Gaurav Sabnis Profile picture
Oct 29, 2021 11 tweets 3 min read Read on X
Brand new poster at the Newport @PATHTrain station.

"Casteism doesn't ride with us."

It's an official poster BTW, like many others saying that bigotry will not be tolerated. Image
Most have applauded this. But of course, some predictably went,

"USA should first fix its black lives matter & racism problem before lecturing us about caste."

Abey WhatsApp Whataboutery Warrior, this is not a "lecture" to India. It's a warning to their own riders. Image
These sanghis are in such perpetual insecurity & outrage mode that they think a train service connecting NJ&NYC, with about one third of its ridership Indian, posting warnings that "casteism will not be tolerated" is a lecture from USA to India and they must jump to defend caste. Image
"Nafrat aur bhedbhaav ko bardaasht nahin kiya jayega."

Which literally means

"Hate and bigotry will not be tolerated".

Taking this as some insult to India or Hinduism is like we say in Hindi, thief beard has a piece of straw. Image
What took the cake was the brilliant deduction that this was a "photoshopped fake" because some Failu-da is like, why would a "Port Authority" put up posters in train instead of ports. There also, projecting their misuse of Photoshop onto others. 🤦🏽‍♂️
Another clinching proof for them that this is *my* Photoshop work is

"The Hindi letters seem superimposed on top of some train image in the background to create false impression."

Oh wow the deductive nous of these geniuses! Image
"Why are they bringing up caste when caste is irrelevant in America?"

Yeah, sure, no caste relevance in US at all. 🙄 Then why is this needed? Image
"Why don't you also speak out against networking organizations dedicated solely to white protestants?" asks another WhatsApp Whataboutery Warrior.

Me: Like the KKK?

"That's a cheap shot. Making that comparison."

Me: Aing? Who initiated that comparison?

"Don't twist my words"
Is there a FIFA world cup where only self-goals win?
"You can feel a sense of belonging to the brahmin community without being casteist."

Not really. It's basically the definition of casteist. The evils and horrors follow from this very belief.
Half the ads during cricket streaming broadcasts in the US are about matrimony sites that extensively offer filtering based on caste and sub caste and sub sub caste and so on. Some show girls with black boyfriends as cautionary tale.

But sure, caste is irrelevant in the US.

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More from @gauravsabnis

Nov 9
This will set many unkil hair on fire but when you read the full multi sided history of the 1962 India China war, there isn't much to blame Nehru about, except using hindsight and weirdly high standards and expectations of clairvoyance. And Cuban missile crisis is minimized. 🧵
First of all, Indian defeat in the 1962 skirmish is overblown for Nehru bashing purposes. And it really was a skirmish not a war. How many wars have zero civilian casualties?

India lost 1300 soldiers. Not great. But not exactly Vietnam War numbers. We lost half those in Kargil.
Losing territory is never great but Aksai Chin was and is mostly uninhabited territory more useful for strategic and logistical purposes than losing actual people inhabited territory.

China didn't march on and take Leh or Srinagar, did they? It was a very opportunistic skirmish.
Read 13 tweets
Nov 2
DMs filling up with "hey can you explain this Zohran phenomenon to me" from friends & Desi columnists lol.

So this will be my NYC Mayor election mega 🧵. FAQ of sorts.

I first truly noticed Zohran in 2023 when he put out an anti Modi statement. As Ro was sucking up to Modi /1 Image
I had known of Zohran vaguely for a couple of years before that, but it was as a huge fan of Mira Nair. I had heard her son was running for state assembly. Not exactly a glamorous & enriching career. But even then I thought, that's sweet. He's choosing public service!
The only son of Mira Nair & Zohran Mamdani, while definitely no billionaire, would still have enough social networks and financial fallbacks to try to make a career in Hollywood. Or academia. Or anything really. Even wall street banker.

But he chose state assembly? Nice.
Read 17 tweets
Jul 25
The historic reasons for why England (and most of it's ex colonies) and Japan drive on the left but Europe, USA, rest of the world drive on the right are fascinating. And predate the invention of cars.

It's about chariots/wagons vs single horses as primary transportation. 🧵
In Europe, the Romans built highways 2000 years ago for military and supply chains. Lots of chariots & wagons involved.

90% people are right handed, so held the reigns in their right hand. So it made sense to sit on the left. And drive in the right. As a norm, then rule.
Britain tho, until 1800s, was a tiny island without the scale or logistical needs of Continental Europe. Transport there was primarily individual horses. 90% people are right handed there too. But right handers climb a horse from the left, using the right arm to pull them up.
Read 11 tweets
May 21
Mumbai & Chennai are port cities. Hard to avoid flooding. And Mumbai gets rainfall like no other major city in the world.

Bangalore Pune flooding is the batshit insanity. Both are on an elevation. No history of such floods until IT-fueled "development".

Felt it in Pune! 🧵
Last week in Pune, I went to many cousins' & friends' new or recent homes. In and around Pashan. And I could picture exactly which areas were sure to flood. I've walked those hills for years.

Why is it called Pashan?

Some of the oldest & hardest rock on the planet!
Marathi has a word for seasonal streams. ओढा. Literally means "to pull".

Those rocky hills had centuries, millennia old odhas which took water from heavy rain all the way down to the rivers. Mudslides were unheard of, given how hard the rock was.

Then came "development".
Read 7 tweets
May 15
Personal story 🧵

Recently I was in Pune for a short trip visiting parents. Had sprained ankle, wanted to ice it. But their fridge didn't have enough ice.

Went on dad's Activa to nearby medical store to get a gel pack. Next door is a barber shop. A dude was outside. /1
Guy in his 30s. Looked at me & gave a big smile, waved.

I was confused. This was Pune not the Midwest. People don't just randomly smile at strangers. Did I know him from childhood or youth? Didn't seem familiar.

But I was limping & in pain. So drove away.
Coupla days later, dad was making chai but we were out of khari. I took Activa to grocery store next to same barber shop.

Again as I was leaving, same dude standing outside smiled & waved. I again smiled. Still couldn't place him.

Maybe it was his way to attract customers?
Read 15 tweets
May 10
Be it 1993 serial blasts, 2001 Parliament attack, 26/11 or German Bakery, Indian govt identified perpetrators and laid out details of how they happened very soon.

But we still have no answers or details on Uri all these years later. Public was satisfied with Balakot alone.
Will that be the fate of Pahalgam too? Will we get no serious investigation of the terrorist perpetrators and no serious systemic introspection of security lapses, because these missile strikes and dogfights have brought the josh to shallow armchair patriots?
Have you ever been to Kashmir? There are so many security personnel doing security checks everywhere. You can't carry a nailcutter into a sensitive location, much less a truck full of explosives in the middle of a lot of Indian soldiers. Or guns at one of the most popular spots.
Read 6 tweets

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