“An ideal society should be mobile, should be full of channels for conveying a change taking place in one part to other parts.”

- Dr Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar

Three views on immigration.

The last chapter of Chinmay Tumbe’s book, “India Moving,” contrasts three views on migration: Dr. Ambedkar, Mahatma Gandhi, and Bal Thackeray.

Dr. Ambedkar was the strongest proponent of migration, possibly because he was a Dalit, the community of ‘untouchables,’ who often had to move far from home to seek better opportunities. Dr. Ambedkar called Indian cities a ‘sink of localism, a den of ignorance, narrow-mindedness and communalism.’

Bal Thackeray was a staunch Maharashtrian. In the past, people from across the country went to Bombay and Poona to work. Bombay and Poona were magnets, drawing people from across the country, and Bal Thackeray could easily whip up jingoistic fervor among locals, claiming people from other parts of India were stealing their jobs and ruining Maharashtrian culture. Bombay and Poona have always been cosmopolitan centers.

Mahatma Gandhi was the strangest of the lot. A man who studied in England and worked in South Africa, he later considered the ‘growth of cities as an evil thing, unfortunate for mankind and the world.’

Cities are creating modern mini-villages.

Both Dr. Ambedkar and Mahatma Gandhi spoke different versions of the truth. Indian villages have been dens of ignorance, communalism, and patriarchy. Indian cities have become polluted and are also dens of ignorance, communalism, and patriarchy.

As Indian cities have grown and traffic has become unbearable, most people in Indian cities prefer to live in their immediate vicinity and venture out only when they have no choice. We have created pocket urban villages in urban centers, and people are increasingly happy to live in small areas.

People have been moving for centuries.

Early Indians.

Yet, despite the rise of urban islands, people have always moved. If humans hadn't moved, we’d all be living in Africa with our earliest ancestors. Research indicates that the earliest humans arrived in South Asia somewhere between 74,000 years BP (before present) and 124,000 years BP. The supereruption of Mount Toba in Sumatra occurred, but our ancestors appeared in South Asia before it.

I’ve often said that a civilizational relationship exists between Indians and Iranians and not between Indians and Israelis. Research also shows a ‘genetic gradient’ exists between Iranians and South Asians. It is also possible that people from Iran migrated southwards, helping to form or contribute to the rise of the Indus Valley Civilization.

Marriage fostered migration.

Many people believe that Indian villagers are immobile. They live and die in the villages where they are born, and Chinmay Tumbe’s book, “India Moving,” disputes this commonly held belief.

He wrote that South Asian women often marry outside their village and, when they move to their husband’s village, carry the story and culture of their home villages. Over generations, this creates a moving culture driven by marriage.

Caste also fostered migration.

Years ago, I read Romila Thapar’s book on the history of ancient India and, if memory serves, caste distinctions and the growing problems lower-caste people faced; caste then became a major force for migration. In the earliest days, it appears, caste mobility was prevalent. Migrating from your home village could help you change your caste in your new village. Over the years, caste barriers hardened, yet they did not stop people from moving.

The Scythians and Parthians also appeared.

As people became more acquisitive and royalty grew greedy, they sought to expand their territories and brought their people (warriors, nobility, poets, and mystics) to South Asia.

To illustrate, the Scythians were probably the first. The Indo-Scythians, or Indo-Saka people, settled in modern-day North India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, and beyond. They arrived from Central Asia and established themselves between 150 BCE and 400 CE. Then came the Parthians. A branch of the Parthian, or Arsacid Dynasty, called the Pahlavas also popped into South Asia to say hello!

Once again, their presence proves my statement: our civilizational relationship with Iran/Persia is deep.

Arabs from West Asia began visiting the shores of Kerala around the 6^th century CE.

Movements have happened for centuries.

The Chola kings of South India sent their representatives into South Asia. Bali's strong connections with modern Hindu beliefs are no accident.

The Chinese traveled to Nalanda for almost five centuries.

The Mamluk Queen, Razia Sultan, fell in love with her Abyssinian slave. The great general, Malik Ambar, started his life as an Ethiopian slave. Research indicates that Begum Hazrat Mahal, one of the great – and incredibly intrepid – queens of India, began her life as a slave. Her father, it seems, was African.

