Your Voice | The Modi controversy is not about free speech
In the pages of The Daily Pennsylvanian and elsewhere, supporters of Narendra Modi have framed the issue of Modi’s disinvitation from the Wharton India Economic Forum as one of free speech. The framing is a clever one. Narendra Modi is a rather unsavory figure, and he is difficult to defend on any other terms. Extremist exclusionary politics, crony capitalism, an authoritarian style of governance and the infamous 2002 riots during which thousands of Muslims were raped, murdered, burned alive and displaced on his watch — Modi’s record does not sit well with the average reader of the DP. And so it behooves Modi supporters to repackage the issue as one of free speech. These are the only grounds upon which they stand a chance of winning the war of public opinion in which they are currently engaged.