As faculty who engage South Asia in our research and teaching, we write to express our concerns about the uncritical fanfare being generated over Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Silicon Valley to promote “Digital India” on September 27, 2015.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Silicon Valley highlights the role of a country that has contributed much to the growth and development of Silicon Valley industries, and builds on this legacy in extending American business collaboration and partnerships with India. However Indian entrepreneurial success also brings with it key responsibilities and obligations with regard to the forms of e-governance envisioned by “Digital India.”
We are concerned that the project’s potential for increased transparency in bureaucratic dealings with people is threatened by its lack of safeguards about privacy of information, and thus its potential for abuse. As it stands, “Digital India” seems to ignore key questions raised in India by critics concerned about the collection of personal information and the near certainty that such digital systems will be used to enhance surveillance and repress the constitutionally- protected rights of citizens. These issues are being discussed energetically in public in India and abroad. Those who live and work in Silicon Valley have a particular responsibility to demand that the government of India factor these critical concerns into its planning for digital futures.
We acknowledge that Narendra 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. However, as educators who pay particular attention to history, we remind Mr. Modi’s audiences of the powerful reasons for him being denied the right to enter the U.S. from 2005-2014, for there is still an active case in Indian courts that questions his role in the Gujarat violence of 2002 when 1,000 died. Modi’s first year in office as the Prime Minister of India includes well publicized episodes of censorship and harassment of those critical of his policies, bans and restrictions on NGOs leading to a constriction of the space of civic engagement, ongoing violations of religious freedom, and a steady impingement on the independence of the judiciary. Under Mr. Modi’s tenure as Prime Minister, academic freedom is also at risk: foreign scholars have been denied entry to India to attend international conferences, there has been interference with the governance of top Indian universities and academic institutions such as the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, the Indian Institutes of Technology and Nalanda University; as well as underqualified or incompetent key appointments made to the Indian Council of Historical Research, the Film and Television Institute of India, and the National Book Trust. A proposed bill to bring the Indian Institutes of Management under direct control of government is also worrisome. These alarming trends require that we, as educators, remain vigilant not only about modes of e-governance in India but about the political future of the country.
We urge those who lead Silicon Valley technology enterprises to be mindful of not violating their own codes of corporate responsibility when conducting business with a government which has, on several occasions already, demonstrated its disregard for human rights and civil liberties, as well as the autonomy of educational and cultural institutions.
Signed,
Meena Alexander, Distinguished Professor of English, Hunter College and the Graduate Center, City University of New York
Arjun Appadurai, Paulette Goddard Professor of Media, Culture, and Communication, New York University
Anjali Arondekar, Associate Professor of Women’s Studies, UC Santa Cruz
Fredrick Asher, Professor of Art History and South Asian Studies, University of Minnesota
Paola Bacchetta, Associate Professor of Gender and Women’s Studies University of California, Berkeley
Sarada Balagopalan, Associate Professor of Childhood Studies, Rutgers University, Camden
Radhika Balakrishnan, Prof of Women’s and Gender Studies, Rutgers University
Shahzad Bashir, Professor of Religious Studies, Stanford University
Manu Bhagavan, Professor of History and Human Rights, Hunter College and the Graduate Center, The City University of New York
Mona Bhan Associate Professor of Sociology and Anthropology
DePauw University
Srimati Basu, Professor of Gender and Women’s Studies, University of Kentucky
Prashant Bharadwaj, Associate Professor of Economics, University of California, San Diego
Nilanjana Bhattacharjya, Faculty Fellow, Barrett Honors College, Arizona State University
Nandini Bhattacharya, Professor of English, Texas A &M University, College-Station
Tithi Bhattacharya, Associate Professor of South Asian History, Purdue University
Amit R. Baishya, Assistant Professor of English, University of Oklahoma
Akeel Bilgrami, Sidney Morgenbesser Professor of Philosophy and Director, South Asian Institute, Columbia University
Purnima Bose, Associate Professor, English and International Studies, Indiana University-Bloomington
Christopher Candland, Associate Professor of Political Science, Wellesley College
Paula Chakravartty, Associate Professor, Gallatin School, & Department of Media, Culture and Communication, New York University
Shefali Chandra, Associate Professor of South Asian History Washington University, St. Louis
S. Charusheela, Associate Professor, School of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences, University of Washington, Bothell
Partha Chatterjee, Professor of Anthropology and South Asian Studies, Columbia University
Indrani Chatterjee Professor of History and South Asian Studies, University of Texas, Austin
Swati Chattopadhyay Professor History of Art and Architecture, University of California, Santa Barbara
Marty Chen, Lecturer, School of Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School and Affiliated Professor, Harvard Graduate School of Design
Rohit Chopra, Associate Professor of Communication, Santa Clara University
Elora Chowdhury Associate Professor & Chair, Women’s and Gender Studies, University of Massachusetts, Boston
E. Valentine Daniel, Professor of Anthropology, Colombia University
Monisha Das Gupta, Associate Professor of Ethnic Studies and Women’s Studies, University of Hawaii, Manoa
Jigna Desai, Professor of Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies, University of Minnesota
Pawan Dhingra, Professor of Sociology, Tufts University
Wendy Doniger, Professor of the History of Religions, University of Chicago
Richard Falk, Professor of International Law Emeritus, Princeton University
Bishnupriya Ghosh, Professor of English University of California, Santa Barbara
Huma Ahmed-Ghosh, Professor and Chair of Women’s Studies, San Diego State University
Durba Ghosh, Associate Professor of History, Cornell University
Sumanth Gopinath, Associate Professor of Music Theory, School of Music, University of Minnesota
Nitin Govil, Associate Professor of Cinema & Media Studies, University of Southern California
Paul Greenough, Professor of History and Community and Behavioral Health and Director, South Asian Studies Program, University of Iowa
Inderpal Grewal, Professor of South Asian Studies, Yale University
Sumit Guha, Frances Higginbotham Nalle Centennial Professor of History, University of Texas, Austin
Thomas Blom Hansen, Professor of Anthropology and Director of the Center for South Asia, Stanford University
Syed Akbar Hyder, Associate Professor of South Asian Studies, University of Texas, Austin
Nalini Iyer, Professor of English, Seattle University
Priya Jaikumar, Associate Professor of Cinema and Media Studies, University of Southern California
Pranav Jani, Associate Professor of English, Ohio State University
Sheila Jasanoff, Professor of Science and Technology Studies, Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government
Arun W. Jones, Associate Professor, Candler School of Theology, Emory University
May Joseph, Professor of Social Science, Pratt Institute
Priya Joshi, Associate Professor of English and Associate Director, Center for the Humanities, Temple University
Sampath Kannan, Henry Salvatore Professor of Computer and Information Science, University of Pennsylvania
Suvir Kaul, A.M. Rosenthal Professor of English, University of Pennsylvania
Waqas Khwaja, Professor of English, Agnes Scott College
Naveeda Khan, Associate Professor of Anthropology, Johns Hopkins University
Nyla Ali Khan, Visiting Professor of Women’s Studies, University of Oklahoma, Norman
Satish Kolluri, Associate Professor of Communications, Pace University
Ruby Lal, Professor of Middle East and South Asian Studies, Emory University
Sarah Lamb, Professor of Anthropology and Head of the Division of Social Sciences, Brandeis University; Co-Chair of South Asian Studies
Karen Leonard, Professor of Anthropology, Emeritus, University of California, Irvine
David Lelyveld, Professor of History, Emeritus, William Paterson University
Jinee Lokaneeta, Associate Professor of Political Science and International Relations, Drew University
Ania Loomba, Catherine Bryson Professor of English, University of Pennsylvania
David Ludden, Professor of History, New York University
Ritty Lukose, Associate Professor of Anthropology, Gender and Sexuality Studies, and South Asian Studies, the Gallatin School, New York University
Sudhir Mahadevan Assistant Professor of Film Studies, Comparative Literature, Cinema and Media, University of Washington, Seattle
Tayyab Mahmud, Professor of Law and Director, Center for Global Justice Seattle University School of Law
Sunaina Maira, Professor of Asian American Studies, University of California, Davis
Neepa Majumdar, Associate Professor of English, University of Pittsburgh
Bakirathi Mani, Associate Professor of English Literature, Swarthmore College
Rebecca J. Manring, Associate Professor of India Studies and Religious Studies Indiana University-Bloomington
Monika Mehta, Associate Professor, Department of English, Binghamton University
Jisha Menon, Assistant Professor of Theatre and Performance Studies, Stanford University
Kalyani Devaki Menon, Associate Professor of Religious Studies, DePaul University
Sally Engle Merry, Silver Professor of Anthropology, New York University
Raza Mir, Professor of Management, Cotsakos College of Business, William Paterson University
Deepti Misri, Associate Professor of Women and Gender Studies University of Colorado, Boulder
Chandra Talpade Mohanty, Chair and Distinguished Professor of Women’s & Gender Studies, and Dean’s Professor of Humanities, Syracuse University
Satya P. Mohanty, Professor of English, Cornell University
Megan Moodie, Associate Professor of Anthropology, University of California, Santa Cruz
Projit B. Mukharji, Martin Meyerson Assistant Professor in Interdisciplinary Studies, History & Sociology of Science, University of Pennsylvania
Madhavi Murty, Assistant Professor of Feminist Studies, University of California, Santa Cruz
Vijaya Nagarajan, Associate Professor of Theology & Religious Studies, Program in Environmental Studies, University of San Francisco
Martha C. Nussbaum, Professor of Law and Philosophy, University of Chicago
Gyanendra Pandey, Arts and Sciences Distinguished Professor of History, Emory University
Carla Petievich, Visiting Professor of South Asian Studies, University of Texas, Austin
Sheldon Pollock, Professor of South Asian Studies, Columbia University
Kavita Philip, Associate Professor of History, University of California, Irvine
Vijay Prashad, George and Martha Kellner Chair of South Asian History, Trinity College
Jasbir K. Puar, Associate Professor of Women’s and Gender Studies, Rutgers University
Balakrishnan Rajagopal, Professor of Law and Development, Department of Urban Studies and Planning, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
R.Radhakrishnan, Chancellor’s Professor of English and Comparative Literature, University of California, Irvine
Gloria Raheja, Professor of Anthropology, University of Minnesota
Junaid Rana, Associate Professor of Asian American Studies, University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana
Anupama Rao, Professor of Anthropology, Barnard College
Velcheru Narayana Rao, Distinguished Visiting Professor of Middle Eastern and South Asian Studies, Emory University
Kasturi Ray, Associate Professor of Women and Gender Studies/Co-Director, South Asian Studies, San Francisco State University
M.V. Ramana, Program on Science and Global Security, Princeton University
Sumathi Ramaswamy, Professor of History, Duke University
Chandan Reddy, Associate Professor of English, University of Washington, Seattle
Gayatri Reddy, Associate Professor of Women’s Studies, University of Illinois, Chicago
Modhumita Roy, Associate Professor of English, Tufts University
Parama Roy, Professor of English, University of California, Davis
Sharmila Rudrappa, Associate Professor of Sociology, University of Texas at Austin
G.S. Sahota, Assistant Professor of Literature, University of California, Santa Cruz
Yasmin Saikia, Hardt-Nickachos Chair in Peace Studies & Professor of History, Center for the Study of Religion and Conflict, Arizona State University
Arun Saldanha, Associate Professor of Geography, Environment and Society University of Minnesota
Juned Shaikh, Assistant Professor of History, University of California, Santa Cruz
Nitasha Tamar Sharma, Charles Deering McCormick Professor of Teaching Excellence and Associate Professor of African American Studies and Asian American Studies, Northwestern University
Elora Shehabuddin, Associate Professor of Humanities and Political Science, Rice University
Bhaskar Sarkar, Associate Professor of Film and Media Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara
Priya Satia, Associate Professor of History, Stanford University
Aradhana Sharma, Associate Professor of Anthropology, Wesleyan University
Snehal Shinghavi, Associate Professor of English and South Asian Studies, University of Texas, Austin
Ajay Skaria, Professor of History, University of Minnesota
Shalini Shankar, Chair and Associate Professor of Asian American Studies, Northwestern University
S. Shankar, Professor of English,University of Hawai’i at Mānoa
Amritjit Singh, Langston Hughes Professor of English, Ohio University
Mytheli Sreenivas, Associate Professor of History and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, Ohio State University
Rajini Srikanth, Professor, English, University of Massachusetts Boston
Nidhi Srinivas, Associate Professor of Nonprofit Management, The New School
Ajantha Subramanian, Professor of Anthropology and South Asian Studies, Harvard University
Banu Subramaniam, Professor, Women, Gender, Sexuality Studies, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Kaushik Sunder Rajan, Associate Professor of Anthropology, University of Chicago
Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, University Professor in the Humanities,
Columbia University
Raja Swamy, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, University of Tennessee
Tariq Thachil, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Yale University
Ashwini Tambe, Associate Professor of Women’s Studies, University of Maryland, College-Park
Vamsi Vakulabharanam, Associate Professor of Economics, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Jyotsna Vaid, Professor of Psychology, Texas A&M University
Siva Vaidhyanathan Robertson Professor of Media Studies, University of Virginia
Sylvia Vatuk, Professor of Anthropology, Emeritus, University of Illinois, Chicago
Gauri Viswanathan, Class of 1933 Professor in the Humanities and
Professor of English and Comparative Literature, Columbia University
Kamala Visweswaran, Professor of Ethnic Studies, University of California, San Diego
Kalindi Vora, Associate Professor of Ethnic Studies, University of California, San Diego
Bonnie Zare, Professor of Gender & Women’s Studies, University of Wyoming
“Narendra Modi address on 24 April 2014 (2)” by Narendra Modi – Shri Narendra Modi addressed rallies in Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons – https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Narendra_Modi_address_on_24_April_2014_(2).jpg#/media/File:Narendra_Modi_address_on_24_April_2014_(2).jpg
An article on Modi’s visit to Silicon Valley
http://www.dailyo.in/business/modi-silicon-valley-visit-sundar-pichai-google-job-creation-start-up-india-stand-up-india-innovation/story/1/5836.html
Very truly “Anti India” Intelligent terrorists….You have used your intelligent Bomb to destroy the very nature of India…this will NOT happen, as true growth oriented India have learnt to live with our nuclear capabilities, including that of Pakistan. World looks now on India and – a shit on your tongue that utters this.
Well said, Sir. “Shit on your tongue”. How brilliantly put. What excellent reasoned and objective defense of Narenbhai. Thank god those ‘intelligent terrorists’ at universities never got to mess with your wonderful writing style and your incisive knack for factually grounded arguments.
Agree completely
@Chandu – Dude, do you have anything of value to add here? It seems like you are just having fun typing away things that are only increasing the length of this thread. Get a real job man.
Let’s check the facts:
> “Digital India” seems to ignore key questions raised in India by critics concerned about the collection of personal information and the near certainty that such digital systems will be used to enhance surveillance and repress the constitutionally- protected rights of citizens.
I think what is being referred to is UIDAI (Unique Identification Authority of India) More Info: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unique_Identification_Authority_of_India This is the worlds largest national identification number project. It collects biometric and demographic data of residents, and issue a unique identity number called Aadhaar to each resident.
Yes people have objected to taking biometric information for this card. In fact BJP was opposed to UIDAI when it was in opposition: http://www.firstpost.com/politics/bjp-attacks-aadhaar-scheme-says-it-violates-right-to-privacy-1186861.html
What has conveniently been left out is that it was Congress under Manmohan Singh that brought UIDAI sometime in 2010. The same faculty members who are opposing it today were either not aware of it or looking the other way when UIDAI was made compulsory by the Manmohan Singh administration.
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> there is still an active case in Indian courts that questions his role in the Gujarat violence of 2002 when 1,000 died.
Much have been written about Gujarat violence of 2002, much of it to polarize opinions and needless to say bereft of facts. People know facts and that is why when Modi visited UAE and addressed the Indian Muslim migrants in Abu Dhabi, he received a roaring welcome there. Critics have no answer to that.
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> Modi’s first year in office as the Prime Minister of India includes well publicized episodes of censorship and harassment of those critical of his policies, bans and restrictions on NGOs leading to a constriction of the space of civic engagement,
Facts: Congress under Manmohan Singh banned hundreds of NGO’s in it’s tenure, here is a small list:
1. 600 NGOs were banned in 2007: http://www.livemint.com/Politics/naU4bPHFu6elSWOmgNE5ZL/Govt-bans-600-NGOs.html
2. Action taken against 100 NGOs in 2012: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Accounts-of-30-NGOs-frozen-70-banned-from-receiving-funds-Govt/articleshow/13064313.cms
3. Govt cancelled foreign funding of 4141 Christian NGOs:
https://bharatabharati.wordpress.com/2013/08/27/government-cracks-down-on-foreign-funding-of-christian-ngos-newsbharati/
4. Freezed accounts of 46 NGOs in 2010
http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-govt-freezes-accounts-of-46-ngos-using-foreign-funds-1439931
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> academic freedom is also at risk: foreign scholars have been denied entry to India to attend international conferences, there has been interference with the governance of top Indian universities and academic institutions
Facts:
It was Congress govt that has always trampled freedom of speech.
Eg 1: 1st amendment to the constitution (Article 19) imposed restrictions on freedom of speech and expression.
Eg 2: Emergency 1975-77 when all the fundamental rights of citizens were suspended by then PM Indira Gandhi
Eg 3: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/06/opinion/indias-limited-freedom-of-speech.html?_r=0
Eg 4: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/mar/30/gujarat-bans-gandhi-book-gay-claims
Eg 5: List of Books banned between 1970 and 2006
http://www.business-standard.com/article/opinion/nilanjana-s-roy-banned-books-in-india-1970s-2006-106053001122_1.html
Eg 6: The list of Movies banned in India. Most movies were banned during Manmohan Singh’s tenure:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_films_banned_in_India
To the faculty members: Sorry to let facts come in between a good story.
Well, your answer is factual. I agree to some points you mentioned but not most. In most of the points, you have pointed the finger to Congress and what they did in their tenure. What they did was wrong, but at the same time, what NDA is doing right now is wrong as well. Specially in the case of interference with IIT’s, IIM’s (IIM bill) and other educational institutes and policies (like banning German in schools etc). This fact is very accurately mentioned in the above article. I cannot see any possible intellectual reasons in favor of this step by NDA.
Blind bhakti of anything, be it Modi, is not good.
YOUR ENTIRE argument is in FAVOUR of a PERSON, who is PURPORTEDLY, “STILL to be EXONERATED by Indian Supreme Court-and who is still an ACCUSED in the ‘Gulbarg Society’ Massacre case for Directly or at least PASSIVELY being COMPLICIT in that state sponsored Anti-Muslim Pogrom in Gujarat (Feb -June, 2002, with VARIOUS BRUTAL MURDER -FIGURES RANGING from 1000 to 4000 as being the Casualty Figures REPORTED by Many INDEPENDENT INQUIRIES, with 80 % of them being MUSLIM Women & Children who were FIRST most inhumanly BRUTALIZED MERCILESSLY and LATER KILLED in an UNPRECEDENTED BARBARIC MANNER – like, Throwing Gang Raped -Women &Children in to open FIRES by MOBS as strong as 10,000, in some cases, with the Gujarat Administration acting, as SCATHINGLY CONFIRMED by the Supreme Court of India (Quoting Verbatim) “like a local Gujarat Emperor Nero Fiddling while Gujarat was burning!) ; your Defense of this PERSON is BASED on QUOTING DATA of supposedly WORSE TRANSGRESSIONS by an earlier Congress Government! (Note: In actuality it was NOT a CONGRESS Govt, it was in fact a COALITION of twenty Odd Parties each demanding its own Pound from the Congress then and because of which the Congress Party got all the BLAME of all the VARIOUS SCAMS that its Coalition Partners had committed!)!
However, no SANE person will accept an argument that ” Two EQUALLY PERNICIOUS Wrongs by TWO different Parties will automatically JUSTIFY EACH OTHER and we should simply allow the CURRENT GOVERNMENT to CONTINUE to TAKE ITS own POUND of FLESH from the CITIZENS just because you think that the EARLIER GOVERNMENT had done so?!
ALSO, showing that you too BELONG to the SAME class of “Too Smart by HALF” majoritarian- supporters of this PURPORTEDLY , AUTOCRATIC and BORDERING on an ORWELLIAN STATE under, once again ,WIDELY REPORTED as being one of the most NARCISSIST, Self Centered, Egotistical, Arrogant Person who is RATED by many Neutral OBSERVERS to have been a POLITICAL LEADER who has shown himself to be Full Of HUBRIS from the time he bcame a Chief Minister about 13 years back and who earlier used to hardly attend State Assembly sessions while he was CM and now is OFTEN seen to DISREGARD the PARLIAMENT of INDIA on a REGULAR BASIS ( Who may have attended the Indian Parliament ONLY ON LESS THAN TEN OCCASIONS in nearly 420 days after formation of his Government!), AND you “Too SMARTLY- BY HALF of course”,YOU DO NOT GIVE any CURRENT DATA to COUNTER and DEFEAT all the FACTS- BASED ACCUSATIONS MADE against this Government in this ARTICLE!
LASTLY, I would like to state that this “Faculty Statement on Narendra Modi Visit to Silicon Valley” has in fact used a very SOFT TONE and TENOR while PUTTING up its CRITICISM and missed to mention MANY MORE ORWELLIAN EVENTS staged by this Government such as INTERFERENCE by Human Resource Minister in to the FUNCTIONING / IDEOLOGY of a PARTICULAR DALIT ( Lower Caste Group- the Periyar-Ambedkar Group) STUDENTS UNION in the “MADRAS -Indian Institute of Technology” and MANY OTHER such events that can easily be LISTED out by inquiring with any NEUTRAL INDIAN JOURNALIST like Rajdeep Sardesai or Karan Thapar – both working with the INDIA TODAY TV NEWS CHANNEL in INDIA!
Ref: 1) See Archives on “Gujarat 2002- Anti-Muslim Pogrom in http://www.sabrang.com
2) See Archives on “Gujarat 2002- Anti-Muslim Pogrom in http://www.truthofgujarat.com
3) See all the relevant recent articles on the issues raised in the “Faculty Statement on Narendra Modi Visit to Silicon Valley” in http://www.firstpost.com/
I like the way you have responded pointwise.
Well written. Abhishek should read the IIM Bill. It frees IIMs from state control. The BJP governments have never proscribed books or films or any work of art but for a few ( one or two) extremely rare exceptions. Non-BJP governments have always done it. The worst were the Leftists. They proscribed works of art, banished historians who did not agree with them, burnt cinema halls, killed their opponents. The Congress governments rivalled them and showed their ugly faces during Emergency. Nehru made laws to gag free speech. Today, Mamata’s TMC, with her Congi legacy, has crossed all the limits in West Bengal. Even DMK and AIDMK governments have been intolerant to their opposition.
So, the BJP has the best track record on free speech and artistic freedom. In fact it was the RSS that stood up to Indira Gandhi during emergency to save democracy and free speech. So, this campaign of calumny against Modi is based on conjecture and white lies. Even when he was the Chief Minister of Gujarat, he never ever tried to browbeat his opponents. They had a free run to carry on a sustained campaign based on lies to denigrate him. They failed.
Thanks for exposing these “self-styled” intellectuals !
Quoting your post “It collects biometric and demographic data of residents, and issue a unique identity number called Aadhaar to each resident.”
I don’t know how the number remains unique.
UID numbers should be to a personal to the individual. It no longer remains unique, or the purpose of its privacy is lost, when the government offices ask you to use the last 6 digits of your Aadhar number as your identification number for Biometric Attendance.
Hi Raghu,
Just because you don’t know how to generate a unique ID from a set of known numbers, don’t knock the concept. Any mathematician worth his salt can tell you how. Why don’t you put in a bit of effort before commenting?
Even in USA, the last four numbers of your social security number are used as one part of an identity recognition.
Regards,
Krishna Kumar
None of signatories are Techies.
shameless ANTI-INDIA ACTIVISTS
Excellent point. No techies. All Anti-India Activists. One question though: since the techies alone are true patriots, what are they doing in California? Would it not be best for them to move back to Bharat? Especially now that Narenbhai has made it the Heaven on Earth? Surely the true patriots need to contribute their skills to Narenbhai’s efforts?
Also, Sir, may I enquire why instead of a truly patriotic techie Narenbhai chose Smritibehn to run the HRD Ministry? Is that really the best use of techie patriotism?
Ridiculous and baseless article.
Excellent argument, Mr Iyer. You’re powers of rationale argument are truly praiseworthy. I congratulate you.
Yes, Mr Chandu, Congratulations. Your excellent arguments and rebuttals have earned for you membership in the prestigious AAHS (American Association of Hinduphobe Scholars). Please keep up your good work.
This seems to be orchestrated considering the transparency of US security agencies. I would suggest you to question those US agencies first, if possible..because thats where IS is where you chose to live
These professors (sepoys) have deep hatred for Narendra modi and hence such statements by them as a group. They repeatedly used Gujarat riots to make their point which they think that by repeating same thing over and over again it will become truth. Being professors they have enough brainpower to do their research to find the truth..enough online to prove them wrong. If anything, Modi has been victim of this malicious propaganda. From day one its not Modi’s past that bothers them it is what he stands for. He stands for India that is proud of its sanskrit/eastern philosophy, its culture and its contribution to the world through time. He represent majority India that has been under the indirect rule of the foreign educated Sepoys who have tried to control Indians both externally and internally by imposing western philosophy through their control of education policies. Now they have lost control over it for the first time since independence and hence all this anxiety in them. In carrying out their malicious agenda they forget Narendra Modi is PM of country and his visit is to market country to improve the image of the country and to create jobs for all Indian youth irrespective of what they represent. With the exception of few all NRIs welcome PM of India who’s visit has potential to improve living standards of many Indians and improve India-US relations. Only such sepoys with malicious agenda will go to the extent to harm the whole country..just shows how much they really care for India
very well said!!
