Monday, June 17, 2024

We downplay ugly self-interested motives

 Collated by Tusar Nath Mohapatra

The Parable of the Search for the Soul, The Book of Yoga, Savitri, Sri Aurobindo - Page 485. 3 views · 11 minutes ago #themother #sriaurobindo #integralyoga 
What is the destiny of the human species and its evolution here on this planet in matter? No one summarizes this better than Sri Aurobindo in the last ...
Well, perhaps; for he has seen the shadow of God and clutched at it.” Sri Aurobindo, Thoughts and Aphorisms What does “God playing at hide and seek with ...
15 hours ago — Questions and Answers 1954Conversations based on the Mother's essays on education and three small books by Sri Aurobindo: Elements of Yoga, Bases of Yoga and ...
8 hours ago — Perseus the Deliverer is one of the longest play of Sri Aurobindo, the only play published in Sri Aurobindo's lifetime. This is very symbolic and the Mother ...

Conversions, Constructions and Conundrums: The Dispute of the Gyanvapi Masjid

K Sigvardsson - 2024
… of the ideology and later the transgression of the Hindutva ideology into new spheres. The spatial transgression of Hindutva is further explored in the analysis of the interconnection between the current development discourse and Hindutva. In …

Book review: Sumantra Bose, Kashmir at the Crossroads: Inside India's 21st-Century Conflict

S Maitra - 2024
… 191), Modi got the leverage to escalate the Hindutva rhetoric and ‘flex some military muscle for the general election of April–May 2019’ (p. … He squarely blames the Modi–Amit Shah duo for having retuned Kashmir’s official policy with the …

[PDF] Only a Politics of Love Can Counter a Culture of Hate

M Tundawala, S Choudhuri - 2024
… While Hindutva will continue to remain a powerful vocabulary in national politics, it now has a serious contender in the form of a reinvented and more secular Indian nationalism. Even by Modi’s own standards, his electoral campaign this time was …

[PDF] Reimagining Identities: Language, Form and Resistance in Miyah Poetry from Assam

I am an Asomiya - Culture & Tradition
Miyah Poetry stands out as one of the most popular emancipatory poetic movements in Modern India. Providing a powerful response to the humanitarian and identity crises, fuelled by the majoritarian politics in Assam, the poetic movement attempts to …

[PDF] Religious Amplification versus Fraying Charisma: Decoding Lok Sabha Elections 2024

A APPADURAI
… There is only one Indian State where Hindutva has appeared to decisively trumped caste and that State is Gujarat, where Mr. Modi, and his long-time political deputy and current Union Home Minister, Mr. Amit Shah, were able to suppress …

Understanding India and Pakistan's intriguing terrorism discourses

M Feyyaz, S Husnain Bari - Critical Studies on Terrorism, 2024
… With the BJP’s return to the centre as a majority party in 2014, a paradigm shift occurred in ethnic politics through the popularisation of its brand of Hindu Nationalism, Hindutva. Its vision aspired to recast India’s identity consistent with the …

[PDF] Borders, labor, and beyond: Collective reflections on Harsha Walia's writing, activism, and influence on the anthropology of work

S Campbell, AD Godboldt, E Hjalmarson, SM Holmes… - Anthropology of Work …, 2024
… I am interested how religious nationalist ideologies like unmarked Christian secularism, Zionism, Hindutva, and Islamization construct global religious communities of suffering and redeem them through state forms of recognition (ie …

[PDF] Twitter and the projection of political personalities in India

V Jumle, KKR Vignesh - Commonwealth & Comparative Politics, 2024
By longitudinally tracing India’s top political Twitter trends for 2019, our study shows that discursive framing of political leaders is another approach to digital politics. We show that political discourse on digital platforms in India (a) revolved around …

[PDF] AYODHYA, A HOLY-HERITAGE CITY OF BHARAT-INDIA: APPRAISING CULTURAL LANDSCAPES AND SUSTAINABILITY

RPB SINGH, S KUMAR
… In fact, since Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his party, BJP, took power in 2014, the rebuilding of a Rāma temple at Ayodhya has been at the forefront of their Hindutva agenda of political campaign and cultural diplomacy (see Singh and Rana …

[PDF] Shah Rukh Khan and the Reincar-national Business of Performing (as a Religious Minority)

R Adamczyk - 2024
Popular Hindi cinema (“Bollywood”) is recognized by many scholars as one of the most potent channels for communicating the cultural values of a modern,“global” Indian “family.” One of its most effective superstars, Shah Rukh Khan, nonetheless …

