DECLARED EMERGENCY OF INDIRA GANDHI vs DR.SUBRAMANIAN SWAMY IN 1975
AND UNDECLARED EMERGENCY OF SONIA GANDHI AGAINST DR.SUBRAMANIAN SWAMY IN 2011-PART –II
V.SUNDARAM I.A.S.
ALL INDIA GENERAL SECRETARY (IDEOLOGY) JANATA PARTY
In wake of Mumbai bomb blasts on 13th July 2011, Dr. Swamy wrote an article that was published in Mumbai newspaper DNA Analysis. I have already referred to this article in detail in Part I of this story. In that article Dr. Swamy gave an open and honest warning on what kind of threat and danger to National Integrity and Security that India and Hindus are facing from the Islamic fundamentalists.
In response to that article, two articles appeared in USA commenting on that article:
1) Wall Street Journal
2) Harvard news media 'Harvard Crimson'.
Some of the hardcore Leftists in Harvard University had sent a Petition to the concerned Harvard university authorities to oust Dr.Subramanian Swamy from the Post of Visiting Professor of Economics on the ground that he is a Hindu Bigot and this could clearly be seen from a cursory perusal of Dr.Swamy’s article on how to effectively combat Islamic Terrorism which was published in the DNA newspaper issue dated 14th July 2011. These Leftists had obtained the signatures of 240 parents/students. According to Wall Street Journal (WSJ), the spokesman for the Dean of Studies in Harvard University mentioned that the Dean will give this matter serious attention.
I cannot understand how can anyone call Dr.Subramanian Swamy a BIGOT. Dr.Swamy’s brother-in-law is Jewish, his son-in-law Muslim, his sister-in-law Christian and his wife Parsi. One of his two daughters is married to an Indian Muslim with whom he has closest relations, and therefore how can he possibly be a bigot against the Indian Muslims or Christians. India has been the biggest victim of terrorism during the last 20 years with Kashmiri Pundits being driven out of Kashmir Valley by Islamic terrorists from late 1980’s. It is against this background Dr.Swamy was responding to the Mumbai Bomb Blasts of 13th July 2011.
I am presenting below the Full text of the Public Petition that was sent to the Dean of Studies in Harvard demanding the immediate dismissal of Dr.Swamy from his teaching Post there.
Confront Religious Bigotry!
Demand that Harvard end its association with religious extremist Subramanian Swamy.
We the undersigned members of the Harvard community are outraged to learn that Subramanian Swamy, an Indian politician whose recent editorial shows him to be a bigoted promoter of communalism in India, also teaches economics at Harvard University Summer School. We demand that the Harvard administration repudiate Swamy's remarks and terminate his association with the University.
Swamy proposes a truly shocking set of "strategies" for "deter[ring] terrorism" in an op-ed appearing in the July 16th edition of the Daily News & Analysis, an Indian newspaper. These include "declar[ing] India a Hindu Rashtra in which non-Hindus can vote only if they proudly acknowledge that their ancestors were Hindus"; "[r]emov[ing] the masjid in Kashi Vishwanath temple and the 300 masjids at other temple sites"; "[e]nact[ing] a national law prohibiting conversion from Hinduism to any other religion"; and "[p]ropagat[ing] the development of a Hindu mindset."
Writing in the wake of the July 13, 2011, bombings in Mumbai, Swamy has exploited this event not only to promote a vision of Indian society based on Hindu supremacy, but to disparage and cast suspicion on the entire Muslim community in India. "Muslims of India," he states, "are being programmed by a slow reactive process to become radical and thus slide into suicide against Hindus."
While free expression and the vigorous contest of ideas are essential in any academic community, so, too, are respect and tolerance for human difference. By advocating measures that would grossly violate freedom of religion and the unqualified right to vote for different religious groups, and by aggressively vilifying an entire religious community, Swamy breaches the most basic standards of respect and tolerance.
More specifically, Swamy's comments cast doubt on his ability to treat a diverse community of students with fairness and respect. The highly insulting and stereotypical nature of his comments suggest that he cannot be trusted to regard Muslims -- and no doubt other groups--with anything but a jaundiced eye.
Swamy's views are deeply offensive; they are also dangerous. The measures he proposes--far out of step with the everyday secularism and tolerance embodied by most Indians--would threaten to tear apart the basic fabric of India's pluralist democracy. And, as Indians know too well, the brand of rhetoric that he employs has fueled violence against religious minorities in the past.
