NYC Sikhs and Muslims Reflect on 9/11 Stigma as RSS Chief Visit Stirs Diaspora Protests
New York City's South Asian communities are navigating a charged September on multiple fronts. Muslim and Sikh New Yorkers are reflecting on the stigma and hate crimes they endured in the years following the 9/11 attacks, while activists have mobilized protests against a planned New York City speech by RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, demanding sanctions and calling his tour a goodwill exercise for Hindu nationalism. Separately, Mayor Zohran Mamdani marched in the West Indian Day Parade alongside Governor Kathy Hochul, even as revelers voiced frustration over heightened security along the route.
Muslim and Sikh New Yorkers Reflect on Years of Stigma After 9/11
A CBS New York report highlights the lasting toll that the September 11, 2001, attacks inflicted on New York City's Muslim and Sikh communities — communities that, despite having no connection to the violence, found themselves targeted by widespread suspicion and hate crimes in the months and years that followed. Sikh New Yorkers, who are often visually identifiable through religious markers such as turbans and unshorn beards, were frequently misidentified as members of extremist groups, leading to a documented wave of harassment and assault. Muslim community members similarly faced intensified surveillance, discrimination in employment, and social ostracism in the aftermath of the attacks. For both communities, September marks a time of dual grief — mourning the thousands of lives lost in the attacks while also reckoning with the specific burden placed on South Asian and Middle Eastern residents by the surge in nationalism that followed. Advocates have used each anniversary to call for continued public education and cross-community solidarity, arguing that the stigmas imposed after 9/11 have never fully disappeared and that moments of national reflection must include the voices of those who were treated as suspects in their own city. The CBS New York piece captures these reflections as communities approach the anniversary quarter-century mark with a mixture of sorrow, memory, and resilience, insisting that their grief and their belonging are not in contradiction. [1]
🗳️ Mayor Mamdani and Governor Hochul March in West Indian Day Parade Amid Security Complaints
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Governor Kathy Hochul both marched in the annual West Indian Day Parade, Brooklyn's signature Caribbean American cultural celebration that draws hundreds of thousands of participants and spectators along Eastern Parkway. Mayor Mamdani, who is of South Asian descent and has established a visible presence at multicultural civic events since taking office, joined Hochul in what was widely read as a gesture of solidarity with the Caribbean American community and its annual tradition. However, the festive occasion was not without controversy, as revelers expressed vocal frustration over significantly heightened security measures deployed along the parade route this year, according to reporting by the New York Post. Participants described the increased police presence and new security checkpoints as intrusive and at odds with the open, joyful atmosphere the parade has traditionally cultivated over its decades-long history. The West Indian American Day Carnival and its accompanying J'Ouvert pre-dawn celebration represent one of the largest annual cultural gatherings in the United States, serving as both a celebration of Caribbean heritage and a political platform for diaspora communities across the five boroughs. Mayor Mamdani's attendance underscored the parade's civic significance, while the security friction reflects ongoing negotiations between event organizers, participants, and city officials over how to balance safety concerns with the parade's character as a free and exuberant public celebration. [2]
🗳️ Protests and Sanction Demands Greet RSS Chief Bhagwat Ahead of NYC Speech
Activist groups organizing within the Indian diaspora have launched protests and are calling for sanctions ahead of a planned New York City speech by Mohan Bhagwat, the chief of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the influential Hindu nationalist organization known in India as the RSS. According to reporting from the Associated Press, demonstrators have organized to oppose the event and are demanding that American authorities consider formal sanction measures against the visiting leader. The protests signal deepening divisions within the South Asian diaspora in the United States, where supporters and critics of Hindu nationalist politics have been increasingly willing to take their disagreements into the public arena. Those opposed to Bhagwat's New York City appearance characterize his visit as an attempt to rehabilitate the RSS's image among Indian Americans and to build fundraising and organizational networks within a diaspora community that may not be fully aware of the organization's political record in India. Critics of the RSS argue that the organization has advanced a Hindu supremacist worldview that has contributed to discrimination against religious minorities in India, including Muslims, Christians, and Dalits. The organizers of the event have not issued a public response to the protest demands, and there has been no confirmation of whether any formal sanctions review is being pursued through American government channels. The AP coverage highlights growing international scrutiny of Hindu nationalist politics and their diaspora connections. [6]
🗳️ Al Jazeera Report Frames RSS US Tour as Calculated Outreach to Mask Far-Right Politics
A detailed report published by Al Jazeera on August 29, 2026, examines the context and controversy surrounding RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat's tour of the United States, characterizing it as a strategic effort to present the Hindu nationalist organization in a more moderate and inclusive light while pursuing influence within the Indian American diaspora. Activists quoted in the Al Jazeera piece argue that the RSS has deliberately sought to appeal to the broader Indian diaspora by emphasizing cultural pride and Hindu heritage rather than the specific political program the organization has advanced in India. According to the report, critics describe Bhagwat's American tour as a calculated goodwill exercise designed to build political legitimacy and financial support among Indian Americans, many of whom may be encountering the organization for the first time through this visit. The reporting draws a sharp distinction between Hindu religious observance, which is widely practiced across the diaspora, and the specific ideological program associated with the RSS, which critics say has fostered hostility toward Muslim, Christian, and minority communities in India. The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh is one of the largest volunteer-based civic organizations in the world and maintains close organizational ties to India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. The Al Jazeera report is part of a wider wave of coverage examining how Indian nationalist politics are seeking to expand their presence in American civic and philanthropic spaces, and what accountability responsibilities fall on diaspora institutions in this context. [7]
Sources: [1] CBS News · [2] New York Post · [6] AP News · [7] Al Jazeera