Pakistan, a young state but an old nation

no one is born a Bahá’í; even those who are “Bahá’ízadeh” (those born to Bahá’í homes) must first affirm their belief at fifteen and confirm it at 21

Dawn Posting

Most of my writing these days happens either at the dead of night, bleeding into the Dawn. This is when the world is quiet enough to hear one’s thoughts.

I’ve asked the Editors to lean into their moderation. But I’ve also emphasized that a copy of the moderated comments should be preserved in their original form; so that, if there’s an appeal or a misreading, I can assess it personally. My instinct has always been to under-moderate. I would rather allow something unpleasant to be said than suppress something vital.

That said, miscommunication is inevitable in a forum like ours. I recently had my own moment of misunderstanding with Indosaurus. But in many ways, that’s exactly what makes Brown Pundits an exciting space. We are not a hive mind. We’re a broad church; Anglican in temperament, not Catholic in control. Communion, not command.

The Commentariat

Despite posting frequently, I don’t see myself as leading the conversation. Rather, I follow the commentariat (virtually all of whom have posting privileges). I scan the threads to get a whiff of what’s brewing and write in response. We are a reader-led space more than a writer-led one. Our posts are shaped by the ground-swell of what readers are debating, resisting, and reshaping.

That’s a rare thing in the age of Substacks and newsletters. It’s also why I take care not to let the space ossify into a singular ideology. We have moments of strong Hindutva sentiment. But as I have reminded Kabir, this is not a Hindutva blog; it is an evolving space. People arrive here with a desire for common ground, even when that ground is cracked and complicated.

The Conversion Problem

The missionary impulse, religious or ideological, is not inherently bad. In fact, I have great respect for missionaries. They often reach the marginalized and minoritized in societies where cultural hegemony crushes dissent. In that sense, missionaries are not unlike Marxists: disruptive, reformist, often unwelcome, and sometimes necessary.

But conversion, especially from polytheism or Dharma to strict monotheism, is not a simple evolution. It is a violent compression of cosmology; from many gods to one. When Muslims become Christians, I wince a little: it feels like a step backward rather than a Glorious step forward. When Hindus become Christians, I am confused because belief in Jesus does not preclude reverence for Ganesh. Why should it?

Still, missionaries play a role. They force majorities to ask why so many seek spiritual refuge elsewhere. They upset the status quo. And that disturbance; if it is ethical, humble, and loving, can be good. I find Korean Christianity to be perplexing but since then it seems to have indigenised fairly well?

The Bahá’í Lens

I say this as someone from the Bahá’í Faith; a tradition that allows no conversion, only teaching. I do not proselytize. I invite. And even that I do cautiously, because I’ve seen how easily my religion is misunderstood. Most people’s knowledge of the Bahá’í Faith comes from the internet.

As a result, I prefer long-form private correspondence when discussing the Bahá’í Faith. The blogosphere isn’t kind to nuance. And I acknowledge that I bring my Bahá’í lens into many posts. But it shapes how I see the world: all paths are real, all messengers are true, and all religions are successive chapters in a larger, unfinished book.

Idols & Icons

Here’s where I struggle: moving from Dharma to Monotheism is not a vertical leap; it’s a horizontal war. Because what do we do with the gods? Where do they go?

Strict monotheism is nearly impossible. The Old Testament is full of Israelites turning back to the Golden Calf. And India, despite its rapid modernization and growing homogenization, is still vigorously Hindu; in belief, ritual, and subconscious inheritance. The elite may wear many masks, but the gods of India are Dravidian, local, indigenous. They rise from the soil of Bharat, not from the Vedas alone.

The persistence of iconography, of Lord Shiva, of Kali, of Hanuman, reminds us that no missionary ever truly erases the native gods. They may convert the flesh. But the landscape still belongs to the old pantheon. If Bharat could survive a millennia of monotheism with just its wings clipped, then perhaps once again it may learn to fly.

Hindu missionaries can open up the Infinite Paths of Dharma and the Hindu Pantheon back to a closed world. It’s never either/or (I still have yet to find the contradictions in our Hindu-Bahá’í home).

Free Markets, Bad Actors

I like the metaphor of a marketplace of ideas. But we must remember: free markets are also home to exploiters, manipulators, and monopolists. Just as economic markets need regulation, intellectual markets need stewardship.

This doesn’t mean censorship. It means responsibility. And that’s what our editorial team is working to balance now. I’ve made it clear: they have my blessing to act with more assertiveness but always keep the record.

Unbreakable Borders

We often hear fantasies of redrawing maps; of a new India, a broken Pakistan, a reformed Bangladesh. I don’t think any of this is happening. Not in this century.

These borders, artificial though they are, have ossified into something functional. Even in their illegitimacy, they have acquired a strange legitimacy. The dreams of a re-unified subcontinent are beautiful. But they are dreams.

The Pakistan Puzzle

Many commenters misunderstand Pakistan. They view it from the outside, filtered through media, memory, or malice. But Pakistan is instinctively unified in ways outsiders cannot see.

Even in Balochistan, where the sense of alienation is real, the demographics tilt toward a deeper cohesion. The fissures exist. But the cracks do not yet break the foundation. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is not like Ladakh (Ladakh is not Ladakh; they aren’t going to join Tibet). The instincts of belonging, linguistic, cultural, historical, run very deep in Pakistan. I once read an academic paper that stated, Pakistan is a young state but an old nation. How true..

Final Word: A Broad Church

So where does that leave us?

We are a broad church. Not unified, not doctrinaire, not perfect. There is miscommunication. There is hurt. There are trolls and prophets and poets all tangled together in our threads. But that’s Brown Pundits. And right now, no one is blocked. Not even Qureshi. That should tell you everything about how this space operates. It breathes. It grows. It falters. It survives. The mission of the missionaries, in the end, is not to win converts. It is to keep the light on; even when the world is dark. To teach. To provoke. To remind us of what we’ve forgotten. Let that be BP’s mission too.