In its latest report, an advisory organization, which monitored the religious freedom of the US, has accused India’s intelligence agency Raw of targeting religious minorities abroad. In this report released by the US Commission on International Religius Freedom (USCIRF), it has been recommended to ban Raw by criticizing India. The report also said that the situation of religious minorities in India is deteriorating.
India was placed in the list of “special concern countries”
According to the report, in 2024, the impact on religious freedom worldwide was assessed. It includes 16 countries in the list of countries with “Country of Particular Consuns” (CPC). Apart from India, China, Pakistan, Iran, Russia and North Korea have also been placed in this list.
In addition, the “Special Watch List” (SWL) includes 12 countries, where there is a serious threat to religious freedom, but not as much as the CPC. These include countries like Algeria, Egypt and Indonesia.
Allegations against India and government’s response
The report claimed that discrimination and violence against religious minorities increased during the 2024 Indian general elections. It has been described against religious minorities, referring to laws such as the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), anti-conversion law and illegal activity Prevention Act (UAPA).
India has rejected this report as partisan and politically motivated. Foreign Ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal described the report as an attempt to discredit India and said that “USCIRF should be declared ‘Anti of Consump’. Describing India as a symbol of democracy and tolerance, he described this report as misleading.
Impact on crypto policy and funding of religious groups
The report also mentions Donald Trump’s Crypto Summit, which was held on 7 March 2025. The report said that changes in crypto policies will affect the secret funding received by religious organizations. Many religious groups were accepting donations in cryptocurrency without paying tax till now, but under new laws, monitoring of blockchain transactions may increase, which will make it difficult to take secret donations.
