A few of us authors have been actively discussing the future of Brown Pundits;ย the space, the tone, and the deeper ideas weโre engaging. It started informally on our WhatsApp group, but the questions are foundational: What kind of platform is BP becoming? What should it strive to be? And what kinds of ideas does it host best?
At its best, Brown Pundits is a bridge; across nations, faiths, ideologies, and lived experiences. Itโs a space where one can be deeply Indian, wholly Pakistani, broadly Bangladeshi, or diasporic and disillusioned but still belong. But like any bridge, it needs conscious upkeep. If a conversation leans too far in one direction, it doesnโt stretch, it collapses inward.
Some contributors feel the platform has become overly shaped by one ideological current. Others argue that the real problem isnโt dominance, but disengagement ; those who want plurality must also show up. And both perspectives can be true.
Anything on the WhatsApp you’re able to post here?
Sry I’ve been out for a bit.
Quickly scrolling through, the comments seem to be in the same vein as the last few weeks. It’s a mystery to me why people still want to retread the same ruts. At this point it feels like low level attention seeking which is best starved rather than encouraged.
The articles need some variance. Personally my wishlist for this space is very much quality over quantity. Let an article breathe, some discussion develop around an idea so that the author enjoys some feedback & a positive virtuous cycle is established.
Also ideally there should be a little bit of alternation, of ideas, type of article, subject. When a raft lists too heavily to the side the desire to get on is far less. Problematically the type of person who wants to balance the space is also very likely to go overboard in his efforts.
there was very interesting thread. .
I do agree with you but some interesting comments did come through.
My pigs take flight desire for this space is actually to catch the articles and issues which are not covered in the mainstream press. A place where hidden gems can be uncovered and enjoyed at leisure. Give a voice and space to the uniquely subcontinental themes which the wider world doesn’t care for or has the desire to cover.
that’s a great take. deep reads?
If you go through the archive of BP, you will find that many of the same debates were being had seven years ago. For example we have debated “was Partition good for Muslims?” umpteen times now. I was usually the sole person arguing the Pakistani Muslim viewpoint against various people arguing (loosely) the Hindu Right viewpoint. It is unfortunately a reality that India Pakistan “flame wars” are what drives engagement a lot of the time.
I personally would like to see coverage of South Asian countries that are not India or Pakistan. We have Sbarrkum who writes about Sri Lanka. It would be nice to have someone write about Bangladesh.
Anish I voided your comment since it just felt too attacking.. please write more calmly
Brown Pundits is a Broad Church
How many hindus come from Pakistan to India seeking refuge? how many Muslims go the other direction?
How many people die from secessionist militancy annually in India vs Pakistan? Balochistan and NWFP EACH see more deaths every week than the entire Thailand-Cambodia affair. Numbers don’t lie, rhetoric does.
Anish I voided a huge part of your comment for excessive emotionalism
This is wrong. I won’t be coming back.
Sorry to lose you – while I welcome the Commentariat. I wonโt be blackmailed you.
Sorry I hate to do this but Kabir has now moved on to replacing my comments with his usual vitriol.
Having your comment voided is one thing, having to see someone else’s words under your name is quite another ball game.
I asked you very politely to refrain from commenting on my posts. Please have the decency to respect that.
I do not like you and I want to minimize my engagement with you.
And I’ve asked you equally politely not to spam post. We are not honouring each other’s wishes but you can atleast continue to observe the rules of engagement on the site that you have already agreed to.
Have the decency to stick to your word at least.
Also replacing my comment with your words is completely beyond the pale.
Yes Kabir – donโt do that โฆ if you have an issue with Indosaurus; u have me on WhatsApp
I do not want him commenting on my posts. This is my red line.
Indosaurus and Nivedita are beyond the pale for me.
Thatโs fine – we can respect that. Iโll ask Indo & Nive to steer clear of your posts but if they do comment let me know so I can ask them ..
XTM does this all the time when he voids comments.
Yes but that is my prerogative- and I never do that to authors, as you know.
My red line is Indosaurus and Nividita commenting on my posts.
I don’t want to engage with them.
He doesn’t. He voids the comment and then adds his own. The way you have left it looks like I am calling ‘brown’ stupid. It was quite a shock.