Rather that making unsupported statements, one must prove that the facts stated above are untrue and concerns irrelevant.
What is visible is the distinct bangla bias amongst the signatories, who need to answer on what basis they express these concerns to be associated with Narendra Modi and how all them would ever come under his government given india’s federal structure. And now why should they be so concerned about a country which most of the signatories have forsaken and whether they did express such concern when religious riots took place under Congress governance and the many scams and malgovernance of the Manmohan regime.
We are doing exactly that here and have proven each and every word written in the blog as false and calumnious. All cases against Modi were dismissed in the court of law, and in the people’s court as well. Yet a handful of people filled with hatred for Hindus and funded by dubious anti-India entities keep carrying on their vilification campaign and crusades. Their lies and subterfuge have been constantly exposed and discarded and challenged with facts and nothing but facts.
The fact is we are still talking about Godhra and Modi irrespective of Supreme court verdict.. If these people do not agree with the institution like Supreme court, then there is no point of having a debate,
It is unfortunate that these so-called educators are spreading false info and venom on a popular people’s PM,only because their leftist and crosstian ideology is different from his nationalist one. That he is immensely dedicated, capable and truly secular is deliberately ignored by them.Thus the credibility of these ‘educators’ is highly questionable!
well said
Ms Menon, thank you so much. I had no idea Narenbhai was “immensely dedicated, capable and truly secular”. Especially the last. I would never have guessed it had you not brought it up. He does well to hide it.
Anyway, thanks for clearing this up. Now that you’ve told me what he really is, I will believe you and not go looking for proofs of his dedication, capability or secularism, like these stupid lefties. Proof is over-rated anyway. Your word is enough, Madam.
Not only Bangla bias , I can see a lot of Brahmin names, Kerala Christians among these. The reason is simple, their days of scavenging are coming to an end. Period…
Yes. Down with Bengalis, Malayalis, Brahmins, and maybe in a few more weeks Patels, Gujjars and Jats as well (unless Hardil Patel has a “police encounter” before that). The Kashmiris and the North Eastern states don’t count anyways. Biharis have contaminated DNA. Get rid of all of these people. They are not true Indians. Exterminate everyone. Everyone that is who does not worship Narenbhai. Finally, we too shall be a monotheistic country.
Well said! Another interesting fact is that all most all the signatories are professors of Arts. Surprisingly, there are few from the computer science/ engineering departments. If there are serious questions about information security and data privacy, I wonder why the engineering professors are not perturbed. Is it because they are more objective in their approach, unlike the leftist historians and sociologists who are, as Rajiv Malhotra put it, “always long on theories and short on data.” This petition also lends credence to the argument that the academia, both in the West and back in India, particularly the history, religious studies and South Asian studies departments are populated with those who harbor a deep hatred for Indian Civilization.
These so called Professors are trying to spread hatred against India.
These irrelevant Indiotecyuals should not interfere in Indian matters. India have been economically left behind and culturally stagnated because deracinated forces operating against India and Her Sons of Soil. Modi is symbol of removing these slaves’ curse casted over India right after freedom.
we are lucky that these anti indians are in usa .. they dont have any partiotism for india nor are they interested about its history and culture.May the indian government cancel their OCI cards and cease all their properties in india
True, Mr. Dinesh. Very true. Good riddens of bad rubbish. Thank god these anti-Indians are all in the US and not in India. Trouble though is that all the patriotic techies are also in the US. All the computer engineers in Silicon Valley. The US should have better sense and send the truly patriotic techies back to support Narenbhai in India. I’m sure being true patriots they will be only too happy to go back.
Bharat has seen 1000 years of slavery/tyranny/rapes/torture/denigration and genocide of more than 80 million hindus.All these sacrifices where to protect the knowledge for future generations like us .
After such a long time, we have got a true leader who is concerned about majority and minority unlike the previous secularist leaders whose focus was on minority only and who supressed the majority/also denigrated bharat’s ancient tradition.
Truly said!!..Time is not far when not only Bharatiyas living in USA but the whole world will come to Bharat for knowledge
Bharat was and will always be the shining beacon of knowledge for this whole world and will show the path of truth in this golden age.
It is time for each one of us to know our true identity/true history(not the fake history written by the mughal invaders/british sycophants or our own secularists/marxists/congtards)/culture/tradition and our ancient heritage and contribute to our Sanathan Dharma which has been shining from the age of Ramayana and will be the shining light in the coming golden age
What a pathetic lot all of you professors are. Suffer!!!!! Because all of you lost and Modi and majority of India won. I am so happy when I see such articles. It shows how much you are suffering. I really hope all of you are having sleepless nights! Suffer!!!!!
@Academeblog: This is a great service you have done listing all haters names in one place. Now we know whose opinions do not count, whom we don’t have to care about and also avoid the supporting universities and/or the departments. Thank you!!
well said ….. 🙂
The above listed faculty are part of same old paid agents of anti modi brigade who failed to block him in 2014..Silicon valley is full of innovators and enterprenuers who make their fortune by seer hard work and not jokers..
can u sight one his original work?
What a load of bullsh*t. Thank God these guys are not in India. Such a shame that these guys are of Indian origin. I hope these clowns never return to India as we don’t deserve these kinds of snakes on our land.
Guys like these are still in India and in numbers but slowly they are losing so now they are desperate. They have done, inadvertently though, a service by listing their names in one place.
Now I know what the term ” useful idiots” mean.
These ‘pade likhe bewakoofs’ are insulting India by insulting its democratically elected Prime Minister. Shoo off!
If you read the comments posted by Modi’s fan here, it just talks about hatred and verbal abuse. The big thing Modi is teaching Indians are verbal abuse, hatred and arrogance. Before make in India, Modi should “Make India first” (no corruption, respect for women, respect for all religion, abolish caste system and many more)
This is the standard response of known Modi haters that has nothing to do with facts. The article itself smacks of rabid hatred towards Modi. It’s a group of known Modi haters with leftist leanings carrying on with their ancient narrative that disregards the truth. The fact is the present political dispensation led by Modi is the most tolerant in the history of India where his detractors seem to have a freer run than ever before. In the process they have been getting exposed and losing their credibility. The signees to this appeal will suffer the same ignominy as a section of the English media in India that has been trying its best to influence electoral choices and failing all the time. They even promote road-side ruffians and small-time megalomaniacs as revolutionaries to somehow thwart the attempts of Modi to transform India into a truly FEDERAL Republic. This group of congenital liars and Modi baiters has run the establishment so far with the help of funds provided by dubious NGOs. These freeloaders don’t enjoy that luxury any more. This disturbs them and thus they indulge in such diatribe.
Perfect!!
@Rajesh Kumar Singh: Well said
List of lies / dirty insinuations
1. near certainty that such digital systems will be used to enhance surveillance and repress the constitutionally- protected rights of citizens
2. powerful reasons for him being denied the right to enter the U.S. from 2005-2014
3. there is still an active case in Indian courts that questions his role in the Gujarat violence of 2002
4. well publicized episodes of censorship and harassment of those critical of his policies, bans and restrictions on NGOs
5. academic freedom is also at risk
6. interference with the governance of top Indian universities and academic institutions
7. government … demonstrated its disregard for human rights and civil liberties
None of these filth who have signed this ‘petition’ belong even remotely to silicon valley
Very well-said Sir!
Wow!! Surprising that these “professors” who are supposed to carry and promote the baton of honesty and integrity could stoop down to such low levels and mention outright lies. I’ve been following the politics in India closely and I can say that the accusations this corrupted lot has mentioned are baseless. The GOI has NOT interfered more than necessary with TIFR, Nalanda etc. I happen to research the case of Nalanda a bit and fact of the matter is that the previous Chancellor Amartaya Sen (who btw happens to be dear to many on the list here) promoted a culture of nepotism, un-accountability and favoritism at Nalanda including questionable, unqualified appointments, inflated expenses and salaries. Even respected APJ Abdul Kalam wrote to President of India about the state of mismanagement at Nalanda especially related to faculty appointments. It’s highly ironic that Mr. Sen who apparently “cares” much about the Nalanda project didn’t even bother to attend the Opening Ceremony!!! One media site noted “While Prof Amartya Sen has been a critic of Narendra Modi and BJP Government, his relative silence on corruption during the UPA’s rule it would seem was purposeful. It can be said that he has been a beneficiary of the UPA’s arbitrariness and distribution of favours in the form of total control over the Nalanda University project. Nalanda University some believe had become a private estate with public money in the name of autonomy.”
Moreover, the GOI didn’t ask Sen to resign but he voluntarily did that obviously because of his political affiliation to create an illusion of “interference” to please his political masters. The GOI simply asked him to submit the plan and details about the university…is that unreasonable??? The same illusion of interference was created in other cases mentioned by Congress sympathetic elements in the media who are still rattled by their crushing defeat in elections and are trying all unscrupulous means to stay relevant…Congress/UPA within the realm of their mandate appointed their unqualified but political sympathizers in key positions including CBFC, FTII etc and no media raised an eyebrow but now that NDA Govt. appoints, why is that a problem? E.g Leela Samson was the head of CBFC but had ZERO film industry experience. Her notable achievement was that she was the former dance instructor for Sonia Gandhi’s daughter!! . In contrast, all the NDA appointments have been those with relevant industry experience BUT they are being targetted because of their ideology and not their performance!!! How fair is that?? Simply disgusting and pathetic behavior by Congress and it’s crony supporters.
These “professors” mentioned above would do themselves a favour to not engage in dishonest behaviour showing lack of integrity and poor character and show respect to the principles of ethics and integrity that they are supposed to uphold. By relying on rumour mills and false propaganda, they are bringing disrepute to the academic profession. After all, isn’t quest for science and knowledge about facts thorough and open minded and objective research and analysis to form objective, educated opinions based on facts??? These professors are engaging in propaganda out of their own personal biases and hatred and are using their positions to promote it in a very unprofessional and dishonest way. This should be condemned by all who support high academic standards!!!
As a NRI concerned about academic standards, I for one would never ever in my professional or personal career associate with people of such low morals and integrity…
Further noting:
#1 It’s also suspect that a lot of names are from the same university and directly points to some peer pressure tactics especially if pressure is suggestive and applied top down. Would an assistant/associate professor risk his/her tenure/funding by not being in the “good books” of a senior???
#2 I expect a follow on document/letter by the leaders of this group providing proof for substantiating with objective and fact based research these false allegations of interference, made in this letter namely academic freedom at risk: foreign scholars have been denied entry to India to attend international conferences, government demonstrating its disregard for human rights and civil liberties, as well as the autonomy of educational and cultural institutions. constriction of the space of civic engagement, ongoing violations of religious freedom, and a steady impingement on the independence of the judiciary. If I don’t see the proof, then I will personally sue the leaders of this group for misrepresentation leading to defamation and lack of adherence to academic standards of ethics, honesty, and integrity and abuse of position and power.
Way to go. Every right thinking Indian will support you in exposing these curs
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh permitted Amartya Sen to appoint an unqualified Gopa sabharwal to the prestigious post of Vice Chancellor at a hugely inflated, arbitrarily fixed salary.
Gopa Sabharwal, in her turn, appointed her girl-friend as her “advisor” at a hugely inflated salary, and she also, as a quid pro quo, appointed Manmohan Singh’s daughter to the post of a professor!
All three friends were permitted to work from their houses in Delhi and loot the tax payers’ money.
Kudos to you Sir for your excellent rebuttal !
Very well said. You have spoken for a lot of us & exposed these obnoxius leftist “professors” who have actually asked Sillicon valley not to work with India. This makes them nothing but Anti-India, Anti- progress of India & Anti-Indians. Ethics, honesty & Integrity is alien to this herd of Commies.
When you see cases like Mrs Irani as MHRD , resignations of key academic leaders from the Chairman of the Board of Governors of IITBombay to the IIT Delhi Director and the NCERT Director and even the Chairman of the National Book Trust, persons coming in like Mr Girish Chander Tripathi, Mr Y Sudershan Rao, Baldev Sharma, Nihlani, Mukesh Khann, Gajendra Chauhan – it raises certain doubts. The academicians have written an honest petition and have a right to do so.
Your reply is vindictive.
Very well said. It should be a class action law suit against these haters as they are internationally maligning the image of the ruling party in India and its visionary leader.
Yeah, it would be nice to drag some of these so called professors. Lets them have some taste of accountability.
excellent reply!!
The comments you see are not from Modi fans. Its from proud Indians who are angry at the lies being spewed by these anti-india elements to defame the country, its culture and to distort its history. You don’t have to be a Modi fan to see this..just do some research with India in your heart. Only someone with ethics will get angry at relentless lies being spread by these hate mongers..those who live the life of lies won’t get effected..just calling these commentators Modi fan is not enough..understand what they are saying and where they are coming from. These are people who have realized they have been lied to for most of their life.
Exactly…you nailed it!!
Well written post. UPA ten years ruinned our culture.
http://www.nationmaster.com/country-info/stats/Crime/Rape-rate
Yes, agreed with you. The link with statistics is for the person who was talking about ‘India’s problems’ especially respect for women…
you are another Shri Narendra Modi & Hindu hater
Wait, here are statistics for rape in different countries, just compare India and Europe or the US…respect for women again?
I cannot disagree with you. What exactly have we got from Modi, apart from slogans and hype, …..I do not find any abiding values or practices introduced by him really. Is he not just another of the willy politicians who have probably proved more successful in manipulating power!
You seem to be the type who keeps his eyes and ears shut, and still pontificates. Just let some information in, and you will see what Modi is doing to India. He can do more if Congress cooperates. India first, anyone?
They have shown the contempt and ridicule they deserve by making false accusations against Modijee. No need to give reply to such baseless accusations against a democratically elected Prime Minister by a bunch of educated fools who have nothing to do with India.
U.S. Should check the internet history of this perverted desi professors most of them are sexual addicts what voice these English professors and psychology professors to talk about technology most of their children will be sex or drug addicts or married to white or black and divorced shame on you Jai Chands
What a wonderfully reasoned response! Balanced, objective and thoroughly reasonable. How can anyone after reading your well thought out opinions still have the conviction to oppose anything Narenbhai does?
@Chandu, looks like you are masquerading under a hindu name and trolling every comment. Your only aim is to hate Narendra Modi. And like you there would be thousands whose only aim would be to support Narendra Modi. You are going to have a miserable life encountering these thousand Bhakts. BTW are you a congress/Sonia Bhakt who is masquerading under a hindu name here!
Good that we have list of these names which includes many persons of Indian origin. I have a request for them-please never come back to India. We Indians here have changed our course i.e. of development and self respect. We have voted Narendra Modi by giving his party absolute majority in the Indian parliament. Before giving us sermons on civil liberty and human rights, respect democracy and democratically elected govt. We understand some of yours latent love for communism, which makes you unable to digest the massive mandate India has given. To make facts clear, your statement contains baseless allegations and false notions. There is no case even remotely linked to Gujrat riots linking Modi is pending in any court of law. IIT, TIFR, IIMs are as pure as before. No foreign scholar has been denied entry. You have falsely accused of interference in judiciary, which no govt can do. We support restriction of NGOs that spearhead antinational movements, naxalism and evangelism with huge foreign donations. Modi is visiting USA as head of state to advance the cause of India and carrying our gratitude to hundreds of Indians who have made a mark in Sillicon Valley. Spreading falsehood denigrates your own country and President Obama also understands how crooked you people are. We don’t need you anymore here, your intelligence is menace for the whole world.
I expected better from academics. That is having a open mind. Even though all of you hate Modi to the core, you should have taken your time and watched all his speeches which are available on YouTube. He has exhorted for women rights, cleanliness, Dalits, poor, casteless society and so many other progressive ideas. Only persons with closed minds would have written this one-sided fact less tirade
You can’t get tenure by having an ‘open mind’. ‘Academia’ hardly qualifies for the respect भारत has historically placed on learning.
(@Chandu: Chomsky agrees.)
Bravo
The Techies of Silicon Valley are true revolutionaries .They do not give speeches or make false promises .They do not monopolize knowledge but deliver it to your fingertips .Thereby, lifting the the curtain off the dark ages and the controlled media ,that in the past has made heroes out of zeroes .Does not matter whether they are recognizing Modi or Modi is recognizing them…it is time to feel proud ,as Indians ,that the world today recognizes, for our brain power…after 67 wasted years since independence !Do not talk of Gujrat riots without talking about the massacres in 1947 and 1984 .Even the Brits to their credit ,held inquiry into 1919 Jallianwalla massacre. Give Modi a chance…or you have an option throw him out in four years !….A Silicon Valley Indian
The list is filled with hateful regressive group of people.Nothing more.My fellow Indians have articulated clearly above whats wrong and unacceptable with this list of hatemongers.I will resist myself from repeating them.Nothing can stop Mr Modi from continuing with his hard work of development and progress for India, the largest democracy in the world.Mr Modi got the highest mandate in 30 yrs.All the elites on this list are burning with jealousy and feel helpless that a man born in a poor family to a mother who was working as a maid to raise her children.This list of elitists are potentially going to loose the generous share of the wealth generated by numerous scams under previous corrupt UPA regime of India. Unfortunately, this kind of ill advised attempts will be defeated by large majority of citizens in welcoming a great leader who liberated India from the clutches of corrupt bureaucracy and nepotism to build a true inclusive transparent democracy.
One of the things that I like about Modi is his guts/courage to take head-on with so called intellectual elitists or bogged down by their opinions. Best example is Amartya Sen. Of course he is great in his own field of work but was an utter failure when it comes to Nalanda university. No one can continue forever on past laurels, why should it be different for intellectual elitists ? I guess, what makes this group worry is the “RESERVATION” of high posts that they enjoyed even after continued failure just because of the intellectual tag during earlier governments.
It is funny this elitists group hates to look at anything good that he does and pick only on the failures. It looks so biased when all of them wake-up and team-up on a failure and keep mum for rest of the time when things are going good.
What a hatred. I can imagine how your hearts are burning in hatred. Be sure to watch Modi’s silicon valley reception and speech and burn more. Please share your reactions after that, I really enjoy when you anti indian thinkers and traitors suffer
WHO CARES ABOUT THESE GARBAGE ACADEMIA – THEY ARE ALL FROM USELESS DEPARTMENTS/FIELDS – NO ENGINEERING/MEDICINE ACADEMIA SO WHO CARES
This derogatory article of a smear campaign against Modi, Hinduism, India is exactly what I expected from the US India Studies Academia-Industry. They are the last champions of their colonial masters And Eurocentric hatred of living native civilizations and traditions. They earn their bread and butter from hate speeches again people like Modi and misportrayal of Hinduism. It will be amusing to see them stoop even lower… As I am sure they are fully capable of.
Nations and traditions that are built on mountains of corpses, genocides, ethnic cleansing, racial supremacy, exclusivist salvationism and juvenile history-centric prophetic revelations want to teach us “Human Rights”… Very Interesting indeed.
Very well said. Satyamev Jayate
Political nature of statement is evident from the titles of Academia Signatories. Where are the technocrats/entrepreneurs maybe they are all for the visit.
What a bunch of croc. Most people on the list are non-entities and seem to want a piece of the limelight through such statements, dressed up as expressions of concern.
It’s a cosy life — striking leftist positions while choosing to live in the beating heart of world capitalism and making no effort to come back (the justification usually being that academic life and academic research requires them to be abroad).
These NRI academics really need to get a life
Did these people the signatories to the above questions on alleged conduct of PM Narendra Modi when thousands of innocent Iraqi people, people of Afghanistan were raieded bombed with all modern warfare machinery at their command by the western powers USA, Britan, France etc asked any questions and did they seek proceedings against them for genocide of these innocents.
Common you educated men of repute why can’t move for genocide against those leaders as even now people in these countries are languishing in inhuman state.
It is good we have an exhaustive list of the minuscule anti-India, Hindu hating population living in the US and working as foot soldiers for propagating a distorted global view about India and Hinduism in particular, in the garb of South Asian Studies. The agenda intent and covert strategy is well exposed by Mr. Rajiv Malhotra of Infinity foundation in his various books published and in particular the book “Breaking India”. Not bad to get a ready list of Breaking India stalwarts as well as their despicable foot soldiers.
How long will these people peddle their hateful lies against India’s democratically elected leader? Do court rulings mean nothing to them? Interesting that not a single Engineering / Science professor has joined this hategroup.
Dear Indians,
Lets all attend this talk by PM Narendra Modi in Huge numbers to make it a grander success than his NYC show.Already ally of my 78 friends acquaintances in Silicon valley are very much excited by this and plan to attend his talk.Come along with your whole family,Friends,Relatives. Thank you all
By all means, welcome Modi. I like his Hindi rhetoric though much of it not understood nor necessary, but sounds great. He had 15 months to show something tangible except catchy Hindi slogans and gas cylinder subsidy to surrender! He seems brainy for his background but undeserved by substandard PMO, and even less brainy cabinet colleagues. Modi seems to suffer some hidden complex that he did not choose really great guys to help him in policy making and implementation strategies – looks he does not want anyone around with greater brain power than him!
You are so wrong. The transformation of India is on course. Financial inclusion has begun to happen. The bureaucracy is slowly but surely getting tamed and being made accountable. The corruption at the top has ended. Micro-corruption will soon come to an end as digitalisation initiatives begins to bear fruit. The Silicon Valley trip is critical for that reason too. And this whole argument that it will allow ‘government’ to keep tab over citizens is pure BS in an age where Google and Facebook have nearly full access to our ‘private’ lives and the patterns they follow. Things are getting increasingly transparent these days to the extent people want them to be transparent. So, all this fake fear mongering simply betrays an ‘elitist’ mindset.
The problem with you is that you don’t understand much of what he speaks in Hindi nor are you aware of the lot of work he has done in the past 15 months apart from urging well-to-do Indians to surrender their cooking gas subsidy so that it can be passed on to more deserving people. Now he can’t appoint academicians as his cabinet colleagues, can he? He has to appoint from among the people that have been elected from his party. And more than being brainy, it is the intentions that matter more. They are all well-intentioned people and striving to make a difference. What use are brainy people like Amartya Sen? You also appear to be a little biased against him.
You shameless Indian, go and learn Hindi language instead of taking pride in not learning Hindi. Remember Hindi is a national language of India.
@Yash: No Hindi is not the National Language. Just because North Indians decided to coalesce all their regional pidgins into Hindustani does not make it any more special than it is (no Hindi is not a classical language). Hindi for all practical purposes is Avadhi chewed out by a Persianized elite.
Our only link to your world is via Sanskrit.
I fail to understand how a bunch of so called ‘Intelligencia’ continue to abuse the will of the people of the largest democracy ! How these people (Mis)guided by their commie ideologies can continue to peddle lies like ‘for there is an active case in Indian courts that questions his handling of riots…’ I would love to tell this misinformed gang of commies that the fiercely independent Supreme Court of India, the highest judicial authority has in an independent enquiry supervised by it found That the PM of India was not be held responsible.. Even after the courts rejecting this fanciful story that the commies have been spreading, even after the electorate in India giving the PM n his party a BIG thumbs up.
I know some ppl will call me abusive when I see all this but honestly if their thick heads can’t get some simple facts clear n they continue to spread lies and hatred about India and the democratically elected PM of India, they deserve no better !!!
Fabulous and well analysed. Any criticism against Modi is met with uncalled for abusive responses from his social media managers and from the followers of anti-democratic, anti-socialist Modisms in India (as can even be seen on this page). Glad that there will be voices from outside that will keep alive the injustices of this human being, even if he, as the head of this Govt., throttles freedom of press by buying them off and freedom of speech by imposing laws and regulations or simply threats and force. While he makes a PR event and tamasha of himself, this megalomaniac can arrange for any number of cloaked ‘PM’s meets’ and Times Square Meets or Indian Community outreaches in his foreign visit blitzkreig, but truth will need to prevail… Kudos to the members who have signed the above…
Oha cry madam cry .
Pls do not visit India if you hate our majority elected PM. Thank god such so called educted writing totally false petition against PM of India are defaming a nation which they left long ago and spreading vemon against PM Modi ji whose is honest to the core works 18 daily for nation.
Are your sensibilities getting consumed by modi’s success ??please have the patience for it to consume you fully.
Where is the analysis madam?It seems you are an intern under one of these troll professors.
It is naive to simply believe that they have signed without tangible consideration. None of them are techies and Remember they have chosen America over India to settle in their lives. Not because of Modi.!!
Ms Rekha Rao, Go and embrace ISIS and you will love their treatment to you. We do not need brainless intellectuals in India.
This has been entirely written by a Prof Amartya sen and signed by his cronies whom he appointed in various US univ.
After being replaced after 2nd term from Nalanda University, he is doing all silly and immature things to sully most hardworking, selfless, Nationalist PM india has ever seen.
Even whole world acknowledges it from rulers of Arab to USA president yet Amartya sen does such abominable acts of stupidity which makes me doubt his Noble ‘acceptability’
When Supreme Court of India has found nothing against him after 8 yrs of investigation, then who is Amartya sen to doubt it? Is he and his cronies ( proxies is the better word) are above Supreme court of India? They must say this before uttering anything on Judgement else ‘ contempt of Court case should be slapped oon these bunch of looser!
