Skip to main content

'Modi govt's assault on dissent': Foreign funds of top finance NGO blocked

 
In a surprise move, the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, has cancelled the foreign funding license of the well-known advocacy group, Centre for Financial Accountability (CFA), known for critically examining India's finance and banking sectors from human rights and environmental angle.
Ironically, CFA lost its license under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) even as it completed seven years of Finance Matters (FM), its widely appreciated column in the CFA website. In a statement, CFA said, "We are happy that somebody in power is reading our weekly newsletters. We assure them that we will continue to enrich their reading in future too!"
According to CFA, "The past seven years of FM coincided with the regime whose economic policies created a havoc for the common people. Demonetisation, ill-conceived GST and a reckless lockdown broke the backbone of the informal sector and unemployment peaked as never before. Dwindling income and skyrocketing inflation burnt a hole in the poor people’s purses exhausting whatever was left of their household savings."
It continued, "While we slipped in the global hunger index, the policies of the government sold off pieces of the country to the Adanis and the Ambanis, and gave the corporates massive tax breaks and write-offs fattening their pockets. While all of this was unfolding over the last decade, keeping quiet or looking the other way was never a choice. We joined others in holding this government to account."
According to CFA, "Through its weekly editions, Finance Matters has consistently provided a platform for informed commentary on crucial financial issues affecting our nation and world today. From dissecting the implications of global economic policies to unravelling the complexities of banking regulations, the newsletter has empowered its readers with valuable insights and perspectives."
Especially referring to the weekly column of former general secretary of the All India Bank Officers’ Confederation and steering committee Mmember at the Global Labour University Thomas Franco, Random Reflections, it said, it has been "one which is awaited for by many for the insights and analysis of Indian banking and the economy. Started towards the end of 2019, the column has been consistent and reproduced by many mainstream media."
Calling Finance Matters "a trusted source of information for policymakers, financial professionals, academics, and concerned citizens alike", CFA claimed, it has played a pivotal role in "advocating for and amplifying responsible financial practices and socio-economic, environment and climate accountability within the financial institutions."
Seeking public donations to continue its advocacy work, the statement underlined,  "At a time when the government clampdown on civil society organisations (CSOs) has increased with a vengeance, in addition to false cases on and illegal incarceration of activists, throttling dissent and democratic rights, CFA will continue to speak truth to power.
In a separate statement, the Peoples’ Commission on Public Sector and Services, a civil outfit comprising of eminent academics, jurists, erstwhile administrators, trade unionists and social activists, the denial of renewal of FCRA registration of the public-spirited NGO "reeks of mala fide intent and vindictiveness." 
Expressing solidarity with CFA, a "fraternal organisation with which it has collaborated closely in the last several years", the Commission said, the "latest action" is  yet another confirmation that "the Modi government in its third term continues on a path of extinguishing dissent."
"The Commission notes with deep concern the manner in which the Ministry has been suspending/ revoking FCRA registration of several NGOs for minor infractions, while, shockingly, allowing political parties unfettered access to foreign donations", it underlined.
Stating that the Commission has highlighted how the current regime has worked on removing legislative hurdles to accessing foreign funding to political parties, it said, "This is clearly anomalous: there is one set of rules for political parties accessing foreign funds, while public-spirited NGOs face the weight of the state."
The Commission noted, "The CFA, a fledgling institution, in its short life span of 7 years, has distinguished itself in the cause of undertaking research that has provided analytical inputs to academia, journalists, social activists and the ordinary folk at a time when the mainstream media has sold its heart and soul to the powers that be."  
It added, "In particular, its detailed fact sheets on specific issues ranging from demonetisation to inequities of the Indian tax regime have been revelatory for many. It has served a great public cause by shining a light on the misdeeds of Big Business, particularly their collusion with the ruling regime."

Comments

Post a Comment

TRENDING

Dalit rights and political tensions: Why is Mevani at odds with Congress leadership?

