11-24-2005, 05:26 AM
This is wild.. Actually when I was in Gujarat recently I had read in paper that Guj Govt is auditing many NGOs. Some of the NGOs have been kicked out. Dont remember the details.
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--> SEWA alleged that the government is harassing it because many members are Muslim victims of the communal riots. While the media has hyped the Modi government's harassment of SEWA, they conveniently forgot that the NGO chose to remain silent while Gujarat burned. During the carnage, while more than 20 leading NGOs organised relief under the banner of Citizen's Initiative, this eminent organisation chose to stay away. But it did supply raw materials in camps for women to make beedis - at a meagre Rs.8 per 1,000, says a relief worker.
"No NGO is coming forward to support it [SEWA] now. At a time when it should have spoken out, it chose to remain silent. With just one phone call to Bill Clinton, such influential organisations could have put pressure on the government to stop the violence that continued for three months," says an NGO representative. "It is true we did not make any statement against the violence because our members were directly under attack; 1/3rd of our members are Muslims," says Ela Bhatt. <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--> SEWA alleged that the government is harassing it because many members are Muslim victims of the communal riots. While the media has hyped the Modi government's harassment of SEWA, they conveniently forgot that the NGO chose to remain silent while Gujarat burned. During the carnage, while more than 20 leading NGOs organised relief under the banner of Citizen's Initiative, this eminent organisation chose to stay away. But it did supply raw materials in camps for women to make beedis - at a meagre Rs.8 per 1,000, says a relief worker.
"No NGO is coming forward to support it [SEWA] now. At a time when it should have spoken out, it chose to remain silent. With just one phone call to Bill Clinton, such influential organisations could have put pressure on the government to stop the violence that continued for three months," says an NGO representative. "It is true we did not make any statement against the violence because our members were directly under attack; 1/3rd of our members are Muslims," says Ela Bhatt. <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->