Thread by @SaamaanyaJ

I joined Twitter virtually 2 years back. Soon I bumped into two new terms - #Trad and #Rayta. Wondered what they were.

Soon, I gathered who a #Trad was. But it look a lot more to understand who a #Rayta was.

I still dont know if they were coined by the former or the latter.

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Since then, I have quietly read through a lot of conversation on either side - Direct/Vieled/Rhetorical/Vitriolic.

Has saddened me to huge extent.

I knew there were different lines of thought but I did not know the extent to which they were at logger heads with each other.

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A significant feature of this conversation is

- Each responds to what one considers objectionable on the other side

- Each refuses to respond to a genuine challenge posed by the other

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I will not drag this thread long. But will highlight a few critical questions from either side which the other must definitely respond to in order to take this conversation forward.

End of the day, the fun in disagreement is only when both sides can expand their horizon.

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The Trads’ objection to the Rayta stand is that the latter do not yet understand the Ontology and Epistemology correctly and hence the basis on which Reformation is sought is not sound.

This is a fair argument.

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The Rayta stand is that Trads do not appreciate the need to “Change” to meet the challenge posed by the Triad of Modernity, Industrial Revolution & Monotheistic World.

Without changing the Social Structure, we cannot effectively meet this challenge.

Again a Fair argument.

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The Trads are worried that the rush to Change should not end up changing the very Core itself, after which there will be nothing left to be protected.

The Raytas are worried that refusal to Change will wipe out whatever possibility is left for us to protect and nurture.

Raytas are upset that the Trads refuse to acknowledge problems in the Society that need to be acknowledged and corrected. A fair point.

Trads are enraged that temporal problems are being transformed as Fundamental problems without sufficient investigation.

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End of the Day, these are valid concerns on either side. We cannot face the challenge posed by the Triad without Changing the nature of our Civilization. We will have to become a bit of the Other to protect ourselves.

But how much is that ‘Bit’ and what is the ‘Bit’?

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At the same time, the deterioration that was set it our own society - to what extent can we blame Colonialism, Modernity and Invasion? To what extent is it our own doing?

We ought to do this introspection ourselves. Right now we have virtually outsourced this to Leftists.

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If we just grant that each has a legitimate position on this, we will do this discourse better. The Future will thank us.

Otherwise, there is somebody out there to swallow us and we will be sitting ducks.

Each will not be able to protect that which it seeks to.

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Let us face the challenge from each side bravely but gracefully. Try to answer the tough questions posed on either side.

That is the challenge in front of us. By ducking each other’s genuine challenge and by going after the easier on the other side, we are not helping our cause.