Skip to main content

Pesticides endorsed? Business Standard ad on foreign funded NGOs malicious: Activists

By Our Representative
In a sharp rebuttal to a full-page advertorial published in the daily “Business Standard” (July 29), more than 160 academics, activists and NGOs, many of them working in the environmental field, have said that the content the advertorial by the all-India pesticides and chemical fertilizer industry body, Crop Care Federation of India (CCFI), is “malafide as it seeks to promote harmful agricultural practices detrimental to public interest.”
Written by Nirmala Pathrawal, executive director, CCFI, the advertorial seeks to attack “foreign funded environmental NGOs” for refusing to talk about “the sunny side of Indian agriculture”, adding, “Over the years, they have so aggressively articulated scary stories and negative narratives about Indian agriculture in the public domain that it has got focused firmly in the minds of the people.”
Calling the NGO allegation that Indian farmers use excessive agrochemicals “disinformation campaign”, the advertorial says, “Their agenda is to adversely affect the export competitiveness of Indian agricultural commodities by scare mongering.”
Among the scholars and activists, the advertorial sharply accuses well-known environmentalist Sunita Narain of the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), based in New Delhi, for receiving Rs 265 crore foreign funds over the last five years in order to keep saying that “cancer in Punjab remain high on account of intensive agriculture and use of pesticides”, which is "utterly baseless and totally false."
It also attacks ex-Greenpeace activist Kavitha Kuruganti – currently associated with a volunteer-driven informal network committed to Indian farmers’ rights, Alliance for Sustainable & Holistic Agriculture (ASHA) -- for having “unrestricted access” to “confidential documents”, suggesting the type of access influence these NGOs have in the administration.
The advertorial criticizes “organic farming” which till about 50 years ago had led to “short supplies of foods” leading “starvation deaths” around the world, including India, insisting, “The Irish Potato Farming and the Great Chinese Famine were caused due to pest/disease outbreak and lack of agri inputs, mainly pesticides.”
The advertorial cites how in 1959 China attempted to introduce countrywide organic farming, but finding that it was a “disaster”, it abandoned it, claiming, “Today, China accounts for nearly 30% of world's agricultural production” and is also “the largest consumer of pesticides and fertilisers.”
It underlines, “Organic farming can at best be a small and niche market segment. The claim of the foreign funded environmental activist NGOs that our soil, environment and water have become degraded, polluted and unproductive due to excess use of chemical inputs are all wrong.”
The rebuttal to the advertorial by 160 plus activists, scholars and NGOs follows a strongly-worded critique the advertorial by Kavitha Kuruganti, who in a blog addressed to the "Business Standard" editor, says, “CCFI might as well have accused the Prime Minister of India of scare-mongering then, when from the ramparts of the Red Fort on India’s Independence Day in 2019, he gave a clarion call to farmers to reduce and phase out agro-chemicals and save Mother Earth.”
Kavitha Kuruganti, Sunita Narain
In their statement, activists, scholars and NGOs criticize “Business Standard”, stating the daily is liable for the advertorial’s “irresponsible content”, underlining, “The publication is not only violative of journalistic ethics and guidelines of the Press Council of India but also of its own code of conduct. It is not enough to offer as an excuse that the advertorial published was not its original content.”
“The modality of publication of this content is even more dangerous if it does not offer the opportunity to refute these allegations”, the statement insists.

Text:

We are writing to condemn and call out the full-page ‘advertorial’ commissioned by ‘Crop Care Federation of India’ (CCFI) and published in Business Standard newspaper dated 29 July 2020. The content of this advertorial is malafide as it seeks to promote harmful agricultural practices detrimental to public interest.
In fact, CCFI has dubious credentials as it is an industry body of chemical manufacturing companies. It seeks to serve their corporate agenda and profit making interests at the cost of health risks to the public. That it has chosen to subserve this agenda by maligning public image of several individuals and institutions in specific, and NGOs in general, is equally malicious.
The advertorial makes a targeted attack against reputed activists, scholars, scientists as well research institutions. It attempts to discount their years of public spirited work by presenting it in a scurrilous fashion. The wild accusations made against them are derogatory and liable for legal action under the defamation law.
The advertorial maliciously imputes ulterior motives to foreign funded institutions by suggesting that their work is detrimental to the interests of the nation. The NGO sector plays a very important role of supplementing government efforts towards the well-being of people.
NGO activities and their source of funding are also closely monitored by the Government through its various entities such as Charities Commissioners, Registrar of Societies, Income Tax Department and the Ministry of Home Affairs.
In this particular case, the organisations have been researching and raising awareness about harmful effects of agrochemicals based on solid scientific research. The organisations and individuals in question have been carrying on their research and other activities well within the framework of law and under full scrutiny of the system. To make such unwarranted allegations, as the advertorial does, is purely scandalous.
Lastly, the publisher, “Business Standard”, should share liability for this irresponsible content. The publication is not only violative of journalistic ethics and guidelines of the Press Council of India but also of its own code of conduct. It is not enough to offer as an excuse that the advertorial published was not its original content.
The publisher has presented itself as a national platform to amplify and propagate such content that has potential for huge public and personal damage. The modality of publication of this content is even more dangerous if it does not offer the opportunity to refute these allegations.
At a time when the government, civil society and media houses are taking initiative to counter fake news, it will only behove “Business Standard” to take responsibility for this editorial oversight.
We demand that the following action be taken for course correction for this publication:
  • Business Standard should retract the advertorial from all its online editions with immediate effect.
  • CCFI and "Business Standard" must publish an unconditional apology for this malicious advertorial. This apology should be published on prominently front page of the print edition and on all online editions of Business Standard. 
  • Press Council of India and other regulatory bodies should take strict action as per their norms and guidelines. 
---
Click here for the list of those who have endorsed the statement

