Press and Media Reports

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Awaaz - South Asia Watch Ltd is not responsible for the content or accuracy of the reports below.

Overseas funding for the RSS is yet again raising a storm. Hindutva organisations in the UK and India have gone on the defensive after Awaaz: South Asia Watch Limited (ASAW)—a London-based watchgroup—presented evidence last week that millions of pounds collected from the British public as charity for victims of the Gujarat quake and the Orissa super-cyclone were used to fund Sangh organisations in India.

In an 80-page report—In Bad Faith? British Charity and Hindu Extremism—released in the House of Lords on February 26, just before the second anniversary of the post-Godhra Gujarat carnage, ASAW has urged the UK Charity Commission to revoke the charitable status of Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh-UK (HSS-UK), VHP-UK and Kalyan Ashram Trust-UK (KAT-UK), all part of the Sangh parivar, and act against their trustees for keeping unsuspecting British donors in the dark about their affiliations and funding of extremist RSS organisations on the sly.

ASAW has also appealed to donors, politicians and organisations to refuse funds to these outfits and publicly dissociate from them.

The ASAW report, dedicated to those who died in the Gujarat riots, begins with the story of a victim of the post-Godhra carnage and goes on to say that those at the receiving end got no assistance from either the Sewa International-UK (SIUK) or the HSS. The report alleges this was because many of the Sangh organisations involved in the rioting were being funded by their UK-based fraternal organisations. The report reads: "Most striking of all was the behaviour of these organisations in the wake of the Gujarat carnage in 2002, which left 2,000 dead and over 2,00,000 displaced and languishing in refugee camps. The response of the SIUK, the HSS, the VHP, the National Hindu Students Forum and every other UK Hindutva group to appeals for humanitarian relief was silence. This was despite considerable coverage of the carnage in the UK media and desperate appeals by secular Gujarati NGOs. This is not surprising: the majority of the victims were Indian citizens who were Muslims.They were victims of the VHP, the RSS and the Vanvasi Kalyan Samiti, organisations which are promoted and glorified by the HSS-UK, the VHP-UK and the SIUK." The report goes on to say the money collected after the Gujarat quake and Orissa cyclone had all gone into funding groups that promoted communal hatred.

ASAW's charges are serious:

• About a third of the money collected for earthquake rehabilitation was spent in setting up RSS schools.
• The charity money went to Sangh outfits like the Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram (allegedly involved in the Gujarat riots), Lok Kalyan Samiti, Border Jankalyan Samiti, Sewa Bharati and Orissa's Utkal Bipanna Sahayata Samiti (UBSS).
• Sewa Bharati, on the vanguard of several anti-minority crusades, received over £2 million from SIUK, the fund-raising arm of HSS-UK.
• The money was collected in Britain but the RSS leaders in India jumpstarted projects and handed the money over to the concerned people only after the projects were completed. This was meant to bring these territories into the parivar's grip.
• The money was also used to glorify the RSS, which used it to provide relief to upper-caste Hindus, run shakhas in camps, spread anti-minority messages, rebuild temples, villages and community centres, which it named after its leaders.
• ASAW alleges accounts have been doctored—while SIUK claims it funded between 10 and 25 Gujarat villages after the quake, ASAW says it funded only six.
• HSS-UK and SIUK have intentionally refrained from providing any comprehensive data on the disbursement of funds.

"We don't think it's a coincidence that the Gujarat and Orissa, where Hindutva networks, violence and hatred have grown phenomenally in recent years, had natural and human tragedies followed by massive amounts of funding to Hindutva organisations from overseas in the guise of humanitarian charity," says the report. "It's ironic that Sangh organisations have attacked foreign funding of minority groups when they themselves use such funding to expand their own influence."

The HSS, for instance, runs around 70 physical and ideological training cells in the UK. SIUK, now a private limited company sharing its address with the HSS-UK's Leicester office, is not a registered charity and has been using HSS' registration number to raise money, often without mentioning the parent organisation. These connections were unknown even to SIUK patrons like Adam Patel, a British Muslim and a member of the House of Lords, who eventually resigned on learning about it. Incidentally, even before the report, the UK Charity Commission had started probing the HSS and SIUK.

The ASAW report states that "the main purpose of SIUK is to raise funds in the UK for RSS projects in India in order to directly help the expansion of the extremist RSS's networks across Indian society in line with the long-term political and sectarian aims of the RSS".

ASAW says it now has evidence that almost all the £ 2.3 million raised by SIUK during its India quake appeal were meant exclusively for Sewa Bharati, its Indian counterpart, whose licence in MP had been cancelled for its anti-Christian violence. HSS-UK has declined comments, so has the RSS spokesperson in New Delhi. But VHP's Ashok Chowgule said in an interview: "We deny all the allegations. We do genuine social work for the downtrodden and it is not the Hindu way to discriminate against people."

According to the report, RSS affiliates, keen to make their presence felt, hijacked relief supplies donated by other agencies, prevented international NGOs from undertaking relief operations, accused even the likes of Janpath, which ran a helpline for children, of "receiving foreign funds for proselytising people" and "prowling for Christians". Further, the report says the RSS ransacked relief camps set up by the likes of ActionAid India and even abducted and tortured a student working for an NGO simply because his name "sounded" Christian.

Money has also been raised by SIUK for other Sangh organisations such as the Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram, implicated in anti-minority violence in Gujarat, Orissa and elsewhere. Without mentioning the growing participation of adivasi groups in anti-minority violence, the highly controversial Ekal Vidyalayas have been presented in the UK simply as literacy projects aimed at neglected 'tribal' groups.

In Orissa, says ASAW, the main beneficiary of the Orissa Appeal was the UBSS, which enjoys the same address in Cuttack as that of the RSS and received at least £2 million after the 1999 super-cyclone. HSS-UK stated that the funds were channeled through volunteers to organisations which got their workforce from the RSS. Other SIUK beneficiaries of the Orissa appeal were Vidya Bharati and the abvp.

According to South Asia Solidarity, which had demanded the annulment of the charity status of HSS-UK and SIUK last year, the latter is the biggest Indian charity in the UK and has increased its gross income from £7,48,355 in 2000 to almost £2.2 million in early '03. HSS' total assets have also gone up from £6,66,384 in '95 to around £1.64 million in '02. But Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) regulations prohibit foreign funding for RSS organisations sans prior government permission to discourage interference in India's political affairs. Therefore, notes ASAW, any foreign funding amounts to FCRA violation.

Chetan Bhatt, a reader in sociology at London's Goldsmiths College and ASAW spokesperson, told Outlook: "This report details the depth of the connection between SIUK and the RSS, and the extent to which RSS fronts in India are dependent on overseas funding. One key finding is of SIUK making smaller donations to legitimate British causes to gain respectability here, while sending the bulk of its funds to RSS fronts in India." Of the non-earthquake donations made over March '99-June '02, only around £6,000 had been made for British and non-Indian causes.

The London-based Charity Commission has already been at work on the funding case. "There are some serious allegations. We're looking into potential links between the charity and India's extremist organisations and alleged payments to these groups by the charity," says a commission spokesperson "We're looking at the kinship between the HSS and SIUK, and also the administration of the funds collected for the Gujarat quake," she added.

Rebecca Draka, another spokesperson for the Charity Commission, reveals the commission is "waiting for the trustees of the charity to provide more information, which is taking a long time". After officials of the Charity Commission were denied entry visas last year to carry out research in India, Draka informs the commission has requested the Indian government to reconsider that decision.

Funding has always been a sore point as far as the parivar is concerned. There has been no probe in India into this ever since the NDA came to power. Perhaps, an independent international investigation could throw light on the monies that pour in from abroad to keep the Sangh parivar machinery rolling.

NEW DELHI, FEB. 27 . The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh today rejected all allegations of misuse of about £2 million (about Rs. 15 crores) it had collected in Britain for relief work in Gujarat following the devastating earthquake in Bhuj three years ago.

