Empire Strikes Back: Stringent Accounting & Auditing norms for NGOs coming soon!

Babu Jagjivan Ram, the father of Meira Kumari, our current speaker in parliament was at one point a very important Dalit face of the Congress party.  He was from the Chamar caste and was a leader for his community andwas; founded the 'All-India Depressed Classes League', an organization dedicated to attaining equality for untouchable. And yet, he had a huge, white palatial house and maintained a lavish lifestyle in the otherwise highly impoverished surroundings of Sasaram, Bihar, that made him a laughing stock on his commitment to the cause he supposedly espoused.

If Babu Jagjivan Ram was one of the symbols of national corruption in the 70s and 80s, many of our so called leading NGO leaders could be considered his modern avatars. These are owners of mega-networks of NGOs whose turnover runs in tens and even hundreds of crores. If the common man is shocked by the quantum leap of wealth of our political classes, if NGO leaders are made to declare their wealth mandatorily, they are in for a greater shock. 

They have amassed mind-boggling, mostly ill gotten wealth to sustain multiple generations of opulent living; own many palatial bungalows in addition to ownership of vast real estate properties. These  are one of India's most jet setting of classes, wear designer clothes, send their children abroad for education; prefer international vacations, and frequent the most expensive eating places and pubs in the country.  Apart from outright corrupt practices, a section of them funnel funds to terror groups and willingly became an important cog-in-the-wheel of international and local money laundering operations. And yet, they appear on TV news discussion panels and take the name of the people to buttress their positions.

More despicably, they live off the grassroots workers who are paid pittances for their commitment. These lowly, Human Rights Defenders or Dalit and RTI activists are beaten up, maimed or killed every day in our country. Shehla Masood, a prominent RTI worker in Madhya Pradesh was killed during Anna's Ramlila fast. And yet, neither Anna or his team, had a rebuke for the killers or demanded better protection for thousands of RTI activists who expose corruption at great risk to their lives and families. The fact is, they simply do not care as long as their cash registers keep ringing.

It is not the case of this post to say that the present lot of NGO leaders did not contribute their mite to the struggle. Most probably they did. They struggled through a period of scarce resources, political exclusion, and skepticism from state bureaucrats. They survived only to find destiny take a sudden turn in the 1990s. Now lavished with funds;  with donors deliberately turning the other way of their acts of misappropriation, their egos stoked with international awards such as Magsaysay - all  brought about the apotheosis of NGOs  as disguised state functionaries and administrators of official aid. NGOs originally were built for their smallness, community orientation, efficiency, political activism and now this edifice is in the danger of crumbling. Today's NGO mega networks have now become totally institutionalized, mainstreamed, and dependent as they have become co-opted and corrupted by their external funders.

Yet, it is the same set of leaders who now occupy  pivotal positions that could influence key social, economic, and political policy in the country. The same set who attempted to replicate the Arab Spring in India through whipping up public passions against the corruption by our political classes. These are leaders of large NGO empires that function as prolonged arms of foreign governments and corrupt corporates. It is an irony of sort that while the stock of these same NGOs are relatively going up in urban middle class pockets within this country where they never had a base in the past, they have mostly lost credibility among the rural masses today. People in rural areas have gone wise, have started demanding money for participation in NGOs programme as they believe that NGOs are getting money in their name and amassing wealth. NGOs have lost their credibility with people because they are not consistent, transparent, honest and accountable to their work being done.

They perhaps over-reached themselves when supporting Anna Hazare's anti-corruption campaign. The empire has struck back. Some of them already find themselves in an eye of a Home Ministry investigation. Coming soon, the accounting and audit norms for NGOs are to be made more stringent. The question is whether it would be strong enough to burst the bubble??

Coming Soon: New Accounting Norms for NGOs
Courtesy: www.indianngo.com

The government is set to frame new accounting norms for non-governmental organizations (NGOs), as it looks to remove the veil over the flow and utilization of funds by the sector that is not entirely above suspucion.

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs is working on a more structured financial reporting format for civil society organizations. It recently asked the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), the accounting regulator, to overhaul the accounting and disclosure norms for NGOs.

