Pakistan of the Provinces

We’re currently doing a podcast that is exploring Pakistan and China; I’m really shocked by what I’m hearing.

I predicted after last year’s Pakistan election that the Provincial Parties (which were dynastic) would set off against the military backed Imran Khan aegis (Madinat ethics).

I’m quite impressed by how Pakistan is transforming. I’m also a bit taken aback that it seems a Saffron wave is taking over India. Karan Johan is the last man standing for Islamicate culture in Hindustan.

Finally in Bilawal’s iftar; it’s interesting the Baloch and Pathan parties did not attend. Sindh & Punjab are vested in Pakistan but the periphery not so much (no word on MQM).

Bilawal also needs to lose 10-15kg if he wants to look Presidential whereas Maryam looks transluscent (she really lives up to the Kashmiri stereotype).

Genetic variation across many South Asian communities

Someone in the comments posted the results from The Genomic Formation of South and Central Asia. I put the percentages with a few ratios in a Google doc. I don’t know what a lot of these groups are. Can readers illuminate? We need to be careful about the sample size, but I think there are a lot of interesting patterns in there.

Remember that “Steppe”, “Indus Periphery” and “Onge” are populations artifacts within a model. The way I explain it to people is that rather than focusing on the percentage, look at how the populations vary across the parameters. That is a pretty robust result. No matter what outgroups you’re going to use, Brahmins in most of South Asia seem to have more “West Eurasian” type ancestry than other populations (except in the NW). Because “Indus Periphery” has a minority of “Ancient Ancestral South Indians” (AASI) as part of its ancestry, the “Onge” fraction should be seen as a floor on AASI ancestry (the Onge ancestors diverged from the AASI ~40,000 years ago, so it’s a very large difference).

Continue reading Genetic variation across many South Asian communities

For a Dharmic Brexit and Unity in Diversity

(This reflection-piece was written for an event where I was called as a speaker by Vichaar Manthan – UK in Leicester on `The Role of Dharma in the Post-Brexit Indo-British Relationship’. It looks at the spirit of India, and how the idea of ‘unity in diversity’ has been ingrained in its core, and what UK could obtain from this understanding in a post-Brexit world)

Jaimini, the author of the celebrated Purvamimamsa and Uthara Mimamsa, explains ‘Dharma’ thus `Dharma is that which is indicated by the Vedas as conducive to the highest good’. Dharma comes from the word ‘Dhr’ and related to that which upholds equilibrium and balance in society and the Universe. Dharma is a term that appears in a very fluid manner in the ancient and medieval texts of Indi, particularly the itihas or epics such as the Mahabharata and Ramayana. Krishna and Rama, however, do share the commonality of not just the speaking of and on Dharma but living Dharma. And it is this that ancient Indian philosophy embodies. Not just saying or doing things, for these are but temporary flutterings on the cosmos, but rather orienting one’s existence so that that which balances, that which equilibriates and that which respects the inherent unity that the oriental traditions may see in the Brahman or Tao while the occidental, contemporary, scientific tradition may see as products of the singularity that exploded into form with the Big Bang.

So, in a world full of polarities, dualities, multiplicities and differences what can be regarded as the equilibrium, as the balance and the balanced, as Dharmic? When relativistic physics tells us that space (and its associated dimensions), along with time, is frame dependent and has no absolute aspect while quantum physics talks of an even more fuzzy reality, whose evolution depends on its observation, surely such a balance is tricky to demarcate or highlight. The Dharmic tradition therefore does a highly sensible thing in the process: it decentralizes the resolution of this dilemma. It makes Dharma the operational balance of elements in the Universe as determined by their innate tendencies and natures, or Swadharma. Gandhi may have called this Swaraj (or self-rule) as did Bal Gangadhar Tilak but the idea itself has its roots in the Vedas and Upanishads of India. This is turn neatly comes from the concept of Rta, the natural order of things in the Universe. Just like fire burns, water flows, snakes slither and so on. The more relative truths of these tendencies build up the relational reality of our universe. Currently I am studying the possibility of unifying physics as we know it using a relational reality as the basis. Regardless of the result of this research pursuit with Prof. Brian Josephson (Emeritus Professor, Cavendish Laboratory and Nobel Laureate 1973) at Cambridge, at a human level this presents a more accessible and equally universal gem of wisdom: unity in diversity.

Read more here: https://lincogle.wordpress.com/2019/05/19/for-a-dharmic-brexit-and-unity-in-diversity/

Pakistani Christian teen ‘raped, forcibly converted to Islam’

A teenage Christian girl claims she was raped, forcibly converted to Islam and then married off to a 45-year-old Muslim divorcee in the Pakistani port city of Karachi.

