In reviewing the myriad of organizations that are now collecting for the Tsunami relief, I wondered (a bit cynically) how many stories we will come to hear about scam organizations that will use this tragedy just to fleece generous donors. Another concern I had (which may be shared by other readers) is the “baggage” that is sometimes included with your donation, when giving to certain groups. A friend pointed me to www.stopfundinghate.org which points out that donations to some religious organizations in India may be funding communal violence and Hindu Nationalism in addition to providing the help promised.
Are the charity dollars generously provided by American companies, including some of our leading corporate citizens of the high technology world, being used to fund violent, sectarian groups in India? The Campaign to Stop Funding Hate (SFH) launched Project Saffron Dollar in November 2002, to bring an end to the electronic collection and transfer of funds from the US to organizations that spread sectarian hatred in India.
The Campaign to Stop Funding Hate (SFH) is a coalition of people-professionals, students, workers, artists and intellectuals-who share a common concern that sectarian hatreds in India are being fueled by money flowing from the United States. SFH is committed to an India that is open, tolerant and democratic. As the first step, SFH is determined to turn off the money flow from the United States to Hindutva hate groups responsible for recurring anti-minority violence in India.
This is not something that only affects individuals but large and small companies as well.
Many large US corporations such as CISCO, Sun, Oracle, HP and AOL Time Warner match employee contributions to US based non profits. “Annual Giving” programs normally happen once a year in late Fall-timed to occur between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Unsuspecting corporations end up giving large amounts of money as matching funds to IDRF [India Development and Relief Fund] as employees of these firms direct funds to IDRF. For instance, in fiscal 1999, Cisco Foundation gave almost $70,000 to IDRF – placing IDRF among the top 5 of Cisco grantees. In comparison, a well-regarded mainstream institution like the Nobel Peace Prize winning Doctors Without Borders received only $2,560. Also, other Indian-American development organizations such as Asha ($1,417), CRY-Child Relief and You ($4,427) or the Maharashtra Foundation ($2,000) all fared much worse than IDRF. Clearly, at least among Cisco employees, the IDRF has come to occupy much of the giving space. When you add Cisco’s matching grants to the original amounts given by its employees, a total of at least $133,000 went through Cisco to IDRF in 1999-2000-this is more than 5% of IDRF’s total cash collections for the same time period.
Just to clarify, this website and campaign existed long before the Tsunami, and nothing on it pertains directly to the current crisis, but I thought it would serve to remind readers that even though they should definitely GIVE, they should be thoughtful about it.
Abhi:
This sort of concern runs both ways, of course. Some hesistate to support NGO’s which (allegedly) have a left-wing agenda. FWIW, I found a defense of the IDRF at http://www.letindiadevelop.org/thereport/
I should add that I haven’t had the time to go through the reports–pro & con–about this org., so I’ll comment further only after/when I have the chance to weigh the reports.
Kumar
Are there any websites which talk about funds being diverted to communist organizations like Asha or AID ? For example AID uses DYFI for some of its activities. If you go to DYFI website they say that they are for a militant solution to bring socialism to India.
Also note that the IDRF report is by Sabrang Communications which showed the map of India with Jammu and Kashmir and Hyderabad as part of Pakistan.
You should be careful of the agenda of the website as well.
This is shit. Simply shit. When was the last time that anyone lifted a finger to stop Whabbis from bringing money to finish the Indian “unfinizhed business”?
And AID India directs its money to DYFI and SFI – both members of the Communist Parivar
http://www.varnam.org/blog/archives/2005/01/removing_the_co.html
PLEASE DISTRIBUTE WIDELY
GIVE WELL, GIVE WISELY! CSFH Urges Responsible Giving in the Wake of Tsunami Tragedy
Friends,
It is time to give and give generously. As the death toll climbs past 150,000 and the world comes to grips with the devastation caused by the deadly Indian Ocean tsunamis, numerous organizations across Asia are stepping up to organize relief and rehabilitation. We at the Campaign to Stop Funding Hate (CSFH) urge all individuals in the U.S. and elsewhere to support them by donating generously.
However, our responsibility does not end with giving. It is also our combined responsibility to ensure that our funds do not end up in sectarian hands, and that this tragedy does not turn into another opportunity for communal groups to gain foothold in our plural society.
KEEPING ACCOUNTABILITY, SOCIAL JUSTICE ON THE AGENDA
The response to the tsunami tragedy in the US has been heartening, with hundreds of dedicated volunteers making enormous effort to raise resources for relief operations in India and elsewhere. Many of these groups have a long history of carrying out grass-roots, non-sectarian development work in India, and have been able to effectively mobilize their networks at this time to administer relief. They can be counted upon for working closely with affected communities in a transparent and accountable manner. The immense loss of life in Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Thailand, makes it incumbent on us to consider giving to our suffering Asian neighbors, either through transnational organizations or through informal networks of local community-based organizations. (See below for a partial list of such organizations).
Many of us are also members of a variety of linguistic, regional and cultural associations. Because of their social and cultural affinities, such organizations are well equipped to intervene in on the ground activities. Precisely because of these reasons, sectarian groups try to use them as vehicles to advance their own agendas. We therefore urge you all to not only take an active part in the fund raising activities of these organizations but also be involved in discussions on how and where the funds are to be used. Disasters of this kind are occasions when we should be on high alert to keep social justice at the top of the agenda.
STAY CLEAR OF SECTARIAN GROUPS SUCH AS IDRF, HSS, SEWA INTERNATIONAL AND VHPA
Please remember the lessons of past natural calamities: Latur earthquake in 1993, Orissa cyclone in 1999 and the massive earthquake that shook Gujarat in 2001. Sectarian groups in the guise of non profits have swooped in on these areas engulfed in tragedy (funded in large part by unsuspecting donors in the US) and established their presence in the grief-stricken communities on the pretext of providing relief. Not only did this lead to unequal disbursement of relief among various communities, but it also caused further fracturing of these struggling communities along lines of caste and religion.