Hazrat Mahal is one of the ghosts I intend to chase, the others being Chand Bibi, Dara Shukoh, Razia Sultan, and Malik Ambar.

Babur himself had Mongol and Uzbek blood, if you like that expression, and during the Mughal Empire's heyday, people from across Central Asia mixed with locals in the bazaars.

I don’t want to launch into the benefits and problems of migration, but I will point you to an excellent book, part of the ‘Shortest History’ series: The Shortest History of Migration, by Ian Goldin. It appears that humans introduced passports to the world only after World War I. The rise of nationalism and the rising shrieks of self-serving politicians threaten to stem humanity’s natural flow. It is worthwhile remembering that Europeans pushed Native American Indians out of their homes, as they are doing to native Palestinians today.

Three Movements.

Let’s talk about three movements.

The first is migrant labor.

While I have been critical of the Western world for their current hysteria about migrant workers, we Asians are also guilty of the same behavior. The Japanese are notorious for their insularity, as are the Koreans; I read that Koreans now allow migrants to fill growing vacancies in menial work. My ex-boss, a Korean, typified the insular mindset of many Koreans, stating that a child born of mixed parentage is not Korean. There is no such thing as a half-Korean: you are either a pure-bred Korean or you are not a Korean.

Farmers in Punjab depend on migrant labor from Bihar, and migrants from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh have taken over taxi-driving. Migrant workers are indispensable for construction work across the country. Yet we treat them like vermin and refuse to acknowledge how much of our daily lives depend on their quiet work in the background.

The COVID pandemic demonstrated our despicable attitude towards these people as we watched police officers and citizens mistreat them – even spraying them with bleach- as they walked over 1,000 kilometers back home to their villages.

In Delhi's National Capital Region, we depend on Bengali maids, drivers, security guards, etc. Even though we depend on them and ‘look after’ our personal security staff, we brand large sections of them as Bangladeshi.

Finally, people from northeast India are migrating to various parts of the country to work. We often call them ‘Chinki,’ which is a gross insult, and regard the women as ‘easy game.’

The point I want to emphasize with these three examples is that migrants often fill jobs locals don’t want. Then, sometimes they stay on and contribute to cultural and culinary diversity.

Would it be fair to say that, even though migration has undeniable benefits, when the number of migrants crosses an invisible threshold we deem frightening, our tribal instinct kicks in, and we say our ‘cities and villages and streets are just not the same anymore’? We fear those who look different, speak differently, wear different clothes, eat different foods, listen to different music, etc. Despite our technological advancements, we are, essentially, tribal people.

Listening to politicians and businesspeople like Musk ought to alert you to the simple fact that we are tribal people.

Historic Migrations.

I’d like to talk about Delhi now. Some say that the earliest inhabitants of Delhi populated the region about 5,000 years ago, drawn here by the Aravalli hills and the Yamuna River. One story says the city was named after a fabled king, Raja Dilu.

As we enter the age of history, those familiar with Delhi’s story will agree that the city became a ‘Rajput’ city. The Tomar Rajputs established their capital at Lal Kot, in South Delhi. Little remains apart from the walls, about 1,500 years old, but I bet the inhabitants' culture reflected that of the Tomar Rajputs.

Then came Mohammed Ghori and the Delhi Sultanate. Delhi’s culture became more Turkic-Afghan. Babur and the Mughal Dynasty followed, and Central Asians, Iranians, Afghans, and Rajputs created the city's Islamic-Rajput culture. The British added some flair to the city, but I don’t believe that they had a lasting impact.

The Partition: Forced Migration. And, Manmohan Singh’s reforms.

The next major shift came during the Partition, when the chaos that followed changed Delhi’s culture. Most of South, West, and East Delhi became middle-class Punjabi, with the Islamic core being confined to Delhi’s Walled City.

Urdu, which many erroneously believe is an Islamic language, actually flowed from North India, where it was born, to Pakistan, where it is now the country’s official language.

After Dr Manmohan Singh opened up India’s economy, Delhi’s culture changed again, and Delhi is now a smorgasbord of people from across the nation.

Dr Manmohan Singh’s reforms affected India another way. Prior to 1990 CE, a strong North-South divide existed in the country. It has not disappeared, but it has softened and has been replaced by another divide.

About four decades ago, North Indians strutted. Punjab was arguably India’s richest state, and most North Indians considered South Indians to be backward.

