NGOs In India

[acharya]

India: Of, by, and for NGOs

September 26, 2005

Rejoice, all ye! India has scored another first.

The government has become a non-government, and non-government organisations (NGOs) have become the government.

The Mother of all NGOs in India, of course, is the National Advisory Council. It devotes itself to what Victorian parish priests used to call the 'good works.'

Its writ begins and ends in charity -- but with a crucial difference. Whereas the cost of real charity is private and the beneficiary is the public, the cost of NAC charity is public and the beneficiaries are private (e.g. the Rural Employment Guarantee Act).

That, too, must be another first.

The latest attempt at good works comes in the form of a Bill that may get passed in the winter session of Parliament. It is called the Older Person's (Maintenance, Care and Protection) Bill.

The purpose is to ensure that children don't treat their parents badly when the latter grow old and infirm and vulnerable. The law says that they must provide for financial and other kinds of support, including companionship.

If they don't, parents can sue in tribunals. If they win, any transfer of property from parents to children will be declared void.

Deserving retribution for undeserving progeny, I am sure. But how much will the fellow who heads the tribunal charge to give a ruling? And if the property is already with the son (daughters are excluded, I must presume) who can bribe better, the parents or the sons?

Heaven knows what else is brewing but one thing is proven: it is not the ministers and political parties that are setting the national social agenda. It is the NGOs acting through their Mother, the NAC. We mean well, ergo, we will do well.

That's what Lenin and Trotsky also thought, talking of whom one cannot help observe that while the social agenda is being set by the NGOs, the economic agenda is being set by the Communists. Not being in government, they are a different kind of NGO. Just as the RSS was when the NDA was in power.

These cheering thoughts in such depressing times led me to do some research on NGOs. It was a rich harvest that I reaped.

The phrase non-governmental organisation came into use in 1945, when the UN was established (Article 71 of Chapter 10 of its Charter), because everyone said there was a need for consultations that went beyond governments.

According to the UN, NGOs are independent of governments, in that they are not supposed to receive any funding from them.

But most Indian NGO, like their European counterparts, receive a very high proportion of their money, sometimes as much as 90 per cent, from governments. This, when you come to think of it, is rather clever of the governments.

Originally, the funding was supposed to be from membership dues, but it now comes from grants from international institutions as well, some of them quite dodgy. And even the ones that are clean have their own agendas, which are promoted by some NGOs. Money is never given for nothing.

How interesting, I thought. A non-governmental organisation funded by your own government -- or if the poor dear is broke, foreign ones.

Indian NGOs are not alone in this respect, though. But they are different, in that more of them are dependent on governments than NGOs elsewhere.

There is another irritating vanity that NGOs affect, even though they depend so much on government funding. They call themselves 'civil society', usually defined as 'the space between the government and the people.'

Civil society is one of those nice-sounding terms that make everyone feel virtuous. But, in my experience, these 'civil society' NGOs are pure dictatorships: ein NGO, ein fuhrer, and so on. In that sense, they are as bad as newspapers, where the editor can be a complete dictator.

It was Thomas Hobbes and John Locke, two grumpy British philosophers from the 17th century, when the Brits had a lot to be grumpy about, who used it first.

Hobbes said that people's lives were nasty, brutish, and short and that only fear drove them. But Locke said they were actually quite nice chaps, really, ready to co-operate with each other, and so on.

Nevertheless, they needed a well-established law, not to mention judges and an executive to enforce things.

It was, he said, the duty of the state to provide for these. It was never to forget that it existed for the people, and not the other way around.

Our NGOs have, quite rightly, adopted this last bit. But alas Locke also said that the state had to be 'liberal, tolerant and limited.' Strange, then, is it not, that our NGOs are bent on making it as intrusive as possible?

I also found that there are different acronyms to describe various types of NGOs. Thus, according to Wikipedia, you have:

* INGO, for international NGO;
* BINGO, for business-oriented international NGO;
* RINGO, for religious international NGO;
* ENGO, for environmental NGO;
* QUANGO, which is quasi-government NGO; and the most irresistible of all,
* GONGO, the government-operated NGO!

To which may I add SONGO?

http://in.rediff.com/news/2005/sep/27guest1.htm

[acharya]

Directory of NGOs

This Directory of NGOs has been compiled from the following sources:
Environmental NGOs in India. A Directory 1999 (Indira Gandhi
Conservation Monitoring Centre).
The Little Green Book. A Directory of Environmental Opportunities
(Kalpavriksh)

Assam Science Society has 75 branches and was set up in 1953 to
disseminate science knowledge.They impart environmental education and
training through camps for teachers and students and conduct surveys on
environment.
Publications: Science books and journals.

General Secretary
Assam Science Society, Latsil
Lamb Road
Guwahati - 781 001
Assam

BAIF Development Research Foundation Kamdahnu was set up in 1967 at
Urli Kanchan, Pune District to improve the quality of life of the poor
through regeneration of degraded resources such as land, livestock,
water and vegetation. They carry out tree plantation, agro forestry and
wasteland development and conduct research on tree species capable of
surviving in adverse conditions. They do consultancy for afforestation,
wasteland and watershed management. They encourage the use of
non-conventional sources of energy.
Publications: The BAIF journal (quarterly).
http://www.ngoindia.com/baif/

President
BAIF Development Research Foundation Kamdhenu
Senapati Bapat Marg
Pune - 411 016
Maharashtra

Bombay Natural History Society started its work in September 1883 at
Mumbai. It aims to collect data on the specimens on natural history
throughout the Indian sub-continent. To disseminate knowledge of flora
and fauna by means of lectures, field trips, literature and expeditions
and, to study wildlife related problems and recommend management plans
to conserve wildlife and its habitat. It conducts field research
projects on bird migration and studies on the movement and population
structure of Indian avifauna. It also conducts studies of certain
endangered species of wildlife and their habitat and through
environmental education impart the knowledge and awareness of the need
to conserve wildlife.
Publications: Hornbill (4 issues in a year), other jourals.
www.bnhs.org/

Honorary Secretary
Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS)
Hornbill House, Opposite Lion Gate
Shahid Bhagat Singh Marg
Mumbai

Centre for Environmental Education (CEE) was set up in 1984 to spread
awareness of environmental issues and try to find solutions for them.
It is based at Ahmedabad and they have offices all over the country.
They mainly aim to create environmental awareness in the
communities.They conduct widespread environmental education and
training programmes through a very vast network. They have also taken
up projects related to conservation of biodiversity and
eco-development.
Publications and database:
They have a vast range of publications - books, posters, educational
packages, bibliographies and directories.
There is also a large computerised database - the Environment
Education bank, which has a collection of more than 800 environment
concepts, about 2500 environment related activities and 100s of case
studies.
education.vsnl.com/cee/index.html
envfor.nic.in/cee/cee.html

Director
Centre for Environment Education (CEE)
Thaltej Tekra
Ahmedabad - 380 054
Gujarat

Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) does research, investigative
and educational work in the field of pollution, forest, wildlife, land
and water use.The activities are carried out through lectures, field
trips, publications, exhibitions on the various issues they take up,
meetings and workshops.
Publications:
Down to Earth - a fortnightly environment magazine; Children's
magazine The Gobar Times; books; reports; computer database; audio
visuals, etc.
www.oneworld.org/cse/

Director
Centre for Science and Environment (CSE)
41, Institutional Area
Tuglakhabad
New Delhi - 110 062

Clean Ahmedabad Abhiyan is alocal NGO that has been working with the
Ahmedabad municipal corporation in the area of solid waste and is
instrumental for organizing door to door meetings, awareness campaigns
to educate people about the importance of segregating waste into
biodegradable and recyclable waste. Once they have convinced the people
of this the household begins segregating the waste.
www.un.org/esa/earthsummit/abhiyan.htm

CPR Environmental Education Centre (C.P.Ramaswami Aiyar Foundation) is
based at Chennai and was set up in 1989 to promote environmental
awareness, to produce and disseminate basic educational and reference
material on environment and to take up environmental projects.It has
done a study of the sacred groves of Tamilnadu and soil and water
analysis. Gives guidance on environmental laws, environmental impacts
and management studies. It works in the field of environmental
education. Has promoted smokeless chulhas and other renewable sources
of energy.
Publications:
Books on environment, posters, audio cassettes, web site on environment
education.
www.crpeec.or

Director
C.R.P. Environment Eductaion Centre
I A Eldams Road, Alwarpet
Chenna - 600 018

Dasholi Gram Swarajya Mandal was set up at Gopeshwar, Chamoli District,
U.P. in 1964. Its aims are to encourage forest conservation and the use
of forest products for self employment; to cut down soil erosion by
encouraging volunteers to build embankments in the catchment areas and
to plant trees.
The world famous Chipko Movement was spearheaded by this organization.
It gives a great deal of importance to forest conservation in the
Himalayas. It has promoted environmental awareness in these areas and
carried out major eco-regeneration programmes.

