RSS Chief's New York Event Draws Protests, Sanctions Call
Protests and a sanctions call greet RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat's planned New York City address, highlighting divisions over Hindutva.
An event scheduled for Saturday in New York City, featuring the head of a Hindu nationalist organization, is facing significant opposition. Mohan Bhagwat, the chief of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), is set to address an audience of about 5,000 people at Madison Square Garden. The gathering, titled "Universal Oneness Celebration," is organized by American Hindus for Engagement and Dialogue.
The RSS is widely seen as the ideological parent of India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a former member. Critics accuse the RSS of promoting Hindutva, an ideology that seeks to define Indian identity through Hindu values, and of fostering intolerance, including human rights violations.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has publicly opposed the event, calling the RSS ideology exclusionary. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, a bipartisan federal body, has urged the U.S. government to consider sanctions against RSS members and revoke Bhagwat's visa. India's Ministry of External Affairs rejected the commission's remarks, calling the body biased.
Several interfaith and civil rights groups, including Hindus for Human Rights and the Indian American Muslim Council, held a news conference calling for the event's cancellation. Sunita Viswanath of Hindus for Human Rights said 61 organizations signed an open letter protesting the event, with plans to demonstrate outside the venue. "The RSS and their Hindutva ideology do not represent us," she said.
Organizers describe the event as a collaboration of over 200 Hindu American organizations, built around the Sanskrit phrase "Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam," meaning "the world is one family." They say it builds on the message of the festival of Rakshabandhan, broadening the idea of mutual responsibility.
RSS spokesperson Sunil Ambekar said Bhagwat will "communicate with a diverse, multicultural, and multifaith audience," reflecting an ethos that is "fundamentally inclusive." However, critics remain skeptical. "I just don't buy it," Viswanath said. "It's still the same Hindutva ideology."
Some analysts view the visit as part of an RSS public relations campaign. Bill Drexel of the Hudson Institute noted Bhagwat has recently toned down his comments, adding, "We're seeing a new chapter in terms of how they are relating to the outside world."