DOCSLIB.ORG

Narendra Modi and President Trump Are Not Just Similar but They Need Each Other at This Juncture

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Narendra Modi and President Trump Are Not Just Similar but They Need Each Other at This Juncture OPINION Narendra Modi and President Trump are not just similar but they need each other at this juncture The US President’s visit is aimed at boosting his own and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s political prole. The duo get on like a house on re and are mirror images of each other Engagement: Manish Madan 1.64 K Updated: 24 Feb 2020, 9:52 AM While President Donald Trump arrives in India after his acquittal on the charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress — having the dubious distinction of being only the third president in the US history to be impeached by the House — PM Modi is battling an uprising of millions of Indians demonstrating and protesting against a fundamentally discriminatory and religiously bigotedReach legislation, your goals Citizenship your Amendment way Act, 2019 (CAA) passed by his Hindu-Nationalist starts at government.$ 95 99 Shop now + FREE SHIPPING Versa 2 features may change, be discontinued, or require payment in future. It is also for the rst time that India’s most powerful Prime Minister has faced an unexpected real opposition, albeit outside the Parliament, from people of India including women protestors. It is therefore critical that despite the bromance and the hoopla of this historic visit, we must not lose sight of the current political environment that has beleaguered the two embattled leaders of the world’s largest and the oldest democracies. How To Easily Clean Earwax Earwax can cause hearing loss and memory loss. Try this simple x to remove earwax. ‘Namaste Trump’ or ‘Kem Chho Trump,’ brings a full circle to the ‘Howdy! Modi’ event that attracted nearly 50,000 Indian-Americans in Houston in September 2019, also attended by Trump. In return, Trump now has been promised ‘millions and millions of people’ to greet him and the First Lady, Melania Trump. In many ways, Trump and Modi share several similarities. Both leaders derive their politics on arousing nationalism, majoritarianism and pursuing politics of fear and polarization. Trump started his presidency announcing a travel ban or Muslim ban in 2017, leading up to restricting permanent immigration visas to six additional countries, mostly with Muslim majority. During his last address to the United Nations General assembly (UNGA), he spoke of the governments defending their “history, culture and heritage” in the name of national identity while justifying his own decision. Similarly, Modi proclaimed that “[we] were nationalist, are nationalist and will remain nationalist” during his 2019 election rallies. His dictatorial and authoritarian politics with the abrogation of Article 370 despite consistent decline in terrorist violence has impacted the only Muslim-dominated state of India resulting in the longest-ever internet shut down by a democracy, loss of about 4.96 lakh jobs in four months, economic loss of nearly $2.4 billion, arbitrary detention of political leaders under J&K’s draconian Public Safety Act, and crippling the lives of nearly 8 million people. Reach your goals your way starts at $ 95 99 Shop now + FREE SHIPPING Versa 2 features may change, be discontinued, or require payment in future. Reach your goals your way starts at $ 95 99 Shop now + FREE SHIPPING Versa 2 features may change, be discontinued, or require payment in future. Reach your goals your way starts at $ 95 99 Shop now + FREE SHIPPING Versa 2 features may change, be discontinued, or require payment in future. Recognising Trump’s upcoming visit to India, four US Senators including inuential Republican Lindsay Graham, in a bipartisan initiative have noted severe consequences of Modi government’s unilateral revocation of Article 370 and have urged the Indian government to restore normalcy in the state. Only time will tell whether Trump will carry his Senators’ message to his counterpart. Further similarities include the two strongmen making deeply polarising statements, disparaging entire communities based on race or religion. Trump has called undocumented immigrants as “thugs” and “animals” or Mexican immigrants as criminals and rapists despite multiple studies revealing that immigrants are less likely to be involved in crime. Modi on the other hand has extolled his ability to ‘identify violent people by their clothes,’ and has in the past compared refugee camps that sheltered the victims (mostly Muslims) of Godhra pogrom in 2002 as “baby-making factories.” Similarly, India’s Home Minister, the second most powerful leader, has labelled illegal immigrants as inltrators, termites, and promised to throw them into the Bay of Bengal. While Trump’s policies have defended the detention camps in the US, Modi has blatantly denied its existence in India despite being under construction, with the Ministry of Home Affairs issuing a model Detention Camp Manual in 2019. Both the leaders’ penchant for nationalism touts their foreign policy as America First and India First. However, it will be of much interest to nd the rst among equals during this trip. The intersection of saffron-supremacy & white-supremacy Even as Trump fans white nationalism, Modi caters to Hindu-nationalism, which I have argued elsewhere as establishing ‘Saffron-Supremacy’ instead – all of them being eerily dangerous to promote in a multicultural and pluralistic society grounded on the principles of egalitarianism, secularism and inclusivity. In many ways, polarisation of communities has fuelled White-Supremacy and Saffron-Supremacy alike, relying on stoking ungrounded fears of existential crisis, for example, immigrants will invade America,Reach or your Muslims goals will outnumberyour way Hindu population in India. None of which is evidence-based starts at but$ rooted95 in polarisation of the “other.” 