Church of South India is a Company: Madras High Court

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The Madras High Court has stated that the Church of South India is a company and is liable to submit its accounts for inspection to the Registrar of Companies.  The CSI had registered itself as a company under the Companies Act, in 1947- 1948. The order to this effect was passed recently by Justice S Rajeswaran, following a complaint lodged by John S Durai, a CSI member. The petitioner alleged that CSI was misusing the funds under foreign exchange account. The writ petition filed by Durai sought for a directive to scrutinize CSI accounts.

Justice Rajeswaran said that the CSI was indeed a registered company. He said, “Only after getting clearance from the Ministry of Corporate Affairs the impugned action has been taken under the provision of law…The contention of the CSI counsel is of no merits and the proceedings cannot be questioned at all by the CSI Trust Association.”

Following the petition filed by Durai, Madras High Court directed the RoC to follow up on the matter, wherein a preliminary probe was carried out. The investigation confirmed the allegations made by the petitioner. The RoC was also granted permission from the Central Ministry for conducting a detailed probe into the financial matters of the CSI, under Section 209A of the Companies Act.

A showcause notice was also filed against the CSI Trust Association on 30 August, 2011, stating the commencement of an inspection on 12 September, 2011. The notice also stated that CSI authorities should keep their account books ready. However, the CSI authorities sought an extension of the audit exercise by a week’s time on 19 September, 2011.

However, the CSI moved to High Court against the showcause notice, seeking an extension from the RoC and subsequently questioning the registrar’s powers in inspecting their matters. But the matter was pursued by Durai who informed the HC that CSI was a “habitual defaulter in filing the statutory returns in time, and also not in the habit of replying to the genuine queries raised by the registrar regarding complaints received against the CSI”.

http://indiawires.com/9352/news/national/church-of-south-india-is-a-company-madras-high-court/

Union Govt withdraws Gou Maans (Beef) Exports Proposal Sadhu-Sants, Hindus, VHP & Other Hindu Organizations Win!

New Delhi, March 29, 2012

In 12^th Planning Commission of Union Govt recommendations, it was proposed that the ban on Gou Maans (Beef) Exports be lifted. Right now there has been a ban on both imports & exports of Gou Maans. Gou Maans Exports encouragement by the Union Govt would have surely got more & more Cows butchered. Sadhu-Sants, VHP, other Hindu Organizations & Hindus in Bharat opposed it totally. In VHP’s nation-wide campaign the demand was made not to allow such a brutal proposal to go through. Govt has issued a press note on March 16, 2012 that there would not be Gou Maans – Beef – exports.

This has become a habit of the Govt to make decisions hurting Hindus & only when Hindus take to streets, to withdraw them. From Rameshwaram Ram Sethu to Amarnath & from Law against superstition in Maharashtra – there are many such examples. Instead of keeping on hurting the majority to appease minority, Union Govt & all state Govts must care for majority sentiments & well-being for the betterment of Bharat.

Therefore, we demand that the Union Govt passes the bill of the law banning Gou Hatya (Cow Slaughter) TOTALLY. The final draft for this Bill is getting ready & we will be sending it to the Union Govt in a short while to be passed in a specific time line. Those who are interested in suggesting significant points can send their suggestions to contacthhl@gmail.com

We also demand that the states that yet do not have law against cow slaughter, must pass the law immediately. The states those have the law must implement it strictly as despite the law, in many states cows are still being captured illegally, transported in trucks & butchered. Gou Rakshaks who try to stop the trucks or stop cows being butchered are sent to jail and even killed but the butchers are not punished! We demand that no cow / cow progeny be killed in Bharat anywhere by anyone.

Veer Savarkar - A legend

Veer Savarkar - A legend

• The first political leader to daringly set Absolute Political Independence as India's goal (1900).
• The first Indian political leader to daringly perform a bonfire of foreign (English) clothes (1905).
• The first Indian to organize a revolutionary movement for India's Independence on an international level (1906).
• The first Indian law student who was not called to the English Bar despite having passed his examination and observed the necessary formalities, for his activities to seek India's freedom from the British (1909).
• The only Indian leader whose arrest in London caused legal difficulties for British Courts and whose case is still referred to in the interpretations of the Fugitive Offenders Act and the Habeas Corpus (Rex Vs Governor of Brixton Prison, ex-parte Savarkar)
• The first Indian historian whose book on the 1857 War of Independence was proscribed by British Authorities in India even before its publication. The Governor General had asked the Postmaster General to confiscate copies of the book six months before the book was officially banned (1909).
• The first political prisoner whose daring escape and arrest on French soil became a cause celebre in the International Court of Justice at The Hague. This case was mentioned in many International Treaties at that time (1910).
• The first graduate whose degree was withdrawn by an Indian University for striving for India's freedom (1911).
• The first poet in the world who, deprived of pen and paper, composed his poems and then wrote them on the prison walls with thorns and nails, memorized ten thousand lines of his poetry for years and later transmitted them to India through his fellow-prisoners who also memorized these lines.
• The first revolutionary leader who within less than 10 years gave a death-blow to the practice of untouchability in the remote district of Ratnagiri while being interned there.
• The first Indian leader who successfully started -
  • A Ganeshotsava open to all Hindus including ex-untouchables (1930).
  • Interdining ceremonies of all Hindus including ex-untouchables (1931).
  • "Patitpavan Mandir", open to all Hindus including ex-untouchables (22 February 1931).
  • A cafe open to all Hindus including ex-untouchables (01 May 1933).
• The first political prisoner in the world who was sentenced to Transportation for Life twice, a sentence unparalleled in the history of the British Empire.
• The first political leader to embrace death voluntarily by way of Atma Samarpan in the highest tradition of Yoga (1966).