Rejecting as "false and wild" the report of Awaaz: South Asia Watch, which was recently released in Britain, and reported in the Indian press, the RSS spokesperson, Ram Madhav, said that in fact the Sewa International, an RSS affiliate, had used the money to reconstruct two villages in quake-hit Saurashtra. Four other villages were re-built with some of the money coming from the Sewa International and eight others with funds from Sewa Bharati and contributions other than the money collected abroad.

Mr. Madhav said the Awaaz report was "scandalous" and the RSS could consider taking legal action. "It seems to be part of a sinister conspiracy," he said, questioning the locus standi of Awaaz. The Sewa Bharati was a registered organisation in several States, including Gujarat. "We get funds from abroad as we are registered with the Fund Contributions Regulatory Act," which controlled donations from abroad.

Conceding that the RSS had many a time protested against foreign funding of educational institutions run by Christian missionaries, Mr. Madhav said "it was because we protested against misuse of those funds for religious conversion related activities." He denied that Sewa Bharati or Sewa International funds had been used to promote sectarian violence in tribal areas where these organisations had opened schools.

Mr. Madhav strongly criticised a U.S. State Department report on human rights which had described Indian democracy as "flawed" and alleged that the Government run by the BJP was not providing security and justice to Muslims and Christians. "We strongly condemn this tendency of the U.S. to behave like a globo-cop (global policeman) and we treat this as direct interference in the internal matters of India."

TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 29, 2004 04:15:55 AM ]. NEW DELHI: Lashing out at the "propaganda" against it, the RSS on Friday dismissed as "wild and false" allegations of misuse of funds received from abroad, saying this smacked of a "sinister conspiracy" and threatening "action" against those making the charges.

Giving the details of the Sangh reaction, PTI reported RSS spokesman Ram Madhav as saying: "The whole report (by a South Asia watch group, Awaaz) smacks of a sinister conspiracy to defame Hindu organisations."

He reportedly said the RSS was "shocked and disgusted" by the latest US state department report criticising Indian democracy as "flawed".

TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2004 12:52:11 AM ]. AHMEDABAD: The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh has taken strong objection to a report released by Awaaz, a UK-based organisation, which has claimed that donations made by British citizens for the Gujarat earthquake and the Orissa cyclone were actually being used to sponsor anti-minority violence.

A RSS statement said on Friday, “We strongly object to the propaganda unleashed by persons and organisations hitherto unknown, against the RSS and organisations connected with it like the Seva Bharati, making wild and false allegations of misuse of funds received from abroad.”

It further said, “Seva Bharati is an organisation registered with the government in different states and guided by Indian laws. Every single penny received by Seva Bharati from within or outside India is judiciously spent on the causes for which it has been collected. The RSS and the organisations connected with it enjoy tremendous amount of credibility and goodwill in matters relating to social service and social reconstruction etc.”

The report in question, said the RSS statement, is full of distortions and untruths, often bordering on mischief. The RSS said the report alleges that the RSS had constructed schools with the money collected from abroad. “We fail to understand how it is a crime to construct schools in villages. In fact, some of these schools have minorities on their rolls —Muslims as well as Christians,” the statement said.

Refuting the charge that the donations were used for funding anti-minority violence, the statement said Seva Bharati had run one of its relief camps from a mosque in a village called Hajipur, in Bhuj. In two of the six villages reconstructed with financial aid from the Seva International, all the Muslims who were originally residing there, were provided houses along with the others. In Chapredi (Bhuj) village, nine Muslims families were given houses while in Vachhrajpura (Anjar), four Muslim families got new houses.

Press Trust of India, New Delhi, 27 February. Dismissing as "wild and false" the allegations of misuse of funds received from abroad levelled against it, the RSS on Friday said they smacked of a "sinister conspiracy" and threatened "action" against those making the charges.

"The whole report (by a South Asia watch group, Awaaz) smacks of a sinister conspiracy to defame Hindu organisations," RSS spokesman Ram Madhav told reporters here.

He also said RSS was "shocked and disgusted" over the latest US State Department report criticising Indian democracy as "flawed".

Taking strong objection to the "propaganda" unleashed by persons and organisations "hitherto unknown" against the RSS and organisations connected with it, like the Seva Bharati, he said "the scandalous report betrays a conspicuous anti-Hindu bias leading us to question the motives of, and men behind, this unknown group".

The RSS leader said Seva Bharati was an organisation registered with the government in different states and guided by Indian laws and every single penny received by it from within or outside India is judiciously spent on the causes for which it has been collected.

"The report in question is full of distortions and untruths, often bordering on mischief," he said and cautioned people in general and the media in particular that such campaigns "have the potential of damaging the reputation of India and the Indian people outside".

"We urge Indian media to verify the credentials of the groups that come up with such fraudulent, biased and ill-motivated reports before going gaga over their statements," he said.

London, Feb. 26 (NNN): A Britain-based campaign group, Awaaz - South Asia Watch, has alleged that hardline Hindu organisations in India were raising money in Britain under false pretences and indulging in hate campaigns against Muslims and Christians back home.

In a recently released report the coincides with the second anniversary of the Gujarat Killings, the group alleges that activists loyal to one group, the Rashtriya Swamsevek Sangh (RSS- National Volunteers Corps), have siphoned off money donated to help in disaster relief.

However, this has been denied by one of the groups responsible for the fundraising.

These groups, the report of Awaaz - South Asia Watch, said were involved or implicated in violence or hatred against Muslims and Christians.

The report further said that big donations from members of the public in Britain ended up in the hands of groups such as the RSS. The RSS is a body which provides ideological backing to several hardline Hindu organisations as well as India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

“It (RSS) aims to turn secular India into a Hindu nation - its critics say its hardline ideology is based on intolerance towards the country's minorities,” the report said.

Much of the money in question was raised as part of wider humanitarian appeals, it added.

It is worth mentioning here that allegations of this sort have been raised before and are currently being investigated by the British Government body that regulates charities in the country.

One of the British organisations accused by Awaaz - South Asia Watch, Sewa International, said it would be inappropriate to respond to the report while that investigation was taking place.

However, Sewa International's sister organisation in India, Sewa Bharati, has strongly denied that any money it has received has been used for Hindu nationalist activity.

The release of the Awaaz- South Asia Watch report has been timed to coincide with the second anniversary, on Friday, of the widespread sectarian killings in the Indian state of Gujarat in 2002.

More than 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, died in the riots that followed the killing of nearly 60 Hindus on board a train, allegedly by a Muslim mob.

Some estimates, however, have placed the numbers of those killed at about 2,000.

New Delhi, The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Friday termed as a sinister conspiracy an allegation that it had misused charity funds collected for the 2001 Gujarat earthquake and threatened legal action. A day after reports came out of a London-based group accusing RSS activists of sending donations collected for quake relief to Hindu groups allegedly involved in the 2002 Gujarat communal violence, the RSS said the charges were baseless and malicious.

"It is an attempt by frustrated pseudo-intellectual liberals to vitiate the atmosphere when people are gradually forgetting the Gujarat incidents and restoring communal harmony," RSS spokesman Ram Madhav said here.

He also lashed out at the media for publishing the report.

"We urge the Indian media to verify the credentials of the groups that come up with such fraudulent, biased and ill-motivated reports before going gaga over their statements."

The group, Awaaz-South Asia Watch Ltd, alleged in a report that RSS activists had been raising funds in the name of charity for natural disasters and giving them to extremist groups that preach hatred against Muslims and Christians.

The report, entitled "In Bad Faith? British Charity and Hindu Extremism", said the UK-based Sewa International, linked to the RSS, sent two million pounds to its Indian counterpart Sewa Bharati and "much of the money was spent on schools that promote hatred and fanaticism".

Trashing the allegations, Madhav said: "We fail to understand how it is a crime to construct schools in villages. These schools also have minorities like Christians and Muslims on their rolls."

According to him, Sewa Bharati had served minorities "without any discrimination" during relief activities.

He also cited the satisfaction expressed by a delegation of 40 British organisations that had visited Gujarat this year to survey the relief projects.

"The scandalous report betrays a conspicuous anti-Hindu bias, leading us to question the motives of and men behind this unknown group," said the spokesman.