Secretary
Dasholi Gram Swarajya Mandal (DGSM)
Gopeshwar
Chamoli District - 246 401
Uttar Pradesh

Darpana Academy of Performing Arts was set up in Ahmedabad in 1984 to
spread education in dance, drama and puppetry.Through their various
activities they spread the message of a better environment. They have
launched a programme 'Jagruti', a school project for environmental
empowerment.
Publication and aids: Video and audio tapes
www.darpana.com

Smt. Mrinalini V. Sarabhai
Founder Director
Darpana Academy of Performing Arts
Usmanpura, Ashram Road
Ahmedabad - 380 013
Gujarat

Development Alternatives based at Delhi, work in all parts of the
country. It was established in 1983 to design options and promote
sustainable development through programmes of economic efficiency,
equity and social justice, resource conservation and self-reliance. Its
activities cover the entire nation. They are working in the field of
pollution monitoring and control; waste recycling management; wasteland
development; appropriate technology.
Publications and aids: Monthly newsletter, audio cassettes (songs on
environment and development), video cassettes (Green Show)
www.ecouncil.ac.cr/devalt/dagrp.htm

President
Development Alternatives
B-33/2, Institutional Area, Tara Crescent
New Mehrauli
New Delhi - 110 016

Friendicoes, Society for the Eradication of Cruelty to Animals was set
up at Delhi in 1979 to rescue, feed and medicate all injured, abused
and ownerless animals; to promote adoption programmes for animals.
Humane education programmes for schools and slum areas; sterilisation
of stray dogs; running mobile clinics in slum areas.

27/273 under Defence Colony Flyover,
New Delhi - 110 024

Friends of the Doon was founded in 1983 as a pressure group against
illegal mining, tree felling and as a platform for voicing people's
grievances. They aim at preserving and rehabilitating the environment
of the Doon Valley, its forests, rivers and mountains. One of their
main activities include the support they give to the case against
limestone mining. Some of their main activities are in the area of
environmental education and afforestation. They also encourage the use
of non conventional sources of energy and are executing town
beautification schemes.

Gandhi Peace Foundation - Environment Cell began functioning at Delhi
from June 1979. It was set up mainly to promote the environmental
activities of rural development agencies; to disseminate environmental
information through the publication of up to date reports on
environmental issues; to organize workshops and seminars for
environmental experts, policy makers, individuals and organisations
working for environmental issues. Their activities include researching
the role of women in community forestry and rural development;
conducting studies in soil erosion, water logging, drainage and seepage
around select dams; planting fast growing trees.
Publications:
They bring out publications and educational aids on the Chipko
Movement, environmental education, dams etc; audio visuals on Mitti
Bachao, the Chipko Movement, deforestation, the Yamuna and the Narmada
rivers and traditional rain harvesting techniques.
www.undp.org.in/gup/gpf.htm

Gandhi Peace Foundation
Environment Cell
221/223, Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg
New Delhi - 110 002

Green Future Foundation was set up in 1987 at Pune in Maharashtra to
promote and work towards environmental protection, energy and
ecological conservation and pollution control. They impart
environmental education and training by organising forest based camps
for adults and youths. They also do afforestation and have raised a
nursery of medicinal and indigenous plants.
Publication and aids: Video and audio tapes

Executive Secretary
Green Future Foundation (GEF)
515/5/14, Anjali
Ekbote Colony
Pune - 411 042
Maharashtra

Indian Association for Environmental Management (IAEM) was set up at
Nagpur in 1963 to educate people on the environment, to encourage the
conservation of the environment and to spread environmental knowledge.
They conduct seminars, essay competitions and exhibitions related to
water and its pollution, they have carried out water pollution control
activities and worked in the field of environmental management.
Publication: Journal

Indian Association for Environmental Management (IAEM)
C/o NEERI, Nehru Marg
Nagpur - 440 020
Maharashtra

INTACH Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage, New Delhi
was set up in 1984 to preserve Indian cultural and natural
heritage.They undertake water-harvesting projects in urban areas. They
have done studies on the restoration of the ecological balance of
freshwater lakes and ponds and marine habitats and prepared maps. They
also publish books on environmental issues.
Publications:
Books on environmental issues - 1. The Greening of India. 2. Land and
Water. 3. Tropical Desertification, etc.

Director General
Indian National trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH)
Bhartiyam Near Humayun Tomb
Nizamuddin
New Delhi - 110 013

Jammu and Kashmir Environment and Wasteland Development Society works
mainly in the Rajouri District to develop wastelands. They have done
extensive afforestation in the wasteland areas and identifies
wastelands in the area of function.

General Secretary
Jammu & Kashmir Environment and
Wasteland Development Society
14, Ranbir Market, Indira Chowk
Jammu - 180 001
Jammu & Kashmir

Kerala Sastra Sahitiya Parishad was set up in 1962 in Thrissur Kerala
to preserve the environment, to provide alternative models for
development and to popularize science among the people.They have worked
in the field of eco-development, creating awareness about water and
energy conservation and encouraging the use of non-conventional energy
sources such as smokeless chulhas, etc.
Publications:
Quarterly publications and books.

President
Kerala Shastra Sahitya Parishad
Parishat Bhawan, Guruvayeer Road
Thrissur - 680 004
Kerala

Kalpavriksh was started in 1971 as a movement opposed to the
destruction of Delhi's green area. It is a citizens action group set
up to inculcate understanding and concern on environmental issues,
especially among the youth. It also aims to conduct research in
environmental problems, to campaign on environmental issues and to
evolve a holistic environmental perspective. It imparts environmental
education in schools and colleges by forming a network of nature clubs,
conducting bird watching expeditions and nature trails and has
developed workbooks for the school level. It has conducted research on
environmental subjects such as an impact assessment study on the
Narmada Valley Project, pesticide use in India, air pollution in Delhi,
mining activities in Dehra Dun district, protecting the Delhi ridge,
are some of the works they have highlighted.
Publications:
1. The Little Green Book. 2. Narmada - a campaign newsletter. 3. What
is that bird (An illustrated guide), etc.

C-17/A, Munirka
New Delhi - 110 067

Ladakh Ecology Development Group (LEDG) was set up in 1983 in Ladakh in
the Leh and Kargil Districts. It aims to promote ecological and
sustainable development harmonious with the traditional cultures of the
area. They have worked in the area of ecological development and
protection of the environment. A great deal of awareness has been
generated under their Village Outreach Project. They are encouraging
the use of renewable energy sources, promoting organic farming and the
making of handicrafts. They have contributed to the ban of plastics in
the valley.

LEDG, Leh
Ladakh District
Jammu and Kashmir

Madras Naturalists Society (MNS) commenced its activities in Chennai in
1976 but was registered in 1979. Its main aims are to study
environmental problems in and around Chennai;to impart environmental
education through seminars and discussions; to imbibe a love for nature
through camps and slide shows; to organise visits to sanctuaries in
Tamilnadu; to disseminate information on nonpolluting and renewable
sources of energy. It imparts environmental education to students and
teachers through planting of trees in schools and slide shows. It
conducts surveys and symposia on water pollution and forest destruction
and is cooperating with other agencies in studying the city's
pollution problems. It has conduated ecological survey and done
enumeration of species found on the seacoast along Chennai city. It has
been encouraging the use of nonpolluting and renewable sources of
energy.
Publications:
Quarterly journal the Blackbuck, report on a pollution survey of
Chennai beaches;checklist of birds in and around Chennai; monthly
bulletin on the society's activities.


