284 U.S./South Asian Academics Call for
Halt to IDRF Funding
The pernicious effect of long-distance
nationalism is the subject of a recent petition signed by
over two-hundred and fifty South Asian faculty and South Asian
studies professors from some of the top universities in the
US. The petition asks US-based corporations to stop funding
the India Development Relief Fund (IDRF), a popular US-based
charity that has been funding organizations in India linked
to hate and violence against minority communities.
A recent report entitled "The Foreign
Exchange of Hate" reveals that the IDRF channels 80 percent
of its funds to sectarian activities in India, although it
claims to make donations to groups irrespective of caste,
creed or religion. The IDRF has denied involvement in Hindu
nationalist organizations, however, the report systematically
documents the IDRF's connections to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak
Sangh (RSS), the parent organization of the Hindu nationalist
movement in India. This is documented through IDRF's own published
materials and web-site links (For more information, go to:
http://www.stopfundinghate.org).
Companies like Cisco, Sun and Oracle provide
matching funds to IDRF to encourage charitable contributions
from their employees, while others such as PayPal and the
National Scrip Center allow IDRF the use of their services
for its fundraising activities. In the year 2000 alone, the
IDRF raised 3.8 million in the United States. The majority
of these funds did not go to secular organizations, but to
sectarian charities linked with the Sangh Parivar family of
nationalist organizations.These organizations have widely
been held responsible for the recent violence against Muslims
in Gujarat that has claimed as many as two thousand lives,
according to independent human rights reports (see http://www.onlinevolunteers.org
for details).
As Yale Professor Arjun Appadurai, the
William K. Lanman Jr. Professor of International Studies and
the Director of the Initiatives on Cities and Globalization
, states:
"Long-distance nationalism should not
be the alibi for any form of violence against minorities in
India and major corporate funders in the United States must
be as accountable to democratic values, secularism, inclusion
and social responsibility overseas, as they aspire to be in
their workplaces and communities in the United States. The
evidence on which this petition is based meets the highest
academic standards and demands the attention of anyone who
believes in responsible globalization, democratic pluralism
and informed advocacy. The safety and dignity of India's minorities
cannot be further endangered by misinformed philanthropy in
the United States."
According to petition organizers, the
fact that some IDRF sponsored charities focus on "tribal re-education"
in areas that witnessed violence against Christian and Muslim
populations casts serious doubt upon the kind of education
offered by these charities. They find it unreasonable to expect
the IDRF to separate itself from the overall program of hatred
and sectarian religious violence propagated by the Hindu nationalist
organizations like the Sangh Parivar.
Says Professor Gauri Viswanathan, the
Director of the Southern Asia Institute at Columbia University
"Few NRI (non-resident Indian) donors may be sufficiently
aware that money they contribute for relief and rehabilitation
measures actually ends up supporting RSS activities. It is
truly shocking to learn from the report how well-meaning charity
has been diverted to serve narrow, sectarian, ideological
goals."
Paola Baccheta, an Associate Professor
of Women's Studies at UC Berkeley and the author of a book
on women in the Hindu nationalst movement, concurs:
Many conscientious people desiring to
give to legitimate charities have been misled into contributing
to Hindu sectarian organizations via the IDRF. The Hindu sectarian
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) founded many of the organizations
on the IDRF recipient list as part of the RSS' own network.
Some of these date from the 1950s, such as the Vanavasi Kalyan
Ashrams and Vidhya Bharatis. Others, such as Hindu Seva Pratishthana,
which trains full-time RSS workers, began in the 1980s. Still
other organizations on the list bear the names of notorious
RSS leaders Dr. Keshav Baliram Hedgevar (RSS founder and first
Supreme Leader from 1925-1940) and Bhaurao Deoras (a long
time RSS officer and brother of the third RSS Supreme Leader,
Balasaheb Deoras,1973-1992). The Devi Ahilyabai Smarak Samithi,
also on the list, is run by the RSS women's wing, the Rashtra
Sevika Samiti.
The list of faculty signatories includes
several scientists and engineers, professors who hold endowed
chairs, as well as leading South Asian Area Studies scholars
in the U.S-economists, political scientists, anthropologists,
sociologists, philosophers, historians, professors of religion,
and professors of literature-who are concerned with the growth
of the Hindu fundamentalist movement in India and its increasing
use of violence to achieve its ends.
The faculty signatories believe that it
is important to let the "business community and South Asian
community at large know that those of us in universities who
are entrusted with educating South Asian youth do not support
the violent sectarian activities of the Sangh Parivar." Physics
and Astronomy Professor Sumit Das from the University of Kentucky
concludes "it is alarming to see that organizations like this
use the money donated by well meaning persons in activities
which directly or indirectly support communal outfits."
Press Contacts:
1. Sumit Guha, St. Purandara Das Distinguished
Professor of History, Brown University; 401-863-3405; 401-863-1040
(fax).
2. Paola Bacchetta, Associate Professor
of Women's Studies, UC Berkeley and Visiting Fellow, Women's
Studies in Religion Program, Harvard Divinity School; 617-494-8336;
(617)493-2978