The NGOs, which have for long been shrouded in suspucion due to money laundering, terror funding and corporate corruption, have suddenly caught attention of the government, partly due to allegations of corruption in the Indian Premier League. And more recently due to allegations of funds mishandling by the Commonwealth Games Organizing Committee.

"Unlike companies, NGOs do not follow a structured format for financial reporting, due to which it gets difficult to track their flow of funds," said a ministry official. The proposed format will ensure that grants pouring in from within and outside the country are properly accounted for" said the official, requesting anonymity.

The format will focus on aspects like utilization of grants and contributions received by NGOs and strict complaince with provisions of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA). A group, which has been constituted to debate and recommend suggestions to ensure better governance of NGO, will look to enhance transparency over related party disclosures, cash flows and reporting of an NGOs interest in joint ventures as well as of their investments, said an official in the ICAI.

ICAI Presiden Amarjit Copra says: "There is a need for improvement in matters of accounting and utilization of funds by NGOs". He added a group has already been formed to recommend changes.

While experts have welcomed the move on framing new norms for NGOs, they feel the government should stress on governance for such bodies. "From the point of the government, it will help them to understand the money flow of the organizations, their assets and liability. "Of late NGOs have been floated to divert money and avoid taxes," said Resmi Bhaskaran, fellow at New Delhi-based think tank - Institute of Human Development.

The government will simultaneously empower the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) to audit NGOs through the proposed amendments to its governing lae, presently being considered by the finance ministry. The government is particularly concerned about the financial reporting standards of organizations that are receiving funds from abroad.

"A standard format on financial reporting for NGOs will ensure greater comparability between firms, as currently there is no clear standard or benchmark in the way these firms report on aspects governing grants received by them" another expert on the role of NGOs in the micro-financing domain.

"The need of the hour is to know the way any charity or donation is used by a NGO. The accounting system should ensure maintaining a continuous review of the receipt and payment related with the specific project for which any grants are remitted," said Satanu Mishra, Executive Trustee, Smile Foundation, a New Delhi based NGO, adding that the current system of accounting transactions on grants or donation received by a NGO need to be elaborated.

Government eye on NGO money laundering in Pune

Courtesy: DNA

The central government is of the opinion that the foreign funding received by NGOs and social organisations, which is to the tune of Rs10,000 crore annually, is being laundered to a large extent.

The public agitations in recent times, including the one against the Jaitapur project, were funded by foreign hands, it has alleged, and further, even the funding for the welfare of stray dogs is laundered.

The Union home ministry held a meeting with officials from the home departments of some states three days ago in New Delhi.

One of the two issues discussed in the meeting was money laundering by NGOs that get funding from overseas. Since the state governments have no mechanism to curb such funding, they have been asked to set up one on an urgent basis.

The ministry reportedly has specific information on the misuse of the funding by NGOs protesting against the Jaitapur nuclear plant. Congress ministers, including Narayan Rane and deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, have repeatedly alleged there is foreign funding and support to the agitation against the plant. The information shared by the Union home ministry has, in a way, endorsed their views.

The ministry has also claimed that the funds are used for conversions that allegedly take place in Nashik and some parts of Gujarat. The NGOs run for the welfare of stray dogs are believed to be misused for pocketing the monies that come from abroad.

According to estimates with the ministry, of the foreign funds worth Rs10,000 crore, Rs900 crore comes to Maharashtra alone.

“Though nearly 10% of the funds come to the state, Maharashtra does not have a mechanism to keep tabs on the inflow. The state machinery has been asked to establish a mechanism to keep a tab on the laundering,” said an official. “The NGOs submit their accounts to the central government, but still the laundering take places on a large scale.”

Medha Patkar, however, has claimed that the allegations are baseless.

“I agree that some NGOs and social organisations are into money laundering, but all the organisations cannot be scaled on the same parameter. And why is the government shying away from taking action against the ones involved? Even politicians float NGOs for reasons best known, and in such circumstances the government loses it moral right to act against them.“Allegations of foreign funds were also levelled against me during the Narmada Bachao Andolan, but the Supreme Court had ruled in our favour,” she added.

