A newer Open Thread is up: Open Thread: Navarātri and Durgā Pūjā →
Thank you Kabir for pointing out the need for a new open thread.
A few interesting issues that have come up in the last few days:
The drama with Tata Sons and Tata Trusts. Such a tragedy that after Ratan Tata, not a single titan left to steer the ship.
The political drama surrounding the unfortunate suicide of the IITB student has now brought RaGa in.
The never ending US Iran conflict is putting more pressure on India. This will have a domino effect on Indian energy needs. How much worse is this going to get? Will only the mid-term elections bring relief to the US and the rest of the world from the crazy dictator called Trump?
What’s cooking between Trump and Xi?
Why Apple picked Google over OpenAI? The law shows up everywhere! And a counterpoint: AI will not kill us…
Bezos Earth fund is committing 25 Million USD more towards ocean conservation. Step in the right direction.
The next generation of pilgrims that have set foot in America, the Hindu Americans. How is an increasingly xenophobic United States dealing with its newest immigrants?
The next generations “piligrims” in U S are probably not feeling the pressure to integrate into the white society, have formed critical mass in certain areas where their community activities can happen, also the white society is not all that welcoming them outside the work environment.
So…..
Don’t know if American involvement in Nepal’s colour revolution was discussed. Kathmandu’s arrest of a prominent political observer who shared critical reporting by The Grayzone is the latest sign that a government which promised reform may be more repressive than the one it forcibly replaced.The Supreme Court of Nepal has ordered the government to explain its reasoning for arresting political analyst Bharatmani Dahal, who was jailed by the country’s cyber police on the grounds that he had spread “misinformation” by sharing a recent report by The Grayzone.https://thegrayzone.com/2026/09/23/nepal-arrests-analyst-grayzone-expose/
The Americans really try and stir trouble everywhere. They’ve been meddling in Bangladesh as well.
Why is it that nobody (or atleast it seems to me) isn’t trying to deepen the fissures in the US? Let the shoe be on the other foot for a change.
From the latest issue of “The Peshawar Review”:
Professor Harbans Mukhia remembers Dr. K.M. Ashraf
https://thepeshawarreview.substack.com/p/legends-of-a-guru
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=REV1xzLbB8o
its prof.RV on indian economy, bit dated and often repeated, but lively..
business should be for profit. if it is for charity, TATA mess will repeat.
Cut and paste from Telegraph,
https://www.telegraphindia.com/business/tata-boardroom-clash-prompts-india-inc-to-rethink-of-shareholder-protections/cid/2181652#goog_rewarded
Tata boardroom clash prompts India Inc to rethink shareholder protections
The governance clash is raising the alarm among Indian companies about how far a board can go to overrule a majority shareholder
“The stand-off at Tata Sons is a result of the Tata Trusts’ limited board representation (of two members),” said Umakanth Varottil, a professor at the National University of Singapore who specialises in corporate law and governance.
“That combination of majority ownership, limited board representation and divided nominee directors is unlikely to be replicated in many companies,” he added.
Interesting. Mehli Mistry has resigned last I heard.
Apple has become more of a consumer electronics brand than a frontier tech brand. Their choice rarely influence greater technology standards anymore. Sure an iphone fold might mean a couple Asian tech companies might start creating more folding phones to mimic Apple. But realistically Apple’s choice on Siri AI rarely matters to the greater AI race. Gemini is widely considered to be the company falling behind on the frontiers of AI. Google has been hemorrhaging talent to other AI companies and at this point its top level models are far behind what Anthropic or OpenAI are capable of delivering and neither are they at the same price point as many Chinese models like Deepseek V4 Flash.
So is the big giant finally seeing a Microsoft like decay pattern with newer competitors?
ECI gnanesh kumar is dalit, says karjola, karnataka bjp MP from a reserved category. india never ceases to amaze.
“History: Reading Ambedkar and Jalal On the Idea of Pakistan”
By Sara Malkani
https://www.dawn.com/news/2032205/history-reading-ambedkar-and-jalal-on-the-idea-of-pakistan
Sara Malkani is a lawyer practicing in Karachi
Very illuminating. What is the point though? The bitterness and trauma of partition will continue to haunt the peoples of undivided India.
the endless litigation of Partition?
