The following article describes how India is taking action to reduce foreign funding support of its nonprofits by removing their "licenses". This government action has risen to national attention suggesting that the Indian government, by removing the nonprofit's licenses, is restricting one of the essential elements of democracy - a vibrant, unregulated non-governmental sector.
I presume that the voice of America via a US Ambassador feels free to raise this question on an international level with the thinking that the US government would never take similar actions to question the source of a US nonprofit's money and/or utilize other measures to restrict nonprofits. Really?
Here's the Wall Street Journal article.
5:36 pm IST
May 7, 2015
U.S. Ambassador to India: Concerned About Treatment of Nonprofits
The U.S. ambassador to India, Richard Verma, has expressed concern about recent moves to tighten restrictions on the international funding of nonprofit organizations in the South Asian nation.
In a crackdown on foreign funding of charities, New Delhi last week revoked the licenses of nearly 9,000 nonprofit groups, saying they had failed to report details about donations from abroad.
Greenpeace India, which had already had its license revoked, said its funds are drying up because of the new restrictions and it might be forced to close its office in India in the next month.
Mr. Verma–who took over as America’s ambassador to India in December—said that recent “regulatory steps” could have “potentially chilling effects,” on India’s democracy.
Speaking Wednesday at the Ananta Aspen Centre, a leadership-development nonprofit in New Delhi, Mr. Verma commented on “reports on challenges faced by NGOs operating in India.”
“Because a vibrant civil society is so important to both of our democratic traditions, I do worry,” he said according to a transcript of his speech on the U.S. embassy’s website.
An Indian home ministry order dated April 6, didn’t name the 8,975 nonprofits whose licenses were withdrawn except to say they had all received foreign aid and failed to report it.
“Those who have failed to file annual statements of remittances have been given notifications,” said Praween Kavi, a home ministry official.
The Indian government froze bank accounts of Greenpeace India last month, saying the organization had allegedly underreported their foreign funding. An order published on the Ministry of Home Affairs website said Greenpeace’s activities had “prejudicially affected the economic interest of the state.”
Greenpeace said Thursday that it is challenging the claims but it only has funds to cover its salaries and administrative costs in India for 30 days.
The nonprofit said it “strongly” opposed “this arbitrary block on our funding, which we see as a blatant attempt silence dissent,” in a statement to The Wall Street Journal.
Ford Foundation, one of the biggest philanthropic organizations in the U.S, in a statement on Thursday said it “will continue to respond fully to official queries. The foundation had not so far heard from India’s home ministry, the statement said.
“Our aim is to work closely with Government partners to clarify any area of question or concern,” the statement read.