site banner
PaperclipPerfector  7mo ago (text post)   1675 thread views

Transnational Thursday for January 25, 2024

Transnational Thursday is a thread for people to discuss international news, foreign policy or international relations history. Feel free as well to drop in with coverage of countries you’re interested in, talk about ongoing dynamics like the wars in Israel or Ukraine, or even just whatever you’re reading.

4
Top Bottom Old Controversial Comments
Jump in the discussion.

No email address required.

Ah, the Ram Mandir, the gift that keeps on giving.

TLDR: A centuries old mosque was declared, based off archaeological evidence (somewhat dubious, but I'm no expert) of an even more ancient Hindu temple, which has been seized upon as potentially being the site of a temple dedicated to Ram (avatar of a god, misogynist and GOAT in the other sense of the word), and said mosque has been demolished and a new temple consecrated.

Anyway, one can think of this an analogous to Trump's border wall, but of even less practical utility, but a good way for the BJP, our now dominant party, best described as a socially conservative, fiscally liberal, explicitly Hindu-nationalist (or behind a fig leaf that fell off ages ago, well before this "erection") to rally the voter base against the Accursed Muslims.

The worst of the unrest has been over well before this auspicious day, with much of the intervening time spent in lawfare, and finally the BJP, which is largely unchecked, getting its way.

I have not cared to follow recent developments in too much detail, but tbh nothing really happened (of late). The worst article of news I can recall is that Indian food delivery apps were voluntold to only deliver vegetarian food today, and butchers were closed (once again more out of fear rather than an official declaration),* but the Muslims and the opposition parties have been cowed (pun not intended) into submission. I'm sure there has been the odd demonstration or minor scuffle, but in general everyone opposed to the BJP has more or less resigned themselves to the inevitable.

The BJP has been having a great time, controlling the executive, legislature and judiciary even at the highest levels, and seem likely to win yet again. The Ram Mandir was more of a pure power play and fuck you move, rather than anything that affects the rest of India at large.

*In the states in Northern India that are their heartlands, I can get my biryani fix tonight, though I'm opting for waffles.

Thanks for the added context, much appreciated man.

You're welcome as always! I wish I could add more, but in this situation, no news is good news haha

What is this place?

This website is a place for people who want to move past shady thinking and test their ideas in a court of people who don't all share the same biases. Our goal is to optimize for light, not heat; this is a group effort, and all commentators are asked to do their part.

The weekly Culture War threads host the most controversial topics and are the most visible aspect of The Motte. However, many other topics are appropriate here. We encourage people to post anything related to science, politics, or philosophy; if in doubt, post!

Check out The Vault for an archive of old quality posts. You are encouraged to crosspost these elsewhere.


Why are you called The Motte?

A motte is a stone keep on a raised earthwork common in early medieval fortifications. More pertinently, it's an element in a rhetorical move called a "Motte-and-Bailey", originally identified by philosopher Nicholas Shackel. It describes the tendency in discourse for people to move from a controversial but high value claim to a defensible but less exciting one upon any resistance to the former. He likens this to the medieval fortification, where a desirable land (the bailey) is abandoned when in danger for the more easily defended motte. In Shackel's words, "The Motte represents the defensible but undesired propositions to which one retreats when hard pressed."

On The Motte, always attempt to remain inside your defensible territory, even if you are not being pressed.


New post guidelines

If you're posting something that isn't related to the culture war, we encourage you to post a thread for it. A submission statement is highly appreciated, but isn't necessary for text posts or links to largely-text posts such as blogs or news articles; if we're unsure of the value of your post, we might remove it until you add a submission statement. A submission statement is required for non-text sources (videos, podcasts, images).

Culture war posts go in the culture war thread; all links must either include a submission statement or significant commentary. Bare links without those will be removed.

If in doubt, please post it!


Rules


Recommended Posts And Communities

Recommended Realtime Chats