America
Indian-American academics spar over Modi visit to Silicon Valley
By
By Arun Kumar Washington, Sep 4
Ahead of Prime Minister
Narendra Modi's visit to Silicon Valley, a war of words has broken out
between pro and anti Modi academics of Indian descent spread over major
American universities.
The first salvo was fired by over 100
professors "who engage South Asia in our research and teaching", asking
US technology executives to be wary of supporting Modi's Digital India
initiative when he visits Silicon Valley on Sep 27.
The other
group hit back with "a counter petition against the anti-Modi statement
given by some faculty of South Asian studies" on Change.org, an American
website providing a petition tool backed by nonprofits and political
campaigns. By Thursday evening the counter-petition accusing the
anti-Modi group of lacking "the slightest respect for facts and for
academic integrity" had gathered 1108 supporters.
"The allegation
that Narendra Modi ought to be viewed with suspicion, if not disdain,
by business leaders in Silicon Valley because of surveillance
implications in the Digital India initiative seems a desperate ploy
rather than any genuine concern for India," the counter petition said.
"Their
attempt to invoke an admitted mistake on the part of the US government
in denying Modi a visa as a 'powerful signal' is a stark case of false
reasoning ...and a deplorable attempt to exhume ugly lies about Modi's
attitude towards Muslims," it said.
The "allegations that somehow
academic freedom is under threat in India because of administrative
changes at a couple of institutions are completely belied by the reality
of what Indian citizens see in their news media every day," the counter
petition said.
"On the contrary, for all their talk about
assaults on academic freedom, the signatories of the anti-Modi letter
have never admitted that the subject of the greatest censorship and
distortion in South Asian academics in recent years has been Narendra
Modi," it said.
Rejecting "the faculty statement against Modi in
its entirety," the pro-Modi group asked the other "to introspect,
change, and for once seek to earn the trust and respect of the community
in whose name they have been making a living all these years."
Responding
on the Academe Blog, the anti-Modi group said "despite the intimidation
and harassment we have received at this blog site and elsewhere" their
numbers had swelled from 125 to 135.
The group claimed that it
"did not ask Silicon Valley companies not to invest in India; we asked
them to consider carefully the terms of partnership with India."
"The
objective of our letter is to raise awareness and debate in Silicon
Valley and elsewhere, of Mr. Modi's record on key issues related to
'Digital India,'" it said.
While "technology can unleash potent
changes in society, many of them positive," the group said, it can also
pose a threat to privacy that "is certainly not unique to India."
"We
caution any Digital India plan to be cognizant of these risks, and to
take effective, transparent steps to protect against them."
"Given
the Modi administration's intolerance of dissent, its poor record on
freedom of expression in general, and on freedom of religion in
particular", the group asked "What does 'Digital India' look like."
Even
as they raised questions about Digital India, the group in its original
Aug 27 letter acknowledged that Modi, "as Prime Minister of a country
that has contributed much to the growth and development of Silicon
Valley industries, has the right to visit the United States, and to seek
American business collaboration and partnerships with India."
(Arun Kumar can be contacted at [email protected])