HinduPACT slams USCIRF over Mohan Bhagwat's New York visit

Washington,UPDATED: Aug 21, 2026 23:56 IST

US-based advocacy group HinduPACT on Friday condemned the public opposition by members of the US Commission on Religious Freedom to RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat's visit to New York. USCIRF chair Asif Mahmood and Commissioner Gene Mills opposed Bhagwat's visit to the US and called on the government to impose sanctions on the RSS.

In a statement, HinduPACT founder and chair Ajay Shah accused the commission of going beyond its mandate and backing what he described as an anti-Hindu narrative. He also criticised other groups in the US that have opposed Bhagwat's visit.

"USCIRF has disgraced its mandate. When its chair speaks about India and the RSS, he sounds less like the head of a pluralistic American commission and more like an advocate for a hardened anti-Hindu narrative," Shah said.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations, Hindus for Human Rights and the Indian American Muslim Council have also opposed Bhagwat's visit to the US. Referring to them, Shah said, "Mohan Bhagwat leads one of the world's most consequential Hindu organisations. He should not be met with slander scripted by CAIR, IAMC, and HfHR, groups that have made a habit of treating Hindu self-assertion as extremism."

Shah said the RSS has spent decades in service through relief work, education, village uplift and social organisation, and that record cannot be erased by "hostile talking points". He added, "American Hindus see the pattern clearly. We will not accept a taxpayer-funded body being used to malign our faith, our institutions, and India's democratic voice."

Rejecting USCIRF's stand, HinduPACT said, "We reject USCIRF's attempt to delegitimise this visit, and we call on elected officials, community leaders, and all fair-minded Americans to reject this sectarian lobbying masquerading as human rights work. Hindu civilisation does not need permission to stand upright." The statement summed up HinduPACT's response to the opposition to Bhagwat's visit and its criticism of the US rights panel and other groups.

With PTI Inputs

- Ends