Conflict between Indian sociology and Anglo-Saxon economics

A budget of contradictions
S Gurumurthy

The national budget for the financial year 2012-13 mirrors the paralysis within the United Progressive Alliance coalition and government. It is a shocking theatre of conflict between the Indian sociology and Anglo-Saxon theories, of the contradictions between the intents of the finance minister and the contents of the budget, and of the minister’s confusion about what to do and what not to do in the light of his doubts about what the UPA government itself can and cannot.

Take first an example of the conflict between Indian sociology and Anglo-Saxon economics in the budget. Like every Union finance minister since 1991, Pranab Mukherjee has also attempted to solicit more subscribers for corporate stocks — a vital element of Anglo-Saxon financial capitalism. He has given a deduction up to Rs 50,000 for those who subscribe for stocks. The punters in stock markets who had had to pay short term capital gains tax a decade ago, were exempted and left with a small STT to bear. The corporates, FIIs, and also the government would like the households in India to move away from banks to stocks. But Indian households, like the Japanese and German households, refuse to. In Germany, less than 7 per cent of households own stocks, against 55 per cent in the United States, and 11 per cent in Japan. Most Germans and Japanese prefer bank accounts to stocks. The Anglo-Saxon economists consider that inefficient.

Indian households are similar to German and Japanese households in seeking safety first. The Economic Survey of India 2012 submitted by the Union finance minister to Parliament the day before his budget testifies to how the Indian households trust banks more, despite the rise of Sensex from 1,000 in 1990 to over 18,000 now, topping 20,000 at times. The total savings of Indian households in banks was 34 per cent of GDP in 1990. It rose to 47 per cent in 2000-01. This further rose to 58 per cent in 2006-07. It continues to rise and stands at present at 67 per cent, thus doubling in two decades. During this period, when the Sensex rose by 20 times, Indian households had largely kept away from stocks. The share of stocks in Indian savings was some 7 per cent in 1992 thanks to Harshad Mehta. It crashed to 1.7 per cent in 1999. It rose to 4 per cent in 2000 thanks to Ketan Parekh. It crashed again to almost 1 per cent in 2004-05. It again rose to 8 per cent thanks to the global subprime scam. Now it has again crashed to some 3 per cent. So scams, more than tax sops, seem to have enticed the households to stocks. Yet, the budget is again enticing the households to stocks.

The budget is undeniably noble in words, but equally short on numbers. The bad numbers undo the declared intents of the Union finance minister and work to the opposite of the laudable objectives declared. Here is an example. Pranab Mukherjee says that a principal objective of the budget is to ‘focus on domestic demand driven growth for recovery’. With the world in turmoil, he has rightly turned ‘swadeshi’ to look to domestic strength as the alternative. But his budget contradicts his vows in the budget speech. The result is he miserably fails to activate domestic forces. If he has to spur domestic demand, he would have cut taxes and let people have more money to spend. But here he has raised the taxes and robbed the people. He puts into consumers’ pocket a paltry sum of 4,500 crore by direct taxes cut, but picks their pockets almost by a huge amount of 46,000 crore by raising indirect taxes. Even he cannot deny that this will erode, not promote, domestic demand.

Pranab Mukherjee’s expectation of ‘lower inflation and higher savings’ in the coming year is a contradiction in terms. In theory, other things remaining the same, a rise in savings, means lower demand and lower consumption. If, however, a budget releases inflationary forces by high rise in indirect taxes, as the present budget promises to, the same goods will sell at higher prices — causing fall in both consumption and savings.

Rise in indirect taxes will cause price rise and reduce savings. And with the price rise, not just savings, but real consumption also will fall. The Economic Survey 2012 notes that inflationary tendencies during 2010-11 caused reduction in household savings. It does not stop here. The projected gargantuan government borrowings of 4,70,000 crore for 2012-13 will suck away liquidity and up interest rates. The minister himself has provided for a huge interest burden for the budget year. Already banks are borrowing heavily from the Reserve Bank of India. If the high interest rates now rise further, that will also bring down consumption. Allowing FIIs to invest in government and corporate bonds cannot greatly ease the liquidity. In sum, the budget promises lower, not higher, savings and consumption, the very opposite of what the minister has declared. The domestic demand theme of the minister is thus a non-starter.

Unable to contain the huge revenue deficit, Pranab Mukherjee seems to have turned to chartered accountants for ideas to make his balance sheet appear more elegant. The innovation of ‘effective revenue deficit’ in the minister’s budget speech bears the stamp of some questionable multinational accounting firm. Effective revenue deficit is to be arrived at by deducting from ‘the revenue deficit’ all grants made — not only to state governments and constitutional authorities, but also to non-governmental organisations — for creation of capital assets not owned and held by the government. This innovation is being legalised by law now. Thanks to this window-dressing, from the revenue deficit of 3,50,000 crore, the grants for capital assets of 1,65,000 crore are deducted to arrive at the effective revenue deficit of 1,85,000 crore for 2012-13 — thus optically moderating revenue deficit of 3.5 per cent of GDP to 1.8 per cent effective revenue deficit.

