Endnotes

Foreign Exchange of Hate
IDRF and the American Funding of Hindutva

Full text of the report © 2002, Sabrang Communications & Publishing Pvt. Ltd, Mumbai, India, and The South Asia Citizens Web, France

1. The following examples have been taken from M Casolari, (1993) Hindutva’s foreign tie-up in the 1930s: Archival Evidence, Economic and Political Weekly, Jan 22, 2000.
2. Jaganmohan Reddy Commission on the Ahmedabad riots (1969), Madan Commission on the Bhiwandi riots (1970), Justice Vithayathil’s report on the Tellicherry riots (1971), Justice Jitendra Narain’s Report on the Jamshedpur riots (1979) and Justice P Venugopal’s report on the riots in kanyakumari (1982) are good examples of the Sangh’s consistent involvement in riots.
3. Politics by Other Means: Attacks Against Christians in India, Human Rights Watch Report, Sept 1999
4. According to the Indian Parliament, as quoted in Indian Christians are victims of a 'concerted campaign', Jim Lobe, Asia Times, Sept 30, 1999
5. Violence against Christians continues—Method in the Sangh Madness A Report by the South Asia Human Rights Documentation Center, Aug 28, 2000.
6. See http://www.onlinevolunteers.org/gujarat/reports/index.htm for reports by People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), Communalism Combat, National Human Right’s Commission, and different women’s groups.
7. India: Gujarat Officials Took Part in Anti-Muslim Violence: Press Release by HRW, April 30, 2002
8. From the exemption application of the IDRF filed with the IRS in 1989
9. Form 990 filed by the IDRF for the 2000 tax year
10. Deflections to the Right by Ashish Sen, Outlook, Jul 22, 2002
11. Response to recent malicious media reports
12. 'A Left-Right Upper-Cut To The RSS' by Ramesh N Rao, Sulekha,Com, Jun 15, 2002
    (see readers comments #82 and 88)
13. http://www.sewainternational.org/integrate.html
14. http://www.sewainternational.org/vhptamil.html
15. In a report to the IDRF, SVRDS states that it conducted competitions for Krishna Jayanthi (a Hindu Festival) in which the school children participated enthusiastically. It should be kept in mind that these tribals do not consider themselves Hindu, nor do they usually observe Krishna Jayanthi.
16. The RSS lists Sewa Bharti under the title of “Various Alike Organizations”
17. Social Harmony; Ennobling Social Conduct
18. http://www.idrf.org/frontpage/OtherOrgs.html
19. http://www.vhp.org/englishsite/d.Dimensions_of_VHP/bekal%20vidyalya/list_ekalvidyalaya.htm
20. The VHP lists Hindu Seva Pratishthana as its organization in the field of education, http://www.vhp.org/englishsite/d.Dimensions_of_VHP/aSewa/NSNS/intheserviceofpoor.htm . For Jana Seva Vidya Kendra, see Appendix B.
21. http://www.rss.org/BHARAT%20VIKAS%20PARISHAD.htm
22. http://www.hssworld.org/seva/sevadisha/sevadisha1/rss_seva_vibhag.html
23. Agnihotri’s connections with the RSS are detailed in the newspaper article, Agnihotri's posting criticized, The Hindu, Aug 30th, 2001 http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/2001/08/30/stories/02300007.htm. Bhishma Agnihotri was appointed as the leader of HSS in the USA as reported in the HSS newsletter (National Adhikaris of the HSS (USA), Sangh Sandesh, January 2000, page 11 http://www.hskonline.co.uk/hss/assets/JAN00.PDF . Agnihotri’s connection to the IDRF is revealed in a program announcement for the Festival of India seminar held on August 16, 1997, where he is introduced as ‘a founding member of the India Development and Relief Fund.’ http://www.ipnatlanta.net/aug15/seminar-pro.doc.
