Thatās a sharp observation, and worth expanding. The truth is, in the West, all immigrants eventually become āwhiteāānot in phenotype, but in assimilation, in aesthetic, in aspiration. Continue reading Everyone Western Becomes White Eventually
šÆļø Saving Adam
I donāt often comment on the IsraelāPalestine conflict, and I try not to be reactive. But there comes a point where neutrality becomes its own kind of indulgence.
Alaa al-Najjar, a pediatrician, lost nine of her ten children, and her husband, in an airstrike on their home in Khan Younis. Her surviving son, Adam, 11, had his hand amputated and was flown out of Gaza to Italy, where he says he hopes to live in āa beautiful placeā¦ where houses are not broken and nobody dies.ā
The children killed were: Sidar (7 months), Luqman (2), Sadeen (3), Rifan (5), Raslan (7), Jubran (8), Eve (9), Rakan (10), and Yahya (12). May they rest in the Highest Heaven. Continue reading šÆļø Saving Adam
š§µQuick Moderation Note
Just a heads-up for everyone:
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IndiaāPakistan threads are totally fine when the post is about IndiaāPakistan, or if itās an Open Thread. Let the sparks fly there.
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But on other postsāplease avoid steering every conversation back to IndiaāPakistan. Itās not always relevant and derails useful discussion.
I wonāt be actively moderating every thread. If something is genuinely offensive or disruptive, feel free to flag itāIāll step in only if needed. Continue reading š§µQuick Moderation Note
š®š³Op Sindoor: A Podcast on Pahalgam, Pakistan, and the Limits of Peace
Iāve just listened to the first half-hour of Op Sindoor, the latest Brown Pundits Browncast featuring Amey, Poulasta, and Omar. The full episode runs over 90 minutes; Iāll be reflecting on the rest in due course. For now, some thoughts on the opening segment, which focuses on the recent terror attack in Pahalgam and its aftermath.
š§Ø The Attack Itself: Pahalgam as a National Trauma
The episode begins by recounting the massacre in Pahalgam, Kashmirāa tourist meadow turned execution ground. Twenty-six people, most of them honeymooning Hindus, were murdered after being identified through religious markers: circumcision, Kalma recitations, names. The hosts donāt shy away from calling it what it is: a targeted Islamist attack. The group responsible, the TRF (The Resistance Front), is introduced as a Lashkar-e-Taiba cutout, designed to launder Pakistan-backed militancy through a local Kashmiri lens.
There is a palpable sense of cumulative fatigue in how the Indian speakers describe itānot as an aberration, but as part of a 30-year continuum of such violence. The emotional register is high, but justified. The use of plain terms like terrorists over euphemisms such as militants or gunmen reflects a long-standing frustration with how such attacks are framed in international discourse.
š¤ Ā Modi, Nawaz, and the Civ-Mil Waltz Continue reading š®š³Op Sindoor: A Podcast on Pahalgam, Pakistan, and the Limits of Peace
On Moderation, Minoritization, and the Elite
Pulse: The Threads We Weave ā
Lately Iāve wondered whether I over-curated the threads. Things feel quieter. Maybe too quiet. But perhaps thatās the cost of raising the barāof asking for dialogue instead of dopamine. Still, this lull has me reflecting not just on moderation but on why some arguments no longer move me.
Take the Indo-Pak conflict: once electric, now strangely inert. That shift reflects my own evolution over two decades. I no longer inhabit that binary. I carry a layered identityāa South Asian BahĆ”āĆ sensibility shaped by Persian aesthetics, grounded in British institutions, and fluently navigated through English. That complexity is my compass. Itās why I care less about flags and more about forces.
And the real force that shapes our lives? The elite. Not as a pejorative, but as a structural reality. I see it as nested tiers: Continue reading On Moderation, Minoritization, and the Elite
Belated Podcast: Operation Sindoor (and Bunyan al Marsoos)
Another Browncast is up. You can listen onĀ Libsyn,Ā Apple,Ā Spotify, andĀ StitcherĀ (and a variety of other platforms). Probably the easiest way to keep up the podcast since we donāt have a regular schedule is toĀ subscribeĀ to one of the links above!
