Diplomatic visits are rarely accidental. When America’s top diplomat chooses to begin an India tour not with a defence facility, technology summit or strategic dialogue, but at the headquarters of a Catholic charity founded by Mother Teresa, the symbolism matters. The message becomes even sharper when that organisation once found itself temporarily paralysed by India’s foreign funding regulations. The controversy surrounding the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act has long extended beyond bookkeeping compliance. It has evolved into a larger debate about the balance between sovereignty and civil liberty in an increasingly centralised Indian state.

The law was originally framed to prevent foreign interference in domestic politics and to monitor questionable funding channels. No one should dispute the legitimacy of that objective. Every sovereign country regulates foreign money flows. The problem begins when regulatory power acquires the ability to selectively intimidate, freeze or structurally weaken institutions without transparent standards. Over the past decade, many non-governmental organisations have lost FCRA licences. Some were accused of financial irregularities, others of activities deemed contrary to national interest. Yet........

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