A newer Open Thread is up: Open Thread: Navarātri and Durgā Pūjā →
Today is Gandhi Jayanti, 157 years since Mohandas Gandhi was born in Porbandar. This is the Open Thread for it: talk about Gandhi, or about anything else.
Open Threads now follow the festivals
Kabir suggested a new thread every 100 comments. I’ve gone one better: a new Open Thread will open on each major festival of the subcontinent. Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Sindhi, Persian and Bahá’í days all count. That makes 18 threads a year, from one Gandhi Jayanti to the next.
The year ahead:
| Date | Open Thread | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fri 2 Oct 2026 | Gandhi Jayanti |
| 2 | Sun 11 Oct 2026 | Navarātri and Durgā Pūjā |
| 3 | Sun 8 Nov 2026 | Diwali and Bandi Chhor Divas |
| 4 | Tue 24 Nov 2026 | Guru Nanak Gurpurab and Dev Deepawali |
| 5 | Sun 20 Dec 2026 | Gītā Jayantī |
| 6 | Fri 15 Jan 2027 | Makar Saṅkrānti, Lohri and Pongal |
| 7 | ~Tue 9 Feb 2027 | Ramadan begins |
| 8 | ~Wed 10 Mar 2027 | Eid al-Fitr |
| 9 | Sun 21 Mar 2027 | Holi, Hola Mohalla and Nowruz |
| 10 | Thu 8 Apr 2027 | Cheti Chand, the Sindhi New Year |
| 11 | Wed 14 Apr 2027 | Vaisakhi |
| 12 | Wed 21 Apr 2027 | Riḍván |
| 13 | ~Mon 17 May 2027 | Eid al-Adha |
| 14 | ~Wed 16 Jun 2027 | Muharram and Ashura |
| 15 | Sun 18 Jul 2027 | Guru Pūrṇimā |
| 16 | ~Sun 15 Aug 2027 | Rakṣā Bandhan and Mawlid |
| 17 | Tue 24 Aug 2027 | Janmāṣṭamī |
| 18 | Sat 4 Sep 2027 | Gaṇeśa Chaturthī |
Then Gandhi Jayanti comes round again and the cycle repeats. If I’ve missed a festival you think belongs on the list, say so below.
India’s independent day, ambedkar birthday.
Thank you fb.
To Kabir, RNJ & NDG – I didn’t spend so much time and effort on redesigning BP, to a very high standard (I might add), for it to descend into an intercenine flame war.
I have absolutely no interest in “flame wars”. That’s the whole point of the Online Safety Precedent.
I would appreciate if the passive aggression is brought to an end. We don’t have to like each other and are entitled to our different political views. But there is no need for snide attacks or accusing people of hypocrisy.
sure
Eid Milad un Nabi should be added to the list.
I would also add Christmas and Easter since South Asian Christians do exist.
Also I want to make sure each Open Thread at least crosses 50 comments before a new one is made.
“Claude Martin: The OG Rags to Riches”
By Shah Umair
https://sikkawala.substack.com/p/claude-martin-the-og-rags-to-riches?
A quick note on what’s new:
Should airlines be forced to disclose the religious affiliation of the pilots of a flight before passengers book their tickets? Given what happened in flydubai, many of my friends have been calling airline companies asking for this information. They were surprised that the airlines were already fielding such calls and even said they understood the reasons behind the query but were not authorized as yet to reveal such details. What is the commentariat’s opinion? I personally would like to know :). I don’t want to board a plane where some bugger might decide to do namaz inside the cockpit rather than focussing on flying, never mind extreme cases where they decide to attack their colleague and crash the plane.
Earlier it was said that all El Al flights used to have an armed Marshall disguised as a passenger.
So were the spare pilots and that plumber in disguise? Really?
There were 12 flights to Tel Aviv daily. This means that Israel was totally integrated into gulf.
Perhaps that was the reason for complacence.
I feel this is a terrible idea. Every kind of stupid prejudice will be on display.
