THE recent annual report by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has sounded a stark warning about the state of religious liberty in India.
Unveiled earlier this month, the report recommends that the United States impose targeted sanctions on the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), citing their responsibility and tolerance of severe violations of religious freedom. The Commission further suggests linking US security assistance and bilateral trade with India to measurable improvements in the country’s record on religious liberty.
According to the USCIRF, 2025 saw continued deterioration in India’s religious freedom environment. New legislation targeting religious minority communities and their houses of worship has been introduced and enforced. Several states have attempted to strengthen anti-conversion laws, including harsher prison sentences. Indian authorities, the report notes, have facilitated widespread detention, illegal expulsion of citizens and religious refugees and tolerated vigilante attacks against minority communities. The Commission goes so far as to recommend that India be designated a “country of particular concern” for its “systematic, ongoing and egregious” violations of religious freedom. The plight of minorities in India is no longer hidden. The oppression of communities especially Muslims has become an open secret. Time and again, incidents targeting religious minorities make headlines: communities facing mob violence under the guise of cow protection, attacks on churches during festivals and the forced closure or demolition of minority places of worship. Reports of harassment, arbitrary arrests etc continue to emerge. These are not isolated events; they represent a persistent pattern of systemic oppression. The USCIRF’s recommendations, therefore, must not go unnoticed. Its suggestions serve as an urgent call for the international community to recognize the gravity of the situation and to take concrete steps to pressure the Indian government into halting extremist policies that threaten the fundamental rights of minorities. Religious freedom is a universal value and its systematic violation anywhere is a matter of global concern. The time to act is now. Delaying international intervention only emboldens those who perpetuate oppression. The USCIRF report is not just a critique; it is a clarion call for justice, equity and the safeguarding of human dignity.
