'Entity of concern': India lambasts US religious freedom body over demand to sanction RAW
New Delhi/IBNS: India on Wednesday slammed the US religious freedom body USCIRF and said it should be designated internationally as an "entity of concern" for its repeated "pattern of biased and politically motivated assessments" and "misrepresentation" of facts.
The strongly worded statement came hours after the US body's annual religious freedom report claimed that minorities in India continue to face deteriorating treatment.
The report also recommended imposing sanctions on India's external intelligence agency R&AW over its alleged involvement in the "assassination" plots against 'Khalistani' separatists and extremists overseas.
"We have seen the recently released 2025 Annual Report of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), which once again continues its pattern of issuing biased and politically motivated assessments," India's Ministry of External Affairs said.
Calling the panel's report fake in an indirect manner, India questioned if the USCIRF is even genuine in its work and concerns on religious freedom.
"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," the foreign ministry said.
Claiming that the US religious freedom body is far from reality, the statement said: "India is home to 1.4 billion people who are adherents to all religions known to mankind. However, 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."
Despite the US panel's recommendation, it is unlikely that the Trump administration will sanction India's external intelligence agency R&AW as the panel's observations are not binding on the government.
In its current report, the US panel has recommended designating India as a "country of particular concern" over alleged violations of religious freedom besides imposing targeted sanctions against R&AW.
It also alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the ruling BJP "propagated hateful rhetoric and disinformation against Muslims and other religious minorities".
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