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BENGALURU, India \u2013 Church leaders in India have expressed disappointment and concern over the Indian government’s rejection of the 2026 report of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) amid rising atrocities against minority Christians.<\/p>\n
2026 USCIRF Annual Report<\/a> Urged the US government to designate India as a “country of particular concern” for allegedly “engaging in and tolerating systematic, ongoing and serious religious freedom violations” regarding situations related to religious freedom in 2025.<\/p>\n The report also calls for targeted sanctions on India’s external intelligence agency RAW (Research and Analysis Wing) and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS, translated “Rashtriya Swayamsevak Corps”), known as sources of Hindu nationalism.<\/p>\n India’s Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, “We have taken note of the latest report… We unequivocally reject the motivated and biased characterization of India. For many years, USCIRF has engaged in presenting a distorted and selective picture of India.” 16 March<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cInstead of continuing to selectively criticize India, USCIRF should consider the disturbing incidents of vandalism and attacks on Hindu temples in the United States, the selective targeting of India, and increasing intolerance and intimidation towards members of the Indian diaspora in the United States, which require serious attention,\u201d Jaiswal said.<\/p>\n Jesuit Father Cedric Prakash, who lives in western Gujarat state, reacted to the government’s denial of the USCIRF report, telling EWTN News on March 17: “The Indian government is in its usual denial mode. The politicians of the ruling regime and their caged parrot bureaucrats have brought the art of lying into the mainstream.”<\/p>\n He explained: “What USCIRF has said and has done all these years is irrefutable fact. There is ample documentary evidence to prove their allegations.”<\/p>\n Despite government denials, worldwide United Christian Forum<\/a> (UCF), which is documenting atrocities against Christians, has reported a steady increase in the number of atrocities against Christians since the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power in 2014, from less than 140 in 2014 to 834 in 2024.<\/p>\n “It is no secret that RSS splinter groups are involved in creating an atmosphere of hatred against religious minorities, especially Muslims and Christians,” Catholic and UCF coordinator AC Michael told EWTN News.<\/p>\n Following widespread violence against Christians, the UCF had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in early 2026. “In 2024, UCF recorded a total of 834 incidents of violence against Christians, revealing a disturbing trend in religious persecution. As of November 2025, a shocking 706 incidents targeting Christians have been recorded,” the letter said.<\/p>\n Archbishop Anil Couto of Delhi, India, Secretary General of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India, addresses the National Christian Conference against Torture in New Delhi on November 29, 2025. | Credit: Anto Accara<\/p>\n<\/div>\n