99 Shop now + FREE SHIPPING Versa 2 features may change, be discontinued, or require payment in future. In a post 9/11 world, hate disguised as Islamophobia has been normalized to unite the far-right. The consequences of such polarity are far-reaching and gravely similar. Based on the FBI’s annual report, US has witnessed a rise in violent hate crimes and threats with a signicant increase in violence against Latinos and transgender people, with Jews and Jewish institutions being overwhelmingly targeted of religion-based hate crimes. Much of this is attributed to the hate speech and fear-mongering coming from the right wing of the Republican Party. Indian-Americans have also increasingly reported victimisation. With unofcial statistics being potentially higher, in 2018 Sikhs were ofcially the third most targeted group of hate crime 4.3% (up from 1.5 percent in 2017), anti-Hindu hate crime remained at 1 percent, 18.6 percent were victims of anti-Islamic (Muslim) bias in 2017. India has similarly witnessed rise in the communal rhetoric by extreme far-right members of the Hindu-nationalist government, resulting in violent campaigns of cow vigilantism and mob lynching that has led to the killing of at least 44 people including members of Dalit or Adivasi (indigenous) communities, with 82 percent of victims being Muslims. Since 2014, Christian minority population has also faced increased persecution, ranking India at the 10th place in the list of countries where Christians suffer ‘extreme persecution’ according to Open Doors USA. Notably, it has moved up from rank 31 in the last 7 years. Saffron Supremacy & the Emergence of Far-Right Wing Indian-Americans Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is the ideological fountainhead of the BJP, of which PM Modi is one of the most illustrious members today. Considered a fascist paramilitary organisation, their core belief declares India as a Hindu Rashtra – a view of Hindu exceptionalism which is fundamentally contrary to India’s secular foundation. The current political establishment has pendulated India between the two paradigms today, leaning dangerously closer to the notion of Hindu Rashtra, with the constitutional blunder in CAA and policy blunder in NRC and NPR as being distinct markers. RSS has also systematically spread globally, with many Sangh-afliated organizations have established their roots in the US — Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (HSS), Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America (VHPA), Sewa International USA, Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation-USA, Hindu Students Council (HSC), and The Overseas Friends of the Bhartiya Janata Party — USA, to name a few. A 54-page report, ‘Hindu Nationalism in the United States: A Report on Non-prot Groups’, released via sacw.net in 2014 calls into investigation on their funding apparatus. It further suggests ‘exploringReach possibleyour goals legal culpability your way of U.S.-based Sangh groups and members in Sangh-led violent starts at $ 95 acts99 in South Asia, possible violations of 501(c)(3) (IRS non-prot) regulations and Shoprestrictions; now and + FREE SHIPPING Versa 2 features may change, be discontinued, or require payment in future. the involvement of other U.S.-based groups and individuals in supporting violence perpetrated by Hindu nationalist groups.’ Propagation of Hindutva-nationalism and Islamophobia is also evident within the Indian diaspora of the US, where calls for boycotting of Muslim owned businesses have propagated; Islamophobic and violent sloganeering made during Republic Day celebration gatherings held across the US. Calls to rally support to reject Ms. Kshama Sawant’s Seattle City Council Resolution# 31926 that opposed the NRC and the CAA in India were issued on behalf of Seattle-based, Sri Venkateswara Temple, a 501(c)(3) certied non-prot organization, potentially in violation of the IRS rules that regulate against
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Secrets of RSS
    Secrets of RSS DEMYSTIFYING THE SANGH (The Largest Indian NGO in the World) by Ratan Sharda © Ratan Sharda E-book of second edition released May, 2015 Ratan Sharda, Mumbai, India Email:[email protected]; [email protected] License Notes This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-soldor given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person,please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and didnot purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to yourfavorite ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hardwork of this author. About the Book Narendra Modi, the present Prime Minister of India, is a true blue RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh or National Volunteers Organization) swayamsevak or volunteer. More importantly, he is a product of prachaarak system, a unique institution of RSS. More than his election campaigns, his conduct after becoming the Prime Minister really tells us how a responsible RSS worker and prachaarak responds to any responsibility he is entrusted with. His rise is also illustrative example of submission by author in this book that RSS has been able to design a system that can create ‘extraordinary achievers out of ordinary people’. When the first edition of Secrets of RSS was released, air was thick with motivated propaganda about ‘Saffron terror’ and RSS was the favourite whipping boy as the face of ‘Hindu fascism’. Now as the second edition is ready for release, environment has transformed radically.
