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Time of India
4 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Harvard's activities must alarm the Indian philanthropists
Dr Jagdish Batra is a senior academic, currently working as Professor of English at O.P. Jindal Global University, India. He has nearly four decades of teaching and research experience. His area of specialization is Indian English Fiction on which he has presented papers at many international conferences in Europe and South East Asia. A Rotary Study Exchange Scholar to USA, Dr Batra has published eight books besides some sixty research papers and a number of general articles/blogs etc. LESS ... MORE The Lakshmi Mittal and Family South Asia Institute at Harvard University is in the eye of the storm over the organization of the Pakistan Conference under its aegis, in which Pro-Pakistan speakers were invited, obviously to whitewash Pakistan's image in the wake of the Pahalgam carnage of 26 tourists. To counter the media backlash in India, the Institute page has removed the detail of proceedings from its website and supplanted it with a statement claiming that the student organizers along with their faculty advisor were solely responsible for organizing the event in which the Pakistani Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb and Pakistan's Ambassador to the US, Rizwan Saeed Sheikh participated. 'Following our principles of operation, we did not consult any benefactor of the Institute about this conference,' says the notice, alongwith a formal expression of sorrow, though without naming Pakistan in it. This is indeed a poor strategy to avoid criticism directed at the university and the benefactor concerned who were equally responsible for organizing the conference at this critical juncture. What lends credence to this conclusion is also the removal of a page from the Institute site whose rump is still available on Google. It begins with 'Previewing the inaugural Pakistan conference 2025: 14 Apr 2025 — The Mittal Institute sat down with the two conference co-chairs—Muhammad Hadi from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and Sannan Pervaiz …'. So, it is not just the students and the faculty advisor of the conference, but also the benefactor and two conference co-chairs. This conference by Pakistan sympathizers on the Harvard campus only shows disdain of the Centre for human rights of which the university professes to be the world champion. It is not the first time that Harvard has been involved in anti-India and anti-Hindu projects. One recalls the Dismantling Hindutva Conference held online in 2022 in which Harvard was the key player along with many other American and European universities. It was basically directed at the pro-Hindu policies of the Modi government. Surprisingly, anything going in favour of Hindus in the world rankles these 'elite' institutions which are devoted to the DEI (Diversity, Equity, Inclusivity) philosophy. One finds a number of India-centred study centres supported by Indian billionaires in many American universities. People like Murty, Ambani, Mahindra, Piramal, et al have been contributing mammothly to them without scrutinizing the operations of these institutions. Narayan Murthy's funding of the Murty Classical Library under late Sheldon Pollock is a case in point. Now, Pollock, much like Wendy Doniger, has been instrumental in presenting a distorted and degraded interpretation of our scriptural texts. Funding for the DEI projects supposedly to bring about social justice in India for the marginalized sections seems innocuous, but actually these projects are carried out with the aim to create divisions in the Indian society. How Harvard has been aiming to create problems for India can be gauged from the Indologist Rajiv Malhotra's assertion in his recent book Snakes in the Ganga that a clandestine project undertaken by Harvard University to study the tribal Munda languages spoken in Chhattisgarh and Odisha states was not exactly for love of an obscure language but meant to promote a new theory that the Munda speakers were the original inhabitants of the Indian subcontinent which would mean that both Aryans and Dravidians were outsiders! One needs to be reminded of the Maoist movement rife in that area which might serve as part of the toolkit to dismember India. When it comes to highlighting India and its positive influence on the world, Harvard is least interested. Malhotra's attempts to get its researchers take up projects on Vivekananda's influence on America got lip service only, so did his plea to promote India-loving Transcendentalist Ralph Emerson's writings. In case of Thoreau, Harvard simply denied India's influence – something clearly indicated in his book Walden Pond – besides ignoring such request in the case of Nobel-awardee T.S. Eliot, who had studied Sanskrit texts and used Sanskrit aphorisms in his poems. Harvard has also been criticized by Malcolm Gladwell, the acclaimed author of The Tipping Point for its bias in admissions where it discriminates against Indian students and prefers other races. This attitude had been criticized by the US Supreme Court also which in its 2023 judgment mentioned race-conscious admissions programmes at Harvard and the University of North Carolina and found them violative of the Equal Protection Clause. Now that the Trump administration has withdrawn grants to Harvard and some other universities, will the Indian billionaires have a second thought about funding these universities? Why don't they divert these funds to Indian universities and provide to Indian students good education at reasonable cost? The growing strictness about visa in America and Canada provides a huge opportunity to the Indian universities, government and the philanthropists to work together and come up with an elaborate world-class education system that will save for the country billions going out on account of foreign education. Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email Disclaimer Views expressed above are the author's own.
