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The US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has expressed concern over Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat’s visit to the United States. It has urged the US government to consider targeted sanctions against RSS members and Indian officials allegedly linked to religious freedom violations.
Bhagwat is currently visiting the US and is scheduled to speak at an event in New York City on Saturday, August 29. The report identified the RSS as the ideological parent of India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
“We urge the US government to consider targeted sanctions against RSS members and Indian officials complicit in religious freedom violations, including revoking the visa issued to Mohan Bhagwat,” USCIRF Chair Asif Mahmood said in a statement on Wednesday, August 26.
The RSS said in May that it had organised foreign visits to counter perceptions that it is a paramilitary organisation involved in attacks on minorities. The report also said the RSS is a powerful Hindu organisation from which Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s BJP emerged.
USCIRF is a bipartisan US government body that monitors religious freedom globally and makes policy recommendations. Its recommendations are not binding, and Washington has not imposed sanctions following recent recommendations from the commission.
The US panel said members of RSS subgroups have perpetrated violent attacks against religious minorities, including Christians, Dalits, Muslims and Sikhs. It also alleged that policies under the BJP-led government closely align with the RSS’ Hindutva ideology and discriminate against religious minority communities.
USCIRF’s 2026 Annual Report recommended that the US Department of State designate India as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC), citing what it described as systematic, ongoing and egregious religious freedom violations. The commission also highlighted religious freedom conditions in India during a May 2026 hearing.
The panel alleged that Indian authorities have failed to prevent, investigate or punish mob violence against Muslims and Christians and raised concerns over anti-conversion laws, the National Register of Citizens (NRC), the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and restrictions affecting faith-based organisations.
India’s External Affairs Ministry has dismissed USCIRF’s assertions and characterised the commission as biased against India.
Rights groups have accused the RSS of promoting a majoritarian ideology that fuels intolerance towards minorities. The RSS disputes such characterisations, describing itself as a “Hindu-centric civilisational, cultural movement” that seeks to take India “to the pinnacle of glory,” including by uniting Hindus.