24. Jatinder Kumar and Ram Gehani are two of the four officers of IDRF listed on its exemption application, which it filed in 1989. Jatinder Kumar is listed as a vice-president of FISI in a newspaper article on the people who met with the then General Secretary of the BJP, Narendra Modi on his visit to the US (BJP leader meets with community groups, India Abroad, July 9, 1999). Ram Gehani is listed on FISI’s web page as the contact for Maryland http://www.fisiusa.org/fisi_pages/us_chapters.htm , and was part of ‘a delegation of the Overseas Friends of the BJP which called on Robert Seiple, ambassador-at-large, who runs the International Religious Freedom office within the State Department to express their concern about sections of the controversial annual report on International Religious Freedom for 1999 in India that implicitly criticised the Indian government for the increase in attacks on the Christian community in India.’ (Seiple defends religious report, says it does not target BJP, by Ramesh Chandra, The Times of India, Sept 18th, 1999)
25. A Sewa Dham in Madhya Pradesh, Sangh Sandesh, January 2001, page 10.
26. ‘We’ll repeat our Gujarat experiment’, Indian Express, September 3, 2002
27. Abhay Belambe (IDRF VP, East Zone) is associated with the HSS as evident from this announcement for the Vijay Dashmi celebrations of the HSS -- http://www.hindunet.org/srh_home/1996_10/msg00165.html . Vijay Shrivastava, (IDRF VP, East Zone) is the HSS contact person in Atlanta, GA (http://www.ipnatlanta.net/hss/contact.htm ) Vijay Pallod (IDRF VP, Central Zone) is listed as the governing council member of the VHP in the article, Dharma Sansad Seeks To Involve 2nd Generation Indian Americans, Arthur J Pais, Rediff.com, Sept 9, 1999 http://www.rediff.com/news/1999/sep/09us1.htm , and is also the HSS contact for Houston, TX http://www.hindunet.org/alt_hindu/1995_Jul_1/msg00071.html . Chetan Gandhi (IDRF VP, West Zone) is also listed as the contact for Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh in Cerritos, CA http://www.ci.cerritos.ca.us/cominfo/comgroups.html
28. http://www.indolink.com/SFO/balVihar.html
29. Shyam Parande: RSS goes global, chalks out expansion plan, by Suresh Unnithan in The Observer, April 3, 1998 http://www.hvk.org/articles/0498/0014.html . For Vijay Mallampati, see the report of the North American winter HSS camp in the HSS newsletter, Sangh Sandesh, Dec 99, page 9 http://www.hskonline.co.uk/hss/assets/DEC99.PDF
30. http://www.hssworld.org/usa/wc/shakha/LosAngeles/rss_75years_files/frame.htm
31. http://www.fisiusa.org/fisi_Campaigns/bd_hindu_solidarity_day.htm , http://www.fisiusa.org/fisi_press_rel/pr7.htm
32. The Hindu Unity website (http://www.hinduunity.org) been yanked off the web once before by one of its website host for publishing hate-filled pages (http://www.rediff.com/us/2001/jul/24usspec.htm). The hitlist—a collection of politicians, artists, writers and religious leaders whom the Hindu Unity considers opposed to its viewpoint of Hindu Supremacy—appears on http://www.hinduunity.org/hitlist.html. the IDRF appears on its links page under the title of ‘Other Hindu and India related Organizations’ http://www.hinduunity.org/links.html
33. http://www.idrf.org/flyers/balvihar/html/hss.html
34. The GMU HSC unit advocates raising money for the IDRF and also for publicizing its activities (see http://www.gmu.edu/org/hsc/seva_gmu.html ). The HSC at the University of Illinois at Chicago is raising money for IDRFto fund Swami Vivkekananda Mission in Kashmir (http://icarus.cc.uic.edu/stud_orgs/religion/hindu/home.html ) Also the Dharma project of the National HSC in its ‘seva’ edition, promotes dontations to the IDRF (http://www.dharmalife.org/November.htm )
35. http://www.vhp-america.org/michigan/linkWebs.html , http://www.hindulinks.org/Seva/, http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Lobby/9089/links/organisations.html, http://www.hinduwomen.org/seva.htm, http://www.noblecauses.com/india/index.htm , http://www.hssworld.org/uk/html/maincontent/internationallinks.html
36. See the Appendix H, consolideated spread-sheet of the IDRF grants from 1994 to 2001. Source: Annual Reports from the IDRF web-site.