In short, we the undersigned condemn Subramanian Swamy and the views that he has expressed in the strongest terms. Someone who voices such ideas while continuing to teach at Harvard seriously compromises the University's integrity, undermining its commitment to diversity and tolerance.
SUBRAMANIAN SWAMY CAN HAVE NO PLACE IN THE HARVARD COMMUNITY.
280 signatures total
Student Groups (total: 3)
1. Student Labor Action Movement
2. Students for Choice
3. Progressive Jewish Alliance
2. Students for Choice
3. Progressive Jewish Alliance
Faculty (total: 3)
1. Mahmud Hussain, Post doctoral fellow
2. Ajantha Subramanian, Associate Professor of Anthropology
3. Frederike Alwes, Post Doctoral Fellow
2. Ajantha Subramanian, Associate Professor of Anthropology
3. Frederike Alwes, Post Doctoral Fellow
Harvard Undergraduates (total: 54)
1. Karen Narefsky, 2011
2. Abdelnasser Rashid, 2011
3. Nahlah melaih
4. Matilda Sokolov, 2014
5. Roland Yang, 2014
6. Talal, 2011
7. Erfan Soliman, 2012
8. Giacomo Bagarella, 2013
9. Emily Unger, 2013
10. Rabecca Andrew, 2014
11. Patrick Duffy, 2014
12. Fatoumata Binetou Fall , 2014
13. Rashid Yasin, 2012
14. Nima Hassan, 2014
15. Victoria Koski-Karell, 2012
16. Iman James, 2012
17. William Whitham, 2014
18. samra girma, 2012
19. Jai Chowdhry Beeman, 2013
20. Sarah Fouzia Choudhury, 2012
21. Zoe Tucker, 2013
22. Charlotte Lieberman, 2013
23. Adaner Usmani, 2008
24. Nico Hawley-Weld, 2012
25. Andrew Trott, 2011
26. Natali Alcala-Moreno, 2012
27. Hannibal Taubes, 2013
28. Shanti Kris, 2013
29. Ashwini Vasanthakumar, 2004
30. Abigail Brown, 2011/2012
31. V.V. (Sugi) Ganeshananthan, 2002
32. Robert Jay Ross, 2009
33. Arun S
34. Paul VanKoughnett, 2012
35. Joselyn Lai, 2013
36. Anna J. Johnson-Betty, 1997
37. Jane Newbold, 2012
38. rachael goldberg, 2012
39. Sandra Korn, 2014
40. Rachael Becker, 2012
41. zishan husain
42. Amortya Ray
43. Hasnain
44. Levi Roth, 2014
45. Vasudevan Rajaraman
2. Abdelnasser Rashid, 2011
3. Nahlah melaih
4. Matilda Sokolov, 2014
5. Roland Yang, 2014
6. Talal, 2011
7. Erfan Soliman, 2012
8. Giacomo Bagarella, 2013
9. Emily Unger, 2013
10. Rabecca Andrew, 2014
11. Patrick Duffy, 2014
12. Fatoumata Binetou Fall , 2014
13. Rashid Yasin, 2012
14. Nima Hassan, 2014
15. Victoria Koski-Karell, 2012
16. Iman James, 2012
17. William Whitham, 2014
18. samra girma, 2012
19. Jai Chowdhry Beeman, 2013
20. Sarah Fouzia Choudhury, 2012
21. Zoe Tucker, 2013
22. Charlotte Lieberman, 2013
23. Adaner Usmani, 2008
24. Nico Hawley-Weld, 2012
25. Andrew Trott, 2011
26. Natali Alcala-Moreno, 2012
27. Hannibal Taubes, 2013
28. Shanti Kris, 2013
29. Ashwini Vasanthakumar, 2004
30. Abigail Brown, 2011/2012
31. V.V. (Sugi) Ganeshananthan, 2002
32. Robert Jay Ross, 2009
33. Arun S
34. Paul VanKoughnett, 2012
35. Joselyn Lai, 2013
36. Anna J. Johnson-Betty, 1997
37. Jane Newbold, 2012
38. rachael goldberg, 2012
39. Sandra Korn, 2014
40. Rachael Becker, 2012
41. zishan husain
42. Amortya Ray
43. Hasnain
44. Levi Roth, 2014
45. Vasudevan Rajaraman
Graduate Students (total: 61)
1. Sanjay Pinto, G7, Sociology and Social Policy
2. Fatin Abbas, G6, Harvard GSAS student
3. Bridget Hanna, 2012, Social Anthropology
4. Alireza Doostdar, G7, Anthropology & Middle Eastern Studies
5. Anand Vaidya, G4, Anthropology
6. Namita Dharia, Anthropology
7. Aleksandar Shopov
8. Daniel, 2011, NELC
9. Johan Mathew, History
10. Sam Asher, G5, Economics PhD Student
11. Arvind Nair, 2013, Student at KSG
12. Tara Gonsalves, 2011, International Education Policy
13. Umang Kumar, Harvard Divinity School
14. Tariq Omar Ali, History