Ford Partner, Dalit Foundation being investigated for FCRA violations??

“The Ford Foundation is proud to partner with the Dalit Foundation because of its deep commitment to social justice and human rights for all. In the best tradition of Philanthropy, the Dalit Foundation engages and assists the most marginalised peoples.”

Christopher Harris, Senior Program Officer for philanthropy, Peace and Social Justice Program - Ford Foundation, New York

According to a TimesNow TV expose, the New Delhi based Dalit Foundation is one among 103 NGOs being investigated by the Home Ministry for Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) violation. The foundation allegedly diverted funds meant for charity into commercial investments and  transacted funds into “shell NGOs” besides suspected of money laundering. If even one-tenth of these allegations turn out true, this could prove extremely embarrassing for the self-proclaimed corruption crusader, Anna Hazare as Dalit Foundation is funded by Ford Foundation who in turn is suspected of bankrolling his anti-corruption campaign.

Typical of the appalling financial transparency standards of Ford Foundation partners, the Dalit Foundation does not disclose their audited accounts on their website. This despite the Dalit Foundation claiming to be a member of Credibility Alliance which is touted as “a consortium of voluntary organisations committed to enhancing accountability and transparency"  but we found its name not even listed as an accredited member (where accreditation involves visit and verification by the Credibility Alliance)”  Dalit Foundation is besides a certified member of Give India - touted as “India's premier online donation platform through which one can donate online to more than 200 respectable India NGO with tax rebates.” 

According to their website, the Dalit Foundation makes small grants and fellowships towards strengthening the Dalit Movement and nurturing future leaders for the movement. The website however does not disclose their range of donors, except for Ford Foundation. 

Interestingly, a little web searching threw up the fact that Dalit Foundation also secured Tides Foundation US funding which was much more than even the charity receives from Ford Foundation.  (See list of Grantees) But this partnership, significant as it is,  is deliberately concealed. Why? Tides Foundation is a very shady organization with strong links to the CIA.  It is this link with Tides Foundation that makes the government probably suspect Dalit Foundation of money laundering too. This has more to do with Tides Foundation antecedents than the Dalit Foundation per se. A blog tells us why:

“Tides allow donors to anonymously contribute money to a variety of causes -- and thereby avoid public accountability for their donations. The donor simply makes the check out to Tides and instructs the Foundation where to forward the money. Tides Foundation does so, often keeping as much as ten percent of the total amount for “charitable advisory fees. This allows high-profile individuals to fund extremist organizations by “laundering” their money through Tides, leaving no paper trail. Founder Drummond Pike referred to his organization as “a convenient vehicle with squeaky clean books.”

The Tides Foundation gets most of its money from AT&T, ChevronTexaco, the Rockefeller Foundation, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Verizon, and Bill and Melinda Gates. There has been direct funding from the US State Dept, NED (CIA) and the Tides Foundation (Soros) paid directly to the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) who in turn earmarks that funding for propaganda bloggers and training of protesters. The very same revolution model used in the Middle East was also used in the colour revolutions in the former Soviet bloc. It has greatly expanded in the Middle East due to the availability of social networking. Interestingly, we saw shades of this during Anna’s fast in India last month!

 Note:

Working Assets is but one company in a large and growing “liberal capitalism” industry, and shares connections and political affiliations with a larger elite Left business and information network. This apparatus is rife with incestuous foundation capital, deep political connections, and ties to US intelligence agencies, as exposed by LeftGatekeepers.com and the QuestionsQuestions.net web site. “Based in San Francisco, Working Assets Inc. is a privately-held, secretive telecommunications company that discloses very little financial information about its for-profit business to either its customers or to U.S. consumers in general.

One of its founders was Tides Foundation President Drummond Pike. Another Working Assets Inc. official in recent years, Lawrence Livak, has also been the Tides Foundation Treasurer in recent years. Every year, Working Assets selects a list of nonprofit organizations to receive grants, the list reportedly culled from nominations of Working Assets customers themselves. The 50 recipients for Working Assets grants this year includes a number of interesting groups of various sizes, in four categories. On the surface, the list appears to be a creative and eclectic collection of Left causes and activism. A little homework, and some context, exposes the more odious aspects.

