Indian Christians denounces crackdown on property

The All India Christian Council (AICC) has condemned plans to make use of a law aimed toward regulating foreign donations to effectively seize Christian properties meant to serve essentially the most vulnerable members of society.

The Foreign Contributions (Regulation) Act (FCRA) governs the acceptance, use and reporting of foreign donations from firms, individuals and NGOs.

According to the AICC, Indian authorities are increasingly using the FCRA as a pretext to crack down on Christian properties.

Many of the properties affected are meant for the advantage of Dalits, tribals and other marginalised communities in India.

Dr Joseph D’Souza, President of the AICC, said, “This is a dangerous and deeply alarming crisis with immediate and potentially irreversible consequences.”

It is believed that the crackdown is being encouraged by the Hindu nationalist group RSS, which is tied closely Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party, the BJP.

The RSS is just over 100 years old and equates being Indian with being Hindu. Its members and offshoots have been accused of involvement in sectarian violence and killings, including the murder of Australian missionary Graham Staines and his sons, and the deadly 2002 Gujarat riots. The RSS denies such involvement.

In an announcement, the AICC, said, “The proposed latest FCRA amendments is merely a ploy for the federal government to take over properties and assets run by Christian institutions … It poses a right away and grave threat to the constitutionally guaranteed protections and safeguards for religious minorities.”

The AICC argued that the regulations were being applied in a discriminatory fashion and that such use violates the “spirit of the Constitution and the solemn commitments made to the upliftment of the weaker sections of society and of a democratic society”.

The group called for “immediate and comprehensive consultation with affected communities and civil society organisations working on the grassroots level, somewhat than unilateral decisions that threaten their very survival and future”.