Responding to a question he said had been posed to him by Muslims at an earlier lecture — “You are a Hindu organisation, you say Hindu Rashtra, what about us Muslims? Would you drive us out?” — Bhagwat said: “No, that is not Hindutva.”
Bhagawat at the Madison Square Garden programme, billed as a “Universal Oneness” celebration. Photo: RSS X
“If any Hindu thinks that there should be no Muslim in Bharat, he will not remain Hindu,” Bhagwat said, stressing that Hindu thought recognises that different religious paths can lead to the same goal and that every human being has dignity.
#WATCH | New York, US: At the "One World One Humanity" event, RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat says, "I do not only tell others not to come to gain something. In Sangha, we only give. We don't want anything. That is why in publicity matters, we are way behind... Politics today, especially… pic.twitter.com/vvNRBvfqBV
— ANI (@ANI) August 29, 2026
The remarks came during Bhagwat’s US visit marking the RSS’s centenary year and amid considerable debate over his appearance at the New York venue.
The Madison Square Garden programme, billed as a “Universal Oneness” celebration, brought together thousands of members of the Indian-American community and was presented by organisers as an effort to promote the Indian philosophy of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam — the world as one family.
Organisers said registrations had been closed after demand exceeded capacity, with participants expected from dozens of US cities and states.
Bhagwat also cited the RSS response to the 1996 Charkhi Dadri mid-air collision in Haryana, saying RSS volunteers had helped victims and families without distinguishing between Hindus and Muslims. “We never thought at that time that these are Muslims,” he said.
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His comments came against the backdrop of criticism of the RSS and his New York visit, including opposition from New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani and interfaith and civil-rights groups.
Massive queues of people outside Madison Square Garden in New York, eagerly waiting to enter and listen to RSS Sarsanghchalak Pujaniya Mohan Bhagwat Ji.
— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) August 29, 2026
A powerful display of the growing global interest in Bharat’s civilisational ethos and the RSS’s vision for a strong,… pic.twitter.com/J1u2N8Ktur
Mamdani had described the RSS’s ideology as exclusionary, while organisers of the Madison Square Garden event argued that dialogue and coexistence were central to its message.
Bhagwat’s intervention therefore placed the question of Hindu identity, Hindutva and the rights and place of Muslims at the centre of his high-profile New York appearance — with the RSS chief himself drawing a clear line between Hindu identity and the exclusion of Muslims from India.