Washington DC [US], November 19 (ANI): The US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has released a report alleging that India’s political system fosters discrimination against religious minority communities, despite constitutional protections for freedom of religion or belief (FoRB). This comes months after India criticised the commission for what it called “persistent attempts to misrepresent isolated incidents” and malign the country’s multicultural society.
The report, titled Systematic Religious Persecution in India, examines India’s social, political, and criminal justice frameworks in relation to FoRB. USCIRF alleged that Hindu nationalist groups, particularly the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), in close alignment with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), create conditions enabling discriminatory legislation, including laws on citizenship, anti-conversion, and cow slaughter. The report claims that such laws disproportionately affect religious minorities, limiting their ability to freely practice their faith, as outlined in Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which India is a signatory.
In its 2025 Annual Report, USCIRF recommended that the US Department of State designate India as a “Country of Particular Concern” (CPC) for engaging in systematic and ongoing religious freedom violations.
Responding to the latest report, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal reiterated India’s stance, calling USCIRF’s assessments “biased and politically motivated.” He said, “The 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.”
Jaiswal further noted that India, home to 1.4 billion people practicing diverse religions, remains a pluralistic and tolerant society. He asserted, “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. 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.”
The MEA has previously described USCIRF as “a biased organisation with a political agenda” that misrepresents facts and promotes a motivated narrative about India.
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