An Appeal to Manushi's Friends

Those who believe foreign funded NGOs distort human rights discourse & promote India-harming agendas-- need to support MANUSHI that has refused to be wooed by foreign donor agencies.

With a one-time monetary gift of Rs. 2000 (or more), you can help MANUSHI establish a stable institutional base!

Dear Friends of Manushi,

We are approaching you for help at a crucial point in MANUSHIs 38 year-long history when the organisation is poised to take a major leap forward towards providing a secure institutional base for its diverse endeavours.

MANUSHI was established in 1978 as a platform for concerned Indians committed to strengthening the culture of social justice and equity in India. We foundedManushiA Journal about Women & Societywith a tiny sum of 800 from our own pockets. The publishing activities of MANUSHI, including books, booklets, and documentary films have been managed by Manushi Trust. As the activist interventions of Manushi for policy and law reform on diverse issues, including legal aid work expanded, we set up Manushi Sangathan as an adjunct of Manushi Trust.

From the very start, we took a policy decision neither to be dependent on government funding nor accept grants from international donor agenciesin order to maintain the independence and integrity of the organisation.This enabled us to remain steadfast in our commitment to remaining non-partisan and develop through concrete engagements an Indic perspective on human rights, womens rights, and minority rights activism, rooted in Indian ethos.

The Manushi journal, an ad free, grant free, reader supported publication, came to be celebrated both nationally and internationally for playing a catalytic role in the emergence of a large number of womens rights, human rights organisations on account of its well grounded investigations and rigorous analysis of contemporary reality as well as historical and cultural legacy. Manushi Sangathanopened new horizons in human rights activism by bringing about major policy and law reforms affecting livelihood battles of the most marginalized and exploitedsections of Indian society. (A brief overview of MANUSHIs activities and interventions for policy and law reform is given at the end of this appeal)

We survived for over 38 years from the proceeds of the sale of our publications, and individual donationsmostly small and modest. We could operate on a shoestring budget because most of the work has thus far been done as unpaid, voluntary work. We owe a deep debt of gratitude to all those who have helped sustainMANUSHIwith their voluntary labour and donations without the expectation of anything in return. My own work with the organisation has always been a labour of love and I made sure that my livelihood was never in any way connected to it. But it is now time to provide MANUSHI a stable institutional base, scale up its resources, deepen its work and enhance its outreach with a larger body of well-trained permanent staff and faculty.

On the auspicious day of Durga Ashtami on 21st October 2015, we laid the foundation stone of a new office building forMANUSHI.Thus far we have operated from a tiny flat. We had acquired a small piece of land (545 sq. m size) way back in 1990s. The building plans were delayed due to a lack of funds at the time, but had to be started by 2015 as any further delay would result in us having to surrender the land.

Among other things, we hope to set up and house the following in the new building:

1) School of Ethical Journalism:This will offercertificate courses in Ethical Journalism with closely guided hands-on experience in Investigative Journalism that rises above partisan ideologies. We will begin by producing a report on State of Journalism in India based on countrywide survey;

2) Centre for Law, Governance and Democratic Rights(the name may be modified later)

The Centre willinstitutionalise and build on the expertise already acquired by Manushi in last three decades in the following domains:

1. PILs backed by solid research for review of numerous socially disruptive and draconian laws, some of which carry forward the colonial legacy (For example brutalisation of our traditional art communities through anti-beggary and other laws), as well as those which have been forced upon Indian society by unaccountable NGOs without due consultations with the actual stakeholders in civil society.

2. Alongside challenging harmful laws through PILs, simultaneously offer more workable alternatives to government with a view to making our laws people-friendly as well as more functional & grounded in our social reality instead of blindly aping laws of western countries as FFNGOs are prone to do.

3. Legal literacy through a dedicated website in Hindi & English to impart knowledge of basic legal rights and responsibilities of citizens in various domains, including family laws.

4. Commission investigative research that:

• Provides a critical, in-depth reviews of human rights activism and interventions in India on critical issues after foreign funding of NGOs came to dominate the political landscape in late 1970s;

• Sheds new light on neglected or grossly misrepresented issues, especially those concerning SCs, tribals, women and religious minorities;

• Counters systematic spread of misinformation by the mainstream media on issues that play a divisive role in society;

• Promotes informed activism among concerned citizens instead of interventions based on mere emotive responses as has happened with many draconian laws enacted at the behest of emotionally charged campaigns without serious consideration of issues at hand;

• Provides policy inputs to the government as and when required;

• Generates quality writing that can become part of teaching curriculum in colleges and universities.

5.Manushi SamvaadA YouTube Channel for holding meaningful discussions on contentious issues with a view to arriving at meaningful solutions.

Current State of Finances

The existing corpus fund for Manushi building came from the following sources:

• A one-time grant of Rs.40 lakhs from Delhi based Jagtiani Trust.

