[The United States is the top
donor nation to Indian NGOs, followed by Britain and Germany,
according to figures compiled by the Indian government, with Indian NGOs
receiving funds from both the U.S. government and private U.S. institutions. In
the year ending in March 2011, the most recent period for which data are
available, about 22,000 NGOs received a total of more than $2 billion from
abroad, of which $650 million came from the United States.]
By Rama Lakshmi
NEW DELHI — Amid an intensifying crackdown on nongovernmental groups that
receive foreign funding, Indian activists are accusing the government of
stifling their right to dissent in the world’s largest democracy.
India has tightened the rules on nongovernmental organizations
over the past two years, following protests that delayed several important
industrial projects. About a dozen NGOs that the government said engaged in
activities that harm the public interest have seen their permission to receive
foreign donations revoked, as have nearly 4,000 small NGOs for what officials
said was inadequate compliance with reporting requirements.
The government stepped up its campaign this month, suspending the
permission that Indian Social Action Forum (INSAF), a network of more than 700
NGOs across India, had to receive foreign funds. Groups in the network campaign
for indigenous peoples’ rights over their mineral-rich land and against nuclear
energy, human rights violations and religious fundamentalism; nearly 90 percent
of the network’s funding comes from overseas.
“The government’s action is aimed at curbing our democratic right
to dissent and disagree,” Anil Chaudhary, who heads an NGO that trains
activists and is part of the INSAF network, said Tuesday. “We dared to
challenge the government’s new foreign donation rules in the court. We opposed
nuclear energy, we campaigned against genetically modified food. We have
spoiled the sleep of our prime minister.”
In its letter to INSAF, the Home Ministry said the group’s bank
accounts were frozen and foreign funding approval suspended because it was
likely to “prejudicially affect the public interest.”
A government official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity
because of the sensitivity of the subject, said the government is not against
criticism. But when an NGO uses foreign donations to criticize Indian policies,
“things get complicated, and you never know what the plot is,” the official
said, adding that NGOs should use foreign donations to do development work instead.
The United States is the top
donor nation to Indian NGOs, followed by Britain and Germany,
according to figures compiled by the Indian government, with Indian NGOs
receiving funds from both the U.S. government and private U.S. institutions. In
the year ending in March 2011, the most recent period for which data are
available, about 22,000 NGOs received a total of more than $2 billion from
abroad, of which $650 million came from the United States.
Asked last week about the Indian government’s moves against
foreign-funded NGOs, a U.S. State Department spokesman said the department was
not aware of any U.S. government involvement in the cases. The spokesman said
such civil society groups around the world “are among the essential building
blocks of any healthy democracy.”
The situation in India is not unlike the problems that similar
groups face
in Russia, where a law passed last year requires foreign-funded NGOs that
engage in loosely defined political activities to register as “foreign agents.”
Action after nuclear protests
Trouble for many nonprofit activist groups here began more than a
year ago when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh blamed
groups from the United States for fomenting anti-nuclear
protests that have stalled the commissioning of India’s biggest
reactor, a Russian-backed project in Koodankulam in power-starved Tamil Nadu
state.
U.S. officials, including Peter Burleigh, the American ambassador
at the time, quickly moved to assure Indian officials that the U.S. government
supports India’s civil nuclear power program. And Victoria Nuland, then the
State Department spokeswoman, said the United States does not provide support
for nonprofit groups to protest nuclear power plants. “Our NGO support goes for
development, and it goes for democracy programs,” Nuland said.
Although Singh was widely criticized for his fears, the government
froze the accounts of several NGOs in southern India within weeks.
“All our work has come to a stop,” said Henri Tiphagne, head of a
human rights group called People’s Watch. “I had visited [the] Koodankulam
protest site once. Is that a banned territory?”
But the government’s action appears to have had its desired
effect. “NGOs are too scared to visit Koodankulam or associate with us now,”
said anti-nuclear activist S. P. Udayakumar.
Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia director of Human Rights Watch, said
many NGOs are afraid to speak up about the suspension of their foreign funding
approval, which is “being used to intimidate organizations and activists.”
Analysts say the government’s way of dealing with dissent is a
throwback to an earlier era. But Indian authorities have been particularly
squeamish about criticism of late. As citizens have protested corruption and
sexual assaults on women and demanded greater accountability from public
officials, authorities have often reacted clumsily — including beating up
peaceful protesters and cracking
down on satirical cartoons, Facebook posts and Twitter accounts.
Donors look elsewhere
Officials say NGOs are free to use Indian money for their protests.
But activists say Indian money is hard to find, with many Indians preferring to
donate to charities.
A
recent report by Bain & Co. said that about two-thirds of Indian
donors surveyed said that NGOs have room to improve the impact they are making
in the lives of beneficiaries. It said that a quarter of donors are holding
back on increased donations until they perceive evidence that their donations
are having an effect.
“They give blankets to the homeless, sponsor poor children or
support cow shelters,” said Wilfred Dcosta, coordinator of INSAF. “They do not
want to support causes where you question the state, demand environmental
justice or fight for the land rights of tribal people pitted against mighty
mining companies.”
INSAF, whose acronym means “justice” in Urdu, has seen its portion
of foreign funding increase significantly during the past 15 years. Now it
receives funds from many international groups, including the American Jewish
World Service and Global Greengrants Fund in the United States, and groups in
Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands.
The top American donors to Indian NGOs include Colorado-based
Compassion International, District-based Population Services International and
the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
“It is not a question about money, it is a fight for our right to
dissent,” said Chaudhary. “I don’t need dollars to block a road.”
