Give NGOs another chance

The government has thrown the book at 11,319 NGOs for not renewing their registration by June 2016. While little can be said of such non-compliance as strict rules were framed way back in 2010 under the Foreign Contributions Regulation Act, there should be room for NGOs to correct deficiencies in applications or set right their paperwork. In the sub-list of 1,736 banned NGOs are many deserving organisations that play a stellar role in areas where civil society can intervene and the government can’t be expected to play a role. There are hundreds of institutions like orphanages, schools and societies working in diverse fields like caring for streetchildren which should get another chance to regularise registrations by relaxing the November 8 deadline. There are reputed charitable institutions run by religious bodies which must be given a fresh opportunity to comply, and be eligible for foreign donations if they are indeed getting such aid.

The government hasn’t released the names of 25 NGOs deemed to have carried out anti-national activities and therefore put on a blanket ban list. While the names of leading ones which invited official wrath can be guessed at, official India can’t simply dub every global NGO with an agenda that might seem at cross-purposes with national viewpoints. Nor can hundreds of NGOs be painted with the same brush and branded anti-national just because they deal with contentious issues. There is room for tolerance to kick in, and it’s the government’s duty to facilitate the registration of those which are doing good work for society.