Shadow Warrior by Rajeev Srinivasan
112 episodes - English - Latest episode: 6 months ago -An Indian/Hindu nationalist perspective on world affairs; as well as on technology and innovation; conversations with experts and with people just like you and me.
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Episodes
Ep. 121: generative AI creates challenges in Intellectual Property and Epistemology
January 11, 2024 17:08 - 12 minutes - 8.32 MBA version of this essay was published by firstpost.com on April 8th at https://www.firstpost.com/opinion/shadow-warrior-generative-ai-creates-challenges-in-intellectual-property-and-epistemology-13757273.html It is fairly obvious that the dominant, i.e. Western mechanism for generating new knowledge is rather different from the traditional Indian mechanism, and this shows up in all sorts of ways. One is that Indian epistemology seems to be empirical and practical, based on observation; wher...
Ep. 119: The impact on India of the Israel-Hamas war and the eclipse of the Western world order
October 17, 2023 13:53 - 12 minutes - 8.71 MBA version of this essay was published by rediff.com at https://www.rediff.com/news/column/rajeev-srinivasan-hamas-war-is-an-immediate-setback-to-india/20231017.htm It can be argued on several grounds that the 2023 Israel-Hamas war is a point of inflection indicating the general eclipse of the West, and in fact I have done so in an essay. What is unclear is how the end of this era will play out in the medium term and the long term. The best analogy I can think of is the assassination of Ar...
Ep. 118: Does the war in Israel mark the end of Pax Occidentalis?
October 11, 2023 06:57 - 9 minutes - 6.39 MBA version of this essay was published by firstpost.com at https://www.firstpost.com/opinion/shadow-warrior-does-the-war-in-israel-mark-the-end-of-pax-occidentalis-13235762.html The attack by Hamas on Israel may well be remembered in future as marking the very moment the decline of the West became an indubitable fact. Thus October 7th, 2023 may be a point of inflection in geo-politics and geo-economics, although it is true that the economic center of gravity of the world has been moving east...
Ep. 116: G20 and its fallout: India the swing state, IMEC and Trudeau’s tantrums
September 21, 2023 03:04 - 9 minutes - 6.79 MBA version of this essay was published by firstpost.com at https://www.firstpost.com/opinion/shadow-warrior-g20-and-its-fallout-india-the-swing-state-imec-and-trudeaus-tantrums-13162212.html?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social A fortnight after the end of the G20 Summit in New Delhi, it’s worth revisiting what really materialized, and what India can expect out of all the hard work that went into it. First, the positives. The flawless execution of the Summit is something the Indian leadersh...
Ep. 115: Apartheid against Hindus in the so-called Hindu Rashtra?
September 08, 2023 10:26 - 3 minutes - 2.41 MBOn the one hand, there is massive propaganda from the west, ably supported by native sepoys, that India is on the verge of some genocide of Muslims. On the other hand, last month, the Speaker of the Kerala Assembly, a Muslim, said that Lord Ganesh was “a myth”. Instead of censuring him for hurting the sentiments of Hindus, the ruling communists of Kerala supported him. This month, Udayanidhi Stalin, a minister, who is also the son of the DMK Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu M K Stalin, said S...
Ep. 113: Udayanidhi Stalin has called for genocide and that must be taken seriously
September 06, 2023 02:50 - 16 minutes - 11.1 MB* It’s illegal. There is a constitutional right to worship. Even more so there is a right to equality to all citizens. * It’s immoral and criminal. To call for genocide. This is not free speech. This is hate speech * This is pure propaganda * Demonizing the enemy has a long history * Spaniards called aztecs cannibals and vice versa, but white people got to write the history books * Yellow peril * Nazis called jews vermin * Hutus in rwanda called tutsis cockroaches, and then genocide ...
Ep. 110: What a difference 10 years make!
August 30, 2023 14:28 - 14 minutes - 13.6 MBA version of this essay was published by news18.com at https://www.news18.com/opinion/opinion-what-a-difference-ten-years-make-india-since-2014-8559632.html I wrote ten years ago on Rediff.com (‘The great Indian rope trick and other illusions of progress’ https://www.rediff.com/news/column/the-great-indian-rope-trick-and-other-illusions-of-progress/20130716.htm) about how the average Indian is satisfied with illusion, never mind real progress. That made India a Potemkin State, where form is...
