Part of the Politics series on
Islamism
Basic topics Political aspects of Islam Client state Internationalism Islamic fundamentalism Pan-Islamism Sharia law Ummah Antinationalism Postcolonialism
Movements All-India Muslim League Al-Qaeda Muslim Brotherhood Hamas Hizb-ut-Tahrir Jamaat-e-Islami Millî Görüş Taliban
Manifestations Islamization Islamic economics Sex segregation Resistance movements
Concepts Khilafah Ummah Sharia law
Key texts The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam (Iqbal) Milestones (Qutb) Islamic Government (Khomeini)
Islam Portal Politics portal
v t e

Islamization (also spelt Islamisation, see spelling differences) or Islamification (pejorative Muhammadization) has been used to describe the process of a society's conversion to the religion of Islam. In contemporary usage, it may refer to the perceived imposition of an Islamist social and political discourse on a society with a tradition of a more varied interpretation of Islam.

The English synonyms, muslimization and arabization, in use since before 1940 (e.g., Waverly Illustrated Dictionary) convey a similar meaning. Due to the trend towards identifying all Muslims with Arab people, common in the Western world, the latter tends to be applied to non-Arab (e.g. Berber, Turkish or Iranian) influence as well. Muslimization has recently been used as a term coined to describe the overtly Muslim practices of new converts to the religion who wish to reinforce their newly acquired religious identity.^[1]

History[link]

Arabization[link]

Arabization describes a growing cultural influence on a non-Arab area that gradually changes into one that speaks Arabic and/or incorporates Arab culture. It was most prominently achieved during the 7th century Arabian Muslim conquests which spread the Arabic language, culture, and—having been carried out by Arabian Muslims as opposed to Arab Christians or Arabic speaking Jews—the religion of Islam to the lands they conquered. The result: some elements of Arabian origin combined in various forms and degrees with elements taken from conquered civilizations and ultimately denominated "Arab", as opposed to "Arabian".

Modern day (1970s to present)[link]

This section may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. No cleanup reason has been specified. Please help improve this section if you can; the talk page may contain suggestions. (April 2011)

Historians such as Ira Lapidus have concluded that since the 1970s, the Islamic world has witnessed a phenomenon called "Islamic revival" similar to a Christian revival—often associated with Islamic fundamentalism, Islamism and other forms of re-Islamization. Largely this is because scholars such as Sayyid Qutb were instrumental in the development of modern Islamic thought, and this man was a core member of the Muslim Brotherhood, a Islamist organisation that some Muslims see as the vanguard of their faith. Although one can never speak for an entire community or people, a reorientation towards Islamic values, in contrast to the Westernization moves by various Arab and Asian governments in the 1950s and 60s, appears to be taking place. The main effect appears to be a return of the individual to Muslim values, communities, and dress codes, and a strengthened community.^[2]

Another development is that of transnational Islam, elaborated upon by the French Islam researchers Gilles Kepel and Olivier Roy. It includes a feeling of a "growing universalistic Islamic identity" as often shared by Muslim immigrants and their children who live in non-Muslim countries:

"The increased integration of world societies as a result of enhanced communications, media, travel, and migration makes meaningful the concept of a single Islam practiced everywhere in similar ways, and an Islam which transcends national and ethnic customs."^[3]

This does not necessarily imply political or social organizations:

"Global Muslim identity does not necessarily or even usually imply organized group action. Even though Muslims recognize a global affiliation, the real heart of Muslim religious life remains outside politics—in local associations for worship, discussion, mutual aid, education, charity, and other communal activities."^[3]

However, polls have shown that majority of worldwide Muslim wants democracy embedded with Islam and Sharia ^[4][5] which is cause of concern for some commentators at the rapid growing Western European Islamic population, the lack of assimilation of said migrants, and that these groups are allegedly potential breeding grounds for terrorists. A third development is the growth and elaboration of transnational military organizations. The 1980s and 90s, with several major conflicts in the Middle East, including the Arab-Israeli conflict, Afghanistan in the 1980s and 2001, and the three Gulf Wars (1980-89, 1990-91, 2003) were catalysts of a growing internationalization of local conflicts. Figures such as Osama Bin Laden and Abdallah Azzam have been crucial in these developments, as much as domestic and world politics.^[3]

Zia-ul-Haq's Islamization of Pakistan[link]

On December 2, 1978, General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq delivered a nationwide address on the occasion of the first day of the Hijra calendar. He did this in order to usher in an Islamic system to Pakistan. In the speech, he accused politicians of exploiting the name of Islam, saying that "many a ruler did what they pleased in the name of Islam."

After assuming power the task that the government set to was its public commitment to enforce Nizam-e-Mustafa (Islamic System) a 180 degree turn from Pakistan's predominantly Common Law. As a preliminary measure to establish an Islamic society in Pakistan, General Zia announced the establishment of Sharia Benches. Speaking about the jurisdiction of the Sharia Benches, he remarked, "Every citizen will have the right to present any law enforced by the government before the 'Sharia Bench' and obtain its verdict whether the law is wholly or partly Islamic or un-Islamic."