8, Janaki Avenue
Abhirampuram
Chennai - 600 018

Narmada Bachao Andalon was set up in 1986 under the leadership of Medha
Patkar. It aims mainly to educate those directly affected by large
development projects, such as tribals, on the social and environmental
impact of such projects. To protest against the construction of dams in
the Narmada Valley in general; struggling towards a right to
information and new environmentally sustainable water policy. To help
the tribals get a substantial share of the government's development
schemes/services and to unable them to undertake development activities
themselves. They mainly educate, mobilize and organize residents of the
Narmada Valley on human rights and justice, alternative development
policies, environmental issues related to big dams in general and the
Narmada project in particular. They undertake surveys of the affected
villages, protest against land and forest issues and government
interference in this regard. They are fighting against displacement and
disregard of the rights of the people.
Publication: They come out with a bi-monthly publication the Narmada
Samachar.

Smt. Medha Patkar
Narmada Dharangrast Samiti
(Narmada Bachao Andolan)
C/o P.D. Dalal
Post Box 52
Dhule - 424 001
Maharashtra

Nilgiri Wildlife and Environment Association is based at Ottacamand to
conserve the natural resources of the Nilgiri and preserve wildlife and
the habitat. Impart environmental education and conduct tree planting,
bird watching, and soil conservation programmes. They have assisted in
the imposition of hunting restrictions and the protection of the
elephant.
Publications: Quarterly in English 'Tahr' and booklets.

Honarary Scretary
Nilgiri Wildlife and Environment Association
C/o District Forest Office
Nilgiris North Division
Mount Stewart Hill
Ottacamand, Nilgiri District - 643 001
Tamil Nadu

Orissa Environmental Society was established in 1982 at Bhubaneshwar.
It was set up to encourage and organise study, research, understanding
and appreciation of nature. To formulate co-curricular courses in
environmental sciences at all levels of education and advise the
government. They conduct research, seminars and workshops on forest and
wildlife protection and organise eco-development camps. They are
campaigning for a biosphere reserve forest area in the state. They are
the resource agency for pollution control in Talcher industrial area.
Publications: The Journal of Environmental Science, reports,
proceedings, etc.

Orissa Environmental Society (OES)
N-6/530 Nayapalli
Bhubaneshwar - 751 015

Rajasthan Environment Preservation Society was set up in 1985 at Jaipur
to work towards pollution control, afforestation, ecological and
environmental preservation. To promote social forestry and plantation
and to clean the ponds, lakes and reservoirs. They impart environmental
education and awareness, provide consultancy and encourage the use of
renewable sources of energy.

The President
Rajasthan Environment Preservation Society
"Vasundara", Tonk Road
Jaipur - 302 015

Ramakrishna Mission Lokashiksha Parishad was set up in 1952 and its
mission is to uplift the rural people with a view to making them
self-reliant. It works in 11 districts covering about 4000 villages. It
has been carrying out programmes for the development of the wasteland
areas restoration of bundhs in the Sundarbans riverine areas to protect
the land from saline water. It has conducted studies on the status,
expectation and contribution of non timber forest products for the
subsistence of forest fringe dwellers. It has been promoting the use of
smokeless chulhas, sanitary toilet linked biogas plants, solar energy;
extensive tree plantation; preservation of the Sunderban biosphere;
promoting ecofriendly farming. It is also working in the area of
environmental education.

Director
Ramakrishna Mission Lokashiksha Parishad
Belur Math
Belur
West Bengal

Srishti was set up in Delhi in 1988 to promote conservation and
enrichment of the environment; to carry out research on all aspects of
sustainable living; to foster concern for the environment among the
people, making its preservation a shared responsibility. It has been
working for the conservation of the Delhi Ridge by involving community
participation; they have kept a bird count in the wetlands of Delhi. It
has coordinated the Asian midwinter waterfowl census for northern India
and has carried out tree plantation, conservation of biodiversity and
waste management.

It played a very active role in the drafting and finalisation of the
Biodegradable Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 1998. It worked
closely with the CPCB and the MOEF in the finalisation of the rules.
Now that the rules have been issued, it is propagating the cause of
better bio-medical waste practices

1001, Antariksh Bhavan
22, Kasturba Gandhi Marg
New Delhi - 110 001

The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), established in 1974,TERI is
a wholly independent not-for-profit research institute. Its mission is
to develop and promote technologies, policies and institutions for
efficient and sustainable use of natural resources. It has been
imparting environmental education through projects, workshops, audio
visual aids and quiz competitions. It deals with policy related work in
the energy sector, research on environmental subjects development on
renewable energy technologies and promotion of energy effeciency in the
industry and transport. TERI also has a major programme in
biotechnology, the applications of which are oriented towards increased
biomass production, conversion of waste into useful products and
mitigating the harmful environmental impacts of several economic
activities. Publications: They have several books on energy, climate
change, renewable energy, regulation, environment and sustainable
development and forestry & biodiversity. They also publish research
journals and digest journals, newsletters. There are also several
databases and audio-visuals on various environment issues.
Some of them are as follows - 1. TERI Energy Data Directory &
Yearbook. 2. Looking back to think ahead. 3. Mahatma Gandhi: an apostle
of applied human ecology. 4. How global is global and how warm is
warming?, etc.

Director-General
TERI
Darbari Seth Block
IHC Complex, Lodhi Road
New Delhi - 110 003

Theatre in Education Company is affiliated to the National School of
Drama New Delhi and was set up in 1989. Its aim is to use theatre as a
medium for education. It conducts various environment related plays for
children with a view to impart environment education through theatre.

National School of Drama
Bhagwan Dass Road
New Delhi - 110 001

Tarun Bharat Sangh began its work in 1984-85 in the rural areas to
study local natural resources and to find ways and means to protect
them and thereby help maintain the balance of the local ecosystem. They
also aim to spread literacy and do other community based work to create
a healthy natural environment. They have spread their area of work to 6
districts in Rajasthan. They have organised seminars and workshops on
environmental protection. They are working towards preserving the
resources of Sariska Tiger Reserve and have initiated a public
litigation to stop illegal mining in Sariska. They have done pioneering
work on water conservation, tree plantation, wasteland development and
soil conservation in the area. They are encouraging the use of gobar
gas and solar lighting systems.

Bhikampura
P.O. Kishori
Thanagazi Tehsil
Alwar - 301 022
Rajasthan

Tiger link began functioning in 1995 at Delhi under Valmik Thapar and
its parent order is the Ranthambore Foundation. It has been established
to provide links between different sections working in the interest of
the tiger and its habitat, and to effectively take actions to overcome
local obstacles. They are working mainly in the field of conservation
and the preservation of the environment.
Publication: Tigerlink News: a bi-annual newsletter.

19, Kautilya Marg,
New Delhi - 110 021

Uttarkhand Seva Nidhi was set up in 1967 to disseminate information o
the environment. They have spread environmental education and training
and are setting up a resource centre at Almora.

Honorary Secretary
Uttrakhand Seva Nidhi
Manerath Sadan, Champa Naula
Almora - 263 601
Uttar Pradesh

Vanarai is based in Pune and was first set up in 1982 to promote
environmental protection and afforestation and sustainable integrated
rural development. Their activities are spread over the states of
Maharashtra, Gujarat and Rajasthan. They are working in the area of
environmental education for school children and teachers and help them
in forming ecoclubs. They have led agitations to prevent the felling of
trees in the Konkan region; taken active interest in soil and water
conservation through simple technologies; promoted smokeless chulhas
and gobar gas plants; constructed low cost toilets in the rural areas
and have worked in afforestation programmes.
Publications:
They take out a monthly magazine called Vanarai and have brought out
many video cassettes.

Secretary
Vanarai
Aditya Residency, 498
Parvati, Mitramandal Chowk
Pune - 411 009
Maharashtra

Vatavaran, an NGO working in the sector of solid waste collection. They
have around 27 projects in different parts of Delhi including JNU and
NOIDA. This organisation was formed in order to improve the ways and
means of garbage collection through a more concrete method. People
normally dump their garbage indiscriminately in the MCD bins where they
overflow and a stink begins rising. But now through the method of door
to door collection the colonies are much cleaner then they were before
this organisation stepped in. For a very nominal charge the garbage is
collected from the doorstep and taken to the private dump where it is
segregated. Biodegradable waste is put into compost pits and the
non-biodegradable is further segregated into groups such as, glass,
paper, and plastics and then send further to recycling industries or to
mills that require these for raw material.

