Hi Samir, Thanks for this report. It proves my contention and yours that we should not take anybody, and anything we read, at face value. It also indicates that if I sent this report to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security as a complaint against Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation for their involvement in illegal and criminal activity, they would waste no time to throw it in the trash - that is if it bypasses their spam filter.
You might have already figured out why this is so. But here are the reasons: 1. This report clearly shows that your earlier item from Pacifica Radio, a U.S.-based outfit, was highly misleading. Please see http://www.election411.org/blog/id/4611302/obama-advisors-disturbing-affiliations-india. It claimed that the federal inquiry (a termed used to refer to an inquiry from U.S. federal government in the American media) caused the government (implying U.S. government) to stop all grants to Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation. Your new report, however, states that the Indian government stopped grants to an Indian organization called Friends of Tribal Society (FTS) that runs Ekal Vidyalayas (one-teacher schools). There is a relationship between FTS and U.S.-based Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation. But this is again a case of guilt by association. 2. Even granting the guilt by association of FTS with U.S.-based Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation, both reports only quote one rhetoric-laced sentence from the inquiry - "misusing these funds, and using the grants for creating disharmony amongst religious groups and creating a political cadre". But the best case in point of this creation of disharmony and creation of political cadre, this report tells us is: "the use of 'Jai Shri Ram' as response to roll call in the classroom, and use of Hindu Gods to teach the English alphabet." What a joke! I would say 'Jai Shri Ram' to that myself after I have stopped laughing. The federal agent at U.S. Homeland Security who probably believes that the U.S. is a Christian nation would choke on his coffee, if he picked up this report from the trash and read it. Having said that, I am appalled that the Indian government provided money for a religious charity in the first place. I hope that they are not funding any other Hindu, Christian or Muslim charities involved in tribal education. These charities are free to impart religious education with private money, but not a naya paisa of public funds under the secular constitution. But no Samir, you have to show me better evidence for creation of communal disharmony and building of political cadres by the U.S.-based Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation, let alone any illegal or criminal communal activity. The other three infractions by the FTS staff the report talks about are laughably underwhelming from the communal standpoint (and perhaps from the legal standpoint as well) - getting names of students from a public school register, not providing reading and learning material as specified, and using material from some other foundation, not the FTS. Cheers, Santosh --- On Tue, 12/16/08, Samir Kelekar <[email protected]> wrote: > > Please read the following, and forward the info. to US > department of Homeland Security as promised. > > http://www.hindu.com/2005/05/19/stories/2005051907291200.htm > Center stops grants to 'one-teacher' schools > > Centre stops grants to `one-teacher schools' > > Anita Joshua > > "Funds used to create hatred" > > NEW DELHI: The Union Human Resource Development Ministry > has stopped grants to `Ekal Vidyalayas' (one-teacher > schools) run by the Friends of Tribal Society (FTS) in > tribal belts of the country in collaboration with the Vishwa > Hindu Parishad. >
