I went on Twitter for a bit (I stopped using it) and I was surprised by what’s happening.
The war in Iran seems to be raging and the CJP protests don’t seem to be piping down (yet).
- What do people think of Sonam Wangchuk?
- Why doesn’t the Education Minister just resign?
- The BJP (and especially Modi) have cultivated an aura of invincibility?
I have thoughts but I’ll write on them later on tonight. I commend the Commentariat on VERY high quality exchanges; we don’t all have to agree but when we do so in a calm and measured manner, it yields a lot of fruit.
Also Calvin as captain of the “opposition” is doing after fine job, it’s fairly obviously now that BP is an India-first blog. Pakistan and Diaspora are interesting inasmuch as they impact India’s future, which is bright.
Otherwise, the boundaries of the Sikh Empire essentially map the upper reaches of the Indus watershed. The Sutlej apparently was the Eastern boundary of the Empire.
sonam wangchuk is seen by some as collaborator of the regime, and by others as a andolan jeevi. his wife called rahul as insincere.
https://www.facebook.com/reel/2185550305352906
he is given soup at 12 midnight of course in front of cameras and modi addresses the nation at 12.05 am!!.
dipke(ex AAP) has been absent most of yesterday because of fever!!. one more ex AAP has been installed in his absence.
1000s of food packets paid from qatar, bangladesh and elsewhere are being delivered.
all assorted anti hindu, anti national slogans are raised without any hindrance.
by some accounts number of students in the protest was at 10%, the rest made up of ” professionals”
by the end of yesterday, even yogendra yadav asked students to be non violent.
education minister was on his way out when this tamasha started, he will be eased out after this session in a reshuffle.
many see modi govt. as facilitating this stir to release pent up anger amongst the youth. the protest doesn’t seem to have the traction IAC had. i have seen working professionals fasting by foregoing at least one meal a day then, in support of anna hazare.
strangely christian ” fathers and mothers” have marched to protest site, demonstrating against attack on christians.
this picture will be very costly for church.
Fact Check: Unrelated Video Shared as Church Fathers Arrive in Delhi to Support Students
This is fake news, where an old video is being shared. It is actually a video of a pilgrimage.
Please dont believe everything you read on social media, especially verify before you pontificate.
Any proof from the home ministry on any of your allegations? Has Zomato, Blinkit, Swiggy confirmed that the majority are from the countrys you mentioned and not India?
Who is the source of the 10% number? Do you not know that parents and working professionals are supporting their juniors in this protest?
Is Inquilab zindabad? Bharat Mata Ki jai anti national? There are always going to be people who have their own thoughts and views you disagree with, it does not mean the protestors at large agree with it, or they are even supporting it, please try to see the big picture and not focus on anything that you can use to smear the protest for your own purposes.
//many see modi govt. as facilitating this stir to release pent up anger amongst the youth. the protest doesn’t seem to have the traction IAC had. i have seen working professionals fasting by foregoing at least one meal a day then, in support of anna hazare.//
The media is not showing the outporing of support, and the very fact that the govt is meeting with these people is a direct counter to each and every aspersion of lack of seriousness, being paid, being insincere that have been levelled at them on this blog, at least once the people you are casting aspersions for, have changed track for sometime, you also should have some self reflection.
Here is a source that shows your allegations of most orders coming from outside of India, especially the countries you mention is wrong. Please keep this in mind.
Hundreds of people order food online for protestors at Jantar Mantar – The Hindu
I doubt that’s gonna happen. These protests will force Pradhan in the education ministry because BJP will not want to seem to be capitulating to protest demands. What is most likely going to happen is that Pradhan will be rotated into the Margdarshak Mandal after the next national election.
https://x.com/sabine_kayani/status/2080596028860899616?s=20
https://x.com/tayyabarajah/status/2080571243712188714?s=20
https://x.com/sabine_kayani/status/2080410413301428539?s=20
https://x.com/manoj_216/status/2080674238630179294?s=20
After Elon took over X, I noticed that you could scroll as before, if you dont have account.
Is the voice feature also disabled, if you dont have an account?
what voice feature?
I’ve stopped using Twitter for a long time, used a bit last year for Sindoor, then the war in Feb/March and now the last day or two…
it is very good to get *all sides*
but I don’t pay attention to it.
I mean, will videos not play now, if you dont have an account, since I cant hear anything.
Anyways what do these pakistani think is the reason these protests cant happen.
