India on Monday reacted sharply to the report of the US Commission for International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) in which it alleged a worsening of religious freedom in the country, and asked it to reflect on attacks on Hindu temples in the United States.
In its report, USCIRF recommended to the US Government that India be designated as a “country of particular concern,” or CPC, for “engaging in and tolerating systematic, ongoing, and egregious religious freedom violations."
The USCIRF also asked that targeted sanctions be imposed on individuals and entities.
Reacting to the report, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that it has taken note of the latest report of the USCIRF and categorically rejected the 'motivated and biased' characterization of India.
"For several years now, USCIRF has persisted in presenting a distorted and selective picture of India, relying on questionable sources and ideological narratives rather than objective facts. Such repeated misrepresentations only undermine the credibility of the Commission itself," MEA said in a statement.
It further added that instead of persisting with selective criticism of India, USCIRF would do well to reflect on the disturbing incidents of vandalism and attacks on Hindu temples in the United States, selective targeting of India, and growing intolerance and intimidation of members of the Indian diaspora in the United States, which merit serious attention.
In the past few years, India has regularly rejected the USCIRF reports as 'biased and politically motivated'.
The report said that in 2025, religious freedom conditions in India continued to deteriorate as the government introduced and enforced new legislation targeting religious minority communities and their houses of worship.
“Several states undertook efforts to introduce or strengthen anti-conversion laws to include harsher prison sentences. Indian authorities also facilitated widespread detention and illegal expulsion of citizens and religious refugees and tolerated vigilante attacks against religious minority communities,” it said.
The USCIRF report also recommended the US government to link future US security assistance and bilateral trade policies with India to improvements in religious freedom.
"Enforce Section 6 of the Arms Export Control Act to halt arms sales to India based on continued acts of intimidation and harassment against U.S. citizens and religious minorities," the report stated.
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