India terms US religious freedom report biased, calls panel 'entity of concern'

NEW DELHI: India on Wednesday sharply rejected the

US Commission on International Religious Freedom

(USCIRF) report, calling the panel an "entity of concern".
Calling the report biased and politically motivated, the ministry of external affairs said the USCIRF's report "continues its pattern of issuing biased and politically motivated assessments".
"We have seen the recently released 2025 Annual Report of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), which once again continues its pattern of issuing biased and politically motivated assessments," said external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal.
The ministry further said: "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".

The government said the report "undermine India's standing as a beacon of democracy and tolerance".
"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. Such efforts to undermine India's standing as a beacon of democracy and tolerance will not succeed. In fact, it is the USCIRF that should be designated as an entity of concern," the ministry of external affairs said.
New Delhi had previously also rejected the USCIRF report as biased, lacking objectivity, and an interference in India's sovereignty as USCIRF’s actions are politically motivated, often influenced by geopolitical considerations rather than a fair assessment.
It is alleged that the USCIRF methodology is flawed, relying on unreliable sources while ignoring India’s constitutional protections for religious freedom.