Amnesty International, one of many organizations whose funding and origins are associated with George Soros and his Open Society Institute, which, is a multinational intelligence operation connected to the CIA. Human Rights Watch, another former recipient, is a joint venture between George Soros and the U.S. State Department. 

THE INDIVIDUALS BEHIND THE CHARITY

This is how the website described the genesis of their charity:

“The idea of a Dalit Foundation was conceived of after the World Conference against Racism in Durban (2001). A group of activists and researchers working for Dalit social and economic empowerment got together and held a discussion on how to take the movement forward.

The gathering established the need for a Foundation, which would raise funds from within and outside India in order to provide support to small grassroots organisations and community leaders that do not have access to support from established funding sources. It was also envisioned that the leadership for such a Foundation would emerge from Dalit movements and networks, in order to ensure accountability, legitimacy, and authenticity Thus Dalit Foundation was registered on 2nd June 2003 at Public Trust registering office, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, under the Bombay Public Trust Act, 1950 (29th Act) with registration number - E/16122/Ahmedabad. Dalit Foundation is also registered under Section 12 A and Section 80G.”

The group on formation had been the same as today: Mr. Santosh Samal (ED), Mr. Henri Thipagne, Mr. Gagan Sethi, Mr. Martin Mcwan and Ms. Ruth Manorama - all whom have their own network of NGOs. A sketch of each are provided below:

 Santosh K Samal

Samal had been Executive Director since inception of the charity. According to the website:

“Samal is the Chair Person of Foundation for Peace, a global network of independent indigenous funders. He is also an Executive Member of INHERE, a grass- root level organization working on environment issues. Additionally, he has been a consultant to Tides Foundation, Ford Foundation and South Asia Partnership India.”

This is extremely interesting. Dalit Foundation gets grants from both Tides and Ford Foundations and Samal as CEO of the charity is a consultant to both donors!!

Gagan Sethi

Gagan Sethi is a non-executive trustee of Dalit Foundation.  Extremely well respected individual in the NGO sector and outside. Responsible for catapulting Janvikas as one of the largest NGOs in Gujarat and successfully incubated many grassroots initiatives like Kutch Mahila Vikas Sangathan, Sahjeevan; Manav Garima; Human and Institution Development Forum; Centre for Governance Studies and Centre for Social Justice.

An excellent Organizational Development and Training expert, Gagan Sethi is a much sought after consultant by international aid agencies and local NGOs and sit on boards of reputed NGOs like YUVA, NIRANTAR. Drishti, ECONET, WASSAN, Navsarjan etc. His consultancy currently focuses on improving governance and accountability of non profit organizations. Gagan would be perhaps be one of the last persons NGOs expect to be tainted by a scam.

Jan Vikas  founded by Gagan received $200,000 from Ford Foundation in 2007 and ECONET, where he sits on the board received $280,000 from Ford Foundation in  2011

Martin Macwan

Perhaps Macwan is one of the best known and respected Dalit human rights advocate and activist in the country. Founder of Navsarjan Trust and  Dalit Shakti Kendra Ahmedabad, Gujarat and also the founder of the Indian Institute of Dalit studies and was the first Convener of the National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights. Like Sethi, Macwan sits on the board of many NGOs and is additionally known as a prolific writer of articles, papers and books on Dalit issues.

Macwan has a very strong US connection. In 1991 Mr. Macwan became an Advocacy fellow from the Advocacy Institute in Washington D.C and won the Robert Kennedy Award for Human Rights 2000, Gleitsman Activist award for activist of the year 2001 and by Human Rights Watch 2000.

However Macwan’s name seem to prominently figure in the IB list of 103 NGOs being investigated but being the bête noire of Narendra Modi, it is widely believed that the Gujarat Home Ministry included his name.

The Indian Institute of Dalit Studies  founded by Macwan received $350,000  in 2007 and $100,000 in 2010 from Ford Foundation.

