#south Asian politics
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TO EVERYONE OF LEGAL AGE IN INDIA
If you are a citizen of the country, I am begging you to vote in the National Elections, 2024.
In 2014, the turnout of youth (inclusive of first time voters) was at a staggering 70%. In 2019, this number decreased quite a bit.
Today, in 2024, that number has decreased drastically. Voter registration among youth currently ranges for somewhere between 17% in Bihar, 21% in NCR, 23% in UP, to around 35% in major cities with maximum youth population.
Only 38% of the first time eligible voters have registers for National Elections this time.
I understand. We are all tired. The ruling party has made a mockery of the elections. I 100% get it. But please, you all need to vote. Even if you’re tired, even if you see no hope of things changing even this time. You still need to vote.
I know everybody says it but it bears repeating, every single vote counts.
If you are a student, there’s a holiday during all the 5 phase dates. If you are a working adult, your company legally needs to allow you a holiday on the day. I travelled back to my hometown to vote today because it fucking matters.
Please vote, if you can. Please vote, if you care.
This election results should not be about which party will lead the country to the top five developing nations. This elections should be about which party will let the country breathe for another four years.
I’m sincerely requesting you all to vote. If not today, then tomorrow, things will change. But they won’t, unless, you vote.
Vote for yourself. Vote for the ones who cannot. Vote for the ones whose voices will never be heard. Vote for the ones who made noise, made themselves hurt and are suffering for their words. Vote for everyone who dealt with unimaginable pain in the last 8 years. Vote to give this country another chance.
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Breaking Borders: Pakistan and India Resume Cross-LoC Trade and Travel Amidst Diplomatic Shifts
Breaking Borders: Pakistan and India Resume Cross-LoC Trade and Travel Amidst Diplomatic Shifts #PakistanIndiaRelations #CrossLoCTrade #DiplomaticShift #KashmirPeace #RegionalCooperation #SouthAsianDiplomacy #CeasefireAgreement #EconomicRevival #Security
In a landmark development that has reverberated across geopolitical landscapes, the news reported by Dawn, a prominent Pakistani English-language newspaper on November 16, 2021, carries the title “Pakistan, India agree to restore cross-LoC trade, travel.” This pivotal announcement underscores a transformative diplomatic stride as the two nations grapple with the intricate and longstanding…
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#Ceasefire#Cross-LoC Trade#DGMO Meeting#Diplomacy#Economic Cooperation#Humanitarian Initiatives#Kashmir conflict#Pakistan-India Relations#Regional Stability#South Asian Politics
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“Monkey Man” was shot and completed in 2021, and Netflix soon after acquired the rights for around $30 million, but it’s been on the shelf for three years and they‘ve all of a sudden decided to get rid of it? What gives? It turns out, according to an in-the-know source, that it was the portrayal of a fictional right-wing Hindu Nationalist character in the film that worried Netflix about their future dealings in India. And even though they had paid more than twice the production cost, they decided to give the film back to the producers, which is what caused the long delay. Universal and Peele eventually took a particular liking to the film, so much so that they suggested possible editing changes and delayed the release until what they thought would be the right date. It’s as simple as that. In the end, it was all about politics and optics for the streaming giant, especially since India has become the current top growth market for Netflix. Co-Founder Reed Hastings has mentioned that a majority of the service's next 100 million subscribers would most likely come from India.
Universal/Jordan Peele's "suggested possible editing changes" in question:
#monkey man#dev patel#jordan peele#film#i have to laugh!!!!#also have read some south asian critics on twitter saying the way it's edited renders the politics of the film vague and incomprehensible#i'm still looking forward to it of course but it's just a shame!!
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“There was a point where everyone in town had said no to Polite Society, and it really knocked my confidence.” She even remembers people telling her: “‘My influences are too male.’ I’m like, ‘Who has been making cinema?!’”
The film was greenlighted thanks to the success of We Are Lady Parts, which premiered in 2021. She wrote the show after feeling demoralized by some of the offers she was getting, like being asked to co-write a project with a white male writer “and just be the brown person who can give that point of view and the rubber-stamping of his stuff.” Similarly, she was demoralized by the one-dimensional portrayals of Muslim women on screen, such as stories with “a misery porn vibe,” which bore no resemblance to her life. “I’d just been asked to do lots of really annoying shows, being asked to write dramas about Muslim women being oppressed, long-suffering,” she said. “The annoyance of having been asked to write all this stuff that wasn’t my experience of being a Muslim woman made me create Lady Parts.”
