Category: X.T.M

Caste, Aurangzeb, and the Price of Belonging

1. On Chasing Lost Voices and Losing the Plot

JTL suggested we bring back “Bhimrao, Saurav, Prats, the Tam Brahm married to a Sri Lankan.” Let’s be clear: BP isn’t going to go chasing ghosts. We already have 14 active authors; the goal now isn’t expansion, it’s distillation.

Authorship should mean something. To make it valuable, the inactive will have to go and be replaced. There’s a point at which nostalgia becomes necrosis; when a space keeps trying to resurrect the same arguments instead of evolving beyond them. Kabir’s Substack is a window into Elitestan, which I respect.

2. The Echo Chamber Problem

Endlessly reinforcing a Saffronite echo chamber isn’t vitality; it’s entropy. Even when these voices appear “discordant,” they’re usually quibbling on details inside the same frame. And when genuine Pakistani voices are sidelined so that incorrect takes on Pakistan can circulate unchallenged, something’s gone wrong.

The country has done remarkably well post-Pahalgam and navigated certain transitions far better than many care to admit. I rarely see the Saffroniate yield on that except grudgingly; how can one properly analyse what they hate?

Right now, the blog has rhythm. Diwali may be over, but the interdiction hasn’t lifted yet (apparently in anticipation, Qureshi has taken on a new Avatar, as I like to say scratch a Pakistani, wound a Hindu)— meaning, metaphorically, Loki has yet to return with the forces of Ragnarök.

In the interim let us strengthen Asgard itself & let’s see where that leads.

3. On Caste and the Polite Lie

There’s this cultivated discomfort around talking about caste — as if it’s rude or too personal.cBut caste isn’t a dinner-table topic; it’s the architecture of Indian society and the Saffroniate. Pretending it’s impolite to speak about it simply preserves privilege. Most of the saffronite commentariat are upper-caste; when they do speak of caste, it’s often un-interrogated.

Brown Pundits was designed to be uncomfortable. If you come here to feel safe, you’ve mistaken the room.

4. The Aurangzeb Clause

Now, on a personal note — since Dr. V’s identity (IHS) takes precedence over mine (BPB), that hierarchy inevitably colors how I write. It lends the blog its saffron hue, and I’m fine with that. It’s the tension that gives this space its elasticity.

People sometimes ask why I don’t “interrogate my own biases.” Well of course I have but the answer is simple: Aurangzeb is not a hill to die on. The Mughals were complex; the demolition of Babri Masjid was inhumane and reckless (the equivalent to destroying the Aya Sofia). I know that. But complexity is the price of belonging.

To gain full entry into Bharat; to speak as one of her own, you pick your battles and who you must give up. I chose to kick my Mughal padres to the wayside in my Hindufication and baptism from Mleccha to caste Hindu. And virtually no kin of mine, even the most liberal-minded in the Ummah, will ever do the same.

5. The Work Ahead

So, no, we’re not reviving old cycles. We’re pruning, refining, and staying porous enough to hold contradiction. Caste is not impolite. Aurangzeb may not be evil. They are the two mirrors in which this subcontinent still sees itself — one social, one civilizational. The task is to look straight into both and while I can’t & won’t fight those battles since I took on the Saffron orders and joined Asgard, I won’t disallow lost kin from waging their own battles in what they see as truth. The Golden Age in Norse Mythology, only starts after Ragnarök is concluded.

 

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 “peace” 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

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.

Syriac Echoes: From the Mountains of Lebanon to the Coasts of Kerala

It is somewhat understood that the Christians of Lebanon and Kerala, though separated by 4,000 miles of land & sea, belong to the same ancient linguistic and theological world. Both descend from the Syriac-speaking Christianity that once stretched from Antioch to the Malabar Coast, and both have wrestled with what it means to be indigenous after centuries of empire, conversion, and cultural layering.

1. The Syriac World

Before Latin or Arabic ruled their respective shores, both Lebanon and south western India were part of an Aramaic Christian zone. The language of Christ, Syriac, a dialect of Aramaic, became the scriptural and liturgical medium for Christians from Edessa to Mylapore. From this matrix emerged:

  • The Maronites of Lebanon; Chalcedonian Syriac Christians who accepted the Christology of Constantinople but maintained their own monastic independence in the mountains.

  • The NasrānÄ«s (Saint Thomas Christians) of Kerala; East Syriac Christians under the Church of the East in Persia, who never knew Byzantium but shared the same liturgical ancestry.

In both regions, Syriac liturgy defined the faith long before Latin, Greek, or Malayalam translations appeared. To this day, Maronite and Keralite priests still whisper “Qadishāt Alohƍ”, Holy God, in the same ancestral tongue.

2. Lebanon; A Christian Mountain Built on ShiÊżite Soil Continue reading Syriac Echoes: From the Mountains of Lebanon to the Coasts of Kerala

Pakistan’s Diplomatic Triumph (Trump?)

United States President Donald Trump especially thanked Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and “my favourite” Field Marshal Asim Munir on Monday for their efforts in achieving peace in Gaza, among many other world leaders.