Airlines need to sort this out on their end. Courts should block any stupid activist appeals towards not hiring the possibly radicalised.
Unfortunately in a world ruled by low common sense, where corporate hands are tied by activist minorities, customers devolve into making the situation far worse.
Personally I will not be going down this route. It seems far too improbable over correction for the statistics surrounding it.
I was surprised that the airlines response was such that it seemed they were not at all surprised at being asked such a query. They also went a step further to say they understood the concerns and requested that a detailed email be sent outlining the same!
I obviously want to to trust that the airline has done its job and is putting someone at the helm who is not drunk, or radicalized or just nuts. But the casualness of flydubai makes me think there are a lot of airlines simply not taking this seriously.
That is probably a better test. If the airline responds with – all our pilots are carefully vetted, and customer safety is highest priority etc.
It could mean that they have a competent PR dept, but I suppose we just need to run these gauntlets.
On another note, one of my friends who moved to the US 3 years ago told me he does not fly domestic with family as the risk of the kids getting pulled out by ICE is too high. Needless to say they are all legal residents, but have heard some harrowing tales.
Unfortunate that things are so bad with ICE doing this kind of stuff. This is no way to live.
Why would anyone in their right mind move to the US at this point in time (+- 5 years)?!
Things went downhill awhile back, accelerated by the second coming of Trump. He’s almost like an Antichrist.
Most folks I know are stuck on F-1 or H1-B Visas rn. People in corporate jobs have given up hope for Green Cards a long while ago, but the people in academia are still rather hopeful as they are a bit insulated from the day-to-day noise. But even then funding has gotten tighter for the people pursing research projects.
It’s terrible to have that visa hanging like a Damocles sword over one’s neck 😬
I’ve heard academia is not in good shape at all. Many are in ostrich mentality mode unfortunately. Quite a few I heard are migrating north across the border or planning to come back to India.
The Green card backlog is pretty bad from what I hear.
Last I checked the line for Indians to get a green card was about as long as a century.
Non-zero probability is still a probable event. Flydubai would have been considered improbable.
Yes people should know who their captain is. They should also be required to disclose the gender of the pilot.
Who wants to be piloted by a female? Not me. When shit hits the fan, I need competence and calmness at the helm, not chaos.
Masterful trolling 👏👏. Any thoughts on furries?
Admin note: Such misogynistic rubbish will result in a ban. This is a warning to watch what you say.
Im actually serious. You put your life in the hands of your driver/pilot. You should know who they are. And not just religion but also gender.
Let us not forget October 2nd is also Lal Bahadur Shastri’s birth anniversary. A true stalwart and genuine leader.
My personal grouse is that 2nd October is always overshadowed by Gandhi.
“First Person: The Thirsty Traveller”
By Anwar Rammal
https://www.dawn.com/news/2033856/first-person-the-thirsty-traveller
“When is the right time to compare US politics to the Nazi era? This expert on Christian nationalism says: now”
By David Smith
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2026/oct/03/robert-p-jones-backslide-interview
Has anyone been watching Netflix’s “East of Eden”?
Steinbeck considered the novel to be his masterpiece and it is one of the candidates for the “great American novel”.
Much of the conversation online has been about the female lead–Cathy Ames– whom Steinbeck depicted as a monster but the Netflix producers have attempted to humanize somewhat.
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/10/12/east-of-eden-tv-review-netflix
I haven’t read the novel ( we had to read “Of Mice and Men” in 9th Grade). Personally, it seems like a somewhat heavy handed exploration of the Cain and Abel story. But it seems to be everyone’s favorite novel on Substack. People have posted pictures of themselves carrying the book during their commutes in Delhi.
I go to the cinema
Once a week (if I’m lucky) and a book club every 2-3 months but other than that I’m quite the Philistine.
Btw if you want to write on it; our SEO optimisation is up.
A lot of the site design avoids flame wars.
I don’t really have any particular thoughts on this adaptation. It does seem to have become a sensation on Netflix.
