India hits back at US over RSS, RAW ban call, tells Trump administration to look within as Hindu temples face attacks

Hindu places of worship have continued to be targeted in the US, regardless of whether Donald Trump or Joe Biden was in power.

New Delhi: The US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has recommended targeted sanctions on entities such as the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the external intelligence agency, Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW), for violations of religious freedom. It has designated India as a “country of particular concern” and asked Washington to link arms sales and trade policies to religious freedom. The organisation has further added that targeted sanctions should be imposed on organizations such as India’s intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), “by freezing the assets of individuals or entities responsible for severe violations of religious freedom and/or denying them entry into the United States.”

India has now issued a strong response to the commission’s recommendation. It reminded the United States of the ongoing attacks on Hindu temples within America, as well as incidents of racial attacks and threats against Indians. India has not without reason asked the United States to look within.

Here are some of the key details:

There have been several incidents of attacks on Hindu temples in the United States.
Many temples have been defaced with derogatory remarks.
A nexus involving Khalistani extremists and Pakistan’s intelligence agency, the ISI, has been particularly blamed for these acts.
Hindu places of worship have continued to be targeted in the US, regardless of whether Donald Trump or Joe Biden was in power.
At the ISKCON temple in Utah, 20 to 30 rounds were fired at night, damaging the temple’s outer wall and a window.
In March 2025, a temple in California was vandalized, an incident that was linked to the Khalistan referendum issue.
The BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Temple in Indiana was defaced with anti-India slogans
The Indian community in the US demanded greater security from the American government.

It is important to note that the racial attacks against Indians in the US have increased significantly. According to the data available, in 2025–26 alone, Indian student Vivek Saini was killed in Georgia, where he was struck with a hammer 50 times. Similarly, Uma Satya Sai Gadde was killed in Ohio.

A 70-year-old Sikh man was attacked in Los Angeles, and a nurse of Indian origin was assaulted in Florida.

Add India.com as a Preferred Source

What else did the US Commission say about India?

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) recommended that the U.S. government designate India as a “Country of Particular Concern” for “engaging in and tolerating systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom.”

The report stated that in 2025, the state of religious freedom in India continued to deteriorate, as the government introduced and enforced new laws targeting religious minority communities and their places of worship.

It further noted that several states attempted to implement or strengthen anti-conversion laws with stricter prison penalties. Indian authorities were also accused of facilitating widespread detention and unlawful deportation of citizens and religious refugees, as well as tolerating attacks against religious minority communities.

The report also mentioned the April 22 terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Jammu & Kashmir, stating that “three gunmen attacked a group of primarily Hindu tourists” in a Muslim-majority region of Kashmir, killing 26 people.

Source link