Open Thread

Posted on Categories Admin, Brown Pundits, Colonialism, Geopolitics, Indian Subcontinent, X.T.MTags , , , , 33 Comments on Open Thread

The boycott has made Brown Pundits quieter, almost peaceful. I don’t mind it. Every few years the site reaches this point; it grows, gains noise, and starts to feel less like a hobby and more like an obligation. Then it falls back to something smaller and saner.

I’ve also realised that the Indo-Pak frame doesn’t really fit my life anymore. It was useful once because that’s where the conversation was; it gave the blog an audience. But most of that talk is stale now; the same arguments, just louder.

What interests me instead are the wider patterns: how post-colonial societies move in a world that is no longer unipolar. The Gulf’s rise, Africa’s experiments, China’s reach, India’s own breadth. How old hierarchies break down, and new ones form.

I don’t like following the news. So perhaps BP will drift in that direction. Fewer posts, less noise, more reflection. A space for thinking about what comes after the post-colonial age, when the world starts to finally balance itself again.

To be or not to be (Capricious)

Posted on Categories Admin, Brown Pundits, Kabir, X.T.MTags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 33 Comments on To be or not to be (Capricious)

The November circular was emailed earlier to all various stakeholders of BP. This will be sticky for a short period as unfortunately publishing all the drafts has pushed the current posts much further down.

You may also use this thread as an unmoderated Open Threads. Topics of interest include JD Vance’s comments, the stabbing in the UK by asylum seekers (presumably), and any other interest. I would suggest everyone engage with the email, after the jump; if you have been emailed it privately, I do expect private replies as well.

Continue reading To be or not to be (Capricious)

Co-Founders Confer

Posted on Categories Admin, Brown PunditsTags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 10 Comments on Co-Founders Confer

I sent this email to the CoFounders of the Blog (Omar | Razib) and tomorrow I will send through the Monthly Author Report.

Continue reading Co-Founders Confer

Some feedback to disperse the speculative fog

Posted on Categories Admin, Brown Pundits4 Comments on Some feedback to disperse the speculative fog

It’s been a little over 6 months at BP and I have some take aways.

Ā  Ā  Ā First, I am grateful for the opportunity to write on a well regarded blog. The ability to put thoughts down on paper, contribute and having an audience has been both meaningful and engaging.
Ā  Ā  Ā Second, the commenting has been fun and thought provoking at times, annoying and a little trying at others, but something that I overall enjoyed and viewed as a positive experience.
Ā  Ā  Ā Third, the governance of the site feels pretty capricious. The bans, the reinstatements, the offence taking, the rethinking of the offence taking, it is all pretty fly by the pants. There is also the repeated trajectory changes when views or interaction goes down, typically resulting in some questionable decisions being made.

Continue reading Some feedback to disperse the speculative fog

Saffron Strike

Posted on Categories Admin, Authors, Brown Pundits, Kabir, X.T.MTags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 9 Comments on Saffron Strike

The silence on BP these past few days feels deliberate; a kind of Saffron Strike. If so, let it be known: this space was never meant to cater to ideological comfort.

It seems uncommonly quiet; I think I have been misunderstood. I do not care about the traffic and commentary of BP as much as I care about the integrity of the space.

For instance when I felt that Kabir had done wrong; interdiction was the answer. When I realised the narrative was being twisted so that I became his moderator (Kabir generally knows my red lines) then I realised I was wrong. Kabir’s recent postings and commentary have been very high-signal. Continue reading Saffron Strike

Fire and the Saffroniate

Posted on Categories Admin, Authors, Brown Pundits, Kabir, X.T.MTags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 22 Comments on Fire and the Saffroniate

We had a quiet Diwali dinner with some South Asian literati here in Cambridge, Mass. No fireworks, but some useful clarity especially about the need for a unified South Asian voice, and where Brown Pundits fits in.

Threads, Fire, and a New Warrior Class

Kabir remains catnip for the Commentariat or as I’ll now call them, the Saffroniate (Brahmins or Brahminised). They pretend otherwise, but the numbers don’t lie. The threads light up when he’s around and yes, I’m aware of the layered joke: threads mean something else too, especially to our youngest Pundits-in-training. Continue reading Fire and the Saffroniate

Was Kabir Right?

Posted on Categories Admin, Brown Pundits, Indian Subcontinent, Partition, Postcolonialism & the Global South, X.T.MTags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 26 Comments on Was Kabir Right?

A week ago, I imposed an interdiction on Kabir ; a move I felt was necessary at the time, not because of his views, but because of the manner in which they were expressed. His tone, his dismissal of this platform, and his tendency to escalate rather than de-escalate all contributed to that decision. But now, I find myself wondering: was Kabir right about Brown Pundits?

Since his departure, the commentariat has gone unusually quiet. Threads that once sparked with disagreement, energy, and engagement have gone still. There is a strange calm but it feels like the calm of a museum, not a marketplace of ideas. And what’s become increasingly clear is that the ā€œpeaceā€ has come at a cost. That cost is vibrancy. That cost is friction. That cost is participation. Kabir, for all his faults, drew fire, and fire draws people.

This raises a more fundamental question: am I overestimating the commentariat’s interest in the core mission of Brown Pundits? Were people here for civilizational dialogue, or were they here for the masala of Indo-Pak antagonism? It’s disheartening to admit, but the numbers speak for themselves. Kabir had been blocked years before (not by me), and when I released Loki from his cage, well on his return, so did the attention. Continue reading Was Kabir Right?

Note to Authors

Posted on Categories Admin, Brown Pundits, X.T.MTags , , , , , , , , , , , , , 2 Comments on Note to Authors

Most of our active Commentariat are Authors as well, and that overlap is exactly what makes this space work.

Please don’t worry about the length of your posts or whether you’re mainly sharing links. All I ask is that you include a line or two of context or commentary, however brief, when you do. It helps the discussion move forward and gives readers an entry point. I’ve been seeing some excellent conversations in the Open Threads, but many of you still seem hesitant to post directly. Don’t be!

It genuinely helps me when Authors share what they can, when they can. I’ll edit or follow up if something needs adjusting, but as you all know, I’m very much in favour of a broad church; no pun intended, considering my last piece was on the Church.

Brown Pundits