Kashmir Centre urges UK to block RSS chief’s visit, refers planned events to police

The Kashmir Centre has called on the British government to prevent Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat from entering the United Kingdom, while referring his planned London programme to police for assessment of potential public-order and religious-hatred offences.

Formal referral to Home Office and police

In a press release issued in London, the organisation said it had submitted a dossier to Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood on 25 August, with copies sent to Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Foreign Secretary David Lammy. It asked the Home Office to assess Bhagwat’s proposed visit under provisions of the UK Immigration Rules relating to individuals whose presence may “not be conducive to the public good”.

The Kashmir Centre also said it was referring the proposed programme to the Metropolitan Police and the National Police Chiefs’ Council. According to the organisation, the referral asks authorities to examine whether any speech, publication or conduct associated with the events could fall within offences related to the stirring up of religious hatred under the Public Order Act 1986.

The group stressed that statements made by Bhagwat in India would not automatically constitute a criminal offence in Britain. It said any potential offence would have to involve conduct, speech or material disseminated in the UK and meet the requirements of British law.

Context: RSS centenary tour and London events

Bhagwat, who serves as the RSS’s Sarsanghchalak (chief), is reportedly travelling on a centenary tour covering the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. RSS functionaries have described the three-nation trip as part of the organisation’s global outreach in its centenary year, with objectives including presenting a “factual and positive perspective” on India, Hindu society and the RSS, promoting the idea of “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” (the world as one family), and engaging diaspora communities.

According to RSS officials, Bhagwat is scheduled to participate in a “Universal Oneness” programme in New York and community-leadership events in Toronto and London. The RSS has advertised community-leadership programmes in London, according to the Kashmir Centre.

Allegations against RSS and public-order concerns

The Kashmir Centre described the RSS as the ideological parent of India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and accused it of promoting majoritarian politics and anti-minority mobilisation. It also referred to the group’s historical bans in India, including those imposed after Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination in 1948, during the Emergency in 1975 and following the demolition of the Babri Masjid in 1992.

“The RSS does not arrive in Britain as folklore. It arrives as an organisation with a long record of majoritarian politics, anti-minority mobilisation and association with some of the darkest episodes of communal violence in modern India,” Kashmir Centre Executive Director Muzzammil Ayyub Thakur said in the release.

The statement further linked the proposed visit to concerns over communal tensions in Britain, citing the 2022 violence in Leicester. It argued that authorities should assess the possible public-order implications of the planned events before they take place.

Campaign focus and legal framing

The Kashmir Centre said its campaign was directed against Bhagwat, the RSS and the political project it represents, rather than against Hinduism or British Hindus. The group framed its intervention as a preventive measure, urging UK authorities to evaluate whether the visit and associated activities could risk inflaming community tensions or breach laws on religious hatred.

At the time of writing, there has been no public indication from the Home Office or Metropolitan Police on whether they will take action to restrict Bhagwat’s entry or impose conditions on the London events.