But General Zia did not mention that the Sharia Benches' jurisdiction was curtailed by the following overriding clause: "(Any) law does not include the constitution, Muslim personal law, any law relating to the procedure of any court or tribunal or, until the expiration of three years, any fiscal law, or any law relating to the collection of taxes and fees or insurance practice and procedure." It meant that all important laws which affect each and every individual directly remained outside the purview of the Sharia Benches. However, he did not have a smooth sailing even with the clipped Sharia Benches. The Federal Sharia Bench declared rajm, or stoning, to be un-Islamic; Ziaul Haq reconstituted the court, which then declared rajm as Islamic.

Islamization of the Gaza Strip[link]

The neutrality of this section is disputed. Please see the discussion on the talk page. Please do not remove this message until the dispute is resolved. (March 2012)

The influence of Islamic groups in the Gaza Strip has grown since the 1980s, especially as poverty has risen and fighting with Israel began in 2000.^[6] The efforts to impose Islamic law and traditions continued when Hamas forcefully seized control of the area in June 2007 and displaced security forces loyal to the secular President Mahmoud Abbas.^[7][8][9] After the civil war ended, Hamas declared the “end of secularism and heresy in the Gaza Strip.”^[10] For the first time since the Sudanese coup of 1989 that brought Omar al-Bashir to power, a Muslim Brotherhood group ruled a significant geographic territory.^[11] Gaza human rights groups accuse Hamas of restricting many freedoms in the course of these attempts.^[8]

While Ismael Haniyeh officially denied accusations that Hamas intended to establish an Islamic emirate,^[11] Jonathan Schanzer wrote that in the two years following the 2007 coup,the Gaza Strip has exhibited the characteristics of Talibanization,^[11] a process whereby the Islamist organization imposed strict rules on women, discouraged activities commonly associated with Western or Christian culture, oppressed non-Muslim minorities, imposed sharia law, and deployed religious police to enforce these laws.^[11]

According to Human Rights Watch, the Hamas-controlled government of Gaza stepped up its efforts to "Islamize" Gaza in 2010, efforts that included the "repression" of civil society and "severe violations of personal freedom."^[12] Palestinian-Israeli journalist Khaled Abu Toameh wrote in 2009 that "Hamas is gradually turning the Gaza Strip into a Taliban-style Islamic entity".^[13] According to Mkhaimar Abusada, a political science professor at Gaza’s al-Azhar University, “Ruling by itself, Hamas can stamp its ideas on everyone (...) Islamizing society has always been part of Hamas strategy.”^[14]

See also[link]

• Islamization of knowledge
• Arabization
• Islamic revival
• Spread of Islam
• Politics and sports
• Talibanization

By area:

• Islamization in Iran
• Iranian Cultural Revolution
• Islamization of Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Islamization of Palestine
• Islamization of the Temple Mount
• Islamization of Jerusalem under Jordanian occupation
• Islamization of Syria
• Islamization of Egypt
• Eurabia

By method:

• Islamic Missionary Activity
• Conversion to Islam in prisons

Other:

• Banu Qurayza
• Criticism of Islamism
• Ethnic cleansing
• Christianization
• Stop the Islamification of Europe - Political group

Further reading[link]

• Devin De Weese, Devin A, Islamization and Native Religion in the Golden Horde, Penn State Press, Sep 1, 1994, ISBN 0-271-01073-8
• Lapidus, Ira M. 2002, A History of Islamic Societies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Islamization in Thailand
• Islamization of Wikipedia

Pamela Geller
Pamela Geller
Born	(1958-06-14) June 14, 1958 (age 54)[1] Long Island, New York, U.S.[2]
Residence	Upper East Side, New York, New York, U.S.[1]
Other names	Pamela Oshry
Citizenship	United States
Alma mater	Hofstra University; left before completing degree[1]
Occupation	Blogger, author, political activist, commentator, former newspaper editor
Organization	Co-founder of Freedom Defense Initiative, and Stop Islamization of America
Known for	Opposition to Park51 community center and mosque
Notable work(s)	The Post-American Presidency: The Obama Administration's War on America, with Robert Spencer[3]
Influenced by	Ayn Rand, Bat Ye'or, and Ibn Warraq[1]
Home town	Hewlett Harbor, Long Island, New York[1]
Board member of	Executive Director of the Freedom Defense Initiative (FDI) and Stop Islamization of America (SIOA)[4]
Religion	Jewish
Spouse	Michael Oshry (divorced)[1]
Children	4
Parents	Reuben ("Ruby") and Lillian Geller[1]
Website
Atlas Shrugs

Pamela Geller (born June 14, 1958)^[5] is an American blogger, author, political activist, and commentator.^[1] She is known primarily for her criticisms of Islam and opposition to Muslim activities and causes, such as the proposed construction of an Islamic community center near the former site of the World Trade Center. She has described her blogging and campaigns in the United States as being against what she terms "creeping Sharia" in the country.