This statement looks issued by genetically realigned ChristIsslamic Modi haters on behest of Italian Gangesters of 10 Janpath.
Excellent response, Mr. Das. This is why we need to stop the techies. They are ‘genetically realigning’ Christians and Muslims into Modi-haters. Surely worthless Humanities professors do not know the technology for genetic realignment.
Great reply
All false, baseless and unproved allegations parroted since 2002 against our PM Modi. This clearly is a propaganda by the leftist anti India group most of whom have been misled to sign the petition. Their effort will miserably fail.
Faulty Statement on Narendra Modi Visit to Silicon Valley
Take the C out of Faculty
amartya sen should have signed , not get his lackeys involved.
Neither do we need Modi’s lackeys here to bark for him!
amartya sen is himself lackeys of Rothschild family. His thesis of absolving off Brits for genocide of millions of Bengalis during famine was torn apart by Shashi Tharoor a few months ago in Britain itself. Sen must be spinning his head disgrace now.
Amartya Sen is the most dishonest man I have seen at that level who appointed an un-qualified Gopa Sabharwal as VC of Nalanda. What a shame !
Here is the list of Jaichands and Mirjafars.
Great one liner. Especially Indian Hindu women professors are the worst in that list.
Misogyny much ? People like you make progress for level-headed people very difficult.
Poison troll ?
The suggestion that there is greater constraints put on the press is a load of rubbish! I have not noticed any diminution in India as regards critique of Modi or NDA Government or coverage of critical comments by his political rivals! Where were these enlightened geniuses when similar environment or worse existed under Congress Govt. At least Modi has submitted to legal examination of his conduct of 2002 riots which is more than can be said of Rajiv Gandhi and his political heir, the much respected Sonia Gandhi! This article is just political point scoring and will have no effect beyond the chattering classes! All I can say to these scribes is to accept the democratic mandate of world’s largest polity with grace and get a life!
Looking at the list of the petitioners, one thing is immediately obvious. They are all from humanities background. There is a disproportionate representation of Women and Gender studies, followed by English and History.No STEM academics here.
It is a clear demonstration of the intellectual and cutural malaise that infests the centres for Humanities studies in India, which convert bright young people into deracinated sepoys, training them to view their own societies through alien eyes and minds.
what a load of crap!! So now that we have all the names under one umbrella of those who hate Modi so much that it overtakes their love for the Nation ! a obsession that has now been shaped into a art! Each of you sitting there as professors and teachers who should have been teaching children -students as Gurus that every issue has FACTS behind it and a perspective that there are motives and agendas that drive people’s hatred… instead are steeped in that hatred… what kind of open mindedness, drive for truth and ethics will these kind of professors ever be able to teach!!! How sad that those who are to be educated are caught up in their own whorls of hatred for Modi!!!
What a load of BS. Article is full of bias and hatres.Cant believe professors to be so dumb. Or they simply anti Modi and cant tolerate a strong leader?
What these Indian sepoys want ? I will definitley go and support modi now.
I have read the said blog with interest and am amazed at how such a biased and one sided piece has found active support and consent of so many academics working at such internationally acclaimed institutions. Surely, this is a sad reflection on these institutions as well as well as the institutions where these academics have studied for such institutions have shaped the thinking of these individuals. Am also saddened to find so many Indians among the signatories, for whom deriding their own country is a way to get recognition amongst other countrymen. One wonders as to what kind of Agenda they have behind such malicious propaganda pushed as a ‘researched’ piece. Surely, rising to higher positions in academic institutions is no guarantee of such persons having independence of thought, commitment to objectivity, fairness and the ability of rising above narrow self interest and keeping the well being of people at large in mind. Seems it is too much to expect nowadays..
I would encourage other people from the same institutions to put in a bit of research to see the malafide behind such a regressive piece and come out with a counter piece to preserve the reputation of your institutions..
“….for whom deriding their own country is a way to get recognition amongst other countrymen.” Well said. Recognition, grants, awards, promotions and so many other goodies to be earned.
Why does not India has even One University amongst the top 100 Universities in the world? Look at you guys, you the reason for that degradation of Sanatan values. You people rejoice by Macaulays destruction of Gurukuls and preach Indians from abroad.
Those opposing Modi’s visit to Silicon Valley are not related to science and technology, they’re just from art and humanity subjects and these subjects has no contribution to advancement of human race. These idler are spending huge amount of taxpayer’s money for nothing. So these morons should stay at home when Modiji visit there.
I would not undermine their contribution. Their contribution is distorting history and belittling eastern civilization..so the future generations including Indians think they are from the land of nomads and ok to have inferiority complex. These people working together as group can do more damage to society then dictators like Hitler.
Respected Professors
Kindly permit me to ask a few questions. And also make a couple of recommendations.
Why such hatred?
Why such disregard for facts?
Why such disrespect for the nation’s mandate to rule?
Why such love for hearsay?
Why such keenness to to misinterpret every intent?
Why such joy in embracing an irrelevant leftist mindset?
Why such pleasure in spreading canard?
Instead, why don’t you channelize your intellectual capital to ensure that your concerns on privacy of information are heard and addressed?
And why don’t you consider leaving judgements to the Courts of Law and the Indian voters?
Jai Hind!
Exactly!
Bravo. Very well said.
Especially Indian Hindu women intellectuals are the worst enemies of India and NaMo.
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What a bunch of hypocrites… I worry for the students under the guidance of these professors. Write utter crap without any evidence to back it up and use your position to undermine someone. Nalanda University interference- bloody hell, instead of questioning Amartya Sen for misusing half a billion dollars of Indian tax-payer’s money, dude is signing on petition. Ignorance is bliss.
The content of their letter exposed them completely. Letter says that they have hardly any concern about privacy but only issue is,”Digital India” must not become a success and Silicon Valley should be stopped to help India achieve this target,though Silicon Valley is not doing it for free.They want to stop Modi to succeed even if it comes at expense of a billion Indian who are craving for better services,jobs etc. We must not spare them .. spread their name in social media. Educate whoever you meet about these ’eminent’ people’s intention to harm India and Indians.
Great, I could not have said it better !!!
This article reflects the collective paranoia borne out of a fear of dismantling the established order of which these illiberal were part of. The vested interest in sustaining the status quo of the Indian mind is a self-fulfilling prophesy for these self-coronated ‘intellectuals’. The ‘alternative’ order already upon us is what scares these sick minds who chosen shamelessly to serve as perfect fodder for the designs of Macaulay. Alas. NAMO is simply unstoppable and will soon make every Indian here or abroad either cringe with shame or preen with pride.
These westernized so called intellectuals/academics have held Indian academic institutes hostage for decades and naturally it is not possible for them to see and digest loosening of their stranglehold . They are totally unaware of ground realities and aspirations of Indian masses who needed a change desperately. They should better leave Indians to decide their fate themselves .India is proud to have elected Modi as their leader who is doing so well.
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The above comments by the ‘Modi-brigade’ are the best example of the threat our nation faces from these lumpens. Yes, article is all factually correct. Modi has shown no traces of leadership in last one year. The idiots, who argue the we had aeroplanes in ancient india, are our leaders now. And, before you say so, this is not a defence of the Congress government. At fundamental level, it is Congress’s (and the left’s) statist and bureaucratic policies that have led us on this path. Control-freak and authoritarian Modi is just the logical conclusion of all that has gone before. But, yes, you stupid Modi-supporters are way more dangerous than anything past. Kudos to these professors!!
YES we are lumpens and you are stooges of Amartya Sen who usurped 2500 crores in Nalanda University projects in India.Now when Govt starts investigation on hs corrupt deeds he started petition brigand.
Dear Shashank,
On one hand you agree that congress and left responsible for the pathetic state of India before Modi arrived then how can you no agree to the landslide victory. Please read some good books on the matter of excesses of American intellectuals who unwisely mess in other country affairs.
US and Europe are suffering now because their politicians meddled in other countries affairs for long. The migrant problem they are facing now is the result. Europe will in day to come will face the worst humanitarian crises ever.
At least the academics should not more careful..
Shiva
Shashank,
The language that you used shows utter frustration and burning. Did you have similar frustration while the government was almost non-functional for about 10 years under Manamohan Singh? What is burning you so bad?
That’s how you treat contrarian opinion, by calling them names. You should not be so dismissive of such claims. Such treaties do exist that indicate Indians had thought of ‘Vaimanik Shashtras’. And so far, neither in Gujarat nor in Delhi we have found Modi to be a control freak. He has always delegated responsibilities. We have not seen any authoritarian streak in him either. He is a hard-core federalist. His government has not used Article 356 so far to dismiss governments that do not see eye to eye with him. This is remarkable. He has given greater share to the states in the central tax pie, following a uniform policy that’s non-discretionary. These are huge achievements. And you know these Commie professors are talking through their hat following a certain agenda.
Very well said.
@Shashank, What data you have to conclude the Modi is authoritarian a control freak. Do you know anything about the Indian National Congress party? Do you know who runs it? Do you know how long a single family has run it? Do you understand what 60 years mean?
Even yesterday, the Sufi Muslim leaders, after having the PM, commented that -” Here is a person whom we didn’t vote but still had the mind to listen to us. In the past we had supported certain people but they never spoke to us. He doesn’t need us, but still he spoke to us.” I guess that says a lot about what Mr.Modi is as a PM.
Are you an Indian or an American? If you are not an Indian, please F#%#K off from here.
Shashank, what makes you believe these STUPID professors???
No surprises here, the remnants of the once flourishing anti-Modi cottage industry is doing what it does best. Make allegations with high on rhetoric but nothing concrete and hoping it will stick….if not at least stain. Most if not all the signatories have always been known Modi-bashers, leftists and anti-BJP folks and seem to be clutching at straws to continue to do so.
Consider the larger picture, the real motivations in this anti-Modi charade: The so-called South Asian “academics” here are worried that the Christian agenda in India has been stopped in its tracks by the emergence of the Modi government. Digital India campaign started long before Modi came to power and nobody from this cabal came out with any concerns then. Why? Because India then was effectively ruled by the de facto agents of the Vatican in India: Sonia and Rahul. The academics’ sophistry in this factually incorrect and emotionally charged campaign hides these real motivations for continuously bashing Mr. Modi and his government. The likes of Wendy Doniger are out to malign Hinduism, not protect India’s civil liberties, which, no doubt, rank much higher than in Western countries in a number of ways.
Wow so many troublemakers! Not a single person from science and technology background. Nobody contributes to the US economy, instead, surviving on funds from US govt. Useless fellows who are full on propaganda.
These so called intellectuals exposed themselves. Sen. & gang at work.
One conclusion I can draw from this article is that Mr Modi, the perfect PM India never had before has brought the haters and traitors out in open so people of India and all Indians living in U.S. can see. They have received a firm message from the comments here that 99.9% comments are pro Modi which is a firm message to them that their dirty tactics won’t work because every Indian knows what Modi is and what he stands for. No false propaganda will impact any of the opinions.
Lots of sane and scholarly people and I mean more educated than the uneducated bunch who has filed the petition have cited important facts which need to be publicized so these biggots are exposed to the western society as well. The bunch and their institutions need to be prosecuted for defaming the Indian prominent leader and malign India’s image globally.
If they had the littlest sense they would know that the government of United States also looks up to Mr Modi as a global leader and have established a hotline for direct communication between India and U.S. under Modi’s leadership. U.S. has given this privilege to only four countries and India is one of them. They would not have done it if they had the littlest doubt about Modi’s characterq or leadership.
Instead of feeling proud these haters have gone through such extent to hurt every Indian that cares for and loves India. Shame on those institutions who have employed these individuals who don’t know facts about their statements. Every sane Indian living in U.S. should write to the institution associated with these people and express concerns about their academia. I certainly would not send my children to these schools to get education.
Great response.
This is a handy list of Islamist scum, commies and NRI sepoys. It is reminiscent of the list of members of the Indian parliament who petitioned the US government against allowing Modi into the US.
True…
The “anti-India frauds” try and attack our beloved PM… nasties will learn the lesson!
All signatory names noted by 125Cr PpL of India…
I dont think those are from India.Those are belongs to IS school of thought and thank God they are not in India.For any problem to them India should not help those anti nationals.
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Most of these perverts are having their jobs as so called critic and leftist from india. These guys have to earn their money by taking a virew which puts them intelligentsia. Don’t abuse these poor souls. This is their bread and butter, so don’t fault them. Yes, pity these beggars.
These professors are the anti-Hindu professors who work against Hinduism with no academic or educational rational behind their words. These people work for money to spread baseless information for meeting their political ends and attack Hindus.
I think due to jealousy this notification comes out. They felt themselves more brainy Indian by staying abroad.By digital India their importance will be no more.Nobody in India try to go away from the country.But those hindering people trying their every possibility to block the development by campaigning anti anti India drives.I have doubt whether misleaded by so called destructive young opposition VP.
It is quite surprising that a lot list of ill informed academics have voiced their opinion on our PM, with neither basis, nor proof, and on some matters where the highest judiciary has already examined and passed judgement, exonerating the PM’s involvement, when the opposition was in power.
I also find it both pathetic and shameful that the signatories primarily comprise ‘India deserters’ who
have abandoned their motherland, adopted citizenship elsewhere, haven’t raised a finger to contribute to the welfare or growth of their country, and then choose to collectively slander an incorruptible, clean, efficient, and honest PM, who, most of the country think is the answer to their prayers, after 68 years of loot and maladministration, and rampant corruption.
They have neither the right nor the authority to comment!
From the list of Sepoys I notice that Amratya ‘Rothschild-Nussbaum” Sen is missing. Amartya my boy are you busy polishing the shoes? One Noble should do you good.
I wonder when these people were baring their fangs were they foaming at their mouth’s too?
Now Sunlight is the best disinfectant but these nocturnal pests do not wish to see sunlight and have a symbiotic behaviour on feeding on each other ego.
Also these academics, all of the above is a cabal/ cartel who work on the principle of hegemonic discourse. What is HEGEMONIC DISCOURSE you ask????
A hegemonic discourse is a body of ideas produced by an influential coterie of writers. The core ideas get restated over and over again, until they are seen as common knowledge. The group relies on a circle of mutually supportive reviews, and on one another’s institutional contacts and sources of patronage to gain leverage for their views. Under the guise of ‘peer reviews’, this process gives them the semblance of objectivity. As the process unfolds, there is less and less need to defend their positions, and anyone who tries to oppose faces a very heavy burden of proof. Their core thesis is increasingly taken for granted. This mode of thinking then gets implanted in other disciplines and into the mainstream. Even when fresh evidence or arguments come along to challenge it, it continues to live because it is embedded and has momentum.
So effectively they will scratch each others back and tar Modi as a vile HINDOO (sic) fanatic. Problem solved.
However the problem is NOT solved as the many like me have seen what these Sepoys are and they will only wilt away sooner rather than later.
So Jai Bharat, Jai Sanatan Dharma, Jai Modi. The intellectual dharma yudh has started.
Learned something! Hegemonic Discourse. Thanks.
Shows 1 can learn from everything, even crap articles and petitions.
The Intellectual Dharma Yudh has started. These academic hinduphobics have exposed themselves by signing this utterly stupid petition. They may not have yet read ‘Rearming Hinduism” by Professor Vamsee Julury. If they did they would not have been so foolish as to sign on a trashy one.
Thank for the article, your intelligence exposed.
A peculiar phenomenon I noticed here is that in this long list of professers hating Modi, not a single one is from STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics). All of them are from Humanities ,disciplines, which depend on scraps thrown by donors (mostly Saudis) for their existence; and more than half of these so called professors are “English” professors, a discipline which exist only to provide employment to Liberal arts students.
Could anyone explain this phenomenon to me?
There have been ~11,000 ethnic riots in India since 1947, some bloodier than the one in 2002, and most under Congress government. Did you all just wake up from a deep slumber? Or, are you so blatantly biased that you cannot face the truth? Worse yet, so “sold out” that truth has no relevance to your lives?
NAMO’s welcome in Madison Garden is a slap on to the face of these libtards, I am amazed that they are still stuck in GUJ 2002, the country has moved on which shows how far away these people are from reality.
Wow!! This is really interesting, do people know anything about digital communication? And have people forgotten about wiki leaks and what was revealed about the US government, and its tactics to control the public. But more importantly, are we forgetting the RTI, Right to Information in India? And oh, are we worried that this will actually block those who want to harm India?
Step 1: Offer an Indian a scholarship at a US University.
Step 2: Dangle a carrot and get the candidate to take up an anti India position.
It always works. Unfortunately there are enough low lives who would not think twice of defaming, lying and generally being sepoys against India for a few flight tickets and hotel fares. Shame.
Sugata Bose is a living example!
This is a very amusing point of view from “professors” who have no qualification in the subject matter of digital and internet technology. Among the 125, only Prof. Sampath Kannan, if at all, may have some inkling of the technology. Others’ opinions are like sewer plumbers’ “profound” wisdom on brain surgery – rehashing lot of same old lies with no expertise in the actual subject matter. It is amazing level of scholarship only Western education is capable of producing when these professors behave like sheep and permit themselves to be led by equally mentally troubled fellows like a Wendy and a Pollack, and possibly a single CIA agent directing all. Our royals and their handlers have displayed themselves as wearing the finest transparent clothes. Karma is at its play.
“We urge those who lead Silicon Valley technology enterprises to be mindful….”. Nice threat. Silicon Valley companies perhaps should route their foreign business proposals through these ivory tower “eminents” (all specialising in arts & humanities and scornful of Indian electoral democracy) for approval.
Useless biased anti Hindu anti India bunch of low levels of intelligence and high levels of hatred for all original Indian ideas and cultural ethos. Terrified at the high level of penetration these dirt bags have managed in the the academia field in India and out of India. India needs to have a violent brutal purging of these elements. Hope pro Hindu organisations stop their love of Gandhian measures and start emulating hanuman Krishna chanakya and shivaji’s way of forceful elimination of traitors and antinationals
Even as a layman on E matters I can say without doubt that the contents of the letter are far removed from facts about India or the Indian Government under Shri Modi. The openions too don’t seem to be that of mainstream Indians as is evident from the disproportionate number of Christian, Muslim, Bengali and American petitioners. The petition does not sound representative but rather politically motivated.
You forget two important Bengali …..Sugata Bose and Amatya “Rothschild – Nussbaum” Sen. They are conspicuously absent from signing this.
Basic problem is the arrogance of these so called scholars who think their narrow minded opinion must be acknowledged as fact. Billion Plus Indians have spoken. With approval rating of 89% , PM Modi is a man of vision rooted in soil and its civilization which gave shelter to persecuted Jews, Zoroastrians, Christians and even the Muslims belonging to Mohammad’s family. No other race or country have replicated such generosity. Only the paid up folks with ulterior motive with Anti Indian state and civilization agenda will write this nonsensical appeal and that too in familiar language and pattern used by India’s mortal enemies since Indian Independence from imperial Britain. This idiotic, comical outburst of so called scholars deserve the contempt shown here by variety of Indians.
Lets see: The statement seeks to:
(a) create an issue about digital privacy;
(b) create a negative association with PM Modi, repeating failed (even at the judiciary and parliament-commissions levels) shibboleths;
(c) create FUDs – Fear Uncertainty & Doubt – about the use of digital data maliciously
(d) create FUDs about academic appointments & the current government.
The statement is puerile, and is pathetic – in that academics who should uphold scholarship and seek truth, instead seek refuge in partisanship under the cloak of academic-freedom, and seek to uphold a flawed narrative while attempting to beat down new contrarian scholarship.
Well, now I know which faculty and at which university should be held in contempt.
Let these pseudo-intellectuals stay back in US of A and pollute that land instead of my backyard. I really wonder what exactly is the agenda of this bunch of guys – do they think that they still are dealing with British India or are they still under the illusion that India is still under the rule of the family that was planted in India by the coloniasts? Whatever it may be by these utterances of theirs they are digging the graves of their ‘Akkas’ deeper – so deep that those maggots will never again come to the surface.
That’s a lot of dhimmis in one petition. Always amusing when useful idiots out themselves. They inevitably stifle free speech. No wonder there’s a growing chorus about the lack of space for non-leftist thought and expression in academia and campuses.
Sheldon Pollock and Wendy Doniger have orchestrated this petition. They represent the Breaking India (Rajiv Malhotra’s book) that do not want to see India succeed. Their hateful and hurtful writings speak to this. The article clearly points to how threatened they feel about a Hindu leader, P. M Modi, who is taking back Indian control of its agencies and governmental bodies that western forces controlled. The millions of dollar spent by Sen at Nalanda with nothing to show for it are examples of what they would like to perpetuate – wasteful and unproductive, to keep India down.
This petition is a pathetic, petulant cry from them to keep the lion of India from waking up Indians. Indians. especially the NRIs, need to unite under Modi’s India instead of joining the US breaking India forces – no matter what academic positions are offered to them by the jealous American academe. Taking money and favours from those who do not wish India well amounts to taking bribes and hurting your motherland. We only have Indians to blame – they are acting like the Indian sepoys of the British rule that shot their own people at the order to the British rulers. Have some pride and love for your motherland, its shameful to hide behind academia to hurt your own country. Anyways, you are outnumbers by Desh Bhakts who now know the truth about this anti-India agenda. Please focus of dealing with the US’s 18 trillion dollar deficit – attacking a friend like India is counterproductive and only shows your shallow and hollow plateform. Jai Hind.
Anti India propaganda of people who lost their roots and still live in colonial and Nehruvian mentality. Left the country and settled in US and influence others. These are the people who hate to see India progress. These are same as the bunch we have in India like congress party led Pseudo Gandhis,:Lallus, CPM including Senile Sen (Nalanda Fame) and many others
what a load of garbage from these commies, leftists and islamists, xtians and a few khalsa fellows – all from liberal arts. do not contribute a cent to the economy and paid by our tax money. Their opinion is not worth the paper it is written on. Their opinion does not count and they are that useless commie
Amartya Sen’s acolytes. If Sen had some decency he would own up for his incompetency in trying to set up a university. What a rascal Sen was?
I am a Professor in Heart Surgery in a American University and I am appalled to see where my tax dollars are going to support these useless bunch of liberal art academia- doing useless work.
Even heart surgeons need to learn how to write. Perhaps you hate liberal arts so much that you decided to avoid learning how to write legible English sentences? It is truly fascinating how much the hateful comments prove what the faculty letter is saying about the rise of intolerance under the Modi regime.
@mmj@sangh.in,
You can take pride in writing legible and grammatically correct Queen’s english, for that is your native language. As for we Indians, we are content with our brand of “Inglish”. It serves us well to transact business and get on with life. And about the rise of Intolerance, please @#$@-lick Wendy Doniger to write a ‘Liberal’ book psychoanalyzing Mohammed or Christ. I would then await to see how much we hindus have been intolerant as compared to muslims and christians.
All the signatories of this Sonia Gandhi sponsored article have their one leg in US 2015 one in India 1905. These shameless bunch of illiterates like the Rajiv/Sonia Gandhi slave the lumpen Mani Shankar Aiyer are unable to swallow that a tea seller on railway platforms has become the most respected Prime Minister of India at home and abroad. All that can said of this ridiculous article and to the writers is that you keep on burning your soul because unless you bow your head to Narendra Modi you deserve your living hell as long as you live. The coconut Bobby Jindal is much the same idiot as the Italian Thief Sonia Gandhi’s India hating American Indian supporters are. So you jerks can take one big hike. LONG LIVE INDIA & AND LONG LIVE THE GLORIOUS HISTORY OF INDIA. Vande Mataram!
It is a matter of shame that these pseudo-academics cannot see the writings on the Wall. I am sure they are ignorant, biased and perhaps timid. They were sent this to sign and put their name. They did so timidly without thinking and analysing the wordings in the article. If they had done so they would have been real academic and proudly had refused to sign this junk. May God save these educational institution where we have such scholars teaching the next generation of American youth. It is not going to affect India at all; because Indian even under foreign survived and kept its philosophy intact. Now that India is free these pseudo academics will choke with their own hatred of India. As Indian scriptures teach us ‘Hatred is the poison that eats the very basis of Humanity in us.” “Serve bhavantu sukhnam” Let there be peace all over the world.
What a sad day to see so many NRIs working against Indian Prime Minister who has dedicated his time and energy for the development of India. Here is a person who has vision and courage to follow his vision for advancing India. And, he is supported by millions inside and outside of India.
By the way, he is duly elected by Indian people and cleared of all malicious charges by Indian Judiciary. And there is not one case where he tried to generate illegal wealth for himself or his family.
Ravi Seru
Vancouver, Canada
Looks like this is some kind of malicious signature campaign that ur doing. Influenced by some Anti India forces
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This article officially exposes some members of the anti India nexus which conspires along with other anti India interests in the world (including within India ) Yes India still has to improve a lot in various fields but Modi government is making tremendous progress in the right direction.
They want slave India and not independent ,civilizationally rooted India .Any talk or mention of Indian civilisation by its people or leader send shiver down their spine.
This blog shows the blood of corruption dripping through pens of these signatories. They look like the beneficiaries of the corruption by their parents to fund their high cost education in USA . A government hospital requires 1 billion rupees where a private hospital requires 10 percent of that to build the same infrastructure. That means the money which could feed One Hundred thousand people for full one year was stashed away by corrupt politicians and administrative officers, who, I suspect, are their parents. This is just an example, in fact trillions of rupees have been taken away from the poor people of India.
In Coal mines Narendra Modi collected 3000 billion rupees by auctioning just 15 % of blocks. These Coal Blocks were given free for mining by corrupt Government 3 years back. This money can feed all of the poor 1 billion people of India for 3 months at the basic level. Indian people were denied that. Similar collection is coming from 4 G Spectrum Auctions.
