Question : . FOREIGN INSTITUTIONS .

(a) whether the Indian Council for Historical Research (ICHR) has recently unearthed a racket of some foreign institutions which lure organisations into contributing money on the name of international academic seminars;

(b) whether an organisation called South and South-East Asian Association for the Study of Religion (SSEASR) had garnered funds from the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), Ford Foundation and others;

(c) if so, when did this matter first come to light;

(d) the present status of SSEASR; and

(e) the measures taken by the Government in this regard?

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT(SHRI M.A.A. FATMI)

(a) to (e): As per the information furnished by the Indian Council of Historical Research(ICHR), on January 13, 2005, it came to their notice that an organization called the ‘South and South-East Asian Association for the Study of Religion

(SSEASR)’, is using the Council’s name unauthorisedly for organizing a “Regional Conference” on “Cultural and Religious Mosaic of South and South-East Asia: Conflict and Consensus through the Ages”. According to the ICHR, the SSEASR is not a registered body in India and, they had applied to the Council for Seminar Grant.