Former Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Harsh Mander has remained a polarising figure in India’s public discourse for over two decades. His career trajectory—from a civil servant who resigned in the aftermath of the 2002 Gujarat riots, to a policy advisor in the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, and subsequently a vocal critic of the ruling establishment has been marked by deep institutional entanglements, legal scrutiny, and ideological contestation.
Over the years, Mander has helmed non-governmental organisations, served on international advisory boards, authored numerous opinion pieces, and participated in high-profile legal and political campaigns. However, his associations with anti-national figures, his interventions in terror-related mercy petitions, and a series of regulatory actions by central agencies—including raids by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), suspension of his NGO’s foreign funding licence, and cancellation of tax exemptions have kept him at the centre of sustained public and official scrutiny.
The following report examines the key milestones, affiliations, and legal challenges that define Mander’s contentious public career.
Harsh Mander served as an IAS officer until 2002, when he resigned citing the Gujarat riots. Since then, he has founded the organisation Aman Biradari, led the Centre for Equity Studies (CES), served on Sonia Gandhi’s National Advisory Council (NAC), and written extensively for various media outlets.
National Advisory Council and Naxal Connections
In 2010, Sonia Gandhi handpicked Mander for her National Advisory Council.
The NAC’s Naxal connections run deep, with A Padma, wife of top Naxal leader A Hargopal, being put in charge of “Aman Vedika,” an organisation run under Mander’s network. She was one of eight Maoists freed to save an abducted Malkangiri collector.
Open Society Foundation Association
Between 2018 and 2022, Mander served on the Advisory Board of George Soros’s Open Society Foundation (OSF) Human Rights Initiative.
Soros announced $1 billion to fight “nationalism” globally and named Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a prime target. Mander sat on his advisory board while writing columns about India’s minorities.
Hindus for Human Rights
Mander is currently on the advisory board of Hindus for Human Rights, which submits formal anti-India USCIRF testimony annually, lobbies the US Congress against India, and whose X account was blocked in India.
European Catholic Funding and LRO Exposé
The Legal Rights Observatory (LRO) revealed that Mander’s Centre for Equity Studies received crores from European Catholic organisations, including France’s Comité Catholique Contre la Faim (CCFD-Terre solidaire), despite no evidence of the NGO working on hunger or development in India. Other donors included US-based Indian Muslims Relief & Charity and UK-based Minority Rights Group, which funded CES during peak anti-CAA/NRC protests. LRO also found that Oxfam India CEO Amitabh Behar serves as treasurer of CES. The funding was allegedly used for legal and logistical support to arrested jihadis involved in the February 2020 Delhi riots.
Legal Troubles
CBI Raid and FCRA Violations: In February 2024, the CBI raided Mander’s residence and office. An FIR was filed against him and the Centre for Equity Studies under FCRA provisions. The Ministry of Home Affairs found that CES transferred ₹32.71 lakh from its FCRA account to individuals in violation of FCRA 2010. The CES FCRA licence was suspended.
The MHA specifically found that CES used foreign contributions to publish reports co-authored with Karwan-e-Mohabbat, a non-FCRA association. Mander accepted ₹12.64 lakh personally from CES’s FCRA account. FCRA Section 3 prohibits columnists from accepting foreign contributions.
Income Tax Action: In September 2024, the Income Tax department cancelled Aman Biradari’s 12A status, meaning no one can donate to it tax-free.
NCPCR Allegations and Child Shelter Sexual Abuse Allegations
In January 2021, the NCPCR called for an investigation into Mander’s foreign funding links, alleging that funds for two child shelters under his Centre for Equity Studies, Khushi Rainbow Home and Ummeed Aman Ghar, were diverted to finance CAA protests, with minors allegedly forced to participate. The probe reportedly found that Islamic Relief Worldwide (IRW), blacklisted in Israel, UAE, and Bangladesh over Islamist propaganda links, and a charity registered at the Canadian High Commission funded the shelters.
The NCPCR investigation also revealed instances of child sexual abuse, with the Commission noting that a complaint was received as early as 2012 but was not adequately addressed. The probe found no renewed registration, no counsellor, no medical officer, no cook, and no staff recruitment records. Minor children were mingled with elder children, making them vulnerable to abuse. Staff responses were deemed “misleading and incorrect.”
The NCPCR recommended an EOW audit. Mander dismissed the allegations as a “witch hunt.”
Mercy Petitions for Terrorists
Mander was among those who signed mercy petitions for Ajmal Kasab, Afzal Guru, and Yakub Memon – terrorists responsible for killing innocent lives.
Ishrat Jahan Case
Mander has been documented as an Ishrat Jahan apologist. The Lashkar-e-Taiba operative was killed in a Gujarat encounter. A CBI court confirmed she was an LeT member, and the Intelligence Bureau had identified her as a trained Lashkar operative. Mander spent years framing her as a victim.
Anti-CAA Remarks
In December 2019, Mander addressed an anti-CAA crowd at Jamia Millia Islamia, saying: “The future of this country will not be decided in the Supreme Court or Parliament, it will be decided on the streets.”
10. Dec 2019, he addressed an anti-CAA crowd at Jamia. His speech included “The future of this country will not be decided in the Supreme Court or Parliament, it will be decided on the streets.” The SC refused to hear Mander’s own petition until he clarified his remarks. pic.twitter.com/7g7lbPGnfg
— Brown Sepoys (@BrownSepoys) July 9, 2026
The Supreme Court refused to hear Mander’s own petition until he clarified his remarks.
Ayodhya Verdict Challenge
Mander was one of 40 activists who filed a review petition against the Ayodhya verdict, a unanimous 5-0 Supreme Court judgment. The court dismissed the review petition.
Controversial Statements
Mander publicly stated that if the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill was passed, he would “register himself as a Muslim and refuse to submit any documents to NRC.”
Writings and Allegations
Mander has written several articles making controversial claims:
“Does a Hindutva Terror Project Exist?” – A two-part series attempting to build a case for organised Hindutva terrorism as a structured parallel threat.
“How the Delhi Riots Conspiracy Case Pulverised Democracy and 18 Lives” – Framing the 18 accused as victims of political targeting. The Delhi High Court called the prosecution case “prima facie grave,” and the Solicitor General told the Supreme Court it was “well-designed, orchestrated, pre-planned.”
“The Destruction of Muslim Livelihoods by State Laws” – Framing halal product scrutiny, the new Waqf law, and “spit jihad” cases as systematic economic dismantling of Muslims.
“The Never-Ending Search for the Next Jihad” – Dismissing Love Jihad as a manufactured “Muslim male sexual predator” myth, despite documented cases of women lured into relationships by Muslim men under false religious identity and coerced into conversion.
“‘Pushback’ at Gunpoint – the Hindutva-BJP Project of Manufacturing Statelessness” – Framing West Bengal’s deportation of illegal Bangladeshi migrants as a “moral genocide” targeting Muslims.
In June 2025, Mander told Dawn that “Muslims, particularly from the eastern part of the country, are terrified” and that “people of Muslim identity who happen to be Bengali speaking are being targeted as part of an ideological hate campaign”.
Following actions by the Enforcement Directorate, CBI, FCRA suspension, and Income Tax department, Mander tweeted that his work “for love and justice” would continue.
This article is based on an X thread by Brown Sepoys.
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