15. Ankita Ritwik, 2013, Law student
16. Nichole Collins, G2, Molecular and Cellular Biology
17. Mircea Raianu, History
18. Aatif Iqbal, 2011, Law
19. Firas Naji, Clinical fellow medicine
20. Julia Stephens, History Department
21. Hassan Malik, G6, History Department
22. Andrew J McDowell, Anthropology
23. Ben Ewen-Campen, G4 OEB Graduate Student
24. Anouska Bhattacharyya, PhD candidate, History of Science
25. Dilan Yildirim
26. Benjamin Siegel, G4, History
27. Nancy Khalil, G4, Anthropology
28. Sai Balakrishnan, G4, Urban Planning
29. Tarun Cherukuri, 2011, HKS student
30. Sabrina Peric, Anthropology
31. Farhan Naqvi, 2010, MBA Graduate
32. Zahara Kassam, 2011, Harvard Business School
33. Iain Frame, SJD, Harvard Law School
34. Jen Scott, 2009, Kennedy School
35. Kristin Castillo, 2012, Harvard Medical School
36. Rajinder Balaraman, 2010, Business school
37. Marcelia Freeman, 2010, hbs
38. Fazle Rab Quadri, HU Extension School
39. Hunter Bandy, 2011, Center for Middle Eastern Studies
40. Tilsa Ponce, 2015
41. Philip Cartelli, G2, Anthropology
2. Fatin Abbas, G6, Harvard GSAS student
3. Bridget Hanna, 2012, Social Anthropology
4. Alireza Doostdar, G7, Anthropology & Middle Eastern Studies
5. Anand Vaidya, G4, Anthropology
6. Namita Dharia, Anthropology
7. Aleksandar Shopov
8. Daniel, 2011, NELC
9. Johan Mathew, History
10. Sam Asher, G5, Economics PhD Student
11. Arvind Nair, 2013, Student at KSG
12. Tara Gonsalves, 2011, International Education Policy
13. Umang Kumar, Harvard Divinity School
14. Tariq Omar Ali, History
15. Ankita Ritwik, 2013, Law student
16. Nichole Collins, G2, Molecular and Cellular Biology
17. Mircea Raianu, History
18. Aatif Iqbal, 2011, Law
19. Firas Naji, Clinical fellow medicine
20. Julia Stephens, History Department
21. Hassan Malik, G6, History Department
22. Andrew J McDowell, Anthropology
23. Ben Ewen-Campen, G4 OEB Graduate Student
24. Anouska Bhattacharyya, PhD candidate, History of Science
25. Dilan Yildirim
26. Benjamin Siegel, G4, History
27. Nancy Khalil, G4, Anthropology
28. Sai Balakrishnan, G4, Urban Planning
29. Tarun Cherukuri, 2011, HKS student
30. Sabrina Peric, Anthropology
31. Farhan Naqvi, 2010, MBA Graduate
32. Zahara Kassam, 2011, Harvard Business School
33. Iain Frame, SJD, Harvard Law School
34. Jen Scott, 2009, Kennedy School
35. Kristin Castillo, 2012, Harvard Medical School
36. Rajinder Balaraman, 2010, Business school
37. Marcelia Freeman, 2010, hbs
38. Fazle Rab Quadri, HU Extension School
39. Hunter Bandy, 2011, Center for Middle Eastern Studies
40. Tilsa Ponce, 2015
41. Philip Cartelli, G2, Anthropology
42. Mariam Chughtai, 2014, Doctoral Student
43. Emrah Yildiz, Joint PhD Candidate in Social Anthropology and Middle Eastern Studies
44. Pratibha Joshi, 2013, HKS Student
45. Aparna Das
46. Maryam Eskandari, 2011, Aga Khan Architecture
47. Reed Swier, 2011, education
48. Anita Rathod, 2007, MBA
49. Shalin Desai, 2012
50. Daniel Sheffield, A.B. '04 Ph.D. ', Ph. D. Candidate in Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations
51. Eunmi Mun, sociology
52. farhat, 1985, Restaurant er
53. Anita Wadhwa, lecturer, Harvard graduate school of education
54. tulsi dhanjani, business
55. Ujala Dhaka, Anthropology
Staff (total: 5)
1. Keith Rosenthal, Administrative Assistant
2. Geoff Carens, Union Rep, HUCTW [personal capacity]
3. Mohamed Khattab, Research Assistant at Children's
4. Anindya K. Sen, Research Fellow
2. Geoff Carens, Union Rep, HUCTW [personal capacity]
3. Mohamed Khattab, Research Assistant at Children's
4. Anindya K. Sen, Research Fellow
Alumni (total: 43)
