redsplitlips

[redsplitlips]

this is a reminder that you don't need an ✨aesthetic✨ place to study/work. post your messy notes and scratched up desk. it's so refreshing to see normal study spaces. just because something isn't perfect, doesn't mean it isn't beautiful.

[redsplitlips]

what life feels like sometimes ^

[redsplitlips]

waves resemble molten gold

[redsplitlips]

look at these guys!!!!

[redsplitlips]

How do I argue with someone who says integration (Indians moving to Kashmir Valley) is good?

ask them if its fair that kashmiris homes get destroyed and seized by the indian army and then indians from the mainland get to buy the land for cheap. if their answer is yes they are beyond your or my reach. this moving of indians to the valley is not some idealised "natural" migration happening in the absence of the ideological motives of hindutva forces that have long aimed to resettle kashmir to make it more hindu.

(frontline's paywall can be broken using reader mode on your browser)

[redsplitlips]

The developmental projects slated for the Great Nicobar island will be tantamount to the genocide of the Shompens, an indigenous community who live on the island.

The megaproject will cause various environmental, ecological, and human rights problems, in addition to decimation for the Shompen community living on the island.

The government has already granted forest and environmental clearances to the Rs 72,000 crore megaproject despite stiff resistance from conservationists, human rights activists, social scientists, and several civil society groups that have raised various environmental, ecological, and ethical concerns about the project.

The Great Nicobar Island Development Project also violates several national and international laws.

How to help - Sign this petition

[redsplitlips]

my personal argument for open borders is really simple it just boils down to "i believe restricting human movement and barring certain people from certain places on this earth is a human rights violation"

[redsplitlips]

Interesting how every movement like PM cutting short Saudi Arabia visit, meeting with others, Amit Shah going Kashmir is all news headlines with regular updates while not a whisper in the Manipur direction or any other shortcoming in the country. Not making light of the terror attack; it was brutal, period. But the media is selectively fueling religious feuds and the public is eating it up without questioning why it happened, how it happened. The only important thing is 'Terrorism doesn't have a religion yet it's always one religion' and that sort of sentiment. It's sickening how easily manipulated the public is. Is it true that there other victims than Hindus of the attack?

the media knows what its doing. ANI literally muted the victims when they were talking to amit shah about the lack of security. another news channel did the same to a journalist questioning the govt.

no news channels are covering the death of syed hussain shah who died in attempts to save the tourists and other locals who provided them shelter.

evoking such sentiments absolves all responsibility the govt had. (especially security after they made such glorious statements after 370.)

[redsplitlips]

I wanna learn about communism but I have tried to read theory and I just think Im too stupid to understand it. Is there any introducing communist ideas for dummies or people with cognitive limitations or learning disabilities guide.

I think Marxist theory can be accessible to everybody. I say this as someone who has serious issues with reading caused by ADHD and probably Dyslexia. I don't know if I've mentioned this recently but I have to go over every post I type or response I make with TTS like three times to make sure my sentences are in the right shape. Like I'm right there with you, comrade, but I think that people in far more difficult situations than ours have found the ability and tools to educate themselves on marxist theory in the most difficult of conditions. Mao gave lectures and wrote theory out of a cave. Y'know? Peasants and workers in the most abject conditions throughout history have managed to understand Marxist Theory. I say this as an encouragement.

And certainly, there are more accessible communist texts out there. The thing about understanding theory is that ideas build on each other. You have to understand some very basic concepts before you can understand more advanced ones, and it's going to be difficult even doing that not because you're stupid, but because you've been taught ideological propaganda meant to oppose Marxist theory your whole life.

it requires going into it with the understanding that you will be told things that may confuse or upset or offend you. It requires going in with an open mind, enough that you can allow yourself to listen to those things regardless and still consider and chew on them. and, unfortunately, it requires learning to trust yourself enough to be able to discern which sources to trust, and what knowledge can be gleaned from all sources, marxist or otherwise.

that said, some more beginner-friendly texts I hope that I can recommend:

The Communist Manifesto (I know it's a stereotype but it's obviously important and a valuable place to start) [audiobook] [text] [1h13m]

