Eye of an Eagle

Tuesday, October 24, 2017

War on Isha and Other Hindu Organizations by Church - 2

Part 1 of this blog series can be found here: http://kazhugupaarvai.blogspot.in/2017/10/war-on-isha-and-other-hindu.html

[Note: Before you dismiss me as a xenophobic or someone who hates Christianity, hear me out. I only dislike the methods employed in religious conversions. Am against no religion.]

What is needed to stop the juggernaut of the fraud perpetrated in the name of Christianity? There are some fantastic suggestions in this blog:

https://www.saddahaq.com/how-to-stop-hindu-conversions-by-church

The author suggests:

(1) Stop Foreign Funding

It is the first and foremost step definitely. Why is there so much resistance created in public media by the Church in Tamilnadu against BJP? One simple and straight-forward reason is the number of NGOs that have been banned by the current government in Tamilnadu in 2015:

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Govt-bans-foreign-funding-for-69-NGOs-30-of-them-work-for-minorities/articleshow/46461898.cms

Who contributes to a major portion of this donation? It is the Christian missionaries!

http://www.ibtl.in/news/international/1764/it-s-official--christian-missionaries-donate-billions-to-indian-ngos/

This ban on NGOs by BJP Government had ruffled the feathers of organizations all over the world.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jun/11/india-crackdown-foreign-funded-ngos

Why is that so? This post tries to answer some of the questions:

http://www.firstpost.com/india/uncle-sam-may-be-indirectly-funding-religious-conversion-in-india-2176175.html

While the opacity of funding arrangements would make it difficult or impossible to prove that US taxpayer money has directly supported evangelical activity, it’s hard to escape the conclusion that US-funded FBOs such as Samaritan’s Purse and Partners Worldwide are heavily proselytising in India, quite apart from whatever humanitarian or charitable work they may be doing. And this is leaving aside all of the non-government funded US-based evangelical organisations active in India, which don’t even have to maintain the pretence of separating humanitarian from evangelical work.

This sort of activity, blending charity and Christian evangelism, has aroused the concern of the Indian government. "Can social service not be performed without resorting to conversion and will any country allow changes to its demographic character?" asked India’s Home Minister Rajnath Singh recently while addressing a government commission charged with protecting the rights of minorities in India.

(2) Enforce strict Visa rules on missionaries

If you do not know this, most foreign missionaries are entering India under the garb of 'tourists' and 'teachers'.

https://www.saddahaq.com/visa-fraud-by-christian-missionaries

Of course, with the level of bribes and corruption at our immigration department, there is no doubt such cases are still getting through.

"99% of Christian Missionaries come to India on Tourist VISA. They dont follow VISA guidelines; doing Mission work on Tourist VISA is illegal as per current law they need very specifci Missionary VISA. We have to enforce this rule by doing few things Ask for written declaration “purpose of Visit” if anyone wrongly states purpose of visit, punish them to full extent of law. They can be jailed directly from airport for 3 years with no bail."

I do not know if this would be still effective now. At least in Tamilnadu, the local missionaries have become smart enough to do the mass conversions by themselves. The news is from the Horse's mouth directly:

https://christianwatchindia.wordpress.com/2008/11/18/christians-from-tamil-planning-conversions-in-7-districts-of-punjab-to-be-sponsoring-the-mission-field-work-ultimately-all-18-to-be-covered-destruction-of-indian-religions/

I will touch upon the other points in my subsequent blogs ..

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Monday, October 23, 2017

War on Isha and Other Hindu Organizations by Church - 1

Usually I do not choose to confront a person or a phenomenon without sufficient proof. But now I think we have enough circumstantial & direct evidence attempting to put together a sequence of incidents.

I find these as more than a coincidence, all related to rise of Christianity in Tamilnadu and attacks on organizations supporting / resurrecting Hindu culture. I am taking Isha Foundation as an example here and will explain what is happening, but you can quickly figure out how it works on others as well.

[Note: Before you dismiss me as a xenophobic or someone who hates Christianity, at least read the article fully. I only dislike the methods employed in religious conversions. Am against no religion.]

What do I mean by 'attack' here?

