September 2020
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Brahmanism Versus Brahminism
The Emissary separates Brahman, the metaphysical absolute, from the brahmin priestly caste, and says he prefers ‘Vedic Dharma’ to ‘Brahmanism’, which he finds fair as a label for scriptural Hinduism,…
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What is “Brahmanical” in Indian Patriarchy ?
Nachiketa examines the slogan ‘Smash Brahmanical Patriarchy’ after Jack Dorsey’s 2018 photo-op, arguing that ‘Brahmanical’ has become a catch-all political label and probing how much of Indian patriarchy can fairly…
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Dammed it you dont: The hydraulic origins of the divergence between the Raj, India and Pakistan
The author argues that attitudes to water explain the divergence of the Raj, India and Pakistan: the Gangetic plain needed no dams, peninsular India did, and India’s later dam building…
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Browncast – Cliff Smith and Sam Westrop: The Origins of South Asian Islamism
BrownCast: Cliff Smith and Sam Westrop on the origins of South Asian Islamism.
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Religious books in Hotel rooms
Nachiketa recalls finding Bibles and Qurans in the rooms of Kenyan wildlife lodges, learns it is common in the United States, and wonders why scriptures are placed in hotels, contrasting…
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Pakistan and India: Why Did They Diverge?
Omar Ali reproduces a Twitter thread by @FrankBullit67 on why India and Pakistan diverged after Partition, with his own comments under each section, and adds that the two may not…
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Troubles and politics of the billionaire author
Nachiketa, a Rowling fan, argues the outrage over Troubled Blood was driven largely by people who had not read it, and reads the 888-page novel himself before judging both the…
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When language replacement occurs with minority demographic impact
A ‘core dump’ of examples where a language spread with little genetic impact, including Hungarian with perhaps 1 to 10 per cent Ugric ancestry, most Romance languages, and Turkic in…
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Open Thread – 09/19/2020 – Brown Pundits
Open thread of 19 September 2020, opening with a recommendation of Richard Eaton’s India in the Persianate Age, plans to read more primary sources, and links to podcasts with Matthew…
