Mohan Bhagwat's New York event draws scrutiny over AHEAD's RSS links

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat addressed a gathering at New York's Madison Square Garden on Saturday, Aug. 29, amid criticism over the event's organisers and their reported links to people associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

The event, titled 'Universal Oneness Celebrations', was organised by the American Hindus for Engagement and Dialogue (AHEAD), a relatively new U.S.-based nonprofit. AHEAD describes itself as a platform focused on building bridges between communities, cultural exchange and dialogue.

The event drew scrutiny after an investigation by The Quint found that AHEAD's registration records had links to Khanderao Kand, a U.S.-based figure with a long association with the RSS and the Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (HSS), the RSS's overseas affiliate. Other reporting has also identified links between AHEAD's directors and the wider Sangh network.

Who is Khanderao Kand?

Kand is the founder and president of the Foundation for India and Indian Diaspora Studies (FIIDS), a U.S.-based organisation that works on India-U.S. relations and issues concerning the Indian diaspora.

According to The Quint, Kand has had a long association with the RSS and HSS. He has also been involved in organising events involving Indian political leaders in the U.S., including arrangements during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 2015 visit to the country. The Quint reported that Kand welcomed Modi in New York as recently as September 2024.

AHEAD was incorporated in May 2025 and received U.S. tax-exempt statU.S. in September that year. Its registration records initially listed Kand as its incorporating agent, and the organisation was registered at his address, according to The Quint and other investigations.

Kand stopped being AHEAD's principal incorporating agent in March 2026. Registration records subsequently listed Harish Kandpal in that role. Kandpal has also been associated with FIIDS, according to the report.

AHEAD's tax filings list Sudesh Agrawal, Naresh Rajanna and Rasita Vishnuram as its directors. Public records confirm those three names.

Investigations have separately reported connections between some of the directors and the HSS or organisations associated with the wider Sangh network. These links have fuelled questions about AHEAD's relationship with the RSS, although they do not by themselves establish that AHEAD is formally controlled by the RSS.

Why are AHEAD's RSS links being questioned?

The issue is significant becaU.S.e the RSS has maintained that it is an India-based organisation and does not directly control organisations operating abroad. The Quint reported that AHEAD's public-facing material does not disclose a formal organisational relationship with the RSS.

At the same time, AHEAD has openly promoted Bhagwat's appearance and described the gathering as a celebration of unity, cultural exchange and interfaith engagement. Its event material said more than 250 Hindu American organisations were participating.

The organisers have rejected the suggestion that the event is intended to promote division. AHEAD spokesperson Priya S described it as a cultural, community and interfaith event and said people with differing views could still come together.

Why did Bhagwat's U.S. visit become controversial?

Bhagwat's appearance also drew criticism from U.S.-based groups and New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

Mamdani said he did not support the event and described the RSS's ideology as exclusionary. He also said the city government did not appear to have jurisdiction to cancel a private event at Madison Square Garden.

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) went further. In a statement issued on Aug. 26, it said it was "deeply concerned" about Bhagwat's visit and urged the U.S. government to consider targeted sanctions against RSS members and Indian officials it said were complicit in religioU.S.-freedom violations. It also called for Bhagwat's U.S. visa to be revoked.

The U.S.CIRF's position is part of its broader criticism of religioU.S.-freedom conditions in India. The Indian government has rejected such assessments of its record on religioU.S. freedom.

The controversy has therefore brought two competing narratives into focus. Organisers have presented the Madison Square Garden event as a cultural and interfaith gathering built around unity and "universal oneness". Critics have viewed Bhagwat's appearance as part of the RSS's growing outreach to the Indian diaspora and an attempt to present the organisation's ideology to a wider international audience.

The event was held during the RSS's centenary year and formed part of Bhagwat's wider outreach tour covering the U.S., Canada and the UK.