Anyways I think that these kinds of protest are only a matter of time, sine the main conditions that have led to this protest here:
1) Weakening returns for education in form of growing joblessness among the youth
2) An increasingly deteached political system from day-to-day concerns, with it being very clear that people with access to political power and money having better lives and opportunities most dont have.
3) Weakening institutional redressal mechanisms due to weakening of institutions are also there in Pakistan as well.
Calvin, if people try to cause havoc in our national capital, Pak Fauj will shut it down in five minutes. Pakistan Army will not tolerate this for a minute. We learned our lesson from the May 9 2023 riots where Imran Khan’s followers attacked our military institutions.
Pakistan is a hybrid regime–unlike India. Anti-state and anti-Army actions will not be tolerated for one minute.
//Anti-state and anti-Army actions will not be tolerated for one minute.//
Why exactly is protesting and demanding accountability an anti state or anti army measure?
You being a US citizen should know how important accountability is in any country, and that asking this is not anti national in anyways.
Why is it that so many priveleged people be they in India or Pakistan, seem to treat people going against their favorite leaders as some sort of conspiracy, it shows that despite all the bravado you probably lack belief in your armys popularity, and state system.
Anyways, I think it is just a matter of time before the above three factors I highlighted get people on the street, hope the state of Pakistan learns the right lessons from its subcontinental neighbors.
as I joked on the BP WhatsApp group –
“it seems that BJP have yet to learn from Field Marshall Sahib on how to run a proper totalitarian state”
If India admits it’s a totalitarian state, that would be one thing. But instead we get the rhetoric of “world’s largest democracy”.
Pakistan is open about being a hybrid regime. Everyone knows Pak Fauj is a red line and it must not be questioned.
There is a whatsapp group?
https://chat.whatsapp.com/ECG7yRZwbFcHusqGoXz8aP?s=cl&p=i&ilr=0&amv=2
To be clear, I have no issues with people protesting for their rights.
However, Pakistan is not a democracy. It’s a hybrid regime. Pak Faj will not let anyone get anywhere near the Red Zone (where the parliament etc is). Anyone who dares to raise their eyes against Pak Fauj knows what the consequences are. We are a national security state and our military is our red line. There will be no more incidents like May 9, 2023.
India claims to be a democracy and therefore must be judged by the standards of a democracy. If India declares itself a hybrid regime tomorrow then those standards cease to apply.
I do find it very interesting that the Indians on this site mock students protesting against an education minister and yet those same people are so sympathetic to the Pak “awaam”. It shows that that sympathy is really a mask for wanting the Islamic Republic weakened.
Dharmendra Pradhan just resigned, so will want to avoid any frustration that may come from engaging with the pakistani version of the firefighting for your favorite leaders.
That’s great that he resigned. I don’t know why that couldn’t have happened months ago. What was the need for people to go on hunger strike or to beat protestors?
To be clear, India has much more credibility as a democracy than Pakistan.
I was just answering your question as to why such protests don’t happen in Pakistan. It’s because the Army will shut them down right away. Pak Fauj has no tolerance for any kind of anti state activity.
//I don’t know why that couldn’t have happened months ago. What was the need for people to go on hunger strike or to beat protestors?//
Because as Rajnath Singh said, this is not the UPA govt where people resign, this is NDA. It is mostly am ego issue that it will look weak.
Then there is a mistrust of people who disagree with them, which you can go through the discussion here to get an idea of.
I mean if they had sacrificed one minister weeks ago, presumably this movement wouldn’t have gotten so big.
I have skimmed the discussion here. You’ve been doing an admirable job dealing with defenders of the regime.
It is interesting this was big enough a scandal that the Minister should have resigned. If this had been the UK; that would certainly have been the case.
and uk is leapfrogging to greatness with musical chairs of PMs.
Lalu Yadav’s daughter is a “Doctor”. Two of my acquaintances from AIIMS were deputed to correct the examination papers in Bihar. A couple of goons entered the center, put a gun to the heads of these two guys and asked them to either pass her or die. They obviously did their bidding and this lady is today a “Doctor”.
There are many stories from that joker MMS’s era as well as many such stories from Tamil Nadu too that I know of.
I am glad that the government is now responding to the urgent need for further strengthening centrally administered examinations, which frankly is the only credible examination system in the country.
Also glad that the issue is being separated from the protestors themselves, who are being led by highly compromised social justice warriors.
NEET was first introduced in 2013 by UPA.
