Seethapuram is a small, squalid village home largely to Telugu-speaking Naickers, at the foot of the Western Ghats, some 50km northwest of Madurai. Overnight showers, unseasonal in late March, make it hard to see puddles from open sewers in the darkness of 3am. The village is not just stirring; its people are out and about. Chinnaraman, 54, and his wife Murugayi, 48, are both dressed in sky-blue full-sleeved shirts. She wears hers over a sari, and he adds a grey flannel jacket on top. They are ready to leave for their farm, a ten-minute ride over undulating terrain on a grunting 100cc bike. Continue reading Jasmineâs journey: From the fields of Madurai to French luxury perfume
Category: Culture
Hinduttva (b)
Posted on Categories Culture, Hinduism, India, Religion, Science, X.T.MLeave a comment on Hinduttva (b)The fourth article in this series will focus on why so many in global academia, global establishment, global media, global entertainment, global culture and the global public are so scared of and opposed to eastern philosophy, Swami Vivekananda and Ramakrishna while simultaneously appropriating much of eastern philosophy encoded in new language without attribution.
Part of the attack against eastern philosphy and Hinduttva derives from a hatred of the West and the fact that Western philosophy draws heavily from the east in four periods. Ancient Arya history or more than 3,000 years ago. During exchange from Alexander the Great through the Roman period. During European Enlightenment Classical liberalism [in many ways a derivative of Arya Hindu Chaarvaaka Darshana], and what is now called Post Modernism [which derives from Karl Marx’s study of India]. Much of it derives from many other causes which I am trying to understand.
Note that a stand alone post is planned to discuss the above presentations by Professor Jeffery D. Long, Professor Makarand Paranjape, Professor Anantanand Rambachan, andPprofessor Sharada Sugirtharaja. Brown Cast plans to interview Professor Jeffrey D Long with respect to Sanathana Dharma and Indology. If you have any questions for him, please leave it in the comments.
The below discussion between the San Francisco academic Vamsee Juluri and Hinduism’s great atheist Kushal Mehra discusses the Hinduphobia in global academia:
[Add summary of above video]
In the above video discussion Anjali George discusses why the Indian supreme court has forced the shut down of the ancient Sabarimala temple. Sabaramila is a brain therapy facility where woman and girls send their dysfunctional boys and men to–in order to fix them. To join the program and visit Sabaramila temple boys and men had to practice a very rigorous difficult 40 day regiment. Because most males are stupid fools, their woman and girls would:
- gently persuade them to join [who are we kidding, in some cases girls aren’t that gentle and intimidate their men and boys into joining]
- help them complete the regiment [in eastern philosophy and Toaism intelligence (medha) is female and males aren’t that bright, which is why they needed the help of their girls and woman]
- keep a much more luxurious temple for themselves, a woman’s Sabrimala if you will.
Eastern philosophy is a matriarchal system of the divine feminine. Woman and girls run things. Woman and girls set up a brahmacharya Ayyapa tantra (technology) facility to help improve males. Pre pubescent girls and post menopause females can conduct the 40 day regiment and visit the brain therapy facility too.
However the supreme court of India appears to have mandated that females of child bearing age, pre-pubescent girls and post menopause woman and males need to be able to visit any part of the temple they wish at will, without completing a difficult 40 day sadhana. Naturally India’s females are furious at the Indian supreme court. Many of India’s woman see this as a me too attempt to harass Ayyapa, a celibate young male. Many of India’s females also see this as an attempt to let males be lazy and not complete their 40 day Sadhana. India’s woman are also furious that the global press, global entertainment and global academia are using this incident to demonize eastern philosophy. Which is rich, considering that the east has been feminist for thousands of years before Christ. Indian females who oppose the global “woke” narrative are being demonized as proto Nazis or proto fascists or proto male misogynist supporters of the patriarchy. One eastern female being so demonized is Anjali George. Anjali George defends eastern woman from the post modernist and caucasian intelligentsia (baizuo) critique.
Here is another perspective on Hindutva:
This appears to attribute Hindutva to a backlash against “secularism” where secularism appears to be defined as cultural marxist post modernist woke SJW.
My singing featured on Khaliq Chishti Podcast
Posted on Categories Culture, Kabir, Music13 Comments on My singing featured on Khaliq Chishti PodcastIn the spirit of a palate cleanser, I am sharing this musical performance. I was featured on Khaliq Chishti’s podcast (he runs a recording studio in Lahore). I performed Raga Rageshri and a Dadra in Raga Desh (“Cha Rahee Kali Ghata” which was originally sung by Begum Akhtar). Tabla is by Iftikhar Joseph.
I also want to use this opportunity to respond a bit to the recent post that argued that India and Pakistan are only linked by violence. I am a singer of Hindustani classical music and an ethnomusicologist. Hindustani classical music is obviously part of the shared Indo-Islamic culture that links North India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Eight decades of separation, wars and political tensions have not managed to completely destroy this common culture. This very fact goes to disprove the argument that the ONLY link between India and Pakistan is violence.
