November 2025
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Genetics open thread
An open thread on two recent genetic studies, one of Kashmiris and Central Asians and one of Sri Lankans and South Indians, offered to the commentariat despite the author’s scepticism…
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The Earth’s Lost Industrial Heart
If the Earth were one economy, where would its industrial heart be? An argument for the triangle between the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea and the Indo-Gangetic plain.
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The hype over Yogi’s L&O record is justified
A guest writer who was earlier critical of Yogi Adityanath’s economic record argues that his law-and-order record in Uttar Pradesh deserves the praise.
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Islam the religion of Peace
X.T.M notes that Malaysia’s Anwar Ibrahim brokered a ceasefire between Thailand and Cambodia, and argues that this was a case of Dharmic civilisation being helped by an Abrahamic one, adding…
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New writing ideas
Notes on possible future posts, including one on how the Hindu epics made geographical India into cultural India, and a commenter’s argument that coastal connectivity explains why some Indian states…
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Zia-Era Pakistan & Today’s India
Commenting on a reader’s dismissal of comparing Zia-era Pakistan with Modi’s India, X.T.M notes both pair economic growth with cultural conservatism, and asks whether right-wing politics is how societies answer…
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Saffron Strike
X.T.M reads the recent silence as a deliberate ‘Saffron Strike’, explains why he lifted Kabir’s interdiction, and says he will not interdict left-liberal authors just to bring back traffic.
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Too Much Masala Ruins the Curry
X.T.M says he agrees with Kabir that people should not be brought back merely as bait, but that caste, class and other structural realities are fundamental topics, and that BP’s…
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Loki has come to Asgard once again
X.T.M announces that Kabir has been made an editor with rights to onboard new authors, sets expectations for civil comments and no flame wars, and says he will mediate disputes…
