Skip to main content

Human Rights Watch blames previous Congress govt for starting process of Modi clampdown on India's NGOs

Meenakshi Ganguly
By Our Representative
The Human Rights Watch (HRW), well-known US-based elite NGO, has blamed the previous Congress-led UPA government for kick-starting the process of suppressing civil society organizations, which has taken new proportions under the current Narendra Modi government. Top Canadian online news site, thestar.com quotes HRW's South Asia director Meenakshi Ganguly as saying that the "clampdown began, in a way, with the previous government by the Congress party."
Ganguly has said, the Congress-led government had, in fact, "expressed the view that community protests against development projects that were supported by NGOs might sometimes be motivated by foreign donor interests”, adding, the present government has here pursued a "policy of increased restrictions on both NGOs and funders,”
In a report, the news site says, "Hundreds of NGOs and charities -- environmental and other -- have been under the government radar since last June, when the Intelligence Bureau leaked a report accusing several foreign-funded NGOs of stalling infrastructure projects." Suggesting the report was prepared under the UPA, the site says, "By the time the intelligence agencies’ report was leaked last June, a new government had been elected."
It recalls how the CBI report named several activists and organizations but singled out Greenpeace as a “threat to national economic security”, adding, "The report also said the global organization was using its 'exponential' growth in terms of 'reach, impact, volunteers and media influence' to create obstacles in India’s energy plans.
The site believes, while organizations like Greenpeace, "a mammoth organization with offices in 40 countries and many millions of dollars in donor money, has been able to deal with the clampdown, it hasn’t been so easy for smaller NGOs." It quotes the director of an environmental NGO, refusing to be named, as saying, “We can’t afford lawyers... if something goes wrong.”
Things, of course, have reached a new height under the Modi administration, the site suggests.
"A very public, ongoing battle between the powerful Indian government and the environmental organization that began a year ago with the release of an intelligence report singling out Greenpeace as a 'threat', made headlines again when a campaigner was denied entry into the country. Australian Aaron Gray-Block was put on a flight to Malaysia last week after he landed in Bangalore because his name figured in a 'blacklis't”, it says.
Quoting Priya Pillai, who was "offloaded" at the airport in Delhi this January even as she was going to Britain to brief MPs on how a UK-listed energy company was harming environment through coalmining, the site says, it has been "no let-up to attacks on Greenpeace" ever since.
 “For the past one whole year, it feels like we have been constantly firefighting” and the "organization's work is suffering", Pillai tells the site.
"And the situation isn’t unique to Greenpeace", comments the site, adding, .while Greenpeace India's offices have undergone inspections, its bank accounts have been frozen and at least three staffers, including Pillai, have been refused permission to either enter or leave India, recently, the Indian government revoked the licences of nearly 9,000 foreign-funded non-profits for allegedly failing to disclose financial sources."
"Highly respected organizations like 350.org and Sierra Club have been added to watch lists", the site says, adding, "India’s home ministry is now turning its attention to charities like the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and even the Ford Foundation, prompting the US ambassador to India, Richard Verma, to express concern."

Comments

TRENDING

Importance of Bangladesh for India amidst 'growing might' of China in South Asia

By Samara Ashrat*  The basic key factor behind the geopolitical importance of Bangladesh is its geographical location. The country shares land borders with Myanmar and India. Due to its geographical position, Bangladesh is a natural link between South Asia and Southeast Asia.  The country is also a vital geopolitical ally to India, in that it has the potential to facilitate greater integration between Northeast India and Mainland India. Not only that, due to its open access to the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh has become significant to both China and the US.

Unlike other revolutionaries, Hindutva icon wrote 5 mercy petitions to British masters

By Shamsul Islam*  The Hindutva icon VD Savarkar of the RSS-BJP rulers of India submitted not one, two,or three but five mercy petitions to the British masters! Savarkarites argue: “There are no evidences to prove that Savarkar collaborated with the British for his release from jail. In fact, his appeal for release was a ruse. He was well aware of the political developments outside and wanted to be part of it. So he kept requesting for his release. But the British authorities did not trust him a bit” (YD Phadke, ‘A complex Hero’, "The Indian Expres"s, August 31, 2004)

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Our Representative Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

'BBC film shows only tip of iceberg': Sanjiv Bhatt's daughter speaks at top US press club

By Our Representative   The United States' premier journalists' organisation, the National Press Club (NPC), has come down heavily on Prime Minister Narendra Modi for recent "attacks on journalists in India." Speaking at the screening of an episode of the BBC documentary “India: The Modi Question,” banned in India, in the club premises, NPC President Eileen O’Reilly said, “Since Modi came to power we have watched with frustration and disappointment as his regime has suppressed the rights of its citizens to a free and independent news media."

Chinese pressure? Left stateless, Rohingya crisis result of Myanmar citizenship law

By Dr Shakuntala Bhabani*  A 22-member team of Myanmar immigration officials visited Rohingya refugee camps in Cox's Bazar to verify more than 400 Rohingya refugees as part of a pilot repatriation project. Does it hold out any hope for the forcibly displaced people to return to their ancestral homes in the Rakhine state of Myanmar? Only time will tell.

China ties up with India, Bangladesh to repatriate Rohingyas; Myanmar unwilling

By Harunur Rasid*  We now have a new hope, thanks to news reports that were published in the Bangladeshi dailies recently. Myanmar has suddenly taken initiatives to repatriate Rohingyas. As part of this initiative, diplomats from eight countries posted in Yangon were flown to Rakhine last week. Among them were diplomats from Bangladesh, India and China.

40,000 Odisha adolescent girls ask CM: Why is scheme to fight malnutrition on paper?

By Our Representative  In unique a postcard campaign to combat malnutrition, aimed at providing dietary diversity, considered crucial during adolescence, especially among girls, signed by about 40,000 adolescent girls from over 10,000 villages, have reminded Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik that his government's Scheme for Adolescent Girls (SAG), which converged with Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman  ( POSHAN ) 2.0 in 2021, is not being implemented in the State.

Natural farming: Hamirpur leads the way to 'huge improvement' in nutrition, livelihood

By Bharat Dogra*  Santosh is a dedicated farmer who along with his wife Chunni Devi worked very hard in recent months to convert a small patch of unproductive land into a lush green, multi-layer vegetable garden. This has ensured year-round supply of organically grown vegetables to his family as well as fetched several thousand rupees in cash sales.

Over-stressed? As Naveen Patnaik turns frail, Odisha 'moves closer' to leadership crisis

By Sudhansu R Das  Not a single leader in Odisha is visible in the horizon who can replace Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. He has ruled Odisha for nearly two and half decades. His father, Biju Patnaik, had built Odisha; he was a daring pilot who saved the life of Indonesia’s Prime Minister Sjahrir and President Sukarno when the Dutch army blocked their exit.