Neha Pervaiz, 15, a resident of Ittehad Town, told ucanews.com about her ordeal. “I was taken by my aunt, a Muslim convert, to her house on April 28 to help her look after her sick son.

But there I was asked to marry a Muslim man named Imran. When I refused, they beat me up and threatened to kill my minor brother who was with me,” Neha said.

“Later I was taken to a room where I was raped by Imran.

They then pressurized me to convert to Islam and marry Imran.“On April 29, I was taken to an Islamic cleric, who asked me to recite Quranic verses and gave me a new name, Fatima.”

Pakistani Christian teen 'raped, forcibly converted to Islam'

Unfortunately, no authentic data is available on forced conversions and forced marriages in Pakistan, but about 1,000 cases involving Hindu and Christian girls were estimated to have taken place in Sindh province alone in 2018, according to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP).

Do they even pretend to care about BAME anymore?

https://twitter.com/barstoolsports/status/1128828665322590208?s=20

I thought the US was a lot more “racially aware” than the UK. I’ve seen countless ads that always put BAME actors in blue-collars roles.

Why didn’t they put a white UBER driver and a black couple in the back? And for those who huff and puff that Art must mirror Life; art never imitates life, have you ever seen an ugly actor? Actors and actresses are order of magnitudes better looking than the rest of the population; it’s a stylised representation of what we want life to be. Continue reading Do they even pretend to care about BAME anymore?

Why Pakistan is Middle Eastern

The arguments around the broader regional framework Pakistan lies in have often centered on cultural/aesthetic similarities or pure geography. Here, I will argue that Pakistan lies in the Middle East using scientific metrics that describe human behavior.

Regional comparisons of this kind have to account for other explanatory variables. For example, comparing Pakistan, where the urban population is less than 40%, to countries like Turkey or Iran, where it is nearly 80% can be confounding. Also, these countries are much richer than Pakistan, in part due to their more urbanized and industrialized economies. Finally, these countries are not based on the plains around large rivers.

Luckily, there is a comparator which is similar to Pakistan in these control variables: Egypt. It is a predominantly rural country, with a per capita income not much higher than that of Pakistan.

We consider Hofstede’s six cultural dimensions. Hofstede gives countries scores along the following metrics: power distance, individualism, masculinity, individualism, uncertainty avoidance, long term orientation and indulgence. Higher numbers indicate a society and culture more oriented towards these values, and lower ones vice versa.

The figure below shows the scores of Egypt (blue), India (violet) and Pakistan (green) on various metrics. We see that along the metrics of individualism, uncertainty avoidance and indulgence, Egypt and Pakistan align very well with each other, but are very different from India. On power distance, Pakistan differs from India and Egypt, on long term orientation, Egypt differs from India and Pakistan, while they score similarly on the masculinity metric.

We see that Indian society is more individualistic and has higher tolerance for uncertainty and risk taking than Egypt and Pakistan. It is also much more indulgent.

From: https://www.hofstede-insights.com/product/compare-countries/

Hofstede attributes India’s scores on individualism and uncertainty to Hindu philosophy. The caste system is certainly an important factor on India’s power distance score. On the other hand, the shared religion of Pakistan and Egypt decisively shapes values regarding individual autonomy, risk aversion and indulgence.

There are other similarities as well. The preeminent minority group in both Pakistan and Egypt are Christians. However, Egyptian Copts are a stronger group with links to the West, but the Pakistani Christians are former Hindu Dalits, who converted during the British rule to unshackle caste chains. In terms of marriage customs, both Pakistan and Egypt see predominantly cousin marriages.

They key difference between Pakistan and Egypt is that Pakistan’s elite speaks English and has a vocal diaspora in Anglo countries. The longer and deeper historical imprint left by Britain has decisively shaped Pakistan, indeed much of the country was settled as canal colonies during British rule. Such a deep British imprint is not seen in Egypt, where the elite was originally Francophone, but an increasing switch to English is underway.

Worry about Climate Change or Family Extinction

Sri Lanka is a little country in the middle of everything. We have to be paranoid. Maybe some think distant political decisions/sanctions dont affect our country (as many others)

example: US sanctions against buying Iran oil.
a) So Sri Lanka is forced to buy Mid East, Saudi Oil.
b) Money goes to the Saudis (and other Mid east countries).
c) Saudis etc buy Weapons/Arms from the US.
d) Part of the Oil/Saudi and ME money is recycled to build Extremist Wahhabi mosques in Sri Lanka.

Who gives a shit about Climate Change and Species Extinction when your family is being bombed out of extinction in real time.

sorry guys,  I am pissed off.

This is why Pakistan is a shit country-

Continue reading This is why Pakistan is a shit country-

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