Foreign Donation

Foreign Donation: Is It A Fundamental Right of NGOs in India?

The recent Supreme Court verdict on the foreign contribution to NGOs ruled that the Central government cannot prevent NGOs from receiving foreign funds and differentiated between 'political interest' and 'active politics or party politics'. The GoI cannot prevent NGOs from taking foreign contributions under FCRA if they indulge in agitations, bandhs, or hartals in support of 'public causes'. In this backdrop, a thorough soul-searching is needed regarding FCRA. Is taking foreign donations a fundamental right of NGOs in India?

India has an umbrella law titled FCRA, 2010- Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010 regulating any type of foreign contributions/donations to all organisations in India, exempting few types of organisations. Apart from other beneficiaries like different educational institutes, commercial entities, political parties etc, the main beneficiary of foreign donations has been the NGOs operating in India. The most relevant question is: How far is the GoI able to regulate the NGOs with respect to use of  foreign contributions?

By the very name, it is necessarily implied that the NGOs - Non-governmental Organisations have been independent of any government, which are usually both voluntary and non-profit in nature. Nowadays, NGOs are considered 'private' organisations compared to 'public' governmental organisations. Here arise the questions: How far foreign-funded NGOs can be treated as 'private' entities? How long the foreign-funding of NGOs can remain 'unchecked' by a sovereign state? How long the activities of foreign-funded NGOs be viewed as 'sacrosanct'?

The history of NGOs as organised forms dates back to the eighteenth century relating to different humanitarian issues. With the restructuring of the welfare state in the West, the NGO movement gained much prominence in society and became transnational with the footprints of European colonial powers, and got worldwide recognition particularly after the establishment of the UN, with varied legal forms in different countries, flourishing particularly in the post-Cold War era.

Let us first admit that a NGO like any social organisation has also a ‘social view’ regarding its purpose, mission and values. From that perspective let us now delve into the nitty gritty of NGOs operating in India with foreign-funding, subject to the code of ethics as established by the World Association of Non-Governmental Organisations in 2002 taking into account the issues of staffing, funding, costing, monitoring and control, CSR linking corporations with NGOs etc.

In India, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) is the authority to oversee the NGOs receiving foreign funding, and different facts and figures as shown in its websites show many startling revelations.

In this backdrop, let us critically question the motives and modus operandi of foreign funders. The most critical question arises: Is foreign NGO funding a neo-imperialistic tool to influence the body-politics of India by using 'donations' for humanitarian causes? As Issa G. Shivji has rightly critiqued: "... the sudden rise of NGOs are part of a neoliberal paradigm rather than pure altruistic motivations" and "... the imperial relationship continues today with the rise of NGOs."

Let us examine a few pertinent issues.

We came to know from MHA statistics that more than Rs. two lakh crores have been contributed by foreign funders to different Indian NGOs in the last two decades. But about Rs. Sixteen thousand crores of the funds have been lying unspent and more than 50% of which lies with about 2% of those NGOs. Why? Still then foreign funders continue to contribute fresh funds to them. Why? Foreign donors have been so generous to 'donate' humongous amounts to these NGOs. But, they are not so 'generous' to their own people. Why? Why aren't ordinary people of India so generous to donate to 'civil society' NGOs who are funded so generously by foreign donors?

The history of India from the 12th century onwards has been an eye-opener to judge the true motives of these types of 'donations'. From the 'medieval' Middle-East Islamic invaders to the 'modern' West Christian plunderers in the 18th century, Bharat has been a land of wealth and prosperity as well as a land of infidels, heathens and kafirs. To them, Bharat has to be 'won and destroyed' and to be cut from her civilisational 'dharmic' legacy. 

Now, what is the way out to fulfil the hidden agenda to destroy dharmic Bharat? At the present age, it is quite unthinkable and implausible to resort to previous medieval invasion or colonial methods of direct military control or indirect political control of a vast country like India. Is then foreign contribution not a viable alternative way to meet the mission? And then, are two broad monotheistic Abrahamic Judeo-Christian European and Judeo-Islamic Arabic worldviews competing with each other to dominate the age old dharmic narrative of India through the methods of 'donations' of Evangelical dollars and Petro-dollars?

India now being the fifth largest economy is aspiring to be the leading growth engine for the global economy and a super-power in her own strength. India is no longer a 'soft state' remaining always at the receiving end. We must lay down terms and conditions to receive funds from foreigners as per our own necessities. 

The 'Word Cloud' analyses have revealed that the terms like church, mission, aid etc have mostly surfaced for the names of foreign donor organisations and the so-called development, social, rural etc  for the names of recipient Indian NGOs. Now the questions: Why are Christian donors so much interested to donate in the name of development or humanitarian grounds to the Evangelical organisations in India? Why did not so many NGOs submit their audited accounts and renew their licences properly as per the governmental requirements? Then why should the GoI allow foreign contributions to the NGOs who are so messy and fishy in their workings without any accountability and transparency? Why should India at all allow foreign donations to be used for so-called 'public causes'? Isn't it compromising our national honour and dignity as well as sovereignty?

So, charities, either Christian or Islamic, in the form of contributions coming either from the West or from the Middle-East should be tracked diligently by a designated authority under the MHA. In this respect FCRA should be appropriately amended to monitor donations made not only to the NGOs but also to different educational institutes. No foreign donations should be allowed without proper background checking and all donations must be made programme or project-specific for all types of recipients, be it a NGO or an educational institute. And, if foreign donors are eager enough to help Indian people on humanitarian grounds, then they can donate directly to the PM or any CM Relief Funds. 

The civilisational history of India as well as post-Independence Indian experience teach us to be extra vigilant and cautious regarding the motives and hidden agenda behind the foreign donations flowing legally or illegally through hawala in the name of charity. After the enactment of Citizenship Amendment Act recognising the civilisational legacy of India, is there any role of foreign donations in the form of Evangelical dollars or Petro-dollars causing widespread violence and riots throughout the length and breadth of India?

Sources:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_Contribution_(Regulation)_Act,_2010

Shivji, Issa G. (2007). Silence in NGO discourse: the role and future of NGOs in Africa. Oxford, UK: Fahamu. p. 84. ISBN 978-0-9545637-5-2.

http://fcraanalyses.blogspot.com/2014/10/nature-of-fcra-ngos-their-international.html?m=1

http://indiafacts.org/revisiting-panic-around-fcra/

https://www.organiser.org/Encyc/2020/1/27/The-Dangers-of-Foreign-Funding.html

@ Sujit Roy

10.03.2020