A lot of talk has been going on recently about an article from 'The News Minute' quoting Mr Rajendra Singh withdrawing his support to 'Rally for Rivers' initiative by the Isha Foundation. If it was just about withdrawal of support, it would not have attracted so much attention, but our TRP hungry media took this as an opportunity to quote / misquote Rajendra Singh abusing Isha Foundation's Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev.
Background
Let's see what the facts are, before we go into the TNM article itself.
(1) Isha Foundation championed the cause of rejuvenating India's dying rivers. Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev took it upon himself to drive through the many states conducting multiple public events and creating mass awareness.
(2) Before and during the rally, multiple celebrities and environmentalists - including Mr Rajendra Singh - had supported the cause and appreciated the efforts taken by Isha Foundation in this regards.
(3) At the end of this 9000 KM rally, Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev presented a comprehensive river rejuvenation policy recommendations document (RFR document) to the Prime Minister's Office on 3rd October 2017. This document has been put in public domain:
http://isha.sadhguru.org/blog/social-impact/rally-for-rivers/revitalization-rivers-india-draft-policy-recommendation-fundamentals/
(4) There were over 27 scientists and environmentalists roped in by the Isha Foundation to come up with these river policy recommendations. The foundation had also asked everyone to provide constructive feedback regarding the recommendations proposed for next 90 days (till about end of 2017).
(5) Thousands of people took the streets of India and participated in the Isha Foundation's public events supporting the cause and spreading the word among friends & family. About 160 Million missed calls were generated out of the public awareness event to support the initiative.
Now what is the TNM article?
Here is the link to TNM article about Rajendra Singh accusing / abusing Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev and the Isha Foundation:
https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/wont-support-rally-rivers-indias-waterman-rajendra-singh-ishas-campaign-73353
Who is this Rajendra Singh?
Dr Singh who won the Stockholm Water Prize, an award known as the Nobel Prize for water, in 2015, transformed Rajasthan villages with his water conservation efforts. His own posts also reflect his thoughts well:
http://www.indiawaterportal.org/articles/every-state-needs-river-rejuvenation-policy
Where is the discrepancy?
The video where Rajendra has been seen supporting the Rally For Rivers (RFR) is as below:
https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzIeBU1dZZzWbxSY01MHs7VrtbimoTVFc3KNBkuqJpw_zgk8jro52YqYUKRnbmqxdk0Hx6LqM1KGoIR3mEf68
And he has happily endorsed the cause with a photo as well:
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgydlJN53P6ypRc0E8q7nf4yP9fL1qWoPxAU6wu1wKQ0V22FzBL-tiJBbzWBS_Q03GFyuFg3FgsKppbT2Es0nPaKKp8ZfJ6x0fV_fWWHQXHpTIhXIk-bry5rhzVmsIsYM7X2ejuuWtOtphf/s1600/r1.jpg
What has changed in between?
Several things could have - we can only guess. Probably Rajendra Singh is the only person who can answer why he chose to reverse his stand so abruptly. It is apparent that he has not made any attempts to contact the Isha Foundation before changing his stance.
Let's get into the article itself now
(1) "I haven't seen any of them rejuvenate with a missed call" quotes Rajendra Singh - Sure! Even a common man knows that but still 160 million people have. As clearly stated by Isha Foundation, this missed call was to generate awareness and show public support to the central government for taking action on the river rejuvenation policy.
http://isha.sadhguru.org/rally-for-rivers/participate-give-a-missed-call-your-vote-to-save-our-rivers/
There is nowhere a statement that rejuvenation of rivers will happen with a missed call. So, Rajendra Singh's statement does not really fly in the context.
(2) "In his opinion, a godman should hold a moral compass for the government as well as the people when they start exploiting and destroying rivers"
“If the baba can link people with rivers, they can be rejuvenated. Not by anything else.”
