49 thoughts on “Open Thread – Brown Pundits”

  1. Why was there so much political violence in Bengal.They make up and Bihar look peaceful.

  3. Another good piece(lot of agreements and disagreements)

    https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2019/05/hindu-nationalism-narendra-modi-india-election/590053/

    “the transformation currently under way in Hinduism is among the most significant in modern history. It has much in common with similar changes taking place in Islam, Buddhism, and Christianity: Why are so many radical Islamists poorly versed in the Koran? How can Buddhist monks sworn to nonviolence lead pogroms in Myanmar and Sri Lanka? Why do evangelical Christians care so much about issues never mentioned by Jesus, such as abortion and homosexuality? The answer is not always hypocrisy. For many today, religion is less a matter of what you believe, or even what you do, than of who you are..”

  4. The real question is who wins the award for Best Indian Lok Sabha 2019 campaign song. The nominees are:

    BJP:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aV0i10A5dqU
    Congress: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOlB-EIsVgU
    TMC: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oScJWNi6vT8
    DMK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYxQ1WQ4YeY
    YSRCP:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWGMXR2WTKA
    BJD: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avHNRQ5utZY

    I like the TMC song the best, even though don’t understand the lyrics. 🙂

  5. I’ve been reading in some sources that Hinduism was nearly dead by the 8th century AD before Adi Shankara revived it. Were things that bad for Hinduism by that time? Was Buddhism the dominant religion at that time, at least among large parts of India?

    1. That doesn’t make sense. How could we beat Buddhism, which is basically Hinduism purpose-built for dissemination?

      1. If anyone has some good academic material (that doesn’t regurgitate Marxist bromides) on 1st millennium Hinduism, I’d love to read it! I just don’t know much of where to start.

        2. I’m not sure how useful or workable you may find this to be but

          If you really want to learn about that kind of material you should consider picking up Sanskrit (if you haven’t already).

          Then a good introductory text may be Adi Shankara’s commentary of Bhagavad Gita.

          There is Sarvadarshanasamgraha by Vidyaranya, which is like an overview of the major Hindu darshanas (although a bit bowed towards Advaita) around the 14th Century.

          I mention this because working with primary texts helps you to cut through the fluff, and you will be able to approach later academic material with a sharper eye on the insertion of “Marxist bromides”.

  6. Disappointed that Western organs are responding to the Modi election with the usual bromides that are basically copypastes of stuff they’ve been writing since 2014. Would have thought they’d have got some new lines over the past 5 years. Guess not.

    It is annoying to see the monotonous BJP-bashing, day in and day out. I’m not here to shill for the party, but we could do with more accurate and multifaceted takes.

  7. I’m a South Indian originally from Tamil Nadu who is broadly sympathetic to Modi, but I still feel conflicted at the thought of the South voting for the BJP. I just think of the BJP as a Northern party, and perhaps I am too parochial, but I prefer that the South be governed and represented by our own Dravidian parties. Giving support to the NDA in a coalition is one thing, but I just feel like something culturally distinct has been lost when the BJP comes to power in places like Bangalore, or perhaps even Chennai in the future.

    1. Except for Rajasthan, Gujarat, and MP, all northern states have historically had strong regional parties. BJP winning in these states is as much a loss (or gain) for them.

      As India matures, you’d hope to see more deviation between results for the state and central elections. And I think this would be a good thing from a federal perspective.

    2. Dravidian ideology is scum. Its founder Periyar was literally a colonial stooge who hated the Tamil language, the religion of the land, its icons. Its funny the confabulations Dravidianists have to go through, in order to reconcile Periyar’s hatred for TN culture with ridiculous Xenophobia os “muh lemuria, muh pristine culture untainted by Aryans.

      “our own Dravidian parties” stop it already – you do not know anything of, let alone have the right to represent, Andhra, Karnataka, Telangana, KL.

    1. Pappu is no king…as a better man than myself said on the other post, comparing him to Duryodhana is an insult to Duryodhana.

    1. See, this is what I mean. I’m sure you would give a labyrinthine discussion of Islam and Islamic identity when pressed, but you seem to delight in reducing “Hindu Identity” to criminals and cretins.

      1. Its a joke based on all the “Hindus reasserting our identity!” nonsense propagated in the wake of Modi’s win.

        There’s a lot wrong with modern-Hindu identity, but most Hindus obviously don’t indulge in or support this.

        1. “nonsense propagated”

          “lot wrong with modern-Hindu identity”

          You’re just digging yourself deeper into the hole, since you don’t seem to have anything good to say about Hindu identity to balance out your attacks, not even perfunctorily.

          I think I’ve made my point.

          1. “I think I’ve made my point”

            Agreed, you’ve done a great job at showing that Muslims aren’t the only ones who can’t take either criticism or a joke.

  12. Posting this here as Xerxes/Zach is deleting comments on his post that are challenging his polemics and bias:

    Well, Zach failed the non-Muslim but Muslimophile liberal test by deleting my comment and even more reasonable comments form Indphilius on his “The Hindu liberal test” thread.

