Ahmedabad, 17 May 2013

This is really a good step taken by the union government, but it’s too little, too late.

The Ministry of Home, Government of India has suspended registration of a Delhi based left-tilted umbrella organization Indian Social Action Forum(INSAF), under which more than two dozen NGOs art active in Gujarat. The government has frozen INSAF accounts on April 30. In case INSAF needs to spend it’s fund, it has to take prior permission from the Home Ministry. INSAF has challenged this decision in Supreme Court.

According to what Activist Hiren Gandhi of INSAF, the organization has been banned under amendments made in the Act of 1976 under which, any civil society organization receiving foreign funds and indulging in activities that are political in nature will be banned.

Hiren Gandhi was in news in 2010 when police arrested an alleged Naxalite, Sagar Kutapatti who was working with a Hiren Gandhi’s NGO Darshan. Kutapatti according to police was a planner of Naxal activities in urban areas of Gujarat and was allegedly associated with the arrested Naxal leader, Surya Devra.

In a press conference, Jimmy C Dabhi of St Xavier’s Non-Formal Education Society described this move as state terrorism. He said while govt can receive foreign funds; why NGOs can’t get foreign funds”.

Union Home ministry’s move is good, but there are other foreign funded NGOs that may be suitable to face same action.