An attack in this context has to be understood as Systematic defaming of an individual or an organization with or without producing any proofs towards such defamation. Typically these attacks are carried through:

- Social media
- Print media
- Mass media like TV channels

Who is launching the attacks?

I am sticking my neck out here and claiming 'Christian missionary forces'. But before you decide to chop my head, read through the entire blog and think about the strange coincidences for yourself. Tell me in comments section if you really shoot holes into the theory.

I had merely scratched the surface in my earlier blog article and am hoping to expose it more now: http://kazhugupaarvai.blogspot.in/2017/03/is-there-really-war-on-hindu-culture.html

Why attack Isha Foundation?

Art Of Living has a miniscule presence in TamilNadu - not much of a threat as yet. But dig deeper and you will find them being harassed badly in Karnataka.

Nithyananda's organization was systematically bad-mouthed and public opinion completely destroyed through deliberate media campaigns which stopped only after judicial court orders were brought into force.

The only other organization working at a mass scale resurrecting yoga and Hindu culture in Tamilnadu is Isha Foundation. This is a serious threat to spread Christianity in Tamilnadu, especially if people get back to their yogic roots fast!

When did the media attacks start on Isha Foundation?

The sharp increase in attacks on Isha Foundation started in public media from August 2016. Is it a coincidence that just before that, Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev of the foundation had announced about unveiling huge AdiYogi statues across the country in a public Satsang with his disciples? I don't think so and strongly feel this is what triggered the attacks in first place.

What is the main reason for these attacks from August 2016?

Karunya is a big Christian organization (with over 700 acres of prime forest land) spreading its tentacles all around Coimbatore. It is well known that the Christian missionaries target primarily tribal people, fishermen, etc. who face hardships in life and are easily swayed, especially in places where there is little support from rest of the religions.

Firstly, Karunya folks got extremely scared that Isha Foundation will stop their conversion tactics in the Coimbatore area. Especially with the 112 feet Adi yogi statue that was announced in July 2016, Isha posed a serious threat to Christian spread in the area.

If you look at the Diwali day in October 2017, tens and thousands of people thronged to see & be with AdiYogi Shiva statue at Isha Foundation. This is exactly what scares the Karunya folks. Are all these people visiting Isha trying to get spiritual benefits or be converted to hinduism or get into Yoga? A miniscule percentage of them might be .. but what scares the Church is the visitor numbers keep increasing by week and so will that miniscule percentage!

Attacks begin in August 2016 - Two lady monks

Out of the blue, a retired college Professor, a father of two lady monks at Isha Foundation goes to media in Aug 2016 and later to the court complaining that his daughters are held captive by Isha against their will. The High Court investigation later clearly found this claim ridiculous and certified that the two girls were completely sane and living as monks out of their well. It is altogether a different matter that the monks had been living at Isha for over 7 years when one fine day their father wakes up to claim their captivity.

Upon further investigating into who this man actually is, it comes to the front that he has taken up to Christianity a few months back! Strange coincidence, don't you think?

News Media pitches in against Isha

I have already written a blog article (http://kazhugupaarvai.blogspot.in/2017/09/secret-sauce-of-tn-politics-part-1.html) showing how biased the Tamil TV mass media is. Most of them lean towards atheist or anti-Hindu sentiments.

So, it came as no surprise that Sun TV and Raj TV lead the media coup against Isha Foundation. Accusations were thrown all over in prime time coverage, without any basis or proofs. Some of the more ridiculous ones that even common public laughed at were:

- More than 5000 people have lost their kidneys at Isha
- Drugs are being given to those who attend Isha yoga programs to brainwash them

By the way, do you know how much it costs to have a one minute ad in Sun TV? It is in the order of lakhs of Indian rupees. Check this for yourself: https://www.themediaant.com/television/sun-tv-advertising

Now, consider how much money has been pumped to Sun TV to continuously put news against Isha Foundation for ten days straight - definitely in the order of crores of rupees! It would be lame to think a retired Professor magically gathered put all that money in. The power of the church and political parties behind all this vendetta is evident.

Fresh wave of attacks in 2017

Though crores of money was pumped in against Isha Foundation and the organization's reputation took a beating among ignorant public, the more sensible ones quickly saw through the media tricks based on personal experiences and also from the official rebuttals the foundation published.

