AN OPEN LETTER TO DR. MOHAN BHAGWAT

Our report also documented 80 cases of forced conversion to Hinduism, 350 verbal threats, social and economic boycotts, and 37 instances in which Christian burials were denied.

Five states—Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh—accounted for 68.4 percent of all documented incidents.

Particularly troubling is what our documentation reveals about access to justice.

FIACONA recorded 233 FIRs filed against Christians, compared with only 17 FIRs filed by Christian victims.

These are not merely numbers.

Behind every statistic is a human being—a pastor facing intimidation, a congregation prevented from worshiping, a family displaced because of faith, a believer taken to a police station, or a victim struggling to obtain justice.

This is why FIACONA cannot remain silent.

OUR CONCERN IS RELIGIOUS NATIONALISM, NOT HINDUISM

FIACONA believes an important distinction must be maintained between Hinduism as a religion and Hindutva as a political and nationalist ideology.

Our concern arises when religious nationalism contributes to an environment in which religious identity becomes a measure of national belonging.

A Christian should never be considered less Indian because he or she is Christian.

A Muslim should not be considered less Indian because he or she is Muslim.

Nor should any citizen’s patriotism be judged by religious identity.

India’s strength has always included its extraordinary diversity.

We are therefore deeply concerned about violence against Christians, disruption of worship, intimidation of pastors and families, coercive pressure upon vulnerable communities, and the use or misuse of anti-conversion legislation against pastors and ordinary believers.

Religious freedom cannot mean merely the freedom of the majority to practice its religion.

Its true test is whether the person whose beliefs differ from those of the majority enjoys the same security, dignity and protection under law.

USCIRF, THE RSS AND FIACONA: WHY THIS MEETING MATTERS

Dr. Bhagwat, there is another reason your visit to the United States creates an important opportunity.

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is an independent, bipartisan U.S. government commission created by Congress to monitor freedom of religion or belief abroad and make policy recommendations to the President, Secretary of State and Congress.

In its 2026 Annual Report, USCIRF again recommended that the United States designate India as a Country of Particular Concern for particularly severe violations of religious freedom.

USCIRF reported serious concerns regarding religious-freedom conditions affecting Christians, Muslims and other minorities.

Of particular relevance to your visit, USCIRF’s recommendations specifically referenced the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in discussing potential targeted sanctions against individuals and entities that USCIRF assesses as responsible for or complicit in severe religious-freedom violations.

That is a serious matter.

You are the Sarsanghchalak of the RSS.

You are now visiting the United States.

USCIRF has raised concerns involving the organization you lead.

FIACONA has documented hundreds of incidents affecting the Christian community in India.

Why should we speak past one another?

There is a better way.

THE CHALLENGE: LET US MEET

Dr. Bhagwat, FIACONA respectfully places before you a direct and public challenge:

Meet us.

We invite you to participate in a serious dialogue involving RSS leadership, FIACONA representatives, USCIRF representatives, and appropriate Members of Congress or congressional religious-freedom leaders.

This should not be a confrontation.

It should not be a political spectacle.

It should be a substantive conversation about evidence, responsibility, constitutional freedom and the future of religious coexistence in India.

USCIRF should have the opportunity to place its concerns before you directly.

FIACONA should have the opportunity to place before you the documented experiences of Indian Christians.

You should have the opportunity to respond.

If USCIRF’s conclusions concerning the RSS are wrong, tell them why.

If FIACONA’s documentation does not reflect the reality you understand, examine the evidence with us.

If individuals or organizations invoking Hindu nationalist ideology are engaging in violence or intimidation without the approval of RSS leadership, then use your moral authority and organizational influence to condemn those actions unequivocally.

And if genuine failures exist in protecting India’s Christian minority, let us acknowledge them and discuss what responsible leaders can do to address them.

FIACONA will bring its report.

We will bring the documented cases.

We will present the patterns we have observed.

We will listen to your response.

We are not asking you to agree with us before entering the room.

We are asking you to enter the room.

