Wharton snubs Modi, Adani pulls out of event

[Daredevil]

After Adani Group, Viacom18's Colors pulls out of Wharton forum as a sponsor

India, Posted on Mar 07, 2013 at 10:39pm IST

Washington: Another key sponsor of the Wharton India Economic Forum (WIEF) has pulled out of the prestigious annual meet in the wake of the organiser's decision to cancel a keynote address by Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi. The webpage of WIEF showed Colors' channel, which is Viacom18's flagship brand in the entertainment space in India, being removed from the list of silver sponsors of the annual event.

Into the 17th edition of the annual event of the prestigious business school of the United States, which is primarily being run by its students, the WIEF has been pushed into controversy due its decision on Modi - first to invite him and then to cancel the invitation following protests from a section of the University of Pennsylvania. There has not been any official word from either the Wharton School or the organisers of the WIEF on withdrawal of sponsors and speakers and its impact on the conference.

Before Colors, the Gujarat-based Adani Group, who was the top Platinum sponsor of the event, and Hexaware Technologies (a silver sponsor) have withdrawn from the event. Colors was the silver sponsor of the event.

There has not been any official word from the Wharton School on withdrawal of sponsors and its impact on the conference.

This has left Deutsche Bank as the top sponsor (silver sponsor - the second highest category of sponsors). Incredible India (Ministry of Tourism) is the only sponsor left in the Bronze category.

The three media sponsors are Knowledge Wharton (which is a Wharton publication), TV Asia (an eminent Indian American news channel) and US India Business Council. Meanwhile, Wikipedia this morning removed the content from its WIEF page that was highly critical of the Wharton India Economic Forum because of its decision to cancel its invitation to Modi. The entire paragraph was removed.

 

[Ray]

As an Indian, I am not concerned with who they call.

What concerns me is that they take Indians too lightly, as if we are dying to be called and then told to buzz off, as if we are some houseboy!

 

[Daredevil]

Surprising to see Viacom 18 pulling out of WIEC sponsorship. Must be a nudge from Mukesh Ambani.

 

[aragorn]

Viacom is ambani owned?

 

[Daredevil]

Viacom is ambani owned?

He has a significant share. He invested Rd 1700cr. Its Viacom 18 (Viacom & Network 18).

 

[aragorn]

ohk... that explains...

 

[nrj]

Crook Ambanis are known to share bed with both Congrss & BJP.

 

[Ray]

We've helped knock Modi off the pedestal'

We've helped knock Modi off the pedestal'

After a signature campaign initiated by three faculty members - Toorjo Ghose, Ania Loomba and Suvir Kaul - the University of Pennsylvania withdrew its invitation to Gujarat CM Narendra Modi to address participants at this year's Wharton India Economic Forum. Ghose, an assistant professor at the university's School of Social Policy and Practice, spoke to Praveen Dass about how the campaign succeeded and why it was hugely necessary.


Do you believe Modi shouldn't be allowed any prominent global platform to tout his policies or tell the story of his apparent developmental successes in Gujarat?

There are a number of stakeholders in this conversation about development in India today. The Wharton School is one of them, and so they organize the Wharton India Economic Forum (WIEF). Modi, who's certainly a key figure in this conversation in India today, was invited to address this forum as its keynote speaker. And this was the problem. We wrote to the president of the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) and to the faculty connected to WIEF urging that Modi not be given what is essentially 'a chief guest' position as far as this event goes. It's important to understand that this wasn't an invitation to debate the development process. He was an honoured plenary speaker. We disagreed on this - as it was tantamount to an endorsement of what Modi stands for - by the UPenn community.

No one at Wharton apparently objected.

One student did, anonymously. Yes, this was mostly an effort by the UPenn and wider Philadelphia communities but I must say that we were also pleasantly surprised by Wharton's response, which was immediate. We're proud of their having gone ahead and disinvited Modi. Their actions are recognition of the points we raised, about his history of violence, his diatribes and his dubious record. Wharton's decision is in the best traditions of upholding free speech, liberalism and the democratic dialectic.

But haven't you have lost an opportunity to interrogate Modi on this record?

We are engaging in exactly that I think, by doing this. Such protest is debate. Besides, it would be unfair to invite him to a forum as a chief guest and then interrogate him, to assail him with questions. That would be unfair to the organizers. Of course, if the talk had gone ahead we would have staged a protest.

So you'd welcome a debate with him?

Certainly, we'd much rather have that happen, to sit across from Modi and engage him on a range of issues. And by doing this we believe we've opened the door to having a full debate. The interests of free speech have been served here by knocking Modi off a pedestal, a pedestal that is a contested one on so many counts. Besides his record we have in effect asked the WIEF organizers to consider that we need to seriously query his developmental position - as one that excludes so many people in Gujarat, from minorities to those at the bottom of the caste ladder.

