USCIRF Flags India for Religious Freedom Violations, India Rejects Allegations as ‘Selective and Biased’
The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has recommended that the United States impose targeted sanctions on India’s hardline Hindu nationalist group Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the country’s external intelligence agency Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), citing what it described as serious and worsening violations of religious freedom.
USCIRF Report: India a “Country of Particular Concern”
In its latest annual report, the commission again designated India as a “Country of Particular Concern (CPC)”, reserved for nations accused of engaging in or tolerating systematic religious freedom violations. The report recommended sanctions including asset freezes and travel restrictions on RSS members and restrictions against RAW for alleged involvement in activities undermining religious freedom.
The commission also urged the United States to consider religious freedom conditions when negotiating trade deals and arms sales with India. According to USCIRF, religious minorities in India have faced increasing violence, discrimination, and legal restrictions in recent years.
The report cited several incidents, including unrest in Maharashtra related to protests over the removal of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb’s tomb and attacks in Odisha where extremist Hindu groups allegedly targeted Christian families following conversion disputes. It also criticised anti-conversion laws in several states, forced detentions, deportations of Bengali-speaking Muslims from Assam to Bangladesh, and mistreatment of Rohingya refugees.
The report referenced earlier actions by the US government, including barring Narendra Modi, then Chief Minister of Gujarat, from entering the United States over alleged religious freedom violations—a ban later lifted after he became Prime Minister.
India Rejects USCIRF Findings
Responding to media queries, Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson for India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), strongly rejected the report, calling it “motivated and biased.”
Jaiswal said the commission has repeatedly relied on questionable sources and ideological narratives rather than objective facts, and that such selective criticism undermines its credibility. He added that the USCIRF should instead address incidents of vandalism and attacks on Hindu temples in the United States and growing intimidation of the Indian diaspora.
India has consistently dismissed USCIRF assessments as politically motivated, and its latest government statement reaffirmed that position, rejecting the report’s characterization of the country.
USCIRF’s Global Monitoring Role
The USCIRF is an independent advisory body of the US government, tasked with monitoring religious freedom worldwide and recommending policy actions to the US President, Secretary of State, and Congress. Its recommendations are non-binding.
In its 2026 report, the commission flagged 18 countries as CPCs, including Afghanistan, Myanmar, China, Iran, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Vietnam.