As with Polite Society, when she started pitching We Are Lady Parts, she met a lot of resistance. “We Are Lady Parts got turned down basically everywhere, except for one place, and that was Channel 4 and then Peacock,” she said. “It was a lot of people being like, ‘I don’t think we can do this. Is this offensive? Are people going to get upset?’... I’m like, ‘This is just a Muslim woman expressing joy!’”
#muslim representation#south asian representation#nida manzoor#women directors#we are lady parts#polite society
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We Need to Talk About RC and South Asian Representation in its Stories
Hey beautiful people, this is going to be a long post yet a very important one. From a Desi (A South Asian) to my fellow Desis and non-Desis (who especially need to hear me out).
I know the popularity of Romance Club as an interactive game. And being a South Asian makes me wanna pick literally any story that represents us. So, I went into RC's stories promising South Asian representation: Kali: Call of Darkness and Kali: Flames of Samsara. Apart from the poor research done on Indian culture which is too niche and trivial to be understood by everyone (relating to Indian languages and North-South differences), there is yet another aspect of Indian society that the game not only completely misrepresents but even whitewashes and this is very harmful to people, especially those with no knowledge of Indian culture, picking up the game to learn smth and that is: CASTE.
While playing the game, I am sure many of u may have come across such terms as 'Brahmin' or 'Kshatriya', 'Vaishya', or even 'Shudra'. And I am sure many of u may even have a rudimentary understanding of the same. This is the caste/ varna (Sanskrit term) that has plagued Indian society for thousands of years. And these terms basically divide desis even today. I especially want non-South Asians to understand that these terms carry a history of violence and discrimation. This was the chaturvarna or the 4 varna/caste sys wherein groups were ranked on their superiority to each other.
1.Brahmin-Priestly class
2.Kshatriya-Soldiers/ warriors/kings
3.Vaishya-merchants and traders
4.Shudras-Servants/slaves, (the lowest rung on the caste ladder and the most miserable)
Do keep in mind that this is not some class sys similar to feudal Europe or France, but this is CASTE which is very diff from what a non-South Asian may imagine. Notions of purity and pollution guide the caste sys (which may not influence class). A Shudra person was considered impure and hence an 'untouchable' and their mere shadows were considered polluting on the other 3 castes, so much so that they were ghettoized. In South Asia, servile work is generally considered 'polluting' and a complex history of multiple factors relegated this strict division of labourers, In simple lang, a Brahmin priest's son could only be a priest (which was a divine occupation and revered) and a Shudra's son could only do work considered appropriate of his caste which usually translated to things such as manual scavenging (still in India) and servile work considered 'polluting' from which they had no respite. This system was horrible towards Shudras in general as their labour was appropriated by the upper castes for their own gain very similar to how African slave labourers worked at white plantations if I hv to draw a rough comparison. Shudras/Dalits (the term 'Dalit' means broken/oppressed and was given by a Dalit leader and Indian legend Dr. Ambedkar to help uplift this community in Indian society) are subject to not only physical but structural violence. They were barred entry in schools, wells, tanks, roads and literally everywhere since their presence of 'polluting'. Now I have 2 more points:
In RC, I know everyone loves the male leads, and rightly so. But u need to understand that Ratan Vaish and Amrit Doobay won't give a fuck if a Dalit person died in front of them no matter how caring they might be. Since Brahmins were the priestly class, they hegemonized control over Hindu deities and mythology and only they could 'talk' to Gods (according to them ofc and their superiority complex). Amala is a Basu (a Bengali Brahmin surname) and hence both Doobay (again Brahmin) and Vaish (def upper-caste surname) r after her. If Amala was a Dalit, Amrit would hv raped and even killed her (Dalit women and the sexual violence enacted upon them by upper-caste men....again to draw a comparison similar to black women being raped by white men during slavery and jim crow eras: Google Hathras Rape case) and Ratan would have ignored her. ( Notice how Amrit was having an affair with that temple lady. She is most likely a Shudra as most Shudra women were forced into sexual slavery in temples by Brahmins like Amrit. Therefore, he treats her like an object and throws her away once Amala i.e. a woman of his caste falls in love with him. A Dalit woman's body is disposable and objectified here. Look at the complete whitewahing of power dynamics in that sexual encounter with Amrit and the temple dancer).We all need to understand that a similar fate would hv befallen Deviya Sharma (again a Brahmin woman) as even she would have been raped and ignored by other Brahmins and upper caste men in the story such as Ram/or Kamal etc. Arhat is likely a Shudra and Deviya will never bat an eyelash at him since his only job is to be in service to her tiger which Deviya probably treats with more respect than she does Arhat. My point is RC is mass producing these stories for the hyper-privileged White people of India i.e. the upper castes and that is Brahmins and Kshatriyas and Vaishyas. Dalits have rarely been entertained in representation much less in India than in abroad. But that is not what I am pissed abt. What I am pissed abt is that an American sitting in their home will check this story and see terms such as Brahmin or Kshatriya thrown abt without understanding them and then even internalize the harmful notions about these terms and caste in general in both stories abt a bunch of upper-castes freaking out over some goddess ritual.
