US govt panel urges sanctions on members of BJP’s ideological patron

A US government-backed independent panel has urged Washington to impose targeted sanctions on the members of RSS, the ideological parent of India’s ruling party, citing its involvement in religious freedom violations.

The recommendation comes days ahead of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s planned visit to New York for joining a major Hindu religious event.

The US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has also called on the Trump administration to avoid high-level engagements with RSS, also the world’s largest Hindu nationalist organization, due to its role in targeted attacks on Muslims and Christians in India.

Over the past few years, USCIRF, joining the ranks of a number of rights groups, has repeatedly raised concerns over alleged deteriorating religious freedom situation under the BJP government in India.

The BJP government, an ardent follower of RSS policies, has most often responded by deflecting the blames and accusing USCIRF of selective criticism. New Delhi has also raised concerns over alleged attacks on Hindu temples and the treatment of members of the Indian diaspora in the US.

In the latest call for action, USCIRF Chair Dr Asif Mahmood noted that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a member of the RSS, describing it as an Indian umbrella organisation whose sub-groups have perpetrated attacks on religious minorities, including Christians and Muslims.

The agency’s commissioner Gene Mills urged Washington to withhold high-level engagements, stating that RSS leaders should not be honoured with diplomatic courtesies and that US authorities should instead focus on imposing sanctions on members responsible for religious freedom violations.

The commission's 2026 annual assessment documented a continued deterioration in religious freedom conditions across India, recommending that the State Department designate the country as a "Country of Particular Concern".

The report highlighted the proliferation of stringent anti-conversion laws in multiple states carrying penalties up to life imprisonment, the criminalisation of digital religious speech, and state measures targeting minority religious institutions and madrasas through legislation such as the 2025 Waqf Bill and the USAME Act.