It is indeed a memorable occasion to have in our midst here in Chennai this evening one whom we seek out through his published work, through cyberspace, through the marginal,conscientious part of the electronic media - despite the decision of the mainstream media to deny him to us . We seek him out for his searing and unsullied observation of our times, for his incisive and revealing analyses of the power mechanisms that bear down upon us, for his abiding humaneness and touching faith in the capacity and striving of the individual, the citizen, for truth and freedom. We seek him out as a corrective to the distortions that plague our lives and contemporary society.

This lecture engagement, as you can well imagine given Prof. Noam Chomsky’s hectic schedule which is planned so well ahead, was fixed long before September 11. But since we are told, by the western media, that the world will never be the same again after September 11, we were anxious to know the shape it could take hereafter. Hence the theme for Prof. Chomsky this evening- ‘September 11 and its aftermath- where is the world heading?’ formulated by my friend the Editor of Frontline and Trustee of the Media Development Foundation, N.Ram. Prof. Chomsky readily agreed to talk on the subject and he will be the sole speaker this evening.

On behalf of Frontline and the Media Development Foundation – a public Trust in the cause of journalism education, training and research- and the twenty two mass organisations supporting this function, I am very happy to welcome Prof. Noam Chomsky and Carol Chomsky to Chennai and to this evening we have been waiting for with a lot of anticipation. I can see that the hall is bursting at the seams and extend a very warm welcome to all of you who have turned up in such overwhelming force, even while apologizing to those not fortunate enough to have found seats in the auditorium. We have made arrangements for close-circuit real-time TV coverage of the proceedings, which is available on two monitors positioned in the foyer on the ground floor.

After Prof. Chomsky has made his initial presentation he is happy to take questions from the floor. Those wishing to ask questions are requested to speak into the microphones that will be brought to you so that the rest of us can hear you and, equally important, you are also recorded. Those who prefer to pose their questions in writing may please send them on to us through a volunteer (who wears a badge) closest to you. Please do identify yourself so that Prof. Chomsky knows whose question he is responding to.

Just one or two quick announcements. I request all of you to turn off your cell phones so that we do not have that disturbing Prof. Chomsky and us when we are listening to him. May I request our friends from the Media fraternity, the electronic media, the television crews to try and restrict their coverage, in terms of their movements in the hall to the first few minutes and settle down so that we do not disturb others who may like to see and hear what is happening.

With these few words, and once again apologising to those who could not find seats in the auditorium, I request N.Ram to introduce Prof. Chomsky.