Yes thatโs wrong fwiw Iโm sorry about that
“Spam” is subjective.
This is not your blog. You are not the admin. I do not report to you.
I’m using extremely simple English to make my point. Get this through your thick head. I DO NOT TAKE ORDERS FROM YOU.
No one may void another author; itโs meant to be referred to me?
Then I’m sorry but I’m out. I am not here to be abused by soft Hindutvadis.
Indosauraus in particular is massively passive aggressive. Nivedita at least calls me an “Islamofascist” to my face. That was an extremely vile insult and I will never forgive her for it.
Kabir that is your prerogative but you could have alerted me these breaches?
I canโt follow every thread etc
I won’t void his comments in future but I do not want him on my posts.
Is that an acceptable compromise?
Thatโs acceptable- but tell me when he (they break) it? Is it just Indosaurus?
Indosaurus and Nivedita.
I have no grudges against anyone else.
not entirely true, is it.
What do you mean?
Look Kabir, this passive aggressiveness is something you have started to see in everything I write.
I’ve tried to explain this repeatedly, once you designate someone as an enemy everything and anything they write will seem infuriating.
There are times when I disagree with you and there are many times I take the pains to point out you’re being hypocritical and many more times when I chide you on boasting about your education, your background and your English.
None of this is passive aggressive
.
A lot of my comments have nothing to do with you or anything you have written and yet you engage with them incessantly. (Maybe because you find them passive aggressive?)
Consider that if you post incessantly on the site and ask me to not comment on any of them, is it so unreasonable for me to ask you to post less?
Why is your request ‘polite’ and mine is an ‘order’?
Sir you are no one to ask me to “post less”. This is not your blog. You have no power here. What is so difficult for you to understand about this?
You are free to post as much as you want. I will not comment on your posts. Stay in your lane and I’ll stay in mine.
Your entire argumentation style is passive aggressive. If you can’t see that, it’s not my problem.
Guys we have a compromise; do not comment on each otherโs posts, do not void each otherโs posts.
If you do have a run in – notify me as soon as | as u both have me on Messaging. Agreed?
Most of what Kabir posts is reposted articles, I’m quite happy to keep off his original content and not engage with any of his comments.
I would like to reserve the right to comment on reposted media or cherry picked content to push a particular POV.
Fwiw this isn’t a compromise, basically Kabir is violating an already existing agreement to get what he wants.
Absolutely not. I don’t want to engage with you at all. Stay off my threads.
I have to deal with you on “Open Threads” or on other people’s threads where I have no control.
As for “cherry picked content to push a particular POV”, feel free to push your own POV. I really don’t care. Just don’t do it on my threads.
For the record, the straw that broke the camel’s back was your absolutely asinine comment on my essay about the hijras.
๐ that goes against my desire to reduce the spam posting on the site. I have no desire to get into a POV pissing match.
“Spam” is a subjective judgement. You are no one to impose your judgements on other people.
Why is this so difficult to understand?
Just to elucidate the logic, Kabir will dramatically increase his posting of POV articles if he can cut off any comments by people who disagree with him.
Why bother posting on Open threads free for debate when you can do without it.
How about this? I will not repost articles from The Wire etc (presumably that’s what you’re objecting to?) except on “Open threads”.
You then have no right to complain about the amount of links that I post on “Open Threads”.
Your real issue seems to be that you don’t want to see the left-leaning Indian view represented here. I wrote an entire post calling out the “soft Hindutva” bias of BP as I see it. You’re free to rebut that post.
I will leave anything you write yourself alone. If you post from dawn or wire or someone’s substack or cherry pick Gaurav Lele’s articles, this is public space info which I should be free to comment on.
No. I do not want to see you on any of my threads. That’s the red line.
Take it or leave it. I’m not negotiating on this.
Yes let any non-original pieces be for Open Threads? I think that works.
Furqan posts from the Dead Poet Collective but that is obviously different ..
I think that works?
Theoretically, Kabir has just proven he doesn’t respect an agreement. I don’t want to quibble over every article. Anything Kabir writes with his own mind, I am happy to ignore completely.
It needs to be 100% original, none of this marginal commenting to turn a POV post ‘original’
That’s fine.
