The New York Mayor said he does not support Bhagwat’s planned address to around 5,000 Indian diaspora members, as civil rights and interfaith groups urge Madison Square Garden to cancel the event
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has voiced his opposition to an upcoming event featuring Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat at Madison Square Garden, while acknowledging that city authorities may not have the legal power to cancel a privately organised gathering.
Bhagwat is scheduled to address around 5,000 members of the Indian diaspora on August 29 at an event called the “Universal Oneness Celebration”. The programme is being organised by the American Hindus for Engagement and Dialogue (Ahead) Forum to mark the RSS’s centenary year.
Mamdani opposes event
Speaking at a news conference on Tuesday, Mamdani addressed calls from civil rights and interfaith organisations for City Hall and Madison Square Garden management to prevent the event from taking place.
“I don’t support the rally, but I don’t know if the city has any jurisdiction over cancelling a private event,” Mamdani told reporters.
Mamdani, who is New York City’s first Indian-American mayor, also spoke about his own understanding of India and contrasted it with what he described as the RSS’s “exclusionary vision”.
“The vision of India that I was taught by my family, and the one that I grew up being very familiar with, was of a pluralistic society—a secular republic that believed in the belonging of each and every person who was from India,” he said.
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He added that he was deeply opposed to what he described as the rise of an exclusionary form of politics.
“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 each and every person, no matter their color, their creed, their religion, [or] their faith,” Mamdani said.
Groups demand cancellation
Mamdani’s remarks came after demonstrations were held outside New York City Hall by a coalition of civil rights, Hindu and interfaith organisations.
Among the groups involved were Hindus for Human Rights, the Indian American Muslim Council and the Interfaith Center of New York. They have called on city authorities and Madison Square Garden management to intervene and cancel the booking.
The groups have raised concerns about the RSS and its ideology, arguing that Bhagwat’s appearance at the prominent New York venue would provide a platform to an organisation they view as exclusionary.
Also read | US religious freedom body seeks sanctions on RSS ahead of Mohan Bhagwat’s visit
Organisers defend gathering
The event’s organisers have rejected the criticism and defended the programme’s stated message of unity.
Ahead Forum said on social media that the gathering is based on the ancient Indian philosophy of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, commonly translated as “the world is one family”.
According to the organisers, the event is intended to promote mutual respect, harmony and shared bonds across cultural and religious divisions.
The dispute has placed the planned event at the centre of a wider debate over free expression, political ideology and the representation of India’s diaspora communities in the United States.
Bhagwat reaches New York
Upon his arrival at John F Kennedy International Airport, the RSS chief was received by members of the Ahead Forum and Indian-American diaspora representatives in a traditional ceremony.
As Bhagwat stepped into the arrival area, community leaders greeted him with a classical tilak mark applied to his forehead, accompanying the traditional greeting with auspicious vermilion (kumkum) and unbroken rice grains (akshat), alongside garlands presented by organising volunteers.
Bhagwat’s appearance in New York is the first stop on an international tour covering the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.