Profile picture
, 3 tweets, 4 min read
My Authors
Read all threads
Are #Hindu/#Muslim riots inevitable in #India?
-Of course not. (So much academic literature-- see @ProfVarshney among many others).

One key variable is government response. Take two conflagrations in #Gujarat in 2002:
<1/3>
2/3
 -Feb 2002: 58 #Hindus killed in #Godhra. ~1,000+ #Muslims killed while police (under #Modi) stand by.
-Sept 2002: Terrorists kill 30 at #Akshardam temple. Could have led to mass riots, but #India's PM Vajpayee sent CRPF in quickly to control the situation. No riots.
3/3
 In both 2002 #Gujarat cases, the initial provocation was extreme (in #Godhra, still disputed whether fire was intentional or accident: Separate question).
-Govt can't stop killing of 30 people, or even 58. But it CAN stop the killing of 1,000.

If it doesn't, it's complicit.
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh.

Enjoying this thread?

Keep Current with Jonah Blank

Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

Twitter may remove this content at anytime, convert it as a PDF, save and print for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video

1) Follow Thread Reader App on Twitter so you can easily mention us!

2) Go to a Twitter thread (series of Tweets by the same owner) and mention us with a keyword "unroll" @threadreaderapp unroll

You can practice here first or read more on our help page!

Related hashtags

#Hindu #Muslim #India #Gujarat #Hindus #Godhra #Muslims #Modi #Akshardam

More from @JonahBlank see all

Profile picture
Jonah Blank
@JonahBlank
Here is the @CDCgov guidance on #CoronaVirus:
cdc.gov/coronavirus/20…

For most of us, it is utterly useless. And so is the information coming from the @WHO, and every other organization that should be helping provide guidance to the public.

Brief thread on why.
<1/8>
2/8
 The public is being told utterly contradictory things about #CoronaVirus:
1. Relax, it's kind of like a bad flu. After all, flu kills 60,000 annually in America alone. Don't panic.
2. But this virus is probably a pandemic. Treat it as a global crisis.

Please, pick just one.
3/8
 The advice given to the general public on #CoronaVirus is insultingly useless:
-Try not to get coughed on, or touch the mucus/spit/etc of other people. And try not to expose others to your own.

So, is this like a cold? Flu? Or like Bubonic Plague?

The difference matters.
Read 8 tweets
Profile picture
Jonah Blank
@JonahBlank
Why should we care whether #JeanineCummins' publisher is being honest about its reason for cancelling her book-tour?

Because many authors face the real risk of injury or death-- not merely embarrassment. And their risk rises whenever a publisher cries "wolf." For example...
.@SalmanRushdie is the most famous author to face death-threats for his writing-- but there are far too many others.

@RanaAyyub, for example. Here's her story: pen-international.org/news/india-vil…

The list is long-- and very few of these authors have ever appeared on @Oprah.

So...
...So, when the publisher of "American Dirt" claims that it cancelled a book-tour due to safety (rather than, say, embarrassment), it has an obligation to back that claim up.

Were there truly safety concerns-- ones more serious than those faced by touring authors like Rushdie?
Read 5 tweets
Profile picture
Jonah Blank
@JonahBlank
1/n
 #India's Supreme Court clears the way for construction of #Hindu temple on site of destroyed #BabriMasjid in #Ayodhya.

I've been following this issue for 30+ years. Here's a thread analyzing the #AyodhyaJudgment:
bbc.com/news/world-asi…
2/n #AyodhyaJudgment
-I first visited #Ayodhya (& #BabriMasjid) in 1990: before the masjid was destroyed, before I entered the field of #anthropology. I went there while researching my first book, "Arrow of the Blue-Skinned God": A re-tracing of the #Hindu epic #Ramayana...
3/n #AyodhyaJudgment
...In my book, I take what I hope is an even-handed approach. For what it's worth, I've received approving messages from #Hindutva activists & #secularists alike. You can judge for yourself:
goodreads.com/book/show/1707…
Read 18 tweets

Related threads

Profile picture
The Bridge Initiative
@bridgeinit
Reports are emerging of widespread anti-#Muslim violence in Delhi, India. Mosques have been set aflame, Muslim neighborhoods attacked, and Muslim cemeteries desecrated by Hindu-nationalist mobs.

Following is a thread of news and analysis as it breaks.