37. These numbers are our approximations based on inexact information about all the grantees. See Appendix H, consolidated spread-sheet of the IDRF grants from 1994-2001. Source: Annual Reports of IDRF
38. A NRI’s Qest For Serving The Underprivileged, by Dr. Vinod Prakash
39. For example, Bharat Kalyan Pratisthan, which received over $86,000 in the IDRF funding for ‘tribal welfare’ has been specially designated by the VHP to receive money for Shuddhi ceremonies for Dalits and Tribals, “to neutralise the Conversion Crisis that is presently threatening to swallow up the Hindu Society” and also “to re-establish the spiritual & moral glory of Hinduism,” according to the Hindutva ideologue SP Attri http://www.hinduweb.org/home/general_sites/essays/proshuddhi.html
40. Anti-Christian violence on the rise in India: New Report details politics behind extremist Hindu attacks Press Release by the HRW Full Report at POLITICS BY OTHER MEANS: Attacks Against Christians in India HRW Report, September 1999
41. U.S. Department of State Annual Report on International Religious Freedom for 1999: India Released by the Bureau for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, Washington, DC, September 9, 1999
42. Trouble anticipated in Dangs village after Swami's return, Indian Express, April 3, 1999 and Halmodi tense as HJM gears up for shilanyas, Basant Rawat, Indian Express, December 22, 1999
43. Christian tribals beaten up, ostracised in Gujarat village, Basant Rawat, Indian Express, December 4, 1998
44. Controversial Swami does a disappearing act, Indian Express, February 4, 1999
45. http://www.idrf.org/news/vanvasi/
46. http://www.idrf.org/sewa_proj/gujarat.html
47. Tribals made cannon fodder in Gujarat's communal war, by Chandrakant Naidu, Hindustan Times, May 6 2002,
48. Poisoned Edge: The Sangh exploits Dalit and tribal frustration to recruit soldiers for Hindutva's 'war,'
    Davinder Kumar, Outlook June 24, 2002.
49. Sewa Bharati and Ekal Vidyalays organized the Hindu Sangam in the tribal belt in Madhya Pradesh earlier this year. A report from Sewa Bharati is available at http://www.hvk.org/articles/0102/98.html. The aggressively anti-Christian flavor of the meet, and the concomitant tensions it created are described in RSS temples for tribals spell trouble for Digvijay, Yogesh Vajpeyi, Indian Express, January 7th 2002 . For Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram’s role, see Appendix F.
50. RSS outfit stripped of its licence in MP, Yogesh Vajpeyi, Indian Express, February 28th, 2002
51. The IDRF lists Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram. Kotda in its “Statewise Listing of Sewa Programs” http://www.idrf.org/seva_proj1/IDRF_PAG/RAJASTH/Rajind.htm
52. VHP offshoot behind reign of terror, Mohammed Iqbal http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/2001/11/13/stories/02130005.htm
53. We or Our Nationhood Defined, Golwalkar, 1939, pp. 47-48
54. James G. Lochtefeld (1996) New Wine, Old Skins: The Sangh Parivar and the Transformation of Hinduism, Religion 26, 101-118
55. We or Our Nationhood Defined, MS Golwalkar, 1939
56. M Casolari, (1993) Hindutva’s foreign tie-up in the 1930s: Archival Evidence, Economic and Political Weekly, Jan 22, 2000
57. M Casolari, (1993) Hindutva’s foreign tie-up in the 1930s: Archival Evidence, Economic and Political Weekly, Jan 22, 2000
58. M Casolari, (1993) Hindutva’s foreign tie-up in the 1930s: Archival Evidence, Economic and Political Weekly, Jan 22, 2000
59. http://www.idrf.org/flyers/balvihar/html/hss.html
60. http://www.rss.org/rssstor.htm under the subtitle ‘Towards Maintaining Cultural Identity’
