06-20-2005, 10:59 PM
What NGO Charity Hides
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->The popular model of NGOs, non-governmental organisations, in the country evolved in the Christian west. In India, fiercely so with states like Kerala, this sector is almost totally controlled by the Christian church, international Christian donors and their allies. Some of them have budgets mounting to several crores with their beneficiary list across India reading like a 'who is who' of Indian society. This list ofcourse also include hard-core church agencies involved in conversion. They make inroads to respectable NGO movements mostly through surreptitious means. Money has its lure and many succumb and do their bidding later. <b>There is an army of people involved in this most subtle divisive activity in today's India.</b>
Many 'secular NGOs' are actually secretly aided by these people. Some of them quite famous. Those trying to eek out a separate identity in the NGO sector will find it difficult. Despite setting up of agencies like CAPART (Council for Advancement of People's Action and Rural Technology) by the ministry of Rural Development, Govt. of India, the promotion of secular NGOs in development sector has been minimal. While the Hindu groups have tried to organise these, lack of professionalism and exposure to the resources become a handicap. Thus these very same agencies succeed in getting the government funds as well. Over and above the international church aid they have. To the ordinary people the 'generosity' come from the local Christian priests and that in concrete terms and they follow them.
The Swarnjayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana(SGSY) of the BJP government, launched in 1999 for rural uplift, did not foresee this background and resulted in the Hindutwa government's undoing. SGSY, which followed the old Integrated Rural Development Programme (IRDP) of the Congress government, aimed at promoting village organisations and since the NGOs meeting the various criteria were almost all from the Christian segment they began getting government funds. They also got a new stamp of acceptability and became the government itself to the villagers. With their professional and team approaches they accessed the government funds set aside for the purpose, developed good rapport with 'result' driven beurocracy and made an empire of sorts. Huge numbers of rural poor became captive to their whims and fancies. More important they became victims of Christian propaganda.
That is what matters in elections, as subtle messages against a political party shall be immediately absorbed by the innocent rural folks who consider these saviors with eyes of worship. In Tamilnadu where SGSY was implemented with great success some of these NGOs caused traffic blocks in cities like Madurai. The Self Help Groups of women they formed in villages run to thousands and when they come for a meeting the entire city gets jam-packed. These are the core areas of Indian psyche and the Christian NGOs managed to enter there. That with state sponsorship. Yes, BJP's SGSY programme with its nationalist fervor must have improved the quality of life in villages is certain. But it also indirectly became its undoing.
Many of these NGOs are already quite powerful and wield might in rural interiors. They have liberal funds and the staff hiring terms is as attractive as any corporate giant. It is the antithesis of the Hindu concepts of 'Sewa' and 'Tyaga'. Though some of these activists generously supported by these sources wear, often worn out, Indian dress (what the development circuit calls the 'NGO uniform'). They travel luxury class and stay only in star hotels though. Since they have got used to the 'comfortable' life they do anything for a price. Many of the secular intellectuals of India are these paid workers. Since the operations are discrete it is near impossible to trace their links. A famous river valley protection movement later was penetrated and they are now allegedly supported by the same sources. Some Christian priests in the game from Kerala, who now decide things, have dropped their priestly dress and the `father' prefix in name when in the north of the country.