The coin has flipped, and people in South and West India are richer than those of North India, and they now consider North Indians to be uncouth, uncultured and violent.

People move in search of better livelihood.

Manmohan Singh’s great opening has prompted people to move across the country, and the number of mixed marriages is increasing.

India is changing again. Migration is no longer limited to migrant workers; white-collar workers are moving across the country as well.

Indians are people in motion, moving across the country and sending money home; moving to other countries and sending money home; or moving to other countries and creating new homes in their adopted lands.

‘If it were not for migration, the British would not have created a strange dish called ‘chicken tikka masala.’ Our kebab tradition has its roots in Turkey.

The old belief that crossing the ocean (kala paani, or black water) causes you to lose your caste is, probably, fading.

Politicians and people like Musk may try to shove us into ‘pure boxes,’ but, like water, people will find ways to migrate and change cultures.

If you have been reading my McLeod Ganj posts, you will realize the town’s culture is now largely Tibetan.

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Backup with Backblaze!

I read ‘Roots’ by Alex Haley when I was a teenager or, when I was in my early twenties – I don’t quite remember the exact time – but it is a book I ought to read again. The book centers around Alex Haley’s search for his family’s roots in Gambia. As people migrate from one place to another, the memory of old traditions fades, and they p…

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Benares is the city of death. Benares is the city where you come to die or to be cremated if you wish to escape the endless cycle of birth, life, death, and rebirth. I am Indian, and while we speak of heaven (swarag) and hell (narak), I don’t have a visual or other image of what heaven or hell look like.

Many images …

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Maharishi Mahesh Yogi was probably amongst the first of India’s new-age godmen to burst on the international scene in the 1960s. Born in 1911 CE as Mahesh Prasad Varma, he studied physics and later rebranded himself as Maharishi and Yogi. He created the practice known as Transcendental Meditation and became famous for his assoc…

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I remember my first visits to Rishikesh during my time in consumer sales. Rishikesh was like a lonely, forgotten backwater town, lost in Haridwar’s ephemeral glitter. We’d book our hotel stays in Haridwar’s tiny hotels, travel to Rishikesh for a day trip before concluding our business, and return to Haridwar for…

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Some old stories.

I’d like to share a strange story, and one that ought to remind everyone that you should never judge a person by their mild demeanor. Let’s travel back to Allahabad (now, PrayagRaj) for this story.

The first time I passed through Pratapgarh was when I took a bus to a small town called …

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Once upon a time, I was religious. When I returned to India, we lived with my maternal grandparents. I became friends with a lady who lived down the street. We called her Krishna Aunty because she had a huge statue of Lord Krishna in her living room. I’d help her dress the statue every evening.

Then, I went to school in Nainital, a…

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I have not read the book, but I listened to the audiobook and liked it so much that I bought it afterward. I have a selfish interest in Genghis Khan because Babur, the founder of the Mughal Dynasty, is a descendant of Genghis Khan (and Timur). Maybe I have one strand of DNA that comes from both great warriors.

One …

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Recently, I read two books quickly. I had borrowed them from the library, and the librarians asked me to return them quickly, as there was a long waiting list for the books.

Sometime in the next few months, I will borrow these two - and another one - again. I confess I have had to fight the temptation to buy them, …

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If you have allowed Taylor Swift to dominate your music tastes, there is a high possibility that you will not like Gauhar Jaan’s music. Nor will you appreciate Begum Akhtar’s music. Much though I want to claim that I am musically democratic, I confess that I find Gauhar Jaan’s music hard to swallow. Her music belongs – in lar…

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The Meaning.

It was Lohri yesterday, on the 13th of January.

Most Westerners, including those of Indian origin, mispronounce the words ‘Punjab’ and ‘Punjabi.’

They pronounce the ‘Pun’ as ‘Poon,’ which is incorrect. The ‘un’ is pronounced the same way as ‘un’ in ‘unable.’ The word comes from the root that me…

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I visited Arunachal Pradesh for the first time two years ago. There are two places I decided to visit when I was a teenager: China and Arunachal Pradesh, and I have visited both. I absolutely love Arunachal Pradesh and, even though it is far away, I intend to explore the state over the next decade, along with other …

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Ayodhya 1992 CE

I last visited Ayodhya in 1992, one week before the demolition of the Babri Masjid, and two weeks after crazed Hindutva mobs demolished the structure. I could easily identify Muslim homes by the burnt doors, as well as the desolation that hung around their homes like broken ghosts.