This is the crime of Modi , he is snatching away the beef and wine from the claws of corruption. Modi lived like a beggar for 40 years. He lives like a saint now without any attachment even for his own salary, all of which he donated to the employees association when he left chief ministership of Gujarat. People will give thousands of dollars to have a cup of coffee with Obama, he accepted just plain water and fresh lime. He toured the world for nine days on the same diet. This is his crime because he brought shame to lavish eaters.
He is going to Silicon valley as a beggar to collect food and medicines, a better infrastructure for Indian poor, but these signatories can not accept it since they have the genes of their parents who thrived by sucking the blood of Indian Poor, who snatched food from the Indian Poor to fund the education and to feed their own children in USA. India is poor because of their corruption. An honest middle class Indian does not have the money to even visit USA, forget about education. These signatories are insulting the Indian People not just Modi. Modi is no person now, he is Indian Prime Minister, a leader of the majority of Indians.
These people, I challenge, should not accept any thing done by Modi or present Indian Government headed by Modi. They should not visit India till Modi is the head of Government.
Coming to the blogger, USA thrived on nurturing the terror and became a victim 14 years back to realize that terrorism is bad. You start hate India campaign now, to come begging to India after 14 years to realize that you made a mistake . 2 days back NASA has asked ISRO of Modi’s India to help it in future research following the Geostationary Satellite Launch with an Indian Cryogenic Stage.
ANY COMMENT TO BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY HAS TO BE BASED ON FACTS ON THE GROUND AND NOT ON VIEWS FROM FAR. THIS LETTER IS UTTER RUBBISH AND ALL INDIANS IN INDIA WHO VOTED FOR MODI DID SO BWCAUSE HE IS THE ONLY PERSON WHO CAN MAKE THE COUNTRY A SHOWPIECE GLOBALLY.HIS SUCCESS IS ACTUALLY GODSEND FOR A NATION SO BADLY MAULED,HURT AND EXPLOITED OVER SO MANY YEARS. A GOPAL
dude, if you had written in lower case, I might have completely disagreed. yes, shout real loud, and your opinions automatically become correct.
p.s. this is called sarcasm by the way, and it is used to tell you that your use of caps is unnecessary.
@mmj@sangh.in,
I guess you learnt your sarcasm under the foul smelling ass of the British. Good for you, for now you can unleash it on uncouth Indians who don’t have the proper blogging etiquette and “shouts” through BOLD letters. Wow! what a sophisticate you have become, an apt understudy of the sarcastic British.
All ye distinguished academics, who hv made America your home, votaries of democracy and freedom to do anything, how can you ask some1 not to business with India? Are you more intelligent than others just because u r professors? Talk aboutIntellectual Terrorism!
Signed by a bunch of paid loosers!
Vatican paid activists…. Shame…
I notice that a lot of signatories to this (undemocratic) appeal are women. Dont you know that PM Modi has done more for the girl child and dignity of woman than any other since India’s andand?
As for doing business, MicrosoftGoogle, Apple, Zuckerberg and Obama dont have problem, WHO ARE YOU?
Modi the stalker, and supervisor of the worst episode of genocide and gang rapes committed by his RSS hoodlums. A man who abandoned his wife and places her under virtual house arrest, and then has the temerity to instruct Indians about marriage. Go sell your prasad somewhere else fool.
@mmj@sangh.in,
You are either a pakistani or a commie or a congi or an @#$@#-worshipping cohort of the Doniger household.
You Moron, you are a Paki, anti-Hindu.
For all your feigned classiness, have you not heard of the merits of this vague and beautiful concept called “truth” ?
> Rapes committed by RSS hoodlums ?
Did I miss the memo my quasi-Caucasian overlord ? The ones we Hindus were blamed for turned out to be Bangladeshi thieves (likely as not under the instruction of ISI). Okay, no one apologized, but we’re used to that.
> A man who abandoned his wife and places her under virtual house arrest
She was a school teacher. Virtual house arrest ? Surely she didn’t teach from her home ?
Great! … you are right sir!!
US Govt must step in quickly and act fast to investigate each one to put to justice…will help improve US-India relations!
ALL FRAUDS damaged our beloved PM India ! People are upset and angered..
All signatory names noted by 125Cr PpL of India…
Shame on so called eminent personalities.you are totally blind.Thank God you are not in India.
People in India suspect the Sonia Kaangress is behind all this Conspiracy game…
US Govt must step in quickly and act fast to investigate each one to put to justice…will help improve US-India relations!
ALL FRAUDS damaged our beloved PM India ! People are upset and angered..
All signatory names noted and hated by 125Cr PpL of India…
Dear blog administrator- don’t you see that this blog contains material which “degrade Others”. This blog insults Indian People not just a person. Can you show me any judgment against Modi in Indian Courts ? These bloggers think they are superior to Indian Supreme Court, and can Insult even the courts. They think they are superior to the wisdom of Indian People who have elected an Honest leader ? I myself have several cases running in Indian courts, that does not mean I have committed a crime. Fake cases are easily started on frivolous complaints to get money or to destroy somebody’s career. Courts judge them and find out the truth, that is what they are for, people are not convicted on Media reports or somebody’s assumptions. The President of India can not appoint anybody , punished for a criminal offence.
This blog must be removed for its falseness and abstract allegations.
Pah, petty peasant. How dare you question the intellect of the underwritten!
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Shame on you folks, strangling the first real opportunity for growth of India based on heresy evidence largely and repeatedly refuted by the legal system.
The history will judge your biased jaundiced pseudo-righteous bleeding heart rants.
This chastising unjustified speculation-based misguided petition should be kept in a time capsule to be opened in 50 years to see how far in left field they are.
Bakul I Dalal MD FRCPC DABP FACP FASCP
Clinical Professor, Faculty of Medicine, UBC, Vancouver, Canada
Let these worthies take US citizenship and worry about that country’s intellectualism rather than worry abt the fate of the country they wilfully abandoned. For us in India, it is good riddance of bad rubbish.
These signatories are only name sake Indians. By action and words they are proving to be anti Indian bunch. Complete letter is bunch of lies and have no substance worth answering.
What nonsense is it?
Gandhi once said of Katherine Mayo, who had written a terrible book on Indian in the 40’s, as a Gutter Inpector’s book. These intelligent academics are like gutter inspectors are only interested in the sewers
All these professors are Mentally bankrupt and Narrow-minded….We are democratic country and We have elected Narendra Modi as our leader and we are proud of him….He is the Best person to serve India and He is doing his Karma selflessly..
I can’t believe so many losers of Indian origin academics are here in USA. Having aquired such higher education, they are still naive and stupid in believing in such baseless allegation is unimaginable. I am ashamed to see such brainwashed ignorant folks are teaching in Universities and part of a false propoganda against very popular leader of India. I am in Silicon valley welcoming the PM and eagerly waiting to see him. Already 40,000 + registered for 15000 seats. So Modi’s Charisma is very much there but I want to enlighten these jokers and their disciples that its community event. 200+ organizations of Bay Area came together from TiE, an entreprenuer organization to Muslim Organizations are part of welcoming partners. See the details on pmmodiinca.org. I have not seen such excitement for any other leader and its Mr Modi’s vision that instead of filling the space with people with higher tickets, he wants each organization should come and work together. Main intention is to have collaberation between different communities. Person with such grand vision cannot be stopped by losers like these by spreading canard. You may have done it in Wharton but its impossible to stop the greatest leader of world now when people seen him work. How can you stop a popular leader, who lives in People’s heart. Modi juggernaut is on the roll….
As a person living in the heart of Silicon Valley , i will give these delusional self appointed scholar’s advice serious due consideration if any of them can get a useful, constructive job here in the the Valley. Deal ?
For 100+ Anit-Modi signatories of this Top Grade Horse manure there are 200+ rebuttals (yes I have read ALL of them) from Pro-Modi Nationalists…They ARE DEFEATED RIGHT NOW…
Whenever I come across Commie “Amortized” Sen’s name or pic ; the image of Ellsworth M Toohey from the Ayn Rand’s novel “Fountainhead”, flashes in front of my eyes…EMT had set up a bunch of cronies & boot lickers as some “Guild”, who hated everything “GOOD” for being just that – “GOOD” ! Jyst because they could not achieve greatness they want pull down somebody who is great…
Ayn Rand must have “time traveled” and observed Sen for the character of Ellsworth Monkton Toohey….
Above blog ,a load of trash; seems to have been written by Ellsworth Monkton Toohey’s understudies or they are from Smear School run by Bertram Scudder of Atlas Shrugged…
At the end Howard Raork ,John Galt & Modi WIN !!
Satyameva Jayate !!!
Very Right Sir, and all India is impressed by your say!
US Govt must step in quickly and act fast to investigate each one to put to justice…will help improve US-India relations too!
ALL FRAUDS damaged our beloved PM India ! People are upset and angered..
All signatory names noted by 125Cr PpL of India… People strongly suspect Sonia Kaangress Gang behind all these and such operations..after failing in Indian Soil they try from outside..!
No Patriotic Indian or US Citizen will think of such ingenious Conspiracy! Therefore US Govt must step in quickly to act joint action plan with Govt of India..!
PM of India and therefore, 125Cr People are insulted…
This is a Conspiracy against 125 Cr People …
The Signatories better beg apology from the World for this filthy act..
Dear professors, can’t you wait for 4 years to see what average Indians have to say in the next elections? After all, India is a democratic country. By the way, how condescending you are on your silicon valley counterparts. Amazing!
Just a suggestion, worry about the issues, not individuals or their ideologies. If possible, I would even request to abstain from issues related to India. You are not Indians and in reality do not seem to care about India any way, as you would rather let Indians continue to live in poverty, rather than have jobs. Your concern for privacy trumps your concern about hunger. Disappointing, really.
For Indians in the US, if you do not agree with these professors (as I do), it may be a good idea to meet the individual professors near your homes (or at least mail/call them) and ask them why they hate India and Modi in particular so much. Perhaps the real grouse may become clearer to us, average Indian folks.
> Perhaps the real grouse may become clearer to us, average Indian folks.
And risk ruining your day ? No thank you. I have little doubt that any of the above have any real diversity of opinion at all on this matter. Humanities requires a regimentation of extremes to get anywhere close to tenure.
You sum bug suckers liers !!! You are just not hating narendra modi but you are destroying the image of India.. You guys are dangerous than jihadi terrorist. You don’t even care the indian judicial system and it’s judgements against modi further you don’t even respect the mandate given to him… Your wisdom and knowledge are of not use .. All morons and jokers coming together just to propagate the haters towards him and you can’t even prove not even 1 allegation. These NGO are banned under congress govt and coz they are complying with the regulations of the country and not replying to the notices and every one know these NGOs are being used by foreign forces to destabilize the govt and still the progress… You guys are just pieces of shit… You don’t even deserve to teach and call your self educators !!! Shame on you guys !! Shame !!!
Subke sub professors maadarchod hai..literally if they’re anti-india and anti-modi. US mei aake bade saahab bann gaey bhenchod bhonsdike randion ki aulaaden.
MODI elected by Billion people , Worlds Largest DEmocrarcy
if U have problem with him, COme to india stand for Elections defeat him & then prove ur Point
All those who signed these petitions, are COWARDS.
Agree completely. Subke sub MC and BC hai. They stay in US and bad-mouth India and their politicians.
LOL.Academics? They don’t even have real degrees.Gender Studies Bla Bla and all other easy liberal arts graduates talking about ‘Digital India’.Really cute of these trolls that they fancy them as some sort of Modi opponent. Good night.
hahaha…so true.
I do not agree to most points mentioned in this article. Everyone has different opinion on topics like Gujarat riots and other sensitive issue related to Modi.
But, I duly agree with two points mentioned in the above article. First is related to interference with IIT’s, IIM’s (IIM bill) and other educational institutes and policies (like banning German in schools etc) by the NDA government. I cannot see any possible intellectual reasons in favor of this step by NDA. If someone can, please enlighten me.
Second is, increase in religious activities/sentiments (Ghar wapsi etc.), hate speeches (“everyone against Modi should go to Pakistan” etc.) and suppressing who oppose hinduism or Modi. If someone criticizes Modi, people on social media start to blindly and brutally bash the author with personal attacks. Be tolerant and open to logical criticism. As an NRI, my passport reads Republic of India and any educated person should prefer it that way only. I have as much right as to criticise or praise my leader for whom I voted.
Blind bhakti of anything, be it Modi or NDA, is not good.
NO Blind bhakti of anything, be it Modi, Congress, AAP, or NDA, etc is not good. I agree with you, I was blind follower of MODIji and this is what he gave us in Gujarat … Please don’t forget Gujarat gave Modi to India … Its the power of people and will surely speak in next elections, till than enjoy the VACATION … Internet is still off in Gujarat after police brutality (some politicians may also be involved) on innocent Gujarati Citizens… Please view our videos and comment (Internet is closed for last 5-6 days, more to come) Any comments?? I guess this is what these educated guys are talking about, If it was few weeks ago I would be criticizing them too, but you can see the truth in this video. There is no law!! https://www.facebook.com/partidaranamat.andolan.1/videos
Also read this http://www.dailyo.in/politics/narendra-modi-hardik-patel-anandiben-patel-gujarat-tiananmen-square-emergency-reservation/story/1/5942.html
@RobbieP, I’m sure you were never a Modi Bhakt, but rather a compulsive Modi hater. It’s possible you are a pakistani too and not an Indian. How desperate you commies and congis have become to discredit and dethrone Modi rule is becoming evident day by day. The godhra burning was infact orchestrated by elements inmical to Modi. They might have been within BJP or in Congress or might be ex-BJP. But it was a calculated and cold blooded murder/cremation of innocents to gain political mileage. That the commies and congis are using it till today to discredit Modi, shows their desperation.
India, like other countries, has seen politicians of all sorts. But unlike others, this man Modi seems to be inspiring confidence, by his intent and his work. That’s the reason for so many Modi Bhakts. If you can’t understand this phenomenon and ground swell of support, then you are not an average Indian.
we are not blind bhakti but you are a stooge of Sonia the Hitler of Nehru clan.What was your arguments on 10 years of Sonia rule with fascism. All media is suppressed buyed out.All judges appointed by sex maniacs.Plunder of 10 trillion dollars by Sonia and her son
Thank you, respected academics, for publishing this letter. I am sure people of Silicon Valley will take it just as seriously as people of India took the “Don’t vote for Modi” open letters by similarly eminent personalities in 2014 🙂
P.S. You couldn’t find even 10 colleagues from STEM fields to sign your letter? Do you really think Silicon Valley executives and entrepreneurs will give any credence to the paranoia of random sociology profs?
No one is perfect. Neither Modi, nor any of you signatories. Least of all the previous UP A regime.
Don’t flush the baby with bath water. Surely criticize Modi for his views on social and other fabric of India. At the same time applaud him for his accomplishments for a clean government, his abilities to get things done, his push for progesterone.
Or would you rather prefer Coalgate 2G Commonwealth Games Lakshmi tax and so on.
Be objective is all I urge you.
Lying about you Faculty position and affiliations….
I checked 10 faculties randomly, and 2 of the were at different universities and additional 2 did not have the faculty position they claimed.
Liars.
It is highly unsubstantiated allegations. Probably all of you guys seem to have been denied lucrative jobs in India as you are rotting in the United States, as most intelligentsia now wants to return to India for fame and money. Let me tell you the so called western democracies collect so much private information and though externally it seems to protect privacy, covertly they track every person in what they are doing. A highly imbalanced and irresponsible allegations on Modi.
“for there is still an active case in Indian courts that questions his role in the Gujarat violence of 2002 when 1,000 died.” This is a blatant lie !
http://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2013/12/26/court-clears-narendra-modi-in-riots-case/
http://www.ndtv.com/india-news/no-evidence-against-narendra-modi-says-supreme-court-appointed-team-10-facts-475972
These so called professors are educated, brain-dead, blind, commie dinosaurs scavenging on bloated, rotting corpses of false propaganda desperately trying to remain in limelight. These bullshitting turds need to be booted and thrown into shitpits to wallow in the sewage of their gutter thoughts.
@Bhanu, it would be better if someone takes them on a tour to Islamik state ruled areas. It would be even more better if these liberals take the liberty to write something about Prophet Mohammed before they are taken on such tours. For once I would be thankful to the IS folks.
Nonsensical article written by a disgruntled pseudo secular communist nut.If you look into the background of these so called intellectuals most of them have a pre conceived notion about Modi. Dig deep and you may even find some of them being silent supporters of islamic terrorists.
Thanks for the exhaustive list of the “professors” (Its unfortunate that, today, we need to write words like Science,Development,Professor et al in quotes—meaning they have lost their sanctity).Now,as a student, I have realized not to support/debate about/care for the opinions/articles/books of the aforementioned dignitaries,ever and ever.You are hitting the last nail in the coffin of the intelligence in the Academia.Though there is nothing wrong in having different opinions,I do not see any honesty here.
Agree with you completely! The best think would be to start ignoring them; absolutely no point arguing.
The bunch of jokers who signed this piece of crap fail to realize that Modi is a democratically elected Prime minister. This is a perfect compilation of self centered, agenda driven anti India louts. You can’t seriously believe anything they have to say.
The exclusivist Western academy and Sepoys of Indian academics are always anti India and Anti Hindu. It is very comical that these NRIs has to sell their soul to white counterparts to get promotion and accolades. They still have slave mentality. You will be seeing new India within next India you poor souls.
If you look at the list of signatories almost 99% are south Asian Studies, Liberal arts and Anthropology professors. There are almost none from the Scientific subjects, or from Engineering, Technology, Medicine i.e hard sciences. These are precisely the subjects filled by brown sepoys, because on their own these brown sepoys s could not have excelled in anything, and still have not produced anything to write home about. Ib fact they get initially these positions on the crumbs their white masters offer them and later on they continue to survive on those crumbs. So all of them are paying their dues in being signatories of something initiated by Wendy. Please read Rajiv Malhotra’s work to get acquainted with these leftist worthies. However one point remains, that nothing of any value has come from these mediocre coolies. Their main opposition is because they see their worlds crumbling.
Once upon a time in the UK, i commented among a group around the fireplace how the Queen was figurehead and a drain on the treasury which cud be well-spent,on the British people. One of the group snapped “She’s OUR Queen, what is it to you”?
Mind your own business, she was telling me. That is what i would like to tell these Intellectual Elite who consider themselves more intelligent than us lowly mortals.
IMAGINE, if we Indians had started a campaign among Indian businessmen not to engage with Obama during his visit to India? Would the US govt,or American public have liked it? The Americans,have hosted Saddam, Shah of Iran, Saudi rulers, and Wikileaks has shown how much America has to be ashamed of.
This essay is the work of Amartya Sen, Ford Foundation and other organisations which are feeling orphaned under the new govt of India
– Pravin Gandhi, Mumbai
It is clear that the American Indian academia in Social Sciences is filled with people who believe that lifting Indians out of poverty is not a priority. They live in their sinecures condoning corruption while passing judgement on an elected leader of the largest democracy.
One way the Indian american students can take action is to boycott these professors courses. Sitting in US and commenting on events in India is unworthy of consideration. How many of these professors in cushy jobs have gone back to India to help the poor and the hungry?
These professors are so so out of touch with India.
The opening statement “As faculty who engage South Asia in our research and teaching” is itself wrong, how can a group that is at odds with the hundreds of millions who voted for Modi even claim to be engaging South Asia ? What is the basis for an engagement when their views are so dramatically opposite to those of millions of people in India ?
An honest opening statement would have been ” As faculty who make a living out of slandering India in our research and teaching we write to express our concerns on the genuine sincerity and affection expressed by Silicon valley Indians towards a leader who not only represents the aspirations of millions of Indians but understands how technology can remove poverty, illiteracy and corruption in India ”
They could then have elaborated on how the rise of technology and social media has meant that no one listens to them anymore and how that is affecting their livelihood
Funny to see Indian academicians in the US being concerned about ‘privacy’ and ‘security’ of citizens in India. The only concern of Digital India campaign is the collection of biometric data of the citizens for a national database.
I wonder what they would think if all calls and emails were recorded by the government.
You people call yourselves intellectuals???? Seriously????? The people who have signed are either plain ignorant or anti nationals. You people sitting abroad n ranting away on why Modi should not do what he is doing. What role he had played in gujrat riots. It seems u idiots know more than our supreme court.None of you opened your freaking mouth when thousands of Sikhs were killed after Indira Gandhi’s death. What kind of sick people are u all. And that moron Amartya Sen. What should I say. Not many years left for him. Please stay abroad n never come back.we have enough idiots already in our country.
You, the faculty, live in a country whose government brings down the Twin Towers using explosives & blames it on the Al Qaeda. You belong to a country that has made maximum strikes on other countries on baseless pretexts. Shame on you to blame India & its PM when the country you are living in is a hypocrite itself.
Request to all these professors. Please leave India alone. We do not need professors like you. For the first time in the history India is on the right direction – Development. Please stop your anti-India stance.
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It is clear that me (Chutiya Amartya Sen), have no understanding that it was enormous contribution of silicon valley Indians who got Modi elected. Also, me being an intellectual Chutiya regularly do this chutiyagiri in rallying support of other Chutiyas in Academia to tarnish India and Modi.
Signed
Amartya Chutiya Sen
very funny .. but a deserving reply to these brain dead
Its really rude from these so called “educationalists”! The education is something which is ethical,committed & responsible.Its their to welcome new ideas & teaching values,sharing & caring.Its for empowering people & uplifting their minds. These so called “educationalists”actually destroying the name of that posts.If you have some issues sit on a table & discuss it.
This is of course not the way to treat Indian prime minister.Whether you people like it or not,India going to be a powerful nation under the leadership of this committed responsible person. Lets wait & see!
But my request is to ask a question to your soul! Whether it still telling you to do unethical ways to stop a great change in NATION.? To raise that question in your own mind, you should feel what is India & what is patriotism!
Absolutely rubbish article by these so called intelligent people. Modi ji is the most respected leader, statesman India has produced after many many decades and will only ensure the good of INDIA. We are not bothered about your nonsense claims supported by anti-nationlist people, NGO’s, countries. These people need to be banned from coming to India and action taken again them.
As it stands, “Digital India” seems to ignore key questions raised in India by critics concerned about the collection of personal information and the near certainty that such digital systems will be used to enhance surveillance and repress the constitutionally- protected rights of citizens. These issues are being discussed energetically in public in India and abroad.
–Have the signatories here ever raised their voices collectively or as individuals against the “bulk data collection” protocols and processes of USA’s own NSA? Could some relevant URL’s be cited?
Those who live and work in Silicon Valley have a particular responsibility to demand that the government of India factor these critical concerns into its planning for digital futures.
–That appeal is ironical! Many of the Silicon Valley are known to collude actively with NSA for one reason or another!
In the end…have these signatories ever raised a similar concern when the kings of Saudi Arabia visit Washington DC or when sundry other members of that royalty visit their race horses and mansions in the USA?
I think all these so called professors are suffering from modiphobia, racists and spineless characters. Particularly those with Indian names are cowards who ran away from this country, as they perceived their interests including money making could not be achieved here. The days when they scooted from here , Modi was no where in the political spectre. I think all U fellows suffer from Amnesia in some form. Large number of riots have taken place during congress rule, they have no thing to say about 1984 riots, Bhagalpur riots and blindings. Maybe they were blinded. One thing U fellows will have to share with us Indians, why this personal hatred of Modi,is it because he is not from an affluent section like u, or is it caste or has he done some personal damage to you, your relatives , your property. The same anger is not seen by you guys against powerful terrorist groups. Scared they will hunt you and your family down . We do not know who are bankrolling your luxurious life in a corner outside India. If you have the guts come to India and fight like other Modi haters here !
Dear haters-Suggest the Indian academia who has signed this show their concern for Indians by returning to their country of birth and contributing what they have learned from liberal societies. Don’t try to impress your Western masters ( most of them ignorant by the look of it) As an Indian living in India , we know the facts are distorted beyond recognition- full of generalisations without proof
Not a single technologist in this long list of evil minds. “What we are witnessing is the willingness of an intellectual diaspora to actually wage war on India’s development. From political opposition to Modi they have moved to sabotaging India in the world.
…In any case, it is always worth remembering the names of all those who are ready to subvert India because they didn’t like the way Indians voted.”
Read this: http://www.dailypioneer.com/columnists/usual-suspects/pm-creating-india-lobby-abroad.html
The above write up is bogus and called as western atrocity literature. Are you also aware American academics are harassing Rajiv Malhotra who is questioning American academia?
Rajeev the Plagiarizer Malhotra is having trouble selling his prasad these days. Poor chap! Why don’t you rabid sanghis start a collection for him? Get Baba Ramdev to dance for him.
@mmj@sangh.in, I guess you are the regular !@@##-licker of the fiesty feminist marxist Wendy and the !@#@!boy of Son-of-a-!@#$!@#$ Sen who gobbled up Indian tax payers money in the name of University appointments. Get your joshua-project members to do an initiation ceremony for you.
