Washington, D.C: The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has once again recommended that India be designated a “Country of Particular Concern” (CPC) due to its continued targeting of religious minorities, including Sikhs, Muslims, and Christians. The 2025 annual report highlights the Indian government’s role in fostering sectarian policies, hate speech, and violence against minority communities.
The report cites numerous cases of religious persecution, including discriminatory laws, arrests, and violent attacks. “Authorities wielded discriminatory state-level anti-conversion laws and cow slaughter laws to target religious minorities,” the report states. In 2024 alone, Indian states passed additional anti-conversion laws criminalizing religious conversions and making legal processes increasingly difficult for minorities.
Among the most severe allegations is India’s transnational repression, including the alleged involvement of Indian intelligence in an assassination plot against a Sikh activist in the U.S. “International reporting and intelligence from the Canadian government corroborated allegations linking an official in India’s Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) to the 2023 assassination attempt of an American Sikh activist in New York,” the report notes.
In response, the USCIRF has urged the U.S. government to impose targeted sanctions on Indian officials. The report recommends, “Impose targeted sanctions on individuals and entities, such as Vikash Yadav and RAW, for their culpability in severe violations of religious freedom by freezing their assets and/or barring their entry into the United States.” The report also calls for the enforcement of the Transnational Repression Reporting Act of 2024 to ensure stronger measures against foreign interference in U.S. territories.
Furthermore, USCIRF advises Congress to reevaluate arms sales to India, particularly the sale of MQ-9B drones under the Arms Export Control Act, citing concerns that such military aid may “exacerbate religious freedom violations.”
As U.S.-India relations continue to evolve, pressure is mounting on Washington to address India’s deteriorating human rights record, potentially straining diplomatic and security cooperation.
