By The Wire Staff
New Delhi: A letter by three Washington-based American Sikh groups, dated August 20, 2026 and addressed to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, has urged that Mohan Bhagwat be denied entry ahead of his scheduled visit on August 25, 2026.
Bhagwat is the chief of Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS), a far right-wing Hindutva organisation and the parent body of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
“The RSS and its affiliated organisations have a long and well-documented record of promoting ideology and activities that have contributed to violence, discrimination and persecution of religious minorities in India, including Sikhs, Muslims and Christians”, stated the letter signed by representatives of the American Sikh Caucus Committee, Sikh Coordination Committee East Coast and American Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee.
The US-based Sikh advocacy groups write in their letter that Bhagwat is expected to arrive around August 25 and mentions a public event at Madison Square Garden on August 29.
“Allowing the chief of the RSS to enter and be honoured on US soil would send a deeply troubling signal at a time when US officials, including members of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) have publicly raised serious concerns about the RSS’s role in freedom-of-religion violations. United States should not extend diplomatic courtesies or high-level access to leaders of organisations whose record includes documented harm to religious minorities”, the letter added.
Earlier, on August 19, 2026, USCIRF, a Washington-based US advisory body, sought sanctions to be imposed on the RSS, reported The Hindu.
USCIRF chair Asif Mahmood wrote on social media platform X: “India’s PM Modi is a member of the RSS, an Indian umbrella organisation whose sub-groups have perpetrated attacks on religious minorities, including Christians and Muslims. Now, the RSS leader, Mohan Bhagwat plans to visit the US.”
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