09-17-2006, 08:54 PM
I am posting full article,
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Modi's prescription for NGOs must be heeded</b>
Pioneer.com
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi has initiated a debate on the role of NGOs. Should NGOs be regulated and held accountable? While releasing a book, "NGOs, Activists and Foreign Funds - Anti-Nation Industry" edited by Radha Rajan and Krishen Kak, he said the opinion in this regard is firming up the worldover.<b> In America, these NGOs are termed as Limousine Liberals, in Europe they are described as Service Entrepreneurs. In the Indian context, Narendra Modi described them as Five-Star Activists, who travel by air, in the business class, and stay in Five-Star hotels.</b>
Modi was cautious in not clubbing all the NGOs together. He recalled India's great tradition of thousands of organizations that involved themselves in selfless service to the society. Even today, there are lakhs of such organizations genuinely engaged in social service. The elected representatives have been made accountable for their assets and activities by evolving laws. Administrative personnel are also required to periodically submit their statements of assets and liabilities. <b>Modi rightly told the audience that time had come when foreign-funded NGOs must also be regulated by law</b>.
I think no reasonable person can differ with the Gujarat Chief Minister, barring elements having vested interests in the NGO sector. The type of activities of these NGOs engage in, is mindblowing and so is their growing number. <b>The range of concern of this third sector seems to be as large as a sovereign state</b>. According to an RBI bulletin of March 2005, over Rs 3,000 crore poured in the year 2003-2004. Since they are not covered under the Companies Act, they are not required to file their annual report with the registrar. As they are not part of the Government, the CAG of India does not audit their accounts.
Russia has now introduced stringent controls on the NGOs and non-commercial organizations receiving foreign funds. The Hindu, dated December 20, 2005, says, "The Kremlin has learnt its lessons from a string of 'coloured revolutions' in the former Soviet Republics - the 'rose revolution' in Georgia, the 'orange revolution' in Ukraine and the 'tulip revolution' in Kyrgyzstan all inspired and orchestrated by West-funded NGOs. <b>The bill allows NGOs to be shut down if they threaten the country's sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity, national unity and originality, cultural heritage and national interests. There is an Act in the USA, called Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), and it provides for penalties up to 10 years in jail for anyone acting as a foreign agent. The FARA was originally passed in 1938 to prevent the spread of Nazi ideas and propaganda..." After 9/11 several stringent laws came into operation in the US.</b>
It goes without saying that foreign-funded NGOs must be held accountable by law enacted by the Parliament. Unfortunately, some of the comments appearing in the newspapers have linked Modi's ire with NGOs' attitude towards him, for they opposed him tooth and nail after Godhra and Gujarat riots and dragged him to the Supreme Court.<b> This is a dubious tactic to deviate from the central theme of the need to regulate foreign-funded NGOs and making them accountable. It is a well-known fact that many NGOs went to the extent of opposing the US visa for Narendra Modi.</b>
Former Additional Cabinet Secretary of the Government of India, B Raman, in the book recalled several big riots. He has recounted horrendous atrocities perpetrated by upper castes on lower castes during the Congress regime of K Kamraj and his personal experience about Jabalpur riots, which broke out against molestation of a Hindu girl and continued for long. He also mentioned anti-Sikh riots of 1984.
He further states, <b>"How does one judge whether the police acted firmly or not in riots between members of two religious communities? From the number of people killed in police firing, it was reported that more Hindus than Muslims died from police bullets during the anti-Muslim riots in Gujarat in 2002, and also during the anti-Muslim riots in Madhya Pradesh in the 1960s. Does this show culpability on the part of the Gujarat administration?</b>
"If Modi is guilty of violation of human rights of religious minorities, as alleged by the US, so were Narasimha Rao, Rajiv Gandhi, Indira Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, DP Mishra, and Kamaraj. Why did the US, in its hypocrisy, choose to act against Modi, and never in the past against the others? One reason is that the Christian influence on US policymaking and its political leadership was not as strong in the past as it is today."
NGOs working in India never approached outside international agencies and foreign Governments as they did against Modi. Many NGOs are actively involved in anti-nation activities. Today India is more vulnerable than the Soviet Union or the USA but the fact is that the Indian establishment is totally unmindful about activities of a section of NGOs.
