What is going on? We haven’t been following the Middle East for the past month and a half. India-US relations seem to be shakier?
What is going on? We haven’t been following the Middle East for the past month and a half. India-US relations seem to be shakier?
Trump promises the US will ‘take control’ of Iranian oil and gas markets as more strikes on Iran announced
https://www.dawn.com/live/iran-israel-war#2006898
The Drumpf administration has bungled a lot of things, and the structural damage done to US-India policy is …non-trivial to say the least.
I do not view the current situation as too bad though, India has ‘weathered the storm’ without excessive damage for the most part, and the incoming administration is going to have to end up offering GoI a lot of olive branch sweeteners.
The newfound US-Pak …bonhomie, as manufactured and fake it might be, is a safety barrier against Munir getting too frisky in JnK or elsewhere in India. GoI, just by pretending to play along with ‘Track 2’ initiatives, can continue the status quo as the geo-economic and political realities continue to tilt in India’s favor.
This Egyptian Muslim girl (https://x.com/ReemAmirIbrahim/status/2064458073528291330) claimed ‘her ancestors’ built the pyramids, which has sparked a twitter war decrying her as an Arab. Whites, Jews, Black Africans and even Copts are up in arms.. but modern DNA proves her correct.. Muslims Egyptians are direct descendants of Ancient Egyptians which only slightly higher foriegn DNA than Copts.
This reminded me South Asian culture battles, where Indians keep denying direct genetic link that Pakistanis have with IVC and Vedic Hindu pioneers, which predated anything the Indians have in their own history.
Apparently, humans are all the same everywhere when you remove universalist religions like Islam & Christianity. They all devolve to ethnic tribalism since in the absence of a universal message, that is all that is left.
well she is Egyptian and Arab..
She is ‘Arab’ by linguistic identity but its not her ethnic origin. It’s like calling an Irishman Englishman. It’s still very surpising that even seemingly intelligent people make this mistake in treating various disparate groups as a single ethnic group just because they speak one language (and Arabic isn’t even one language)
there is such a thing as an Arab ethnicity; there is also a diffused genetic link between a Moroccan and Iraq.
for instance the Banu Hilal invasion – migration hugely impacted 11th century North Africa.
interestingly enough Iran’s most Arabic province, Khuzestan, did undergo Arab migration and influence.. there is a paper on this actually
How much did that effect genetic admixture of the native population? There may be areas where entire populations got replaced (this happens quite frequently in the neolithic and as late as the early Iron age (Steppe Aryans changing the genetics of North India).. but populations have generally stayed put in the Old world in the past 3000 years.
Modern Muslim Arab Egyptians are 80-85% directly related to Ancient Egyptians who built the pyramids, this is only slightly lower than Egyptian Copts at 90%.. which can be explained by Copts being more Endogamous than Muslims. The same dynamics plays out among Paletsinians.
yes exact but there is *some* Arab ancestry, which is no bad thing; they only created one of the world’s greatest Civs.
I’m fed up of this never ending war. I hope Iran gives the US the bloody nose it deserves.
But for the Indian govt to issue a demarche to the US envoy is serious. Not sure how much the US thinks threats will have others bend. Its acting like a pirate in the Persian Gulf. Ammunition isn’t limitless and fatigue has already set it. This current nonsense is unsustainable.
Trump’s got Venezuela in his pocket and is now eyeing Iran to get a complete control over non-Russian oil. What a megalomaniac.
The petrodollar needs to collapse. But with the Gulf beholden to the Yanks, not sure how it can happen unless BRICS does something for alternate currency. And the Gulf countries need to unite and throw the US out of their land. Maybe then it might work.
https://www.npr.org/2026/05/06/nx-s1-5800887/how-the-petrodollar-regime-came-to-be-and-what-losing-it-would-mean-for-the-u-s
yes the Persian Gulf is a colonised space.. this was so clear in the latest conflict.
it is a weasly worded demarche. That weasely mea spokesperson even gave justification that 2 of the vessels being under sanctions. One of the UAE companies has contradicted that it was under sanctions. These were not UN sanctions btw and most sanctioned ships face onboarding/seizure and not direct missile hits on the pretext of AIS being turned off. India’s MEA and MOD are institutionally captured :-(.