I agree
Indosaurus doesn’t seem to know what “passive aggressive” means. I’m going to leave a definition here and then this is the last thing I’ll say on this:
“Passive-aggressive behavior is a way of expressing negative feelings indirectly, often through subtle actions or words rather than direct confrontation. It involves a pattern of avoiding open communication and expressing hostility in a covert or indirect manner. ”
Pretty much all of Indosaurus’s interactions with me fall under this pattern. Nivedita in contrast just directly calls me an “Islamist” or “Islamofascist”.
This comment is passive aggressive :).
Just thought I’d define it for you since you clearly had no idea what it meant ๐
You have called my posts “spam”, complained about me on other people’s threads, made a quite asinine comment focused on the title of my essay about hijras etc.
Do you see the pattern? Or at least see why I would perceive this behavior to be passive aggressive (I’m entitled to my perceptions of your behavior just as you are entitled to your feelings about me).
The only way forward between you and me is absolute disengagement. That or one of us has to leave “Brown Pundits”.
Again, passive aggressive. Do you not see the pattern?
I outlined for you why I am done with you.
This is getting extremely repetitive. Frankly, I don’t have that much free time.
Stay in your lane and stay the hell away from my posts.
I’m not a passive aggressive person. I’m a Punjabi. We tend to be aggressive aggressive.
Only anything you think up yourself, I will assiduously avoid your 100% unadulterated output. If you are referencing other work, then I will feel free.
Also if you insult any other commentator about their English or intellect I shall feel obliged to step in.
That’s not your role on this site.
Who appointed you to it?
Sir, I will void any comments you make on any of my posts. Stay the hell away from me.
This is non-negotiable.
This is a violation of something you have already agreed to. You cannot violate an agreement and then expect to have your way.
Void my comments and deal with the moderator, that’s completely your choice.
I will consider all agreements not in action at the moment and feel free to comment as I like.
Are you thick?
I agreed to not repost things (except on “Open Threads”) in exchange for you and Nivedita refraining from commenting on my posts.
That’s the agreement. Nothing else.
This is like negotiating the Indus Waters Treaty. And if you piss me off, then I (like India) will unilaterally abrogate the treaty. What are you going to do about it? ๐
Also, in case you haven’t noticed, I am a net contributor to this blog. I have recruited authors (Furqan etc). So I have a feeling losing me is going to hurt XTM more than losing you.
Hopefully, he doesn’t have to make that choice if you just stay away from my posts as I have repeatedly asked you (politely and now not so politely).
I’ve said I’m fine with that. 100% your work, no comments by me.
Referencing other people’s work in order to get around the open threads rule opens the thread up to my opinions.
I’m sorry to have to be specific but in a low trust environment it is better to spell things out.
So then why did you make that stupid comment on my essay about hijras? That violates your own rule. Don’t do it again.
Book reviews by definition are “referencing other people’s work”.
The only thing I agreed to is not to repost things from “The Wire” or “DAWN” etc. That was a concession on my part. I will not be conceding anything else.
As you can see, I’m an extremely tough negotiator.
Also no voiding of my comments ever, you must refer to x.t.m
You are not to ever comment on my threads. Get that? If I see a comment from you, I will void it. No questions asked.
Sir you’re not going to win against me on this blog. Now stop trying to piss me off.
I’m really sorry that I have re-balanced this blog and brought in Pakistani authors so that your soft Hindutva pro-Modi view is not being coddled here. Take it up with the moderator.
100% your original work only. And never voiding my comments. This is what I agree to.
If you don’t accept let’s wait for x.t.m ruling.
Sweetie, you can’t win against me.
If the choice is between me departing this blog or you departing this blog, I’m pretty damn sure who will be gone.
Don’t test my patience.
Not trying to win, just trying to reach a detente. Wait for the moderator to rule on this.
We reached a detente. I won’t post from the Wire etc. You don’t comment on my posts.
That’s the detente. You’re not getting any further concessions from me.
Book reviews by definition “reference other people’s work” so this 100% rule is a non-starter in any case.
I’m far cleverer than you. Don’t try to play these games. It’s not going to go well for you.
