New York, New York - New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Tuesday expressed his opposition to an upcoming event featuring the leader of an influential Hindu nationalist group in India.
His opposition was directed at an upcoming speech by Mohan Bhagwat, the chief of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a Hindu nationalist group closely associated with India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The event, set to take place on August 29, is a "Universal Oneness Celebration" touted as a way to bring the Hindu American community together. Bhagwat's attendance, however, has drawn widespread criticism.
According to the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, the RSS "has been involved in acts of extreme violence and intolerance against members of minority groups for decades." The RSS disputes these accusations.
Under the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP, supported by the RSS, human rights organizations have found that abuse of minorities has rapidly escalated in India.
This has in-part been caused by a rise in hate speech, religion-based laws, and the further ostracizing of the country's Muslim population.
"I don't support the rally, but I don't know if the city has any jurisdiction on canceling a private event," Mamdani said during a press conference on Tuesday.
Mamdani is the first Muslim mayor of New York City, and a prominent Indian American.
"The vision of India that I was taught by my family and 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.
"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."