USCIRF Continues to Designate India ‘Country of Particular Concern’

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) released its 2025 annual report on 25 Mar. The report documents religious freedom conditions in 2024 and recommends policy to the White House, US Congress, and the US State Department to advance Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) abroad. USCIRF Chair Stephen Schneck said, 'As repressive governments and violent entities attack and drastically erode freedom of religion or belief ... the US government must continue to stand firm against these threats against the universal right of religious freedom.' The report recommends 16 countries for designation as Countries of Particular Concern (CPC) for particularly severe FoRB violations under International Religious Freedom Act. India is one of them and has been named such since the year 2000. The report says, 'The Indian government continued to expand its repressive tactics to target religious minorities abroad, specifically members of the Sikh community and their advocates. … International reporting and intelligence from the Canadian government corroborated allegations linking an official in India’s Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) and six diplomats to the 2023 assassination attempt of an American Sikh activist in New York.' The report called for 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 US. The Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, 'USCIRF once again continues its pattern of issuing biased and politically motivated assessments.' Meanwhile, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) has alleged Indian agents played a role in fundraising and organising support within the South Asian community for Pierre Poilievre, leader of the Canadian Conservative party, during his leadership race. The report flagged the risk of foreign interference and named China and India among major threats ahead of parliamentary elections in April 2025 (earlier coverage).