Mamdani opposes Bhagwat's NYC event; How 'progressive, interfaith' groups expose own bias by misreading RSS event as faith issue

For AHEAD Forum and the 135 Hindu American organizations backing Bhagwat, this is the crux of the controversy: a leader who has publicly championed Muslim inclusion in his vision of Hindu Rashtra is still being branded by critics as exclusionary.

NewsBharati    26-Aug-2026 12:18:43 PM
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An uninvited political and interfaith dispute is unfolding in New York ahead of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat's planned speech to roughly 5,000 members of the Indian-American community at Madison Square Garden on August 29. This is as New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, USCIRF, and certain 'progressive interfaith' groups have openly stated their opposition to the event.

While voicing his disapproval, Mamdani conceded that the city likely lacks the legal power to block the privately organized gathering. His comments notably came amid a demonstration outside City Hall on Tuesday, August 25, where a coalition of religious leaders, faith-based advocates, and progressive groups called for resistance to Bhagwat's visit.
 
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Mamdani (L), RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat (C), interfaith groups protesting (R) (Image: Religion News Service)

The episode has thrust Bhagwat and the RSS back into an American conversation about Hindu identity and the growing political voice of the Indian diaspora.

What has happened and why is RSS chief Bhagwat in New York?

Bhagwat is on an overseas trip covering the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada, and this is part of an international RSS tour that began August 25, 2026. The centerpiece of his travels is a gathering of over 5,000 people at Madison Square Garden, where he is scheduled to address the "Universal Oneness Celebrations" on August 29. He is expected to speak to roughly 5,000 Hindu Americans there. The said event is organized by American Hindus For Engagement And Dialogue (AHEAD Forum), who welcomed the leader in a foreign land yesterday saying, "The journey toward Universal Oneness begins."
 


Notably, while the organizers describe the event as a celebration of "Universal Oneness," opponents, including the Hindus for Human Rights and allied groups, argue it's an attempt to allegedly soften the RSS's history of alleged religious-supremacist and anti-minority activity while extending its reach in the U.S.

Hindus for Human Rights showcase hatred toward Hindu identity, Indianness

Brad Lander, who is running as the Democratic Party's nominee for Congress in New York and previously served as the city's comptroller, criticized what he called an ideology rooted in exclusion and discrimination. “There is no room for Mohan Bhagwat and RSS hatred in our city,” he said, adding the organization “fomented violence and promoted hatred against Muslims, against Sikhs, against Dalits, against Christians.”
 
 

The press conference, organized by the 'progressive advocacy organization' Hindus for Human Rights, included speakers from the Indian American Muslim Council, the Interfaith Center of New York, Riverside Church and the New York State Council of Churches.

These organizations further have alleged that the RSS and BJP have been behind sustained campaigns of violence against religious minorities in India spanning several decades, an accusation the RSS has consistently rejected. These 'progressive advocacy organizations' also have claimed that RSS' underlying ideology allegedly frames Muslim and Christian Indians as outsiders to the nation.
 
 
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Interfaith groups protesting (Image: Hindu Existence.org) 

However, by openly opposing an event that has little direct bearing on any specific community, these groups risk exposing their own polarized stance, one that appears to reflect hostility toward Hindu identity and Indian identity more broadly.

As the AHEAD Forum noted, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat has been invited to New York, citing the Hindu festival Raksha Bandhan and calling for unity across communities, nations, and humanity. AHEAD Forum-led gathering reimagines Raksha Bandhan as a call for unity across communities, nations and humanity," it said in an official press release.

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Press release by AHEAD Forum  

Billed also as a celebration of the RSS's centenary, the "Universal Oneness Celebration" aims to reflect Sanskrit ideals centered on unity and family. The event has backing from 135 Hindu American organizations and is anticipated to bring together temple representatives, yoga groups, and various cultural organizations. Following the rally, Bhagwat is scheduled to take part in two additional private engagements in New York before continuing to Canada.