Ep. 109: George T speaks about German/EU views on India and the fallout from the Ukraine war
August 18, 2023 06:01 - 31 minutes - 21.4 MBHere’s the video: This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rajeevsrinivasan.substack.com
Ep. 107: Paris is burning. Why?
July 07, 2023 07:50 - 10 minutes - 9.43 MBA version of this essay was published by firstpost.com at https://www.firstpost.com/opinion/shadow-warrior-paris-is-burning-why-12837712.html I had the disconcerting experience of being on the ground in Paris while the current riots raged. Oddly enough, on my previous visit, in April 2019, I arrived the night the Notre Dame cathedral caught fire, and then was in town during the Yellow Vest riots against fuel taxes. In both cases, my plans were affected: in the current case I stirred out of ...
Ep. 106: Permanent interests, not permanent friends, drive foreign policy
July 05, 2023 07:05 - 11 minutes - 8.18 MBA version of this essay was published by firstpost.com at https://www.firstpost.com/opinion/shadow-warrior-permanent-interests-not-permanent-friends-drive-foreign-policy-12814872.html The optics for PM Narendra Modi’s visit to the US were good. There was a surprisingly positive reception to his speech to the joint houses of the US Parliament (known as the US Congress, not to be confused with the Indian political party with its congenital allergy to Modi). I read that the PM gave a bravura p...
Ep. 105: Mr. Modi goes to Washington. It's deja vu all over again
June 17, 2023 07:15 - 11 minutes - 10.9 MBA version of this essay has been published by firstpost.com at https://www.firstpost.com/opinion/shadow-warrior-mr-modi-goes-to-washington-deja-vu-all-over-again-12750892.html Considering that India and the US are my two favorite countries, it is odd that I get nervous whenever there is a summit between the two. I am reminded inevitably of the Frank Capra film “Mr Smith goes to Washington” (1939), where James Stewart plays Mr Smith, a naive idealist, who goes to the corrupt company town Was...
Ep. 104: If India does not encourage and regulate Artificial Intelligence innovation, it could be game over
June 12, 2023 11:33 - 46 minutes - 32.2 MBA version of this essay has been published by Open Magazine at https://openthemagazine.com/essays/the-new-knowledge-war/ Generative AI, as exemplified by chatGPT from Microsoft/OpenAI and Bard from Google, is probably the hottest new technology of 2023. Its ability has mesmerised consumers to provide answers to all sorts of questions, as well as to create readable text or poetry and images with universal appeal. These generative AI products purport to model the human brain (‘neural networ...
Ep. 103: No, the finance mandarins don’t always screw up; they only do it in petty ways
June 01, 2023 15:47 - 12 minutes - 11.2 MBA version of this essay was published by firstpost.com at https://www.firstpost.com/opinion/shadow-warrior-no-the-finance-mandarins-dont-always-screw-up-they-only-do-it-in-petty-ways-12678122.html The Twitterverse and the media in general have been brutal on India’s babu-log for several recent missteps. These, many fear, revive the ghosts of the late lamented License Raj: for instance the imposition of 20% Tax Collected at Source for overseas credit card transactions, the poorly-managed wit...
Ep. 102: Crown, Scepter and "The Saga of Dharmapuri"
May 28, 2023 02:37 - 9 minutes - 11 MBA version of this essay was published by firstpost.com at https://www.firstpost.com/opinion/shadow-warrior-crown-sceptre-and-the-saga-of-dharmapuri-12647632.html In Malayalam, the terms are “kireedom and chenkol”, that is, crown and scepter, signifying the powerful symbols of the State. He or she who holds these is deemed to be the ruler, ruling with the full authority of the office, and the full approval of the subjects. The words chenkol in Malayalam and ‘sengol’ in Tamil are cognate, eg....
Ep. 96: The fallout from Silicon Valley Bank: how did it fail, and why? And what are the consequences?
