The US Commission on International Religious Freedom, in its annual report which was released on Tuesday, has recommended targeted sanctions against India’s Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW). The external spy agency has been allegedly involved in assassination plots against Sikh separatists in the U.S. and Canada.
The Commission highlighted its concerns about minorities in India facing deteriorating treatment. As such, it recommended designating India as a ‘country of particular concern’ for religious freedom violations. The report says that religious freedom conditions in India deteriorated in the past year. Attacks and discrimination against religious minorities continued to rise.
It stated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) propagated hateful rhetoric and disinformation against Muslims and other religious minorities during the 2024 national election campaign.
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U.S. Commission on India Minorities Deteriorating Rights
Touching on the National Register of Citizens (NRC), the report said India requires all residents to provide proof of citizenship. The CAA sparked fear among Muslim communities that the Indian government might strip them of their citizenship. The Foreigners’ Tribunals in Assam declared 28 non-citizens in July and sent them to deportation centers.
The report highlighted that the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) facilitated the expropriation and demolition of places of worship, including the construction of Hindu temples atop razed mosques. It noted that authorities wielded discriminatory state-level anti-conversion laws and cow slaughter laws to target minorities.
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom said the Indian government continued to expand its repressive tactics to target religious minorities abroad, specifically members of the Sikh community and their advocates. Journalists, academics, and civil society organizations that were documenting India’s religious freedom violations were denied consular services and had their Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) revoked.
As such, it recommended designating India as a ‘country of particular concern’ for engaging in and tolerating systematic, ongoing and egregious religious freedom violations as defined by the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA).
However, officials believe the Trump administration is unlikely to implement the commission’s recommendations as it’s not binding.
