The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has expressed deep concern regarding the visit of Mohan Bhagwat, chief of India's Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), to the United States, calling for targeted sanctions and the revocation of his visa.
USCIRF stated that members of RSS subgroups have perpetrated violent attacks against religious minorities, including Christians, Dalits, Muslims, and Sikhs.
It added that India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has enforced policies closely aligned with the RSS's Hindutva ideology, discriminating against minority communities.
"Religious freedom conditions in India continue to deteriorate as violence and incitement are frequently used to target religious minority communities," said USCIRF Chair Asif Mahmood.
"We urge the US government to consider targeted sanctions against RSS members and Indian officials complicit in religious freedom violations, including revoking the visa issued to Mohan Bhagwat and making him ineligible for future entry into the United States."
Civil society curbs
Under the BJP-led administration, Indian authorities have forcefully expelled Muslim citizens in Assam under the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), whilst pending amendments to the Financial Contributions Regulation Act (FCRA) threaten the operations of faith-based non-governmental organisations.
"The US government has an opportunity to hold India accountable and signal that the United States stands for religious freedom for the people of India," said Vice Chair Cece Heil, warning that without accountability, vigilante attacks on minorities and houses of worship will continue unchecked.
In its 2026 Annual Report, USCIRF recommended that the US State Department designate India as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) for systematic, ongoing, and egregious religious freedom violations.
