‘Stay vigilant’: Hindu American Foundation issues security alert ahead of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s Madison Square Garden event

NEW YORK: Ahead of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat’s upcoming ‘Universal Oneness Celebration’ at Madison Square Garden in New York City, the Hindu American Foundation (HAF) has issued an official community advisory alert.

The security advisory was issued by the American non-profit advocacy and educational organisation, founded in September 2003 and based in Washington, DC, which focuses on representing the interests of the Hindu American community.

Taking to X to sound the alarm ahead of the proceedings, the foundation stated in a post, “COMMUNITY ADVISORY ALERT! HAF is issuing this security alert in advance of the Universal Oneness Celebration at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Stay vigilant, remain situationally aware, and keep interactions civil. Ahead of the event, activists targeting Hindu Americans have attempted to disrupt and cancel the celebration. We urge @NYCMayor Zohran Mamdani to uphold his sworn duty to protect all New Yorkers, including event attendees, and guarantee everyone’s safety and civil rights”.

COMMUNITY ADVISORY ALERT!

HAF is issuing this security alert in advance of the Universal Oneness Celebration at Madison Square Garden, in New York City. Stay vigilant, remain situationally aware, and keep interactions civil.

Ahead of the event, activists targeting Hindu… pic.twitter.com/grjMqNr5MC

— Hindu American Foundation (@HinduAmerican) August 26, 2026

The security advisory comes as preparations finalise for the major gathering centred around cultural unity and community engagement.

However, the upcoming programme has drawn intense public scrutiny and opposition from various advocacy coalitions. In response to these developments, the Hindu American Foundation has stepped up its advocacy efforts, pressing local municipal authorities to ensure robust security and safeguard the safety, security, and civil rights of all attendees and members of the community.

Adding to the friction surrounding the visit, the US rights body, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), released a provocative statement on Wednesday alleging that religious freedom was deteriorating in India and that the US must consider sanctions against the RSS.

RSS Sarsanghchalak Dr. Mohan Bhagwat has been warmly received in the United States by the Universal Oneness Celebration team. He will attend the Universal Oneness Celebration in New York on August 29.

The event carries a timeless and universal message: “The world is one family.”… pic.twitter.com/7xJLtoaOTA

— Universal Oneness Celebration (@Uni1ness) August 25, 2026

Chaired by Pakistani-American Asif Mahmood, the body stated, “Religious freedom conditions in India continue to deteriorate as violence and incitement are frequently used to target religious minority communities. We urge the U.S. government to consider targeted sanctions against RSS members and Indian officials complicit in religious freedom violations, including revoking the visa issued to Mohan Bhagwat and making him ineligible for future entry into the United States.”

Vice Chair Cece Heil echoed these sentiments, stating, “The U.S. government has an opportunity to hold India accountable and signal that the United States stands for religious freedom for the people of India.”

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) had already strongly condemned USCIRF’s call to bar meetings of the RSS chief during an August 21 briefing, dismissing the rights body as biased and lacking credibility.

MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal stated, “We all know this is a biased institution. For years, it has made incorrect and provocative statements about India. We should ignore such institutions, as they have their own agendas and lack credibility.”

Meanwhile, US singer and actress Mary Millben strongly criticised detractors, notably New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, on Wednesday for pushing back against the upcoming gathering headlined by RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat.

The RSS functions as the ideological parent body of India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Arguing that the backlash stems fundamentally from animosity towards Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the ruling party, Millben stated on X, “Mamdani and all these socialist nuts are opposing the Madison Square Garden (MSG) event featuring Mohan Bhagwat because they oppose PM Narendra Modi and the BJP. Given these nuts subscribe to the ideology of socialism, they don’t understand capitalism. MSG doesn’t answer to socialist rants. They answer to capitalism. And thus this event will go on because of it.”

The Artist, who famously performed India’s national anthem at the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington ahead of PM Modi’s 2023 address, suggested that opposing factions “become capitalists, raise money, rent MSG, and host your own rally for all your anti-Modi foolishness.” Offering thoughts on the theme, she added, “Side note, I like the rally title, ‘Oneness.’ We are ONE family. I hope this rally includes meaningful dialogue on religious freedom in India.”

Millben’s comments follow remarks by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who stated on Tuesday that he does not support the planned Madison Square Garden event where the RSS chief is scheduled to address members of the Indian diaspora.

However, the Mayor clarified that municipal authorities may lack the legal mandate to prohibit the function, describing it as a private gathering slated for August 29.

During a press conference, when asked whether municipal officials should move to cancel the event, Mayor Mamdani remarked, “I don’t support the rally, but I don’t know if the city has any jurisdiction on cancelling a private event.”

Providing background on his personal heritage, the Mayor noted, “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.”

Reflecting on his upbringing, the Mayor shared that the perspective of India conveyed by his family was that of “a pluralistic society, of a secular republic that believed in the belonging of each and every person who was from India”.

Expressing his personal stance, he added, “And it has been incredibly troubling to see the rise of a movement that is predicated on an exclusionary vision of any country, frankly, 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.”

The political discourse comes amid the arrival of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat in New York on Tuesday for the first leg of his three-nation global outreach tour to the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom, organised at the invitation of overseas local groups as part of the RSS’s centenary year celebrations.

Addressing the nature of the upcoming event, RSS Akhil Bharatiya Prachar Pramukh Sunil Ambekar on Wednesday stated that the ‘Universal Oneness Celebration’ in New York will be an interfaith gathering where RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat will interact with a diverse, multicultural, and multi-faith audience.

Ambekar emphasised that the event has been organised in the spirit of open dialogue and mutual respect, reflecting the inclusive nature of the Bharatiya ethos and the organisation’s longstanding engagement to promote understanding and shared purpose globally.

In a post on X, Ambekar wrote, “The Universal Oneness Celebration in New York exemplifies an interfaith gathering where RSS Sarsangchalak Dr. Mohan Bhagwat ji will communicate with a diverse, multicultural, and multi-faith audience. Organised in the spirit of open dialogue and mutual respect, the event reflects Bharatiya ethos which is fundamentally inclusive and welcoming to all.”

Organised by the American Hindus for Engagement and Dialogue (AHEAD) forum, Bhagwat’s address at Madison Square Garden on Saturday will mark the traditional observance of the Hindu festival Raksha Bandhan with a modern message centred on unity, civic duty, and global harmony, alongside cultural performances and addresses by prominent faith-based speakers. (ANI)