Amnesty International India, the NGO in question for its constant biased criticism of Indian government with an anti-national approach has finally shut down its ‘shop’ in India following a firm action by the Government of India. On the name of human rights, the group was indulged in dubious activities that led the Enforcement Directorate to act strictly. New Delhi last week had further tightened restrictions on foreign-funded charities in its latest attempt to muzzle critics, however, the action is part of a wider clampdown on civil society groups that are tarnishing India's image before the world for self-driven purposes. On Sept 10, ED froze Amnesty’s bank accounts precisely over violation of FCRA laws, following which the organisation has now halted its operations in India letting nearly 150 of its staff members go.

 

The pro- radicals organisation announced the decision of it shutting down through a post on Twitter today alleging that “they have halted the operations in India due to reprisal from Govt. of India.” However, the truth is that on the name of social service, Amnesty International for long not only have violated Indian laws but allegedly was never even registered under Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA), a law that is must needed for receiving foreign donations. The anti-national body kept fooling the Govt, over years and always claimed that what the government is terming as ‘money laundering’ is actually the foreign funding that it received through its so-called ‘legal’ fundraising efforts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

According to a report published in India in 2019, Amnesty International had connections with the British Govt. as well as radical Islamists. And the organisation has a history of tampering with facts related to internal affairs of India which it presented distortedly in order to malign the image of the country. Besides, Amnesty has constantly been trying to falsely project India as an oppressor of Muslim majority and a human rights violator.

 

 

 

 

Indian authorities have raided Amnesty India’s offices twice in the past two years, and in 2018 had even denied the group access to its bank accounts. In connection with this, about 30 of Amnesty’s 100,000 Indian donors received income tax notifications linked to their support for the group.

 

 

The ED then in November 2019 had issued a show-cause notice to Amnesty International for violation of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) to the tune of over Rs 51 crore. A day after the CBI had raided their New Delhi and Bengaluru offices, CBI sources found that the books of accounts of Amnesty India showed how they have been constantly indulged in activities which were in violation of the FCRA.

 

 

Soon after, when Amnesty International India was served a show-cause notice by the ED for receiving 'foreign funds' violating FEMA norms, what more shockingly came to light was that the organisation had been using that fund to prepare reports on Kashmir valley with pre-decided conclusions to spread false propaganda before the world caring least of India's global image. The report was revealed through documents accessed by Republic TV.

 

 

According to Republic TV report, the documents showed that Amnesty India received around Rs 5,29,87,663 from Amnesty International (UK) over the last few years to only prepare reports on Kashmir. AIIPL received the money in the name of “export of goods and services”, and produced the Kashmir reports in return. The agreements showed that almost 50% of the totally value of the works was paid in advance. The ED had questioned these so-called ‘exports of goods and services’ by AIIPL, although ₹51 crore it claimed was received towards export of services, no documentary proof of such export like invoices were furnished by the company.

 

 

Proving all the allegations further, one of the organisation’s insider Gita Sahgal, former head of Amnesty International’s gender unit had accused the organisation of losing its moral compass. Sahgal told in an interview to a digital portal that “an atmosphere of terror prevailed in the organisation in which debate is suppressed and staff are cowed into accepting the prevailing line”.

 

 

 

 

At any given point, Amnesty India not only peddled lies surrounding internal matters of India, but also twisted them in a manner that could instigate violence or trigger disorder in the country. Be it nationwide issues like CAA, Delhi riots or issues related to J&K, Amnesty India’s anti-India campaign continued spreading fake news with obnoxious interferences in the verdicts given by apex court or announced by the government.

 

 

In February this year, Amnesty International defended the violent mobs and rioters of anti-CAA protests, and also started a petition claiming India is curbing ‘freedom of expression’. Amnesty accused Delhi police of complicity in the violence that shook the city during US President Donald Trump’s visit. From terming the CAA violent mob as ‘peaceful protestors’ to fighting for them claiming that there was a ‘crackdown on peaceful protestors, Amnesty India’s partial approach and silence over the Radical Islamic movement that caused major disorder across the country was questionable enough but the organisation has an audacity to call the ED action as “witch hunt”.

 

 

Weeks after the group published two reports highly critical of the government’s human rights record, the Enforcement Directorate, an agency set up to investigate economic crimes on Sept 10 froze the bank accounts of Amnesty’s Indian arm. And given the firm action by the government, this is not the first time the government agencies have taken such a strict action on propaganda peddling anti-national organisations.