Indians are fond of Pakistani dramas. Fawad Khan is very popular in India. A new season of Pakistan Idol has recently started airing (Fawad is one of the judges along with Rahat Fateh Ali Khan) and I dare say Indians would be watching on YouTube. I have seen comments on Insta from Indians expressing their appreciation for Pakistani music. Pakistanis obviously watch Indian Idol.
My book–A New Explanation for the Decline of Hindustani Music in Pakistan (Aks Publications Lahore 2024)–was recently profiled on Scroll.in. Do read it if you are interested. Currently, the book is only available in Pakistan but we are working on publishing an Indian edition soon. One of the side effects of the bad relations between India and Pakistan is that books cannot travel across the border.
Hijab: Between Revelation and Regulation
Posted on Categories BahĂĄâĂ, Culture, Gender, Hinduism, Iran, Islam & the Middle East, Partition, Postcolonialism & the Global South, Religion, Women's Rights, X.T.M69 Comments on Hijab: Between Revelation and RegulationWhen BahĂĄâuâllĂĄh wrote that every word of the QurâÄn bears meaning and intention, he was reminding us that revelation, properly read, resists reduction. Scripture, like language itself, is alive; it breathes, it hesitates, it renews. Yet somewhere between the living word and the legislated code, the hijab became a symbol, of modesty, of defiance, of cultural siege, of theological purity, until its nuance was lost to politics.
My friend is in Kashan, a city of gardens and scholars, and perhaps among the most traditional pockets of Iran. She forgot her hijab back in her home city and now cannot step out of her hotel. The irony is sharp: the veil that once signified spiritual privacy has become an enclosure of space. Kashanâs cobbled lanes whisper poetry, but they also enforce silence.
Meanwhile, the liberal axis of Iran, Shiraz, Tehran, Gilan, Mazandaran, Semnan, walks the tightrope between revelation and rebellion. The North dresses as Europe, the Centre prays as Qom. Mahsa Aminiâs martyrdom was Kurdish, and therefore doubly liminal: ethnically marginal, religiously symbolic (the Kurds are very secular as a rule of thumb; more Zoroastrian than the Persians). Her death reopened a question the QurâÄn itself leaves open â what, after all, does áž„ijÄb mean?
1. The QurâÄnic Vocabulary of Modesty Continue reading Hijab: Between Revelation and Regulation
Caste in America
Posted on Categories Brown Pundits, Caste, Civilisation, Culture, Diaspora, Hinduism, History, India, Indian Subcontinent, Mughals, Music, Partition, Postcolonialism & the Global South, Politics, Society, X.T.M37 Comments on Caste in AmericaIâve found myself drifting further left than I expected this year. Much of that is circumstantial, being involved in local activism in the United States naturally places one within progressive coalitions. Yet even in this frame, my ideological compass is firmly rooted in some admiration for Brahminical continuity and Bharat Mata as civilizational anchor.
At times I speculate on where Bharat truly ends. Is it the Hindu Kush? The Iranian plateau? The Persian world has always seemed to me about 20â30% Indianise; its mythology, musicality, and memory bear the imprint of the Indo-Aryan stream more than the Indo-European one, no matter how insistently modern Iranians lean toward a Westward identification.
This brings me to a provocative thesis Iâve often floated: that Brahmins are the civilisational custodians of the Indian subcontinent, and that their displacement often signals a broader cultural erasure. The tragedy of the Kashmiri Panditsis not merely a communityâs trauma, but a warning. Without Brahminical continuity, Vedic frameworks falter. Hinduism in Pakistan and Bangladesh remains vulnerable precisely because it lacks the embedded authority and supervisory function of Brahmin elites to anchor Vedic traditions and calibrate resistance to incessant Islamisation. Continue reading Caste in America
Open Thread- Birthgap | WW3
Posted on Categories Brown Pundits, Culture, Gender, Society, War & Military History, Women's Rights, X.T.M71 Comments on Open Thread- Birthgap | WW3LâOpĂ©ra, Iran, and the Post-Hindu Condition
Posted on Categories BahĂĄâĂ, Brown Pundits, Civilisation, Culture, Hinduism, History, India, Indian Subcontinent, Iran, Islam & the Middle East, Language, Mughals, Pakistan, Partition, Postcolonialism & the Global South, Race, Religion, X.T.M16 Comments on LâOpĂ©ra, Iran, and the Post-Hindu ConditionA Meditation on Revolution, Secularism, and South Asia’s Futures
Inspiration arrives in the strangest of places.
Recently, I found myself deep in yoga, settling deeper roots in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Itâs not clear whether this will be our long-term home yet but even so time to lay down the contours of a life (our main life of course still remains Cambridge, UK while Chennai, India is a must thrice yearly ensconcement).
In the midst of this personal flux, a video Nivedita just shared with cut through the noise: a YouTube interview about Iran before and after the Islamic Revolution, told through the eyes of a Bahaâi couple who fled Iran and went on to create a French patisserie empire in India, LâOpĂ©ra.
