New York: A coalition of human rights and interfaith groups has vocally opposed the inclusion of a Ram Temple float in New York City’s upcoming India Day Parade, highlighting the float’s controversial symbolism and calling for its removal.
According to Kashmir Media Service, the coalition, including the Indian American Muslim Council, Hindus for Human Rights, and the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), criticized the float at a press conference outside City Hall. They applauded Mayor Eric Adams’s condemnation of the float but pushed for further action to prevent its inclusion in the August 18 parade.
The float, sponsored by the Indian Consulate of New York and Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America (VHPA), features a replica of the Ram Temple, a site contentious for its historical and religious implications, particularly the destruction of the Babri Mosque in 1992 which led to significant violence and loss of lives in India.
Groups argue that the float symbolizes not cultural celebration but historical violence and division, pointing to incidents of Hindu nationalist aggression associated with the temple’s consecration. They also expressed concerns about the broader implications of rising Hindu nationalism on communal harmony and the portrayal of Indian culture in international spaces.
Community leaders from various organizations, including Black Lives Matter Greater NY and the Sikh Coalition, supported the call for the float’s removal, emphasizing unity and inclusivity over division.