If ever people had doubts on how few thousand brits conquered and ruled the sub-continent we are seeing a live replay.
That is just so disappointing 🙁
And couldn’t agree more on your last point…
It should open the eyes of all the BJP RSS types who want to cozy up to Americans.
There will be a big terrorist attack in India within 6 months which will make Pahalgam look acceptable. Let’s see if Modi bends in front of his American masters again.
by who?
Do I have to spell it for you?
US rewarded Pakistan after the last attack. What’s stopping Pakistanis from doing it again? Infact they already tried but security agencies were lucky.
The Americans in general do not like or respect Indians, they never have and future is not likely to change their opinions. I have said this before (and many people were offended and cited statistics that this wasn’t the case) but one needs to have a good understanding of American society and politics to see it. The recent anti-India hate campaign is proof of this. Indians also do not have the ‘chaaplosy’ (diplomacy) to woo the Americans to their side.
They would have never targeted a Chinese vessel like this.
> The Americans in general do not like or respect Indians, they never have and future is not likely to change their opinions
Preach brother. If anyone hates Indians more than Islamists, its the Americans. I have a theory about it but this site is probably not ready to hear the truth yet.
try us – we are a pretty open-minded group..
Most people here don’t understand that victory in war is a political tool to serve national interests. They can’t think think beyond tactical military victories; they are easily convinced that India has won all wars against Pakistan; they can’t even make a comparison of current state of things with their own historical wars!
This is not an open-minded group.
to be honest we assumed India had won every war thus far..
they don’t seem to like Muslim either fwiw
No they dont like Muslims either. Their relationship with Muslim countries is also very transactional. It was always stupid of GCC countries to actually think that they could buy their way into security.
Yes the Persian Gulf Statelets were fairly clueless..
The world cup kicked off today in North America and while south Asian countries failed to qualify yet again – Pakistan and the city of Sialkot in particular are doing south Asia proud again by manufacturing and supplying official match day balls. Pakistan has been making official match day balls for every fifa world cup since 1982. The Sialkot-Gujranwala area is a major global player and regional leader in sporting equipment manufacturing.
More than 70% of the world’s footballs are made in Pakistan.
https://nypost.com/2026/06/10/sports/70-of-the-worlds-footballs-including-2026-world-cup-balls-come-from-this-city/
Yes, from Sialkot. My mother was born and grew up there.
My grandfather was a lawyer there. Later, he moved to Lahore because he hoped to become a judge.
I thnk this is all good, but I would rather have our team kick all those balls than get our balls kicked around.
Hopefully someone comptent takes charge of PFF, with a 48 team worldcup format, we have a good chance to make it if the govt really makes it a goal.
yes Adidas retains virtually all the “value add” rights from the brand.
this is what we say about the senseless Indo-Pak division; it allows the Global North to both revenue generate and prestige capture at unprecedented scales..
India has been doing revolutionary things with the IPL in that regard; it has been “appropriating” cricket.
though the idea of the “cheerleaders”, being Western etc, is a bit of an insult. Bollywood and cricket need to do much better there
I think some of the teams have Indian cheerleaders doing Indian dances.
I think Punjab has them doing bhangra.
The best leather boots are made in India. I own hand welted boots from renowned Spanish and Japanese brands and my Bridlens are comparable in every way except price.
Pakistan used to be a world-leader in bespoke shoe production; then open up its markets in the 60’s and 70’s and that all crumbled away alas.
Talking about shoes reminds me that Kolkata is still known for leather goods. Of course Shantiniketan is well known.
There was a very interesting documentary on the Chinese community in Kolkata traditionally involved in the leather and tanneries business.
https://youtu.be/ChKQvlhQ9d8?si=_HMmhcHVkHwJLzj4
Might be interesting for BRAHM.
