The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom delivered a sharp diplomatic blow to New Delhi on Friday, recommending targeted sanctions against the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and designating India as a "country of particular concern" for religious freedom violations.
The recommendation, outlined in USCIRF's 2026 annual report, marks the seventh consecutive year the independent panel has urged the designation—though it carries no binding authority over the Trump administration's foreign policy. The proposed measures against the RSS, the ideological parent organization of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, could include asset freezes and entry bans to the United States.
In India, as across the subcontinent, scale and diversity make simple narratives impossible—and fascinating. The USCIRF report arrives at a delicate moment for the world's most important bilateral relationship between democracies, with Washington and New Delhi deepening defense cooperation through the Quad alliance while simultaneously grappling with fundamental disagreements over governance and human rights.
A Pattern of Deterioration
The commission's findings paint a grim picture of conditions throughout 2025. According to the report, "Hindu nationalist mobs across several states harassed, incited, and instigated violence against Muslims and Christians with impunity." The panel documented prolonged detention of activists without trial, including individuals arrested during the 2020 Citizenship Amendment Act protests who remain behind bars more than five years later.
Twelve Indian states now maintain anti-conversion laws, with several strengthening enforcement mechanisms in 2025. The USCIRF cited the "interconnected relationship between RSS and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party" as enabling discriminatory legislation regarding citizenship, religious conversions, and cow slaughter laws. Vigilante attacks on religious minorities, particularly targeting Muslim cattle traders and Christian worship gatherings, have continued with minimal law enforcement intervention.




