Requesting the President and FAS of Harvard to meet with Dr. Swamy
December 15, 2011
Dr. Drew Faust, President
Harvard University

Dr. Michael Smith, Dean of FAS
Harvard University

Dear Dr. Faust and Dr. Smith:

Many of us feel strongly that the decision to remove two Economics courses by Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) at Harvard University denying Dr. Subramanian Swamy to teach was nonprofessional, unfair, partisan and shocking.

An academic institution like Harvard should have given the opportunity to Dr. Swamy to hear what he has to say about the article on “How to wipe out Islamic Terrorism.” The decision taken by the FAS was arbitrary and against the “Free Speech Guidelines” adopted by the FAS itself.

Dr. Swamy is an outstanding academician who has been teaching at Harvard over several years with no known complains about his teaching. In fact one of the students who evaluated his teaching has nothing but praise, admiration and appreciation.

FAS decision is unfair and nonprofessional because Dr. Subramanian Swamy was not given the opportunity to express his views and answer any questions the FAS may have toward the content of the article, relevance of his approach and the strategies he proposed to wipe out Islamic Terrorism.

It is hard to imagine an outstanding institution like Harvard not engage in academic discussion and exchange the views before making a decision of this magnitude. An academic institution known for free speech, exchange of ideas without intimidation, and espousing diverse opinions would not give the opportunity to hear the counter arguments and opinions. We sincerely hope that the University should uphold the basic value of exchanging views and maintain the high standards Harvard is known for.

Without open public discussion, freedom of speech will be stifled. Reputation of Harvard will be tarnished. Undoubtedly, face-to-face meeting of both sides will highlight the issue, possibly erase the misunderstanding and hopefully enlighten all the concerned public.

SPECIAL REQUEST:

We feel very strongly that both sides (Dr. Swamy and FAS) should avail an opportunity to sit together and get Dr. Swamy’s input on his article. Both the parties should engage in discussion, debate, and dialogue to discern the matter so that both sides can hear the other side and appreciate their respective positions.

We will be delighted to arrange Dr. Subramanian Swamy’s trip to USA to have thorough, healthy, robust and constructive discussion with FAS who participated in the removal of the two courses.
We request the President of Harvard University and FAS to accept our invitation to have an open, honest, professional, and logical discussion on the article “How to Wipe out Islamic Terrorism” written by Dr. Subramanian Swamy.

Hope to hear from you at the earliest. Please contact me if you have any questions or need clarification. Thank you.

Sincerely,
V. V. Prakasa Rao PhD
President, GHHF
601-918-7111

GHHF Team

V. V. PrakasaRao, PhD, (601-918-7111 cell), (601-856-4783 home); Prasad Yalamanchi (630-832-2665; 630-359-5041), D. Satya (732-939-2060); Dr. K. R. Venkatramaiah (Canada) (416-925-8167); Satya Nemana (732-762-7104); Sekhar Reddy (954-895-1947); Tulasichand Tummala  (408-786-8357); Raju Polavaram, MD (919-959-6141); Rama Kasibhatla (678-570-1151); Srinivas Murthy (212-538-8716); Rajesh Veerapaneni (773-704-0405); Sunil T Patel (214-293-4740); Raghavendra Prasad; MD (214-325-1969); Gopal Ponangi (214-868-7538); Ram Yalamanchili (214-663-6363); Ravi Pattisam (617-304-3577); Krishna Athota (214-912-3724); Rajendra Narayanadas (214-901-3399); Sesharao Boddu (972-489-6949); P. Srinivas (832-444-6460); P. Viswanadham (972-355-7107); I V Rao (214-284-6227); Sridhar Kodela (214-907-8552); Vijay Kollapaneni (818-325-9576); Ghanashyam Kakadia (469-583-1682).