Oneness or Hindu supremacy? RSS chief Bhagwat’s secretive New York hosts

A visit by India’s Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat to the United States this week is being opposed by many activists, politicians and human rights groups in New York.

Bhagwat is scheduled to speak on Saturday at an event called the “Universal Oneness Celebration” at Madison Square Garden in New York, and is expected to draw more than 5,000 attendees, including multifaith leaders.

But while the event is being billed as an event for unity, the RSS – a Hindu majoritarian front that is the parent of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party – has repeatedly faced accusations back in India of contributing to the persecution of religious minorities, including Muslims and Christians.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani told local media on Tuesday that he does not support the upcoming event and called the RSS’s ideology “exclusionary.” Many human rights groups in the US, such as Hindus for Human Rights, have said in a statement that “Mohan Bhagwat does not represent Hindus.”

The principal organiser of Saturday’s event is a US-based non-profit group called American Hindus for Engagement and Dialogue (AHEAD) Forum, which argues on its website that it seeks to promote intercultural understanding. But the website itself offers no details of those behind the group.

A deeper look at the group’s founding and registration documents, however, sheds light on its leaders – and their deep links to the RSS, which has long advocated for a Hindu-first vision for India, a country that has otherwise, through its millennia-long history, been home to people from many faiths.

So what is AHEAD Forum and who are the organisers of Bhagwat’s New York event?

The event, organised by AHEAD Forum, will take place from on Saturday 2:00pm to 15:30pm local time (19:00-21:30 GMT) in Madison Square Garden in New York.