Fwd: [ASHA] Civil Society: Saboteurs or whistle blowers?

[David Amalanadane]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Kavitha Kuruganti <kavitha....@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, Jun 16, 2014 at 9:54 PM
Subject: [ASHA] Civil Society: Saboteurs or whistle blowers?
To: asha-kisanswaraj <asha-kis...@googlegroups.com>


http://metroindia.com/Details.aspx?id=36939


Civil society: Saboteurs or whistle - blowers?
The IB report points to the possibility of civil society voices being
muzzled in the name of foreign funding and so-called industrial
development, says the writerDinesh C Sharma

There is no evidence available to believe that Modi has changed his
opinion about NGOs after taking over as Prime Minister

In the past 10 days, the Modi government has unfolded a series of
measures in the name of its thrust on development and growth. All such
measures appear unconnected but are actually part of a grand agenda
slowly being unfolded. First, it was the Polavaram ordinance, then
followed the decision to increase the height of Sardar Sarovar dam.
Both the decisions involve huge human and environmental costs, and
negate long struggles of marginalised groups and affected people.

Close on the heels came the leaked Intelligence Bureau (IB) report on
non-government organisations which are allegedly throwing a spanner in
the government’s development agenda. In between, the environment
minister made it clear that forest and environmental clearances will
be fast tracked. The message is clear: Democratic dissent and
legitimate opposition will no longer be tolerated.

Interestingly, the IB report on NGOs is continuation of the tirade
that the previous UPA government had launched on civil society in
February 2012. “There are NGOs often funded from the US and
Scandinavian countries which are not fully appreciative of the
development challenges that our country faces,” he had remarked. V
Narayanswamy, elaborated by saying that NGOs were violating the
Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) by not using funds for the
cause they were received for. He even alleged that anti-nuke agitation
in Kudankulam was foreign-funded. However, he withdrew the specific
charge when served with a legal notice.

The present IB report has gone a step ahead, by quantifying loss of
the GDP due to impediments created by NGOs in implementation of
developmental projects. The absurdity of this connection between GDP
and civil society voices against human rights and environmental
violations is not even worth discussing. More than the content of the
IB report, it is the intent of the report that is more significant.
Prime Minister Modi treats independent civil society voices with
contempt. This was clear from his speeches during the campaign and
earlier as Chief Minister of Gujarat.

There is no evidence available to believe that he has changed his
opinion about NGOs after taking over as the Prime Minister. On the
contrary, the IB report sent to him goes to show that his government
is preparing the ground to act against individuals and organisations
named in the leaked dossier. There is every possibility that civil
society voices will be muzzled in the name of foreign funding and
so-called industrial development. It is an attempt to malign the image
of civil society in the minds of general public, particularly middle
classes, so that when action is taken against them there is no
opposition.

In one stroke, the establishment is trying to undo decades of good
work done by hundreds of NGOs and people’s organisations over the past
few decades. It prevents drugs companies from taking frivolous patents
while protecting even incremental innovation. But for the democratic
process of public hearings on Bt Brinjal and concerted efforts by
environmental groups to create awareness on this issue, India would
have been flooded by GM foods of all sorts without proper scientific
evaluation on their impact on human health and environment.

In Uttarakhand, work on dams in ecologically fragile areas has been
stalled due to agitation led by right-wing environmental groups. The
Goa mining scam was first exposed by local green groups, while dumping
of toxic wastes was stopped due to legal remedies sought by civil
society. The Right to Information was borne out of long struggle by
the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan. The government’s view of civil
society suddenly dims when it comes to certain American NGOs which are
allowed to not only function in India but play a major role in shaping
or influencing important policies affecting millions of people in this
country.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is a leading example of this
category of government-friendly civil society. PATH, indicted by a
parliamentary panel for its role in unethical testing of HPV vaccines,
is another such. Biotech and seed industry lobbying outfit
International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications
too has its operations in India. Then there are climate change deniers
funded by fossil fuel industry. This list is long. Can we expect the
IB to train its investigating eyes on such NGOs too in near future?
(The writer is a journalist and author based in New Delhi )


--
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KAVITHA KURUGANTI
Alliance for Sustainable & Holistic Agriculture (ASHA)

Office:          A-124/6, First Floor, Katwaria Sarai, New Delhi 110 016
Residence:  # 302, Santhome Apartments, 33/1, 1st A Cross, Indiranagar I
Stage, Bangalore 560 038

www.kisanswaraj.in
www.indiagminfo.org &
www.indiaforsafefood.in

Phone: +91-9393001550
Skype: kavitha.kuruganti

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