US religious freedom panel seeks revocation of Mohan Bhagwat’s US visa

A US government advisory body on religious freedom has urged the Trump administration to revoke the visa issued to Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat, who is in the United States as part of a three-nation tour.

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), an independent bipartisan federal commission established by the US Congress, said it was “deeply concerned” about Bhagwat’s visit and accused members of RSS subgroups of having “perpetrated violent attacks against religious minorities”.

The commission monitors religious freedom conditions in countries around the world and makes policy recommendations to the US president, secretary of state and Congress. Its recommendations are advisory and it does not have the authority to revoke visas itself.

USCIRF chair Asif Mahmood said the commission had urged the US government to consider “targeted sanctions” against individuals it holds responsible for religious freedom violations, including revoking Bhagwat’s visa. The commission also accused the Indian government of engaging in what it described as “transnational repression” to target religious minorities beyond India’s borders.

The intervention comes as Bhagwat is in the US for a series of engagements during the RSS’s centenary year. In New York, he is scheduled to address the Universal Oneness Celebration at the Infosys Theatre at Madison Square Garden on 29 August.

The event, organised by the American Hindus for Engagement and Dialogue (AHEAD) Forum, is being billed as an interfaith gathering that will bring together a diverse, multicultural and multi-faith audience. Organisers say the programme is intended to promote peace, harmony and dialogue and is based on the Hindu philosophical idea of vasudhaiva kutumbakam — the world is one family.

Bhagwat’s appearance has nevertheless generated opposition in New York. Mayor Zohran Mamdani has criticised the RSS and opposed the event, while several US-based organisations have also raised objections to the RSS chief's presence.

The RSS has defended Bhagwat’s visit and the event, maintaining that it is intended to promote dialogue and provide an opportunity for people to understand the organisation and its philosophy.

The controversy has also put the spotlight on an unusual aspect of the Indian government's response: its decision to defend the RSS against the criticism.

India has rejected the claims made by USCIRF, with the external affairs ministry describing the commission as "biased and lacking credibility". EAM spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal recently said the government did not expect USCIRF to engage with what he described as India's “pluralistic framework” or acknowledge the “harmonious coexistence” of its diverse communities.

But the government's intervention raises a separate question: why is the Union government defending the RSS, an organisation that is formally distinct from the Indian state?

The RSS is neither a government institution nor a political party. It has also maintained that it does not require formal registration as a society, trust or other legal entity, describing itself as a 'body of individuals'. The absence of formal registration does not, by itself, make an organisation unlawful. However, the distinction is significant when a government ministry steps in to defend it against criticism by a foreign government-appointed advisory body.

The question is particularly pertinent because of the RSS's close ideological and organisational relationship with the BJP, the ruling party at the Centre. The RSS describes itself as a socio-cultural organisation and maintains that it is separate from electoral politics. At the same time, the BJP's ideological roots are closely associated with the RSS, and several senior BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, have had longstanding associations with the organisation.

That relationship has repeatedly raised questions about the extent to which the RSS and the government should be treated as separate entities. Those questions have acquired fresh relevance with Bhagwat's international tour, particularly because the criticism from USCIRF is directed at the RSS and its leadership rather than at an official Indian government delegation.

The issue has also featured in a separate domestic controversy. Karnataka home minister Priyank Kharge has recently questioned the RSS's legal status, funding and accountability, arguing that an organisation of its scale and influence should be subject to appropriate scrutiny. The BJP and the RSS have rejected the criticism, maintaining that the organisation's functioning does not depend on formal registration.

Against this backdrop, the government's response to USCIRF can be viewed as raising two distinct issues. One concerns the commission's assessment of religious freedom in India and whether its allegations are credible — claims New Delhi has repeatedly rejected. The other concerns the government's decision to take up the defence of the RSS itself.

Meanwhile, the controversy has spilled over onto social media. The X account of AHEAD Forum, operating under the handle @AheadForum1, became unavailable to users on Wednesday.

The organisation subsequently said it believed the suspension may have occurred in error. 'AHEAD believes the suspension may have occurred in error,' it said in a statement, adding that it remained confident its communications had consistently promoted 'universal peace, oneness, harmony, and constructive interfaith and intercultural dialogue' in accordance with X's policies.

The USCIRF's demand does not itself mean that Bhagwat's visa will be revoked. Any such decision would rest with the US authorities. But the commission's intervention has added another layer to a politically charged visit that has already brought together questions of religious freedom, the RSS's international outreach and the increasingly blurred public perception of the relationship between the organisation and the Indian government.

With PTI inputs