This time too, the India Development and Relief Fund (IDRF), Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (HSS), Sewa International and Vishwa Hindu Parishad-America (VHPA) have all put out appeals for Tsunami relief. CSFH has done extensive research on these groups and traced their linkages to the parent organization in India: the violent and anti-minority Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). (See http://www.stopfundinghate.org for details.) Affiliates of this organization have been implicated by numerous national and international human rights groups as having engineered the anti-Muslim Gujarat pogroms in 2002 and the anti-Christian violence in 1998-2000. RSS itself is a secretive organization, openly sectarian in its operations, and is not legally permitted by the Government of India to accept funds from abroad; consequently, its US affiliates (IDRF, HSS etc.) are raising funds for organizations like Sewa Bharati, Jana Sankshema Samiti and Vivekananda Kendra in India, all of which are intrinsic parts of RSS operations in India and follow its divisive ideology.
We urge everyone to make the responsible choice in favor of supporting secular groups with a long-standing commitment to the pluralistic ethos and democratic ideals of India. On our part, we are following up on our work of the past several years some of which is documented at http://www.stopfundinghate.org . We will be happy to assist you with any information and would really appreciate it if you will alert us to the debates and discussions that you are involved in by emailing us at info@stopfundinghate.org
We are building a FAQ to be posted on our site and it will be helpful to know the kinds of questions being raised. Meanwhile, please feel free to use the list below as a starting point to identify the kind of organizations that are worthy of support.
Thank you CSFH (http://www.stopfundinghate.org)
A partial list of non-sectarian, grassroots groups involved in relief operations:
AID – Association for India’s Development http://www.aidindia.org/CMS/
American India Foundation http://www.aifoundation.org/
Asha For Education http://www.ashanet.org/
India Literacy Project http://www.ilpnet.org/news/Tsunami/index.html
India Relief and Education Fund http://iref.homestead.com/
Indians for Collective Action http://www.icaonline.org/
Pratham http://www.prathamusa.org/
Singh Foundation http://singhfoundation.org
Vibha http://www.vibha.org/emergencyrelief/
These groups are partnering with various mass-based organizations and NGOs in India, such as the Tamil Nadu Science Forum, the National Fishworkers Forum, Vidyarambam, APVVU (agricultural workers’ union in AP), People’s Watch, Bharathi Trust and Bhoomika Trust.
Among international organizations, Doctors Without Borders is reputed to be the most committed and experienced with meeting disasters with professional expertise. http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org
The International Red Cross has country specific operations which may be accessed and supported through the following links:
Sri Lanka: http://www.icrc.org/Web/Eng/siteeng0.nsf/html/sri_lanka!Open Indonesia: http://www.icrc.org/Web/Eng/siteeng0.nsf/html/indonesia!Open Thailand: http://www.icrc.org/Web/Eng/siteeng0.nsf/html/thailand!Open
Additionally, we urge you to also spread the word about the Red Cross’s ‘Family Links’ initiative which helps locate separated family members throughout the affected region. You can find out more about this from http://www.icrc.org/home.nsf/home/webfamilylinks
Another thing I like to know is: what exactly is the money being used for, and how soon? I haven’t done an exhaustive search, but here is some info on a few aid organizations that seem like good places to give to.
Yamini
DIRECT RELIEF INTERNATIONAL 27 South La Patera Lane Santa Barbara, Calif. 93117 805-964-4767 http://www.directrelief.org
This organization is joining with New York-based American Jewish World Service to assist Indian nongovernmental organizations in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh (also badly hit). They are sending a $1 million shipment of bedding, antibiotics, antiparasitics, analgesics, oral rehydration solution, adult, children’s and infant multivitamins, and first aid, surgical, and orthopedic supplies (gauze, tape, dressings, orthopedic soft goods, IV administration kits, dressing change trays, antiseptics, gloves, irrigation syringes, etc.) to Tamil Nadu. The Indian partner NGOs are already on the scene, providing food, water and doctors. As another commenter pointed out, a Forbes survey of charities found this one to be very efficient, using a large % of donations for the stated purpose with few overheads. To donate, go to https://www.directrelief.org/sections/support_us/d_donate_now.html and specify that the money is for tsunami relief.
DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS P.O. Box 1856 Merrifield, Va. 22116-8056 888-392-0392 http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org Has sent doctors and medical supplies to Sri Lanka and Indonesia. More than 40 tons of supplies including medicine, water, food and sanitation materials has arrived in Indonesia. There are teams assessing the situation in India, Malaysia, Myanmar and Thailand.
SAVE THE CHILDREN Asia Earthquake/Tidal Wave Relief Fund 54 Wilton Road Westport, Conn. 06880 800-728-3843 http://www.savethechildren.org Providing food, shelter, clothing, medical aid and trauma counseling in India, Sri Lanka and Indonesia.
CATHOLIC RELIEF SERVICES Tsunami Emergency P.O. Box 17090 Baltimore, Md. 21203-7090 800-736-3467 http://www.catholicrelief.org Has longstanding offices in South Asia, so has been able to provide help instantly. Shelters housing 125,000 people have opened in India. Sri Lanka is getting $1 million worth of cooking kits, fuel cans and soap. In Indonesia, the first supplies should reach the battered coast by the weekend (NYT).
Here is something I found
A Factual Response to the Hate Attack on the India Development and Relief Fund (IDRF)
http://www.letindiadevelop.org/thereport/
Of note, Doctors Without Borders has annoucned that they’ve currently received enough funding for SE Asia relief, in the interest of full disclosure. I still think they’re worth your donation, though.