    [Show full text]
  • From Secular Democracy to Hindu Rashtra Gita Sahgal*
    Feminist Dissent Hindutva Past and Present: From Secular Democracy to Hindu Rashtra Gita Sahgal* *Correspondence: secularspaces@ gmail.com Abstract This essay outlines the beginnings of Hindutva, a political movement aimed at establishing rule by the Hindu majority. It describes the origin myths of Aryan supremacy that Hindutva has developed, alongside the campaign to build a temple on the supposed birthplace of Ram, as well as the re-writing of history. These characteristics suggest that it is a far-right fundamentalist movement, in accordance with the definition of fundamentalism proposed by Feminist Dissent. Finally, it outlines Hindutva’s ‘re-imagining’ of Peer review: This article secularism and its violent campaigns against those it labels as ‘outsiders’ has been subject to a double blind peer review to its constructed imaginary of India. process Keywords: Hindutva, fundamentalism, secularism © Copyright: The Hindutva, the fundamentalist political movement of Hinduism, is also a Authors. This article is issued under the terms of foundational movement of the 20th century far right. Unlike its European the Creative Commons Attribution Non- contemporaries in Italy, Spain and Germany, which emerged in the post- Commercial Share Alike License, which permits first World War period and rapidly ascended to power, Hindutva struggled use and redistribution of the work provided that to gain mass acceptance and was held off by mass democratic movements. the original author and source are credited, the The anti-colonial struggle as well as Left, rationalist and feminist work is not used for commercial purposes and movements recognised its dangers and mobilised against it. Their support that any derivative works for anti-fascism abroad and their struggles against British imperialism and are made available under the same license terms.
    [Show full text]
  • Modi: Two Years On
    Modi: Two Years On Hudson Institute September 2016 South Asia Program Research Report Modi: Two Years On Aparna Pande, Director, India Initiative Husain Haqqani, Director, South and Central Asia South Asia Program © 2016 Hudson Institute, Inc. All rights reserved. For more information about obtaining additional copies of this or other Hudson Institute publications, please visit Hudson’s website, www.hudson.org ABOUT HUDSON INSTITUTE Hudson Institute is a research organization promoting American leadership and global engagement for a secure, free, and prosperous future. Founded in 1961 by strategist Herman Kahn, Hudson Institute challenges conventional thinking and helps manage strategic transitions to the future through interdisciplinary studies in defense, international relations, economics, health care, technology, culture, and law. Hudson seeks to guide public policy makers and global leaders in government and business through a vigorous program of publications, conferences, policy briefings and recommendations. Visit www.hudson.org for more information. Hudson Institute 1201 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Suite 400 Washington, D.C. 20004 P: 202.974.2400 [email protected] www.hudson.org Table of Contents Overview 5 Defense 13 Self-Sufficiency 14 Challenges and Opportunities 15 Education and Skill Development 18 Background 18 Modi Administration on Education 20 Prime Minister Modi’s Interventions in Skill Development 20 Challenges and Opportunities 21 India’s Energy Challenge 23 Coal 23 Petroleum 24 Natural Gas 25 Nuclear 27 Renewables 28 Challenges
    [Show full text]
  • In Bad Faith? British Charity and Hindu Extremism
    “I recognized two people pulling away my daughter Shabana. My daughter was screaming in pain asking the men to leave her alone. My mind was seething with fear and fury. I could do nothing to help my daughter from being assaulted sexually and tortured to death. My daughter was like a flower, still to see life.Why did they have to do this to her? What kind of men are these? The monsters tore my beloved daughter to pieces.” Medina Mustafa Ismail Sheikh, then in Kalol refugee camp, Panchmahals District, Gujarat This report is dedicated to the hundreds of thousands of Indians who have lost their homes, their loved ones or their lives because of the politics of hatred.We stand by those in India struggling for justice, and for a secular, democratic and tolerant future. 