'Freeze assets, ban entry into US': USCIRF calls for targeted sanctions against RSS, R&AW

The US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) recommended targeted sanctions on entities such as the BJP's ideological progenitor, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), and the external intelligence agency Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) for violations of religious freedom in India. 

In its recent report, the USCIRF said that the organisations should be sanctioned for "their responsibility and tolerance of severe violations of religious freedom" by freezing those individuals' or entities' assets and/or banning their entry into the US. 

Besides this, it demanded that India should be designated as a "country of particular concern (CPC)" for engaging in and tolerating "systematic, ongoing, and egregious religious freedom violations as defined by the International Religious Freedom Act (IFRA)." 

The independent federal commission also recommended that the Trump administration link future US assistance and bilateral trade policies with India to improvements in religious freedom. 

In its report, the USCIRF claimed that conditions for religious freedom in India "continued to deteriorate" in 2025 as the government allegedly introduced and enforced new laws targeting religious minority communities and their places of worship. 

"Several states undertook efforts to introduce or strengthen anti-conversion laws to include harsher prison sentences. Indian authorities also facilitated widespread detention and illegal expulsion of citizens and religious refugees and tolerated vigilante attacks against religious minority communities," the report read. 

While talking about the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 civilians, the report mentioned that the incident "intensified anti-Muslim sentiment in India, including targeted attacks." The USCIRF cited a couple of incidents in Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh. 

As per the report, "In Uttar Pradesh, self-professed members of a Hindu nationalist group reportedly shot and killed a Muslim restaurant worker, vowing to avenge those killed in the Kashmir attack. The Indian government also seized the aftermath of the attack to justify deportations of religious minorities it considers “illegal” migrants. 

It further claimed that Indian authorities detained around 40 Rohingya refugees, including 15 Christians, all of whom were transported into international waters near the Burmese coast, adding that they were "forced to swim to the Burmese shore with nothing more than life vests." 

It also criticised legislation such as the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, which adds non-Muslims to the boards that regulate and manage land endowments owned by Muslims, such as mosques, seminaries, and graveyards. 

The USCIRF report also criticised the Maharashtra, Assam, Uttarakhand, and Rajasthan governments for bringing in stringent anti-conversion laws. 

"In July, Maharashtra state announced plans to introduce in December a tougher law to prevent religious conversions. Similarly, Chhattisgarh state announced in October that a proposed new anti-conversion law would target faith healing meetings. The same month, Assam state announced it would introduce legislation to curb so-called “love jihad,” a derogatory term for conversions occurring in the context of interfaith marriages," the report stated. 

Besides this, it also talked about the arrests of Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam and several others involved in the 2020 anti-CAA protests. 

"In addition, the government continued to wield antiterrorism laws to imprison religious minorities and those advocating on their behalf. Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, and several others involved in the 2020 CAA protests remained in prison for the fifth year without trials."