It has to be noted that not many popular TV or online media or print channels chose to publish the rebuttals from Isha Foundation though they were all very eager to sling mud!

Given this background, it should come as no surprise that the online and TV media attacks intensified in February 2017 before Indian Prime Minister, Mr Narendra Modi visited Isha Foundation to inaugurate the AdiYogi Shiva statue. When the PM of the country visits an organization, the opposing parties took it as a strong message.

This was also taken as an indication that Isha Foundation is somehow connected to the BJP although the claim cannot be more ludicrous. If that was true, Sonia Gandhi and Pinarayi Vijayan of conflicting political interests with BJP would definitely not have supported the Rally for Rivers initiative of Isha Foundation. But, who cares to do their research? Definitely not the common man.

More money was pumped in to start a fresh wave of attacks online against Isha Foundation. It is anybody's guess as to who is putting in the money :)

Role of political parties - CPI & DMK

Resurrecting Hinduism does not go well with Communist folks too! Take a look at the people who are either talking ill about Isha or filing court cases against them. You will see almost all of them are either Christians and/or supporters of the Communist parties. Is this also coincidence?

Cases in light are activists like Piyush Manush, Siva, etc. who do not hesitate to slander anything Hindu but rarely open their mouth against atrocities by Christian organizations right in front of their eyes. They claim there is no wrong being done by Karunya which is totally laughable. Sometimes, it makes me wonder if these are paid stooges of the Church as well. However, I will commit to that once I get enough proofs against them.

Check out these links:

http://contrarianworld.blogspot.in/2017/02/karunya-dhinakaran-and-jesus-calls.html

http://www.thenewsminute.com/article/isha-just-one-case-karunya-university-stands-jungle-land-violations-coimbatore-59998

The DMK party, well-known to be the biggest land-grabber in Tamilnadu, owns the Karunya institute now: http://coimbatorenews.blogspot.in/2010/03/dayanidhi-maran-buys-karunya.html

It is quite possible that the DMK party has colluded with the Church and is behind all the attacks on Isha through its Sun TV influence. After all, the biggest rise of Church has happened in Tamilnadu in the last 20 years under the DMK regime!

The latest entrant into the field is Mr Seeman (Nam Tamizhar Katchi) who is clearly a separatist but is fast becoming darling of the media bent upon opposing rise of Hinduism and BJP in Tamilnadu & India in general. He clearly has a vendetta against Isha Foundation and keeps peddling lies about it everywhere possible. His original name is Simon Sebastian - definitely does not sound like a Hindu name to me! I still wonder why he changed it to the Hindu name of Seeman!

Is Isha Foundation the only one being attacked?

No. Anyone who is trying to talk against the church / resurrect Hinduism is being targeted.

Remember this lady who was criticised during the Jallikattu movement: Radha Rajan. She was deliberately pulled into it because she dared to publish an article against the Church and has been fighting them since 2011.

https://bharatabharati.wordpress.com/2011/03/31/tamil-nadu-politcs-cancerous-church-eats-into-dravidian-parties-radha-rajan/

The Church goons just looked for an opportune moment and used all their financial might to throw her into bad light in public view. The church has been promoting active separatist movements in Tamilnadu:

http://www.firstpost.com/politics/church-role-in-kudankulam-protests-merits-wider-probe-228719.html

https://swarajyamag.com/insta/how-reservation-fraud-works-in-tamil-nadu

Role of online media as a facade for Christian missionaries

Do you know who brought Radha Rajan to the fore in bad light in first place? The 'Chennaites' Facebook page! This page is run through Christian funding, specifically by Karunya university. They make targeted fun of BJP and Hindu culture alone, through picture and video memes. Have you ever seen any anti-Christian post appear on this Facebook page? Try finding something and be surprised.. Of course, they do not act too blatantly but keep posting socially relevant messages on their pages very frequently. Every meme posted on their page 'against someone' costs money.

Do you know that 'Red Pix' YouTube channel has over 3,80,000 subscribers? This is owned by the NTK of Seeman and keeps spreading fake news against Hinduism and BJP in specific.