1. Chris Johnson-Roberson, 2011, History and Literature
2. Remeike Forbes, 2011, Visual and Environmental Studies
3. Darryl Li, 2001
4. Elizabeth Hang Le, 2009, Harvard Kennedy School
5. Corey Gaber, 2011, Graduate School of Education Alumnus
6. Ellora Derenoncourt, 2009
7. Susie An, Art History Phd candidate
8. Hala Iqbal, 2007
9. Komala Ramachandra, 2010, Law
10. Kaver Rajaraman, 2009, Alumnus - Graduate student in neuroscience at MCB, FAS
11. Iason Gabriel, 2008, Kennedy Scholar and Special Student GSAS (2007-2008)
12. Zahra Kanji, 2010, HBS MBA
13. Stephanie Skier, 2005, Harvard College Class of 2005
14. Hassan Al-Damluji, 2008, AM Middle Eastern Studies
15. Lindsay Schubiner, 2011, HSPH
16. Nowshad Rizwanullah, 2010, MBA
17. Alyssa Aguilera, 2009, College
18. Michael Gould-Wartofsky, 2007
19. Carlos Salazar, 2009, VES Concentrator
20. Colette Perold, 2011, WGS & RLL
21. Terry Ding, 2011, Applied Mathematics
22. Neal Meyer, 2011, history
23. Ann Shafer, 1998
24. Matt Cavedon, 2011, Religion concentrator
25. Shan Khan, 2011, AM, NELC
26. Steven B. Bloomfield, 1977
27. Kavita Shah, 2007, Harvard College
28. Daniel DiMaggio, 2004, Social Studies
29. Jonathan Dresner, 2001, History Ph.D.
30. Abby Schiff, 2011, Molecular and Cellular Biology
31. Momin Malik, 2008, History of Science
32. Denise Xu, 2011, Neurobiology
33. Madeleine Elfenbein, 2004, Social Studies
34. Anna Dresner, 1990, AM in Soviet Studies
35. Sadia Ahsanuddin, History concentrator
36. Ravind Grewal-Kok, 2000, JD
37. Vasuki Nesiah, 1993 & 2000, HLS alum.
2. Remeike Forbes, 2011, Visual and Environmental Studies
3. Darryl Li, 2001
4. Elizabeth Hang Le, 2009, Harvard Kennedy School
5. Corey Gaber, 2011, Graduate School of Education Alumnus
6. Ellora Derenoncourt, 2009
7. Susie An, Art History Phd candidate
8. Hala Iqbal, 2007
9. Komala Ramachandra, 2010, Law
10. Kaver Rajaraman, 2009, Alumnus - Graduate student in neuroscience at MCB, FAS
11. Iason Gabriel, 2008, Kennedy Scholar and Special Student GSAS (2007-2008)
12. Zahra Kanji, 2010, HBS MBA
13. Stephanie Skier, 2005, Harvard College Class of 2005
14. Hassan Al-Damluji, 2008, AM Middle Eastern Studies
15. Lindsay Schubiner, 2011, HSPH
16. Nowshad Rizwanullah, 2010, MBA
17. Alyssa Aguilera, 2009, College
18. Michael Gould-Wartofsky, 2007
19. Carlos Salazar, 2009, VES Concentrator
20. Colette Perold, 2011, WGS & RLL
21. Terry Ding, 2011, Applied Mathematics
22. Neal Meyer, 2011, history
23. Ann Shafer, 1998
24. Matt Cavedon, 2011, Religion concentrator
25. Shan Khan, 2011, AM, NELC
26. Steven B. Bloomfield, 1977
27. Kavita Shah, 2007, Harvard College
28. Daniel DiMaggio, 2004, Social Studies
29. Jonathan Dresner, 2001, History Ph.D.
30. Abby Schiff, 2011, Molecular and Cellular Biology
31. Momin Malik, 2008, History of Science
32. Denise Xu, 2011, Neurobiology
33. Madeleine Elfenbein, 2004, Social Studies
34. Anna Dresner, 1990, AM in Soviet Studies
35. Sadia Ahsanuddin, History concentrator
36. Ravind Grewal-Kok, 2000, JD
37. Vasuki Nesiah, 1993 & 2000, HLS alum.
Parents (total: 4)
1. Lorna Gonsalves, Parent
2. Peter Pinto, Parent
3. Frederique Apffel-Marglin, Parent
4. Margaret Gonsalves, 2011, Parent
2. Peter Pinto, Parent
3. Frederique Apffel-Marglin, Parent
4. Margaret Gonsalves, 2011, Parent
Other (total: 107)
1. Bhrigupati Singh, 2011, Other, Anthropology Postdoctoral Scholar
2. Frank Sutton, Other
3. Lubabah Helwani, Other, Extension School Student
4. Aryt Alasti, Other
5. Asra, Other
6. Devin Letzer, Other
