Take 5 Minutes: Ask Madison Square Garden to Cancel Mohan Bhagwat’s Appearance
On August 29, Mohan Bhagwat, the head of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), is scheduled to appear at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
We are asking New Yorkers, Hindu Americans, and people of conscience everywhere to contact Madison Square Garden and ask its leadership to cancel the event.
It can take just five minutes.
CALL MADISON SQUARE GARDEN
Guest Relations: 212-465-6225
You can also call MSG’s general number at 212-465-6000 and ask to be connected to Guest Relations.
What should I say?
You do not need to be an expert on the RSS. You do not need to debate anyone. Just tell Madison Square Garden why you believe hosting Mohan Bhagwat is wrong and ask that your message be passed to management.
Here is a sample:
“Hi, I’m calling to ask Madison Square Garden to cancel Mohan Bhagwat’s August 29 appearance. Bhagwat is the head of the RSS, the organization at the center of India’s Hindu nationalist movement. I do not believe this politics of religious exclusion should be celebrated at Madison Square Garden. Please record my concern and pass my request to MSG management. Thank you.”
If you are a New Yorker, tell them.
If you are Hindu, you might add:
“I’m Hindu, and Mohan Bhagwat and the RSS do not represent me or the Hinduism I believe in.”
If you have attended concerts, Knicks or Rangers games, or other events at Madison Square Garden, you can tell them that too.
Speak in your own voice. Personal messages are more powerful than everyone reading exactly the same script.
What will the call be like?
One of our members called MSG’s general number and was connected with Guest Relations. The entire call took about five minutes.
A staff member listened to the concern and said the message would be passed to the appropriate people. There was no promise that MSG would take action.
Your experience may be different. You may have to wait or ask to be connected to Guest Relations.
Be courteous to the person who answers. They are not the person who made the decision to host the event.
They may tell you that Harry styles is performing at 8 pm that day. You can tell them that the Mihan Bhagwat event is a private event at 2 pm, one they should cancel.
You can simply:
Say you are calling about Mohan Bhagwat’s August 29 appearance.
Say you want Madison Square Garden to cancel it.
Briefly explain why it matters to you.
Ask that your message be recorded and shared with MSG leadership.
Thank the person who takes your call.
One respectful call is enough.
YOU CAN ALSO EMAIL
Subject: Please Cancel Mohan Bhagwat’s August 29 Appearance
You can use the same message you used on the phone, but we encourage you to personalize it.
Why are we asking MSG to act?
Mohan Bhagwat leads the RSS, the organization at the heart of India’s Hindu nationalist movement.
For a century, the RSS has pursued a vision of India as a Hindu nation in which religious minorities, particularly Muslims and Christians, have faced an increasingly hostile politics of exclusion and unequal belonging.
We reject the claim that this movement speaks for Hindus.
And we cannot let a politics of fear and exclusion come into the heart of New York City, wrap itself in the language of unity, and ask New York to applaud.
New York is a city of immigrants, of every faith and no faith. It is a city whose greatness comes from the idea that all of us belong.
Madison Square Garden should live up to that New York.
AFTER YOU CALL
Help others take action.
Share our campaign and tell your friends:
“I called Madison Square Garden. It took five minutes. Will you call too?”
If you post about your call, tag @Hindus4HR so we can help amplify it.
Call MSG Guest Relations: 212-465-6225