In the Press...
The Hindustan Times article on Smith's India op-ed'Ahead of Rubio's India trip, US lawmaker urges Secretary of State to flag concerns over proposed FCRA changes''US Congressman Chris Smith said that the alterations if they go through would allegedly disproportionately affect Christian charities and churches.'By Shashank Mattoo Ahead of US Secretary of State Marco Rubio's visit to India, an American lawmaker urged him to raise concerns regarding the proposed changes to India’s Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA). Rubio is set to hold extensive discussions with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Sunday, and will attend the Quad foreign ministers’ meeting in New Delhi on Tuesday next week. US Congressman Chris Smith said that the alterations if they go through would allegedly disproportionately affect Christian charities and churches. In an oped written for the Washington Examiner, Smith argued that the passage of new restrictive amendments “could do lasting damage to the relations between our two countries.” The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026 was introduced in the Lok Sabha in March 2026, and seeks to amend the existing 2010 law. It lays out provisions for how Indian individuals, companies and associations may receive and utilise foreign contribution.
In his argument, Smith has in particular expressed concern about provisions which allow the Indian government to seize foreign contributions and assets created from them, and vest them with a designated authority in case the registration of the receiving person or entity lapses. “If adopted, the bill would sharply expand the ability of the Indian state to seize the property and assets of groups that receive foreign funding — the vast majority of these being Christian churches and charities, such as hospitals and schools. In effect, the total property of entire churches and dioceses could soon be at risk of being taken over by the Indian state,” said Smith, a member of the Republican party who has represented New Jersey’s 4th Congressional district in the US House of Representatives since 1981. While acknowledging India’s democratic status and its right to see itself as a “Hindu cultural superpower”, Smith argued that “it is difficult to see how the relationship can develop if the government of India passes legislation designed to set up the expropriation of Indian Christians.” India denies visas to USCIRF India and the United States have long disagreed on issues related to religious freedom. India has denied visas to delegations from the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) and has repudiated the agency’s reports on religious freedom in India. “For several years now, USCIRF has persisted in presenting a distorted and selective picture of India, relying on questionable sources and ideological narratives rather than objective facts. Such repeated misrepresentations only undermine the credibility of the Commission itself,” India’s Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement in March this year after the release of the USCIRF’s 2025 report. US politicians and government agencies have persisted in raising issues related to religious freedom in India. Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state visit to the US in 2023, Representative Ilhan Omar introduced a resolution in the House of Representatives condemning “human rights violations and violations of international religious freedom in India, including those targeting Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Dalits, Adivasis, and other religious and cultural minorities.” The resolution did not make it to a vote in front of the House. US officials serving at the time in then-President Biden’s administration also stated that they would raise religious freedom issues with India during PM Modi’s visit. |