7. Ali Hussnain, Other, student
8. Jaideep Mallick, Other, Research Associate
9. Neeta Bhasin, Other
10. Sadia Abbas, Other, Asst. Prof. of Postcolonial studies, Rutgers-Newark
11. Smita Lahiri, Other, Affiliated Researcher, Anthropology
12. Mathew S, Other
13. Munira Wells, Other
14. Suryanarayan Ganesh, Other
15. Sibtain Rassiwalla, Other, Small Business Owner
16. Ismail, Other
17. Oishik Sircar, Other, Alumni of the Harvard Law School IGLP Workshop 2011
18. Anindya Sen, Other, Post doctoral Fellow
19. Kishwer Vikaas, Other, Sepia Mutiny
20. Salim Syed, Other
21. Jacon Orongo, Other, Government
22. Rothwell C. Polk, Jr., Other
23. Jawad Khan, Other
24. Attaulla Khan, Other, IAMC
25. M R Uddin, Other, Professor of Biology
26. Michael Sultan, Other, Principal Oprs Res Analyst
27. Haider khan, Other, My brother graduated from harvard
28. Sunanda Thali, Other
29. Yousuf Siddiqui, Other
30. Ramesh Rao, Other
31. Zainal Abidin Ali, Other
32. Jyothi Natarajan, Other
33. Laura Selvaraj, Other, Indian Citizen
34. www.ummaabroadcasting.com, Other, MEDIA, registered with Rolla Chamber of Commerce, Missouri
35. Shaik Zakeer Hussain, Other, Independent Writer and Blogger
36. Gulzar ahmed Wani, Other
37. David Rukstales, Other,
38. Khalid Malik, Other
39. Rebecca M. Miller, Other, CUNY student
40. Burhan Qureshi, Other
41. Wells R. Staley-Mays, Other
42. Swati Ramanathan, Other, Concerned Indian Citizen
43. mara ahmed, Other
44. Babar Rasheed, Other
45. Hanan Qureshi, Other
46. Anees Jeddy, Other, Concerned
47. Dr. Sammy, Other
48. Faisal Patel, 2011, Other, OPM43-HBS Executive Education
49. Nadia Mir, Other, OUTRAGED
50. Saurabh Mahajan, Other
51. Rakesh Sharma, Other, Film-maker
2. Frank Sutton, Other
3. Lubabah Helwani, Other, Extension School Student
4. Aryt Alasti, Other
5. Asra, Other
6. Devin Letzer, Other
7. Ali Hussnain, Other, student
8. Jaideep Mallick, Other, Research Associate
9. Neeta Bhasin, Other
10. Sadia Abbas, Other, Asst. Prof. of Postcolonial studies, Rutgers-Newark
11. Smita Lahiri, Other, Affiliated Researcher, Anthropology
12. Mathew S, Other
13. Munira Wells, Other
14. Suryanarayan Ganesh, Other
15. Sibtain Rassiwalla, Other, Small Business Owner
16. Ismail, Other
17. Oishik Sircar, Other, Alumni of the Harvard Law School IGLP Workshop 2011
18. Anindya Sen, Other, Post doctoral Fellow
19. Kishwer Vikaas, Other, Sepia Mutiny
20. Salim Syed, Other
21. Jacon Orongo, Other, Government
22. Rothwell C. Polk, Jr., Other
23. Jawad Khan, Other
24. Attaulla Khan, Other, IAMC
25. M R Uddin, Other, Professor of Biology
26. Michael Sultan, Other, Principal Oprs Res Analyst
27. Haider khan, Other, My brother graduated from harvard
28. Sunanda Thali, Other
29. Yousuf Siddiqui, Other
30. Ramesh Rao, Other
31. Zainal Abidin Ali, Other
32. Jyothi Natarajan, Other
33. Laura Selvaraj, Other, Indian Citizen
34. www.ummaabroadcasting.com, Other, MEDIA, registered with Rolla Chamber of Commerce, Missouri
35. Shaik Zakeer Hussain, Other, Independent Writer and Blogger
36. Gulzar ahmed Wani, Other
37. David Rukstales, Other,
38. Khalid Malik, Other
39. Rebecca M. Miller, Other, CUNY student
40. Burhan Qureshi, Other
41. Wells R. Staley-Mays, Other
42. Swati Ramanathan, Other, Concerned Indian Citizen
43. mara ahmed, Other
44. Babar Rasheed, Other
45. Hanan Qureshi, Other
46. Anees Jeddy, Other, Concerned
47. Dr. Sammy, Other
48. Faisal Patel, 2011, Other, OPM43-HBS Executive Education
49. Nadia Mir, Other, OUTRAGED
