The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Monday hit back at a report by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), terming it a "motivated" and "biased characterization of India".
In its latest report, the USCIRF flagged the alleged wor sening of religious freedom in India and called for the country to be designated as a "Country of Particular Concern."
The USCIRF also called for targeted sanctions to be imposed on individuals and entities, such as the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), for their "responsibility and tolerance of severe violations of religious freedom by freezing those individuals' or entities' assets and/or barring their entry into the United States."
It recommended that the US government designate India as a "country of particular concern," or CPC, for "engaging in and tolerating systematic, ongoing, and egregious religious freedom violations."
Reacting to the report, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, "We categorically reject its 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," he added.
The MEA spokesperson also called on the USCIRF to look into attacks on Hindu temples in the United States and the "selective targeting of India."
"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," Jaiswal said.
In the past few years, India has rejected 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.