In residential colonies such as Asiad Village and Vasant Kunj, where
Vatavaran has been very effective, the initiative is now being carried
forward by the residents welfare societies of these areas. The compost
pits yield very high quality manure that is either sold or used to
promote horticultural activities within the colony. This waste now
becomes an income source and cost effective.

Asiad Games Village
New Delhi - 110 049

World Wide Fund for Nature was set up in India in 1969. The
coordinating body the WWF International, is located in Gland in
Switzerland. Its main aim is the promotion of conservation of nature
and environmental protection as the basis for sustainable and equitable
development.

It has five broad programme components:
a) Promoting India's ecological security; restoring the ecological
balance.
b) Conserving biological diversity.
c) Ensuring sustainable use of the natural resource base.
d) Minimising pollution and wasteful consumption.
e) Promoting sustainable lifestyles.

This organisation has been working in the field of biodiversity
conservation including field projects, consultancy and research and
support to other organizations; forest management; environmental
education and awareness. They also work in the area of ecodevelopment,
promoting and supporting local conservation networks (Community
Biodiversity Conservation Movement). They are doing wildlife trade
monitoring, and assisting CITES and related National Legislations;
research in Indian and international laws; legal intervention on
environmental issues; legal education on environment including Asia's
only diploma course on environmental law.
Publications:
They have innumerable books, cassettes and data on various issues which
can be got from their outlets in the cities.
Some of them are as follows - 1. WWW Indian Network Newsletter
(Quarterly). 2. Nature News. 3. The Web of Life - a resource pack for
children. 4. The Law Digest, etc.

Secretary General
WWF-India
Delhi Office
Pirojsha Godrej National Conservation Centre
172-B, Max Mueller Marg
Lodhi Estate
New Delhi - 110 003

[acharya]

http://groups.google.com/group/civilsoci...k=sg&hl=en

[acharya]

http://www.csdsdelhi.org/intro.htm

[acharya]

http://www.indicstudies.org/index.htm

[Guest]

Imagine if this happened in BJP ruled state.... <!--emo&--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tongue.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tongue.gif' /><!--endemo-->



<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Agitating Priests and Nuns arrested
The Examiner
Date: December 31, 2005

The Maharashtra Governments' decision to privatise the public transport in Vasai Taluka has created a stir in Thane District. <b>Eleven men and women belonging to NGOs and political parties</b> have begun an indefinite hunger strike near Vasai railway station from Sunday, Dec. 11, 2005. The Shramjivi Sanghtana staged Rasta Roko and blocked the highways of Thane District on Dec. 14, 2005.

On Dec. 15 hundreds of activists in Western Vasai organised Rasta Roko. <b>The Catholic priests and nuns also participated in the agitation. Fr Francis D'Britto, the founder of Harit Vasai, Fr Andrew Rodrigues, Fr John Fergose, Fr Prakash Rumao, Fr Luis Britto, Sr Cecilia, Sr Martin, Sr Alka and others were arrested by the police and later released on bail.</b>

Meanwhile, the condition of Ms Gita Vernekar, Chhaya Patil and Dominica Dabre who are on the 5th day of the fast is deteriorating. They have refused to be hospitalised.

Bhai Thakur, Mr Hitendra Thakur, the local MLA and brother of the notorious mafia and Mr Ganesh Naik, Minister of environment have been bent on privatising the bus service, in spite of strong opposition by the local people.
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

[Guest]

ks_venkat on IC posted this link..

http://www.mha.nic.in/fore_division.htm
http://www.mha.nic.in/Forn_div-Section10a.pdf
http://www.mha.nic.in/Forn_div-Section10b.pdf

[acharya]

The Institute of Social Sciences
was registered under the Societies Registration Act of India 1860 on 28 August 1985. The first governing body of the Institute met on 1 September 1985 under the chairmanship of D.T. Lakdawala, renowned economist and former Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, Government of India. Dr.George Mathew, Founder Director, heads the Institute. The Institute started functioning at B-7/81, Safdarjung Enclave, New Delhi and continued till April 1999. From May 1,1999, it moved to its own premises at 8 Nelson Mandela Road, New Delhi, near Jawahar Lal Nehru University.


http://www.issin.org/institute-social-scie...asp?id_lvl_1=13


Aims of the Institute:

* Multi-disciplinary social science advanced research.
* Developing an informed and action-oriented public opinion.
* Ushering in a society in which power to the people is a reality.

Looks like a commie organization and is trying for change in political movements.



Objectives:

* To study contemporary social, political and economic issues and problems with an inter-disciplinary perspective.
* To make its findings and recommendations available to government bodies, civil society organizations, policy makers, social scientists and all concerned citizens, so as to widen their options for action.


In the first publication of the Institute, it was stated:

<b>
Institute of Social Sciences is dedicated to systematic study of social issues and problems that confront India, in trans-disciplinary perspective. Its finding and recommendations are made available to the members of the decision-making organization such as government bodies, trade unions, people's organization and corporate bodies and scientific communities to encourage them to enlarge the options for action. The evolution of an informed and action-oriented public opinion is our primary aim.</b>

NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PARTNERSHIP
The Government of India, State Governments and various national and international organizations have extended their support through programmes and specific grants in building up the Institute.


National Level
Planning Commission, Government of India
Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India
Indian Council of Social Science Research, Government of India
Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India
Ministry of Human Resources Development, Government of India
Ministry of Textiles, Government of India
Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment
Ministry of Environment and Forests
National Archives of India
National Human Rights Commission
Government of Jammu & Kashmir
Government of Haryana
Government of Delhi
Government of Madhya Pradesh
Government of Tamil Nadu
Government of Kerala
Government of West Bengal
Government of Punjab
Government of Rajasthan
Government of Karnataka
National Foundation for India
Sulabh International
V. V. Giri National Labour Institute
Xavier Institute of Development Action and Studies
Deccan Development Society
Malcolm & Elizabeth Adiseshiah Trust
National Institute of Public Cooperation and Child Development
National Commission for Women

International Organizations
Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA)
The Ford Foundation
Misereor, Germany
Embassy of Ireland
L’Eglise Unie du Canada/Canadian International Development Agency
EZE, Germany
Forum of Federations, Canada
Finland Embassy
Embassy of Sweden
Friedrich Ebert Stiftung
Canadian High Commission
DFID, The British High Commission
The Hunger Project
HEKS- INDIA
Indo-German Social Service Society, New Delhi
ICCO, The Netherlands
Konrad Adenauer Stiftung
NORAD, New Delhi
NOVIB , The Netherlands
The Netherlands Embassy
National Endowment for Democracy (NED), Washington
Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA)
Embassy of Switzerland: Swiss Development Cooperation
UNICEF
UNDP
UNIFEM
UNFPA
World Bank
World Food Programme (WFP)
CARE India
Uppsala University, Sweden
South Asia Partnership
Centre de Sciences Humaines
Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation
<span style='color:red'>ActionAid India
Christian Aid</span>


The forum for all sociologists – university teachers, social scientists is functioning from the Institute. The noted academic journal in the field of sociology, Sociological Bulletin is published from the Institute.

Looks like lot of foriegn govt and Christian org are plugged into the social studies and
sociologists inside INDIA and funding lot of studies to change identities and create political movements.

[acharya]

It looks like it is political party which is trying for social and political changes.
With Foriegn moeny coming to these activieis they have significant influences
in political changes.

The Institute of Social Sciences


Advocacy and Awareness Building


Advocacy and awareness building are important for the success of democracy. Only informed citizens will be in a position to make decisions for the holistic development of the society at large. ISS believes in shaping up public opinion towards creating a climate in which Gram Sabhas (Village Assemblies) and Panchayats (Village Councils) get their rightful place in India’s federal polity. ISS is active in awareness and advocacy building. It sees a major role for itself in creating an ethos where grassroots level democracy, women’s participation in politics and good governance below the state level can flourish.

