A documentary film, titled ‘While we Watched’ has come under the scanner over its ties to the controversial Ford Foundation and George Soros’ Open Society Foundations. This was first revealed by a digital media startup, The Pamphlet. The said documentary, directed by Vinay Shukla, features NDTV news anchor Ravish Kumar and chronicles his journey in the newsroom as a ‘broadcast journalist’. Shukla had earlier co-directed a documentary titled ‘An Insignificant Man’ in 2016 on the political journey of AAP supremo, Arvind Kejriwal.
A cursory glance at the website of ‘While we Watched’ reveals that the film has been funded by the ‘Brit Doc Films’, which has now been renamed to ‘Doc Society.’
The logline of the documentary claimed, “A turbulent newsroom drama intimately chronicling the working days of broadcast journalist Ravish Kumar as he navigates a spiralling world of truth and disinformation. As factual reporting is in freefall globally, ‘While We Watched’ is a dignified lens into the abyss.”
On visiting the website of ‘Doc Society,’ Opindia found that the controversial American private foundation, Ford, has been listed as the major partner of the non-profit organisation. Online portal The Pamphlet had also revealed these links earlier.
The site also included a quote from the ex-director of Ford Foundation’s ‘JustFilms initiative’, wherein she heaped praise on the Doc Society. “Experts in collaboration, innovation and rapid prototyping,” Cara Mertes was quoted as saying.
On scrolling down further, Opindia stumbled upon a section of the website where the Ford Foundation is again listed as the major partner. “We can only do what we do because of organisations and individuals who fund our work,” a message by the ‘Doc Society’ read.
Ford Foundation and its vicious role in anti-India activities
In 2015, the Government of Gujarat, while investigating Teesta Setalvad’s embezzlement case, came across funding by Ford Foundation to her entities. It was found that her trust had violated FCRA norms.
Sabrang Communication and Publishing Pvt Limited, with which Teesta is associated, received $ 2.9 lakh from Ford Foundation as a grant to “address communalism, caste-based discrimination in India, including media strategies”.
Later, a letter was issued by the Gujarat Police, following which the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) expressed its intention of probing the activities of the Ford Foundation. This probably set off a chain of events, most of which happened in the background and were later revealed by Wikileaks.
Ford Foundation claimed that it was embroiled in a controversy over its funding to Sabrang Trusts managed by Teesta Setalvad. The letter titled Ford Foundation in India: Notes to John Podesta dated May 26, 2015, also mentioned their funding to Arvind Kejriwal’s NGO before he got into politics as a possible reason for Government’s action.
This was confirmed by none other than one of the leading luminaries of the Indian left-wing firmament, Ms Arundhati Roy. In an interview with Sagarika Ghose, Roy talked about one of the articles that she wrote for The Hindu in which she alleged that the NGOs of Kejriwal and Sisodia had received over $400,000 from the Ford Foundation in three years of time.
Roy claimed that the group of ten people who were the top ‘management’ of the movement had well-funded NGOs. She said that three core members of the team had won Magsaysay Award which is also funded by Ford Foundation.
As interesting as it might sound, NDTV news anchor Ravish Kumar also coincidentally received the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 2019. Last year, whistle-blower emails quoted by Christopher Brunet on his Substack ‘KarlStack’ revealed that The Ford Foundation is a cesspool of intolerant and bigoted left-wing extremists.
Doc Society and its association with George Soros
Amongst the several dozen ‘supporters’ of Doc Society, the Open Society Foundations of American billionaire George Soros stands out as one of the prominent organisations funding the non-profit company.
Notably, George Soros has been fueling a dangerous anti-India narrative using media and ‘civil society. The self-proclaimed philanthropist had vowed to ‘fight nationalists’ and conservative governments worldwide, which he often refers to as ‘authoritarian’ governments.
During the course of his life, if there is one thing George Soros has hated the most, it is India and its nationalist government led by Prime Minister Modi.
In 2008, the Soros Economic Development Fund (SEDF) had joined hands with Omidyar Network, Indian School of Business (ISB) and Google.org to launch their 17 million SONG fund to boost investment.
Together with other networks, Soros has provided extensive grants to the media running into millions to manipulate political narratives. Currently, the Indian beneficiaries listed on the MDIF site are the far-left website Scroll and another website named Graam Vaani.
Besides funding media, the Open Society Foundation has also been a benefactor to left-leaning intellectuals who have constantly put out fake narratives against the current government.
There are also some prominent names with extensive links to George Soros, but it is extremely unlikely that these connections will surprise anyone. Some of the most prominent among them are Harsh Mander, Pratap Bhanu Mehta, Indira Jaising and Amartya Sen.
Open Society Foundations has extended support to the likes of ‘journalist’ Rana Ayyub over a withheld tweet. Doc Society, supported by George Soros, has now funded the documentary film on NDTV News anchor Ravish Kumar.
NDTV news anchor throws his weight behind the documentary
The self-declared messiah of the Indian press is currently in the United States, promoting the film ‘While We Watched’ along with Director Vinay Shukla. The film has so far won 4 awards, including the ‘Amplify Voices Award’ at the Toronto International Film Festival.
Reportedly, the film has received standing ovations from the audience and Ravish Kumar has been greeted by his admirers, both during and after the screening of the documentary. In all, the Ford Foundation and George Soros’ Open Society Foundations have put their money to good use.
