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A planned Saturday address at New York City’s iconic Madison Square Garden by Mohan Bhagwat, chief of India’s Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), has sparked fierce public opposition, drawing protests from interfaith groups, a formal denunciation from the city’s mayor, and a call for U.S. government sanctions from a federal religious freedom commission.

The RSS, a century-old right-wing Hindu nationalist organization, is widely recognized as the ideological backbone of India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi—who himself rose through the ranks of the paramilitary group. Critics have long accused the RSS of advancing Hindutva, a political ideology that frames Indian national identity exclusively through Hindu values, while fostering systemic intolerance against religious minorities and enabling documented human rights violations, including targeted mob violence, the demolition of minority religious sites, and the bulldozing of properties owned by Muslim communities.

Organized by American Hindus for Engagement and Dialogue and co-sponsored by more than 200 Hindu American groups, the event is branded as the “Universal Oneness Celebration,” rooted in the ancient Sanskrit concept of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, or “the world is one family.” Organizers say the gathering builds on the themes of the Hindu festival Rakshabandhan, expanding its celebration of familial bonds to a global call for collective responsibility across communities, nations, and the natural world. Expected attendees include entrepreneurs, educators, artists, youth leaders, faith and public officials, and representatives from Hindu temples and yoga centers, with an estimated 5,000 people in attendance. Organizers have declined to respond to interview requests from The Associated Press.

Opposition to the event has moved quickly across political and civil society lines. New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani this week publicly condemned the gathering, arguing that RSS’s core ideology is exclusionary and fundamentally incompatible with New York’s longstanding commitment to pluralism. On Wednesday, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), a nonpartisan federal advisory body, called on the U.S. government to impose sanctions on RSS members and revoke Bhagwat’s visa over allegations of ongoing religious freedom abuses tied to the organization. India’s Ministry of External Affairs swiftly rejected the commission’s statement, dismissing USCIRF as a biased body with no credibility to comment on India’s internal affairs.

A coalition of interfaith and civil rights groups—including Hindus for Human Rights, the Indian American Muslim Council, and the Interfaith Center of New York—held a protest press conference outside New York City Hall on Tuesday, demanding the event be canceled entirely. Sunita Viswanath, executive director of Hindus for Human Rights, noted that 61 interfaith and secular organizations have signed an open letter opposing the gathering, and hundreds of opponents will gather outside the venue Saturday to deliver a clear message: the RSS and its Hindutva ideology do not speak for all Hindus or people of Indian origin.

“Even if a majority of the Indian diaspora does not support Hindu nationalism, too few have spoken out publicly against it,” Viswanath said. “Our only option is to show up again and again with love, with the intention that our love will drown out the hate spread by these organizations.”

The event has laid bare deep divisions within the 5 million-strong Indian American community around issues of Hindu nationalism and the BJP’s rule. While the RSS maintains more than 250 local centers and youth chapters across the U.S. and enjoys broad support from many Indian American voters aligned with Modi, opponents have organized widespread resistance. One Muslim Indian American activist, Safa Ahmed, plans to travel from North Carolina to join Saturday’s protests, saying she is deeply disturbed by the large turnout expected for a leader she says promotes a politics of hate.

“That is very disturbing to me as an Indian American Muslim,” Ahmed said, though she added she has been encouraged by growing pushback against Hindutva from progressive Hindus, Sikhs, Christians, and Dalits—who have faced systemic caste discrimination in India for generations.

The Hindu American Foundation, a nonprofit advocacy group for U.S. Hindus, has pushed back against criticism of the event, calling on attendees to remain vigilant and civil while condemning Mayor Mamdani’s public opposition. “The mayor should honor his sworn duty to protect all New Yorkers, regardless of their national origin, religion or political beliefs,” the group said in a Wednesday statement.

Many analysts frame Bhagwat’s high-profile New York appearance as part of a deliberate multi-year public relations campaign by the RSS to soften its international image, as the BJP it spawned enters its third consecutive term governing the world’s largest democracy. Bill Drexel, a Hudson Institute senior fellow specializing in U.S.-India relations, noted that Bhagwat has toned down some of his more provocative public rhetoric in recent years, marking a new phase of the group’s global outreach.

“RSS is an organization with a uniquely complex history that is tied intrinsically to Indian politics, so it is hard to compare to more familiar political or religious movements in the U.S.,” Drexel explained. “We are seeing a new chapter in how they engage with the outside world. They grew as a grassroots movement for decades, and now that the political party they created holds national power, they face a new set of expectations and responsibilities.”

RSS national spokesperson Sunil Ambekar defended the gathering in a statement posted to X, writing that Bhagwat would “communicate with a diverse, multicultural, and multifaith audience” during his address. “Organized in the spirit of open dialogue and mutual respect, the event reflects Bharatiya (Indian) ethos which is fundamentally inclusive and welcoming to all,” Ambekar said. “This initiative aligns with RSS’s longstanding tradition of engaging with varied communities across India and the world to foster understanding and shared purpose.”