Kabir please thatโs a bit much now
Kabir we agreed – Authors must never void one another.
It must be referred to me.
He’s not to comment on my posts.
I’m happy to delete each and every thing I’ve ever written here. I have a very successful substack.
Your call.
Iโve asked him to refrain from your threads but if he doesnโt then msg me and I will look into it. I exist and u have me on messenger.
Both of u can do that. If this is the Indus Water Treaty; Iโm the world bank
Alright. Then you must act like the World Bank.
Because the real “World Bank” seems to have no power over Bharat Mata.
And I am – I would like everyone to tone it down.
Alright. I’ll hold you to that.
Clean slate for all – I have asked everyone to observe that
Now you are just being insulting .
Kabir I donโt like to void / edit comments of Authors but you know my rules on courtesy and politeness
Tell your friend Indosaurus to back off.
I’m done with his bullying tactics. You know me. I don’t respond well to bullying.
You can ban me from BP. As I’ve said many many times, the Internet is a huge space.
Iโm not banning anyone
Kabir I judge on what is right and wrong not on who brings what to the Weblog.
I appreciate your contributions but I am wary of your tone; it is excessively hostile.
Words like p!ss me off etc . I want peace and good discussions on this blog and I want no one to feel disrespect..
People have been far nastier to me.
I feel immense disrespect from Indosaurus and Nevidita.
Iโm sorry to hear that and I apologise if I offended you
You haven’t offended me. It’s fine.
Passive aggressive bullying is still bullying (not referring to you).
I am offline now- clean slate and truce for now to all
Nivedita must be told in no uncertain terms she is not to bandy about words like “Islamofascist”.
And an apology like “If you felt offended than I’m sorry” is a weakass apology and doesn’t count.
clean slate for all
That fine but don’t expect me to forget previous negative experiences.
Indosaurus has certain impressions of me (I can’t change them). I have certain impressions of him. Complete and total disengagement is the only way forward.
Just to be clear. No voiding of authors comments ever. I agree to refrain from commenting on your 100% original content. Any objections get referred to x.t.m.
Just to be clear: Don’t comment on my book reviews.
Don’t try to be lawyer like and claim that they “reference other people’s work”.
I will deal with you on “Open Threads” and on other’s people’s threads (XTM’s and Furqan’s). Anything that you or Nivedita write will be a Kabir free zone.
Do we understand one another?
Book reviews are your own original content. Hands off.
Mixed content referencing other work (recent example being Gaurav Lele’s post) is not original content.
But you cannot judge for yourself and void. You must refer to X.T.M
I’ll concede that. I won’t repost links.
However, if I write something using someone else’s work (let’s use Gaurav as an example), it’s still my post and I don’t want to see comments from you. I can’t stop you from writing a post to rebut something I write. But I refuse to deal with you on my threads.
Clear?
No that’s not your post. I feel you cherry picked his article to make your viewpoint, I will feel an urge to point that out.
100% original content. A Book review is your own content.
Going to stop here.
I can cherry pick whatever I want on my own posts. Also, I didn’t “make my viewpoint”. I used his post to ask a question. That’s appropriate.
You have no control over what I post. I’ve agreed not to re-post links. We can argue all day about that specific post.
My red line is you commenting on any of my threads. XTM (as the moderator) has also asked you not to do that.
Accept this compromise or complain to him.
You can draw lines all day. Ultimately x.t.m will decide. Not going to respond further. I have not agreed to anything at the moment.
XTM is the final authority. He’s asked you to refrain from commenting on my threads.
Any time you do so, I will complain to him and he will have to apply the “3 strikes” rule to you.
Don’t waste my time as well as your own.
“The Hijras of India” was my original content. Didn’t stop you from commenting there did it?
That was the straw that broke the camel’s back as far as I’m concerned.
All this, you didn’t read the whole post, I will define what this word means since you don’t understand it, let me correct your grammar. It all falls under the gamut of passive aggressive behaviour. Unfortunately you are completely blind to your own transgressions.
And you are completely blind to your pattern of behavior.
There’s a reason I can’t stand you. And I have reached this judgement after quite a while. Initially, I believed your comments were in good faith despite whatever political disagreements we may have.