While I have known Jignesh Mevani, one of the dozen-odd Congress MLAs from Gujarat, ever since my Gandhinagar days—when he was a young activist aligned with well-known human rights lawyer Mukul Sinha’s organisation, Jan Sangharsh Manch—he became famous following the July 2016 Una Dalit atrocity, in which seven members of a family were brutally assaulted by self-proclaimed cow vigilantes while skinning a dead cow, a traditional occupation among Dalits.  
Post a Comment
»

Global NGO slams India for media clampdown during conflict, downplays Pakistan

A global civil rights group, Civicus has taken strong exception to how critical commentaries during the “recent conflict” with Pakistan were censored in India, with journalists getting “targeted”. I have no quarrel with the Civicus view, as the facts mentioned in it are all true.
1 comment
»

Whither SCOPE? Twelve years on, Gujarat’s official English remains frozen in time

While writing my previous blog on how and why Narendra Modi went out of his way to promote English when he was Gujarat chief minister — despite opposition from people in the Sangh Parivar — I came across an interesting write-up by Aakar Patel, a well-known name among journalists and civil society circles.
Post a Comment
»

Remembering Vijay Rupani: A quiet BJP leader who listened beyond party lines

Late evening on June 12, a senior sociologist of Indian origin, who lives in Vienna, asked me a pointed question: Of the 241 persons who died as a result of the devastating plane crash in Ahmedabad the other day, did I know anyone? I had no hesitation in telling her: former Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani, whom I described to her as "one of the more sensible persons in the BJP leadership."
Post a Comment
»

Why India’s renewable energy sector struggles under 2,735 compliance hurdles

Recently, during a conversation with an industry representative, I was told how easy it is to set up a startup in Singapore compared to India. This gentleman, who had recently visited Singapore, explained that one of the key reasons Indians living in the Southeast Asian nation prefer establishing startups there is because the government is “extremely supportive” when it comes to obtaining clearances. “They don’t want to shift operations to India due to the large number of bureaucratic hurdles,” he remarked.
Post a Comment
»

Two decades on, hunger still haunts Gujarat: Survey exposes stark gap behind poverty claims

A Niti Aayog report , released about two years ago, estimated that in Gujarat — which our powers-that-be have long considered a model state — 11.66% of people are "multidimensionally poor," a term referring to an index that seeks to estimate "multiple and simultaneous deprivations" at the household level across three macro categories: health, education, and living standards.
Post a Comment
»

Unchecked urbanisation, waste dumping: Study warns of 'invited disaster' as khadi floods threaten half of Surat

An action research report, “Invited Disaster: Khadi Floods in Surat City”, published by two civil rights groups, Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti and the People's Union for Civil Liberties, Surat, states that nearly half of Gujarat's top urban conglomerate—known for its concentration of textile and diamond polishing industries—is affected by the dumping of debris and solid waste, along with the release of treated and untreated sewage into the khadis (rivulets), thereby increasing the risk of flood disaster.
Post a Comment
»

Boeing 787 under scrutiny again after Ahmedabad crash: Whistleblower warnings resurface

A heart-wrenching tragedy has taken place in Ahmedabad. As widely reported, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner plane crashed shortly after taking off from the city’s airport, currently operated by India’s top tycoon, Gautam Adani. The aircraft was carrying 230 passengers and 12 crew members.  As expected, the crash has led to an outpouring of grief across the country. At the same time, there have been demands for the resignation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and the Civil Aviation Minister.
Post a Comment
»

English proficiency for empowerment: Modi’s SCOPE vision contrasts Amit Shah’s remark

While Union Home Minister Amit Shah may have asserted that soon a time would come when those speaking English in the country would “feel ashamed”, it is ironic that Narendra Modi, when he was Gujarat chief minister, had launched what was called the SCOPE programme, actively involving the University of Cambridge to provide opportunities to the youth of Gujarat to "become not just job seekers but job creators (entrepreneurs)."
1 comment
»