Continue reading LâOpĂ©ra, Iran, and the Post-Hindu Condition
Pakistan, a young state but an old nation
Posted on Categories BahĂĄâĂ, Brown Pundits, Civilisation, Culture, Hinduism, History, India, Pakistan, X.T.M5 Comments on Pakistan, a young state but an old nationno one is born a BahĂĄâĂ; even those who are “BahĂĄâĂzadeh” (those born to BahĂĄâĂ homes) must first affirm their belief at fifteen and confirm it at 21
Dawn Posting
Most of my writing these days happens either at the dead of night, bleeding into the Dawn. This is when the world is quiet enough to hear oneâs thoughts.
Iâve asked the Editors to lean into their moderation. But Iâve also emphasized that a copy of the moderated comments should be preserved in their original form; so that, if thereâs an appeal or a misreading, I can assess it personally. My instinct has always been to under-moderate. I would rather allow something unpleasant to be said than suppress something vital.
That said, miscommunication is inevitable in a forum like ours. I recently had my own moment of misunderstanding with Indosaurus. But in many ways, thatâs exactly what makes Brown Pundits an exciting space. We are not a hive mind. Weâre a broad church; Anglican in temperament, not Catholic in control. Communion, not command.
The Commentariat Continue reading Pakistan, a young state but an old nation
Caste and the Structure of Discourse
Posted on Categories BahĂĄâĂ, Brown Pundits, Caste, Civilisation, Culture, Geopolitics, Hinduism, History, India, Indian Subcontinent, Language, Partition, Postcolonialism & the Global South, Politics, Race, Religion, X.T.M23 Comments on Caste and the Structure of DiscourseIâve come to realise that itâs often more productive to write full posts than to engage in fragmented comment threads. The richness of thought requires a form that can hold tension, contradiction, and nuance but comments, by design, resist that.
The Upper-Caste Template of South Asian Dharmic Discourse
Take, for example, sbarrkum, who shares personal reflections and images from his life on the common board. While one might raise questions about permissions or boundaries, itâs also important to respect dialectical differences in how people choose to engage. Thereâs no single valid mode of expression.
That brings me to a broader reflection: how the very structure of discourse in Dharmic South Asia has long been shaped by upper-caste templates; especially under Western influence. Over two centuries, upper castes have Brahmanised, Saffronised, Persianised, and then Westernised themselves, adopting and enforcing norms of discourse, authority, and ârationality.â
Why Intermarriage Doesnât Erase Hierarchy Continue reading Caste and the Structure of Discourse
Homebound with Ishaan Khatter
Posted on Categories BahĂĄâĂ, Brown Pundits, Caste, Culture, India, Iran, Islam & the Middle East, Pakistan, Partition, Postcolonialism & the Global South, X.T.M148 Comments on Homebound with Ishaan KhatterLast night Dr. Lalchand & I watched Homebound, Indiaâs submission to the Oscars, at Apple Cinemas in Cambridge, Mass. This sad film follows a Dalit (Chandan Kumar) and a Muslim (Mohammed Shoaib Ali) struggling against the odds during the pandemic, their solidarity fictionalized as a fragile bridge across Indiaâs deepest divides.
On the surface, it is a familiar story: the disenfranchised facing systemic barriers. But what struck me was how privilege itself performed disenfranchisement. Ishaan Khatter, brother to Shahid Kapoor, plays the marginalized Muslim. Janhvi Kapoor, descended from Bollywood royalty, embodies a Dalit woman. Vishal Jethwa, a bright-eyed Gujarati, portrays the Bhojpuri Dalit lead. This is not unique to India; Hollywood, too, casts elites as workers. Yet it raises the question: when poverty is performed rather than lived, is it âDalit-washingâ?
Poverty, Emotion, and Representation
Watching the film, I reflected on povertyâs emotional landscape. For elites, emotions can be expansive, indulgent, aestheticized into art. For the working poor, emotions are often constrained by survival â narrowed into necessity. Homebound tried to humanize its characters, but I wondered whether it romanticized what in practice is a relentless narrowing of possibility.
The West rewards this narrative. Parasite in Korea, Iranian cinema, Slumdog Millionaire â poverty & Global South tribulations as spectacle becomes âpoverty porn.â The Guardian gave Homebound four stars. Great art often tilts melancholic, yes, but here the melancholia is curated for Western consumption.
Identity, Vectors, and Islamicate Selfhood
More unexpectedly, the film stirred something personal. I realized how much I have vacated my own Islamic identity. It was not traumatic. As a BahĂĄâĂ with Persian cultural roots, I found overlap â even comfort â in Hindu traditions. Dalits, in their rapid Hinduization, represent one vector of assimilation; Muslims and scheduled-caste Muslims, often in tension, another. Homebound imagines solidarity, but in life these vectors pull unequally. Continue reading Homebound with Ishaan Khatter