JK: A couple of things 1. First, it’s the first time I’ve heard Asha being called a communist organization. 2. AID answers questions about its DYFI tie-up on their FAQ. Here’s an excerpt:
Firstly, note that DYFI does not receive any funds either from AID or AID-India. It is one of the youth organizations whose volunteers are involved in the relief work. Secondly, as described above, AID-India is working with a variety of groups on the ground, and our approach is described in the report from AID Jeevansaathi Dr. Balaji Sampath. “At this point I would like to add that the enormity of the problem is so much that one must try and work with every sincere group that is doing work on the field, whether NGOs, Govt, local unions and organizations, or other youth and women’s organizations and even groups that might have some political affiliations. One cannot afford to be fussy about working with different groups (as long as they are sincere and work efficiently). What matters now is reaching relief and rehabilitation to all those who need it.” Thirdly, people with questions about any particular group should understand the entire context in which the work is going on, as described in the above report. For example, AID-India organized about 350 volunteers to pick up unattended corpses and dispose them, while noone was willing to do this work a couple of days earlier. In a remarkable incident, FOUR days after the tsunami, volunteers rescued 3 people who were alive under the debris; AID-India volunteers worked alongside DYFI volunteers to accomplish this. We are in constant touch with our grassroots workers in AID Chennai, who are developing and evaluating their interactions with various groups in light of the dire need of volunteers at the grassroots. To re-iterate, DYFI does not receive any funds either from AID or AID-India. It is only that volunteers of DYFI are participating in the immediate relief efforts, which are co-ordinated by AID Chennai.
The Work done by IRDF is exemplery. They provided the funding to open Schools, bring education, Health to tribal people. These Pseduo-Secularists conspired against this, and dried up the fund. But they don’t object to Billions of dollars being spent by Christian Missionaries for conversion in India.
Guess, the real question is: Why highly educated people working in companies like Cisco, thought and felt for the cause and donated generously. Just malicious campaign wouldn;t help. Because they would develop other ways to fund these.
Ashvin,
Guess, the issue is: Why AID India did select two mass organizations(SFI & DYFI) of Stalinist Communist party. Did they tell this during colection of funds? Why AID India didnlt choose similar mass organizations from other political entities. Shouldn’t that have been fair?
What happens if IRS is approached by somebody saying: Funds are being raised to fund activities with stalinist parties?
This is most deplorable for a reputed NGO like AID India. We all whoever contributed through AID India feel cheated.
AID is unfortunately lying through its teeth, consider this article from Rediff
BEGIN QUOTE DYFI is a grassroots level organisation, and it has hordes of volunteers who have scattered themselves all across the state. Dr Narasimhan, the doctor who was doing such a brave job at Nagapattinam, is one of them. DYFI suffers from the drawback of not having a high profile and, consequently, having rather low funds. But AID takes care of that. END QUOTE
So AID is funding Communist thugs, DYFI is the youth wing of the CPI(M), a party that adores the mass murderer Stalin.
Also, Balaji Sampath has himself admitted that he gave money to DYFI, read this
” Locally DYFI and TNSF have collected some materials and started the distribution. We have sent them some immediate funds and I will be taking more funds and relief materials with me today.”
Balaji Sampath clearly mentions giving money to DYFI.
This is a sad state of affairs. Non Stalinists who gave money to AID must be feeling stupid. The AID DYFI connection is really troubling.
Title: AIDing & abetting communists Author: Dharam Singh Publication: India Herald Date: January 21, 2005
http://www.india-herald.com/default.asp?sdetail=608
AIDing & abetting communists
By Dharam Singh
At the time of this article, over 150,000 people have lost their lives and several million have been rendered homeless in Southeast Asia, South Asia and East Africa by the horrible tsunamis unleashed by the 9.0 earthquake on Dec. 26.
During this time of crisis, there has been an incredible outpouring of sympathy and compassion from the entire world community. People from all religions and nationalities have come forward to help with relief and rehabilitation efforts. Some of these organizations have a well-established record of accountability, credibility and integrity. However, there are some organizations working in the affected areas that have displayed suspicious behavior and whose credibility deserves questioning.
The organization in question is Association for India’s Development (AID or AID-India). AID is at the forefront of the fund-raising drive in the United States for relief efforts in South India. On its website, it claims to be a “voluntary non-profit organization committed to promoting sustainable, equitable and just development in India, by working with grassroots organizations and movements in Indiaâ€Â.
The “grassroots†organizations that AID says it is working with in the relief efforts include: People’s Health Movement (PHM), Tamil Nadu Science Forum (TNSF), Pondicherry Science Forum (PSF), Andhra Pradesh Vyavasaya Vritidarula Union (APVVU), the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) and the Student Federation of India (SFI).
All of the above are communist or leftist organizations. DYFI is, in fact, the youth wing of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M). But what concerns us about this organization more than its ideology is its violent and criminal background. Initially, DYFI was listed in the AID relief reports from Chennai as an affiliate with which AID volunteers were working with. However, within a few days, after donors started asking questions about the connection on various websites, weblogs and mailing lists, all references to DYFI had been removed from AID’s website. Why would AID go to such lengths to hide its connection with DYFI? Perhaps this short list, by no means exhaustive, of DYFI’s past activities will provide the answer:
In November, 2004, eight DYFI activists were convicted and sentenced to life for murdering a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) activist. In August, 2003, DYFI activists were involved in violent incidents in Kerala, e.g. stone pelting police, bombing offices, etc.. In May, 2002, DYFI cadres beat up a respected teacher in West Bengal. In January, 2002, DYFI workers were arrested in connection with violence between two religious communities in Kerala that resulted in the deaths of 5 people. In August, 1997, over 400 DYFI volunteers went on a rampage in Chennai, stoning buses and looting shops.
It is clear that DYFI is not just the youth wing of a political party but also a violent, communal and criminal organization. It is with such an organization that AID is working with in their relief efforts!
Another interesting development occurred after a few days of the disappearance of all references to DYFI on AID’s website: AID has now put an FAQ question on their website addressing their connection with DYFI . Did AID realize that their deliberate attempt at hiding their association with DYFI was damaging their reputation?
In the FAQ, AID claims “DYFI does not receive any funds either from AID or AID-India. It is one of the youth organizations whose volunteers are involved in the relief work.†However, in a blog by Amit Varma that is being published on Rediff.com, Varma writes “DYFI suffers from the drawback of not having a high profile and, consequently, having rather low funds. But AID takes care of that.†We shall leave it to the readers to interpret what “that†means.
