USCIRF seeks sanctions against RSS, no high-level meetings with its leaders

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Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat salutes during the flag-hoisting ceremony at the RSS headquarters in Nagpur | Photo Credit: ANI

Officials of a U.S. advisory body on religious freedom have called for sanctions against the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and asked the American government not to extend diplomatic courtesies to its leaders or have high-level meetings with them.

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) chair Asif Mahmood said Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a member of the RSS, which he described as an umbrella organisation whose sub-groups have perpetrated attacks on religious minorities.

Mr. Mahmood’s remarks came weeks ahead of RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat’s visit to the U.S. to participate in the ‘Universal Oneness Celebrations’ organised by the American Hindus for Engagement and Dialogue (AHEAD) in New York on August 29.

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 (U.S. Government) should focus on imposing sanctions on RSS members found responsible for FoRB (freedom of religious belief) violations,” Mr. Mills said.

USCIRF posted the remarks by Mr. Mahmood and Mr. Mills on its X account.

“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 U.S.," Mr. Mahmood said.

Advocacy group Hindus for Human Rights said Mr. Bhagwat’s visit cannot be separated from the RSS network’s violence against Muslims and Christians.

“A celebration of “oneness” cannot conceal the politics of religious supremacy,” the advocacy 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 Research and Analysis Wing, holding them responsible for the matter.

India rejected the USCIRF report , saying that the organisation has persistently presented a “distorted and selective” picture of the country that relies 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 U.S., selective targeting of India, and growing intolerance and intimidation of members of the Indian diaspora in the US, which merit serious attention”.