The Government of India’s conflict with Greenpeace, and to a lesser extent, with the Ford Foundation has made headlines for the last few months. Earlier this month, the Centre cancelled the licenses of 4470 NGOs.
The move has invited criticism from various civil society groups, many of whom claim that the government is trying to clamp down on dissent.
The government on the other hand insists it is going by the book and many of these NGOs are functioning in violation of Indian law.
The role of international development organisations is causing trouble not only in India, but also across the border in Pakistan. Islamabad too is dealing with what it perceives as interference in its internal affairs.
The ‘Save the Children’ Issue
Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has set up an inter-ministerial committee to review and assess the laws that govern the functioning of International NGOs in Pakistan.
According to The Dawn, a leading Pakistan daily, the committee has been instructed to submit its report as soon as possible so that the laws regulating International NGOs can be changed.
This comes a week after international development organisation ‘Save the Children’ was asked to cease its operations in Pakistan.
International aid and development organisations have come under fire after a 2012 Pakistan intelligence report that claimed ‘Save the Children’ was connected to Dr Shakeel Afridi, whom the CIA allegedly used to carry out a fake vaccination programme as they searched for Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden.
In November 2013, the PML-N government announced its intention to regularise INGOs yet authorities have been continuously “avoiding” signing memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with almost 130 national and international NGOs for the past year and a half, sources told Dawn.com
—The Dawn
Is a Ham-handed Approach the Problem?
Both countries seem to share a suspicion of foreign funded NGOs.
In Pakistan’s case the problem is exacerbated by their dependence on American aid and the perceived lack of respect for the country’s sovereignty.
The issue, as far as the Indian government is concerned, is the use of foreign funds to conduct political activity. Apart from anything else, this is against Indian law, most notably the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) according to the government.
The process of disengaging India’s development work began under the UPA government itself. Britain’s Department for International Development (DFID) had begun winding up many of its operations in the country, long before Narendra Modi came to power. The UPA government was not accused of being ‘undemocratic’. Why?
The answer may well lie in the manner in which the Indian government has dealt with the issue.
First, they have been combative, not amicable in their approach.
Second, while many NGOs may well be on the wrong side of the rules, in the media, the government has come across as petty and even vindictive.
Many of the larger, international funding organisations and NGOs enjoy considerable support in the media and public around the world. By playing out the conflict publicly, the Indian government is in danger of losing its moral high-ground.
The Pakistan government on the other hand is eager to convince the public that it can stand-up to US pressure, despite its dependence on the superpower. And NGOs are an easy first step.
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