United States Congressman Riley Moore on Tuesday alleged that the Indian Parliament was trying to take control of churches and religious charities by amending the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act. He warned that the passage of the draft legislation could hurt relations between Washington and New Delhi.

Registration under the Act is mandatory for a non-profit organisation to receive foreign funds.

“Christians have been in India since St Thomas the Apostle travelled to the Malabar Coast just decades after the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ,” Moore said on social media.

Despite this long history, India’s Parliament is considering amending the rules “to permit government takeovers of churches and religious charities”, he added.

“This is a clear attack against Christians,” said the Republican representative from West Virginia. “If this bill proceeds in this way, it would be a point of major concern in our bilateral relationship with India.”

The Ministry of External Affairs has not yet commented on the matter.

The bill was introduced in Parliament in March during the Budget Session but has not been cleared by either of the Houses.

The proposed changes

A key provision of the draft legislation allows the Centre to take control of a non-governmental organisation’s foreign funds and assets if its FCRA registration lapses or is cancelled.

Under the proposed framework, such funds and assets will provisionally vest in a government-appointed “designated authority”. If the organisation fails to regain registration, this control would become permanent. The authority would then be empowered to use, transfer or dispose of these assets for “public purposes”.

The provision applies to all institutions, not just churches. The proposed amendment specifies that the religious character of the place of worship would be preserved.

Opposition MPs have opposed the proposed law, describing it as “dangerous” and “draconian”. Civil society groups have also criticised the bill, saying that the changes would expand state control over NGOs.

Between 2016-’17 and 2021-’22, more than 6,600 NGOs lost their FCRA licences, the government had told Parliament in December 2022. In 2023, it informed Parliament that 13,520 registered non-profit organisations had received more than Rs 55,700 crore in foreign contributions between 2019-’20 and 2021-’22.

Written by Nachiket Deuskar. Edited by Sneha.

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