Be very careful people in what u accept and what u don't bcoz even if it is a game, many non-Desi people may not have the relevant positionality (and that is completely fine!) to understand how the insidious caste sys is being shown and represented by RC. It is being glorified even (ik in the earlier chapters of KCD where Brahmins r shown as saviors of society and keeping Indian society stable when in reality they have done nothing but dehumanize and alienate Dalits for generations) and downplayed and even whitewashed as some trivial division. If RC wanted to publish a story about upper-caste people then pls go ahead but don't you dare whitewash it and glorify the caste sys. When impressionable audiences see all this, it is in their best interest to know the ugly truth about Indian society and not some cheap exotisation of the same. BE BETTER, especially for the Dalits who have suffered so much in South Asia. I am also attaching some material as I would greatly appreciate it if more people knew about the horrors of the caste system and how it plagues Desi society even today.
Discrimination (all types) r shitty and needs to kicked in the balls. Many times, it is subtle and while we may not know much, it is our responsibility to know more and try our best to stop it in whatever way we can.
Thank you for staying and take care y'all.
#romance club game#romance club#rc#rc kali flame of samsara#romance club your story interactive#kali call of darkness#dalit#dalit rights#ratan vaish#amrit doobay#ram doobay#rc kamal#b r ambedkar#ambedkarism#discrimination#anti caste#casteism#anti hindutva#doran basu#south asian#desi#indian politics
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Yeah, yeah, don't stan politicians, they're supposed to be public servants and no pedestals, kamala isn't the best, blah blah.
But we could very well have the first female president tonight (hopefully, dear god please not the Rotting Pumpkin and his goons again).
I think that's very cool that we can finally clear this barrier when a lot of other countries have already had female leaders. Not many are talking about this (maybe they're too cynical at this point?), but I just think it's neat.
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It appears we've learned nothing
Serious, left-leaning news outlets are covering Trump's deranged comments on Harris's racial background with think pieces and fact checks, rather than going, "How weird is it that Donald Trump doesn't know mixed-race people exist?"
#us politics#defendant trump#just can't wrap his head around how she can be both Black and Indian/South Asian
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Hindu priests performed fire rituals and prayed for #KamalaHarris' success ahead of the US election.
