Wharton India Economic Forum

Last updated
Wharton India Economic Forum
AbbreviationWIEF
Formation1996
TypeBusiness Conference
PurposeTo raise the profile of the economic potential of India
Location
Chairpersons
Nirav Sahni, Prutha Kale, Shreya Agarwal, Soumya Dubey, Yashodhana Raj
Website www.whartonindiaeconomicforum.com

The Wharton India Economic Forum (WIEF), established in 1996 at The Wharton School, is a student-run business forum in the United States focused on India. [1] WIEF is one of the largest India-based economic and business conferences in the United States. [2] It is attended by over 800 people annually and receives extensive media coverage in India and the wider business by leading publications, such as The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, The New York Times, The Economic Times and The Times of India.

Contents

WIEF's describes its mission as to "engage the world's attention on India's enormous potential and the limitless possibilities the country offers".

Speakers at the pre-2012 conferences

Government & Policy

Industry

Finance

Media & Entertainment

Sports

Other

16th WIEF, 2012

The 16th annual Wharton India Economic Forum was held on January 9, 2012 in Mumbai, India. This was the first time the WIEF was held in India.

The speakers included:

17th WIEF, 2013

Keynote Speakers

Milind Deora opted out for an unspecified reason. [3]

Media and Entertainment Panelists

Women's Empowerment Panelists

Private Equity/Venture Capital Panelists

Finance Panelists

Entrepreneurship Panelists

Narendra Modi controversy

In 2013, the WIEF organizers invited the Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi to deliver the keynote address via video-conferencing. [4] Toorjo Ghose, an assistant professor at the University of Pennsylvania and a small group of colleagues put together a petition after learning about Wharton's invitation to Modi. Kasturi Sen, a Philadelphia-based attorney, created a group on Facebook and initially hosted the petition there. [5] The petition cited the revocation of visa to Modi in 2005 by the US state department. [6] They were joined by Ania Loomba and Suvir Kaul, both Indian-American UPenn professors, who were critical of Modi's handling of the 2002 Hindu-Muslim riots, started formal a petition demanding the cancellation of the invitation, failing which they would protest his virtual presence at the event. [7]

The petition was sent to Amy Gutmann, the UPenn president. The university leadership stepped in to diffuse what it saw as a potentially explosive situation. [8] The WIEF organizers had to cancel the invitation, even though they stood by the earlier decision to invite Modi. They stated that they wanted to avoid putting Modi in a "compromising position". [9] At the time of the decision, the petition had been signed by around 135 people, and the number of signatories grew to 250 later. [10] A senior Wharton official distanced Wharton from the decision stating “Make no mistake, the move to not have Modi was a result of UPenn, not Wharton,” pointing to the fact that not a single Wharton faculty member had signed the petition demanding cancellation of Modi's speech.

In Modi's support, the Shiv Sena leader Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu scrapped his visit to Wharton. [11] Another speaker, the Wall Street Journal writer and journalist Sadanand Dhume, also pulled out from the forum in protest. [12] He was replaced by Sudhir Parikh, a New Jersey-based eminent physician, philanthropist, publisher and Padma Shri awardee. However, Parikh too withdrew from the conference as a mark of protest. He stated, "The manner in which the committee has been pressurised to rescind its invitation to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on entirely suspicious grounds, I feel the intellectual integrity of the forum has been compromised." [13] Ron Somers, also a keynote speaker, termed the decision to drop Modi as "unfortunate and disrespectful", but said that he would attend the event in order to make his point about free speech. [14] Another keynote speaker Mohandas Pai also backed out complaining about mistreatment of Indians outside India; he mentioned the "shabby" treatment of Narendra Modi among other incidents such as the Italian marines controversy, Pakistan's reaction to Afzal Guru's hanging and Sri Lanka's treatment of Indian fishermen. [15] The U.S. Congressman Eni Faleomavaega expressed disappointment at the decision, criticizing the protesters as "a segment of professors and students who are reaching beyond the law and coming awfully close to violating the rights of others who have a different view". [16] Several others, including Rajiv Malhotra and the Indian Union Minister Shashi Tharoor also stated that Modi should not have been disinvited. [17] [18]

