On popular request — or curiosity. Two recent studies are making the rounds:
Kashmiris and Central Asians: Nature – February 2025
Sri Lankans and South Indians: Nature India – February 2025
I’m generally skeptical of population genetics papers, what is their point exactly? But presumably this will awaken the Commentariat, who have been quieter lately.
If nothing else, consider it intellectual cake; open to everyone, rich in speculation. As an aside the young girl featured is a Baloch.
Post about whatever you find interesting.
Here is an insightful interview between Karan Thapar and Shyam Saran (former Foreign Secretary) focusing on Indo-US relations
Check out this clip from Pakistan Idol. This is a just a teaser of highlights from the Lahore audition round. I believe that the contestants were told they could not sing Indian songs, which seems to be primarily a way to avoid everyone defaulting to Bollywood (There is also probably a patriotic angle). After all, we have our own great composers and singers such as Medhi Hassan, Farida Khanum, Noor Jehan, and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. At the level of classical music, the tradition is obviously part of a shared culture.
There is a lot of musical talent in Pakistan and proper training would help to nurture it. However, with all the other issues that the country is facing, art and culture have never really been a priority. Finally, as a classically-trained musician myself, it is my firm belief that one cannot be successful in any kind of music without a firm foundation in Hindustani classical (which was the case with the greats such as Medhi Hassan, Madam Noor Jehan, and Farida Khanum). India has obviously owned this culture much more than Pakistan–the reasons behind this are the subject of my dissertation.
write whatever you want to write about..
I’ll probably add to this post in a bit
🔗 Links shared from the comments
Indian rupee slides to all-time low on US visa hike & subdued foreign flows: Visa fee hikes and US tariffs are compounding pressures on the rupee, with concerns about equity flows into India’s IT sector.
Why the Pakistan–Saudi Arabia defence pact is unsettling India: Riyadh’s commitment to treat aggression against Pakistan as aggression against itself is seen as a direct security challenge to India.
Doug Macgregor thread on the Saudi–Pakistan Strategic Mutual Defense Pact: Macgregor outlines how Saudi–Pakistani defense ties, backed by China and linked to Iran, could reshape the balance of power in Asia.
World Bank warns of Pakistan’s failing growth model: The World Bank says Pakistan’s growth model no longer supports poverty reduction, with income gains stalling and poverty at an eight-year high.
Rail-based Agni Prime missile test-fired: India successfully tested a rail-mounted Agni Prime ICBM, underscoring advances in indigenous missile technology and delivery systems.
💬 Keep the links and thoughts coming — BP works best when the Commentariat bring their own sources into the mix.
I’ll add as I go along but this seems quite topical..
I do see the Persian Gulf States emerging as a hyper-conduit between capital, labour and technology. The West is raising up its walls.
A few pieces I’ve been reading this week:
The Lies America Tells Itself About the Middle East: (Foreign Affairs) – On how U.S. narratives obscure its own role in the region.
Don’t Overestimate the Autocratic Alliance: (Foreign Affairs) – A counterpoint: authoritarian states may not be as cohesive as advertised.
The Four Humours: Our 2,500-Year-Old Mania for Personality Types: (BBC Future) – Why these frameworks endure and what that says about how societies interpret character.
Can We Hear God? (Bahá’í Teachings) – A reflection on divine communication and perception.
Reflections
On the Ummah: Muslims have often failed to concede ground in internal debates, which has left them politically boxed in. One reform across all denominations would be to return directly to the Quran as the primary authority. That alone would dissolve many cultural accretions, halal (animals should be stunned before slaughter), hijab (a Sassanian trait), and other practices, into something more adaptive.
And here’s a more speculative question: if the “Satanic Verses” were reconsidered if Al-Lat, Al-Uzzah, and Al-Manat were understood as sacred divinities at the threshold of the Lote Tree, would that make Islam more fluid, especially for minority-majority dynamics?
On Kabir: I’m not moderating him out, but readers should be aware that he frames everything through Muslim-rights activism. Engage, but don’t get gaslit into endless provocations. Everyone is entitled to their nationalisms — but they can’t claim liberalism at the same time. That tension makes it worth examining how plurality is treated within the Hindu fold itself. Dharma, unlike the Abrahamic Faiths, tends to all for multiple truths co-existing with each other (Buddhism and indigenous East Asian religions).
👉 Over to you. I’m retreating from heavy moderation — I see BP’s strength in letting the commentariat lead. Biases are fine. Gratuitous abuse is not.
“In March 1998 the Indian PM Gujral, told … “Pakistan was not capable of making atomic bombs.” he had been convinced by Indian Intelligence and Dr Raja Raman, the head of Indian Atomic Energy Commission, who had publicly claimed that nuclear weapon were beyond Pakistan’s reach.”
Massive floods have hit Pakistan’s Punjab province after record-breaking monsoon rains and the overflow of major rivers. Officials report nearly 300,000 people displaced from the province alone and more than a million affected as the Ravi, Sutlej, and Chenab overflowed their banks. Over 1,400 villages are underwater, and there are growing fears of disease outbreaks and food shortages.
👉 ‘The water left nothing’: Pakistan’s Punjab province reels from deadly floods (The Guardian)
This thread is for everyone to share thoughts, updates, and questions about what’s happening.
Jump in and share your perspective.
This is a genocide every which way but I would be interested to hear the views of the commentariat.
I am very pro Zionist for what it’s worth.
I’ll explained my thoughts later on in a proper post, but I am interested to see RW Indians reflect on Gaza.
Life in Chennai has been calm. For breakfast I have rasam. It is a superfood: light, hot, and full of spice. Indian food is the only cuisine where I could be vegetarian. I know Persians who try. I feel sorry for them. No meat, no masala, no spice. There is only so much hummus one can eat.
But calm at the table contrasts with what I read in the news. The Delhi order to remove stray dogs is disturbing. I cannot look at the pictures of the removals.
Across the Trans-Wagah line, another current runs. The Pakistan Cricket Board may change its revenue-sharing with players. A small story, yet it speaks of a larger one: Pakistan may gain small tactical wins by tying its path as the flexible adversary to India. But for the top ten percent of its economy, the block is clear. They cannot flow into India’s success. They remain tied to Western patrons.
Meanwhile, old arguments are stirred again. Audrey Truschke has been active with fresh claims on Aurangzeb. The same week, Kabir wrote that Western philosophy outweighs Dharmic wisdom, and that Greek thought shaped Buddhism (I can’t remember if it was him). I wonder who first wrote this propaganda. It is damaging, and it lingers.
India’s stories stretch from the taste of rasam to the fate of stray dogs, from cricket boards to Aurangzeb’s ghost, from Kabir to the Greeks. Each is part of the same struggle: who owns the narrative of Bharat, and how it is told.
Links:
To the Dutch, a German Shepherd holds more worth: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DNYEoQForz2/?igsh=MTVrZW1kZW94NHdieQ==
Serial Killing at a Famous Karnataka Temple: https://youtube.com/shorts/YexL_ASaGqE?si=mQ-Kdj6jSMzNPrAx
Could be Social Media Frenzy: https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/dharmasthala-burial-case-political-temperature-soars-as-no-major-recovery-after-digging-17-spots/article69937387.ece
Not one Football: https://youtube.com/shorts/DR8SFCTCaoQ?si=tut2ymQB3EcDHTY6
