Political analyst Ayushman Pandey said the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) should call off its August 29 event in New York, warning that proceeding amid mounting protests and international scrutiny could create a record that may eventually be used against India.
He argued that the RSS should reconsider the event because the protests surrounding it could leave behind a record that may have consequences beyond the organisation itself. “I am saying that RSS should cancel the event because it’s going to create a past, it’s going to create a documentation of the protest that occurred… That opposition, that protest is going to be used not against RSS… What is important is this protest is going to be used against India,” Pandey said while talking to The Federal on Capital Beat.
RSS faces mounting US pressure
Senior journalist Sanjay Kapoor, however, said the RSS was unlikely to call off the event given its significance for the organisation and the long planning that has gone into it. He said cancelling the gathering at this stage could be seen as a major setback for the RSS, particularly as it marks the organisation’s centenary.
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“It is a very very important event 100 years. They have been planning it for a long time. They can’t cancel it. I don’t think they will like to cancel… If they do it, it’ll be a kind of slap on their face that they will not be able to get over it for a long long time,” Kapoor said.
The panel discussion came amid growing pressure around the proposed August 29 gathering, with the AHEAD Forum’s X account suspended and the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) calling for targeted sanctions against RSS members and the revocation of Bhagwat’s US visa.
The AHEAD Forum, the primary host of the event, said its X account was suspended in error and appealed to the platform for reinstatement. The organisation said its communications had consistently promoted peace, unity, harmony and interfaith dialogue and complied with X’s policies.
The suspension came alongside a USCIRF statement urging the US government to impose targeted sanctions on RSS members and Indian officials over alleged religious freedom violations. The commission also called for Bhagwat’s visa to be revoked and for him to be declared ineligible for future entry into the US.
Global pushback against RSS grows
Pandey said the developments surrounding the New York event should be viewed against what he described as growing international scrutiny of the RSS. He argued that the pushback against the organisation in India is increasingly spilling over into the global arena, particularly as political developments in the country have altered perceptions abroad.
“I have had this feeling that one is seeing a pushback against RSS in India, and we are living in a globalised world. So, I had a feeling that this will take trends… What US CIRF is saying is absolutely correct and it is based on whatever pushback has been happening against RSS in India,” Pandey said.
Kapoor, meanwhile, pointed to what he described as a shift in attitudes among sections of the Hindu diaspora in the US, particularly among younger generations. He said there was growing reluctance among some Hindus to be identified with communal politics not only in India but also abroad.
“There is a certain amount of rethinking on the part of large mass of Hindus about whether they can allow themselves to be shown as shown up as communal not just in India but also rest of the world especially in the US,” Kapoor said.
He said this change was particularly visible among younger members of the diaspora, who were increasingly questioning political and social practices followed by earlier generations.
Diaspora outreach under scrutiny
Pandey said Bhagwat’s visit to the US was aimed at strengthening the RSS’s influence among the Indian diaspora and building support for the organisation’s broader outreach efforts. He argued that the gathering was not merely a cultural or religious event but also had a political and organisational dimension.
“See RSS what they have gone Bhagwat has gone there to do is very simple. He has gone there to collect funds. He has gone there to affect people… he has gone there to tell the US administration that we can we can affect your voter I mean whatever Indian voters of Indian origin,” Pandey said.
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He also referred to efforts to bring the administration of Hindu temples in the US under a more centralised structure, suggesting that the RSS’s outreach extended beyond the August 29 gathering.
With the August 29 gathering facing protests and scrutiny from US authorities and civil society groups, the RSS now faces a test of how it handles growing opposition to its international outreach. While Pandey believes cancelling the event would be the wiser course, Kapoor expects the organisation to press ahead with the centenary gathering despite the controversy.