India rejects USCIRF report, flags attacks on Hindu temples in U.S.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Monday (March 16, 2026) rejected the latest report of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), describing it as a “distorted and selective picture of India” and urging the Commission to focus instead on vandalism and attacks targeting Hindu temples in the United States.

MEA official spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the USCIRF has for several years relied on “questionable sources and ideological narratives rather than objective facts”. Such repeated misrepresentations, he added, “only undermine the credibility of the Commission itself.”

The response came after USCIRF’s latest report called for “targeted sanctions” against India’s external intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW), and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). The report alleged responsibility for and tolerance of violations of religious freedom, and recommended freezing assets of individuals and entities associated with them and barring their entry into the United States. It also suggested that bilateral trade policies with India be linked to “improvements in religious freedoms”.

Mr. Jaiswal said that instead of continuing “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”. He added that “growing intolerance and intimidation of members of the Indian diaspora in the United States merit serious attention”.

The MEA’s remarks come amid continuing concern over violence and vandalism affecting the Indian community and Hindu places of worship in the U.S. In recent years, there have been several incidents of violence against individuals belonging to the Indian community and members of the Indian diaspora. There have also been multiple incidents of vandalism against Hindu temples and properties, which India has urged the U.S. authorities to address. The remarks also follow a foiled plot to attack a Hindu temple in Illinois that drew outrage from U.S. lawmakers.

USCIRF is a U.S. federal government commission that monitors religious freedom worldwide and makes policy recommendations. Its reports are advisory and not binding on the U.S. administration. Its recommendations are submitted to the U.S. President, the Secretary of State and Congress, but the decision to impose sanctions rests with the U.S. government. The Commission has frequently criticised India’s record on religious freedom, while Indian officials have consistently rejected its assessments as lacking balance and factual basis.

India has maintained that it is a pluralistic democracy where the Constitution guarantees freedom of religion to all citizens. The MEA has previously described USCIRF’s reports as biased and has said that such reports do not reflect the ground reality in the country. The U.S. has not yet publicly responded to the MEA’s statement.

The exchange highlights continuing differences over how religious freedom is assessed in India and how the treatment of diaspora communities in the U.S. is viewed. While USCIRF frames its recommendations as part of its mandate, India has argued that the Commission’s approach relies on selective narratives and does not adequately acknowledge the challenges faced by Indian diaspora communities abroad. The MEA has called for objective facts rather than ideological framing.