Questioning the credibility of the Awaaz organisation, Madhav said the report was a sinister conspiracy "possibly involving the church and pseudo-liberal left wreckers in the garb of intellectuals".

The RSS also expressed shock and disgust at a report of the US State Department said to have termed Indian democracy as "flawed" and indicated that the government was not able to protect religious minorities.

"It is an insult to India. We strongly condemn this tendency of the US to behave like a globo-cop and see this as a direct interference in India's internal matters," Madhav said.

"It will be the saddest day for India if it were to seek lessons on democracy, communal harmony, social justice from a country run by a person who assumed presidency despite losing the public vote, who promotes Christian missionary activities through official funds, and where hundreds are harassed without trial."

London, Feb 26 (IANS): A Britain-based group has alleged that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and its allied organisations have been raising money in Britain under false pretences.

The report, titled "In Bad Faith? British Charity and Hindu Extremism" and released Thursday, alleges RSS activists had siphoned off money donated to help in disaster relief.

The allegations, however, have been denied.

The RSS-allied groups, the report says, were involved or implicated in violence or hatred against Muslims and Christians.

Released by the group Awaaz - South Asia Watch, the report claims donations from members of the public in Britain ended up in the hands of groups such as the RSS.

Much of the money in question was reportedly raised as part of wider humanitarian appeals.

Similar allegations were made earlier and are currently being investigated by the British government body that regulates charities.

One of the British organisations accused by Awaaz, Sewa International, said it would be inappropriate to respond to the report while that investigation was taking place.

However, Sewa International's sister organisation in India, Sewa Bharati, has strongly denied that any money it has received has been used for Hindu nationalist activity.

The release of the Awaaz report has been timed to coincide with the second anniversary Friday of the widespread sectarian killings in Gujarat in 2002.

TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2004 06:28:30 AM ] NEW DELHI: Taking strong exception to the US state department report, which has criticised the Indian democracy as flawed and alleged that the BJP government was not providing proper security and justice to the minorities, the RSS on Friday asked the Union government to lodge strong protests with the US for infringing on the country’s sovereignty.

Condemning the tendency of the US to behave like a “globo-cop”, the RSS termed the report as a direct interference in the internal matters of India .

“It will be the saddest day for India if it were to seek lessons on democracy, communal harmony, social justice from a country, which is run by a person who assumed presidency despite losing public vote, who promises Christian missionary activities through official funds to please fundamentalists, a democracy that was made to hang precariously for one month because of its inability to decide who actually won, a nation that harasses its own minorities like ISKCON and OSHO, and a nation that runs amok over countries like Iraq with notorious preachers like Billy Graham in toe to save souls,” RSS spokesperson Ram Madhav said.

Terming the report as an insult to the democratic people of our country, Mr Madhav said the report deserves nothing but contempt for its arrogance and high-handed attitude towards India . He blamed sections of “the liberal pseudo-intelligentsia for creating an atmosphere conducive to this kind of humiliating attacks by all and sundry on the country and people.”

Taking strong objection to the propaganda unleashed against it by a South Asia watch group, Awaaz, for misusing funds received from abroad, Mr Madhav threatened action against the watch group for levelling wild and false allegations. “The whole report by Awaaz smacks of a sinister conspiracy to defame Hindu organisations,” he said.

Mr Madhav condemned the malicious propaganda, unleashed by persons and organisations “hitherto unknown”, against the RSS and organisations connected with it, like the Seva Bharati. “The scandalous report betrays a conspicuous anti-Hindu bias leading us to question the motives of, and the men behind, this unknown group,” he said.

The RSS leader said Seva Bharati was an organisation registered with the government in different states and guided by Indian laws. Every penny received by it, from within or outside India , is judiciously spent on the causes for which it has been collected, he added. “The report in question is full of distortions and untruths, often bordering on mischief,” he said.

The Seva Bharati constructed 62 schools in the first phase in quake-hit areas in Gujarat , Mr Madhav said. Of these, 57 were handed over to the state government and the rest are run by registered private trusts, he added. Refuting the allegations that the money received from abroad was spent for anti-Muslim activities, the RSS leader said that one of its relief camps in Bhuj was conducted from a masjid in Hajipur village. Also, new houses were handed over to Muslims in the affected areas, he added.

Quoting media reports, Mr Madhav said: “On January 29, the residents of Nanireldi, a Muslim dominated village in Kutch , virtually starving since the day of the quake, were pleasantly surprised to see a batch of RSS and VHP workers land with foodgrain, clothes and medicines.” A 51-member delegation, representing 40 organisations in UK that had joined hands with Sewa International for fund raising, visited Gujarat from January 27-31, ’04 and were overwhelmed by the rehabilitation work, he said.

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Awaaz – South Asia Watch welcomes the statement of 27 February 2004 by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in India. The very fact that the RSS issued a statement at all supports our key argument that Sewa International UK, the Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh UK (HSS UK) and Sewa Bharati (India) are all fronts of the RSS. The main allegation of Awaaz’s report is that Sewa International UK and HSS UK deliberately hid this fact from the British public and continue to do so [1].

The RSS statement, however, contained a large number of inaccuracies and distortions.

‘Misuse of funds’

The RSS claims that the Awaaz report accuses Sewa Bharati of misusing funds. In fact, the Awaaz report states the opposite: Sewa Bharati used funds raised from the British public by Sewa International UK for precisely the purpose it had always intended – to fund sangh parivar organisations. The Awaaz report makes no claim about Sewa Bharati’s financial probity. What the report states clearly is that the British public were misled by Sewa International UK, that Sewa International UK was collecting funds almost exclusively for sangh parivar projects, and that the overwhelming bulk of funds went to the sangh parivar – findings that the RSS statement confirms.

We repeat that around £2 million raised from the British public by Sewa International UK in the name of humanitarian charity following the Gujarat earthquake went to fund the expansion of sangh parivar organizations in India. We repeat that the overwhelming bulk of funds raised by Sewa International UK from the British public for Orissa Cyclone relief went to RSS fronts. And we repeat that Sewa International UK and the India Development and Relief Fund (US) have misled the UK and US public respectively by not making explicit that they are the fundraising arms of the RSS abroad.

Schools

The RSS’ claim about Sewa Bharati schools is irrelevant and has no relationship to the report’s key findings. The Awaaz report is concerned with schools built with funds raised from the British public, and which are named under Sewa Bharati’s ‘Project 1’ (such as the Saraswati Shishu Mandirs and Saraswati Vidya Mandirs). We stand by our claim that earthquake funds raised in the UK were used by Sewa Bharati to build sectarian sangh parivar schools, even though the British public was never informed of this intention.

Houses

The RSS statement says that a few houses for Muslims were built from Sewa Bharati earthquake funds. This fact is explicitly acknowledged in the Awaaz report. We think it ironic that the RSS should speak of building 13 houses for Muslims when, in 2002, the sangh parivar made 200,000 Muslims lose their homes.

Discrimination and intimidation in earthquake relief

The RSS seeks to claim that there was no discrimination in earthquake relief work undertaken by itself and its affiliates. Our report cites public fact-finding reports and press articles which stated there was discrimination against Muslims and Dalits during sangh parivar earthquake relief work. It also provides interview extracts that describe Hindutva propaganda and violence accompanying earthquake relief efforts. The clearest evidence of discrimination comes from Sewa International UK’s complete indifference to the plight of the 200,000 people made homeless in 2002.

British delegations and UK Muslim endorsements

The RSS makes use of the fact that delegations from the UK went to villages and that a Muslim restaurant owner from Scotland endorsed Sewa International UK’s work. This does not constitute a response to the specific and detailed allegations made in the Awaaz report. We shall send the report to members of the UK delegations and ask them to seriously consider their involvement with Sewa International in the light of the report’s findings.

Awaaz is a non-partisan, secular network with no religious affiliation. We have no affiliations to any British or Indian political party. Awaaz members have been involved in combating Islamic fundamentalism, caste discrimination, racism and the oppression of women in the UK and in South Asia. Our members have raised funds for disaster relief in India, including for victims of Bhopal, the Gujarat earthquake and the Gujarat carnage. Awaaz members have attempted to bring charges against both Narendra Modi and General Pervez Musharraf for human rights violations.

