The American government agency has accused New Delhi of targeting religious minorities

A US government watchdog has called for sanctions on India's external intelligence agency and a social service organization for allegedly violating religious freedom.

The US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has recommended sanctions targeting the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), the country's external intelligence agency; and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the ideological 'parent' of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party.

The USCIRF recommended that these entities be sanctioned for what it called "their responsibility and tolerance of severe violations of religious freedom." It has also demanded "freezing those individuals' or entities' assets and/or barring their entry into the United States."

The panel said India should be designated as a "country of particular concern" for engaging in and "tolerating systematic, ongoing, and egregious religious freedom violations."

India has yet to respond to the development. This is not the first time that the USCIRF has levelled such charges against New Delhi and various entities in the South Asian nation.

In March 2025, the agency chided India over the alleged "worsening treatment of minorities in the country."

It demanded India's designation as a "country of particular concern" and recommended imposing targeted sanctions on RAW over alleged links to plots targeting Sikh separatists in North America last year.

The Indian Foreign Ministry flatly rejected the accusations, saying the USCIRF has a "pattern of issuing biased and politically motivated assessments." It also cited the US organization's "persistent attempts" to misrepresent isolated incidents that "reflect adeliberate agendarather than a genuine concern for religious freedom."

The USCIRF claims it acts independently. The agency's nine commissioners are appointed by the US president and senior political leaders in the House of Representatives and the Senate.

(RT.com)