A few weeks ago, I visited Jantar Mantar in New Delhi and struck up a conversation with one of the lady guards there. We got talking about my many road trips, and she told me I must visit Ayodhya to see the magnificent temple built in honor of the avatar of Vishnu, Lord Ram. She had absolutely no idea of the Babri Masjid or its destruction.

People don’t have an idea of the subcontinent’s ancient or medieval history, I thought, and repressed my desire to reproach her for her absolute ignorance of India’s modern history.

Falsehoods & Our Freedom Struggle,

Our Prime Minister declared that the British Raj imprisoned members of India’s fascist organization, the RSS, during India’s struggle for independence. This statement is demonstrably false. Even though the British jailed VD Savarkar (the creator of the Hindutva philosophy), and he did suffer, he and the RSS did not fight for our independence. They were, in fact, British apologists and turned against the Muslims, who were, are (in my opinion) easier targets.

Benjamin Netanyahu & The Bible

Benjamin Netanyahu claims that the Bible states that God will bless those who support Israel and curse those who criticize it. Again, this is a false statement, and the question we must ask is, if at all, which God made that statement?

Our government now wishes to depict the Mughal kings as unrepentant tyrants – a false depiction.

So-called leaders falsify history. Beware.

Politicians, businesspeople, and academics often falsify history, a fact that we must acknowledge. We must be mindful of the lies emanating from the mouths and minds of these individuals and verify every statement that emerges from their thoughts.

At this point, I will ‘back pedal,’ and travel down memory’s dusty lanes to history class in school. I hated history in school. All I remember is the teacher forcing dates into our reluctant and rebellious brains – the dates for the First Battle of Panipat, the Battle of Plassey, the Battle of Buxar, the Great Uprising, and so on. I don’t blame the teachers, but I do accuse our education boards of being short-sighted, stupid, and primitive. The word ‘primitive’ is unfortunate because we assume that ‘primitive people’ are crude, unimaginative people. A few books I read over the last few months prove that people we deem primitive were, or are, curious about the world, and possess a trove of poetry we, who claim to be more sophisticated, dismiss with a sneer.

The Indian rote-learning system.

Our authorities based our education system on rote learning, with almost no attention paid to critical thinking. I know I keep cursing politicians and priests, but rote learning is convenient for them. Nowadays, this system has broadened its scope to include the WhatsApp University.

The Indian education system and the employment market have a history and sociology problem. When schoolchildren opt for these subjects, parents often discourage them from pursuing their interests because they do not believe their children will find suitable employment upon completing their studies.

In my time, history was a boring subject, and, when I did my MBA, sociology was even more so. Not only did our teachers dry out these subjects, serving us a desiccated dish, but they also failed to teach us the importance, uses, and implications of the lessons contained in the course material.

Contrary to popular belief, history is not a static subject. It flows like a river, forever, changing its course, picking up new material along the way. History is an interpretative subject, and the person who writes history creates history. The same principle applies to sociology.

You must read widely.

Those who read history – even as enthusiasts – must read widely and continuously. I do not recommend you ignore other genres of writing – that would be stupid – but read widely, and ignore 99% of the rubbish you receive on social media.

I’d like to illustrate my theory and recommendations, and will start with India. When I was a schoolchild, history books referred to the events of 1857-58 CE as ‘The Great Indian Mutiny.’ Many years later, I read a history book written by a British historian, in which he stated that it should be called ‘The Great Uprising.’ The events were not a mutiny, nor was this India’s first war of independence: India did not exist at the time. ‘The Great Uprising’ is, in my considered view, a much better description.

Rivers and history.

All of us grew up with the caste system, and many believe that the ideas written in the Manusmriti were cast in stone, dominating Indian thought over the centuries. While the caste system has always existed, my recent reading suggests that, in earlier years, it was more fluid than it is now.

When the British government took over the governance of India after the 1857-58 uprising, it decided to study India and carried out several census activities. A side effect of these activities was to harden the caste and religious divide in India. I did not know of this fact until a year ago.