Yet, the Union finance minister’s effort is not without positive elements. The bold retrospective law to tax the Hutch-Vodafone deal, the novel idea of holding company for the financial arms of government and the proposal for direct delivery of subsidies and many more. Pranab Mukherjee’s show finally ends as a comedy with his promise to bring a white paper on black money! It is now three years since the UPA-II government had promised by the president’s address to Parliament after the 2009 Lok Sabha elections that it would bring back Indian monies stashed abroad. Now, after three years, the Union finance minister says he will bring a white paper on the issue. Isn’t it a comedy?

http://expressbuzz.com/biography/A-budget-of-contradictions/374049.html

Army Chief to PM: 'We can't defend the country'

New Delhi: The country’s security might be at stake.

The army’s tanks have run out of ammunition, the air defence is as good as obsolete and the infantry is short of critical weapons, army chief General VK Singh wrote to the prime minister recently.

The letter, sent to the prime minister’s office (PMO) on March 12, asks Manmohan Singh to “pass suitable directions to enhance the preparedness of the army”.

The embattled general (the controversy over his date of birth and the Rs14-crore bribe offer) approached the PMO after he failed to get a response from the defence ministry. Ever since the general had a row with South Block — which houses the defence ministry — over his birth date, he has had to face a bureaucracy that seems reluctant to process files.

With the Manmohan Singh-led government in power since May 2004, the military has failed to make any big ticket purchases and even critical operational shortages have failed to move a stubborn bureaucracy. “The state of the major (fighting) arms i.e. Mechanised Forces, Artillery, Air Defence, Infantry and Special Forces, as well as the Engineers and Signals, is indeed alarming,” Gen Singh wrote in his letter. Some of the major issues he has raised are:

•The army’s entire tank fleet is “devoid of critical ammunition to defeat enemy tanks”

•The air defence is “97% obsolete and it doesn’t give the deemed confidence to protect…from the air”

•The infantry is crippled with “deficiencies of crew served weapon” and lacks “night fighting” capabilities

•Elite Special Forces are “woefully short” of “essential weapons”

•There are “large-scale voids” in critical surveillance; night fighting capabilities

Gen Singh points out that the present “hollowness” in the system is a manifestation of the procedures and processing time for procurements as well as legal impediments by vendors. The general’s plea is a direct indictment of the complex and slow defence procurement procedures.

Gen Singh, miffed with ordnance factories that produce weapon systems and other fighting material, felt the work quality was poor and a “lack of urgency at all levels” on matters of national security.

This is frustrating and worrying for the general because some years ago he was entrusted with preparing a comprehensive “transformation study” to modernise the army. As the GOC-in-C (Eastern Command), Singh, then a lieutenant general, had prepared a detailed report to modernise the force.

With two “inimical neighbours” and the “reality of large land borders”, Gen Singh feels such shortcomings severely erode the army’s preparedness. Therefore, there is a need to “urgently mitigate” these “critical deficiencies” that are “impacting the operational capability” of a 1.3million-strong army.

Minister of State for Defence Palam Raju confirmed the reports saying, "We received Army Chief's letter to PM (stating that Indian army infrastructure is woefully weak"

http://daily.bhaskar.com/article/NAT-TOP-army-chief-to-pm-we-cant-defend-the-country-3026532.html

Two more ‘terrorists’ held, ATS claims they were planning to kill ‘Hindu leaders’

Two more ‘terrorists’ held, ATS claims they were planning to kill ‘Hindu leaders’

The alleged terror module busted by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) in Aurangabad on Monday was apparently planning to assassinate some ‘Hindu leaders’ in Maharashtra, ATS sources said on Tuesday. While two members of the module were arrested and a third killed in an encounter in Aurangabad on Monday, the ATS arrested two other alleged members of the group from Chikli in Buldhana district early on Tuesday.

The two have been identified as Aqeel Khilji (45), who was allegedly SIMI’s chief in Madhya Pradesh, and Mohammed Zaffar Hussain Qureshi (32). The police have recovered a 7.65 mm pistol, five live rounds, a pen drive and jehadi literature from them. Cops have identified two bank accounts operated by Khilji.

The ATS had arrested Mohammed Abrar Babu Khan alias Abrar Shaikh, a wanted accused in the 2008 Ahmedabad serial blasts. While another member, Khalil Qureshi, was killed, a third, Mohammed Shakir, was injured and taken into custody.

“Besides attempting to set up bases in Aurangabad, Jalna and Buldhana and recruit people in the state, they were planning to assassinate some prominent Hindu leaders in Maharashtra. These leaders could be from the BJP, VHP or RSS. However, they have not divulged any names yet,” said an ATS source. Investigators suspect that the module could have targeted foreigners in Aurangabad for ransom. “The ransom would be used to finance terror activities. This method has been used by the Indian Mujahideen (IM).”

“Besides attempting to set up base in Maharashtra, they were also trying to recruit people. We have a fair idea of their network in the state, but with interrogation, we will be able to confirm our information. This group is clearly affiliated to the Indian Mujahideen,” said Additional Director General of Police (ATS) Rakesh Maria.