Both the British and the Indian public will be dismayed at the latest RSS response, which is an attempt to distort the real issues and concerns rather than address them. Funding of extremist organisations is a serious public concern. Public faith can only be restored if the RSS and its British and Indian front organisations are willing to ‘open their books’ to public scrutiny. Awaaz proposes to initiate an enquiry by the British Parliament into these concerns. We stand fully by the findings of our report.

FOR MORE INFORMATION email: contact@awaazsaw.org

NOTES

1. Sam Jones, ‘India refuses visas to charity investigators’, The Guardian (online edition), 27 February 2004.
2. The Awaaz report is available from www.awaazsaw.org . The report is titled: In Bad Faith? British Charity and Hindu Extremism, published by Awaaz – South Asia Watch Ltd, London, 2004, ISBN 0 9547174 0 6.
3. The RSS, the ‘National Volunteers’ Corps’, was formed in 1926 and is dedicated to turning India from a secular, democratic, multi-religious nation into an authoritarian anti-minority ‘Hindu nation’. It has a large family of closely allied organisations operating in India and abroad. The founders and key leaders of the RSS were strongly inspired by Fascist Italy and supported Nazi Germany. The ideology of the RSS is ‘Hindutva’, a belief that India only belongs to Hindus who ‘share the blood’ of ‘Vedic-Aryans’ and who consider India as their ‘holyland’.
4. ‘Sangh parivar’ is the name for the RSS family of organisations closely related to and working under the ideology of the RSS.
5. Sewa International UK is the British fundraising arm for RSS front organisations in India. India Development and Relief Fund is the American counterpart.
6. Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh UK is the British branch of the RSS. It is a registered charity and is currently under investigation by the Charity Commission. Sewa International UK is its fundraising wing.

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Source: http://www.rss.org

Awaaz? Who are they and who are behind them?

We take strong objection to the propaganda unleashed by persons and organizations hither to unknown against the RSS and organizations connected with it like the Seva Bharati with wild and false allegations of misuse of funds received from abroad.

Seva Bharati is an organization registered with the Government in different States and guided by Indian laws. Every single penny received by Seva Bharati from within or outside India is judiciously spent on the causes for which it has been collected. The RSS and the organizations connected with it enjoy tremendous amount of credibility and goodwill in matters relating to social service and social reconstruction etc.

The Report in question is full of distortions and untruths, often bordering on mischief. It alleges that the RSS has constructed schools with the money collected from abroad. It is true that 62 schools were constructed by the Seva Bharati in the quake-hit areas in the first phase. We fail to understand how it is a crime to construct schools in villages. Out of the 62 schools constructed, 57 are run by the Government and the remaining are run by registered private trusts. Sewa Bharati has constructed 124 schools in all including the 62 in the first phase. 65 schools among them are Government schools and 59 schools are run by independent trusts and some of these are affiliated to Vidya Bharati. However, there are 49 schools among those who have minorities on their rolls - Muslims as well as Christians.

The Report alleges that the money received was spent for anti-Muslim activities. The fact of the matter is the Seva Bharati had run one of its relief camps from a mosque in a village called Hajipur in Bhuj. In 2 of the 6 villages reconstructed with the financial aid from the Sewa International, all the Muslims who were originally residing there were provided houses along with others. In Chapredi (Bhuj) village 9 Muslim families were given houses while in Vachhrajpura (Anjar) 4 Muslim families got back new houses.

Sewa Bharati, Gujarat has served the minorities without any discrimination during the relief activities and the media in Bharat has appreciated this without any reservation. India Today report dated 2nd Feb 2001 states, “In the absence of the official machinery in Kutch, it was the RSS-VHP brigade that helped rescue people, nurse the wounded and even carry bodies for the last rites. On January 29, the residents of Nanireldi, a Muslim dominated village in Kutch virtually starving since the day of the quake were pleasantly surprised to see a batch of RSS and VHP workers land with foodgrain, clothes and medicines. Said Abha Ibrahimbhai: ‘I could never imagine that the RSS and VHP workers would come to our rescue.”

A 51 member strong delegation representing some 40 organizations in UK that had joined hands with Sewa International UK for the fund raising in 2001, visited Gujarat from 27 to 31 January 2004. The delegates visited many villages and schools and were overwhelmed by the rehabilitation work of Sewa Bharati, Gujarat.

Some of the delegates addressed a press conference on 31st January 2004 at Rajkot, wherein they expressed their sense of fulfillment and hearty appreciation. One of the members of the delegation Dr. Wali Tasar Uddin, a Bangladeshi now settled in Edinburgh, Scotland and owner of a chain of Indian restaurants in Europe, appreciated the efforts of Sewa International, UK and Sewa Bharati, Gujarat for the enormous task of rehabilitating the earthquake affected in Kutch. He said, “Before reaching Gujarat for this tour I had my own reservations about the fund that we had collected in Edinburgh and then forwarded through SIUK. However, this visit has opened my eyes and I sincerely appreciate the work done by SIUK and Sewa Bharati. I would not hesitate to associate myself with this organization in future.”

The scandalous Report betrays a conspicuous anti-Hindu bias leading us to question the motives of, and men behind this unknown group. The entire website of this group, which claims to be a South Asia Watch group, doesn’t talk of anything other than Gujarat as far as India is concerned leading us to believe that it is only a fringe group with some sinister motives. Similar futile efforts were made last year also by some groups in the US to denigrate and defame Hindu organizations working for the welfare of the people of our country. We would like to know what is the locus standi of these groups! Have they ever done an iota of service to India and its people? Who are behind them? We see a sinister conspiracy possibly involving the Church and pseudo-liberal left wreckers in the garb of intellectuals. They do not have any credibility within India; hence resort to this kind of spit and run tactics.

While these campaigns have not harmed us earlier and they are not going to do so now either, we would like to caution our people in general and our friends in media in particular that they have the potential of damaging the reputation of India and Indian people outside. We urge Indian media to verify the credentials of the groups that come up with such fraudulent, biased and ill-motivated reports before going gaga over their statements.

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A report launched at the House of Lords on 26 February 2004, the eve of the second anniversary of the horrific Gujarat carnage in 2002, presents alarming new evidence that under the cloak of humanitarian charity, massive donations from the British public were sent to Fascist-inspired Hindu extremist groups involved or directly implicated in serious, large-scale violence or hatred in India.

Prepared by Awaaz - South Asia Watch Ltd, a London-based secular network, the report titled: In Bad Faith? British Charity and Hindu Extremism, says UK organisations have been raising funds in the name of charity for natural disasters like earthquakes, and giving them to extremist organisations that preach hatred against Muslims and Christians.

The report, which is available now, demonstrates that the UK-based Sewa International sent £2 million for the devastating earthquake in the Indian state of Gujarat in 2001, to its Indian counterpart Sewa Bharati, a front for the secretive, violent Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). Money from the UK was given to RSS front organisations that are involved or implicated in serious violence or hate politics in India. Much of the money was spent on schools that promote hatred and fanaticism.

“Gandhi’s murderer was an RSS activist. Most British donors would be horrified if they knew the nature, history and ideas of the RSS. Individuals raised funds and donated in good faith to Sewa International’s Gujarat earthquake appeals but would not have done so had they known that the organisation raising the money was closely linked to the Fascist-inspired and secretive Indian RSS”, says Awaaz.

Sewa International is not registered as a British charity, but is the fundraising arm of the registered charity Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (HSS), the UK branch of the RSS. The report exposes the connections of the HSS, Sewa International and the Kalyan Ashram Trust (another registered charity) to violent and extremist groups in India. The RSS, its closely allied family of organisations and their followers have been involved in the persecution or killing of thousands of Muslims and Christians in India over the past fifteen years. They are known to have planned and executed anti-Muslim pogroms in the Indian state of Gujarat in 2002, in which 2,000 people were killed and 200,000 displaced. An independent investigation headed by a former Chief Justice of India called the Gujarat violence a “genocide”. Victims included British citizens. The RSS family considers religious minorities especially Muslims and Christians to be foreigners, aliens and polluters who have no right be treated as equal citizens of India.