Ruth Manorama

Like Sethi and Macwan, Ruth Manorama controls several large NGO initiatives: General Secretary of Women's Voice, founded in 1985, President of the National Alliance of Women, founded in 1995; Joint Secretary of the Christian Dalit Liberation Movement, formed in the 1980s; Secretary of the Karnataka State Slum Dwellers Federation; Secretary f National Centre for Labour and President of the National Federation of Dalit Women (NFDW), set up in 1995.

She is a master marketer - in 2005, she was one of the nominees for the Nobel Peace Prize'  and in 2006 she was awarded the Right Livelihood Award, also known as the Alternate Noble Prize whose citation read:

“She led mass processions of 150,000 people along with other activists, demanding the protection of the roofs over their heads, a fair deal of security and safety and allowing them to live legally and with dignity.”  

Led 150,000 people in procession??? That too in a sleepy city like Bangalore is illustrative of the power of her PR skills. Succumbing to self-deceit, Manorama stood for State Elections in Karnataka in the early part of last decade and forfeited her deposit, not crossing even 1,000 votes but widely believed to have made crores, being paid by the BJP to cut into the Congress votes. Local papers like Deccan Herald once described her as a “rent a crowd broker’” as she was alleged to have the ability to manufacture crowds for political parties for a price.

Her Christian Dalit Liberation Movement has been a Ford Foundation partner since 2008 and her NGOs had been rumoured to manufacture crowds for the Anna Hazare fast protest.

Henri Tiphagne

Henri Tiphagne is the executive director of People's Watch, Tamil Nadu; an organization that monitors human rights abuses in Tamil Nadu and promotes human rights education as a tool for their eradication. He was also central to the Dalit intervention at the World Conference Against Racism, Xenophobia, and Related Intolerance held in Durban, South Africa in September of 2001. 

Henri was the National Director of a National Project on Preventing Torture in India (2005 – 2008). He is also a member of the National Core Group of NGOs of the National Human Rights Commission of India and of various academic councils of different autonomous Colleges and Universities. He is an Executive Council Member of the World Organization Against Torture (OMCT).

Henri was also in the US on a tour sponsored by the Ford Foundation in the fall of 2001 and close to Human Rights Watch whose caste and gender research and advocacy programmes in India are bankrolled by Ford Foundation.

That Human Rights is good business is illustrated by the palatial residence Henri has built for himself in Madurai. He had apparently been an ardent advocate of the abolishing death penalty and campaigned against the death sentence of Rajiv Gandhi killers. But when Anna Hazare advocated death for Kasab; Afzal Guru, Members of Parliament; Delhi blast terrorists etc, loyalty to Ford Foundation probably prompted him to keep his mouth mum!

 

103 NGOs under scanner of Home Ministry for FCRA violations

Last night English news channel, TimesNow TV broke the story that 103 NGOs located in different parts of the country was under the Home Minister's scanner for Foreign Contributions Regulation Act (FCRA) violations.

Around 20 of these NGOs are believed to fund Jihadi outfits that have links to Al Quaeda, JuD, LeT etc, The Gujarat Sarvajanik Welfare Trust in Gujarat is one such NGO in this list according to TimesNow.

A few are suspected of using foreign funds for mass conversion though no details are given who these NGOs are. A good number are suspected as Maoist sympathisers who channelize foreign funds to a  Naxalite insurgency in the country. Again no clue given who these NGOs are even though it is an open secret within the sector that this is taking place - cooking snook at existing legislation.

Others are suspected of openly using the hawala route to convert their black money. TimesNow gives a hint that Indian opening batsman, Virender Sewhag is a prime suspect of using the hawala (money laundering) route to start an elitist international, high school.

TimesNow also screened repeated visuals of Bangalore based New Entity for Social Action (NESA) as one of these NGOs in the IB list.  NESA, a networking NGO is suspected of channelising funds to another NGO which has no FCRA number. If so, this is only a technical infringement of FCRA unless the NGO to which funds have been channelized have been engaging in anti-national activities. At least two prominent UK based donors partnering NESA, can be expected to dive for cover in the event of NESA  being booked.

A good number of these suspected NGOs have diverted funds meant for charitable purposes towards personal commercial investment for their founder members. TimesNow have given a hint that some of them are leading human rights organizations based in New Delhi and among them Dalit networking organizations .

