Protest in NY against RSS chief’s visit

Protest in New York against RSS chief's visit.

Key points

• Anwar Iqbal Published September 1, 2026 Updated September 1, 2026 08: 27am.
• The demonstration took place as thousands of individuals gathered inside the venue for the "Universal Oneness Celebration", organised by American Hindus for Engagement and Dialogue.
• New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani publicly resisted the event, describing the rise of what he called an exclusionary vision of India as deeply troubling.
• The protest was organised under the banner "Hindus Say No to the RSS", with organisers calling for a secular and interfaith India.
• During a long journalism career, he has interviewed world leaders and cultural icons, including US Presidents George W.

Anwar Iqbal Published September 1, 2026 Updated September 1, 2026 08: 27am. Join our Whatsapp Channel. Add Dawn as a trusted source.

WASHINGTON: A sizeable demonstration erupted outside Madison Square Garden this week as Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat attended an event billed as a celebration of "Universal Oneness", with protesters saying the message contradicted the RSS's Hindu supremacist ideology.

Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Dalit and civil-rights groups converged outside the New York landmark to protest Bhagwat's appearance, accusing the RSS of promoting a majoritarian vision of India and of being associated with violence and discrimination against religious minorities.

Notably, the demonstration took place as thousands of individuals gathered inside the venue for the "Universal Oneness Celebration", organised by American Hindus for Engagement and Dialogue. Organisers presented the event as a celebration of Hindu culture and the idea of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam – the world as one family.

But protesters remarked universal brotherhood placards could not conceal what they described as the RSS's record in India. "This is kind of a goodwill tour to improve the public image of the RSS, " Sravya Tadepalli of Hindus for Human Rights remarked to journalists before the event, des­cribing the organisation as a "fascist paramilitary organisation" accused of decades of communal violence against minorities.

For context, the protest was organised under the banner "Hindus Say No to the RSS", with organisers calling for a secular and interfaith India. The coalition remarked the RSS's Hindu nationalist vision threatens Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Dalits and others who do not fit its conception of the Indian nation. The opposition had gathered momentum well before Bhagwat reached New York.

New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani publicly resisted the event, describing the rise of what he called an exclusionary vision of India as deeply troubling. He remarked the city might not have legal authority to stop a privately organised event.

Notably, the controversy additionally reached Washington. The US Commission on International Religious Freedom pressed Bhagwat's visa to be revoked and called on the Trump administration to consider targeted sanctions against RSS members and Indian authorities. Published in Dawn, September 1st, 2026.

Anwar Iqbal is the Washington correspondent for Dawn. During a long journalism career, he has interviewed world leaders and cultural icons, including US Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, poets Faiz Ahmed Faiz and Josh Malihabadi, Bacha Khan, Nobel laureate Abdus Salam, and humanitarian Abdul Sattar Edhi.

For now, protest in NY against RSS chief's visit remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.