Where do all these attacks stand now?

Isha Foundation has successfully stood the test of first two waves of Christian attacks. The organization is thriving and is expanding too. So, the attacks keep continuing, especially through online and print medium in Tamilnadu.

What does the common public feel?

I am surprised though that many people still believe Isha Foundation caused deforestation and is on elephant corridor with its ashram and the AdiYogi statue. I have myself published proofs refuting these baseless allegations. All these are available for anyone to investigate and find out in public domain. Still, if you are interested, check my blog article here (and several other articles in my blog) to know the truth about allegations on Isha Foundation: http://kazhugupaarvai.blogspot.in/2017/03/wow.html

But keep repeating a lie and it gets fixed in one's mind somewhere, especially when it is parroted through popular media channel like Sun TV or the vicious Vikatan magazine. This is true in Isha's case and I must say, common public are swayed to a certain extent in this case. How strong the negative influence is would be hard to say though without proper quantitative measures.

How true is it that Coimbatore has been witnessing high rate of Christian conversions?

Do not trust me. Look up the statistics yourself - it is all available publicly. There are about 59 'big' churches in Coimbatore as of 2016:

https://www.ixigo.com/churches-in-coimbatore-lp-1139182

There are at least 10 smaller churches that have sprung up on the road between Gandhipuram to Poondi in Coimbatore, just in the last 10 years. Anyone who is a resident of Coimbatore and is sincere with himself will not deny this.

In Tamilnadu alone, there are over 50000 pentecostal churches as of 2017. I am not kidding - the stats are from the horse's mouth where a Christian magazine pats their own backs for this success: https://www.christiantoday.com/article/70.years.after.independence.the.indian.church.faces.opportunity/111924.htm

Check this link out further to see how Christian influence has been spreading in TamilNadu:

http://www.persecution.in/node/3398

Where is the funding for all this coming from?

Just take a look at the number of bogus Church-facade organizations with foreign funding and based out of Tamilnadu. You will be baffled:

https://bharatabharati.wordpress.com/2015/01/23/list-of-chennai-based-christian-organizations-receiving-funds-from-abroad-indiafacts-staff/

https://bharatabharati.wordpress.com/2012/01/29/list-of-ngos-which-recieved-over-one-crore-of-foreign-funds-in-2010-2011-in-tamil-nadu-goi/

Vicious role of Church in Tamilnadu politics

Go through this article to find out how the Church influence has been steadily increasing in Tamilnadu politics and all the political games played by the missionary forces:

http://www.firstpost.com/politics/tamil-nadu-elections-2016-is-the-church-the-biggest-winner-of-dravidian-discourse-and-voter-the-biggest-loser-2783232.html

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/rajiv-malhotra/how-evangelists-are-inven_b_841606.html

Is this phenomenon isolated to TamilNadu alone?

Sadly, no. It is already taking a heavy toll in Kerala and Karnataka as well. Recently, such first-step attempts saw wide-spread agitations in Andhra Pradesh against Kancha Ilaiah's comments on Hindus.

This is not the first and will definitely not be the last crusade of the Church against Hindu culture. It is definitely going to continue and if anything, only intensify in the coming years unless a major step is taken to prevent such attacks. I will post about some of my thoughts on this front and also more proofs in my future blogs...

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Thursday, September 7, 2017

Rally For Rivers - Issues Raised - 3

I think the only genuine concern some people had raised regarding Rally For Rivers, if you can even call it a concern, is about the choice of vehicle for Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev's drive.

It is a Mercedes-AMG G63 SUV.

Here again, there was a dichotomy in the type of concerns coming out.

(1) Some people were popping their eye-balls out at the cost of the vehicle. These people were raising noise about how Isha Foundation is splurging money unnecessarily on this vehicle and is showing off its money clout. Most of these concerns seemed to be jealous but when someone first hears that it costs over 2 Crore Indian Rupees to buy, it does seem to be shocking.

(2) The fuel efficiency of the vehicle was quoted by some 'popular' car magazines and online news channels, apart from the usual bunch of detractors of Isha Foundation (as I have come to call them over time) to be too less. Some even mocked the whole effort just on the basis that this vehicle has a low mileage per gallon of Petrol.

