AICC flags ‘alienation’ of Christian properties under FCRA

All India Christian Council (AICC) has expressed serious concern over what it described as “continuing and accelerating alienation” of Christian properties and institutions under the guise of enforcing the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA).
In a press statement, AICC president Dr. Joseph D’Souza said those properties and assets were not acquired using government funds but developed through a combination of local and foreign contributions. AICC president said they were specifically dedicated to the welfare and empowerment of Dalits, tribals, and other marginalised communities.
Dr. D’Souza warned that the situation has created a dangerous crisis with immediate and potentially irreversible consequences for minority communities. He alleged that the proposed new FCRA amendments were a ploy to bring Christian properties under government control, citing an article in an RSS journal that reportedly suggested the BJP government should follow the same approach with Christian institutions as it did with Waqf properties.
AICC said that such alienation under the pretext ‘transparency and anti-conversion rhetoric’ was rapidly dispossessing the most vulnerable sections of society of vital resources essential for their education, health, livelihood support, and human dignity.
It described such moves as contrary to the principles of natural justice, social justice, equality, and the spirit of the Constitution.
Pointing out what it called a “double standard,” the council noted that while BJP leaders were trying to woo Christian voters in Tamil Nadu and Kerala ahead of state elections by claiming to be “friends of Christians,” actions on the ground appeared to threaten minority institutions.
AICC, founded as a community watchdog for minority rights and civil liberties, strongly condemned any legislative, administrative or other measures that empowered authorities, non-state actors, or private entities to alienate those properties without the free, prior and informed consent of the communities themselves. Further, AICC claimed that weaponisation of the investigative agencies is a hard reality in India and the Christian community fears that the investigative agencies would be misused against the minorities.
AICC demanded immediate consultation with affected communities and civil society organisations, and called upon the Government of India and state governments to suspend all processes leading to the alienation of such properties.