Skip to main content

$55 million "channeled" to Sangh Parivar in 2001-12: US report released by South Asia Citizens Web

A Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh shakha in US
Counterview Desk
A new report prepared in the US is likely to further fan the on-going controversy around the Intelligence Bureau (IB) accusation that foreign-funded NGOs’ campaign in India has undermined India’s growth rate. The report, “released via South Asia Citizens Web”, has alleged that between 2001 and 2012, five Sangh Parivar affiliates in the US – India Development and Relief Fund, Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation of America, Param Shakti Peeth, Sewa International, and Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America – “allocated over $55 million dollars to their programme services”, and these funds were “largely sent” to Sangh Parivar groups in India.
Titled “Hindu Nationalism in the United States: A Report on Nonprofit Groups”, and dated July 8, 2014, the report, interestingly, avoids giving any author of the report – in lieu of the author, it says, “J.M. us.hindu.nationalism@gmail.com”. To justify its controversial allegation, it claims to have compiled “publicly available tax records, newspaper articles, and other materials on non-profit groups in the US-affiliated with the Sangh Parivar from 2001 to 2014, documenting a segment of the projects and priorities of US-based Hindu nationalism.”
Saying that this is only a part of the effort by the Sangh Parivar “over the last three decades toward Hinduizing India”, the report runs into 54 pages and gives well-researched and minutest of details complete with citations of the organizations funding and supporting the Sangh Parivar. Saying that the Sangh Parivar affiliates in the US have been seeking to advance “the status of Hindus toward political and social primacy in India”, report admits, this has “continued to gain ground in South Asia and diasporic communities”, as reflected in the recent Lok Sabha polls.
The report says, the Sangh Parivar affiliates receive “social and financial support from its US-based wings, the latter of which exist largely as tax-exempt non-profit organizations in the United Stattes.” These are identified as “Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (HSS), Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America (VHPA), Sewa International USA, Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation-USA,  the Overseas Friends of the Bharatiya Janata Party - USA (OFBJP)”, and so on.
Accusing the Sangh Parivar for intensifying propaganda around “Hindu nationalism”, the report believes, the US-based Sangh Parivar-affiliates’ view is coloured with “multiplied forms of discrimination, exclusion, and gendered and sexualized violence against Muslims, Christians, other minorities, and those who oppose Sangh violations, as documented by Indian citizens and international tribunals, fact-finding groups, international human rights organizations, and US governmental bodies.”
Main spots in the US where Sangh Parivar affiliates allegedly do activities
Giving details about the activities of the Sangh Parivar affiliates in the US, the report states, “Sangh-affiliated youth and family programmes, such as those held by the HSS and the VHPA, have concentrated their classes, camps, events, and materials on Hindu cultural identity. As of May 2014, there were 140 HSS shakhas (chapters) in the United States listed on the HSS website. Between 2002 and 2012 the HSS and VHPA have collectively spent more than $2.5 million on youth and family programs.”
The report further says, “Literature used by such programs often prioritize a version of history and culture that highlights the Sangh Parivar leadership of India and Brahminical (upper-caste) narratives and practices, while diminishing the struggles and contributions of lower caste and non-Hindu communities.” The South Asia Citizens Web is a network of human rights organizations operating since 1996, and claims to support “dissent in South Asia and beyond”.
Detailing how the Sangh Parivar’s US affiliates have tried to influence American academia, the report says, “In 2009, Sangh-affiliated Hindu Students Council (HSC) student groups were present on 78 US and Canadian university and college campuses, including those of Duke University, Emory University, Johns Hopkins University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, McGill University, New York University, University of Wisconsin at Madison, Stanford University, Syracuse University, University of California at Berkeley, Irvine, and San Diego, University of Ottawa, and University of Texas at Austin and Houston.”
It adds, “Hindu nationalist groups have increasingly inserted themselves into curricular, administrative, and financing arenas in academic and educational institutions, specifically in the disciplines of history, religious studies, Indology and other fields. Particular projects include the establishment and operation of a religious college, the Hindu University of America, at least one religious studies conference (World Association for Vedic Studies), and funding institutions, such as the Infinity Foundation and the Vivek Welfare and Educational Foundation.”
Further, it says, “From 2001 to 2013, the Infinity Foundation gave more than $1.9 million to researchers, academic associations, and academic departments around the world, including the Association for Asian Studies, California Institute of Integral Studies, the Center for the Study of Developing Societies, Columbia University, Harvard University, Melbourne University, National Institute of Advanced Studies, Rutgers University, University of Hawaii, and the University of Texas at Austin.”
Pointing towards how the Sangh-affiliated organizations have emerged as “leaders in Indo-American communities”, the report lists following “major events” it organized:
a) OFBJP co-hosted a luncheon on Capitol Hill in early March 2002 with two other major Indian-American organizations, “while BJP-ruled Gujarat witnessed mass killings of Muslims”.
b) OFBJP members and Asian American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA) were among the leadership that “sought to host Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi as an honored guest speaker in 2005.”
c) In the California textbook controversy of 2005-2006, the Vedic Foundation and the HSS’ educational wing, the Hindu Education Foundation, “led an effort to insert edits into California textbooks that foregrounded Hindu nationalist priorities and downplayed gender and caste oppression in Ancient India.”
d) Since the textbooks controversy, the Hindu American Foundation has become “a voice for Hindu nationalist interests to US politicians.”
The report recommends the need for “further investigations to explore possible legal culpability of US-based Sangh groups and members in Sangh-led violent acts in South Asia; possible violations of 501(c)(3) regulations and restrictions; and the involvement of other US-based groups and individuals in supporting violence perpetrated by Hindu nationalist groups.”
It also says that “more investigation” should be carried out in “other funding channels from the US; whether the monies collected were allocated to the purposes reported to the Internal Revenue Service; and the effects of funding recipients’ work.”

