Iran’s former President and controversial cleric bathed in the glow of democratic sunshine/traditions of Harvard where the audience listened to his remarks with extreme politness.
Thus the university teachers and students gave yet another shining example of Harvard’s tradition of allowing a person the freedom to express his opinion, howsoever different this may be to their own way of thinking.
Encouraging an end to the ‘cycle of violence’ and a development of democracy in the East, former Iranian President Mohammad Khatami called on the United States to allow countries to develop their own model of modernity in a speech at Harvard on the eve of the fifth anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, says The Harvard Crimson.
“In his 30-minute address under heavy security, the Muslim cleric also defended the militant Lebanese group Hezbollah as a legitimate resistance movement fighting for the ‘territorial integrity’ of Lebanon.
“Khatami, who condemned Osama Bin Laden and those who carry out terrorist acts in the name of Islam, also criticized the US for its ‘double standard’ when it came to violence.
” ‘We cannot and should not justify a state’s total war against a defenseless population on the basis of its sovereignty or international recognition but condemning the violence perpetrated by that population as barbaric and inhumane,’ he said.
“Khatami’s remarks were followed by a question and answer session where a number of students and members of the community asked him about his position on Israel.
“Responding to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s reported comments that Israel should be ‘wiped out from the map,’ Khatami said that he has ‘never wanted the elimination of a person or nation from the international sphere’.
” ‘A nation by the name of Palestine has been eliminated from the map,’ Khatami added.
” ‘I think that the speech left a lot more questions unanswered than answered,’ said Eric P. Lesser ’07, the Dems president. ‘It was clear from the speech that President Khatami certainly talks in ways that make him seem like a reformer’.
“Massachusetts Governor W. Mitt Romney called Harvard’s invitation of Khatami ‘a disgrace to the memory of all Americans who have lost their lives at the hands of extremists’ and said state taxpayers should not fund any part of his visit.
“Romney announced on Tuesday that he would not allow any state agencies—including state police—to provide support for the event. Yesterday’s event was secured by Harvard and Cambridge police as well as the US State Department.”
Swaraaj Chauhan describes his two-decade-long stint as a full-time journalist as eventful, purposeful, and full of joy and excitement. In 1993 he could foresee a different work culture appearing on the horizon, and decided to devote full time to teaching journalism (also, partly, with a desire to give back to the community from where he had enriched himself so much.)
Alongside, he worked for about a year in 1993 for the US State Department’s SPAN magazine, a nearly five-decade-old art and culture monthly magazine promoting US-India relations. It gave him an excellent opportunity to learn about things American, plus the pleasure of playing tennis in the lavish American embassy compound in the heart of New Delhi.
In !995 he joined WWF-India as a full-time media and environment education consultant and worked there for five years travelling a great deal, including to Husum in Germany as a part of the international team to formulate WWF’s Eco-tourism policy.
He taught journalism to honors students in a college affiliated to the University of Delhi, as also at the prestigious Indian Institute of Mass Communication where he lectured on “Development Journalism” to mid-career journalists/Information officers from the SAARC, African, East European and Latin American countries, for eight years.
In 2004 the BBC World Service Trust (BBC WST) selected him as a Trainer/Mentor for India under a European Union project. In 2008/09 He completed another European Union-funded project for the BBC WST related to Disaster Management and media coverage in two eastern States in India — West Bengal and Orissa.
Last year, he spent a couple of months in Australia and enjoyed trekking, and also taught for a while at the University of South Australia.
Recently, he was appointed as a Member of the Board of Studies at Chitkara University in Chandigarh, a beautiful city in North India designed by the famous Swiss/French architect Le Corbusier. He also teaches undergraduate and postgraduate students there.
He loves trekking, especially in the hills, and never misses an opportunity to play a game of tennis. The Western and Indian classical music are always within his reach for instant relaxation.
And last, but not least, is his firm belief in the power of the positive thought to heal oneself and others.