61. The Organiser, Diwali Special, 1964.
62. ‘We’ll repeat our Gujarat experiment’ Indian Express, Sept 4th, 2002
63. James G. Lochtefeld (1996) New Wine, Old Skins: The Sangh Parivar and the Transformation of Hinduism, Religion 26, 101-118
64. Bajrang Dal activists take up arms, The Times of India, June 13th, 2001
65. A Half Century’s Gory Record, AG Noorani, The Statesman, January 15, 2000
66. India: Gujarat Officials Took Part in Anti-Muslim Violence: Press Release by HRW, April 30, 2002
67. How Has The Gujarat Massacre Affected Minority Women? The Survivors Speak : A fact finding report by a Women’s Panel, Citizen’s Initiative, Ahmedabad, April 16th, 2002
68. See for example, the National Human Rights Commission’s Report, Final order on Gujarat dated May 31, 2002,
69. A Plot From The Devil's Lair, Manu Joseph, S. Anand, Outlook June 3, 2002
70. How Has The Gujarat Massacre Affected Minority Women? The Survivors Speak : A fact finding report by a Women’s Panel, Citizen’s Initiative, Ahmedabad, April 16th, 2002
71. Anti-Christian violence on the rise in India: New Report details politics behind extremist Hindu attacks Press Release by the HRW Full Report at POLITICS BY OTHER MEANS: Attacks Against Christians in India HRW Report, September 1999
72. A catalogue of crimes, Pravin Swami, Frontline, Vol. 16 (3) Jan. 30 - Feb. 12, 1999
73. Tushar Gandhi, http://www.mahatma.org.in/murderattempts/attempts.jsp?link=ld&id=1&cat=murderattempts
74. A Law Unto Itself, AG Noorani, Frontline, Volume 15 (17), Aug 15-22, 1998 http://www.flonnet.com/fl1517/15171170.htm
75. Frontline, January 28, 1994 quoted in The RSS and the BJP: A Division of Labour, AG Noorani, Leftword Books, 2000 p. 30 http://www.sabrang.com/gujarat/rssbible.htm
76. http://www.sewainternational.org/integrate.html
77. http://www.sewainternational.org/vhptamil.html
78. In a report to the IDRF, SVRDS states that it conducted competitions for Krishna Jayanthi (a Hindu Festival) in which the school children participated enthusiastically. http://www.idrf.org/reports/svrds/svrds.html It should be kept in mind that these tribals do not consider themselves Hindu, nor do they usually observe Krishna Jayanthi.
79. It is listed as a Sangh organization in Amrut-Kumbha of Service Streams, Ekta Prakashan, Pune according to an article, Winds of Change, by Anosh Malekar, The Week, Feb 20, 2000
80. http://www.vskgujarat.com/rss_resolution_godhra.htm
81. http://www.hssworld.org/seva/sevadisha/sevadisha1/vanavasi_kalyan_ashram.html
82. http://www.vhp.org/englishsite/d.Dimensions_of_VHP/bekal%20vidyalya/list_ekalvidyalaya.htm
83. The funding by the IDRF of the various organizations can be learnt from its various Annual Reports at its website. EVFI’s website, http://www.ekal.org/foundation.shtml lists the trustees of Ekal Vidyalay Foundation, including BK Modi.
84. Religious Regeneration: The Only Solution to Various National Problems, by Mohan Joshi, Joint Secretary of the VHP http://www.vhp.org/englishsite/d.Dimensions_of_VHP/cDharamPrasaar/religiousregeneration.htm
85. VHP stepping up its drive to Hinduise tribal belts of Bihar, Ashish Sinha, Hindustan Times, July 29, 2000
86. VHP plans to outdo missionaries on their turf, Tanvir Siddiqui, Indian Express, February 1, 1999
87. The VHP lists Hindu Seva Pratishthana as its organization in the field of education. http://www.vhp.org/englishsite/d.Dimensions_of_VHP/aSewa/NSNS/intheserviceofpoor.htm . For Jana Seva Vidya Kendra, see under part (a) above.
