IAMC backs US panel’s call for action on violence against minorities in India
Washington: The Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC), the largest US-based advocacy organisation of Indian American Muslims, has lauded the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) for recommending sanctions on Indian intelligence agency, Research and Analysis Wing (RAW).
According to Kashmir Media Service, the statement came after USCIRF’s recommendation that India be declared a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) for its severe violations of human rights and religious freedoms for the sixth consecutive year. The CPC label is a designation reserved for the world’s worst violators of religious freedom.
The USCIRF also recommended a review of US arms sales to India in light of severe anti-minority violence, and legislation to counter transnational repression by the Modi government against individuals in the United States.
“IAMC commends USCIRF for recommending strict and swift actions to counteract the Indian government’s suppression of minorities, which has been having ramifications on the safety and well-being of Americans as well as Indian minorities for years now,” said IAMC Executive Director Rasheed Ahmed on Tuesday. “It is now more important than ever for the United States to take a strong stand against transnational repression committed against its citizens by the Modi government,” he said.
IAMC urged the US Department of State to immediately act on the Commission’s recommendations, taking the necessary policy steps, and holding the Indian government accountable for attacking and endangering US-based individuals. IAMC also asked the Indian government to take immediate steps to address these concerns and protect the rights of all of its citizens, regardless of their religious identities.
In its 2025 Annual Report, USCIRF noted that religious freedoms in India continued to deteriorate, highlighting the illegal and dangerous proliferation of anti-minority hate speech by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders during the country’s 2024 general elections, discriminatory laws, punitive demolition of mosques and other places of worship, and attacks by Hindu supremacists on Muslims, Christians, and other vulnerable groups.
Illustrating the scope of anti-minority violence enabled by the government, the report noted, “Throughout its 10 years in power, [the government] has increasingly enforced sectarian policies seeking to establish India as an overtly Hindu state, in contrast with the secular principles of the constitution…The Indian government also continued to expand its repressive tactics to target religious minorities abroad, specifically members of the Sikh community and their advocates.”
The report cited widespread “misinformation, disinformation, and hate speech by government officials” during elections as being a catalyst for “various forms of attacks against religious minorities.” USCIRF also emphasised that “violent attacks against religious minorities and places of worship persisted with impunity,” citing several attacks on Christians as well as frequent cow vigilante attacks and mob lynchings targeting Muslims throughout the year.