Small Town Stardom and theBig Picture: Cinematic Intimacies on TikTok Ishani Dey

I Dey - BioScope: South Asian Screen Studies, 2024
This article demonstrates how new media technologies remediate traditional cinematic modes of stardom, specifically in and through small towns in India. Through two case studies, it explores registers of stardom that have emerged …the cinematic construct of a TikTok star, which fuels the formal and narrative force of the 2019 film Bala (dir. Amar Kaushik). Bala illustrates how cinema can self-reflexively interweave traditional tropes with new media technologies... While the real TikTok star, Sonali Phogat, directly addresses her constituency, lip-syncing to old movie songs in 15-second videos, her reel counterparts pay homage to their cine-ancestors, 15 seconds at a time.

Anti-Gender and Anti-Feminist Politics in India: Notes on Fascism, Feminist Solidarity and Liberatory Politics

NS Minj, N Pandit - Transnational Anti-Gender Politics: Feminist Solidarity …, 2024
… In the face of such ideological and material oppression, this chapter offers an account of how the Hindutva-propelling BJP government relies on exclusionary ideas of gender, (hetero) sexuality, caste and nation that are exponentially …

MAHISHI'S RAGE

D Vadakkiniyil
… In response, the CPI (M) conducted what they called a'Renaissance Assembly'(appropriate to the spirit and potency of Ayyappan at his annual festival) throughout the villages in Kerala to resist the BJP and Hindutva attempts at Hindu nationalist …

[PDF] A battleground of scars: Acid violence against women and girls in Indian news media

P Govindnathan - 2024
… Hindutva should not be confused with Hindu, as not all Hindus follow Hindutva ideologies and principles. Hindutva is the ideology that India is a Hindu nation and should be governed by pure Hindu cultural and ideological systems. According to …

[HTML] A Transnational Feminist Approach to Anti-Gender Politics

T Ojeda, B Holzberg, A Holvikivi - … Anti-Gender Politics: Feminist Solidarity in Times of …, 2024
… queer movements in India need to be understood in relation to Hindutva fascism. This political project develops in relation to other global … anti-gender politics with the Vatican but with Chinese party communism or Hindutva nationalism? What if we …

Left and right ideological orientations as intragroup strategies of cultural preservation and promotion

C Reyna, K Vazquez, M Vazquez, F Eadeh, K Harris - Social and Personality …, 2024
Social and political psychologists have focused on how liberals and conservatives differ from one another and have developed a vast literature on individual differences and fixed attributes that distinguish ideological groups. However …

The Great Replacement Ideology as Anti-Gender Politics: Affect, White Terror, and Reproductive Racism in Germany and Beyond

B Holzberg - Transnational Anti-Gender Politics: Feminist Solidarity …, 2024
This chapter positions the great replacement conspiracy theory as a deep story of anti-gender politics. Starting with the analysis of how the conspirational ideology that the national population is replaced through engineered mass migration and falling …

Electoral Narratives of Democracy and Governance in India

YS Sisodia, P Chattopadhyay - 2024
… The chapter argues that Hindutva is presented not as a religious idea but as a demographic idea by the present leadership of BJP having … From being conservative, the new BJP logic is to create an identity of Hindutvaness among …

It means a lot to me that someone whom I admire and respect has taken time to review my book. This made my day. Thank you @arvindneela for reviewing by book Nastik: Why I Am Not an Atheist amzn.in/d/cbaSQw8

swarajyamag.com/culture/book-r

https://x.com/kushal_mehra/status/1802388680411353184?t=_7AJaYf3eSj-ZGKF8pufLA&s=19

Interesting that "some" Indian-origin folks in thinktanks have such a sentimental view of America they will defend/excuse its actions no matter what - the thought that the US could be destabilizing all of Europe with this NATO expansion thing must have crossed the mind no?

https://x.com/jai_menon/status/1484984356695580672?t=w1EIrpSyNW_vof0y_Yn0dw&s=19

This strange notion of supporting everything which America does and some strange sense of messianic qualities we put on boundaries, countries etc. is juvenile.

A nation whose boundaries have reduced by 50% in past 1000 years is obsessed with border sanctity of others.. Realism

https://x.com/Brahamvakya/status/1484926578035466242?t=OoERFU5hssBkuAHDCFYj-w&s=19

Believe the contrarian story of Alexander's defeat in India emerged first from Russian defence sources. So much for putting our trust on the liberal west.

https://x.com/nitthoo17/status/1485056828421513222?t=FiR2Bbv1DrLlokAokjpkKw&s=19

Today is a good day to remember Ahimsa and particularly கொல்லாமை (Non-Killing) from Thiruvalluvar's perspective.

