Justice For All Statement on USCIRF 2026 Report on India
March 16, 2026
The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom released its 2026 religious freedom report last week. As expected there are several countries that have been recommended for designation as Countries of Particular Concern.
Among those recommended, India joins the list for the seventh consecutive year. However, so far, the State Dept. has failed to make the designation, notwithstanding the fact that even the State Dept’s own reports point to a marked degradation in religious rights as well as human rights in the country.
What is new in this year’s USCIRF report is the recommendation for targeted sanctions against unnamed individuals, as well as entities for their “tolerance of severe violations of religious freedom” in the country. Among these entities is the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) as well as India’s intelligence gathering agency, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW).
Justice For All’s Save India From Fascism campaign commends USCIRF for the recommendations, as well as recognizes that the inclusion of the RSS is a welcome change in recognizing the base from which the persecution emerges. However there are several omissions in the report that USCIRF must amend.
The RSS is not organized as a legal entity in India. It operates as a loose coordinated group and has its offshoots, some of which are legally registered. Of these the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), Bajrang Dal, as well as the ruling political party the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) all form the larger body via which the RSS pushes its ideologies of Hindutva dominance and forced subservience of Muslims & Christians in the country.
Furthermore, the VHP operates in the United States via the VHP-America, which is registered in the United States, and the Hindu Swayamsewak Sangh (HSS) operates centers based on the shakas (centers) of the RSS in India. These entities import the ideology of the RSS into the US. There are similar operations in Canada, UK, Australia and other countries.
We call upon USCIRF to amend and re-issue the report to more accurately reflect the situation in India by adding:
- Names of individuals connected with the RSS, VHP, Bajrang Dal etc. We recommend calling for direct sanctions against Amit Shah, Yati Narsinghanand and Pinky Chaudhury amongst others.
- Make the connection between the Indian parent organizations and their offshoots in this country to exemplify the danger of not bringing sanctions upon the leaders of these organizations that are based in India.
- Add these entities to the “Entities of Particular Concern” recommendations, without which the simple naming of these entities serves little to no purpose.
Bibliography:
2026 International Religious Freedom Report; United States Commission on International Religious Freedom; https://www.uscirf.gov/sites/default/files/2026-03/USCIRF_2026_AR_3326_NEW.pdf
India: The Sangh Parivar; Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada; https://www.ecoi.net/en/document/2110284.html
Facts About RSS; https://rssfacts.org/rss-and-its-ideological-mentees-2/119/
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