Britain urged to block RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s visit
London: The Kashmir Centre has urged the British government to prevent Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat from entering Britain and referred his proposed London programme to British police authorities for assessment, amid concerns over the organisation’s alleged majoritarian and anti-minority politics.
According to Kashmir Media Service, the Kashmir Centre submitted a dossier to UK Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood seeking an assessment of Bhagwat’s proposed visit under Britain’s immigration rules. A separate referral was made to the Metropolitan Police and the National Police Chiefs’ Council to assess potential public-order and religious-hatred offences linked to his planned activities.
The Kashmir Centre described Bhagwat’s proposed London programme as more than a routine community event, arguing that the RSS leadership represents a political ideology associated with majoritarian politics in India.
The RSS chief is currently on a centenary tour of the United States, Canada and Britain. The organisation has announced community programmes in London as part of the tour.
Dr Muzzammil Ayyub Thakur, Executive Director of the Kashmir Centre, said the RSS had a record of majoritarian politics and anti-minority mobilisation, and argued that Bhagwat should not be provided a platform in Britain to promote what he described as an exclusionary political project.
The Centre said its submission to the Home Secretary sought consideration of Bhagwat’s immigration status and whether his presence in Britain would be conducive to the public good. It also urged authorities to identify his British hosts and examine the basis on which he proposes to enter the country.
Separately, the police referral asks British authorities to examine whether any specific speech, publication or conduct associated with Bhagwat’s UK activities could meet the statutory requirements of offences concerning the stirring up of religious hatred under the Public Order Act 1986.
The Kashmir Centre stressed that statements made by Bhagwat in India would not automatically constitute a criminal offence in Britain, but said any speech or material disseminated in the UK should be assessed under British law where applicable.
The move comes amid controversy over Bhagwat’s overseas tour, with concerns also being raised in the United States regarding his planned programmes. The Kashmir Centre cited the 2022 communal violence in Leicester as an example of the potential consequences of imported communal tensions and called for preventive action before any escalation.
The Centre emphasised that its campaign was directed against Bhagwat, the organisation he leads and the political ideology it represents, rather than Hinduism or British Hindus.
The Kashmir Centre urged the British authorities to examine the proposed visit and London programme in light of public-order, religious-hatred and immigration considerations.
