India (MNN)—Christian organizations in India already impacted by changes to the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) may face a new challenge, in the form of a bill sent to the Indian parliament at the end of March.

Proponents of the amendment say its purpose is to ensure foreign money is not misused to fund activities detrimental to national interest. However, John Pudaite of Bibles For The World states it would allow the Indian government to take control of assets from organizations that have had their FCRA registration canceled or suspended.

“The government could basically confiscate all assets you have were created with foreign contribution,” says Pudaite. “So an organization that had planted and built a number of churches, even if it was 20, 30 years ago—all of those churches could be confiscated if they were under scrutiny by the government.”

According to recent counts, approximately 22,700 organizations have lost their FCRA registration, and thousands are under suspension pending further investigation by the government. This bill would still apply even to assets surrendered by organizations outside of the country to their partner organizations within the country.

“It talks about the government being able to establish a designated authority there—that’s the words of the bill—that will take possession of those assets,” explains Pudaite. “So let’s say there’s a ministry that has a mission hospital, half a dozen schools, and 30 churches, and their FCRA has been suspended or canceled. The government, through its designated authority, can essentially take control of all of those properties if they if they have been created with even any percentage from foreign contributions.”

The bill did pass in the cabinet and went to the parliament floor—however, it received pushback and has been retracted. It’s expected to be resubmitted at a later parliament session.

“But that’s the type of thing that’s happening behind the scenes,” says Pudaite. “They’re trying to take over all the property of the church and of Christian ministries in India.”

Pray lawmakers in the Indian parliament would act in the best interests of fairness and religious freedom, and pray on behalf of Christian ministries within the country.

 

Header photo is a representative stock image courtesy of Zoshua Colah via Unsplash.