USCIRF seeks sanctions on RSS ahead of Mohan Bhagwat's US visit

Washington,UPDATED: Aug 20, 2026 05:28 IST

Officials of the US Commission on Religious Freedom have called for sanctions against the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and asked the American government not to extend diplomatic courtesies to its leaders or hold high-level meetings with them.

The remarks came weeks before RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s planned visit to the US for the ‘Universal Oneness Celebrations’ organised by the American Hindus for Engagement and Dialogue in New York on August 29. USCIRF chair Asif Mahmood also said Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a member of the RSS, which he described as an umbrella organisation whose sub-groups have carried out attacks on religious minorities.

USCIRF Commissioner Gene Mills said RSS leaders, even when affiliated with the Indian government, should not be honoured with high-level meetings or diplomatic courtesies. “Instead, the USG (US Government) should focus on imposing sanctions on RSS members found responsible for FoRB (freedom of religious belief) violations,” Mills said. USCIRF posted the remarks by Mahmood and Mills on X.

In his post, Mahmood said, “India’s PM Modi is a member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), an Indian umbrella organisation whose sub-groups have perpetrated attacks on religious minorities, incl. Christians & Muslims. Now the RSS leader, Mohan Bhagwat, plans to visit the US.”

Advocacy group Hindus for Human Rights also criticised Bhagwat’s visit and said it could not be separated from the RSS network’s violence against Muslims and Christians. “A celebration of ‘oneness’ cannot conceal the politics of religious supremacy,” the group said in a post on X.

In March, the USCIRF annual report criticised India for alleged violations of religious freedom and backed “targeted sanctions” on individuals and entities such as the RSS and the Research and Analysis Wing, holding them responsible for the matter. India rejected the report, saying the organisation has persistently presented a “distorted and selective” picture of the country based on “questionable sources and ideological narratives”.

External Affairs Ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal, in a statement on March 16, said that instead of persisting with “selective criticism” of India, the USCIRF should reflect on “disturbing incidents of vandalism and attacks on Hindu temples in the US, selective targeting of India, and growing intolerance and intimidation of members of the Indian diaspora in the US, which merit serious attention”. The latest remarks by USCIRF officials have come ahead of Bhagwat’s US visit and follow India’s earlier rejection of the body’s criticism.

With PTI Inputs

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