New Delhi: Gates Cambridge scholars and alumni have written an open letter to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in connection with its decision to award Prime Minister Narendra Modi the Global Goalkeeper Award.In the letter, over 70 Gates Cambridge scholars and alumni condemned the decision taken by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to present Narendra Modi with the Global Goalkeeper Award for the Swachh Bharat Mission while ignoring human rights violations that have taken place under his regime.Pointing out that the Indian government under Narendra Modi has “brazenly pursued an agenda of persecuting minorities” the letter goes on to say that there has been “an exponential rise in hate crimes against minorities”.Alluding to the intimidation of civil society activists and the arrests and censorship of public intellectuals, the letter notes that the “most recent illustrations of this government’s espousal of Hindu nationalist ideology” was its decision to withdraw the special status of the state of Jammu and Kashmir and the proposal to “to effectively strip the citizenship of 1.9 million citizens” in Assam.Also read: Riz Ahmed, Jameela Jamil Pull Out of Gates Foundation Event Awarding ModiThe letter further draws attention to curfew and clampdown in Kashmir and reports of house arrests, detentions and complete isolation of Kashmiris. Referring to the National Register for Citizens, the signatories of the letter point out that the “draconian measure” to render 1.9 million citizens stateless was in keeping with the home minister Amit Shah’s proclamation that ‘immigrants’ were akin to ‘termites’.Addressing the Modi government’s Swachh Bharat Mission, the letter states that the programme was “reliant in large measure on media publicity rather than social change” and that it had failed to remove the widespread practice of manual scavenging.The letter concludes by noting that as Gates Cambridge scholars and alumni, with a ‘commitment to improving the lives of others’, the signatories have called on the foundation to revoke the award in light of the “current climate of violence, intimidation, and fear in India”.The full text of the letter is reproduced below:§An Open Letter from Gates Cambridge Scholars and Alumni to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for Awarding Narendra Modi with the Global Goalkeeper AwardAs Gates Cambridge scholars and alumni, we unequivocally condemn the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s decision to present the Global Goalkeeper Award to the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi. Lauding PM Modi for the Swachh Bharat Mission (Clean India Mission) while ignoring the gross violation of human rights under his regime is reprehensible.Since 2014, the Modi-led regime has brazenly pursued an agenda of persecuting minorities, particularly Muslims and Dalits, damaging the democratic and secular fabric of India. In the last five years, there has been an exponential rise in hate crimes against minorities, intimidation of civil society activists, use of brute majority power to pass controversial legislation, significant dilution of the autonomy of academic and judicial institutions, and arrests and censorship of public intellectuals. The most recent illustrations of this government’s espousal of Hindu nationalist ideology include withdrawal of the semi-autonomous status of Jammu and Kashmir, the only Muslim majority state in India, and proposals to effectively strip the citizenship of 1.9 million citizens, mostly Muslims, in the north-eastern state of Assam.In an unprecedented move on 5 August 2019, the Modi-led government announced the withdrawal of the special status accorded to the disputed territory of Jammu and Kashmir. The announcement was followed by a curfew, complete clampdown on communication in the state, and arrest of democratically elected representatives. At the time of writing this letter, there are seven million Kashmiris under military siege lasting for over 40 days. Several media sources have reported on the inhuman conditions in the state, including house arrests, detentions, humiliation, and