During the eight-year period from (1985-’93), the Institute initiated the necessary intellectual discussion and created a political debate for amending the Constitution, incorporating provisions for new Panchayati Raj institutions. Finally, when the landmark legislation – Amendements to the Constitution (73rd and 74th Amendment) Acts, 1972 – was made for direct elections to the local level government bodies, and reservation of seats for women, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes – the traditionally ‘excluded’ sections of Indian society – the Institute’s contribution to the historic amendments was widely recognised.
Global Network on Local Governance
The Institute is in the process of setting up a Global Network on Local Governance. The objective of the Network is to create an informal forum which would pursue the objectives through dissemination of values of local democracy and participative governance, documentation and exchange of experiences in local governance, support for local government advocacy, collection of study of success stories on local government system and widening the scope for people's participation in governance.
The major areas of concern for the Network are:


strengthening local democracy
political empowerment of disadvantaged groups, including women, indigenous people, and others, and their inclusion in the process of decision making at the local level
transparent, efficient, accountable, and participative local governance
interface between civil society organisations (NGOs and CBOs) and local government institutions
combating the tendency toward centralisation of political power
making local administration (i.e. distinct parts of central/state/provincial government at the local level) more accountable to elected local government bodies and
ensuring fiscally viable local government institutions
Other Notable Efforts of ISS towards Advocacy and Awareness Building
- Celebrating Women’s Political Empowerment Day
Annual celebrations to commemorate the reservation of seats for women in local governing bodies. The day is marked by organising seminars and workshops on a particular aspect related to women’s empowerment. Following themes have so far been covered:
2003 - Ten Years of Panchyati Raj : Problems and Prospects
2002 – Panchayats, Women and Food Security
2001 – Panchayats and Women’s Economic Empowerment
2000 – Women and Gram Sabha
1999 – Women and Family welfare
1998 – Women and Poverty eradication
1997 – Women and Primary Education
1996 – Women and Health
1994 – Women and Empowerment
- Instituting an Award for the Outstanding Women Panchayat Leader
This award instituted by the ISS in recognition of the role played by elected women representatives in the development of their panchayats and to publicise their achievements in acquiring equal status and political power.
- Inter State Study Tours
The Institute organises study tours for elected Panchayati Raj representatives to study the functioning of various local governing bodies in different States of India.
- Daughters of the 73rd Amendment:
Video Film on the lives and struggles of the successful women Panchayat leaders.

[acharya]

Indian Sociological Society



The Indian Sociological Society, the professional association of sociologists in India, shifted to the Institute of Social Sciences in 1989 from the Indian Statistical Institute, New Delhi. Earlier the Society had functioned from University of Bombay, University of Delhi; Institute of Economic Growth, Delhi; Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi; University of Poona, Pune, and Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai.

The Indian Sociological Society is the only organization of sociologists in India, which was founded in December 1951 in Bombay with the initiative of G. S.Ghurye. It started publishing the bi-annual journal Sociological Bulletin in 1952. Its location in the Institute has provided a much-needed stability and continuity to the activities of the Society.

The Society has about 2,000 life members from all parts of the country. Although not a very large number considering the size of the profession, it is quite significantly large if compared with other social science associations in the country. Following the practice in International Sociological Association, the Indian Sociological Society adopted the Research Committee system in 1998 to encourage more focussed and meaningful discussions. There are 24 such research committees and members can choose to join up to three of them.

D. N. Dhanagare (Pune) is the President, J. J. Kattakayam (Thiruvananthapuram) is the Secretary and Harish Doshi (Surat) is the Treasurer for the period 2002-2003. N. Jayaram (Goa) is the Managing Editor of Sociological Bulletin. Krishnan Namboodiri is the Indian Sociological Society office in-charge.

[Guest]

<b>Advani wants NAC disbanded</b>
Mohua Chatterjee
[ Thursday, April 27, 2006 12:25:41 amTIMES NEWS NETWORK ]
JABALPUR: Focused on targeting Congress president Sonia Gandhi so that her halo of sacrifice over quitting Lok Sabha is dented, Leader of Opposition and senior BJP leader L K Advani on Wednesday demanded that the UPA government should disband the National Advisory Council.

Sonia had quit as the chief of the NAC in the wake of the 'office of profit' controversy. Advani's comments drew an immediate response from Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi who said in Delhi that NAC had played a significant role in several welfare schemes and public-private partnership.

Back in Jabalpur, Advani also clarified BJP's own stand with regard to the office-of-profit issue, as legislation on it is due to come up in Parliament when it reconvenes on May 10 for two weeks.

Replying to a question on what BJP plans to do about its own members who have been named in the Election Commission's list of office-of-profit holders, Advani said, "We will not wait for the legislation to be in place and act before it, but whatever we do will not be dikhawa" or posturing, he said.

Advani dig was obviously a reference to Sonia's resignation from Lok Sabha and from the NAC being played up by Congress as another act of sacrifice, which the BJP leader argued it was not.

At a press conference here in the course of his Bharat Suraksha Yatra, Advani looked to point to NAC being a super-body which Congress apologists argue is needed to review and monitor implementation of the Common Minimum Programme. the suggestion being that PMO was not copetent to do so.

"I believe that this function can be easily conducted by the PMO itself. Indeed, it is the duty of the PM and not of any other nominee of the PM to review and monitor how this government has been functioning," said Advani.

In an appeal to the "good sense" of the Prime Minister, Advani urged him to restore the authority and dignity to the august office he occupies by immediately disbanding the NAC.

The fact that the government has not already disbanded the NAC makes us suspicious that the government intends to reappoint Sonia Gandhi as the chairperson, Advani said.

Accusing the government of not being transparent about the forthcoming Bill, BJP demanded government take people into confidence on the office of profit bill.

[Guest]

<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Narmada Bachao Andolan : Foreign funding??
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Foreign funding??
http://dailypioneer.com/indexn12.asp?main_...t&counter_img=2
<b>Guj HC sought ban on 'anti-national' NBA </b>
Navin Upadhyay | New Delhi
As the debate rages on the Narmada Bachao Andolan's bid to scuttle raising the height of the Sardar Sarovar dam on the allegation that the Madhya Pradesh Government had failed to rehabilitate displaced persons adequately, what has been completely forgotten is that five years ago, the Gujarat High Court had directed the Centre to consider banning the Medha Patkar-led outfit for "anti-national" activities.

Though the Centre did not act on the directive of the High Court, the then petitioner National Council for Civil Liberties (NCCL) has revived the charges in its fresh plea before the Supreme Court, backing his allegations with vigilance reports and police findings. The charges include dubious foreign funding, terror tactics, violence and disruptive activities to prevent the construction of the dam.
On December 14, 2001 a division bench of the High Court comprising Chief Justice DH Dharmadhikari, and Justice KA Puj had issued the ban-NBA-directive on a petition filed by the NCCL.

The HC had observed that the Centre should consider a ban on the NBA under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, for its alleged role in attempting to hamper the development of the country by opposing the Narmada and other dam projects.

The court had considered a spate of charges levelled by the NCCL in support of its contention that the anti-dam outfit was "anti-national". The most scurrilous allegation against the NBA was conspiring with multinationals and foreign institutions to halt important development projects.

The NCCL had also made specific allegations about the terror tactics used by the NBA to prevent construction work, instigating and mobilising the people to sabotage the dam work, and assaulting Government officials and labourers.
"After that we made several representation before the Centre to act on the Gujarat High Court order. But nothing has been done so far," NCCL president VK Saxena told the Pioneer. "In our petitions before the Supreme Court we have highlighted all the anti-national activities of the NBA and will once pray that in view of the Gujarat HC order, the apex court should ask the Centre to consider imposing a ban of their anti-national activities," Mr Saxena added.

