Times of India, December 10, 2008
Under Pressure, Shah Renounces Hindu Group
By GAUTHAM NAGESH, Government Executive
http://lostintransition.nationaljournal.com/2008/12/shah-renounces.php
After weeks of questions, Obama transition team member and former Google
executive Sonal Shah today renounced her former connection to a Hindu
organization accused of fomenting violence against Muslims and Christians in
India.
In a statement obtained exclusively by NextGov and National Journal, Shah
says that if she could have anticipated the role of the Vishwa Hindu
Parishad (VHP) in the 2002 outbreak of communal violence in the Indian state
of Gujarat, she never would have associated with the group's American branch
a year earlier:
In 2002, Gujarat suffered one of the most profound tragedies in its long
history, when extremist political leaders, including some associated with
the VHP, incited riots that resulted in the deaths of thousands. Had I been
able to foresee the role of the VHP in India in these heinous events, or
anticipate that the VHP of America could possibly stand by silently in the
face of its Indian counterpart's complicity in the events of Gujarat in 2002
-- thereby undermining the American group's cultural and humanitarian
efforts with which I was involved -- I would not have associated with the
VHP of America.
The controversy escalated this weekend when Shah asked supporters for their
help in stopping the spread of allegations that she had been a member of the
VHP.
In an e-mail sent Friday night and obtained by NextGov, Shah asked her
supporters for help combating the allegations and expressed fear that the
Obama transition team would ask her to resign as a result of the story.
"I need your help," wrote Shah. "This is gaining legs as the National
Journal also picked it up and likely Fox. I need to moblize [sic] people
against the leftists and the right wing. There is a likely chance that they
will ask me to resign as team does not need my publicity."
The controversy has been gathering steam in the Indian press and South Asian
blogosphere for weeks now, but it went mainstream on Thursday when former
GOP Senator Rick Santorum published an op-ed in the Philadelphia Inquirer
questioning the appointment of Shah to the transition team -- prompting a
Lost In Transition post Friday.
Shah, a Google executive who previously worked for Goldman Sachs and served
as a Treasury official in the Clinton years, was appointed to the Obama
transition team in November and has since been tapped to be part of the
three-person team to develop technology policy. She is also reportedly being
considered for Secretary of Energy.
However, her appointment to the administration has drawn strong reactions
from the South Asian community. While many prominent Indian-Americans have
stood behind Shah, others have raised doubts about her past. Dr. Shaikh
Ubaid is part of a group including several Muslim and Sikh associations and
dozens of college professors that sent letters to both Shah and
President-elect Obama, requesting further information on Shah's past
associations.
"When she was appointed, it was initially a proud moment for us, her being
an Indian-American," said Ubaid in an interview given before Shah's latest
statement. However, the reports regarding Shah's past ties to the VHP gave
Ubaid and others a cause for concern.
Vishwa Hindu Parishad is an international Hindu organization which is a part
of the Sangh Parivar, the Indian nationalist movement organized around
Hindutva, or Hindu nationalism. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is the
political face of Hindutva; VHP is the social wing of the movement.
The nonprofit group Human Rights Watch as well as the U.S. State Department
have condemned the BJP-led government and Gujarat chief minister Narendra
Modi for not stopping the 2002 violence in Gujarat following the burning of
a train containing Hindu pilgrims by a Muslim mob. In rioting that followed,
more than a thousand people were killed, the majority of whom were Muslims.
"I'm not saying Sonal Shah is involved in that," Ubaid said. "But we have
questions."
On Nov. 11, Shah had released a statement where she termed the allegations
"baseless and silly reports" stemming from her charitable work for victims
of the 2001 Gujarat earthquake. She denied any involvement in Indian
politics, but her critics quickly pointed out that nowhere in the original
statement did Shah formally acknowledge her role in the VHP-America or
specifically condemn the violence in Gujarat and the actions of Narendra
Modi.
Both Ubaid and Vijay Prashad, a South Asian history professor at Trinity
College (Conn.) who wrote the original article questioning Shah's ties to
the VHP, pointed to a recent interview in which a VHP-America leader
indicated that Shah was more than tangentially connected to the group.
