The chief minister of Gujarat, Narendra Modi, will be a keynote speaker at an upcoming conference sponsored by the Wharton School of Business at their 17th Wharton India Economic Forum and held at the Penn Museum at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.
So who the hell is Modi and why should you care? He is accused by some of genocide in the 2002 Gujarati riots for one. General oppressor, religious bigot, and despot, for another. But he can charm your socks off, was on the cover of Time magazine, and has more charisma than Bill Clinton according to the Atlantic Wire.
For those who don’t know, if you say 2002 to someone from India, it is the near equivalent of saying 9/11 to an American. It riveted the country and has had lasting impact at a visceral level.
In the two days since being announced on February 27th (darkly paralleling the anniversary of the 2002 riots), Modi’s potential presence at Penn is already stirring reaction on social media sites like Facebook. There is a group called “Ban Narendra Modi From Speaking At Wharton” that has more than 500 members after one day as of the writing of this blog. Petitions have already been launched and are being sent to the dean of Wharton, Thomas S. Robertson, as well as to the president of the university, Amy Gutmann. Modi’s presence will likely draw a lot more controversy and protests as the conference date, March 23rd, draws near.
Among other things, Modi has been accused of helping to instigate the riots and massacre in the north western state of Gujarat that began in February 2002. Inter-religious violence between Hindus and Muslims saw more than 1000 people die, and more than 700 of these were Muslim, with another approximately 300 still unaccounted for and presumed dead. Indeed, A few months after the massacre, the Human Rights Watch reported that Gujarati state officials (which included Modi who was Chief minister at the time) were implicated in the violence and were engaged in a “massive coverup”.
State officials of Gujarat, India were directly involved in the killings of hundreds of Muslims since February 27 and are now engineering a massive cover-up of the state’s role in the violence, Human Rights Watch charged in a new report released today.
There is also this documentary film called “The Final Solution”, made in 2003 by Rakesh Sharma, that presents Modi’s probable roll in the massacres. Freely available on Youtube, the documentary is 2.5 hours long, but even watching the first half hour or so is riveting enough and gives you a good picture of the kind of campaign of manipulation and propaganda used by his political faction. Whether or not one considers the film overly sensational, it nonetheless raises serious questions about him and his role in that tragic event. I am always torn up by the young boy factually discussing the mutilation and murder of his grandparents near the beginning of this film. Riveting stuff.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4Sx4iw71D8
It should be noted that Modi’s visa was revoked by the US State Department in 2005 stating:
Mr. Modi’s existing tourist/business visa was also revoked under section 212 (a) (2) (g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. Section 212 (a) (2) (g) makes any foreign government official who “was responsible for or directly carried out, at any time, particularly severe violations of religious freedom” ineligible for a visa to the United States.
So why is Wharton bringing this guy to Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania? This is a good question. One assumes the lure of money and the fact that he may well become the next Prime minister of India if his right wing party, the BJP, ever take power again. Money talks and bullshit walks while basic human rights are conveniently ignored.
Keep in mind that India boasts two of the wealthiest men in the world (check out number 19 and 21 on the Forbes list), and it goes without saying that it also boasts some of the poorest of the world’s people. How do entrepreneurs get rich on the backs of such poverty? I guess Wharton wants to discover the secret. Here is what the conference website has to say:
It is attended by over 800 people annually, and features renowned and influential keynote speakers and panelists who are at the forefront of India’s economic and business growth and development. Every year, WIEF has stimulated energetic dialogue between India’s current and future industry leaders and policymakers, and has also served as a conduit for businesses to create and leverage professional connections.
It is exactly the kinds of policies and conduits that they are constructing that should have us worried. It is awful that Wharton is going to legitimize a despot like Modi by giving him a keynote address; and I really hope that the protests against his visit take steam and convince the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton School of Business, to think about what the hell they are doing and take some responsibility. Ha ha, sure. A guy can dream, right?
UPDATE: Since having written the initial post there was a development. It seems that the US State Department has no intention of overturning their 2005 decision to refuse Modi a visa. Now when you look at the 17th Wharton India Economic Forum poster it says that he will be appearing “via live videoconferencing,” This information was not on the poster until about an hour ago (7:00 pm EST). So now we have to wait and see if protests will have him removed entirely from the program or not. A virtual version of a despot is symbolically nearly as bad as hosting his physical body. Wharton higher ups, see the light please!
Top Photo: Al Jazeera English, Time covers: Flickr,