AID is also working with the Students Federation of India (SFI) to rebuild two villages in Tamil Nadu. SFI is the student wing (not to be confused with the “youth†wing: DYFI) of the CPI-M, and it has been involved in not only violent and criminal activities like DYFI, but has even displayed treacherous tendencies. Here’s another list detailing some of the “grassroots†activities of SFI:
In December, 2004, SFI voted against a resolution condemning China for repeatedly showing Arunachal Pradesh as not being a part of India at the Jawaharlal Nehru University Student Union meeting. In August, 2002, SFI cadres beat up students belonging to Rabindra Bharati University for being “inappropriately dressedâ€Â. In July, 2002, SFI students were allegedly behind an article appearing in a college magazine in Kerala that praised Osama bin Laden as the “crusader of the poor Muslims the world overâ€Â. In September, 2001, 31 SFI activists were arrested on charges of “public property destruction, unlawful assembly and violation of the Explosives Actâ€Â. In November, 1996, SFI workers murdered several BJP and ABVP workers in Kerala after a friendly leftist state government came to power.
Despite such an extensive violent, criminal, communal and treacherous background of both SFI and DYFI, AID is still willing to work with these two openly communist organizations in the relief efforts. Is this relationship one of necessity or deliberate choice? What other skeletons does AID have hiding in its closet?
A Repository of Important Documents about AID
For more info, visit: http://www.geocities.com/aid_india_info/AID_DOC.html
Table of Contents
Purpose
Documents
2.1 Fund Only DYFI Libraries
2.2 Marx For Beginners for Children, no to story books
2.3 AID Flip-Flop
2.4 Sandeep Pandey (ASHA Founder) at Naxalite Conference
2.5 About AID
2.6 “DYFI does not receive funds from AID”
2.7 AID Does Fund DYFI
2.8 AID co-sponsors an event with CAIR
2.9 AID chapters host talks by a Marxist ideologue
2.10 AID takes care of DYFI’s fund problem
2.11 How to match donations without paying a dime
2.12 Article in a Houston weekly accuses AID of “AIDing & abetting communists”
Purpose: AID India documents which AID higher ups find embarrasing have the habit of dissappearing. We have attempted to store some such articles here and also articles from other sites that have useful information about AID.
Document: Fund only DYFI libraries Description: An AID document describing the status of the much vaunted 50 block plan a project funded in part by AID.
Content: This document has generated much controversy because of this statement of Balaji Sampath (emphasis ours) :
We should have a minimum of 2000 registered libraries for viability. All health and credit groups of Samam would be registered. As a policy encourage libraries only where linked to such an activity or to an active TNSF/AIDWA/DYFI/PWA group or activist. Start only with Samam or TNSF but at local level keep the scheme open for other organizations also.
Source: AID website (google cache, see top portion of the document for URL). Link not permanant.
Date Archived: 28th December 2004 Useful Info: TNSF is Tamil Nadu Science Forum run by prominent AID India leader Balaji Sampath. AIDWA is All India Democratic Womens Association, the womens wing of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), DYFI , Democratic Youth Foundation of India is the youth wing of Communist Party of India (Marxist). PWA is the Progessive Writers Association, an association of Marxist and other leftist writers.
Document: No to story books for children, yes to Lenin For Beginners Description : A collection of AID Dallas Chapter Emails Content : In this document a prominent AID leader in India tells volunteers volunteers what kind of books to send for an ongoing AID project, again this is a controversial document because given the document, allegations of use of AID funds for Marxist indoctrination cannot be ignored. Scroll to page 21, (all emphasis ours)
Abt purchasing books in second hand shops: (a) Never purchase children’s books (story books, etc) – it is not easy to tell which is useful and which is not. (b) Purchase all the following: (first two very good and useful) —> All books (multiple copies ok) by Micheal Apple, Ivan Ilich (Deeschooling Scoeity
and After Deschooling),
Philippe Aries (Social history of Childhood), John Holt, Maria Montessori, Danger:School, and all books on educational expts (the ones that fight against the system of education, not for it) in the US. —> All Cartoon Books in the Beginners series – Marx for beginners, Budhha for Beginners, Trotsky for beginners, Einstien for beginners, Totstoy for beginners, Freud for beginners, Lenin for beginners, Ecology for beginners, etc. Just get any of these books.
Date Archived: 27th December,2004 Source: AID website (see top of document for URL). Useful Info: Michael Apple is a professor of education in Wisconsin, well known for his leftist/progressive viewpoints, more about Ivan Illich here, the book Deschooling Society is available online, more on Philippe Aries and her book Social History of children here, Marx for Beginners is cartoon book which introduces Marxist thought to children in an easy to understand format, similar statement holds for other books in the beginner series. Almost all of the books mentioned in the relevant email concerning social issues have a strong leftist tilt.
Document: The AID flip flop. Description: AID deleted references to DYFI. The complete story here
Document : Yes, Sandip Pandey did attend the Naxalite conference Description: Not directly about AID, but about another favorite of AID leadership, Sandeep Pandey. The famous rediff article does not convince many, for them here is the truth straight from the horses mouth, from CPI(ML)’s mouthpiece liberation. Content: The liberation article clearly mentions that
Renowned NAPM activist and Magassassay Award winner Sandip Pandey stressed the need of unity of revolutionary communist organisations like CPI(ML) and social movements to take on fascist danger.
Date Archived: 6 January,2005 Source: CPI(ML) website. Useful Info:
Document: About AID (unzip and open with IE) Description : A friend of a former AID volunteer raises some interesting questions about AID’s financial practices in Bharat Rakshak forum Content: Here is an excerpt from the post (we have not reproduced personal attacks against certain AID leaders, the archive above contains the complete post, note that this is the opinion of a person claiming to be knowledgable about AID)
tskswamy
Joined: 06 Jan 2005 Posts: 1
Posted: 06 Jan 2005 Post subject: About AID
I normally don’t participate in message boards simply because it requires me to visit a website, login, etc. – mailing lists are much easier! I was prompted to visit this board because I was informed of discussions going on about AID (Assoc. for India’s Development). One of my close friends was a former volunteer for AID and was actively involved for several years and is the primary source of information (a lot of which can be verified) for the following:
AID has already collected over $1.6 million for tsunami relief. It is simply not capable of disbursing that much money in an efficient way because AID does not work that way. The process of funding a project is fairly involved and requires detailed reviews including background checks on the NGOs carrying out the project in India. This is actually one of the reasons several donors give money to AID. But what this means is that in times of urgent need, either the money doesn’t reach the people in need in a timely fashion, or the review process is watered down so all and sundry NGOs may get funded. If the past experience is anything to go by, of the money collected for tsunami relief, not even a quarter will be spent on actual relief. Rehab projects which are actually long term projects will probably get about 50%. That leaves about 25% (will be more than $500K by the time the deluge of donations stops) in AID’s coffers for use in its “other activities” which includes sponsoring trips to India by senior AID volunteers (which AID counts as project expenses), trips to the US by globe-trotting “activists” like Setalvad, Arundathi Roy, d’Souza, etc., and its various “campaigns”.
