Relief, rehabilitation not main activities of trusts Teesta Setalvad heads: Statement contests Gujarat police affidavit

Even as top human rights activist Teesta Setalvad got much-needed relief from the Bombay High Court, which stayed her arrest till August 10, a statement by the two trusts she heads have said that only in certain “emergency situations” they engaged in “relief and rehabilitation” activities. But that never was, or claimed by us to be, their “main purpose.”
The Gujarat police’s affidavit before the Supreme Court had said Setalvad and her husband “misused” foreign funds meant for relief and rehabilitation given to the trusts she heads. Contesting, the statement said, “The aims and objectives of both the Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP) and Sabrang Trust are wide enough to allow for a wide range of activities.”
The statement has been signed by CJP trustees Anil Dharker, Nandan Maluste, Alyque Padamsee, I.M. Kadri, Cyrus Guzder, Anil Dharker, Ghulam Pesh Imam, Cedric Prakash, Shakuntala Kulkarni, Javed Anand, Teesta Setalvad (Secretary); and Sabrang Trust trustees Ravi Kulkarni, Nakul Mehta, Amili Setalvad, Javed Anand, and Teesta Setalvad.
“Since its inception in 2002, CJP’s core concern has been to provide legal aid to the victims of mass crimes”, the statement said, adding, as for Sabrang Trust, its “main focus has been, one, Khoj education programme run in schools for a plural India, and, two, conflict resolution and peace building.”
Giving details of the funds raised by the two trusts, the statement said, funds were sought to be collected for building a Gulberg Society memorial because the survivors of the carnage of the society “were unable to sell their individual properties at a fair price.”
“It was collectively decided to raise funds to build a memorial. Since Sabrang Trust only managed to raise Rs 4.6 lakh, we had to inform the society members that the project was not feasible. No contract was signed, no property or deed ever changed hands, nor monies changed hands. Rs 4.6 lakh donated by individuals is still unutilised”, it said.
The statement further said, “CJP raised money for providing legal aid to victims. Witness protection and probity during trial despite hostile regimes have ensured the convictions of 120 persons. It is these gains that the regime in power in Delhi wants to snatch away.”
“In each of these cases, CJP argued against the death penalty as our commitment to lasting human rights jurisprudence. An amendment in the CRPC in 2009 was a recognition of these efforts (Section 24(8)(2)) whereby victims have for the first time been given statutory rights of legal presence during trial”, it added.
“It was and is CJP’s perseverance that has rendered meaning to the Supreme Court’s monitoring of key trials. Each time there was a breach, it was our legal team that brought serious lapses to the notice of the Supreme Court”, Setalvad noted.
Coming to salaries to her or Anand, the statement said, all funds were “strictly in accordance with the budgets proposed to and accepted” by Ford Foundation, and other foreign funding agencies.
“Over a period of 10 years (2004-14), the monthly payments from all projects put together was Rs 39,000 per month for Teesta and Rs 23,500 per month for Javed”, it added.
Strongly refuting siphoning of funds Sabrang Communications, as claimed by Gujarat police, she said, “On requests from Sabrang Trust and CJP, Sabrang Communications (a private limited company founded in 1993) agreed to share its office space, office equipment and staff on an expenses sharing basis. No rent was ever paid to Sabrang Communications.”
As for the allegation Setalvad and Anand cannot buy what they want from the remunerations they received by them – including film CDs and taking dinner in restaurants – the statement dubbed the allegation “too ridiculous to merit comment.”

Comments

Irrational? Basis for fear among Hindus about being 'swamped' by Muslims

I was amused while reading an article titled "Ham Paanch, Hamare Pachees", shared on Facebook, by well-known policy analyst Mohan Guruswamy, an alumnus of the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, and the Graduate School of Business, Stanford University. Guruswamy, who has also worked as an advisor to the Finance Minister with the rank of Secretary to the Government of India, seeks to probe, as he himself states, "the supposed Muslim attitude to family planning"—a theme that was invoked by Narendra Modi as Gujarat Chief Minister ahead of the December 2002 assembly polls.