History is like a river. You cannot step into the same river twice – the river is constantly changing. You cannot expect the interpretation of a particular historical epoch or event to be static. The British coined the term, ‘The Great Indian Mutiny.’ Another called it ‘The Great Uprising.’ The term you use will affect your interpretation of historical and sociological events.

The manner in which ‘The Economist’ writes about the war in Ukraine differs from how it writes about the genocide in Gaza. Objectivity does not exist. Like ‘democracy,’ ‘objectivity’ is an ephemeral concept, forever changing to suit the needs of an audience and the times.

I had read that the term ‘Hindu’ was originally a geographic term, encompassing the region and peoples living east of the Indus River, but books I read a few months back state that the British coined the term ‘Hinduism’ to include the diverse faiths in India, and bring them under one umbrella.

If both theories are true, then Hindus must introspect and question the universal faith they deem to be Hindu. Indeed, people find it challenging to hold more than one idea, and the current government appears intent on reducing the Hindu pantheon to a single avatar of Vishnu. If they succeed, Indians will be poorer because, as per some theorists, monotheistic religions are violent, in contrast with polytheistic societies. Many challenge this simplistic belief, however.

I believe that monotheistic faiths are more narrow than polytheistic faiths in one respect. No polytheistic faith speaks of ‘the one true God.’ In today’s India, the chant, ‘Jai Shri Ram,’ has become a call to violence, especially against Muslims and Dalits. If Indian belief transforms from its current henotheistic/polytheistic form to a monotheistic belief system, Indian society will change and become impoverished.

Strong chains bind history and sociology together. One affects the other.

The rise of mega-influencers. Will you become a puppet?

I will move to another, vital part of this short essay – the rise of ‘mega influencers.’ I came across this term while reading an article on the subject in Engelsberg Ideas, and I endorse the central theme and recommendations presented in the article.

Mass media amplifies messages, but social media has enabled the emergence and growth of mega-influencers. Nowadays, everyone has a microphone, and the relentless barrage of sensations numbs us and dulls our critical thinking faculties. The influencer becomes the message, and we forward messages from group to group, prefacing the forward with a bland statement – ‘forwarded as received.’

The sender seeks to wear a mantle of saintliness and innocence when they use that statement – ‘forwarded as received.’ I disagree, and insist that this behaviour stems from cowardice, and an absolute refusal to be accountable for the messages – truthful, false, or hateful – that they send into cyberspace.

Engelsberg Ideas suggests that we minimize the time we spend on social media platforms like ‘X’ and Instagram. Instead, we must read books, study the citations, and be open to different perspectives.

Echo Chambers: Black, White & Grey

We live in echo chambers, and being open to exploring different perspectives is far more difficult than we anticipate.

Once, I tried to have an open discussion about our Prime Minister. I told his supporter that there are aspects of our PM I admire. He labelled me a supporter and clapped me on my shoulder with approval. Then, when I expounded on my theme and explained the aspects I detest, his face turned a mottled shade of purple, his eyes bulged, and he called me an ‘anti-national.’

Suppose we cannot agree on current events or allow influencers to shape our perception of recent history. In that case, we will allow anyone and everyone to manipulate our already limited sense of history. In short, we will permit and encourage ill-informed and prejudiced goons to poison our minds.

Will you become a puppet?

Study history, and do not react when influential people bombard you with soundbites. I must end with a warning: simplistic messaging that suits social media and advertising always hides more than it reveals. History (and sociology) are subtle subjects, and you cannot reduce them to soundbites. If you do, then prepare yourself to live the life of a puppet, forever manipulated by a puppeteer.

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The Rise of the Mega Influencers

Religion & Violence 1

Religion & Violence 2

I started my career in Bombay (nowadays, people call it Mumbai) and traveled across the city in the 'local' trains, or 'locals,' as we called them. I was unaccustomed to the crowds, and nothing prepared me for the people crowding into the trains. Hey! I will stop here and move on six years to the time I lived in Delhi as a bac…

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If you permit me, I will go off on an unhinged rant, and I invite all of you to travel with me as I go off in different and unrelated directions. I don’t know how many of you are aware of the term ‘stream of consciousness writing,’ in which the writer writes without pausing to think. The words follow the thoughts that tumble continuou…

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Starting with a fabulous quote from Isaac Asimov.

