The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is deeply concerned about the deteriorating religious freedom conditions in India and has once again called on the US State Department to designate the country as a “country of particular concern” (CPC).
“The Indian government continues to facilitate and tolerate religious freedom violations,” says USCIRF Chair Vicky Hartzler.https://t.co/WMEkBJsQ3c
— Dawn.com (@dawn_com) May 9, 2026
During a recent hearing in Washington, commissioners, lawmakers, scholars, and legal experts voiced their concerns over the ongoing, systematic, and egregious violations of religious freedom faced by religious minorities in India, including Christians, Muslims, Sikhs, and Dalits.
USCIRF Chair Vicky Hartzler expressed disappointment in India’s trajectory, stating that the Indian government continues to facilitate and tolerate religious freedom violations through discriminatory legislation, arbitrary detention of religious leaders, and a failure to intervene in attacks against religious minority communities.
The commission highlighted the alarming trend of anti-conversion laws, now enforced in 13 out of 28 Indian states, which carry harsh punishments, including life imprisonment, for those deemed to have facilitated religious conversions from Hinduism.
USCIRF Vice Chair Asif Mahmood raised concerns about the growing transnational repression and pressure on religious communities and their institutions beyond India’s borders, including surveillance, monitoring, and even assassination attempts targeting critics, predominantly Sikhs, in North America.
US House Representative Chris Smith focused on the implications of India’s Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) for civil society, warning that proposed legal amendments could lead to the expropriation of assets from Christian churches and charitable institutions.
Former Ambassador-at-Large for Global Criminal Justice Stephen Rapp described a worrying trend of normalized violence against minorities and a lack of accountability, leading to a deeply entrenched culture of impunity. He also highlighted India’s high-risk ranking in global risk assessments for mass killings and atrocities.
Scholar Angana Chatterji of the University of California, Berkeley, spoke of a structural transformation of religious and political life, where the freedom of religion is imperiled for minoritized communities under an authoritarian regime.
Raqib Naik, executive director of the Centre for the Study of Organised Hate, alleged large-scale abuses against Muslims and refugees, including forced expulsion of Bengali Muslims and mistreatment of Rohingya refugees.
Professor Arjun Sethi of Georgetown University Law Centre highlighted alleged transnational repression targeting diaspora activists, citing the killing of Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar and an alleged plot against Sikh American activist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun.
USCIRF remains committed to advocating for religious freedom for all and urges the US government to take strong action to address the deteriorating conditions in India.
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