US CHARITY ADMITS FINANCING HINDU MILITANTS

By Subuhi Jiwani

World War 3 Report, March 10, 2003 original

In yet another exchange of rejoinders between the Campaign to Stop Funding Hate and the India Development and Relief Fund (IDRF), the IDRF released a detailed report recently entitled "A Factual Response to the Hate Attack on the India Development and Relief Fund" to counteract "The Foreign Exchange of Hate"--Stop Funding Hate's report detailing IDRF's funding of sectarian violence in India.

In a March 3 press release, Stop Funding Hate stated that the IDRF admitted to being a part of the Sangh in its report. "Having acknowledged that the IDRF is indeed part of the Sangh, the report sidesteps all charges of Sangh's documented role in violence against minorities, and its orchestration of communal violence, such as the Gujarat carnage of a year ago."

In its report, IDRF praises the RSS for its "peerless record over the decades in providing timely, selfless and courageous disaster relief work," (http://www.idrf.org/foireport) and claims what Stop Funding Hate has called "independence" from the militant activities of the Sangh Parivar.

The IDRF has spent the last three months denying Stop Funding Hate's charges and the latest denial is that there is nothing which legally binds the IDRF to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a Hindu militant group. IDRF states openly that it funds trusts that finance the RSS. Says Stop Funding Hate: "It would be impossible to have a legal link with the RSS since the RSS is not a legal entity: No registration under the law of any country. No membership rolls, and no publicly audited statements."

This ideological battle occurring through finely tuned reports and media discussions has resulted in the filing of a formal inquiry by the Justice Department into Stop Funding Hate's claims. As of March 10, 2003 at 14:30hrs EST, Stop Funding Hate's petition to US corporations contained 2930 signatures, while IDRF's Let India Develop, 7626.

On the US probe into Indian charities funding Hindu extremist violence in India, Smita Narula, South Asia researcher at Human Rights Watch told Financial Times, "It will prove to be an uphill battle for the US to properly investigate and scrutinize these organizations because of their links to the India's ruling party, the BJP. The US needs India as an ally right now." (Financial Times, Feb 14, 2003; Stop Funding Hate; India Development and Relief Fund) (Subuhi Jiwani)