March 17, 2023 19:25 - 12 minutes - 11.3 MBA version of this essay was published at https://www.firstpost.com/opinion/shadow-warrior-svb-collapse-how-system-wide-problem-created-by-fed-led-to-us-second-largest-bank-failure-12307942.html There are several interesting questions about the spectacular and sudden collapse of the Silicon Valley Bank (SVB). Once you get over the initial shock of this possibility in this day and age (bank runs were only supposed to happen in the bad old days), then you will be confronted with the question o...
Ep. 95: The fallout from the Wuhan virus continues to roil the US
March 11, 2023 18:03 - 10 minutes - 7.36 MBThis is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rajeevsrinivasan.substack.com
Ep 91: What ails the United States? Poor leadership, or malign forces?
February 23, 2023 06:14 - 10 minutes - 9.27 MBA version of this essay was published by firstpost.com at https://www.firstpost.com/opinion/shadow-warrior-what-ails-united-states-poor-leadership-or-malign-forces-12211192.html There has been a whole series of alarming news stories from the US in the recent past. Each of them individually may have good reasons, but put together, they paint a disappointing picture. As someone who has long rooted for America, I am concerned about systemic problems.. Here the stories are, in random order: *...
Ep. 90: Sarpam Thullal, the Naga dance of Kerala
February 19, 2023 12:14 - 13 minutes - 12.2 MBA version of this essay has been published by firstpost.com at https://www.firstpost.com/opinion/shadow-warrior-sarpam-thullal-naga-dance-of-kerala-12175812.html Kerala has a long tradition of Naga (sarpa, serpent) worship, as has also been the case in some parts of the Northeast. There are sarpa kavu or untouched patches of virgin forest, where serpent deities reside. There are large temples, for example Mannarsala, where childless couples make offerings to gain the boon of a baby: Nagas a...
Ep. 89: Musharraf, the BBC hit-job documentary, and the background of Gujarat 2002
February 15, 2023 06:12 - 8 minutes - 9.68 MBA version of this essay has been published by rediff.com at https://www.rediff.com/news/column/rajeev-srinivasan-target-eject-modi/20230208.htm Now that the hosannas to Pervez Musharraf have reached a crescendo (eg. Michael Kugelman of Foreign Policy: “...[he] could have well authored a peace deal with India”) perhaps it’s worth remembering not only the ‘how’ of the Gujarat riots of 2002, but also the ‘why’. People seem to be suffering from selective amnesia about what happened then, and ...
Ep. 86: Three exemplars of Indian cinema in 2022: RRR, The Kashmir Files, and Kantara
January 06, 2023 10:29 - 14 minutes - 13 MBA version of this essay was published by firstpost.com at https://www.firstpost.com/opinion/shadow-warrior-three-exemplars-of-indian-cinema-in-2022-rrr-the-kashmir-files-and-kantara-11940742.html 2022 was a watershed year for Indian cinema and cinephiles. At long last, the formulaic Hindi/Urdu cinema that has dominated both mindshare and box office took a beating, for it appears to no longer appeal to the consuming public. It has long been accused of lack of originality; its anti-Indian sla...
Ep. 85: A deplorable Supreme Court decision on Demonetization
January 05, 2023 06:04 - 8 minutes - 9.65 MBA version of this essay was published by thepamphlet.in at https://www.thepamphlet.in/en/shadow-warrior-a-deplorable-supreme-court-decision-on-demonetization/ The Supreme Court, in a 4:1 judgment, held that the 2016 Demonetization was acceptable. The dissenting judge, well, dissented, saying that it was flawed. This decision sets an awful precedent that will come back to haunt us all, and the judiciary is respectful of precedent. The law of unintended consequences will strike. It is not th...
Ep. 83: The FTX saga, and the many implosions in the US, especially in Big Tech
January 01, 2023 11:36 - 17 minutes - 16 MBA version of this essay was published by firstpost.com at https://www.firstpost.com/world/ftx-saga-and-many-implosions-in-us-especially-in-big-tech-11709111.html Elizabeth Holmes, the formerly celebrated founder of Theranos, got hit with a jail term of 11 years, according to the Wall Street Journal. That was a startling end to what looked at one time like a huge Silicon Valley success story. But it was not the only Big Tech or big company story. The following stories also come from the WSJ...
