US body demands denial of diplomatic courtesies to RSS leaders during Bhagwat's visit

Ahead of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s visit to New York, officials of a US advisory body have urged the Trump administration to refrain from extending diplomatic courtesies to RSS leaders or holding high-level meetings with them.

Bhagwat is scheduled to visit the US to participate in the ‘Universal Oneness Celebrations’ organised by the American Hindus for Engagement and Dialogue (AHEAD) in New York on August 29.

USCIRF officials oppose diplomatic courtesies

Asif Mahmood, the chair of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), argued that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is an RSS member. He alleged that the RSS is an umbrella organisation whose sub-groups have perpetrated attacks on religious minorities.

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Elaborating further, USCIRF Commissioner Gene Mills said that RSS leaders, even when affiliated with the Indian government, should not be honoured with high-level meetings or diplomatic courtesies.

“Instead, the USG (US Government) should focus on imposing sanctions on RSS members found responsible for FoRB (freedom of religious belief) violations,” Mills added.

USCIRF posted the remarks by Mahmood and Mills on its X account.

Hindus for Human Rights criticises visit

“India’s PM Modi is a member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), an Indian umbrella organisation whose sub-groups have perpetrated attacks on religious minorities, incl. Christians & Muslims. Now the RSS leader, Mohan Bhagwat, plans to visit the US," Mahmood said.

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Advocacy group Hindus for Human Rights said Bhagwat’s visit cannot be separated from the RSS network’s violence against Muslims and Christians.

“A celebration of “oneness” cannot conceal the politics of religious supremacy,” the advocacy group said in a post on X.

India rejects USCIRF's criticism

In March, the USCIRF annual report criticised India for alleged violations of religious freedom and backed “targeted sanctions” on individuals and entities such as the RSS and Research and Analysis Wing, holding them responsible for the matter.

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India rejected the USCIRF report, saying that the organisation has persistently presented a “distorted and selective” picture of the country that relies on “questionable sources and ideological narratives”.

External Affairs Ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal, in a statement on March 16, said that instead of persisting with “selective criticism” of India, the USCIRF should reflect on “disturbing incidents of vandalism and attacks on Hindu temples in the US, selective targeting of India, and growing intolerance and intimidation of members of the Indian diaspora in the US, which merit serious attention”.

(With agency inputs)