Comments

TRENDING

Loktantra Bachao Abhiyan raises concerns over Jharkhand Adivasis' plight in Assam, BJP policies

By Our Representative  The Loktantra Bachao Abhiyan (Save Democracy Campaign) has issued a pressing call to protect Adivasi rights in Jharkhand, highlighting serious concerns over the treatment of Jharkhandi Adivasis in Assam. During a press conference in Ranchi on November 9, representatives from Assam, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh criticized the current approach of BJP-led governments in these states, arguing it has exacerbated Adivasi struggles for rights, land, and cultural preservation.

Promoting love or instilling hate and fear: Why is RSS seeking a meeting with Rahul Gandhi?

By Ram Puniyani*  India's anti-colonial struggle was marked by a diverse range of social movements, one of the most significant being Hindu-Muslim unity and the emergence of a unified Indian identity among people of all religions. The nationalist, anti-colonial movement championed this unity, best embodied by Mahatma Gandhi, who ultimately gave his life for this cause. Gandhi once wrote, “The union that we want is not a patched-up thing but a union of hearts... Swaraj (self-rule) for India must be an impossible dream without an indissoluble union between the Hindus and Muslims of India. It must not be a mere truce... It must be a partnership between equals, each respecting the religion of the other.”

Right-arm fast bowler who helped West Indies shape arguably greatest Test team in cricket history

By Harsh Thakor*  Malcolm Marshall redefined what it meant to be a right-arm fast bowler, challenging the traditional laws of biomechanics with his unique skill. As we remember his 25th death anniversary on November 4th, we reflect on the legacy he left behind after his untimely death from colon cancer. For a significant part of his career, Marshall was considered one of the fastest and most formidable bowlers in the world, helping to shape the West Indies into arguably the greatest Test team in cricket history.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

A Hindu alternative to Valentine's Day? 'Shiv-Parvati was first love marriage in Universe'

By Rajiv Shah  The other day, I was searching on Google a quote on Maha Shivratri which I wanted to send to someone, a confirmed Shiv Bhakt, quite close to me -- with an underlying message to act positively instead of being negative. On top of the search, I chanced upon an article in, imagine!, a Nashik Corporation site which offered me something very unusual. 

Andhra team joins Gandhians to protest against 'bulldozer action' in Varanasi

By Rosamma Thomas*  November 1 marked the 52nd day of the 100-day relay fast at the satyagraha site of Rajghat in Varanasi, seeking the restoration of the 12 acres of land to the Sarva Seva Sangh, the Gandhian organization that was evicted from the banks of the river. Twelve buildings were demolished as the site was abruptly taken over by the government after “bulldozer” action in August 2023, even as the matter was pending in court.  

Will Bangladesh go Egypt way, where military ruler is in power for a decade?

By Vijay Prashad*  The day after former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina left Dhaka, I was on the phone with a friend who had spent some time on the streets that day. He told me about the atmosphere in Dhaka, how people with little previous political experience had joined in the large protests alongside the students—who seemed to be leading the agitation. I asked him about the political infrastructure of the students and about their political orientation. He said that the protests seemed well-organized and that the students had escalated their demands from an end to certain quotas for government jobs to an end to the government of Sheikh Hasina. Even hours before she left the country, it did not seem that this would be the outcome.

Will Left victory in Sri Lanka deliver economic sovereignty plan, go beyond 'tired' IMF agenda?

By Atul Chandra, Vijay Prashad*  On September 22, 2024, the Sri Lankan election authority announced that Anura Kumara Dissanayake of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP)-led National People’s Power (NPP) alliance won the presidential election. Dissanayake, who has been the leader of the left-wing JVP since 2014, defeated 37 other candidates, including the incumbent president Ranil Wickremesinghe of the United National Party (UNP) and his closest challenger Sajith Premadasa of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya. 

Green Revolution’s reliance on chemical fertilizers, pesticides contributing to Punjab's health crisis

By Bharat Dogra, Jagmohan Singh*  Punjab was once synonymous with robust health, particularly in its rural areas, where farmers were known for their strength and vitality. However, in recent years, reports from these villages tell a different story, with rising cases of serious health issues, including cancer. What led to this decline? The answer lies largely in the erosion of good nutrition, once a hallmark of Punjabi village life. The health of a population is closely tied to its nutrition, and Punjab's reputation as a provider of high-quality nutrition has suffered greatly. The loss of biodiversity in agriculture has led to a decrease in the variety and quality of crops, resulting in poorer nutrition. Pulses, a key source of protein, have seen a steep decline in cultivation due to the disruption of traditional farming practices by the Green Revolution. This has had a detrimental effect on both soil and human health. Although pulses are still available in the market, they are exp

Tributes paid to pioneer of Naxalism in Punjab, who 'dodged' police for 60 yrs

By Harsh Thakor*  Jagjit Singh Sohal, known as Comrade Sharma, a pioneer of Naxalism in Punjab, passed away on October 20 at the age of 96. Committed to the Naxalite cause and a prominent Maoist leader, Sohal, who succeeded Charu Majumdar, played hide and seek with the police for almost six decades. He was cremated in Patiala.