August 2020
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Endogamy and assimilation: Parsis in India
Prompted by a Guardian profile of Parsis, Razib Khan argues they combine high assimilation with high separateness, citing genetic work that finds them closest to Iranians and Caucasus populations, with…
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What is indigenous about Indian civilization?
Razib Khan asks readers what is indigenous to Indian civilisation, noting that potatoes, tomatoes and chillies are New World crops now central to its cuisine, and whether North Indian Hindu…
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Open Thread – 08/08/2020 – Brown Pundits
Open thread of 8 August 2020. The opening note says the moderator is travelling, asks commenters to stay in control, and asks that threads not devolve into arguments over racial…
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Browncast Episode 118: Professor Ahmet Kuru, Islam, Authoritarianism and Underdevelopment
A BrownCast episode with Professor Ahmet Kuru of San Diego State, author of Islam, Authoritarianism and Underdevelopment, discussing his book and the causes of the relative decline of the Islamicate…
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Hindu conversions to Islam in Pakistan
Razib Khan, citing a news report, argues that conversions of poor Hindus in rural Sindh, which is about 10% Hindu, are better explained by desperation and discrimination than by pure…
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Belief and Reclamation
The Emissary frames the 5 August 2020 Ayodhya temple foundation as a civilisation’s long-awaited reclamation, retelling Ram’s journey in the Ramayana and arguing that its classification as itihasa, history rather…
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A better commenting system
Razib Khan asks readers for suggestions, pros and cons on a better commenting system, saying he will keep WordPress and will delete off-topic comments.
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Ram temple
Razib Khan, saying he knows only the superficial story of the Ayodhya temple foundation, points to Slate and Al Jazeera pieces on it and on Modi’s role, and asks readers…
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Long long with caste be a bar? Perhaps more than three centuries!
Razib Khan says genetic data surprised him: jati groups are sharply distinct, endogamy is deep and ancient, and steppe ancestry roughly correlates with caste status, so he argues caste may…
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Browncast Adjacent
Razib Khan tabulates the podcasts Apple lists as ‘Related’ to the Browncast, noting which reciprocate and which have exchanged guests with it, and that the pattern recalls reciprocity in the…
