Key facts
- Activists are urging NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani to cancel an event at Madison Square Garden featuring RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat.
- Demonstrators plan to rally at City Hall to protest the event and the RSS's influence.
- The RSS is described as a Hindu nationalist paramilitary organization with ties to European fascist movements.
- Scholars note the RSS has a history of cultivating support among the Indian diaspora.
- Mayor Mamdani has previously criticized Hindu nationalism and signed a letter to remove a Hindu nationalist float from a parade.
Activists are urging New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani to cancel an upcoming event at Madison Square Garden that will feature Mohan Bhagwat, the chief of India's Hindu nationalist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) paramilitary organization. Demonstrators are planning a rally outside City Hall to demand the cancellation and to condemn the RSS's growing influence in the United States.
Sravya Tadepalli, deputy executive director of Hindus for Human Rights, stated that Bhagwat leads an extremist Hindu nationalist movement responsible for violence and exclusion against minority communities. She emphasized that New York should not provide a platform for religious nationalism disguised as unity.
The RSS, founded in 1925, is considered the origin of the Hindutva movement, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) widely seen as its political wing. The organization has historical ties to European fascist movements. Scholar Edward Anderson noted that the RSS has actively sought to build support among the Indian diaspora globally and that the choice of Madison Square Garden, a venue previously used by Modi, serves to bolster the organization's legitimacy and assertiveness.
Concerns about the RSS's influence are heightened by a reported rise in hate crimes against minorities in India since 2014, including violence against Muslims and Christians. Mayor Mamdani has a history of criticizing Hindu nationalism, having previously advocated for the removal of a Hindu nationalist float from the annual India Day parade.