During Diwali
#hinduism#hindu prayers#hindu priests#mass consciousness#kamala harris#kamala 2024#prayer#democrats#2024 presidential election#vote kamala#vote blue#politics#black lives matter#south asian#blacklivesmatter#hindu
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#vietnam#social justice#current events#human rights#important#important to know#lgbt#lgbtqia#lgbtq community#lgbtq#lgbtqia+#lgbtqiia+#lgbtqplus#queer#queer community#trans community#South Asia#queer stuff#queer positivity#queer rights#lgbt rights#lgbtq rights#political#political posting#politics#world politics#trans rights#socialism#asian#south asian
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The reclamation of such images appears to be Patel’s goal—one he shares with numerous Hindu leaders who have continued to battle Hindu nationalism. But the use of Hindu imagery as a call to violence, reminiscent of the Hindutva project, is central to Kid’s mission, resulting in narrative dissonance. In comparison, the movie’s villains only use Hinduism as a façade for violence and financial gain, rather than as a sincere fixture of their fanaticism. They represent Hindutva only in the abstract, echoing its power structures without its ideology. Kid, meanwhile, perhaps inadvertently, embodies it in both belief and action. In a key flashback, Rana—acting on Shakti’s orders—clears out Kid’s forest-adjacent village so the land can be used for industrial growth. This bears a striking resemblance to the Indian government’s recent attempts to evict thousands of Muslims along India’s Eastern border and millions of indigenous people from tribal lands. The BJP’s political opponents believe these land seizures are an attempt to transfer tribal resources to corporate allies, not unlike Shakti’s plan for Kid’s village. However, the metaphor is muddled. Rather than framing Kid’s community as an oppressed caste, religion, or tribe, the only visible culturally specific moment involves the villagers enjoying a marionette re-telling of the Ramayana, which is interrupted by incendiary violence. In the movie’s purview, Hinduism is under attack from something non-Hindu, or falsely Hindu, rather than from dangerous factions of Hinduism itself. This grants Kid permission to weaponize it freely, sans conflict or spiritual reckoning—a thematic tension the movie never reconciles.
#monkey man#saw this in a letterboxd review and i feel like helps articulate the films politics#i still stand that this is most left a diaspora south asian creative in the mainstream has been recently#particularly in its critique of indian and hindutva nationalism which...unfortunately is not saying alot. its a fairly low bar#like the contemporaries of medias that hype around its shallow representational politics like nhie bridgerton etcc come to mind#i also am going through a struggle currently wrt my hateration i guess lol too and#like sometimes films dont need to be a major political thesis and im okay with that but#also at the same time if that is what you are attempting to do#i cant help but be critical#idk just ramblings tbh#i think also part of my frustration and challenge with this films politics#is also tied my frustration with the politics of my indian diaspora peers
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There will never be anything more despicable than building and celebrating, and forcing a nation to celebrate on the taxpayers money, a temple build on the mass graves of Muslims. The Hindu nationalist state, has proved again that this nation belongs to only Hindus.
Babri Masjid, 1992
Ram Temple, 2024
A bit of context for those who don’t know about the issue:
Babri Masjid, was a mosque in Ayodhya, India. It was built in the 16th century by the Mughal Empire. Babri Masjid was a holy place for the Muslims in the country. There’s a history of communalism (created by the British Empire) between Hindus (the majority religion) and Muslims (the minority) in the country.
In 1992, Babri Masjid was attacked and demolished by Hindu extremists who believed that the mosque was built on the site of birthplace of Ram (Hindu god). Thousands of people lost their lives. Thousands of Muslims were killed in cold blood by a hyper-nationalist state.
In 2010, after decades of Muslims fighting for justice, the Allahabad High Court upheld the claim that the mosque was built on Ram’s birth place. Muslims were also awarded one-third area of the site for the construction of a mosque. However, thr decision was subsequently appealed by all parties to the Indian Supreme Court, wherein a five judge bench heard a title suit from August to October 2019. On 9 November 2019, the Supreme Court quashed the lower court's judgement and ordered the entire site to be handed over to a trust to build the Hindu temple.
Today, 22nd January, 2024, marks the inaugural of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya. On a site that is so deeply entrenched within a community’s blood, pain and trauma. While these Hindu nationalists celebrate, every Muslim in the country feels more scared. Muslims in India have always been unlawfully detained, persecuted, punished and killed throughout the past seven decades but it has only worsened ever since BJP, the ruling party came in power. Celebrities, sportsperson, politicians and millions of people travelled to Ayodhya to celebrate this tremendous failure of the state.
Today, the Indian constitution lies under those thousands grave.
If any one of you celebrated, I hope you understand the gravity of your actions. I hope you understand what you all set in motion. I hope that one day, you understand and that there is no redemption for you after that.
I hope you all rot in hell.
Here’s a short poem by Rabindranath Tagore about an old god, a new temple, an arrogant king and many hungry and homeless ordinary people.
