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NYC's India Day parade fraught with controversy
An Indian Muslim group pulled out of the parade as groups complained to the city.
Ambreen Ali
August 27, 2024
Members of the Central and North New Jersey Chapter of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America chant “Jai Sree Ram” in NYC’s India Day parade on Aug. 18. (Photo courtesy of In Old News)
The India Day parade in New York City had notable political tension this year, with one Indian Muslim organization pulling out to protest the presence of several Hindu nationalist elements.
In years past, the event has been more a celebration of Indian culture, but the presence of a Ram Temple float and shouts of “Jai Sree Ram” left many Muslims sidelined from the festivities.
India is home to one of the world’s largest Muslim populations, as well as large Christian and other minority religious groups, but being Indian has become more closely associated with Hinduism under the rule of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Recently, Indian Independence Day celebrations have become a moment when support for Modi and BJP is visibly on display in the United States.
Samee Ahmad, a writer and organizer with South Asian Left (SALAM) in NYC, shared this account of the parade on the Substack newsletter, Hostile Homelands, excerpted here with permission:
On Sunday, Aug. 18, thousands of people descended onto the streets of New York City to celebrate India’s Independence Day.
The event, in its 42nd year, typically involves a parade through Madison Avenue, in which Indian Americans sing and dance to Bollywood tunes, proudly wave the Indian tricolor flags and walk alongside floats representing India’s diversity.
This year, organizers decided to include a replica of the recently inaugurated Ram Temple in Ayodhya, to the parade. The Ram Temple, constructed on the site of the 1992 destruction of Babri Masjid by right-wing mobs, is widely seen as a symbol glorifying the demolition of mosques in India and for “returning” India to a Hindu State.
Though several human rights organizations complained to the city about the float, and an Indian Muslim group pulled its own float out of the event in protest, the parade went ahead as planned.
As the Ram Temple float rolled down Madison Avenue, devotees of the symbol of violence chanted “Jai Sree Ram” (Victory to Lord Rama).
In recent years, the religious declaration has turned into a battle cry for Hindu lynch mobs.
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), a group whose American branch includes a New Jersey chapter that marched in the parade, co-sponsored the Ram Temple float, Ahmad reported.
According to the Bridge Initiative at Georgetown University: “VHPA’s leaders have a history of making anti-Muslim remarks, it has platformed far-right Hindu nationalists and recently has targeted American Muslim politicians and rights organizations who call attention to the persecution of Muslims and rising Hindu nationalism in India.”
The VHP, aligned with ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, has not only caused violence against Muslims in India, but it also regularly spreads hate against other minorities, including the LGBTQ community and Dalits.
The inclusion of the Ram Temple float this year, then, also demonstrates how deeply the Hindutva project has permeated Hindu Indian identity in the US.
In 2022, Muslims in Edison reported that VHPA brought out a bulldozer adorned with images of fascist BJP politician Yogi Adityanath in a parade to intimidate the Muslim community. The use of the bulldozer is reminiscent of the demolition of Muslim homes by the BJP mafia in India, especially by Adityanath’s administration.
Ahmad also noted the presence of Israeli flags, carried by the International Organization of Bene Israelis. He said the parade brought together Hindu nationalism and the state of Israel in a way that highlights the strong ties between the two nations.
For the past decade, India has been the largest purchaser of weapons from Israel and has sent arms to Israel as it decimates Gaza, killing more than 40,000 Palestinians and wounding twice as many.
The International Organization of Bene Israelis marched in the parade. (Photo courtesy of In Old News)
Protesters shouted anti-Modi and pro-Palestinian slogans as the parade went by, adding to the heightened tension of the day. New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who often joins the parade to show his support for the South Asian community, did not attend.
Protesters speak out against the Hindu right and for Palestine at the India Day Parade. (Photo courtesy of In Old News)
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