The US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has recommended targeted sanctions on Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the intelligence agency, Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW).
The Commission, in its report, has alleged violations of religious freedom. It has designated India as a "country of particular concern". The External Affairs Ministry (EAM) has so far not responded to the USCIRF's report, but had earlier termed its findings "biased" and "politically motivated".
The USCIRF, created in 1998, is tasked with monitoring global freedom of religion or belief (FoRB). It serves as an independent advisory body, making formal recommendations to the US President, Congress, and the Secretary of State. Its commissioners are appointed by the US President and senior political leaders in the House of Representatives and the Senate.
The USCIRF's annual report highlighted that the conditions for religious freedom in India have "continued to deteriorate" and accused the government of targeting religious minorities.
“Several states undertook efforts to introduce or strengthen anti-conversion laws to include harsher prison sentences. Indian authorities also facilitated widespread detention and illegal expulsion of citizens and religious refugees and tolerated vigilante attacks against religious minority communities,” the report said.
The Waqf (Amendment) Act was also criticised in the report. Communal clashes in states like Maharashtra, Odisha, and Uttar Pradesh are blaming groups like the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, an RSS affiliate, for violence.
As the US government continues to press India on religious freedom concerns, the USCIRF has called for the enforcement of Section 6 of the Arms Export Control Act. The commission is urging a halt to arms sales to India, citing what it describes as continued acts of intimidation and harassment against religious minorities.