Saint Valluvar was aware of the Samanya Dharma (common ethical tenets for all) from Manusmriti and wrote Kurals directly quotes from it (1/7)

4) Many Chapters: Shaucha - Purity - Although Kural doesn't talk about external purity, he dedicates several chapters on removing internal impurities like kAma (lust), krodha (anger), mada (pride), lobha (greed), moha (attachment) and mAtsarya (jealousy).

Some Chapters - வெகுளாமை, அழுக்காறாமை, நிலையாமை, அவா அறுத்தல்

https://x.com/labstamil/status/1802689469050438096?t=9pHHZXu1C-bnvdlaoqFY-g&s=19

Here are few snapshots from the book launch of 'Rearming Hinduism' by Vamsee Juluri, featuring eminent speakers J Sai Deepak, Anand Ranganathan and Ashish Dhar. The video of the event will be uploaded on our YouTube channel soon.

@VamseeJuluri @infinitchy @jsaideepak @ARanganathan72

https://x.com/sangamtalks/status/1802615374258774343?t=c0n0mzeaGeHpf2_rC_HXRA&s=19

In this episode with @sowmyanandan & Ashwin Kak discuss about all things CSR. This year marks a decade since the CSR law was introduced. They talk about the CSR trajectory & what does it take for corporates to explore offbeat interventions.

shorturl.at/ZT0EV

https://x.com/TakshashilaInst/status/1802649891061342280?t=hw8BJSCrdeK7AFljdHyyZA&s=19

Glimpses from the talk on 'Religion, Dharma and the Indic Religious Tradition' by Prof Arvind Sharma, Professor, Comparative Religion, School of Religious Studies, McGill University, Montreal held today at @vifindia. Prof Shashi Prabha Kumar, Chairperson, @IIASShimla joined as Discussant.
#Vimarsh
Video is available here: youtube.com/live/TJ0MpdcXi

https://x.com/vifindia/status/1802690488400748955?t=JKwbEfi0WZghampGEXqTtw&s=19

People ask me about India’s economy. I tell them it has its pluses & minuses. What really worries me is India’s politics—the way religion is being used to serve political interests. This is not the way India was, nor meant to be. Hindutva is hurting not just India but Hinduism.

https://x.com/kaushikcbasu/status/1802520285331013710?t=ThrJAX1NuuPnWXFKm1DKkg&s=19

The outcome of elections 2024 is by no means a guarantee for the future of a democratic and secular India, but it does provide enough ground to build a politics to reclaim the spirit of our republic.

Our analysis of the post poll data published by Lokniti-CSDS assures us that seven decades of functioning democracy have inculcated democratic habits of mind that are not easy to bulldoze. Also, Indian voters were not blown off their feet by the strongest majoritarian storm yet.

Rahul Shastri and Shreyas Sardesai and I conclude our six part series analysing the election outcome in @ThePrintIndia

theprint.in/opinion/2024-r

https://x.com/_YogendraYadav/status/1802658983586791810?t=GqhX5t4-7xO7rrSh9KWojw&s=19

Socialists like G.A. Cohen criticise capitalism for achieving social cooperation as a byproduct of self-interest. However, this is true of all complex cooperation. Capitalism is only unusual in making the role of self-interest undeniable. New post: conspicuouscognition.com/p/socialism-se… 1/9 In "Why Not Socialism?", G.A. Cohen imagines an ideal camping trip to argue that socialism is desirable and feasible on small scales. But his understanding of how social equality is achieved on such scales is based on a self-deceptive analysis of human cooperation. 2/9

Humans systematically deceive ourselves about our motives due to the importance of reputation management in social life. We downplay ugly self-interested motives and exaggerate and confabulate flattering ones, often sincerely believing our own spin. 3/9 This interaction between reputation management and self-deception extends to cooperation. The motives driving cooperation (mutual benefit, reciprocity, reputation, status, etc.) often differ from the cuddly stories we tell (altruism, the "common good", etc.). 4/9 For those attempting to understand human societies, that means you can either engage with the real reasons people cooperate or the flattering fairytales we're motivated to tell about cooperation. Cohen chooses the latter. 5/9

https://x.com/danwilliamsphil/status/1802609812158439584?t=octVWZY0k5Z7-Fmx8xXCRw&s=19

Have a look at my recent book, highly praised by Branko Milanovic:  Liberal Capitalist Democracy: The God That Failed - Kindle edition by Nayar, Krishnan. Politics & Social Sciences Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.