One interesting thing is that it has been adapted by Zoe Kazan, who is the granddaughter of Elia Kazan who directed the 1955 adaptation starring James Dean.
https://theprint.in/world/pakistani-airstrikes-kill-nine-in-afghanistan-taliban-say/3059271/
“Open war” seems to also include bombing women and children. I wonder what the Pakistani strategy is behind all this. Even if you tame the Taliban, you are not going to win the hearts of the average Afghan with such moves.
Its a direct continuation of the British strategy during the third Anglo-Afghan War of just bombing the tribes into submission after the land invasions failed horribly. There are no hearts to be won across the Afghan border as it will always be an enemy to Pakistan as no self-respecting Pashtun will ever accept the Durand line. This is simply a grass-cutting operation which will have to be repeated constantly.
It allows PakMil to pantomime military strength and superiority while it struggles in internal firefighting in NWFP and Balochistan.
I think the current Pak policy towards AFG carries a lot of risk, and just like its India policy, its designed with primacy to PakMil interests over Pakistani interests.
The pantomiming can only last for so long. The reality is as the drone tech from Russia-Ukraine war percolates into Afghanistan the Pakistani will find it difficult to bombard Afghanistan without retaliation. The distance between Afghan borders and Islamabad is low enough that even some of the medium range drones could be used to bombard its capital.
“Pakistani directors win big at Mosaic International South Asian Film Festival in Canada”
https://images.dawn.com/news/1195952/pakistani-directors-win-big-at-mosaic-international-south-asian-film-festival-in-canada
We should all suggest and get the sanctioned strength of our Supreme Court to atleast 600 judges, so that they can pontificate on everything from clogged drains to height of dahi handi.
The lawyers cannot say that many of these are not in the remit of the SC, without quoting Plato, Shakespeare and chanakya.
Pathetic indeed.
https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/flydubai-british-airways-ba295-emergency-london-to-chicago-ireland-12141824/amp/1
What now?!
https://www.economist.com/asia/2026/10/05/a-controversial-new-power-grab-in-pakistan
A controversial new power grab in Pakistan
The powerful army chief wants to redraw the political map
Is Gandhi politically homeless? Its hard to find an earnest disciple these days, or maybe its my bubble. It would be interesting to see poll results for Gen Z across south asian countries compared by their views on him.
need some inspiration for the posts
This is a good question.
Lelis are into calling him a sexist UC pervert.
Godhis are focused on rehabilitating Sarvarkar and despise the non violence + Congress origin.
I wonder if it’s my contrarian nature, childhood indoctrination or desire to eschew the fringes that brings me to defend him.
It is the Hindu belief that a mind with supreme self control attains the capability of changing reality.
Gandhiji is the physical embodiment of that. The metaphor made real. It is a shame the RW do not see this.
Meanwhile his socialist ideals, upliftment of the poor, anti communal stance, anti caste stance, immense personal sacrifices and unwavering moral compass, are ignored by the left.
He can easily be a unifying figure, but in a polarizing world seems abandoned.
Yes, i guess this is what makes him so unique, and so civilizationally particular. That said, his moral certitude is whats frustrating. We are living in the legacy of social activist as national father. Its a bit unusual, and one wonders whether some of the most persistent cultural pathologies stem from it.
https://theprint.in/national-interest/india-hard-state-gandhian-values/3060496/
Shekhar Gupta makes the opposite point to it in his recent article about India being a hard state in a Gandhian cover. I don’t completely agree with this premise but I just want to remind you Gandhi started out as a war recruiter for the British to enlist Gujarati South Africans to become medics during the Boer wars. Gandhi might seem like an average social activist on the first look but the man was a rather complex person.
“It costs a lot of money to keep this man (Gandhi) in poverty.” -Sarojini Naidu
I would agree with his point, but both can be true. The masses follow the earnest reading of gandhism and the state runs it’s own playbook with the earned legitimacy from that narrative.