Source: Bharat Rakshak Forum
Document: We don’t give money to DYFI, claims AID FAQ Description: AID FAQ claims that they do not give money to AID. Content: After the controversy about AID’s connection to DYFI, AID added this to their FAQ(emphasis ours) :
Q. How does AID work with other groups on the field? Is AID associated with DYFI?
In Tamil Nadu, AID is sending funds through AID-India which has taken up massive coordination work with several groups on the ground. This includes reputed science movements such as Tamil Nadu Science Forum, Pondicherry Science Forum, community health organizations involved in the People’s Health Movement, local women’s and youth organizations, advocacy groups such as India Together and Environment Support Group, and individuals from various companies and groups.
The tremendous coordination work involved is described in the detailed report written by Dr. Balaji Sampath, one of our chief full-time organizers in India. http://www.aidindia.org/updates/6.html
There have been questions about the mention of DYFI (Democratic Youth Federation of India) in some of the reports, in light of their political affiliations.
Firstly, note that DYFI does not receive any funds either from AID or AID-India. It is one of the youth organizations whose volunteers are involved in the relief work.
Secondly, as described above, AID-India is working with a variety of groups on the ground, and our approach is described in the report from AID Jeevansaathi Dr. Balaji Sampath.
“At this point I would like to add that the enormity of the problem is so much that one must try and work with every sincere group that is doing work on the field, whether NGOs, Govt, local unions and organizations, or other youth and women’s organizations and even groups that might have some political affiliations. One cannot afford to be fussy about working with different groups (as long as they are sincere and work efficiently). What matters now is reaching relief and rehabilitation to all those who need it.”
Thirdly, people with questions about any particular group should understand the entire context in which the work is going on, as described in the above report. For example, AID-India organized about 350 volunteers to pick up unattended corpses and dispose them, while noone was willing to do this work a couple of days earlier. In a remarkable incident, FOUR days after the tsunami, volunteers rescued 3 people who were alive under the debris; AID-India volunteers worked alongside DYFI volunteers to accomplish this.
We are in constant touch with our grassroots workers in AID Chennai, who are developing and evaluating their interactions with various groups in light of the dire need of volunteers at the grassroots.
To re-iterate, DYFI does not receive any funds either from AID or AID-India. It is only that volunteers of DYFI are participating in the immediate relief efforts, which are co-ordinated by AID Chennai.
Date Archived: January 8, 2004
Note: Mr. Balaji Sampath says, “One cannot afford to be fussy about working with different groups (as long as they are sincere and work efficiently). What matters now is reaching relief and rehabilitation to all those who need it.” We are impressed that Mr Sampath is not fussy about working with DYFI, an organization he likes so much that he refuses to use AID’s money to fund libraries not linked to it or to organizations closely related to it.
Document: We are sending them funds. Original link
Description: Balaji Sampath has claimed in the AID FAQ that he is not sending money to DYFI, in this document he clearly mentions providing them with funds. What is the truth?
Content: Balaji writes (emphasis ours)
Locally DYFI and TNSF have collected some materials and started the distribution. We have sent them some immediate funds and I will be taking more funds and relief materials with me today.
Date Archived: January 7,2004
Source: medico-international website
Document: AID co-sponsors an event jointly with CAIR.
Description: CAIR is an organization known for the extreme views of its leaders. One person strongly associated with CAIR has been sent to jail for being a member of the Lashkar E Toyiba and has been sentenced to twenty years in jail for illegally acquiring firearms and explosives in order to train for terrorist missions against India in Kashmir. Amazingly an organization describing itself as Association for India’s Development India co sponsored an event with them. For more details click here
Document: AID hosts a talk by a Marxist ideologue
Description: Many AID chapters organized a talk by Dr. Parameshwaran, “a strong believer in Gandhian, Marxist and Socialist philosophies” as he has been described in the AID document. Among other things, Dr. Parameshwaran is credited with building the All India Peoples Science Network, an organization with stong links with CPI(M). Dr. Parameshwaran was a member of the CPI(M) till February 2004 (the talk took place in 2003) when he was expelled from the CPI(M) following theological differences with the party. In many cases AID chapters have borne transportation and other costs for organizing talks in their chapter, AID almost never mentions that it organizes such talks using during their fundraisers.
Document: AID takes care of DYFI’s fund problem (link to rediff article)
Description: An article by a pro-AID journalist Amit Varma.. The following excerpt is especially illuminating
DYFI is a grassroots level organisation, and it has hordes of volunteers who have scattered themselves all across the state. Dr Narasimhan, the doctor who was doing such a brave job at Nagapattinam, is one of them. DYFI suffers from the drawback of not having a high profile and, consequently, having rather low funds. But AID takes care of that.
Surprisingly, Mr. Varma forgets to mention that DYFI is an affiliate of the Communist Party of India (Marxist).
Document: “Matching” donations given a whole new meaning by AID-Sulekha combine
Description: Sulekha recently claimed to match donations made to AID, dollar by dollar. When a company claims to match your contribution dollar for dollar what exactly do they mean? Especially if they send you send an email which says
SULEKHA.COM-AID TSUNAMI RELIEF FUND: Your Contributions Matched Dollar-for-Dollar URL: http://www.sulekha.com/aid
You assume, of course, that the company will contribute one dollar for each dollar of yours. Alas, you missed the fine print. All that Sulekha did was create two funds, one for AID and another “matching donations fund”, then it diverted some donations to the “matching donations fund”, and then used it to match the donations. Simple and brilliant isn’t it? Why not have a single fund, why this charade of mixing , matching and taking credit for other peoples genorosity?