Now that we have the facts in hand, let me attempt to address both the concerns.

(Concern #1) Isha splurged money buying this G63 SUV

The basic fact is that Isha 'did not buy' the G63 SUV for this rally. It has been 'loaned' by Sundaram motors for only the period of this Rally to Isha Foundation.

Refer this letter given by Sundaram Motors to Isha Foundation officially:

https://twitter.com/ishafoundation/status/905716831792410624

Now that we have got over the fact that no money is wasted on the vehicle, the question remains if it is justified of Isha Foundation to use this vehicle for the rally.

I am asking 'why not'? Isha Foundation is a non-profit organization and cannot use funds received for social projects through volunteers for its whims and fancies. When an organization like Sundaram Motors is making such an extraordinary contribution to showcase their support to the 'Rally For Rivers' cause, it would be silly in my opinion to reject that offer.

I will address the concern regarding fuel efficiency of G63 in my next blog ..

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Wednesday, September 6, 2017

Did Isha really cause problems for Noyyal river or Villagers?

I have earlier covered in one of my articles about this .. but I saw a silly article today on Vikatan magazine making a ridiculous allegation:

http://www.vikatan.com/news/india/101411-rally-for-rivers-by-isha-and-the-story-of-ikkarai-boluvampatti.html

In my opinion, it is nothing but low-stooping-attack in the garb of journalism.

Man behind the mask - Kalayarasu:

(1) Kalayarasu has always been against Isha Foundation and has been defeated in multiple cases he filed against Isha earlier. So, it is easily understandable why he has posted another baseless allegation against Isha Foundation.

(2) For the first time, he has accepted that the Isha Foundation buildings are beside the forest lands in beginning of this post. Earlier, he used to spread false news that Isha foundation buildings 'were' in forest lands. This itself proves how he shuffles around facts and his credibility.

(3) Kalayarasu does not produce any proofs but just makes baseless claims. For example, his claim of Isha buildings being on 800 Acres is a lie thrown around casually! His earlier claims in Facebook were 400 acres which he has suddenly doubled. Anyway, just like the earlier claims, the new ones are also baseless!

(4) The case that this lawyer apparently claims to have put in HC has never really come from the people of Ikkarai Booluvampatti village.

Facts regarding this baseless allegation:

(1) If indeed there was a problem to the Ikkarai Booluvampatti villagers, then they would not be welcoming Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev's rally for rivers like this. Look at these images.

Whole of the village is actually celebrating the cause of Rally For Rivers, as if they are worshipping a deity!

Strike 1 right there!

(2) Isha Foundation's buildings are not on agricultural lands. Even the lands acquired to build AdiYogi statue were earlier declassified as wet lands since no agriculture happened there for over 10 years. It has been comprehensively proved time and again, in the High Court as well.

Strike 2!

(3) It is a baseless claim that Isha Foundation closed the 'Raja Vaykaal'. There is no proof shown but just a baseless allegation stated as if it is a fact.

(4) First, let us understand how a river forms. High school science stream kids also know that hundreds of acres of forest & tree cover is required to create a single water stream. Several such water streams usually combine to form a tributary, many of which further combine to form a river.

Just because one 'Vaaykal' is closed by someone (anyone for that matter), it does not make the river die. It is like saying I closed 1/1000th of one of my nostrils and died of asphyxiation! 😀 This is the basic science which the lawyer is obviously missing.

Strike 3!

(5) What many people do not know is that the natural flow of Noyyal is seasonal. It occurs only during the north-east monsoon months. Noyyal has been having lot of problems in the last 3-4 years because of irregular water supply. When rain water supply has been fine, the river water flow has been fine too. But now that rain water supply is not enough, it is going dry.

(6) Truth of matter is that less than 1% of Noyyal river basin is in forest area. Refer page 10 of this document: http://www.atree.org/sites/default/files/Wm_Noyyal_SA.pdf

Given all these facts, the argument that Isha Foundation is causing problems for Noyyal river water does not even make sense, let alone the other baseless allegations in that article.

Is Isha causing any problems to the Tribals?