Comments

Anonymous said…
It's true some of the NGOs are overground wokers for terrorists and separatists. Mostly those with foreign funding discredit india in every sector. They always think what they see and say are 'only truth'. Make mole out of an ant hill in nmae of service to poor. Their managements are closed door mafia syndicates and nepotism is very high. Exploitation in such organisations of lower level staff is heart breaking. It's basically home based enterprise for most of them.

TRENDING

'Enough evidence' in Indian tradition to support legal basis for same-sex marriage

By Iyce Malhotra, Joseph Mathai, Sandeep Chachra*  The ongoing hearing in the Supreme Court on same-sex marriage provides space for much-needed conversations on issues that have hitherto remained “invisible” or engaged with patriarchal locker room humour. We must recognize that people with diverse sexualities and complex gender identities have faced discrimination, stigma and decades of oppression. Their issues have mainly remained buried in dominant social discourse, and many view them with deep insecurities.

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Our Representative Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

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.

Victim of communal violence, Christians in Manipur want Church leadership to speak up

By Fr Cedric Prakash SJ*  The first eleven days of May 2023 have, in many ways, been a defining period of Indian history! Plenty has happened in a rapid-fire stream of events. Ironically, each one of them are indicators of how crimes and the criminalisation of society has become the ‘new norm’; these include, the May Day rallies with a focus on the four labour codes which are patently against the rights of workers; the U S Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) released its Annual Report on 1 May stating that conditions for religious freedom in India “continued to worsen in 2022”; the continued protest by the Indian women wrestlers at Jantar Mantar for the expulsion of the chief of the Indian Wrestlers Federation on very serious allegations; the Elections in Karnataka on 10 May (with communalism and corruption as the mainstay); the release of the fake, derogative and insensitive film ‘The Kerala Story’; the release of World Free Press Index on 3 May which places India

Polygamy in India "down" in 45 yrs: Muslims' from 5.7 to 2.55%, Hindus' 5.8 to 1.77%, "common" in SCs, STs

By Rajiv Shah Amidst All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) justifying polygamy, saying it “meets social and moral needs and the provision for it stems from concern and sympathy for women”, facts suggest the the practice is down from 5.7 per cent of Muslim families in 1961 to 2.55 per cent in 2006.

India joining US sponsored trade pillar to hurt Indian farmers, 'promote' GM seeds, food

Counterview Desk  As many as 32 civil society organisations (CSOs), in a letter to Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal on the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) and India joining the trade pillar, have said that its provisions will allow the US to ensure a more favourable regulatory regime “for enhancing its exports of genetically modified (GM) seeds and GM food”, underlining, it will “significantly hurt the livelihoods of Indian farmers.”

Unlike other revolutionaries, Hindutva icon wrote 5 mercy petitions to British masters

By Shamsul Islam*  The Hindutva icon VD Savarkar of the RSS-BJP rulers of India submitted not one, two,or three but five mercy petitions to the British masters! Savarkarites argue: “There are no evidences to prove that Savarkar collaborated with the British for his release from jail. In fact, his appeal for release was a ruse. He was well aware of the political developments outside and wanted to be part of it. So he kept requesting for his release. But the British authorities did not trust him a bit” (YD Phadke, ‘A complex Hero’, "The Indian Expres"s, August 31, 2004)

Modi govt 'wholly untrustworthy' on Covid data, censored criticism on pandemic: Lancet

By Rajiv Shah*   One of the world’s most prestigious health journals, brought out from England, has sharply criticised the Narendra Modi government for being “wholly untrustworthy on Covid-19 health data”, stating, the “official government figures place deaths at more than 530 000, while WHO excess death estimates for 2020 and 2021 are near 4·7 million.”

Undermining law, breastfeeding? Businesses 'using' celebrities to promote baby food

By Rajiv Shah*  A report prepared by the top child welfare NGO, Breastfeeding Promotion Network of India (BPNI), has identified as many as 15 offenders allegedly violating the Indian baby food law, the Infant Milk Substitutes Feeding Bottles, and Infant Foods (Regulation of Production, Supply and Distribution) Act 1992, and Amendment Act 2003 (IMS Act), stating, compliance with the law “seems to be dwindling by the day.”

Delhi demolitions for G-20 summit: Whither sabka saath, sabka vikas?, asks NAPM

By Our Representative  Well-known civil rights network, National Alliance of People's Movements (NAPM), even as expressing solidarity with “thousands of traumatized residents of Tughlakabad and some other bastis in New Delhi whose homes have been demolished and whose lives have been ravaged both prior to as well as in the lead-up to the G-20 Summit”, has said this is in utter disregard to “their minimum well-being and gross violation of their rights.”