ISLAMABAD: US-based Christian leaders have urged India to withdraw the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026, warning it could allow seizure of assets belonging to religious and charitable organizations, Indian media reported.
According to The Wire, the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference (NHCLC), one of the largest Latino-Christian organizations in the United States, raised concerns over the proposed legislation in a letter addressed to the Indian government.
The letter, signed by NHCLC President Rev. Samuel Rodriguez and evangelical leader Rev. Johnnie Moore, called on New Delhi not just to defer but to withdraw the bill, which was introduced on March 25.
The bill, tabled in the Lok Sabha, India's lower house of parliament, seeks to amend the existing law governing how Indian organisations receive and use funding from abroad.
According to the report, the leaders said the legislation would empower authorities to seize assets built by charities if their foreign funding registration lapses or is cancelled, even due to procedural delays.
They argued that Christian organizations in India have long contributed to social welfare, including building schools, hospitals and orphanages, particularly for underprivileged communities.
The letter warned that donors from countries including the United States could pursue legal action if their contributions were subjected to seizure, stressing that funds were meant to support the poor, “not to subsidise the Indian state.”
The leaders also urged India to ensure fair and reciprocal treatment for faith-based organizations, noting that Indian groups operate freely in the United States.
They called for dialogue with Christian communities before any further steps on the legislation.
Last week, the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (the apex body representing the country's Roman Catholic clergy) termed the Foreign Contribution Regulation Amendment Bill as posing a direct threat to constitutionally protected minority freedoms.
As per the CBCI, the amendment would allow the federal government, acting as the licensing authority under the law, to deny or cancel an organization's registration and subsequently transfer control of its institutions, funds, properties, and assets to a newly proposed government authority.
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