NEW DELHI: India on Wednesday rejected a report by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) that sought targeted sanctions on the country’s external intelligence agency, and said the body was engaged in a campaign of “biased and politically motivated assessments”.
The Indian government has usually reacted angrily to reports by USCIRF, an independent, bipartisan federal government entity established by the US Congress to monitor religious freedom abroad, and Wednesday’s response by the external affairs ministry was largely on the lines of reactions in recent years.
External affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said USCIRF was engaged in persistent attempts to cast aspersions on India’s multicultural society, reflecting a “deliberate” agenda rather than genuine concern for religious freedom. The US panel’s annual report for 2025, released on Tuesday, “continues its pattern of issuing biased and politically motivated assessments”, he said.
“India is home to 1.4 billion people who are adherents to all religions known to mankind. However, we have no expectation that the USCIRF will engage with the reality of India’s pluralistic framework or acknowledge the harmonious coexistence of its diverse communities,” Jaiswal said.
Referring to USCIRF’s recommendation that the US government designate India as a “country of particular concern” or CPC for engaging in systematic and egregious religious freedom violations, Jaiswal added, “Such efforts to undermine India’s standing as a beacon of democracy and tolerance will not succeed. In fact, it is the USCIRF that should be designated as an entity of concern.”
USCIRF’s “persistent attempts to misrepresent isolated incidents and cast aspersions on India’s vibrant multicultural society reflect a deliberate agenda rather than a genuine concern for religious freedom”, he said.
In the annual report, USCIRF alleged religious freedom conditions in India have further deteriorated as attacks and discrimination against religious minorities continued to rise.
In an unusual turn, USCIRF also recommended that the US government should impose “targeted sanctions on individuals and entities, such as Vikash Yadav and RAW, for their culpability in severe violations of religious freedom by freezing their assets and/or barring their entry into the United States”.
The US has charged Yadav, a former officer of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) seconded to the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) or external intelligence agency, with involvement in a foiled plot to kill Khalistani separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on American soil in 2023.
While USCIRF has urged the US government in the past to designate India as a “country of particular concern”, it has not called for action against particular wings of the country’s security or intelligence apparatus.
USCIRF also recommended that the US government should conduct a “review assessing whether arms sales to India, such as MQ-9B drones under Section 36 of the Arms Export Control Act, may contribute to or exacerbate religious freedom violations”.
Last October, India sealed a massive deal with the US to acquire 31 Predator drones at a cost of almost $4 billion to bolster the military’s combat and surveillance capabilities, especially along the border with China. The supply of the Predator drones is expected to start in January 2029.
In an apparent reference to activities of Khalistani separatists in the US, the panel further recommended the reintroduction and enforcement of the Transnational Repression Reporting Act of 2024 to ensure the annual reporting of acts of “transnational repression by the Indian government targeting religious minorities in the United States”. It also said the US government should prioritise meetings with religious minority communities and faith-based civil society organisations during visits by US Congressional delegations to India.
The report contended that authorities in India were exploiting anti-terror and financing laws, including the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA), to crack down on civil society organisations and detain members of religious minorities, human rights defenders, and journalists reporting on religious freedom.