Constraining Critique

Context: Amnesty International's decision to halt its operation in India due to the blocking of its financial accounts in light of undue state interference, is unfortunate and needs a relook.

Analyzing government’s decision

• Rationale behind

• To disallow “interference in domestic political debates by entities funded by foreign donations”. 
• This is linked to the group’s critical reporting of decisions such as the abrogation of special status for Jammu and Kashmir in 2019. 

• Implication:

• India now joins the ranks of countries such as Russia where the group has stopped operations. 
• Consistently registered discomfort with critical society organisation: which was exempli?ed in the recent amendments to the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Act drafted without consulting stakeholders.

Way Forward: 

• Appreciating the role of Civil Society Organisations:

• Necessary component of society activism, which enhances democracy by securing accountability.
• E.g.: Amnesty has taken up human rights causes such as minority rights, ending torture, the abolition of the death penalty, and refugee rights, globally, and has won Nobel Peace Prize in 1977.

• Democratic regimes that are bound by constitutionalism should not consider critical activism as adversarial but instead view it as a constructive critique of their functioning. 

• Build on Strengths:  For India to aspire to become a developed and a just nation, it must build on its strengths such as its demographic dividend and the procedural institutions built over decades. 

• For it to reap bene?ts from these advantages, entrepreneurship, governmental actions, and other economic tools would be necessary but not su?cient. 

• Need of a vibrant civil society: which spearheaded several reforms related to Accountability (the Right to Information Act), Welfare (the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act), Privacy Rights, Gender Equality, and Rights of sexual minorities, Environmental activism, etc.