New Delhi: American ambassador Richard Verma today said he was concerned about the Narendra Modi government’s crackdown on non-profit groups receiving foreign funding, joining a growing chorus of US criticism over the move at a time bilateral relations are on an upswing.
“I read with some concern the recent press reports on challenges faced by NGOs operating in India,” Verma said, speaking at the Ananta Aspen Centre, a think-tank.
“I do worry about the potentially chilling effects of these regulatory steps focused on NGOs.”
Verma argued that “those that act peacefully to seek change are not anti-government”, but were instead seeking “better government” and to “strengthen national security”.
A “chilling effect” is, in American legal terminology, used to describe, particularly in the context of curbs on free speech, discouragement of the pursuit of rights using the threat of a legal sanction.
Verma is a trained lawyer who has served as assistant secretary of state for legislative affairs in the US state department.
“It is a suggestion that our democratic traditions are strengthened when we use discussion and debate to improve,” Verma said. “We can build resilience in our bilateral relationship by having frank discussions on all matters of shared concern, including the importance of civil society and free expression to the promotion of a more peaceful, prosperous and stable future.”
The US ambassador’s comments are the strongest and most detailed from Washington since the Indian government’s decision late last month to place Ford Foundation on a watch-list of foreign non-profit groups that stand accused of violating Indian law. India has publicly not responded to the US criticism, though senior officials have confirmed toThe Telegraph that New Delhi communicated its displeasure during foreign office consultations with Washington last week.
The government has accused the Ford Foundation, one of the earliest foreign donor agencies to enter India after Independence, of funding non-profit groups not registered under the provisions of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA), 2010. The NGOs funded by the Ford Foundation include activist-lawyer Teesta Setalvad’s Sabrang Trust.
“There are inputs from security agencies that some amounts have been credited from Ford Foundation to some NGOs which are not registered under the provisions of FCRA, 2010,” junior home minister Kiren Rijiju told the Lok Sabha on Tuesday. “To keep a watch on such recipients, the credits from Ford Foundation have been put under prior permission category.”
On April 24, state department spokesperson Marie Harf had told a media briefing in Washington that the US was “concerned” that India’s decision to place the Ford Foundation on the watch-list limits a necessary and critical debate within Indian society.
Last week, US undersecretary of state Wendy Sherman had also articulated US concerns at her meeting with foreign secretary Subrahmanyam Jaishankar here, during foreign office consultations. Jaishankar, officials said, told Sherman India was acting within its laws.
The tension over the Modi government’s action against non-profit groups comes at a time the India-US relationship is warmer than many had imagined was possible a year back, in the aftermath of the arrest in New York of Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade.
Modi and US President Barack Obama had in January unveiled a joint vision for the Asia-Pacific region, for the first time aligning their plans for China’s backyard.
“The President and the Prime Minister recognise the convergence in our Asia-Pacific policies,” Verma said today.
The joint vision has triggered concern in Beijing, which is expected to articulate its worries to Modi when he visits China next week.
Gates Foundation
India is investigating the finances of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, a senior home ministry official said today, a Reuters report said.
A spokesperson for the foundation said it had not been informed of any investigation. Ministry spokesperson K.S. Dhatwalia denied the government was investigating it. It was not immediately possible to explain the contradictory statements.
The senior ministry official said authorities found discrepancies in financial transactions between the foundation and the Public Health Foundation of India.
