“Biased and politically motivated”: India dismisses report by US panel on religious freedom, describes it as “entity of concern”
| 2025-03-26
Representative image.
Efforts to undermine India’s standing as a beacon of democracy and tolerance will not succeed, says MEA.
India has rejected the latest report of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), describing it as “biased and politically motivated”.
Responding to media queries regarding the 2025 Annual Report of the USCIRF, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Official Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal highlighted the organization’s persistent attempts to misrepresent isolated incidents and cast aspersions on India’s vibrant multicultural society.
Pointing out that efforts to undermine India’s standing as a beacon of democracy and tolerance would not succeed, he said that it was the USCIRF that should be designated as an “entity of concern”.
“We have seen the recently released 2025 Annual Report of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), which once again continues its pattern of issuing biased and politically motivated assessments,” Jaiswal stated.
According to the MEA Spokesperson, the USCIRF’s persistent attempts to misrepresent isolated incidents and cast aspersions on India’s vibrant multicultural society reflect a deliberate agenda rather than a genuine concern for religious freedom.
“India is home to 1.4 billion people who are adherents to all religions known to mankind. However, we have no expectation that the USCIRF will engage with the reality of India’s pluralistic framework or acknowledge the harmonious coexistence of its diverse communities,” Jaiswal pointed out.
He added that such efforts to undermine India’s standing as a beacon of democracy and tolerance would not succeed. “In fact, it is the USCIRF that should be designated as an entity of concern,” the MEA Spokesperson remarked.
The USCIRF annual report recommended that the U.S. government designate India as a ‘country of particular concern’ for religious freedom violations and impose targeted sanctions on individuals and entities for their culpability in severe violations of religious freedom.
Responding to media queries regarding the 2025 Annual Report of the USCIRF, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Official Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal highlighted the organization’s persistent attempts to misrepresent isolated incidents and cast aspersions on India’s vibrant multicultural society.
Pointing out that efforts to undermine India’s standing as a beacon of democracy and tolerance would not succeed, he said that it was the USCIRF that should be designated as an “entity of concern”.
“We have seen the recently released 2025 Annual Report of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), which once again continues its pattern of issuing biased and politically motivated assessments,” Jaiswal stated.
According to the MEA Spokesperson, the USCIRF’s persistent attempts to misrepresent isolated incidents and cast aspersions on India’s vibrant multicultural society reflect a deliberate agenda rather than a genuine concern for religious freedom.
“India is home to 1.4 billion people who are adherents to all religions known to mankind. However, we have no expectation that the USCIRF will engage with the reality of India’s pluralistic framework or acknowledge the harmonious coexistence of its diverse communities,” Jaiswal pointed out.
He added that such efforts to undermine India’s standing as a beacon of democracy and tolerance would not succeed. “In fact, it is the USCIRF that should be designated as an entity of concern,” the MEA Spokesperson remarked.
The USCIRF annual report recommended that the U.S. government designate India as a ‘country of particular concern’ for religious freedom violations and impose targeted sanctions on individuals and entities for their culpability in severe violations of religious freedom.
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