By The Wire Staff
New Delhi: The National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, which one of the US’s most influential Latino-Christian organisations, has called on the Indian government to withdraw the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026.
In a letter, signed by religious leaders Samuel Rodriguez and Johnnie Moore, the organisation has asked the Indian government to not defer the legislation – already facing criticism from a large section of Indians – but to withdraw it.
Samuel Rodriguez is a pastor and author, and the president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference.
Johnnie Moore is an American evangelical leader and businessman is a former commissioner for the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom.
Both are reverends and have leadership positions in The Congress of Christian Leaders.
The full letter, in which they also cite instances from history to warn the Indian government of the dangers of communal properties, is below.
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We write as Christian leaders who love India — its people, its civilization, its promise. We write also as men who count India’s leaders among our friends. It is precisely because of that friendship that we must speak plainly.
The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026, introduced March 25, 2026, would empower a government authority to seize assets built by religious and charitable organisations whenever their FCRA registration lapses or is canceled — even through bureaucratic delay. We call on the Government of India not merely to defer this bill, but to withdraw it.
India’s Christians Are Not the Problem — They Are a Blessing
We understand India’s legitimate security concerns. Terrorism is real. Foreign interference is real. But India’s Christians are not a security threat. For decades, Indian Christian churches and their global partners have built schools, hospitals, and orphanages serving millions – especially tribals communities, and the rural poor, standing where the state has often not. India’s Christians are patriotic citizens who have served in its military, courts, and civil service. They are not agents of foreign powers. They are Indians.
This story was originally published in thewire.in. Read the full story here.