Sunday’s protest was organised by the South Asian Solidarity Group, with backing from the Indian Workers Association and other diaspora and civil-society organisations. The demonstration followed controversy over Bhagwat’s visit to the Khalsa Jatha British Isles Gurdwara, which had not been publicly announced beforehand.
The Sikh Federation criticised the gurdwara’s decision, saying dozens of gurdwaras, Sikh organisations and individuals had contacted it to express anger. It objected particularly to Bhagwat being received at what it described as a small private gathering without the wider sangat, or congregation, present.
Bhai Amrik Singh, chair of the federation’s strategy board, said the RSS was a political and ideological movement rather than a conventional religious or cultural organisation. He accused it of contributing to division and hostility towards minorities and said hosting Bhagwat without the congregation present sent the wrong message to Sikhs in Britain and communities in India.
Khalsa Jatha British Isles rejected the suggestion that Bhagwat’s entry amounted to an endorsement. Its president, Gurpreet Singh Anand, said Bhagwat had visited for darshan and that a gurdwara was open to everyone, regardless of political or ideological belief, provided Sikh maryada was observed.
“Allowing someone to enter a gurdwara should not be confused with endorsing that person, their organisation or their politics,” Anand said. He added that Bhagwat had not addressed the congregation, held a political meeting or received institutional approval from Khalsa Jatha.
Anand acknowledged that Sikh opinion on Bhagwat and the RSS was divided, citing concerns among sections of the community over Sikh identity, the treatment of religious minorities, unresolved demands for justice linked to 1984 and the treatment of Sikh activists and dissenting voices.
He nevertheless argued that Sikh institutions could combine hospitality with disagreement. “Hospitality does not require silence, and dialogue does not amount to surrendering our principles or our distinct identity,” he said.
The Indian Workers Association said its opposition to Bhagwat’s visit was directed at ideology rather than Hinduism or Hindus. It said its principles included secularism, democracy, equality and social justice, and opposition to racism, communalism and discrimination.
The association said its central disagreement concerned the RSS conception of Hindutva and Hindu Rashtra. It also acknowledged that the RSS describes “Hindu” as a broad civilisational identity rather than a religious test, but said that interpretation did not resolve its objections.
The IWA said Bhagwat and the RSS were entitled to express their views peacefully and opponents had the same democratic right to protest.
Bhagwat, meanwhile, used a London community event to argue that the RSS conception of Hindu Rashtra did not require religious or cultural uniformity. He said diversity should be accepted and that “uniformity is not necessary for unity”.
The RSS has presented Bhagwat’s overseas programme, marking its centenary, as an effort to promote dialogue, social harmony and unity in diversity. The tour has included engagements in the United States, Canada and Britain.
Campaign groups including Hindus for Human Rights UK urged London Mayor Sadiq Khan to condemn the visit. Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn opposed Bhagwat’s presence in Britain and described the RSS as authoritarian and discriminatory, while Conservative MP Bob Blackman took the position, saying he was pleased to hear Bhagwat’s views. The contrasting interventions widened the dispute beyond Sikh institutions and placed the tour within an argument over how Britain should engage with overseas political and ideological organisations.
The visit had already attracted political scrutiny before the Parliament Square demonstration. Labour MP Nadia Whittome asked the Home Office whether Bhagwat’s planned entry had been assessed against Britain’s unacceptable-behaviours criteria for exclusion and the government’s commitment to block extremists and hate preachers.
