Anti-Hindu Media

When I was in India I read the English language newspapers, which were commonly available, particularly at the hotels where I sometimes stayed, and noted many of the magazines as well. I discovered that the press often spoke of the danger of "Hindu fundamentalism" referring mainly to RSS groups. The idea they projected was that such Hindu groups would oppress religious minorities and put an end to democracy and secularism in the country. They were dangerous, violent and bigoted.

According to the Times of India in Bombay, for example, RSS and its Sangha family were militant, fascist, and chauvinistic. I was both disturbed and perplexed by these remarks. Either my interaction with these Hindu groups was misleading or these negative opinions were totally wrong. Was I, a person of liberal and leftist views going back to my youth – a pacifist, vegetarian, and ecologist – becoming a stooge for right wing Hindus plotting pogroms against minorities in India, who if they came to power would create an oppressive and dictatorial state?