Mohan Bhagwat, chief of India's Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), is scheduled to address around 5,000 people at Madison Square Garden in New York on August 29. The visit has drawn opposition from the city's mayor, a formal call from a federal body for his visa to be revoked, and protests from dozens of interfaith and civil rights organisations.
The event, titled the "Universal Oneness Celebration," is organised by American Hindus for Engagement and Dialogue, which says it has the backing of more than 135 Hindu American organisations. It forms part of a broader international tour tied to the RSS's centenary year. Bhagwat is also visiting Canada and the United Kingdom.
The RSS is widely considered the ideological parent of India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). It describes itself as a "Hindu-centric civilisational, cultural movement" whose goal is to "carry the nation to the pinnacle of glory." The organisation disputes accusations of intolerance toward religious minorities and said in May that it had organised foreign visits, including to the United States, partly to counter the perception that it is a paramilitary outfit involved in attacks on minority communities.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, the city's first Muslim and Indian American mayor, publicly opposed the event this week. He said the rise of the RSS was "incredibly troubling" and represented "an exclusionary vision," which he contrasted with his understanding of India as "a pluralistic society of a secular Republic that believed in the belonging of each and every person." He also acknowledged the limits of municipal authority over a privately organised gathering, saying: "I don't support the rally, but I don't know if the city has any jurisdiction on cancelling a private event." Whether the city will attempt legal action to block or restrict the event remains unclear.
On Wednesday, the bipartisan U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom urged the federal government to consider imposing sanctions on RSS members and to revoke Bhagwat's visa. The commission said the RSS "has been involved in acts of extreme violence and intolerance against members of minority groups for decades." Whether the government will act on that recommendation is not yet known.
Protest from civil society organisations has been substantial. On Tuesday, Hindus for Human Rights, the Indian American Muslim Council and the Interfaith Center of New York held a news conference outside New York City Hall, calling for the event to be cancelled. A total of 61 interfaith and secular organisations have signed an open letter opposing the visit. Event organisers have not yet responded publicly to the calls for cancellation.
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