Protests Erupt in New York Against Hindu Nationalist Leader Mohan Bhagwat's Visit

Hundreds of activists gathered outside Madison Square Garden in New York on Saturday to protest the visit of Mohan Bhagwat, the chief of India’s Hindu nationalist paramilitary organization, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). The demonstration took place during the “Universal Oneness” event organized by American Hindus for Engagement and Dialogue, which drew around 5,000 attendees from over 200 Hindu and Indian partner organizations across the United States. The protest was coordinated by a coalition of groups including South Asian Left (SALAM), the Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC), Hindus for Human Rights (HfHR), and the Anti-Imperialist South Asian Alliance Philadelphia (AISA Philly).

Protesters criticized the RSS for its alleged role in promoting Hindutva, an ideology advocating for a Hindu ethnostate in India. Safa Ahmed, a board member of the IAMC, stated that the RSS has spent a century normalizing Hindu supremacy, which she said excludes and endangers religious minorities, including India’s 200 million Muslims. Formed in 1925, the RSS claims over five million members worldwide and more than 250 affiliated chapters in the U.S. The organization is widely regarded as the ideological foundation of India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Early ideological texts of the RSS drew controversial parallels to European fascism and Zionism, with former RSS leader M.S. Golwalkar comparing the group’s vision of a Hindu Rashtra to Nazi Germany’s anti-Semitic policies. In his book *We or Our Nationhood Defined*, Golwalkar praised Hitler’s purging of Jews as a model for maintaining racial purity, a statement that has drawn widespread condemnation. The RSS has also faced criticism for its alleged involvement in the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi, India’s founding father, and for its opposition to the autonomy of Kashmir, which it describes as a “thorn in the flesh.”

The protest took place just days after New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who is of Indian and Muslim descent, described the RSS’s vision as exclusionary. While Mamdani acknowledged the city’s limited authority over private events, he did not endorse the RSS’s ideology. Shree Baphna, a member of SALAM, emphasized the symbolic significance of Madison Square Garden as a global stage, arguing that the event’s visibility reflects a broader, dangerous ideology within the diaspora that requires a strong response.

In addition to the coalition protest, a separate demonstration by supporters of the Khalistan movement was held nearby. Organized by Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), the protest called for a referendum on an independent Sikh state in Punjab, India, and also criticized Bhagwat’s visit.

Earlier this week, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) urged the U.S. government to sanction the RSS for its alleged role in violent attacks against religious minorities, including Christians, Dalits, Muslims, and Sikhs. The commission also recommended revoking Bhagwat’s visa.

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