Corporations halt ‘hate funding’ contributions

Delhi, India — Leading information technology companies in the United States suspended donations to an American-based charity following reports that the organization channeled the funds to militant Hindu groups for use in propaganda campaigns targeting Christians and other religious minorities in India. Cisco Systems, one of several IT companies in the United States that contributed funds to the Indian Development and Relief Fund (IDRF), suspended donations to the organization following publication in France of an expose titled “A Foreign Exchange of Hate.” The report confirmed that the IDRF has been funding Hindu fundamentalist groups linked to the militant Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, which misused monies donated for charitable purposes to pressure tribal Christians to re-convert to Hinduism. Meanwhile, a BBC investigative report airing Dec. 12 revealed that Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram received millions of pounds from two U.K.-based charities to fund campaigns to stage violent attacks against Christians and Muslims. The Charity Commission of the British Treasury immediately ordered an investigation.