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Homeless people gather beside a portrait of Saint Teresa, the founder of the Missionaries of Charity. Photo: AP
AsiaSouth Asia

India blocks Mother Teresa’s charity from receiving foreign funds

  • The charity, set up by the Nobel Peace Prize winner in 1950, works with some of the country’s poorest and destitute
  • Since 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has cracked down on hundreds of NGOs; last year Amnesty International shut down its India operations
India
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India’s government has barred the Missionaries of Charity, the Catholic religious order and philanthropic organisation started by Mother Teresa, from accessing foreign donations for not meeting eligibility conditions under local laws, the federal Home Ministry said.

The charity, set up by the Nobel Peace Prize winner in 1950, has its headquarters in the eastern city of Kolkata and works with some of the country’s most poor and destitute people.

The group’s application to renew its licence to continue getting foreign funds under India’s Foreign Contribution Regulation Act “was refused on [December 25] for not meeting the eligibility conditions,” the ministry said in a statement Monday. “No request / revision application has been received from Missionaries of Charity (MoC) for review of this refusal of renewal.”

Nuns from the Missionaries of Charity attend a special prayer for Mother Teresa. Photo: AFP

There was no immediate comment from the Christian charity. The ministry’s statement gave no details on what rules the group had flouted.

This is not the first time that a charitable organisation or rights groups has lost its licence to get money for its activities from overseas donors. Since it came to power in 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has cracked down on hundreds of NGOs. Last year Amnesty International shut down its India operations after accusing the government of “constant harassment”, including freezing its bank accounts.

Mamata Banerjee, the Chief Minister of West Bengal state, of which Kolkata is the capital, tweeted to say that she was “shocked” the federal government had blocked the group’s access to its bank accounts on Christmas Day.

However, the Ministry of Home Affairs said in its statement the “MHA did not freeze any accounts of MoC. State Bank of India has informed that MoC itself sent a request to SBI to freeze its accounts.”

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