ICSSR issues show cause notice to CSDS for 'data fudging' amid 'vote chori' campaign
The ICSSR, which was established in the year 1969, operates under the aegis of the Ministry of Education and is the Centre's top body for research in social and human sciences, and the CSDS is supported by it.
The ICSSR said posted on X, "It has come to the notice of ICSSR that an individual holding responsible position at CSDS, an ICSSR-funded research institute, has made media statements that had to be retracted subsequently citing glitches in data analysis regarding elections in Maharashtra." It went on to add that the institute has published media stories based on biased interpretation of the SIR exercise by the Election Commission of India.
"ICSSR holds the Indian constitution in highest esteem. Election Commission of India is a high constitutional body which has been holding free and fair elections in the largest democracy of world for decades together," the ICSSR said, while noting that it "takes serious cognisance of the data manipulation by CSDS and its attempt to create a narrative with the intention of undermining the sanctity of the poll panel."
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But in doing so, he left us with an appreciation of the assumptions that constitute the bedrock of our worldview, what kinds of knowledge we privilege, and the indigenous thinkers and systems we remain unaware of. While this idea has a long lineage in academic circles, it has not always filtered down to the public sphere. In some cases, it has done so in a rather perverse manner. Take the case of the Indian extremists who use the idea of 'decolonisation' to justify parochialism and subjugate minorities. Ironically, their worldview and ideals derive heavily from European fascist ideology. So, in the very act of highlighting their identity in opposition to the West, they adopt European frameworks of identity and nationalism. That is why I think my professor would have approved of Sugata Bose's Asia After Europe: Imagining a Continent in the Long Twentieth Century. Through the works of scholars and political leaders across Asia and the interactions between them, it explores their visions of Asian solidarity and universalism, and the evolution of Asian thought, politics, and art. They not only challenged European colonial precepts, but also conceptualised alternatives to dominant European narratives and debates. In the book, we encounter Okakura Tenshin, José Rizal, Jamaluddin al-Afghani, and Benoy Kumar Sarkar, among other luminaries of the 20th century and earlier. These names might not be as familiar to non-scholars as some of the more notable ones who figure in Bose's account, such as Rabindranath Tagore and Chiang Kai-shek. Yet, they are no less fascinating. Rizal was a Filipino writer and nationalist, whom the Spanish colonial government executed in 1896. He became a unifying symbol of Asian resistance against Western imperialist domination. Okakura, a Japanese art critic and champion of Asian unity, travelled to India and had close links with Swami Vivekananda and Rabindranath Tagore. Al-Afghani, born in Iran, was a 'proponent of Islamic fraternity rather than Asian solidarity', though Bose emphasises that there was significant overlap between the two. Al-Afghani travelled across West and South Asia, and in the latter, stressed Hindu-Muslim unity against the British. Sarkar, an 'energetic, globe-trotting Indian intellectual', visited China and Japan, met intellectuals and politicians there, and extensively documented his journeys and geopolitical insights. The book succinctly captures attempts to forge an Asian identity and consciousness, visions of Asian solidarity, and the schisms caused by intra-Asian wars and conflicts. It provides a refreshing account of Asian histories in relation to each other, often without the Western lens that most works on the continent adopt. Asia has now bypassed other regions as the largest producer, exporter, importer, and consumer of goods. With many heralding the 21st century as the Asian century, Bose's book highlights what potential connections and collaborations between Asian nations could look like. He also explores what it would take for the continent to chart a future that 'expands and not destroys the aspirations of humanity'. In the preface, the author says that he has written the book 'in an accessible literary style for a broad readership'. Indeed, interesting anecdotes, such as about Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru rushing to help Chinese First Lady Madame Chiang put on her shoes during a visit to Shantiniketan, make Bose's historical exploration and arguments engaging. While the book largely eschews jargon and does not require an intimate knowledge of 20th-century history, it would have been good if it had provided more context for the non-scholar. Take, for example, the idea of Asia vis-a-vis Europe. While European nations' collective participation in the European Union and free movements across borders in the Schengen zone have lately reinforced the notion of the continent as a unified entity, it is an idea with a long history. Of course, plenty of myth-making and propaganda over centuries have helped shape it. For example, Europeans assert their antecedence in Greek and Roman empires, while conveniently glossing over how Arab scholars mediated their engagement with these civilisations. They claim the continent is built on Enlightenment ideals (natural law, liberty, rationalism, tolerance, etc.) despite their history of colonisation and perpetuating atrocities on the rest of the world. So, while the notion of Europe might be perverted and self-serving, there is some narrative underpinning it, no matter how flawed. What would an analogous conception of Asia look like? Can one find — or invent — common features among its disparate nations? 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Or would it replicate the hegemonic influence of wealthy western European nations over the idea of Europe? A deeper exploration of these debates would have helped better contextualise Bose's cogent and insightful account. Syed Saad Ahmed is a journalist and communications professional. In 2024, he was selected as a Boston Congress of Public Health Thought Leadership Fellow. He speaks five languages and has taught English in France.
