USCIRF: Weaponising religious freedom.

The March 2026 report by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has drawn sharp criticism for recommending that India be designated as a “Country of Particular Concern,” a status shared by nations like China and North Korea. Critics argue that the commission has weaponized the concept of religious freedom by adopting a increasingly structural narrative that frames Hindu nationalism and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) as primary drivers of religious decline, while simultaneously ignoring the nuanced reality of a pluralistic democracy of 1.4 billion people. This year’s report escalated further by suggesting targeted sanctions against the RSS and India’s intelligence agency, RAW, despite the fact that the U.S. State Department has consistently declined to act on these recommendations since 2020. Opponents of the report highlight a perceived double standard, noting that USCIRF often downplays violence against Hindus where they are minorities while relying on advocacy-driven sources rather than in-country assessments to critique India. Conversely, data from independent researchers like Pew Research indicates that a vast majority of Indians across all faiths feel free to practice their religion, suggesting a significant disconnect between the commission’s political assessments and the lived experiences of the Indian population.