The point is that very few people in Pakistan are familiar with Dr. Ambedkar’s book.
It’s an academic piece examining some of the contradictions of Ayesha Jalal’s thesis that an independent nation-state was never really Quaid-e-Azam’s goal but rather a bargaining chip.
“Bitterness and trauma” need not get in the way of a dispassionate examination of History. Historians are able to academically examine the Holocaust for example–which is equally if not more traumatic.
Is it just my location, or has this site become unbearably slow to load for everybody?
Oh really is that the case. Let me double check
there is some latency. let me investigate
could it be cache or cookies by any chance?
it’s almost certainly the cache cookie because when I switch browser it’s much faster.
possibly. i cleared the cache, there is a marginal improvement. Still sluggish, esp actions like login.
Yes, been experiencing similar issues.
I think it must be a cache issue on the server itself I’ll investigate more
I cleared the cache on the server; @Indo & @Agni let me know if this works?
Yes, very responsive, my end.
Yup, all good now 👍🏻
thanks Indo & Agni for raising this!
Ah very good point – I wasn’t logged in the other browser.
Trouble in lovely university. Student anger every where is exploding.
People seems want a change and are not in a position to articulate properly.
Student protests in lovely university. Lots of frustration and no channel to articulate properly.
Everyone is sort of unhappy.
Staleness is in the air. Alternatives are not inspiring enough.
CJP looks repeatitative, Prashanth Kishore sensing an opportunity is moving into Delhi.
Modi should act and change big, both policy and personalites.
LPU is in Punjab. The LPU owner switched parties from AAP to BJP. This could just as easily be retribution from the AAP.
PK is an AK redux imo.
Been hearing that both the PM and HM want to cut Yogi to size. Why though? He’s far more popular than Modi was as CM and heads the biggest state in terms of sending reps to the LS (not sure, am I right?)
He is not from RSS and hence independent.
His mutt was in hindutva before RSS found its feet in UP.
RSS might be more comfortable with Nagpur boy fhadnavis.
My comment went to spam?
Yogi is not from RSS and hence independent. His mutt was in hindutva earlier than rss in UP.
rss might be more comfortable with nagpur boy fhadnavis.
I came across this essay by Sara Malkani on Jane Austen ( published last year on Austen’s 250th anniversary):
” Essay: Austen’s Sense and Sensibility”
https://www.dawn.com/news/1962057
“What China Sees in ‘Jane Eyre’, Now Required Reading for Ninth Graders”
By Yan Zhuang and Li You
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/28/world/asia/china-jane-eyre-required-reading-literature.html
Geez. Even if the Chinese govt can convince people to get married and have children, the TFR has plummeted to such an extent that it won’t recover.
The world by and large is rapidly aging. Sci-fi might actually be reality at some point. Wall-E or Interstellar seems to be very likely given the destruction unleashed by humanity on nature.
I just think it’s funny that that is the lesson the Chinese have drawn from Jane Eyre.
The relationship between Jane and Mr. Rochester is actually quite toxic. When one reads it as a teenager, one thinks it’s deeply romantic. But as an adult, you realize that the man has a wife locked in the attic and he wants to marry Jane anyway. She’s also his employee–which would make his behavior towards her sexual harassment.
When she finds out he’s already married, he asks her to be his mistress. She only refuses because of her deeply Christian values.
Bertha (Mr. Rochester’s wife) is from the Caribbean and it’s implied that she’s of mixed race. There was an association at the time between being of mixed race and insanity.
Lol true. Looks like the Chinese are in sync with Victorian England mores!
Related to Jane Eyre:
Radhikha Yeddanapudi wrote about the book for “The Peshawar Review” last year
https://thepeshawarreview.substack.com/p/to-jane-who-still-wanders-the-moors
as soon as Rahul is getting some traction, BJP is pulling Varun Gandhi from the cold. he is to go to rajya sabha.!!
Yes the Nehru-Gandhi legacy is potent.