• Rs.10 lakh donation &Rs. 20 lakhs by way of loan by Lal Family Foundation.

• Money I donated toMANUSHIover the last 30 years from the fees I earned from my lectures, royalties of all my books, earning from my documentary films plus regular donations toMANUSHIfrom my salary as a professor. A flat purchased from these donations in the name of Manushi has been sold to raise funds for the building.

• Rs.76 lakhs loaned by me from my Provident Fund and other savings to meet with the shortfall in paying construction bills.

• Small donations from well wishersall of which have been listed on our website.

Currently, we are short of Rs.95 lakhs to finish the building. Therefore, the construction work had to be slowed down.(The picture of the construction site is given below).

We urgently need your help in raising this amount to finish the 4-storey structure.Once the building is finished, we can rent out two floors and have a small but stable income to fund our research and other activities.

Even modest contributions are welcome. As they say boond, boond se hi saagar bharta hai (small drops of water go to make the ocean). If 5000 persons give Rs 2000 each, we can easily meet our target and a little extra. This one time gift will help us set up a stable institutional base for our future endeavours.

What you get as our gratitude for your contribution:

• Rs. 50,000/- PlusManushi Priya Jan

• Invitation for 2 brainstorming conferences in an year to review current activities of Manushi and suggest improvements & future course of action;

• Lifelong subscription of Manushi publications;

• Sponsor a candidate for any one of courses (right to admittance reserved with MANUSHI);

• Mention on Manushi Website

• Rs10,000/- to Rs. 49,999/-Manushi Shubhchintak

• Lifelong subscription to Manushi e-Books

• Mention on Manushi Website

• Rs2,000/- to Rs. 9,999/-Manushi Mitra

• Free access to 5 Manushi eBooks

• Mention on Manushi Website

• Others

• Mention on the Manushi Website

Donations to Manushi Trust & Manushi Sangathan are tax exempt under 80G

Every single donation to Manushi Trust and Manushi Sangathan is acknowledged on our website.

(Seehttp://manushi.in/donations-received-manushi-trust.php

and http://www.manushi.in/donations-received-manushi-sangathan.php)

We also make it a point to post our audited accounts on the website so that there is total transparency in our financial dealings.

Even though the new avatar ofMANUSHIwill endeavour to garner enough resources to bring in competent professionals to run the organization, we dont intend to abandon the tradition of voluntary labour to build the institution. Keeping in tune with the original spirit ofMANUSHI,my own association will remain that of an unpaid labour of love.

We sincerely hope that old and newMANUSHIfriends will help us put together enough resources to finish the building as well as an adequate corpus fund. We can keep this organization autonomous and non-partisan only if all those who believe in strengthening the culture of justice, equity and compassion for the disadvantaged groups of our society lend us a helping hand.

Sincerely,

Madhu Purnima Kishwar
FounderMANUSHI

ICSSR Maulana Azad National Professor

Ways to send contributions to Manushi Sangathan.

For Direct Bank Transfer:

Axis Bank Ltd,23/10 Shakti Nagar,Delhi 110007

Account No.SB 910010000560945

RTGS/ IFS Code:UTIB0000054;

MICR CODE:110211009

Swift Code:AXISINBB054

Those sending donations through credit card or direct transfer in foreign currency, please transfer money only to IDBI bank since that is dedicated account with FCRA clearance

IDBI Bank
Address:
Plot No. 8, CD Block,
Local Shopping Centre
Pitampura, New Delhi 110034

Manushi Account No.037104000136754
Swift Code: (for US$) PNBPUS3NNYC (our bank code:1BKLINBB010)

For contributions through cheque or draft, please use the following address:

Manushi Sangathan,C1/3 Sangam Estate,

1 Underhill Road,Civil Lines,Delhi 110054

For contributions through Digital Wallet:

PayTM Mobile No:8826377770

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IF YOU DONATE THROUGH A DIRECT BANK TRANSFER OR THROUGH PAYTM, PLEASE SEND AN EMAIL WITH YOUR NAME, FULL ADDRESS AND PAN CARD NUMBER, AS THESE ARE NECESSARY FOR OUR ACCOUNTING PURPOSES. IT ALSO ENABLES US TO A RECEIPT FOR TAX EXEMPTION.

Brief Overview of MANUSHIs History of Doing

For those of you who have begun to followMANUSHIonly in recent years through social media, the following list provides a small glimpse of the nature and range of activities undertaken byMANUSHIthus far. This is by no means an exhaustive list.

