India Development and Relief Fund Says They Aren’t Funding Hate Campaigns

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MARYLAND, U.S.A., November 22, 2002: The India Development and Relief Fund, a Maryland-based charity, has denied allegations that it is raising millions of dollars from nonresident Indians and American corporations and using the money to fund a “hate campaign” in India. A group of Christians have released in New Delhi a report accusing IDRF of being a front organization for the Sangh Parivar and its numerous concerns and of funneling millions of dollars every year to be used by “violent, sectarian Hindu supremacist organizations.” “IDRF dismisses the allegations made by the groups as pure concoction, untruthful and self contradicting,” the charity said in a statement on Friday. The report by Biju Mathew, a New York based professor, “is merely a string of allegations, manipulated skillfully by piecing together information available on the IDRF web site,” IDRF stated. The statement by IDRF continues, “The allegations do not stand up to any rational scrutiny. Donors to IDRF are among most well-informed of the donors to any South Asian nonprofit charitable organizations operating in the US. IDRF questions the credibility, motives and the political agenda of these splintered and virtually unknown groups that have launched the Hate Campaign against IDRF. IDRF does not subscribe to any religious, political or sectarian agendas. Furthermore, IDRF does not discriminate against any religion, sect or race in either the collection or distribution of funds.”