The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is calling on government authorities to hold violators of religious freedom in India accountable after the leader of the country’s Hindu nationalist party visits the US. “Conditions of religious freedom in India continue to deteriorate as violence and incitement are increasingly used to target religious minority communities,” USCIRF President Asif Mahmood said in an August 26 statement issued after Mohan Bhagwat — head of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a prominent Hindu nationalist voluntary organization accused of attacking Christians — visited the United States between August 25 and 29.
“We urge the US government to consider targeted sanctions against RSS members and Indian officials complicit in violations of religious freedom, including revoking the visa issued to Mohan Bhagwat and making him ineligible for future entry into the United States,” Mahmood said.
Bhagwat’s tour also extended to Canada and the United Kingdom, part of the RSS’ effort to strengthen ties with Hindu communities abroad during its centenary year.
“The U.S. government has an opportunity to hold India accountable and signal that the United States stands for religious freedom for the people of India,” Vice President CeCe Heil said in the statement. “Without such accountability, religious freedom will only deteriorate further as vigilante mobs continue to attack religious minorities and their places of worship under the guise of enforcing anti-conversion laws and other harmful policies.”
At a USCIRF briefing on Capitol Hill in May, witnesses called for US intervention to end the ongoing persecution of religious minorities in India amid warnings about escalating attacks against Christians in India, including mob violence and destruction of property. The Catholic population in India is about 23 million, about 1.6% of the country’s population, according to the Vatican.
USCIRF recommended in its 2026 annual report that the US Department of State designate India as a country of particular concern.
Rep. Riley Moore, R-West Virginia, told “EWTN News Nightly” on Sept. 2 that he is concerned about “growing intolerance regarding Christianity in India” as the Indian government considers changes to its Foreign Contribution Regulation Act that could restrict Catholic charities from receiving foreign aid.
“The Indian government can and should prevent foreign money from interfering in the day-to-day activities or governance of its country,” Moore said, but added that Catholic hospitals are not doing that and are instead providing essential care to the communities they serve.
Moore said questions remain about how India treats its Christian population, noting the humanitarian work of the Catholic Church, including that of Mother Teresa and the Missionaries of Charity.
“Your feast day is coming here on the fifth,” he said. “It’s just a reminder of why it’s so important for us to raise our voices in concern when we see what I consider certainly an issue as it relates to Christian intolerance in certain parts of the government or the country of India.”
©2026 Catholic News Agency. Published with permission. Original in English: Religious freedom commission urges accountability for India violators after leader’s US visit https://www.ewtnnews.com/world/us/religious-freedom-commission-urges-accountability-for-india-violators-after-leader-sus-visit