Isn't this what Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev has done through the Rally For Rivers? Aren't the 160 million missed calls a testimony to just that? Isn't the RFR document both a moral as well as a legal compass for ensuring that people do not exploit / destroy rivers?
Again, this statement does not really make sense in the current context. It would have, if RFR document was kept a secret. It isn't and only shows that Mr Rajendra has not fully understood what is in the document.
(3) "I told them that this cannot be done by linking rivers" - this seems to be his biggest gripe against Isha Foundation's Rally For Rivers. Again, it is coming from a certain level of ignorance of what the RFR document has as suggestions. The RFR team and Sadhguru have been reiterating over time that river interlinking is not a solution that can be adopted everywhere and if at all, it is being done, it has to be done on a scientific basis and not on emotional basis.
http://isha.sadhguru.org/blog/social-impact/rally-for-rivers/sadhguru-river-interlinking-dams/
"Any new proposal for interlinking must strictly be evaluated on the basis of scientific and environmental merit and long-term sustainability, rather than on the basis of emotions and politics. And while assessing potential benefits, in the context of our tropical climate, we should account for the resultant loss of water via evaporation and ground seepage."
Either someone has grossly misrepresented the RFR suggestions to him or he has deliberately chosen to ignore this. How could someone misinterpret such an open stance?
(4) "Nothing will happen with missed calls and slogans to revive rivers, I told him (Sadhguru) strictly. But Baba is Baba. Baba will revive river with missed call"
This has already been addressed to some extent in #2 but I sensed a level of jealousy in this sarcastic statement. Rajendra Singh has been working a lot in the field of river restoration for several years now without much national recognition.
But here comes Sadhguru with all his flamboyance and rallying public support behind him to put together a river rejuvenation policy quickly. Not just Rajendra Singh, many such environmentalists might have had a stomach-burn moment looking at the amount of limelight thrown on Isha Foundation and Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev in this effort.
I am not concluding it so, but am sure baffled by this statement by an otherwise sensible person.
(5) "When politicians want to get votes by showcasing the issue of rivers, they push the babas in front. And when the baba feels threatened of being sent to jail for taking over 45 acres of tribals' land - then he chases the politicians, asking them for protection”
Now, this is a dangerous allegation levelled by Rajendra Singh and he is clearly misinformed here. First of all, the problem of rivers dying is a very real one. We do not need a politician or a baba to tell that to us. Most of us are facing the issue on a daily basis. What Sadhguru did through the rally was to bring people to acknowledge that this is a real problem that needs to be addressed quickly. Not just that, his team put together a policy recommendations document that addresses the issue in such mind-boggling depth!
If one has not gone through the RFR document, they should to understand how farmers problems are considered, how the industry can contribute, how sand mining can be stopped, how individuals can contribute, etc. A whole slew of issues related to river restoration and rejuvenation have been addressed.
Secondly, the whole controversy about Isha Foundation grabbing 45 acres of tribals' land came to fore in early 2017 just before their MahaShivratri celebrations were to be kicked off. A lady by the name Muthammal claimed so, filed a case through an organization (formed in December 2016) and the matter is sub-judice now. Right now, it would be inappropriate to do a media trial without putting the facts out clearly. Such a comment by Rajendra is really 'below-the-belt' in this case as he is assuming a lot of things! Would he be equally eager to apologize to Sadhguru if the case is written off in the court?!
Rajendra's statement is coming from his interactions with a social activist Piyush Manush who organized the whole meeting where Rajendra made such allegations. Piyush is an activist known to be throwing all sorts of allegations against Isha Foundation. He has recently been served a legal notice by the Foundation as well. His bluff on 'Rally For Rivers' using BJP phone number was also recently called out in social media causing major public embarassment to him and he has been itching to get back on Isha for this. No wonder, Piyush organized the whole event with Rajendra Singh and fed him with misinformation.
What would have been ideal?
One can only speculate what might have happened if Rajendra Singh had first made a sincere attempt to contact Isha Foundation for their views as well, instead of just going with one version of information given to him.