Geller and Robert Spencer co-founded the Freedom Defense Initiative and Stop Islamization of America,^[6] an organization which is labeled as a hate group by the Anti-Defamation League^[7] and the Southern Poverty Law Center.^[8][9] Geller and Spencer also co-authored the book The Post-American Presidency: The Obama Administration's War on America.^[3]

Personal life[link]

Early life[link]

Geller, born to Jewish parents Reuben ("Ruby") and Lillian Geller, is the third of four sisters.^[1][10][11] Growing up in Hewlett Harbor, Long Island, New York, she assisted in her father's business, where she learned to speak fluent Spanish.^[1][10] Two of her sisters became doctors, and the third became a teacher.^[1]

Geller attended Lynbrook High School and Hofstra University, though she left before completing her degree.^[1]

Marriage[link]

She was married to Michael Oshry from 1990 until the couple divorced in 2007, and is the single mother of four children.^[1]

Career[link]

Geller spent most of the 1980s working at the New York Daily News, first as a financial analyst and then in the advertising and marketing areas.^[12] She then became the associate publisher and top-ranking business executive of The New York Observer for five years, from 1989 through 1994, when she quit to stay home with her four daughters.^[1][13][14]

In January 2010 she co-founded the Freedom Defense Initiative organization (FDI) with Robert Spencer.^[15][16][17] Spencer is a blogger and author of articles and books relating to Islam and Islamic terrorism, and the founder of Jihad Watch.^[1]

Geller denies accusations of being anti-Muslim, saying that it is "a slanderous slur and it's unfair".^[18][19][20] She said:

the ground zero mosque ... To me it was an outrage, to me it was deeply offensive, to me it was indicative that interfaith dialogue and mutual respect and mutual understanding is a one-way street with Islamic supremacists, not Muslims. I believe that Muslims are more victimized by Islamic supremacists than even non-Muslims.^[21]

In an interview, Geller said "I have no problem with Islam. I have a problem with political Islam."^[21]

Geller has also lent her support to a number of other political causes. She has strongly defended former Serbian president Slobodan Milošević,^[18] denied the existence of Serbian concentration camps in the 1990s,^[22] said that black South Africans are engaging in a "genocide" against whites,^[23] and expressed support for the far right English Defence League.^[18][24]

In 2008, Geller co-wrote an editorial for Arutz Sheva expressing her distaste for fellow Jews who are not politically conservative:

It galls me that the Jews I fight for are self-destructive, suicidal even. Here in America (and the world over), Israel's real friends are in the Republican Party and yet over 80% of American Jews are Democrats. I don't get it. The conventional wisdom on the Left is that Israel is an oppressor and her actions are worse than the world's most depraved and dangerous regimes. Chomsky, Finkelstein, Soros – these men are the killers.^[25]

She encouraged Israel to "stand loud and proud. Give up nothing. Turn over not a pebble. For every rocket fired, drop a MOAB. Take back Gaza. Secure Judea and Samaria. Stop buying Haaretz. Throw leftists bums out."^[25]

She was an official blogger at the Republican National Convention of 2008.^[26]

She co-authored a book with Spencer, The Post-American Presidency: The Obama Administration's War on America, with a foreword by former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John R. Bolton, which was published in July 2010.^[3] The book criticizes the Obama administration's treatment of the free-market system, freedom of speech, and foreign policy.

She is also a contributor to the conservative magazine, Human Events.^[27]

Stop Islamization of America and Park51[link]

Geller and Robert Spencer co-founded Stop Islamization of America.^[6] In May 2010, they began a strong campaign against the proposed Park51 Islamic community center and mosque, which Geller has referred to as the "Ground Zero Mega Mosque".^[28][29] She says that Park51 is viewed by Muslims as a "triumphal" monument built on "conquered land". She also appeared on a number of cable news shows speaking out against the proposed Islamic community center and mosque.^[12]

Geller has also advocated against Islam elsewhere. She argued that the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, one of Islam's holiest sites, should be removed because it was built on the same site as Judaism's former First and Second Temples.^[30] Geller also published an article defending Radovan Karadžic, indicted for genocide and other war crimes against Bosnian Muslims and Croats during the Siege of Sarajevo and Srebrenica Massacre; the article argued that the Muslims were not murdered but committed suicide to embarrass their enemies.^[31] In addition, Stop Islamization of America has sponsored ads which carry messages such as "Fatwa on Your Head?" and "Leaving Islam?" in several cities including New York City and Miami, pointing readers to a website called RefugefromIslam.com.^[12][32] Geller said the ads were meant to provide resources for Muslims who were afraid to leave the religion.^[32]

Geller first blogged in Atlas Shrugs about the proposed New York mosque in reaction to coverage in The New York Times on December 8, 2009.^[33][34] On December 21, she again blogged on the subject, referring to it as "Mosque at Ground Zero" and calling it "a stab in the eye".^[35] Geller next blogged about the building on May 24, 2010, when she reported on a self-selected reader poll connected with a report in the New York Daily News, urging her readers to vote in it. This is when she first used the phrase "Mega Mosque at Ground Zero".^[36][37]

Commenting on the controversy, Geller said,

I'm not leading the charge against the Islamic center near Ground Zero. The majority of Americans – 70% – find this deeply insulting, offensive. To call it anti-Muslim is a gross misrepresentation and to say that I'm responsible for all this emotion, again a gross misrepresentation.^[18]

When asked in an August 17, 2010, interview on CNN whether she agreed "that the terrorists who attacked us on 9/11 were practicing a perverted form of Islam, and that is not what is going to be practiced at this mosque", she responded "I will say that the Muslim terrorists were practicing pure Islam, original Islam."^[38]

Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, criticized Geller, stating:

People say don't give her too much credit, she's a fringe character, but she is a fringe character who every day is on CNN, Fox, The Washington Post, and The New York Times. She is the driving force behind the Islamic center campaign. I would say that she is the queen of the Muslim bashers, I see her rise and the rise of these anti-Islam hate groups going hand in hand.^[12]

Eric Boehlert, a senior fellow at liberal watchdog group Media Matters for America, concurred with Hooper, remarking that "she's been instrumental, she has whipped up hatred in the right-wing blogosphere and now that's spilled out into the wider community"^[12] while Andrew C. McCarthy, writing in the conservative^[39] magazine the National Review criticized Hooper's opinion on the matter, citing his controversial comments about Islamism and the United States.^[40] Media Matters further suggested that "Geller's history of outrageous, inflammatory and false claims, particularly when it comes to issues related to Islam, demonstrate that she cannot be expected to make accurate statements and should not be rewarded with a platform on national television."^[41]

Both SIOA and FDI have been designated as hate groups by the Anti-defamation league^[42] and the Southern Poverty Law Center^[43]. Geller dismissed the SPLC as an "uber left" organization.^[44]

[edit] Atlas Shrugs blog

The name of Geller's website and blog Atlas Shrugs is a reference to novelist and philosopher Ayn Rand's novel Atlas Shrugged.^[1][18] Geller calls Rand "the greatest philosopher in human history". She says her blog and its purpose are "clearly defined by Rand's philosophy".^[45] The blog concentrates on what Geller perceives to be a violent threat to the United States by Islamist extremists and liberal politicians.^[46]

As of October 2010, the blog was receiving 150,000 unique visitors a month.^[1]

In 2006, when thousands of Muslims worldwide protested – sometimes violently – over cartoons of the prophet Muhammad printed in a Danish newspaper,^{[1][47][48][49][50]} Geller posted the cartoons on her blog,^[1][51] and its hits increased dramatically to tens of thousands.^[1]

NPR reported that in 2008, for Atlas Shrugs, she examined lists of contributions given to Barack Obama's campaign. Others, including The New York Times and The Washington Post, then did the same.^[52] Contributors with the names "Es Ech", "Doodad Pro", and similar names turned up, and a conservative activist said he donated to Barack Obama using the name Osama bin Laden.^[52]

In November 2008, she captured a conversation by Representative Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) on video, and posted it on YouTube.^[53] In it, after prefacing his remarks by saying he had "no personal knowledge" of the matter and his statement was merely his "guess", he went on to say that Obama "didn’t have the political courage to want to make the statement of walking out" of Trinity United Church of Christ when he realized that Rev. Jeremiah Wright was "a nut" and "lunatic," because "you don’t walk out of a church with 8,000 members in your district."^[53][54][55] After Geller released the video, Nadler said: "I made a thoughtless comment yesterday which does not reflect the way I feel about Barack Obama."^[54][55]

The blog was among the first on November 5, 2009, to declare the belief that the Fort Hood shooting was a "Muslim terror attack."^[46] Geller later noted that the recent Pentagon report into the Fort Hood shooting did not mention possible religious motivations behind the attack, and argued that self-imposed censorship is hurting U.S. understanding of the wars it is engaged in.^[56] She said: "When nowhere in that document was Islam or Jihad mentioned, then Houston, we have a problem. People need to understand what is the motivation."^[56]

Controversial postings on Atlas Shrugs include:^[57][58] accusations that Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan cited German socialists who supported Nazi ideology in her Princeton thesis (accompanied by a mock-up photograph of her in a Nazi uniform),^[1][59] a video suggesting that some Muslims have sex with goats, a doctored photo showing President Obama urinating on an American flag^[12] and false claims that Obama's mother was involved in pornography and that Obama "was involved with a crack whore in his youth".^[60][61]

During an RT Television News interview, reporter Lauren Lister repeatedly questioned Geller's statement that she is not anti-Muslim, at one point calling attention to Geller's having posted a drawing of Muhammad on her blog with the face of a pig superimposed over his own. Geller responded by saying "I don't know where it is in America that you can't make jokes or make fun."^[62]

Geller has written "that Islam is the most antisemitic, genocidal ideology in the world".^[63]

The blog has been criticized by progressive Media Matters for America,^[41][64] and called "extreme" by Chris McGreal of The Guardian.^[18] Conversely, it has been praised by Caroline Glick, managing editor of The Jerusalem Post, who hailed the blog's coverage of Muslim "honor killings" and called her "an intrepid blogger".^[65][66]

Claims[link]

This section may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. No cleanup reason has been specified. Please help improve this section if you can; the talk page may contain suggestions. (February 2012)

Birther views[link]

Geller has made multiple postings on her blog promoting birtherism, the belief that Barack Obama is not a natural-born citizen of the United States, and that his birth certificate is a forgery.^[67] Even after the president released his long form birth certificate, she continued to post that it was a forgery, despite objections from some of her own readers.^[68] She then opined that, because his father was not divorced from his first wife when he married Stanley Ann Dunham, Obama is disqualified for the presidency, stating that "illegitimate children had different rights ... in 1789" and the Framers would not have intended for one to become president.^[69] Geller's blog has also featured a post which, inter alia, suggested that the president is the "love child" of Malcolm X, though Geller later said this was by another author and that she herself does not believe that Obama is Malcolm X's love child, and never did.^[12][70]