All this blew up in the face of AID when a blogger got angry and wrote this
Bogus Matching Fund Claim?? by Srini Veeravanallur Posted on December 30, 2004 12:4 PM EST Accessed 222 Times Hot List Score: 93
I recently donated $500 through Sulekha’s portal & was shocked to see my contribution listed as a matching donation though I made no such explicit choice. It appears that donations of $500 or more are automatically channeled to the matching fund. the matching fund section has $99K while other donations (of less than $500) totalled only about $85K. Thus, only $85K out of the $99K is now effective leaving $14k in surplus in the matching fund.
Thus when sulekha claims that they have matched $85K in donations, they have done nothing of that sort. Of the $184 K donated, they have divided $99K into the matching fund of which only $85k will go to relief efforts & $85K into the other donations fund.
Sulekha & AID, please explain this inappropriate (&illegal?) financial manipulation. Why are you claiming that you are matching every donation? My donation was clearly not matched…
Srini Veeravanallur
AID was forced to put a clarification on its website. Sulekha is unruffled.
Document: Article in a Houston weekly accuses AID of “AIDing & abetting communists””. Link to the article Excerpt:
AID is also working with the Students Federation of India (SFI) to rebuild two villages in Tamil Nadu. SFI is the student wing (not to be confused with the “youth†wing: DYFI) of the CPI-M, and it has been involved in not only violent and criminal activities like DYFI, but has even displayed treacherous tendencies. Here’s another list detailing some of the “grassroots†activities of SFI:
In December, 2004, SFI voted against a resolution condemning China for repeatedly showing Arunachal Pradesh as not being a part of India at the Jawaharlal Nehru University Student Union meeting. In August, 2002, SFI cadres beat up students belonging to Rabindra Bharati University for being “inappropriately dressedâ€Â. In July, 2002, SFI students were allegedly behind an article appearing in a college magazine in Kerala that praised Osama bin Laden as the “crusader of the poor Muslims the world overâ€Â. In September, 2001, 31 SFI activists were arrested on charges of “public property destruction, unlawful assembly and violation of the Explosives Actâ€Â.
For more info, visit: http://www.geocities.com/aid_india_info/AID_DOC.html
The volunteers of the Association for India’s Development (AID) reject the smear campaigns on some email lists and media. AID’s coordinators in India include professors at IIT Chennai, IIT Mumbai, IISc Bangalore, Jagannath Institute of Technology Management, professionals from local companies as well as reputed full-time workers recognized by both local people and agencies such as UNICEF and the government Relief Commission. In the US, AID volunteers are active members of the student and professional community at universities, corporations and organizations.
We thank all those who have positively supported AID’s work, and we expect that our work will be judged on its merit. We caution the community that there are some deliberate attempts to misrepresent our work and take things out of context, exploiting the emergency situation caused by the tsunami. In short, AID categorically states that it is not aligned with the communists or any other political party, opposes violence by any group, and has given an open account of its relief work on its website. We are issuing this detailed statement in order to inform everyone about the true spirit and the specifics of AID’s work and our stand for peace and non-violence.
AID’s relief efforts began within hours of the Tsunami. By the 27th of December, AID-India’s Chennai office had become the hub of activity for coordinating relief efforts from AID as well as several other groups working in the districts of Cuddalore, Nagapattinam, Chennai, Kanyakumari and Pondicherry. Simultaneously, hundreds of volunteers in the US have worked to give updates through a dynamic website and solicit help from the community. AID’s efforts in both India and US have been well recognized by independent observers as well as the government [See references].
In several villages AID-India was one of the first groups to reach [Ref A]. The choice was whether to do things that help the people, like finding survivors, burying/cremating the dead and addressing relief needs, or to be on the scene as spectators or worse still, do post-mortem analysis on the internet while people are to be saved. AID chose to work with various groups including local villagers affiliated with DYFI whose help was critical to find survivors, bury the dead and reach the poorest among the survivors.
The TN government, Collector’s office and even corporate groups from Colgate Palmolive and Confederation of Indian Industry worked with DYFI and other field groups. Many independent observers and reporters have described positively the cooperation between individuals from various backgrounds during relief work. When groups collaborate it doesn’t necessarily mean that there is an exchange of funds, since each group comes with its strength and resources.
The focus of the immediate relief work is to ensure that the needs of the survivors are met, and that the government relief and compensation reaches all sections, especially the poor and most disadvantaged. AID has no plans of collaborating with DYFI or SFI beyond this relief phase.
AID has not sent any funds to DYFI or SFI. Statements quoted selectively and out of context are being used to mislead people by the slander campaign. During the coordination of relief efforts, AID-India exercises full, independent control of funds to purchase relief material, transporting and distributing it. AID is also supporting organizations like ANET, CJWS, SIFFS, Calcutta Heart Clinic; and is working with several long-term partners to provide long-term rehabilitation. The strength of AID is to work closely with the local communities with their full participation.
AID-India has worked with people from various backgrounds – more than 800 city-based volunteers and executives from corporations have worked hand-in-hand with villagers in the first 3 weeks. This work has been widely recognized by Chennai citizens, independent reporters as well as the district Collectors and the Relief Commissioner of Tamil Nadu.
AID has been open about all its work with about 50 field reports available on its dynamic website, and regular updates to donors. These reports from a variety of sources provide a good picture of the various groups that are working together, as well as our long-term plans. We urge everyone to visit http://survivors.aidindia.org – our only request is that you read the reports in full, in order to overcome the selective misrepresentation and avoid taking things out of context.
AID is an organization inspired by Gandhi’s teachings – particularly non-violence, identifying and working with the most disadvantaged sections, and insisting on social justice. In the past, AID has condemned the violence in Godhra and rest of Gujarat, the attack on Akshardham temple, bomb blasts in Mumbai and attacks in Kashmir, and called for peace and communal harmony. AID opposes use of violence by any group.
