Mohan Bhagwat begins UK outreach with temple, gurdwara visits in London

London,UPDATED: Sep 4, 2026 20:18 IST

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat has begun the UK leg of his overseas tour with visits to temples and a gurdwara in London, the organisation said on Friday. During the visit, he is expected to meet faith leaders, academics, researchers and other public figures as part of what coordinators described as an effort to share the organisation’s experience of selfless service, social harmony and the vision of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam.

Speaking at a media conference, Sunil Ambekar, Member of the RSS Central Executive Team, and Rohit Ambekar, Convenor of Integral UK and coordinators of the tour, said the London programme carries forward Bhagwat’s message from his US and Canada visits as part of his three-nation RSS centenary outreach. The main event of the UK visit will be a community leaders’ reception and “civilisational dialogue” on Sunday under the theme “Celebration of Oneness”.

As part of his interfaith engagement, Bhagwat has visited Shree Swaminarayan Temple in Willesden and Khalsa Jatha British Isles Gurdwara, and is also due to visit a Jain temple in London, the coordinators said. They added that the Sunday event has been initiated by Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh UK, a Hindu social and cultural organisation established in Britain in 1966, with support from Integral UK. More than 310 community organisations and associations from across the UK are expected to take part.

Bhagwat arrived in London on Wednesday and began his schedule with a series of closed-door roundtables and a large gathering of prominent members of the diaspora from business and politics on Thursday. Referring to the private engagements, Sunil Ambekar said, “The people in the United Kingdom are very interested in understanding about the RSS. Mohan ji addressed all of those points... There was a mixed audience of British citizens of Indian origin and British leaders as well, from Parliament, and there were business leaders, think of millionaires and billionaires in the UK, and other corporations, FTSE 100 companies.”

Sunil Ambekar declined to share further details on the attendees, saying the event was organised with “discretion” to allow for a free-flowing discussion. Asked about concerns raised by some UK-based civil society groups and parliamentarians over Bhagwat’s visit, he said, “We are here for peace, integration, oneness and so we are open for a dialogue with everyone. There can be different voices in a democracy, I think it is very normal to raise such voices.”

He added, “There are a lot of misconceptions because of the basic understanding... Bharat is not like a nation-state political concept. It is a cultural concept. Hindutva is not a fixed concept, but one where there will be respect and belief in the truth for any type of religion or all religious practices. That is Hindutva, that is Bharat. So, I think the trip will help to clear the ideas.”

Bhagwat’s public address to the diaspora on Sunday is expected to be broadcast live, though no interactions with the UK media are being offered. Overall, the UK leg of the tour includes interfaith visits, closed-door discussions and a larger public event centred on the message of oneness.

With PTI Inputs

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