Principles of Communism [audiobook] [text] [48m]

Oppose Book Worship [audiobook] [text] [21m]

Foundations of Leninism [audiobook] [text] [4h9m]

You could conceivably listen to the first three of these texts in one sitting, over the course of an afternoon or an evening. It would take about the length of a long feature-length film, and I think they're all relatively accessibly worded. Foundations of Leninism is a bit longer, it'd be a long afternoon by itself, closer to a day-long tv show binge, but you don't have to listen to it in one sitting. if you listen to a half hour of Foundations of Leninism a day, you could finish it in a little over a week. And I think it's ok to be patient with yourself. You're not on a schedule. You don't have a deadline about this. And I think you should give yourself permission to chase your curiosity! If there's a topic that you find particularly interesting, go investigate! Reading theory doesn't have to feel like homework.

When I first started learning about theory a number of years ago, I felt excited and hungry, because I felt I was finally being given answers to questions I'd had all my life, and in shockingly plain language, no less! I hope you can find it exciting and engaging, more than a feeling of responsibility or obligation. Theory can be fun, even, dare I say. And every theorist has their own tone and voice. Lenin is frequently funny and snarky. Mao is very blunt and speaks in a kind of technical language I find particularly engaging. Stalin writes in a way that feels very giving-it-to-you-straight.

Good luck! I wish you the best! Wanting to learn more is the first step and it's the most important and most difficult one, that many people never even get past! Your expressed desire to learn already puts you ahead of the game for many, many people in the world, who will, woefully, only think of Marxism as an antiquated philosophy of "a dead old white guy" at best or some kind of Satanic force at worst. Your curiosity is your greatest asset, and you should be proud of it and nurture it!

[redsplitlips]

thats the thing thats missing from america-centric discussion of fascism: this shit is global. every country in “the west” is seeing the same rise of fascism in real time, all of it focused on murdering migrants. like giorgia meloni is campaigning to deport people to “migrant camps” in albania. last year the greek coast guard outright drowned a boat of 500 asylum seekers. and as that last post said im not dismissing the suffering of people within the US, i’m just saying its so supremely frustrating that every conversation is about the minutiae of american domestic policy and not the horrifying ultranationalist global trend scapegoating arabs and africans.

[redsplitlips]

my problem is that many people consider fashion and linguistics as second class topics and not as social contracts intrinsically linked to human beings as a whole. for them they are just things when they are actually systems of looking at the world and the direct response of history. language is the mirror of society, fashion is the mirror of people and neither gets the recognition it deserves.

[redsplitlips]

THERE ARE NO USELESS MAJORS!!

Learning about theater is important! Learning about art is important! Learning about sociology is important! Learning about history is important! Learning about anthropology is important! Learning about philosophy important! Learning about music is important! Learning about English is important! Learning about dance is important! Learning about photography is important! Learning about art history is important! Learning about ethnic studies is important! Learning about theology is important! Learning about performing arts is important!

Usefulness does not equal high income!

All education is important!

[redsplitlips]

hello! it's been a while since you've posted any essay collection 👀 would you be willing to share your favourites of this year with us?

yes! here you go —

Disunited Kingdom by Fintan O'Toole

South Asia's place in contemporary climate fiction by Evan Tims

What's the matter with men? by Idrees Kahloon (archived)

Power to the Caribbean people by V. S. Naipaul (archived)

Can Russia ever be democratic? by Kyle Orton

Death by Design by Daniel Callcut

Joshimath: once upon a town by Rahul Pandita

Exposed by Sadie Levy Gale

In the Shifting Embrace of the Ganga by Arati Kumar-Rao

(Less essay, more interview) Matty Healy by Alexis Petridis

The Roots of Global South's New Resentment by Mark Suzman

How TikTok Became a Diplomatic Crisis by Alex Palmer (archived)

This review of Oppenheimer by Richard Brody of the New Yorker (archived)

India's new growing elite by Shekhar Gupta

There are definitely more I'm forgetting and which I will try to excavate!

