it provides international respectability to Modi. This is a hypothesis I would have loved to contest: An academic conference does not and ought not to choose its plenary speech based on who it wishes to legitimise but only on the value the choice adds to the conference. Another, yet more outrageous, ground articulated by one of the petitioners in a TV debate, is that a part of the Indian American community did not believe that Modi represents India. I, for one, find this premise entirely erroneous given that the electorate of the State Modi represents has thrice resoundingly spoken otherwise.

What, however, offends me most is that the decision defies all established norms of not only intellectual, but also, civilized engagement. The faculty at any premier institute is charged with educating its students to honour their commitments, and this unprecedented course of action contradicts this very ethos. We in effect encouraged or possibly persuaded the students to adopt the path of least resistance.

(To be concluded.)

Saswati Sarkar is a Professor in the Electrical and Systems Engineering Department at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. She has been teaching at Upenn since 2000.

KJo · Post by **KJo** » 20 Mar 2014 08:01

chetak wrote:It was wrong to disinvite Modi, writes Upenn professor (Part 1)

Oho. Now this joker wakes up.

If NaMo was not PM in waiting, this clown would be gloating to impress his bosses.