50. Saurabh Mahajan, Other
51. Rakesh Sharma, Other, Film-maker
I am presenting below The News Item about Dr. Swamy that appeared in The Wall Street Journal
By Paul Beckett
The idea of a clash of civilizations – a phrase typically used to denote what some see as a winner-takes-all battle between “western values” and fundamentalist Islam – is now a topic of debate here and in the U.S. thanks to an extraordinary op-ed by political gadfly and Harvard Summer School teacher Subramanian Swamy.
Subramanian Swamy penned down a controversial op-ed, soon after the Mumbai bombings. Above, police officers at one of the blast sites in the city.
His controversial piece, published in DNA, a Mumbai newspaper, July 16, followed the most recent deadly bombings in Mumbai. Police have no suspects but are focusing their attention on an Indian Islamist group called Indian Mujahideen.
Mr. Swamy, however, doesn’t note that, so far, there is no one to blame or any apprehended suspects. His column includes such inflammatory statements as “Muslims of India are being programmed by a slow reactive process to become radical and thus slide into suicide against Hindus.” He suggests that only Muslims in India who “acknowledge that their ancestors were Hindus” should be allowed to vote. We might pause here to note that India, under its Constitution, is established as a pluralistic society.
Mr. Swamy, in a telephone interview from Harvard, said that he didn’t have a process in mind whereby Muslims could profess to their Hindu ancestry but he wanted to know that, if asked, they would say “yes.”
For good measure, he accuses Sonia Gandhi, president of the ruling Congress party, of being “semi-literate.” When asked to define semi-literate, he said it was somebody who “can just read and write.” That would appear to define literacy, but he termed her semi-literate because to be fully literate she “would have read some books, read some philosophy, have a world view.”
He also suggests in the op-ed that the Kashmir Valley be settled with ex-servicemen to demonstrate a sort of civilian shock-and-awe campaign that would establish it as Hindu and Indian once and for all.
Oh yes, he also wants to make it illegal to convert from Hinduism. If that sounds unconstitutional, he clarified in the interview that this would only apply to induced conversion.
In the piece, he also brings in the Jews, noting: “If the Jews could be transformed from lambs walking meekly to the gas chambers to fiery lions in just 10 years,” then India can solve its “terrorist problem” in five years.
When asked if that might be offensive to Jews, he said in the interview that he is a “great supporter of Israel.” He also noted that his brother-in-law is Jewish, his son-in-law Muslim, his sister-in-law Christian and his wife Parsi.
Mr. Swamy’s views have stoked several protests, including a petition circulating at Harvard seeking that the storied university repudiate his remarks and terminate Mr. Swamy’s employment as a summer Economics teacher. The petition accuses him of being a “bigoted promoter of communalism in India.”
It adds: “The highly insulting and stereotypical nature of his comments suggest that he cannot be trusted to regard Muslims — and no doubt other groups–with anything but a jaundiced eye.”
The Harvard Crimson, the university’s newspaper, said in an article dated today that 200 signatories had signed the petition. The article said that the dean of Harvard Summer School will examine the issue.
