India has refused to renew the Missionaries of Charity license, a Christian program initiated by Teresa and the country’s poor, following a long-running campaign to tighten grants for charities.
This comes at a time when members of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party Bharatiya Janata and other Hindu groups are criticizing the so-called Christian attempt to use charity as a way to convert Hindus, who form many religions in India.
Announcing the move on Monday, the interior ministry said it had refused to renew the Missionaries of Charity registration under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act, which regulates the possibility of non-profit groups. receiving foreign currency, on Christmas Day. Registration for the Missionaries of Charity to receive this grant expires on 31 December. Although they could still work, the council and other groups rely on foreign currency such as from the Catholic Church outside India.
The Interior Ministry said “some errors were detected” and reviewed the agency’s restructuring process, without elaborating. However, it denied allegations by several political parties that it also suspended Mission Bank of Charity bank accounts.
Founded by Mrs. Teresa in 1950, Charity Missionaries are well-known for their work in caring for the sick and the poor living in Kolkata in eastern India and elsewhere. It is one of the most well-known Catholic organizations in the world.
Teresa, a Roman Catholic nun born in Macedonia in 1910 and later immigrated to India, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 for her work. Pope Francis declared that it was white in 2016, 19 years after his death.
The Missionaries of Charity has long been indignant at right-wing Hindus who oppose their use of charitable works to convert beneficiaries to Christianity. This month, police met with a complaint in the western Indian state of Gujarat for trying to force the conversion of Hindu girls.
The group denied the allegations, saying “it did not change anyone or force anyone to marry in the Christian religion”, according to the Indian Express.
In a statement on Monday, the Missionaries of Charity confirmed that “the FCRA reform application has not been approved” and that it will not use any foreign currency accounts “until the matter is resolved”. It also denied that its bank accounts had been suspended by the government.
The Modi government has for years wanted to squeeze foreign funding agencies and charities. The government last year imposed sanctions on non-profit groups and in the past suspended bank accounts of groups such as Greenpeace and Amnesty International.
Many Christians, who make up about 2 percent of the population, say that the harassment and intolerance of members of the Hindu religion in India is growing.
Several Christmas festivities over the weekend were interrupted by Hindu freedom fighters who staged demonstrations outside the rallies, and the church in northern India was in attendance. destruction.
Authorities have also opposed the so-called Muslims and Christians campaigning for the conversion of Hindus, about four out of every 5 people in India. Critics have claimed that such charges are baseless heresies used to undermine religious freedom.
Several BJP-controlled countries have said so soon or is considering legislation banning religious conversion to marriage due to conspiracy by Muslim men’s “Love Jihad” campaign to convert Hindu women.
Additional reports by Amy Kazmin
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