The group says it may communicate with journalists, researchers, academic and policy institutions, civil-society organisations and, “where appropriate, government agencies or officials.”
Within two days of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat arriving on American soil, a group calling itself ‘RSS Friends’ registered with the US Department of Justice as a foreign agent of the RSS, a filing under the US’s Foreign Agents Registration Act shows.
The registration identifies the RSS, with its headquarters in New Delhi as the group’s “foreign principal”. The ‘registrant’, RSS Friends gave an address in Peachtree Corners, Georgia, and said its proposed work would primarily involve “informational, educational, public-relations, and community-engagement” activities.
The Wire using a data set that maps the Sangh and its affiliates globally, had found that while the RSS has refused to register in India, it has silently got most of its global affiliates to do so. That means that while RSS affiliates have subjected themselves to the laws of many jurisdictions here and abroad, their parent body refuses to do so in India. There has been no explanation for why its standards for registration differ across national boundaries and organisations.
The group says it may communicate with journalists, researchers, academic and policy institutions, civil-society organisations and, “where appropriate, government agencies or officials.” It also lists communicating with administrative entities, public agencies or policymakers on “factual information or perspectives concerning RSS.”
Despite this, the group answered “No” when asked whether its activities would include political activities as defined under the FARA Act, which covers efforts to influence US agencies, officials or sections of the public on policy or on a foreign country’s interests.
In its description of proposed activities, the newly registered group says it would engage in “correcting or responding to information that RSS Friends believes is inaccurate, incomplete, or lacking relevant context.”
The filing lists Rajendra Sonarikar and Jayant Pant as signatories.
The filing further notes that there is no written contract with the RSS. In a supplementary document, the group ticked the box for an arrangement that is the result of neither a formal written contract nor an exchange of correspondence.
In answer to the next question on the “date of the contract or agreement with the foreign principal”, the entry says August 17, 2026.
An appendix says RSS Friends “does not have a written employment, consulting, lobbying, public-relations, or agency agreement with RSS containing specified deliverables, compensation, or detailed operational instructions”.
It adds that this “should not be understood as a representation that no relationship, request, understanding, coordination, authorization, direction, or other relevant factual connection exists,” and that it “will disclose the actual facts relevant to its activities.”
“RSS Friends seeks to conduct its activities openly and transparently. This proposed narrative [the write-up in the appendix] is intended assist in public disclosure concerning the nature of RSS Friends’ relationship, if any, with Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh,” it says.
RSS Friends answered “No” on whether it had engaged in any registrable activity before registering. It also wrote “No” on whether, in the period beginning 60 days before the obligation to register, it had received any money or thing of value or disbursed any in connection with activity for the RSS.
In ‘Exhibit A’ attachment, the group described the RSS as an “unincorporated India-based body of individuals/voluntary association engaged in Hindu cultural, social-service, educational, civic, and ideological activities”. Further, it said that RSS “organized local member groups and training programs, supports community-service and relief initiatives, and promotes the social and Hindu cultural philosophy”.
On August 25, Bhagwat travelled to the US, where the flagship programme of his visit was a speech at Madison Square Garden four days later.
The event had already drawn criticism from New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who said he did not support the gathering and argued that the RSS represented an exclusionary vision of India.
The visit also prompted calls from the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) for Washington to impose targeted sanctions on RSS members and revoke Bhagwat’s visa. The commission alleged that members of RSS-affiliated groups had carried out attacks against religious minorities, including Christians, Dalits, Muslims and Sikhs.
The Ministry of External Affairs had commented that “it [USCIRF] is a biased organisation” that has “for several years … been making misleading and provocative statements about India”.
Also Read: Garba Is Gujarat’s Pride, Let It Be A Source Of Dignity, Not Humiliation