I hope he will reverse his stand after listening to all parties and going through the facts properly. He is a revered person and it will be just sad for him to stand against another good cause that has come up in India after a long time with such massive public support.
Background
Let's see what the facts are, before we go into the TNM article itself.
(1) Isha Foundation championed the cause of rejuvenating India's dying rivers. Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev took it upon himself to drive through the many states conducting multiple public events and creating mass awareness.
(2) Before and during the rally, multiple celebrities and environmentalists - including Mr Rajendra Singh - had supported the cause and appreciated the efforts taken by Isha Foundation in this regards.
(3) At the end of this 9000 KM rally, Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev presented a comprehensive river rejuvenation policy recommendations document (RFR document) to the Prime Minister's Office on 3rd October 2017. This document has been put in public domain:
http://isha.sadhguru.org/blog/social-impact/rally-for-rivers/revitalization-rivers-india-draft-policy-recommendation-fundamentals/
(4) There were over 27 scientists and environmentalists roped in by the Isha Foundation to come up with these river policy recommendations. The foundation had also asked everyone to provide constructive feedback regarding the recommendations proposed for next 90 days (till about end of 2017).
(5) Thousands of people took the streets of India and participated in the Isha Foundation's public events supporting the cause and spreading the word among friends & family. About 160 Million missed calls were generated out of the public awareness event to support the initiative.
Now what is the TNM article?
Here is the link to TNM article about Rajendra Singh accusing / abusing Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev and the Isha Foundation:
https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/wont-support-rally-rivers-indias-waterman-rajendra-singh-ishas-campaign-73353
Who is this Rajendra Singh?
Dr Singh who won the Stockholm Water Prize, an award known as the Nobel Prize for water, in 2015, transformed Rajasthan villages with his water conservation efforts. His own posts also reflect his thoughts well:
http://www.indiawaterportal.org/articles/every-state-needs-river-rejuvenation-policy
Where is the discrepancy?
The video where Rajendra has been seen supporting the Rally For Rivers (RFR) is as below:
https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzIeBU1dZZzWbxSY01MHs7VrtbimoTVFc3KNBkuqJpw_zgk8jro52YqYUKRnbmqxdk0Hx6LqM1KGoIR3mEf68
And he has happily endorsed the cause with a photo as well:
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgydlJN53P6ypRc0E8q7nf4yP9fL1qWoPxAU6wu1wKQ0V22FzBL-tiJBbzWBS_Q03GFyuFg3FgsKppbT2Es0nPaKKp8ZfJ6x0fV_fWWHQXHpTIhXIk-bry5rhzVmsIsYM7X2ejuuWtOtphf/s1600/r1.jpg
What has changed in between?
Several things could have - we can only guess. Probably Rajendra Singh is the only person who can answer why he chose to reverse his stand so abruptly. It is apparent that he has not made any attempts to contact the Isha Foundation before changing his stance.
Let's get into the article itself now
(1) "I haven't seen any of them rejuvenate with a missed call" quotes Rajendra Singh - Sure! Even a common man knows that but still 160 million people have. As clearly stated by Isha Foundation, this missed call was to generate awareness and show public support to the central government for taking action on the river rejuvenation policy.
http://isha.sadhguru.org/rally-for-rivers/participate-give-a-missed-call-your-vote-to-save-our-rivers/
There is nowhere a statement that rejuvenation of rivers will happen with a missed call. So, Rajendra Singh's statement does not really fly in the context.
(2) "In his opinion, a godman should hold a moral compass for the government as well as the people when they start exploiting and destroying rivers"
“If the baba can link people with rivers, they can be rejuvenated. Not by anything else.”
Isn't this what Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev has done through the Rally For Rivers? Aren't the 160 million missed calls a testimony to just that? Isn't the RFR document both a moral as well as a legal compass for ensuring that people do not exploit / destroy rivers?