• Publication of an internationally reputed bilingual journalManushithat has been widely acknowledged as having pioneered creative and culturally sensitive thinking on womens rights and human rights issues in India. The Journal effectively bridged the divide between academia and activism. Leading national and international publishers reprinted articles fromManushiin numerous anthologies. The Journal articles were also extensively used as part of curriculum in many universities within India and abroad. It lasted 27 years as a reader supported magazine without ads or external grants. In addition we also publish books;

• Created a large corpus of literature that helped combat the well entrenched negative stereotypes & demonization of contemporary Indian society and Indic civilization & established a new tradition of viewing womens rights, human rights issues through our own Indic perspective instead of using colonial /Marxist/feminist lenses which are geared essentially towards tearing asunder Indian society instead of bridging divides and addressing problems with a view to solving them;

• Made several documentary films on neglected or poorly understood issues. Some of them have played a key role in policy and law reform work undertaken byMANUSHI;

• Provided Legal aid to women victims of domestic violence and other exploitative situations;

• Public Interest Litigation on behalf of vulnerable groups;

• Research and investigations on key human rights, womens rights issues to promote informed activism based on thorough grasp of ground reality as opposed to activism based on knee jerk ideological responses;

• Filed a PIL in the Supreme Court in 1981 challenging the denial of land rights to tribal women who are the economic mainstay of agricultural economy. This historic PIL put for the first time the issue of land rights for women centre stage of womens movement leading to far reaching changes in later years, including amendments in the Hindu Succession Act in favour of daughters;

• Advocacy for a bottom-up agenda of economic reforms for the most vulnerable groups of self employed poor. Two notable successes in this domain are: a) An all India legislation for protection of street vendors; b) Historic policy & law reform for the eco friendly cycle rickshaws & other Non Motorised Vehicles;

• Set up two model markets for street vendors in order to demonstrate through concrete example how hawkers can be given legal space in the urban landscape in a disciplined & aesthetic manner. One such market was selected by the UN Commission for the Legal Empowerment of the Poor as an international role model of inclusive development of our towns & cities;

• First hand investigations into various communal riots to counter misinformation campaigns by vested interests. This included a city wide survey of Meerut in 1987 by an all-women team ofMANUSHI to assess the actual nature of violence by the two communities by actually counting the number of homes and commercial establishments attacked & the nature of losses suffered along with recorded interviews of victims of both communities. Of all these reports,Manushisspecial issue on the 1984 massacre of the Sikhs played a vital role in dispelling the misleading media narrative that it was a Hindu-Sikh riot. Instead our firsthand account demonstrated how it was a politically engineered massacre of the Sikhs. This account was unique in providing graphic first hand victim accounts about the nature of violence through the experience of Sikh women who suffered sexual atrocities and witnessed the male members of their family being done to death in front of their eyes. This was followed by attempts to build bridges of understanding between the two estranged communities by working closely with All India Sikh Forum and holding extensive dialogues with Sikhs in North America at the invitation of the overseas Sikh community.

• Long-standing engagement with diverse groups in Kashmir, including providing grievance redressal for genuine victims through legal help and advocacy with power wielders;

• Active participation in Save Ganga Campaign including protest againstconstruction of bumper-to-bumper dams in the upper ranges of Himalayas leading to massive landslides and devastation of its sensitive ecology. As a result of this 2 decade long campaign, in2010, the Govt. of India cancelled 3 projects (Loharinag Pala, Pala Maneri & Bhairon Ghati) to ensure protection of this area. Apart from cancellation of the three hydropower projects, the Govt was also forced to declare the approximately 135 km stretch from Gaumukh to Uttarkashi as an eco sensitive zone under the Environmental Protection Act of 1986 whereby no more mega projects are allowed to be built in this protected zone.

• Starting mid 1980s through 1990s partnered with leading farmers organisation, Shetkari Sangathana to campaign for voluntary transfer of land rights to women of farm families through an innovative, culturally rooted Lakshmi Mukti Campaignthat is freeing thegrihalakshmisof farmer families from economic bondage and dependency by being made owners of land in their own right; It led to over 600 villages becoming Lakshmi Mukti villages.; It also created the required moral legitimacy for amendments to Hindu Succession Act to give women equal property rights

• Campaigned with Shetkari Sangathana for the election of consensually chosen all women panchayats in Maharashtra. This was one of the influencing factors for the introduction of 33% reservation for women in local bodies through by constitutional amendment;

• In the year 2000, drafted a more practical Bill for enhancing womens participation in legislatures to counter a highly flawed bill proposed by the UPA government. This was accepted as and adopted by the Election Commission as a more viable measure.

• Extensive research towards advocacy for reforming laws that criminalize Indias traditional art forms such as those practiced by Nats, Kalbelias, Bhopas, Bazigars, Saperas, Kalandars, etc.

• Succeeded in building a widespread consensus against honour killings through close engagement with Haryanas Khap Panchayats. Leading Khap panchayats passed unanimous resolutions to this effect; After achieving this consensus,MANUSHIagreed to represent Khap Panchayats in the Supreme Court to oppose the ill conceived draconian law prepared by the Law Commission at the behest of FFNGOs demanding a virtual ban on traditional community panchayats under the garb curbing honour killings; Its real purpose is to destroy all traditional civil society organizations with FFNGOs claiming to be sole representatives of Indian society.