The same major national paper leaks that have happned before also occured under NTA instituted by the present govt, because the same structural failures that led to earlier state led leaks have not been plugged. Plus the only reason the measures are being announced is the pressure these protestors put, without the pressure, this would be forgotten just like how the previous fast track investigation in NEET 2024 was forgotten. You know that the CBI got the wrong guy in that right? Will be interesting to see if without any public pressure like this, a new investigation is made or that also gets forgotten like the investigation into many other paper leaks under the NTA.
AIIMS entrance exam paper leak happened in 2006 & 2011, CBSE leak in 2005, Railway recruitment paper leak in 2012. The list is so long it will bring tears to the eyes of the unbiased observer, which these protesting leaders are not as can be easily concluded by just checking their affiliations.
Obviously pressure is needed – these chaps are not saints. But the issue is separate from these compromises protestor leader chaps.
//AIIMS entrance exam paper leak happened in 2006 & 2011, CBSE leak in 2005, Railway recruitment paper leak in 2012. The list is so long it will bring tears to the eyes of the unbiased observer, which these protesting leaders are not as can be easily concluded by just checking their affiliations.//
And NEET leaked in 2024 and 2026 under NTA.
The reported paper leaks have been close to 89 in the last 10 years and the reported paper leaks have been about 25-30 in UPA era. We see regularity in both places.
The protest was about establishing accountability not protesting paper leaks, since the very beginning and it is clearly their pressure that has led to urgency in solving NEET 2026, without pressure the same problems will remain, no one is a saint, but as citizens protesting and raising discontent is the only thing we can do, if there is no pressure there is no work, without fearing that your victory margin will be lesser, most of the paper leak investigation will go nowhere.
Looks like the protests are officially over.
Most likely this is a pause. There are other things waiting around the corner like fcra, trade deal etc. Expect ongoing regime change efforts,
It’s the first scalp. Any clever movement will be judicious.
you call it movement/accountability, we call it regime change effort. Interesting times ahead.
https://www.economictimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/rahul-gandhi-says-its-time-to-remove-modi-govt-after-dharmendra-pradhans-resignation/articleshow/132624317.cms
The August issue of The Peshawar Review is out now.
BP readers may appreciate Angela Ali’s watercolors of Agra’s Mughal monuments (Note: Angela is my second cousin)
https://thepeshawarreview.substack.com/p/visions-of-mughal-heritage-an-architectural
Since we were discussing gender and feminism recently, Samia Altaf (my mother) writes for The Peshawar Review about Bee Gul’s drama “Aik Aur Pakeezah”
https://thepeshawarreview.substack.com/p/power-of-the-play
Yes I saw – I feel like the links should be embedded in the emails. Because there were a few articles I wanted to read but then there were no links
That’s a good suggestion.
I guess the idea is that when it’s announced that the new issue is out people can go to the website and see them all there. Since it’s only once a month.
Was it Furqan who wrote the Cover Email; I’m happy to help you out where I can ..
It looks like a good initiative
It’s actually my dad who writes the letter from the editor.
oh interesting..
iran-any impartial report?
“Emily Wilson, whose translation of The Odyssey partly inspired Christopher Nolan, hated the movie”
https://images.dawn.com/news/1195598/emily-wilson-whose-translation-of-the-odyssey-partly-inspired-christopher-nolan-hated-the-movie
I haven’t watched the movie and I probably won’t. Watching a 3 hour long movie doesn’t seem like a good use of my time. But I did listen to a few podcasts on it which noted that he significantly reduced the agency of the female characters. Also, he got rid of the gods (except for Athena who is depicted as a figment of Odysseus’s imagination).
Athena is really there, she is not a figment of his imagination, but someone who only Odysseus engages with.
I do think you should go and watch the movie, it is an excellent adaption and you hardly even notice the 3 hours, I did not watch it in an IMAX theater and the acting, visuals, set design, costumes, and speciall effects are excellent.
You will not regret it, I assure you.
I’m not really a movie person but I’ll consider it.
I did find it interesting that Emily Wilson, who is the foremost recent translator of the Odyssey, hated it.
Yo XTM. Have you heard of any news about ancient Indian aDNA along the grapevine?
Hi DT – unfortunately I’m not so involved in the genetic space like RK.
you should get him to post st least once a month.
on the phenotype question, vance’s kids are all on the white side. where as in a mixed marriage, the dark skin element seems dominating. is it probably that usha’s steppe genes are coming out strongly?