India Dismisses USCIRF's Claims on Religious Freedom: What You Need to Know

India's Strong Rejection of USCIRF Report

On Monday, India firmly rejected a report from the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), which suggested that the US should condition its security aid and trade relations on improvements in India's religious freedom practices.

The USCIRF's report criticized India for what it described as a rise in alleged religious freedom violations and proposed targeted sanctions against specific groups, including the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW), attributing responsibility for these issues to them.

The USCIRF operates as an independent, bipartisan agency of the US government, tasked with monitoring the global right to religious freedom.

In response, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) condemned the report, asserting that the USCIRF has consistently portrayed a "distorted and selective" view of India, relying on dubious sources and ideological biases instead of factual evidence.

The USCIRF recommended that future US security assistance and trade with India be contingent upon improvements in the country's religious freedom situation, also suggesting that India be classified as a "Country of Particular Concern" due to alleged deteriorating conditions.

MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal stated, "We categorically reject the motivated and biased characterization of India in the USCIRF report."

He emphasized that the commission's ongoing misrepresentations only serve to damage its own credibility.

Jaiswal urged the USCIRF to focus on serious issues such as vandalism and attacks on Hindu temples in the US, as well as the intimidation faced by the Indian diaspora, rather than continuing its selective criticism of India.

The USCIRF report also claimed that religious freedom in India has worsened, citing the introduction of new laws targeting religious minorities and their places of worship.

It alleged that several states have attempted to strengthen anti-conversion laws, leading to harsher penalties, and that Indian authorities have facilitated unlawful detentions and expulsions of citizens and religious refugees while tolerating vigilante violence against minority communities.