Notwithstanding the amnesia of the Centre, the alleged anti-national activities of the NBA have also been highlighted by SDO Bagli, Madhya Pradesh in his final report of November 22, 2005 before Addl Sessions Judge in Bagli, Devas district.
In his report, the SDO has claimed that the arrest of Rahul Banerjee, who is associated with the NBA, and his wife by the police and subsequent seizure of their computers showed the "NBA received foreign assistance from the Right Livelihood Foundation and the <span style='color:red'>Goldman Foundation to run the Jan Sahyog Trust and the NBA Secretariat, and the money was given to other constituent organisations too. NBA used the amount received from the Goldman Foundation to meet huge expenses for lobbying in America." </span>

The report further pointed out that while the "<span style='color:red'>Goldman Foundation has been giving funds to Narmada Bachao Andolan, at the same time Rahul Bannerji's brother worked with the Goldman Investment Company in New Jersey, USA." </span>
The Devas SDO report says documentary evidences and witnesses lead to the inevitable conclusion that the activities of the accused <b>Rahul Bannerji and the Adivasi Morcha Sangathan, falls under the category of 121 A of IPC.
"Under Section 121, two types of conspiracies are defined. The first kind of conspiracy says, a crime, which is done within or outside India is punishable under section 121 of IPC. </b>

<b>The second type of conspiracy says - to terrorize the State Govt or Govt of India by using criminal force or by the show of criminal strength</b>. Under this section, it is not necessary that a conspiracy is hatched with an intention to benefit illegally but here it is very important to note the way the people have given their statements alleging that Rahul Bannerji and the members of Adivasi Morcha Sangathan were inciting Adivasis against the State Government and against the officers and staff of Government machinery for conducting their official duties," the report said.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

[Guest]

<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Call Medha's bluff </b>
The Pioneer Edit Desk
Her andolan promotes violence ---- Whoever says 'protest' cannot be turned into a viable career option needs only to look at Narmada Bachao Andolan's Medha Patkar for advice and guidance. For nearly two decades now, Ms Patkar has been a study in someone making an industry out of people's misery - the very folk whose cause she claims to represent. By going on her 'fasts-unto-death' on an average of twice a year - and rather mysteriously emerging stouter and healthier each time - Ms Patkar has proved that nothing succeeds like excess. She is the bland ambassador of the jholawala brigade whose only aim - given their youth and relative inexperience - is to make revolution; it does not matter whether it works on the ground or not. For the gullible 18,000 families whose self-claimed matriarch Ms Patkar is - or is perceived to be - this is bad news. For her misplaced activism is even today coming in the way of the relief and rehabilitation of the people affected by the Sardar Sarovar Project.

Ms Patkar's own followers have dwindled over the years - youth in their callow, impressionable twenties have long since deserted her for "greener pastures" which, as a figure of speech, stands for foreign-funded NGOs that dot the Indian landscape. Many of them work out of centralised air-conditioned head offices in Lutyens' Delhi. If such exodus has never really affected Ms Patkar's andolan, it is only because there is always a fresh crop of rebellious youth willing to pick up the baton from their immediate predecessors - complete with a handy survival kit on what to do next. Thus the NBA has been reduced to a contemporary anachronism whose cause célèbre is protest for the sake of it. Publicity is what Ms Patkar and her outfit has thrived on all these years, which she mistakenly believes is public support. For, apart from equally image conscious celebrities, the only people whose cause she serves are issue-starved 24X7 television news channels. After all, poor tribals holding placards against development and displacement make for engaging discussions in - again, air-conditioned - television studios.

Therefore, while the "public" shows off its latest purchases from dastkaar fairs in make-believe villages in south Delhi, Ms Patkar and her band of sisters and brothers - from Arundhati Roy to Aamir Khan - must raise a private toast to the success of their revolution. All this while the millions of people in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and even Rajasthan, who could benefit from the waters of Narmada if only these "useful idiots" had been put in their place, have no other alternative than to look to the heavens for succour. And to the courts, we may add. It is for such earthy and real reasons that the Gujarat High Court had pronounced the NBA anti-national, for its coming in the way of not just the resettlement of those displaced but also hundreds of thousands of farmers in dire need of water which is most cruelly and self-servingly being denied by a seemingly crazed lot. Clearly, their farcical bluff needs to be called.
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

[Guest]

<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Oustees raise voice against their 'Messiah' </b>
PIoneer.com
Navin Upadhyay | New Delhi
26 file affidavits saying NBA prevented them from accepting rehab ----<b> Bad news for Medha Patkar. As damaging facts begin to emerge in the media about the arm-twisting activities adopted by the Narmada Bacaho Andolan (NBA) activists to prevent the oustees of the Sardar Sarovar Project (SSP) from accepting the rehabilitation package offered by the Madhya Pradesh Government, even her own supporters have begun to turn against Medha Patkar.</b>   

<b>As many as 26 displaced villagers have approached a Gujarat NGO, which is in the forefront of countering NBA's "misinformation campaign" and submitted sworn affidavits confessing they were prevented and persuaded by the NBA not to accept the rehabilitation package offered by the MP Government.</b>

In their affidavit to the National Council for Civil Liberties, the oustees have expressed their willingness to accept the compensation package and said they would not side with the NBA is preventing survey and rehabilitaion work.

"In the past, we had received similar complaints from the oustees, but this is the first time we have received sworn affidavits on stamp papers. We are going to refer them to the Rehabilitation Commissioner of Madhya Pradesh," NCCL President VK Saxena told the Pioneer.

According to the documents available with the Pioneer, the oustees mainly belong to the NBA stronghold of Dhar and Badwani districts. <b>The complainants oustees' are: Genda Singh (Kikarwas village), Aman Singh (Deher), Brajesh, Kailash, Gopal, Nanabai, Tarabai, Kashiram, Rajendra, Raghu, Daulat Singh, Gulab Singh, Hari Om ( all from Piplagarhi village), Rameshwar, Nanabai (from Piplagarhi villages), Ramesh, Om and Prabhu (Nimbola villages), Ram Singh, Lal Singh and Chandra (Malangao).</b>

<b>Bajesh Singh's affidavit paints a revealing picture of NBA's attempt to scuttle the rehabilitation work.</b> The 40-year-old villager of Piplagarhi has disclosed that the NBA activists told him that they would not allow completion of the SSP and promised him better compensation if he sided with them.

<b>"I came under their influence and we did not allow survey work for finalising the compensation. Now I want to cooperate with the survey officials and accept the compensation," </b>Brajesh said in his affidavit, making it clear he was filing the affidavit without any influence or pressure.

In his affidavit, Genda Singh said the NBA did not allow him to accept compensation for his 22 bigha of agriculture land, which was going to be submerged after the construction of the Sardar Sarovar Dam<b>. "We were misled by the NBA. Now I am willing to accept the compensation," he said.</b>

<b>There was one common theme in nearly all the affidavits: NBA activists misled and compelled the villagers to reject the MP Government package. </b>

All these affidavits were filed after Medha Patkar sat on an indefinite fast protesting against the alleged failure of the Madhya Pradesh Government in carrying out the rehabilitation work. However, the affidavits show that while on the one hand, Ms Patkar was shedding tears over the plight of the oustees, on the other hand she was scuttling the State Government's attempts to provide compensation to the displaced persons.

<b>Incidentally, as reported by the Pioneer, as many 228 FIRs have been filed against the NBA for assaulting and terrorising Government officials engaged in carrying out survey and rehabilitation exercise.</b> The affidavits will further expose Ms Patkar claim to be the voice of the "oustees".
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

She is paid crook, finally we can see end of her drama to collect money for her retirement and other leaders of other so called NGOs.

[Guest]

Upping the ante!

http://www.newtactics.org

[Guest]

<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->NBA turns vicious, takes on the law
Pioneer News Service | New Delhi

A day after losing the legal battle to stop the construction work of Sardar
Sarovar Project (SSP), the <b>Narmada Bachao Andolan on Tuesday gave a call for a "fight to finish" and launched a vicious campaign against the Supreme Court, the Union Government and the media."</b>

Displaying complete disregard for the judiciary, NBA leader Medha Patkar staged
a demonstration outside the Supreme Court where her supporters raised noisy
slogans against the court's verdict. <b>The NBA leader was also joined by other
rent-a-cause activists and NGOs opposing the construction of the SSP without
addressing the issue of rehabilitation of the displaced persons.</b>

Incidentally, when the apex court in October 2000 had rejected the NBA's plea to
stop SSP work, Ms Patkar had similarly condemned the court. Not just that, the
NBA had also buried the copy of the Supreme Court judgement in front of the
Badwani district court on October 23, 2000 and raised a plank at the site with
inscription: `Grave of Justice'.

In a press release on Tuesday, the NBA expressed "disappointment, shock and loss of faith" in the court, and also criticised the judiciary for "a host of anti-people and anti-poor judgements ranging from order for demolition of slums to eviction of hawkers."

<b>It was obvious that Patkar was trying to project her anti-dam movement as the
larger cause of the poor.</b>

An agency report quoted Patkar as also slamming some media organisations for
being "puppets in the hands of industrialists" and publishing news reports
"without verifying facts".

Taking on the court, the statement signed by Patkar and two others said, "even
though the judgement is against truth and against us....<b>we will continue to
fight for justice, irrespective of what the Supreme Court decided."</b>

In a separate press release, Patkar went so far as to attach a motive to the
court's verdict saying, "Supreme Court violates its own former orders in favour
of petty politics."

