At NYC City Hall Press Conference, Interfaith Coalition Denounces Anti-Muslim Hate Symbol Planned for NYC India Day Parade

(NEW YORK, August 6, 2024) – The Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC) today joined a multiracial coalition of human rights and interfaith organizations at a press conference outside New York City Hall. The coalition gathered to welcome NYC Mayor Eric Adams’s decision to condemn an anti-Muslim float planned for this year’s upcoming NYC India day parade and encouraged him to take the next step by canceling it in the parade. “The city’s open to everyone and there’s no room for hate. And if there is a float or a person in the parade that is promoting hate, they should not,” Adams said. Concerningly, the planned float is co-sponsored by the Indian Consulate of New York and the far-right Hindu nationalist group the Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America (VHPA), a U.S. offshoot of the CIA-designated “militant religious organization” Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP).

The planned float is set to include a recreation of India’s Ram Temple, which is widely considered a symbol glorifying the demolition of Indian mosques and violence against Muslims. 

The Ram Temple stands on the ruins of the historic Babri Mosque, which was demolished on December 6, 1992, by a mob of over 150,000 right-wing Hindu militants. The demolition sparked widespread riots across northern India, resulting in the deaths of thousands, predominantly Muslims. In 2024, during and after the Ram Temple’s consecration ceremony, Hindu nationalist mobs unleashed waves of anti-Muslim violence throughout India, including the desecration of mosques. 

The consulate-sponsored Indian Independence Day Ram Temple display is also set to feature participation from the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS), an organization that is under active FBI investigation for luring oppressed-caste workers from India to build a New Jersey Hindu temple for $1.20/hour wages. The event will also feature Manoj Tiwari, a politician from India’s ruling far-right Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), as Guest of Honor.

New York State Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani and two members of the New York City Council, Shekar Krishnan and Shahina Hanif, had already signed a joint letter to Mayor Eric Adams, stating that this temple symbolizes bigotry against the Muslim minority in India and that public celebrations should not include symbols of division or hatred. 

IAMC and its allies gathered at City Hall to explain why the Ram Temple’s disturbing history should preclude any display of the Ram Temple in a public setting in New York. Representatives from the Indian American Muslim Council, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, Hindus for Human Rights, Black Lives Matter Greater, The Federation of Indian American Churches of North America (FIACONA), Muslims for Progressive Values, Muslim Public Affairs Council, New York State Council of Churches, the Sikh Coalition, Jews and Muslims and Allies Acting Together, and Sadhana all spoke at the conference. A recorded livestream of the  press conference is available here and photos of the event are included below.

“Public celebrations should not include symbols of divisiveness or bigotry. A float celebrating the construction of the Ram Temple would be divisive and runs counter to the values of NYC,” said Husnaa Vhora, of the Indian American Muslim Council.

 

 

“Hindu nationalism, or Hindutva, is not a benign cultural movement—it is a political project designed to legitimize a vision of India that is fundamentally at odds with the Indian Constitution and the principles of pluralistic democracy. The inclusion of the Ram Mandir float in this year’s parade is not a celebration of cultural pride, but a glorification of both a violent history and a violent ambition,” said David Kalal, Director of Communications for Hindus for Human Rights. 

“The mission of Dalit Solidarity Forum includes condemning such a public display of hatred against Muslims in the form of a float in the streets of New York… In a city where global communities exist together, we all need to feel safe,” said Eklan Singh, representing Dalit Solidarity Forum USA.  

“CAIR-NY condemns in the strongest possible terms the presence of an anti-Muslim float at the upcoming India Day parade. It sends a message to Indian Muslims that religious violence and intolerance can even reach our society,” said Afshan Khwaja, Board President of the Council on American Islamic Relations New York. 

“This float is another example of the rising contempt towards Muslims across the world. The Ram Mandir is part of a larger project to erase Muslims from India,” said Dr. Zainab Tanvir, Co-Director of Muslims for Progressive Values NY. 

“As the Sikh community marks the 40th anniversary of India’s genocide of Sikhs in 1984 and sees the connections between that violence and continued repressive and violent behavior today, the Sikh Coalition… calls on Mayor Adams to show up for his diverse Indian-American constituents by preventing the Ram Mandir float’s inclusion in this year’s India Day Parade, making clear that violent nationalist ideologies have no place in our city,” said Harmeet Kaur Kamboj, Senior State Policy Manager for the Sikh Coalition. 

“People of color in this city are tired of being disrespected by this city. Our Muslim brothers and sisters are being persecuted across the world. If anything, they should be centered and listened to now more than anyone else on these particular issues [of Hindu supremacy],” said Hawk Newsome, Co-Founder of Black Lives Matter Greater NY.

“Jewish New Yorkers and South Asian New Yorkers reject the politics of exclusion, Islamophobia, and supremacy that this float represents. JFREJ stands with our neighbors and friends in our commitment to pluralism and equality,” said Dania Rajendra, a member of Jews for Racial and Economic Justice (JFREJ), in a statement submitted for the press conference.

 

 

“Today, Hindu supremacy calls for the subjugation of minority faiths and aims to transform India into a purely Hindu nation. We are profoundly alarmed by the inclusion of an anti-Muslim float in the parade. Symbols of hate can never be disguised as symbols of celebration,” said Neal Christie, Executive Director of the Federation of Indian American Christians of North America. 

“India’s diversity and inclusion is its beauty and strength. I want to challenge the float that is elevating and celebrating the Ram Temple constructed on the Babri Masjid as a victory. There is no victory to be taken from a supremacist attitude that should have never happened in the world’s largest democracy,” said Shivani Parikh, Executive Board Member of Sadhana. 

“We strongly the denounce the decision by a group of far-right pro-Hindutva organizations, with the support of the Indian consulate in NY, to feature… a replica of the controversial and divisive Ram Temple,” said Jews and Muslims and Allies Acting Together (JAMAAT) in a statement submitted for the press conference. 

“We are in solidarity with our Muslim and Christian friends who have experienced much violence in India. We object to a float that celebrates the construction of the Ram Temple on top of a destroyed mosque. It aims to intimidate and diminish our Indian Muslim friends,” said Reverend Peter Cook, Executive Director of the New York State Council of Churches.

For those interested in speaking with experts on the impact of Hindu supremacy in the US and India, contact: media.info@iamc.com