275 former Judges, officials slam U.S. international religious freedom report

Some 275 former judges, civil servants and armed forces veterans criticized a recently published report. United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF)He suggested banning RSS.

Describing it as “highly motivated”, they said it displayed “intellectual bankruptcy and unbalanced calculations”.

In a joint statement issued on Saturday, March 21, 2026, they called on the US government to strictly examine the background of all those who contributed to this “highly biased and indefensible report” at USCIRF, alleging that vested interests seek to corrupt the goodwill of the people of Bharat.

“USCIRF’s recommendation to freeze assets, restrict movements of Bharatiya citizens, and impose restrictions on persons associated with the RSS is highly motivating and demonstrates intellectual bankruptcy and unbalanced outcomes,” the signatories said in a joint statement. he said.

“All six commissioners of USCIRF are appointed by the U.S. Government and funded by American Taxpayers through the U.S. Congress. We urge the U.S. Government to conduct a rigorous background review of all contributors to this report at USCIRF.

“This will open the eyes of US taxpayers whose funds are being used by USCIRF to produce highly biased and indefensible reports to promote the hidden agendas of some anti-Bharat interest groups to undermine their goodwill towards the people of Bharat,” they added.

The statement also expressed concern over what USCIRF calls the tendency to portray Indian institutions and socio-cultural organizations like the RSS in a negative light without adequate context.

“This illustrates USCIRF’s tendency to portray Indian state institutions and socio-cultural organizations such as the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in extremely negative aspects, often without appropriate macro-level evidence.

“It raises legitimate concerns about analytical balance. The RSS, with its large grassroots presence and contributions to social work and nation-building, may well be subject to criticism, but such criticism must be based on verifiable evidence and contextual understanding and not merely broad generalizations,” he said.

They emphasized that India, the world’s largest democracy with a strong judicial system and institutional oversight, provides limited scope for religious rights violations to remain unresolved.

“Bharat is the world’s largest democracy. Given the robust, time-tested judicial system, vibrant democratic institutions and Parliamentary oversight, there is much less scope for individuals or organizations to remain immune from punishment after violating someone’s religious rights,” the signatories said. he added.

There are a total of 275 signatories, including 25 retired judges, 119 retired bureaucrats, 10 of whom are ambassadors, and 131 armed forces officers.

The signatories include former Supreme Court judges like Justice Adarsh ​​Kumar Goel (also former NGT chief) and Justice Hemant Gupta, former chief election commissioners OP Rawat and Sunil Arora, former external affairs minister Kanwal Sibal, former NIA director Yogesh Chander Modi and several retired IAS, IPS and armed forces officers and others.

The joint statement was coordinated by former ambassador Bhaswati Mukherjee and former additional chief secretary M Madan Gopal.