‘RSS does not represent us’: US-based Hindu groups oppose Mohan Bhagwat’s New York event
New York: Many US-based Hindu organizations have voiced opposition to an event featuring Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat at Madison Square Garden in New York.
According to Kashmir Media Service, the Hindutva RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s event in New York has run into controversies after New York mayor Zohran Mamdani’s remarks against the outfit. The event is being organized by American Hindus for Engagement and Dialogue (AHEAD) forum.
Among the Hindu organizations opposing the event is Hindus for Human Rights. Its Executive Director Sunita Viswanath said that 61 interfaith and secular organizations had signed an open letter protesting the event. She said many of the groups’ supporters will show up in person with the message that “the RSS and their Hindutva ideology do not represent us”.
Earlier on Tuesday, several interfaith and civil rights groups, including Hindus for Human Rights, the Indian American Muslim Council and the Interfaith Center of New York, held a news conference outside New York City Hall, calling for the event to be canceled.
Ahead of the event, New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani said that it was “incredibly troubling” to see the rise of a movement in India that was based on an “exclusionary vision”.
Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, Mamdani stressed his opposition to the rally but pointed out that the city’s government likely did not have the jurisdiction to cancel a private event.
