90 US politicians pledge to reject RSS-linked funds after Mohan Bhagwat's New York event

At least 90 American politicians, including prominent Indian-origin lawmakers Ro Khanna and Pramila Jayapal, have pledged to reject RSS-linked contributions. But the move has drawn accusations of discrimination from Hindu-American groups, which say the campaign unfairly singles out Hindu-American donors and subjects them to a loyalty test.

A group of 90 US politicians, including Indian-origin Congresspersons Ro Khanna and Pramila Jayapal, have pledged to reject any and all donations from individuals and entities linked to the RSS. The pledge came just days after RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat took the stage at New York City's Madison Square Garden on August 29 to promote interfaith understanding and "universal oneness". The campaign behind the pledge was launched in response to Bhagwat's US visit.

The Hindu American Political Action Committee later criticised the initiative, calling it the work of "radical far-left outfits" and describing it as "anti-American & anti-Hindu".

The pledge, which was announced on August 31 (Monday) by advocacy groups Hindus for Human Rights Action, and South Asian American Coalition to Renew Democracy Acts (SACRED Acts), commits elected officials and candidates across eight US states to reject financial contributions from RSS-linked individuals and affiliates. The press release provided by the two groups noted that the campaign was announced in response to Bhagwat's visit to the US and Canada.

"In response to the RSS leaders' visit, Hindus for Human Rights Action, SACRED Acts, and their partners announce a nonpartisan pledge that includes a broad coalition of signatories from both the Democratic and Republican parties, including elected officials and candidates at the federal, state, and local/municipal level in eight states," the release read.

Hindus for Human Rights Action is a US-based political advocacy group, which on its website, describes itself as "building a movement for all Hindus seeking to: protect democracy, human rights, and pluralism, and dismantle caste and Hindu nationalism."

SACRED Acts, meanwhile, describes itself as a coalition "advancing democracy and collective liberation by producing original action research and public education that exposes and disrupts the alliances between white supremacist movements and extremist South Asian American groups in the US."

The signatories to the six-page pledge include members of the US Congress, state legislators, mayors, local elected officials and candidates from both Democratic and Republican circles.

The pledge has also called on politicians to reject what it describes as "political violence and intimidation" and to return money previously received from RSS-linked entities or redirect it to organisations "supporting democracy".

The pledge to reject RSS-linked political contributions came after the group's supremo, Mohan Bhagwat, attended the "Universal Oneness Celebration" event on August 29 at Madison Square Garden in New York City's Manhattan borough as its keynote speaker. It was organised by American Hindus for Engagement and Dialogue (AHEAD Forum) as part of the RSS's centenary-year international outreach.

Ahead of the event, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (a US federal body headed by a Pakistan-born US citizen) had called for sanctions against the organisation for allegedly "perpetuating attacks on religious minorities". Similarly, the city's Indian-origin Democrat mayor, Zohran Mamdani, had also opposed the event, calling the RSS an "exclusionary" organisation, but had refrained from taking any measures to restrict it.

WHO ARE THE US POLITICIANS WHO PLEDGED TO REJECT RSS-LINKED CONTRIBUTIONS?

At least 90 American politicians have signed the pledge issued by the Hindus for Human Rights Action and SACRED Acts to reject political contributions from RSS-linked individuals and affiliates. The list included members of the US Congress, state legislatures from at least eight US states including Illinois, Michigan, California, New York among others.

Key signatories to the pledge include Michigan-based epidemiologist and US Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, Indian-origin Congress Representative from Washington Pramila Jayapal, her counterpart from California Ro Khanna, US Representative from Illinois Robin Kelly among others.

Jayapal described the RSS as a "right wing organisation" seeking to "destabilise and undermine democracy in India".

"We must reject right-wing organisations that seek to destabilise and undermine democracy — whether it's the far-right movement in the US or the RSS in India. I am committing to not taking any RSS-affiliated money and encourage my colleagues to do the same," Jayapal was quoted as saying in the six-page press release.

Ro Khanna, who described the RSS as the "group behind Gandhi's assassination", stated that the organisation must not be allowed to "influence elections in the US", and declared he had donated away a contribution he said had come from a "pro-MAGA billionaire with ties to the RSS".

"I am proud to announce that I am taking SACRED Acts' and Hindus for Human Rights Action's Nonviolence Pledge to ensure that the RSS, the group behind Gandhi's assassination, cannot create a PAC or influence elections in the US," stated Khanna, adding that, "I'm taking action to demonstrate my commitment to this pledge. Today, I announce that I am donating away a $6,600 contribution I recently discovered from a pro-MAGA, billionaire with ties to the RSS."

Ironically, the US-based magazine, The Nation, had reported back in 2023 that Khanna had received $110,000 from "Hindu nationalist figures" in the US. So he seemingly has a long way to go to fulfil the pledge he has signed.

PLEDGE TO REJECT RSS CONTRIBUTIONS FLAGGED AS DISCRIMINATORY, ANTI-HINDU

In response to the pledge to forsake all RSS-linked financial contributions following Mohan Bhagwat's New York event, the Hindu American Political Action Group (HAPAC), which describes itself as "an independent, non-partisan federal political action committee for the Hindu American community", flagged the campaign as being "anti-Hindu" and alleged it was being perpetuated by "radical far left outfits with a record of anti-Hindu targeting".

In a series of posts on X on Thursday, the HAPAC alleged that many of the pledge's signatories (which includes prominent Indian-origin US politicians) were "misled" and "pressured". It also stated the campaign was singling out "only Hindu American donors".

It then described the whole thing as "plainly discriminatory" and "mimicking horrific anti-Semitic tropes" and was subjecting "American Hindus to a loyalty test that imposes upon them the burden of proving that they are 'fit' for being part of the American political process."

The HAPAC then called for "Hindu Americans to be aware but remain fearless" and keep participating in US politics.

Similarly, Suhag A Shukla, executive director of the political advocacy group, the Hindu American Foundation, called out the campaign to reject RSS-linked contributions as "un-American" and presuming Hindu-American citizens as having "loyalty to a foreign entity".

"Nearly 100 political candidates — all Democrats — have signed a pledge that they will investigate all campaign contributions from Hindu American citizens to check if they have ties to the RSS," Shukla wrote on X, adding that "No other American citizens’ contributions will be scrutinized. These candidates have committed to investigating only Hindu American donors with presumed dual loyalty to a foreign entity. This singling out is un-American to the core."

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