The son of Pran and Soni Prashad,[14] Vijay was born and raised in
Kolkata, India.[15] He attended
The Doon School (an Indian residential boarding school for boys aged 12–18).[16] In the United States, he received a BA from
Pomona College in 1989 as well as earning a PhD at the
University of Chicago in 1994—writing a dissertation under the supervision of
Bernard S. Cohn.[17][18][19] He is the nephew of Marxist Indian politician
Brinda Karat.[20] Vijay has identified as queer [21]
Political views
Vijay Prashad is a fervent proclaimer of democracy,
Marxism, socialism, and communism.[1][2][22]
Criticism of
capitalism is a recurrent theme throughout all of his work; one summary of such criticisms can be found in his 2002 book Fat Cats and Running Dogs. In addition, criticisms of
imperialism,
colonialism,
neocolonialism and other such topics are regular themes.[citation needed]
Prashad's political views are paired with frequent calls for people to become activists, struggle, join movements, protest, organise in political parties, form trade unions and other such related activities.[23]
Elsewhere, he has stated that American leftists, specifically, are not as effective as they could be in situations where they win influence through community organising, such as in local governments, because they often do not appreciate ideas originating from other parts of the world. He also calls on leftists, in general, to have a long-term view of social struggle rather than a focus on short-term results; this short-term focus often results from an economic system where companies are incentivised to demonstrate quarterly profits.[24]
U.S. foreign policy
Prashad is an outspoken critic of
Americanhegemony and
imperialism.[25][26] He debated historian
Juan Cole on the 2011 US-French-
NATO military intervention in Libya. Cole was for it, Prashad against.[27] Prashad argued that the genuine
Libyan rising had been "usurped" by various unsavory characters, including some with
CIA connections.[28] Prashad wrote the 2012 book Arab Spring, Libyan WinterAK Press on the topic.[29][30]
Mother Teresa and Western charity
Prashad offered his analysis of
Mother Teresa's missionary work in
Calcutta, designating her as a representative of the collective "
bourgeois guilt" of
Western nations.[31] He argued that people like Mother Teresa obscure the tragedies of capitalism. For instance, "During the night of December 2–3, 1984, the
Bhopal disaster poisoned thousands of people". He states that the Bhopal disaster, which was caused by
Union Carbide, was the most flagrant example of a transnational corporation's disregard for human life in defence of its own profit. In 1983, Union Carbide's sales came to US$9 billion and its assets totalled US$10bn. Part of this profit came from a tendency to shirk any responsibility towards safety standards, not just in India, but also in their West Virginia plant. After the disaster, Mother Teresa flew into Bhopal and, escorted in two government cars, she offered Bhopal's victims small
aluminium medals of
St. Mary. "This could have been an accident," she told the survivors, "it's like a fire (that) could break out anywhere. That is why it is important to forgive. Forgiveness offers us a clean heart and people will be a hundred times better after it."
Pope John Paul II joined Mother Teresa with his analysis that Bhopal was a "sad event" which resulted from "man's efforts to make progress."[32][33]
In the same article he also commented on Mother Teresa's alleged links with
Charles Keating and
Michele Duvalier (wife of
Haitian dictator
Baby Doc Duvalier). Denouncing the "cruel rule of capital" he also offered the view that the communists of
Calcutta were the "real nameless Mother Teresas who conduct the necessary work towards socialism, for the elimination of poverty forever."[34]
Resignation of Evo Morales
Prashad has written extensively about the removal of
Evo Morales as President of Bolivia in 2019 and the
2020 Bolivian general election.[35] He described Morales' removal as a
coup d'état and said the
Organisation of American States had "legitimised" the coup with unsubstantiated conclusions in its preliminary report.[35] In March 2020, he wrote that Morales' removal from office was the result of his government's "socialist policy toward Bolivia's resources" which required that returns from mining resources such as
lithium "be properly shared with the Bolivian people". He said that the government of
Jeanine Áñez had extended a "welcome mat" to
Tesla to establish a factory in Bolivia to manufacture lithium batteries from Bolivia's reserves.[35]
Israel-Palestine conflict
In 2010, as Prashad was appointed to head the newly formed Trinity Institute for Interdisciplinary Studies at Trinity College, a group of professors wrote a letter protesting the appointment based on "the prominent role he has played in promoting a boycott of Israeli universities and of study abroad in Israel".[36] After initially refusing to meet with them, Trinity President James Jones eventually met with representatives from
Jewish organisations, including the
Connecticut Jewish federation, the
Anti-Defamation League, and the Jewish Federation of Greater Hartford[37] on 14 September 2010. One participant reported a "veiled threat" to have Jewish donors "weigh in". The university backed Prashad and rejected attempts to rescind his appointment.[38]
Appraisal
The historian
Paul Buhle writes, "Vijay Prashad is a literary phenomenon."[39]
The writer
Amitava Kumar notes, "Prashad is our own
Frantz Fanon. His writing of protest is always tinged with the beauty of hope."[40]
Criticism and Controversy
Prashad has come under international scrutiny for his association with
Neville Roy Singham, who has been accused of funding and promoting pro-Chinese government messaging and causes via a network of organizations (including the Prashad-associated Tricontinental Institute,
NewsClick, The People's Forum,
BreakThrough News, and Globetrotter).[41][42][43]
(2011) Marx's Capital: An Introductory Reader. Contributed by Vijay Prashad, Venkatesh Athreya, Prasenjit Bose,
Prabhat Patnaik,
Jayati Ghosh, T. Jayaraman, R. Ramakumar. LeftWord. ISBN 978-93-80118-00-0.
(2013-08) "
Reality Asserts Itself with Vijay Prashad" by
Paul Jay. A set of 4 interviews conducted on August 2, 8, 9, and 11, 2013. Republished at the Analysis.news. Originally published at The Real News Network.[44]
^
ab"I came to Marxism against my self-interest. Born into affluence, I was raised in an revolutionary city (
Calcutta, India)" Left history, Volumes 11–12, pp 61, Department of History,
Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, 2006
^"Vijay Prashad has come to be known for his expert critical analysis of US imperialism and war", Chopping Through the Foundations of Racism With Vijay Prashad, Joel Wendland, 8 August 2003, Friction Magazine
^White Women in Racialized Spaces: Imaginative Transformation and Ethical Action in Literature, Samina Najmi, Rajini Srikanth, Mother Teresa as the Mirror of Bourgeois Guilt - Chapter 4, pp 67, Published by
SUNY Press, 2002,
ISBN0-7914-5477-0,
ISBN978-0-7914-5477-0