Chicago – August 27, 2026
A coalition of civil rights and interfaith groups has called on Madison Square Garden to cancel a Saturday event featuring Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat, arguing the venue should not legitimise what they describe as a Hindu nationalist project.
At a press conference on Tuesday at New York City Hall, organised by the Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC), activists said the August 29 programme risks normalising exclusionary politics and hate. Sarita Pandey of Save America From Hindutva declared: “Madison Square Garden should not lend its name, prestige and credibility to this [Hindutva] project.”
The protest, held under the banner “No Platform for Hate,” drew representatives from Muslim, Hindu, Sikh, Christian, Dalit and interfaith organisations, including Hindus for Human Rights and the Interfaith Centre of New York. Former city comptroller and Democratic congressional nominee Brad Lander, a Jewish New Yorker, said MSG should not host the “spewing of hate” from Bhagwat, likening the optics to historic extremist rallies.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has said he opposes the event and the RSS’s ideology but noted the city likely lacks legal authority to cancel a privately organised gathering at the iconic arena. Organisers expect around 5,000 attendees for Bhagwat’s “Universal Oneness” address, while protesters plan a counter-rally outside the venue.
