West not, want not

The World Council of Churches is not exactly a shakha, but that would hardly bother RSS leader Ram Madhav. He was in Geneva last week holding forth on the “Hindu perspective” at a meet organised by the Christian body. He also went to Tel Aviv, considered by many in the RSS as its “natural constituency”, to have discussions on “counter-terrorism”. These visits only added to the former RSS spokesperson’s image as a newly minted globe-trotter. A couple of months ago, he was in the US interacting with the State Department officials on—what else—the nuclear deal. He then addressed students of political science at Yale University. Known for his contempt for everything “videshi” and “western”, Madhav is, however, known as the organisation’s modern face—a laptop and high-end cell-phone keep him connected with the world.