complete isolation of Kashmiris (The New York Times, The Guardian).In Assam, on the other hand, the government has launched a bid to identify and drive out ‘illegal immigrants’ through the implementation of a National Register for Citizens, potentially rendering 1.9 million citizens stateless. This draconian measure, which would impact people who are living in poverty in flood-prone areas (Deutsche Welle), is in keeping with Home Minister Amit Shah’s proclamation that ‘immigrants’ are akin to ‘termites’ (Reuters). PM Narendra Modi continually fails to address and indeed, through his silence, abets the rise of Hindu nationalist sentiments and consequent violence against minorities in the country. Indeed, the government is emboldened by Modi’s rise to power despite the 2002 large-scale violence against Muslims in the state of Gujarat under his watch as Chief Minister.Programmes, such as Swachh Bharat Mission, are then only diversionary tactics, reliant in large measure on media publicity rather than social change. While the Swachh Bharat Mission has been promoted through photos of PM Modi washing feet of sanitation workers, there is negligible effort to address the widespread practice of manual scavenging in the country. Indeed, the initiative perpetuates the historical reliance on the most marginalised castes to clean human excreta, sewage and septic tanks with their bare hands and bodies. The Ramon Magasaysay Awardee and founder of Safai Karamchari Andolan (SKA or the Sanitation Workers’ Movement), Bezwada Wilson, has condemned the Swacch Bharat Mission for its disregard of institutional discrimination against Dalits and their deaths from manual scavenging. He says, ‘Toilet construction will not help us and will, in fact, push us back into manual scavenging, unless the entire exercise is mechanised and well thought out with proper planning’ (The Wire). Regardless of the debatable scope of the initiative, its promise of welfare and dignity for all is at odds with the unprecedented marginalisation of minorities under PM Modi’s government.As Gates Cambridge scholars and alumni, with ‘commitment to improving the lives of others’, we cannot stand in silence as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation supports and encourages the Modi-led authoritarian regime responsible for gross human rights violations in India. By embracing Modi with the Global Goalkeeper Award, the Foundation is indeed going against its own principle that ‘all lives have equal value’. Given the current climate of violence, intimidation, and fear in India, the Foundation needs to condemn and not reward PM Modi’s leadership.A recent petition by Stop Genocide already reached over 100,000 signatures expressing strong opposition to choosing Modi for the Global Goalkeeper Award. Through this letter, we add our voices to this opposition and call upon the Foundation to revoke the award, allowing us to continue to take pride in Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s work for the improvement of living conditions and the promotion of human rights for all across the world.Sincerely,Divya Venkatesh, PhD Pathology, 2011-16, Queens’ CollegeSagnik Dutta, PhD Politics and International Studies, 2016-2020Ananya Mishra, MPhil Modern South Asian Studies, 2014-2015; PhD English, 2016- 2020, Corpus Christi CollegeDraško Kašćelan, PhD Linguistics, 2015-2019Asiya Islam, PhD Sociology, 2015-2019; Junior Research Fellow, Newnham CollegeArif Naveed, PhD Education 2014-18, Lecturer, University of Bath, UKCallie Vandewiele, PhD Latin American Studies 2014-2018; Lecturer, University of AucklandDena Qaddumi, PhD Architecture, 2016-2020Stephanie Gabriela Lopez, MPhil Latin American Studies 2014-2015Reetika Subramanian, PhD in Multi-disciplinary Gender Studies 2019-22, Queens’ College, University of CambridgePeter Sutoris, PhD Education, 2015-2019, Clare Hall CollegeBerenice Guyot-Rechard, PhD History, 2009-2013, Trinity CollegeMaria Hengeveld, PhD Development Studies -2017-20 King’s CollegeSafwan Aziz Khan, MPhil Public Policy, 2016-17, Christ’s CollegeJoshua Feinzig, MPhil Criminology, 2016-2017, Pembroke CollegeSurabhi