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<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Modi's prescription for NGOs must be heeded</b>
Pioneer.com
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi has initiated a debate on the role of NGOs. Should NGOs be regulated and held accountable? While releasing a book, "NGOs, Activists and Foreign Funds - Anti-Nation Industry" edited by Radha Rajan and Krishen Kak, he said the opinion in this regard is firming up the worldover.<b> In America, these NGOs are termed as Limousine Liberals, in Europe they are described as Service Entrepreneurs. In the Indian context, Narendra Modi described them as Five-Star Activists, who travel by air, in the business class, and stay in Five-Star hotels.</b>
Modi was cautious in not clubbing all the NGOs together. He recalled India's great tradition of thousands of organizations that involved themselves in selfless service to the society. Even today, there are lakhs of such organizations genuinely engaged in social service. The elected representatives have been made accountable for their assets and activities by evolving laws. Administrative personnel are also required to periodically submit their statements of assets and liabilities. <b>Modi rightly told the audience that time had come when foreign-funded NGOs must also be regulated by law</b>.
I think no reasonable person can differ with the Gujarat Chief Minister, barring elements having vested interests in the NGO sector. The type of activities of these NGOs engage in, is mindblowing and so is their growing number. <b>The range of concern of this third sector seems to be as large as a sovereign state</b>. According to an RBI bulletin of March 2005, over Rs 3,000 crore poured in the year 2003-2004. Since they are not covered under the Companies Act, they are not required to file their annual report with the registrar. As they are not part of the Government, the CAG of India does not audit their accounts.
Russia has now introduced stringent controls on the NGOs and non-commercial organizations receiving foreign funds. The Hindu, dated December 20, 2005, says, "The Kremlin has learnt its lessons from a string of 'coloured revolutions' in the former Soviet Republics - the 'rose revolution' in Georgia, the 'orange revolution' in Ukraine and the 'tulip revolution' in Kyrgyzstan all inspired and orchestrated by West-funded NGOs. <b>The bill allows NGOs to be shut down if they threaten the country's sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity, national unity and originality, cultural heritage and national interests. There is an Act in the USA, called Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), and it provides for penalties up to 10 years in jail for anyone acting as a foreign agent. The FARA was originally passed in 1938 to prevent the spread of Nazi ideas and propaganda..." After 9/11 several stringent laws came into operation in the US.</b>
It goes without saying that foreign-funded NGOs must be held accountable by law enacted by the Parliament. Unfortunately, some of the comments appearing in the newspapers have linked Modi's ire with NGOs' attitude towards him, for they opposed him tooth and nail after Godhra and Gujarat riots and dragged him to the Supreme Court.<b> This is a dubious tactic to deviate from the central theme of the need to regulate foreign-funded NGOs and making them accountable. It is a well-known fact that many NGOs went to the extent of opposing the US visa for Narendra Modi.</b>
Former Additional Cabinet Secretary of the Government of India, B Raman, in the book recalled several big riots. He has recounted horrendous atrocities perpetrated by upper castes on lower castes during the Congress regime of K Kamraj and his personal experience about Jabalpur riots, which broke out against molestation of a Hindu girl and continued for long. He also mentioned anti-Sikh riots of 1984.
He further states, <b>"How does one judge whether the police acted firmly or not in riots between members of two religious communities? From the number of people killed in police firing, it was reported that more Hindus than Muslims died from police bullets during the anti-Muslim riots in Gujarat in 2002, and also during the anti-Muslim riots in Madhya Pradesh in the 1960s. Does this show culpability on the part of the Gujarat administration?</b>
"If Modi is guilty of violation of human rights of religious minorities, as alleged by the US, so were Narasimha Rao, Rajiv Gandhi, Indira Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, DP Mishra, and Kamaraj. Why did the US, in its hypocrisy, choose to act against Modi, and never in the past against the others? One reason is that the Christian influence on US policymaking and its political leadership was not as strong in the past as it is today."
NGOs working in India never approached outside international agencies and foreign Governments as they did against Modi. Many NGOs are actively involved in anti-nation activities. Today India is more vulnerable than the Soviet Union or the USA but the fact is that the Indian establishment is totally unmindful about activities of a section of NGOs.
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