Other views[link]

Geller was described by The Observer as the "darling of the Tea Party's growing anti-Islamic wing". She has advocated an alliance between the Tea Party Movement and the English Defence League (EDL), saying: "I share the EDL's goals ... We need to encourage rational, reasonable groups that oppose the Islamisation of the west."^[71] In June 2011, Geller wrote that she was withdrawing her support for the EDL, citing "neo-fascists that had infiltrated the administration of the group" and the resignation of its Jewish Division leader, Roberta Moore.^[72]

American journalist Jeffrey Goldberg, who frequently writes about topics relating to Israel and the Middle East, has described Geller as a "bigoted blogger" and said she supported South African white supremacist Eugène Terre'Blanche.^[73] Geller describes Terreblanche as the "leader of the noxious and hateful neo-Nazi Afrikaner Resistance Movement". She maintains there is a genocide underway in South Africa that includes innocent whites that are not "racist monsters like Eugene Terreblanche". ^[74]

Geller has also stated her belief that the Muslim Brotherhood has "corrupted and compromised" the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).^[75]

Works[link]

Books[link]

• The Post-American Presidency: The Obama Administration's War on America, Pamela Geller with Robert Spencer, foreword by (former) Ambassador John R. Bolton, (Simon & Schuster, July 2010) ISBN 978-1-4391-8930-6
• Stop the Islamization of America: A Practical Guide to the Resistance, Pamela Geller, (WND Books, September 6, 2011) ISBN 978-1-936488-36-0

Articles[link]

• "Why There Shouldn’t Be a Mosque at Ground Zero", Pamela Geller, Human Events, September 4, 2010
• "Ground Zero Imam is No Moderate", Pamela Geller, Human Events, August 24, 2010
• "Free Speech Wins A Narrow Victory In New York", Pamela Geller, Fox News, August 12, 2010

See also[link]

• Rifqa Bary
• Stop Islamisation of Europe
• Geert Wilders

References[link]

External links[link]

• Atlas Shrugs official blog
• Column archive at The American Thinker
• Column archive at Andrew Breitbart's BigGovernment.com
• Freedom Defense Initiative
• Stop Islamization of America
• Appearances on C-SPAN
• Pamela Geller's connections to European terrorists - Institute for Policy Studies
• Works by or about Pamela Geller in libraries (WorldCat catalog)

Subramanian Swamy (born 15 September 1939 in Chennai, India sometimes spelt Subramaniam Swamy) is an Indian politician, academician and an economist.^[1] He is the President of the Janata Party of India. He also presently serves as chairman^[2] of the SCMS Board of Governors of the SCMS Group of Educational Institutions in Kerala.

Swamy has previously served as member of the Planning Commission of India and Cabinet Minister of India. He has written extensively on foreign affairs dealing largely with India-China, India-Pakistan and Indo-Israel relation and is also a published author.

In November 1978, Swamy was member of the Group of Eminent persons called to Geneva to prepare a report of the United Nations (UNCTAD) on Economic Co-operation between Developing countries (ECDC).Swamy simplified trade procedures and formulated a new export strategy which became the forerunner of trade reform adopted subsequently. In 1994, Swamy was appointed as Chairman of the Commission on Labour Standards and International Trade by then Prime Minister P. V. Narasimha Rao. This was perhaps for the first time that an Opposition Party member was given a Cabinet rank post by the ruling party.

He is also known for his anti corruption activism.

Early life and education[link]

Subramanian Swamy was born in Mylapore, Chennai, India. His father Sitaram Subramanian^[3] is from Madurai, Tamil Nadu who was an Indian Statistical Service officer^[4] and retired as Director of the Central Statistical Institute.^[5][6] His mother Padmavati Subramanian^[4] belongs to Kerala Iyer family from Trichur, Kerala.

He attended Hindu College, University of Delhi, from where he earned his Bachelor Honours degree in Mathematics.^[5] He studied for his Masters degree in Statistics at the Indian Statistical Institute.^[5] He then went to study at Harvard University on a full Rockefeller scholarship.^[5] He received a Ph.D. in Economics in 1965. His thesis adviser was Nobel Laureate Simon Kuznets.^[7]

For some time, while completing his dissertation in 1963, he worked at the United Nations Secretariat in New York as an Assistant Economics Affairs Officer. He subsequently worked as a resident tutor at Lowell House at Harvard university.

Academic career[link]

Professorships[link]

In 1964, Swamy joined the faculty of economics at Harvard and since then has taught in the Department of Economics.^[8] He began as an assistant professor in July 1966^[5][9] and in 1969 became an associate professor.^[10] When he was Associate Professor at Harvard University, he was invited by Noble Laureate Amartya Sen^[3] for reader’s chair on Chinese studies at Delhi School of Economics.^[4] He accepted the offer and came back. However, when he arrived for the position at DSE, his appointment was cancelled due to his views on the nuclear capabilities for India and market friendly attitude.^[3] Thereafter, he moved to the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi and alongside to his teaching duties, he took special interest in talking to the hostel students. From 1969 to 1991, he was a Professor^[9] of mathematical economics at the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi.^[11] He was removed from the position by its board of Governors in the early 1970s but was legally reinstated in the late 1990s by the Supreme Court of India. He continued in the position until 1991 when he resigned to become a cabinet minister. He served on the Board of Governors of the IIT, Delhi (1977–80), and on the Council of IITs (1980–82).