In this episode Amey hosts myself (omar) and Poulasta (our resident Bengali expert) to talk about the recent India-Pakistan kerfuffle. Amey was ready for war, but we found common ground š (as usual with India and Pakistan, a lot of the discussion is about partition and related misunderstandings)
US Economics and Theory of Collapse
A Theory of Collapse (After a US Economic Synopsis)
Note: Italicized comments are from another Brown Pundits contributor
Unless the US falls hopelessly behind in tech, they are ābuiltā to retain a perpetual competitive edge.
I donāt think youāve looked closely enough at the economic fundamentals. Off the top of my head:
- National Debt: $30+ trillion
- Interest on Debt: $1 trillion
- Budget Deficit (2024): $1.8 trillion
- Trade Deficit: $140.5 billion (heavy reliance on imports)
- Defense Budget: $1 trillion
Moodyās recently downgraded US debt from Aaa to Aa1, citing worsening risk indicators. This downgrade was hard to avoidāUS sovereign CDS spreads are now wider than those of China and Greece, suggesting higher default risk. Continue reading US Economics and Theory of Collapse
Request for Calm and Civility
Dear Punditeers,
A gentle reminder to take a breath and step back. Kabir is entitled to his viewsāthereās no obligation to counter every provocation point-by-point.
Whatās troubling isnāt disagreementāitās the sheer volume of rage replies. This doesnāt reflect the standard we aspire to. Itās neither civil nor intellectual. The only reason Iām stepping in is because, while I generally prefer light-touch moderation, the tone of these threads now reflects poorly on the broader community. It lowers the quality of both the commentariat and the platform.
Weāve seen this play out beforeāSepia Mutiny is a cautionary tale. Letās not replicate it.
So please: engage with ideas, not just identities. Letās not derail into yet another endless Indo-Pak back-and-forth. Weāre capable of better.
Warmly,
X.T.M
āļø [Addendum]
On Nivedita’s query, Iāve finally re-created the Brown Pundits email account. Itās hosted on Gmail, but Iāve deliberately avoided posting the full address here to prevent spam harvesters. If youād like to get in touch privately or share something offline, feel free to reach out via:
š§ brownpundits19 [@g]
šŖ Whatās in a Name? Mukesh, Not Mukash.
While reading Brad DeLongās fascinating newsletter on centi-billionaires and political power (I’m going to ignore Elon’s self-imploding stunt), I noticed something that jarred me more than it should have: Mukesh Ambaniās name was misspelled as āMukash.ā A minor slip, perhaps. But it was the only error in a list that included Bernard Arnault, Warren Buffett, and Michael Bloombergāmen whose names command a certain global familiarity.
What does it say that even after spending nearly half a billion dollars on a wedding for his son, Indiaās wealthiest man doesnāt merit a spellcheck? It says a lot.
š§ The Chimera of Respect via Capital Continue reading šŖ Whatās in a Name? Mukesh, Not Mukash.
šSana Yusuf Did Not Have to Die
The Pakistani Crisis Is Not Just LegalāItās Civilizational
By X.T.M
As I write this, the news of Sana Yusufās murder is barely 48 hours old. A 17-year-old TikTok creator with over a million followers, she was gunned down in Karachi by a 22-year-old stalker. She was a rising starāfunny, expressive, beloved. And now, she is dead.
Weāve been here before. Qandeel Baloch. Noor Mukadam. Khadija Siddiqui. Now Sana.
Every few years, Pakistan reels in collective shock at the killing of yet another woman by a man convinced of his right to possess, control, or erase her. And every time, some voices insist āthis is not our culture.ā But what if it is?
šNot an AnomalyāBut an Outcome
Sanaās murder is not an aberration. It is the predictable consequence of a society structured around honor, control, and male entitlement. Patriarchy in Pakistan isnāt just culturalāitās systemic, generational, and fiercely defended. Continue reading šSana Yusuf Did Not Have to Die