NEW DELHI: Their offices raided, bank accounts frozen and travel restricted, international aid and rights groups with deep roots in India say they are struggling to operate under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party has elevated the role of sympathetic homegrown social organizations while cracking down on foreign charities.
Greenpeace India, which has repeatedly pushed the government to address hazardous air quality in cities across India, said this month that it was forced to close two regional offices and sharply reduce its staff after its Bengaluru offices were raided and its bank accounts were frozen, reported Arab News.
Tax officials allege it was illegally receiving funds through a shell company set up to evade authorities after India’s home minister cancelled the group’s license.
Amnesty International India, which has accused the Modi government of eroding freedom to dissent by jailing prominent critics, had to slash 68 jobs — 30 per cent of its in-country workforce — and cancel programs after Finance Ministry officials carried out a 12-hour raid on its headquarters in November.
While the raid was underway, the government released a statement accusing the group of illegally receiving 260 million rupees ($3.5 million) from an overseas account through a shell company.
Both Greenpeace and Amnesty International have denied the allegations.
International aid organizations have operated in India for decades, collaborating with the government on issues ranging from clean water to children’s education to disposal of e-waste.
The government no longer sees these groups as partners, activists and observers say, but rather as threats. Critics say the government is attempting to cover up human rights failures by cracking down on groups that expose them.
“Government authorities are increasingly treating human rights organizations like criminal enterprises,” said Amnesty International India executive director Aakar Patel. Agencies