Before trying to hold the mirror up to other people, you need to introspect.
Now buzz off.
You are not going to win against me. No one ever wins against me and people who think they can usually learn that the hard way ๐
XTM: Control this troll
Making a remark that someone was “deported for alleged terrorist links” is dangerous and inflammatory.
I am very much still a US citizen despite what Mr. Singh thinks.
You are a troll. I’m not interested in engaging with you.
XTM has a 3 strike rule and I’m going to make sure he applies it to you.
don’t test me pls
I literally called for calm.
Honey is not an author – void him when he refers to you.
I literally called for calm and he broke it.
kindly coax rajib to write at least once a month on genetics etc. rajib is in a unique spot as he is considered a ‘ race realist ‘ in u s a and hence on the right wing and where as in india since he agrees with A I T, so not on the right wing here!!!
I don’t think I can void comments when it’s not my thread.
ok anyway I have voided them and I have put Honey on notice
Thank you. His trolling is rather egregious.
I don’t like Indosaurus but at least he’s not a troll.
why you always running off?
You can’t lord everyone like you do your salwar wearing 70cc riding serfs.
You can keep trolling. I’m just going to report you to XTM every time (he’s the admin here).
You need to read the “Community Guidelines” that we’re all supposed to abide by (myself included).
“salwar wearing”– what’s your obsession with salwars? It’s the dress of the majority of the population. So what?
Hi Honey, requesting you to not troll Kabir please.
Thank you.
According to the new guidelines, no one should be trolling anyone else.
Nive is handling it but yes Honey is getting a bit much tbh
Thank you
Nivedita has kindly requested you to stop trolling Kabir; if you are not going to listen to me, listen to her.
So I’ve had a couple of days to mull over my thoughts and come to some conclusions.
1. At no point have I violated any rule on this forum. By and large I have tried to skew towards being polite.
2. Despite being unilaterally voided on multiple occasions I was trying to defuse the situation by coming to an agreement about limiting my presence on the site.
3. My own requests have been met with outright hostility.
4. I took some time to read back my comments of the past few days. Far from being passive aggressive they tend to veer too far towards conciliation and attempts to explain my intent have been disregarded with no consideration.
This places the problem squarely in the realm of the tolerant giving way to the intolerant. Agreements are violated and further demands are made to have new restrictions to limit free discourse.
This is a mistake. Rewarding the intolerant with self limitation and tiptoeing around on tenderhooks just encourages further transgressions against oneself.
So I will comment according to the rules of the forum and will trust the moderators to uphold the spirit of the site as they see fit.
Ideally, my intent is not to balance out the site or perform any sort of watchdog role. I just want to post about history and current trends which I feel the mass media tends to ignore. I would be happy to hear your thoughts on them and If I strike a cord with a reader that is a reward in itself. And vice versa, (the spirit in which I joined BP)
Thanks Indosaurus – hopefully Nivedita can provide balance
๐
Passive aggression is in the eyes of the beholder. No one can tell me I’m not entitled to my feelings (Just as Indosaurus is entitled to his).
The comment on my essay the “Hijras of India” which focused inordinately on the title and interpreted it as some sort of an attack on India was just egregious.
This is the last I’m going to say on this. I too hope there is balance going forward. I’m not interested in censoring soft Hindutvadi views but the soft Hindutvadis also need to “tolerate” Pakistani nationalist views and those of left-leaning Indians.
Pls keep your views regarding my Hindutvaness and degree of which privately to yourself. It needlessly devolves into name calling/labelling and I am not inclined to engage likewise. Your self declaration is of no concern to me.
Personally I don’t like to box myself into any political identity but judge things for their inherent merits.
Are you going to apologize for your egregious comment on my essays on the hijras or not?
You may not be a “soft Hindutvadi” (that was not specfically about you btw. there is a category of contributors here who clearly have that worldview) but one thing you certainly are is anti-intellectual.
This is was yet another passive aggressive comment.
Kabir – Indosaurus is entitled to his views and reflections. I have edited part of your comment.
He needs to cease being passive aggressive.
I’m not going to take that kind of behavior lying down.
Kabir, it is very annoying to be repeatedly called a Hindutvadi. There is nothing passive aggressive there, I am asking you to stop calling me that as I do not want to engage in calling you names.