SIX QUESTIONS THAT DESERVE CLEAR ANSWERS

Dr. Bhagwat, we respectfully ask you to address six fundamental questions:

1. Do you affirm, without qualification, that India’s Christians are equal citizens of India and that being Christian makes no person less Indian?
2. Do you affirm the right of every Indian citizen to choose, profess, practice and peacefully share his or her religious beliefs?
3. Will you unequivocally condemn physical attacks on Christians, pastors and churches and the disruption of Christian prayer meetings and worship services, regardless of who commits them?
4. Will you oppose violence, intimidation or coercion committed in the name of Hindutva, Hindu nationalism or the defense of Hindu society?
5. Will you oppose the misuse of anti-conversion laws when such laws are used to harass pastors, disrupt legitimate Christian worship or criminalize genuinely voluntary religious decisions?
6. Will you use your position as Sarsanghchalak of the RSS to make clear that violence, intimidation, coercion and discrimination against Christians—or against any religious minority—have no place in India?

These should not be difficult principles for leaders committed to genuine religious harmony to affirm.

THE SAME FREEDOM

There is a reason FIACONA raises these questions while you are in the United States.

Here in America, Hindu temples flourish.

Christian churches flourish.

Mosques, synagogues and gurdwaras flourish.

Hindu organizations may organize freely.

RSS-associated organizations may organize and speak freely.

Christian organizations may do the same.

People may share their religious convictions.

People may change their religion.

And people may disagree publicly with powerful religious and political organizations.

The American system does not protect these freedoms because everyone agrees with one another.

It protects them precisely because we do not.

FIACONA therefore asks for no special privilege for Christians in India.

We ask for equality.

The freedom enjoyed by Hindu and RSS-associated organizations in the United States should be a freedom Christians can confidently enjoy in India.

That principle should unite rather than divide us.

THE REAL TEST OF “UNIVERSAL ONENESS”

Dr. Bhagwat, thousands may listen to your words at Madison Square Garden.

You will stand on a stage in a nation where your freedom of speech and assembly is protected.

FIACONA respects that freedom.

But the real test of Universal Oneness cannot simply be what is said before an appreciative audience.

The deeper test is whether we are willing to sit across the table from those who raise difficult questions.

If the RSS believes it is misunderstood, come and explain its position.

If you believe USCIRF’s concerns are unfounded, meet its representatives and explain why.

If you believe FIACONA’s understanding of Christian persecution is incomplete, sit with us and examine our evidence.

And if genuine problems affecting Christians exist, let us discuss what can be done about them.

Dialogue does not require agreement.

But meaningful dialogue requires the courage to meet.

OUR COMMITMENT TO INDIA AND RELIGIOUS FREEDOM

FIACONA seeks principled and constructive engagement.

Our objective is not hostility toward India.

We advocate because we believe in an India faithful to its own constitutional commitments to equality, pluralism, freedom of conscience and the rule of law.

We believe a strong India does not need to fear religious diversity.

We believe a confident Hindu community does not need to fear a thriving Christian community.

And we believe an Indian Christian should never be forced to choose between Christian faith and Indian identity.

We are Christians. We are Indians by heritage. And these identities need not be in conflict.

THE INVITATION IS OPEN

Therefore, Dr. Bhagwat, during your visit to the United States, FIACONA publicly extends this invitation:

Meet FIACONA.

Meet USCIRF.

Meet congressional religious-freedom leaders.

Hear the documented experiences of Indian Christians.

Address the concerns USCIRF has raised regarding religious freedom and the RSS.

Allow us to place FIACONA’s evidence before you.

And allow us to hear your response.

Let us demonstrate that serious disagreements concerning religion, nationalism and religious freedom do not have to produce hatred or hostility.

Let us demonstrate that people with profound differences can sit at the same table.

And let us affirm a principle worthy of both India and the United States:

Freedom of religion or belief belongs to everyone.

You come to New York under the message of “Universal Oneness.”

We respectfully invite you to demonstrate that principle through dialogue.

The evidence is documented.

The questions are clear.

The invitation is public.

FIACONA is ready. Dr. Bhagwat, will you meet us?

Respectfully,

Bimal John
President
Federation of Indian American Christian Organizations of North America (FIACONA)

On behalf of the leadership and constituency of FIACONA

Advocacy • Awareness • Action