Mohan Bhagwat’s Madison Square Garden Event: Mamdani Says He Opposes Rally

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By TRH Political Desk

New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani invoked his Indian heritage and said he opposed what he described as an “exclusionary vision”, while acknowledging that the city may lack jurisdiction to cancel the private August 29 event.

New Delhi, August 26, 2025 — New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he does not support the planned August 29 event featuring Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat at Madison Square Garden. Yet he acknowledged that the city may not have jurisdiction to cancel a privately organised gathering.

Mamdani made the remarks at a press conference on Tuesday. He was responding to a question on Bhagwat’s scheduled appearance. Mamdani was also responding to a growing call in the US against Bhagwat’s event at MSG. They’ve called for cancelling the event, citing the alleged role of the RSS in diminishing “religious freedom in India.”

“I don’t support the rally, but I don’t know if the city has any jurisdiction on cancelling a private event,” Mamdani said.

Mamdani, who is New York City’s first Indian-American mayor, also invoked his family’s connection to India while explaining his opposition to what he described as an “exclusionary vision.”

“I also stand here as the first Indian-American mayor in our city’s history. And my mother’s family is all still in India,” he said.

Mamdani said the India he was introduced to by his family was one based on pluralism and secularism.

“The vision of India that I was taught by my family and the one that I grew up being very familiar with was of a pluralistic society, of a secular republic that believed in the belonging of each and every person who was from India,” he said.

He added that he found the rise of what he characterised as an exclusionary movement “incredibly troubling”.

“And so it is one that I find myself in deep opposition to not only as an Indian-American, but also as the mayor of a city that believes deeply in the belonging of each and every person, no matter their colour, their creed, their religion, their faith, wherever they’re from,” Mamdani said.

The remarks come ahead of the Universal Oneness Celebration, organised by American Hindus for Engagement and Dialogue (AHEAD Forum), which is scheduled for August 29 and features Bhagwat as a keynote speaker. Organisers have described the event as a celebration centred on unity, harmony and the theme of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam — “the world is one family.”

Bhagwat’s appearance has drawn opposition from several interfaith and civil rights groups. Organisations including Hindus for Human Rights, the Indian American Muslim Council and the Interfaith Centre of New York have called for the event to be cancelled.

The event has also become a flashpoint over questions of Indian identity, Hindu nationalism, pluralism and free expression in the Indian-American community.

While Mamdani clearly expressed his personal opposition, his comments stopped short of indicating any move by the New York City administration to block the event. The mayor specifically cited uncertainty over the city’s authority to intervene in a private gathering.

Bhagwat is visiting the United States as part of an international outreach programme marking the RSS’s centenary year, with engagements also planned in Canada and the United Kingdom.