Going to leave it here.
Try to call me names. I’m perfectly prepared to respond in kind.
I’ve been called an “Islamist” etc. If you have Hindutvadi views and express them, expect to be called out.
I’m sorry, but I did go back and re-read that comment on your article. I stand by it.
I do apologize that the comment has upset you.
You literally focused on the title and told me what I should have written about.
And then you blame me for demanding that you not comment on any of my posts?
Look in the mirror and understand why everything you say to me rubs me the wrong way.
“I do apologize that the comment has upset you”– That is a non apology and extremely passive aggressive.
I didn’t realise that along with Nivedita, I had made Furqan an editor. so it is a fine balance I feel.
Yes, this is the reason I avoided the site over the last week or so. The constant aggressive intolerance is a real disincentive to engage.
Yes but Iโm now responding equitably
Btw x.t.m I have an observation.
A lot of the posts over the past 2 weeks are reposts from old publications elsewhere / mass media publications.
There seems to be no shortage of these and some days see 5-6 posts.
I see no real point in posting to BP if it is going to get submerged off the top page within a few hours. I would guess I’m not alone in this.
Would it be possible to pin 100% original unpublished content to the top of the page so that it remains on the front page for a while?
Alternatively I’d like the editors to prioritize articles they see in the ‘spirit’ of BP on top.
Yes very good spot – I think originals should be pinned? The problem is that editing / managing is becoming.m difficult to manage
๐ I understand your feeling. It turns into exhausting farcical reams of vitriol poured into the ether-net and you wonder ‘why bother’ and walk away.
I started self editing to err on the side of being excessively polite and patient. It seems to have invited far more opprobrium .
I think the solution is just to write what you like, ignore the engagement hungry comments and let the moderators sort it out, keep an eye out for quality work and engage with that in a virtuous cycle.
Yes that is the best bet – tbh
Everyone should be themselves and then engage with Editors (if they are Authors)..
Sorry about that ..
Hostility is not one sided. Perhaps you should examine your own behavior.
You are the one who made the accusation of “taqqiyaa” which is absolutely unacceptable. So don’t play the victim.
Kabir let the commentariat express themselves please?
I’m not stopping anyone from expressing themselves.
But before crying victim one should introspect about one’s own behavior.
Accusing someone of “taqqiyaa” is a red line. Or is that kind of discourse acceptable to you?
Thank you
Kabir Iโm not tracking who said what to whom tb
Clean slate pls
If you’ve been given power (as editor) you have to be truly neutral.
That’s it guys. Enjoy your soft Hindutva space. If people are going to be allowed to use “Taqqiya” for a nominal cultural Muslim, than this place is a Hindutva cesspit.
I’m deleting my posts. Good luck and good riddance to you all.
Easy to make a typo isn’t it.
There isn’t a single typo in that comment. But please exult in your victory.
You’ve driven off the Pakistani nationalist.
Now asides from Furqan (whom I recruited) everyone else here has beliefs that are on the soft Hindutva spectrum (“Civilizational state”, “Akhand Bharat” etc). Enjoy your echo chamber.
XTM wants to grow BP. Unfortunately, a soft Hindutva echo chamber is not going to attract those who don’t share that world view. It’s no skin off my back. I have an incredibly successful Substack.
*Then. It’s an easy mistake to make. There was no need to berate my grammar when my phone autocorrected an apostrophe. (You can test this out for yourself, type ‘its’)
All those ‘hindutva’ posts were all written by x.t.m responding to incessant POV dumping.
Watch this space, the articles will get a lot more neutral and non political without the constant barrage.
Probably a bit quieter too.
For sure there will be far less moderation.
You might even find that the site suits your tastes far more after you take a little break from it.
Just to correct the record: My mother tongue is English. I don’t even speak Punjabi. The only Pakistani language I speak is Urdu. My paternal grandmother was an “ahl-e-Zaban” from Agra.
“it’s happened” is also incorrect English for the record (funny how when you criticize my English you can’t write correctly yourself). The phrase is “it has happened”. Basic error ๐
Kabir. Correcting someone’s English on an online forum is exceedingly bad manners. I would never ever do so but for the inability to avoid the chance to show you how I felt when it was done to me.
