New Delhi, Mar 23, 2026 (ANI) — Former diplomat Bhaswati Mukherjee on Sunday strongly rejected the latest report by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), saying India does not need outside advice on how to run its institutions.
Mukherjee’s remarks followed a sharply worded rebuttal signed by 275 people — including former judges, diplomats and senior officials — who criticised the report’s recommendations aimed at the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and India’s external intelligence agency, R&AW.
In an interview with ANI, Mukherjee said the collective response reflected the experience of its signatories. “We didn’t slam them, we demolished them,” she said, adding that the letter was deliberately courteous even though stronger language was warranted.
She highlighted the contributions of the Indian diaspora in the United States and defended both the RSS and R&AW. Mukherjee described R&AW as India’s counterpart to the CIA and portrayed the RSS as a century-old organisation founded to serve a nation under colonial rule, committed to “seva” or community service.
Mukherjee questioned USCIRF’s calls for sanctions such as asset freezes and travel bans. She asked what assumptions underpinned those proposals: “Do they think they are dealing with some banana republic? Do they think they can treat us like Venezuela or try to ‘fix’ us the way they have tried with other countries? It doesn’t work.”
She emphasised that any domestic wrongdoing should be handled through India’s democratic processes. “We are party to the UN Charter and are a major emerging country. If any organisation acts against the Constitution, India’s judiciary and democratic mechanisms will take care of it,” she said.
Concluding, Mukherjee reiterated India’s sovereignty in domestic affairs: “We have long gone beyond the stage where we need ‘goras’ to tell us what to do. On the contrary, they should be asking us for tips. We do not solicit their advice; they should not offer it unsolicited.”