“After the arrests of Abu Faisal and Safdar Nagori in MP, Khilji was looking after SIMI’s activities in the state. He became the SIMI chief in MP. There are eight offences registered against Khilji. Five cases are under the UAPA, which include two attempted murders, and the other three are regular IPC cases. Qureshi is wanted in two offences in MP,” said Maria. Khilji, Mohammed Abrar and Abu Faisal were allegedly in touch with IM operatives Abdus Subhan Qureshi alias Tauqeer and Qayamuddin Kapadia. “In fact, when Tauqeer fled from his home in Mumbai in 2008, Abu Faisal and Aqeel sheltered him for three-four months,” said Maria.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/two-more-terrorists-held-ats-claims-they-were-planning-to-kill-hindu-leaders/929194/0

EVERY SUNDAY 10AM on DD NATIONAL, 11th MARCH

Upanishad Ganga is not merely a television serial, it is a window that offers a glimpse of the ancient culture and value system of India. India is not just a geographical entity, it signifies an entire vision of life which is an art as well as a science of living.

This is a vision that shows a single Consciousness that weaves through every particle of the universe, that knits together man and man, man and animal, man and his world and all that is beyond. This is a vision that our ancient seers called “Atman” or the “Self”.

What is that, knowing which nothing else remains to be known? Was it just the imagination of the ancient seers and thinkers? What was the Truth revealed by the experiments of adepts in the science of life? What exactly is this vision of the “Self”, the knowledge of the “Self”?

What is that eternal Truth which is the foundation of the art of life, the science of life that flourishes in India? What is that Truth which is beyond time, which is universal, which is the very basis of all time and place?

It is this Truth that is explained in Vedanta -- in the Upanishads. They talk about that which sustains this life and this universe, and that which is beyond it.

From time to time great seers and thinkers have proclaimed it in different ways, from King Janaka and Rishi Yajnavalkya in the days of yore to Adi Sankaracharya, Sayanacharya and Madhvacharya, and Swami Vivekananda and Swami Chinmayananda in the present times.

Time flowed and so did the flow of knowledge. Geographical frontiers changed, history changed, communities changed, literature changed, words changed and their meanings changed, but the immutable Truth remained the same, though many kinds of veils covered it.

After independence, India developed as a nation, with many new revolutionary ideas and slogans that spurred its material growth, but dimmed the glory of its ancient spiritual heritage. The art and science of life that gave it its unique identity was bundled and moved out of the regular stream of school and college education, and even declared to be irrelevant by some.

Chinmaya Mission entered the picture to enable the flow of spiritual knowledge to continue unhindered, so that it could irrigate and nourish our day to day lives. Unfortunately, today this knowledge is considered outdated and unwanted.

However, can the longing for Truth ever be suppressed? Can the experience of humanity for thousands of years, their untiring quest for Truth be denied?

Watch Upanishad Ganga, EVERY SUNDAY 10AM on DD NATIONAL, 11th MARCH
ONWARDS 

.All India Muslim Majlis-e-Mushawarat Resolutions

Statements

All India Muslim Majlis-e-Mushawarat Resolutions

New Delhi, 5 March 2012: The Central and Working Committees of the All India Muslim Majlis-e Mushawarat (AIMMM), the umbrella body of Indian Muslim organisations, met here in a joint session on 3 March 2012. The meeting was chaired by the AIMMM National President Dr Zafarul-Islam Khan and attended by the following members: Janab Mohammad Jafar (Vice President), Janab A. R. Shervani (General Secretary), Janab Mohammad Sulaiman (General Secretary), Dr. Arshi Khan (General Secretary), Janab Mujtaba Farooq, Janab Syed Shahabuddin, Dr. S. Q. R. Ilyas, Janab S. M. Y. Nadeem, Prof. S. M. Yahya, Janab Nusrat Ali, Prof. Humayun Murad, Janab Abdul Qayoom Khan, Janab Akhtar Husain Akhtar, Janab Jawed Ahmad, Dr. Ubaid Iqbal Asim, Begum Nusrat Shervani, Dr. Mateen Ahmad Siddiqui,  Janab Ejaz Ahmed Aslam and Dr. Muhammad Tanweer Hasan.

