12. International network of Christian NGOs in dalit colonies
‘The International Ocean Institute (IOI), Anawim’ project is one of the few projects that have received a maximum amount of contribution on a regular basis; $68,755 from 2000 to 2004. This project focuses almost exclusively on dalit colonies. The details available from the website indicate that while the project pays cursory attention to the children of these colonies, their main focus seems to be on women – organising micro-credit and self-help groups. ASHA is partnering two other NGOs in this project – The International Ocean Institute located in IIT Chennai, and Anawim which seems to be a Church-funded NGO run by Christians who also receive funds from churches in the Netherlands. The ultimate objective of Church-funded and Church-backed NGOs working in dalit colonies and among the fishing communities along the coasts is to create Christian majority pockets, villages and districts in the country.

DETAILED REPORT: The Anawim Trust (excerpt from the webpage of this project, URL cited below).
An NGO group started in 1993 to improve local conditions in the Tuticorin District of Tamil Nadu. Registered in Tuticorin in 1997, FCRA clearance in 2000. The Trustees of the organisation are:
Mr. John Sekhar—Commissioner of Customs, Chennai
Mr. K. Sundaraj—Retd. Police Sub, Inspector, Tuticorin
Mr. G. Rajasekar—Asst. Manager, Air India, Thiruvananthapuram
Mr. A. Selwyn—Surveyor, Govt. of Tamil Nadu, Nagercoil
Mrs. Shanthi Devapriam —Director and Secretary, Anawim Trust.

Comment: All Christians?

Shanthi manages the operation of Anawim and the women and children programs. Selwyn manages the educational components of the programs on a part time basis. Sundaraj oversees the accounts and manages the FCRA account. Further, Anawim has 6 additional office staff and 28 directly supported teachers (one for each centre). Annual reports 1997-2001 can be made available on request. They run operations to the tune of roughly Rs. 21 lakhs/annum ($55,000) (audit statement 2001-02).

Comment: Unlike the textbook review project in Gujarat which is overtly political, the political intentions of this project are covert. Church-backed and Church-funded NGOs focus exclusively on dalit localities and women’s issues. The dalit issue has been internationalised precisely because of the involvement of local and foreign churches in so-called ‘dalit welfare’. ‘Dalit’ is a 20th century Christian missionary construct with explicit political overtones and objectives. The International Ocean Institute, Anawim and ASHA come together in this project. The Church-funded NGOs which operate in the dalit colonies in the country are the primary informers against Hindu society through an agency called the International Dalit Solidarity Network (IDSN) to the churches and Christian NGOs abroad.

Indian Christian NGOs-Foreign Christian NGOs in India like Cordaid (Catholic Organisation for Relief and Development), Caritas, ICCO (Interchurch Organisation for Development Cooperation), CARE-CRY-IDSN-American and European Churches-Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch-US State Department and the European Parliament—connection is a powerful anti-Hindu web. The issue of women’s rights as human rights, dalit rights as human rights, and ‘caste is racism’ have been internationalised and politicised by this network with the calculated intention of defaming and discrediting the Hindu dharma, Hindu society and the Hindu people. As pointed out earlier, this project receives funds from the churches in the Netherlands. Cordaid, ICCO and Indian Committee of the Netherlands are Dutch Christian NGOs which actively campaign against the Hindus in the guise of dalit human rights with the European Parliament.

Justitia et Pax
Justitia et Pax is the world-wide organisation for ‘justice and peace’ of the Catholic Church. It aims to inspire and mobilise Catholics to commit themselves to human rights, and advises and supports bishops and church organisations in the area of justice and peace.

Justitia et Pax has a network of over 130 national commissions on all continents. The work of the Dutch commission focuses on three themes: Human Rights world-wide, Social Justice (in particular poverty in the Dutch society), and Pluralist Society (integration, refugees, and tolerance between communities).

Dalits in India
Justitia et Pax works to improve the miserable living conditions of the dalits (untouchables) in India. Together with the Landelijke India Werkgroep, CMC and ICCO, Justitia et Pax has founded the Dalit Network Netherlands (DNN). In October the campaign ‘Stop Caste Discrimination – Support the Dalits’ was launched. In its lobbying work the DNN mainly focused on the Dutch EU Presidency.

Comment: This project has been set up by ASHA in partnership with Church-funded NGOs in just one district in Tamil Nadu and this is the international network effected by just one small Christian NGO. There are other churches, other networks and other donor agencies, like AID, ActionAid, AID-India, and World Vision, operating in other districts of Tamil Nadu and in other states in India. Elsewhere in the book Radha Rajan has drawn attention to the highly political ‘dalit’ Christian from Gujarat, Martin Macwan who is backed by a White American, Kathy Sreedhar, whose links with Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the Unitarian Universalist Church and Council on Foreign Relations have been exposed. Father Cedric Prakash, the globe-trotting Jesuit with a dalit agenda is also from Gujarat. The nexus between the political, Christian construct called ‘dalit’, foreign churches, human rights organisations and White, Western governments is well and truly established.

This project merits a complete analysis on its own if only because there is a lot of money coming to it with definite political objectives. If you read all ‘project reports’ on the right hand side of the web page, then you realise it is full of good intentions but doesn’t tell you where all the money went. And also that most of the links on the right hand side of the web page (allegedly ‘reports’ of the project) conveniently do not open. And those that do open are full of ‘good intentions’ again with no details about what has been achieved in specific terms.

January 2003, Kumar’s site visit report is very interesting. Fully managed by Christians, heavily funded by foreign Churches. (see comments above)

(http://www.ashanet.org)