He taught economics courses in summer session at Harvard ^[12] until 2011. In December 2011, the Faculty Council of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences removed his course from the Harvard Summer School course offerings in response to a controversial article he wrote, effectively ceasing his employment at Harvard.^[13]

Political career[link]

Early politics[link]

Swamy's career started with his involvement in Jayaprakash Narayan's Sarvodaya movement, which was an apolitical movement but which formed the foundation of the creation of Janta Party later.^[14]. The real turn in his political career came after his sacking from IIT. Liberal economic policies put forward by him didn't go well with the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi who discredited him as 'Santa Claus with unrealistic ideas'. As a result he was expelled from Indian Institute of Technology. This marked the beginning of his active political career. Staunch opponent of Indira Gandhi and right wing political party Jansangh sent him to Rajya Sabha - the upper house of Indian Parliament.^[3]

He was elected Member of Parliament 5 times between 1974 and 1999. He has twice represented the city of Mumbai North East during 1977 and 1980, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu in the Parliament.^[3]

During the period of emergency, he fled to America, seeking save haven with a Indian businessman in Michigan who had become the spokesperson of opposition in the US. In 1976 when emergency was still in force and an arrest warrant issued in his name, he came to parliament to attend the session and managed to escape India after attending the session. This act made him a hero in the eyes of opposition parties.

He was one of the founding members of the Janata Party and has been its president since 1990.^[3]

Minister of Commerce and Law of India[link]

Economic Reforms in India[link]

During 1990 and 1991 Swamy was a member of the Planning Commission of India and Cabinet Minister of Commerce and Law of India. During this period he created the blueprint^[15][16] for economic reforms in India under Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar which was later carried out in 1991 by Manmohan Singh^[5], then Finance Minister under leadership of Prime Minister Narasimha Rao.^[16] The current Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh recently stated that Dr. Swamy was the first to envisage and articulate the need for reforms in India.^[2][17]

Between 1994 and 1996, he held the position of "Chairman of the Commission on Labour Standards and International Trade" (equivalent to the rank of a cabinet minister) under the P. V. Narasimha Rao government.^[3] Dr. Swamy has been subject to several defamation cases. He is known to argue these cases himself without the agency of lawyers. In October 2004, he along with other members of the erstwhile Janata Party established the Rashtriya Swabhiman Manch to oppose the policies of the ruling UPA.

Issues held and contributions[link]

Foreign policy and affairs[link]

China and India[link]

He is known for his efforts in normalizing relations between China and India. In 1981, Indira Gandhi sought his help and upon which he persuaded Deng Xiaoping^[18] to open the Kailash Mansarovar in Tibet to the Hindu pilgrims from India.^[19] He became the first Indian on the reopening to visit Kailash and Mansarovar in 1981. In 1990–1991, he was a minister in the Chandra Shekhar cabinet and was in charge of the Ministry of Commerce and Ministry of Law and Justice.

Israel[link]

In his speeches and articles, Dr Swamy has expressed his admiration for Israel, and has credited its retaliatory capacity for its ability to survive in a hostile Arab environment. He made pioneering efforts at establishing diplomatic relations with Israel. In 1982, Dr. Swamy became the first Indian political leader to make publicized trip to Israel, where he met with some important Israeli leaders such as Yitzhak Rabin and then Prime Minister Menachem Begin. His efforts at normalizing relations with Israel have borne fruit now with India's decision in 1992 to open Embassies in the respective countries.^[20]

Revealing 2G spectrum scam[link]

In November 2008, Subramanian Swamy wrote the first of five letters to PM Manmohan Singh seeking permission to prosecute A. Raja in regards to the 2G spectrum scam.^[21] However, Singh took no action^[22], leading Swamy to file a case on his own in the Supreme Court of India regarding the matter, which then asked the Central Bureau of Investigation to produce a detailed report on the matter.^[23] He further called on the Indian government to re-auction the 2G spectrum without the involvement of Communications Minister Kapil Sibal.^[24]

Swamy has raised allegations that Sonia Gandhi's two sisters Anushka and Nadia have received sixty percent of the kickbacks in the 2G spectrum scam, amounting to Rs.18,000 crores each.^[25] On 15 April 2011, he filed a 206-page long petition with PM Singh seeking permission to prosecute Gandhi. In the petition, he claimed to have strong evidence of corrupt acts committed by Gandhi as early as 1972; he also raised doubts regarding her acquisition of Indian citizenship.^[26] At a lecture on corruption given on 29 May 2011, he again repeated his allegation against Sonia Gandhi, saying she has Rs.1 lakh crore stashed abroad.^[27] Most of Swamy's letters to the prime minister regarding this matter are backed up with full proof, which makes him defensive about his allegations.^[28]

