Elon Musk joins Indian Hindu nationalist lawmaker in anti-Pakistan tirade

Musk's views align with Indian lawmaker from RSS, a group inspired by Adolf Hitler's Nazi party.

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Elon Musk has endorsed an anti-Pakistan narrative peddled by an Indian lawmaker linked to the Hindu nationalist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a party documented to have sought inspiration from Adolf Hitler and his Nazi party.

RSS lawmaker Priyanka Chaturvedi sparked the controversy by stating that the blame for grooming gangs in the UK should not be attributed to Asia as a whole, but rather to "one rogue nation"—Pakistan.

The Indian right-wing nationalist lawmaker’s comments were echoed by SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who publicly declared it as "true" on social media, aligning himself with Chaturvedi's view.

Priyanka Chaturvedi herself belongs to the RSS, a far-right Hindu Supremacist political party whose origins and leaders have been documented to have sought inspiration from Adolf Hitler’s Nazi ideology.

A controversial book written by RSS leader M.S. Golwalkar We or Our Nationhood Defined, had inextricably tied RSS to the fascist ideology of Nazi Germany and highlighted how the RSS advocated for India to be a Hindu-only nation, with minorities treated in a manner similar to the Nazis' treatment of Jews.

The debate over the grooming gangs in the UK have recently intensified after Labour leader and Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s remarks, in which he recalled overseeing the first prosecution of an Asian grooming gang during his tenure as head of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) between 2008 and 2013.

Chaturvedi criticised Starmer's narrative, questioning the tendency to link the issue of grooming gangs to entire ethnic communities.

Musk also voiced his disapproval of Starmer, who has rejected calls for a new national inquiry, instead advocating for the implementation of recommendations from an earlier seven-year inquiry into child sexual exploitation.

Amid this debate, Chaturvedi’s rhetoric takes on added significance, with Musk’s involvement aligning with far-right stereotypes often perpetuated in the media.

Musk’s backing of the anti-Pakistan narrative comes at a time when his company, Starlink, is reportedly engaged in discussions with Pakistani authorities over licensing issues related to satellite internet services.

Some people were commenting online that perhaps Musk’s comments were a tactic to exert pressure on Pakistani authorities and gain leverage.

Meanwhile, a 2020 UK Home Office report had earlier challenged the narrative that grooming gangs are predominantly made up of men of Pakistani origin.

The report highlighted that, while high-profile cases in towns like Rotherham, Rochdale, and Telford have involved gangs of mostly Pakistani ethnicity, most child sexual abuse gangs in the UK are composed of white men under the age of 30.

The paper stressed that there was no conclusive evidence that grooming gangs are disproportionately made up of Asian offenders.

This research contradicted previous statements from far-right politicians like former UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman, who has repeatedly portrayed grooming gangs as a problem rooted in British-Pakistani communities with different "cultural values."

Braverman’s comments were criticised by child protection experts who argue that such divisive and racially charged narratives undermine efforts to tackle the crime and potentially make children less safe.

Experts have warned against the spread of “misinformation, racism, and division” in the context of grooming gangs.

More than 50 researchers, along with organisations such as the NSPCC and Victim Support, signed a letter urging politicians to avoid making inaccurate or harmful claims that could fuel division and harm child protection efforts.

On the other hands many news outlets, mostly based in India, have continued to peddle the false narrative of Pakistani men being the dominant factor in cases related to child abuse.