THE HINDU EDITORIAL

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Democratic backsliding: On the state wielding the FCRA as a weapon

Curbs on financing of civil society bodies denote eroding civil liberties

When the latest round of amendments was passed in 2020, the International Commission of Jurists denounced it as “incompatible with international law” and warned that it would “impose … extraordinary obstacles on the capacity of … civil society actors to carry out their important work”. It appears as though the government has been working hard to prove the ICJ right. Even before dust could settle on the FCRA cancellation of CPR, World Vision India, which works with children, has had its FCRA cancelled. On the one hand, India seeks recognition as a ‘Vishwaguru’. Its calling card as the G-20 host was ‘Mother of Democracy’. The government is hypersensitive to rankings on international indices, yet unwilling to acknowledge the link between perception and reality. When the U.S.-based non-profit, Freedom House, in its Democracy Index, downgraded India to an “electoral autocracy”, a reason it cited was erosion of civil liberties. Shutting off the finances of civil society organisations on flimsy grounds is a textbook example of civil liberties erosion, guaranteed to amplify the narrative of democratic backsliding. It would then be pointless to complain about bias or invoke “conspiracies” to tarnish India’s image when these actions get reflected in India’s downgrading in global indices of freedom and democracy.