IndiaParentMagazine

Interview with Richard Anderson Falk

Richard Anderson Falk is an American professor emeritus of international law at Princeton University. He is the author or co-author of 20 books and the editor or co-editor of another 20 volumes. In 2008, the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) appointed Falk to a six-year term as a United Nations Special Rapporteur on "the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967. He is one of the signatories of the faculty statement on Narendra Modi’s visit to Silicon Valley. Excerpts from his interview.

India Parent Magazine(IPM): What exactly are your views on Digital India? Can you please describe your concerns?
Richard Falk(RF): The concerns about Digital India are multiple, yet the program has not been sufficiently developed as yet, to be clear about how serious and of their correct nature. It is also the case that there is much positive potential bound up in Digital India that should not be overlooked. For instance, as the government of India describes its goals for Digital India it gives emphasis to individual empowerment, which would if implemented strengthen the role of citizens, and contribute to more meaningful participation in the societal life of India. Yet there are also worries associated with whether Digital India will treat minorities equally with the Hindu majority, especially in the extension of digitization to minority communities. A related concern is whether this drive to achieve 21st century style modernization will not widen disparities between those able to take advantage of Digital India and those who are not. These worries are best set forth at the outset. If postponed until the harm is done, it will be much more difficult to correct. There is also a worry that the state can use a highly networked India to exert greater control, damaging the state/society balance that is crucial for the maintenance of a robust democracy.

Richard Anderson

IPM: How did this idea of sending out a concerned statement to Tech companies come about?
RF: I was not an organizer of this initiative, and cannot give a reliable answer. I think, from my own perspective as a non-Indian signatory who has worked over many years in India and has great affection for the people and the country, and its deep culture, there were reasons to exhibit concern in this form, and this feeling was shared by many Indian scholars who had a much deeper connection with India. I was also reacting to my parallel concerns about the interplay between advanced technology and the decline of democracy in the United States. In the setting of Digital India, these concerns were intensified because of PM Modi’s personal governing style and Hindu nationalist background, especially manifest during his period as Chief Minister of Gujarat.

“The rise of religion is a global phenomenon, not limited to India or Hinduism. It seems to involve a civilizational backlash against neoliberal globalization, in part, and the impulse to affirm authentic identity, with its roots in religion and culture.”

IPM: Why do you think under Modi Digital India might be a serious threat to the privacy of an individual?
RF: Yes, issues of privacy are definitely present, and justify expressions of concern. I have been deeply opposed to the kind of encroachments on privacy that have occurred during the Obama presidency. The fact that this experience of surveillance and invasion of privacy is occurring in the United States, with its well established traditions of civil rights and personal freedom, and during a period of leadership by a liberal president known for his commitment to these values, deepens apprehensions about the Modi relationship to such issues given the ideology and background that informs Hindu nationalism. The disclosures of Edward Snowden demonstrated that sophisticated digital technology is capable of fundamental breaches of privacy, and that meta-data was being collected on a global basis. The whole point of these disclosures was to inform the citizenry that the whole structure of a democratic relationship between state and society was being undermined by digital technology. This is a lesson that other countries, including India, could benefit from taking to heart.

IPM: As a visionary and as a critic of various governments for their atrocities on human rights do you think there is any reason for concern? What do you think is the main agenda of BJP under Narendra Modi?
RF: I believe that individuals committed to human rights should not limit their concerns to the behavior of their own governments. We believe in human rights, not only national rights. As I have indicated, in collaboration with my Indian colleagues, we have concern about certain authoritarian tendencies evident in PM Modi’s leadership style and background that heighten our concern about the possible dangers embedded in Digital India. Bringing these dangers to the surface was the main purpose of our letter.

IPM: It’s been 16 months since BJP came into power. What do you think of its progress as a global observer of human rights abuse?
RF: So far the record of the BJP in power seems mixed. It has generated some concerns with respect to the treatment and status of non-Hindus, especially Muslims, by its embrace of minimally regulated neoliberal development, and by its defiant approach to criticism.

IPM: Do you think the democracy and democratic institutions of India are at risk and the strong notion of the Unity in Diversity upon which the Constitution of India is based is at risk under Narendra Modi?
RF: Yes, I think there are grounds of concern. The Hindu identity of the BJP in country as pluralist as India naturally gives rise to apprehensions, intensified by Mr. Modi’s leadership record in Gujarat, especially with respect to the anti- Muslim riots.

IPM: Why do you think so many Indians seem to be supporting Narendra Modi ?
RF: There is no doubt that Modi has mobilized support and raised India’s world status through his stress on development and promise to deliver the country from the torments of mass poverty. The unveiling of Digital India moves in this direction, making many Indians within or without the country proud and supportive. The hopes for Digital India are symbolic of a commitment to put India at the forefront of the technological frontier and indicative of India’s emergence as a leading political actor on the global stage. Modi deserves credit for raising India’s global stature.

IPM: Do you think people forgot the Gujarat riots or do you think they think he is innocent? Do you think the charges are relevant now?
RF: Yes, most people have forgotten the Gujarat riots and Modi’s role during that period, but of course Muslims and other minorities have not. These memories combine with the BJP championship of Hindu nationalism suggest that these past events should still be taken into account. Governments, including the United States, are cynical about such legacies, and if a country is geopolitically important and offers trade and investment opportunities on a scale that India possesses, then there is a tendency to accept a leader with shadows hanging over his past without posing questions or entertaining doubts. In the current world situation, India as a strategic partner of the United States has a particular importance, being the main counter to the rise of China in an Asian context.

IPM: Why do you think religion plays such a huge role in India? What are the main reasons? How can this sentiment be abused by political leaders?
RF: The rise of religion is a global phenomenon, not limited to India or Hinduism. It seems to involve a civilizational backlash against neoliberal globalization, in part, and the impulse to affirm authentic identity, with its roots in religion and culture.

Religion is capable of abuse by providing justifications for behavior that violates the human rights of those who worship differently or not at all. Religion invokes divine authority to validate claims of radical otherness as compared to other religions and identities, and draw lines between the self as good and the other as evil. It should be understood that such exclusivity is not inherent in religious experience, which is also capable of being inclusive, extending the spirituality of a particular tradition to the entire human family. Fifteen years ago I wrote a book entitled Religion and Humane Global Governance in which I developed this position about the rise of religion and its two faces.