No locus standi: Indian envoy hits back at USCIRF for remarks on Sharjeel Imam

Updated - November 14, 2026 11:43 am IST - Washington DC, U.S.

Sharjeel Imam, a former student activist, was arrested in January 2020 in connection with protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act. File photo | Photo Credit: PTI

 Indian Ambassador Vinay Mohan Kwatra has asked an American advisory body to introspect on its own prejudices and stop lecturing others, after the bipartisan agency flagged arrests in India allegedly on religious grounds.

Mr. Kwatra’s sharp retort on Friday (November 13, 2026) came after the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) shared Sharjeel Imam’s profile on X, describing him as “a Muslim man detained in India for his religious freedom advocacy”.

Former Jawaharlal Nehru University scholar Imam has been booked under UAPA (Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act) on allegations of being among the masterminds of the February 2020 riots that left 53 people dead and more than 700 injured.

The violence erupted during protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), 2019, and the National Register of Citizens (NRC).

USCRIF has no locus standi to sit in judgment over the constitutional rights of Indian citizens. Its habitual partisan, ill-informed, and jaundiced assessments cannot diminish India's constitutional commitment to religious freedom and equal rights for all faiths. India flourishes defying the agenda-driven partisan narratives of the USCIRF. Taking the same liberty that USCIRF so readily assumes, a word of advice: introspect on your own prejudices and stop lecturing others.

— Amb Vinay Mohan Kwatra (@AmbVMKwatra) November 14, 2026

“USCIRF has no locus standi to sit in judgment over the constitutional rights of Indian citizens,” Kwatra said

“Its habitual partisan, ill-informed, and jaundiced assessments cannot diminish India’s constitutional commitment to religious freedom and equal rights for all faiths,” he said.

He said India flourishes, defying the agenda-driven partisan narratives of the USCIRF. “Taking the same liberty that USCIRF so readily assumes, a word of advice: introspect on your own prejudices and stop lecturing others,” Mr. Kwatra said.

India describes USCIRF as a biased organisation that lacks credibility.

Established by the U.S. government in 1998 after the inaction of the International Religious Freedom Act, the recommendations of USCIRF are non-binding on the U.S. State Department.

Published - November 14, 2026 10:16 am IST