Our 2026 reader survey is open until 7 June – anonymous, roughly five minutes. Please take a moment.
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Update, 1 June 2026 – links from the thread: The Peshawar Review has a new issue out, including Professor Harbans Mukhia’s reminiscences of Kirori Mal College (College Days) and Shan-e-Ahmed reading an Urdu transcreation of T. S. Eliot’s “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” (Prufrock in Pakistan). On the Tata Sons listing question, Agni flagged a cluster of commentary: the Indian Express “to list or not to list” column, The New Indian Express on the boardroom fight, Soonawala on why an IPO may not appeal to investors, and Business Standard on the 12 June board meeting. Survey responses are at 18 and counting; please add yours if you haven’t.
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Editor’s note, 1 June: This Survey thread will sit on the front page through the week, until Sunday the 7th June, while we are travelling Eastbound, so we have made it an Open Thread. What strikes us, watching the comment threads, is that for all the constant bickering, BP is a community, and a recognisably Desi one.
It has the hue of a Hindu joint family (to be of the Indian subcontinent is, almost by definition, to have Hindu ancestors; “Hindu” is simply what the Persians called the people beyond the Indus) that has built a wall down the middle of the house and still cannot get over each other. The wall is real. So is the fact that nobody moves out.
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Original Post: Every few years BP runs a reader survey. Razib began the tradition in 2019, and the responses then told us things the comments alone never could.
Seven years on, with a substantially different commentariat, we are running the 2026 edition. The prompt to revive it came from Kabir, whose recent post on what BP is and is not raised exactly the kind of question a survey can help answer, and we are grateful for it.
Nineteen questions, anonymous, roughly five minutes. The core spine is demographic in Razib’s tradition: age, sex, country, mother tongue, ethnic background, religion, caste, education, political ideology, and views on Hindu and Pakistani nationalism. A few behavioural questions follow on how often you visit, how long you have been reading, how you first found BP, and which topics you would like to see more of, with optional fields at the end for handle, newsletter signup, and anything else you would like the editors to know.
Please take the time to fill in this survey. Thank you for your engagement.
please leave a comment if you have filled the survey..
we are not going to try and guess who is who but 3 people have filled so far.
Kabir sorry we didn’t make the final edit on your valid suggestion (views on Nationalism)..
I have filled out the survey
thanks very much. if the erm Commentariat could spare a while from slaughtering each other and full the survey that would be very helpful
Lol 😆
The new issue of The Peshawar Review is out.
BP readers might be interested in Professor Harbans Mukhia’s reminiscences of his time at Kirori Mal College.
https://thepeshawarreview.substack.com/p/college-days
Yes some really good articles in the Peshawar Review
We also have Shan-e-Ahmed reading my dad’s Urdu transcreation of T.S. Eliot’s “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”
https://thepeshawarreview.substack.com/p/prufrock-in-pakistan
we would strongly recommend to members of the Commentariat to exercise the Precedent of disengagement since with K out of the fray; it seems to be a match-up between BB.RNJ vs. Q.EK
we aren’t interfering just yet but we do commend K in stepping out of toxic dynamics. it just feels very low-signal to be at each other all the time.
we have had 10 responses thus far; big whoop.
huge kudos to the Individual who when asked for their politicals views responsed:
Exteme Hindutva Pro Max + 5 nation theory – Bangladesh,Balochistan, Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh, andPakistan
it may be different respondents for all we know however good banter never goes unappreciated here in BP..
we feel Humza may have filled the survey 🙂
I have but that was not me lol
ur in ur Jaskirat phase, abhi..
In a way, more dangerous.
This guy, whoever it is – please come and participate (if you are not already).
Rizwan..
Yes, he carries on the good work
I thought the ongoing issue of Tata Sons was intriguing yet complicated given the history of the Tatas in Indian industry. Ratan Tata was a titan and after his passing the void that was left is yet to be filled.
After Cyrus Mistry’s untimely death it just lead to more infighting. To quote formerly brown “clerks and butlers” ought not to run the show. Let’s see how this pans out given that Noel Tata hasn’t approved Chandrasekaran’s extension as chairman.
For those interested:
https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/to-list-or-not-to-list-tata-sons-that-is-our-question-10718321/
https://www.newindianexpress.com/opinion/2026/May/29/battle-of-fire-and-ice-at-the-heart-of-an-empire
https://www.msn.com/en-in/money/topstories/tata-sons-ipo-can-undermine-company-s-role-may-not-appeal-to-investors-former-vc-na-soonawala/ar-AA23Isud
http://www.business-standard.com/amp/companies/news/tata-sons-board-takes-close-look-at-new-age-businesses-next-meet-june-12-126052601741_1.html
Done
Kinda crazy that Western Indian isn’t a category considering how many bambaiya and gujju guys must be lurking in these forums.
apologies for the oversight, we have added the categories (East & West Indian) and also you have been sent an email re your particular request.
17responses thus far.. we will adapt the post above with links posted in the comments below
this is going to be a long week on BP lol