Brown Pundits Archive
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The Bangladesh Paradox
The poster relays economist Jyoti Rahman’s study of why Bangladesh cut poverty faster than its growth suggests, offering a speculative story of garment jobs for women, migrant labour, NGOs and…
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The Christian Brotherhood
The poster argues the rise of a ‘Christian Brotherhood’ draws little comment compared with its Muslim, Hindu and Buddhist counterparts, citing church positions on abortion, anti-gay laws in Uganda, Putin’s…
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Mossad + (jewish controlled) Twitter = Victory!!!
Noting claims that Twitter won the election for Modi and a Congress leader’s claim that Mossad did, the poster mockingly joins the two into a conspiracy chain, while remarking on…
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Kashmiri students expelled from Meerut
After Kashmiri students were charged with sedition for cheering Pakistan’s cricket team, ten were expelled from a Meerut university; the poster says young people must be allowed to speak and…
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Nawaz Sharif is coming to Delhi
As Nawaz Sharif prepares to visit Delhi, the poster quotes Maryam Nawaz’s tweet urging cordial relations with the new Indian government, with a quoted profile of her as a rising…
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Twitter for your thoughts
The poster argues that the Indian and Israeli far right differ from Europe’s: they want to be Westerners with a thin Hindu or Hebrew overlay, while local cultures fade. It…
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South Asians more lactose friendly than Middle Easterners?
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BJP: CVoter 289, ABP 281, CNN 276, Cicero 272
Surveying exit polls that project a BJP-led majority, the poster notes the record 66 per cent turnout and state-by-state predictions, and says India looks set to welcome her first Shudra…
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The 51st state
Reacting to an FBI agent’s presence in Pakistan without a government invitation, the poster jokes that Pakistan is America’s 51st state and argues that Washington should explain, with possible reasons…
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Gujarat model: a Pakistani perspective
A comment with extracts from a Pakistani traveller’s account of Gujarat: round-the-clock electricity and safe streets for women, but segregated neighbourhoods, anti-alcohol rules and an uneven benefit to the poor.…
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The (im)moral Maharajah
The poster argues that adultery between a journalist and a politician is a private matter, that paid news already undermines neutrality in Indian media, and that it is nonetheless amusing…
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Selfie (833AM), self-less (834AM)
A warning against taking selfies, texting or posting while driving, prompted by a news extract on a woman killed in a US head-on collision seconds after updating her status.
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An Atheist upgrades to Allah (via Jesus )
A comment on an interview with Reza Aslan on tradition, why al-Qaeda is not anti-modern and his own moves from Christianity to Islam, with the poster asking what led him…
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Deep State Fatwa: shut down Geo TV (or else)
A comment, with a news extract, on the Pakistan Army’s demand that Geo TV be shut after it accused the ISI of ordering an attack on Hamid Mir; the poster…
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TCS (soft)powers India to Premier League
A comment on Tata Consultancy Services entering the world’s top ten IT services firms by revenue, with the poster suggesting that what is good for TCS is now good for…
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“Dad, don’t worry. I’ve got a life vest on…”
A reflection, with a news extract, on the text messages of a teenage girl on the Sewol ferry telling her father she had a life vest on, and the comfort…
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Vijay-anna ki Pulitzer vijay
The poster congratulates the poet Vijay Seshadri on his Pulitzer Prize, links earlier Sepia Mutiny coverage, and raises the case of a publisher blacklisting a star author for politically incorrect…
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Coastal Leader for a prosperous India
The author argues that India’s leaders have mostly come from the north, far from the coast, and welcomes the writer Joe D’Cruz’s endorsement of Narendra Modi as a coastal leader…
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(Tata) Car Of The Year (COTY)
A light note on a Jaguar sports car winning a car award, praised as a Tata product, with background on Bombay House, the Tata Group’s Mumbai headquarters.
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The “hospital of death”
An article on infant deaths at Kolkata’s B.C. Roy children’s hospital, which the poster reads as a sign of deep rot in Bengal’s health system, set against the memory of…
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1 Bil fighters for Mother India
A post on Facebook’s push to reach a billion Indian users during the elections, noting Modi’s large online following, with a swipe at the claim that American firms feed Hindutva.
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21st century amrit (elixir of life)
A post on a Swiss study suggesting glucosamine extended the lives of mice by 10 per cent, with the poster’s remarks on animal testing and the trade in rhino and…
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Kargil War
Reposting an older piece, the author argues Kargil was no great victory thrown away by Nawaz Sharif. He once accepted the ‘tactical success, strategic blunder’ line, but later details showed…
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India- Hindu or Secular?
The poster argues India is neither simply Hindu nor secular, as Hindus are not a single bloc and ‘secular’ is used to play communities against each other, with a report…
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Religious diversity in the world
The poster thinks a Pew religious diversity map undercounts India and Iran, where Bahá’ís may fear exclusion, alongside a report that Pakistan is more religiously diverse than 48 other countries.
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Fish rots from the head
A Reuters report that Chinese authorities seized at least 90bn yuan from Zhou Yongkang’s associates, with the poster calling it a textbook case of crony capitalism.
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Monsters Inc
A report on the Taliban attack on Kabul’s Serena Hotel that killed a family including a five-year-old, with the poster asking why the Taliban are not designated terrorists.
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Raza Rumi survives terror attack
A post on the attack on the journalist Raza Rumi, in which his driver was killed, saying the Taliban want to silence the messengers and criticising those who flatter armed…
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Varanasi- Waterloo of the East
A comment framing the Varanasi contest as the Waterloo of the East, a Congress Brahmin against a BJP Shudra favoured to win, and as the end of a slow 67-year…
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Save rhinos, be safe from leopards
A note on rhino poaching in Assam’s Kaziranga and leopard attacks in Mumbai, with the poster rejecting deportation and de-horning and half-seriously proposing to loan baby rhinos to China.
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The poverty picture (Africa)
A note on a WIDER study arguing sub-Saharan Africa has the world’s least responsive labour markets because too few workers have moved from farms to factories, with a nod to…
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The Posiedon flies high (in the Andaman sky)
Satellite and radar data suggest MH370 flew on for hours towards the Andaman Islands. Notes on the 2014 search for the missing Malaysia Airlines jet.
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Sweet as Sunny
A sardonic note on a US student’s turn to pornography and Bollywood interest in her, taking the story as a sign of the times and asking readers to sign a…
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Made in Bangladesh
An extract on the controversy over an American Apparel ad featuring a former-Muslim Bangladeshi model, with the poster arguing that showcasing women’s liberation answers conservatives better than anything, and that…
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She is the perfect Queen
Best wishes to Kangana Ranaut and her film Queen, with extracts of reviews praising a middle-class Himachal girl’s breakout role.
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The (Lady) Enforcer
A profile of 27-year-old Manju Bhatia, joint MD of the all-female loan recovery agency Vasuli Recovery, with the poster’s comment that India needs more women leaders in fields seen as…
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Chinese folly in Eithiopia/Kenya
A report that Ethiopia’s Gibe III dam could shrink Kenya’s Lake Turkana by up to 20 metres, with the poster warning that China, as the next imperial power, should expect…
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Kachins against ka-ching
A report on the Kachins’ resistance to Chinese-backed Irrawaddy dams, which Burma suspended, with the poster noting fears that the projects could restart once President Thein Sein steps down.
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Iran’s geostrategic importance
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