US Sikh groups urge Rubio to deny RSS chief entry
New Delhi: Three US-based Sikh organisations have urged US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to deny entry to Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat, citing the organisation’s role in promoting violence, discrimination and persecution of religious minorities in India.
According to Kashmir Media Service, the American Sikh Caucus Committee, Sikh Coordination Committee East Coast and American Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee made the demand in a letter dated August 20, ahead of Bhagwat’s expected visit to the United States around August 25. The groups also referred to a public event reportedly scheduled at Madison Square Garden on August 29.
The Sikh organisations said that allowing the RSS chief to enter and receive honours in the US would send a “deeply troubling signal” at a time when concerns have been raised over the organisation’s role in violations of religious freedom in India. They urged Washington not to extend diplomatic courtesies or high-level access to leaders of organisations accused of harming religious minorities.
The development comes days after the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) called for sanctions against the RSS. USCIRF Chair Asif Mahmood said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a member of the RSS and alleged that organisations affiliated with it have been involved in attacks on religious minorities, including Christians and Muslims.
The USCIRF has repeatedly expressed concern over religious freedom in India, including designating the country as a “country of particular concern” in its assessments.
The Indian Ministry of External Affairs, however, rejected the USCIRF’s criticism, describing the commission as a “biased organisation” and questioning its credibility.
The RSS, widely regarded as the ideological parent organisation of India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has faced longstanding criticism over its Hindutva ideology and its impact on religious minorities.
The US Sikh groups’ appeal has renewed scrutiny of the RSS’s international activities and the growing concerns among minority communities over what they describe as the export of exclusionary Hindutva politics beyond India.