I have earlier posted my observations along with video proofs here.

http://kazhugupaarvai.blogspot.in/2017/03/is-isha-exploiting-or-supporting-tribals.html

Bottom line, Isha Foundation and the tribals are happy bunch co-existing. It is these so-called activists paid by missionaries to cause trouble that keep spreading false information. Here are the videos taken while speaking to few tribal villagers.

They are saying that the Isha Foundation has been doing a world of good to them including teaching them yoga, giving free medical facilities, educational support, vocational training and livelihood support to many of the Tribals.

This itself clearly shows that the allegations are absolutely baseless and that Isha Foundation enjoys enormous support with local villagers.

Is there a crooked attempt to fudge facts?

I trust so! In the Vikatan article, the map image has following title "ஈஷா அரசின் ஒப்புதலுடன் ஆக்கிரமித்துள்ள விவசாய இடம்" which means "Lands OCCUPIED by Isha with Government consent".

However, if you really Zoom the map and see .. almost the whole area highlighted in Yellow is that of Karunya university!!

Either there is a sleight of hand by Karunya in this whole episode or Vikatan magazine went ballistic in throwing granades against Isha, accidentally dropping some on its own foot!

References:

(1) https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DIzYiusVwAE43Lx.jpg

(2) https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DIzYeMbVwAEQ6KQ.jpg

(3) http://www.atree.org/sites/default/files/Wm_Noyyal_SA.pdf

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Tuesday, September 5, 2017

Rally For Rivers - Is 8000980009 BJP's number?

Let's quickly get this out of our way first - This number 8000980009 was used by BJP in 2014 for a specific campaign but no longer!

This number is being used by the 'Rally For Rivers' campaign team only - since 2017.

People go to such absurdities to malign a good cause by spreading news like this and gullible masses fall for it!

I would even say that people spreading such rumours are against restoration of rivers and are really criminals working against India itself.

Rally For Rivers endorsed by Congress party

For everyone's information, the cause of Rally For Rivers has been endorsed by the INC President, Ms Sonia Gandhi openly:

https://twitter.com/INCIndia/status/902188087886757889

Now, shouldn't people think why the Congress party would support this cause if the number is still being used by BJP?

And this endorsement came 45 days after the campaign was launched and support shown by several other celebrities / political parties. They have had plenty of time to verify all this before such a public endorsement!

Who else had used this 8000980009 number?

80009-80009 number was used earlier in:

2012 - Gutka Mukti Abhiyan
2013 - Statue of Unity
2014 - BJP

From 2015 to 2017, the 8000980009 number was with Horlicks company. Check this link: http://www.somuchthingstotell.com/2016/05/the-horlicks-immunity4growth-indiblogger-meet/

Even Coca Cola had used this number in the past!

Am I leaking my information out by missed call?

This question is as ridiculous as it could get!

Suppose I call you and you do not know me, all you have about me is the phone number. Can I trace back that number and find out who called? May be through TrueCaller app .. possibly. But imagine if 1000 people give you missed call. Would you care to do lookup all of them? May be, if I am determined hacker .. barely possibly.

Now scale it up. Already several lakhs of people have given their missed calls to this number. What about the scale when 10,000,000 people do it or even better 100,000,000 people?

Do you even think it is possible to do a reverse number lookup in that large scale? There is absolutely no way to do it! Please rest assured that such things do not happen. These are all unnecessary fears spread by vested interests working against this campaign.

Can I also get such a fancy number in India?

Sure! Anybody can have or get a fancy phone number in India. It just costs a few more rupees. A simple Google search on fancy numbers brings up this:

Now, after this campaign is over and you as an individual want to take the 8000980009 number, you could apply to the service provider and get it!

I want to take the 8000980009 number

I would say it is a bad idea to do it immediately. Typically once a phone number is used for a campaign, it will not be used by individuals or even for another campaign for a few years because many people would then call that number still inquiring about the campaign, etc.

If you still want to go ahead with it, please do!

Conclusion

People cannot and should not take their privacy easy. But at the same time they should not fall prey to such silly rumours.

In this case, odds are that it is a sheer coincidence for 8000980009 number used in an earlier campaign by BJP to be used for the 'Rally For Rivers' campaign now.

