A US panel on religious freedom said yesterday that the treatment of minorities in India is deteriorating and it recommended sanctions be imposed on India's external spy agency (Research and Analysis Wing, or R&AW) over its alleged involvement in plots to assassinate Sikh separatists, reports Reuters.

"In 2024, religious freedom conditions in India continued to deteriorate as attacks and discrimination against religious minorities continued to rise," the commission said in the report released on Tuesday.

Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) "propagated hateful rhetoric and disinformation against Muslims and other religious minorities" during last year's election campaign, it said.

According to Reuters, India dismissed the report on Wednesday, calling it part of a pattern of "biased and politically motivated assessments".

"The USCIRF's persistent attempts to misrepresent isolated incidents and cast aspersions on India's vibrant multicultural society reflect a deliberate agenda rather than a genuine concern for religious freedom," Indian foreign ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a statement.

Washington has sought to build close ties with India given their shared concerns about China's rising influence in Asia. Analysts say that as a result, Washington has overlooked human rights issues.

Since 2023, India's alleged targeting of Sikh separatists in the US and Canada has emerged as a wrinkle in US-India ties, with Washington charging an ex-Indian intelligence officer, Vikash Yadav, in a foiled plot. India labels Sikh separatists as security threats and has denied involvement.

Modi in April last year referred to Muslims as "infiltrators" who have "more children".

The US State Department reports on human rights and religious freedom have noted minority abuses in India in recent years. New Delhi calls them "deeply biased".

Modi, who has been prime minister since 2014, denies discrimination and says his government's policies like electrification drives and subsidy schemes help all communities.

Rights advocates point to rising hate speech, a citizenship law the UN called "fundamentally discriminatory," anti-conversion legislation that critics say challenges freedom of belief, the revoking of Muslim majority Kashmir's special status and the demolition of properties owned by Muslims.

The panel recommended the US government designate India as a "country of particular concern" for religious freedom violations and impose targeted sanctions against Yadav and India's Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) spy service.

The commission is a bipartisan US government advisory body that monitors religious freedom abroad and makes policy recommendations.

But it is unlikely the US government will sanction RAW as the panel's recommendations are not binding.

Bangladesh

The report also said that religious freedom conditions in Bangladesh declined amid a series of attacks against religious minority communities.

"Following a violent crackdown on protests that resulted in 200 deaths [UN fact-finding mission found 1400 deaths] and the removal of Shiekh Hasina, Hindu groups claimed an increase in attacks against their communities and temples," said the report.

According to the report, these attacks included vandalism and mob violence. Simultaneously, traditional and social media proliferated false or unsupported claims of violence to discredit the interim caretaker government led by Mohamed Yunus.

The USCIRF report mentioned that Ahmadiyya Muslim communities also reported physical attacks and vandalism to their property. In response to these and other incidents, the caretaker government expressed its intention to protect minority communities.

Despite those government pledges, the report said, systematic pressure on religious minorities continued to generally worsen.