Ep. 82: Hindus, the diaspora and the Rishi Sunak phenomenon
December 31, 2022 07:00 - 9 minutes - 11.3 MBThis essay was published by the indianaffairs.com at https://theindianaffairs.com/en/hindus-the-diaspora-and-the-rishi-sunak-phenomenon/ Now that the euphoria over the ascent of Rishi Sunak to the position of Prime Minister of the United Kingdom has died down a little, it is worthwhile to consider the implications. On the one hand, there is understandable pride that someone in the diaspora has done well: I remember how delighted all of us were when V S Naipaul got his Nobel Prize in literat...
Ep. 84: The big story in technology is generative AI, and it is like riding a tiger
December 30, 2022 16:58 - 15 minutes - 14.5 MBA version of this essay has been published by firstpost.com at https://www.firstpost.com/opinion/big-story-in-technology-is-generative-ai-and-it-is-like-riding-a-tiger-11916172.html The past year has seen a number of newsworthy stories in science and technology, and several of them may turn out to be of great significance. For instance the protein-folding smarts of Deep Mind’s Alphafold and Meta’s ESMfold may be a game-changer in the creation of new molecules, specifically in drug discovery...
Ep. 81: The US Midterm elections and the implications especially for India
November 07, 2022 18:03 - 14 minutes - 20.2 MBThis essay was published by firstpost.com at https://stg.firstpost.com/opinion-news-expert-views-news-analysis-firstpost-viewpoint/shadow-warrior-the-us-midterm-elections-and-implications-especially-for-india-11146761.html This is being written on the eve of the US midterm elections, and so far as can be gathered from voluminous punditry, it appears the Democrats are going to take a direct hit. Normally the ruling party loses seats in the midterms, but this time the loss could actually turn...
Ep. 80: Kantara and Rocketry: Two heroes' journeys in a Hindu context
November 07, 2022 09:53 - 7 minutes - 10.9 MBThis essay was published by firstpost.com. The Hero’s Journey is a common metaphor used by storytellers from the Ramayana to the Iliad, and in innumerable modern works. You have the hero rising, then facing odds that are so overwhelming that he is on the verge of failure, but he often wins in the end, and is transformed or redeemed in the process. And indeed, for each of us, our own lives are heroes’ journeys, as the mythologist Joseph Campbell elucidated in a series of excellent documentar...
Ep. 79: 75 years: Have Midnight’s Children come of age?
August 26, 2022 15:37 - 12 minutes - 17.4 MBA version of this essay was published by firstpost at https://www.firstpost.com/india/75-years-have-midnights-children-come-of-age-11093221.html It is a bit of a coincidence that, just around the 75th anniversary of India gaining political independence from the British, Salman Rushdie should be in the news again, because he was stabbed in Chautauqua, a literary watering-hole in upstate New York. His book Midnight’s Children was, as is well known, a sensation when it first came out some fort...
Ep. 78: Cinema as metaphor: Enough with trashing Hindu sentiment, especially as streaming largesse fades!
August 11, 2022 01:42 - 11 minutes - 15.5 MBA version of this essay has been published by swarajyamag.com at https://swarajyamag.com/culture/cinema-as-metaphor-enough-with-trashing-hindu-sentiment-especially-as-streaming-largesse-fades The ongoing debate about three Hindi/Urdu films: Lal Singh Chaddha, Shamshera and RakshaBandhan is interesting. Social media is trending calls to boycott all three because they show Hindus and Hinduism in a bad light. They are not all released yet, so in some cases it is the antecedents of the principa...
Ep. 77: Concentrating President Biden’s mind wonderfully
July 27, 2022 08:39 - 13 minutesA version of this essay has been published by firstpost.com at https://www.firstpost.com/opinion/from-caatsa-waiver-for-india-to-chastened-visit-to-saudi-arabia-why-biden-is-making-conciliatory-noises-10961801.html Samuel Johnson once said: “When a man knows he is to be hanged in a fortnight, it concentrates his mind wonderfully”. Going by POTUS Biden’s recent hyperactivity, it seems that the prospect of imminent electoral catastrophe has the same effect. For, the hitherto imperious Democrat...
