NEW YORK: RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s high-profile visit to the United States has triggered strong opposition from politicians, religious freedom advocates and civil rights groups, complicating the Hindu nationalist organisation’s efforts to build greater international recognition.
Bhagwat is scheduled to address around 5,000 people at Madison Square Garden on Saturday during the “Universal Oneness Celebration”, organised by American Hindus for Engagement and Dialogue (AHEAD).
His visit forms part of a three-country outreach tour covering the United States, Canada and Britain during the RSS’s centenary year.
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has faced widespread international criticism over its promotion of Hindutva, or Hindu nationalism, which international watchdogs, human rights groups and critics describe as a majoritarian and exclusionary ideology that poses a challenge to India’s secular and pluralistic framework.
RSS Faces Strong Opposition in New York
New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he did not support the gathering, describing the RSS vision as “exclusionary”.
Mamdani, New York’s first Muslim and Indian-American mayor, said, however, that the city may lack jurisdiction to cancel a privately organised event.
The controversy has intensified after the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) called for measures against Bhagwat and RSS figures, including possible visa restrictions and targeted sanctions over their involvement in religious minorities.
ALSO READ: US Watchdog Calls For Sanctions Against RSS, Visa Revocation For Chief Bhagwat
More than 60 US-based Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Jewish, Sikh, Dalit and civil rights organisations have also jointly denounced Bhagwat’s visit.
Campaigners have urged US authorities to reconsider his visa and called on Madison Square Garden to cancel the programme.
The RSS, founded in 1925, is widely regarded as the ideological parent of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party.
Its influence has expanded significantly during the BJP’s years in power, while critics accuse organisations associated with Hindu nationalism of contributing to hostility towards Muslims and Christians.
Bhagwat’s US appearance therefore represents a significant test of the RSS’s push for greater legitimacy abroad as its growing influence in India attracts increased international scrutiny.
Critics and international bodies have described the RSS as a Hindu nationalist or supremacist organisation.
They argue that its ideology seeks to transform India from a secular republic into a Hindu Rashtra, potentially relegating religious minorities, particularly Muslims and Christians, to a subordinate position.
The RSS and organisations affiliated with its wider Sangh Parivar network have repeatedly faced allegations from human rights groups and critics of contributing to communal tensions, promoting anti-minority rhetoric, or failing to prevent violence against religious minorities.
