India Day Parade float criticised for anti-Muslim sentiment

A float in the forthcoming India Day Parade in New York City, celebrating a Hindu temple built over a demolished mosque in India, has faced criticism for being anti-Muslim.

The Indian American Muslim Council and other faith-based organisations have urged the parade organisers to remove a float depicting the Ram Mandir. They argue that the temple symbolises the destruction of mosques and violence against Muslims in South Asia.

Hindus constitute around 80% of India’s population, while there are about 200 million Muslims who often face hostility from Hindu nationalists.

“This float’s presence reflects an attempt to merge Hindu nationalist ideology with Indian identity,” wrote the organisation and others in a letter addressed to New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and New York City Mayor Eric Adams earlier this month. “This is not just a cultural display but a crude celebration of anti-Muslim hate, bigotry, and religious supremacy.”

The Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC) today joined a multiracial coalition of human rights and interfaith organizations at a press conference outside New York City Hall. The coalition gathered to welcome NYC Mayor Eric Adams’s decision to condemn an anti-Muslim float planned… pic.twitter.com/R5sRWBiVlB

— Indian American Muslim Council (@IAMCouncil) August 15, 2024

Parade organisers have dismissed calls to remove the float, stating it celebrates the inauguration of a sacred landmark significant to millions of Hindus.

“As we commemorate what we view as an essential part of our faith through this landmark celebration, we categorically reject all forms of violence and hate, including any harm to religious places of worship,” said Ankur Vaidya, chairman of the Federation of Indian Associations, the event’s organiser, in a statement. “We advocate for peaceful coexistence and urge everyone to embrace this value.”

The association promotes the parade as a celebration of India’s cultural diversity, featuring floats representing Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, and Christian faiths over the years.

Vaidya’s statement also highlighted that the theme for this year’s parade is “Vasudev Kutumbakam,” a Sanskrit phrase meaning “the world is one family.”

Now in its 42nd year, the parade is one of the largest outside India, attracting tens of thousands of spectators to see Bollywood celebrities and Indian sports stars along Manhattan’s Madison Avenue. The annual event commemorates India’s independence from British rule on 15 August 1947.

The Ram Mandir began construction in 2020 following a lengthy legal battle in Ayodhya, India’s holy city.

The temple was erected on the site of the 16th-century Babri mosque, which Hindu nationalist mobs destroyed in 1992.

The ornate pink sandstone structure, dedicated to the god Ram, whom Hindus believe was born at the site, cost an estimated $217 million.

Representatives for Hochul and Adams did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Thursday.

However, when asked about the controversy at City Hall on Tuesday, Adams, who has participated in the parade in recent years, stated that there is “no room for hate” in New York.

“I want to send the right symbolic gesture that the city is open to everyone and there’s no room for hate,” the Democrat said. “If there is a float or a person in the parade promoting hate, they should not be included.”