Why's Australian crackdown rattling Indian students? Whopping 25% fake visa applications

This is what happened several months ago. A teenager living in the housing society where I reside was sent to Australia to study at a university in Sydney with much fanfare. The parents, whom I often met as part of a group, would tell us how easily the boy got his admission with the help of "some well-meaning friends," adding that they had obtained an education loan to ensure he could study at a graduate school.

Tracking a lost link: Soviet-era legacy of Gujarati translator Atul Sawani

The other day, I received a message from a well-known activist, Raju Dipti, who runs an NGO called Jeevan Teerth in Koba village, near Gujarat’s capital, Gandhinagar. He was seeking the contact information of Atul Sawani, a translator of Russian books—mainly political and economic—into Gujarati for Progress Publishers during the Soviet era. He wanted to collect and hand over scanned soft copies, or if possible, hard copies, of Soviet books translated into Gujarati to Arvind Gupta, who currently lives in Pune and is undertaking the herculean task of collecting and making public soft copies of Soviet books that are no longer available in the market, both in English and Indian languages.

Gujarat slips in India Justice Report 2025: From model state to mid-table performer

Overall ranking in IJR reports The latest India Justice Report (IJR), prepared by legal experts with the backing of several civil society organisations and aimed at ranking the capacity of states to deliver justice, has found Gujarat—considered by India's rulers as a model state for others to follow—slipping to the 11th position from fourth in 2022.

Punishing senior citizens? Flipkart, Shopsy stop Cash on Delivery in Ahmedabad!

The other day, someone close to me attempted to order some goodies on Flipkart and its subsidiary Shopsy. After preparing a long list of items, this person, as usual, opted for the Cash on Delivery (popularly known as COD) option, as this senior citizen isn't very familiar with online prepaid payment methods like UPI, credit or debit cards, or online bank transfers through websites. In fact, she is hesitant to make online payments, fearing, "I may make a mistake," she explained, adding, "I read a lot about online frauds, so I always choose COD as it's safe. I have no knowledge of how to prepay online."

A conman, a demolition man: How 'prominent' scribes are defending Pritish Nandy

How to defend Pritish Nandy? That’s the big question some of his so-called fans seem to ponder, especially amidst sharp criticism of his alleged insensitivity during his journalistic career. One such incident involved the theft and publication of the birth certificate of Masaba Gupta, daughter of actor Neena Gupta, in the Illustrated Weekly of India, which Nandy was editing at the time. He reportedly did this to uncover the identity of Masaba’s father.

Not just Haren Pandya, even Dhirubhai Shah, youngest assembly speaker, wanted to be Gujarat CM

Dhirubhai Shah with Keshubhai Patel When Keshubhai Patel was sought to be replaced by the BJP high command in 2001, everyone knows that Narendra Modi became the final choice. However, someone who was part of the top circles those days now tells me something I had no knowledge of—that the choice was between Modi and a Kutch MLA, Dhirubhai Shah, who served as the 16th Speaker from March 1998 to December 2002 during the 10th Assembly, the youngest to take the office.

Of lingering shadow of Haren Pandya's murder during Modi's Gujarat days

Sunita Williams’ return to Earth has, ironically, reopened an old wound: the mysterious murder of her first cousin, the popular BJP leader Haren Pandya, in 2003. Initially a supporter of Narendra Modi, Haren turned against him, not sparing any opportunity to do things that would embarrass Modi. Social media and some online news portals, including The Wire , are abuzz with how Modi’s recent invitation to Sunita to visit India comes against the backdrop of how he, as Gujarat’s chief minister, didn’t care to offer any official protocol support during her 2007 visit to Gujarat.

Area set aside in Ahmedabad for PM's affordable housing scheme 'has gone to big builders'

Following my article on affordable housing in Counterview, which quoted a top real estate consultant, I was informed that affordable housing—a scheme introduced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi—has deviated from its original intent. A former senior bureaucrat, whom I used to meet during my Sachivalaya days, told me that an entire area in Ahmedabad, designated for the scheme, has been used to construct costly houses instead.

Search This Blog