Ep. 77: Concentrating President Biden’s mind wonderfully
July 27, 2022 08:39 - 13 minutes - 18.5 MBA version of this essay has been published by firstpost.com at https://www.firstpost.com/opinion/from-caatsa-waiver-for-india-to-chastened-visit-to-saudi-arabia-why-biden-is-making-conciliatory-noises-10961801.html Samuel Johnson once said: “When a man knows he is to be hanged in a fortnight, it concentrates his mind wonderfully”. Going by POTUS Biden’s recent hyperactivity, it seems that the prospect of imminent electoral catastrophe has the same effect. For, the hitherto imperious Democra...
Ep. 76: Does Roe v Wade foreshadow the end of the American Dream?
July 26, 2022 18:27 - 10 minutes - 14.1 MBA version of this essay was published by Swarajya magazine at https://swarajyamag.com/world/does-roe-v-wade-foreshadow-the-end-of-the-american-dream There are only two US Supreme Court judgments deemed epoch-making enough to be called ‘landmark’ every time they are mentioned. One is Roe v Wade, and the other is Brown v Board of Education. Both favorite liberal causes, one about abortion and therefore about womens’ rights; the second about ending systemic black segregation in education, whic...
Ep. 75: Requiem for a Statesman: Abe Shinzo
July 13, 2022 06:54 - 14 minutes - 19.9 MBA version of this essay was published by firstpost.com at https://www.firstpost.com/opinion/requiem-for-a-japanese-statesman-who-loved-india-abe-shinzo-10896211.html Abe Shinzo will be remembered as Asia’s greatest 21st century statesman. He recognized early that the Indo-Pacific will (re)occupy center stage as it did throughout most of history, barring a brief Atlanticist interregnum. And then he did something about it, by proposing the Quad and the “free and open Indo-Pacific”. He realize...
Ep. 74: A tale of two Supreme Courts: best practices from the US and India need to be adopted
July 06, 2022 17:53 - 18 minutes - 25.4 MBA version of this essay was published by firstpost.com at https://www.firstpost.com/india/a-tale-of-two-supreme-courts-best-practices-from-the-us-and-india-need-to-be-adopted-10875201.html I must confess a little shamefacedly that I watched the godawful fuss in the US following the SCOTUS’ overturning of Roe v Wade with some smugness. That was because, at long last, the Supreme Court of India finally threw the book at Teesta Setalvad, R B Shreekumar, Sanjiv Bhatt et al, in what had long bee...
Ep. 73: The rules-based liberal world order, or whatever, is coming apart at the seams
June 23, 2022 17:16 - 12 minutesA version of this essay has been published at https://swarajyamag.com/world/the-rules-based-liberal-world-order-or-whatever-is-coming-apart-at-the-seams I don’t know about you, but I have long been a fan of the ‘liberal rules-based international order’, although to be quite honest, I have had only a rather vague idea what it meant. It sounded pretty good, though. I mean, how could any reasonable person be against ‘liberal’, ‘order’, and ‘rules-based’? It is only lately that I have learned...
Ep. 72: Nupur Sharma, neo-feudalism and the geopolitical squeeze on India
June 21, 2022 13:20 - 12 minutesA version of this essay was published by firstpost.com at Nupur Sharma, neo-feudalism and the geopolitical squeeze on India The commentariat has rightly focused on the specifics of the Nupur Sharma incident, such as the alleged blasphemy, the apparent provocation, the possibly pro-forma outrage and the street-veto (cheered on by certain politicians who spoke ominously about tinder and spark). I couldn’t possibly improve on their perspectives. For instance Utpal Kumar wrote an excellent pi...
Ep. 71: The Quad: Will China dominate the Indo Pacific, as the US reverts to Atlanticism? What can India do?
June 05, 2022 16:58 - 14 minutesA version of this essay was published by Swarajya magazine at https://swarajyamag.com/world/the-quad-will-china-dominate-the-indo-pacific-as-the-us-reverts-to-atlanticism-what-can-india-do A lot has happened in the last week or two: POTUS Biden’s visit to Japan for a Quad summit and related economic moves; China’s outreach to Pacific Islanders for security pacts; and the World Economic Forum pow-wow in Davos. In some sense, the Ukraine war and related disruptions have taken a back seat, eve...
