The Yuletide spirit has turned sour under the watch of the Narendra Modi government, once again. “Adverse inputs”, the Union home ministry argued, led to the denial of the renewal of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act licence of the Missionaries of Charity, a philanthropic organization founded by Mother Teresa that has a long and distinguished record of rendering humanitarian services. The grounds of the action seem specious. There is some talk of the Gujarat police investigating an allegation of conversion against the organization, a charge that has been denied. There is a law in place for violations, financial or otherwise. The responsibility of providing evidence of alleged irregularities, if any, lies with the accuser. But the Centre is being evasive. The air must be cleared and the charges proved or thrown out at the earliest. The lack of transparency on the government’s part, coming in the wake of sustained attacks on India’s Christian community by right-wing vigilantes, would only strengthen suspicions of mischief.

Critics say that the evidence of harassment of specific non-government organizations through the weaponization of the FCRA is compelling. The amendments to the FCRA have introduced rigid red-tapism, inconveniencing a number of organizations, especially smaller NGOs, whose relief work depends largely on foreign contributions. The International Commission of Jurists had requested the president not to pass the amended FCRA, but to no avail. The numbers, since then, have told a telling story. In March 2020, Parliament was informed that as many as 6,676 licences had not been renewed during a three-year period. Amnesty International, The Lawyers Collective, Greenpeace India and now Missionaries of Charity have found themselves in the line of vision of the State’s red eye. The consequences have been predictable: aggravated suffering for marginalized communities who have been especially dependent on NGOs because of the ravages of the pandemic; the crackdown against civil society has further sullied India’s commitment to the democratic charter on international fora. Perhaps the real grouse of the government lies with its fear of the rhetoric of development — vikas — being torpedoed by the proof gathered by grassroots organizations in touch with ground realities.