“Sewa International has tried to dupe politicians, donors and the general public. Its main purpose is to fund, expand and glorify hate-driven RSS organisations, several of which have been at the forefront of large scale violence, pogroms or hate campaigns in India. Its claim to be a non-sectarian, non-political, non-religious humanitarian charity is a sham,” said Awaaz spokesperson Suresh Grover.

In the thoroughly documented report, Awaaz clearly establishes the strong ties between British charities and extremist organisations in India. It has called for the Charity Commissioner to withdraw the charity status of three British charities: Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (HSS) UK, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) UK, and the Kalyan Ashram Trust. The Leicester-based Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh and Sewa International are currently being investigated by the UK Charity Commission.

The Awaaz report complements and vindicates the findings of The Foreign Exchange of Hate, researched by groups in the US. Awaaz said that “Sewa International is the UK equivalent of the American charity, the India Development and Relief Fund; both organisations work towards the same purpose – to fund, promote and glorify extremist RSS fronts in India.”

NEW DELHI, Feb 26 (OneWorld) - A new report released in the United Kingdom Thursday claims the British public is donating millions of dollars as charity to organizations linked to Indian groups accused of spearheading a campaign against minorities in India.

The report, slated to be presented before the British Parliament's House of Lords Thursday, has called for an end to public funding of groups affiliated to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), an Indian organization that has been advocating "Hindutva" - a militant brand of Hinduism.

The report, called "In Bad Faith? British Charity and Hindu Extremism," has been prepared by a London-based South Asian network - Awaaz: South Asia Watch -which has been campaigning against religious hatred and violence.

"Most British donors would be horrified if they knew the nature, history and ideas of the RSS," says Awaaz. "British individuals raised funds and donated in good faith... but would not have done so had they known that the organization raising the money was closely linked to the Fascist-inspired and extremist RSS," says Awaaz.

The RSS has criticized the report, describing it as a document "full of lies." "There is not an iota of truth in the report," asserts RSS spokesperson Ram Madhav.

The report states that the British people have been donating funds to groups to tackle the aftermath of natural calamities, such as a deadly earthquake in the western Indian state of Gujarat in 2001 and a massive cyclone in the eastern state of Orissa in 1999.

"We do not think it is a coincidence that the two Indian states where Hindutva networks, violence and hatred have grown phenomenally in recent years had natural and human tragedies... followed by massive amounts of funding to Hindutva organizations from overseas under the guise of humanitarian charity," the report states.

Much of the money donated for relief work after the Gujarat earthquake was spent building schools run by the RSS, the report says. "...(The) schools indoctrinate children into Hindutva and promote anti-minority hatred," it says.

The groups named in the report include the Leicester-based charity, the Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (HSS) and its fund-raising arm, UK-based Sewa International. According to the report, Sewa International, sent two million pounds (US $3.6 million) raised for Gujarat earthquake relief to its Indian counterpart, Sewa Bharati.

The HSS, the report underlines, is the UK branch of the RSS. A registered charity, it "shares RSS's aims and ideology," it says.

"Sewa Bharati... proudly proclaims its association with the RSS and its desire to expand Hindutva networks," says the report, based on site visits to Gujarat villages in September, 2003, interviews in Gujarat conducted between March and May 2003 as well in the UK and analysis of paper and electronic documents.

Madhav admits that Sewa Bharati is linked with the RSS, but stresses that its transactions have all been "overboard." "The money was used for the purpose it was meant for," he says.

Awaaz disagrees. "Sewa International has tried to dupe politicians, donors and the general public," says spokesperson Suresh Grover. "Its main purpose is to fund, expand and glorify hate-driven RSS organizations, several of which have been at the forefront of large-scale violence, pogroms of hate campaigns in India," he alleges.

The report calls for withdrawing the charitable status of HSS and other associated charities. "Public sector funding and political patronage of these organizations should end," it urges.

The report has been lauded by Act Now for Harmony and Democracy (Anhad), a New Delhi-based rights group advocating religious harmony. "The report underlines the fact that money being donated for development is being used for killing people," says Shabnam Hashmi of Anhad.

Both Orissa and Gujarat have witnessed anti-minority violence in recent years. In 1999, an Australian Christian missionary was burnt to death with his two minor children in a village in Orissa. In February 2002, anti-Muslim riots broke out in Gujarat, killing 2000 people and displacing several thousand others.

AN INQUIRY into allegations that a British-based charity has terrorist links has been hampered by a refusal by India to grant visas to a delegation from the Charity Commission.

London-based human rights groups have claimed that funds from £2 million raised on behalf of the charity Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (HSS) for victims for the 2001 earthquake in Gujarat state were finding their way to groups linked to violence against Muslims and Christians in India.

The Charity Commission told The Times: “No reason has been given for the rejection of the visa applications. Our team wanted to follow the audit trail to see where money raised by the Leicester-based charity has been spent.” Visas for the team were rejected last June after the commission began to examine complaints about the registered charity and its finances in 2002.

HSS says it aims “to organise the entire Hindu society and to lead it to all-round-glory of Hindu Dharma and (holding together) Hindu culture”.

The commission has asked the Indian Government to reconsider its decision.

Last night Dhiraj Shah, of the HSS, denied that the charity had provided any money to the right-wing Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh group. “We only supply funds to reputable, registered charities in India,” he said. “These allegations against us are baseless.”

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The Indian government has refused to grant travel visas to Charity Commission investigators examining a UK-based Hindu charity, the Guardian has learned.

The commission began looking into complaints about Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (HSS) and its finances in November 2002.

HSS, a registered charity that operates from Leicester, aims to "organise the entire Hindu society and to lead it to all round glory of Hindu Dharma and Hindu culture".

The commission became interested after allegations surfaced that money raised was not being used for welfare work but to fuel communal violence.

A report yesterday by Awaaz, a British-based group campaigning against religious fundamentalism, alleged that the HSS's fundraising arm, Sewa International, has used money collected in the UK for Indian earthquake victims to fund a Hindu extremist group. It claims Sewa International sent ?2m collected for victims of the earthquake in Gujarat state in 2001 to its Indian counterpart, Sewa Bharati.

Awaaz says that Sewa Bharati is a front for the National Volunteer Corps (RSS) which supports India's ruling nationalist Bharatiya Janata party.

Last July, the Charity Commission received a letter from the Indian high commission rejecting its request for visas. No reason was given. "We have been in touch with the Indian government to request that they reconsider," said Rebecca Drake of the commission.

Dhiraj Shah, a HSS spokesman, said the charity had no links with the RSS and had never given them "a single penny". All the two groups had in common were religious and philosophical beliefs.

He said Sewa International raised funds for humanitarian projects, and described the allegations as "false, malicious and politically motivated".

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AHMEDABAD: A UK report, released in London on Thursday, has claimed that under the cloak of humanitarian charity, massive donations from the British public were used to fund Sangh Parivar organisations.

The report, launched just before the second anniversary of the Gujarat carnage, has been prepared by Awaaz - South Asia Watch Ltd, a London-based network.

The report, titled 'In Bad Faith? British Charity and Hindu Extremism', says RSS branches in the UK have been raising large amounts of money in the name of charity for natural disasters like the Gujarat earthquake and the Orissa supercyclone. "Virtually all the money raised went to Sangh Parivar groups, including groups that have incited anti-minority violence", it said.

"We do not think it is a coincidence that the two Indian states where Hindutva networks, violence and hatred have grown phenomenally in recent years both had natural and human tragedies (the Gujarat earthquake 2001, the Orissa cyclone 1999) followed by massive amounts of funding to Hindutva organisations from overseas under the guise of humanitarian charity," said the report.

"It is ironic that the Sangh Parivar have attacked foreign funding of minority groups when they themselves use such funding to expand their own influence," Awaaz says.

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Donations raised by "activists of the RSS" in Britain for earthquake relief in Gujarat were sent to certain "extremist groups" involved or directly implicated in large-scale violence in the state two years back, a London-based campaign group has alleged.

