BJP Govt.’s action to have adverse effect on India’s downtrodden.
By Dileep Thekkethil
BENGALURU: A day after Prime Minister’s Office said it would look into the home ministry’s decision to put Ford Foundation in the list of non-profits that require prior permission before accepting funds, the New York-based firm has frozen $4 million funding to India.
The foundation’s projects aimed at fighting child marriage, providing clean water, feeding the pregnant and proving fresh water to slums will be affected adversely by the decision.
The Times of India quoted a Ford Foundation official saying “We don’t want to move ahead until the time we are clear about the rules and nothing we do is viewed as illegal.”
Ford Foundation was earlier clamped by prime minister Narendra Modi for funding money to people who have personal interests in domestic politics. The immediate cause for the restriction was related to the foundation providing $250,000 to critic of Modi.
Ford Foundation started its operations in India in 1952 and since then it has used more than $500 million for the welfare and uplifting living conditions of the Indian people.
After the BJP-led government came to power, it made charity rules more stringent and within a year, over 9000 charity organizations lost their registration after failing to produce details of overseas donation.
The government had then criticized these firms as anti-nationals, trying to hamper the growth of the country by casting a shadow over industrial projects, and criticized them on the basis of environmental or social grounds. Modi went on to call these firms “five-star activists”.
Other than Ford Foundation, coveted non-profit organization Greenpeace also came under the attack of the BJP government as their bank accounts were frozen and some of the higher officials placed under a travel ban. This was after Greenpeace campaigned against issues such as coal mines and nuclear power, which according Modi is the doors to economic growth.
Under the new law proposed by Modi led BJP government, all foreign-funded NGOs must agree at their activities will not be against the interest of the nation.
The Home Ministry put the Ford Foundation on its watch list after it gave huge funding to Teesta Setalvad in 2009, when she was fighting a case with Modi on the Gujarat anti-Muslim riots that killed more than 1000 people.
“We have every right to streamline their work. This attitude that nobody can question influential foreign donors must be put to an end,” said BK Prasad, the official overseeing the home ministry’s new approach.
US Ambassador to India Richard Verma has been in talks with the government regarding the issue and had earlier warned that stern actions may have a chilling effect on the civil society and democratic traditions.
Climate Works Foundation, Cordaid, Amnesty and Action Aid are some of the other charity organizations that have courted trouble with the new BJP government in India.
2 Comments
India is the leading economy with a growth rate of 8% ahead of China. But the sad fact it has the most people living in poverty than any nation. By the last count, close to 300 million people in India are living under the poverty line, making less than 2$ (120 rupees) a day. Four million dollars is not even a drop in the ocean, it is not even a speck and they are not eradicating poverty but enriching the CEO’s who are probably paid 3.99 million and the rest going for advertising and few cents going towards the charity with a face of a hungry child in posters.
Blocking this money will have no effect on the poverty eradication or any chilling effect on democracy ! It has nothing do with democracy or freedom of speech. It has to do with rules and laws of the land. The NGO’s were not following rules and just because the previous govt.allowed them to flaunt the rules or looked the other way is not relevant. What is relevant is, if the NGO’s using the money to commit acts of treason by diverting the money for personal and political propaganda.
I’m a US citizen resident in California. I take great interest in
all affairs of my country where I live currently. USA has the
same laws where foreign contributions, particularly money, has to be
reported, particularly for all charities and charitable contributions.
all organizations that contributed to Teesta Setalvad’s trust or her individual
efforts are in violation of their countries laws of charitable giving. I
being a taxpayer can report any organization that is American-based for violation
of these laws. For your perusal. I’ve included public sources of
information that clearly allude to this. It is important before you put
down your country (india)
and its laws to research this topic thoroughly. You have to be reasonable and
present the counterargument—all countries have the same laws and the same
requirements. Ms Setalvad may have done good work in you eyes, but on pure
scientific gauge of a charitable person she comes out looking like a commercial
leech with an agenda, taking advantage of peoples miseries. That is
what you should highlight in your article also.
1. Biggest violation of Ms Setalvad is use of these funds for personal
purposes– which is a violation of charitable giving rules worldwide.
2. not having proper records indicating charitable use of the money versus
personal use—-violation of the income tax code of any country.
For your perusal from Wikipedia on US charitable organizations——please note the highlighted statements, which are subject to public and IRS scrutiny. I.e. the CBI raid
There are several requirements that must be met for a charitable organization
to obtain 501(c)(3) status. These include the organization being organized as a
corporation, trust, or unincorporated association, and the organization’s
organizing document (such as the articles of incorporation, trust documents, or
articles of association) must limit its purposes to being charitable, and
permanently dedicate its assets to charitable purposes. The organization
must refrain from undertaking a number of other activities such as
participating in the political campaigns of candidates for local, state or
federal office, and must ensure that its earnings do not benefit any individual.[32]
Most tax exempt organizations are required to file annual financial reports (IRS Form
990) at the state and federal level. A tax exempt organization’s 990 and
some other forms are required to be made available to public scrutiny.
IRS reporting requirements
20. Charities that have foreign investments may have to
file certain information returns (besides the 990) such as:
a. Forms 926 and 5471 relating to foreign
corporations;
b. Forms 3520 and 3520-A relating to foreign
trusts and foreign gifts;
c. Form 8621 relating to passive
foreign investment companies and qualified electing funds; and
d. Form 8865 relating to foreign
partnerships.