New Delhi, 03 September—Three faith leaders in New York have alleged that they were “misled” into participating in the ‘Universal Oneness Celebration’ event on Saturday at Madison Square Garden featuring RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat raising a fresh controversy around Sangh’s international outreach initiative.
In a video shared on Instagram, Rev. Adriene Thorne, Senior Minister of the Riverside Church, said that her going to the event beside Bhagwat was a “mistake”.
“My presence created a false impression that Riverside Church or I endorse Mr Bhagwat, the RSS or the ideology associated with the organisation. We do not,” Thorne underlined.
The faith leader also claimed that for six weeks during the summer, while she was on vacation, she repeatedly received invitations from a group called the World Council of Religious Leaders, a news story on The Telegraph website said.
“They described the event as an interfaith gathering focused on peace, human dignity, and cooperation among religions. They named leaders from many traditions and spoke of nearly 200 faith leaders coming together”, Thorne said. “Sounds good, right?”
However, the organisers — American Hindus for Engagement and Dialogue (AHEAD) Forum — “withheld critical information”, according to Thorne.
“I was never told that Mohan Bhagwat would be the central figure at the MSG event. I was never told the RSS would be involved. I was never told about AHEAD or any organisation connected to Hindu nationalism,” she said.
“Even the programme they sent left the guest of honour blank – a space I later learned was reserved for Mohan Bhagwat”, Thorne claimed, clarifying that she would “never have participated” in the event had she known about the Bhagwat-RSS connection.
“The RSS has been widely documented for its role in violence and discrimination against religious minorities in India — Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Dalits, and others. These harms are real and they matter deeply,” Thorne alleged, reaffirming the Riverside Church’s ideals of “authentic” pluralism, racial justice, peace and solidarity with people pushed to the margins.
“I am angry that I was not given the information I needed to make an informed decision and I want to make sure this doesn’t happen to other faith leaders,” Thorne said.
“I reject Hindu supremacy just as I reject Muslim or Christian supremacy or any ideology that elevates one community over another,” she said.
Winnie Varghese, Dean of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City, also said that a number of her colleagues were invited to the MSG event without being informed of Bhagwat’s attendance.
“The RSS has a beautiful name which means service to the nation but underneath has been responsible for radical violence towards Dalits, Muslims and Christians in India. It’s a very specific operation where there is an empowerment of Hindu identity and celebration of volunteerism, which is very positive, but underneath that there is an idea that India is a Hindu nation and only meant for Hindus”, Varghese said.
She expressed “deep regret” over the fallout after her friends were “misled” to participate in the event, which might have appeared as affirmation to the Sangh and its ideology.
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