The meeting offered condolences to the millat and families of prominent leaders of the community who passed away recently and prayed for their souls, especially Maulana Muhmmad Safiullah, Shaikhul Hadees, Madrasa Miftahul Uloom Jalalabad (died 2 March 2012); Hazrat Syed Mohammad Izhar Ashraf (1934-2012), Chief Patron of All Indian Ulama and Mashaikh Board (AIUMB) and a Sufi leader, Sajjadah Nashin of Khanquah Ashrafia Hasania of Kichowcha Sharif, died at Delhi on 22 February 2012; Maulana Zeeshan Hidayati, well-known Shia scholar, community leader and active AIMMM member, died in Varanasi on 23 December; Ziaul Haq ‘Soz’ Haqqi Dehlawi, social and political activist, Delhi Congress leader, poet and a former member of Delhi State Haj Committee - died of heart attack in Delhi on 22 December; Dr. Javed azam, President of Jamia Salfia Banaras, a Hadees scholar - died of heart attack in Banaras on 23 December; Prof. Farhana Siddiqi, former President of Jamia Millia Islamia’s Department of Arabic - died at a Delhi hospital on 31 December 2011; Dr Abdul Haleem Owais, Islamic historian of Egypt, professor of history in Riyadh’s Imam University and Egypt’s Zagaziq Uni. (1943-2011) – died on 11 December 2011; Nawab Rahmatullah Khan Sherwani, former Pro-Chancellor of AMU - died on 10 January at the age of 83 years; Khwaja Abdul Khaliq, senior journalist and former Director of PIB’s Urdu Unit in Information and Broadcasting ministry died of heart attack on 18 January in Delhi; Mufti Muhammad Aslam Rizvi, a religious scholar of Bihar, died on 6 January in Patna; Azizur Rahman, Congress leader and a former minister of UP died on 7 January 2012; Shujauudin Sajid alias Shuja’ Khawar, noted Urdu poet and former IPS officer died of heart attack in Delhi on 19 January 2012; Dr. Fareed Parbati, a noted Urdu poet of Kashmir, died on 14 Dec. 2011; Mazhar Imam, prominent Urdu poet, writer, critic, died on 30 January 2012; Kerala’s Governor M.O. Hasan Farook, who earlier he served as governor of Jharkhand, chief minister of Pondicherry three times, and India’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia  - died on 26 January 2012 at Chennai; Anis Suhrawardy, noted Supreme Court lawyer, died on 24 January 2012; Kunwar Akhlaq Muhammad Khan ‘Shaharyar’, famous poet, former Urdu professor at AMU, author and critic and winner of many prestigious literary awards, including Sahitya Academy and Jnanapeeth Awards, Ghalib Award for Poetry etc. - died at Aligarh on 13 February 2012; Maulana Syed Waqar Ali, a religious scholar and Sheikhul Hadees at Mazahirul Uloom (Waqf) of Saharanpur  - died on 11 February 2012; Maulana Mufti Khurshid Alam, Shaikhul Hadees of Darul Uloom Deoband and a prominent religious scholar died on 7 February 2012;  Maulana Abu Bakar Ghazipuri, senior religious scholar and researcher -died in Delhi on 8 February 2012; and Prof. Mughni Tabussam, prominent poet, scholar, critic and author – died in Hyderabad on 15 February 2012.

Apart from discussing organisational matters and passing the budget for 2012-2013, the meeting deliberated on a number of milli, national and international issues and passed a number of resolutions which are as follows:

4.5%  Reservation

The AIMMM welcomes as a first but inadequate step the 4.5% reservation offered by the Central government to “minority” OBCs which means the share available to the Muslim OBCs out of this quota will be much less as other minorities too are included in this. The AIMMM urges the central government to demarcate and disaggregate the shares of various minorities in this and any other scheme for minorities according to their ratio in each state. The AIMMM urges the central government to include Muslim and Christian Dalits at the earliest in the SC/ST quota, in order to remove a historic injustice.

Mishra Commission report

The AIMMM urges the central government to quickly move to the urgent and full implementation of the 10% reservation for Muslims recommended by Misra Commission and urges the government to table it in Parliament without any further delay. The AIMMM reiterates that the available reservation should be allocated on the basis of backwardness alone with no share for the creamy layer and well-off sections of the Muslim minority.

Gujarat

The AIMMM registers its dismay that 10 years down the line, the victims of the state-sponsored pogroms of 2002 are yet to receive justice due to the delaying and obfuscating tactics of the Modi Government. The victims have not been properly rehabilitated and around 60,000 of them are still displaced and continue to live as refugees in their own homeland which is a matter of shame for the whole country. The central government should take the initiative to rehabilitate them inside and outside Gujarat like the migrants of Kashmir. Moreover, the origin of the fire that burnt coach no. 6 of Sabarmati Express is yet to be conclusively probed and established. It is time for the central investigative agencies to go into the origin and reality of this fire in S-6. AIMMM salutes brave people like Zakia Jafari, Teesta Setalvad, Sanjiv Bhatt, Sreekumar and Mukul Sinha who continue the struggle for the victims of Gujarat.

Jammu  &  Kashmir

AIMMM, after detailed deliberation on the situation in the J&K, is of the view that the present apparent peace is managed by oppression. Murder by security personnel is still treated as accidental firing. The commission of enquiry ordered by the court after the murder of as many as 118 innocent youth in 2010 is yet to submit its report.  Political prisoners continue to be behind bars in and outside the state. Both the Union and state governments lack sincerity as they never bothered to implement the recommendations of the five working groups appointed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Even the recent report of Interlocutors has not been made public so far. AIMMM demands the urgent release of political prisoners, implementation of the recommendations of the aforesaid five working groups and restoration of Autonomy as recommended by Justice Saghir Ahmed. AIMMM also stresses the immediate withdrawal of AFSPA from whole of Jammu & Kashmir and Manipur where it has been misused to the hilt and has created a climate of fear for ordinary people and impunity for the men in uniform who are free to violate rights and kill innocents at will. The thousands of unnamed graves in Kashmir are a living testimony to this national disgrace. There is no point for AFPSA to remain in force in J&K where hardly 200 militants remain according to official sources.

Fresh attacks on Muslim youth in the name of terrorism

The AIMMM is extremely seriously alarmed at the fresh wave of arrests of  innocent Muslim youth on mere suspicion and without any proof from areas like Delhi’s Okhla locality and certain areas of Bihar and Jharkhand, amid serious discord within Delhi Police and Maharashtra ATS over persons sought to be arrested while NIA has pronounced youths arrested by Delhi Police as innocent; yet the spate of arrests on mere suspicion continues. The AIMMM warns the central and state governments not to create an artificial environment conducive to spread discontent and disaffection among the community which has serious doubts about this renewed drive. At the same time, AIMMM fails to understand why saffron terrorists are being treated with kid gloves and some of their masterminds mentioned by name in Malegaon and Ajmer chargesheets remain untouched. AIMMM demands the central government to compensate and rehabilitate innocent Muslim youths who are acquitted after years in jail.  The AIMMM condemns the surreptitious ban clamped on SIMI for another period of two years while five of its appeals are still pending in the Supreme Court. The AIMMM demands the central government to issue a white paper on the so-called Indian Mujahidin which the Indian Muslim community believes is a creation of the Intelligence Bureau as a tool to malign Muslim youth.

