The Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) criticizes the Indian government's measures against dedicated environmental organizations and minority rights associations. "In India, this year's guest country of the Hannover Messe, critical non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are silenced systematically," said the STP's Asia-consultant, Ulrich Delius, in Göttingen on Friday. "The authorities in India are feuding against committed NGOs. This is unworthy of the largest democracy in Asia. Instead of facing public criticism about new mining and industrial projects, they are trying to obstruct and get rid of the organizations that listen to the complaints of about 100 million indigenous people concerning the destruction of their livelihoods. For India's indigenous peoples, however, it is a matter of survival that they are supported by NGOs. As an industrial nation and a democratic country, the Indian government must finally acknowledge the citizens' criticism of controversial large-scale projects." Next week, at the industrial fair in Hannover, India will present itself as a leading industrial nation in South Asia.

On Thursday, the Indian Ministry of the Interior had suspended Greenpeace India's official registration for six months and frozen the bank accounts of the environmental organization. The authorities have been working against Greenpeace even though the country's Supreme Court had repeatedly ruled in favor of the environmentalists, stating that the authorities should not interfere with the organization's work.

"While Greenpeace has sufficient funds to organize legal measures to defend itself, most of the smaller NGOs can not afford to – which is why many cannot avoid being closed down. In October 2014, in the state of Andhra Pradesh alone, a total number of 1,142 NGOs lost their license for supposedly accepting too much financial support from abroad. In the years 2014/2015, the tax authorities had already sent a formal warning to more than 31,000 NGOs for allegedly failing to provide sufficient information on financial aid from abroad. At least 69 NGOs lost their registration permanently, as the government had announced in Parliament in March 2015.

The measures are based on a controversial law adopted in 2010, which is supposed to inhibit financial support from abroad for activities against the "national interests" of India. The industry-friendly government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is trying to further coal and uranium mining at all costs, although this is an imminent threat to the livelihoods of millions of indigenous Adivasi. The indigenous communities in India have been protesting against new dams and industrial projects – that were implemented without them being asked and which are about to destroy their livelihood – for years, but mostly in vain.

Header Photo: Flickr/rajmukar1220