The crowd at a recent tsunami fundraiser represented a swath of the Bay Area's Indo-American community: Engineers and other professionals, Hindus and Muslims and people of various political views rubbed shoulders around the buffet tables and swayed to the music of a Fiji Islands band.

But if the turnout was typical of Silicon Valley's easygoing diversity, some critics say the event at the Sunnyvale Hindu Temple was tainted by episodes of sectarian violence half a world away.

The two U.S.-based non-profit organizations that sponsored the Feb. 27 event have drawn fire from a loose network of left-wing activists, both here and abroad. They say the charities are using good works and good intentions to build grass-roots support for a nationalist movement that has been linked to attacks against India's non-Hindu minorities in recent years.

Both charities deny those allegations. And for those who attended the recent fundraiser, the ambiguities of a religious and political dispute in India seemed even hazier when viewed from afar. Many said the event was a chance to connect with friends in busy Silicon Valley, while sending aid to another part of the world where they still have ties. They either weren't aware of the allegations involving the charities or didn't believe them.

``I have never heard about the controversy,'' said Jeevan Zutshi, a Fremont engineer and real estate agent who was among about 350 people in attendance. Zutshi said he doesn't believe the charities -- Sewa International USA and the India Development and Relief Fund -- are supporting intolerance.

``They have a track record of sending 100 percent of their money to help,'' he said. ``If I had any inclination that they were hard-core fundamentalists, I wouldn't be here.''

Don't discriminate

Representatives for both charities say they don't discriminate on the basis of religion or politics.

But human rights activists in the United States and Britain have focused on the charities' relations with other groups associated with a nationalist political movement that views India primarily as a Hindu state. Extremists within that movement have been blamed for episodes such as the 2002 riots in Gujurat province, which led to the deaths of 900 people, mostly Muslims.

Although there is no evidence the charities have intentionally promoted violence, the activists accuse them of giving money to Indian groups that encourage intolerance toward Muslims, Christians and other minorities. Those groups may use the U.S. charities' funding for legitimate relief work, but their critics say the work helps the nationalists build support for their own agenda.

``They create the very context of divisiveness that fuels religious violence,'' charged Angana Chatterji, a San Francisco-based anthropologist and spokeswoman for the Campaign to Stop Funding Hate, an alliance of university students and faculty members who oppose Hindu nationalism.

Emphasizing aid

Officials of the charities dismiss their critics as Marxist agitators who see sinister connections where none exist. The officials said they are acting on Hindu teachings that emphasize helping others, adding that they distribute money to a range of needy groups -- some of which may have members who are involved in other causes.

``We have religious roots when it comes to service, but we don't discriminate based on religion,'' said Yagnesh Pathak, a local representative of Sewa International USA.

Organizers said the $75,000 raised in Sunnyvale would benefit coastal fishermen in countries other than India, most of whom are Muslim.

That suits Mahesh Pakala, a Fremont businessman who saw the event as a way to help tsunami victims and socialize with friends. He said he had looked into criticism against the charities and found no evidence to support the complaints.

Pakala also was a key organizer of another tsunami benefit, held Feb. 20 at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, which raised more than $1 million for the American India Foundation. Both Sewa International USA and the India Development and Relief Fund were noticeably absent from the broad coalition sponsoring that event, whose organizers said they tried to keep a secular focus.

Larger debate

Though in many ways the dispute is more about politics than religion, the criticism of the two charities is part of a larger debate over Hindu nationalism and the related concept of Hindutva, or Hinduness. Critics say its most extreme adherents view non-Hindus as a threat to India, or as inferior members of Indian society. Defenders say they are simply showing pride in their culture and religious heritage -- which appeals to many people of Indian descent living overseas.

Critics and supporters of the two charities, meanwhile, have waged a war of conflicting testimonials and posted lengthy tracts on the Internet. The debate only intensified when British authorities issued a qualified report last month on Sewa's fundraising after a major Gujarat earthquake in 1999.

The United Kingdom Commission on Charities said it was satisfied that Sewa's British affiliate sent funds to an Indian group that used the money to rebuild six villages. But investigators said they couldn't view the work firsthand because the Indian government -- then led by Hindu nationalist politicians -- wouldn't give them visas.

While Sewa denied any formal link, the commission said the charity acknowledged an ``ideological commonality'' with a leading Hindu nationalist organization, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. New York-based Human Rights Watch has blamed the Gujarat riots on a campaign by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and other Hindu nationalist groups to exploit religious tensions and build political support.

India experts say the connections are subtle.

Hindu nationalist groups have a strong track record of delivering aid to disaster areas, said Thomas Blom Hansen, a Yale anthropology professor who has written two books on the nationalist movement. He contends those efforts are part of a larger campaign to build credibility for a movement that views Muslims and other non-Hindus as a cultural threat.

``The explicit goal is not necessarily to take tsunami victims and turn them into warriors against Islam,'' he said. ``It doesn't happen right away. But the long-term goal is to further their own worldview.''

Although both Sewa and India Development and Relief Fund deny any political agenda, San Francisco State international-relations Professor Sanjoy Banerjee said they have funded groups aligned with the Hindu nationalist movement.

The groups appear to be engaged in legitimate relief work, he added, but potential donors may want to take their politics into consideration. Contact Lisa Fernandez at lfernandez@mercurynews.com or (510) 790-7313. Contact Brandon Bailey at bbailey@mercurynews.com or (408) 920-5022.