Christians in J&K

Christian organisations in India have unleashed a false propaganda that Christians are being forced out of the Kashmir Valley which is not correct. AIMMM urges the Church within and without J&K to desist from such false propaganda which does not serve anyone’s interest.

Creeping saffronisation in M.P.

The AIMMM registers its alarm and displeasure at the continued saffronisation of the state, especially the educational system, in M.P. Surya Namaskar and the introduction of Gita in school syllabus are two clear examples of this policy which flies in the face of the country’s secular Constitution. The Central Govt., through HRD ministry, should intervene and ensure that the secular ethos of the educational system all over India remains untouched.

Shia-Sunni riots

The AIMMM strongly condemns the Shia-Sunni riots which were engineered in Lucknow during the Prophet’s (pbuh) birthday celebrations on 5 February. The AIMMM is of the firm view that anyone rekindling this extinguished fire is an enemy of Islam and Muslims. It is the responsibility of both Shia and Sunni leaders and masses to frustrate such sinister plots to harm Muslims and bring back the spectre of fratricidal fights in Lucknow which,alhamdu lillah, are a thing of the past now.

Admission to private schools

A survey by a Delhi NGO has shown that the intake of Muslim children in the capital’s top private schools this year hovered between nil and under one percent with some rare exceptions. Perhaps a survey of other cities across the country will come up with similar results. This speaks volumes about the discrimination faced by Muslim children in private schools. The AIMMM feels that just as the access of neighbourhood and weaker section students has been ensured through government rules for admission, minority students too should have a quota in these schools proportionate to their ratio in the local population. Moreover, the AIMMM urges the Muslim community to come forward to establish good schools as well as raise the standards of our existing schools so that we could be spared of this continued humiliation and discrimination.

India-Israel ties

AIMMM is alarmed at the ever-increasing Indo-Israeli ties, especially of the so-called “strategic” kind. Israel today is the only country occupying other people’s lands and follows racist policies against its Arab citizens in Israel as well as in the occupied territories. While Israel remains in occupation and denial of Palestinian rights and continues to flout hundreds of UN resolutions, only skeletal diplomatic relations could be maintained with it. AIMMM is further alarmed at the continuous Israeli attempts to create a lobby within the Indian Muslim community, which is a very dangerous attempt to create a fifth column.

National Commission for Minorities Educational Institutions

The AIMMM condemns the recent divestment of the chairman of the National Commission for Minorities Educational Institutions (NCMEI) of his administrative and financial powers which only demonstrates the central government’s insincerity towards its avowed policy of promoting minority education. The AIMMM demands the HRD ministry to forthwith restore the NCMEI chairman’s full powers and stop interfering in the workings of this autonomous commission.

Syria

The AIMMM, while supporting the Syrian people’s struggle for true democracy, rule of law and human rights in their country, offers guarded support to the belated referendum carried out by the Assad regime hoping that the regime will now prove its sincerity by honestly implementing the new reforms in earnest and without delay and stop the bloodshed of innocents in the country. The AIMMM warns foreign powers, especially the US and NATO, to keep off from Syria and let its people solve their problems themselves. A military intervention in Syria will only hurt the Syrian people as it has earlier hurt the Libyan, Iraqi and Afghan peoples.

Iran

The AIMMM is alarmed by the continuous illegal Israeli threats to attack Iran amid American silence and covert support by providing Israel with the necessary gadgets, rockets and smart bombs to attack Iran which is a compliant NPT signatory and whose nuclear facilities are open to the IAEA inspectors while Israel illegally possesses over a thousand nuclear bombs and refuses to sign NPT. The AIMMM warns that Indian Muslims will hold both Israel and the US as the culprits if Iran is attacked in a flagrant aggression on a peaceful nation which will reopen the raw wounds of Afghanistan and Iraq.

[end]

 

President

ALL INDIA MUSLIM MAJLIS-E- MUSHAWARAT

[Umbrella body of the Indian Muslim Organizations]
D-250, Abul Fazal Enclave, Jamia Nagar, New Delhi-110025
Tel.: 011-26946780 Fax: 011-26947346 Email: mushawarat[@]mushawarat.com

