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‘RSS groups pocketed quake aid’

By Vijay Dutt
Hindustan Times, London, 26 February original

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.