Last month, the Indian government placed tight restrictions on two major international NGOs operating in the country, claiming the organizations misreported donations and funded groups not approved by the government.
Greenpeace is the biggest of nearly 9,000 nonprofits to have had its license revoked under the current government. The global activist organization has a long history of organizing protests against India’s nuclear ambitions and its coal mining, which causes widespread deforestation.
The Ford Foundation, which sees itself as operating on the front lines of social change worldwide, is on an Indian government watch list. The foundation funds organizations involved in humanitarian and civil rights activism in the country.
Greenpeace India had its license suspended for anomalies over the amount of funding it received, and how it spent the unaccounted-for donations. The American charity Ford Foundation, on the other hand, is under scrutiny for donating to organizations not approved by the state, including some, like Sabrang Communication and Publishing, that the state believes are working to smear government leaders.