Nivedita in this instance is actually excusing your inability to spot your mistake (even when pointed out to you) and yet you choose to turn around and berate her for it.
I do think you should apologise to her for such an ill mannered comment, rewarding aid with vitriol is appalling.
LOL. If my English can be corrected I’m at liberty to correct that of others.
Once again you are being passive aggressive. How come you have such great difficulty recognizing that behavior pattern?
Correcting someone’s English is comparatively much less “bad manners” than calling someone an “Islamist” or an “Islamofascist”. If anyone here deserves an apology, it’s me.
Ok I really don’t want to get into these pointless message chains which go nowhere.
So I’m going to stop with this.
I cannot spot my passive aggressiveness because it is not my intent. It is your victim complex which constantly interprets my explanations as such.
I do have a habit of trying to point out your hypocrisy (as I once again attempted to with the English correction business)
A gentleman’s word is his bond. So if you agree to not void an author you should have never done so regardless of the provocation. Try to keep to your word at the very least.
Constantly threatening to leave while staying behind to argue is actual passive aggressive behaviour. It doesn’t even have a POV problem.
Kabir has deleted all his posts
Neither side need to bring up that past; Dave is allowed his opinions, Kabir doesnโt need to wade in and even Kabir is allowed his opinions, so there is no to jump in there.
Let there be a measure of calm and forgetfulness all around pls
The point is that “passive aggressiveness” is in the eye of the beholder. If someone is telling you that they feel you have attacked them, maybe think about it.
Absolute last thing: When did it become your role on this site to “point out my hypocrisy”? Who appointed you to that role?
Genuine questions. And can you not see why that sort of behavior would antagonize someone?
I linked to an essay by Shashi Tharoor on why “civilizational states” are inherently illiberal. I may not agree with Shashi on everything but I can respect his views.
The point is that growth will not happen without ideological diversity. It’s a legitimate question why the two Manavs (one of whom I also recruited) are reluctant to write on this blog. Left-leaning Indians don’t want to participate in Hindutva forums.
No wonder India and Pakistan can’t solve any of their issues. We can’t even co-exist on an internet blog. Sad but it is what it is.
It really shouldn’t be that hard to respect a few red lines. Don’t de-legitimize Pakistan as a nation-state and don’t insult Islam. That’s not asking for too much.
P.S. I wish Furqan well. I hope that he doesn’t have to deal with the toxicity that I’ve had to deal with.
“Non-political”: It’s quite possible that there would be less tension if the topics presented here were not about Partition, “Akhand Bharat” etc. But those have always been the topics that BP focused on and the topics that drove reader engagement.
Certainly, poetry is less likely to bring out the nastiness in people.
Kabir when you get annoyed at the blog; you need to step out, take a walk and let it be contextualised.
It is like if anything is said to you, you simply โexplodeโ and then put it down to ideological differences .
Iโve been exceptionally tolerant even when u have been on the rude side but you put it down to ideological diversity.
I’ve been “rude” sure but people have accused me of “taqqiya”. That’s unforgivable. I’ve been called an “Islamist” when I barely practice Islam.
You have to admit (if you are at all honest) this place has a soft Hindutva bias. It has always had one. However, in the past there were Razib and Omar. Whatever my issues were with Razib (and there were plenty of them) he was not a Hindutvadi. Omar was also not a Hindutvadi (though he provided them a safe space since his main ideological enemy was “PakNationalism”).
But don’t worry. I’m not going to be commenting here any more. I’m done with all of you (Except Furqan).
When I’m done with someone, I tend to be done with them forever.
Cheers.
As per this comment I’ve reset your status to Contributor.
That means your comments can be edited / voided by Authors and Editors etc.
If you wish to become an Author again or re-engage in the future you are of course welcome to.
Your intellectual contributions have always been immense.
“Trump announces 25% Tariff plus Penalty on India From August 1”
https://thewire.in/trade/all-things-not-good-trump-announces-25-tariff-plus-penalty-on-india-from-august-1
Pakistan was smart and made a deal (we don’t know what the deal is yet but we made one).
India really seems to be struggling with diplomacy lately.