The FCRA was tightened in the year 1985 on the ground that some NGOs were using foreign funds for 'anti-national' purposes. Under the law, the government can reject NGO applications for receiving foreign assistance if this is found against "the sovereignty and integrity of India, the public interest, freedom or fairness of election to any legislature, friendly relations with any foreign state, harmony between religious, racial, linguistic or regional groups, castes or communities."

For the NGOs, international assistance has been a double-edged sword, giving access to funds not forthcoming at home but leaving them open to charges of “foreign interference” from the regime and other political opponents. NGOs dependent on foreign funds continue to carry its stigma. Foreign funding to NGOs has been one of the most controversial issues for governments in many countries.

The managers of the biggest NGOs manage million dollar budgets with salaries and perks that are comparable to CEOs. They jet to international conferences, confer with top corporate and financial directors and make policy decisions that affect - in the great majority of cases adversely - millions of people ... especially the poor, women and informal sector working people.

In reality many NGOs are not "non-governmental" organizations in strict sense. They receive funds from overseas governments, work as private sub-contractors of local governments and/or are subsidized by corporate funded private foundations with close working relations with the state. Frequently they openly collaborate with governmental agencies at home or overseas. Their programs are not accountable to local people but to overseas donors who "review" and "oversee" the performance of the NGOs according to their criteria and interests.

The NGO officials are self-appointed and one of their key tasks is designing proposals that will secure funding. In many cases this requires that NGO leaders find out the issues that most interest the Western funding elites, and shaping proposals accordingly. The bottom line is that the growth of NGOs coincides with increased funding from neo-liberalism and the deepening of poverty everywhere.

The propaganda value of individual micro-enterprise success, however is important in fostering the illusion that neo-liberalism is a popular phenomenon. The fact is that frequent violent mass outbursts takes place in regions of aggressive micro-enterprise promotion as in the case of the recent backlash against microfinnce companies in Andhra Pradesh serves as a reality check of their true impact.

Mike Davis in The Planet of Slums:

"Third World NGOs have proven brilliant at co-opting local leadership as well as hegemonizing the social space traditionally occupied by the Left. Even if there are some celebrated exceptions--such as the militant NGOs so instrumental in creating the World Social Forums-the broad impact of the NGO/"civil society revolution"...has been to bureaucratize and deradicalize urban social movements."

The government clampdown on NGOs is interesting from the view point of its timing. Foreign funded, particularly Ford Foundation funded NGOs had been in the forefront of the recent Anna Hazare insurrection. Though not much is known whether these organizations are also in the list of the Home Ministry's watch, the clampdown is a warning by the government that they are closely watching the steps of these NGOs. After the expose of their US funding of the Anna Hazare movement, these NGOs involved have already withdrawn into a shell. Now they have reason to feel additionally insecure.

The timing of the clamp down on NGOs could be also a signal that the government has decided to place NGOs under the Lokpal Bill. Many of the leading lights of the NGO sector are virtually a rags to riches story.These founders of NGOs have amassed wealth by diversion of funds to the extent that they have overnight turned crorepatis; owners of huge real estate properties and operate money lending activities.

The government have not only the FCRA  to clamp down on them but also the anti-terror laws and the IT act. A whistle blower provision extending to their sector can bring curtains to both their career and  life!

Modi: No chance for US visa as State Dept slams Gujarat again for 2002 riots

Courtesy: Times of India

The US State Department's Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor has slammed Gujarat's record on human rights in its July-December, 2010 International Religious Freedom Report.

In a post on the web dated September 13, when the Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi was actually celebrating a US Congressional document which went in his favour, the State Department's agency has again blamed the Gujarat government for failure in arresting those responsible for the communal violence in 2002.

While the Congressional document projected Modi as a future PM and praised his performance as a CM, this State Department report doesn't seem to indicate any change in policy of the US government with regard to Modi, even as WikiLeaks documents too show that the US diplomats are closely monitoring the growing importance in Indian politics of a person who is persona non-grata in the US. The State Department agency, which raises the 2002 riot cases every year, again quotes media reports stating that some Muslims still feared repercussions from Hindu neighbours as they waited for the court cases to be resolved.