There are serious holes in his development story, with only favourable figures being brandished. There are huge cases of systematic underdevelopment in so many areas in Gujarat. Our studies have shown that too. Consider the state's record with the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act. Its record of conviction is 25 per cent on his watch, the lowest for any state. And that's because there are elaborate and systematic ways of undermining investigations to get this low rate. Look at the hunger and health indices, especially among SCs/STs. Gujarat is one of the worst. Malnutrition rates of Muslim children are unbelievable. Many of these are worse than many Third World countries. There's so much smoke and mirrors with Modi.

From the campaign's start to Wharton's response, the entire thing happened over 48 hours, right?

Yeah. We stumbled on this invitation, were shocked and immediately set about drafting a letter and the response to our campaign was quite amazing. We got 150 signatures in a few hours and we sent it soon after. It worked. The signatures kept coming in though and probably number over 500 now. Social networking helped our organizing committee spread its message across the US and India instantly. Besides helping with timely strategizing we got suggestions on the letter from people all over -, in South Africa, India, the US, Europe. It became a very large group very quickly. By the end of last Friday we had a global support base for this campaign to dis-invite Modi. It was a great display of the power of social media.

Was there the inevitable backlash?

Oh yes, we've been deluged. There have been negative reactions, threats and the usual torrent of abuse. But we need to do what we need to do. The important point here is that we've contributed to a growing chorus that questions this leader, which looks to inject some much needed critical analysis into the debate on Narendra Modi and what he represents.

'We've helped knock Modi off the pedestal' - The Times of India

**************************************

Have they really knocked Modi off the pedestal or have they added to his aura with all this negativity and rather uncivilised act of inviting and then cancelling the invitation?

 

[Coalmine]

Modi row: Jewish panelist not to attend Wharton event

The list of those boycotting the 17th Wharton India Economic Forum is becoming longer and longer. Nissim Reuben, the Director of India-US-Israeli relations at American Jewish Committee who was to speak at Wharton India Economic Forum 2013 in the NRI panel session has pulled out of the summit and has refused to participate in reaction to organizers' decision to drop Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi fromt he list of speakers. According to sources, Nissim Reuben has conveyed prominent members of Indian community in north America his decision. Reuben is director of the Indian-Jewish American Relations Program

Modi row: Jewish panelist not to attend Wharton event | DeshGujarat

 

[Daredevil]

Mohandas Pai says no to Wharton

BANGALORE: Days after Wharton Indian Economic Forum (WIEF) dropped Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi as its keynote speaker, Mohandas Pai, chairman, Manipal Global, turned down the invitation to speak at the annual event, saying that he is upset at the way India is treated by a section of the international community. Pai was to address the forum on March 23.

Pai told TOI that his decision was prompted by a string of instances of Indian politicians and diplomats being "treated shabbily" by some countries. "I've been upset for a few days but the last straw came with Italy disrespecting the Indian Prime Minister and our Supreme Court by not letting its marines face trial for murder as it had promised earlier. This is an insult to bilateral partnership," he said.

His decision on Thursday coincided with Pakistan's national assembly adopting a resolution condemning the hanging of 2001 parliament attack convict Afzal Guru and Sri Lankan navy personnel arresting 60 Indian fishermen when they were fishing near Katchatheevu close to Rameswaram.

"Wharton treated Narendra Modi shabbily, our Prime Minister and Supreme Court are treated badly by the Italian government, Pakistan is making comments on Afzal Guru's hanging, Lanka is treating our fishermen as illegal immigrants. Now, I don't feel good about attending the Wharton event," Pai said.

Gautam Adani of the Adani Group and Atul Nishar from Hexaware Technologies had backed out after Wharton withdrew its invitation to Modi.

The annual event brings together business & political leaders, professionals, academics and students from around the world to analyse India's key social, political and financial challenges.

Mohandas Pai says no to Wharton - The Times of India

 

[Coalmine]

One by one all the cards are falling down

 

[Ganesh2691]

Indian-American pulls out of Wharton India Economic Forum

WASHINGTON: A noted Indian-American physician has withdrawn from the annual Wharton India Economic Forum in the wake the organiser's decision to cancel a key-note address by Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.

New Jersey-based eminent physician, philanthropist and publisher, Sudhir Parikh, was invited to address the WIEF conference on March 23 in place of The Wall Street columnist Sadanand Dhume, who withdrew from the conference in protest of the forum's handling the Modi affair.

"As an immigrant of over 30 years standing and dedicated to promoting the cause of India and Indian Americans, I look forward to sharing my thoughts about NRIs as ambassadors of India," Dr Parikh told WIFE.

