Statement
We, the faculty, staff, students and alumni of the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), wish to dissociate our institutions from the values recently expressed by the politician Varun Gandhi. We note with chagrin that Varun Gandhi's association with these institutions is being used as a testament to his ethics and quality as a politician. His statements are antithetical to the values promoted by our institutions, and to our beliefs about responsible leadership in electoral democracy.
Varun Gandhi is a young politician whose great-grandfather, grandmother and uncle have each been Prime Minister of India. His branch of the family is no longer associated with the Indian National Congress, but instead with the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He holds a degree from the LSE (BSc in Economics), earned through a distance-learning provision, although he was never admitted to LSE's own undergraduate body. Later he was enrolled at SOAS (MSc in Sociology) but never completed the degree.
The general election to India's parliament will be held over the next month. Varun Gandhi is currently campaigning as the BJP candidate from Pilibhit constituency in Uttar Pradesh. Excerpts from his speeches, widely reported and viewable on the internet, include these statements:
*
"This is the hand of the Lotus [the symbol of the BJP]. After the elections, the hand of the Lotus will slit the throat of Muslims."
*
"Ask all Hindus to unite if you want to save this area from turning into Pakistan."
*
"I am contesting for Hindus. I don't want a single Muslim vote, either from Khalistan [the state sought by Sikh separatists; the Congress candidate is a Sikh] nor from Pakistan."
*
"If somebody lifts a hand against Hindus, or thinks they are weak, there is nobody behind them, then I swear on the Bhagvad Gita that I will cut off that hand."
The Central Election Commission has studied the recordings, found them to be genuine, and informed the BJP that it 'expected' Varun Gandhi to be dropped as a candidate. Despite this, the BJP national executive has refused to cancel Varun Gandhi's candidacy. In doing so, it has given implicit endorsement to a kind of electoral campaigning that severely damages the fragile social relations between religious communities in India. Uttar Pradesh has a long history of violence between religious communities, much of it the result of inflammatory political appeals, which have a demonstrated role in mobilizing religious pogroms.
By our signature here, we emphatically dissociate our institutional values from the ones expressed by Varun Gandhi in the recordings, and condemn his statements.
|