Rajiv has proven his credentials. Without any kind of proof, your statements are just a personal attack from a craven person with an agenda against the truth being propagated. They are worthless and speak of your character, or lack thereof
Amartya Sen is Bharat Ratna awardee by Congress for his sycophancy of Nehru Dynasty who usurped 2500 crores of our money in Nalanda University project by building a school building instead of a huge massive university in 2500 crores and when Modi govt stared investigating his corrupt deeds he started blaming Mid govt calling names. Now he get some signatories signed a petition against Modi visit of US Silicon Valley when 80000 crowds waiting for him to listen. More over Muslims have a hatred for Modi for his uprightness and honest attitude. They wants a corrupt regime of Sonia to exonerate them of corruption charges and allow them to plunder India like East India company and Britain does as well as Mughal does.It shows evil cruel mindset of Amartya Sen who got some NRI academicians signed petition and I doubt they had signed the petition but their names shown as signed.If they signed it shows that they are also traitors of India working against the democratic norms of country its unity integrity sovereignty and Government elected by 125 crores of people. Modi is not just a individual But PM of India and his stature be respected by all.If any one decries his works he is free to say individually but not sign petition against him to be presented in a foreign country and foreign entity.They are also not belonging to science Technology but of literature f which is Amartya sen’s mastery.WE discard their demands and urge Indian Govt to withdraw all facilities VISA to them and ask them to return back to India.
The worries and concerns raised in this joint statement of the academics are indeed very real and true.
The Indian government’s obsessive fetish for digital profiling of its 1.252 billion people in a country which is home to a quarter of the world’s starving and hungry population – the largest undernourished and hungry population in the world, to say the least, is vulgar and sickening and all the more suspicious. Remember, during the anti Muslim Gujarat pogroms in 2002, when the present prime minister of the country was the chief minister of the province, the list of addresses of Muslim residents and Muslim owned shops and businesses in the cities and towns were obtained from municipalities and targeted.
30.7% of children in India under 5 are underweight; 58% of children are stunted by 2 years of age; 1 in 4 children are malnourished; 3,000 children in India die every day from poor diet related illness!
75% of children aged under 5, and 87% of pregnant women in India suffer from anaemia, let alone other problems and miseries arising from abject poverty, homelessness, illiteracy, unemployment and lack of health care.
Thanks to the inhuman callousness of successive governments in this country, these chronic and pertinent issues of the Indian people do not sufficiently figure on the agenda of governance. What we have today in its place is the gaudily hyped projects like digital India. To what end – in whose interest?
@Kallo Roy, you need to understand one thing clearly. Even with vast resources and about 1/4 th of India’s population, crime, ghettos and poverty are wide spread in the United States. That doesn’t mean the U.S is going to stop it’s other endeavours in science, technology, space, arms etc., Same is the case with any other nation and more so with India.
You asked to what end-digital India? It’s exactly to minimize, if not fully eradicate, all the problems you had stated which is currently plaguing India.
Close to 80% of the money that the Union government spends on social welfare are pilfered and doesn’t reach the needy. How would you solve this problem if the government doesn’t know in the first place who are the poor and needy? The thieves are a-political. They just scoop-out the money from the system.
You should visit advanced countries to see for yourself, the kind of benefits the citizens enjoy due to the availability of accurate population data.
If you are so concerned about Gujarat Muslims, please share some of that with the Kashmiri Pandits too. You are being a pseudo-secularist at best. The Gujarati muslims have moved on and infact have openly supported Modi on television for an Incident free 12 years post the Godhra (untill the congis and commies have paid one Hard!@#!@ patel to play victim again). You are implicating by your statements that Modi, through his administration, ensured that the Muslim’s addresses were distributed. How sure are you that Vaghela or Keshubh or some other Congis have not done this, just to target Modi. Don’t put your pet theories as patented truths.
Instead do something for your home state – West Bengal, which has been under the continuous misrule of the commies and now the anarchist didi. Infact it’s your state that must have contributed to the massively mal-nourished kids’ statistics in India.
First of all, thank you for providing a good list, identifying and exposing the crooks, boot-lickers and the intellectual morons. You thought you were providing a subtle counter to NaMo, but failed miserably. USA cannot do without India, digital or analog. You like it or lump it.
Without electricity in India we cannot dream a digital India
Good you people are not in India. Atleast be truthful to the country you live in
Here is my response to these ridiculous anti-India academics:
“Sepoys in academia stand guard at American gates”
https://dynastycrooks.wordpress.com/2015/08/30/sepoys-in-academia-stand-guard-at-american-gates/comment-page-1/#comment-571
Let all termites expose themselves. Hence, such rubbish more often. Let us take them on
India must remember by name and face the traitors of the country who are trying to harm India by taking the opportunity of being in USA. How long time will save them?
It is illuminating to see the Bangla bias in the list of signatories.This article is a prime example of intellectual terrorism..Whatever the reasons for the so called cause of concern of these academics Modi has been chosen overwhelminglt and democratically as the Prime Minister of a sovereign state who is coming to the US to further his Digital India project…The response of Silicon Valley will be the appropriate response to the intellecture half baked garbage and malicious propaganda of the signatories. Foreign based lackeys who have a distinct disconnect with 21st century India
Amazing are areas of specialisation of these geniuses (e.g. Jigna Desai, Professor of Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies; GENDER/SEXUALITY; Wow!!!). I want to know who pays for these geniuses. AND WHY?
Perhaps if you extracted your head out of your ass you will learn that there are subjects of study that have to do with human sexuality and gender. But perhaps your head, with its scientific and Vedic knowledge is so big, you’re stuck in your own crap. Sorry dude, can’t help you.
@mmj@sangh.in, please help yourselves with you own devices. Else you can visit Bangkok. We Indians don’t need your suggestions or help. And while on the topic of specialization about Sexuality Studies – please read the Book ‘Kali’s child’ or for that matter any of Wendy Donigers and her ilks’ books about India. Their only aim is to associate all things indian with Sex, guild, incest, castration etc., So Surender Gupta is correct in pointing out the obvious.
For someone to call Sri Ramakrishna Parahamsa as a homsexual and traumatized paedophile, it needs not just imagination but an extreme perversion of mind and senses. People like Wendy Doniger (who is a signatory here) and her cohorts are sick is an understatement. I’m longing for the day they would try their hand on other figures like Mohammed and Christ. Then lo-and-behold we would have Diwali fireworks.
so, you, mmj@sangh.in, extract your head out of your ass and you will learn what and about whom we are discussing here.
Please don’t even bother to mention anything about Science(western material variety) or Vedas here. It’s beyond your freudian anal-genital cosmos.
@Surender Gupta, the pay masters of these people are ultimately the American Tax payers, through various foundations and religious institutions, whose only aim is to subjugate and de-racinate all people.
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Reblogged this on ugiridharaprasad.
looks like these people support anti-india activities, may even sympathize with terrorists. we won’t buy the non-sense that’s written here..
I urge the ‘intellects’ here to question themselves if the campaign they are doing is against just Modi or is it against India. In their hatred for Modi, some are not realizing how anti India they are becoming. Since Modi is democratically elected PM of India, I guess all the Indian’s who elected him need same treatment!
Can someone bashing Modi/India tell, is USA so perfect that there are no incidents of racism, no mass surveillance on Americans, no university fraud. You guys are bunch of hypocrites. You talk of human rights and go and wage a war against a country for no reason and no body questions that!
As an Academic, I am appalled by the statement made by some faculty engaged n South Asia research.
The reason for such an organized effort to influence the Silicon Valley enterprise about PM Narendra Modi visit is at best unclear as it goes beyond the academia into the political realm. If it were their academic endeavour, we never heard any of them on California textbook controversy, Indian court decision on Wendy Doniger’s controversial book denigrating Hindu Dharma etc.
Have these academics paid attention to Rajiv Malhotra’s books – Invading the Sacred, Breaking India.Com, Being Different – that counters the viewpoint, not based on objectivity or sheer logic, of such academics?
I would have applauded these academics had they contributed to scholarship, innovation and new ideas that would benefit humankind. A sheer hypocrisy concerning Indian PM Modi visit is no scholarship.
A new India has emerged on its original civilizational platform grounded in universal values with its own heritage of intellectual order. There is little scope for such hypocritical practice of academics by some individuals in the 21st century world. It would be appropriate to engage in scholarship rather than hide under the shroud of ‘academic freedom’ as this logic applies equally to other academics with an opposing point of view or evidence based scholarship.
Super comment!
It is good to know who India’s enemies are along with their names and positions. I have hunch some of these names were also behind banning Visa to our democratically elected CM of India, representing the citizens of one of our states. It seems when they speak of freedoms and rights, they only speak of their own, not those people in India and their elected representatives. Their contempt for Indians, India, democracy, constitutional positions, Indian culture, ideology other than their own is no longer a mystery or secret. When Modi alluded to people being ashamed of being Indians, perhaps he meant these bunch of people. It is alarming that India is interpreted, taught and understood by people in the west by these kind of haters. Until India trample on these pointy heads, India and USA relations will see many speed bumps.
In this opinion piece the authors have wrongly assumed that they have the necessary authority, experience and wisdom to provide advice to high tech companies purportedly under the guise of pointing out the drawbacks of Modi’s administration. If you indeed have the authority and wisdom you would first voice your concern about high tech companies capitulating to Chinese one party rule which ruthlessly administers one party state with highly limited freedom of expression.
I am not clear how many professors who have signed come from obscure fields such as anthropology (wonder who finds them and what return they produce to the funders) have the knowledge to sign a piece that is unrelated to their fields. It just seems like a change.org signature campaign that wants to give a non-existent legitimacy because these a academics.
…..wrongly assumed that they have the necessary authority!!..that is perfectly said!!
It’s spreading the falsehood as much on ‘disregard for human rights and civil liberties, as well as the autonomy of educational and cultural institutions’,whereas the Modi Govt. in true spirits, are trying to only levelize the true nature and spirit as it existed,and as it should be seen,without an iota of falsehood as has been so distortingly devastated by the so called the then,or present literati,experts’, with malafide intentions of hiding basic facts from society,ostensibly for ulterior motives of promoting interests of minorities.Bringing the originality back would restore the greatness the nation had,stood for,and would like to be,and come what may,Modiji has stood up single handedly with phantom energies,with the cudgels to the restoration act with all sincerity of purpose.Request,let India shine,attain the glory,and be free from the clutches of selfish perpetrators of downgrade India brigade.
All signatories either bogus or not proud of their own nation.
They might have not read the statements also thoroughly before signing. Time will tel the difference to them of Modi’s capacity and the way of working.
I am sure they have read the petition. The liberal arts faculty are totally out of touch with reality, and only something nonsensical will appeal to them.
These so called professors (c**k suckers) are wasting tax payer’s money, nothing more. They with their 2 member departments are the biggest drain in universities in America. There are more things to worry for the American tech industry than some Indian PM visit to Silicon valley. For starters things like IPR thefts in China, advanced tech stuff landing in the hands of ISIS, the DDoS attack from Baidu to GitHut, Prevention of such attacks maturing and happening in large scale with the latest IOT installations in America (IoT 101 for you ignorant fools – watch the movie ‘Eagle Eye’). We got enough things in our kitty to worry than following your agenda, you useless whiners. We in America believe in ‘doing’ and walking with the prom queen and not hiding behind the curtains of outdated Communist agenda and whining. Waiting for the day of Trump and close down these Anthropology, Humanity studies and give the finger to these jokers
Will be curious to know who funds these retards and why. I felt dizzy while trying to understand “domain of expertise” some of these b**tards
Well, I have lived in the Valley, while I have India as my home. I have more at stake in the welfare of India than those signing up for the statement here. I have experienced the “emergency”, and most of Congress rule from ‘senior enough’ quarters. Guys you are living in your own so called ‘liberal’ world, without being grounded in the reality that is India. And all of you left India during Congress ruled times !! Because you did not see opportunities here. That speaks for itself. While criticizing the present ruling dispensation, also look at the possible alternatives – being ruled by a low IQ idiot is definitely not in my list of priorities.
Sorry, you guys are completely off the mark. But maybe, that is fashionable in your community. Enjoy the world you live in.
What an useless petition. These people do not even have a background in digital security. Just because a nationalist party is at center, these leftists and India haters are all out to oppose Modi.
To Wendi Doniger and her gang of indian sepoys…the youth of India is not like the erstwhile 19th Century Indians who will fight against their own for the benefit of a foreigner…this generation of Indians will ensure that anti-india people like you, whose life agenda is to ensure India remains divided on the lines of caste and religion..will be shown the door of no return…you and your bunch of sycophant followers can remain in US and worry about the human rights of Black americans and native americans if you are so concerned about humanity…do not worry about India and its people…we do not need your advise or concern (people of India origin who have signed this are like those traitors who sold India during the British Raj…for some money,awards and positions…your future generations will be be ashamed about your existence..and will disown you like we Indians have disowned you…please change your names/surnames to suit your masters)
Glad to see youngsters have become wise to what has happened earlier and to what is happening now!!…bravo to you youngsters!
Well said. I hope more young people stop kowtowing to the white supremacist liberal arts faculty.
Anglo-saxon anti-Indian sepoys sincerely fulfilling their financial and moral obligations to their colonial masters. None of these signatories have Technology backgrounds, yet claiming to be policy experts on tech policy. The same McCarthyism, but this time by the “people” for the people.
These anti-India intellectuals are actually the house-nigger’s who are deriding the field-niggers to earn brownie points with their masters. These bankrupt intellectuals have no basis, and they know that 1.25 billion people of India detest their methods.
Did any of these self-appointed arbiters of Moral Justice care to raise the issue of 58 innocent pilgrims burnt in train compartment? They wont,I bet
will these academics raise a finger against former PM RajivGandhi/his family for cynical comments on 1984 sikh pogrom,refusal to apologise?
These so-called intellectuals who have signed this statement obviously belong to Amartya Sen school of thought – a bunch of perverted rabble-rousers who have no compunction in throwing tons of mud at India in the hope that at least a speck will stick to Modi! They have been silenced in the past. They will be silenced, rather slapped, by Silicon Valley this time.
Wow! You people are amazing; so much bile for one person, that you would want India’s “Digital India” initiative to fail?
Net penetration rate in India is a mere 13%. Internet is one of the biggest leveller while 85% of people in India have no access to internet whatsoever. You people have exposed yourself through this letter; intellectual circle jerk culture is all that you people care for in the pretext of human rights and welfare of poor people.
Really disillusioned by these left liberals and self proclaimed intellectuals! Feel regretful for taking their allegations against Modi seriously at some point of time.
Modi’s is not the perfect government. But he is the elected prime minister of a democratic – not autocratic dictatorship – country. Bringing up Gujarat incidents and realted denial of Visa to Modi too is irrelevant and out of place now because Modi has visited the USA and been welcomed by the President himself.
The academicians do have the right to point out interference with the governance of top Indian universities and academic institutions such as the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, the Indian Institutes of Technology and Nalanda University etc. But that could have been done as a memorandum to the prime minister himself instead of this statement to “Silicon Valley technology enterprises”!
How an Economist Wrecked the Nalanda Revival
http://indiafacts.co.in/how-an-economist-wrecked-the-nalanda-revival/
India needs Modiji! He is the best thing to happen since Mahatma Gandhi
All these people who have signed this bizzare petition are political leftists. Their opinions are a dime may get me a cup of coffee. 🙂
TWO TRUE INDIAN HEROES. MAHATMA GANDHI AND NOW, NARENDRA MODI
http://www.desicontrarian.com/two-true-indian-heroes-mahatma-gandhi-and-now-narendra-modi/
This petition is a big joke. Most of the jokers who signed it are the usual suspects, the intellectually challenged and now desperate India-haters. They have no regard for history, anthropology, sociology and most of all the democracy. They can’t digest the fact that a person of lower caste and humble beginning has won a democratically fought the biggest election in the world to become a rightful leader of a nation. Keep on spreading idiotic theories you fools. The world has moved on but some idiots will live on with heads buried in sand 🙂
Who of these signatories is an IT/Computer expert to be able to seriously arrogate “concern about privacy of India Digital”. Or is it just lightly covered manifestation of a childish Hinduphobia?
It is a bitter irony that non-IT experts raise concerns re. privacy of Digital India project. But even more bitter irony is to raise those points in USA, a country that is violating digital privacy all-over the world!
If any of you want to go through the post-Godhra riots in Gujarat then you MUST read the detailed investigative work of Journalist Madhu Kishwar on this, not just hearsay and lies spread by sold out people like Teesta Stelvad, Congress & media cronies..Go to http://www.manushi.in and download “Modi, Muslims and Media” to uncover the blatant misuse of power by Media, CONgress and Church to discredit Modi .. Also, another site to check FACTs about 2002 riots is documented on http://www.gujaratriots.com/
DECONSTRUCTING WENDY DONIGER
Wendy Doniger’s (The alleged Hindu expert of the west) quixotic hatred of the classical Hinduism and Brahmins is not very different than the 1930’s christian’s hatred of the Jews and Judaism.
Alternate history of the Jews written by none other than the protestant founder Martin Luther in his “Jews and their Lies” which almost every christian German was influenced by and their subsequent hatred for their “upper caste” Jews (God’s chosen people). There was the perception that the Jews not unlike the upper castes/Brahmins had a monopoly of the arts, the sciences and their financial institutions and everything else of importance in Germany during the 30s and that others were somehow prohibited from doing bigger and better things on their own by their “upper castes” (Jews). The allegedly “poor ordinary christians” were the “backward castes” who needed to be saved from the alleged evil upper caste Jews. The only way that could be done was to take the Jewish history and Jewish culture and rewrite them for the benefit of the “underdogs” of German christians. Let’s show these upper castes that we the populists can do to them was the thought of those days in that christian country.. It went “We the backward caste ordinary christians have a number on these elites”. So Martin Luther, Hitler and others ( Lyra, Burgensis, and John Chrysostom, before them) went about rewriting Jewish history and culture and had their own unflattering and grotesque interpretations which they embellished to their satisfaction. Thus was born the alternate Jewish history of “Jews and their Iies” and Mein Kampf. Actually the 2000 year Christian hatred of Jews worldwide lead to the Holocaust
@Manohar Machu,
But I hope you are aware that Doniger O’Flaherty is herself a Jew (though I’m not sure whether she wants to identify herself so). Look at the wikipedia page about Wendy.
If anyone raises concerns about the kind of crap that she writes about, then the commie / pro proselytizing western print media would brand you as a Far-Right saffronizing RSS Hindu.
Every Indian/Hindu, is supposed to obediently listen to their British and American masters and take all bull-crap written about them. Otherwise the Indians would loose their coveted IT-Slavery-Graveyard shift jobs without which their Hyundai cars and 3-Bedroom apartments cannot be bought.
Yes I am aware she is a Jew.. a leftist “pacifist’ totally out of tune even with the majority of Americans.
Sadly, both the Jews and the Hindus are saddled with an abundance of their self-loathing variants.
The so called Indian professors are out of touch with India,as this country has undergone a sea change.They are only comfortable with the idea that India is the fathers property of Nehru & their descendants.That time is long gone and we have now elected a very down to earth & honest man to guide the destiny of this country.If you are offended you have the option to renounce your Indian passports & forget this country.We shall be most delighted to get rid of accumulated garbage & rubbish.More power to Modi & Indians.
@Vijay Dixit,
You are wrong. These professors and academicians are not out of touch. They have started this campaign ‘out of Obligation’, to their masters, both in India and the West. They were sly and cunning earlier. But now they have to be bold and brazen. For it’s payback time. Else they would loose their scholarship, their chairs, their salary, perks etc., Their future professional careers are at stake and the least they could do was to put their names on this smear campaign, which is orchestrated by vested interests against India and Hindus.
These are not reasoned arguments of academics, but a proactive political posturing I am afraid of a somewhat bigoted shade.
Beyond assumptions based on prejudice they have no substance to offer but want to be seen to be pontificating from a high pedestal.
The people of India decisively rejected such arguments of hollow chicanery in the elections last year. The world at large has started to ignore them, as demonstrated in the eagerness of the global community to engage with Modi.
Faced with utter irreverence & irrelevance they have nothing more to do than tilt at windmills.
The humanities faculty are not capable of reasoned arguments. I work in academia and have to deal with this.
@Manish,
There are no ‘reasoned’ arguments at all, much less academic. Think about it……….the whole academia is set up for vested interests, not for seeking the truth. You don’t need building, instruments, federal grants, fellowships, chairs etc to ‘Reason’ and ‘Seek Truth’. You need all these to set and sustain vested interests and agendas. For ‘Reason’ and ‘Seeking Truth’ all you need is humility and an openness of being.
As long as the vested interests and agendas are materialistic – as in physical science, it’s fine. For it might benefit some of humanity at some point, if not all. While the same cannot be said about the social sciences and the religious studies.
People spend money to set up chairs in University, not for ‘Seeking the Truth’ in Hinduism. There is always an agenda and it might not be benign.
These Indian sepoys are dancing to the tune set by their masters in American Academy of Religions (AAR). Wendu Doniger and her children are represented. Sheldon Pollock of Columbia represents. And the familiar gang of lefstists, starting with the insufferable Vijay Pershad shows up too. They have managed to corral the Christians and Muslims faculty – should be an easy task when they see the pathetic Hindus sign up in droves.
The drum beat goes on. I have seen series of articles in the ‘respected’ NYT and BBC news which have been attacking Modi’s government as if it is anarchy in India where the Hindus have taken over and mass killings are going on.
I have a special despise for these MF’ing Indian sepoys who don’t have the decency to realize that their motherland’s PM is coming and should be welcomed. Instead they lead the hatred band and join the enemy and don’t even realize it.
Pathetic morons.
Well, if one can be enlightened about the majority investors of NYT and BBC, then the motive becomes clear. Whom does NYT and BBC report to?
These academics are the new mercenary sepoys in the army of the western Indologists perpetuating the nineteenth century racism and bigotry. These Indologists cannot reconcile to the fact that the political domination of the world by Europe has come to an end, and want to continue the cultural and intellectual domination. They WILL FAIL.
I think all the anti-India / anti – Modi haters grouped together in USA. It is surprising to see so many of them in USA. I live in the bay area, and always thought this place to be one where Indian nationalism is intact, but am surprised to see Indians group themselves with the Wendy Donigers of the world, purportedly to protect their academic trappings. Narendra Modi is the Prime Minister of India, he is doing a good job, and the allegations of all these people against him are baseless to say the least. These guys never talk of the massacre of innocent kar sevaks in Godhra train incident, but go on harping of killings afterward, which are generated in the heat of the moment. Even Muslims themselves say they feel comfortable in Gujarat under Modi. So why are these people so hell bent on bad mouthing him? It is obviously because the white men here have a program to destabilize India, and cannot see a strong nationalist leader come to power. In any case, what business do they have on commenting on India’s internal affairs? Butt out, you ‘so called’ professors. We can manage Indian affairs ourselves, Thank You.
These are a miniscule minority of traitors among Indian Americans, that too mostly from Liberal Arts. Majority of Indian Americans are with Modi
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Modiji is by far the best and most respected PM india has got after a long long time. These USA based scholars have talked about digital india’s information likely to be used by govt in bad ways. Many govts world over have information about their subjects which they sometimes USE for whatever reason or purpose in the interest of the nation. I am sure the usa is also one of that as everyone knows. So this is not at all an issue. Reg other canards they are saying like gujarat riots etc. the courts and the Indian people have given a clean chit to Modiji and there is no need for a trial by the media which everyone knows in India how biased it is. Learned indians in foreign countries should support the PM and contribute productively to the growth of their motherland rather than posting petitions full of innuendos. Look at the chinese. They are far more patriotic. Their country does many bad things [ tibet, cyber espionage, human right abuses] but the people stand by their country. Outside agencies and even countries are scared to talk abt them because of their strength. Coming to India we dont need others, we ourselves seem to throw mud at ourselves. I read Breaking India by Rajiv Malhotra and recommed it to any patriotic indian. When such are the forces ranged against us, as mentioned in that book and many others like our troublesome neighbours [Pakistan, China to name a few] with their own religeous and economic agendas to contain and break india we shd unite behind a great PM, stand behind him and pay heed to his thoughts on making india big and powerful. Jai Hind. Long live Mother India
You have to understand the so called Indian – American Professors – they are basically paper pushers and out of touch of practicality. They have no caliber other than memorizing a bunch of equations. They have little analysis capability and almost zero leadership skills. And like many other so called intellectual people – out of touch of reality. They do not represent Indian community in US nor they carry any weight in any perceivable way. There has to be a leader in this bunch, who organized and get the names of others – and that leader is in simple term nothing but a stupid.
Reblogged this on HINDUISM AND SANATAN DHARMA and commented:
Many anti India activities are going on in Bay Area and these are same people like donnerier who write against Hindu gods . If are she write anything against Mohammed and get her head off.
Shame on these academics! Where is their so called freedom of speech and expression now? In one way its good we now know who the traitors of India are.
Almost all of these academics are from Liberal Arts. They don’t seem to have any other better thing to do. PM Modi is going to tech companies and not to Liberal Arts Museums.
The Silicon Valley tech companies should just trash this petition.
Dear so called professors, who need enemies if we have traitors in the house!
I wonder how the humanities faculty have so much time to create nonsensical petitions. Universities ought to increase their teaching load to keep them busy. As an academician in a serious discipline, I am annoyed by the bad reputation these faculty bring to academia.
Narendra Modi is elected Prime Minister of the country. People who are raising voice against him, I am sure, must not have voted in years, know little about how much India has changed and where it is heading. I am sure, the event will go on and people (heads of organizations) will meet the Prime Minister of rising India. How many people raised the voice …. 100? Narendra Modi has been elected been voted in by more than 40+ Billion electorate.
The professors who are opposed to his coming are mostly non-entities.Who cares what they think. It’s a free country.Even morons and jerks have a right to profess their opinions.
All members of Amartya Sen gang. What else can one expect from them?
