Vol 7 Issue 5
Regn. no. M A H E N G/2004/15104
www.ngoconnect.org
A ‘SHAKTI’ PROJECT
I n d i a ’ s Fi r s t N G O N e w s ta b l o i d CONNECTiNG
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Sept.-Oct. 2010
We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop” – Mother Teresa
Human Rights activist S R Sankaran passes away
It isn’t a zero sum game wish to speak of -the apparent gap between those espousing the case for faster economic growth and those calling for greater attention to protection of the environment. ..Let us all accept the reality that there is undoubtedly a trade-off between growth and environment. In arriving at decisions to untangle the trade-off, three options present themselves -”yes”, “yes, but” and “no”. The real problem is that the growth constituency is used to “yes” and can live with “yes, but”. It cries foul with “no”. The environment constituency exults with a “no”, grudgingly accepts the “yes, but” but cries foul with a “yes”. Therefore, one clear lesson is this - maximise the “yes, but”, only where this is possible. ... For instance, we allowed a power project in Ratnagiri in the face of NGO objections but imposed strict conditions that would be monitored by local institutions. .. In such cases that have complex scientific, ecological and social dimensions, my approach has been to make decisions in the most consultative and transparent manner possible. This is what we did in the case of Bt-brinjal, and in the case of the Ve danta mining project in Orissa, where I consulted extensively, and shared a most detailed explanation for our decision with the public. Is the debate really environment versus development or is it one of adhering to rules, regulations and laws versus taking the rules, regulations and laws for granted? Are these laws to be enforced or are they to just adorn the statute books, honoured more in their breach than in their observance? I have to say that for too long a time, we have taken these laws and the discipline they enforce for granted. Industry has assumed that somehow these laws can be “managed” and governments too have not insisted that the laws be implemented both in letter and spirit. We have now reached a crucial juncture when fait accompli will not do any longer... There is a legitimate fear that this could end up being another source of what economists call “rent seeking” or what ordinary human beings would call “harassment” or “corruption” ... . .. Sunita Narain puts it well when she says that India’s environmental movement is about managing contradictions and complexities - and to this I would add, also, conflicts. This environmentalism of the poor, as she calls it, or livelihood environmentalism, as I would term it--as opposed to lifestyle environmentalism of the privileged sections - manifested itself with the birth and growth of the Chipko movement in the hills of Uttarakhand. Those women were asserting the rights of local communities over the use of local resources. Such assertions are visible in different parts of the country today. We misread such assertions as the conflict between environment and development when they actually are about establishing a fundamental right to livelihood security and a fundamental right to determine the nature of what we call development that impacts their daily lives ....(excerpts from a talk by Mr. Jairam Ramesh, Indian Express, 04/10/2010, PG.11)
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Hyderabad, Oct 7 : Retired Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer S R Sankaran, who played a pivotal role in bringing the outlawed CPI (ML) to the table for the first-ever direct talks with the Andhra Pradesh Government in 2004, died at his residence here today.
compassion bound him to masses of India’s poorest people, disadvantaged by indigence, caste, gender and disability.
Sankaran, who was also the former Chief Secretary of Tripura, was known for his uprightness and vocal support for Dalits, tribals and landless poor, even at the cost of his career. He was even accused of being an open supporter of the banned CPI (ML) Naxalites. Undeterred, Sankaran went on to vigorously fend off any attempt to dilute the veritable 1/70 Act, under which land in the scheduled areas cannot be alienated to a non-tribal, giving protection to the tribals and prohibiting non-tribals from possessing land in the scheduled tribal notified areas. His documentation of tribal land records led to the Tripura government approaching the Centre for utilising the services of Sankaran to help in settling an age-old conflict between tribals and plainsmen in Tripura. —UNI
A Legacy of Goodness By Harsh Mander Crowds surged to join his funeral procession, as it wound its way through the busy streets of Hyderabad, on a warm afternoon on 8 October, 2010. Senior civil servants and human rights workers jostled with tens of anonymous indigent men and women, each of whom wished the privilege to carry his body in its
last journey for a few moments. Uniformed policemen lowered their eyes in tribute after offering an incongruous gun salute to a man the crowds extolled as a messenger of peace. Slogans continuously rent the air, hailing him to be the beloved son of dalits, tribal people, the poor and disabled persons. Few eyes were dry when his niece set aflame his funeral pier. I doubt if there has ever been such a funeral of any civil servant before him. The diverse multitude which surged to bid this diminutive, frail, under-stated man his final farewell, represented the extraordinary range of people whose lives he had touched. SR Sankaran set standards of integrity and service to the most disadvantaged, for a whole generation of public officials. His courage of convictions inspired human rights activists. Despite his uncompromising opposition to violence, he was revered by Maoists as much as by Gandhians. And a lifetime of egalitarian
Sankaran firmly believed lifelong that the foremost duty of the state was to uphold the dignity, rights and freedoms of India’s most oppressed people, and his life’s work demonstrated what a democratic government could indeed accomplish if it included persons like him. He drew up laws for land reforms, and pushed governments to implement these. He conceived of the Tribal Sub-Plan and SpecialComponent Plan, to compel governments to set aside significant proportions of the state budgets for the welfare of Scheduled Castes and Tribes. He designed many programmes for justice and welfare of these socially most deprived communities, including thousands of residential schools for the education of tribal boys and girls. It was he who helped craft laws to release bonded workers. (When criticised by the AP government, he proceeded on long leave), it proved a fortuitous turning point in his life. The legendary Marxist Chief Minister of Tripura, Nripen Chakravarthy, invited him to shift to Tripura and serve there as Chief Secretary. They formed a unique partnership, leading the state for 6 years. Few governments in India earned such a reputation of integrity, service and justice for the under-privileged. Sankaran gained national fame when he was kidnapped by Naxalites from the jungles of Andhra Pradesh. It was due to his unique moral stature that both government and the Maoists felt compelled to respond
Maximum foreign funds for Education
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he top ten recipients of foreign funds in India are all in the education sector. While the United States doles out the maximum funds to Indian NGOs working in the education sector, the other countries which make it to the top five list are United Kingdom, Germany, Italy and Netherlands. According to the figures accessed by The Indian Express through RTI, the US sent Rs 170 crore to these NGOs in 2005-06. The figure went up to Rs 494.58 crore in 200708, despite the recession. The UK, which sent Rs 55 crore in 2005-06, hiked the amount to Rs 893 crore in 2006-07, but calibrated it down to Rs 477 crore in the year 2007-08. Among the NGOs, World Vision India, the India branch of the international Christian humanitarian organisation which advocates sponsoring education for needy children, gets the maximum funds: Rs 211 crore. Andhra Pradesh’s Rural Development Trust came a distant second with Rs 124 crore.