If it was used by a Congress party campaign earlier, the anti-campaign elements would simply have been in a different way. Such detractors have no other jobs than coming up non-existent ghosts like this ..

If you are still not convinced, you need this!

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Monday, September 4, 2017

Rally For Rivers - Who is Supporting - 1

This is a kind of continuation of my previous post on Rally For Rivers related issues being raised & what the truth is.

Let's see which other eminent environmentalists are supporting the Rally For Rivers initiative and providing inputs to come up with the draft recommendations:

(1) Waterman of India - Sri Rajendra Singh (https://www.facebook.com/watermanrajendrasingh/)

One of the foremost Independent authorities on Water Management in India, Rajendra Singh has openly published in a video that the Rally For Rivers is an excellent plan and that he endorses it fully.

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

Here is his endorsement picture for Rally For Rivers campaign.

(2) Dr K Ramasamy - Vice Chancellor of Tamilnadu Agricultural University

He hails from a farming community of Nilaiyoor, Aranthangi Taluk, Pudukottai district in Tamil Nadu. So, his roots in the agricultural sector have been pretty deep. He has a M.Sc. in Agricultural Microbiology and M.S. in Fermentation Technology. He joined TNAU in 1970 and has served over 36 years at the University.

Besides, he served as a Member in National Policy Planning of Agricultural Biotechnology, Ferti-irrigation and Biogas Development, serving as a Member of Backward Classes Commission, Member of Tamil Nadu State Planning Commission (Agriculture and Irrigation) from 2011 onwards. He is also a Board member of Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).

(3) Bittu Sahgal - Environmentalist

Mr Bittu Sahgal is the Editor of Sanctuary Asia magazine since 1981 and an eminent environmentalist working to save Wilderness habitats.

He has authored numerous book on wildlife including, most recently: India Naturally, The Bandhavgarh Inheritance, The Sundarbans Inheritance, The Bharatpur Inheritance, The Kaziranga Inheritance, The Corbett Inheritance and The Periyar Inheritance. He has also produced over 30 conservation-related documentaries.

His endorsement has been emphatic.

(4) Late Dr G Nammazhwar

Dr G Nammazhwar had been a pioneer in the field of organic farming, especially in South India. Sri Nammazhwar travelled widely across the world, observed the agricultural practices in various different ecological systems and based on his findings, trained several farmers and NGO workers.

He has written several books and articles in the Tamil language. He had a wide readership across different sections of society. His works may soon be translated to the English language, making his writings easily accessible.

Here he is seen talking about his association with Isha Foundation & Trees. Though this is not his direct endorsement to the Rally, he in fact talks about some of those concepts in this video.

The above list is not comprehensive by any means since I have had limited time to research about people who have shown clear support to Rally For Rivers project and choose the prominent among them.

Some of the popular people, who are usually well-researched and are with social consciousness, have also supported the cause of Rally For Rivers.

(1) Kirstin Bauer

She is an actress and also an environmentalist supporting wild life habitats. She has the favorite eco-celeb of 'Eco News Network' in 2012.

http://econewsnetwork.org/2012/08/eco-celeb-of-the-week-kristin-bauer-van-straten/

She has endorsed the RFR project clearly with her tweet:

(2) Actor Vivek and Actor Parthiban

I would consider them as very socially conscious people almost like environmentalists.

Especially, Actor Vivek has been very actively involved in tree plantation activities in an inspiration drawn from Dr Abdul Kalam, over the last several years. An enormous segment of Tamilnadu Youth is following in his footsteps.

(3) Ed Begley Jr - American Actor and Environmentalist

Since 1970, he has been an environmentalist, beginning with his first electric vehicle, recycling, and becoming a vegan. Arguing that the suburban lawn is environmentally unsustainable, especially in Southern California, owing to water shortage, he has converted his own to a drought-tolerant garden composed of native California plants.

Here is his endorsement to this project:

More to come soon ... Mean while, just know that these people are not some ignorant folk to support a cause just like that. They are well read, researched and can think on their own about the positive and negative effects before endorsing something!