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First Post
08-05-2025
- Politics
- First Post
Harvard's activities must alarm Indian philanthropists
Now that the Trump administration has withdrawn grants to Harvard and some other universities for their promotion of DEI and Woke ideologies, will the Indian billionaires have a second thought about funding these universities? read more The Lakshmi Mittal and Family South Asia Institute at Harvard University is in the eye of the storm over the organisation of the Pakistan Conference under its aegis, in which pro-Pakistan speakers were invited, obviously to whitewash Islamabad's image in the wake of the Pahalgam carnage of 26 tourists. To counter the media backlash in India, the institute page has removed the detail of proceedings from its website and supplanted it with a statement claiming that the student organisers along with their faculty advisor were solely responsible for organising the event in which Pakistan Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb and Pakistan's Ambassador to the US, Rizwan Saeed Sheikh, also participated. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD This is indeed a poor defence, but whatever role different actors played in organising this event, it is not the first time that Harvard has been involved in anti-India and anti-Hindu projects. One recalls the 'Dismantling Hindutva Conference' held online in 2022 in which Harvard was the key player along with many other American and European universities. It was basically directed at the pro-Hindu policies of the Modi government. Surprisingly, anything going in favour of Hindus in the world rankles these 'elite' institutions even as these claim to be the flag-bearers of diversity or the DEI philosophy. Coming to the Indian billionaires, many of them have promoted and supported a number of India-centred study centres in many American universities. People like Naryan Murty, Ambani, Mahindra, Piramal, et al have been contributing mammothly to foreign universities but it seems scrutinizing the use of their grants is not always done. Narayan Murthy's funding of the Murty Classical Library at Harvard, with Prof Sheldon Pollock as the Chief Editor, is a case in point. Pollock, though a great Sanskritist, has been known to bring in Western bias and present a distorted and degraded interpretation of our scriptural texts, says Indologist Rajiv Malhotra in his book Battle for Sanskrit. Funding in the name of DEI projects – supposedly aimed at bringing about social justice in India for the marginalized sections – seems innocuous, but actually these projects are carried out with the aim to create divisions in the Indian society on the basis of caste-affirmative action equation and cancel consideration of meritocracy. A classic example is what finds mention in Rajiv Malhotra's recent book Snakes in the Ganga (pp. 281-82). The writer points out that a project undertaken by Harvard University to study the tribal Munda languages spoken in Chhattisgarh and Odisha states was not exactly for love of an obscure language but meant to promote a new theory that the Munda speakers were the original inhabitants of the Indian subcontinent which would mean that both Aryans and Dravidians were outsiders! This is a fraught project considering that the Maoist movement rife in that area could be part of the toolkit to dismember India. On the other hand, when it comes to highlighting India's positive influence on the world, Harvard is least interested. Malhotra's attempts to get its researchers take up projects on Vivekananda's influence on America got lip service only, so did his plea to promote India-loving Transcendentalist Ralph Emerson's writings. In case of Thoreau, Harvard simply denied India's influence. This is surprising because Thoreau's book Walden Pond shows the deep influence of Indian spirituality. Similarly, Harvard ignored such request in the case of Nobel-awardee T.S. Eliot, who had studied Sanskrit texts and used Sanskrit aphorisms in his poems. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Even in admitting students, Harvard has been faulted for a biased approach. Malcolm Gladwell, the acclaimed author of The Tipping Point, clearly says that it discriminates against Indian students and prefers other races. This attitude had been criticised by the US Supreme Court also which in its 2023 judgment mentioned race-conscious admissions at Harvard and the University of North Carolina and found them violative of the Equal Protection Clause. Now that the Trump administration has withdrawn grants to Harvard and some other universities for their promotion of DEI and Woke ideologies, will the Indian billionaires have a second thought about funding these universities? Why don't they divert these funds to Indian universities and provide to Indian students good education — not the so-called American liberal education but the education suited to Indian values — at reasonable cost? The growing strictness about visa regime in America and Canada provides a huge opportunity to the Indian universities, government and the philanthropists to work together and come up with an elaborate world-class education system that will save for the country billions going out on account of foreign education and also help the country realize the vision of a developed nation by 2047. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Jagdish Batra is an academic and writer, presently working as Professor and Executive Dean at O.P. Jindal Global University, India. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost's views.