Trump thanks PM Shehbaz and ‘my favourite’ Field Marshal Asim Munir for Gaza peace efforts

I might expand on this tomorrow, but it’s telling that Dr. Lalchand finds all this quite amusing—Pakistan back again with a begging bowl. I, on the other hand, see it as something closer to a post-Pahalgam pivot. Perhaps India is underestimating Pakistan’s deep instinct for adaptation, especially as the region continues to drift in unpredictable directions.

Interdiction

I’ve made a decision: Kabir will no longer be allowed to comment on Brown Pundits.

This isn’t about silencing the only active Pakistani Muslim voice here. Nor is it about shutting down disagreement. It’s about something more basic: respect; for this space, for conversation, and for the people who show up in good faith.

Earlier today, I had to invoke the five-comment deletion rule after one of Sbarrkum’s replies crossed a line. He implied grotesque accusations. I’ve said it before: all life is sacred. That kind of slander won’t stand. Ever.

The admins have asked me for some time to be firmer. I’ve held back. I value openness. But Brown Pundits is not a free-for-all. We care about how people argue, not just what they argue.

I’d meant to write something calmer after yoga. Because I care about this project. I believe in it. BP must be a place of respect. That comes from a deeper idea; dharma, a commitment to plurality and balance. Even when we fall short, that’s the standard we aim for.

I’m not saying India, or the BP commentariat, always gets it right. Sometimes, on topics like caste, we speak from a place of blind privilege. And as the founder, I know my voice carries weight. That’s not always fair.

But this is the key: we must disagree with grace. And Kabir doesn’t. His tone is often scornful. He treats this space as beneath him.

Over the years, I’ve seen something: for many Pakistanis, the deepest value is ‘Izzat; honour and status. It often matters more than truth. But that ‘Izzat seems to vanish in the face of power—especially when that power is Western or Arab. Kabir speaks glowingly of “the West.” But when it comes to Dharma Asia, he sneers.

That sneer has been aimed at Brown Pundits. And I won’t allow that anymore. Kabir may see BP as “lesser,” unworthy of his respect. You don’t get to sneer and stay.

This isn’t a permanent ban. But it is an interdiction. Kabir is welcome to focus on his Substack. I wish him well. If he ever wants to return, he can contact me directly. But that will require real contrition; not performance.

Let me end with this: this is not about politics. People here hold strong views; on India, on Palestine, on religion. That’s not the problem. The problem is contempt. Mockery. Scorn. Brown Pundits will always welcome hard conversations. But only if they’re honest. And only if they’re respectful.

On another happier note, Nigerian ingenuity:

Pakistan’s Inner Logic

On Nivedita & Archer’s joint request (Mamnoon/Tashakor/Merci for the kind words); I’m going to expand on my comment:

“Kabir is definitely right. Ethnicity in Pakistan is complex; there are three tiers of society. The English speaking elite (Imran is part of that so is Kabir), who are “Pakistanis” and ethnicity isn’t really reflected on…”

This comment, which the BP archives have tons of similar posts on (BP was venerable even in 2014), sketches the bones of Pakistan’s sociological map. But what lies beneath the skin?

Pakistan is feudal; India is not.

That one statement alone explains much. Landholding elites dominate politics, rural economies still function on patronage, and class mobility is rare. Caste, though “denied,” is real and sharper, in some ways, than it could ever be in India (the reservation system does not really exist in Pakistan except for religious minorities but not for socio-economic castes). Pakistanis can sniff out class in one another with a dexterity that’s probably only matched in the United Kingdom, which is the home of class stratification (I remember reading Dorian Gray in Karachi in the early millennium and shocked how similar late Victorian early Edwardian England was).

The postcolonial state froze itself in amber. There has never been a serious leftist rupture, excepting 1971’s successful Bengali revolution. Even Imran Khan, who styled himself a reformist, is a product of elite schools, Aitchison College, Oxford, and aristocratic lineage. His “Islamic socialism” was only ever viable because Pakistanis still believe in myths of the benevolent landlord.

And yet, Pakistanis sometimes seem happier than their Indian counterparts, even if not remotely successful. Why? Continue reading Pakistan’s Inner Logic

Ladakh: From Promise to Protest

A Factual Account of Recent Developments

Overview:
The region of Ladakh has seen a sharp escalation in political tension and civil unrest over the past 10 days. On September 24, 2025, four civilians were killed in Leh in police firing following public protests. This marks a significant turn in the trajectory of Ladakh’s relationship with the Union government of India, which had previously promised administrative empowerment and constitutional safeguards following the region’s bifurcation from Jammu & Kashmir in 2019.

Timeline of Key Events: Continue reading Ladakh: From Promise to Protest

Hijab: Between Revelation and Regulation

When Bahá’u’lláh wrote that every word of the Qur’ān 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.  Kashan’s 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 Amini’s 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 Qur’ān itself leaves open — what, after all, does áž„ijāb mean?

1. The Qur’ānic Vocabulary of Modesty Continue reading Hijab: Between Revelation and Regulation

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