This state runs on Nehru ‘s principles.
To our collective detriment.
Hiss, don’t bite as per the parable is far preferable as a principle.
As cultural pathologies go, you have to concede it’s preferable than the French and their revolution obsession which devolves into burning tyres in the center of town at the drop of a hat.
Or the Americans and their trigger happy neurosis.
Or the Islamic world and their blasphemy ulcer.
Susceptibility to emotional blackmail via hunger strike, isnt the worst vice.
Disagree. The people paid the price of his shenanigans. Proof of the pudding is in the eating.
His legacy has left us even more vulnerable as a nation State, dharnabaazi has become a playbook for those wanting to cause mischief. Shaheenbaug, Farmers protests all take significant leaves out of his playbook.
Some degree of protests and activism is not a bad thing for a country to have. Elections cannot be the only valve on simmering societal frictions and issues of the disfranchised.
We’ve seen violent options in the neighbourhood, any of those catch your fancy instead?
Do you fancy that both the CAA agitation and the Farmers protests were just releasing “pressure” and soaked in the Gandhian spirit of non-violence?
I can’t understand if you think they are Gandhian or not.
https://www.brownpundits.com/2026/10/02/open-thread-gandhi-jayanti/#comment-147116
&
https://www.brownpundits.com/2026/10/02/open-thread-gandhi-jayanti/#comment-147125
argue 2 different sides. Tbh I was not following those closely at the time, apparently an intelligence officer got murdered by the AAP councillor during the CAA.
Sonam Wangchuk + CJP protest is closer to the Gandhian ideal
and they had a valid demand, as protests go, not too bad.
https://indosaurus.substack.com/p/the-malign-foreign-hand
I am quite paranoid about US run destabilisation playbooks with social media nowadays. It is annoying that no Indian company can get a Tiktok off the ground.
I thought you were arguing that those protests are better and needed instead of the more violent ones we’ve seen across the border.
I was trying to argue that those were as violent if not more malevolent in intent. Therefore, dharna culture has failed us as a country. Holding the country to ransom was part of the Gandhi playbook which has been upped by the CAA / Farmer type protests.
Agree that Sonam Wangchuk and CJP type protests are fine.
That’s a tempting comparison, but the moral theater obscures a lot. The french burning tires or the american fetishization of arms, whatever their pathologies, are downstream of societies that settled their internal equations of power through genuine, bottom-up conflict. The state’s monopoly on force was negotiated thoroughly.
India’s way of independence, by contrast, substituted actual political revolution with Gandhian moral coercion, which meant the colonial state’s coercive machinery was inherited entirely intact (to be just handed over to native elites). Considering partition violence as a different kind of rupture, while independence from britain may have avoided spectacular street violence, it was at the cost of leaving local, structural violence entirely unnegotiated beneath a veneer of constitutional saintliness.
Gandhian ‘dharna baazi’ looks gentler than a riot until you realize it helped build a republic that still relies on colonial laws and legacy methods of coercion to manage a society whose real balances of power were never honestly resolved.
+1
Yes, in agreement. Thank you for that precise articulation.
I think the long arc of history forces everyone into their stable equilibrium at the end.
Russia did innumerable revolutions and one of the greatest social experiments in history, only to finally end up with an effective Czar, an oligarch nobility and resource extraction serfs.
China likewise has an Emperor, a mandarin party and manufacturing peasants.
India is a squabbling, raucous, but ultimately humane, polity. Historically good at trading, though we’re still waiting for that to kick in. If we can get rich again, I fully expect a decentralisation of power down the line.
Though possibly AI’s will upend all predictions. In which case hopefully they upload our brains into a sim and we can revert to our ultimate archetype by declaring the world to be maya.
Shekhar Gupta’s article on both Gandhi and Nehru are reflective of a more reactive stance, rather than a proactive one. That nuance is worth distinguishing. Unfortunately the trend continued with Modi till the hits got unsustainable. The article also rightly points out the failure of the NaMo govt to increase defence spending.