But critics like Viswanath reject the group’s framing of the event as a sincere push for inclusive dialogue, arguing the core ideology of Hindutva remains unchanged. “I just don’t buy it,” she said. “It’s still the same Hindutva ideology.”

A catastrophic glacier collapse that triggered massive, multi-story mud and water torrents has left hundreds dead or missing along the Nepal-China border, as rescue teams continue scouring ravaged communities for survivors and humanitarian organizations across the globe mobilize to deliver urgent aid.

The disaster, which struck on Wednesday, destroyed critical infrastructure across the affected region, washing out countless roads and bridges and forcing the Nepalese army to rely on helicopter operations to reach stranded communities and evacuate survivors.

For disaster-prone Nepal, which consistently ranks among the highest countries globally on international disaster vulnerability indexes for risks ranging from earthquakes and floods to drought and wildfire, advance preparations by humanitarian groups have enabled a faster than expected response. U.S.-based humanitarian nonprofit Direct Relief, which provides medical supplies and healthcare access to disaster-affected regions, had pre-positioned emergency stockpiles across Nepal in anticipation of the annual monsoon season, putting critical resources within reach immediately after the floodwaters struck.

Dan Hovey, Direct Relief’s vice president of emergency response, announced Thursday that the organization was already preparing additional shipments of aid to send to the impacted region, with new public donations set to sustain the group’s support through the months-long recovery process ahead. “This is going to be a long recovery process,” Hovey emphasized.

Humanitarian coordinating bodies have noted that flexible cash donations are currently the most pressing need, as they allow local agencies and grassroots nonprofits to adapt funding to the most urgent, evolving needs on the ground. A range of international and U.S.-based organizations with long-standing operations in Nepal have already launched active response efforts:
– All Hands & Hearts, a disaster recovery nonprofit that has operated in Nepal since the 2015 Gorkha earthquake, is delivering immediate emergency relief while preparing to resume its longstanding work rebuilding damaged schools and residential homes.
– Catholic Relief Services, an international humanitarian agency, has partnered with local affiliate Caritas Nepal to deliver emergency aid and social services, while deploying additional dedicated response teams to support search and relief operations.
– Global Giving, a grassroots support nonprofit, has launched the dedicated Nepal Flood Relief Fund targeting $1.5 million in donations, to provide flexible funding for search and rescue operations, emergency response, and longer-term infrastructure reconstruction and recovery projects.
– Humanity & Inclusion, an international organization focused on vulnerable and crisis-affected communities, is already distributing emergency survival supplies across the region and providing critical rehabilitation support to injured survivors in local hospitals.
– Save the Children, a global child-focused humanitarian nonprofit, has delivered cooking kits, mosquito nets and blankets to 1,000 impacted households, and is working closely with national and local authorities to expand its response as needs are assessed.
– World Central Kitchen, celebrity chef Jose Andres’ food security nonprofit, is already providing hot meals to survivors through local partner networks, and is preparing to scale up its full distribution network to deliver more food to the impacted border region.

This coverage of global philanthropy and disaster response is produced by the Associated Press through a collaboration with The Conversation US, supported by funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP maintains sole editorial control over all content.

A first-hand reporting journey through Nepal’s flood-ravaged terrain has laid bare the full scale of the disaster unfolding across the country, as the BBC’s South Asia correspondent Azadeh Moshiri documents the grim aftermath while traveling from the capital Kathmandu to the hard-hit town of Trishuli.

What should have been a routine overland trip between the two population centers has been transformed into a sobering passage through a landscape altered by catastrophic flooding. Moshiri’s route is repeatedly interrupted by sections of road washed out or blocked by landslides and debris triggered by the swollen waterways that have overrun their banks. Every mile of the journey reveals new signs of destruction: damaged infrastructure, submerged settlements along the Trishuli River, and scattered personal belongings washed downstream by the rushing floodwaters.

Most striking of all is the steady stream of emergency vehicles moving along the cleared sections of the highway: ambulances rushing to evacuate trapped survivors and hearses carrying the remains of those who have lost their lives to the disaster. The continuous procession underscores the heavy human cost of the floods, which have displaced thousands and left communities scrambling to mount rescue and recovery operations.

Local disaster response teams have been working around the clock to clear blocked routes and reach cut-off communities, but the scale of the infrastructure damage has slowed progress, leaving many remote areas still waiting for aid. This on-the-ground reporting from the disaster zone offers a raw, unfiltered look at the immediate aftermath of one of the most significant flood events to hit Nepal in recent years.

It has been days since deadly flash floods tore through the Himalayan border region between Nepal and Tibet, but for the families of two missing Indian pilgrims, the agony of uncertainty has only deepened. At least 290 Indians are among the hundreds reported unaccounted for after the disaster, which has already claimed 475 confirmed lives, leaving dozens of families clinging to hope and begging for clear information about their loved ones.

