Several South Asian American organizations and lawmakers are condemning a float that will be on display Sunday at the India Day Parade in New York City, saying it’s overtly anti-Muslim.
The float, announced in a promotional video, will feature a large model of the Ram Mandir, a Hindu temple built on contested religious ground in the north Indian city of Ayodhya. The temple was built on the ruins of a 16th-century mosque, Babri Masjid, which was demolished by Hindu nationalist mobs in 1992.
Widespread riots across India followed in the ‘90s, and thousands of people, primarily Muslims, were killed.
In 2019, India’s Supreme Court greenlit the construction of the Hindu temple on the site, and it was inaugurated earlier this year by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Ayodhya is a holy city for Hindus, and some believe the site of the temple was the birthplace of the deity Ram. But for Muslims, the grand opening represents continued marginalization by Modi’s right-wing Hindu nationalist government.
Previous India Day Parades in New York City have drawn tens of thousands of people. Advocates worry a Ram Mandir float this year will send the wrong message.
“A float celebrating the construction of the Ram Temple would be divisive, and runs counter to the values of New York City,” said a letter to NYC Mayor Eric Adams signed by three South Asian lawmakers in New York: councilmembers Shekar Krishnan and Shahana Hanif, and state assembly member Zohran Mamdani.
This story was originally published in nbcnews.com. Read the full story here.