"Activists of the RSS have been raising funds in the name of charity for natural disasters like earthquakes and giving them to extremist organisations that preach hatred against Muslims and Christians," Awaaz-South Asia Watch Ltd claimed in a report titled In Bad Faith? British Charity and Hindu Extremism.

The report was released on Thursday to coincide with the second year of the Gujarat riots. Awaaz was set up last year comprising British Asian academics and lawyers. It claimed that the 80-page report was prepared by a group that does not have a Muslim or Christian member.

The report alleges that the UK-based Sewa International sent £2 million for "the devastating earthquake" in Gujarat in 2001 to "its Indian counterpart Sewa Bharati", which Awaaz claims is "a front" for the RSS. "Money from the UK was given to RSS front organisations that are involved or implicated in serious violence or hate politics in India," alleges the report.

The report says "much of the money was spent on schools that promote hatred and fanaticism." It further alleges that "Sewa International is not registered as a British charity, but is the fund-raising arm of the registered charity Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (HSS), the UK branch of the RSS."

"Sewa Bharati is dedicated to creating an exclusive Hindu nation," it said. "Sewa Bharati's reconstruction work was directly related to furthering the RSS's political agenda."

It cited the case of one earthquake-stricken Gujarati village, Chapredi, where a Hindu temple was reconstructed with a plaque "glorifying the RSS" while mosques and churches that had been destroyed were apparently not rebuilt.

Awaaz urged the British authorities to withdraw charity status from HSS and associated charities. "Public sector funding and political patronage of these organisations should end," it insisted.

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London, Feb 26 (IANS) A Britain-based group has alleged that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and its allied organisations have been raising money in Britain under false pretences.

The report, titled "In Bad Faith? British Charity and Hindu Extremism" and released Thursday, alleges RSS activists had siphoned off money donated to help in disaster relief.

The allegations, however, have been denied.

The RSS-allied groups, the report says, were involved or implicated in violence or hatred against Muslims and Christians.

Released by the group Awaaz - South Asia Watch, the report claims donations from members of the public in Britain ended up in the hands of groups such as the RSS.

Much of the money in question was reportedly raised as part of wider humanitarian appeals.

Similar allegations were made earlier and are currently being investigated by the British government body that regulates charities.

One of the British organisations accused by Awaaz, Sewa International, said it would be inappropriate to respond to the report while that investigation was taking place.

However, Sewa International's sister organisation in India, Sewa Bharati, has strongly denied that any money it has received has been used for Hindu nationalist activity.

The release of the Awaaz report has been timed to coincide with the second anniversary Friday of the widespread sectarian killings in Gujarat in 2002.

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A human rights group has accused a Leicester based charity of using some of its funds to support extremists groups in India. Sewa International collected more than two million pounds to rebuild the worst affected areas of Gujarat following the earthquake. Rajiv Popat reports.

The earthquake in Gujarat three years ago left 13,000 people dead and many more were homeless after 8000 towns and villages were completely flattened. It was an anxious time for Gujaratis here in the east Midlands. Many had friends and relatives in the state. The Leicester based organisation Sewa International raised more than 2 million pounds to help victims of the quake. But the human rights group South Asia Watch says some of the money was used to help extremists groups in India.

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A report released today by a UK-based campaign group has alleged that charities registered in the UK have played a key role in funding hardline Hindu groups which were allegedly responsible for sectarian violence in India.

Titled 'In Bad Faith? British Charity and Hindu Extremism,' the report is produced by Awaaz - South Asia Watch, a foundation set up last year comprising of British Indian academics and lawyers.

The charities, which the report said misled donors about their ideologies, include Sewa International UK (a Britain-based one). It alleged that they were the funding arm of the Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh, a UK-registered charity that is the British branch of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

The report alleges that such charities raised millions of pounds, sometimes by organising multi-cultural events that included British Muslim donors. The funded activities, it alleged, were directly linked to the violent persecution of religious minorities in India. The report also focuses on the Kalyan Ashram Trust, said to be the UK branch of an RSS offshoot, that allegedly indoctrinates Indian tribal groups with Hindu nationalist ideology. It says that money raised in the UK for the victims of disasters in India was devoted to sectarian projects, many of which can be directly linked to subsequent violence.

"Both the Orissa cyclone and the Gujarat earthquake appeals demonstrate a pattern in which a national tragedy is used to enable the dramatic expansion of RSS institutions, in the afflicted regions. Their [the UK charities'] main purpose is to channel funds to ... organisations repeatedly singled out for hatred, intolerance and violence in India," the report said.

It claims that most of the £2 million raised by the Sewa International for the Gujarat earthquake victims was spent on RSS schools. Although the Sewa International website said most of the rest was spent on rebuilding villages, but the report claims other organisations did most of the rebuilding work while RSS affiliates focused on sectarian projects such as rebuilding Hindu temples - but not mosques - destroyed in the earthquake.

The Awaaz report has photographs of plaques put up in villages in which the RSS claims full credit for the work. The Sewa, however, has continuously denied any links to the RSS, but Sewa's UK address is the same as that of the RSS in the city of Leicester, the report alleges.

The report notes that a chunk of Sewa funds were sent to RSS groups in India. "Sewa International UK knew exactly what it was doing and how it supported the aims and agenda of the RSS."

The report claims that donors could not have known how their money would be spent. It has called on the UK's Charity Commission to remove the charitable status of the HSS, the VHP (UK) and the Kalyan Ashram Trust. The Commission is already investigating the status of these charities.

A report in The Financial Times claims that last year officials at the Charity Commission were denied entry visas to carry out research in India.

The 80-page Awaaz report was put together by researchers who visited villages in Gujarat that Sewa International had listed as having been reconstructed with the money it had raised in the UK. None of the authors of the report are believed to be Muslim or Christian. The release of the report coincides with the second anniversary, on Friday, of the Gujarat riots in 2002.

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A right wing Hindu organisation in India has strongly denied allegations that it misused money raised from charities in the UK.

The denial follows allegations by a British campaign group that activists loyal to the Rashtriya Swayemsevak Sangh (RSS) siphoned off relief money. An RSS spokesman described the allegations as false and baseless. The RRS and other groups are accused of being involved or implicated in violence or hatred against minorities.

'Untruths'

The report, released by the group Awaaz - South Asia Watch, said big donations from members of the public in Britain ended up in the hands of groups such as the RSS.

An RSS spokesman, Ram Madhav, told the BBC that the report was full of untruths and was prepared with the sole aim of misguiding people. Mr Madhav said the money raised for disaster relief was spent on reconstructing villages and schools in the earthquake affected areas the western state of Gujarat and was not siphoned off for any other activity.

The RSS (National Volunteers Corps) is a body which provides ideological backing to several hardline Hindu organisations as well as India's ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party. It aims to turn secular India into a Hindu nation - its critics say its hardline ideology is based on intolerance towards the country's minorities. Much of the money in question was raised as part of wider humanitarian appeals.

'Inappropriate'

Allegations of this sort have been raised before and are currently being investigated by the British government body that regulates charities.

Another of the British organisations accused by Awaaz, Sewa International, said it would be inappropriate to respond to the report while that investigation was taking place. However, Sewa International's sister organisation in India, Sewa Bharati, has also strongly denied that any money it has received has been used for Hindu nationalist activity.

The release of the Awaaz report has been timed to coincide with the second anniversary, on Friday, of the widespread sectarian killings in the Indian state of Gujarat in 2002. More than 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, died in the riots that followed the killing of nearly 60 Hindus on board a train, allegedly by a Muslim mob. Some estimates, however, have placed the numbers of those killed at about 2,000.

Charities registered in the UK have played a key role in funding Hindu extremists responsible for sectarian violence in India, alleges a report to be released in London today.

The report, In Bad Faith? British Charity and Hindu Extremism, echoes findings in the US last year in which US-registered tax-exempt organisations were shown to be funnelling money to groups that allegedly planned the massacre of up to 2,000 Muslims in the state of Gujarat in 2002.

Produced by Awaaz, a UK-based foundation set up last year by British Indian academics and lawyers, the report details claims that UK-registered charities misled donors about their underlying ideology. It says they raised millions of pounds - sometimes by organising multicultural events that included British Muslim donors - that funded activities directly linked to the violent persecution of religious minorities in India.