AID is not affiliated with any political parties or their organizations. AID is an independent public organization working for the interests of the marginalized sections of people, on various issues such as education, health-care, natural resources, people’s rights and democracy, livelihoods and income generation, women’s empowerment, and environmental protection. An example is our micro-hydel collaboration which brought electricity to the Bilgaon village for the first time, and provided inspiration for the movie Swades [Ref G].
In fact, AID has been involved in campaigns on behalf of people’s organizations against specific unjust policies of the government, irrespective of the party in power. Examples are: fish-workers’ campaign against degradation of Sunderbans in West Bengal, right to primary education all over India, displacement without rehabilitation in Narmada valley in Maharashtra, MP and Gujarat, depletion of water resources in Kerala due to Coca Cola plant, election reforms in Andhra Pradesh, communal violence in Gujarat and justice for victims of Bhopal gas disaster.
In conclusion, AID rejects the gross misrepresentation of its work, and urges the community to get involved in AID’s efforts and judge the work on its merits. We hope that our relationship is as strong as the challenge that AID faces to assist the tsunami survivors.
References:
A. “…decide to try the last address… AID India. How I wish I had gone there first … AID is providing relief to the very remote coastal villages that few have reached .” – Manjeet Kriplani, chief of BusinessWeek’s India Bureau http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/jan2005/nf2005016_1576_db017.htm
B. “…enormity of the problem is so much that one must try and work with every sincere group that is doing work on the field… What matters now is reaching relief and rehabilitation to all those who need it. ” – Dr. Balaji Sampath, coordinator AID-Chennai. http://www.aidindia.org/updates/6.htm
C. “Serving the nation Cometh the hour, cometh the man. U.S.-educated engineers like Balaji Sampath, and their calling in development work in their homeland.” – Sudhish Kamath, The Hindu http://www.hindu.com/edu/2005/01/03/stories/2005010300301100.htm
D. And now, a wave of compassion… “Students, lawyers, doctors, slum-dwellers, IT professionals… help is pouring in from all quarters for post-tsunami relief works” – Shonali Muthalay, The Hindu. http://www.hindu.com/mp/2005/01/06/stories/2005010600990100.htm
E. Relief is on the way – By Mark Hansel, Cincinnati Post “AID would like to develop a network of agencies working together to provide relief. The group is trying to organize fund-raisers, multidenominational prayer vigils and other activities to help victims.” http://www.cincypost.com/2005/01/03/mercy010305.html
F. Focus on rehabilitation: NGOs – R.K.Radhakrishnan, The Hindu, on meeting between Tamil Nadu Relief Commissioner and key NGOs.
“The organisations that participated in the meeting organised by the Bhoomika Trust include Christian Counselling Centre, Vellore; Abhiyan/KVMS from Gujarat; NIMHANS from Bangalore; IIT-Madras; Indians for Collective Action, U.S.A.; Association for India’s Development, U.S.A.; The Banyan, SMILE and Samanvaya, all based in Chennai, ActionAid, People’s Watch and SIFFS Tamil Nadu Fishermen’s Society.” http://www.thehindu.com/2005/01/03/stories/2005010310240500.htm
G. Are NRIs Non-Returning Indians? – Chidanand Rajghatta, Times of India “Swades is inspired in part by a Maryland-based Association of India’s Development (AID) effort that saw two of their ‘jeevansaathis’ – Aravinda Pillalamarri and Ravi Kuchimanchi… work on micro-hydel project in Bilgaon. Director Ashutosh Gowariker visited their project and acknowledges them in the credits.” http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-963944,prtpage-1.cms
Indians should beware that ‘Campaign to Stop Funding Hate’ is a hate campaign led by a spiteful group in the US called Forum of Indian Leftists (FOIL). The FOIL is a Marxist Communist organization which attacks all democracies while conducting propaganda for the Taliban, the Iraqi bombers, and anti-Israel terrorists. Its members are seen in the company of Naxalites – a terrorist organization deemed so by the US State Department.
Since 2002, these entities have attacked the India Development and Relief Fund (IDRF). The “evidence” they presented to “prove” anti-Islamic “bias”: that the IDRF had sent $25,000 to help the families of New York firefighters killed in the 9/11 terrorist atrocity. Their reasoning: “The victims were mostly non-Muslim, while the perpetrators were Muslims”.
The CSFH has been thoroughly debunked and laughed off, as “Ra” Ravishankar, is perfectly aware. As columnist at the ‘The Daily Illini’ and member of the “Editorial Collective” of “Ghadar”, the journal of the FOIL, Mr. Ravishankar is well known for his anti-Semitic and anti-US rants. Caught lying by other students in the University of Illinois, his co-columnist at the Daily Illini has apologized; “Ra” is still to find the honesty to do so.
One wonders what “Ra” wrote on his application for a non-immigrant student visa about the reason for being allowed into the US, and his communist associations, but the fact is that he appears to be spending his time attacking Israeli PM Ariel Sharon, U.S. President Bush, and all other democracies.
The latest attempt is to put sand into the mouths of poor orphans in Tsunami ravaged India – his own country of origin.
http://www.india-herald.com/default.asp?sourceid=&smenu=1&twindow=&mad=&sdetail=618&wpage=1&skeyword=&sidate=&ccat=&ccatm=&restate=&restatus=&reoption=&retype=&repmin=&repmax=&rebed=&rebath=&subname= Silent protest against AID at Wortham
Concerned citizens staged a protest against AID (Association for India’s Development) or AID INDIA, which was listed as one of the beneficiaries of the funds raised during a tsunami benefit concert at the Wortham Center in Houston on Jan 23.
According to recent troubling media reports both domestic and those emanating from Indian sources, AID is purportedly using funds collected in the name of relief to aid and abet nearly half a dozen communist or extreme left-wing political organizations in India that are engaged in violent political and terrorist activities in the region.
Recently, India Herald (Jan 21, 2005) published a report “AIDing & Abetting Communists†that cast a cloud over the gloomy nature of AID.