The Adani group, the platinum sponsors of the event, withdrew their sponsorship. [19] Subsequently, Viacom 18's Colors, the silver sponsors, also pulled out. [20] Hexaware, the bronze sponsor, also withdrew sponsorship, saying that its chairman Atul Nishar (a keynote speaker) would be unable to attend the event due to other business engagements. [21]

Some media outlets reported that Arvind Kejriwal had been invited instead of Modi, but Kejriwal clarified that he had received the invitation several days before the decision to drop Modi was made. [22] Kejriwal also expressed his disapproval of the decision to drop Modi. [23]

After the controversy, the organizers announced that no media organizations other than TV Asia would be allowed to cover the event. This was for the first time in the 17 years history of the event that media was not given free access to cover the forum. [24] A coalition of activists opposed to the decision came together under the banner of Americans for Free Speech, and organized a peaceful protest at the venue. [25]

The cancellation of Modi's speech ignited a debate on free speech on UPenn campus. [26] Assem Shukla, Associate Professor of Surgery at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania stated: "Penn’s tradition of free speech was celebrated when extreme anti-Israel speakers, Louis Farrakhan of the Nation of Islam and radical Occupy Wall Street protesters held sway on campus. But free speech became an empty homily when it came to the speaker selection of a group of Indian-American business school students" [27] Loomba stated that uninviting a speaker is also freedom of speech. She said "Modi supporters can beam him in, but not in my house". [28]

WIEF Chairs

Related Research Articles

The Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) is the youth wing of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), one of the two major political parties in India, and formerly the youth wing of the dissolved Janata Party (1978-1980). It was founded in 1978, and its first national president was Kalraj Mishra. It is the second largest political youth organization in the world after Congress's youth organisation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anil Ambani</span> Indian businessman (born 1959)

Anil Dhirubhai Ambani is an Indian businessman, chairman and managing director of Reliance Group. The Reliance Group was created in July 2006 following a demerger from Reliance Industries Limited. He led several stocks listed corporations including Reliance Capital, Reliance Infrastructure, Reliance Power and Reliance Communications.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arvind Kejriwal</span> 7th Chief Minister of Delhi (2013–14 and 2015–2024)

Arvind Kejriwal is an Indian politician, activist and former bureaucrat, who served as the 7th Chief Minister of Delhi till 17 September 2024. He previously was the chief minister from 2013 to 2014 and was serving since 2015. He is also the national convener of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) since 2012. He has represented the New Delhi constituency in the Delhi Legislative Assembly since 2015 and from 2013 to 2014.

Kapil Mishra is an Indian politician from Delhi. Before joining the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2019, Mishra was an Aam Aadmi Party MLA representing Karawal Nagar in the Sixth Legislative Assembly of Delhi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manish Sisodia</span> 1st Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi

Manish Sisodia is an Indian politician, journalist and former social activist who served as the first Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi from 2015 to 2023. He represents the Patparganj constituency in Delhi Legislative Assembly since 2015 and had also represented the constituency from 2013 to 2014. He was in judicial custody on corruption charges in the major Delhi liquor scam between February 2023 and August 2024. He received bail from the Supreme Court of India on 9 August 2024, which according to him was a "victory for honesty and truth", even though his party leader was still in jail at that time and has not yet been proven innocent. He is one of the founding members of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and a member of its National Executive Committee.

The Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF) is an Indian public policy think-tank. It is considered to be aligned to right-of-centre in its policies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aam Aadmi Party</span> Political party in India

The Aam Aadmi Party is a political party in India. It was founded on 26 November 2012 by Arvind Kejriwal and his then-companions, following the 2011 Indian anti-corruption movement against then Indian government of Indian National Congress. The AAP is currently the governing party in the Indian state of Punjab and the union territory of Delhi. On 10 April 2023, the AAP was officially granted the status of national party by the ECI. The party's election symbol is a broom. The party is currently part of the coalition I.N.D.I.A. Alliance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2013 Delhi Legislative Assembly election</span> 2013 state assembly election in Delhi

The Delhi Legislative Assembly election was held on 4 December 2013, with the result announced on 8 December resulting in formation of the Fifth Legislative Assembly of Delhi.