The groups include Sewa International UK, said to be the funding arm of the Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh, a UK-registered charity that is the British branch of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (Organisation of National Volunteers), India's largest Hindu radical group.

The RSS is the parent body of a network of Hindu radical groups, including India's ruling Hindu nationalist BJP. The report also focuses on the Kalyan Ashram Trust, the UK branch of an RSS offshoot that allegedly indoctrinates Indian tribal groups with Hindu nationalist ideology.

The research sets out detailed claims that money raised in the UK for the victims of disasters in India was devoted to explicitly sectarian projects, many of which can be directly linked to subsequent violence. In particular, funds raised for victims of the Gujarat earthquake in 2001 and the Orissa cyclone in 1999 were spent on setting up schools to indoctrinate locals in Hindu nationalist ideology, it alleges.

"Both the Orissa cyclone and the Gujarat earthquake appeals demonstrate a pattern in which a national tragedy is used to enable the dramatic expansion of RSS institutions, in the afflicted regions," it says. "Their [the UK charities'] main purpose is to channel funds to ... organisations repeatedly singled out for hatred, intolerance and violence in India."

For example, much of the £2m ($3.75m, €3m) Sewa International raised for victims of the Gujarat earthquake was spent on RSS schools, which allegedly teach pupils that Christianity and Islam are anti-Indian. Sewa International's website said most of the rest was spent on rebuilding villages. But the Awaaz report claims other organisations did most of the rebuilding work while RSS affiliates focused on sectarian projects such as rebuilding Hindu temples - but not mosques - destroyed in the earthquake.

In one village of 164 households, the only four Muslim families appeared deliberately to have been excluded from the reconstruction carried out for the other families. The report also shows photographs of plaques erected in the villages in which the RSS claims full credit for the work.

Sewa denies any links to the RSS, which itself claims to be a purely cultural body. But Sewa's UK address is the same as that of the RSS in the city of Leicester. The report demonstrates that almost all Sewa's funds were forwarded to RSS groups in India. "Sewa International UK knew exactly what it was doing and how it supported the aims and agenda of the RSS."

A spokesman for the RSS in New Delhi refused to comment on the allegations, as did Sewa International and its parent body in India. But Ashok Chowgule, a senior member of the VHP (World Council of Hindu Churches), a prominent affiliate of the RSS, said: "We deny all of the allegations. We do genuine social work for the downtrodden. It is not the Hindu way to discriminate against people."

The report, which says the donors could not have known how their money would be spent, calls on the UK's Charity Commission to remove the charitable status of the HSS, the VHP (UK) and the Kalyan Ashram Trust.

The commission is already investigating the status of these charities and is expected to reach a judgment soon.

Last year officials at the Charity Commission were denied entry visas to carry out research in India.

None of the leading authors of the Awaaz report is Muslim or Christian. Researchers of the 80-page report visited villages in Gujarat that Sewa International had listed as having been reconstructed with the money it had raised in the UK. Most of the Gujarat earthquake funds - by Sewa's own breakdown - were channelled to Sewa Bharati (Service to India), which openly acknowledges that it is part of the "RSS family".

A number of independent bodies, including the New York-based Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and India's Human Rights Commission, a state-appointed body, have alleged that RSS educational projects among tribal and lower caste groups in Gujarat played a critical role in fomenting the riots in 2002. www.awaazsaw.org

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LONDON, FEB 26 (PTI) "Massive donations" raised by "activists of RSS" in Britain for earthquake relief in Gujarat were sent to certain "extremist groups" involved or directly implicated in large-scale violence in the state two years back, a London-based campaign group alleged today.

"Activists of the RSS have been raising funds in the name of charity for natural disasters like earthquakes, and giving them to extremist organisations that preach hatred against Muslims and Christians," Awaz - South Asia Watch Ltd - claimed in a report entitled 'In Bad Faith? British Charity and Hindu Extremism'.

The report was released in the corridors of the House of Lords on the eve of the second anniversary of the Godhra carnage.

It alleged that 'Sewa International' sent million pounds to its Indian counterpart Sewa Bharati, a front of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), for relief of earthquake victims.

"Money from the UK was given to RSS front organisations that are involved or implicated in serious violence or hate politics in India. Much of the money was spent on schools that promote hatred and fanaticism," the report said, according to a press release issued by Awaaz.

Asked to comment on the report, a spokesman of Sewa International said it would be inappropriate to respond to it while the allegation was being investigated by the British government body that regulates charities.

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MUMBAI, FEB. 25. Thousands of pounds raised by a charity based in the United Kingdom have been used to further the aims of the Rashtriya Swamyamsevak Sangh in India, says an 80-page report prepared by the London-based Awaaz-South Asia Watch Ltd.

The report will be released tomorrow at the House of Lords in London, on the eve of the second anniversary of the Gujarat carnage that began with the Godhra train fire on February 27, 2002.

"In Bad Faith? British Charity and Hindu Extremism" tracks how millions of pounds collected by Sewa International U.K. (SIUK), ostensibly for welfare, education and development projects in India, have been used to promote the objectives of the RSS. SIUK is the fund-raising arm of the Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh, the U.K. branch of the RSS. It was established in 1991 and one of its largest fund raising projects was after the Gujarat earthquake in 2001. According to the report, 4.3 million pounds were raised from the British public. The main recipient of the funds in India was Sewa Bharati, an RSS affiliate established in 1979. It runs a network of RSS service project in India, states the report, and some of these overlap with Vidya Bharati, the RSS education and schools network and the Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram that works in tribal areas and is accused of involvement in sectarian violence.

While raising funds for the Gujarat earthquake, SIUK claimed that the money would be used for a humanitarian cause. The Awaaz report states that most donors would not have known that SIUK was not a registered charity but was using the charity registration number of the HSS.

Analysing the use of the funds raised in the U.K., the report points out that even though SIUK gave the funds to Sewa Bharati, it did not reveal that the latter was an RSS affiliate. Although SIUK claimed that it had totally funded the reconstruction of ten villages in the earthquake-affected areas of Gujarat, Awaaz found that Sewa Bharati only acknowledged using the funds for six villages. It also found that 31 per cent of the funds "raised in the U.K. in the name of earthquake rehabilitation and reconstruction," roughly half a million pounds, were used by Sewa Bharati for two school projects.

Awaaz has called on the Charity Commissioner in the U.K. to withdraw charity status to the HSS, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad U.K. and Kalyan Ashram Trust because of their link to the Sangh Parivar in India. It argues that it is not looking at the financial reporting procedures of these organisations, or whether their activities in India have benefited individuals. The report, Awaaz states, shows that "the main purpose of the SIUK is to raise funds in the U.K. for RSS projects in India" and that the "bulk of SIUK efforts are directed to the principal aim of furthering the extremist RSS's goals." Awaaz adds, "It is ironic that the sangh parivar have attacked foreign funding of minority groups when they themselves use such funding to expand their own influence."

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A report to be released in the House of Lords in London today provides alarming evidence linking UK-based charities to Sangh Parivar groups in India.

The report, “In Bad Faith? British Charity and Hindu Extremism,” produced by Awaaz, a London-based secular network, states that these charities collected donations running into millions of pounds from the British public under the guise of humanitarian causes. Most prominent among these were relief efforts to aid victims of the Orissa cyclone and the Gujarat earthquake.

“We do not think it is a coincidence that the two Indian states where Hindutva networks, violence and hatred have grown phenomenally in recent years both had natural and human tragedies, followed by massive funding to Hindutva organisations from overseas,” the report says.

The document explains in detail how the UK based Sewa International sent £2 million raised for Gujarat earthquake relief to its Indian counterpart, Sewa Bharati. Part of the Sangh Parivar, Sewa Bharati has a well-documented agenda of expanding Hindutva networks in India.

Much of the funds collected in the name of humanitarian causes were spent on schools run by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh that “indoctrinate children into Hindutva and promote anti-minority hatred,” the report says.

“Most donors would be horrified if they knew the nature, history and ideas of the RSS,” Mr Suresh Grover, one of the directors of Awaaz, said in a telephonic interview from London.