In time these NGOs can be dangerous as they are building up a parallel system of governance rooted in the villages and people's movements. Which can eventually weaken the centralised government mechanism of today. With their indebtedness to the external donors they are extremely vulnerable to pressure tactics. How one often finds some individuals with Hindu names seen attacking the Hindu movements. <b><span style='font-size:21pt;line-height:100%'>They also support academics in various research programmes and international tours and they also fall in line, are also at their beck and call</b></span>. Since the battery of donor agencies is spread over various countries, mainly Europe and USA, also elsewhere, it is too difficult to trace them down. They also belong to a mosaic of Christian faiths some of them enemies of each other in their own regions. With liberalisation their roads are smooth as NGOs can now access funds without much government monitoring. Not many know about these gray areas of Indian polity. Â
P R J Pradeep
(From `udayor' newsletter from www.nairs.org)
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->The popular model of NGOs, non-governmental organisations, in the country evolved in the Christian west. In India, fiercely so with states like Kerala, this sector is almost totally controlled by the Christian church, international Christian donors and their allies. Some of them have budgets mounting to several crores with their beneficiary list across India reading like a 'who is who' of Indian society. This list ofcourse also include hard-core church agencies involved in conversion. They make inroads to respectable NGO movements mostly through surreptitious means. Money has its lure and many succumb and do their bidding later. <b>There is an army of people involved in this most subtle divisive activity in today's India.</b>
Many 'secular NGOs' are actually secretly aided by these people. Some of them quite famous. Those trying to eek out a separate identity in the NGO sector will find it difficult. Despite setting up of agencies like CAPART (Council for Advancement of People's Action and Rural Technology) by the ministry of Rural Development, Govt. of India, the promotion of secular NGOs in development sector has been minimal. While the Hindu groups have tried to organise these, lack of professionalism and exposure to the resources become a handicap. Thus these very same agencies succeed in getting the government funds as well. Over and above the international church aid they have. To the ordinary people the 'generosity' come from the local Christian priests and that in concrete terms and they follow them.
The Swarnjayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana(SGSY) of the BJP government, launched in 1999 for rural uplift, did not foresee this background and resulted in the Hindutwa government's undoing. SGSY, which followed the old Integrated Rural Development Programme (IRDP) of the Congress government, aimed at promoting village organisations and since the NGOs meeting the various criteria were almost all from the Christian segment they began getting government funds. They also got a new stamp of acceptability and became the government itself to the villagers. With their professional and team approaches they accessed the government funds set aside for the purpose, developed good rapport with 'result' driven beurocracy and made an empire of sorts. Huge numbers of rural poor became captive to their whims and fancies. More important they became victims of Christian propaganda.
That is what matters in elections, as subtle messages against a political party shall be immediately absorbed by the innocent rural folks who consider these saviors with eyes of worship. In Tamilnadu where SGSY was implemented with great success some of these NGOs caused traffic blocks in cities like Madurai. The Self Help Groups of women they formed in villages run to thousands and when they come for a meeting the entire city gets jam-packed. These are the core areas of Indian psyche and the Christian NGOs managed to enter there. That with state sponsorship. Yes, BJP's SGSY programme with its nationalist fervor must have improved the quality of life in villages is certain. But it also indirectly became its undoing.
Many of these NGOs are already quite powerful and wield might in rural interiors. They have liberal funds and the staff hiring terms is as attractive as any corporate giant. It is the antithesis of the Hindu concepts of 'Sewa' and 'Tyaga'. Though some of these activists generously supported by these sources wear, often worn out, Indian dress (what the development circuit calls the 'NGO uniform'). They travel luxury class and stay only in star hotels though. Since they have got used to the 'comfortable' life they do anything for a price. Many of the secular intellectuals of India are these paid workers. Since the operations are discrete it is near impossible to trace their links. A famous river valley protection movement later was penetrated and they are now allegedly supported by the same sources. Some Christian priests in the game from Kerala, who now decide things, have dropped their priestly dress and the `father' prefix in name when in the north of the country.
In time these NGOs can be dangerous as they are building up a parallel system of governance rooted in the villages and people's movements. Which can eventually weaken the centralised government mechanism of today. With their indebtedness to the external donors they are extremely vulnerable to pressure tactics. How one often finds some individuals with Hindu names seen attacking the Hindu movements. <b><span style='font-size:21pt;line-height:100%'>They also support academics in various research programmes and international tours and they also fall in line, are also at their beck and call</b></span>. Since the battery of donor agencies is spread over various countries, mainly Europe and USA, also elsewhere, it is too difficult to trace them down. They also belong to a mosaic of Christian faiths some of them enemies of each other in their own regions. With liberalisation their roads are smooth as NGOs can now access funds without much government monitoring. Not many know about these gray areas of Indian polity. Â
P R J Pradeep
(From `udayor' newsletter from www.nairs.org)
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->