Swamy filed various documents in the court to prosecute Minister of Home Affairs P.Chidambaram by including a January 15, 2008 letter written by Chidambaram to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Swamy also placed on record the certified copy of the minutes of a meeting between Chidambaram, Raja and the Prime Minister during the tenure of Raja as the MOC&IT. ^[29]After supreme court verdict cancelling all 122 licences awarded during A Raja tenure, Cho Ramaswamy described Subramanian swamy as not only man of the match but man of the series.^[30]

Supreme court petition in 2G scam[link]

On January 31, 2012, the Supreme Court of India accepted Swamy's petition against the Prime Minister's Office in the 2G case, saying that all public authorities should give a sanction within 3 months against any public official if a request is made for prosecution. The Supreme Court said that Subramanian Swamy had the locus to seek sanction from the Prime Minister for the prosecution of A Raja in the 2G scam. Sanction by a competent authority for the prosecution of a public servant has to be granted within a time frame, the apex court said. Justice A K Ganguly said that the sanction would be deemed to be granted if competent authority failed to take a decision within four months. Swamy's arguments were that he wrote to the PMO on November 29, 2008 but it was only on March 19, 2010 the PMO replied that the plea made by Swamy was "premature" as investigation was being carried out by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Raja was arrested by the CBI in the case and got bail on 15th May 2012 after spending nearly 15 months in the Tihar Central Jail.^[31]

Views on Kashmir[link]

In September 2008, Dr. Swamy stridently retorted against the contentions of some Indian columnists who voiced their opinions in favour of "peacefully" surrendering Kashmir to Pakistan. He said,

"I would say that the silent suffering majority of India wants none of this. The ‘Kashmir issue,’ in fact, can no more be solved by dialogue either with the Pakistanis or the Hurriyat, leave alone the constitutional impossibility of allowing it to secede. [...]Kashmir, in fact, is now our defining identity. It is a touchstone for our resolve to preserve our national integrity. The population of that State may be majority Muslim but the land and its history is predominantly Hindu. For our commitment to the survival of the ancient civilisation of India and the composite culture that secularists talk of, we have not only to win that coming inevitable war but also resolve never to part with Kashmir. [...]

I will not blame the jihadis for the coming war. They are, after all, programmed that way by their understanding of Islamist theology. I will blame ourselves for not understanding their understanding of the fundamentals of Islam. [...]

Pakistanis often cite the United Nations resolutions on Kashmir to argue for a plebiscite. This obfuscates the fact of accession of the State to India. The legality of the Instrument of Accession signed in favour of India by the then Maharaja of J&K, Hari Singh, on October 26, 1947 has to prevail anyway. "^[32]

Controversial Article and Its Impacts[link]

Article about 2011 Mumbai bombings[link]

In response to the 2011 Mumbai bombings, he wrote an editorial in Daily News and Analysis (DNA) Some of Swamy’s Controversial suggestions in the article.

• The Hindu is the target and that Muslims of India are being programmed by a slow reactive process to become radical and thus slide into suicide against Hindus.
• Remove Article 370, and re-settle ex-servicemen in the Valley. Create Panun Kashmir for Hindu Pandit community. Look or create opportunity to take over PoK. If Pakistan continues to back terrorists, assist the Baluchis and Sindhis to struggle for independence.
• Remove the masjid in Kashi Vishwanath temple complex, and 300 others in other sites as a tit-for-tat.
• Make Sanskrit learning compulsory and singing of Vande Mataram mandatory, and declare India as Hindu Rashtra in which only those non-Hindus can vote if they proudly acknowledge that their ancestors are Hindus. Rename India as Hindustan as a nation of Hindus and those whose ancestors are Hindus.

• Enact a national law prohibiting conversion from Hindu religion to any other religion.

Propagate the development of a Hindu mindset ^[33][34]. Swamy had written a similar column in The New Indian Express after the 2008 Mumbai attacks.

Negative reactions[link]

His column provoked a variety of reactions. His house was attacked by people alleged to be Congress party workers.^[35] Minorities Council of Maharashtra Vice Chairman Abraham Mathai and National Commission for Minorities chairman Wajahat Habibullah accused him of violating Indian Penal Code Section 153A.^[36][37] New Delhi law student Shehzad Poonawala attempted to lodge an FIR against him at Defence Colony police station, but was disallowed by the officer on duty.^[37] DNA published two hostile response columns by Rakesh Sharma and Parsa Venkateshwar Rao Jr. calling him a "Hindu Taliban", "maverick", and "Zionist" in response to his views.^[38][39]

Controversy at Harvard[link]

Some students at his alma mater Harvard University, where he also teaches economics in the summer school, accused him of stoking communalism and circulated a petition calling on the university to fire him and publicly repudiate his remarks. Two PhD students, Umang Kumar and Sanjay Pinto, started an online petition asking for the removal of courses taught by Dr Swamy, which received more than 450 signatures from students and faculty.^[40][41] Adam Kissel, on behalf of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, wrote in a letter to Harvard that a disciplinary investigation against him would be inappropriate for an academic institution dedicated to intellectual freedom, represented a threat to free speech, and could lead to self-censorship by other faculty members.^[42]

In response to the petition, Donald H. Pfister, dean of Harvard Summer School, stated that the school would "give this matter our serious attention", and decided to stand by its instructor.^[35] On Tuesday, 6 December 2011, the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences voted to exclude Subramanian Swamy's summer school courses from its catalog.^[43][44][45] The Op-Ed was considered more to be a case of hate speech rather than free speech. 'I was persuaded... that the views expressed in Dr Swamy's op-ed piece amounted to incitement of violence instead of protected political speech,' Philosophy Department Chair Sean D Kelly wrote in an e-mail to the Crimson.^[46] Comparative Religion Professor Diana Eck said, "Swamy's op-ed [piece] clearly crosses the line by demonising an entire religious community and calling for violence against their sacred places".^[47] Swamy described the move as "nothing serious", saying "non-economists at Harvard don't like my views on how to protect India".^[48]

Views on Tamil Nadu Politics[link]

He is well known for his critical views against the Government of Tamil Nadu and against the "Aryan versus Dravidian" brand of divisive politics of Periyar E. V. Ramasamy.