Supported by the US’s Gospel for Asia, Kerala’s Believers Church, which also runs a string of educational institutes and schemes, got Rs 101 crore in the same period, while Delhi-based Caritas India got Rs 89 crore. Incidentally, Indian NGOs across all sectors received over Rs 9,000 crore from foreign sources in 200708. With some of these transactions coming under the scanner of the Ministry for Home Affairs, as many as 41 NGOs have been banned from receiving foreign funds. Those banned from receiving any foreign contributions as in 2009 include the J&K Muslim Conference, Wazirabad (Srinagar); the Tibetan Culture & Education Foundation, Bangalore; Akandar Tryst and Public Relief Trust, both in Srinagar; Christ’s Helping Hand Chidren’s Home, Rajamundhry; Vikash Parishad, Koraput; Falah-e-Aam Trust, Baramulla; Tamil Nadu Muslim Munnetra Kazhagam, Chennai; Saraswati Charitable Trust, Delhi; Adima Jati Seva Samiti, Kandhamal; Haryanvi Organisation
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for Progress and Ecology, Sonepat; Jamai Atul Falah, Azamgarh and Church of Christ Trust, Dindigul. A state-wise comparison of the funding shows that Delhi is on top of the list, with its NGOs getting Rs 1,716 crore in 2007-08. While Tamil Nadu comes second with Rs 1,670 crore, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka are close on its heels. In fact, the figures reveal that NGOs in Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Mahrashtra and Karnataka have got the maximum foreign funds since 2005, while most of the so-called BIMARU states lag far behind. However, NGOs in Uttar Pradesh manage to get about Rs 100-200 crore annually. A district-wise break-up shows that Chennai has been leading for years now, while Bangalore, Mumbai, Kolkata and Hyderabad complete the top five list. Interestingly, besides the cities, Ananthpur, Pathanmthitta and Ernakulam also figure among the top ten districts where NGOs get maximum foreign funds.(www.indianexpress.com)
to his appeals, and defend to him their policies. He grieved until his end that he could not free his people from the mutually reinforcing cycles of violence, and reclaim for them enduring peace and justice. Another task to which he devoted a significant part of his time after he retired was to lead the Safai Karmchari Andolan, an exceptional campaign for ending the humiliating age-old practice of people of particular castes being forced to clean dry latrines with their bare hands, and carry human excreta in baskets on their heads. A decade of Sankaran’s leadership of the Andolan led to the substantial decimation of this centuries-old evil in many parts of India. This was through a combination of judicial interventions, compelling accountability of public officials, and a non-violent mass campaign for self-respect by people engaged in this vocation in which they burned their baskets and demolished dry latrines. His enduring legacy will be to demonstrate what true and authentic goodness in public and personal life can accomplish, to make this world a better, kinder place. The Prime Minister’s condolence message is as follows : “I am deeply grieved to learn of the passing away of Shri S.R. Sankaran. Shri Sankaran was a very fine human being and an outstanding civil servant. His commitment to public service, and to the disadvantaged sections of our society was deep and unswerving. His life and work, the very high moral standards he lived by and his simplicity will continue to inspire civil servants in the future. I offer my condolences to his family members and friends and pray for peace of his soul.”
Hush-hush, the Chief CIC is appointed Mumbai: The new head of the nation’s highest body for enforcement of the Right to Information Act has himself been appointed with little public awareness of the process or criteria used for his selection, In the first week of October, Central Information Commissioner A N Tiwari was appointed as the Chief CIC to replace Wajahat Habibullah. But it is worth noting that the press and public was kept in the dark about the date and time of the meeting of the Prime Minister’s selection committee when Tiwari was selected for this post. Tiwari was a Secretary to the Government of India. In breach of explicit DoPT guidelines, he selected himself for the post of Information Commissioner. “It is ironic that this (the CIC) is the body which is charged with ensuring transparent administration throughout the country, while the process of appointment to this body itself is highly non-transparent. ( Krishnaraj Rao.)