Craftsmanship from the region is second to none
“Review: In ‘Main Vaapas Aaunga’, to love is to remember and to remember is to love”
By Nandini Ramnath
https://scroll.in/reel/1093401/review-in-main-vaapas-aaunga-to-love-is-to-remember-and-to-remember-is-to-love
interesting review
“A new book follows the figure of the yogini from ancient stone carvings to foreign museums”
By Irwin Allan Sealy
https://scroll.in/article/1093281/a-new-book-follows-the-figure-of-the-yogini-from-ancient-stone-carvings-to-foreign-museums
“Can Tourism Become the Nuclear Deterrent in Kashmir?-II”
By Rao Farman Ali
https://kashmirtimes.com/opinion/comment-articles/can-tourism-become-the-nuclear-deterrent-in-kashmir-2
In case anyone is interested, Himal Southasian is hosting a conversation with acclaimed Hindi-Urdu translator Rakhshanda Jalil on writing across languages on June 17 at 7 PM IST. This is part of Himal Fiction Fest.
The link to register is:
https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/NKALuwbQSbSZ917N1WusNw?ref=himalmag.com#/registration
are you attending?
Yes
“What Explains the ‘Rise’ of the Ottomans?”
By Doga Ozturk
https://ottomanencounters.substack.com/p/what-explains-the-rise-of-the-ottomans?
“What a Time! What a Creature!” (a translation of a Tamil short story by G Nagarajan)
By Ashik Kahina
https://www.himalmag.com/what-a-time-what-a-creature-himal-fiction-fest-2026
The translator is a PhD student in the South Asian Studies department at Harvard.
A Pakistani who understands the huge gap between India and Pakistan.
https://x.com/PaataNahiYar/status/2065756389696524593
you are kind of proving Kabir’s point tbh..
I will do a bigger post soon. Just gotten busy with other stuff.
busy with other stuff but not too busy to troll Pakistan.
we are simply highlighting priorities..
Kabir has made some very solid points; as soon as the ceasefires came into the place, it’s as though the focus shifted of some of the Saffroniate.
I actually wanted to do a smaller article on the Indus Waters Treaty and what the future of it might be. But honestly I’m trying to cover all the bases on it and I feel like its going to get lengthy.
Length is fine
“Izzat Majeed:Life, music and legacy”
By Tahir Kamran
https://www.dawn.com/news/amp/2007640
And:
” ‘Seeking Allah’s Hierarchy’: Local politics, economic relations, and ‘caste’ among Malabar Muslims”
By Muneeb Yousuf
https://scroll.in/article/1093199/seeking-allahs-hierarchy-local-politics-economic-relations-and-caste-among-malabar-muslims
Also interestingly enough – it might be Muslims are a “threat” simply because their perceived Asabiyyah is so much higher . So there is a consistent need to deprecate that as well hence the need to assimilate them whole.
Not really. Asabiyyah is a good thing when the unity is for progress, not when it creates a regressive monoculture within a multicultural space. It ends up dividing instead of uniting. This is true not just in India but the world over.
https://www.facebook.com/share/1LSZcWpBva/
Kalavai venkat has been writing on sikhs. the following link he writes about kushwant SINGH, bhindranwale, complicity of ordinary sikhs etc.
In a previous piece, he had written about the attitude of the Sikh jathas towards Hindu refugees from Lahore.
First they came for the Muslims, now they come for the Sikhs.
Who knows maybe Sikhs will have to flee to Pakistan one day..
this ……is laughable, in the context of India and the pedestal that sikhs have historically been placed on. And continue to do so.
Maulana israr Ahmed has warned Pakistanis of rejoicing India’s discomfort with sikhs. He says, if they get power they will take all their previous cities. It seems ranjitsingh used to tie his horses on Lahore’s jumma masjid.
https://youtube.com/shorts/REl_kAgRwQs?si=cLGueBwvBSMGkMMM
Glad to know there are loonies on both sides of the border..
What makes you say that? If anything it was the Sikhs and their gurus who bore the brunt of the fanaticism of Aurangzeb amongst others. Guru Gobind Singh whose young sons were walled alive and Guru Tegh Bahadur who was decapitated by the Mughals.
We were referring to the Facebook post shared by jay
Ayyo, israr Ahmed ‘s apprehension is very real. Kps gill had said in the 80s, that till india got independence, Sikh gurudwaras were blarring anti Muslim propaganda. A week after independence they were blaming the Hindus.
Trump blames Israel for delay in peace deal with Iran.
https://www.dawn.com/live/iran-israel-war#2007813