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.
The report said that the UK-based Sewa International sent 2 million raised for Gujarat earthquake relief to its Indian counterpart Sewa Bharati. Sewa Bharati, it says, is a part of the Sangh Parivar and proudly proclaims its association with the RSS and its desire to expand Hindutva networks.
“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 organisation raising the money was closely linked to the Fascist-inspired and extremist RSS,” said Awaaz.
“Sewa International has tried to dupe politicians, donors and the general public. 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 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.
Awaaz has called for the charity commissioner to withdraw the charity status of three British charities: Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh UK, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad UK, and the Kalyan Ashram Trust. The HSS and Sewa International are currently under formal investigation by the UK Charity Commission.
This story first appeared on timesofindia.indiatimes.com