मुंबई में मजदूरों को सस्ते घर : सतीश हावरे फाऊंडेशन

मुंबई में मजदूरों को सस्ते घर : सतीश हावरे फाऊंडेशन newsbharati.com से साभार 

स्रोत: News Bharati      तारीख: 3/2/2012 3:59:29 PM

मजदूरी और अन्य छोटे-मोटे व्यवसाय करके पेट भरनेवाले समाज के लिए अक्सर अपने स्वामित्व के घर की कल्पना सपना ही रहती है| मुंबई जैसे महानगर में तो यह और भी असंभव सी बात बन जाती है| लेकिन सतीश हावरे नाम के एक व्यक्ति ने, रिक्षा चालक, सब्जी-भाजी बेचने वाले, मजदूरी करने वाले लोगों को नवी मुंबई जैसे महानगर में, उनके स्वामित्व का घर देना संभव कर दिखाया है|
महाराष्ट्र राज्य के विदर्भ क्षेत्र में के पथ्रोड इस छोटे से गॉंव से नौकरी के लिए मुंबई में आये सतीश हावरे ने मेहनत और ईमानदारी से काम करते हुए लोगों का विश्‍वास प्राप्त किया और आर्किटेक का व्यवसाय आरंभ किया; फिर और एक कदम आगे बढ़ाते हुए ‘हावरे बिल्डर्स’ की स्थापना की| प्रगति की इन नई मंजिलों पर पहुँचने के बाद भी, सतीश, मुंबई में मजदूरी और अन्य छोटे-मोटे काम करके जीवनयापन करनेवाले लोगों की घर की समस्या को भूले नहीं थे| उन्होंने इन गरीब लोगों को नवी मुंबई में ढाई-तीन लाख रुपयों में घर देने की योजना बनाई| लेकिन सतीश के इन ग्राहकों के पास इतने भी पैसे नहीं थे| फिर उन्होंने ही इन लोगों को ऋण दिला देने की भी व्यवस्था की| नवी मुंबई के खारगर में बनी श्रमिक इमारत सतिश के ऐसे ही प्रयासों का फल है| आज इस बिल्डिंग में २०० परिवार रहते है| नौकरी के लिए मुंबई में आये सतीश, अब आर्थिक दृष्टी से पिछड़ें लोगों के घर का स्वप्न साकार करनेवाले आदमी बन गए था|
सतीश आज हमारे बीच नहीं है| लेकिन सामाजिक भान रखकर काम करना ही समाजसेवा है, इसी संकल्पना के आधार पर सतीश हावरे फाऊंडेशन काम कर रही है| यहॉं काम करनेवाले मजदूरों के लिए फाऊंडेशन ने दवाखाना शुरू किया है; यहॉं उनका नि:शुल्क उपचार किया जाता है| उनके बच्चों के लिए स्कूल चलाई जाती है| अंग्रजी और मराठी माध्यम की इस स्कूल में अत्यंत कम शुल्क में अच्छी शिक्षा दी जाती है|
इसके साथ ही दुर्गम क्षेत्र के लिए फाऊंडेशन द्वारा बूक-बँक और अभ्यासिका उपक्रम चलाया जाता है| करीब एक सौ स्थानों पर यह उपक्रम चल रहा है| महिलाओं के लिए इस फाऊंडेशन ने ‘महिला स्वावलंबन औद्योगिक सहकारी संस्था’ शुरू की है| इस संस्था में महिलाओं को रोजगार उपलब्ध होता है|
सतीश के स्मृतिदिन के उपलक्ष्य में विविध कार्यक्रम आयोजित किए जाते है| समाजकार्य करने वाले लोगों को पुरस्कृत भी किया जाता है|
संपर्क
सतीश फाऊंडेशन
४१६, वर्धमान मार्केट
सेक्टर - १७,
वाशी, नवी मुंबई ४० ०७ ०५
दूरभाष : ०२२ - ६७९१९८००
वेबसाईट : www.haware.com
कैसे पहुँचे
ठाणे शहर मुंबई से ४२ कि. मी. दूर है और वहॉं से वाशी ८ कि. मी. दूरी पर है|
हवाई मार्ग : ठाणे शहर को समीपवर्ती हवाई अड्डा मुंबई का है|
रेल मार्ग : ठाणे से वाशी जाने के लिए लोकल ट्रेन सेवा उपलब्ध है|
सड़क मार्ग : ठाणे से बस सेवा भी उपलब्ध है|

YAC & ABVP held rally & protest today against Corruption at Jantar Mantar

Youth Against Corruption (YAC) & ABVP held rally & protest today against Corruption at Jantar Mantar. Thousands of activists are arrested by police & released later on.

Sending here with Hindi & English Press release. Also find attached memorandum given to Hon'ble President of India.

What happened to the Rs 94K cr that Indian NGOs received over 17 years?

 

Last updated on: February 29, 2012 15:22 IST

Sanjeev Nayyar 

It is time the government woke up to the risks that uncontrolled foreign monies flowing to Indian NGOs pose to India's economic progress, social cohesion and national integrity.
 

PM wakes up to dollar driven NGO threat, screamed a newspaper headline. The government has cancelled licenses of three such organisations for diversion of funds to fuel anti-nuclear protests in India.

This decision has once again put the spotlight on foreign funding of NGOs. A close perusal of the FCRA Report published by the home ministry reveals billions of dollars received by NGOs in India.

Before analysing the latest FCRA report a bit about the regulatory framework for NGOs to receive foreign money.

The Foreign Contribution Regulation Act was passed in 1976. It was repealed and FCRA 2010 was passed along with the Foreign Contribution Regulation Rules 2011. Both became effective from May 1 2011.

They seek to regulate the receipt of funds by NGOs. The FCRA is managed by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).

Any organisation that wants to receive contributions from abroad has to apply and get approval from the home ministry. All remittances are received into a single bank account of a scheduled bank or through such branches as may be specified.

If an NGO, whether registered or not, receives a contribution in excess of Rs 1 cr (rs 10 million) during a period of 30 days, the bank has to report this to the central government within 30 days of the date of such last transaction.

