Elon Musk has endorsed an anti-Pakistan narrative spread by an Indian lawmaker linked to the Hindu nationalist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a party documented to have looked to Adolf Hitler and his Nazi party for inspiration.
RSS lawmaker Priyanka Chaturvedi sparked controversy by claiming that the blame for grooming gangs in the UK should not be placed on Asia as a whole, but rather on “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 to be “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 MS Golwalkar, We or Our Nationhood Defined, had inextricably linked the RSS with the fascist ideology of Nazi Germany and highlighted how the RSS advocated India being an exclusively Hindu nation, with minorities treated similarly to the Nazis’ treatment of the Jews.
The debate over grooming gangs in the UK has intensified recently following remarks by Labor leader and Prime Minister Keir Starmer, in which he recalled overseeing the first prosecution of an Asian grooming gang during his tenure as head of the UK Grooming Gang. Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) between 2008 and 2013.
Chaturvedi criticized Starmer’s narrative, questioning the tendency to link the issue of grooming gangs to entire ethnic communities.
Musk also expressed disapproval of Starmer, who rejected calls for a new national investigation and instead advocated for implementing recommendations from a previous seven-year investigation into child sexual exploitation.
Amid this debate, Chaturvedi’s rhetoric takes on added importance, and Musk’s participation aligns with far-right stereotypes often perpetuated in the media.
Musk’s endorsement of the anti-Pakistan narrative comes at a time when his company, Starlink, is reportedly in talks with Pakistani authorities over licensing issues related to satellite internet services.
Some people commented online that perhaps Musk’s comments were a tactic to put pressure on Pakistani authorities and gain influence.
Meanwhile, a 2020 UK Home Office report had previously challenged the narrative that grooming gangs are predominantly made up of men of Pakistani origin.
The report highlighted that while high-profile cases in cities such as Rotherham, Rochdale and Telford involved gangs of largely Pakistani ethnicity, the majority of child sexual abuse gangs in the UK are made up of white men under 30. .
The newspaper noted that there is no conclusive evidence that grooming gangs are disproportionately made up of Asian criminals.
This research contradicted previous statements by far-right politicians such as 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 criticized by child protection experts, who argue that such divisive and racially charged narratives undermine efforts to tackle 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, alongside organizations such as the NSPCC and Victim Support, have signed a letter urging politicians to avoid making inaccurate or harmful claims that could fuel division and harm child protection efforts.
On the other hand, many media outlets, mostly based in India, have continued to spread the false narrative that Pakistani men are the dominant factor in cases related to child abuse.
