NCCL completes project “Rainbow Hills” in village VANAJ in North Gujarat

My NGO, National Council for Civil Liberties (NCCL) on 21.11.2014 launched its new Project “Rainbow Hills” from village VANAJ, in Taluka Vijayanagar, District: Sabarkantha in North Gujarat.

In a simple Ceremony, Taluka Mamlatdar,  Mr Prajapati, in the presence of NCCL Volunteers started the work of re-construction and modernization of houses in the picturesque Vanaj village which is situated on a small hillock facing a huge lake. Project completed in three months time.

After necessary survey, NCCL selected 12 houses in village: Vanaj, for reconstruction and repair.  The selected houses are on the hillocks constructed by the Adivasis using mud for walls and local wood for ceiling.  Adivasis in  Vijaynagar Taluka are living in dilapidated  dusty houses  in an unhealthy conditions and uncontrolled element of their routine misery.

Under the scheme  the NCCL has done  Repair of walls, floor, roof, Varendas etc, Plastering of mud walls & floor with Cement , Laying Cement Sheet on the roof for protection from rains, heat etc and putting tiles (Nadiya) on it for long lasting roof protection  including colouring of roof top and Construction of toilets. Transparent PCV sheets have also been fixed in each house in the middle of the roof top for providing natural light during the day. 

Since the tribal people cook food inside the room,using local wood, PVC pipes of 6" diameter have been fixed as Chimneys in the room's roof to provide enough air circulation.

NCCL is helping local Adivasis of the selected houses and guiding them to maintain clean & hygienic surroundings and also to stop using plastic products, causing maximum damage to the Environment. The entire cost of repair/reconstruction is borne by the NCCL. The total budget for this project was Rs 15 lacs however work completed in      Rs 12 lacs only.

The aim of this scheme was to provide basic amenities to the poor Adivasis, without disturbing their lifestyle, traditions and surroundings. Further, these Adivasis will also be guided to rent out one room in these neatly repaired and Re-constructed houses to the tourists interested in eco-tourism, which will generate income for them.

NCCL in the past successfully implemented Mission ENDURE, in Ahmedabad City to reduce dust pollution by constructing footpaths from pre-cast Cement Concrete blocks, which was a unique practical, positive and participatory project  implemented in association with Ahmedabad Muncipal Corporation (AMC).

News Links: 

1. The Poineer:

http://www.dailypioneer.com/nation/12-houses-repaired-in-vanaj.html

2. Hindu Business Line:

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/features/blink/know/true-to-their-roots/article7035981.ece

3. Deccan Herald:

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/471136/changing-lives-tribals-gujarat.html#

V K Saxena

President 

NCCL

Ahmedabad

Foreign funding of Indian NGOs - a hidden pathway of foreign interference

The action of the Government of India in cancelling licenses of 9000 NGOs that have been violating FCRA is an act of judicious law enforcement.  And suspending FCRA permission of Green Peace and putting Ford Foundation on the watch list is an act of safeguarding the political and socio-economic sovereignty of the nation.  It is disappointing that world powers like USA and Germany are voicing concern on this matter, thereby interfering in the internal matters of our Republic.  It should not be conceivable by any stretch of imagination that India would allow foreign influences to ride on the back of NGOs to enter our sovereign space and begin eroding us from within, colluding with internal betrayer individuals and organizations. Our nation has to march ahead and not fall behind.

The very countries that have voiced against India's action on NGOs have very stringent view on NGO activities in their own country.  For example, it is not possible in the USA for either a local NGO or a multi-national NGO to engage itself in political activism or polarized political support.  And any violation of financial rule would be heavily dealt with and people sent to jail for inordinately long years.  For example Gulam Nambi Fai, founder of “Kashmir American Council” (KAC) , an NGO, was arrested by the FBI from Virginia, Washington DC and later sentenced for 4 years Jail by a US Court in 2012 on the charges of receiving money from Pakistan and its spy agency ISI to influence American policy on Kashmir. Political activism by foreign NGOs is perceived in the USA and Germany as acts of war against the nation, while financial irregularities would be dealt as money laundering for dubious purposes. 

