India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) called for the International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) to be designated as an entity of concern, and highlighted that the USCIRF 2025 Annual Report "once again continues its pattern of issuing biased and politically motivated assessments."

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Responding to the media queries surrounding the 2025 Annual Report of USCIRF, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, "We have seen the recently released 2025 Annual Report of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), which once again continues its pattern of issuing 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," the MEA spokesperson said.

Jaiswal said that India is a country with a population of 1.4 billion people and they are adherents to all religions known to mankind.

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He said that India has no expectation that USCIRF will "engage with the reality of India's pluralistic framework or acknowledge the harmonious coexistence of its diverse communities."

'Adherents to all religions known to mankind'

"India is home to 1.4 billion people who are adherents to all religions known to mankind. However, we have no expectation that the USCIRF will engage with the reality of India's pluralistic framework or acknowledge the harmonious coexistence of its diverse communities," Jaiswal said.

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"Such efforts to undermine India's standing as a beacon of democracy and tolerance will not succeed. In fact, it is the USCIRF that should be designated as an entity of concern," he added.

In the report, USCIRF urged the US government to designate India as a "country of particular concern" or CPC "for engaging in and tolerating systematic, ongoing, and egregious religious freedom violations", as defined by the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA).

(With inputs from agencies)