T
wo people have come to New York on Tuesday which have very little in common but what makes them similar is that they have met each other through the same news cycle.
Zohran Mamdani, mayor of New York City, told on Tuesday that he is not in favor of the program to be held at Madison Square Garden where RSS head Mohan Bhagwat will speak to Indian Diaspora.
The same day Bhagwat came to the city himself. Bhagwat had arrived in the US earlier in the day as part of the centenary year global outreach campaign of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.
Photo: @Reuters
During a press conference, Mamdani was unequivocal regarding his individual stance, although conscious of the boundaries within which his office functions.
“I am against the rally but I do not know whether the city has any jurisdiction in calling off a private event,” Mamdani stated.
Mamdani continued and spoke in more personal and emotive terms about his stance, based on his heritage as well as his ideas about the city he represents: “And it has been incredibly troubling to see the rise of a movement that is based on a vision of a country that excludes people and so it is a vision that I find myself in opposition to, not only as an Indian-American but also as the Mayor of a city that believes strongly in the belonging of each and every person, no matter what colour, what creed, what faith they practice, where they’re from.”
Mamdani made heavy use of his own personal background and experience to explain his opposition to Bhagwat's movement.
"I am also standing here for the first time as the Indian American mayor in the history of our city. And my mother’s side of the family is all back in India," Mamdani explained, referring to the vision of India that he learned from his family.
"And the vision of India that was taught to me through my family, and that I grew up having known very well, was a pluralistic society, a secular republic which held that everyone who was from India belonged to it," he explained – an explanation that he made sure to contrast with Bhagwat's movement.
It is an important event not only in terms of scale but also symbolism.
Bhagwat will take part in the Universal Oneness program and speak to a crowd of about 5,000 people at the historic Madison Square Garden on Saturday, August 29 – a day that organizers associate directly with the RSS centenary year celebrations.
The event has its own title and context. The Universal Oneness Celebration, arranged by AHEAD Forum, where Bhagwat will be a guest, announced on social media that the RSS leader would attend the program as planned on August 29, despite growing public discontent.
Whereas Mamdani refrained from taking actions against the program, there were some organizations that took a more active approach.
Some interfaith and civil rights organizations held a press conference near New York City Hall against the presence of Bhagwat in the program at MSG and called for its cancellation from the part of the historic venue.
Some of the organizations behind the move include Hindus for Human Rights, the Indian American Muslim Council, and the Interfaith Centre of New York—organizations whose role indicates that this is not just a political issue but an internal one as well.
The subtle language used by Mamdani to express his opposition to the rally but question the power of the law to intervene shows that he is really caught up in a dilemma.
The Madison Square Garden is essentially a privately owned building, and a privately organized event is being held at this place. Therefore, for any action by the city authorities to be taken against such an event, it will become very difficult due to various First Amendment and private property laws, irrespective of whether the city authorities support or object to the event ideologically.
This means that Mamdani cannot use his mayoral position to express his views on the matter at hand.
Mamdani’s Tuesday remarks follow a trend of behavior that goes back many years in Mamdani’s public life, even prior to his election as mayor.
In 2020, for example, Mamdani took part in a protest in Times Square regarding the temple that had been built where the Babri mosque, demolished by Hindu fanatics in 1992, had stood, stating that “I am here today to protest against the BJP government in India and the demolition of the Babri masjid.”
Then, in 2023, he read out loud notes sent to him by an imprisoned Indian activist in advance of Prime Minister Modi’s trip to New York City—yet another example of Mamdani using his public presence to protest against Hindu nationalist politics in India, before the RSS even came into play.
Mamdani’s views have been met with sharp and well-publicized opposition from members associated with India's ruling party, and the Hindu right.
National spokesperson for BJP Gaurav Bhatia had earlier accused Mamdani of being a member of an “anti-India lobby” which was operating internationally, linking that statement to a letter Mamdani wrote to Umar Khalid, the JNU student activist who is in jail on charges related to the Delhi riots of 2020 case.
Abhishek Singhvi, Congress politician and Rajya Sabha member from India, had also earlier criticized Mamdani harshly, saying, "When Zohran Mamdani speaks, Pakistan's PR team gets the day off." This is indicative of how criticism of Mamdani's views regarding India has, at times, gone beyond India's political boundaries to even other political parties of India.
Tuesday’s speech differs from Mamdani’s previous activism in terms of the role that he plays today.
As a member of the state legislature or private citizen, Mamdani’s protests and speeches regarding Hindu nationalism were those of one dissenting voice amongst many others. As the mayor of the city of New York—where the Indian diaspora population is one of the largest in the United States—his speech stating his “deep opposition” to the RSS chief’s address takes on added significance, regardless of whether or not he tries to stop the visit through some form of action.
This combination of a personal opposition that stems from his identity and his admission that he does not have the authority to take action on this opposition is bound to influence the reactions of supporters and critics alike before Saturday’s visit.
Now that the schedule of Bhagwat has been confirmed and no cancellation is being contemplated by the AHEAD Forum in spite of the City Hall press conference, it is likely that Madison Square Garden address will be held in accordance with plan.
What matters more at this juncture is whether the personal conflict between the first Indian-American mayor of the city and one of the leading proponents of Hindu nationalism will escalate into a series of protests in the vicinity of the venue or will remain, as Mamdani himself described it, an issue of personal conviction and not the mayor’s business.
