Mohandas Pai declines to speak at Wharton

Days after the Wharton India Economic Forum dropped Narendra Modi as its keynote speaker, Mohandas Pai — chairman of Manipal Global and the former Infosys CFO — turned down his own invitation to address the forum, in what he framed as a protest against how India was being treated abroad.

Pai, who had been scheduled to speak on March 23, told the Times of India his decision was prompted by a string of incidents in which Indian leaders and institutions had been "treated shabbily" internationally. The last straw, he said, was Italy's refusal to send back its two marines to face trial in India for killing two fishermen — despite Rome's undertaking to the Supreme Court. "This is an insult to bilateral partnership," he said.

He listed his grievances rapid-fire: Wharton's treatment of Modi, Italy's defiance of the Indian Prime Minister and Supreme Court, Pakistan's national assembly condemning the hanging of parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, and Sri Lankan authorities arresting Indian fishermen near Katchatheevu. "Now, I don't feel good about attending the Wharton event," he said.

Pai wasn't alone. Gautam Adani of the Adani Group and Atul Nishar of Hexaware Technologies had also backed out after Wharton's Modi decision.

The annual forum draws business and political leaders, academics, and students from around the world to debate India's challenges. In 2013, at least, the debate started before anyone reached Philadelphia — over who gets a microphone, and what withdrawing one says about everyone else holding theirs.