PTI has hired yet another another US lobbyist to improve Imran Khan's relationship with Washington. This time it is Praia Consultants LLC run by former Serbian ambassador Vladimir Petrović at a cost of US$8,333 per month 🧵1/4 efile.fara.gov/docs/6857-Exhi…2/4 The new PTI contract with Praia seems to be a replacement for Fenton/Arlook LLC (renamed South/North Communications) who were hired by PTI USA in Aug 2022 for public relations at a cost of US$25,000 per month efile.fara.gov/docs/6972-Exhi…
Feb 18, 2023 • 22 tweets • 11 min read
🧵 Raag Bhairavi & the Essence of Hindustan 🎶
1/ This is the Bollywood song "Tu Hindu Banega na Musalman Banega" written by Sahir Ludhianvi and composed by N Datta for the classic anti-communal film Dhool ka Phool (1959)
2/ ☝️ This song was composed in Raag Bhairavi -- arguably the most widely used raag in Hindustani music.
In this thread, we'll survey how cultures across historic Hindustan's geographic, ethnic and linguistic diversity have all turned to Raag Bhairavi to express their ideas
Dec 4, 2021 • 11 tweets • 5 min read
In this video, the perpetrators of the Sialkot "blasphemy" lynching proudly justify their act by citing a relatively obscure (until recently) hadith:
"مَنْ سَبَّ نَبِیًّا فَاقْتُلُوْہٗ"
"Kill the one who insults the Prophet"
How did this hadith become popularised? A thread 🧵
2/ As far as I can gather Khadim Hussain Rizvi and TLP pretty much single-handedly gave this obscure hadith mass currency.
Listen to this speech by Khadim Rizvi
Oct 10, 2021 • 23 tweets • 10 min read
Defining Hindustan Through Raag 🧵
1/ This is the racy iconic Bollywood song "Tu cheez badi hai mast mast". It might not look very classical, but the melody is based in the Hindustani classical music system using Raag Bhimpalasi...
2/ In this thread I want to explore how deeply and widely South Asian musical culture has been informed by the raag system. I want make the case that one can even use it to define the bounds of what we call "South Asia" or rather "Hindustan"...
1/ Kaafi by Bulleh Shah "Hori khelungi keh bismillah" with a beautiful incorporation of a Quranic verse
«اَلَستُ بِرَبِّکُم» پریتم بولے سب سکھیاں نے گنگھٹ کھولے
«قالُوا بلیٰ» ہی یوں کر بولے لا الہ الا اللہ 2/ "Alastu bu rabbikum" (from Quran 7:172) is usually interpreted as the primordial questioning of human souls by Allah asking "Am I not your Lord". Bulleh Shah has visualized this scene as an ecstatic celebration akin to Holi celebrations...
Feb 26, 2021 • 10 tweets • 6 min read
The praise of Ali in a few South Asian musical forms
1/ Manqabat in the form of Dhrupad -- the oldest Hindustani classical vocal genre. This is in Raag Malkauns performed by Ustad Wasifuddin Dagar
2/ Manqbat as the bandish of a khyal in raag Bairagi Bhairav set to jhaptaal (10 beat rhythm cycle), performed by Shafqat Ali son of Ustad Salamat Ali Khan.
This musical phrase is said to be inspired by a lion's movement:
Sep 13, 2020 • 12 tweets • 3 min read
This is a good summary by @cybertosser of the factors for the timing of this sectarian upsurge. While the factors related to political economy are of course paramount, the role of social media has also created a novel situation that is particularly worrying because... 1/n
2/ Unlike earlier when rival scholars would have to pore over each others' dense technical volumes to find something that could be deemed heretic, now a lay Sunni sitting at home anywhere can watch a Shia majlis pretty much anywhere streamed live. And within a few hours...
Jun 3, 2020 • 35 tweets • 20 min read
The amount of disinformation & confusion about covid-19 being spread by the PTI is so much that I need a thread to keep track.
1/ Let's start from the top with Prime Minister @ImranKhanPTI :
Visiting the Missing & Murdered Baloch on YouTube [video thread]
1/ In 2009, @NasimZehra did an episode of her talk show on student issues in Balochistan. The most vocal guest was a young poli sci student from Karachi University named Zahid Baloch
YT:
2/ Zahid was secretary general of the Baloch Students Organisation (@BSO__AZAD) then, a student group aligned with the Baloch separatist movement. He later became chairperson of BSO-A before he went "missing" (read kidnapped by security agencies) in March 2014.
Sep 4, 2019 • 49 tweets • 25 min read
Youtube Anthropology & the Globalisation of Muharram [A long thread]
1/ As it is Muharram, I wanted to share one of my ongoing personal projects: a map of YouTube videos of Muharram rituals around the world: google.com/maps/d/viewer?…2/ I did an initial write up back in 2010 explaining the map and some interesting migration patterns, in the link below. However since then I've added many more videos and different types of rituals to the map, some of which I'll highlight in this thread desmukh.com/blog/2010/12/e…
Jun 4, 2019 • 7 tweets • 2 min read
As both a Muhajir and a socialist who believes in class struggle above identity politics, I want address this. While MQM is an example of an ethnic rights movement that turned fascist, it is incorrect to assume PTM and all ethnic rights movements follow this path...
... The MQM is just one ethnic movement whereas there are others in Pakistan's history, such as the National Awami Party. NAP was a coalition of ethnic (mostly) parties that combined were more progressive and pluralist than any other party in Pakistani electoral politics...
Apr 17, 2019 • 11 tweets • 6 min read
[Thread] Lets recap: Ahmed Ludhianvi, has openly called for the genocide of Shias in Pakistan. Last week he was invited as a guest by the Saudi embassy to attend an event that interior min @ShehryarAfridi1 also attended, a day after the bomb attack on Hazara Shias in Quetta (1/n)
... This photo from the April 13 event at the Saudi embassy shows minister for interior @ShehryarAfridi1 meeting with the Imam of the Kaaba, with Ahmed Ludhianvi of Sipah e Sahaba visible in the background (2/n)
2/4 The new PTI contract with Praia seems to be a replacement for Fenton/Arlook LLC (renamed South/North Communications) who were hired by PTI USA in Aug 2022 for public relations at a cost of US$25,000 per month 
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