Dear Professor Jain,

In response to your invitation to participate in a webinar with Prof. Salvatore Babones, I can only politely request that you and your colleagues at FLAME reconsider your invitation to him to speak.

As you may be aware, Dr. Babones has repeatedly vilified humanities and social science scholars at large in India, suggesting that those Indian academics who critique the current government are "anti-national" and "anti-India." He has also suggested, on numerous occasions, that those of us that are engaged in the study of South Asia outside of India and who critique the current regime are similarly "anti-India" in toto. Dr. Salvatore's rather broad and unconsidered pronouncements in the press, in social media, and in forums such as the one you propose have demonstrably encouraged the vilification of Indian academia at large and liberal or left-leaning Indian academics in particular. His statements have also generated a palpable and general mistrust of non-Indian scholars among a segment of the Indian public, without providing any basis for such mistrust.

I am sure you will agree that inviting or not inviting Dr. Babones is not a matter of academic freedom, freedom of inquiry, or freedom of speech. The reason for this is that Dr. Babones has publicly demonstrated his opposition to academic freedom, freedom of inquiry, and freedom of speech by repeatedly suggesting that any and all critics of the current political regime are anti-national, treasonous, or neo-colonial agents. As is plain, such a position can never engage in reasoned and reasonable debate or the exchange of ideas.

(Colleagues unfamiliar with Dr. Salvatore may refer to his numerous statements vilifying Indian and foreign academics and the entire "intellectual class" of India in the Indian media and on Twitter/X.)

This being the case, I am sure you can see why The India Centre's invitation to Dr. Balbones could be, and is indeed being, read as an expression of FLAME's fealty to the present political dispensation rather than as an expression of commitment to the exchange of ideas and the sharing of knowledge.

Since the debate around freedom of speech and inquiry has become so confused lately, I will repeat: the issue that others and I perceive in the platforming of Dr. Balbones is that he will use the platform, as he has many others, to encourage government repression of individual academics and their institutions, thus creating a material danger to our Indian colleagues, their careers, and their institutions. I am sure this is not something that anyone at FLAME would wish to do.

In summary, I hope that you will reconsider inviting Dr. Babones as an honored speaker to FLAME, not because he is a sycophant to the current regime but because he is attacking the academic activities and careers of our colleagues, many of whom are members of this list.