7 RCR...Projecting India's Future is an Indian television politics-based reality series/documentary series, hosted by Indian author, columnist, and speaker Chetan Bhagat on Hindi news channel ABP News, which premiered on 11 January 2014. This is a show of dramatized biographies of all those who have the mettle to make it to 7, Race Course Road, the Prime Minister's official residence, presented in the most interesting manner. It aims to bring to the audience the never seen before facts of Indian history. The 7 RCR show started immediately after the much critically acclaimed Pradhanmantri hosted by Shekhar Kapur. 7 RCR is a show in lead up to 2014 Indian general election. Raghi Papiya Joshi and Sohan Thakur are casting Directors of the show. It showed 8 possible candidates for PM of India. The series is re-launched post-election with episodes on Narendra Modi's journey to 7RCR on 24 May 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Campaigning in the 2014 Indian general election</span>

The Indian general election of 2014 were held to constitute the 16th Lok Sabha in India. Voting took place in all 543 parliamentary constituencies of India to elect members of parliament in the Lok Sabha. The result of this election was declared on 16 May. The 15th Lok Sabha completed its constitutional mandate on 31 May 2014. Since the last general election in 2009, the 2011 Indian anti-corruption movement by Anna Hazare, and other similar moves by Baba Ramdev, have gathered momentum and political interest. Issues such as Inflation, price rise and corruption were some of the chief issues.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">First oath of office ceremony of Narendra Modi</span>

Narendra Modi, parliamentary leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party, started the first tenure of his prime ministership, after his oath of office as the 14th Prime Minister of India on 26 May 2014. 45 other ministers were also sworn in along with Modi. The ceremony was noted by media for being the first ever oath of office of an Indian Prime Minister to have been attended by the heads of all SAARC countries.

<i>An Insignificant Man</i> 2016 Indian film

An Insignificant Man is a 2016 Hindi/English Indian socio-political documentary co-produced and directed by Khushboo Ranka and Vinay Shukla and also co-produced by filmmaker Anand Gandhi. and is about the rise of anti-corruption protests in India and the formation and rise to power of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). The film received a standing ovation at its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival and has gone on to have sold out screenings at major festival across the world including the BFI London Film Festival & Busan International Film Festival.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2015 Delhi Legislative Assembly election</span> 2015 state assembly election in Delhi

The Delhi Legislative Assembly election was held on 7 February 2015 to elect 70 members of the Sixth Legislative Assembly of Delhi. The results were announced on 10 February 2015. The Aam Aadmi Party secured an absolute majority in the assembly, winning 67 of the 70 seats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">6th Delhi Assembly</span> Sixth Legislative Assembly of Delhi

The Sixth Legislative Assembly of Delhi was constituted on 14th Feb 2015 after the 2015 Delhi Legislative Assembly elections were concluded earlier that month. Second Kejriwal ministry was the cabinet during the term of 6th Delhi Assembly.

Rajendra Pal Gautam is an Indian politician, Dalit activist, Social worker and the former Minister for Water, Tourist, Culture, Arts & Languages and Gurudwara Elections in the Government of Delhi. He is a member of the Aam Aadmi Party and represents Seemapuri Assembly constituency in the Delhi Legislative Assembly.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anil Baijal</span> Ex. Lieutenant Governor of Delhi

Anil Baijal is a retired Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer and served as the 21st Lieutenant Governor of Delhi. He took over office on 31 December 2016 after the sudden resignation of Najeeb Jung. He resigned from the post of Lieutenant Governor and sent his resignation letter to President of India on 18 May 2022 as his term was over.

Chowkidar Chor Hai is a Hindi slogan used by the Indian National Congress (INC) in its election campaign for the 2019 Indian general election. The slogan was coined by the then INC president, Rahul Gandhi, against the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) affiliated sitting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, after raising allegations of favouritism and price escalation in the Dassault Rafale deal. The slogan was coined with the intention of conveying that the person who was entrusted with safeguarding public money was in fact a thief; context being that PM Modi had in past claimed to be a "chowkidar" of the country.

<i>Main Bhi Chowkidar</i> Hindi slogan used in 2019 Indian general election

Main Bhi Chowkidar is a Hindi slogan used by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in its campaign for the 2019 Indian general election. The slogan was coined by the BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi as a counter-slogan against the Indian National Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. Millions of BJP members changed their DPs and profiles to show their solidarity with Modi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 Punjab Legislative Assembly election</span> 2022 legislative assembly elections in the Punjab

Legislative Assembly elections were held in Punjab on 20 February 2022 to elect the 117 members of the 16th Assembly of the Punjab Legislative Assembly. The votes were counted and the results were declared on 10 March 2022.

