New Group RSS Friends Registers With US Justice Department To Represent RSS

A new organisation, RSS Friends has registered with the US Department of Justice as a foreign agent representing the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, naming the organisation as its “foreign principal” in disclosures filed on August 27, Hindustan Times reported.

The registration comes after the RSS previously denied hiring lobbyists in the United States. The filing lists its headquarters at Keshav Kunj in Delhi and outlines plans for informational, educational and public-relations activities.

RSS Friends said it had no written employment or lobbying agreement with the RSS specifying compensation or deliverables. It nevertheless stated that the absence of such a document should not be interpreted as an absence of a relationship.

“The absence of a written contract should not be understood as a representation that no relationship, request, understanding, coordination, authorisation, direction, or other relevant factual connection exists. RSS Friends will disclose the actual facts relevant to its activities,” the filing reads.

The organisation registered under the Foreign Agents Registration Act days before RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat addressed a rally at Madison Square Garden in New York. The RSS, the BJP’s ideological parent, is celebrating its centenary this year.

The disclosures describe an outreach programme that could include engagement with the public, media, researchers, policy institutions and officials.

“RSS Friends’ proposed activities are primarily informational, educational, public-relations, and community-engagement activities. Consistent with its governing documents and applicable law, it may communicate with members of the public, journalists, media organisations, researchers, academic and policy institutions, community leaders, civil-society organisations, and, where appropriate, government agencies or officials,” the filing states.

On its website, RSS Friends says it aims to counter “misconceptions about the RSS” promoted by “politically motivated actors”. It claims these have had “negative repercussions for the Indian diaspora, particularly Hindu Americans”.

The domain rssfriends.org was registered in 2017, but the organisation’s founding date and the launch date of the website’s current version remain unclear, HT reported.

Three individuals—Rajendra Sonarikar, Pratikkumar Suthar and Jayant Pant—are named in the Justice Department filings. Suthar’s LinkedIn profile says he “coordinates global outreach in the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)” and has held the role since March 2024. He is based in New Delhi; the locations of Sonarikar and Pant could not be established, according to HT.

The disclosures follow an earlier controversy over lobbying conducted on the RSS’s behalf. In November 2025, Prism reported that Squire Patton Boggs had been hired through State Street Strategies to “introduce the RSS to US officials”.

Subsequent Justice Department disclosures showed that Squire Patton Boggs received $330,000 for work on behalf of the RSS in 2025, HT reported. The RSS categorically denied hiring lobbyists in America. The firm later disclosed that its contract had been terminated on September 30, 2025.

The issue prompted criticism from Congress. “This is hardly the first time that the RSS has betrayed national interest,” party leader Jairam Ramesh said at the time.

RSS Friends’ registration also follows visits by senior RSS leaders to the United States. Before Bhagwat’s August trip, general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale toured the country in April. Hosabale described the visit as an effort to engage “influential opinion makers” in Western nations and explain the organisation’s mission and objectives.