SG is a weather wane. Hard to argue based on his positions.
True enough, however I am simply pointing out that an opposite argument exists to the viewpoint that the republic is some kind of a soft Gandhian state. SG’s argument doesn’t completely sway me either it just exists to create a juxtaposition from the more popular view.
LOL that’s funny. But not inaccurate.
I think he’s completely irrelevant tbh. Not for any other reason, just time. He was the best politician of his time and people believed in his aura. Gen Z aren’t quite that gullible. Not saying he may not have been genuine, but he played people, sidelined / negated threats (SC Bose notably) and co-opted sycophants (Nehru) with the ease of someone politically very savvy.
Perhaps its my bias, but very few individuals can transcend space and time, he’s not one of them.
Everyone is allowed to have whatever views they want on Gandhi (or on any other founding father).
But this seems like a massive over-correction to me. Whatever his faults, Gandhi led the non-cooperation movement and went to jail fighting for India’s freedom. He was an inspiration to Martin Luther King Junior.
I remember watching the movie “Gandhi” in 7th Grade Social Studies. That movie depicts Gandhi as a hero while Quaid-e-Azam is a sneering elitist in Saville Row suits.
Much later, I read Arundhati Roy’s book The Doctor and the Saint which examines his treatment of Dr. Ambedkar.
So it’s certainly possible to criticize Gandhi. But he’s still one of India’s major founding fathers.
He wasn’t a Mahatma, but that doesn’t take away any of his accomplishments. Elevating Gandhi and Nehru to messiahs has proven counterproductive to the nation and her people.
In fact, why was Jinnah reviled in that movie and Gandhi venerated as a saint? Nobody is perfect, all shades of grey. If anything, Ambedkar’s assessment of Gandhi I agree with.
I agree with you that no one is a saint. All historical figures have to be treated with nuance. They are not gods or prophets.
I assume the movie is based on a Indian nationalist perspective which is why Quaid-e-Azam is depicted as a villain.
Later, Akbar Ahmed made a movie called “Jinnah” which tells the story from a Pakistani perspective which is of course much more flattering to the Quaid.
My main memory of watching “Gandhi” in class is the teacher telling everyone that Gandhi was wearing a sari. I had to raise my hand and clarify that he was wearing a dhoti and only women wear saris. I must have been 12 or 13.
He was so effective, it makes you wonder who’s interests he never substantively questioned.
Indeed.
I don’t think Gandhi is abandoned by any party. Unlike Savarkar his portraits aren’t removed or installed based on the affiliation of the party in power. Gandhi might simply not be the only god in the pantheon of the Indian State anymore as old gods like SC Bose, Savarkar, etc are being dug up.
Not to mention the continuous indoctrination in school textbooks fixating on the messiah complex that elevates Gandhi and Nehru onto pedestals instead of acknowledging them as well as so many others who contributed.
“The rich, the righteous and Umera Ahmed”
By Sabahat Zakariya
https://images.dawn.com/news/1195955/the-rich-the-righteous-and-umera-ahmed
This is about middle class morality and Pakistani dramas.
Xi Jin ping ‘ team sought breakes in summit with trump.
He was uncomfortable in Delhi and skipped official banquet.
Kutch dal me Kala.
I’ve heard that he has suffered from medical issues ever since a botched assassination attempt several years prior. Which also necessitated having several doppelgangers.
He’s an old dude, its only the opacity that the CCP swears by that creates this aura of mystery.
I wouldn’t be surprised if his successor is already identified and heavily involved in running the show. What I would expect is that said successor is likely to face a challenge when Pooh bear departs for the afterlife. Its just hardwired into the nature of the ‘politburo’ beast.
Modi is older than Xi. Modi appears a lot more energetic and active despite his age, meanwhile Xi retreats to private interactions whenever given chance. It could be chalked up to different cultural aspects but I wouldn’t be surprised if some kind of health complication was also involved.
tbf a section of rw anglo glazers should stop raising china bogey. at this point, Chinese are LivePlayers. They can very well claim that their emperor can tolerate only so much at a stretch and would sound more credible.