Awaaz’s report exposes links of the Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (HSS), Sewa International and the Kalyan Ashram Trust to Sangh Parivar sponsored violence in India. “We cannot say that pounds collected here were used to buy guns in India, but we can say with confidence that the money was used to build hatred against a minority,” said Mr Grover. There are close a million people of Indian origin living in the UK.

“Many in the Indo-British community donated funds in good faith on Sewa International’s Gujarat earthquake appeals, but would not have done so had they known that the organisation was linked to the RSS,” Mr Grover said.

The association of prominent British personalities with these organisations was one of the factors that contributed to a sense of complacency amongst donors. Lord Adam Patel, a member of the House of Lords and a patron of Sewa International, resigned from his latter affiliation last year after learning of the group’s links to the Sangh Parivar.

Though not registered as a charity in the UK, Sewa International is the fund-raising arm of the registered charity HSS, the UK branch of the RSS. “It uses the charity registration number of the HSS to raise funds from British people,” the report says. Funds raised by Sewa International run into millions of pounds. The bulk of this money has allegedly been channelled to RSS front organisations in India.

The authors of the report have asked the Charity Commissioner to withdraw charity status of the HSS (UK), the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, UK, and the Kalyan Ashram Trust.

The London-based Charity Commission is already investigating the HSS and Sewa International. “There are some very serious allegations... We are looking into potential links between the charity and extremist organisations in India and alleged payments to these groups by the charity,” a spokesperson for the commission said. “We are looking at the relationship between the HSS and Sewa International, and also the administration of the funds that were collected for the Gujarat Earthquake Appeal,” she added.

The commission’s inquiry has been spurred by allegations that funds collected by Sewa International were sent to Sewa Bharti, a group linked to communal violence in India. The Madhya Pradesh government revoked Sewa Bharti’s licence because of its alleged involvement in violence against christians.

In the case of Vishwa Hindu Parishad, the commission is in the process of “gathering and evaluating information.”

Rebecca Draka, another spokesperson for the Charity Commission, said it was “waiting for the trustees of the charity to supply us with more information, which is taking a long time because they are obtaining this information from India.” She said the Government of India had “refused” the commission’s visa application, but added: “We have contacted them to ask them to reconsider their decision and are awaiting a response.”

Sewa International (UK) became a high profile fund-raising organisation after the Gujarat earthquake. It raised around £2.3 million for its India “quake appeal from the British public.

Mr Grover cited the funding of RSS schools by Sewa International (UK) as a key example of the financing of hatred in India. Some funds for earthquake reconstruction were also channeled to the RSS’s Lok Kalyan Samiti in Chanasma village, which has been implicated in the violent “cleansing” of all Muslims from the village.

Another RSS project, Jankalyan Samiti, was a recipient of Sewa International (UK) earthquake funds. The Jankalyan Samiti’s Maharashtra branch has been involved in violence against Christians and Christian organizations.

The report makes a pointed reference of the fact that despite these charities repeated claims to be non-sectarian and non-discriminatory, Sewa International, the HSS and the VHP did not launch any humanitarian appeal following the Gujarat violence in 2002.

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Feb. 25: The birth of the saffron pound in Britain has been highlighted as the indirect funding source of religious extremism in India.

A report released on the second anniversary of the post-Godhra riots in Gujarat reveals the unsavoury links between prominent fundraising organisations in the UK and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. The report “In Bad Faith: British Charity and Hindu Extremism," to be released at the House of Lords here on Thursday, uses site visits to Gujarat, interviews and documentary and photographic evidence to prove that under the cloak of humanitarian charity following the Gujarat earthquake, massive donations from the British public were sent to Hindu extremist groups directly implicated in a large-scale campaign of violence and hatred in India.

The report claims that much of the money was spent on building RSS schools that indoctrinate children into Hindutva and promote anti-minority hatred. It claims that the money from the UK was also given to other Sangh Parivar outfits, like Vanvasi Kalyan.

Sewa International, the fundraising arm of the Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh UK, sent £2 million to its Indian counterpart Sewa Bharati, a front for the RSS, as part of its quake relief fund to Gujarat. Nearly a quarter of those funds were spent on RSS schools that promote fanaticism and large sums went to RSS front organisations, says Chetan Bhatt of Awaaz, the UK-based organisation behind this report.

The activities of the HSS and Sewa International have been under investigation since 2000 when the UK’s Charity Commission launched an inquiry into the charity’s alleged links with proscribed organisations. The commission staff sought Indian visas last year to ascertain how the charitable funds collected for quake relief in Gujarat had been applied, but the officials were denied entry by the Indian government.

“The main aim of our inquiry has been to confirm that the charitable funds raised by HSS have been applied properly. In the course of the investigation, we have looked at the charity’s connection with the international organisation Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, which was previously proscribed by the Indian government. We have received some documentary evidence. However, we are now waiting for further information from the trustees,” a spokesperson for the Charity Commission told The Asian Age.

The report claims that the funds were collected by the Leicester-based registered charity HSS, and its fund-raising arm Sewa International. The report states that the HSS and Sewa International are UK branches of the RSS and the main purpose of their fundraising is to channel money to RSS fronts in India “despite their claim to be non-sectarian, non-religious, non-political and purely humanitarian organisations.”

Awaaz hopes this new report will further the commission’s inquiry and eventually lead to revoking HSS’ charity status and put an end to corporate funding and political patronage for the group. The HSS, a registered charity, is a branch of the Indian RSS and is modelled on the RSS, actively promotes RSS ideology and shares the RSS’ aim of turning India into an exclusive Hindu nation. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad UK and the Kalyan Ashram Trust UK, also registered charities, are other branches of the RSS family operating in the UK, the report claims.

The chain links unsuspecting British donors to the active political promotion and glorification of the RSS. It is claimed that in most cases these links are not made known to the donors in Britain and British peer Lord Adam Patel, a Muslim from Gujarat, resigned as a patron of Sewa International’s quake effort when these links were exposed.

“Most British donors would be horrified if they knew the nature, history and ideas of the RSS. British individuals raised funds and donated in good faith to Sewa International’s Gujarat Earthquake appeals, but would not have done so had they known that the organisations raising the money were closely linked to the Fascist-inspired and extremist RSS,” claims Awaaz.

The charity, however, denies any attempt at a cover-up or funding violence. “All our leaflets clearly state our links with Sangh Parivar and there has never been any attempt to fool the public. The entire sum collected for earthquake relief went towards charitable purposes and not a penny was spent on funding any hate campaign,” Mr Shantilal Mistry, president of Sewa International UK, told The Asian Age.

There are also accusations of fudging facts and figures where Sewa International claimed to fund the reconstruction of 10 to 25 villages, but only six villages were found in which Sewa International funds were used for reconstruction and rehabilitation.

A key pattern found was that Sewa International funded Sewa Bharati for rebuilding work but it was the RSS that conducted the foundation stone-laying or village handover ceremonies. One rebuilt village (Chapredi) included an important dedication plaque glorifying the RSS, its founder and a key RSS affiliate. The organisation’s supreme leader, K.S. Sudarshan, undertook the foundation stone-laying ceremony for Mithapasvaria, the report claims as evidence of the link between these organisations.

Awaaz claims that it is no coincidence that the Orissa cyclone and Gujarat earthquake, which saw a dramatic increase in overseas funds, was also the phase of dramatic expansion for extremist groups. “Our report vindicates the findings that the US-based India Development and Relief Fund was a front for pumping millions of dollars to the Hindu hate outfits in India. The funds involved in Britain are at a much higher scale and these are all being ploughed into garnering votes for the BJP, expanding the RSS network and grooming the next generation of Hindutva activists,” claims Mr Bhatt.

“Sewa International has tried to dupe politicians, donors and the general public. Its main purpose is to fund, expand and glorify hate-driven RSS organisations, several of which have been at the forefront of largescale violence, pogroms or hate campaigns in India. It’s claim to be a non-sectarian, non-political, non-religious humanitarian charity is a sham,” said Awaaz spokesman Suresh Grover.