As many as 3,035 NGOs based in Delhi, Kerala, Odisha, West Bengal, Manipur, Bihar and Andhra Pradesh have lost their registration over the first nine days of this month alone. Similarly, nearly 1,100 NGOs were stripped of their FCRA licence in May. In an earlier crackdown, licences of nearly 8,975 NGOs were cancelled in April last for their failure to file annual returns for three years in a row.
A series of actions by the Modi government against foreign-funded organizations and their donors has had the NGO community up in arms, which had accused the regime of trying to stifle the voice of dissent. This charge has been denied by the government, which insists that all actions were taken in line with FCRA provisions.
While the FCRA registration of Greenpeace was suspended and its bank accounts frozen in April, as many as 16 foreign donors, including Ford Foundation and Greenpeace International, have been put on prior permission list since last year. The action against Greenpeace also included offloading of its staffer Priya Pillai from a London-bound flight in January. The Delhi high court had slammed the action and ordered removal of "offloaded" stamp from her passport.
A series of actions by the Modi government against foreign-funded organizations and their donors has had the NGO community up in arms, which had accused the regime of trying to stifle the voice of dissent. This charge has been denied by the government, which insists that all actions were taken in line with FCRA provisions.
While the FCRA registration of Greenpeace was suspended and its bank accounts frozen in April, as many as 16 foreign donors, including Ford Foundation and Greenpeace International, have been put on prior permission list since last year. The action against Greenpeace also included offloading of its staffer Priya Pillai from a London-bound flight in January. The Delhi high court had slammed the action and ordered removal of "offloaded" stamp from her passport.