“Professor Swamy is a long-time member of the Harvard Summer School faculty who previously was a member of the Department of Economics here,” a spokesman for the Dean was quoted as saying. “We will give this matter our serious attention.”
When asked if he planned to continue teaching at Harvard, Mr. Swamy said: “Let others decide and tell me.” In the interview. he characterized his critics and those who signed the petition as “Communists; they are all pro-Soviet.”
I am presenting below The News Item about Dr. Swamy that appeared in The Harvard Crimson on 27th July 2011:
Petition Calls Op-Ed by Harvard Summer School Instructor Offensive to Muslims
Article advocated for steps such as disenfranchising non-Hindus as a means of combatting terrorism, provoking outrage and calls for his ouster
By Leanna B. Ehrlich, CRIMSON STAFF WRITER
Published: Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Subramanian Swamy, is accused of penning an op-ed that is inflammatory towards Muslims.
A group of Harvard students have started a petition calling on the University to sever ties with Subramanian Swamy, a Harvard Summer School economics instructor who wrote an op-ed against Islamic terrorism that many have called offensive and inflammatory.
In an article published July 16 in the Indian newspaper Daily News and Analysis, Swamy recommended demolishing hundreds of mosques, disenfranchising non-Hindus who do not acknowledge their alleged Hindu ancestry, and banning conversion from Hinduism.
The op-ed came in response to a series of bombings in Mumbai that killed 23 on July 13.
“The first lesson to be learnt from the recent history of Islamic terrorism against India and for tackling terrorism in India is that the Hindu is the target and that Muslims of India are being programmed by a slow reactive process to become radical and thus slide into suicide against Hindus,” Swamy wrote.
His op-ed spurred over 200 people to sign a petition condemning Swamy and calling on Harvard to end its relationship with him.
“These are statements you’d expect a demagogue on the extreme right to say,” Umang Kumar, a student at Harvard Divinity School, said, “but a professor who comes here, who got his Ph.D. from Harvard?”
Kumar and Sanjay J. Pinto, a Ph.D. candidate in sociology and social policy, organized the petition with a small group of peers and then emailed it out to an initial group of 80 students.
“Both of us decided we really needed to take action,” Pinto said. “His comments are wrong on many levels. They put forth a vision of Indian society in which not all religious groups are welcome, which is very different from the India that both of us know.”
In an interview with The Crimson, Swamy said that he is a religiously tolerant person.
“I can’t condemn all Muslims. I’m not against them,” Swamy said. “I never said Muslims as a whole are terrorists.”
However, the petition accuses Swamy of using the July 13 bombings to write a piece that is inflammatory towards Muslims.
“Swamy has exploited this event not only to promote a vision of Indian society based on Hindu supremacy, but to disparage and cast suspicion on the entire Muslim community in India,” the petition states.
At the Summer School, Swamy teaches Economics S-110: “Quantitative Methods in Economics and Business” and Economics S-1316: “Economic Development in India and East Asia.”
In a statement sent by a spokesperson, Donald H. Pfister, the dean of Harvard Summer School, said that the school will examine the issue.
“At this point we have only a basic awareness of the situation and have not been contacted by the organizations involved," Pfister said. "Professor Swamy is a long-time member of the Harvard Summer School faculty who previously was a member of the Department of Economics here. We will give this matter our serious attention."
Pinto and Kumar plan to deliver their petition to the Harvard administration early next week.
“Swamy draws a lot of prestige and legitimacy from his position at Harvard,” Pinto said. “If the Hindu right were to come into power in India, he could very well be someone who takes up a position in government, so I think it’s important for members of this community to play a part in discrediting him and saying, ‘No, he does not represent us.’”
In India, Swamy leads the Janata party, a political party that held the majority of India’s Parliament decades ago but has since fragmented. At Harvard, he earned his Ph.D. in economics in 1965 and has served as an assistant and associate professor.
Swamy said that the Indian response to his op-ed has been positive.
“I don’t think anyone in India, except the left wing, has been upset by my article,” he said. “There has been wholesale support.”
But the backers of the petition were hardly supportive of the piece.
“Not allowing Hindus to convert to any other religion, not allowing other groups to vote unless they proudly declare their Hindu ancestry—it’s honestly kind of absurd,” Pinto said.
Kumar and Pinto both said that while freedom of speech is an integral part of a thriving academic community like Harvard, Swamy’s comments crossed a line.