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PC Williams on Costume Designing 'We Are Lady Parts' Season 2
We speak with the costume designer of of We Are Lady Parts and frequent collaborator with Nida Manzoor, PC Williams! Continue reading PC Williams on Costume Designing ‘We Are Lady Parts’ Season 2
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#African#Anjana Vasan#BBC#British#Costume Designer#costumes#Desi#Faith Omole#Focus Features#Indian#Interview#Iraq#Iraqi#Islam#Juliette Motamed#Lucie Shorthouse#Malala Yousafzai#MENA#Muslim#NBCUniversal#Nida Manzoor#PC Williams#Peacock#Polite Society#Sarah Kameela Impey#South Asian#Streaming#SWANASA#United Kingdom#We Are Lady Parts
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Tracklist:
DOGTRIBE • SEIZE THE TIME • MERA MAZAB • PRESIDENT PROPAGANDA • NO MORE FEAR • DOLLARS OR SENSE • MOTHER INDIA • MR BUBBLEMAN • ENGLISH BREAKFAST • BULLET SOLUTION • FARTHERLAND • NEW WORLD ORDER • WHITE GOLD BURGER • BACK TO BASICS
This album's primary themes are anti-bigotry (predominantly, but not exclusively, fighting against bigotry directed at South Asian individuals and Muslims within the UK), but it tackles this issue in a head on fashion; this include samples of racists saying dreadful things, for the express purpose of showing how deplorable that behaviour is and countering it with the lyrics. Listener discretion is heavily advised.
Spotify ♪ Bandcamp ♪ Youtube
#hyltta-polls#polls#artist: fun da mental#language: english#decade: 1990s#Breakbeat#Hardcore Hip Hop#UK Hip Hop#Conscious Hip Hop#South Asian Music#Alternative Dance#Political Hip Hop
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The first woman president will be a racist white Republican, I'll put 100 dollars on it. And the GOP will be so proud of themselves about electing a woman who ran on a platform of their usual fear-mongering dirty tricks, waxing poetic about how it proves they're superior to Democrats for not being able to beat Trump with two female candidates who were more than qualified for the job.
#no predictions about when this takes place but ive had this thought before#i had this thought while nikki haley was running in the primary#given she isn't really white (to my knowledge? she's got south asian heritage right? she changed her last name too?)#but they'll treat it as a big accomplishment bc to them a woman is a woman#and a racist sexist woman is just as good. nay better! than a progressive democrat#or a more centrist democrat#or any democrat#damn there really is no democratic coalition anymore other than progressives and princinpled never-trumpers#everyone else has been subsumed by the gradual normalization of trumpism#i need to stop posting about politics today for my OWN sake. for my own mind#idk if i should go on a screen ban or what#idk what to do. im just... so unhappy#tales from diana#my fellow americans... you are a bunch of unscrupulous ingrates
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That Kashmiri cow post is iconic but watching people massively misunderstand the politics of Kashmir in the notes is driving me nuts. Please
#i know the average person does not have in depth knowledge on south Asian politics and I don’t expect them to#but also please don’t speak unless you do :’) it’s quiet time#and you are unknowingly endorsing occupation 🫶
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A little Scooby Doo “fanart” thing heavily based off the following pic of Alaska y los pegamoides (a New Wave group from the early 80’s in Spain 😁😁😁). Retrospectively the staring at the camera reminded me of the intro shot in the original scooby doo where Velma is reading a book and is at the centre. :-)
#Have not posted in a while I am just having my silly summer times :-)#Btw yes I drew Velma as south Asian but not bcos of “Velma 2023” (😵😵) it is simply something I thought looked cute 😁😁#Alaska y los pegamoides#Scooby doo#Daphne Blake#Velma Dinkley#m87 stuff#YES daphne is a communist. YES velma is wearing a pride pin. They are very politically conscious and are enjoying the Movida Madrileña#(Note: I am making all of this up. I like Spanish history :-P)#art#vaphne#sort of !!#EDIT: i have just seen an excellent post discussing the problematic connotations of the sickle communist symbol (USSR and its disgusting —#— history in the countries it colonised and exploited etc.) Just to be clear I am using the flag in this context as a historical detail—#— since in late 1970’s spain Spanish leftism would have used this symbol no problem. I don’t know if that is an adequate contextualisation—#—if anyone who wants to chip in would like to send me an ask pls do :-)
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