Why aren’t MahatmaJi’s descendants in politics?
Some were in politics…Rajmohan Gandhi, Gopalkrishna Gandhi…also grandsons of C.Rajagopalachari via the maternal line.
As if someone read your mind! Here’s the latest in the Print:
https://theprint.in/india/where-are-gandhis-descendants-now-doctors-filmmaker-rj-but-only-a-few-politicians/3059626/
“Swedish rights prize honors Pakistani human rights lawyer Jalila Haider”
https://www.dawn.com/news/2033707/swedish-rights-prize-honours-pakistani-human-rights-lawyer-jalila-haider
https://theprint.in/opinion/security-code/mbs-grandfather-abdulaziz-saudi-arabia-yemen/3057644/
Fascinating piece. I am usually not a fan of Praveen Swami’s meandering style but there’s always some historical nuggets.
He loves his……..viby intros a bit too much doesn’t he.
Just in:
https://www.bbc.com/news/live/cw980g1lem5pt
So, there was an attempted hijacking of a FlyDubai, two Israeli pilots injured. Flight diverted to Saudi Arabia. SA doesn’t have diplomatic relations with Israel.
Story still developing.
Indian pilot apparently stabbed and somehow managed to open the door.
This was an 9/11 style attack prevented in the sky. Crazy.
Israel says Indian was copilot. He was from Bombay, the name is most unfamiliar.
Apparently the Pilot was Indian and the Copilot was Omani. The Omani copilot assaulted the pilot with intentions of crashing the plane but the passengers were able to intervene in time but the Indian pilot was stabbed.
Smit Machchhar? Gujarati name, just a victim of some numerology silliness by the parents, let that not detract from his bravery.
Indeed. Been reading how he held strong despite severe blood loss and opened the cockpit door. That action saved everyone on board.
https://edition.cnn.com/2026/10/01/india/india-captain-smit-machchhar-flydubai-intl-hnk
” ‘We want justice’: series of rapes trigger mass protests at Indian universities”
By Hannah Ellis-Petersen and Aakash Hassan
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/sep/30/rapes-triggers-mass-protests-indian-universities
Wasn’t there supposed to be a ceasefire on Kabir posting about India?
No?
This is a disingenuous complaint.
If the Indians here can post negative news about Pakistan (which is done regularly), there is no reason that I cannot post negative news about India. One should not be gleeful about airing the dirty laundry of one’s “enemy” country and then become defensive about one’s own country.
This is not intellectually honest.
It’s far easier to cast aspersions on Pakistan than to seriously discuss the internal problems of one’s own country.
In any case, rape is a serious issue in India. If one has a problem with the reporting in this article, take it up with The Guardian.
Shooting the messenger is not a mature way of handling things.
That’s fine. I have no issues with you posting anything actually. Just wanted to be sure about the rules of the road.
“In any case, rape is a serious issue in India”
https://www.instagram.com/reel/Dcd4YB5hmAJ/
Sexual violence against women is a serious issue almost everywhere except Western Europe but a Pakistani calling India out is never going to be not funny.
Oh and Hannah Ellis Peterson? Hahaha I would’ve read the article if I wasn’t already familiar with her work.
“Just wanted to be sure about the rules of the road”– Technically, you are not supposed to reply to me at all. So let’s not be selective about the “rules of the road”.
If The Guardian reports students protesting rapes in Pakistan’s national capital, I have no issues with that being posted here.
However, that is not the case.
Casting aspersions on a journalist because her work doesn’t align with one’s right-wing politics is not the done thing.
This is a prime example of the Indians on this site being willing to post extremely negative news about Pakistan and then becoming defensive when the finger is pointed at their own country.
I will not post anything negative about India if you all don’t post a single negative thing about the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
Technically, you are not supposed to reply to me at all. So let’s not be selective about the “rules of the road”.
Oh no, I never claimed safe harbor when XTM offered it but if you need a “ceasefire” then I am happy to oblige. I think even the most problematic views should be aired in public. How else would we have confirmed the conclusions anyone who has interacted with you arrives at – how truly full of hate you are towards Hindus and those of a darker hue.