“They stereotype an entire population of people,” Pinto said. “How can this man who expresses these views, who’s basically saying that India should only be for Hindus and not for other people, and denigrating all Muslims, how can he teach students at Harvard?”
—Staff writer Leanna B. Ehrlich can be reached at lehrlich@college.harvard.edu.
TAGS Faculty, Harvard Summer School
Even as some intolerant Leftist Groups and bigoted Student Groups in USA had come together to demand the ouster of Dr. Swamy from Harvard University, it is heartening to see that a US Civil Group has cautioned Harvard University on taking action against its Summer School Instructor Dr.Subramanian Swamy.
In a letter to University President Drew G. Faust, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), a civil liberties group with a focus on academia, said the group is "concerned about the threat to freedom of expression" that may come about from that attention.
"The threat of a disciplinary investigation of Swamy stands in sharp and unflattering contrast to this admirable and appropriate understanding of the importance of freedom of expression in the academic community," Adam H. Kissel '94, vice president of programmes at FIRE, wrote in the letter as cited by Harvard Crimson, the university newsletter.
Harvard has not explicitly said that it is investigating Swamy or that it has considered such an investigation.
Kissel wrote that an investigation of Swamy's article would go against Harvard's commitment to free speech, as outlined in the "Free Speech Guidelines" adopted by the Faculty of Arts and Sciences in 1990.
"If members of the Harvard community are given to understand that Harvard might begin an investigation-with possible disciplinary consequences-of the views they express, they likely will self-censor," he wrote. "This is precisely the result that a university dedicated to intellectual freedom must seek to avoid."
"Harvard must honour its own promises," he told the Crimson in a phone interview.
"Students have every right to protest for or against ideas in article, as does Harvard, but Harvard may not investigate or punish the expression."
I am happy to note that the sworn enemies and detractors in USA who sought the dismissal of Dr.Subramanian Swamy from the University of Harvard have kissed the dust. The Harvard University authorities have thrown out all the Petitions given to them for the ouster of Dr.Subramanian Swamy from Harvard University.
Harvard spokesman, Jeff A. Neal, released a statement Sunday July 31, 2011 that -- while noting the concern over Swamy's statements -- defended his free speech rights.
"As an institution of research and teaching, we are dedicated to the proposition that all people, regardless of color or creed, deserve equal opportunities, equal respect, and equal protection. Recent writings by Dr. Swamy therefore are distressing to many members of our community, and understandably so," the statement said. However, it added: "It is central to the mission of a university to protect free speech, including that of Dr. Swamy and of those who disagree with him. We are ultimately stronger as a university when we maintain our commitment to the most basic freedoms that enable the robust exchange of ideas."
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2011/08/01/harvard_faces_questions_about_a_prominent_instructor_from_india
America is the land of Liberty, where Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Expression, Freedom of Thought are all guaranteed under The American Constitution. The kind of exemplary Justice Dr.Subramanian Swamy has been able to get from the authorities of Harvard University, he can never hope to get in India. In the Indian context he suffers from several disabilities. First of all he is not a Terrorist Muslim. To be a terrorist Muslim is a special privilege in India. Secondly he is not a Christian. In short he has no Minority status. He belongs to the condemned Majority Hindu community and therefore enjoys No Rights. That is why as directed by Sonia Gandhi, Chairman of the UPA Coordination Committee and P.Chidambaram Union Home Minister, the Muslim Chairman of the National Commission for Minorities Wajahat Habibullah and the Christian Vice Chairman of the Maharashtra State Minorities Commission Abraham Mathai have conspired together to somehow incarcerate Dr.Subramanian Swamy.
Christianity and Islam are at loggerheads in every part of the world excepting in India. In India the forces of Christianity and the forces of Islam have conspired to come together in order to exterminate Sanatana Dharma and Hinduism from the Soil of India forever. Dr.Subramanian Swamy taught a lesson to Prime Minister Indira Gandhi during the Emergency in 1985. I have no doubt that the same fate awaits Sonia Gandhi and all her slavish chamchas like P.Chidambaram, Wajahat Habibullah and Abraham Mathai.
America is a truly secular country. India is a land of sham pseudo-secularism. When an average Muslim celebrates Muharram, he is only exercising his Minority Rights. When an average Christian celebrates Christmas or Easter, he is only exercising his Minority Rights. But when an average Hindu celebrates a Hindu Festival like Ganesh Puja he is indulging in communalism and disturbing the public peace.
The next part of my article will deal with the National Commission for Minorities.
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