A large digital billboard featuring Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat was displayed at Times Square in New York in late August, ahead of a planned public event addressed by the Hindutva organisation’s leader. Videos circulating on social media showed the billboard prominently featuring Bhagwat’s image at the iconic Manhattan intersection, drawing attention from passersby and prompting widespread discussion online.
The display preceded a programme scheduled for August 29, 2026, involving Bhagwat in New York. The event marks one of the most prominent overseas appearances by a sitting RSS chief in recent years. The RSS, founded in 1925 in Nagpur by K.B. Hedgewar, is the ideological parent organisation of India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and describes itself as a cultural and volunteer-based organisation working for what it calls the strengthening of Hindu society. It operates a vast network of daily shakhas, or branch meetings, across India and has long maintained informal overseas affiliates, particularly in countries with significant Indian diaspora populations.
Times Square, located in Midtown Manhattan, is among the most heavily trafficked commercial intersections in the United States, with an estimated daily footfall exceeding 300,000 pedestrians, according to figures frequently cited by the Times Square Alliance, the business improvement district that manages the area. The location is a recurring venue for high-visibility advertising campaigns, public service announcements, diplomatic messaging, and political outreach aimed at both domestic and international audiences. Digital billboards in the area are typically rented at significant cost, with pricing varying by display size, duration, and time of day.
What Happened
The billboard appeared in the days leading up to Bhagwat’s scheduled New York programme, an event that organisers have described as a public address. The display featured Bhagwat’s photograph and imagery associated with the RSS, including references to the organisation’s centenary, which was marked in 2025. The advertisement was visible on one of the large-format electronic screens that line the intersection, an area commonly used by governments, corporations, advocacy groups, and cultural organisations seeking to project messages to a global audience.
News of the display spread through social media platforms, where users shared video clips of the billboard. The footage attracted commentary from supporters of the RSS and its affiliated organisations in the Indian diaspora, as well as from critics who raised questions about the nature of the event and the source of funding for the advertising placement.
Why It Matters
The placement of Bhagwat’s image at Times Square signals an effort to project the RSS leader’s presence and ideology onto a global stage, far beyond the immediate audience of the August 29 programme. Times Square advertising is typically expensive, and its use is often associated with diaspora outreach, international public relations initiatives, or campaigns designed to shape perceptions among both Indian-origin communities and broader global audiences. The visual prominence of the display, at a location seen daily by hundreds of thousands of pedestrians and captured continually by tourists and media outlets, suggests an intent to reach audiences well beyond those attending the in-person event.
The display also occurs against a backdrop of sustained international attention to Hindu nationalist organisations and their leadership. The RSS and its affiliated bodies, collectively known as the Sangh Parivar, have faced long-standing criticism from secular groups, religious minorities, human rights organisations, and political opponents in India who accuse them of promoting majoritarian ideology and, in some cases, inciting communal tension. Defenders of the organisation, including senior BJP leaders, maintain that the RSS is a cultural body committed to national service and social welfare, and reject allegations of exclusionary politics.
Overseas, the RSS and its international affiliates have been the subject of scrutiny from diaspora Hindus who disagree with its ideological positions, as well as from some Western governments and human rights monitors who have documented concerns about the treatment of religious minorities in India. The Times Square display, by placing Bhagwat’s image in one of the most photographed public spaces in the world, adds a new dimension to that international dimension of the RSS’s public profile.
Background and Context
The RSS was established in 1925, six years before India gained independence, and grew steadily through the twentieth century despite being banned twice, once following the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi in 1948 and again during the Emergency period under Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1975. The organisation’s affiliates include the BJP, which has governed India since 2014 under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a longtime RSS member. Other affiliates include the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), the Bajrang Dal, and the Swadeshi Jagaran Manch, among dozens of allied bodies.
Bhagwat, who became the RSS’s sixth sarsanghchalak, or chief, in 2009, has led the organisation during a period of significant political influence, coinciding with the BJP’s rise to national power. He has delivered addresses at various forums in India and abroad, including at foreign universities and diaspora gatherings, and has authored or overseen the publication of several books articulating the RSS’s vision of Indian society.
The New York programme in late August follows a pattern of expanded international engagement by Sangh Parivar organisations, which have established affiliated groups in countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and across the Gulf and Southeast Asia. These groups operate under names such as the Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (HSS) in the United States, and have hosted cultural, educational, and community events aimed at second- and third-generation Indian diaspora communities.
The use of Times Square for Indian political and cultural messaging is not unprecedented. Over the years, advertisements related to Indian government initiatives, Bollywood film releases, and diaspora community events have appeared at the location. However, the prominent display of a sitting RSS chief’s image represents a notable escalation in the organisation’s overseas public-facing activity.
Analysis:
The Times Square billboard reflects the RSS’s increasing willingness to deploy high-cost, high-visibility international advertising as part of its outreach strategy. Diaspora-facing media campaigns, particularly those targeting Indian-origin communities in North America, have become a feature of contemporary Hindu nationalist public diplomacy, often timed to coincide with major organisational milestones or leadership visits.
The funding source for the Times Square placement has not been publicly disclosed in the available reporting. Indian political campaigns and organisations are generally required to disclose expenditure within India under the Representation of the People Act, but overseas advertising by affiliated or sympathetic groups falls under different regulatory frameworks. In the United States, such spending may be subject to disclosure under Federal Election Commission rules if it is coordinated with political candidates or parties, though advocacy spending by independent organisations is generally less restricted.
The display is likely to intensify debate within the Indian diaspora about the RSS’s overseas activities. Indian-American community organisations have at times been divided over Sangh-affiliated programming, with some welcoming what they describe as cultural engagement and others expressing concern about the importation of contentious political and religious disputes from India.
What to Watch Next
Several developments are likely to shape the story in the days and weeks following the August 29 programme. Organisers have indicated that Bhagwat’s New York address will address what they describe as global challenges facing Hindu communities, though a full text or recording of the speech had not been released at the time of the billboard’s appearance. The event itself may draw protest from groups opposed to Hindu nationalist ideology, and security arrangements around the venue are likely to be significant given the sensitivity of Bhagwat’s public appearances outside India.
Further international engagements by RSS leaders, including potential visits to other diaspora hubs in North America and Europe, will be worth monitoring. The organisation’s centenary, marked in 2025, has been accompanied by a sustained expansion of its international footprint, and the New York event appears to be a component of that broader outreach.
The response of the Indian government, which maintains consular engagement with the diaspora through the Ministry of External Affairs, may also be relevant. While the RSS is a private organisation unaffiliated with the state, its close relationship with the BJP has at times blurred the line between party activity and government engagement on the international stage.
Conclusion
The display of Mohan Bhagwat’s image on a Times Square billboard represents a striking moment in the international public profile of the RSS and its leadership. By placing the organisation’s chief at one of the most recognisable intersections in the world, those behind the advertising have signalled an intent to engage global audiences in ways that go beyond traditional diaspora programming. The event and its accompanying advertising will likely fuel ongoing debate about the role of Hindu nationalist organisations in international discourse, the nature of diaspora political engagement, and the boundaries between cultural outreach and ideological projection.
Sources:
Hindustan Times – India News: https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/mohan-bhagwat-billboard-appears-in-times-square-ahead-of-rss-chief-new-york-event-101787987027181.html
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Story synopsis gathered from: Hindustan Times – India News — source
