From National Journal (via 3quarksdaily):
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.
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Martha Nussbaum in 3quarksdaily:
I should like to focus on a letter written by then-candidate Obama to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, dated September 23, 2008, and published in India Abroad, the October 10 issue. I address these remarks to my former University of Chicago Law School colleague in the spirit of the type of respectful yet searching criticism that I know he will recognize as a hallmark of our faculty workshops and discussions.
The Obama letter has three slightly disturbing characteristics.
First, the letter gives lengthy praise to the nuclear deal, without acknowledging the widespread debate about the wisdom of that deal in both nations. Perhaps, however, this silence simply reflects politeness: Obama is surely aware that Singh has been an enthusiastic backer of the deal, risking much political capital in the process.
Second, the letter speaks of future cooperation that will “tap the creativity and dynamism of our entrepreneurs, engineers and scientists,” particularly in the area of alternative energy sources, but never mentions a future partnership in the effort to eradicate poverty and illiteracy. This silence, unlike the first, cannot be explained by politeness, since Singh has devoted a great deal of attention to issues of rural poverty, and it is plausible to think that he could have gotten a lot further had he had more help from abroad.
[Martha Nussbaum is the Ernst Freund Distinguished Service Professor of Law and Ethics at The University of Chicago, and the author of The Clash Within: Democracy, Religious Violence, and India's Future.]
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[Updated on November 14]
Vijay Prashad in CounterPunch [via 3quarksdaily]:
But there is a less typical side to the Shah story. Born in Gujarat, India, Shah came to the United States as a two-year old. Her father, a chemical engineer, first worked in New York before moving to Houston, and then moving away from his education toward the stock market. The Shahs remain active in Houston’s Indian community, not only in the ecumenical Gujarati Samaj (a society for people from Gujarat), but also in the far more cruel organizations of the Hindu Right, such as the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), the Overseas Friends of the BJP (the main political party of the Hindu Right) and the Ekal Vidyalaya. Shah’s parents, Ramesh and Kokila, not only work as volunteers for these outfits, but they also held positions of authority in them. Their daughter was not far behind. She was an active member of the VHPA, the U. S. branch of the most virulently fascistic outfit within India. The VHP’s head, Ashok Singhal, believes that his organization should “inculcate a fear psychosis among [India's] Muslim community.” This was Shah’s boss. Till 2001, Shah was the National Coordinator of the VHPA.
[Vijay Prashad is the George and Martha Kellner Chair of South Asian History and Director of International Studies at Trinity College, Hartford, CT.]
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The Sonal Shah controversy:
And here is Reuben Abraham’s defence of Sonal Shah [via India Uncut]
And Vijay Prashad again in CounterPunch [via 3quarksdaily]: Guilt by participation
Previously in AW: Indian-born women figure on Obama’s A team
Indian-American Sonal Shah, a 40-year-old economist who heads Google’s philanthropic arm has been appointed an advisory board member by President-elect Barack Obama to assist his team make a smooth transition to power.
To read a brief backgrounder on her at Changemakers, click here. For news links click here, here and here.
Meanwhile, Preeta Bansal, a partner at the international law firm Skadden Arps, who was a senior advisor on the Obama campaign, is being tipped to play a significant role in the new Obama administration and speculation is rife that she could be the new solicitor general. Read that report in the Am Law Daily here.
Sonal Shah: The girl from Sabarkantha
From the Times of India:
Born in Mumbai, Sonal completed her studies in US after her father Ramesh Shah moved from Gujarat to New York in 1970. She, along with her sister and mother, joined him in 1972.
While Sonal, the eldest sibling, grew up in US, India helped define her strong social service values, says sister Roopal. “Sonal believes strongly in the power of young people to make a difference like Obama, she too believes in the spirit of service and the spirit of sacrifice…”
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