Controversy Rages Over Vishwa Hindu Parishad’s Ram Mandir Float at India Day Parade in New York City

The outcry against a float depicting the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya which is scheduled to appear in the India Day Parade in New York City on Aug. 18, has been growing, as several human rights and interfaith organizations and lawmakers are calling for its removal. They say the inclusion of the float is “a blatant attempt to glorify the demolition of the historical Babri Mosque” and celebrates division and bigotry.

The float is part of the parade held annually by the Federation of Indian Associations NY-NJ-CT-NE (FIA), and is organized by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America. Organizers say the float, described as the “highlight” of the event, will include a large-scale model of the Ram Temple measuring 8 feet by 8 feet by 16 feet.

According to FIA chairman Ankur Vaidya, the theme for this year’s parade — “Vasudev Kutumbakam” — which translates to “the world is one family,” was set long before the inclusion of the Ram Mandir float was decided. For over four decades, the parade has been a celebration of community, growing due to its display of inclusion and diversity, allowing participants to display their expressions respectfully and peacefully without diminishing or disrespecting others,” Vaidya said in a press statement. He lamented “the communal hate and bigotry” the group is receiving, “despite our longstanding tradition of celebrating diversity.” Their decision to include “a float that celebrates the inauguration of a sacred landmark, significant to hundreds of millions of Hindus, has been insulted by derogatory name-calling,” he added. 

VHPA president Ajay Shah accused the float’s critics of “Hindu hate,” and said their “full-time job is to malign mainstream Hindus and their faith.” The float “is intended to depict historical events and figures significant to Indian culture and history, and is neither designed nor intended to target or denigrate any religious group,” he said in a press statement.

Sunita Viswanath, executive director of Hindus for Human Rights advocated healing and unity, instead of “hatred and division. “As Hindus, we stand firmly against symbols of hate and division like the Ram Mandir float,” she told American Kahani. “The India Day Parade is meant to celebrate the richness and diversity of our community, not to be hijacked by a religious nationalist message that excludes and marginalizes,” she added. “This is unacceptable, inappropriate and does not represent the true spirit of our community. We cannot allow such an important event to be co-opted in this way,” she continued. “Our interfaith coalition loves India and would like to march proudly in the parade as Indian Americans. We are advocating to the mayor and governor to have the divisive float removed so that we can enjoy the parade rather than protest it.

Viswanath’s organization, Hindus for Human Rights, is part of a coalition that sent a letter to New York Governor Kathy Hochul and New York City Mayor Eric Adams urging them “to condemn and oppose the inclusion of the float” at the parade.  “The proposed float for the parade is a blatant attempt to glorify the illegal demolition of the historical Babri Mosque and celebrate ongoing violence and terror against 200 million Indian Muslims,” said the letter, also signed by groups including the Indian American Muslim Council, and Council on American-Islamic Relations, among others. “This is not merely a cultural display but a vulgar celebration of anti-Muslim hate, bigotry, and religious supremacy.”

The coalition also received support from City Council members Shekar Krishnan and Shahana Hanif, and State Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani, who wrote their own letter to Adams. “As proud Indian American and Bangladeshi American, Hindu and Muslim elected officials representing New York City communities, we welcome the celebration of Indian culture and heritage on the streets of our great city,” they wrote in the letter. “However, such public celebrations should not include symbols of division or bigotry.”

While several reports in the media have reported the issue as a Hindu versus Muslim issue, Viswanath points out that “it’s very important for the readers to know that Hindus are not a monolith.” There are “many of us for whom our very faith and identity as Hindus requires us to stand against the violence and hatred that motivated the demolition (by Hindu extremists) of the medieval Babri Masjid,” she said. While there are “countless Ram mandirs in Ayodhya and around India and the world, this particular Ram Mandir is the creation of a Hindu supremacist movement and ideology and has no place in our hearts,” she pointed out. “It should have no place in a parade that celebrates all the people and communities of India.”

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Organizers of the parade also received support from the Hindu American Foundation (HAF). “Contrary to what these groups are claiming, the Rama mandir honors the legendary Sri Rama, who is venerated as an idealized vision of human goodness and an avatar, or manifestation of the Divine on earth by adherents of every Indic tradition,” said executive director Suhag Shukla. “His life’s story, the Ramayana, is undoubtedly the most important work of ancient India and beyond. In India, Southeast Asia, and elsewhere, it has acculturated social relations, provided a template for moral flourishing, and continues to serve as a meditation on enlightened leadership. It’s kept alive through storytelling, art, sculpture, the performing arts, even anime, TV serials, and now parade floats.” 

Shah believes that Hindus have the First Amendment right to celebrate their culture and way of worship. “Our participation in the India Day Parade in New York expresses our rights as American citizens,” he said. Noting that “the focus on Ram Mandir float is just a red herring, he said the Muslims in India have accepted the verdict of the Indian Supreme Court which determined that the temple legitimately belonged on that land in Ayodhya. “We believe that those opposing the float are threatened by the inclusiveness and diversity that the Hindu faith offers”  We believe that they are also threatened by the peaceful coexistence American Hindus practice and the goodwill American Hindus enjoy as the most successful minority positively contributing to American society. So, to malign Hindus, they have resorted to bullying the lawmakers. and prevent the expression of the Hindu faith in public.

Minhaj Khan, who was an engineering student in India, when the Babri Masjid incident happened, said “the Muslims across the nation accepted the Supreme Court’s verdict despite the high-handedness since they wanted to move on.” Now, more than three decades later, the inclusion of the float in the parade is like “rubbing salt on the wounds of the 200 million Muslims in India and across the world,” the social and political activist told American Kahani. “Bringing the float into the Independence Day parade is a display of divisive and offensive symbols through the streets of the most diverse city in the world,” he continued. “It runs counter to the values of New York. The ruling BJP government wants to kill the secular values and declare India a Hindu State, undermining the very Pluralistic values India and Indians have enjoyed for centuries.”

Meanwhile, both FIA and VHPA are urging all communities to join them in celebrating India’s independence and the values of tolerance, respect, and harmony intrinsic to Indian and American cultures. “We invite you to join us in a celebration that fosters peaceful harmony and coexistence among diverse cultures, religions, genders, and more.,” Vaidya said. “Let us embody the values championed by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and be recognized by the content of our character, not by the color of our skin or the faith we follow.”