It is a pity that these so called erudite class have not studied the American History and are unaware that the USA was once home to the ethnic Red Indians a tribe which was mercilessly massacred and annihilated by the marauders, who encouraged slavery till the advent of Mr.Abraham Lincoln….. Look back into the annals of History
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@Chandu @Shashank and all other Modi haters,
I see that Wendy Doniger is a signatory. It becomes all too clear as to the kind of people spearheading this devious media campaign.
Indians should read and listen to Rajiv Malhotra. He exposes the ‘Anti-Hindu’ pro proselytization mafia in the Academia and Journalism world. How this syndicate is funded? and How they are sustained within the Universities and Journalistic world? The proselytizers have set out for a sustained and devious campaign. They are funding University chairs and press publications. Result is people like Wendy Doniger.
Wendy Doniger is a classic example of what Rajiv Malhotra is talking about. She is called as an ‘Indologist’ and all that she does is denigrate and humiliate Hinduism and India, though in a sophisticated and erudite manner. Can this world be a better place without such people? Can Wendy Doniger research the kind of incestual and beastly mindsets prevalent in other relevant holy books – especially the religion in to which she was born.
We have Indologists who are experts on Hinduism and India. These people are not natives. Neither have they any inkling about what it means to be living a Hindu an Indian way of life. They have NOTHING to do with Hindu/India/Hinduism. They live in western societies. And YET they are experts on Hinduism and ‘write’ about ‘Alternative History’ of Hinduism. They have people in the press – for e.g. Guardian UK, in the University – University of Chicago and a lot of Indians themselves, either in western countries or even within India, who support her.
Why don’t we Indians create University Chairs on Judaism, Christianity (various denominations) and Islam and start funding people to write Alternate history of Judaism, the various Christian denominations and about Islam?
@Nee…great maan!!
I was wondering when somebody would give all these Modi haters,and all those ‘holier than thou’ guys something to think about!!
All your replies to these guys where super and apt!!
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Indians should learn lessons from the Chinese. For all their flaws, they have managed extremely well, an equally, if not much more complicated, country as compared to India, and in a much better fashion.
The Americans and the Europeans don’t have the guts to say anything about the Chinese. They just shut their !@#$@# and do business with the chinese, take their profits and go home.
Look at the Asian and Chinese diaspora in the West. They are known to be hard-working, smart and engaged in every sphere of human activity. Be it advanced sciences or Business or Sports. As an ethnic group, they are respected more.
Indians should never cease to engage with the Chinese & Japanese. Chinese/Japanese don’t want to ‘convert’ Indians. They don’t want to denigrate Indian/Hindu culture or religion. They want to show their military and economic strength, which to me is a practicality to be dealt with and lived with. We can still live and flourish with our Asian neighbors. I’m afraid the same can’t be said about the Wendy Donigers and the proselytizing religious organizations that support them. These Wendy Donigers are out there to stymie our souls in to believing that Hindus are such pond scums on this face of the earth, that they would have to either ‘convert’ or be condemned to the hell-of-fire for eternity. And of course we would have the Jai Chands and the MirJafars to support them.
Let us throw all these “Indian Intellectual Professors” a/k/a Morons in the hands of ISIS and let them enjoy the “great hospitality” offered by ISIS.
Out of 100 “intellectual professors” there are 53 ” Indian Hindu Women Intellectual Professors” . I wonder why such a large number of Indian Hindu Women Intellectual Professors who are Moron.
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This “Humanities studies” leftists want to bring their nonsense to IITs of India.. In India they want to introduce “Humanities” course in all India’s IITs.. so the leftists arsewipes from JNU, St. Stevens etc can take control of the colleges in India and spout their bigotry and nonsnese!
Ha HA!
We should never listen to dumb intellectuals.
The more educated they are the more dumber they become.
Professors are the worst, so much educated, good for nothing.
Also traitors.
Jai Shri Raam, Har Har Mahadev, Mandir Wahin Banayenge!
Interesting list. This is the FOIL (Forum of Indian Leftists) gang, combined with FOSA (Fiends of South Asia). Many of the names look familiar: These are the same people who launched a vicious attack against Indian leprosy patients (the Kushta Nivaran Sangh), orphans (Vatsalya Trust) tribal kids’ schools (Ekal Vidyalaya), farmers trying to learn from the Internet (Krishi Prayog Parivar) and 200+ other decent charitable organizations in 2002. Anything with an Indian-sounding name they classified as “hate-mongering” per their deeply competent and expert Historical Research. This was in an effort against US corporations allowing employees to match donations funding these organizations. They were successful until the companies realized who this gang was, and how they had been conned by crooks with so-called Academic Credentials. Like Chairs – more like Stools and Commodes. Arjun Appadurai, Kamala Visveswaran, Akeel Bigrami, Vijay Prashad, Kavita Philip… Their dishonesty was exposed most clearly when they also included the “Meeraj Medical Center” as a ‘Hinduization/ Hate Mongering’ organization – not having had the basic honesty to go find out that it was an arm of the Presbyterian Church of North America. Now they are back, just like a locust swarm, attacking efforts to help the uplift of India’s people. Interesting to see so many from Emory University, home of the “Limp Phaullus” p0rnographic characterization of Shri Ganesha (yes, the Deity) and His Divine Parents. Oh, yes! Silicon Valley businesspeople should take advice from this gang. Just like the US Defense Department should heed advice from the ISIS. Please take time to learn more about them: “Yesterday Once More: The FOIL Primer”. http://www.vigilonline.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=959&Itemid=1
The usual ISI’s Fai and Sabrang gang, clutching at straws
The most of the professors who signed the letter are teaching kind of useless subjects like art history ,gender studies, English literature, social work , Anthropology etc. the ones that will take you no where in life after spending tons of money on the degrees. Here I dont see any professor who signed the letter teaching Math, Science, Engineering or Medical related subjects the ones that will take your life quality to a new level and help the world and humanity solve the real life problems.These useless profs have a lot of time in hand and thought hmmm how do we get in the news and focus lime light on us. Wharton School of Business has already made a mistake once ,I urge the Silicon Valley CEOs to ignore these drones cause the people who will really help your companies grow wants to engage with Modi real badly.
Thats right..They teach useless subjects not worth teaching in communitry college. These are dropouts who won’ get admitted to any professional course studies these usless subjects in useless “arts” colleges in India and they come over here for an MS and then can’t find a job continues to go for Ph.D cause they can’t do anything else… and end up with a Ph.D in these usless crap and then teaches crap in some community college lor dept of “useless” crap” in other colleges.
Ha Ha!
Most of the poor gullible students who spend their money on these “teachers” have thrown their money down the tube. These are students who won’t be able to find a job after their graduation and end up mooching off their parents… or go on to do Ph.ds eventually and end up teaching the same garbage for another generation of usless students who waste their money..
Its a Pyramid scheme is usless crap. 😛
Vijay Prashad.. Limousine Marxist, scion of one of the richest Conversionist Xtian families in Kolkatta. Teaches at Trinity College, CT. Tuition+Fees $63,970 for two semesters. IOW, where rich stupid kids go to be fleeced by Marxist professors. Author of “Red Salute to Chairman Ho”. (and Pol Pot and Stalin and Mao). Author of “Model Minority Suicide” – his advice and wish for Indian-Americans. Loomba of (poor) U. Penn – the worthy who tried to censor her students’ opportunity to see and hear Shri Modi – with as much success as King Canute stopping the waves. But several standard Petition-Signing names are missing – are they in jail I wonder, or on Sabbtatical in Beijing? Vinay Lal, Angana Chatterji, Girish Aggarwal, Biju Matthew, Abdul Ghulam Fai, Osama bin Laden, Dr. Weigh Poo, Dr. Semily Terait, Ra(t) Ravishankar, Kaleem Kawaja. These are exactly the kinds of people from whom Silicon Valley business leaders should take advice. Yup! Absolutely!
Excellent and very well said.
LOL! Well said! A bunch of elite, privileged, upper-caste bozos who used their family wealth and connections to settle in the US, and who would like to keep India forever poor and impoverished just so they can ‘champion’ the rights of the poor and feel ‘good’ in doing so. ISIS at least wraps itself around religious righteousness as it barbarically destroys. These leftist hypocrites suckle off the capitalist teat and leave Indians to wallow in what they expurgate from the other end.
These idiots were silent when Edward Snowden revealed the kind of evesdropping being done by U
.S. Government
These hypocrites talk of liberty and personal freedom but were signing similar petitions to stop Modi from coming to US. They even prevented Modi from delivering a lecture to students. Their sense of history starts and end at 2002.
I am so happy to read the comments on this story. These pseudos are being screwed left and right by the people
Great
After going through the list of dignitaries who have signed the abstract written by some misguided person, I feel as under:-
There is a popular saying in our local language which says that “a (Dhobi) washerman is better than an educated person”
I now firmly believe that was a very true statement made by a wise man. Hats off to him.
May truth prevail at all times & Good always continue to win over evil.
What a load of rubbish from a group of people who have never produced anything worthwhile in their life. Their chutzpah to ‘lecture’ Silicon Valley Tech leaders, their opposites in every meaningful way, shows just how delusional these ‘ Professors’ of English, Religion, Theater, and assorted unemployable (for a very good reason) subjects truly are. Like someone had earlier remarked, no scientists, doctors of medicine, engineers, technologists was bothered to be involved in this worthless endeavor. Using a comparison that might sink into their self-righteous hypocritical heads, they represent the real-life examples of the morons from the B-Ark in Douglas Adams’ THGTTG.
There is even a Professor of “Childhood Studies”!
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Pingback: Vox Populi trashes Vox Pompousi. Response to the Commie-Paki lies now exceeds 1042 signatures and a lot of wonderful comments. Please add your signature if you haven’t signed already:
https://www.change.org/p/members-and-alumnae-of-american-universities-oppose-prejudice-and-fear-mongering-in-the-faculty-statement-on-narendra-modi-s-visit
(Just to clarify: No, I wasn’t inviting the ‘rent-a-signature’ types listed above. Sorry Prof. Kamala Visweswaran, who must have won the Guinness Book of Records award for most Petition Rent-A-Signatures).
Also, a hilarious but incisive analysis of the birth and growth of the commie-paki Letter, done from U. Penn by Dr. Aseem Shukla, a doctor of medicine: and professor of surgery. Confirms my suspicion that Kamala V. was going for the Guinness BOR.
http://swarajyamag.com/politics/the-illiberal-indian-left-an-anatomy-of-the-petition/
“The Illiberal Indian Left: An Anatomy Of The Petition”
How would people outside The Commie_Paki Academy entertain ourselves if it weren’t for this Zoo, hain?
Dr. Shukla’s response is extremely fitting; I wish I could be that thorough in my analysis. The so called academics signing the petition are essentially shaming the great intellectuals in the name of “academic freedom.” If academic freedom is all about perpetuating one’s ill-conceived, half-baked, and unverifiable statements about another individual- a first grade statesman in that, and speaking ill about a great country which has stood the test of all times to uphold democratic values, I would urge the academia everywhere to rethink the meaning of “academic freedom.”
A group of misguided and misinformed U.S. based academics, the self-proclaimed South Asia experts, are urging Silicon Valley professionals to be cautious in dealing with India’s signature program Digital India by Modi government. We must break our silence and “bust” any and all attempts to sabotage our efforts toward- Ambitious, Bold, Clean, Digital, Diverse, Make-in, Rising, Shining, Secular, Thriving, and Tolerant- India led by its democratically elected leader Modi. The accusation that Indian government has “on several occasions already, demonstrated its disregard for human rights and civil liberties, as well as the autonomy of educational and cultural institutions” can’t be further from the truth. It simply shows their ignorance about a peace loving, God fearing, and developing India and Indians. Let us forgive them for their ignorance in keeping with our age old values in India.
These limited number of South Asia experts have too little information about India and its current leader Modi. They simply wish to malign India and spread anti-India and anti-Modi sentiments because they can’t see India thriving and prospering which has stood the ground against all odds. Do they not know that India’s decisive, secular, and popularly elected leader Modi won with an undisputed majority after decades of unsettling political alliances?
I wonder how much they know what Digital India is. Do they understand the “digital,” revolution created on the US soil with many Indian entrepreneurs, innovators, and intellectuals? Do they not recall Y2K and how it was ably handled and solved by Indian Technologists (ITs) who are the brains behind Digital World? In fact, if it was not for the magic of all things digital, the signatories won’t be able to spread totally baseless accusations against INDIA. What could be other motives? Are they feeling threatened by the enterprising, hard-working, and smart ITs who have made significant contributions. Many Indians are already world leaders. Many others with enormous unrealized potential are getting ready to lead a digital revolution which is yet to be invented.
When I noted that one of the misguided signatories is a self-professing Indologist, Wendy Doniger, I was not surprised or shocked. She is the author of a highly controversial book ‘The Hindus: An Alternative History’ through which she successfully outraged and insulted Indians before. Again she has some ulterior motives. It appears that Professor Doniger and her fellow colleagues have nothing better to do except wrongfully exploiting the true intent of Digital India which, in my informed view, is synonymous to ‘Developed India.”
I argue that Ms. Doniger and others are trying to cast an ‘anti-development’ image of a ‘fast developing digital’ India. I call upon India’s 1.2 billion brains and its rising power of intellectuals to not let a handful misguided South Asia experts mislead the world about the role of Digital India in the modernization, development, and rise of India in the Digital World.
The “Digital and Developed India” must continue undeterred and those who want Modi’s Silicon Valley visit and our dreams for Rising and Shining India marred must be forewarned- “Deal with IT.” Please express your views in every print and social media outlet what India is and tell the misinformed South Asia experts to get out of the way. Silicon Valley professionals must welcome Modi with an ever growing enthusiasm and invest in Digital India for continuing progress of the digital world.
Academicians have no business in getting into mean petty politics. It only degrades their image in the world of academicians and others.
These losers teach the following
GaGa for Gaga: Sex, Gender, and Identity:
Being Bad in the Renaissance:
Elvis as Anthology:
Cheerleading in American Culture:
Philosophy and Star Trek:
Monsters A-X:
Please, Please Me: In this course from Brown, students learn how audiences gain pleasure from reading different types of texts, as well as how to explain pleasure to others so that they’ll be equally thrilled.
Sex is Not a Natural Act: Social Science Explorations of Human Sexuality: This course from Sarah Lawrence seems to take on various ideas about sex, sexuality and morality.
Lady Gaga and the Sociology of Fame:
The Phallus
What Does a Woman Want? (Take course titled “Phallus”? LOL 🙂
The meaning of home: Homesick students may want to veer away from this course from The Open University. You’ll study the attachments people form with their homes, and how that “can impact…personal well-being.”
Stupidity: Occidental College’s Critical Theory and Social Justice Department offers a class called Stupidity. You’ll find out why we allow ourselves to be stupid, a characteristic that’s called an “artifact of our nature as finite beings and one of the most powerful determinants of human destiny.”
“Oh, look, a chicken!”
College: Belmont University, Nashville, TN
Course Description: Students must write papers using their personal research on the five senses. Entsminger reads aloud illustrated books TheSimple People and Toby’s Toe to teach lessons about what to value by being alive. Students listen to music while doodling in class. Another project requires students to put themselves in situations where they will be distracted and write a reflection tracking how they got back to their original intent.
“What if Harry Potter is real?”
College: Appalachian State University, Boone, N.C.
“How does it feel to dance?”
College: Oberlin College, Oberlin, OH
“Patternmaking for dog garments”
College: Fashion Institute of Technology, N.Y.
“The joy of garbage”
College: University of California-Berkeley, Berkeley, CA
“The sociology of Miley Cyrus”
College: Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, N.Y.
“How to watch television”
College: Montclair State University, Montclair, N.J.
🙂
Quote: DwightJones Mar 7, 2013
My own BA in Philosophy isn’t worth toilet paper, new or used. Why?
Philosophy has been a cynical racket in academia for the past century. Most departments were hijacked by a school of thought termed “linguistic analysis” or the “British Analytic Tradition”, which eschewed ideas, instead nitpicking around the abstruse meaning of words and phrases. Socrates examined the notion of Truth and pretty much exhausted the subject – we don’t need their asinine repartee to hash this out indefinitely. You want critical thinking? Try mathematics or E. O. Wilson’s superb new theory on Group evolution.
Populated by Oxbridge flunk-outs in “the colonies”, and their wannabees, they have blunted Western thought since Wittgenstein, and blocked all competing themes (German, French, Oriental etc.) This is an effete cult that values only tenure.
One result was the West knows little about Confucianism, e.g. which is the most important legacy of thought that our species has assembled. It has distanced us from our Asian counterparts.
The Internet provides all the company you need to study Philosophy – give the kids some science smarts and opportunities to compete instead. This farce has cost us dearly and needs to come to an end right now.
http://socawlege.com/the-15-most-ridiculous-college-courses-you-wont-believe-are-being-taught/
http://www.bestcollegesonline.com/blog/2011/01/17/20-completely-ridiculous-liberal-arts-courses-that-really-exist/
http://nation.time.com/2013/03/07/who-needs-philosophy-colleges-defend-the-humanities-despite-high-costs-dim-job-prospects/
Who Needs Philosophy? Colleges Defend the Humanities Despite High Costs, Dim Job Prospects
As rising tuition and mounting student debt makes prospective income a bigger part of choosing a major, humanities disciplines such as philosophy and history are under attack in favor of such fields as engineering and business, which are more likely to lead to jobs and salaries that justify the cost of four-year college education.
These idiots so called “professors” have nothing good to do. If they are so conserned about progress of India, they should go back and contrubute, physically, financially and intellectually for the progress of India. They have nothing positive to offer. Let them bark Elephant India and Modi will keep on marching ahead.
These eminents although full of hatred for Modi, thought that he would not cross the Gujarat state borders. Much to their dismay, the Indian electorate decided otherwise. Now, we can see how they are disappointed and led to jump and scream. If these eminents care so much for human rights, first start with native Americans, then African Americans and then come to Modi in India. Activism, like charity, should begin at home.
Dr. Aseem Shukla, who battled some members of this cabal of “South Asianists” last year, exposes more of this cabal’s shenanigans:
How the latest anti-Modi petition took shape, and why it is a fine example of the Left’s illiberal attitude towards those who do not agree with them.
It was nearly a month ago that the first draft of a statement targeting India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his pending visit to Silicon Valley appeared in my inbox. I am on the faculty of the University of Pennsylvania, but as a denizen of the medical school, my interactions with those in that anomalous realm of “South Asian studies” are sparse. And it seemed particularly misdirected coming to me, when my views on academic freedom and the Wharton Modi debacle, and on Modi’s inaugural visit to the U.S. were in the public realm.
Still, this errant email gave me an entertaining ringside seat to witness how some of my colleagues in the academe sublimate their ideological proclivities into political activism. The first version of the petition was 290 words and was initiated by Kamala Visweswaran, on the faculty of the University of Texas, and currently a fellow at Stanford. Prof. Visweswaran is no neophyte in the work of leftist activism and amassing signatures for sundry causes. Whether it was penning an article with Harvard’s Michael Witzel — the Hindu American community’s prime antagonist during the California Textbook Controversy — a signature campaign against Modi’s speech at Wharton, a letter condemning another favorite target for her, Israel, Visweswaran demonstrably joins or orchestrates sign-ons with fellow travelers.
Anjali Arondekar, a professor in feminist studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz was promoting the Visweswaran version of the email appeal that I saw. Arondekar received a PhD in English here at Penn, where two other co-signatories of the anti-Modi statement happen to teach English, Ania Loomba and Suvir Kaul. Loomba’s son, Tariq Thachil, a professor at Yale, also signed the statement. Loomba and Kaul, of course, spearheaded the very campaign that successfully kept Modi’s address out of the Wharton India Economic Forum three years ago. The internecine connections that lead to these sorts of petitions was becoming clear to me as others signed on.
Meanwhile, the initial statement by Visweswaran, then, morphed into 548 words after throwing in a few more paragraphs now demanding that business leaders in Silicon Valley decry not only ostensible religious persecution under Modi, remember the visa denial, but curiously, instruct that corporate responsibility implies either lecturing Modi or refraining from investing in India because his government committed such atrocities as changing leadership at Nalanda University or at the Indian Council of Historical Research.
As I perused the list of signatories to the statement that would make a scathing criticism of Digital India its centerpiece, what struck me was that while Visweswaran evidently had no trouble getting those from the disciplines of South Asian studies, anthropology, English, gender studies, and the like to join her, she evidently prevailed on only one faculty member from a technical field to sign on.
The lack of signatories with core competency in the nuances of the Indian government’s initiative to create a digital infrastructure–and its potential vulnerabilities is striking. If the intent was to limit the petition to a rolodex of comrades that commonly join such “open letters” and statements, even while a certain purpose is served, the anti-Modi statement would certainly perpetuate the image of an incestuous academy that many of us seek to shed.
I could quibble too that the indiscreet visceral revulsion of many of the signatories for all things Modi precludes the credibility of yet another anti-Modi effort, but there is also an undeniable visual authority to diasporic Indian academics criticizing India’s socio-political trajectory. But then why would these Indian Americans include several non-Indian signatories (Wendy Doniger and Sheldon Pollock among them, no less), and also those of Pakistani origin in this effort?
The competency of a Shahzad Bashir and Tayyab Mahmud, or Junaid Rana in their respective fields is not in question, but did signatories wonder as to the optics of Indian origin academics joining with Pakistanis to demand that American businesses reconsider investment in India? And that too, when among other things, they are protesting pending legislation regarding such Indo-centric issues as autonomy of the Indian Institutes of Management?
My inbox has not been populated yet by this shining example of Indo-Pakistani unity inviting signatories for a condemnation of the Pakistan state’s incontrovertible sponsorship of killings in Mumbai in 2008, or the recent spate of attacks in Gurdaspur and Jammu. And if it is Gujarat of 2002 and deaths of Muslims that motivates the Pakistani signatories, propriety would demand that the same academics would have considered a declaration against the genocide, forced conversions, rape and abductions of Ahmadiyyas, Hindus, and Christians in Pakistan as detailed by the U.S. State Department and other human rights reports.
Since a number of signatories are self-described leftists, this latest exercise exposes in stark relief the yawning gulf between liberal advocacy and leftist activism. As Jonathan Chait brilliantly expounds, while liberalism exists as a potent ideological vantage with discernible tenets, it lives within a dialogic space that respects varying opinions. In contrast, the Marxist left “always dismissed liberalism’s commitment to protecting rights of its political opponents.” The “currency” of the power of liberal ideas is so depleted, the leftists hold, that liberal privileging of free speech is not just quaint — but impotent.
Rather than entertain, let alone respect, an opposing view, leftists today conjure up the concept of “microagressions” to justify physically assaulting an anti-abortion protestor, or, as Arondekar’s colleague repented in a recent retrospective of the Berkeley Free Speech Movement, liberals for too long argued for freedom of thought and expression without considering who wields “power.” These freedoms of expression and thought should be controlled, abrogated and contested everywhere the contemporary leftist holds.
The avowed leftists signing the Visweswaran letter do not limit their activism to India alone. Nearly a dozen of the signatories of the anti-Modi letter have supported aspects of the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanction (BDS) movement and happened to sign on a campaign demanding an academic and cultural boycott of Israel–silent, of course, on daily atrocities being committed against atheists and Hindus, in say, Bangladesh. Many of them also joined the alarming rise in “disinvite” trends tracked by a Philadelphia based watchdog, FIRE.
It is this illiberal leftism –not liberalism — that seems to motivate so many of my colleagues in the Indian American academy, and it is what is so curious in the dichotomy between the teaching of the humanities and the sciences.
For a professor of surgery, my classroom spans from lecture halls to the operating suites, but my teaching is rooted in the scientific realities of anatomy, embryology, pathophysiology and surgical technique. An electrical engineering professor at Penn, Saswati Sarkar — hardly diffident of her strong political positions vis a vis India — will likely mentor a PhD student in empirical scholasticism, without even knowing whether the mentee is ideologically aligned.
The leftist academy perpetuates then, because just as I expect a surgeon I train to replicate techniques I teach to matriculate, can a Doniger protégé really see anything more than a perverse, erotic symbol in the Shiva linga, or can a Arondekar student argue that gender studies is an disingenuous redoubt in the academy if the students wish to secure that PhD, or the all-important — and evasive — tenure? Our lofty goal as educators may be to teach the student how to think, but for the activist professor, clearly, the aspiration is an insistence to teach what to think.
It is a fascinating fever that befalls the diaspora here in the United States when Narendra Modi comes calling. It was a year ago that I sat in the rafters as the stage was set at Madison Square Garden for nearly twenty thousand. The same fever rises again on the opposite coast even as an apposite debate begins about liberalism versus leftism and rights versus privilege.
http://swarajyamag.com/politics/the-illiberal-indian-left-an-anatomy-of-the-petition/
My response to this “List of Scholars” and their penchant for selective demonizing of some Indian politicians, and their agenda for keeping India underdeveloped and broken: http://swarajyamag.com/politics/all-these-academics-and-all-their-might-a-rejoinder-from-an-academic/
The recent petition by academics in the US, before PM Modi’s visit, is a sign of their diminishing control over popular discourse around India.
Déjà vu in the Indian context could have some karmic connotations, if you think about it, but also lead us into musing about samskaras and vasanas. For what else can explain the new petition, or signature campaign, to warn Silicon Valley CEOs of Narendra Modi’s bona fides by the 125 or so signatories with academic affiliation?