He was staunch opponent of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.^[49][50]

He obtained Supreme Court Stay against the implementation of Sethu Samuthiram Shipping Channel project (SSSCP). He believes that it would hurt the sentiments of people who believe that this shallow land connecting between Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka was built by Lord Rama. He strongly opposes the implementation of SSSCP citing that implementing this scheme may affect the sentiments of Hinduism. He wrote letters to Prime Minister of India in June 2009 asking him to stop the project.^[51]. He has also strongly urged the Supreme Court of India to declare this Rama-Sethu as a National heritage & historical monument.

Family and Personal life[link]

Dr.Swamy married Dr. Roxna Swamy (a Parsi) in June 1966 whom he met at Harvard. Then she had obtained Ph.D in Maths ^[52] who is presently an advocate at the Supreme Court of India. They have two daughters, Dr. Gitanjali Swamy who is married to Sanjay Sarma, a professor at MIT and Suhasini Haider, a senior editor at CNN-IBN is married to Nadeem Haidar who is a son of Salman Haider, former foreign secretary and external affairs minister.^[53] His brother-in-law is Jewish, his son-in-law Muslim, his sister-in-law Christian, and his wife Parsi.^[40]

Honours, awards and international recognition[link]

Books, Research Papers and Journals[link]

Subramanian Swamy is a published author of several books, research papers and journals. A complete list of papers, books and journals is included below to which he is the author.

Books[link]

• Economic Growth in China and India, 1952–70 (Publisher: University of Chicago Press; ISBN 978-0-226-78315-4)
• Indian economic planning;: An alternative approach (Publisher: Barnes & Noble; ISBN 978-0-389-04202-0)
• Building a New India: An Agenda for National Renaissance (Publisher: South Asia Books; ISBN 978-81-85674-21-6)
• India's Labour Standards and the WTO Framework (Publisher: Konark Publishers; ISBN 978-81-220-0585-1)
• India's economic performance and reforms: A perspective for the new millennium (Publisher: Konark Publishers; ISBN 978-81-220-0594-3)
• Assassination of Rajiv Gandhi: Unanswered Questions and Unasked Queries (Publisher: Konark Publishers; ISBN 978-81-220-0591-2)
• India's China perspective (Publisher: Konark Publishers; ISBN 978-81-220-0606-3)
• Financial Architecture and Economic Development in China and India (Publisher: Konark Publishers; ISBN 978-81-220-0718-3)
• Trade and Industry in Japan: A Guide to Indian Entrepreneurs and Businessmen (Publisher: Prentice-Hall of India; ISBN 978-81-203-0785-8)
• Sri Lanka in Crisis: India's Options (Publisher: Har Anand Publications; ISBN 978-81-241-1260-1)
• Kailas and Manasarovar after 22 years in Shiva's domain (Publisher: Allied Publishers)
• Hindus Under Siege (Publisher: Har Anand Publications; ISBN 978-81-241-1207-6)
• Rama Setu: Symbol of National Unity (Publisher: Har Anand Publications; ISBN 978-81-241-1418-6)
• Terrorism in India: A Strategy of Deterrence for India's National Security (Publisher: Har Anand Publications; ISBN 978-81-241-1344-8)
• Corruption and Corporate Governance in India: Satyam, Spectrum & Sundaram (Publisher: Har Anand Publications; ISBN 978-81-241-1486-5)
• 2G Spectrum Scam (Publisher: Har Anand Publications; ISBN 978-81-241-1638-8)
• Electronic voting machines: unconstitutional and tamperable (Publisher: Vision Books; ISBN 978-81-7094-798-1)

Article, Research Papers and Journals[link]

Article[link]

• Can India make it? India's path to sustained growth (Publisher: Harvard Asia Pacific review, Volumes 6-8 by Harvard University. Dept. of East Asian Languages and Civilizations, 2002)
• The response to economic challenge: A comparative economic history of China and India, 1870-1952 (Publisher: The Quarterly journal of economics, Volume 93 by Harvard University by the MIT Press, 1979)

Research Papers[link]

• Economic growth and income distribution in a developing nation (Publisher: Harvard University, 1965)
• Nuclear policy for India (Publisher: Bharatiya Jana Sangh Publication, 1968)
• Plan for full employment (Publisher: Bharatiya Jana Sangh, 1970)
• Theoretical aspects of index numbers (Publisher: Harvard Institute of Economic Research, 1985)
• Land reforms: an economist's approach (Publisher: Deendayal Research Institute)

References[link]