But when it comes to India, thanks to the inaction and spineless silence portrayed for years by the previous Govt, foreign NGOs such as Ford Foundation were accorded respect similar to what the diplomatic missions command.  And it has been proven over and over again that these NGOs had their political masters in the countries of their origin, who had strong interest in influencing the political process and impeding the national development of India.  Colluding with them, their Indian partners have worked as termites, wrecking India from within. We all know that foreign funds are always attached with hidden condition.

It is time that this anomaly is set right once and for all.  It is time that a self respecting India stands tall against these medieval machinations.  It is time that we as Indians feel proud that at last, we have a leader and a Government that is immensely patriotic and is dedicated to the integrity and development of the nation.

V K Saxena

President

National Council for Civil Liberties

Ahmedabad.

Yemen Rescue Operation: Time to Rejoice in National Pride

The struggle for dominance in Yemen between the Sunni and Zaidi Shia sects has accentuated into a civil war and has now turned into a Regional conflict.  Fearing Iranian dominance on the situation, Saudi Arabia launched an extensive air raid, killing people indiscriminately.  When the danger to life escalated, most western embassies closed shop and left the country with their staff.  By mid March 2015, Yemen had become a lawless land and the fate of thousands of Indians working in the country hung in a delicate balance.

The Government of India made a historic decision of risking the odds and attempting to rescue the compatriots.  On March 31st, Gen. V.K. Singh was sent to Yemen to coordinate operation 'Rahat'.  Air India, Indian Air Force, two merchant vessels, warships Destroyer Mumbai and stealth frigage Tarkash, INS Sumitra and Indian Shipping Corporation's Kavaratti and Corals were all pressed into service to save the lives of Indians caught in the conflict.  Prime Minister Modi called the King of Saudi Arabia to halt the air strikes at the time of critical rescue.  Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj monitored the situation minute by minute.  Gen. V.K. Singh roamed the streets in Yemen personally to locate and pull out Indians in trouble. Looking at Indian determination, 26 nations reached out to India, including USA, Germany and France to help rescue their citizens.

While a host of commercial airlines in India were vying to book profits, Air India carried 488 people through special flights from Sana'a to India on April 5th.  On one haul, it evacuated 574 people from Sana'a to Djibouti, described as the single largest evacuation by air anywhere in the world in a single day.  Indian Air Force helicopter C-17 on April 2nd, brought back 358 Indians.  The lifeboats of the ships went into the harbour under constant cross-firing and bombing to ferry thousands of Indians into the ships, so that they could be brought to India.  At the end, Indian Railways offered free trips to the evacuees to reach home safely, besides receiving appropriate financial support.

This is a matter of immense national pride and is unprecedented in the history of free India.  Most nations took a bow at the courage, valour, determination and timely action of India.  But it is a crying shame that sections of Indian media and the political opposition would not celebrate this grand display of patriotism and humanitarian concern.  It is a shame that many of them continued to bathe in negativity and trivial pursuits of populism, even in this situation of grave concern and commendable nationalism.

Most of India has felt honoured to share the historic national pride. But some in the Media and in the Opposition have shamed themselves with their irrational neglect.

V K Saxena

President 

National Council for Civil Liberties

Ahmedabad

AAP's AALAAP of ANARCHY‏

 It is very rare that in the books of history you find someone who is both a protester and a successful administrator of societies.  It is rather easier to protest and oppose than take upon oneself the silent responsibility of social governance. .  