#DelhiRiots2020
When @thewire_in interviewed a pro-government #Hindutva group about the violence, they replied:

"How dare they protest like this in our country? Is it (their) country? It is our country. We will show them their place."

thewire.in/communalism/de…
Reporting for Vice, @tim_hume writes — Hindu nationalist mobs are hunting and beating #Muslims:

vice.com/en_us/article/…
Read 13 tweets
Profile picture
Schona Jolly QC
@WomaninHavana
#India
Toxic, terrifying scenes in Delhi even as Trump and Modi ramp up the bonhomie. Without justice and accountability, and the assertion of the rule of law, the fear of violent recent history repeating itself looms ever larger in Modi’s India.

#DelhiBurning #DelhiViolence
These stories & images - which should make headlines everywhere - call to mind the violent pogroms inflicted on Delhi’s Sikh community in 1984 & the subsequent failures to demand and prioritise justice & accountability. So impunity reigns. #DelhiViolence theguardian.com/commentisfree/…
The detail, the shouts of “Jai Shri Ram”, these descriptions are frightening. As Trump stands by and praises Modi on freedom of religion, where is Modi now? #DelhiViolence #DelhiBurning
Read 29 tweets
Profile picture
Anurag Singh
@anuragsingh_as
Long thread on Indian Budget 2020-21. Let’s be cynical for a change & question the rationale of initiatives. Because I can’t understand some things the way they are. I’m sure however that we as a nation do believe in good luck. Else we seem to be cruising without compass.
If you couldn’t understand why we needed 2.5 hours speech to convey this budget, you’re not alone. To simplify, GDP = Consumption + Investment + Govt spends + (Exports – Imports).We need all cylinders to fire, for #India with highest working age population in the world.Let's see
Basics first:
On a Rs 30.4 lac cr budget, govt will earn 74% & borrow rest 26%. Of this, 23% will be spent on interest payments. On balance 77%, Defense takes 11%, police forces 4%, subsidies 7%, Railways 7%, tax administration 5%, pensions 7%.
Read 26 tweets
Profile picture
Opine Facts
@OpineFacts
Translation:
#Rahul Why haven't you not gone to Shaheen Bagh?
#Kejriwal: Did you go?
#Rahul: Why should I?
#Kejriwal: He won't go!
#Rahul: We report Sir!
#Kejriwal: We govern Sir! We administer!
#ShaheerBagh(1/n)

#Rahul: We've not distanced ourselves. We were reporting amongst them.
#Kejriwal: We've not distanced too. We've been running schools,hospitals,built roads,installed CCTVs.They've (#BJP) created ruckus across the country coz they don't have control on #Economic situation. (2/n)
#Kejriwal: They've created a condition that he (Pointing at #Rahul) doesn't have the strength to speak abt #UnEmployment & #Economy. They (#BJP) are powerful that they will shutdown their channel(#TimesNow).That is why,from morning to evening, they talk about Hindu-Muslims (3/n)
Read 8 tweets
Profile picture
IndoPacific_SCS_info
@China_SCS_info
Breaking: Large terrorist attack in #India. More than 40 Indian Reserve Police Force personnel were killed and many others injured when Pakistani backed terrorists targeted a convoy with a car bomb at Awantipora in Jammu and Kashmir's today, ndtv.com/india-news/15-…
Reports suggested that the vehicle used by the terrorists was a Mahindra Scorpio carrying more than 350 kg of explosives in what is the worst attack ever on security personnel in the state.
Sources said that terrorists triggered the car bomb while 78 vehicles with over 2,500 reserve police men were on the Srinagar-Jammu highway. The stretch on which the incident occurred had been sanitized in the morning & authorities called it a serious breach of security.
Read 151 tweets

Trending hashtags

#NoH8 #Dane #Ancient #MDI #blueline #Ratlines #HappyMonday #IndependenceDay2019 #civilizations #Russophobia #BOI #Georgia #UnEmployment #RajyaSabhalive #Ladakh #PoKIsOurs #RedScare #EndAntiSemitism #Iran #epitomy #SaveKoreanDogs #pass #NeverNRA #TrudeauResign #Ahmadiyya

Embed code for your website

×
Follow Us on Twitter!

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!

This site is made by just three indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3.00/month or $30.00/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Too expensive? Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal Become our Patreon

Thank you for your support!