    Is hamam me Turan ka shehanshah to nanga hai 🙂

  13. watched a few youtubes while working of westerners who moved to india for marriage. here’s something i notice: when talking in english they head-bob!

    2. I’ve had several western colleagues do post-doctoral stints in India. Two of them definitely acquired a head bobble by the time they left!

      1. Speaking of which — does anyone have a worthwhile account or history of the head bobble? Pakistanis don’t do it. Not so many of the older people in my (Marathi) family do it either. My parents do it very rarely. All the frequent head bobblers among my kin are younger folk who were either raised or spent a significant chunk of their lives working in Mumbai.

        I figure it’s like the Australian twang. Super contagious. My conjecture is that it was a southern thing that spread north after greater national integration that saw mass migrations from people from different parts of India? I could be totally wrong though! Any conjectures/ clarifications?

  14. Five soldiers injured in attack led by Ali Wazir, Mohsin Dawar: ISPR | Breaking News | BOL News

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PumzsXKuUBg

    The Tussle Between Mohsin, Ali Wazir and PTM and Pakistan Army
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2Fh80x6-x8

    Comment: Punjabi army propaganda videos. Wazir and Dawar have been arrested.

    https://www.samaa.tv/news/2019/05/mna-ali-wazir-arrested-3-killed-in-north-waziristan-reports/

    Tick tock. Tick tock, civil war, civil war.

    1. There won’t be a civil war. The Pakistani state is very talented at suppressing internal dissent. There will, however, be a deadweight economic/military loss, as Pakistan pays the opportunity cost of putting its resources to better use.

  16. Serial blasts rock Kathmandu; 2 killed, 15 injured

    https://www.news18.com/news/india/serial-blasts-rock-kathmandu-2-killed-15-injured-272045.html

    “A year after the Maoists signed a peace pact with the Government ending their violent guerrilla war, a series of bombs exploded on Sunday afternoon in at least five busy areas of Kathmandu valley.”

    Comment: There have been reports of pamphlets of Netra Bikram Chand-led Communist Party of Nepal were found at the site of blast. Of course the Noble laureate Amartya Sen is not going to write an article in the New Yuck Times or (Out of) Time magazine about the handiwork of his Marxist goons.

    Marxism is the opium of intellectuals: Vamadeva Shastri

  21. Media coverage of the recent events in Waziristan

    Here is Washington Pest peddling Punjabi army propaganda

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/pakistan-arrests-3-suspects-in-2-raids-on-militant-hideouts/2019/05/27/82364ad0-8039-11e9-b585-e36b16a531aa_story.html

    and here is the TRUTH from Al Jazeera

    https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/05/killed-military-gunfire-pakistan-rights-protest-190526120937740.html

    Also, scroll down for Mohsin Dawar’s own narration of the events subtitled in English

    https://twitter.com/hashtag/StateAttackedPTM?src=hash&lang=en

    Human Rights Commission of Pakistan has demanded an immediate release of Ali Wazir.

    https://www.dawn.com/news/1484906/hrcp-demands-parliamentary-commission-on-north-waziristan-incident

  24. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vN0APt_pDcM

    “We call on the Chinese government to release all Uighurs and other Muslim minorities arbitrarily detained throughout Xinjiang so they may return home to celebrate the Eid al-Fitr holiday with their loved ones,” said Ortagus on May 29, 2019. ”

    Oops! Pakistan’s iron clad friends have been cited for the biggest human rights abuses against Muslims in the current era. What about the Pashtuns and the Balochis Madam?

  25. What’s up with the whole recent PTM-Pakistan army shoot out?

    I feel i had more trust on Pak army to “handle” the whole PTM movement than it warranted . Perhaps i was wrong and the army has not really learnt much from older sagas. But then seeing Indian’s army incompetence in the whole F-16 -Abhinandan saga , looks like my trust on army’s capabilities on either side of the border was way off the mark.

  28. The biggest ‘Brown’ event of the last 4 years, the cricket World Cup, is happening right now.

    I think it deserves some attention.

  29. Tirthankar Roy has put a new book out on the economy of the British Raj. How British Rule Changed India’s Economy, Palgrave Macmillan.

    This man is truly a virtuoso, able to piss off both nationalists and secular-socialists alike.

  30. https://www.asiatimes.com/2019/05/opinion/military-risking-another-debacle-like-east-pakistan/

    Military risking another debacle like East Pakistan

    “The formerly voiceless Pashtuns have put their weight behind the PTM, especially youth. It is time that the state stop using force, as movements like the PTM can never be eliminated by violence. ”

    https://www.rferl.org/a/pakistan-arrests-second-pashtun-lawmaker-over-attack-on-troops/29972291.html

    Pakistan Arrests Second Pashtun Lawmaker Over ‘Attack’ On Troops

    “”Upholding the rule of law is critical for maintaining security and protecting human rights in North Waziristan,” said Brad Adams, Asia director of the New York-based rights body.”

Comments are closed.

Brown Pundits