We believe that in the wake of 9/11, India-specific charities, registered in USA, with dubious background can severely endanger the current highly favorable view that the mainstream America has of the Indian community, a view that the people of Indian origin across the USA have worked very hard to earn over two generations.
Thus it becomes necessary to speak out against AID because credible reports indicate that AID supports foreign political and terrorist organizations.
If indeed AID is engaged in such nefarious activities, putting a quick end to such activities and protecting the unsuspecting donors is a matter of grave concern that should merit our serious consideration.
This information and our concerns, which we consider very serious, were earlier conveyed to the organizer of the concert.
We feel that the donors must also be informed of the AID and AID INDIA’s troubling activities.
Pradip Parekh
Victoria, Texas
You know, if you Sangh Parivar sympathizers weren’t so exasperating, this would be hilarious. Let’s leave out for a second the “ordinary” redbaiters who attack anything any time they see the word Communist, socialist, or left anywhere nearby. The rest of the attacks on AID (i.e. those that seem to have an ideological Hindu-fundamentalist motivation) basically mirror the fairly compelling criticisms of Sangh Parivar groups like IDRF that Campaign to Stop Funding Hate have made.
All you’re doing is recycling these arguments: funding extremist groups; funding violence; and misleading donors by presenting an apolitical front. As a result, not only are your arguments against AID tired, but they’re not even original. As someone not formally affiliated with any of the groups you mention, all I have to say is that if you’re going to insult our intelligence, at least have the courtesy to do it with some more entertaining innuendo.
Why don’t accuse AID of having a pro-homosexual agenda or supporting killing kittens? It would make a better read.
No no Saurav, an interesting read would be how AID funded DFYI organization helped create vacancies in police stations across India or say how their contribution helped in remodelling city and state transportation buses etc or how the AID funded SFI constantly add a bit of spicy to the mundane college life..
The arguments against AID expose their fraud, AID is a typical con job, not a terribly original one, so arguments against them are ones that have been made by people against fraudulent charities for years. If you want to be entertained, go read Marx.
If you want to be entertained, go read Marx.
Good suggestion.
btw, Thomas Frank, Lisa Duggan, or Sumit Sarkar are more interesting.
Dear Friends, Before you donate any money to AID, you must first look at how they are currently utilizing the money they are currently recieving as donations.
AID is currently working with organizations in India such as DYFI (Democratic youth federation of India) and SFI. DYFI is the youth wing of the Communist party of India (Marxist), while the Students federation of India (SFI) is the student wing of the communist party(Marxist). These are purely political organizations that have a voilent and criminal past. these organizations have in the past been linked to murders, voilent protests (including towards Americans).
DYFI and SFI are communist organizations. Communist organizations have always opposed American Interests. Funding these organizations does not fall in line with the American ideals of spreading freedom and democracy.
Even within India, DYFI and SFI have always opposed building a strong nation in India. and are basically anti-hindu, working vigourously to humiliate hindu beliefs in any manner possible.
That AID is working with DYFI, SFI and other communist organizations is now a fact. To gather some more information of this nexus, please visit:
http://www.india-herald.com/default.asp?sourceid=&smenu=1&twindow=&mad=&sdetail=608&wpage=1&skeyword
and also:
http://www.geocities.com/aid_india_info/AID_DOC.html
From this posting, I am not asking that you not donate to Tsunami vistims. I am only reminding you that you have a choice. And you need to make the right choice that will make this world a safe place to live and not propote discord in our world. As residents of America, it is our duty not to fund organizations overseas that indulge in stirring Anti-American sentiment. I believe you will make this judgement wisely.
Regards,
Proud_Indian
To all people here:
Only donate to IDRF. Its THE most respected Indian charity organization in the US, IDRF-Haters notwithstanding. I always donate to IDRF. And Urge everyone else also to donate to IDRF.
Regards,
Deshpande
Saurav Sarkar spewed:
Maybe you should practice a little of what you preach. This is standard communist/islamist propaganda tactic. Launch ad-hominem attacks on anyone who doesn’t agree with your viewpoint. According to you, anyone who doesn’t support the marxist/islamist agenda of balkanizing India is a “hindu fundamendalist”. Your extremist brethren in DYFI and SFI of course take it to the next level – they don’t just launch verbal attacks, but actually murder people who don’t toe their line.
This would be hilarious if it weren’t for the seriousness of the issue at hand. I guess in your court a murderer could easily get away simply by saying the prosecutor is using the same tired, old arguments as was used against a previous murderer. Why does originality matter here? The point is that enough documentary evidence from several sources (some of which from AID itself) have been produced which clearly establish that AID is merely a front for extremist organizations in India like the DYFI and SFI. Do you have anything to counter this evidence? If not, maybe you should just shut up instead of ranting about “originality” of the accusations.
AID is funding Sandeep Pandey’s “padyatra” to Multan. Sandeep Naxal Pandey claims it costs Rs. 8.3 lakhs for the padyatra. Of which Rs. 1 lakh will be spent for fuel for the jeeps accompanying the padyatra. Why cant Sandeep Pandey simply catch a plane to Lahore, it will cost much less than Rs. 8.3 lakhs?
AID has promised around $5000 for this silly nonsense.
So, those who donated to AID, this is where your AID donation ends up : in padyatras, in dharnas and in cocktail parties for the high flying activists.
Visit : http://www.aidindia.info for details
What is not known to many is that AID works towards spreading social hatred.
It supports, illegal detentions of old people (arrests without investigation) is section 498a of IPC.
Putting false cases of 498a on NRIs and their parents for extortion is a ritual now. A woman or her parents can go to police station and say the female is subjected to harassment and that one line is enough to put the old parents, even preganant sisters of the guy behind bars for 5 days.
AID and its partners in indiatogether.com vehemently oppose any changes to be brought to this law.
AID says “Dowry is a evil. For that if some innocent men, their parents, sisters get jailed, so it be.”
Read India today, now in India 55% of divorces are initiated by Women. Techies in Bangalore are blaming the Feminists and also the NGOs like AID for breaking their marriages by championing extreme provocation.
Terror AID
Yesterday Once More