Narendra Modi and the Ivies

 No, that's not the latest pop act from Gujarat. It's the mercurial Gujarat CM, and the ongoing saga of trying to get blue-blooded American approval of him. Lately, there's been a lot of buzz about overtures to the Gujarat Chief Minister by the UK, talk of the US also sending out tentative feelers, and most recently, the ruckus over the cancellation of a Skype address by the Modimeister to the Wharton Indian Economic Forum. This last, of course, follows the action taken by Harvard against Subramanian Swamy, broadly for the same reason, which is their strong- one might even say virulent- anti-Muslim positions.

 Reactions, predictably, have been strong on both sides, with liberals praising the Wharton administration, and the "Hindu nationalist" supporters equally vocal for their champion. Normally, I would tend to stay out of such controversies, but I have been increasingly irked by the tendency of some Indian-Americans in academia(no doubt working in concert with their political friends) to attempt to put the Ivy stamp of approval on their favorite Indian politicians, thus damaging and cheapening the image of both the schools as well as the broader Indian-American community. I perceive the Modi saga as a back-door attempt to regroup after the US refusal to issue a visa to the Gujarati CM.

 I have lived most of my life in the US, from a time when the number of Indians in the US was still firmly in the mid-6 figure range. I have watched as Indians on F, J and H visas swarmed in by the hundreds of thousands, and suddenly it was no longer unusual to see an Indian at a K-Mart or at a rest stop on the interstate. Indian restaurants sprang up everywhere, the "Potel"(Patel-Motel) phenomenon took off, Indian ownership of convenience stores was caricatured by "Appu" in The Simpsons, and "Little Indias" sprang up everywhere from New Jersey to Illinois to California to Maryland. This first generation surge came to study and to work on temporary projects, and stayed to get permanent residency and then citizenship, buy homes, get married and raise families. Over the past two decades, their second-generation children have acquired a reputation for academic excellence(though not- surprise!- for athletic prowess) and have moved into prominent positions in finance, academia, medicine, law and even politics. But concurrently, I saw a disconcerting campaign by the group of allegedly "Hindu nationalist" organizations collectively referred to as "the sangh parivar" to recruit both new immigrants as well as the second generation- frequently on university campuses- and indoctrinate them with a strain of their worldview possibly even more virulent than the home-grown variety.

 This expanded American arm of the parivar now appears to be seeking to put a patina of American approval on the BJP, and to indirectly validate what I consider to be socially regressive doctrines by organizing quasi-academic seminars at major American universities, especially the Ivies. The major problem I see with this is that it dilutes and dishonors the hard-won reputation of Indian academics in the US, by using the prestige of these universities to political dirty ends. It sullies both the Indian community as well as the host universities. It is perfectly feasible- and indeed desirable- to have vigorous political debate in a campus setting. But insisting on inviting polarizing and dubious politicians- in an atmosphere of highly-charged opposing Indian student groups- in the guise of them allegedly being economic wizards bodes ill for the intellectual esteem in which the Indian-American community is held. This is washing our dirty linen in the neighbor's living room.

 And that brings me to my final observation. I have followed Modi's performance for years, and I have not been able to find substantial support for the general perception that he has led Gujarat to unparalleled(among Indian peers) performance. Decadal results show that while Gujarat has indeed been among the best performers, it has been outperformed by states which do not receive the media accolades which Modi's Gujarat consistently receives. States like Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and even Bihar. The only explanation I can find for this anomaly is that Gujarat is far more media-savvy than the others. And, on the other hand, I find that the other BJP-ruled states are underperforming, and rapidly developing a reputation for corruption every bit as bad as those in Congress-ruled states.

 Without wanting to end on a depressing note, but having no choice, I see India's politics and seething undercurrents of social tensions(carefully tended by the politicians to whom this is as mothers' milk) as a major ball-and-chain for India's progress. What do you think?