New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has stated that his administration is unlikely to take action to prevent RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat from holding an event at Madison Square Garden. The mayor indicated that the city may not possess the legal authority to cancel a private gathering, suggesting that intervention from the city government is not feasible in this instance.
Civil Rights Groups Call for Event Cancellation Amid Controversy
A coalition of 61 civil rights, faith, community, and advocacy organizations has urged Madison Square Garden to cancel an event scheduled for August 29. This call for action comes in response to concerns about the event’s exclusionary nature.
In light of this situation, Mamdani expressed his opposition to movements that promote exclusion. He reflected on the vision of India he was raised with, emphasizing its pluralistic and secular values. “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 stated.
Mamdani further articulated the values instilled in him by his family: “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, a secular republic that believed in the belonging of each and every person who was from India.”
Referring to Madison Square Garden’s hosting of a German American Bund rally in 1939, Lander said, “It should not host this one.
Mamdani said he was “in deep opposition” to such a movement, both as an Indian American and as the mayor of a diverse city. Hanif said New York’s diverse South Asian communities “have felt the impacts of the hateful ideology and violence associated with the RSS.”
