India dismisses USCIRF report, describes it as motivated and biased

INdia on mon rejected the yearbook cover of the US direction on International spiritual Freedom (USCIRF) that urged the US administration to link Washington's security assistance and bilateral trade to improvements in New Delhi's handling of religious freedom.The USCIRF’s report, released earlier this month, criticised India for alleged violations of religious freedom and backed “targeted sanctions” on individuals and entities such as the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW), holding them responsible for the matter.Also Read | | US religious freedom panel recommends targeted sanctions on RSS, R&AWThe Indian government has routinely rejected the annual reports of the USCIRF, an independent, bipartisan federal government entity established by the US Congress to monitor religious freedom abroad, and Monday’s response by the external affairs ministry was largely on the lines of reactions in recent years.While dismissing the latest report, external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the USCIRF has persistently presented a “distorted and selective” picture of India that relies on “questionable sources and ideological narratives”.“We have taken note of the latest report of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF). We categorically reject its motivated and biased characterisation of India,” he said. “For several years now, USCIRF has persisted in presenting a distorted and selective picture of India, relying on questionable sources and ideological narratives rather than objective facts.”Jaiswal said that instead of persisting with “selective criticism” of India, the USCIRF should reflect on “disturbing incidents of vandalism and attacks on Hindu temples in the US, selective targeting of India, and growing intolerance and intimidation of members of the Indian diaspora in the US, which merit serious attention”.Also Read | India says 'no bilateral discussion' with US on combined force to reopen Strait of HormuzThe USCIRF said future US security assistance and trade with India should be linked to improvements in religious freedom in the country. It reiterated its call for India to be designated as a “country of particular concern” and cited cases of alleged worsening of religious freedom.Jaiswal said such “repeated misrepresentations” only undermine the credibility of the USCIRF.The report alleged that religious freedom in India continued to deteriorate in 2025 as the government enforced new laws that targeted religious minorities and their houses of worship. “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.