The Centre’s move to place the Ford Foundation, the well-known US funding agency which provides financial assistance to NGOs and other bodies worldwide, on the Union home ministry’s watch list is regrettable. The Union government’s action follows the Gujarat government’s appeal to take steps against the Ford Foundation for supporting two NGOs run by Teesta Setalvad who has doggedly pursued cases pertaining to the dangerous Gujarat communal conflagration of 2002 when Narendra Modi was chief minister.
The home ministry has cited “concerns for national interest and security”. The Ford Foundation has been accused by the Gujarat government of interfering in the country’s internal affairs and fanning communal disharmony. These suggest that the Centre is, in effect, accusing Ms Setalvad and her NGOs of being anti-national. This is an extremely serious charge. It can potentially open the way for prosecuting Ms Setalvad under harsh sections of the law. Civil society in India is not likely to be amused. Prior to the action against the Ford Foundation, this government had directed its ire against 16 other international bodies, including Greenpeace, that routinely offer financial assistance to voluntary agencies working in the field of development, the environment and human rights.
The paradigm that the Modi regime has adopted has made it hostile to those who question its development model, which in the eyes of many promotes big business at the cost of the environment and livelihood concerns of the poor. This suggests intolerance to criticism and dissent.
