2009/3/26 <[email protected]> > Dear All, > Someone has just alerted me to this petition: > http://lse-soas.com/index.php Please send it to your academic friends (not > just LSE/SOAS), colleagues and students.. > > I reproduce part of the text of the email I was sent and the statement > which will accompany your signature: > > "You may be aware of the violent, anti-Muslim political > campaign of Varun Gandhi, a graduate of both LSE and SOAS. His campaign > -- and the decision to retain him as a candidate -- has been lent validation > by the fact that he is a graduate of two renowned British universities. Both > the BJP spokesperson and V. Gandhi's lawyer have used that fact to defend > his character and promote his candidacy. > > A powerful refutation could issue from the institutions themselves -- > faculty, staff, students and alumni. So we have developed a stand-alone, > serious online statement to invite signatures. If we obtain a certain > mass of signatures -- and I'm confident we will -- this petition will run > widely in the Indian press, and make a strong refutation of hate-politics > (it has already received mention on ND-TV). In this regard, the signatures > of recognised scholars will really give it legs." > > Statement > > We, the faculty, staff, students and alumni of the London School of > Economics and Political Science (LSE) and the School of Oriental and African > Studies (SOAS), wish to dissociate our institutions from the values recently > expressed by the politician Varun Gandhi. *We note with chagrin that Varun > Gandhi's degrees from these institutions are being used as a testament to > his ethics and quality as a politician. His statements are antithetical to > the values promoted by our institutions, and to our beliefs about > responsible leadership in electoral democracy.* > > Varun Gandhi is a young politician whose great-grandfather, grandmother and > uncle have each been Prime Minister of India. His branch of the family is no > longer associated with the Indian National Congress, but instead with the > opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He holds degrees from the LSE (BSc > in Economics) and SOAS (MSc in Sociology). > > The general election to India's parliament will be held over the next > month. Varun Gandhi is currently campaigning as the BJP candidate from > Pilibhit constituency in Uttar Pradesh. Excerpts from his speeches, widely > reported and viewable on the internet, include these statements: > > - * > > "This is the hand of the Lotus [the symbol of the BJP]. After the > elections, the hand of the Lotus will slit the throat of Muslims." > - > > "Ask all Hindus to unite if you want to save this area from turning > into Pakistan." > - > > "I am contesting for Hindus. I don't want a single Muslim vote, either > from Khalistan [the state sought by Sikh separatists; the Congress > candidate > is a Sikh] nor from Pakistan." > - > > "If somebody lifts a hand against Hindus, or thinks they are weak, > there is nobody behind them, then I swear on the Bhagvad Gita that I will > cut off that hand." > * > > The Central Election Commission has studied the recordings, found them to > be genuine, and informed the BJP that it 'expected' Varun Gandhi to be > dropped as a candidate. Despite this, the BJP national executive has refused > to cancel Varun Gandhi's candidacy. In doing so, it has given implicit > endorsement to a kind of electoral campaigning that severely damages the > fragile social relations between religious communities in India. Uttar > Pradesh has a long history of violence between religious communities, much > of it the result of inflammatory political appeals, which have a > demonstrated role in mobilizing religious pogroms. > > By our signature here, we emphatically dissociate our institutional values > from the ones expressed by Varun Gandhi in the recordings, and condemn his > statements. > > > > > > Please access the attached hyperlink for an important electronic > communications disclaimer: > http://www.lse.ac.uk/collections/secretariat/legal/disclaimer.htm >
-- It helps me to organise my mailbox and get through it all faster if you reply to me by simply hitting 'reply' button and keeping the subject line the same; please do so if you can, thanks. Dr Caroline Osella, Reader in the Anthropology of South Asia, Undergraduate Admission tutor, SOAS. http://www.soas.ac.uk/staff/staff31568.php --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth?hl=en-GB -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
