Chomsky Lecture on Middle East Crises
December 14th, 2000
South Asian Perspective - Abha Sur, MIT
The Alliance for a Secular and Democratic South Asia was formed in 1993 to counter the rising religious intolerance in South Asia and to campaign for peace and justice in the region. For the last seven years we have organized lectures, panel discussions, conferences, and cultural programs that emphasize our syncretic and composite culture and polity. We have campaigned for the rights of those persecuted by religious extremists such as the Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen and have condemned unequivocally state-supported violence in the region. We are deeply committed to working toward a just and equitable South Asia. We believe that democracy is not merely a ritual casting of votes but is fundamentally about a fair and equitable distribution of resources and must entail a deep and abiding respect for religious, ethnic, and cultural differences. Secularism then is not a choice but a necessity for the diverse and deeply inter-linked societies of South Asia.
Today we stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in the Middle East. Why you may ask should an organization such as the Alliance for a secular and democratic South Asia get involved in organizing an event such as this. Well there are a number of reasons. First, I believe that the crises in the middle east is fundamentally about distribution of resources and about ensuring basic rights of the Palestinians. In this respect we do have a commonality of struggle and thus we see it as our responsibility to get involved. But there is a more immediate reason. A few weeks ago I happened to be talking with a Palestinian woman. She told me of the deep trauma faced by the Palestinian society here. She told me how some of her own relatives had died in the recent clashes and how daily living had become so unbearable. And then she told me about her daughter who had finally refused to participate in yet another rally, yet another demonstration because it was all too much. I believe no community should suffer alone. That we all must come together to oppose injustice wherever we see it. And so we are here to share in the sorrow and to raise our voices in unison against injustice and oppression.
And we have amongst us a voice that has never faltered in its relentless opposition to the structures of oppression. It is indeed my privilege to introduce to you our very own Noam Chomsky. We know Noam Chomsky as a noted and formidable linguist who has forever changed the direction of linguistics. We know him as a political philosopher and activist who has supported peoples struggles throughout the world—in East Timor, in Haiti, in Nicaragua in Central America, in South East Asia and in South Asia. For the longest time I thought of Chomsky, the linguist and Chomsky, the political activist as almost two different people but now I do think there is a deep connection between Chomky’s scholarship and his activism. Just as there is Universal Grammar so are there universal moral codes that permit us to distinguish between right and wrong between what is just and what is unjust. And that is precisely what motivates us to organize events like these. Noam Chomsky has been an inspiration and he has been our teacher. We have learnt much from him. Today he will speak on the current crises in the Middle East. Please welcome Noam Chomsky.