By Fareed Khan
A version of this article can be found on Substack.
Canada is facing a critical test of its commitment
to human rights and pluralism. Mohan Bhagwat, Chief of India’s Rashtriya
Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a Hindu fascist movement, is expected to visit
Toronto on August 31 and September 1, 2026—his first visit to Canada and the
first by an RSS leader in more than two decades. His arrival is not a cultural
exchange. It is a political operation aimed at sanitizing the global image of
an organization whose fascist ideology and violent actions against India’s
minorities have long been associated with exclusion, discrimination, and
violence.
Canada must deny Mohan
Bhagwat entry. Based on Bhagwat’s organization’s long record of racist violence
and its ethno‑religious supremacist worldview Canada must deny him entry. His
presence is incompatible with Canada’s commitments to diversity, equity and pluralism.
The RSS is not a conservative cultural association. It is an ethno‑religious nationalist movement whose ideology mirrors the logic of white supremacist groups such as the Ku Klux Klan—except that its hierarchy is built on Hindu majoritarian supremacy rather than white racial dominance. At its core, the RSS advances a fascist vision of society in which Hindus are the rightful rulers of India, and non‑Hindu minorities—Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Dalits, and tribal communities—must either accept permanent subordination. This ideology, known as Hindutva, is not Hinduism. Like Zionism, it is a political project of exclusion, hierarchy, and domination.
The RSS’s foundations are based
on supremacy not culture
Founded in 1925, the RSS has always been explicit about its goals. Vinayak Damodar Savarkar—one of the most prominent Hindu nationalists and ideologues who influenced the RSS—praised
Nazi Germany’s racial nationalism in his writings and speeches where he argued
that minorities in India should be treated the same way Nazi Germany treated
Jews under Hitler: as outsiders with no claim to equal citizenship.
This is not a relic of the past. It is the
ideological backbone of the RSS today.
The RSS is the parent organization of the Sangh Parivar, a network
of Hindu nationalist political, social, educational, charitable, and diaspora
groups. Among them is the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), India’s ruling party,
led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Canada’s own Canadian
Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) has described the BJP as implementing
a Hindu‑nationalist policy agenda that targets India’s minority communities.
Under Modi’s BJP government, Hindutva ideology has moved
from the margins to the center of state power, to the detriment of India’s non-Hindu
communities.
Hindutva in practice: Discrimination,
persecution, violence
The consequences of RSS‑BJP rule are well
documented. The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom
(USCIRF) has recommended targeted sanctions against the RSS, citing “severe
violations of religious freedom.” Both Amnesty
International and Human
Rights Watch have documented widespread abuses, including mob violence,
lynchings, discriminatory laws, and politically motivated prosecutions.
Reporting
by CNN has shown how Hindu extremist groups—many ideologically aligned with
or inspired by the RSS—have grown more aggressive and violent. Al Jazeera
documented a 2021 religious gathering in Haridwar where Hindu
monk Yati Narsinghanand called for genocide against Muslims. Participants openly
urged called for the mass murder of Indo Muslims. These events were not fringe
but part of a broader ecosystem of hate emboldened by the BJP’s political
dominance and the RSS’s ideological influence.
The BJP government has enacted discriminatory
laws such as the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), which fast‑tracks
citizenship for non‑Muslim migrants while excluding Muslims. It revoked
Kashmir’s autonomy, imposed military lockdowns, and detained thousands. Under
the Modi government journalists, academics, civil society organizations,
and human rights defenders have faced raids, arrests, and intimidation.
This is the political reality the RSS has built
under Modi’s government, and this is the reality Bhagwat seeks to whitewash
during his international tour.
Canada has already seen the
consequences
Canada is not insulated from the RSS‑BJP network.
The Foreign Interference Commission has reported that the BJP‑led Indian
government engages in transnational repression in Canada, including
monitoring diaspora communities, using proxies to intimidate critics, and
attempting to suppress lawful advocacy. CSIS
has obtained evidence linking Indian government agents to homicides, violent
acts, organized crime, clandestine information gathering, and interference in
Canadian democratic processes.
Allowing Bhagwat into Canada would legitimize an
organization connected to a foreign government already implicated in
interference and violence on Canadian soil.
A record of violence and
exclusion
The RSS has been linked to major episodes of
communal violence, including the 1992 destruction of
the Babri Mosque by a Hindu nationalist mob that included RSS members. That
event triggered nationwide riots that killed more than 2,000 people, mostly
Muslims.
The
organization’s present‑day activities reflect a consistent pattern of violence
and persecution of Muslims and other Indian minorities, including:
- Discriminatory laws and policies
targeting religious minorities;
- Inflammatory rhetoric fuelling
communal violence;
- Attacks and intimidation
against Muslims, Christians, Dalits, and tribal communities;
- Politically motivated
prosecutions of journalists and human rights defenders who speak out
against the RSS; and
- Concerted
efforts to suppress critical voices domestically and internationally.
Their actions prove that they are not a cultural
organization, but an extremist movement that promotes religious hierarchy in
Indian society and undermines democratic norms.
Canada must not become a platform
for extremism
Bhagwat’s visit is a
calculated attempt to rehabilitate the RSS’s global reputation. His organizers
have been explicit: the purpose of the tour is to reshape “international
perceptions” of the RSS—a euphemism for damage control.
Canadian institutions must not become instruments in this whitewashing campaign. The effort is disturbingly reminiscent of how Nazi officials in the 1930s sought to reassure Western audiences that they were merely promoting German culture while
concealing the violent supremacist ideology driving their movement.
Before any public official, charity, or community organization engages with Bhagwat or those hosting him, Canadians deserve full transparency. Who is financing his visit? Which groups are coordinating it? Are any registered Canadian charities linked to the RSS or the broader Sangh Parivar network, and are they operating
in full compliance with Canadian law?
These questions must be answered before Canada allows itself to be used as a stage for extremist image‑management. Canada has consistently acted against extremist organizations across ideological and religious spectrums. The same standards must apply universally.
This is not about Hindu Canadians
It is essential to state clearly: this is not an
attack on Hindu Canadians or Hinduism. Those who follow the teachings of the
Hindu faith in Canada enrich this country in countless ways. Hindu scholars and
human rights defenders have been among the strongest voices opposing Hindutva
majoritarianism. The issue is not
religion. It is extremism.
Supremacist ideologies do not become acceptable
simply because they originate from a different cultural or religious context.
In light
of the RSS’s ideology, its documented history of violence and fascism, its
connection to discriminatory policies under the BJP government, and its
involvement in transnational repression, Canada must take decisive action by:
- Barring Mohan Bhagwat from
entering Canada;
- Launching a national
security review of the RSS and affiliated organizations;
- Reviewing and, where
appropriate, revoke charitable status for RSS‑linked groups;
- Assessing whether the RSS
meets criteria for terrorist designation; and
- Ensuring
full transparency under Canada’s foreign influence laws.
Canada’s diversity and pluralism are its strength,
but it is not a loophole. It must never be exploited to advance ideologies that
promote religious or ethnic supremacy, or undermine the equal dignity of all
communities.
Bhagwat’s visit is not a cultural celebration, it
is a test of Canada’s resolve to stand against political extremism and fascism,
and Canada must say no.
© 2026 The View From Here. © 2026 Fareed Khan. All Rights Reserved.