2 IN BAD FAITH? BRITISH CHARITY AND HINDU EXTREMISM INFORMATION FOR READERS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS A separate report summary is available from Any final conclusions of fact or expressions of www.awaazsaw.org. Each section of this opinion are the responsibility of Awaaz – South report also begins with a summary of main Asia Watch Limited alone. Awaaz – South Asia findings. Watch would like to thank numerous individuals and organizations in the UK, India and the US for Section 1 provides brief information on advice and assistance in the preparation of this Hindutva and shows Sewa International UK’s report. Awaaz – South Asia Watch would also like connections with the RSS. Readers familiar to acknowledge the insights of the report The with these areas can skip to: Foreign Exchange of Hate researched by groups in the US.
    [Show full text]
  • Minister Says the Scheme Will Secure Seed Funding, Inspire Innovation, Support Transformative Ideas, Facilitate Implementation, and Start Startup Revolution;
    Press Information Bureau Government of India Shri Piyush Goyal launches the Startup India Seed Fund Scheme; Minister says the scheme will Secure seed funding, Inspire innovation, Support transformative ideas, Facilitate implementation, and Start startup revolution; 3,600 startups are expected to benefit from the scheme; New Delhi; 19.4.21 Minister of Railways, Commerce & Industry, Consumer Affairs and Food & Public Distribution Shri Piyush Goyal today launched the Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS). The Fund aims to provide financial assistance to startups for proof of concept, prototype development, product trials, market entry, and commercialization. The Scheme was announced by the Hon’ble Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi on 16th January 2021 in his Grand Plenary address of ‘Prarambh: Startup India International Summit’, marking the five-year anniversary of the Startup India initiative. Rs. 945 Crore corpus will be divided over the next 4 years for providing seed funding to eligible startups through eligible incubators across India. The scheme is expected to support an estimated 3,600 startups through 300 incubators. Speaking on the occasion, Shri Goyal said that this scheme is being launched within 3 months of its announcement, one of the fastest in the recent times. He said that times are tough, but our resolve is strong, and never before has it become more important for us to empower our startups. The Minister said that the SISFS will Secure seed funding, Inspire innovation, Support transformative ideas, Facilitate implementation, and Start startup revolution. He said that this Scheme will create a robust startup ecosystem, particularly in Tier 2 and Tier 3 towns of India, which are often deprived of adequate funding.
    [Show full text]
  • India's 2019 National Election and Implications for U.S. Interests
    India’s 2019 National Election and Implications for U.S. Interests June 28, 2019 Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov R45807 SUMMARY R45807 India’s 2019 National Election and Implications June 28, 2019 for U.S. Interests K. Alan Kronstadt India, a federal republic and the world’s most populous democracy, held elections to seat a new Specialist in South Asian lower house of parliament in April and May of 2019. Estimates suggest that more than two-thirds Affairs of the country’s nearly 900 million eligible voters participated. The 545-seat Lok Sabha (People’s House) is seated every five years, and the results saw a return to power of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was chief minister of the west Indian state of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014. Modi’s party won decisively—it now holds 56% of Lok Sabha seats and Modi became the first Indian leader to win consecutive majorities since Indira Gandhi in 1971. The United States and India have been pursuing an expansive strategic partnership since 2005. The Trump Administration and many in the U.S. Congress welcomed Modi’s return to power for another five-year term. Successive U.S. Presidents have deemed India’s growing power and influence a boon to U.S. interests in Asia and globally, not least in the context of balancing against China’s increasing assertiveness. India is often called a preeminent actor in the Trump Administration’s strategy for a “free and open Indo-Pacific.” Yet there are potential stumbling blocks to continued development of the partnership.
