Mamdani says he opposes the movement, citing his Indian American identity and responsibility as mayor of a diverse city.
- Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he does not support the RSS rally.
- He questioned whether New York City has authority to cancel a private event.
- Mohan Bhagwat’s event is scheduled for August 29 at Madison Square Garden.
- A coalition of 61 organisations has urged the venue to cancel it.
- Mamdani highlighted his Indian American background and family connection to India.
- He said he was raised with a vision of India as pluralistic and secular.
- Mamdani criticised what he described as exclusionary political movements.
- Brad Lander cited Madison Square Garden’s 1939 German American Bund rally.
- Shahana Hanif said South Asian communities have experienced the impact of RSS-linked ideology and violence.
- Amin Zama said the campaign targets an ideology, not Hindus as a religious community.
- The controversy has sparked a wider debate over free expression and government authority. Mamdani Says NYC May Not Have Authority to Cancel RSS Chief’s Event
New York: New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has indicated that his administration is unlikely to intervene to stop an event featuring Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat at Madison Square Garden, saying the city may not have legal authority to cancel a private gathering.
“I don’t support the rally, but I don’t know if the city has any jurisdiction on canceling a private event,” Mamdani told reporters on Tuesday.
The remarks came as a coalition of 61 civil rights, faith, community and advocacy organisations called on Madison Square Garden to cancel Bhagwat’s scheduled August 29 appearance. The groups argue that the event should not provide a platform to an organisation they associate with an exclusionary political ideology.
Mamdani, while making clear that he personally opposes the RSS ideology, appeared cautious about the city government using its authority to stop a privately organised event.
He also spoke about his personal connection to India and the values he said he learned from his family. Mamdani noted that he is the first Indian American mayor in New York City’s history and that his mother’s family continues to live in India.
“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 described the India he grew up learning about as a country built around pluralism, secularism and belonging. He said his understanding of India was shaped by a vision in which people from different backgrounds could consider the country their home.
“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,” Mamdani said.
He added that he was deeply troubled by what he described as the rise of movements based on an exclusionary understanding of national identity.
“And it has been incredibly troubling to see the rise of a movement that is predicated on an exclusionary vision of any country, frankly,” he said.
Mamdani said he found himself “in deep opposition” to such a movement, both because of his Indian American background and because he leads one of the world’s most diverse cities.
The controversy has brought together a broad group of political and community figures. Brad Lander, the Democratic nominee for New York’s 10th Congressional District, City Council Member Shahana Hanif, and representatives from Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Dalit and Christian communities appeared at a news conference outside New York City Hall.
Lander pointed to Madison Square Garden’s history, recalling that the venue hosted a German American Bund rally in 1939. Drawing a connection to the present controversy, he said: “It should not host this one.”
Hanif also criticised the planned event, saying South Asian communities in New York have experienced what she described as the consequences of the ideology and violence associated with the RSS.
Amin Zama of the Indian American Muslim Council stressed that the campaign was not directed against Hindus or Hinduism. Instead, he said, organisers were challenging what they consider to be a political ideology that links citizenship and national belonging to religious identity.
“Our message today is not against Hindus,” Zama said. “Our message is against an ideology that seeks to define citizenship and national belonging through religious identity.”
The dispute therefore goes beyond one event. At its heart is a debate over where political disagreement ends and government authority begins. Mamdani’s comments suggest that, despite his personal opposition to the RSS, the city may not be able to prevent a private venue from hosting a controversial speaker.
For New York’s diverse communities, the issue has also become deeply personal, touching on questions of identity, religious freedom, political expression and the kind of public space the city wants to create.