88. http://www.vikasan.org/camp/2002/program_KVA2.htm
89. A quick search through various Yoga Bharati fliers announcing training camps and events reveals its connections with sVYASA. http://www.yogabharati.org/fliers/july_2002/raghu2.pdf (Yoga Bharati raising money for sVYASA) http://www.yogabharati.org/2002/may_2002.html --David Frawley’s lecture, http://www.yogabharati.org/reports/CampJonesReport.html --report of a camp organized by Yoga Bharati
90. Listed as such in Amrut Kumbha of Service Streams, Ekta Prakashan, Pune, quoted in the article, Wings of Change, Anosh Malekar, The Week, Feb 20, 2000
91. See report filed on the HSS site of an HSS training camp held in Los Angeles in July 2002, Hindu Youth Training Camp Commended http://www.hssworld.org/users/usevak/file4.htm. Another report of an RSS training camp for NRIs—NRIs flock to RSS camps to become Global Hindus, Johnson T A, August 11, 2002 http://www.hvk.org/articles/0801/66.html
92. http://www.rss.org/Variousbranches.html
93. http://www.rss.org/rssstor.htm
94. For example, see http://www.hindunet.org/srh_home/1996_2/msg00047.html for an example of Sanskrit Bharati participating in an HSS function, http://www.yogabharati.org/reports/CampJonesReport.html for a report of its participation in a camp organized by Yoga Bharati
95. http://www.rss.org/BHARAT%20VIKAS%20PARISHAD.htm
96. http://www.vskgujarat.com/like_minded_organization/bharat_vikas_parishad.htm
97. VHP lawyer appointed Jharkhand Governor, The Hindu, July 7th, 2002 http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/2002/07/07/stories/2002070704210100.htm
98. http://www.idrf.org/otherorg/mnif/mnif.htm
99. A website soliciting funds for the Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram through the Sewa International gives its address as Sewa International, India, Keshav Kunj, Jhandewalla D.B.Gupta Marg, New Delhi – 110055 INDIA, Phone: +91 11 7779914 , http://www.hinduweb.org/home/seva/vanvasi/ The RSS has its international headquarters at Keshav Kunj, Jhandewallan in New Delhi, and many of its subsidiary organizations such as Sewa Bharti also have their headquarters in the same complex at Jhandewallan. The listed telephone number is also the same as that for RSS’s headquarters in New Delhi (http://www.rss.org/contact/ ) Sewa International has since moved away from that address and is now listed at 515 New Rajendra Nagar, New Delhi
100. http://www.sewainternational.org/intro.html
101. http://www.hssworld.org/seva/sevadisha/sevadisha1/rss_seva_vibhag.html
102. http://www.rss.org/rssho.htm
103. http://www.idrf.org/contacts/contacts.htm#india
104. RSS goes global, chalks out expansion plan, by Suresh Unnithan in The Observer, April 3, 1998 http://www.markazdawa.org/rss.htm
105. http://www.sewainternational.org/index2.html
106. http://sewainternational.com/intro.htm
107. http://www.sewainternational.org/exep.html
108. http://www.sewainternational.org/social.html
109. The Sewa International seems to seek inspiration from the VHP statement on ‘Festivals for National Integration’ http://www.vhp.org/englishsite/d.Dimensions_of_VHP/hHindu%20Parv%20Samanvya/festivalfornationalintegration.htm which states, “Holi, Dipawali, Vijyadashami, Raksha Bandhan, Sankranti and the like have a great impact in keeping the society intact and in promoting unity and integrity of the nation,” although it recognizes that there may be social tensions in doing so, “The festivals and parvas are being celebrated with interruption although there is some adverse effect because of the political atmosphere or economic disparities.” The VHP further advises mass celebrations of these festivals, “So far most festivals are celebrated at the family level or at some limited sectarian or institutional level. The area has to be widened and they should be brought to mass and collective level…Certain universal practices on the festive and other occasions also would be helpful in promotion of national integration. Tilak Dharana on the forehead, cow worship, hoisting of 'om' and 'Bhagava (Saffrron) flags are some of them.” The Sewa International seems to be doing exactly this as evident from its description of a Holi Festival, “People of the Basti affectionately applied chandan and tilak to the visitors. All greeted one another; Holi songs were sung; sweets were shared… Sewa, Sangh and Hindutwa could thus enter the Basti.” http://www.sewainternational.org/social.html
