Indian diaspora stage protest against RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat's visit to British gurdwara

CHANDIGARH: The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Chief Mohan Bhagwat's visit to the Khalsa Jatha British Isles Gurdwara in central London has sparked protests from the Indian diaspora, while the gurdwara authorities have defended him.

Bhagwat visited the holy place to pay his obeisance during his overseas outreach tour encompassing the US, Canada, and the UK.

A demonstration was organised on Sunday in Parliament Square by the South Asian Solidarity Group, with the support of the Indian Workers Association, Great Britain (IWA), and other diaspora and civil society organisations, in response to the growing controversy over the RSS chief's visit to the Gurdwara.

The visit was not publicly announced in advance, prompting sharp reactions from the British Sikh community.

The Sikh Federation (UK) in a statement said that no apology or explanation could undo the damage caused by welcoming the head of the RSS to a small, private gathering without the presence of the Sangat (religious followers).

"Dozens of gurdwaras, Sikh organisations, and individuals had contacted it to express their outrage,’’ the statement added.

The federation said the gurdwaras should be places of refuge, dignity and unity, not platforms for organisations associated with exclusionary politics and intolerance.

Chair of the Sikh Federation (UK) Strategy Board Bhai Amrik Singh, said that the RSS is not a normal religious or cultural organisation. "It is a political and ideological movement whose influence has repeatedly fuelled division, intimidation and hostility towards minorities."

"Secretly hosting the RSS leader at a gurdwara in the absence of the sangat, who may have opposed his presence, sends the wrong message to Sikhs in the UK and vulnerable communities in India,’’ Singh said.

The federation's Lead Executive Jaspal Singh also urged civic and religious institutions across the UK to exercise severe caution and called on public figures to stand with communities affected by political intimidation rather than normalising extremist majoritarian politics.

On the other hand, Gurpreet Singh Anand, president of Khalsa Jatha British Isles, said that Bhagwat only paid obeisance.

Anand said Gurdwara is open to everyone irrespective of political or ideological belief, provided the required Sikh maryada (rules and regulations) was observed. He added that Bhagwat did not address the congregation, conduct a political meeting or receive institutional approval from Khalsa Jatha.

Anand further said that allowing someone to enter a gurdwara should not be confused with endorsing that person's political ideology or organisation.

Hindus for Human Rights UK and several other campaign groups wrote an open letter to London mayor Sadiq Khan asking him to condemn the visit, pointing out that New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani had done that.

In a statement, the IWA said its longstanding principles included working-class unity, secularism, democracy, equality, social justice, and opposition to racism, communalism and discrimination.

The association further said India belongs equally to Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists, Jains, people of other faiths and those of no religion.

"At the centre of the disagreement is the RSS ideology of Hindutva and its perception of India as a ‘Hindu Rashtra’. No citizen should have to accept a Hindu national identity to establish they belong to India,” it stated.

"Our disagreement is with an ideology, not a religion or people. Bhagwat and the RSS had the right to express their views peacefully and that opponents had the same democratic right to oppose them,’’ IWA said.

UK Indian Muslim Council's Naeem Baduuzzaman had accused the RSS of concealing its identity and ideology to gain access to communities and alleged that some faith leaders had been misled about the organisation.

Protesters alleged that details of Bhagwat’s UK itinerary had been kept confidential, including an interfaith event called the 'Oneness Celebration ', because organisers feared further agitations.

Criticising the Oneness Celebration, Kalpana Wilson of the South Asia Solidarity Group said that it presented Bhagwat and the RSS in a favourable light.

Former Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn has also opposed the visit. He said Britain should not host "the leader of a hate group with a grievous history of far-right violence."

Corbyn, now a Your Party MP, further described the RSS as an authoritarian, exclusionary and discriminatory organisation, alleging that it had suppressed religious freedom and inspired attacks against minorities.

However, Conservative MP Bob Blackman has defended Bhagwat’s visit. In a post on X, he said he was ``pleased to listen to the thoughts & ideas for the future".

Opposition to Bhagwat’s international tour began in the United States, where protesters demonstrated at a venue linked to his visit in New York.