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U.K. team `denied' visas to visit Gujarat

By Hasan Suroor

LONDON DEC 6. A team of Britain's Charity Commission is reported to have been refused visas by the Indian Government to visit Gujarat to investigate allegations that money raised by the U.K.- based Sewa International for earthquake victims was used to fund "divisive" activities of Hindu fundamentalist groups.

A spokesman of the Indian High Commission here declined to comment saying: "As a policy we don't comment on visa issues."

According to India-watchers, it has been a consistent Indian policy, irrespective of the party in power, not to encourage "fishing expeditions" by foreign NGOs because it is seen to reflect a lack of confidence in India's own investigating agencies. They said most countries were reluctant to allow foreign groups to investigate domestic matters.

Sources close to the Charity Commission claimed that a three-member team wanted to visit Gujarat to follow up its internal inquiry into the activities of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (U.K.) and the Hindu Swayam Sevak Sangh (U.K.), which had been accused of diverting charitable donations to political activities.

"What is the Indian Government trying to hide? Why were members of the Charity Commission refused visas to go to India?" asked Fr. Cedric Prakash who heads the Ahmedabad-based Centre for Human Rights, Justice and Peace. Fr. Prakash, who was here to deliver the L.M. Singhvi annual lecture at Leicester University, told The Hindu that his organisation planned to "make a lot of noise on this issue."

"We will ask the Indian Government to give visas to the officers of the Charity Commission so that they can go to Gujarat and find out whether the funds raised in the U.K. for earthquake relief were actually used to incite hatred against minorities in India," he said.

He alleged that minorities in Gujarat continued to live in "fear" and the situation remained "tense" even though it was "no longer on the front pages and on our TV screens."

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