I’ve been on an AI roll lately, and when I make AI art containing aliens, I am sarcastic about humanity. Before I continue, I’d like to insert a fabulous quote attributed to Isaac Asimov.

Isaac Asimov lamented the growing cult of ignorance in America. You can read about his essay by clicking this link. The essay also has a link to Asimov’s original essay.

He wrote his lament in 1980, and since then, the cult of ignorance has grown exponentially in America. What is worse is that this cult is spreading like an uncontrollable pandemic, and our generation’s greed will condemn future generations.

If you read books like ‘The Singularity is Near’ or ‘The Singularity is Nearer,’ you may ask yourself where this supposed intelligence is hiding.

Computers and artificial intelligence are valuable tools, but must not replace our brains. People like Ray Kurzweil demonstrate arrogance when they state that the human brain is slow and inefficient or that ‘intelligence’ will spread through the universe. These people even believe that we can conquer death.

The value of time.

Many years ago, I read a science fiction story in which the world’s most valuable commodity is time. Money has lost its purpose, and people trade time. Those who run out of time die. The story has a scene in which a man about to die begs for five more minutes of life, but the person before him denies him his wish and watches the doomed person die on the street. We can ask the question: Who wants to live forever? Queen asked this question in their song of the same name.

I will resist the temptation to philosophize about why we would desire to live forever. Most of us will die of ennui.

What kind of species are we?

The philosophical problem is more fundamental and relates to our behavior, not our pious words. The Israelis are conducting genocide in Palestine while the world watches. This genocide may be the world’s first documented mass murder, where horrifying visuals fill our screens, and politicians try to invade our minds with their propaganda.

The visuals in Palestine are so horrific that the majority of us ignore what is happening in Africa, Myanmar, China, India, Ukraine, and other places. Yet, we talk of human intelligence spreading through the universe and how our intelligence will be the fount of intelligence in the galaxies.

We have technical brilliance but, not wisdom.

People like Kurzweil also tell us that advances in AI will reach a tipping point somewhere around 2041 CE and then outstrip our intelligence. I use Google and an Android phone and constantly swat away Google’s repeated suggestions that I sign up for a free trial of their product, Gemini.

Why will I pay Google to take my data for their training and allow their machines to invade my brain? I am a cynical fool, and as I write these words, I am conscious of the childlike excitement pervading many people who become dependent on them.

For all our technical intelligence and remarkable progress in these fields, we are not becoming wise, which is the second part of Asimov’s quote.

We have become adept at creating ‘kill zones’ and blowing each other up. Our religion teaches us to hate each other despite our pious words.

We aim to colonize Mars, as Elon Musk declares, or to convert humans into an interplanetary species, as Jeff Bezos suggests. Yet, we cannot solve the problems of global hunger, rising temperatures, and pollution, or prevent the calamitous effects of climate change.

Bill Gates wants us to build solar panels, and he wishes to disperse sulfur particles in the air to block the sun. We are becoming obsessed with technological advancements, yet don’t care about becoming wise.

What do the aliens discover?

What will a group of aliens witness when they travel to Earth on an investigative mission to verify if our claims of superintelligence are credible or incredible?

Do watch the short YouTube video. Enjoy. Comment, and find out what they discovered!

And, please consider subscribing to my channel!

A Confession

I was to start writing about Benares this week but, because we have lots of work happening at home, I may postpone this section to the next week or, the week after.

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The Cult of Ignorance

Were Isaac Newton, Aryabhata, Bhaskara I, Bhaskara II, Al-Karaji, or Sharaf al-din al-Tusi professionals or amateurs? I don’t believe Charles Darwin was a professional either.

All the people mentioned in the previous paragraph were outstanding scientists or mathematicians. We should not forget the contributions made by Ch…

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Last week, I wrote about my class reunion and the possibility of never seeing any of my classmates again. I know I can become sentimental if I dwell on this grim possibility. We cannot deny that we have trod separate paths since leaving school. I have reconnected with some of them over the last few years, bu…

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Many years ago, when I was a student in Nainital, we had a quaint custom or rule. After dinner, we'd change into our night suits, wear our dressing gowns, and walk across the 'First Field' to the toilet block to relieve ourselves. Then, we'd return to the dormitory, where the school rules allowed us some reading time before…

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