EDIT 1:

Here is a bigger list of who-is-who of India's environmentalists & river restoration scientists supporting the cause of 'Rally For Rivers'

(1) Anandi Iyer, Fraunhofer Gesellschaft

(2) P. V. S. Surya Kumar, National Bank For Agriculture And Rural Development

(3) Deepak Srivatsava, Indian Forest Service

(4) Shri Vishwanath Giriraj IAS

(5) Dr. Thambidurai, Amrita University

(6) Dr. Lakshmi Lingam, Tata Institute of Social Sciences

(7) Narendra Babu, Natural Resource Governance Consultant

(8) Dr. Sunesh Sharma, Himmotthan

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Rally For Rivers - Issues Raised - 2

I have answered some of the basic questions regarding the publicity surrounding Rally For Rivers in my earlier post (http://kazhugupaarvai.blogspot.in/2017/09/rally-for-rivers-issues-raised-1.html). This is the 2nd part of that series. Let me try to address some more issues raised against this rally.

(Concern #2) Plantation of trees as suggested by the RFR posters is not correct.

First of all, let's remind ourselves again that the Rally For Rivers will culminate with submitting a bunch of draft recommendations to the Central & State Governments. The Government will then need to come up with a policy to implement the recommendations.

The various steps will usually go like this for creating any government policy:

- Government receives draft recommendations
- Govt creates an agency to push this policy first
- A law has to be passed to establish the policy
- Draft will be open to people for commenting and providing feedback
- Once the feedback window is closed, final regulation will be drafted
- Policies/Procedures/Rules/Forms, etc. will be finalized

So, there is ample opportunity for everyone to provide their feedback when required.

The environment ministry is supporting the overall cause. They have promised to move all through the policy-creation steps quickly.

Academics versus ... Academics!

I have not in my entire life of over 3 decades, seen any two academics agreeing with each other on what is the 'right' solution! 😀

I too had my own doubts initially about the afforestation recommendations leading to water body rejuvenation. But after doing further research, it was found to be valid. I have already given some of my inputs in an earlier blog article (http://kazhugupaarvai.blogspot.in/2017/08/what-is-rally-for-rivers.html).

Some explanations of how it works in simple terms here ...

Is planting trees the only solution? Definitely not, but it is proven to be one of the most effective solutions, not just in increasing ground water levels but also to reduce flooding. So, it is a multi-faceted solution.

Agroforestry techniques are now being used in many countries to increase food production, check soil erosion and reduce flooding. Computational models show that if reforesting is done in 20-35% of the river’s catchment, a 10-15% reduction is seen in flood peak heights over time with forest growth.

It also helps bring some life-style changes and farming changes. Just take a look at how much water our commercial crops require versus horticultural farming.

And what one needs to remember clearly is that trees does not necessarily mean big trees. It includes a health mix of herbs, shrubs and trees as can be found in a typical tropical forest!

Watch this video to understand the role of trees / plants in the water cycle (from a different NGO):

The Tamilnadu Agricultural University has signed a Memorandum Of Understanding to come up with plantation planning for this Rally. They are experts in providing recommendations considering the native species of the land before going ahead with the plantation. TNAU seems to be just one of the expert entities involved in this project. Several environmentalists have already shown solidarity to the cause as well as the basic idea suggested.

Nowhere in the RFR page is it said that only tree plantation is the solution. So, all those cribbing about it can rest for now!

How do we even know this works?

This is not the first time someone is proposing such a solution. On a smaller scale, it has been implemented successfully in multiple states in the USA. Look up online regarding the River Revitalization Foundation and their work. You will be wondering why it is not being adapted all over the world!

Such recommendations have been successfully implemented in Russia as well.

Our own State of Kerala has begun implementing this in a small scale, since 2014 itself to rejuvenate its rivers.

The municipal authorities of Pickering in North Yorkshire have used tree planting to reduce flooding. This is in stark contrast to other areas where heavy rainfall caused devastating flooding. Their initiative is called “Slowing the Flow”.

In fact, the twelfth five year plan by Indian Government has a lot of emphasis on Watershed development.

The idea has already been successfully implemented to help rejuvenate a struggling village into a model one in Maharashtra!

http://indiatogether.org/pawar-society

Do check out the other case studies mentioned in the references section!

References:

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