110. ‘Dedication and Perseverance Rewarded’ http://www.sewainternational.org/social.html
111. Building-Block of Progress: "Hazratpur" Becomes "Shivaji Nagar" http://www.sewainternational.org/rural.html
112. ‘Dharmik Temperament the Key’ http://www.sewainternational.org/total.html
113. ‘In the service of the aged and ill’ http://www.sewainternational.org/ennobling.html
114. http://www.rss.org/Variousbranches.html
115. http://www.hindubooks.org/Vision/ch7.html
116. Social Harmony, http://www.sewainternational.org/social.html ; Ennobling Social Conduct, http://www.sewainternational.org/ennobling.html
117. Inspiring visit of P. P. Sarsanghchalakji, Delhi http://www.sewainternational.org/ennobling.html
118. Hindu Identity Reclaimed Braj Prant (Western Uttar Pradesh), http://www.sewainternational.org/ennobling.html
119. An article about Goa state funds being used by Sewa Bharati for rebuilding Gujarat villages, Parrikar uses Goa funds to boost RSS image in Gujarat, http://www.freenewsgoa.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=42
120. http://www.sewainternational.org/rajrepo.htm
121. http://www.fisiusa.org/fisi_Campaigns/bd_hindu_solidarity_day.htm
122. http://www.idrf.org/appeals/JKappeal.htm
123. http://www.ipnatlanta.net/0109wtc.html
124. http://www.hrw.org/reports/2002/india/
125. Discriminating against the distressed in a democracy, Kuldip Nayar, Financial Express, February 21, 2001.
126. India rises from rubble with old social divides, Scott Baldauf, Christian Science Monitor, January 31, 2001. http://www.csmonitor.com/durable/2001/01/31/fp1s3-csm.shtml
127. http://lists.cs.columbia.edu/pipermail/ornet/2002-June/004713.html.
128. http://www.swordoftruth.com/swordoftruth/archives/oldarchives/bjprss.html
129. Hindutva, the lexical way: Delegitimizing the Adivasi, A.J. Philip, © Indian Express 1999
130. http://www.hindubooks.org/WideningHorizons/ch7.html
131. http://www.idrf.org/reports/vidarbha/vidarbha.htm
132. http://www.vhp.org/englishsite/d.Dimensions_of_VHP/cDharamPrasaar/religiousregeneration.htm
133. http://www.idrf.org/appeals/GujEQ/docs/mp_report.html
134. VHP plans schools in border areas to counter infiltration, Hindustan Times, May 9, 2001. http://www.hvk.org/articles/0501/139.html
135. http://www.ahmedabad.com/news/oct/9bjp.htm
136. Sangh School Plan for Gujarat, Basant Rawat, The Telegraph, July 4,2000 x
137. Amrut-Khumbha of Service Streams, Dr. Shantaram Hari Ketkar, Ekta Prakashan, Pune 1995
138. A REAL TEXTBOOK CASE: The BJP has begun to rewrite India's history, Ajay Singh, Asiaweek, March 26, 1999
139. Dangs Violence is A Story Foretold, Arun Varghese, Times of India, Feb 11, 1999
140. Fishers of Men, by Ranjan Kamath and Padmavati Rao, 1997, RKO Moving Media, http://www.handmadeindia.net/fishers/index.htm
141. Most recently, a well documented and brilliant analysis, Prejudice and Pride by Krishna Kumar, Penguin India, 2002
142. In the Name of History: Examples from Hindutva-inspired school textbooks in India, Akhbar
143. A Spreading Network, by Venkitesh Ramakrishnan, Frontline, Nov 7-20, 1998
144. Reading the NCERT Framework, by Balmurli Natrajan, Rahul De' and Biju Mathew, Ghadar, Volume 5: Number 1, Feb 21 2002
145. Hindu Right Goes to School to Build a Nation, Somini Sengupta, New York Times, May 13, 2002
146. Hindu-based education, going strong, Robert Marquand, Christian Science Monitor, Feb 16th, 2001
147. The IDRF’s annual reports are available at http://www.idrf.org/frontpage/Accomp.html. The annual reports provide a listing of organizations that received the IDRF funding for the fiscal years 1994/1995 to 2000/2001, but it should be noted that the report for the year 1995/1996 is not present.