On 30 March 2022, the official residence of Arvind Kejriwal, Chief Minister of Delhi, was allegedly attacked by members of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia called the incident a conspiracy to murder Kejriwal. Tejasvi Surya, the national president of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha and a member of the Lok Sabha, had led a protest against Arvind Kejriwal with around 200 BJYM members. Several protesters were seen in CCTV footage breaking barriers in front of Kejriwal's residence and daubing red paint on the main gate. According to Delhi Police officials, the attackers also damaged a CCTV camera. Kejriwal's party, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), stated that he was not in the house at the time of the attack, but members of his family were present.

References

  1. "India's Ahluwalia Says "More Room" for Interest Rate Cuts". Bloomberg.
  2. "Chiefs spruik India's home turf". The Australian.
  3. "Arvind Kejriwal, Mohandas Pai to speak at Wharton; Deora drops out". DNA. 2013-03-13. Retrieved 2013-03-13.
  4. "Wharton snub: Support grows for Narendra Modi". Zee News. 2013-03-04. Retrieved 2013-03-04.
  5. Narendra Modi's address at Wharton nulled via Facebook, ET Bureau, Economic Times, Mar 5, 2013
  6. Why Narendra Modi Was Banned From the U.S., JAMES MANN Wall Street Journal, May 2, 2014
  7. Petition against Narendra Modi's invitation to the Wharton India Economic Forum, By PETITIONERS, The Daily Pennsylvanian, 03/10/13
  8. Inside story: why Wharton cancelled Modi's lecture, Charu Sudan Kasturi, Hindustan Times New Delhi, March 05, 2013
  9. "India minister Narendra Modi's US speech cancelled". BBC. 2013-03-03. Retrieved 2013-03-07.
  10. "A petition signed by about 135 people behind Wharton's decision to cancel Narendra Modi invite". DNA. 2013-03-04. Retrieved 2013-03-07.
  11. "Sena leader Prabhu cancels Wharton visit after Modi snub". India Today. Zee News. 2013-03-04. Retrieved 2013-03-04.
  12. "Columnist Sadanand Dhume opts out of Wharton forum". Business Standard. 2013-03-05. Retrieved 2013-03-08.
  13. "Indian-American pulls out of WIEF". The Pioneer. 14 March 2013. Retrieved 26 March 2013.
  14. "Wharton-Modi controversy unfortunate and disrespectful: USIBC". Hindustan Times. 2013-03-04. Archived from the original on March 6, 2013. Retrieved 2013-03-07.
  15. Mini Joseph Tejaswi (2013-03-15). "Mohandas Pai says no to Wharton". The Times of India . Archived from the original on 2013-04-11. Retrieved 2013-03-15.
  16. 'Disappointing that Wharton rescinded its invite to Narendra Modi': US lawmaker. March 6, 2013
  17. Wharton should have heard Narendra Modi: Shashi Tharoor
  18. The Hijacking of Wharton
  19. "Adani Group Withdraws Wharton Event Sponsorship". Outlook. 2013-03-04. Retrieved 2013-03-07.
  20. "After Adani Group, Viacom18's Colors pulls out of Wharton forum as a sponsor". IBNLive. 2013-03-04. Archived from the original on 2013-03-10. Retrieved 2013-03-07.
  21. "Hexaware Tech withdraws sponsorship for Wharton event". The Hindu Business Line. 2013-03-06. Retrieved 2013-03-07.
  22. "Arvind Kejriwal not a replacement for Narendra Modi at Wharton: Sources". NDTV. 2013-03-05. Retrieved 2013-03-05.
  23. Wharton forum's decision to disinvite Narendra Modi was wrong: Arvind Kejriwal
  24. Organisers bar media from covering Wharton India meet
  25. Free speech group to protest Wharton India Economic Forum decision
  26. Debate over Modi and free speech at Penn continues, By ERICH KESSEL, 04/17/13
  27. A Conversation With: Prof. Aseem R. Shukla, University of Pennsylvania, NIHARIKA MANDHANA, MARCH 12, 2013
  28. Debating the Right: Narendra Modi and Penn, A panel hosted by The Penn Government and Politics Association, Apr 20, 2013