New Delhi: A letter by three Washington-based American Sikh groups, dated August 20, 2026 and addressed to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, has urged that Mohan Bhagwat be denied entry ahead of his scheduled visit on August 25, 2026.Bhagwat is the chief of Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS), a far right-wing Hindutva organisation and the parent body of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).“The RSS and its affiliated organisations have a long and well-documented record of promoting ideology and activities that have contributed to violence, discrimination and persecution of religious minorities in India, including Sikhs, Muslims and Christians”, stated the letter signed by representatives of the American Sikh Caucus Committee, Sikh Coordination Committee East Coast and American Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee.The US-based Sikh advocacy groups write in their letter that Bhagwat is expected to arrive around August 25 and mentions a public event at Madison Square Garden on August 29.“Allowing the chief of the RSS to enter and be honoured on US soil would send a deeply troubling signal at a time when US officials, including members of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) have publicly raised serious concerns about the RSS’s role in freedom-of-religion violations. United States should not extend diplomatic courtesies or high-level access to leaders of organisations whose record includes documented harm to religious minorities”, the letter added.The letter from Sikh groups urges the US to deny entry to Mohan Bhagwat, saying his visit would legitimise the RSS.Earlier, on August 19, 2026, USCIRF, a Washington-based US advisory body, sought sanctions to be imposed on the RSS, reported The Hindu.USCIRF chair Asif Mahmood wrote on social media platform X: “India’s PM Modi is a member of the RSS, an Indian umbrella organisation whose sub-groups have perpetrated attacks on religious minorities, including Christians and Muslims. Now, the RSS leader, Mohan Bhagwat plans to visit the US.”In 2022, the USCIRF had flagged India as ‘a country of particular concern’ for engaging in or tolerating systematic, ongoing and egregious religious freedom violations, as set forth by the International Religious Freedom Act.More recently, in its 2025 report as well, the USCIRF, while referring to India as a “country of particular concern”, flagged certain legislations such as the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA), the 1967 Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and the 2025 Waqf Bill among others, labelling them as “discriminatory and targeting religious minorities”‘It is a biased organisation’: Ministry of External AffairsResponding to the demand by USCIRF calling for sanctions to be imposed on RSS, the Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson, Randhir Jaiswal said, “It is a biased organisation. I would say that we should keep away from such organisations as they have their own agenda and lack any credibility. We do not expect that the USCIRF will engage with the reality of India’s pluralistic framework or acknowledge the harmonious coexistence of its diverse communities.”Though the outfit brands itself as a Non-Government Organisation (NGO), the RSS has been mired in controversies recently regarding its finances and source of funding with Karnataka home minister and Congress leader, Priyank Kharge, writing to Mohan Bhagwat in June this year urging that “RSS responsibly abides by the Constitution and register, disclose, pay applicable taxes and function transparently within the Constitution.”In November 2025, an investigation by digital portal Prism Reports revealed that the RSS had hired a US lobbying firm, Squire Patton Boggs, which had received $330,000 to lobby officials in the US Senate and House of Representatives. The outfit has denied such allegations.More recently, in July 2026, another investigation by The News Minute showed that 14.7% of the CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) funds from the state-owned company, ONGC, had gone to organisations linked to the RSS.