UNITED STATES, March 1, 2017 (Christianity Today): HPI Note: At issue here is foreign funding coming into India and being used for the purpose of conversion of Hindus to Christianity. Compassion International only works through evangelical churches (as stated in this full article), churches whose aim is conversion. The 2011 crackdown on foreign funds entering India was intended to limit those meant for conversion work, including, in the case of Compassion International, such work was done under the guise of “child development.”
This story in Christianity Today magazine reads in part:
The child development ministry confirmed today that after 48 years, its final day of operation will be March 15. That means shutting the doors of 589 Indian-staffed development centers caring for more than 145,000 children, more than any other of the 25 countries where it works.
“I feel frustrated,” president and CEO Santiago “Jimmy” Mellado told CT. That’s because Compassion has worked every angle to try to stay open in India since last February, when India’s Ministry of Home Affairs put it on a list of organizations needing prior approval before transferring funds into the country. Then the government refused to grant such approval.
The government’s move can be traced back to 2011, when it changed its Foreign Contribution Regulation Act so that it could regulate NGOs it disagrees with philosophically, Mellado said. “In the middle of all this, we were pouring significant resources into local evangelical Christian churches,” Mellado said. “You can see where we would hit the radar screen.”