"The court's verdict is against the rights of the oustees who are protected by
Article 21 of the Constitution. The verdict shows an anti-poor perspective. Development will now have not only an inhuman but also a brutal face
and force," the NBA said.

"The Supreme Court has hidden behind an unbelievable reason - disputed facts -
to postpone the decision on the raising of the dam height while ignoring the
'undisputed' facts presented by all the parties including the Governments on
incomplete rehabilitation. It has also bypassed its own 'unchallenged verdicts'.
When it became clear to every committee that visited the Valley before - World
Bank's, Union of India's to that of Members of Parliament - that injustice was
being imposed, and records and reports were flawed, the Court couldn't and
didn't take the responsible task of investigation into the jumbling of not
figures, but of families in thousands, nor a timely conclusion," Patkar said.

"The UPA Government has decided and conveyed to the country that in this
globalised, liberalised era, development decisions will be made by the
multinationals to the corporate interests with political distortion of the truth, all of which is obviously dominant in Sardar Sarovar and not mass-rooted democracy or the scientific or rational analysis of social, environmental and economic conditions," Ms Patkar said.

Alleging nexus between the Centre and the Guajrat Government, the NBA said, "the UPA Government has proved to be in alliance by favouring Modi's violent ways and means to development, and not Gandhi's 'Antyodaya'."
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

[Guest]

now all jokers from every anarchist and other commie groups had joined.

[Bharatvarsh]

<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Intelligence agencies probing NBA

Navin Upadhyay | New Delhi
The Daily Pioneer
http://www.dailypioneer.com
2005/05/23
posted in full since site does not archive

After losing the legal battle to prevent the construction of the Sardar Sarovar project on the Narmada, the Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) is in for some more setbacks.

Well-placed sources told the Pioneer that the Prime Minister's Office has directed Central intelligence agencies to look into allegations of foreign funding and violent activities of the Medha Patkar-led outfit.

The action has been prompted by a spate of media reports highlighting NBA's dubious activities and a detailed complaint filed by the National Council for Civil Liberties (NCCL) to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

The NCCL has been in the forefront of countering NBA's anti-dam propaganda and highlighting the terror tactics and foreign funding of other anti-dam outfits working in tandem with the NBA.

Central intelligence agency officers from Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat recently met with NCCL president VK Saxena in Ahmedabad in connection with his letter to the Prime Minister against the NBA.

Saxena confirmed to the Pioneer that intelligence officers wanted to know about the charges against the NBA of indulging in anti-national activities.

"I have been twice approached by the intelligence officers, who wanted to know about the source of funding of the NBA and its terror tactics," Saxena said.

The NCCL president provided vital information to the intelligence officers about the terror tactics of the NBA in preventing the dam 'oustees' from accepting the rehabilitation package and also provided details of bank accounts and funds received by the anti-dam outfits working in close coordination with the NBA.

The intelligence officers were also looking into allegations of diversion of such funds to ultra Left outfits in Bastar, Saxena said.

The intelligence officers are also in touch with the Madhya Pradesh police who have been investigating the activities of the NBA and its supporting outfits. In its report, the Devas police claimed that some anti-dam outfits were also imparting firearms training to villagers to oppose construction of SSP. The intelligence is also looking into the allegation, sources said.

In addition, the intelligence is also looking into a report of the National Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Commission which criticised the activities of the anti-dam NGOs and said they were inciting the tribals to violently oppose the construction of SSP. The commission had also raised fear that the tribals were becoming 'sacrificial lambs' for the NGOs who were manipulating them to pursue their own agenda.

The intelligence is also looking into the nature of violent incidents by the anti-dam outfits to understand whether they were spontaneous protests or part of a larger conspiracy to prevention to the construction of SSP under the pretext of inadequacy of rehabilitation.

However, the intelligence agencies are specially focussing on the charges levelled by the NCCL against the NBA. In its letter dated April 23 to Manmohan Singh, the NCCL has alleged that "NBA is not only involved in violent activities but is also involved in gross human rights violation in Narmada Valley".

More than 200 FIRs have been filed against NBA activists in Madhya Pradesh in the last 10 years out of which 52 FIRs were filed by Government officials.

The NCCL has also alleged that NBA was hampering rehabilitation work by beating up Government officials and preventing their entry into villages.

In its letter, the NCCL also informed the Prime Minister that the NBA is receiving funds through hawala channels. "Patkar claimed that her Andolan is run by the financial support given by the local people of Narmada Valley. We proved that NBA is collecting funds through hawala channel," the letter said.

The intelligence inquiry into NBA role is not the first time that the anti-dam NGO's role has come under scanner. In December 2001, the Gujarat High Court had asked the Centre to consider imposing a ban on the NBA for indulging in "anti-national activities".<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

[Guest]

The NED, NGOs and the Imperial Uses of Philanthropy

[acharya]

In India and South Africa, the very poor have been organized into Slum Dwellers and Shack Dwellers Associations, which meet with the World Bank people to discuss what is to be done. Protesters against the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) were channeled into groups that were invited and funded to attend the meetings preparing this treaty.


Global Empire
The NED, NGOs and the Imperial Uses of Philanthropy
By Joan Roelofs
May 14, 2006, 01:09

Email this article Printer friendly page

In recent years, nations have challenged the activities and very existence of non-governmental organizations. Russia, Zimbabwe, and Eritrea have enacted new measures requiring registration; "Open Society Institute" affiliates have been shut down in Eastern Europe; and Venezuela has charged the Súmate NGO leaders with treason. In Iraq and Afghanistan, staff of Western charitable NGOs (CARE and Doctors Without Borders) have been assassinated.

What are these organizations, and who or what is behind them?

They are heirs of the missionaries, who did many good deeds, bringing sewing machines to Bulgaria, ideas of women's liberation to Chinese footbinders, and life-saving medicines to the less industrialized world. Yet the missionaries also served as scouts for corporations and colonizers, tying knots with the most ambitious local people, especially those adept at bilingualism.

Missionaries are still operating today, but the field has become more intensely populated and diverse. Today's NGOs are elephantine, serpentine, and Byzantine. They may be international organizations, their local affiliates, or seemingly spontaneous grassroots groups.

Most funding and direction come from the wealthy nations. Often the donors form a conglomerate creating mutual responsibility and considerable ambiguity. CIVICUS, a partnership to promote "civil society" worldwide, is funded by, among others, American Express Foundation, Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation, Carnegie Corporation, Canadian International Development Agency, Ford Foundation, Harvard University, Oxfam, and United Nations Development Programme.

If the source is confusing, the message is usually clear: "democratization" strives for civil rights and elections, but it also must include an open door to foreign capital, labor contracts, resource extraction, and military training. These networks also define "civil society" to include rock concerts and street mobs, but not government-provided maternal health clinics, child care, or senior services.

Affluent nations' government agencies are important NGO funders. The most notorious is the US National Endowment for Democracy (NED; ostensibly a non­governmental foundation), created by Congress in 1983 to do openly what had been CIA cold war covert activities. When these operations were revealed in 1967, there was shock, not so much because the US was covertly funding foreign political and labor groups, but because organizations such as the National Education Association, American Newspaper Guild, American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, and the National Student Association were secretly used as pass-throughs, and all but the top officers were unwitting. Actual and phony foundations also distributed CIA funds.

NED changed this-but not very much. It distributes grants both directly and through other organizations, now overtly. Its "core grantees" are the Center for International Private Enterprise (of the US Chamber of Commerce), the American Center for International Labor Solidarity (of the AFL-CIO), and, affiliated with the parties, the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs and the International Republican Institute. Some private foundations chip in, for example, Smith Richardson and Mellon-Scaife. The Mott Foundation gave the NDI $150,000 in 1998 "to increase public confidence in democratization and the transition to a market economy in Ukraine." Foundations also directly co-fund NED's ultimate grantees. Thus, the Lilly Endowment supports the Institute for Liberty and Democracy in Peru, headed by Hernando de Soto, which offers free-market remedies for poverty.

Other capitalist democracies now have government foundations similar to NED, and they work collaboratively, e.g., the Canadian Rights and Democracy and the British Westminster Foundation for Democracy. Additional US agencies have joined NED and the CIA in this work, notably, the Agency for International Development (USAID) and United States Information Agency (USIA), which support and create foreign NGOs and media.

