Now Reading: US panel urges sanctions on RSS chief during his America visit
-
01
US panel urges sanctions on RSS chief during his America visit
A US government panel on religious freedom has urged sanctions against members of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and called for revoking the visa of its chief, Mohan Bhagwat, who is currently…
A US government panel on religious freedom has urged sanctions against members of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and called for revoking the visa of its chief, Mohan Bhagwat, who is currently visiting the United States. The US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) made the recommendation in a statement on Wednesday.
Bhagwat is scheduled to speak at an event in New York City on Saturday. The RSS, the ideological parent of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has said it organised foreign visits to counter perceptions it is a paramilitary outfit involved in attacks on minorities. India's foreign ministry has dismissed USCIRF as biased against India. The panel's recommendations are not binding, and Washington has not imposed sanctions following recent similar calls.
Rights groups accuse the RSS of promoting majoritarian ideology that fuels intolerance toward minorities, while the RSS disputes this, calling itself a Hindu-centric cultural movement. The BJP-led government denies discrimination, saying its policies benefit all communities.
Indian Opinion Analysis
USCIRF has since 1999 annually recommended India be designated a Country of Particular Concern for religious freedom violations, but no administration has acted on that call. The RSS, founded in 1925, is not proscribed in India and its members have held top government posts, including the prime minister. The core question is whether a foreign government can impose individual sanctions on leaders of a domestic organisation that operates legally in its own country. India formally joined the International Religious Freedom Alliance, a US-led bloc, in 2020. The next USCIRF annual report, due in May 2026, will show whether this specific call is repeated or escalated.
Source: theprint.in
This brief was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
