Is NGO of former ASG Indira Jaising guilty of under-reporting about foreign funds?
New Delhi, August 20: A big controversy has erupted creating suspicion about the former additional solicitor general and firebrand beatific activist Indira Jaising when the recent revelations claim that the NGO of counsel of infamous activist Teesta Setalvad has and is enjoying foreign donations from notorious foreign donors and the data from donors and reports sent to MHA show a huge visible gap in funds received.
Raj Kumar Sharma, resident of Jaipur, Rajasthan, has written a letter to the Ministry of Home Affairs seeking inquiry against NGO “Lawyers Collective” of Indira Jaising for receiving huge sums as donations from controversial foreign donors like Ford Foundation and Open Society Foundation of George Soros. The Letter claims that the “Lawyers Collective” an NGO run by Indira Jaising and her husband, Anand Grover (Lawyer of Yakub Menon) received Rs 28.5 crores foreign donation since 2006, in which Rs.7.2 crore was received from Ford Foundation USA, Rs.4.1 crore was from highly controversial, ‘regime change’ US-based donor i.e. Open Society Foundation (of George Soros).
The Letter emphasizes that if compared to details available on the Ford Foundation website, there is $0.47 million mismatch (under-reporting) by Lawyers Collective’s reporting to Ministry of Home Affairs.
The letter to MHA has stressed on this point and said that the post of ‘Solicitor General’ or ‘Additional Solicitor General’ are government functionaries and are called Law Officers of the Country. The Letter alleges Indira jaising of violating Section 18 A (C) of Conduct Rules which clearly states that no Govt servant shall enter into any transaction with any foreigner, foreign govt, foreign organisation or concern for acquisition, by purchase, mortgage, lease, gift or otherwise, either in his own name or in the name of his family.
The Letter also raises question about motive and intention of ‘such’ foreign organisations to generously fund such important people of the society.
The letter sent to MHA states – “The data collected through RTI shows that the Lawyers Collective started receiving money from controversial regime change organization like “Lavi Strauss foundation”, USA and “Foundation open society institute”, Switzerland after Jaising in 2008-09 became Additional Solicitor General of India. LC was established for human rights advocacy, legal aid and litigation; however, the data also shows that a US based organization “Campaign for Tobacco free Kids” also funded LC and increased its funding during her period as ASG, from Rs 43.30 lakhs in 2008-09 to Rs 64.30 lakhs in 2009-10 and further to Rs 99.92 in 2010-11.”
Foreign funding to ‘Lawyers Collective’ for its outstanding contribution in India’s human rights situation (See table)
| Year | Foreign Donations (Rs) |
| 2006-2007 | 2,65,49,578 |
| 2007-2008 | 4,55,88,213 |
| 2008-2009 | 2,93,76,672 |
| 2009-2010 | 3,61,08,573 |
| 2010-2011 | 3,76,97,528 |
| 2011-2012 | 4,29,31,483 |
| 2012-2013 | 2,08,49,057 |
| 2013-2014 | 4,56,30,161 |
| Grand Total | 28,47,31,264 |
As per MHA’s official record, ‘Lawyers Collective’ received foreign funds amounting to Rs. 28.47 crore during the FYs 2006-07 to 2013-14. Main donors to ‘Lawyers Collective’ are Ford Foundation, USA (Rs. 7.18 crore), Sweden International Development Agency (Rs. 4.75 crore), Lavi Strauss Foundation, USA (Rs. 4.20 crore) and Foundation Open Society Institute, Switzerland (Rs. 3.72 crore).
Notably reports say that Lavi Strauss Foundation and Open Society Institute are infamous for their “Regime Change” activities in many nations.
The letter sent to MHA emphasizes on the fact that ‘Lawyers Collective’ started receiving donations from the above said foreign donors after Jaising became Additional Solicitor General in 2008-09, when Congress Supremo Sonia Gandhi got impressed with her activism style and causes.
