Hundreds of protesters gathered outside Madison Square Garden to protest an event featuring Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat, with demonstrators demanding that the United States revoke his visa and sanction the Hindu nationalist organisation. The demonstration, organised by the Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC) along with dozens of faith and civil rights groups, came days after the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) called for Bhagwat’s visa to be revoked and recommended targeted sanctions against the RSS.

Protesters gathered outside the arena carrying placards and raising slogans against the RSS and its leadership. IAMC described the demonstration as a broad coalition of New Yorkers from different religious and social backgrounds opposing what they called the RSS’s ideology of Hindu supremacy and its record of violence against religious minorities. Congressional nominee and former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander joined the protesters outside the venue. “We’ve gathered here to say no to the RSS,” Lander said. “We are angry at Madison Square Garden for hosting this hate-filled fascist rally,” he added.

New York City Council Member Julie Won also criticised Madison Square Garden for hosting Bhagwat, saying New York City rejected hate-based ideologies. She condemned the venue for providing a platform to “the leader of an organisation tied to decades of violence against religious minorities”. Safa Ahmed, an IAMC board member, addressed the RSS leadership during the demonstration. “You are being mocked by New York City. You will be remembered as an insecure group of people who could only take pride in their identity through the erasure of another — if you are remembered at all,” she said.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)