    [Show full text]
  • THIS ISSUE Interest”
    DEPARTMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION MHRD GOVERNMENT OF INDIA ISSUE 21 ON HIGHER EDUCATION DECEMBER 2015 “An investment in knowledge pays the best THIS ISSUE interest” HRM confers National Award - Benjamin Franklin for Innovations in Educational Administration 2015 Smt. Irani confers National Smt. Smriti Irani, Minister of Prizes for “Kala Utsav - 2015” HRD, and Mr. Sajid Javid, Secretary of State, Business Access to Higher Education for Innovation and Skills, UK, Economically Poor launching the 2016: UK-INDIA Joint Statement by DG UNESCO Year of Education, Research and the Minister for Human and Innovation, at a function, Resource Development of India in New Delhi on December 09, on the Occasion of National 2015. Mathematics Day, 2015 Ministry Constitutes Drafting UK-INDIA Year of Education, Research and Innovation Launched Committee for New Education Policy India and United Kingdom launched a done under earlier phases of UKIERI. He Initiatives of Ministry of joint initiative “2016: UK-INDIA Year of anticipated that more than 100 Human Resource Development Education, Research and Innovation” in academicians from UK would be coming HRM Launched All India Survey New Delhi on December 9, 2015. Speaking under GIAN over next two years. Under the on Higher Education on the occasion, Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani, UK Generation India program, they would Minister of HRD, highlighted the be looking forward to send 25,000 UK Awards for Promotion of Sindhi importance of mobility of students and students to India during the next 5 (five) Language Announced faculty and expressed hope that, under years. HRM Launches “The Global the GIAN Program, more UK academicians Initiative of Academic would be able to come to India in 2016.
    [Show full text]
  • Social Media As an Allusion: Hindu Activism and Digital Media | Religion and the Public Sphere
    2017­5­9 Social media as an allusion: Hindu activism and digital media | Religion and the Public Sphere Social media as an allusion: Hindu activism and digital media Image: Flickr, Esther Vargas How has digital media impacted Hindu activism in the UK? Here John Zavos explores its role in Sewa Day – an annual day dedicated to social action among Hindu communities and others in Britain. He finds that, influenced by emerging digitally networked social movements, the presence of social media in Sewa Day operates partly as a kind of trope, invoking the idea of a grassroots social movement bringing people together through social media and internet based connections. Much more significant in the actual processes of mobilisation are already existing ‘friends networks’ associated with a range of Hindu nationalist organisations embedded in localities across the country. Sewa Day and Hindu nationalist activism Sewa is a term used in several South Asian languages to denote the idea of service. Sewa Day is then a day of service, which first took place in October 2010 and has since become an annual event. The 2010 Annual Report describes Sewa Day as a day of action which ‘recognised the need for local communities to take the responsibility for overcoming the challenges of disadvantage and deprivation by harnessing resources and talents that exist within them’. In 2010 the day consisted of 130 projects, with over 5000 individuals taking part across the country, ‘all committed to making Britain a better place’. By 2014, the website (sewaday. org) claims, 100,000 people took part, not just in the UK but in countries around the world Sewa Day projects are a patchwork of local activities, with the 2010 annual report listing, for example, ‘feeding the hungry and the homeless’, ‘entertaining the elderly’ and ‘caring for the environment’ as generic objectives.
    [Show full text]
  • Banalities Turned Viral: Narendra Modi and the Political Tweet
    TVNXXX10.1177/1527476415573956Television & New MediaPal 573956research-article2015 Article Television & New Media 1 –10 Banalities Turned Viral: © The Author(s) 2015 Reprints and permissions: Narendra Modi and the sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/1527476415573956 Political Tweet tvn.sagepub.com Joyojeet Pal1 Abstract Narendra Modi’s social media presence is among the most extensive for any politician in the world, including on Twitter where he currently stands second in following only to Barack Obama. With a mix of “feel good” messages, shout-outs to other celebrities, and well-timed ritualized responses, as well as a careful strategy of “followbacks” for a small selection of his most active followers, Modi has been able to grow his following dramatically especially since 2013. Twitter helps Modi directly reach a significant constituency of listeners, and use it as a channel to talk to the main stream media. In addition, the very appearance of his using social media effectively is in itself valuable in reshaping his public image as a technology-savvy leader, aligned with the aspirations of a new Indian modernity. Keywords Narendra Modi, Twitter, social media, politics, India, BJP, campaign, followback, new media, Facebook, NaMo, RSS The most “retweeted” and “favorited” message in India’s social media history came on May 15, 2014, when the handle @narendramodi tweeted “India has Won.” The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had come to power in elections with the biggest mandate in three decades, and Narendra Modi would be the next prime minister. The carefully phrased victory tweet congratulated the social media supporters who had for months been his online foot soldiers.
