Indian Leader Denies Anti Christian Agenda at DC Think Tank While 3,000 Persecution Attacks Hit Indian Believers

RSS Leader Claims Hindu Nationalists Are Not Anti Christian While India's Persecution of Believers Hits Record Highs

The general secretary of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Dattatreya Hosabale, stood before an audience at the Hudson Institute in Washington, D.C. on Thursday and flatly denied that his organization is anti Christian.

"The narrative that has built over decades, knowingly, unknowingly or as part of an agenda, is that RSS is Hindu supremacist, or anti Christian, anti minority, anti development and anti modernization," Hosabale stated during the event.

The RSS, founded in 1925, is a Hindu nationalist paramilitary organization boasting over 4 million members. It serves as the ideological parent of India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, himself a longtime RSS member.

Hosabale dismissed comparisons to extremist groups, claiming:

"The Hindu philosophy doesn't tolerate supremacism. Hindus have nothing to apologize for."

His remarks, however, stand in stark contrast to documented reality. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has designated India a Country of Particular Concern for seven consecutive years, citing the Hindutva ideology promoted by the RSS and BJP as a source of systematic religious persecution.

In March 2026, USCIRF named the RSS specifically for U.S. sanctions, including asset freezes and entry bans, citing the group's "responsibility and tolerance of severe violations of religious freedom." Just 50 days later, the Hudson Institute hosted Hosabale at its Washington offices.

The persecution numbers tell a devastating story. In 2025, attacks against India's 72 million Christians reached record levels since independence. The Evangelical Fellowship of India documented nearly 750 incidents last year, including church vandalism, physical beatings, and death threats. From January to November 2025, more than 2,900 total incidents of persecution were reported across the country.

USCIRF Calls for Sanctions on RSS as Christian Persecution in India Reaches Record Levels

Modi himself was banned from U.S. entry in 2005 over allegations of complicity in anti Muslim riots in Gujarat, though he later became a frequent White House visitor after taking office in 2014.

India's strict anti conversion laws continue to enable persecution at the state level. Rajasthan became the 12th state to enact such legislation in 2025. Pastor Jose Pappachan and his wife became the first Christians convicted under these laws, setting a troubling legal precedent for believers across the nation.

The Crusader's Opinion

Let me be blunt. A man whose organization was just named for U.S. sanctions over "severe violations of religious freedom" walks into a Washington think tank and says Hindus have "nothing to apologize for." Meanwhile, nearly 3,000 persecution incidents were documented against Christians in India in a single year. Churches burned. Pastors beaten. Believers convicted for the crime of sharing the Gospel. This is not a misunderstanding. This is a campaign of suppression dressed up in diplomatic language. Imagine if a Christian organization oversaw this level of violence against Hindus in any Western nation. The world would be in flames over it. The silence is deafening and the hypocrisy is damning.

Take Action

• Pray daily for the 72 million Christians in India facing escalating persecution and for their persecutors to encounter the living God.
• Contact the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom at uscirf.gov and urge continued pressure on India to protect religious minorities.
• Support Open Doors USA in their work documenting and assisting persecuted Christians in India.
• Give to The Shepherd's Shield to support persecuted believers around the world.
• Contact your members of Congress and urge them to support enforcement of the USCIRF sanctions recommendation against the RSS.
• Share this story widely on social media to break the silence on India's war against Christians.