Among the missing is 43-year-old Subhrasree Chakraborty, a critical care medical technologist from Kolkata whose lifelong dream was to complete the pilgrimage to Mount Kailash, the sacred Himalayan site revered as the home of Hindu god Shiva. For years after the pilgrimage was halted first by the COVID-19 pandemic and then by cross-border tensions between India and China, Subhrasree waited for her chance to go. When routes reopened last year, she quickly booked her spot on the tour, leaving her husband Sudipto Bhattacharya at home to follow along via her messages.

Subhrasree’s journey began on August 21, when she boarded the Mithila Express from Kolkata, crossing into Nepal the next day and reaching Kathmandu that same night. For three days, she explored the ancient capital, sending home glowing photos of herself smiling in temple courtyards and posing against the historic architecture of Durbar Square. She told Bhattacharya, a government officer, that the Nepalese countryside was more beautiful than she had imagined, and that she could not wait for the next leg of the trip north.

On August 25, Subhrasree’s group departed Kathmandu by bus for Syabrubesi, a small mountain settlement 122 kilometers north that serves as the primary gateway to the Langtang trekking region and the Mount Kailash pilgrimage route. The 12-hour journey was interrupted by a four-hour delay after a landslide blocked the road, which Nepalese army crews eventually cleared. Even with the setback, Subhrasree told her husband the weather was clear and warm, with only occasional light rain, giving no hint of the disaster that would strike less than 24 hours later.

Early on the morning of August 26, Subhrasree left her hotel just after 7 a.m. local time. She spoke to Bhattacharya by phone shortly after departure, and the pair continued to exchange messages as the group approached the border. At 7:57 a.m. local time (2:27 a.m. GMT), she sent Bhattacharya her final message: a photo of her passport stamped with Nepal immigration clearance, and a note that the group was waiting to cross into Chinese-controlled Tibet. Six minutes later, at 8:03 a.m., all communication stopped.

Bhattacharya says he initially expected the silence, noting that connectivity is notoriously spotty on the Tibetan side of the border. He waited for hours for another update, until mid-afternoon when he saw breaking news of the flash floods hitting the border region. He began calling every number he had for members of Subhrasree’s 30-person group, the tour operator, and the two group managers – none answered. To date, he has received no official confirmation of whether Subhrasree crossed into Chinese territory before the floods struck, whether she was rescued, or if she is among the missing or dead.

“After 08:03am, what happened? We don’t know anything,” Bhattacharya said in an interview. “Have they been rescued? Was this group among those rescued in China? We want to know more. Please get me a list from the Chinese government – missing, dead and rescued. We need an update. What do I tell you? Sleepless nights, working on the phone.”

Subhrasree is not alone in being unaccounted for. Fifty-four-year-old Rina Banerjee, an unmarried private tutor and experienced hiker also from Kolkata, was part of the same pilgrimage group and has not been heard from since the floods. Rina had long dreamed of visiting Mount Kailash, and had gone on multiple mountain hiking trips with her family before, her nephew Dwaipayan Mukherjee says.

Like Subhrasree, Rina’s journey went smoothly until the morning of August 26. The family spoke to her via video call while she stayed in Kathmandu, and she told them she was happy to finally take the trip she had planned for so long. She even shared details of the four-hour landslide delay on the drive from Kathmandu to Syabrubesi. On the morning of the floods, the tour operator shared a group photo showing Rina outside the Nepal immigration center, already having received her exit stamp.

Since that photo was sent, there has been nothing but silence. “I don’t know whether they crossed the border or not,” Mukherjee said. “Whether they were on the Chinese side or the Nepal side, we are still wondering.”

The Mount Kailash pilgrimage draws thousands of Indian devotees every year, after years of pandemic and cross-border tension halted travel completely. Routes only resumed last year, giving hundreds of long-waiting pilgrims like Subhrasree and Rina the chance to fulfill their lifelong spiritual goal.

Today, both women’s names appear on the Nepalese government’s official list of 537 people missing following the floods. The Kolkata-based tour operator that organized their trip says it still has no information about the fate of the group, leaving their families with no answers and only one unanswered question lingering: did they make it across the border before the floods hit?

A major rescue operation is underway in northern Nepal after over 100 people were trapped inside an under-construction hydropower tunnel in the district of Rasuwa, according to official statements. The Nepalese Army has been deployed to lead urgent efforts to pull surviving victims out of the collapsed and blocked passage, with local emergency services also on site to support the mission.

The incident has triggered urgent concern across the country, as rescuers work against challenging conditions including unstable terrain, limited access to the blocked section of the tunnel, and potential risks of further structural damage. Initial reports confirm that army teams have already begun extracting a small number of survivors, though details on the current status of those still trapped and the exact cause of the incident have not yet been fully released by authorities.

Hydropower development is a core sector of Nepal’s economy, with dozens of large and small infrastructure projects underway across the mountainous nation to harness its river systems for electricity generation. The Rasuwa district, located along Nepal’s northern border, is home to several planned and active hydropower schemes, and occupational safety in such remote, geologically challenging construction sites has long been a topic of discussion among infrastructure regulators and safety advocates.