‘Distorted image of India’: MEA slams US report recommending sanctions on RSS, R&AW

New Delhi: The Ministry of External Affairs on Monday rejected the 2026 annual report of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, which recommended targeted sanctions against national people’s groups and research and analysis sectors for violating religious freedom.MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a statement that the committee insists on relying on dubious sources and ideological narratives instead of objective facts to present a distorted and selective image of India.Jaiswal said: “We have taken note of the latest report of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom. We categorically reject its motivated and biased portrayal of India. For many years, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom has persisted in distorting and selectively portraying India based on questionable sources and ideological narratives rather than objective facts. This repeated distortion of facts only undermines the credibility of the Commission itself.”“Instead of continuing to selectively criticize India, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom should reflect on disturbing incidents of vandalism and attacks on Hindu temples in the United States, selective targeting of India, and growing intolerance and intimidation of the Indian diaspora in the United States, which deserve serious attention,” he added.Previously, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom designated India as a “country of particular concern” and asked the United States to link arms sales and trade policies with religious freedom.The US Commission on International Religious Freedom said its report “Systematic Religious Persecution in India” provides an overview of India’s social, political and criminal justice systems as they relate to freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) issues.“It also explores the relationship between Hindu nationalist groups such as the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (bjp), and the impact of this dynamic on FoRB. Despite providing some constitutional protections for freedom of religious belief, India’s political system fosters a climate of discrimination against religious minorities,” the report said.The US Commission on International Religious Freedom also argued that religious freedom conditions in India “continue to deteriorate” and accused the Indian government of “targeting” religious minorities and places of worship.“Some countries have worked to introduce or strengthen anti-conversion laws, including harsher prison sentences. Indian authorities have also promoted widespread detention and illegal deportations of civil and religious refugees and tolerated vigilante attacks against religious minorities,” the report said.USCIRF was established in 1998 by an act of Congress to “monitor the universal right to freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) abroad” and make recommendations to the President of the United States, the U.S. Department of State, and Congress.The agency says it operates independently, but the U.S. president and top political leaders in the House and Senate appoint its nine commissioners.In its 2025 annual report, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom recommended that the U.S. State Department designate India as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) for its “engagement in systemic, persistent, and egregious violations of religious freedom.”Jaiswal pointed out in March last year that India has a population of 1.4 billion people who believe in all religions known to mankind.He has said the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom should be designated an entity of concern. “We do not expect the US Commission on International Religious Freedom to engage with the realities of India’s pluralistic framework or to recognize the harmonious coexistence of its diverse communities. Such efforts to undermine India’s status as a beacon of democracy and tolerance will not succeed. In fact, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom should be designated as an entity of concern,” he said.The MEA had earlier termed USCIRF “a biased organization with a political agenda” and said it continued to distort facts and peddle motivated narratives about India.