The NGO has to annually submit audited receipts, payments account, balance sheet etc to the ministry. The MHA scrutinises the returns to ensure that contributions received for a particular purpose are used for that purpose only. It does a detailed check of randomly picked associations and collates the data received to present the FCRA Annual Report [uploaded on http://mha.nic.in/fcra.htm].

The associations could be religious, social, educational, cultural or educational organisations. MHA wants to ensure that foreign contributions are utilized for bona fide activities and do not compromise national security.

The FCRA report for the year ended 31st March 2010 was published on 11th January 2012 i.e. 21 months after year end.

Trends in foreign contributions

Indian NGOs received a staggering Rs 94,520 cr (Rs 945.20 billion) from 1993-94 to 2009-10.

As on 31.3.2010, there were 38,436 registered associations, up 5.5 per cent from the previous year, 27 per cent when compared to 2004-05 and 68 per cent as compared to 2000-01. Clearly the number of registered NGOs that receive dollars has seen a huge surge in the last decade.

Year	Registered Associations (as on 31st March of F.Y.)	Associations that gave details of remittances received	Amounts received Rs crs
1993-94	15,039	Not Available	1865
2000-01	22,924	64%	4535
2003-04	28,351	61%	5105
2004-05	30,321	61%	6257
2005-06	32,144	58%	7878
2006-07	33,937	56%	11,336
2007-08	34,803	54%	9,663
2008-09	36,414	55%	10,803
2009-10	38,436	56%	10,338
	Total 1993-94 to 2009-10		94,520
		$ Billion	18.90

All numbers in this article are reproduced from FCRA reports published by the MHA. Assumed an exchange rate of Rs 50 to a dollar and all figures rounded off to the nearest crore in article.

In 2009-10, 7,275 of the 21,508 associations who submitted their accounts did not receive any foreign contributions. This means that only 46 per cent of the associations who received foreign contributions filed their annual returns with MHA.Hence, the actual amount of contributions received by NGOs would be much higher than Rs 10,338 cr (Rs 103.38 billion) reported above.

Is such unreported contribution being used for money laundering, terrorist activities or funding protests as mentioned by Prime Minister Singh?

During the year, 21,000 defaulter associations which had not submitted returns for the years 2006-07, 2007-08, 2008-09 were issued Show Cause Notices. We are already in the first quarter of 2012.

By the time these NGOs reply to the notices and the government decides what action to take against them, the NGOs might receive many more crore with zero accountability to the government.

 

Largest donors country wise (in Rs cr)                                                                              

Year	USA	Germany	UK	Italy others
2002-03	1680	715	685	NA
2003-04	1584	757	676	350
2004-05	1927	931	764	353#
2005-06	2426	1181	1062	500
2006-07	2949	1033	1428	606&
2007-08	2928	971	1269	515
2008-09	3433	1103	1131	547
2009-10	3106	1046	1039	583
Total	20,033	7,737	8,054	3,454
$ Billion	4.0	1.55	1.61

Italy, #Netherlands, & Switzerland.

The top three donor countries for many years have been USA, Germany, and UK. Remittances from the U.S. between 2002-03 and 2009-10 have nearly doubled. Despite the economic downturn, the West has continued contributions to Indian NGOs? Why?

Key Donors: Country wise Trends (in Rs cr)

Country	2009-10	Country	2008-9	Country	2007-8
USA	3106	USA	3433	USA	2928
Germany	1046	UK	1131	UK	1269
UK	1039	Germany	1103	Germany	971
Italy	583	Italy	547	Italy	515
Netherlands	509	Netherlands	513	Netherlands	414
Spain	437	Spain	437	Spain	401
Switzerland	302	Switzerland	370	Switzerland	364
Canada	298	Canada	303	Canada	276
France	189	France	193	France	196
Australia	148	Australia	131	Australia	138
UAE	133	Belgium	124	Belgium	100
Belgium	122	Austria	106	Austria	99
Austria	112	Sweden	103	Sweden	89
Sweden	106	UAE	146	UAE	79
Mauritius	101	Ireland	69	Ireland	77

Should a country that aspires to be a superpower continue to receive billions of dollars as charity every year? Spain and Italy are in dire economic straits, Britain had a fiscal deficit of 11% of GDP in 2009-10 yet they remitted over Rs 1000 crs to Indian NGOs per annum.

Significantly, barring the UAE, all countries listed above belong to the West. Media reports indicate that some countries in the Middle East, notably Saudi Arabia, made large remittances to India, but these contributions are not listed officially. They are either not coming, or are coming through the hawala route.

Largest donors: Agency wise trends (in Rs cr)

Donor Name & Country	2009-10	Donor Name & Country	2008-09
Gospel For Asia Inc USA	233	World Vision  International USA	706
Fundacion Vicente Ferrer, Barcelona, Spain	229	Gospel For Asia Inc USA	596
World Vision Global Centre, USA	198	Fundacion Vicente Ferrer, Barcelona, Spain	458
Compassion International, USA	132	Shyam Shyam Dham Samiti India	359
HCL Holdings Pvt Ltd, Mauritius	94	Compassion International, USA	347
Om Foundaiton, USA	64	Fundacion Vicente Ferrer, Spain	241
Population Service International, USA	51	Action Aid International, UK	228
Oxfam GB, UK	45	BAPS, Inc USA	199
Save The Children, UK	44	Christian Children Fund, USA	197