The process of justice, it said, was delayed as the Nanavati-Mehta Commission investigating the violence got a 15th term extension. Several victims have accused the Special Investigation Team (SIT), appointed by the Supreme Court in March 2008, of pressuring them to dilute its earlier testimony before the Nanavati-Mehta Commission.

In many of the cases tried in Gujarat's lower courts, the accused were acquitted due to lack of evidence or changes in testimony, the report said.

The report added that hundreds of other court cases stemming from the 2002 violence (which were not in the purview of the SIT) remained unsettled. The situation for many persons displaced by the 2002 violence remained difficult.

In September 2010, the Norwegian Refugee Council's Internal Displacement Monitoring Center reported that approximately 19,000 persons remained displaced eight years after the violence, living in 86 relief colonies that lacked adequate infrastructure and typically were not connected to city centres.

Anna Hazare to visit Pakistan. Why not the US too?

Anna Hazare to visit Pakistan. Wh not visit US the land of his funder, Ford Foundation?

After his successful campaign against corruption in India, Anna Hazare is ready to repeat the feat in Pakistan, according to newspaper reports. A two-member delegation from Pakistan, comprising Justice (retired) Nasir Alam Zahid and Karamat Ali, director of Pakistan Institute for Labour, Education and Research, visited Ralegan Siddhi on Wednesday and invited Hazare to visit Pakistan. Hazare duly accepted the invitation.

“Once I recover from the weakness and complete India yatra, I am going to visit Pakistan,” the social activist told the delegation. “Like India, Pakistan is also facing the issue of corruption,” Hazare said. “It is our duty to help Pakistan. If my visit can encourage the activists there, I will certainly consider visiting them.”

The meeting between Hazare and the Pakistani delegation lasted 40 minutes. “Many people in Pakistan have been inspired by Hazare. We would like him to visit our country and meet those who want to fight against corruption. Corruption is a major issue in Pakistan too and the people are eager to meet Hazare,” said Justice Zahid after the meeting.

We ask why Anna need to stop with Pakistan. Why not go to the US too and undertake a fast against corruption? After all, it is the land of his funders? Anna will also get a chance to make a statement that the scourge of corruption is not only a developing country phenomenon but an universal one too!

Did Narendra Modi peak too early? Opinions differ

Courtesy: Times of India

 

 

Like a long distance runner who "kicks" too early and fades away at the finish, has Narendra Modi's three-day fast lost him the bid for the NDA's PM candidate?

Two of The Times of India Group's newspapers had different views on the subject in their news analyses, with The Economic Times on Tuesday saying that the Gujarat chief minister's attempt had "backfires as key allies frown at the idea". However, the next day, The Times of India 's news analysis was nowhere as definitive and said that both Modi and LK Advani were still "gauging" their prime ministerial prospects -adding however, that these attempts threatened to "derail the BJP's focus on price rise and corruption".

ET's news analysis in its closely read political pages said that Modi's fast was aimed at "smoothening the rough edges of his political persona and marshalling support for catapulting him to the national stage". However, it said that his "limitations" in becoming the anchor of an anti-Congress coalition had been "revealed" given the opposition to him from JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar; moreover, Modi's fast had added to the friction in the BJP's alliance with the Shiv Sena. Pointing out that the BJP would require powerful regional players for realizing its national ambitions, the newspaper concluded that "if the current mood is anything to go by, only a more reconciling personality can emerge as an acceptable NDA leader".

In contrast, however, TOI 's news analysis on Wednesday --"LK yatra, Modi show cast shadow on BJP executive" --was nowhere as definitive, and merely quoted BJP sources as admitting that the fast had been a "distraction the party could do without". The article did not write off Modi as a potential PM candidate from the NDA, but did say that his bid to break from the pack in the BJP's prime ministerial race "seems too hasty, just as the sudden sadhbhavna makeover, seems unconvincing".

The article instead concentrated on both Modi's and Advani's plans casting a shadow on the BJP's attempt to keep the spotlight on Congress's weak spots like graft, inflation, terrorism - issues which it had earlier calculated, would find broad support from non-UPA parties ranging from the Left to regional outfits.