From 2006 to 2014, till the collapse of UPA government in 2014, Jaising’s ‘Lawyers Collective’ has successfully impressed many foreign funding agencies which support many Indian activists such as Medha patkar, Teesta Setalvad and many other who get global attention and patronage for the various kinds of their multicolour activities. The contribution of Jaising and her husband Anand Grover for the India’s human rights situation has resulted into getting huge donations (Rs. 28, 47, 31,264) from foreign funding agencies from year 2006 to 2014.
Interestingly, in an interview given to Legallyindia.com on 17 August 2009, Anand Grover explains the dismal financial condition of his NGO. He says- "It's a lonely furrow. You have to work very hard with little money in it. I'm finding a lot of my colleagues are just able to survive and it's a very tough thing. And if you're married and have a kid, you'd rather abandon it."
In its earlier para, it is important to note what the interviewer states:
“Grover doubts it although he does admit there is no set plan for the future or succession. He also adds that recruitment is not easy, in part due to the limited salaries the organisation can offer. All of the Lawyers Collective work is done pro bono, financed in part through Grover's general private practice work and external funding, which is hard to procure.”
It might be called a sheer coincidence that the flow of the donations to LC started increasing after 2008-2009, a year in which Indira Jaising was made Additional Solicitor General by Sonia Gandhi. But same statistics also raises suspicion in the minds of a common man.
Indira Jaising is recognized for
Indira Jaising is recognized for her legal activism in promoting human right causes and feminism. In 1981, along with her husband Anand Grover, she founded the Lawyers Collective, a NGO devoted to feminist and left-wing causes. In 1986, she became the first woman to be designated a Senior Advocate by the High Court of Bombay.
“Lawyers Collective” is registered under Societies Registration Act vide No. Bom/183/8/GBBSD dated 9 March 1981and FCRA clearance was obtained from MHA in October 2000. The current office bearers of the organization are Indira Jaising as Secretary and Anand Grover as President. Sanober Keshwaar, Norma Alvares, Justice Suresh, Nilima Dutta, Mihir Desai, Satyajit Bhatkaland and Sandhya Gokhale are the respected members of the NGO.
With her known left-wing orientation, Indira Jaising 2006-07, represented Medha Patkar in SC when an Ahmedabad based NGO filed a PIL against Patkar for indulging in large scale violence in Narmada Valley to stop the construction of SSP with Foreign Support. It is interesting to note that though LC got FCRA registration from MHA in the year 2000, but the first foreign donation of $1, 20,000 was received by LC in 2006 from Ford Foundation, USA.
Currently Jaising is representing infamous activist Teesta Setalvad in Supreme Court who has been accused of betraying Muslim victims in 2002 riots and collecting money from foreign sources for riot victims and embezzling it for personal luxurious. In an attempt to safeguard the interest of Teesta setalvad, notwithstanding the well known bare facts about Teesta’s financial crimes, Indira came out to tell the nation that it was “The courts of this country are on trial, not Teesta”.
Similarly Jaising is at the forefront of defending to NGOs working against development projects, in India including Greenpeace.
Indira’s husband Anand Grover, a left winger, who is the President of their NGO, is a lawyer known for legal activism in Indian law relating to homosexuality and HIV. Anand was the lawyer for Yakub Memon, the mastermind of 1993 Mumbai terror attack which massacred more than 350 Indians. Anand claimed that he was fighting without charging any money. On July 29, Anand Grover and other lawyers tried to save him and in a mindset of grief for the plight of terrorist Yakub Memon, Grover openly criticised Supreme Court judgement.
The needle of suspicion towards Indira Jaising is pointing a visible huge gap between the donations received by her NGO and the statistics revealed by Ford Foundation. It is also crucial that the after Jaising became ASG with the help of political patronage of Congress and Sonia Gandhi, the numbers show significant increase in donations received by her NGO. It is time for India’s one of the leading counsel and Human rights activist like Indira Jaising to come clean and has to answer the nation in most logical manner than to start victimization propaganda strategy to hide financial crimes like her clients.
Milind Arolkar
Milind Arolkar is a Web Journalist, Interested in Human Rights, Staunch nationalist. student of socio-political activities. Trust the facts and not Propoganda.