As New Yorkers kick off Indian Independence Day celebrations with the raising of the flag in Times Square on Thursday, the upcoming weekend parade is marred by a float that some say is anti-Muslim.
The theme for this year's 42nd annual India Day Parade is "Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam," or "the world is one family," but some members of interfaith and Muslim groups say the event isn't inclusive because organizers approved a float that represents a grand temple for one of Hinduism’s most revered deities, Lord Ram. The Gothamist first reported about the controversy.
The temple located in India’s holy city of Ayodhya partially opened early this year. To the Hindu majority, which is about 80% of India's population, the Ram temple is a sacred place located at the exact spot where they believe Ram was born.
For others, the temple represents hatred and bloodshed of Muslims.
The site was home to 16th-century Babri mosque before Hindu nationalists demolished it in 1992. It sparked nationwide riots that resulted in thousands of deaths, according to the Indian American Muslim Council. The organization raised concerns about the Ram temple float in a letter to New York City Mayor Eric Adams and Gov. Kathy Hochul last week, Gothamist reported.
The letter said the organization that created the float, Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America, is a far-right Hindu group that's an offshoot of India's "militant religious organization." It cited Georgetown University's research on Islamophobia that found VHPA leaders promote anti-Muslim conspiracy theories and tropes. VHPA recently organized a Ram Mandir Rath Yatra that visited 851 temples in 48 States over 60 days, according to the organization's website.
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Dr. Audrey Truschke, Associate Professor of South Asian History at Rutgers University who has researched Indian diaspora in the U.S., said the float's inclusion is a step backward in the city's progress.
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"It is a shame to see New York City allow Hindu supremacist groups to parade an anti-Muslim symbol. It's a step backward for the city," Dr. Truschke wrote in a post on X. "Law enforcement should prepare. This imagery has been used, for decades, to foment targeted violence against Muslims."
When asked about the controversy this week, Adams said, "No one should be using any anti-conversations in marching these parades. I'm often critiqued about doing flag raising."
"I want to send a symbolic gesture that the city is open to everyone and there's no room for hate," he added.
Hindus won a prolonged legal battle in 2019, allowing them to build the temple. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who championed its construction, said Thursday that the country is on the path of rapid economic development. India aspires to be a developed nation by 2047 when it completes 100 years of independence from British colonialists, he added.
Modi’s Hindu nationalist party used the temple to lobby the country’s Hindu majority ahead of the 2024 election. He was elected for a third five-year term.
When and where is India Day Parade?
New York City's Indian Day celebration, organized by the Federation of Indian Associations, is the largest outside of India. The parade will march down Madison Avenue from East 38th Street to East 27th Street on Sunday, Aug. 18.
The food festival is on East 26th Street from Madison to Park Avenue, and cultural programs are on Masion Avenue from East 26th to East 25th Street.