Ep. 70: Infrastructure in the deep Peninsula for national security and self-reliance
June 03, 2022 04:38 - 9 minutesA version of this essay was published by chanakya forum at https://chanakyaforum.com/infrastructure-in-the-deep-peninsula-for-national-security-and-self-reliance/ A Swarajya report https://swarajyamag.com/infrastructure/vo-chidambaranar-port-to-expand-with-rs-7200-crore-project-to-compete-with-colombo-and-singapore-as-transhipment-hub about V O Chidambaram port in Thoothukkudi (Tuticorin), TN, and its plans to expand into a container trans-shipment port was interesting. It reminded me of a...
Ep. 68: Gyanvapi discoveries, the Places of Worship Act, and what next
May 19, 2022 08:16 - 12 secondsA version of this essay has been published by swarajyamag.com at https://swarajyamag.com/politics/gyanvapi-discoveries-the-places-of-worship-act-and-what-next There has been a slew of social media posts about the court-ordered survey of the Gyanvapi premises and what was discovered on Monday, May 16th. As I write this, on Tuesday, there is a case being heard in the Supreme Court as to whether the survey should continue at all. While all this legal hair-splitting continues, I feel like the...
Ep. 67: Pyrrhic victory: even if Biden defeats Putin, it will be costly for the US and most of the world
May 15, 2022 14:37 - 10 minutesThis essay was published by firstpost.com at https://www.firstpost.com/world/pyrrhic-victory-even-if-biden-defeats-putin-it-will-be-costly-for-the-us-and-most-of-the-world-10675401.html Even for someone like me who is very pro-US, the smoke-signals emanating from Washington regarding the Ukraine war are ominous. Even in best-case scenarios, the US may have hurt itself by not focusing on the right foe, which is China, not Russia. More worryingly, the Deep State may have pushed the US into a...
Ep. 66: an in-depth interview of George Augustine T on the German response to the Ukraine war
May 03, 2022 11:10 - 22 minutesGeorge Augustine Thundiparambil is a writer and translator dividing his time between India and Germany. He has written a historical novel in English titled Maya and has published many blogs and articles on faith and religion in several Internet forums. He is a partner of Geckolingua Translations International based in Freiburg, Germany. * Germany is the most important country in the EU. Will its reaction to the war set precedents that the entire EU is likely to follow? * Germany has made w...
Ep. 65: The Indian response to US pressure over the Ukraine war: did anybody notice?
April 17, 2022 18:09 - 9 minutesA version of this essay was published by firstpost.com at https://www.firstpost.com/opinion/india-is-standing-up-and-defending-itself-but-is-uncle-sam-taking-note-of-it-10565421.html On the face of it, Indian Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar’s blunt responses to US pressure to toe its line regarding Ukraine are appropriate rebuttals to interference in India’s internal affairs. Because India has generally been reticent (for example in the face of aggressive Chinese statements), the ...
Ep. 63: 'Z', the world after the Ukraine crisis, and India's role in it
April 03, 2022 07:30 - 12 minutesThis column was published by firstpost.com at World War ‘Z’: The world after Ukrainian crisis, and India’s role in it-World News , Firstpost The most ironic thing, in fact the blackest of noir humor, is the use of the letter ‘Z’ in the propaganda surrounding the Ukraine war. It is alleged that this letter is the symbol of Russian obduracy, and therefore worth condemnation, as in the German embassy’s tweet and the Economist’s cover story below. The irony is because there is an earlier inst...
Ep. 62: The meta-narrative about India’s non-involvement in the Ukraine imbroglio
February 24, 2022 06:08 - 13 minutesA version of this essay was published on firstpost.com at https://www.firstpost.com/world/the-meta-narrative-about-indias-non-involvement-in-the-ukraine-imbroglio-10403761.html Disclaimer: Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb 24. This was written just before that happened. The ongoing shadow-boxing between US President Biden and Russian President Putin over Ukraine has captured a lot of media attention. I was going to say “world attention”, but not really. It is a European problem, and those in th...
