2002 Gujarat riots: Didn't receive any grants, donations for welfare of victims in 2007-14, asserts Teesta Setalvad

By A Representative
Top human rights activist, fighting the 2002 Gujarat riot victims' cases, Teesta Setavlad, has said the organizations she and her husband Javed Anand represent – Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP) or Sabrang Trust – never applied or appealed for, or received grants or donations “intended for the financial assistance of any kind” for the welfare of the “victims-survivors of the 2002 communal carnage in Gujarat” between 2007 and 2014.
In a statement issued by her and Anand, Setalvad says, this is evident from the “voluminous documentary evidence submitted to the Gujarat police and in the courts”, which include “copies of grant agreements with donor organizations.”
The only thing the CJP applied or appealed for grants and donations was “to provide free legal aid to the survivors and eye-witnesses in their search for justice and punishment to the perpetrators of the mass crimes in 2002”, the statement says.
She adds, CJP’s trustees are “fully satisfied” with the funds the NGO received, as it helped the in securing “unprecedented, even historic, verdicts in favour of the survivors in the trial courts in Mumbai (Best Bakery Case) and Gujarat, Gujarat High Court and the Supreme Court.”
Setalvad's statement follows the reported claim of the Gujarat police before the Supreme Court that documentary evidence on Setalvad and her husband "siphoning off" Rs 3.85 crore for "personal use" from the Rs 9.75 crore donations received by the two NGOs for the “welfare” of the 2002 riot victims.
Running into 83-page affidavit, assistant commissioner of police, Gujarat, Rahul B Patel, accuses the Setalvad and Anand, as also other trusees of the two NGOs, of “non-cooperation” in providing documents needed to “investigate complaints” by riots victims of Gulbarg Society, which was one of the worst sites of massacre in 2002.
Gujarat police said, this became evident on “examining” the bank accounts of CJP and Sabrang Trust, adding, the couple also drew money for “personal use” from the Rs 1.40 crore grant given by the Union human resources development (HRD) ministry from February 2011 to July 2012.
Setalvad says, Gujarat police is “recycling spiced-up allegations without a shred of evidence”, adding, “the state police has chosen to completely ignore the over 20,000 pages of documentary evidence submitted to them.”
She agrees, in 2008, with the concurrence of members of the Gulberg Housing Society, Ahmedabad, Sabrang Trust did try to raise funds for building a Gulberg Resistance Memorial. But she adds, “The project had to be abandoned in 2012 due to insufficient funds” and the amount, Rs 4.6 lakh received as donation “is still reflected in the trust’s audited balance sheet as unutilized.”
Denying the allegation that the donation received by the Sabrang Trust from the HRD Ministry had also been embezzled, Setalvad says, there is a “new and equally baseless allegation”, adding, “To the best of our knowledge, the HRD ministry itself has made no such claim, at least till date.”

Comments

MG-NREGA: A global model still waiting to be fully implemented

By Bharat Dogra When the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MG-NREGA) was introduced in India nearly two decades ago, it drew worldwide attention. The reason was evident. At a time when states across much of the world were retreating from responsibility for livelihoods and welfare, the world’s second most populous country—with nearly two-thirds of its people living in rural or semi-rural areas—committed itself to guaranteeing 100 days of employment a year to its rural population.

A comrade in culture and controversy: Yao Wenyuan’s revolutionary legacy

By Harsh Thakor* This year marks two important anniversaries in Chinese revolutionary history—the 20th death anniversary of Yao Wenyuan, and the 50th anniversary of his seminal essay "On the Social Basis of the Lin Biao Anti-Party Clique". These milestones invite reflection on the man whose pen ignited the first sparks of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution and whose sharp ideological interventions left an indelible imprint on the political and cultural landscape of socialist China.

Concerns raised over move to rename MGNREGA, critics call it politically motivated

By A Representative Concerns have been raised over the Union government’s reported move to rename the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), with critics describing it as a politically motivated step rather than an administrative reform. They argue that the proposed change undermines the legacy of Mahatma Gandhi and seeks to appropriate credit for a programme whose relevance has been repeatedly demonstrated, particularly during times of crisis.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Rollback of right to work? VB–GRAM G Bill 'dilutes' statutory employment guarantee

By A Representative The Right to Food Campaign has strongly condemned the passage of the Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB–GRAM G) Bill, 2025, describing it as a major rollback of workers’ rights and a fundamental dilution of the statutory Right to Work guaranteed under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). In a statement, the Campaign termed the repeal of MGNREGA a “dark day for workers’ rights” and accused the government of converting a legally enforceable, demand-based employment guarantee into a centralised, discretionary welfare scheme.

Making rigid distinctions between Indian and foreign 'historically untenable'

By A Representative Oral historian, filmmaker and cultural conservationist Sohail Hashmi has said that everyday practices related to attire, food and architecture in India reflect long histories of interaction and adaptation rather than rigid or exclusionary ideas of identity. He was speaking at a webinar organised by the Indian History Forum (IHF).

From jobless to ‘job-loss’ growth: Experts critique gig economy and fintech risks

By A Representative Leading economists and social activists gathered in the capital on Friday to launch the third edition of the State of Finance in India Report 2024-25 , issuing a stark warning that the rapid digitalization of the Indian economy is eroding welfare systems and entrenching "digital dystopia."

School job scam and the future of university degree holders in West Bengal

By Harasankar Adhikari The school recruitment controversy in West Bengal has emerged as one of the most serious governance challenges in recent years, raising concerns about transparency, institutional accountability, and the broader impact on society. Allegations that school jobs were obtained through irregular means have led to prolonged legal scrutiny, involving both the Calcutta High Court and the Supreme Court of India. In one instance, a panel for high school teacher recruitment was ultimately cancelled after several years of service, following extended judicial proceedings and debate.

India’s Halal economy 'faces an uncertain future' under the new food Bill

By Syed Ali Mujtaba* The proposed Food Safety and Standards (Amendment) Bill, 2025 marks a decisive shift in India’s food regulation landscape by seeking to place Halal certification exclusively under government control while criminalising all private Halal certification bodies. Although the Bill claims to promote “transparency” and “standardisation,” its structure and implications raise serious concerns about religious freedom, economic marginalisation, and the systematic dismantling of a long-established, Muslim-led Halal ecosystem in India.

Search This Blog