Hindutva
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Aryan Migration and its Discontents
Recapping new genetic findings that Indo-European herders migrated into the subcontinent about 4,000 years ago, the author focuses on the politics, arguing that the Hindutva reaction to political uses of…
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Indian genetics, the never-ending argument
Weary of Indian population genetics, the author answers a Swarajya article attacking him as racist, says ancient DNA will deliver the real results, and cautions about the allies people choose,…
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The Civilizational Unity of India
The author posts excerpts from a Hindutva-leaning article on India’s civilisational unity, saying its arguments are largely reasonable, while noting that even such writers struggle with the Indo-European migration.
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Indian History, Brexit, Trump and the Bombay Fornicator
In a set of random thoughts, the author recommends a Hindu-nationalist writer’s summary of what is known about the Aryans, observes that many Pakistanis repeat 1950s textbook views on it,…
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Indian Studies; Reversing the Metropolitan Gaze
The author links Samir Chopra’s long essay criticising the Rajiv Malhotra and Balagangadhara school’s project of reversing the Western gaze on India, quoting Satadru Sen’s point that colonial power underwrote…
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Should Pakistan and India Play Cricket?
On renewed talk of cricket ties between India and Pakistan, the author sets out numbered thoughts, starting with extreme Hindutva and jihadi positions that allow no compromise, and asks where…
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Pankaj Mishra and his discontents…
The author answers Pankaj Mishra’s New York Times op-ed, granting that Indian hypernationalism is real but arguing that Mishra’s worldview, with its distrust of strength and material progress, is neither…
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Lions and (are) Christians
The author discusses the 2005 US visa ban on Narendra Modi and the role of US religious-freedom bodies, arguing the ban made him a victim in Gujarati eyes and helped…
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“Vanguards of Khorasan”
The author argues that identity movements are branding exercises, using the Hindutva cow-protection campaign and the ‘Khorasan’ name as examples, and says he distrusts both Hindutva and political Islam because…