[redsplitlips]

hey ! it's the anon who asked about submitting that cultural studies essay. i'm writing from india too !!

okay awesome!

the print and live wire (by the wire) take submissions. i’ve been told the print has a somewhat complicated editorial process but that’s beside the point. you can also check frontline (by the hindu), who take contributions for their online version for sure — i’m not sure if they do in the print version.

then there are the non-newsy ones: paper planes is about design, culture and the built form; the paperclip is also an option. also see the asian review of books, which carries essays regularly; and sahapedia, although that’s a more history-focused website; and finally, marg.

i hope that helps!

[redsplitlips]

btw archive dot org is SUCH a treasury when it comes to out-of-print poetry anthologies… i am having the time of my life, truly ❣️

[redsplitlips]

Books you would recommend on this topic? Colonial, post colonial, and Cold War Asia are topics that really interest me. (Essentially all of the 1900s)

Hello! An entire century is huge and I don't quite know what exactly you're looking for, but here we are, with a few books I like. I've tried organising them, but so many of these things bleed into each other so it's a bit of a jumble

Cold War

1971 by Srinath Raghavan: about the Bangladesh Liberation War within the context of the Cold War, US-Soviet rivalry, and the US-China axis in South Asia

Cold War in South Asia by Paul McGarr: largely focuses on India and Pakistan, and how the Cold War aggravated this rivalry; also how the existing tension added to the Cold War; also the transition from British dominance to US-Soviet contest

Kennedy, Johnson, and the Nonaligned World by Robert B. Rakove: on the US' ties with the Nonaligned countries during decolonisation and in the early years of the Cold War; how US policy dealt with containment, other strategic choices etc

South Asia's Cold War by Rajesh Basrur: specifically about nuclear buildup, armament and the Indo-Pak rivalry within the larger context of the Cold War, arms race, and disarmament movements

Colonialism

India's War by Srinath Raghavan: about India's involvement in World War II and generally what the war meant for South Asia politically, economically and in terms of defense strategies

The Coolie's Great War by Radhika Singha: about coolie labour (non-combatant forces) in the first World War that was transported from India to battlefronts in Europe, Asia and Africa

Unruly Waters by Sunil Amrith: an environmental history of South Asia through British colonial attempts of organising the flow of rivers and the region's coastlines

Underground Revolutionaries by Tim Harper: about revolutionary freedom fighters in Asia and how they met, encountered and borrowed from each other

Imperial Connections by Thomas R. Metcalf: about how the British Empire in the Indian Ocean was mapped out and governed from the Indian peninsula

Decolonisation/Postcolonial Asia

Army and Nation by Steven Wilkinson: a comparative look at civilian-army relations in post-Independence India and Pakistan; it tries to excavate why Pakistan went the way it did with an overwhelmingly powerful Army and a coup-prone democracy while India didn't, even though they inherited basically the same military structure

Muslim Zion by Faisal Devji: a history of the idea of Pakistan and its bearing on the nation-building project in the country

The South Asian Century by Joya Chatterji: it's a huge book on 20th century South Asia; looks at how the subcontinental landmass became three/four separate countries, and what means for history and culture and the people on the landmass

India Against Itself by Sanjib Baruah: about insurgency and statebuilding in Assam and the erstwhile NEFA in India's Northeast. Also see his In the Name of the Nation.

I hope this helps!

[redsplitlips]

Hello.

Can you give recommendations on the topic of global populism (I mean how at certain times in history the world becomes increasingly populist obviously driven by factors such as economy or disaster)... books, articles, film... anything would do. Grazie.

Hello, here are a few:

Populism and electoral choice: An analysis of the effects of populism on vote choice by Gilles Ivaldi

Is Populism Really a Problem for Democracy?

Populism and Liberal Democracy by Takis Pappas, which is a comparative analysis of a bunch of different democracies, what populism means everywhere, and how voters behave

Populism and Patronage by Paul Kenny, specifically about why populism in Asian countries. Also check his Why Populism

Also check the populism volume from the Very Short Introductions that Oxford does

Populism and the History of Popular Sovereignty

Populism: why in rich countries and in good times

Populism in world politics by Vedi Hadiz and Angelos Chryssogelos

I hope that helps!