Again, this statement does not really make sense in the current context. It would have, if RFR document was kept a secret. It isn't and only shows that Mr Rajendra has not fully understood what is in the document.
(3) "I told them that this cannot be done by linking rivers" - this seems to be his biggest gripe against Isha Foundation's Rally For Rivers. Again, it is coming from a certain level of ignorance of what the RFR document has as suggestions. The RFR team and Sadhguru have been reiterating over time that river interlinking is not a solution that can be adopted everywhere and if at all, it is being done, it has to be done on a scientific basis and not on emotional basis.
http://isha.sadhguru.org/blog/social-impact/rally-for-rivers/sadhguru-river-interlinking-dams/
"Any new proposal for interlinking must strictly be evaluated on the basis of scientific and environmental merit and long-term sustainability, rather than on the basis of emotions and politics. And while assessing potential benefits, in the context of our tropical climate, we should account for the resultant loss of water via evaporation and ground seepage."
Either someone has grossly misrepresented the RFR suggestions to him or he has deliberately chosen to ignore this. How could someone misinterpret such an open stance?
(4) "Nothing will happen with missed calls and slogans to revive rivers, I told him (Sadhguru) strictly. But Baba is Baba. Baba will revive river with missed call"
This has already been addressed to some extent in #2 but I sensed a level of jealousy in this sarcastic statement. Rajendra Singh has been working a lot in the field of river restoration for several years now without much national recognition.
But here comes Sadhguru with all his flamboyance and rallying public support behind him to put together a river rejuvenation policy quickly. Not just Rajendra Singh, many such environmentalists might have had a stomach-burn moment looking at the amount of limelight thrown on Isha Foundation and Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev in this effort.
I am not concluding it so, but am sure baffled by this statement by an otherwise sensible person.
(5) "When politicians want to get votes by showcasing the issue of rivers, they push the babas in front. And when the baba feels threatened of being sent to jail for taking over 45 acres of tribals' land - then he chases the politicians, asking them for protection”
Now, this is a dangerous allegation levelled by Rajendra Singh and he is clearly misinformed here. First of all, the problem of rivers dying is a very real one. We do not need a politician or a baba to tell that to us. Most of us are facing the issue on a daily basis. What Sadhguru did through the rally was to bring people to acknowledge that this is a real problem that needs to be addressed quickly. Not just that, his team put together a policy recommendations document that addresses the issue in such mind-boggling depth!
If one has not gone through the RFR document, they should to understand how farmers problems are considered, how the industry can contribute, how sand mining can be stopped, how individuals can contribute, etc. A whole slew of issues related to river restoration and rejuvenation have been addressed.
Secondly, the whole controversy about Isha Foundation grabbing 45 acres of tribals' land came to fore in early 2017 just before their MahaShivratri celebrations were to be kicked off. A lady by the name Muthammal claimed so, filed a case through an organization (formed in December 2016) and the matter is sub-judice now. Right now, it would be inappropriate to do a media trial without putting the facts out clearly. Such a comment by Rajendra is really 'below-the-belt' in this case as he is assuming a lot of things! Would he be equally eager to apologize to Sadhguru if the case is written off in the court?!
Rajendra's statement is coming from his interactions with a social activist Piyush Manush who organized the whole meeting where Rajendra made such allegations. Piyush is an activist known to be throwing all sorts of allegations against Isha Foundation. He has recently been served a legal notice by the Foundation as well. His bluff on 'Rally For Rivers' using BJP phone number was also recently called out in social media causing major public embarassment to him and he has been itching to get back on Isha for this. No wonder, Piyush organized the whole event with Rajendra Singh and fed him with misinformation.
What would have been ideal?
One can only speculate what might have happened if Rajendra Singh had first made a sincere attempt to contact Isha Foundation for their views as well, instead of just going with one version of information given to him.
I hope he will reverse his stand after listening to all parties and going through the facts properly. He is a revered person and it will be just sad for him to stand against another good cause that has come up in India after a long time with such massive public support.
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