Unhealthy discord

Just a week after Missionaries of Charity was forced to freeze its bank accounts due to non-renewal of its FCRA license, renowned organisations like Oxfam, Jamia Millia Islamia, Indian Medical Association too came to meet a similar fate. To be precise, registration of around 6,000 NGOs or Associations lapsed on December 31 last year — which was the last date for renewal of registration. Out of the said number of organisations, 5,789 did not apply for the FCRA registration renewal while the MHA had found irregularities in the audits of the remaining NGOs. Legalities apart, it must be noted that the discord between the government and NGOs is not a new thing. Ironically, such a disharmony prevails despite the fact that both the government and the NGOs claim to serve the poor, underprivileged and the destitute. In 2018 itself, registration of some 20,000 NGOs had lapsed. The rift appears to be stemming from both sides. The current government at Center, as also the past ones, have been quite vocal on the irregularities in the functioning of certain NGOs. On the other hand, the NGOs that work with underprivileged sections of the society keep flagging apprehensions around the quality of governance. The discontent on both sides is not unjustified. It is needless to say that mushrooming of NGOs in the country has led to a trend of profiteering, for which, sometimes even national security could be compromised. At the same time, given the poor socio-economic conditions in large parts of the country, the findings and actions of NGOs expose the government's failures. Amid all these controversies, the most unfortunate thing would be to compromise with the interests of the poor and the destitute. Just like the government needs private players and startups to efficiently run the economy of the vast geographical spread of India, it also needs NGOs and Associations to assist in social service delivery. The legitimate NGOs need to be given paramount importance. They have well-oiled machinery which they have developed over years and decades. This setup cannot be undone on account of unfounded and ambiguous charges. National security is indeed a paramount concern but it should come through meticulous monitoring and specific investigations rather than at the cost of compromised social security. Organisations like Oxfam India have been operating in the country for well over a decade and have an excellent record of serving the needy in society. Be it natural disasters like flood, earthquake, landslides etc. or man-made disasters like wars — such organisations have always sprung into action. Oxfam, in particular, played a phenomenal role during the devastating second wave of the pandemic. It is a boon for a diverse and vast country like India to have full-fledged established NGOs — without whose support governing the country will become a much more daunting task. The scale of operations that prominent NGOs undertake globally requires a large amount of money. Will their requirements be fulfilled entirely from domestic funds? It is highly doubtful. Apart from their work on ground, such NGOs are known to provide research-based inputs and reports which many a times even the governments fail to come up with. The main problem that needs to be addressed is the distrust between the government and the NGOs. The combined strength of the NGOs and the government could potentially prove out to be a handy thing in the governance domain. On the other hand, if the two parallel systems remain aloof or at loggerheads with each other, society stands to lose a great deal. This is nowhere to suggest that the government must forgo its concerns on money laundering and national security. It just needs to be specific, targeted and transparent in its response. In dealing with bad elements, the government should very cautiously avoid weeding out the good and legitimate ones. A general perception is that since the works and findings of certain NGOs go against that of the government's claims and assertions, the government tends to stifle those NGOs. Notably, be it the Oxfam, IMA or Jamia Millia Islamia — they have been vocal against the government's policies either through remarks or their reports. It can only be hoped that this perception is false. Still, understanding the potential of these NGOs, the government should reach out to them and allay their concerns rather than being antagonistic. Since many of the NGOs work on the ground, their sensibilities and sensitivities might be associated with the plight of the target population they cater to. Their being vocal should indeed hold a mirror to the government and suggest policy changes. To sum up, keeping the interest of the underprivileged population at the helm, and balancing it with national security concerns, it is incumbent upon the government and the NGOs in question to complement each other rather than countering each other.