"However, the manner in which the committee has been pressurised to rescind its invitation to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on entirely suspicious grounds, I feel the intellectual integrity of the forum has been compromised," Dr Parikh said in his letter, a copy of which was made available to the PTI.

Parikh, who is publisher of several India American publications in the US, said as a publisher he is constrained to err on the side of the free flow of ideas and unfettered discussion public policy issue be it in academics or journalism.

"It is for this reason; I have no choice but to withdraw my name from the panel of speakers of this year's forum," said Parikh, who in 2012 was conferred with the Padma Shri award by the then President Pratibha Patil.

Indian-American pulls out of Wharton India Economic Forum - Times Of India

 

[Virendra]

Re: We've helped knock Modi off the pedestal'

We've helped knock Modi off the pedestal'

After a signature campaign initiated by three faculty members - Toorjo Ghose, Ania Loomba and Suvir Kaul - the University of Pennsylvania withdrew its invitation to Gujarat CM Narendra Modi to address participants at this year's Wharton India Economic Forum. Ghose, an assistant professor at the university's School of Social Policy and Practice, spoke to Praveen Dass about how the campaign succeeded and why it was hugely necessary.


Do you believe Modi shouldn't be allowed any prominent global platform to tout his policies or tell the story of his apparent developmental successes in Gujarat?

There are a number of stakeholders in this conversation about development in India today. The Wharton School is one of them, and so they organize the Wharton India Economic Forum (WIEF). Modi, who's certainly a key figure in this conversation in India today, was invited to address this forum as its keynote speaker. And this was the problem. We wrote to the president of the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) and to the faculty connected to WIEF urging that Modi not be given what is essentially 'a chief guest' position as far as this event goes. It's important to understand that this wasn't an invitation to debate the development process. He was an honoured plenary speaker. We disagreed on this - as it was tantamount to an endorsement of what Modi stands for - by the UPenn community.

No one at Wharton apparently objected.

One student did, anonymously. Yes, this was mostly an effort by the UPenn and wider Philadelphia communities but I must say that we were also pleasantly surprised by Wharton's response, which was immediate. We're proud of their having gone ahead and disinvited Modi. Their actions are recognition of the points we raised, about his history of violence, his diatribes and his dubious record. Wharton's decision is in the best traditions of upholding free speech, liberalism and the democratic dialectic.

But haven't you have lost an opportunity to interrogate Modi on this record?

We are engaging in exactly that I think, by doing this. Such protest is debate. Besides, it would be unfair to invite him to a forum as a chief guest and then interrogate him, to assail him with questions. That would be unfair to the organizers. Of course, if the talk had gone ahead we would have staged a protest.

So you'd welcome a debate with him?

Certainly, we'd much rather have that happen, to sit across from Modi and engage him on a range of issues. And by doing this we believe we've opened the door to having a full debate. The interests of free speech have been served here by knocking Modi off a pedestal, a pedestal that is a contested one on so many counts. Besides his record we have in effect asked the WIEF organizers to consider that we need to seriously query his developmental position - as one that excludes so many people in Gujarat, from minorities to those at the bottom of the caste ladder.

There are serious holes in his development story, with only favourable figures being brandished. There are huge cases of systematic underdevelopment in so many areas in Gujarat. Our studies have shown that too. Consider the state's record with the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act. Its record of conviction is 25 per cent on his watch, the lowest for any state. And that's because there are elaborate and systematic ways of undermining investigations to get this low rate. Look at the hunger and health indices, especially among SCs/STs. Gujarat is one of the worst. Malnutrition rates of Muslim children are unbelievable. Many of these are worse than many Third World countries. There's so much smoke and mirrors with Modi.

From the campaign's start to Wharton's response, the entire thing happened over 48 hours, right?

Yeah. We stumbled on this invitation, were shocked and immediately set about drafting a letter and the response to our campaign was quite amazing. We got 150 signatures in a few hours and we sent it soon after. It worked. The signatures kept coming in though and probably number over 500 now. Social networking helped our organizing committee spread its message across the US and India instantly. Besides helping with timely strategizing we got suggestions on the letter from people all over -, in South Africa, India, the US, Europe. It became a very large group very quickly. By the end of last Friday we had a global support base for this campaign to dis-invite Modi. It was a great display of the power of social media.

Was there the inevitable backlash?

Oh yes, we've been deluged. There have been negative reactions, threats and the usual torrent of abuse. But we need to do what we need to do. The important point here is that we've contributed to a growing chorus that questions this leader, which looks to inject some much needed critical analysis into the debate on Narendra Modi and what he represents.

'We've helped knock Modi off the pedestal' - The Times of India

**************************************

Have they really knocked Modi off the pedestal or have they added to his aura with all this negativity and rather uncivilised act of inviting and then cancelling the invitation?

Here's an interesting video making some startling claims :