India, Aug. 9 -- India's proposed foreign-contribution reforms should be judged by their text, safeguards and application, not through the false prism of government versus civil society, or one religion versus another.

Foreign funding is neither inherently suspect nor inherently virtuous. It can support hospitals, schools, disaster relief, research, humanitarian programmes and community initiatives. Yet money that originates outside a country's borders and is deployed within its social, political or religious landscape raises legitimate public-interest questions: who receives it, from whom, for what purpose and subject to what accountability? India's proposed Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026 must be understood in th...