Their concern, initially, in that petition is about “privacy” in the digital future. But that is just a fig leaf to cover their other, extraneous complaints, which go all the way from the time he was denied a visa to travel to the United States, to bans on some NGOs, to academic freedom, and to the appointment of “under-qualified” people to head some academic institutions in India. The kitchen sink is also there somewhere, but the washing of Indian plates in American sinks has long been the hallmark of these self-appointed overseers of Indian mores, morals, and research methodologies. They have had it their way for a long time, and any time their fortunes are threatened they come out waving their official designations and academic affiliations as if that will scare people into rethinking their vote and their democratic futures.
But all of this has happened before. Many readers of Swarajya will not remember what transpired when the first NDA government took office in 1996 and till the time they lost the general election in 2004, but for those of us who have been involved in these matters and sought to understand this visceral antipathy of these academic worthies to the Sangh Parivar, and to matters Hindu and Hinduism, this is indeed déjà vu all over again: the 88,000th petition, equaling the number of times one is reborn, and as long as the Mahabharata! It is not as if these petitions have not had traction or consequences: the US denied Mr. Modi a visa for nine years, and the NYT must have published some 90 editorials in a scorched earth policy to annihilate the “demon Modi” and the parivar he belongs to. But democracy is messy, and the 125 academics chafe and have been in a churlish mood since Narendra Modi carried the BJP to an immense electoral victory in 2014.
Since then they have seen the man they love to hate travel the world wooing not just the Diaspora Indians but world leaders – from Japan and Australia to the US and Germany, and from Beijing and Dubai to Tokyo and Brasilia – and they have seen him morph from the ogre they caricatured him as to a pragmatic, energetic, thoughtful and charismatic leader who has more Twitter and Facebook followers than their beloved “secular” (but seriously and serially corrupt) leaders who ensured their hurly-burly life of publishing in the US and pontificating in New Delhi. They fear that the vast and deeply entrenched network of nepotistic academics and graduate students they have constructed and belong to, and the close connection to the political establishments in Western capitals and in New Delhi they have may begin to fray, and that their lucrative book deals, their flying hither and thither, and their monopoly over awards, certificates, and medals may begin to wither away.
They were very sure of the state of their estate, and the moral pedestals they had climbed on to but now when they don’t get invited to join think tanks and committees that decide the fate of Indians and government policy, and when their carefully constructed diatribes against “Hindu nationalism” is mocked and laughed at by millions of Internet-savvy Indians, they reconnect with their network of naysayers to create as much confusion and conflict as they can, hoping that something will give and someone will do something extreme so that they can regain confidence in their own abilities to read and guide Indian reality.
This “Nehruvian” establishment with its long heritage, and vast and intricate networking, has played havoc with the lives of Indians, and kept India a beggar state – corrupt, bereft, and broken. These academics, wedded to their various continental theories, and fed by a moth-eaten command economy, have been the sepoys doing the battle for a variety of non-Indian actors who have sought to keep India from discovering its potential. The scandalous state of Indian society – its broken roads, its unlettered citizens, its vast armies of unemployed youth, its porous borders bleeding money and breeding new electorates, its corrupt governments and vulgar politicians – has never really bothered these academics who, for all purposes, simply used its history and culture merely as the “data set” for manufacturing caricatures of Indians’ beloved ideas, ideals and heroes. It is how they have earned their artisan breads and their vintage wines – by feeding their students and their colleagues the suppurative Indian body in exchange for their tenures in top tier American academic institutions.
Now, in a long time, we have a man at the helm of affairs, who actually comes from the class and caste background they have always fought on behalf of, if you were to go by the claims they make in their scholarly theses. Alas, he is not putty in their hands, nor does he feed them the largesse in the big troughs they have always supped from in New Delhi. Therefore this anger and pouting, these lies and innuendoes, these selective bits and pieces of misinformation, and this crying wolf.
We doubt that Silicon Valley leaders, entrepreneurs, and innovators will pay much heed to what these academics are saying but they also know that they have to be wary of falling into the traps set by these minders of Indian matters. Social media can be used to shame and frame, and they want to be on their attentive best when they meet with the man, who they know instinctively is good for India, despite all of his own personal baggage and the shortcomings of the Indian systems. There was no Facebook or Twitter till 2004, and so the ammunition these academics had gathered and stored in those days could and was used to more effect. Now, they know that it is they who are in search of their own identities in their cushy and lofty offices in American academe, and that those they mocked and derided have found the means, some of it crude, to beat back these “experts” if not at their own game, in a game that offers a more level playing field.
We do live in dangerous times, and partisan fervor can quickly lead us down paths that can only lead to more conflict. Asking these academics to be thoughtful and attentive, to shed their partisan garb, and to join hands in making India a livable, healthy, energetic, and sound state is however a waste of effort. We can only hope that they will mend their ways, but we should surely not bet much on that happening.
Their petition will, however, not get a quiet burial, and so battle on we should.
This anti-Modi campaign has been going on since he became the CM of Gujrat more than a decade ago.
Even before he became PM, this is what anti-Modi academicians came out with in global press:
1. A bunch of of NRI writers,academicians in UK appealed to defeat Modi wrote,” If Modi is elected, it will bode ill for India’s future “. (in The Guardian in April 2014, link below at #1).
2. A second List of NRIs wrote, “The idea of Modi in power fills us with dread”.
(in The Independent in April 2014, link below at #2).
3. Even a leading foreign magazine ‘The Economist’ wrote, “Modi should not become PM”. (April 5th, 2014 link below at #3).
One of my friends Dr. Varun Reddy said this about the Academicians who oppose Modi, ” Its not Modi-loathing.Its Hindu-hatred that drives them. Modi is just the face of that rebellious new Hindu who has made the ultimate sin of opposing the well-settled white man’s narrative of a culturally inferior/deviant Hinduism.”
*Since India’s Political Independence in 1947, the “Marxists” have harmed the “Dharmic thought’ the most, even more than Islamic and Christian ideological hostility towards Dharma thought. Though in the rest of the world, Islam and Christianity fight with each other, but strangely in case of India, Islam, Christianity and Marxists, all three have worked together and have single handedly hijacked Indian literature, history studies, cultural studies, economic policies and educational system and turned it anti-Dharma, anti-Hindu.
Media, Think Tanks and Academia world over is mostly controlled by Western, Islamic and Marxists leaning leaders or their sympathizers hence you see so much anti-Yoga, anti-Sankrit, anti-Cow, anti-sanskriti rants and malicious campaigns all over the places.
For Dharmic people, It’s time to stand-up, speak-out and take back ‘discourse and destiny ‘ of their heritage, culture and civilization.
#1. http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/apr/10/if-modi-elected-india-future-gujarat
#2.http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/letters/letters-the-idea-of-modi-in-power-fills-us-with-dread-9273298.html
#3. http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21600106-he-will-probably-become-indias-next-prime-minister-does-not-mean-he-should-be-can-anyone
Thank you to academeblog for posting my response.
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I know I do not want my children educated one bit by any of these hindu/india-hating professors. luckily, great majority of them are teaching subjects that can’t get you decent jobs. therefore, i doubt they have many indian students any way.
i seriously doubt they have life. what a sorry bunch of people these are.
Kind of subjects most of these people are professor of, a student of emerging generation will probably prefer to become a cab driver than to become professor of such mostly useless subjects whose corresponding departments are burden on either universities funding or state exchequer. Most of these professors’ salary must be lower than even a call center employee. In what sense, these seemingly thugs opinions matter more than opinions of billion plus people living in India?.
Western Academia’s role on issues related to India is Communally divisive, Politically partisan,Culturally anti-Dharma .But Most seriously, these academicians listed above are anti-India and they contribute and help in ‘Atrocity Literature’ fabrication campaign by “Breaking India Forces” to undermine and demonize India and Indians via Global Press, Academic writings and Think Tanks.
I hope sane people in Western Academia will do some serious contemplation and think of course-correction. Otherwise the day is not too far when ” Vigilant Youth of India” will rise up against Western Academic Establishment spewing venom against Indian Society. Its a question of safeguarding and defending India’s Integrity as a Nation, a Culture,a Civilization and an invaluable Heritage.
When the Gujarat riots broke out in the year 2002, I read the international press, and truly believed their reports that Mr. Narendra Modi is inhuman person, and has an agenda like Hitler to decimate certain ethnic populations of India, and he was complicit in encouraging the riots, and looking the other way when the riots were taking place. After reading everything in the press in the last 13 years, I am now convinced that all those reports were false, were planted with hidden political agenda, and to put India in bad light against Pakistan. Why:
1. Extensive investigation by the Supreme Court of India did not reveal his complicity. The last case remaining by Ms. Teesta Setalvad is no more than pet dogs in India barking at every stranger. I do not know if the case by the widow of Mr. Jeffry is still active. Every widow in the world would think that the government did not do enough to save her husband. These two cases will not change my mind.
2. The people of India with the largest electorate in the world were given extensive news feeds on Mr. Modi’s complicity in the riots. And after knowing all the allegations against him, they gave him a clear mandate which is more than any world leader has ever got in the history of democracies.
3. So many Muslim leaders from Gujarat have praised Mr.Modi for his commitment for the uplift of all sections of the society including Muslims. One such leader is the appointee as Vice-Chancellor to Islamic Seminary in U.P. But the bigots in the seminary forced him not to accept the appointment.
4. I attended Mr. Modi’s reception at Madison Square Garden. I saw a large section of audience with people in Islamic attire, I would say close to thousand. I am sure there are many more Muslims in non-Islamic attire in the audience.
5. I saw a video clip of Mr. Modi’s reception in Abu Dhabi last month with 40,000 or more in the stadium, and many thousands more outside. There were large sections of Muslims in the audience happily listening to his speech.
6. Same is the case with Mr. Modi’s receptions in Sidney, Australia, and Toronto, Canada.
7. Muslims of India have accepted him as their leader. They would not have done so if they were convinced or suspicious of his complicity in Gujarat riots.
I am convinced that Mr. Narendra Modi is neither past Hitler, current Hitler, or Hitler in making. All the criticism and accusations on Mr. Modi is the result of people with agenda. In my opinion, all the above 135 signatories from the U.S. academic world have the same agenda or stuck in the past.
It is totally ridiculous to say that Digital India movement led by Mr. Modi will be used to curtail fundamental rights of Indian citizens. Perhaps, these academicians are taking a cue from the American History wherein the early White settlers made sure their Black slaves do not have access to any education, reading or writing, and were punished if they were seen educating themselves.
I do not see any of these academicians have any math and science background. The most these signatories would be using current Information Technology is in using Microsoft Word, Microsoft Power point, may be a smart phone, and may be smart TV and entertainment system at their home. None of them are capable of writing a short computer program useful to millions of milk-men and milk-maids in India. So, their voice is irrelevant.
When the 13 American Colonies were fighting the Revolutionary War, the U.S. population then were split between Patriots, and Loyalists. So it is only natural the current Indians and Indian-Americans are split between people stuck in the past, and the ones with vision for the future.
Sincerely,
R Murty K
P.S: My pseudonym is not “Annayya”. Someone sabotaged my WordPress account, and changes my pseudonym to Annayya. My technological skills are not sufficient to get back my identity, and revert back to my own password, and pseudonym, so my false pseudonym is recorded for my post.
The above academic signatories should note that the Rt. Hon Narendra Damodar Modi hails from a civilization that respects rivers. A river, throws out whatever dirt
you try to put in her. It does not stop its dynamic flow. At the last registration count
those who want to listen to him was two and half times oversubscribed. In Dharmic
tradition, ultimately intellect is also Jadvad(inert). Here is a living proof of a leader who cares for & shows a Dharmic way of doing things. Today’s education rejects any views they do not understand. However, nearly half the world follows Dharmic tradition. Intellectuals should be open and not a closed book.
lets’ be honest : this lame petition by the loopy, obsessive-compulsive academic professional haters of india’s growth story simply has no chance to have the slightest brainwashing influence on its intended target, the seasoned business decision makers of the highly successful american multinationals who already have a healthy presence in india, and who know india quite well first hand.
this petition, soaking wet in hate, can not do a thing toward what it wants to accomplish. however, it – lucky for india – serves to expose the warped mindset of these professional haters of largely hindu india.
the petition does not pass the smell test. these indian academics – a good many of them are brown non-hindus – are most likely acting at the behest of their white american academic masters who strut about authoritatively as India-experts, although they clearly are not, and now are at great risk of getting knocked out from their dictatorial perch given the now fast growing smarter india whose progress they feel they must stonewall. of course, they look stupid and childish.
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We have heard of Devil reading the scripture . It is the first time that we see so many devils obsessed with reading the scripture . These academics who thrive in a country noted for its imperialistic history , and many of whom are associated with Semitic religions and its political version communism whose blood-soaked evolution is unthinkably cruel are raising their anti-Indian and anti-pagan sentiments through their intellectual howling India is secular it is because its bedrock culture is Hindu.As for their Indian sepoy academic followers the least,the better. The very same people who justify the most brutal regimes and subhumans in the world in what can be called leftist or Judeo-Christian history constructions, are out and have been forced to share bed with ideological adversaries, because India now has got a government which will accept nationalist counter-narratives.
This is Wendy’s Children again. They have been trying to defame Indian culture and history for far too long. Recent past people started exposing their lack lack of knowledge.
They know that we are in the right path of digital growth now… This is the reason they want scuttle our opportunity and freedom. If India wants to have our digital strategy, we can do that without Silicon valley also.
But, we do not want advice of these crazy intellectuals…
This is a very important and powerful statement. Thank you for sharing this. Please don’t read the trolls who are employed by Modi. It is their job to post negative and often aggressive comments. Wishing you strength and goodwill.
Nirali,
As Modi is going from strength to strength, Indians are rediscovering their self pride, and the actual treasure Indian heritage is. It is trolls like these professors who are negative all the time who muddy the waters and interfere where they should not. Why are you joining them? What is your justification in saying what you said? If any one correctly challenges your opinion they become trolls? Please show me where else you have had me challenging you, and I will give you whatever you want. Else shut up and stop being negative about a leader that a majority of Indians have elected. And that too in an international setting where you should be defending India rather than creating problems. See how quickly these ‘American’ professors join hands to pull us down. Please stop these nonsensical behaviours.
My question is different. Indian establishment has had a patchy human rights record all the time. But nobody cares including intellectuals and NGOs. Indian police are the most corrupt, helping politically connected industrialists to create fake criminal cases like this http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/markets/stock-markets/police-files-fir-against-baring-pe-asia-on-cheating-conspiracy-charge/article6978982.ece and all you care about is how to block just one man, this Modi who is their voted representative? Police filing fake criminal cases like these is sure to scare away foreign investors.
And you are all idiotic professors without a clue. You should support systemic reform and elimination of corruption if you really care a tiny bit. But all you care about is “politically correct” appearances, you want to be seen as more left than the guy next to you. Tragic.
In this day and age, where there are so many unemployed youth where colleges have become so expensive, its time to get rid of most of these “Humaniities”. Its utter waste of time.
Lazy students who want to go to univerisity to party for 4 years take these “Humanieis”.
NUFF ALREADY! Get rid of them.
http://www.desicontrarian.com/hello-world/#comment-272
DECONSTRUCTING WENDY DONIGER
Wendy Doniger’s (The alleged Hindu expert of the west) quixotic hatred of the classical Hinduism and Brahmins is not very different than the 1930’s christian’s hatred of the Jews and Judaism.
Alternate history of the Jews written by none other than the protestant founder Martin Luther in his “Jews and their Lies” which almost every christian German was influenced by and their subsequent hatred for their “upper caste” Jews (God’s chosen people). There was the perception that the Jews not unlike the upper castes/Brahmins had a monopoly of the arts, the sciences and their financial institutions and everything else of importance in Germany during the 30s and that others were somehow prohibited from doing bigger and better things on their own by their “upper castes” (Jews). The allegedly “poor ordinary christians” were the “backward castes” who needed to be saved from the alleged evil upper caste Jews. The only way that could be done was to take the Jewish history and Jewish culture and rewrite them for the benefit of the “underdogs” of German christians. Let’s show these upper castes that we the populists can do to them was the thought of those days in that christian country.. It went “We the backward caste ordinary christians have a number on these elites”. So Martin Luther, Hitler and others ( Lyra, Burgensis, and John Chrysostom, before them) went about rewriting Jewish history and culture and had their own unflattering and grotesque interpretations which they embellished to their satisfaction. Thus was born the alternate Jewish history of “Jews and their Iies” and Mein Kampf. Actually the 2000 year Christian hatred of Jews worldwide lead to the Holocaust
Most of the signatories are Bengali and Kerala closet communists, who have no idea about the present day India or its aspirations. Also other whole lot are professors of non Indian origin, who doesn’t have locus standi in this matter.
I wonder how many of these people wrote letters to their congressmen to oppose the PATRIOT act ?
I never saw them writing letters to Sonia Gandhi when INC did lot of information censure. Lot of these people get Arab oil money as grants and want to keep India in the dark.
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I am glad these “Academics” / “Scholars” / “Educators” are in America… and not in India.
I prefer them helicoptering over America’s future, shield them from new ideas and people with challenging views.
I prefer a future in which a whole generation of Americans are scared… “triggered” by mere words.
That future would be better for India.
Such Academics are not our enemies, they are in fact a kind a biological weapon.
🙂
“You can always judge a man by the quality of his enemies.”
If this faculty statement is all that his enemies can produce, then, Shri Narendra Modi is a serious disappointment 🙂 🙂 🙂
Mr Gupta, you are bit wrong sir, One cannot judge Elephant by the claims and bostas made by crowd of dogs and rats.
Typical response from leftists.
We all should start a campaign against these commies and minority cry babies.
Did they even utter a single word against US government’s spying on it own people.
ARE THESE ACADEMICIANS OF INDIAN ORIGIN REALLY WORRIED ABOUT INDIA ? HOW MANY OF THEM ACCEPTED AMERICAN CITIZENSHIP AFTER GETTING THEIR EDUCATION IN INDIA AT HIGHLY SUBSIDISED FEES ? WHAT HAVE THEY CONTRIBUTED TO INDIA’S PROBLEMS FOR LAST 60 YEARS ?
THEY ONLY WAKE UP WHEN IT SUITS THEIR CONVENIENCE.
Authors & Signatories of the above blog should learn something about B. Raman. B. Raman (Bahukutumbi Raman), was an Additional Secretary of the Cabinet Secretariat of the Government of India and one-time head of the counter-terrorism division of the Research and Analysis Wing, India’s external intelligence agency. Sadly, he passed away on 16 June 2013. However, he wrote an excellent column in March 2005 about the culprits who were responsible for the U.S. visa denial to Narendra Modi and he was basically referring to the Indian diaspora in the U.S. and the western countries.
Authors of the blog have made unsubstantiated allegations of violations of religious freedom, and a steady impingement on the independence of the judiciary under Prime Minister Modi. They have also made accusations without offering any evidence that under Modi’s tenure as Prime Minister, academic freedom is also at risk: foreign scholars have been denied entry to India to attend international conferences. I believe that when B. Raman was mentioning the traitors to India in his column he was referring to the people like the authors of the above blog. Maybe it will do them some good to read the column by Late B. Raman. Hopefully, it will wake them up and make them realize the damage they are doing to the country that gave them so much. Following is the site where one can read the column by B. Raman:
Modi’s visa denial: Who did it?
http://www.rediff.com/news/2005/mar/21raman.htm
http://www.firstpost.com/world/excited-to-announce-that-pm-modi-will-be-visiting-facebook-headquarters-mark-zuckerberg-2431916.html
Excited to announce that PM Modi will visit Facebook headquarters: Mark Zuckerberg
All the anti Hindus…can go suck an egg or whatever they suck when they pout!
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit the headquarters of Facebook in California on September 27 where he will hold a town hall interaction with its CEO Mark Zuckerberg. This was announced by Zuckerberg through a Facebook post on Sunday. Modi will be the second leader after US President Barack Obama to hold town hall interaction at the Facebook headquarters. – See more at: http://indianexpress.com/article/technology/tech-news-technology/mark-zuckerberg-to-host-pm-modi-for-townhall-qa-at-facebook-hq/#sthash.omiIyCxu.dpuf
@cpgmm: Remember, Zuckerberg and his Facebook have the core business model of selling advertising free riding on top of users’ communication with one another.
Facebook collects your private data for their own private profit.
If this petition were really focussed about Digital India and surveillance and other matters then naturally you have to note that Facebook and Govt of India are both doing it, and would naturally align on that issue.
However, the rub remains that this petition is not really about taking a stance about Digitial India or surveillance.
It is really focussed instead, about being opposed to Modi as PM. Amartya Sen was clear and forceful that he does not want Modi as PM. Read it here: http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/dont-want-modi-as-my-pm-amartya-sen/article4941075.ece
Yet the “hordes” of electors in India seem to have ignored Sen while voting. It would be unrealistic for their hero to expect any other kind of welcome to the academia of USA for whom Sen carries weight and may be even hallowed.
Facebook on the other hand will not care a tiny bit about this “academic noise”. The two are distinct as chalk and cheese.
http://www.sify.com/news/us-academics-say-narendra-modi-supporters-posting-threats-on-blogs-news-national-pjorR4ggiajhh.html
What one can deduce from this article is that the petition of these academics has no takers. Nobody is willing to endorse them or support their ’cause’ whether Indian or Western. 100 academics vs 1000s of Indians says it all. They have lost so in their last ditch attempt they call the Indians who criticized them Narendra Modi supporters and play victim when it is THEY who lead a witch-hunt against Modi. I would call it a hit-list rather.
Mr. Amartya Sen is an enigma – a guy that enjoys to the hilt the luxuries provided to him by the capitalistic systems in America, a country he adopts, ditches his longtime Indian wife, and marries someone with an extremely influencial background, which helps him immensely with his subsequent Nobel Prize. Let Mr. Sen sit on his personal laurels and spare us his vaunted opinion about who India should or should not elect as her PM. Who cares for what he thinks or does not? Rather we would bother about those who have spent their whole life as typical Indian citizens, lived through its poverty, and has never complained about that. What use guys like Mr. Sen are to us who only want to sermonize us with age-old jargons of ‘sickularism’ living in the land of plenty and on top of that gleefully occupying the pristigouus position as the head of the revived Nalanda Univeraity – a historic bed of Indian Civilization, contributing literally nothing for the project other than employing his own band of followers with plum positions in the project?
Santanu Dey
Mr. Amartya Sen is an enigma – a guy that enjoys to the hilt the luxuries provided to him by the capitalistic systems in America, a country he adopts, ditches his longtime Indian wife, and marries someone with an extremely influencial background, which helps him immensely with his subsequent Nobel Prize. Let Mr. Sen sit on his personal laurels and spare us his vaunted opinion about who India should or should not elect as her PM. Who cares for what he thinks or does not? Rather we would bother about those who have spent their whole life as typical Indian citizens, lived through its poverty, and has never complained about that. What use guys like Mr. Sen are to us who only want to sermonize us with age-old jargons of ‘sickularism’ living in the land of plenty and on top of that gleefully occupying the pristigouus position as the head of the revived Nalanda Univeraity – a historic symbol of Indian Civilization, contributing literally nothing for the project other than employing his own band of followers with plum positions in the project at fat salaries commensurate with American pay structures?
Santanu Dey
Oppose Prejudice and Fear-mongering in the “Faculty Statement on Narendra Modi’s Visit”
https://www.change.org/p/members-and-alumnae-of-american-universities-oppose-prejudice-and-fear-mongering-in-the-faculty-statement-on-narendra-modi-s-visit?source_location=petitions_share_skip
http://swarajyamag.com/economy/petition-wars-a-statement-welcoming-modi-to-silicon-valley/
A large number of US academics have signed a statement welcoming Modi’s visit to the Silicon Valley. With a strong representation from engineering disciplines the coordinators claim they are best prepared to comment on Digital India and AADHAAR.
A coalition of American academics have put together a statement extending a welcome to Prime Minister Modi in advance of his trip to Silicon Valley. The statement discusses Digital India and several other issues and is signed by over 150 U.S based academics, based at prominent U.S colleges and universities.
In the email circulating the petition, Dr Aseem Shukla and Prof Narayan Komerath have stated that the said statement has ‘a very strong representation from faculty in engineering disciplines, who, arguably, are best prepared to comment on Digital India as well as the Aadhaar program.’
Signatories include Aseem Shukla, Ramesh Rao, Subhash Kak, Anantanand Rambachan, Saswati Sarkar and Mukul Asher. According to the press release, the statement will be ‘delivered to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) prior to Mr. Modi’s arrival, and also to him personally when he reaches Northern California.’ The full statement is reproduced below.
I saw signatures of about 8 Muslim professors in the Faculty Statement but did not see any Muslim signatory in the Swarajyamag statement. This indicates how the Faculty Statement has more to do with religion.
Interesting Observation.
What about how many Indian christians?
Smart professors trump dumb “Humanities” BullShitters.We welcome Prime Minister Modi to the United States and look forward to a mutually rewarding and productive dialogue between the United States and India.
