Indian-American organizations demand US Ambassador resign for RSS meet
“The nature of Keshap’s meeting with the RSS came across as a photo-op, it was public, and it platformed and promoted a violent, fascist (and many call it ‘terrorist’) organization which serves as the greatest enemy to religious freedom that Indian citizens face today,” declared ten Indian-American organizations in a 25 September 2021 joint statement denouncing US Ambassador Atul Keshap’s recent meeting with the head of India’s Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) paramilitary.
Keshap continues to find himself in ever hotter water as controversy increasingly rises around his 8 September visit with RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat. The latest development sees Indian diaspora groups – including three of the largest Indian-American Muslim associations – calling for his resignation or removal “from any and all postings within the US State Department” in reaction to the meeting.
“Keshap’s meeting with RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat seemed to place a stamp of approval on and act as an endorsement of the RSS – which is exactly how the action is now being interpreted by the paramilitary itself,” says the joint statement, which was signed by groups such as the Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC), Association of Indian Muslims of America (AIM), and North American Indian Muslim Association (NAIMA)….
