Inaccurate Complaints from Halfway Around the World

By Jim Geraghty

Thursday, December 04, 2025

 

Somebody in India didn’t like my coverage while I was there and accuses me of “launder[ing] the [Rashtriya Swayamsevak] Sangh’s violent history” and “carrying forward many of the RSS’s oft-repeated lies.”

 

Once again, somebody criticizes what I wrote without linking to what I wrote, ensuring that his readers cannot click on through and check for themselves. This is not hard. It’s HTML, not alchemy. Criticism of me without linking to what I wrote happens fairly regularly, and when it does, it is a surefire signal that what I’ve written is about to be egregiously misconstrued or inaccurately described by the person criticizing me.

 

I’ve written three major pieces about India since I returned: a Morning Jolt focusing on India’s wary perspective on China, a Washington Post column focusing on the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh or RSS organization, and a magazine piece covering a variety of topics, from serious to lighthearted. I also discussed the highs and lows of the trip with my Three Martini Lunch podcast co-host Greg Corombos.

 

This latest guy’s gripe is with the Post column. He writes, “The article depicted the RSS in exactly the manner the Hindutva militia would have desired.”

 

Yeah, that’s some bullcrap, pal, and I’m not just saying that because some RSS fans were less than thrilled with certain aspects of the column. (The fact that both sides are criticizing you is not a guarantee that you got it right, but it is a sign that you weren’t particularly one-sided in your coverage.)

 

Let’s start with the headline: “The RSS is a warning to all nations where populism is spiking.” Does that sound all that bright and cheery to you? That’s “exactly the manner that the RSS would want to be depicted,” huh?

 

From my column:

 

The RSS, not surprisingly, has its share of critics who see ominous implications in its power.

 

In 1948, Mohandas Gandhi was assassinated by Nathuram Godse, who had been a member of the RSS. Shortly thereafter, the organization was banned for about a year and a half, with the government declaring that “members of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh have indulged in acts of violence involving arson, robbery, dacoity, and murder and have collected illicit arms and ammunitions.” Historian Andrew Robinson has written, “Modi exerted a populist spell over Hindus reminiscent of past fascist leaders such as Benito Mussolini, whose regime undoubtedly inspired the Hindu nationalist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh in the 1920s and 1930s, which later strongly influenced the youthful Modi.”

 

Hey, do you think everybody over in the RSS was doing cartwheels about my quoting a critic who compared them to Mussolini’s regime?

 

If I’m “launder[ing] the RSS’s violent history,” why am I mentioning all this?

 

My big conclusion:

 

For those recruited into this movement, it’s easy to see the group’s appeal — instilling India’s men with pride and a sense of duty. If you’re not in the RSS or one of its affiliated organizations, and don’t fit into its vision of what India ought to be, the group’s rise to power and close ties to Modi are unnerving at best and potentially terrifying. Their influence is seemingly everywhere, and their centenary demonstrates they’re built to last. Nationalism is a powerful and volatile force, easily turned against minority groups that are easy to scapegoat.

 

This guy’s further evidence that I’m some RSS-reputation launderer is that I, along with the other U.S. journalists on the trip, stood up and waved when my name was called by the announcer welcoming guests.

 

“They all seemed happy sitting on the stage,” a reporter covering the event for an international news agency told me. “When their names were announced, they appeared more than willing to stand up and get introduced.”

 

What was I supposed to do, pal, fold my arms and refuse to stand? Scowl? Storm out?

 

The writer’s previous publications make clear he can’t stand the RSS. You want to criticize that organization? Go right ahead. But don’t hallucinate a tone to my coverage completely different from the one that was actually there.