The Government of India has refused to renew its foreign financial license to a charity founded by Mother Teresa.
Missionaries of charity have thousands of nuns who oversee projects such as abandoned orphanages, schools, clinics, and hospice.
On Christmas Day, the Indian Ministry of Home Affairs announced that it did not extend registration due to “adverse effects”.
Hindu hardliners have long accused charities of converting people to Christianity through their programs.
Charity denies these claims. In a statement on Monday, it confirmed that the extension application was rejected and that she would not hold a foreign financial account “until the problem was resolved.”
Prior to West Bengal’s Prime Minister Mamata Banerjee expressed criticism after tweeting that the government had frozen the bank accounts of charities. However, the government and the state subsequently denied that the account was frozen.
The Calcutta-based charity was founded in 1950 by Mother Teresa, a Roman Catholic nun who emigrated from her native Macedonia to India.
One of the most famous Catholic charities in the world. Mother Teresa won the Nobel Peace Prize for her humanitarian work in 1979 and was declared a saint by Pope Francis in 2016, 19 years after her death.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has attempted to raise funds abroad for India-based charities and other NGOs. Last year’s regulations frozen the bank accounts of Greenpeace and Amnesty International.
There were also some attacks on religious minorities across India. According to the Indian Evangelical Fellowship, there have been attacks in southern Karnataka, with nearly 40 reports of intimidation and violence.
Hindu vigilants have disrupted Christmas celebrations in parts of the country this year, protesting in front of religious rallies and destroying churches in northern India.
The majority of India’s population is Hindu. However, the country has about 24 million Christians, about 2% of the population, and is home to the second largest Catholic community in Asia after the Philippines.
Authorities have attempted to crack down on a campaign to convert Hindus to Christianity and Islam. Some BJP rule states have recently passed a law or are considering passing a law prohibiting religious conversion for marriage.
