Dr. Amartya Sen Won’t apologize for Modi remarks

URL- http://nabsites.net/demo/dr-amartya-sen-wont-apologize-for-modi/

It was exciting to
read a part of the interview of Dr. Sen about 10:30 PM tonight, Friday the 26th
of July 2013. The rest of the interview will be published by Times of India on Sunday. 

Most people appreciate when some one speaks out against the atrocities of the majorities, powerful dictators, monarchs and bullies. The politically motivated Hindu, Muslim and Christian men and women in particular appreciate it,  if it favors them. 

My Hindus friends have rejoiced every time I have routinely stood up for them (incomplete list at: http://standingupforothers.blogspot.com/2012/04/standing-with-hindus.html ), but won’t appreciate if a Hindu Dr. Amartya Sen does the same.

Let me assure you this,  the good people outnumber all others 95:5, eventually  some one or the other from the majority, be it in India, America, Bolivia or South Africa, and even from Hindus, Jews, Muslims, Christians and Buddhist speaks up for the rights of the deprived, disadvantaged, women, minorities and the weak. God of all creation makes sure his creation has boundaries and has enough peace makers to prevent the world from total annihilation. Bhagvad Gita is clear, “Whenever there is adharma, God will bring about some one to restore Dharma” and Quran beefs it up, “To every tribe, every community and every nation God sends his peace makers to keep peace.”

Indeed the work of all religious masters and great statesmen was to build cohesive societies, where no one has to live in apprehension or fear of the other. India is going through big controversy now about the kind of leadership it wants. Nobel Laureate Dr. Amratya Sen is under attack. Mr. Narendra Modi is the contentious Chief Minister ( Like Governor) of Gujarat in India.

Dr. Sen has spoken like a true statesman, an India that belongs to all Indians, I found the expressions of a similar language in my writings. Indeed whether it was Zarthustra, Moses, Krishna, Buddha and the others – the message was same – how to live without fear of the other.

The more people speak up, the better the world would be. So, please do your part.
This morning I defended Dr. Sen’s action with a few friends (appended below) and now, when I read the partial interview, it caused me to go searching on my blog of the similar thoughts I have struggled with.

I have consistently advocated that the peace is the responsibility of the majority; indeed, the civility of a nation is determined by how it treats its women, children, disadvantage, the weak and the minorities. It is in the interest of the nation, particularly the responsible men and women from the political, civic or religious majorities to speak up. It is in everyone’s interest for every one to walk well together and not limp.Two of the statements, I wrote resonate with Dr. Amartya Sen’s words

On March 15, 2013, a press release was sent and was published in Bangladeshi News papers and at www.WorldMuslimCongress.com , this was also a part of my speech at Bangladesh Human rights organization in Dallas.

 “The success of a nation depends when her citizens feel secure; in this case, it is   the duty of the state to ensure the safety of Hindus, Buddhist, Shia, Ahmadiyya, Christian and other minorities.

It is also the obligation of the Bangladeshi majority to continue to speak up against the brutal treatment of fellow Bangladeshis who are Hindu. Indeed, the safety of a community is the responsibility of the majority.”
(URL – http://nabsites.net/demo/muslims-condemn-brutal-attacks-on/ )

The Daily Times of Pakistan published my piece on Imran Khan, and I wrote, “Humanity in general and Muslims in particular are guided to stand up for justice. Only the civility of majority can change things. Minorities do not have a voice in Pakistan and they live on with apprehensions. The Hindu parents worry when their daughter will be abducted and forced to convert or when the Ahmadiyya girl student will be kicked out of school or their graves are desecrated, Shias ordered out of the bus and shot point blank and Christians will be framed with blasphemy charges. Societies are judged by how they treat their minorities, women and children. Good Pakistanis are letting bad things happen in their names.”

(URL – http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2013%5C05%5C08%5Cstory_8-5-2013_pg3_5 )

A note came from a friend, “What irked me was his (Dr. Sen) comment on Modi not doing enough for the minorities.” And, “Sen does not address those issue but more interested in bad mouthing Modi on minority issues because it is a very popular and sophisticated issue.”

My response was, “I must add that collectively different Indians have to speak on different topics – including far and against to bring different angles to the fore – Dr. Sen has picked one that he probably feels has not been given enough attention. Each one of us has to focus on many strands of democracy.”

Glad to see a positive response about democracy from my friend later. 

If there were to be an apology, the apology is owed to the families of people who were burnt alive in the train, families of the people who were raped, families of children who were burnt alive on every street corner, family of the MP who was tortured to death,  and all the families who were uprooted for improper management of the law and order in the state. And that apology must come from the Chief Minister Narendra Modi.

Won’t apologize for Modi remarks, Amartya Sen says

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Wont-apologize-for-Modi-remarks-Amartya-Sen-says/articleshow/21380639.cms?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=referral

MUMBAI: Even as the firestorm over Amartya
Sen’s remarks about Narendra Modi
refuses to die down, the Nobel-winning economist said
he had nothing to apologize for saying that he did not wish to see the Gujarat
chief minister become India’s next Prime Minister.

In an exclusive interview to TOI (read the full interview on Sunday), Sen pointed to his fundamental
right to raise such issues and also clarified that it was his duty as a member
of the majority community to speak up about the fears of minorities.

“I am not apologizing for the statement on Modi,” he said, while
explaining that “as an Indian citizen I am very worried that we’re not
doing enough on many things in public discourse, that we’re not raising the right viewpoints on several issues.”

‘Gujarat model not good’

Defending his remarks on Gujarat CM, Nobel-winning economist Amartya Sen
told TOI, “I’ve tried to point to this when it kept being brought up about
why I made that statement about Modi. I felt that as a member of the majority community in
India it is my duty, not merely my right, to speak up about the concerns of the
minority. We often forget that as members of the majority,” Sen
said.

“Despite the fact that there are many things that Modi has done as CM
which are interesting and important — and I’ve talked about them even though
when held up as a model I don’t think it makes for a very good one — there’s
still that scare, that sense of fear,” he said.

Quoting 19th-century English philosopher John Stuart Mill, who wrote that the
security of minority rights really depends on the majority, Sen also pointed to
how debates in the US (where he spends some time teaching at Harvard
University) often go on at great length about the need to better secure
minority rights.

“I live there as part of a minority and you see how concerned they are
about these issues. Here,
I have to exercise my duty as part of the majority and bring up my concerns.
This is essential to the practice
of democracy, which, like liberty, must be vigorously defended. Eternal
vigilance is the price you pay for that liberty,” he said.