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Open Thread: Diwali
Diwali falls on Sunday 8 November, with Kali Puja in Bengal and Bandi Chhor Divas for Sikhs. The Open Thread for the festival and anything else.
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Did Iran Change the Regime in the USA?
Democrats won both chambers. How much did the Iran war and fuel prices matter? The US midterms, El-Sayed and the South Asian candidates.
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Two Innocent Bangladeshis Executed in Mecca: What Ta’zir Means
Saudi Arabia called the Mecca executions ta’zir. What that means, what the ministry said, and what remains unknown about the two Bangladeshis.
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Arikamedu: Port That Traded with Rome (X.T.M’s 1,000th Official Post)
Arikamedu, 4 km south of Pondicherry, traded with Rome 2,000 years ago. Today it is littered, its mangroves full of plastic. What should the site be for?
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Brown Pundits on Autopilot: 240 Regular Readers, 14 Commenters
Since the redesign, Brown Pundits runs on autopilot: 240 loyal readers and 14 regular commenters. The cost was my own writing. That changes now.
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A tale of two cities
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. In our age of internet echo chambers, this immortal line has new meaning, not of privilege and poverty…
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Open thread: Musk the sociopath?
A gripping new documentary on Elon Musk was pulled from almost all movie theatres as the hype grew. So what’s the deal?
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Who Made the Brahmins and the Goddess Vegetarian?
Devdutt Pattanaik places the first fully vegetarian texts in medieval Gujarat, under Jain and Muslim influence. Earlier Indian sources complicate that.
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Ambedkar’s Grammar of Anarchy and the Diaspora Letter
A diaspora letter quotes Ambedkar’s ‘grammar of anarchy’ against street protest. His 1949 speech and five decades of protests that became law complicate it.
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The Raj With a New Flag: Gandhi and the Inherited State
Gandhi built India’s nation; the Raj built its state. Pakistan’s Afghan strikes, Delhi’s protest ban and the RBI rate rise show that inherited state at work.
The Indian Subcontinent Argues with Itself
Sunday, 8 November 2026Since December 2010 · 4,170 posts · 93,919 comments
