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NEW YORK, NY: Indian Overseas Congress USA strongly opposes the upcoming visit of Mohan Bhagwat, Sarsanghchalak (chief) of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), to the United States, including his scheduled appearance at Madison Square Garden in New York on August 29.<\/p>\n
Bhagwat\u2019s visit comes amid growing concern about the influence of Hindu nationalist and supremacist politics within the Indian diaspora and American public life. Indian Overseas Congress USA calls on elected officials, civil society organizations, universities, faith communities, and Indian American organizations to reaffirm their commitment todemocracy, religious freedom, pluralism, equality, and human rights.<\/p>\n
The RSS and Hindutva Politics<\/strong> Scholars, journalists, civil society organizations, and human-rights advocates have raised longstanding concerns about the RSS\u2019s influence on India\u2019s political and social environment, including the treatment of religious minorities, caste-oppressed communities, and political dissent.<\/p>\n Indian Overseas Congress USA believes these issues deserve serious discussion in the United States, particularly as organizations associated with the broader Hindutva movement expand their political and community engagement within the Indian American diaspora.<\/p>\n Our concern is not with Hinduism or Hindu Americans. Hinduism is a diverse religious tradition, and Hindu Americans are an important part of American society. Our concern is with political movements that use religious identity to promote supremacy, exclusion, discrimination, or communal division.<\/p>\n The expanding presence of RSS and Hindutva-aligned organizations in the United States warrants greater transparency, accountability, and public awareness. Reports of approximately $330,000 in lobbying connected to the RSS in 2025 raise legitimate questions about foreign political influence and disclosure. Although the lobbying arrangement was later terminated and related filings amended, Indian Overseas Congress USA urges U.S. officials and institutions to ensure that all foreign political activities comply with American law and uphold the fundamental principle that every community deserves equal dignity, respect, and protection under the law.<\/p>\n Rejecting Communal Division<\/strong> Our Message to Elected Officials and Institutions<\/strong> Indian Overseas Congress USA urges elected officials and public institutions to uphold religious freedom, equality, and human dignity, reject all forms of communal and caste-based discrimination, ensure transparency around foreign political influence, and protect individuals from transnational intimidation. We also urge leaders to distinguish Hinduism as a religion from Hindutva as a political ideology and recognize the diversity of Indian American voices.<\/p>\n A Call for Pluralism and Democracy<\/strong> \u201cAs Mohan Bhagwat visits the United States, we call upon Americans and Indian Americans to reaffirm the values of democracy, pluralism, and equality. No religion should be above the Constitution, no community should be above the law, and no individual should be treated as less equal because of their religion, race, ethnicity, caste, or national origin. We must stand together against hatred, discrimination, and political extremism and protect religious freedom, equality, and human dignity for all,\u201d said Mohinder Singh Gilzian, President of Indian Overseas Congress USA.<\/p>\n Indian Overseas Congress USA welcomes peaceful dialogue and the free exercise of religion. At the same time, we will continue to speak out against political movements that promote exclusion, supremacy, discrimination, or communal hatred.<\/p>\n We stand for an India and an America rooted in democracy, pluralism, equality, social justice, and human dignity for all.<\/p>\n Statement from Indian Overseas Congress USA<\/strong> NEW YORK, NY: Indian Overseas Congress USA strongly opposes the upcoming visit of Mohan Bhagwat, Sarsanghchalak (chief) of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), to the United States, including his scheduled appearance at Madison Square Garden in New York on August 29. Bhagwat\u2019s visit comes amid growing concern about the influence of Hindu nationalist and supremacist politics within the Indian diaspora and American public life. Indian Overseas Congress USA calls on elected officials, civil society organizations, universities, faith communities, and Indian American organizations to reaffirm their commitment todemocracy, religious freedom, pluralism,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":667195,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[47748,47743],"tags":[170392],"class_list":["post-667194","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-politics","tag-ioc-usa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.malayalamdailynews.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/667194","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.malayalamdailynews.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.malayalamdailynews.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.malayalamdailynews.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/22"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.malayalamdailynews.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=667194"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.malayalamdailynews.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/667194\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":667198,"href":"https:\/\/www.malayalamdailynews.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/667194\/revisions\/667198"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.malayalamdailynews.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/667195"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.malayalamdailynews.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=667194"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.malayalamdailynews.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=667194"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.malayalamdailynews.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=667194"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nFounded in 1925, the RSS is one of India\u2019s most influential Hindu nationalist organizations and has played a major role in shaping and promoting the ideology of Hindutva.<\/p>\n
\nThe Indian American community is one of the most diverse and vibrant communities in the United States, bringing together people of different religions, cultures, castes, regions, and political beliefs. No single organization or ideology speaks for all Indian Americans. We must protect this diversity and reject efforts to import communal divisions from India into American public life. American institutions, elected offices, and community platforms should promote dialogue, unity, and mutual respect\u2014not be used to legitimize hatred, intimidation, discrimination, or religious and political supremacy.<\/p>\n
\nIndian Overseas Congress USA calls upon elected representatives and public institutions to exercise appropriate due diligence before providing official honors, proclamations, government platforms, institutional endorsements, or other recognition to political organizations and their leaders.<\/p>\n
\nIndian Americans have made extraordinary contributions to the United States as doctors, engineers, entrepreneurs,workers, educators, scientists, artists, elected officials, activists, and community leaders. Our community\u2019s strength comes from its diversity and democratic values\u2014not religious or political uniformity.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cWe deeply respect Hinduism and the religious freedom of every Hindu American. At the same time, respect for any faith should never require silence when religion is used to promote division, exclusion, or supremacy. The strength of India has always been rooted in its diversity, freedom, pluralism, and the spirit of harmony among its many communities. Indian Americans are a diverse community, and no single organization can claim to speak for all of us. As Mohan Bhagwat visits the United States, we call upon elected officials, civil society, and community leaders to uphold democracy, equality, religious freedom, and the values of an inclusive, peaceful, and harmonious India,\u201d \u00a0including his scheduled appearance at Madison Square Garden in New York on August 29.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"