Ep. 62: The meta-narrative about India’s non-involvement in the Ukraine imbroglio
February 24, 2022 06:08 - 13 minutesA version of this essay was published on firstpost.com at https://www.firstpost.com/world/the-meta-narrative-about-indias-non-involvement-in-the-ukraine-imbroglio-10403761.html Disclaimer: Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb 24. This was written just before that happened. The ongoing shadow-boxing between US President Biden and Russian President Putin over Ukraine has captured a lot of media attention. I was going to say “world attention”, but not really. It is a European problem, and those in t...
Ep. 59: The usual gambit by Deep State and ISI: a million 'woke' mutinies all the time
February 15, 2022 18:20 - 13 minutesA version of this essay has been published by firstpost.com at https://www.firstpost.com/world/the-usual-gambit-by-deep-state-and-isi-a-million-woke-mutinies-all-the-time-10372271.html Why is there a veritable fusillade of anti-India commentary in the West these days? Why has there been a sudden upsurge of communal tension in coastal Karnataka? How come a bunch of MNCs including Hyundai, KFC etc. endorsed Pakistan’s claims to all of Jammu and Kashmir? How come the tragic story of Lavanya, w...
Ep. 57: Did the Woke Century come and go in a heated rush?
February 08, 2022 08:42 - 7 minutesA version of this essay was published by rediff.com at https://www.rediff.com/news/column/rajeev-srinivasan-the-sooner-woke-dom-dies-the-better/20220211.htm Canadian Premier Justin Trudeau is hiding “in an undisclosed location” after a huge convoy of truckers demanding relief from Covid mandates, joined by farmers with their combine harvesters and other heavy equipment, made steady progress towards the Canadian capital. Poor man, he now has caught Covid, too. New Zealand Prime Minister Jac...
Ep. 55: Human rights? All humans are equal, but some are more equal than others
February 02, 2022 04:47 - 9 minutesA version of this essay has been published by firstpost.com at https://www.firstpost.com/world/human-rights-all-humans-are-equal-but-some-are-more-equal-than-others-10340451.html This story has already receded into the background, but it was quite startling when it took place recently: a Pakistani-Briton named Malik Faisal Akram held four Jews hostage in a Texas synagogue. He was demanding the release of a Pakistani woman, Aafia Siddiqui, sentenced to an 86 year prison term in the US. Why s...
Ep. 56: The argument about a British hymn: well, here’s an alternative
January 29, 2022 15:50 - 7 minutesA version of this essay has been published by swarajayamag.com at https://swarajyamag.com/culture/the-argument-about-a-british-hymn-at-beating-the-retreat-well-heres-an-alternative I personally have had no idea what ‘Beating the Retreat’ is all about, so I was startled when a full-scale war of words erupted because the Government of India apparently decided to replace a British-era song called ‘Abide with me’ with a Lata Mangeshkar song named ‘Ae mere watan ke logon’ as part of the ceremony....
Ep. 56: The argument about a British hymn: well, here’s an alternative
January 29, 2022 15:50 - 7 minutesA version of this essay has been published by swarajayamag.com at https://swarajyamag.com/culture/the-argument-about-a-british-hymn-at-beating-the-retreat-well-heres-an-alternative I personally have had no idea what ‘Beating the Retreat’ is all about, so I was startled when a full-scale war of words erupted because the Government of India apparently decided to replace a British-era song called ‘Abide with me’ with a Lata Mangeshkar song named ‘Ae mere watan ke logon’ as part of the ceremony...
Ep. 54: Are things looking up for India at the Makara Sankranti, a time for new beginnings?
January 15, 2022 16:18 - 12 minutesA version of this essay was published by firstpost at https://www.firstpost.com/india/are-things-looking-up-for-india-at-makar-sankranti-a-time-for-new-beginnings-10286661.html It is true that the usual suspects and the usual problems remain: malign forces including moles and sleeper cells inside the country; a stepped-up assault on India and Hindus from the Deep State and other ill-wishers; an almost-war on the Tibet border; the creaking bureaucracy and especially the judiciary; and the s...