 I am talking about the Aam Aadmi Party(AAP) and its reigning high priest,  Arvind Kejriwal.  His chronically hoarse throat amply suggests what he is good at and where he should draw the line upon his personal ambitions.   At the first instance of accepting power, he ran away into wilderness within 49 days, disowning publicly the responsibilities he fought for and secured.  And now within a month of occupying the office, he has made this shocking decision of not holding any portfolio, besides running away for 2 weeks into a naturopathy centre for rest and relaxation.  He is the only administrator in the world who has this luxury of an office without responsibility and a leave of absence of 2 weeks within the 4 weeks of securing a job.

 The opportunism and irresponsibility of the AAP starts from its high priest and trickles down through his coterie to every part of its organizational set-up.  As a first step of establishing internal unaccountability, chaos and anarchy, AAP has easily done away with its own conscience keepers like Prashanth Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav.  Mayank Gandhi is also now on his way out.  The internal coterie of Kejriwal will now consist of those voices that are brash, anti-social and anti-development like that of Medha Patkar, Ashish Khetan and the like.  The 70 point programme promised in the Manifesto has become an orphan and the second in command Manish Sisodia is clueless of how to implement it.  The office bearers of AAP, including the topline leaders are engaged in securing for themselves the luxury of escort, VVIP status, bungalows and all those privileges that they raised their voice against.

 Delhi has to brace up itself for a tough time of anarchy that is lurking around the corner.  A couple of  journalists and poets have taken over the Government without a clue as to how to govern and how to manage the high offices in democracy.  Come summer, power cuts and water shortages will galore.  Come rains, the floods will devastate the capital.  Kejriwal will remain unattached and unbound by any portfolio of office in his ploy to remain a high priest and holy cow of politics.  The thinkers and ideologues will remain increasingly marginalized.  The loud speaking coterie will rule recklessly and ruin the city.

But unfortunately, the people are bound to this unfolding and agonizing aalaap of anarchy for the next five years in Delhi.

V K Saxena

National Council for Civil Liberties,
Ahmedabad

Religious terror on the world stage

It is unbelievable that any religious ideology, stretched to any extent of extremism, could motivate the kind of massacre of children carried out by Taliban within the precinct of education.  While Islamic religious leaders from around the world have expressed dismay at this, there remains an unanswered question as to why it is only the extremists of one religious direction that resort to this kind of absolutely obnoxious  behavior.   Nowhere in the history of mankind such brutal and inhuman behavior was exhibited by the extremists of one particular community, so widely around the world.

The world was just waking up this week to the criminal hostage taking of one lone extremist in Sydney, when the massacre in Peshawar took away everyone's sleep.  Each incident of this nature in the world is outdoing the earlier in magnitude and effect.  Over 90 girls in northern Nigeria, abducted by Boko Haram are yet to be traced and may possibly have been sold into slavery.  The young girls, women and children abducted and raped by ISIS are being sold like livestock in the Middle East every day. Taliban from the borderlands of Afghanistan and Pakistan has undermined the meanest crimes by donning this crown of blood dipped in the blood river of innocent children they killed for no reason.  In Kashmir, Laskar e Taiba has continued its cowardice of terrorizing those who want peace in the valley and hills. 

 In all, extremists have all exhibited incomprehensible enthusiasm to kidnap, rape, torture, maim and kill women, children and men indiscriminately.  The right minded Muslim communities around the world have been greatly constrained to do more towards establishing confidence and trust in them among the cautious civilizations.

India teeters precariously on the risk of extremism and terrorism.  All religions live in harmony in India but those who pursue the small lane politics of communalism use ingenious methods of tipping the balance of secularism.  And events such as the ones we have witnessed this week are exploited by those who thrive on the opportunities of baying for blood.

It is time that Islamic leadership from around the world come together to cleanse the bad image being created by the extremists of their community.  

V K SAXENA
PRESIDENT
National Council for Civil Liberties,
Ahmedabad

Web: www.ncclindia.org,

Twiter:@VKSaxena26

NCCL to mordenise tribal village VANAJ in North Gujarat

NCCL has on 21.11.2014 launched its new Project “Rainbow Hills” from village VANAJ, in Taluka Vijayanagar, District: Sabarkantha in North Gujarat.

