Washington, November 19 : The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), in its latest update brief, has stated that India’s political system facilitates discrimination against religious minorities, citing ideological and organizational ties between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
The bipartisan, US Congress–backed body released an India-specific issue update stating that “the implementation of national and state-level laws create severe restrictions on religious freedom across the country.”
It said that “despite offering some constitutional protections for FoRB (Freedom of Religion or Belief), India’s political system facilitates a climate of discrimination toward religious minority communities.”
Further, it noted that the “interconnected relationship” between the BJP and the RSS—described as a “Hindu nationalist group”—and argues that this relationship has contributed to the creation and enforcement of several discriminatory laws, including those related to citizenship, religious conversion, and cow slaughter.
Since 2014, the report said, the BJP has promoted sectarian policies aimed at establishing India as an overtly Hindu state, contrasting with the secular principles of the Constitution.
The USCIRF asserted that the enforcement of these laws “disproportionately targets and impacts religious minorities and their ability to freely practice their religion or belief as outlined in Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which India is a signatory.”
The report notes that the RSS’s primary objective is to build a “Hindu Rashtra,” promoting the belief that India is fundamentally a Hindu nation and excluding Muslims, Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Parsis, and other religious minorities.
Although the RSS does not field political candidates, the report states that it provides volunteers to campaign for the BJP, including for Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
According to the update, Modi was an RSS youth member before serving as Chief Minister of Gujarat (2001–2014), where he faced accusations of inaction during the 2002 anti-Muslim riots, which resulted in large-scale casualties.
The report also references recent US media claims that the RSS has begun lobbying in Washington. According to lobbying disclosures, Squire Patton Boggs (SPB) was paid USD 330,000 during the first three quarters of 2025 to represent RSS interests before the US Senate and House of Representatives.
The update reiterates concerns about the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (2019), which fast-tracks citizenship for certain religious groups from neighboring countries while explicitly excluding Muslims.
It also notes that Section 295A of the Indian Penal Code functions as a blasphemy law by criminalizing actions deemed to “outrage religious feelings,” and highlights that several Indian states maintain and enforce anti-conversion and cow-slaughter laws that impose harsh penalties.
According to the report, hundreds of Christians and Muslims have been arrested under anti-conversion laws. It also highlights that approximately 70% of India’s prisoners are pre-trial detainees, with religious minorities disproportionately represented.
The report cites the case of jailed scholar Umar Khalid, who has been detained since 2020 for leading peaceful protests opposing the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA). His case is presented as an example of religious minorities spending years in jail without trial, illustrating how BJP–RSS alignment enables discriminatory laws and practices.
India’s federal political system gives state governments jurisdiction over law enforcement, while the national Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) cannot investigate state-level crimes without state government permission, the update explains. This structure creates limited accountability for state-perpetrated violations of human rights, with law enforcement often failing to address mob violence targeting Christian and Muslim communities.
In its 2025 Annual Report, USCIRF for the sixth time recommended that the US Department of State designate India as a Country of Particular Concern for engaging in systematic, ongoing, and egregious religious freedom violations. Source Kashmir Media Service