News18
30-04-2025
- Politics
- News18
News18 Afternoon Digest: Updates On Pahalgam Terror Attack, 'Pakistan Conference' At Harvard And Other Top Stories
Last Updated: News18 Afternoon Digest: We are covering updates on Pahalgam terror attack, 'Pakistan Conference' at Harvard university and other top stories. In today's Afternoon Digest, News18 brings the latest updates on Pahalgam terror attack, 'Pakistan Conference' at Harvard university and other top stories. Diplomacy, Economy, Narrative: India Steps Up Pressure On Pakistan Off The Battlefield India is making sure Pakistan pays for the Pahalgam terror attack, and not just by using military might this time. Sources say that the government's plan is to ensure that the isolation of Pakistan is complete. Read more With the India-Pakistan border on the boil since the Pahalgam terror attack, Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired multiple meetings today, including the second Cabinet Committee on Security meet within a week, first Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs. He also held a Cabinet meeting at his 7LKM residence. Read more A terrorist, now operating from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), is under scrutiny by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), which is probing last week's Pahalgam attack that sent shockwaves across the country and drew widespread global condemnation. First Published: April 30, 2025, 14:06 IST
India.com
30-04-2025
- Politics
- India.com
Harvard Faces Student Backlash Over Pakistan Conference Amid Outrage Over Pahalgam Attack
Harvard University's South Asia Institute has been targeted by intense student criticism for having organised a "Pakistan Conference" within days of the recent deadly terror strike at Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir. The event was denounced for purportedly legitimised accounts tied to state-sponsored terrorism as well as being insensitive to the victims of what students termed a "targeted, religion-based massacre." In response to ANI, Harvard student Surabi Tomar spoke out with concern and stated, "The heinous attack in Pahalgam was a religion-based targeted assault. When Harvard invites officials, particularly those who ideologically justify such acts, it risks giving legitimacy to state-sponsored terror narratives on our campus." #WATCH | Cambridge, US: On Harvard's South Asia Institute hosting a 'Pakistan Conference', Surabi Tomar, Harvard University Student, says, "We shouldn't stay silent after a faith-based killing, that is our belief. We consulted our peers. There was a lot of support for us given by… — ANI (@ANI) April 30, 2025 Tomar explained that although the conference was pre-planned, the timing — five days after the Pahalgam attack — made it even more contentious. "Even if coincidental, we do not believe it is right for a university like Harvard to provide a platform to such voices," she added. Tomar also disclosed that the students have written to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, requesting him to deny visas to ideologically extremist supporting officials. "We acted out of a shared moral obligation. This was not random violence. It was religious persecution. We urged Harvard to stand against Hinduphobia," she added. Another student, Rashmini Koparkar, was in the same vein, lambasting the insensitivity of the event. "We expected the guests to at least acknowledge the Pahalgam attack. A condemnation would have been a thoughtful gesture. Many of the speakers were officials from a country that has long harboured cross-border terrorism," she stated. Amid the row, Harvard's South Asia Institute released a statement in support of hosting the conference. It expressed condolences to Pahalgam attack victims while reiterating that the event was independently organised by students and their faculty advisor. "The Institute supports academic research and collaborates on multiple events annually. 'The Pakistan Conference,' held on April 27, 2025, was entirely student-driven. We did not consult any benefactor in the process," the release stated. "We share the grief and anguish with our friends and colleagues in India affected by the April 22 attack, and we offer our heartfelt condolences." The scandal has fueled a broader controversy regarding academic responsibility, freedom, and limits of political sensitivity on university campuses across the world.
Time of India
30-04-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Students condemn Harvard for hosting 'Pakistan Conference' following Pahalgam attack
Live Events A recent "Pakistan Conference" hosted by Harvard University 's South Asia Institute has sparked significant backlash from students, who criticised the event for potentially legitimising state-backed terror narratives on controversy escalated following the deadly Pahalgam attack in Jammu and Kashmir , which students described as a "targeted, religion-based massacre."While speaking with ANI, Harvard student Surabi Tomar on Harvard's South Asia Institute hosting a 'Pakistan Conference,' said, "The horrible attack in Pahalgam was a targeted, religion-based massacre. When Harvard invites officials, especially officials who have ideologically justified such acts, it risks legitimising the state-backed terror narratives on our campus. This is the reason why we thought that we should take some action or ask people to take some action."Elaborating more on the event, Tomar said, "It was a pre-planned event, and it was a coincidence. However, even given the coincidence, we do not think that it is correct for anyone, especially a university like Harvard, to legitimise such voices, especially when they in their country are trying to justify such acts and not condemning them."(Join our ETNRI WhatsApp channel for all the latest updates)She further said that the students have urged US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to "deny visas to officials who support terror-linked ideologies.""We shouldn't stay silent after a faith-based killing; that is our belief. We consulted our peers. We received a great deal of support from students from 65 countries. We read the testimonies of survivors, and we acted on a shared moral obligation to speak out. We emphasised that this was not random violence. It was religious persecution. We urged Harvard to stand against Hinduphobia and asked the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to deny visas to officials who support terror-linked ideologies," Tomar student, Rashmini Koparkar, expressed disappointment, stating that the guests at the event didn't condemn the Pahalgam attack and show sensitivity."We were expecting a certain degree of sensitivity and acknowledgement of what has happened. The event was pre-planned and already discussed. It was a coincidence that the event took place within five days. However, a more thoughtful gesture would have been preferable. First of all, they could have condemned the attacks. Secondly, the number of guests and the high-ranking officials that were arriving at this event were actually in question because this is a state which has been harbouring cross-border terrorism for years. India has been suffering," Koparkar amid growing controversy over the "Pakistan Conference," Harvard University's South Asia Institute issued a statement in defence of the event. The Institute extended its condolences to the victims of the Pahalgam attack, while clarifying that the students and their faculty advisor had independently organised the a statement released on Tuesday, the South Asia Institute said, "The Institute supports academic research projects and works with other university partners on multiple events throughout the academic year. One such event was "The Pakistan Conference," organised by students from Harvard and held on April 27, 2025. In accordance with our principles of operation, we did not consult any benefactor of the Institute regarding this conference. The students, along with their faculty advisor, independently determined the topics and speakers presenting... We share the grief and anguish with our friends, colleagues, and loved ones in India who have been affected by the attack in Pahalgam on April 22, 2025, and we offer our heartfelt condolences."