In a simple Ceremony, Taluka Mamlatdar,  Mr Prajapati, in the presence of villagers & NCCL Volunteers started the work of re-constructions and modernization of houses in the picturesque Vanaj village which is situated on a small hillock facing a huge lake.

After necessary survey, NCCL has selected 10 houses in village: Vanaj, for reconstruction and repair.  The selected houses are constructed by the Adivasis using mud for walls and local wood for ceiling.  Adivasis in  Vijaynagar Taluka are living in dilapidated  dusty houses  in an unhealthy conditions and uncontrolled element of their routine misery.

Under the scheme  the NCCL will do  Repair of walls, floor, roof, Varendas , Plastering of mud walls & floor with Cement , Laying Cement Sheet on the roof for protection from rains, heat etc and putting tiles (Nadiya) on it for long lasting roof protection ,Colouring of roof top and Construction of toilets.   

NCCL will arrange Cleaning of surrounding area with the help of local Adivasis of the selected houses and will guide them to maintain clean & hygienic surroundings and also to stop using plastic products, causing maximum damage to the Environment. The entire cost of repair/reconstruction etc will be borne by the NCCL.

The aim of this scheme is to provide basic amenities to the poor Adivasis, without disturbing their lifestyle, traditions and surroundings. Further, these Adivasis will also be guided to rent out one room in these neatly Re-constructed houses to the tourists interested in eco-tourism, which will generate income for them.

NCCL in the past successfully implemented Mission ENDURE, in Ahmedabad City to reduce dust pollution by constructing footpaths from pre-cast Cement Concrete blocks, which was a unique practical, positive and participatory project  implemented in association with Ahmedabad Muncipal Corporation (AMC).

Newslink, the Pioneer, New Delhi dated 24.11.2014 below:

http://www.dailypioneer.com/nation/nccl-to-modernise-north-gujarat-tribal-village.html

V K Saxena

President

NCCL

Ahmedabad

Palace loyalties do public dis-service

We often want to believe that India is changing.  We take great pride in diving deep into the images of our society and sift through them to find those hints of change - that we don't hang from the trees our forefathers grew. We pride in our sense of maturity and impartial judgment to say that we form our opinions on the basis of context.  We want the world to believe that India is neither personality centric nor is a society of irrational old loyalties.  And when we try to paint the picture of change, we present proudly the agents of change like the media.

But a careful observation defies this bold projection of ourselves as an impartial, impersonal and ingenuous society that implicitly falls in line with the imperative change.

This phenomenon is more evident in the way the old guard of Press and some stalwarts of the media have behaved in the post May 16 Parliamentary Elections and Oct 19, Maharastra & Haryana Assembly  electoral results.  The whole world has noticed and accepted that the royalty of India, exemplified by the heir to the throne and his mother regent have been thrown into the dust bin of history and their palatial political party has been disregarded as irrelevant by the people of India.  But yet, there are senior journalists in the country, mainly based in Delhi and few in Mumbai, who have not shaken off their palace loyalties.  They refuse to recognize the change.  They fall deaf to the voice of people.  They continue to eulogize and empathize with the Congress Party which brought the Nation to its lowest low, its sublime masters and the glory of that old era. During result day debate, they were looking totally shattered, not ready to believe that People of India have voted for the change. These journalists use all powers in their disposal, the television channels they own, the newspapers they print and the platforms they coordinate to keep alive the glory or Congress that only exists now in their distant memory.

By all means, this is betrayal of the public desire for change.  This mindset of old faithfulness is an insult to the voices of democracy and in defiance to the popular will.  At a time when the vehicle of nation is trying to roll smooth on the boulevard of time, these irrational old loyalties are an irritant spoke in the wheel of progress.

V K SAXENA
PRESIDENT
National Council for Civil Liberties,
 Ahmedabad.

Twiter:@VKSaxena26