US religious freedom panel urges sanctions against India's RSS during chief's US visit
WASHINGTON: U.S. panel on religious freedom has expressed concern about a visit to the U.S. by the chief of the Hindu nationalist group that is the ideological parent of India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and urged sanctions on the group’s members. Mohan Bhagwat, chief of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), is on a U.S. visit and is scheduled to speak at a Saturday event in New York…
The U.S. government's religious freedom panel has raised concerns over a forthcoming visit to the United States by Mohan Bhagwat, the head of the Hindu nationalist organization known as the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). The group is the ideological foundation of India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's party having emerged from it.
Bhagwat is set to address an event in New York City on Saturday. The RSS has contended that it has arranged foreign trips to dispel the notion that it is a paramilitary group engaged in attacks against minorities. In May, the RSS announced it had arranged such visits. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), a bipartisan government body tasked with monitoring religious freedom worldwide and making recommendations, has urged the administration to consider targeted sanctions against RSS members and Indian officials implicated in religious liberty infringements.
This includes the possibility of revoking the visa granted to Bhagwat. The USCIRF's recommendations, however, do not carry any binding force. Washington has not yet enforced sanctions following these suggestions. India's foreign ministry has dismissed the panel's allegations, portraying the USCIRF as biased against India. Various rights organizations contend that the RSS champions a majoritarian ideology that encourages intolerance towards minorities.
The RSS refutes these claims, asserting that it is a "Hindu-centric civilizational, cultural movement" aiming to elevate India to its highest potential, including the unification of Hindus. The United Nations and human rights bodies report an escalation in abuses against Indian minorities in recent years. They cite a surge in hate speech, a religious-based citizenship law, the demolition of Muslim-owned properties, the stripping of autonomy from Muslim-majority Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, and an anti-conversion legislation that undermines freedom of belief.
India's BJP-led government denies practicing discrimination, stating that its policies, such as food subsidy programs and electrification initiatives, benefit all communities.
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