"The diversity of participating organizations is itself a defining feature of the event. Hindu Americans trace their heritage to India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, the Caribbean, Africa and beyond, representing a wide range of languages, customs and philosophical traditions. The Universal Oneness Celebration seeks to bring many of these communities together around shared principles rooted in Hindu thought," the release said.

Against this backdrop, the objections raised by interfaith groups and Mamdani toward the event invite legitimate scrutiny.

Mamdani mistakes the gathering, linking it to faith

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Tuesday, August 25, said he does not support the planned Madison Square Garden event. "I don't support the rally, but I don't know if the city has any jurisdiction on cancelling a private event." He was asked whether the event should be cancelled. "I also stand here as the first Indian-American Mayor in our city's history, and my mother's family is all still in India," Mamdani said.
 

He said the vision of India he had been taught by his family, and the one he grew up knowing, was that of "a pluralistic society, of a secular republic that believed in the belonging of every person who was from India".

"And it has been incredibly troubling to see the rise of a movement that is predicated on an exclusionary vision of any country, frankly, and so it is one that I find myself in deep opposition to, not only as an Indian-American but also as the Mayor of a city that believes deeply in the belonging of every person, no matter their colour, their creed, their religion, their faith, wherever they're from," Mamdani said.


Who else is opposing Bhagwat's visit; India's response

Bhagwat's trip has also faced pushback from within the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF). USCIRF Vice Chair Asif Mahmood spoke out against the visit, tying the RSS to allegations of attacks on religious minorities in India.

Commissioner Gene Mills, meanwhile, called on U.S. officials to withhold high-level diplomatic courtesies from RSS leaders. Pointing to USCIRF's past reporting on alleged religious-freedom abuses linked to Hindu nationalist organizations, Mills pressed for sanctions against those found responsible for such violations.

This isn't the first time USCIRF has aimed at India's religious freedom record; the commission has repeatedly urged Washington to take firmer action against individuals it holds accountable for serious abuses. That stance, however, has drawn sharp pushback from Indian officials and Hindu American advocacy groups, who argue the commission takes an unfairly harsh and politically motivated view of India.
 
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Rejecting the USCIRF report, India stated that the organisation has persistently presented a "distorted and selective" picture of the country that relies on "questionable sources and ideological narratives".

External Affairs Ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal said in a statement in March that the USCIRF should be designated as an "entity of concern", adding that its "persistent" attempts to cast aspersions on the country's vibrant multicultural society reflect a "deliberate" agenda rather than a genuine concern for religious freedom.
 
 

"We have no expectation that the USCIRF will engage with the reality of India's pluralistic framework or acknowledge the harmonious coexistence of its diverse communities," Jaiswal said.

In another statement earlier in March, Jaiswal said instead of persisting with "selective criticism" of India, the USCIRF should reflect on "disturbing incidents of vandalism and attacks on Hindu temples in the US, selective targeting of India, and growing intolerance and intimidation of members of the Indian diaspora in the US, which merit serious attention". 

RSS never talked about excluding Muslims

A key point being overlooked by these U.S. officials and 'progressive groups' is that Bhagwat's outreach to Muslims is both political and ideological. Bhagwat has repeatedly emphasized the shared ancestry and cultural foundations linking Hindus and Muslims, unlike what is being claimed by these so-called progressive groups. His "same DNA" framing is meant to underscore that religious differences don't erase a common civilizational lineage.
 

He has also pushed back directly against the notion that a Hindu Rashtra would leave no place for Muslims. During a 2018 lecture series in Delhi on the future of Bharat, he stated that a Hindu Rashtra doesn't mean excluding Muslims, describing Hindutva instead as a framework built on inclusivity and unity amid diversity. A separate report from around the same time quoted him saying that a Hindu Rashtra without Muslims would be inconceivable.

Even so, Bhagwat continues to encounter firm resistance from segments of America's interfaith and political circles. For AHEAD Forum and 135 Hindu American organizations that back the RSS chief, this tension sits at the heart of the controversy. Here is a leader who has publicly advocated for Muslim inclusion within his vision of Hindu Rashtra, yet is still being cast by critics as a figure of exclusion.
Zohran Mamdani RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat USCIRF New York