Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s clarification on the Kishtwar DC’s Ramadan charity order should put an end to needless controversy. The regulation—requested by local religious leaders themselves—addresses a real problem: opportunistic NGOs that surface only during Ramadan, collect donations in patients’ names, and vanish without accountability. This harms genuine charities and deceives faithful donors whose generosity deserves protection, not exploitation. When religious committees ask the administration for transparency mechanisms, it is not state interference; it is responsive governance. MLAs who rushed to politicise the order would serve their constituents better by ensuring the regulation is implemented fairly rather than manufacturing a religious freedom crisis where none exists. Charitable giving is sacred. Fraud is not.