My book reviews the last 300 years of world history to show that capitalism was far less likely to lead to democracy than to modernised rightwing authoritarianism. Democracy becoming prominent in the world was due to lucky circumstances in England and America.

https://x.com/KrishnanNayar1/status/1802413408479760614?t=ibTBwBLqwCeSxpohHfQ93w&s=19

What a great little book on democracy and liberalism and the relationship between them (“by no means one of continuity or identity”) - highly recommended, especially for those who use the terms democracy and liberalism as if they were synonyms. @VersoBooks

https://x.com/hanskundnani/status/1802368573081374784?t=NQXzpUQaXhFUzJhVtXDmig&s=19

Ranga and Billa think they know more about Hindutva than the BJP & RSS. This half scientist was accusing the present Modi Government of having Savarkar on the lips, Gandhi in the spine & Marx in the soul. He should realize he was a non-entity until Modi era (8/N)

@alok_bhatt @smashru197 @impuni @mgnayak5 @vinirish @MaheshJ95622388 @JMehta65 @lambdakore @rightseer @tan_tripathi @Possess_Gyan @ind_rajat92 @Shivaradhana55 @TobiUchiha782 @AdwaitDbz @1967vandana @StarseedSanghi

https://x.com/SwombieSlayer/status/1802250030075523078?t=8pZLJWprL12hazO5905feQ&s=19

Article: Einstein, Fisher, science and the Great Depression, by Rogério Arthmar & Mauro Boianovsky

buff.ly/3Vxl0jE

https://x.com/economicthought/status/1802661228982030398?t=5KbcHqr2PMjp4g3BhexZZw&s=19

Critics of populism lament the rise of “emotion-driven” politics. But instead of asking why politics has become so “irrational,” we should ask why people are so angry in the first place.

https://x.com/jacobin/status/1802491348978962535?t=9ub_f7aQn7nEd6fvzh5m2Q&s=19

M. C. Rajah – The Hindu Mahasabha Dalit Who Challenged The Dravidianists - The Commune

https://x.com/ranganaathan/status/1802688220691673112?t=zn3a6nzWzBrhQ09IWPvKVw&s=19

I do not want to embarrass @arvindneela but he is the scholar of scholars, philosopher of philosophers when it comes to Hindu Dharma Sangathan. There is so much to learn from him, including his gentleness. Hoping to know you better in coming times! Happy birthday, Aravindan ji :)

https://x.com/harshmadhusudan/status/1802617529782931900?t=l9V86oKFqQdRFaf4v7DQxg&s=19

In this video snippet, Richa Gautam discusses the intricate link between caste politics, global events, and India's changing political landscape. She advocates for marginalized voices to reclaim their narratives, using the metaphor of lions writing their own stories.  She also discusses recent developments like the Bihar caste survey and the upcoming 2024 elections, shedding light on the ongoing complexities in Indian politics. Watch the full talk here: youtu.be/18VZoFevqpk

#SangamTalks

https://x.com/sangamtalks/status/1802662540687589882?t=abGQm7RlcebP2L-mtw2G_Q&s=19

विचार का जवाब विचार से ही दिया जाना चाहिए। जब तक यह सिद्ध न हो जाए कि किसी के कुछ कहने से क़ानून व्यवस्था भंग हुई है, अशांति हुई है/होने की आशंका है, दो समुदायों/देशों के बीच तनाव होने की संभावना है तब तक किसी की अभिव्यक्ति की स्वतंत्रता बाधित नहीं की जानी चाहिए। विशेष तौर पर लेखकों-पत्रकारों की।

अजीत भारती की वैचारिकी और भाषा दोनों को मैं बेहद ज़हरीली और देश के लिए घातक मानता हूँ। उनके जैसी अश्लील, अशिष्ट, हिंसक, सांप्रदायिक और विभाजक भाषा का इस्तेमाल करने वाले कम हैं जो अच्छी शिक्षा पा चुके हैं, स्थापित हैं और अपने तरीक़े से मेधावी भी हैं।

https://x.com/rahuldev2/status/1802682378269200754?t=fynkDup6JNIaYLNA1V17Dg&s=19