I’ve noticed with the site redesign; it’s more difficult to have flame wars in the thread.
Q is right in a way; the previous design was “cosier.”
This is a lot slicker but also more generic as well. Well c’est la vie.
“I never claimed safe harbor”– Technically you fall under the “Online Safety Precedent” so you are not supposed to reply to me. Just so we all understand the “rules of the road”.
“How full of hate you are towards Hindus”– You have amply demonstrated how much hate you carry towards Muslims and Pakistanis.
So this is the pot calling the kettle black.
“You have amply demonstrated how much hate you carry towards Muslims and Pakistanis.”
You know what they say about statements without evidence? Oh wait…
This is why media freedom is so important.
https://www.opindia.com/2026/06/who-is-hannah-ellis-petersen-anti-india-propgandist-cockroach-janta-party-protest-details/
We all knew that Dubai had Indian plumbers. Now even Israeli plumbers are present there!!.
Plumbers life matters!!
“The all-men court rolling back women’s rights in Pakistan”
By Rida Hosain
https://www.dawn.com/news/2033991/the-all-men-court-rolling-back-womens-rights-in-pakistan
The writer is a barrister
https://www.indiatoday.in/opinion/story/dmks-autumn-from-kallakudis-rails-to-the-smartphone-trap-2999982-2026-09-22
Jawahar ‘s tongue in cheek article. Nice read.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/29/us/anthropic-claude-morals-ai.html
Apparently Swami Sarvapriyananda a scholar in Vedanta was invited by Anthropic to guide the AI Claude on morality in its training. There were leaders from Judaism, Catholicism, Evangelical and Sikhism faiths invited as well.
Swami Sarvapriyananda gives fabulous discourses on Vedanta. I think he’s still at Harvard Divinity?
AI on morality? Hmm it will pick up the most likely morality in a given situation from it’s database I think notwithstanding what religious leaders say. And that may not be morally correct all the time? Which might give an impression that the AI is sentient, which it’s not. It’s just mimicking the most probable behavior imo.
Actually, its been shown that you don’t need too many sources of information to actually alter the information with which an AI may answer a given question. The way AI encodes its training data into its weights is through vectors in its neural networks. These can be rather easily influenced during training, if the AI is provided I think around 50-120 articles supporting a given view its position on a given topic can be changed rather easily. So it might not be completely in vain.
The challenge will be on the probabilistic weighting that might swing it one way or another.
Atleast in terms of absolute morality, I find a divergence between differing traditions, so relative morality like local minima or maxima won’t always be the global optima.
Data drift in real time does result in large margins of error. Then the underlying model trained on specific data cannot be validated universally.
“India’s Cockroach Janata Party, student groups to protest, demand poll chief’s resignation”
https://www.dawn.com/news/2034218/indias-cockroach-janata-party-student-groups-to-protest-demand-poll-chiefs-resignation
Sharjeel Imam’s “interview” in the Quint is really eye opening. The unadulterated hate someone so educated is full of makes you wonder if better education outcomes actually alleviate radicalization. If recent record is anything to go by, the more educated radicalization is perhaps more a phenomenon amongst the highly literate.
I think the educated radicalisation can be traced right from the 9/11 terrorists to Osama Bin Laden globally and no doubt to all our home grown ones. Dawood was possibly the only one to not fall in the “educated” category per se.
Besides, imo formal education cannot take away radical religious beliefs despite those being overwhelmingly irrational, especially if the dogma is very pronounced as is in Imam’s case.
The Quint has done everyone a service by interviewing him, though possibly unintentional given their own views. Self-goal!
Its shocking to me how Indian Lelis can defend the indefensible. And get away with it.
Seriously, though I hope they no longer can get away with it.
a couple of things. this open thread could technically stay on forever ..
I’m also thinking of a random article generator.
let me know of any other website suggestions
I suggest that a new “Open Thread” be created every time the previous one crosses 100 comments. That should keep things manageable.
perhaps
1) Modi has, finally nailed it by calling smit as sumit.
2) Indian women have won gold in hockey. Good.
3) presidential advisor of Dubai has called it a terrorist act.