“Does Gandhi Still Matter? Ramachandra Guha on Gandhi, Ambedkar, Bhagat Singh & India Today”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7CKBDvRG6o
Of course Guha thinks Gandhi still matters. Nehruvian indians have so little self awareness of their own class partisanship. The frumpy vest and kurta and heaps of nostalgia for a bureaucratic state whose decadence wasn’t inferred yet. Modiism may get successfully refuted one day, but it won’t come from this tradition.
I think saying that Gandhi “doesn’t matter” is a massive over-correction.
An argument can be made that much of the goodwill that India had internationally was because of Gandhi. People like Martin Luther King Junior and Nelson Mandela claimed Gandhi as an inspiration.
Like I’ve said above, no historical figure is a saint. Historians can discuss all these figures with nuance. But we should acknowledge Gandhi’s concept of non-violent resistance.
Certainly in Pakistan, no one would say Quaid-e-Azam “doesn’t matter”.
Similarly, in the US I don’t think anyone would state that Washington, Jefferson et al “don’t matter”. They can be reassessed in a nuanced manner but they remain the founding fathers.
https://youtube.com/shorts/9OpkPzm5yHY?si=Der21yiP9E-dyTj3
Interesting shorts.
The guy is explaining about district gdps of karnataka. His details of Mandya district is surprising.
“What a hospital transfer reveals about Pakistan’s top two courts”
By Zainab Shahid
https://www.dawn.com/news/2035621/what-a-hospital-transfer-reveals-about-pakistans-two-top-courts
The writer is a lawyer and a former clerk at the Supreme Court of Pakistan.
Nana patekar -Om Shanti.
From TOI
She was working as an officer in a bank. I would get paid Rs 50 per show, and she had a salary of Rs 2500. I could only make Rs 750 after doing 15-20 shows,” he recalled.
there was also quote about her being a Brahmin, clever etc, while he as a maratha was rough and tough.
She lived with his mother and their son. Tough woman, spare a thought for her.
Maharastrian Brahmins are a strange breed. They consist of individuals On one end bring extremely conservative , and some widely liberal on the other end.
Tough men, tougher women.
Om Shanti to Lt. Col. Vishwanath Patekar. The man served his motherland during Kargil.
yeah, a little known aspect of his. Dude was a bit….yedaa but a legit actor. Parinda, Krantiveer – he had his moments.
btw, a random thought occurred to me while watching this Hollywood trailer for “Streetfighter” – this one is cut to target Indian audiences – the ‘Dhalsim’ character.
Anyway, listening to Vidyut Jamwal talk, and his voice tenor……dude would be a perfect casting for an Imran Khan biopic. Has the ‘rizz’, kinda resembles him. Not sure about his acting chops though.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8zCXaQO-pE
Honestly, someone in Bollywood should jump on this idea – 🙂
“Award-winning Kashmiri filmmaker Arfat Sheikh released from ICE detention in the US”
https://images.dawn.com/news/1195975/award-winning-kashmiri-filmmaker-arfat-sheikh-released-from-ice-detention-in-the-us
On another note, there hasn’t been a new post on BP for a week. Hope everything is well with X.T.M
everything is well. just been doing a lot of website back end stuff.. the site was very heavy
our readership has increased a fair bit because i’m working heavily on the archives.
what’s interesting, what draws the commentators and what draws the readers are entirely different, so for instance highly engaged posts are not the most people in terms of being liked/shared
That’s good to know.
We have been having quite an interesting discussion on Gandhi’s legacy. That might be worth a post.
It would be interesting to know what draws readers vs. commentators.
Sophia Khan writes on Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan:
https://apinksamosa.substack.com/p/nusrat-fateh-ali-khan
This is the second in her series “Ten Musical Legends from the Subcontinent”. The next article is on Hemant Kumar.
will the restrictions on Indian software engineers by usa help in energizing Indian scene?.