    [Show full text]
  • Hindu Nationalism in the United States: a Report on Nonprofit Groups
    Hindu Nationalism in the United States: A Report on Nonprofit Groups July 2014 J. M. [email protected] This report compiles publicly available tax records, newspaper articles, and other materials on non-profit groups in the United States affiliated with the Sangh Parivar (family of Hindu nationalist groups) from 2001-2014, documenting a segment of the projects and priorities of U.S.-based Hindu nationalism. Released via sacw.net Table of Contents Executive Summary .............................................................................................................................. 3 Figure 1. Four Areas of Hindu Nationalist Activities in the U.S. Indian Diaspora ................... 5 The Sangh Parivar in the United States .............................................................................................. 6 Methodology .............................................................................................................................. 8 The Sangh’s Youth and Family Programs ....................................................................................... 10 Figure 2. U.S. Cities with HSS Shakhas/Balagokulams, 2014 ................................................ 12 Table 1. VHP-America Chapters, 2014 ................................................................................... 13 Table 2. Attendance and Monies Allocated toward HSS Shakhas and VHPA Bal Vihars, 2002-2012 ............................................................................. 14 Charities: Funding Sangh Projects ..................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • American Hindu Activism and the Politics of Anxiety Arun Chaudhuri
    American Hindu Activism and the Politics of Anxiety Arun Chaudhuri A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Graduate Program in Anthropology York University Toronto, Ontario September 2012 © Arun Chaudhuri, 2012 Library and Archives Bibliotheque et Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du 1+1 Branch Patrimoine de I'edition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A0N4 Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-92758-8 Our file Notre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-92758-8 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non­ L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library and permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par I'lnternet, preter, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans le loan, distrbute and sell theses monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, sur worldwide, for commercial or non­ support microforme, papier, electronique et/ou commercial purposes, in microform, autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright L'auteur conserve la propriete du droit d'auteur ownership and moral rights in this et des droits moraux qui protege cette these. Ni thesis. Neither the thesis nor la these ni des extraits substantiels de celle-ci substantial extracts from it may be ne doivent etre imprimes ou autrement printed or otherwise reproduced reproduits sans son autorisation.
    [Show full text]
  • September 22, 2013 Dear Council for a Parliament of the World's Religions Trustee, We the Undersigned Write To
    September 22, 2013 Dear Council for a Parliament of the World’s Religions Trustee, We the undersigned write to express our profound disappointment with the Council for a Parliament of the World’s Religions’ (CPWR) withdrawal from co­sponsorship of the “World Without Borders” event to be held in Chicago on September 28, 2013. We respectfully request specific actions to not only bring together our communities in furtherance of our larger shared goals for interreligious understanding, but to heal relations with the Hindu and Indian community, and restore confidence in CPWR as an institution tasked with fostering inter­religious harmony. Please give full consideration to the points raised below before your meeting on Monday September 24. The response from the community to join this voicing of collective concern has been tremendous ­­ from religious figures, political figures, organizations, and leaders in the community to ordinary Hindus across a broad and diverse spectrum, including prominent interfaith leaders ­­ all have expressed a resounding willingness to join. Due to urgent need to send you this communication in time for Monday’s meeting, we have not been able to include the many signatures that have come after the 24 hour deadline provided. However, we hope this demonstrates the importance of not only the effect the CPWR’s decision to withdraw has had, but also what the resolution will as well on so many well beyond this list of over 300. The individuals entrusted with guiding the Council have acted in a way which has jeopardized the reputation and credibility of CPWR by demonstrating a lack of respect and professionalism towards the organizers, the Hindus serving on the CPWR Board of Trustees, and by extension, the broader Hindu community.
    [Show full text]