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Interfaith coalition condemns Ram Mandir float planned for India Day Parade
The gathering also welcomed NYC Mayor Eric Adams’s decision to condemn the float.
Protesters outside the New York City Hall. / IAMC
A multiracial coalition of human rights and interfaith organizations, led by the Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC), convened outside New York City Hall on Aug.14 to denounce the Ram Mandir Float planned for this year’s NYC India Day Parade.
The controversial float, co-sponsored by the Indian Consulate of New York and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America (VHPA), is a replica of India's Ram Temple, a structure that many see as a symbol of violence against Muslims.
Dubbing it as “anti-muslim”, the gathering also welcomed NYC Mayor Eric Adams’s decision to condemn the float. "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 [be included]," Mayor Adams declared.
The temple, which stands on the ruins of the Babri Mosque, which was demolished in 1992, sparking deadly riots across northern India that claimed thousands of lives, predominantly of Muslims.
The coalition also expressed concern over the involvement of the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS), an organization currently under FBI investigation for exploiting oppressed-caste workers, and the participation of Manoj Tiwari, a politician from India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Protesters outside the New York City Hall / IAMCProminent New York politicians, including State Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani and City Council members Shekar Krishnan and Shahina Hanif, had previously signed a joint letter to Mayor Adams. The letter condemned the temple as a symbol of bigotry against India’s Muslim minority and urged that public celebrations in New York should not include such divisive symbols.
Speakers at the press conference, representing various interfaith and human rights organizations, highlighted the implications of including the Ram Temple float in a public parade. Husnaa Vhora of the IAMC stated, "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.”
David Kalal, director of Communications for Hindus for Human Rights, elaborated, "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."
Other speakers like echoed these sentiments, emphasizing the need for solidarity and inclusivity in a city as diverse as New York. "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.
Protesters outside the New York City Hall. / IAMC
"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," added Dr. Zainab Tanvir, co-director of Muslims for Progressive Values NY.
Harmeet Kaur Kamboj of the Sikh Coalition remarked, "The Sikh community... 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.”
Representatives from the Black Lives Matter Greater NY, Jews for Racial and Economic Justice (JFREJ), the Federation of Indian American Christians of North America (FIACONA), and several other organizations also voiced their opposition to the float, calling for unity, safety, and respect for all communities in New York.
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