{
  "id": 4438097,
  "title": "Hundreds protest Hindu nationalist paramilitary leader Mohan Bhagwat's visit to New York",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/30/hundreds-protest-hindu-nationalist-paramilitary-leader-mohan-bhagwats",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-30T14:05:02.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Middle East Eye",
    "slug": "middle-east-eye",
    "url": "https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/hundreds-protest-hindu-nationalist-paramilitary-leader-mohan-bhagwat-visit-new-york-city"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Up to 5,000 individuals convened at Madison Square Garden to condemn the arrival of Mohan Bhagwat, the head of India's Hindu nationalist paramilitary organization, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). The demonstration, organized by various local and national groups such as South Asian Left, Indian American Muslim Council, Hindus for Human Rights, and Anti Imperialist South Asian Alliance Philadelphia, was in response to the \"Universal Oneness\" event, which brought together people from over 200 Hindu and Indian organizations. Safa Ahmed, a member of the Indian American Muslim Council, expressed her displeasure, stating that the RSS has been promoting fascist ideology for the past century, which discriminates against Indian Muslims and seeks to wipe them out. The RSS, founded in 1925, is the ideological foundation of India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and has over five million members worldwide, with 250 chapters in the US. The group's ideology draws inspiration from Nazism and European fascism, aiming to establish a Hindu ethnostate called India Rashtra, similar to the Zionist model in Palestine. Critics argue that the RSS has been implicated in Gandhi's assassination and opposes the Muslim-majority character of Kashmir, labeling it as a \"thorn in the flesh.\"",
  "summary": "Hundreds protest Hindu nationalist paramilitary leader Mohan Bhagwat's visit to New York Submitted by Shraddha Joshi on Sun, 08/30/2026 - 13:28 Up to 5,000 people were present at a Madison Square Garden event honouring the chief of the RSS, described by critics as the 'world's largest fascist organisation' Protesters chant and rally against Mohan Bhagwat's arrival at Madison Square Garden…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Hindustan Times",
        "title": "‘Oldest trick in RSS playbook’: Owaisi hits back at Mohan Bhagwat's ‘Hindu-Muslim unity’ remarks at NYC event",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/30/oldest-trick-in-rss-playbook-owaisi-hits-back-at-mohan-bhagwats-hindu",
        "published": "2026-08-30T12:51:05.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}