Donald Trump to ban RSS and RAW? US Religious Freedom Commission makes major recommendation, seeks halt to weapons sales to India

The USCIRF, in its report, said that the Donald Trump administration should impose restrictions on India’s RSS and RAW.

New Delhi: In a major development, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has called for a ban on the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the intelligence agency Research and Analysis Wing (RAW). The USCIRF, in its report, said that the Donald Trump administration should impose restrictions on India’s RSS and RAW. The report also raised questions about the working methods of both organizations.

The USCIRF, in its recommendations concerning India, suggested targeted sanctions against the RSS and RAW. It also recommended halting the sale of weapons to India on the grounds of alleged persecution of US citizens. The report further stated that future military and trade relations between India and the United States should be linked to issues related to religious freedom.

The RSS has been operating in India since 1925, making it an organization that is more than 100 years old.

Here are some of the key details:

The sanctions sought by the American panel against RSS could include seizing the organization’s assets and banning its members from entering the United States.
The commission has also made recommendations against India’s intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW).
These recommendations were made in the 2026 annual report of the USCIRF.
The report was released earlier this month.
USCIRF is an independent US agency that monitors the right to religious freedom and provides recommendations to the White House.
The White House is not obligated to follow these recommendations.

RAW under the commission’s radar

It is important to note the commission, in 2025, called for a ban on RAW, accusing it of involvement in plots to assassinate Sikh separatists. The commission has urged the Trump administration to designate India as a “Country of Particular Concern” (CPC).

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India is among 18 countries that the commission has recommended to be designated as Countries of Particular Concern. Besides India, the list includes Afghanistan, Myanmar, China, Cuba, Eritrea, Iran, Libya, Nicaragua, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Vietnam.