3 weeks ago
Mohan Bhagwat Recasts RSS Message as 'Oneness' for US Tour
Mohan Bhagwat is the leader of a big group in India called the RSS.
He is going to visit New York, America, to speak at a big gathering.
The gathering is called the 'Universal Oneness Celebrations'.
The event is about the idea that the whole world is one big family.
It is happening around Raksha Bandhan, a festival about the bond between brothers and sisters.
Mr. Bhagwat wants to talk about helping others and getting along with people of all different religions.
This is different from the way the RSS is usually talked about in India, where people link it to Hindu nationalism.
The people organizing the event want Americans to see Hindu ideas as friendly and open to everyone.
They also want to show that Hindu Americans are helpful members of their communities.
The message is that everyone should care for and protect one another.
RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat will address the 'Universal Oneness Celebrations' in New York on August 29.
The event, organised by American Hindus for Engagement and Dialogue (AHEAD), coincides with Raksha Bandhan and involves hundreds of cultural, spiritual, service, faith and community organisations.
Bhagwat's messaging has shifted from political nationalism toward pluralism, civic participation, service and Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam ('the world is one family').
RSS ideologue and author Ratan Sharda said 'nationalism' has negative connotations in the West, while 'oneness' is a universal civilisational idea.
AHEAD, a not-for-profit spread across 12 world cities, is projecting Hindu Americans as a civic constituency including entrepreneurs, physicians, educators, attorneys, artists, elected officials, youth leaders, veterans, faith leaders and volunteers.
- Who
- Mohan Bhagwat, chief of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), who will speak at an event organised by American Hindus for Engagement and Dialogue (AHEAD); RSS ideologue Ratan Sharda commented on the programme.
- What
- Bhagwat's New York address, the 'Universal Oneness Celebrations', reframing Hindu identity around pluralism, service and Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam ('the world is one family').
- Where
- New York, United States, as part of the RSS's global outreach.
- When
- August 29, 2026 (the event was announced in an August 12, 2026 news report).
- Why
- To present a universal, pluralistic version of the RSS's civilisational message to a US audience, countering the negative connotations of nationalism in the West and negative portrayals of Hindus.
Critics of the RSS
RSS leadership
Portrayal of Hindus abroad
Critics of the RSS
There have been sustained attempts to portray Hindus in a negative light, creating what Ratan Sharda describes as a kind of 'Hindu phobia'.
RSS leadership
The programme gives Hindus and Hindu Dharma a positive articulation of their civilisational tradition, and universal oneness can offer an alternative to conflict rooted in exclusivism.
Language: 'Nationalism' versus 'Oneness'
Critics of the RSS
The word 'nationalism' has acquired a negative connotation in much of the West, and the RSS is commonly understood through the language of Hindu nationalism.
RSS leadership
'Oneness' is a civilisational idea that can travel beyond national boundaries; Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam is about finding commonality while accepting that people express themselves in diverse ways.
Key facts
- Event
- Universal Oneness Celebrations
- Speaker
- Mohan Bhagwat, RSS chief
- Date
- August 29, 2026
- Location
- New York, United States
- Organiser
- American Hindus for Engagement and Dialogue (AHEAD)
- Core theme
- Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam ('the world is one family')
- Coincides with
- Raksha Bandhan
- AHEAD footprint
- 12 world cities across North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa
Quotes
Ratan Sharda
RSS author and ideologue
“"This programme is meant more for the people who are not connected with Hindutva and Hindu philosophy or the RSS. There is no requirement that they be in sync with Hindutva. The idea of ‘oneness’ is being presented as a universal proposition, that we are all interconnected, that diversity need not mean division."”
news18.com
Sources
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