Activists urge Mamdani to cancel Hindu nationalist event in New York City

Activists are urging New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani to cancel an event that will be held at Madison Square Garden this weekend and will be headlined by the head of India's Hindu nationalist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh paramilitary organisation (RSS).

Demonstrators are expected to assemble outside City Hall on Tuesday to demand the mayor cancel the event, which will feature controversial RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, and to condemn the organisation's growing influence in the United States.

"Mohan Bhagwat does not represent Hindus. He leads an extremist Hindu nationalist movement that has fueled violence, exclusion and fear for minority communities," Sravya Tadepalli, deputy executive director of Hindus for Human Rights, said in a statement.

"New York should not provide the RSS with a stage on which religious nationalism can be repackaged as unity. We will gather at City Hall to defend a genuinely pluralistic vision of an India where no faith is used to determine who belongs or who holds power," Tadepalli added.

Activists have told Middle East Eye that Tuesday's rally will build on a letter that has been signed by dozens of human rights and community groups, as well as local officials Brad Lander and Shahana Hanif.

Two other local Indian American politicians, state assembly member Steven Raga and city council member Shekar Krishnan, have also not signed on to the statement.

MEE reached out to Mamdani and the two local politicians for comment but did not receive a response by the time of publication.

Founded by Hindu nationalist Keshav Baliram Hedgewar in the Indian city of Nagpur in 1925, the RSS is commonly described as the fountainhead of the Hindutva or the Hindu nationalist movement, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) widely regarded as its political arm.  

Since its inception, it has had ties with the fascist movement in Europe, with its earliest ideologues expressing an appreciation as well for the Zionist movement in Palestine.

Hindu nationalism, like Zionism, seeks to construct a supremacist state centred on one dominant religious and cultural community.

Edward Anderson, a scholar of Hindu nationalism and the Indian diaspora, told MEE that while it may be surprising to see the RSS leader headline a major event in New York, the organisation has sought to cultivate support among the Indian diaspora around the world since the early years of Indian independence.

He also said the choice of venue carried another purpose.

"It reflects a strength and success that is connected to their narrative of pride and assertiveness. And, importantly, it helps to create images and content that can be transmitted back to India."

In September 2014, Modi spoke at Madison Square Garden to a crowd of around 18,000 people just months after becoming prime minister. 

"I am going to make an India of your dreams,” Modi told the adoring crowd.

The Los Angeles Times described the atmosphere as a "rock-star reception" for the Indian leader.

Anderson said the event this weekend would be seen by scholars of Hindutva as part of the RSS effort "to bolster the legitimacy and influence of the RSS" and "counteract the framing of the organisation as 'paramilitary' and 'anti-minority'". 

Hate crimes against minorities have risen sharply since Modi became prime minister in 2014.

Muslims have been lynched by Hindu vigilantes on the mere suspicion of having eaten or slaughtered beef. Hindu religious leaders have also publicly called for the mass murder of Muslims, often with few consequences.

This climate of exclusion has also extended to the electoral system, with Muslims disproportionately impacted by removals from voter rolls.

There has also been a steep rise in hate crimes against Christians in India.

Mamdani has previously criticised the rise of Hindu nationalism in India, including as recently as 2024.

Four months before becoming mayor, Mamdani signed onto a letter to have a Hindu nationalist float - depicting a temple that was built atop the ruins of a mosque in Ayodhya - removed from the annual India Day parade. 

"It's not just about one float," Mamdani, who was then a New York Assembly member, told Maktoob Media at the time.

"For the BJP and associated Hindu nationalist groups, India's Muslim population isn't only an obstacle to their political goals, it is anathema to their definition of the nation," Mamdani said.

Despite this, since assuming office, Mamdani has faced criticism over whether some of his high-profile positions, including those on Palestine, amount to political symbolism rather than actionable policy.