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India rejects ‘biased’ USCIRF report
Rejecting the claims, New Delhi has called to designate the USCIRF as an ‘entity of concern.’
Ministry of External Affairs / MEA
India has strongly rejected the latest report by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), calling it “biased and politically motivated.”
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) dismissed the report’s claims of deteriorating religious freedom in India. “We have seen the recently released 2025 Annual Report of the USCIRF, which once again continues its pattern of issuing biased and politically motivated assessments,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a statement.
Also Read: US religious freedom panel urges sanctions against India's external spy agency
The USCIRF report, released on March 25, recommended designating India as a “Country of Particular Concern” (CPC), alongside nations such as Afghanistan, China, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia. It also, for the first time, suggested targeted sanctions against India’s intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW), over its alleged involvement in assassination plots against Sikh separatists abroad.
Our response to media queries regarding the 2025 Annual Report of United States Commission on International Religious Freedom️
— Randhir Jaiswal (@MEAIndia) March 26, 2025
https://t.co/c5tAF1INZ3 pic.twitter.com/PvpwbZHv5u
Rejecting the claims, the MEA accused the USCIRF of misrepresenting isolated incidents to tarnish India’s global image. “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 stated.
Jaiswal reiterated that such attempts would not tarnish India’s reputation as a democratic and tolerant society. “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,” he said.
While the USCIRF’s recommendations are not binding, analysts suggest that the U.S. government is unlikely to sanction R&AW, given Washington’s strategic partnership with India and its geopolitical concerns regarding China. However, allegations regarding India's handling of Sikh separatists in the U.S. and Canada have added tensions to bilateral relations in recent years.
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