Licenses revoked over the past 18 months.
The Indian government has barred 20,000 NGOs from receiving foreign funds over the past 18 months, cancelling their FCRA licenses on charges of violating the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, Union home ministry documents have revealed.
The action, which has sparked allegations from civil society groups that the government is trying to stifle dissent, means only 13,000 NGOs can legally receive foreign funds, reported The Telegraph.
“Out of 33,000 NGOs in India receiving foreign donations, the FCRA licenses of 20,000 have been revoked over the past one and a half years. Those NGOs were found to be violating FCRA laws,” said a North Block official.
The list of 20,000 blacklisted NGOs was given to Union home minister Rajnath Singh during a review meeting, on Tuesday.
“Many of the 20,000 NGOs whose FCRA licenses were revoked are rights-based advocacy groups and mainly involved in human rights work,” said the ministry official.
A fortnight ago, the home ministry had revoked the FCRA license of Anhad, an NGO run by Modi critic Shabnam Hashmi, for alleged “undesirable activities against public interest”.
It also cancelled the FCRA licenses of two NGOs run by Teesta Setalvad, another Modi critic, and that of Greenpeace after “inadvertently” renewing them recently.
Anhad (Act Now for Harmony and Democracy), set up after the 2002 Gujarat carnage, has been fighting for the riot victims. Setalvad is the co-petitioner in a 2002 riot case in Gujarat when Modi was chief minister, reported Telegraph.
NGOs need to renew their licenses under the FCRA every five years to keep receiving funds from abroad.
Ministry sources said soon after coming to power, the Modi government had started background checks of NGOs getting foreign donations and an internal probe to ascertain whether their activities were against “public interest”.
Hashmi has decided to challenge the cancellation of Anhad’s FCRA license in court. But she asserted that her NGO would continue its work for the downtrodden.
“This government’s actions are second only to Emergency-era intolerance. We have no other option but to fight it out,” she said.