Prashad, interviewed before Shah's latest statement, called her a "leading
figure" of the organization from 1998 to the early 2000s and said her claims
of having participated only in the organization's earthquake relief efforts
were "disingenuous."
"I can understand someone raised in a suburb, whose parents are apolitical,
coming to college, seeing the earthquake, finding an organization and
getting involved in raising funds [without knowing any better]," said
Prashad. "But here is someone not from an apolitical household. She was well
aware of the politics. And she had been in a leadership role. It was not
just happenstance."
Shah's brother Anand said that she was co-opted by the organization's
leadership, who were eager to show a younger face to the public.
"If the situation wasn't what it is, if it was someone else, I would be
asking these questions," said Anand Shah. "It's not a non-serious issue; the
questions being raised are legitimate ones." But he added that he hoped
people would judge his sister by her own words and actions, and not by her
associations.
The text of Sonal Shah's full statement is as follows:
I was recently maligned by a professor at a college in Connecticut who wrote
an article in CounterPunch accusing me of association with Hindu extremism.
Then, a few days ago, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, former
Republican Senator from Pennsylvania, published an editorial in the
Philadelphia Inquirer, to which this site linked, that echoed the
CounterPunch accusations. These attacks sadden me, but they share one other
thing in common: the accusations are false.
In reaction to these attacks, my closest friends -- and many strangers --
have rallied to my side. I am touched by this outpouring of support. And as
painful as this episode has been for me personally, I welcome the
opportunity to discuss this issue with the seriousness that it deserves, but
the conversation should proceed on the basis of verified facts and reasoned
argument, not innuendo and defamation.
Indian politics and history are contested and emotive, but also unfamiliar
to most Americans. I understand why so many Indians and Indian-Americans
feel strongly about religious extremism in India, because I share the same
concerns.
I am an American, and my political engagements have always and only been
American. I served as a U.S. Treasury Department official for seven years,
and now work on global development policy at Google.org. And I am honored to
serve on the Presidential Transition Team of President-elect Obama while on
leave from Google.org.
I emigrated from India at the age of four, and grew up in Houston. Like many
Americans, I remain proud of my heritage. But my engagement with India has
been exclusively cultural and humanitarian. After the devastating earthquake
in Gujarat in 2001, I worked on behalf of a consortium of Indian-American
organizations to raise funds for humanitarian relief. The Vishwa Hindu
Parishad of America (VHP-A), an independent charity associated with the
eponymous Indian political group, was among these organizations, and it was
the only one to list my name on its website. I am not affiliated with any of
these organizations, including the VHP-A, and have not worked with any of
them since 2001.
The experience with the Gujarat earthquake did, however, teach me an
important lesson. It pointed up a lack of dedicated infrastructure to help
alleviate suffering in India, so together with my brother and sister, I
founded Indicorps, an organization modeled on the U.S. Peace Corps that
enables young Indian-Americans to spend a year in service to marginalized
communities in India. The fellows come from every religious background, and
have worked among every religious community in India. Indeed, some Indicorps
fellows focus on inter-faith dialogue as part of their projects.
In 2002, Gujarat suffered one of the most profound tragedies in its long
history, when extremist political leaders, including some associated with
the VHP, incited riots that resulted in the deaths of thousands. Had I been
able to foresee the role of the VHP in India in these heinous events, or
anticipate that the VHP of America could possibly stand by silently in the
face of its Indian counterpart's complicity in the events of Gujarat in 2002
-- thereby undermining the American group's cultural and humanitarian
efforts with which I was involved -- I would not have associated with the
VHP of America.
Sadly, CounterPunch and Senator Santorum have suggested that I somehow
endorse that violence and the ongoing violence in Orissa. I do not - I
deplore it. But more than that, I have worked against it, and will continue
to do so. I have already denounced the groups at issue and am hopeful that
we can begin to have an honest conversation about the ways immigrant and
diaspora communities can engage constructively in social and humanitarian
work abroad.
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