Ranganathan, PhD Law 2008-2012; University Lecturer, King’s CollegeSheina Lew-Levy, PhD Psychology, King’s College; Postdoctoral researcher, Simon Fraser UniversityNayanika Mathur, PhD Social Anthropology 2005-2010, Associate Professor in the Anthropology of South Asia, University of OxfordGregory Wilsenach, PhD Mathematical Logic, 2014-2018, Postdoctoral researcher, University of CambridgeNjoki Wamai, PhD Politics and International Studies 2012-2016; Assistant Professor, United States International University – AfricaTariq Desai, PhD Genetics 2014-2019, Magdalene CollegeJuliana Broad, MPhil History and Philosophy of Science 2018-2019, Darwin CollegeRebecca Love, PhD Medical Science, 2015-2019, King’s CollegeMargaret Comer, PhD Archaeology, 2015-2019, Jesus College; Postdoctoral Researcher, University of CambridgeCaitlin Casey, PhD Astronomy, 2007-2010, St John’s College; Professor at University of Texas at AustinMarina Veličković, PhD Law 2017-2020, Pembroke CollegeNicholas Barber, PhD Earth Science, 2018-2022, Churchill CollegeSolange Manche, PhD French, 2018-2021, King’s CollegeElizabeth Walsh, MPhil Social Anthropology, 2015-2016, King’s CollegeMonica Petrescu, MPhil Economics, 2011-2012Zoe Stewart, PhD Clinical Biochemistry, 2014-2018, Clare College; Academic Clinical Lecturer, University of LeicesterCollin VanBuren, PhD Earth Sciences, 2013-2017, Christ’s College; Postdoctoral Researcher, the Ohio State UniversityAnjali B Datta, PhD History, 2009-2014, Trinity CollegeAna Maria Guay, MPhil Classics, 2015-2016, Newnham CollegeZenobia Ismail, PhD Politics 2013-2017, Wolfson CollegeHanna Danbolt Ajer, MPhil Theoretical and Applied Linguistics 2014-2015, PhD Linguistics 2015-present, Trinity HallJustin G. Park, MPhil Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic Studies, 2013-2014, Wolfson CollegeBhaskaran Nair, PhD Materials Science 2014-2019, Trinity CollegeAliya Khalid, PhD Education 2015-2019, Newnham CollegeCansu Karabiyik, PhD Medical Science, 2016-2020, Pembroke CollegeNandini Chatterjee, PhD History, 2002-2007, St Catharine’s CollegeNeha Kinariwalla, MPhil Modern Society & Global Transformations 2014-2015, King’s CollegePaulo Savaget, PhD in Engineering, 2015-2019, Hughes HallAkhila Denduluri, PhD Chemistry, 2017-2021, Murray Edwards CollegeMinaam Abbas, MB/PhD Medicine and Pathology, 2017-2020, St. John’s CollegeSara Kazmi, PhD English, 2017-2021 Queens CollegeEddie Cano Gamez, PhD Biological Science, 2017-2020, Selwyn CollegeElinor Lieber, PhD Criminology, 2018-2021, Pembroke CollegeJulia Bolotina, MPhil & PhD Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic, 2011–2016, St John’s CollegeSaba Sharma, PhD Geography, 2015-19Lena Dorfschmidt, PhD Psychiatry, 2018-2021, Darwin CollegeRamana Kumar, PhD Computer Science, 2011-2015, PeterhouseNoor Shahzad, MPhil Modern South Asian Studies, 2016-2017, Christ’s CollegeLeor Zmigrod, PhD Psychology 2016-2019, Downing College; Junior Research Fellow, Churchill CollegeHanna Baumann, PhD Architecture, 2012-17, King’s CollegeDarinee Alagirisamy, MPhil Modern South Asian Studies, 2011-2012, PhD History, Lucy CavendishMichael Pashkevich, PhD Zoology, 2017-2021, Jesus CollegeDino Kadich, MPhil Geographical Research 2018-19 and PhD Geography 2019- 2023, Emmanuel CollegeDorien Braam, PhD Veterinary Medicine, 2018-2021, St John’s CollegeAnija Dokter, PhD Music 2012-18, Queens’ CollegeEdyth Parker, PhD Veterinary Medicine, 2016-, Clare CollegePaula Haas, PhD Social Anthropology 2008-2012, Murray Edwards CollegeAnindya Sharma, MSci Systems biology, 2014-2018, Corpus Christi CollegeSamuel Kebede, MPhil Epidemiology, 2018-2019, Sidney Sussex CollegeFahad Rahman, MPhil Social Anthropology, 2015-16, St. Edmunds CollegeSurrin Deen, PhD Radiology, 2014-2018, Trinity HallNikhita Mendis, MPhil Social Anthropology, 2018, Trinity HallJocelyn Perry, MPhil International Relations and Politics, 2015-2016, Corpus Christi CollegeCerianne Robertson, MPhil Sociology, 2016-2017, St Edmund’s CollegeAnna Kendrick, PhD Spanish, 2011-2014, Emmanuel CollegeVincent Kim, PhD Physics, 2014-2018, Selwyn CollegeAlex Kong, MPhil Biological Science, 2016-2017, Churchill College