Germany, France, the Netherlands, Greece, Italy, and Sweden fund their political parties' foundations. The European members of the Socialist International's fund, the European Forum for Democracy and Solidarity, distributes "democratization" aid.

The European Union has worldwide grant programs for sustainable development and democratization. NATO grant programs support environmental organizations, among others. United Nations agencies such as UNICEF, WHO, UNESCO, UNDP, and FAO have long operated this way, and the World Bank funds, sponsors, guides, and coordinates grassroots poor people's organizations.

NGOs in prosperous nations have extensive grant programs overseas. These include not only the obviously international ones, e.g., Rotary, American Friends Service Committee, and Oxfam; but also labor organizations such as the American Federation of Teachers Educational Foundation. Corporate foundations are active throughout the world, and sometimes have separate funds directed by employees, for example, the Boeing Employees Fund, which supports charities in Japan and England.

Why would these philanthropic efforts offend anyone? Why do they hate our kind hearts?

In the first place, these public-private philanthropies have worked together to fund and direct overthrow movements. We had a "Subversive Activities Control Board" here, but export was encouraged. The grantees' activities included destabilization, the creation of mobs preventing elected governments from ruling, chaos, and violence. Among those funded were the Civic Forum in Czechoslovakia, Solidarity in Poland, Union of Democratic Forces in Bulgaria, Otpor in Serbia, and, more recently, similar groups in the succession states of the USSR. Sometimes mobs (especially of young people) have been moved around from one country to another to give the impression of vast popular opposition. The NED, Rockefeller and Ford Foundations, and the Soros philanthropies have been particularly active in these operations. Human Rights Watch (formerly Helsinki Watch) has nurtured opposition groups. Reformers seeking social democracy or democratic socialism were excluded; such systems might oppress the "vulture capitalists."

It is hard to know how much native support existed for the Western-funded revolutions, as media and information (especially if we can't read Mongolian, Bulgarian, or Uzbeki) are produced by the same conglomerates. Of course, all revolutions are made by minorities, often with assistance of foreign allies. However, by today's standards as embodied in the UN Charter, subverting with the intention of overthrowing foreign governments is a grave violation of international law. Many were shocked by the NED activities complementing other instruments of intervention that helped to destroy the Sandinista revolution in Nicaragua. Yet the 1990 election was judged by the NGO observers to be a free one; neither threats of physical annihilation nor millions of foreign dollars violated the purity of that process. "Cold-war liberal" policymakers have advocated covert actions as a peaceful alternative to invasion, but it isn't as if military action has faded away; they work together.

Such attempts are ongoing. The Venezuelan indictment is just one indication of a larger NED-NGO operation. Plans for annihilating the Cuban revolution, via "independent libraries," "Red Feminista Cubana," and other created organizations, are clearly spelled out on the NED web site.

NGOs are also used to disrupt revolutionary or even reformist movements that might interfere with neo-liberal goals, hampering the ability of corporations to go anywhere and do anything. Thus, as James Petras has reported, radical social groups and their leaders are co-opted into NGOs dedicated to worthy, ameliorative projects that are no threat to Western interests. Instead of broad movements challenging systemic causes of oppression, activists are recruited into discrete, well-funded "identity" politics and single-issue organizations, and poverty is just another minority status.

In India and South Africa, the very poor have been organized into Slum Dwellers and Shack Dwellers Associations, which meet with the World Bank people to discuss what is to be done. Protesters against the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) were channeled into groups that were invited and funded to attend the meetings preparing this treaty. Those concerned with the devastation of oil, lumber, and mineral extraction throughout the world can utilize the "participatory mechanisms" of the Earth Council, one of whose board members is Klaus Schwab, director of the World Economic Forum. Conferences for the protesters "parallel" to the globalization elite's are supported by that same elite. These do create fruitful interaction among dissidents; yet they may also function as a diversionary tactic. We won't know unless these possibilities are investigated.

Amelioration is important to keep those societies newly "marketized" on a steady course despite crushing poverty. In Mongolia (as elsewhere), "shock therapy," decimating both employment and social services, has resulted in street children, child prostitution, and increasing maternal mortality, none of which occurred in its "undeveloped" or communist phases. However, the rock concerts and street mobs have attained freedom. Enter PACT (originally, Private Agencies Collaborating Together; funders now include the Ford Foundation, US AID, Mercy Corps International, the Nature Conservancy, the World Bank, Citigroup, Chevron, Levi Strauss, and Microsoft), which provides some substitutes for the former socialist institutions, while desperation drives Mongolia's leaders to welcome foreign garment industries and copper and gold extraction.

For many nations far from the North Atlantic, NATO seems to promise economic security. This inclination has been abetted by the creation, through NATO's grant programs, of NGOs to foster the NATO spirit, and in Bulgaria, a charitable NGO to provide employment for their former military officers, who wouldn't fit in. NATO also supplies research funds for universities in Eastern Europe, which now have little government funding, and is attempting to expand its charities throughout North Africa and the Middle East.

Prominent insiders, who sit high in the democracy-promotion turrets of the foundation-NGO international world, have problems with the system, although they may ignore or applaud the overthrow operations. What concerns them is the feudal relationship existing between the wealthy Western institutional patrons and the clients in poorer lands, and the NGOs lack of a genuine local constituency. Thomas Carothers, of the Carnegie Endowment, has written: "Transnational civil society is . . . very much part of the same projection of Western political and economic power that civil society activists decry in other venues."

Others are concerned about the "brain drain" drawing the scarce educated people away from government service or authentic grassroots organizations, neither of which can offer comparable pay or perks. They protest the imposition of a foreign culture that denigrates indigenous knowledge, and paradoxically, programs such as microcredit in South Asia that reinforce the more oppressive patriarchical aspects of traditional cultures.

NGO staff members have been accused of being spies. Whether or not this is the case, the system allows access to remote native cultures, where the lay of the land and sociograms of local influentials can be charted for any purpose. This type of missionary penetration, attained through Bible translation in the Amazon River basin, has been recounted in Thy Will Be Done, by Colby and Dennett.

NGOs are now extensively occupied in the relief of disasters, whether natural or man-made, and the US military (with its "coalition") is deeply involved in both the comforting and the afflicting. To receive US funds, humanitarian organizations must support US foreign policy. Consequently, some, such as Oxfam UK, have withdrawn their workers from Iraq. Those remaining are often regarded as collaborators, which is not surprising, as many international NGOs have been handmaids to subversion, overthrow, and occupation. Some have even supported "humanitarian" bombing, especially in the case of Yugoslavia.

It is hard to assess accurately NGOs' complicity because there are few incentives for critical studies by journalists or academics, and anti-capitalist activists are often knotted up in some way. Information about NGOs mostly comes from the same funding sources, such as "Transitions on Line" of the Soros enterprises, or OneWorld.net, sponsored by the Ford Foundation and others. A networking resource, Ngo.net, is administered by Freedom House and funded by the USAID.

The peak of international NGOs, the World Social Forum, meets at the same time as the World Economic Forum, only far away. The WSF's general funding is rarely scrutinized by the participants, whose travel expenses come from similar sources. An exception is a report by the Research Unit on Political Economy-India, which explains why foundation funding was refused for the 2004 WSF in Mumbai, and discusses critically the activities of the Ford Foundation in India.

It is news when any NGO nibbles at the hand that feeds it, as did a Pakistani theater group last November. Invited to a women's theater festival in India, they were sent home because the organizers deemed their contribution too anti-US for a Ford Foundation-sponsored event.

As all generalizations have exceptions, let it be noted that some NGOs are impeccable, and even peccable ones often have humanitarian staff and directors. A recent attempt by dissidents seeking international donors to "democracy promotion" in the US, the International Endowment for Democracy, could give an effective jolt. Yet it may be that democracy, justice, or equality are not readily attainable by such means. For several centuries NGOs have been providing "disaster aid" for societies being "marketized." What can we learn from this history?

Joan Roelofs is a professor emerita of political science in Keene, NH. More information on this subject may be found in her Foundations and Public Policy: the Mask of Pluralism. Other books are Greening Cities: Building Just and Sustainable Communities, and a just-published translation of Victor Considerant's Principes du socialisme: Manifeste de la démocratie au XIX siPcle. Email: joan.roelofs@verizon.net

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