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Audrey Truschke

@AudreyTruschke

4 Sep

@USC

To suspend this professor is a horrifying example of Western hegemony, cultural ignorance, and anti-Chinese bias.

@USC -- There are words in lots of languages that sound off to English speakers. Learning and overcoming one's own biases are part of learning a foreign language.

https://twitter.com/cabot_phillips/status/1301516424276578305

A few examples -- Lahore.

I once had an English-only American tell me that Pakistan should change the name of Lahore, to avoid confusion in English. No joke. I responded: "Maybe you should learn Urdu."

Sikh. As in, imagine in an intro to South Asia course, "The person you see on this slide is Sikh."

Note that there is a clear difference between the Indian term (in many languages) "Sikh" and English "sick", but English-only speakers usually cannot hear the difference.

Read 7 tweets

Audrey Truschke

@AudreyTruschke

21 Aug

@BloomsburyIndia

For those not up-to-date on Indian politics, a rough Western equivalent is this:

Nazis commit a pogrom against Jews, then blame the Jews for it, and an international publishing house platforms and profits from this anti-Semitism

@BloomsburyIndia: Do you really want to do this?

https://twitter.com/SaketGokhale/status/1296792765552984065

@BloomsburyIndia

A few follow-ups, largely for the benefit of @BloomsburyIndia. They should see what they are doing with an unvarnished gaze.

Many observers and scholars consider the Delhi riots a pogrom, i.e., an organized massacre of an ethnic or religious group. In this case, Muslims.

During the 2020 Delhi riots / pogrom, Hindu right-wingers targeted Muslims with violence.

This wasn't a debate; it wasn't a clash about which reasonable people can disagree. One group tried to massacre members of another, and succeeded in taking dozens of lives.

Read 5 tweets

Audrey Truschke

@AudreyTruschke

3 Aug

Thanks to US Muslim Coalition Efforts ‘Branded Cities’ Refuses to Run Adverts for Hindutva Groups at Times Square.

"Branded Cities and Nasdaq oppose the demolition of Babari masjid and will never allow any supremacist groups to run their advertisements."

clarionindia.net/thanks-to-us-m…

A few points of clarification, especially for those not super familiar with US law and culture—

In the US, you have freedom of speech, but no right to a platform. Supremacist groups are free to articulate offensive views, but no company must give them advertising space.

Most Americans still know nothing about Hindutva. But one way of thinking about this issue in the US is as follows:

Would you platform white supremacists?

If yes, then give Hindutva ideologues airtime. But if not, then steer clear of hateful Hindutva.

Read 4 tweets

Audrey Truschke

@AudreyTruschke

23 Jul

Some folks have asked for basic information about the #BabriMasjid, so here goes.

Warning: Only read if you’re interested in history, not communal politics.

#THREAD

The Babri Masjid was probably built in 1528 by a general of Babur. At the time, it likely wasn’t a big deal. Babur doesn’t even mention it in his memoirs.

Babri Masjid may have been built over temple ruins, but, owing to bad and politicised archaeology, we aren’t sure.

If it was built on temple ruins, they could be Jain, Hindu, or Buddhist in origin. They also could’ve been ruins for hundreds of years by the 1520s (or not).

Read 7 tweets

Audrey Truschke

@AudreyTruschke

12 Jun

In response to questions, a brief #THREAD on the Mahabharata and whether it is myth or history.

#Mahabharata #history #myth #itihasa

Basics -- The #Mahabharata is an epic narrative that centers around two sets of cousins who both want a specific throne in northern India and fight over it in a cataclysmic war, with lots of side stories thrown it.

It was first written down in Sanskrit ~2,000 years ago.

When asking questions about historicity, whether something is true, some basics-

Onus is on proving it is true, not that it is false.

The answer doesn't have to be either-or; it can be fuzzy.

Historians care about beliefs & myth because they tell us what people think and value

Read 11 tweets

Audrey Truschke

@AudreyTruschke

24 Apr

I am now finding people on my timeline who are apologists for anti-Muslim sentiments and violence in India and, separately, people who are apologists for curbs on religious freedom in places like the UAE. A brief reminder, folks, on some basics of freedom of religion --

People should be free to practice any religion they so wish, without fear of negative consequences, much less violence.

You wanna practice the religion you were born into? Great. You wanna follow a different religion? Go for it.

This right is for all, no matter their religion.

All religious groups should have equal access to where to build their places of worship.

So, most places have zoning laws, and that's fine so long as they are applied equally. But barring Hindu temples except in one area = not religious freedom. Mobs tearing down mosques = ditto

Read 7 tweets

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