Author:
Publication: Sewa International
Date: October 15, 2002
In the second fortnight of August
many articles appeared in mainline dailies of UK protesting over Lord Adam
Patel's accusations against Sewa International. One of those was contributed
by Mr. Nayan Mistry published in Asian Voice, August 24" 2003. Following
is an excerpt from that article: "Being a British Hindu who was born in
the UK, I have little knowledge of religious problems in India. However,
I am in a position to comment on the activities of Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh
(HSS) and Sewa International in the UK, from my own experiences since early
childhood.
The aim of HSS has always been to
promote the virtues of Hinduism and the Hindu way of life by uniting the
Hindu community. These virtues include the concepts of duty to the family,
duty to surrounding society, protecting nature and the environment etc.
In fact, HSS has always stressed that we should not merely tolerate other
religions, as to tolerate implies that you still disagree with their beliefs.
Instead we are told to accept other religions and their beliefs for all
their benefits to society.
HSS also encourages Hindu youths
to serve society through various means, one of which is through charity
work. It is for this reason that Sewa International is a branch of HSS.
The virtues of Hinduism mentioned above are carried through in our charity
work and as a result, Sewa International strongly believes in providing
aid to all sections of society regardless of religion, creed or colour.
The word 'Sewa' itself means 'selfless service' and encourages us to provide
charity work without seeking benefit or reward for ourselves.
I have personally helped to raise
money for relief work after the earthquakes in Maharastra, Turkey and Gujarat.
During a trip to India last year I took the opportunity to visit the rehabilitation
work funded by Sewa International in the villages of Chapredi and Mitha
Paswalia in Gujarat, where all the money is being used to build new houses
and public amenities. The level of destruction in these areas was quite
horrific and despite the generous donations from the UK citizens to Sewa
International, there is still a great deal of rehabilitation work required
in the Kutch region of Gujarat. I therefore doubt that Sewa International
has the spare resources to fund any Hindu "terror organisations" even if
it wanted to! From personally witnessing the work being carried out in
Gujarat, it is clear to me that Sewa International far from attempting
to "stir racial hatred", is rebuilding societies with absolutely no discrimination
against the religious beliefs of the victims."
