Even if we do not have a very deep connection with Scruton’s own loyalties and ideals, this essay has some excellent insights. Excerpts: “..And reflecting on this I noticed certain peculiar and recurring features of all the literature that I have mentioned. First it is literature directed at an enemy. All of it is devoted … Continue reading Roger Scruton on the Postmodern Turn
The latest Islamist-terrorist atrocity hit the news on Friday with a Mumbai-style attack on the city of Paris. The same group (ISIS) has recently bombed Ankara, a Russian aircraft and a civilian neighborhood in Beirut. But as expected, the strike in Paris got the most attention (not inappropriately so, in my opinion). It was a … Continue reading Paris, Islam, ISIS and Sykes-Picot. Random Thoughts
A long essay by Brooklyn philosopher Samir Chopra on the Hindutvadi school (not necessarily their term, or his) of Rajiv Malhotra and Balagangadhara and friends. Excerpt: “As the historian Satadru Sen pointed out to me in conversation, there are two broad points that run counter to the kind of gaze reversal Balagangadhara and Malhotra attempt. … Continue reading Indian Studies; Reversing the Metropolitan Gaze
A good, wide-ranging interview with Romila Thapar (original link is broken, I am not sure what it was, but this video is around the same time (and i posted another one below this post) I have no argument with a lot of her history writing or the ideal of the neutral, skeptical, inquiring historian.., as … Continue reading Romila Thapar. Something is missing..
An awful lot can be said about the India-Pakistan conflict and what is said is heavily dependent on how the writer sees the world and what he or she wants it to become. Now that the latest round of proposed “National Security Adviser Talks” has fizzled, a lot is being said about who is to … Continue reading Pakistan and India. The Long View
(Trigger warning: this post includes words and images) PEN American Center decided to honor the French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo with an award for the magazine’s courage in standing up for free speech. This is an award for courage in the face of censorship; a free speech award. It was meant to recognize the fact … Continue reading An Embarrassment at PEN
This is an old post and I would probably change some things now (and in fact, will change some things soon once I do a new post) But this was lost when the old Brownpundits crashed and I wanted to recover it. So here it isPosted on October 7, 2013 by omar Hussein Ibish has … Continue reading End of the Muslim Brotherhood
…..This week the British embassy in Washington decided to hark back to Blighty’s glory days….picture of a sparkler-bedecked cake “commemorating the 200th anniversary of burning the White House”….embassy quickly retracted: “Apologies for earlier Tweet. We meant to mark an event in history & celebrate our friendship today …. Today UK-US celebrate #specialrelationship”….. … ….. Whichever … Continue reading The “Great” is no more in Great Britain
…..Remittances from India….key role in making Scotland the most industrialised country by the mid-19th century….Dundee and Paisley were transformed by their trade in jute and textiles with India….a man has died after 35 people found in a shipping container….survivors from the Indian subcontinent….staff alerted by “screaming and banging” from inside… …. The “trade” between India … Continue reading Immigration (good face, sad face)
…..my first academic job at the Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Kolkata…..a friend sent me a petition on the plight of Tamils….he hoped some of my colleagues would sign……a senior historian said: “As Marxists, the question you and I should be asking is whether taking up ethnic issues would deviate attention from the ongoing … Continue reading The neo-Marxist historians of India