Sincerely,
Narayanan Menon Komerath, Ph.D., Professor, Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA
Ved P. Nanda, Ph.D., John Evans University Professor, Thompson Marsh Professor of Law, Department of Law, University of Denver, Sturm College of Law, Denver, CO
Bal Ram Singh, Ph.D., Professor, Botulinum Research Center, Institute of Advanced Sciences; Formerly with University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, Dartmouth, MA
Aseem Shukla, M.D., Associate Professor, Surgery, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
Ramesh N. Rao, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Communications, Columbus State University, Columbus, GA
Subhash Kak, Ph.D., Regents Professor, School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK
TRN Rao, Ph.D., Emeritus, Loflin Chair, Department of Computer Science, University of Louisiana, Lafayette, LA
Anantanand Rambachan, Ph.D, Professor, Department of Religion, St. Olaf College, Northfield, MN
Dinesh O. Shah, Ph.D, Professor Emeritus, First Charles A. Stokes Professor, Departments of Chemical Engineering and Anesthesiology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
Saswati Sarkar, Ph. D., Professor, Department of Electrical and Systems Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
Krishna C. Saraswat, Ph.D., Rickey/Nielsen Chair Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA
Samar Mitra, Ph.D, Professor, Department of Sociology, Emory, Atlanta, GA
Seymour Goodman, Ph.D., Professor, Co-Director, Center for International Strategy, Technology and Policy, Sam Nunn School of International Studies, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA
Vijay Kumar Dhir, Ph.D., Professor, Dean of the Department of Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles , Los Angeles, CA
Gerald D. Holder, Ph.D., Professor, Dean of Engineering, Chair of the Deans’ Council, ASEE, Swanson School of Engineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA
Madhusudan Hiralal Jhaveri, Ph.D., Emeritus, Department of Civil Engineering , University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth, Dartmouth, MA
Shrinivas Joshi, Ph.D., Emeritus, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI
Don M. Flournoy, Ph.D., Professor, Space Journal Editor, Scripps College of Communication, Ohio University, Athens, OH
Shreekumar S. Vinekar, M.D., Emeritus, Department of Psychiatry, OU College of Medicine, Oklahoma City, OK
Tridib K. Roy, Ph.D., Emeritus, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth, Dartmouth, MA
Rajaram Veliyath, Ph.D., Professor, Coles College of Business, Kennesaw State University, Kennesaw, GA
Alok Kumar, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Physics, State University of New York, Oswego, NY
D. Steven White, DBA, Professor, Department of Marketing & International Business, University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth, North Dartmouth, MA
Kamala Kant Vijai, Ph.D, Professor, Department of Chemistry, Morehouse College, Atlanta, GA
Shrinivas Tilak, Ph.D., Research Scholar, Department of Religion, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec
Jeffery Long, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Religion & Asian Studies, Elizabethtown College, Elizabethtown, PA
Narahari B. Achar, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus, Department of Physics, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN
David Michael Henneberry, Ph.D., Professor, Department of International Studies, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK
R Ganesh Rajagopalan, Ph.D, Professor, Department of Aerospace, Iowa State University, Ames, IA
JVR Prasad, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Aerospace Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA
Madan Lal Goel, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus, Department of Political Science, University of West Florida, Pensacola, FL
Chandra Shekhar Mayanil, Ph.D., Eleanor Clarke Endowed Professor, Department of Pediatric Neurosurgery, Northwestern University Lurie Children’s Hospital , Chicago, IL
Dharma P. Agrawal, D.Sc., Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH
Jagan P. Agrawal, Ph.D., Emeritus, Department of Electrical Engineering, Sonoma State University, Rohnert Park, CA
Sunil Kumar, Ph.D., Professor, Thomas G. Pine Faculty Fellow, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA
Charu Thammavaram, MS, Professor, Department of Biology , Houston Community College, Missouri City, TX
Satish Kumar Sharma, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA
Robert Gustav Loewy, Ph.D., Professor, Member, National Academy of Engineering, Department of Aerospace Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA
Sukalyan Sengupta, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering and Center for Indic Studies, University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth, Dartmouth, MA
Yashwant Pathak, Ph.D., Professor, College of Pharmacy , University of South Florida, Tampa , FL
Lalita Sen, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Urban Planning & Environmental Policy, Texas Southern University, Houston, TX
Daniel P. Schrage, Ph.D., Professor, Director, Vertical Lift Rotorcraft Center of Excellence, Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA
Vipin Chaturvedi, Ph.D., Professor, College of Medicine, Univeristy of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA
Sridhar S. Condoor, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Aerospace & Mechanical Engineering, Saint Louis University, St. Louis, MO
Arun Lakhotia, Ph.D., Lockheed Martin BORSF Professor of Computer Science, School of Computing and Informatics, University of Louisiana, Lafayette, Lafayette, LA
Royal James Hartigan, Ph.D., Professor, Fullbright Scholar, Department of Music, University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth, Dartmouth, MA Fullbright Scholar (2014-2015)
Dharendra Yog Goswami, Ph.D, Distinguished University Professor, Clean Energy Research Center, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL
K. Ravindra, Ph.D., Professor, Associate Dean, Parks College of Engineering, Aviation and Technology, St. Louis University, St. Louis, MO
Anant G. Honkan, Ph.D, Professor, Department of Math/CS/Enginnering, Georgia Perimeter College, Clarkston, GA
Avinandan Mukherjee, Ph.D., Professor, Dean, College of Business, Clayton State University, Atlanta, GA
Suryanarayana Challapalli, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL
Kurt C. Gramoll, Ph.D., Professor, Hughes Professorship, Department of Aerospace and Mech Engineering, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK
Robert Grant Crawford, Ph.D., Professor, Col (Retd), USA; Former Chair, ME, West Point US Military Academy, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Quinnipiac University, Hamden, CT
Pramod K. Varshney, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY
Ashok Shantilal Sangani, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Biomedical and Chemical Engineering, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY
Tribhuvan N. Puri, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Finance, University of Masssachusetts, Dartmouth, Dartmouth, MA
Bhavani V. Sankar, Ph.D., Professor, Formerly Ebaugh Professor, Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
Angappa Gunasekaran, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Decision and Information Sciences, University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth, Dartmouth, MA
Rajeev Arora, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Horticulture, Iowa State University, Ames, IA
Vaishali Sanchorawala, MD, Professor, Department of Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA
Vijaybahaskar R. Kandula, MD, MPH, Assistant Professor, Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT
Shobha K. Bhatia, Ph.D., Meredith Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering , Syracuse University , Syracuse, NY
Sanjay Mishra, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Physics and Materials Science, The University of Memphis, Memphis, TN
Diana I. Lurie, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, The University of Montana, Missoula, MT
Shambhu K. Shastry, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering Technology, Excelsior College, Albany, NY
Madhu Thangavelu, MBS, Professor, Department of Astronautical Engineering, School of Architecture, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA
Srinivasa T. Reddy, Ph.D., Professor, College of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
Arun Jai Prakash, Ph.D., Professor, Former Knight Ridder Research Professor, Department of Finance, COB, Florida International University, Miami, FL
Prasadarao Nemani, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
Surendra Mansinghka, Ph.D., Emeritus, Department of Finance, San Franciso State University, San Francisco, CA
Bandaru V. Ramarao, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Bioprocess Engineering, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse, NY
Jagdish Nanchand Sheth, Ph.D, Charles H. Kellstadt Professor of Marketing, Department of Marketing, Emory University, Atlanta , GA
Nabendu Pal, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Mathematics, University of Louisiana, Lafayette, Lafayette, LA
Bina Gupta, Ph.D., Emeritus, Department of Philosophy, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO
Amish Dangodara, MD, Professor, Department of Internal Medicine, University of California Irvine, Orange, CA
Alpesh Amin, M.D., M.B.A., Thomas and Mary Endowed Professor of Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, University of California, Irvine, Orange, CA
Sharmi Mehta, PhD, Emeritus, Department of Economics, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN
Pramod P. Reddy, M.D., Professor, Department of Clinical Surgery and Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH
Shyam Shukla, Ph.D., Professor, Chemistry and Biochemistry, Lamar University, Beaumont, Texas
Rajendra Sinha, M.S. , Professor, Department of Business, Des Moines Area Community College, Ankeny, IA
Alka Shukla, M.S., Professor, Natural Sciences, Houston Community College, Houston, Texas
Mark Zachary Taylor, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Sam Nunn School of International Affairs, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA
Ganti S. Murthy, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Biological and Ecological Engineering, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR
Kalpdrum Passi, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Mathematics & Computer Science, Laurentian University, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada
Sumit Kumar Jha, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Charles N. Millican, Department of Computer Science, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL
Prakash Vedula, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Aerospace & Mechanical Engineering, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK
P. Ravi Sarma, M.D., F.A.C.P., Associate Professor, College of Medicine, Department of Hematology Oncology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA
Umesh Gidwani, M.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Cardiology, Mount Sinai Hospital, New York, NY
Yogesh Rathi, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Harvard University, Boston , MA
Sivappa Rasapalli, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry, University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth, Dartmouth, MA
Aman Behal, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL
Shuowei Cai, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth, Dartmouth, MA
Navarun Gupta, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Chair, Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Bridgeport, Bridgeport, CT
Mukul G. Asher, Ph. D., Professor, Lee Kuam Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
Neha Sheetal Shah, M.D., Clinical Instructor, Department of Immunology and Rheumatology, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA
Satya Parayitam, Ph.D, Associate Professor, Department of Management and Marketing, University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth, Dartmouth, MA
Saurabh Jha, M.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Radiology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
Avinash Thombre, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Speech Communication, University of Arkansas, Little Rock, Little Rock, AR
Brian German, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA
Karen Feigh, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA
Siva Kumar Panguluri, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL
Venkataramana Sidhaye, MD, Assistant Professor, College of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD
Arvind Chandrakantan, M.D., M.B.A., Assistant Professor, Department of Anesthesiology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY
Prerak Dinesh Shah, MD, Instructor, Department of Otolaryngology, Harvard Medical School, Andover, MA
Carl Clemens, MS, Software Development, Department of Computer Science, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
Vasanthan Raghavan, Ph.D., Adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY
Vinay Dayal, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Aerospace Engineering, Iowa State University, Ames, IA
Hemant S. Thatte, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Surgery, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
Horabail Venkatagiri, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA
Kirpal Singh Bisht, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL
Alok R. Saboo, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Marketing, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA
Raj Kumar, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Botulinum Research Centre, Institute of Advanced Sciences, Dartmouth, MA
Sushil Shyam Nifadkar, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Robinson College of Business, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA
Satish Nargundkar, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Robinson College of Business, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA
Ritu Lohtia, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Robinson College of Business, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA
Nachiket Bhawe, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Management, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC
Girish Vinayak Chowdhary, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK
Arun Srinivasan , MD, Assistant Professor, Department of Urology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
Christopher Joseph Long, MD, Assistant Professor, Department of Surgery, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
Dana Weiss, MD, Assistant Professor, Department of Surgery, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
Cherla B. Sastry, Ph.D., Adjunct Professor, Department of Forestry, University Of Toronto, Toronto , Ontario, Canada
Bharath Chakravarthy, MD, Associate Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA
Ashok Rao, Ph.D., Chief Scientist, Department of Advanced Power & Energy Program, Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA
Rahul Jain, Ph.D., Associate Professor, K.C. Wahlberg Early Career Chair, Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA
Puneet Gupta , Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering , University of California, Los Angeles , Los Angeles , CA
Suraj Bhat, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Jules Stein Eye Institute/Ophthalmology, University of California, Los Angeles Geffen School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA
Geetanjali Tiwari, Ph.D., Coordinator, Department of South Asian Studies, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS
Rajesh Patel, M.D., Associate Professor, Department of Anesthesiology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA
VivekShankar Natarajan, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Management and Marketing, Lamar University, Beaumont, TX
Neeraj Sood, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA
Shubha Kumar, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Preventive Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA
BVK Sastry, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Yoga Samskruth, Yoga-Samskrutham University, Sarasota, FL
Narendra Utukuri, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, DeVry University, Houston, TX
Soma Sahai-Srivastava, M.D., Associate Professor, Department of Neurology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA
Anand Devaiah, M.D., Associate Professor, Departments of Otolaryngology, Neurosurgery, and Ophthalmology, Boston University, Boston, MA
Shaily Mahendra, Ph.D. , Associate Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, CA
Ashok Srinivasan, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Computer Science, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL
Edgar W. Leonard, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Area Coordinator, Marketing Faculty, Roberto Goizeuta School of Business, Emory University, Atlanta, GA
George S. Easton, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Information Systems and Operations Management, Emory University, Goizueta Business School, Atlanta, GA
Girish Dhall, M.D., Associate Professor, Division of Hematology, Oncology and Bone Marrow Transplantation, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA
Kumar Shah, D.D.S., M.S., F.A.C.P., Associate Professor, Dentistry and Prosthodontics, University of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
Marco Ceccagnoli, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Scheller College of Business, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA
Viral Jain, M.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Orthopedic, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH
Jay Glaser, M.D., Instructor, Department of Family Medicine, University of Massachussetts, Worcester, MA
Shital N. Parikh, M.D., Associate Professor, Orthopedic Surgery, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH
Anil Chandramani, MBA, Financial Economist, MAS, Chemicals & Fertilizer, World Bank Group, Washington DC
Laxman Kanduri, M.Sc., M.SC., TAH, City University of New York, Brooklyn, NY
Prateek Tripathi, Ph.D., Research Scholar, Department of Biology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA
Anjali Hirani, Ph.D., Research Scholar, College of Pharmacy, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL
Karthik Mosur Krishnan, Ph.D., Research Scholar, Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH
Wow… just amazing that these academicians have almost nothing to do but this sort of stuff. Perhaps subjects like anthropology and religious studies need serious overhaul. I thought only in India such subjects end up as being enormous waste of time.
These academicians do not feel shame in going to this extent against a person who is now representing a democratic country India that has 1.2 billion people. Even if he was representing just a few thousand people or lets say just a few people more than what you have on this list of academics, he still had the right to be heard by whoever he is able to convince for such meetings. These same academics will feel happy with US visits of dictators and heads of states who have zero respect for human rights, or whose army kill their own people on daily basis and not even let anybody count them, but for Modi they have less respect than an enemy.
These so called academics disrespect not only Modi and all the Indians who repose great faith in him but all CEOs and management of hi-tech companies willing to meet Modi. Basically these academics feel they have more brain than all those people (include at least a few hundred million people from India who have strong faith in Modi). They basically disrespect democratic wisdom of India.
We need to give a strong response to this behavior from these academicians so that in future they do not misuse their academic status/time for such frivolous and hateful campaigns.
Has anyone of the professors who have signed this letter worked in Silicon Valley?
How factually incorrect are the signatories is illustrated by one example. The Proposed bill regarding Management of Indian Institutes of Management is the result of committee appointed by UPA Government headed by Manmohan Singh which hasnow submitted the report. Modi Government has neither accepted nor rejected the recommendations of the committee appointed by UPA Government. To attribute this to Modi is very unfortunate and mischevious.
The ground reality in India: per a news-item today, 23 lakh people, including 255 Ph.D.s, and 1.5 lakh graduates have applied for 368 posts for peons advertised by the Uttar Pradesh government. (For the people who condescend to comment on India without knowing what a lakh is, 23 lakh = 2.3 million).
In the face of human misery on such a vast scale, what is this faculty statement? It is destructive, smug and self-righteous.
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Signatories to this petition are blinded by their hate for Modi and doing a great disservice to India and world with this petition. Clinging on desperately to 2002 and making accusations of religious intolerance without knowing truth is wishful thinking. Fact is we are happy in India Under Modi’s Govt. Its fair, progressive, pro-farmer as well as pro-business. Minorities are happy here so are majority. Apparently those who want progress in India won’t listen to them.
But Universities employing these “enlightened minds” should really worry about what they will end up teaching their students – for what they write here is mere propaganda and they have no proof for even a single accusation made here.
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So let me simplify what the esteemed professors are saying in their open letter:
1.) Unless India has a non-Hindu Prime Minister, it can never become a secular country.
2.) It’s ok for Muslims to vote as a bloc but Hindus should not otherwise they would be classified as non-secular.
3.) The Indian Supreme Court cannot be trusted. No matter what the court says, Narendra Modi will always be guilty.
4.) Since Narendra Modi was denied a visa by the US Government (through political pressure and not by any legal mechanism), he is guilty of all charges.
5.) It is ok for Muslims and Christians to convert any number of Hindus but Hindus should be prohibited from doing the same to non-Hindus.
6.) Until India has a non-Hindu Prime Minister, the US should not help India prosper and Silicon Valley should stop all activities helping India.
7.) Even though many of the programs like Aadhar were initiated by the Congress regime, that fact is not pertinent anymore. Narendra Modi is personally responsible for all those schemes and they must be all evil.
8.) Whenever anyone criticizes Narendra Modi, the Hindus should not say anything and have no right to defend him.
9.) NGOs and other Western bodies are always right. India has no right to challenge them even if they are doing any wrong.
10.) Narendra Modi is worse than Hitler, Lenin, Stalin, Putin, el-Sisi, Kim Jong-un all put together and unless he is stopped, the world will come to an end.
Well summarized. Other signatories like Wendy Doniger have also said that Yoga asanas were copied from exercises of Swedish and European gymnasts; Our clowns like Deepak Chopra etc. jumped on the band wagon. This faculty statement is a pathetic attempt to draw attention to themselves since nothing in their professional lives can do that.
Excellent comments
Nobody can win against truth…you can’t keep earth flat for long sooner or later people he to know the truth… Better be on the side of truth…
Bunch of mostly Bongs and Wendy Doniger whining. What else is new? Were they asleep when Congresswallahs were taking everything down the drain? The irony is that the signatories of this so called “Faculty Statement” have really lost their faculties. Wendy is the Kim Kardashian of this bunch.Forget research, forget integrity just cluck and chirp to get into the news. Is it any surprise that so many of Indian origin are flocking to this cause? Not really. That is the “elite” Indian way, to lick the boots of West. Two years ago, I took a few people from Taiwan on a three week tour of India. We went everywhere from Karnataka to Sangla in Himachal. After saying that they had a wonderful time, they only had two questions: How did you let the British rule you for 200 years? Why does a Italian woman still rule you?
The signatories can answer that.
Denizens of ivory towers can often be misinformed and misguided by the not so obvious agenda of their sources.
Hopefully, the interview in this link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KD8dSioiKU
given by one who has been around, who is not a Hindu, and who is deep in the fray will be helpful in disabusing zealous academics of their prejudices and persuade them to kindly give Mr Modi’s government a chance.
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All the “faculty members” who signed against MaMo’s visit to silicon Valley are not worth becoming even a peon. The word MORON is ashamed to call these people moron. We need to send ALL of them to ISIS and let them enjoy the hospitality of ISIS.
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would have considered the open letter sincere if:
1) The people behind it were consistent in fighting for religious freedom everywhere and put their voice in major world issues regarding religious freedom.
2) The people behind it were consistent in fighting for digital privacy everywhere including when NSA does some of the worst snooping.
3) The people behind it were consistent in criticizing world leaders – including the US – in their policies against freedom & privacy.
4) The letter criticized the Indian leader without implicitly asking for a boycott of Indian economy. You can have a trouble with a leader, but when you ask companies not to do business with India or its government you are warring against its people and block access to development of the poor.
As it stands, none of the above are true. Most people behind the letter have no history of a major activism for freedom or privacy. The core group just springs up to action whenever Modi is in town and pulls strings calling friends and colleagues into signing something. As the Indian courts find no evidence to convict Modi for the 2002 Gujarat riots, they have resorted to other intimidatory tactics. In the past they forced the State government to block a visa and Wharton to cancel a lecture.
The concerns against Digital India seems like a facade as no such letter came when Manmohan visited the US [Universal ID was already in works then]. Like a broken record they jump back to the 2002 riots and ultimately that is the only issue behind it. In that I would trust the Indian judiciary than some random group of academics with or without some knowledge of India. Unless the Indian Supreme Court convicts Modi in the 2002 riots, I would think of this letter as no substance.
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These Professors are the BLIND FOLLOWERS of “GHULAMs i.e Slaves ) left by BRITISH to Rule India after Independence and befool Innocent people..These are WORSE than “JEHADIS” who at any cost want India to be a developing Country and ruled by their GHULAM BOSSES…..They will not say a word regarding the great loss to the country done by these GHULAMs by not Revealing the REAL TRUTH of INDIAN STRUGGLE and its GREATEST EVER LEADER “Netaji Subhash Chandra BOSE” and will keep promoting a particular family paying ways to the destruction of India…………….SHAME On SUCH Professors………..
WOW! Look and behold! How the intellectual traitors of India could no longer hide their desperation and could not prevent raising their ugly side open!! I really feel deeply hurt that my own country privileged men/women are stooping so low in defaming our beloved PM vis-a-vis India. I wonder who has bought these people and how they are bought.
Read this article on this topic in Rediff:http://www.rediff.com/news/column/why-the-anti-digital-india-petition-must-be-called-out/20150922.htm
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If these so called intellectuals are reading this,please know that not only Indian community in US ignored you completely in a humiliating manner but also CEOs of fortune 500 companies don’t really give a rat’s @$$ about what you have to say.
I guess when you are teaching anthropology, literature, Gender studies, art history etc. useless time wasting subjects you don’t have much pull from anyone.You should learn from this massive embarrassment and stop spreading hate against one of the most beloved and popular leaders of the world once and for all.
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Surprising ignorance shown by these faculty members. Their observations are biased and completely devoid of merit. If I can suggest to the relevant college tenure committees please think twice before granting them tenure. They would not bring any glory to your school by preaching distorted facts to their students and the public at large. As a matter of fact, these fellows will bring you embarrassment only.
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These so called indian welwishers are actually don’t want india to progress.They have hidden agenda and ulterior motives behind this campaign.But india has found his real HERO.
This letter is a classic example of intellectual dishonesty often perpetuated by those professing to speak for ‘social justice’. A good example of this dishonesty is the allusion of the Gujarat riots. I can bet my life savings that these self-appointed guardians of Indian intellectual freedom would not have written a similar letter had a Congress Prime Minister been the visitor – never mind that the Congress initiated the culture of large-scale parliamentary defections, proscribed fundamental rights and personal liberties on an incomparable scale to what this letter accuses the Modi government of during the Emergency of 1975 – that the party has not yet apologized to the people of India for – and actively participated in the anti-Sikh pogroms of 1984 – with some of the main accused perpetuators still running loose. The signatories of this letter appear to hold the view that the rest of us are incapable of thinking for ourselves. Another example of their hypocrisy is that most of the non-India based signatories or their offspring will likely never set foot in India other then on a visit – they have little personal stake – while at the same time they appear to be recommending that Silicon Valley not work with India. The letter signatories do not appear to mind the fact that their recommendations, if followed, would most likely result in less opportunities for Indian youth – they would clearly prefer to punish Indians to satisfy their political views. While criticism of government policies is legitimate, couching your political opposition is moralistic terms, given the nature of Indian politics, is an act of supreme intellectual dishonesty. Such an exercise should be roundly condemned.
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Sorry for gloating.. Modiji’s visit has been more than a resounding success. Not only did Silicon valley meet with Modi, but have gone overboard to invite him to their office and are being over-ambitious with investment. How do you, the original petitioners, feel now?!
If you were honest and as “open-minded” as you claim to be, you will acknowledge the reality.
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You wrote “We urge those who lead Silicon Valley technology enterprises to be mindful of not violating their own codes of corporate responsibility when conducting business with a government which has, on several occasions already, demonstrated its disregard for human rights and civil liberties, as well as the autonomy of educational and cultural institutions.”
Will you write a letter to foreign businesses cautioning them regarding doing business with USA. After all shouldn’t “enterprises to be mindful of not violating their own codes of corporate responsibility when conducting business with a government which has, on several occasions already, demonstrated its disregard for human rights and civil liberties”?
Has the USA government been morally superior to that of India’s? Because I never heard leading presidential contenders call minorities “rapists” or ineligible for candidacy in India. I never heard in India from PM candidates that speaking a language other than the majority’s is unIndian. I do not remember the time when Indian government went to an irresponsible war with other nations. Or when minorities were mass incarcerated in Indian jails.
I am not an uncritical fan of Narendra Modi, but such calls of boycotting Indian government is outrageous. Just as USA’s problems are complex, and it would be outrageous to pigeonhole American government and its politics and institutions and call for boycott; it is also outrageous to pigeonhole Indian government and its politics and institutions.
Maybe if “intellectuals” stop drawing salaries from American universities than “conduct business with” US government, their your petition on boycotting “human rights violators” would have a little more credibility. It is time to accept that India is the world’s largest democracy. “Intellectuals” should came down of their high pedestal, and trust that ordinary Indian citizens can take constrained but responsible decisions, just like citizens of any other democracy.
I attended Modi’s welcome and speech at SAP center, San Jose. The number of US Congressmen and women, along with a notable number of business leaders coupled with a boisterous welcome by general public was to be seen to be believed. It was a Rock Star reception! In my opinion, it showed up all these pseudo intellectuals as shallow, small minded people who puff up themselves in order to impress other small minded people. It may have worked for sometime, folks, but these academicians’ time is over. Even general Indians will shut them up, so I am really enthused.
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The Prime Minister showcased a new emerging technology friendly India to the whole world. The motive behind was to attract investments and employment in the country and he was succeeded in it and benefit the country in many ways. New doors of opportunities will open up for the Indian people.
Know Some important announcements made by the CEO’s of giant company
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All said is rubbish …. everyone is free to abuse Modi …. and none is punished as yed …. don’t forget olden days of congress …. India feels free as never before
This whole bunch is leftist/(liberals?). They have been used to occupy all the vital chairs funded by GOI almost all through the history of independent India and today they find their predominance in danger and if Namo has more than one term, which is a distinct possibility if they are not able to queer his pitch enough to undo that, then they will die a sure death and become inconsequencial in India and consequently in international arena. That is why their overenthusiasm in this dirty game. They are getting back what they themselves have done to others but are trying to hypocritically point fingers to the other camp in power today. Hope and pray that people of India will see through the dirty game of this anti-India gang and will soon give them a hard slap in their faces and this they deserve the most.
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