I posted the following yesterday to several of my colleagues at the Emory Vaccine Center, as a weekly update on COVID, along with the comment, “”kudos to IE and The Hindu for up-to-date science coverage)
• Nature Editorial/4-2-2020 https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-00926-4
• Vaccine designers take first shots at COVID-19 https://science.sciencemag.org/content/368/6486/14
I was surprised to receive the mail from Ed with the question: “How does this NYT report square with your Indian Press comment?” putting me at a tight spot. Ed is known for asking tough questions in seminars and he was recruited to Emory from Stanford in 2006-07. While serving on a symposium organizing committee, he made comments that I did not take very kindly and he later apologized. Since then, I have utmost respect for him, in spite (because of) of ‘fireworks’ he generates in his questions. Below is the conversation that ensued when he posed the question and posted The Times article (subject heading). I do not believe this kind of discussion would have happened normally, but for the new normal we live in with social distancing and more time to spare in reading stuff! ?

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From: Abdul Jabbar
Date: Fri, Apr 3, 2020 at 4:30 PM
Subject: Re: NYTimes: Under Modi, India’s Press Is Not So Free Anymore
To: Ed Mocarski

Thanks Ed. It has been an educational journey for me as well after coming to the US.

I was born post-independent India in the South and as students, we were taught not much history except the preeminent role of Mahatma Gandhi as father of the nation and how he gained independence from the British Raj, basically via bloodless non-violence.

But it became clear after watching the movie “Gandhi’ in 1982 that it was not that simple. The Partition was a cataclysmic event with more than million people murdered along Indian-Pakistan border and many more rendered homeless/stateless. That bitterness still lingers among Hindus and Muslims in the North. Last December, the Modi government fanned that simmering anger by enacting the Citizen Amendment Act (CAA) and applying religious test against the secular ethos and basic foundation of the Indian Constitution. I think this is only the constitution that talks about scientific temper in governance.

I am sharing a speech (in pdf) by Kishore Mehbubani** “Three Predictions about India” that he gave at UPenn in 2006. Dr. Debi Nayak (you know him, my post-doctoral mentor at UCLA) shared this with me. A good read and you will like it.

Take care and will keep in touch.

Best wishes,
Jabbar

** Mehbubani TED Talk in 2019: https://www.ted.com/talks/kishore_mahbubani_how_the_west_can_adapt_to_a_rising_asia

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On Fri, Apr 3, 2020 at 2:49 PM Ed Mocarski wrote:

Hi Jabbar:
I am getting educated!
Thank you!
Ed
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On 4/3/20 10:30 AM, Abdul Jabbar wrote:

Hello Ed:

You are asking me to spill my ‘gut’ and reluctantly oblige. I have been doing that for the past few months in an informal email forum. I have attached a summary of Nobel laureate Amartya Sen book ‘The Argumentative Indian”. So the thesis goes there are 1.4 billion opinion, if not more, on a given topic, especially politics, among Indians.

I left India for US in 1981 and hence have a very limited view at the ground-level so to speak, but I am connected with my family and alma mater, Madurai Kamaraj University. In fact, last year, Max came there to give a keynote address at the Golden Jubilee Celebration. Great success!

To me, the biggest threat to democracy came in the form of Emergency (1975-77). The party (Modi’s) that rules India now came out of the struggle opposing the Indira Gandhi government. Appears they have morphed into promoting religious zealots among their ranks. I think they will pay a price in the long run as the Indian electorates are pretty sophisticated in their approach in electing leaders every 5 years.
• Indira Gandhi, Amrit Kaur named by TIME among ‘100 Women of the Year’ The profile in TIME said that in 1976, Gandhi, “‘Empress of India’ had become India’s great authoritarian.” https://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/life-style/indira-gandhi-amrit-kaur-time-magazine-100-women-of-the-year-6302092/ The profile in TIME said that in 1976, Gandhi, “‘Empress of India’ had become India’s great authoritarian.” Daughter of India’s first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, Gandhi was “as ruthless as she was charismatic,” the profile said, adding that by 1975, as a result of economic instability, Gandhi’s government was “swamped by an avalanche of street protests, and after her election was deemed invalid, she declared an emergency.”
• India has multiple histories that are a fundamental part of its diversity There are attempts to impose a single monistic structure on it but we can see the limitations of doing so. India is many, not one. https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/india-is-many-not-one-6304436/
I leave you with the column in The Hindu (see attached): Propaganda for promoting a particular viewpoint is not restricted to Indian democracy and appears universal!
• Selective silence leads to calamities: https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/Readers-Editor/selective-silence-leads-to-calamities/article29315827.ece?homepage=true // These examples explain the huge cost paid by humanity when the media is reduced to a tool of wishful thinking. Whatever be the magnitude of the crisis, it is vital for citizens and policymakers to know the truth. Not reporting some news may provide momentary comfort, but it will hurt the social fabric in the long run.
Cheers,
Jabbar

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From: Edward S. Mocarski Jr
Date: Fri, Apr 3, 2020 at 11:19 AM
Subject: NYTimes: Under Modi, India’s Press Is Not So Free Anymore
To: Abdul Jabbar, John D Altman, Rafi Ahmed

Hi Jabbar:

How does this NYT report square with your Indian Press comment?

I have not thought all that much about the Indian Press, but it certainly must have a lot of readers!

Thanks,
Ed

Under Modi, India’s Press Is Not So Free Anymore

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/02/world/asia/modi-india-press-media.html?referringSource=articleShare

Ed Mocarski

—
“Seek knowledge, even as far as China”.-
Prophet Muhammad

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world”-Nelson Mandela