• Christian groups oppose a bill in India that they fear could enable land seizure.
• The proposed changes to the foreign funding law would increase government control over charities.
• Organizations warn that the bill threatens properties meant for marginalized communities.

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Christian mission groups in India are speaking out against proposed changes to the country’s foreign funding law, saying the measure would give the government stronger powers over charities and institutions that use overseas donations for work among poor and marginalized communities.

In a statement sent to The Christian Post, the All India Christian Council said the proposed changes amounted to a move to take away Christian properties meant for the development of marginalized communities, including Dalits and tribals, or indigenous people.

The council said these lands and assets were built in most cases through a combination of local and foreign funds and were dedicated to welfare, education, healthcare and livelihood support. The organization called it a "dangerous and deeply alarming crisis with immediate and potentially irreversible consequences."

"The systematic alienation of properties strikes at the very heart of democratic principles of social justice, equality, and inclusive growth," the council said. 

India’s federal cabinet approved the Foreign Contribution Regulation Amendment Bill 2026 earlier this month but still needs to be approved by parliament, UCA News reports. The FCRA governs foreign donations and charitable contributions sent into India, and organizations must be registered under it to receive such funds.

The proposed measure would expand government oversight of foreign-funded charitable work and create a statutory mechanism allowing the state to take control of assets, including property, created through foreign contributions after an organization’s registration is suspended, canceled, surrendered or not renewed.

The bill also introduces a new Section 14B, which provides for the cessation of registration upon expiry or refusal of renewal, and sets timelines for the receipt and use of foreign contributions.

Under India’s FRCA system, 14,994 groups are registered as of Sunday, according to the country’s interior ministry. Its data also show that the registration of 21,954 organizations has been cancelled, and the registration of about 15,174 more groups is deemed expired.

The organizations that have had their FCRA registration cancelled include World Vision,  Compassion International, Church Auxiliary for Social Action and Evangelical Fellowship of India.

AICC President Joseph D’Souza said authorities were continuing and accelerating the alienation of properties in the name of enforcing the FCRA and said the proposed amendments were a ploy to bring properties and assets run by Christian institutions under government control.

The council said the measures threaten constitutional protections for religious minorities.

The council added that it opposes any legislative or administrative measures that allow authorities, non-state actors or private entities to alienate such properties without the free, prior and informed consent of the communities involved.

It called for immediate consultation with affected communities and grassroots civil society organizations, and urged the federal and state governments to suspend any processes that could lead to such alienation.

AICC's statement also said Christians fear misuse of investigative agencies against minorities.

Mission Network News reported that the proposed amendment follows earlier changes to the FCRA renewal system that left thousands of organizations under review.

FCRA rules changed in 2021 to require renewal every five years, and all organizations were asked to reapply, according to MNN. About 45,000 organizations submitted renewal applications that year, and between 3,500 and 4,000 were still awaiting review as of the last count.

John Pudaite of the Bibles For The World ministry told MNN that the government had been using the review process to stop the flow of funds into the country and had used the changes to scrutinize Christian and Muslim minority organizations.

Pudaite said one of Bibles For The World’s longtime partners, with which it had worked for more than 50 years, recently lost its FCRA registration.

Father Cedric Prakash, a Jesuit human rights activist based in western Gujarat state, told UCA News that the proposal would affect church-based nongovernmental organizations and groups run by other minorities.

He said assets bought with foreign funds, including land and buildings, would be at risk and that the proposal would allow the government to take control of them once the amendment is passed.

He added that the measure would move the state from administrative oversight to direct control of civil society organizations and warned that poor people would be the biggest losers.

A church leader who did not want to be named told UCA News that the proposal appeared intended to ensure that only civil society groups supporting the government’s Hindu nationalist agenda could receive foreign funding.

In its 2026 report released last month, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom has urged the U.S. State Department to designate India as a “country of particular concern,” citing systematic and ongoing violations of religious freedom.

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