Officials of a U.S. advisory body on religious freedom have called for sanctions against the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and asked the American government not to extend diplomatic courtesies to its leaders or have high-level meetings with them.

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) chair Asif Mahmood said Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a member of the RSS, which he described as an umbrella organisation whose sub-groups have perpetrated attacks on religious minorities.