I feel it is more about the work environment and opportunities than talent which matters.
To an extent ban on Indian doctor direct migration to U S helped to create a better health environment to some extent here.
Or the trumpistas playing to the gallery before a midterm poll?
Vembu’s call for them to come back doesn’t appear sincere. He apparently can’t go back as his wife will grab all this money.
The work environment and opportunities do matter, but talent plays a large part in creating those as well. A large portion of large start ups are created by immigrant talent. This is to the point where 1 in 5 unicorn start ups have an Indian in the founding team. The large companies like Amazon, Google, Microsoft, etc all have large campuses in India and can easily shift their engineers to India. Any argument that the US doesn’t benefit from those engineers is false. These engineers are a benefit to Indian economy after their return regardless of what you believe. The real argument is how large of the benefit will be.
Ease of immigration in the 90’s and early 2000’s enabled many mediocre Indians to move to the US. I’m not sure how a reverse migration will be useful to the Indian economy given that these people are less hands-on engineers and more software professionals. Besides, even relatively fresh graduates from US universities (especially second or third tiered) arent getting their RoI since Indian companies don’t want to hire grads on inflated salaries when the homegrown crop is better and isn’t motivated only by money.
There’s a need for core engineering strength at this point. More deep tech expertise, less software based unicorns (e-commerce, food delivery) which do not add any substantive value in general except line the pockets of the founders with ridiculous valuations.
I have heavy disagreements with this sentiment that has become increasingly popular online. The reality is every job that generates a profit or a possibility of a profit at scale should be pursued. E-commerce, Food delivery, etc are all viable businesses which should be encouraged. China does all those deep tech start ups and unicorns however they don’t turn up their noses at delivery and e-commerce. They have around 200 million people working in those gig economies. The issue isn’t the specific industry like e-commerce, food delivery, ed-tech, etc. The primary issue with various start ups is their predatory nature and horrible culture, but the business model is largely viable.
“Archeologists discover ancient structure at Jandial in KP near Sirkap”
https://www.dawn.com/news/2035915/archaeologists-discover-ancient-structure-at-jandial-in-kp-near-sirkap
https://tribune.com.pk/story/2633764/on-the-path-to-self-destruct-1
On the path to self-destruct
Why do some constructs fail to stick? I think it is the degree of artificiality.
Q and K keep talking about how India is a British construct, it clearly isn’t, as evidenced by the stability of the nation. While a raucous polity, conceptually India as a whole is a natural construct.
As a Singaporean ambassador said recently, what is Pakistan after 1971 except for “not India”. Is that a strong enough idea to hold the state together on?
The testing of this will only increase in amplitude as the TNT edifice gets bored into with the armed forces venality.
I don’t think it matters if it is a natural or an unnatural construct. The real issue it lacks any sovereignty, it remains at the tender mercies of outside powers. If Pakistan had been economically capable it wouldn’t have these issues. When you lose the ability to make decisions in your own interests based on the choices of other your only real pathway is downwards.
Bilahari still has the bad taste from the plane hijacking the Pakistani did on his country. I wouldn’t take his words as gospel on this issue he has good reasons to be biased in the opposite direction.
West Indies are a vastly improved lot and it is good for cricket.
BJP ‘s honeymoon with cjp has ended.
This is a group of ambitious people trying to ride on the boredom of the people with BJP.
Dipke and gang acting like teenagers, mocking modi etc.
Baalisha is the right word in Samskrutam.
” ‘Cockroach’ party rally: leader detained at airport as Delhi faces large youth protest”
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/oct/10/cockroach-party-rally-delhi-protests-chief-election-officer-resigns
It seems that just as the Pakistani government refuses to let anyone protest in Islamabad (it’s been made very clear to PTI that they can protest all they like in KPK but they better not cross into Punjab) the Indian government is determined not to let anyone protest in Delhi.