tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12674755.post3902559602239038865..comments2023-11-22T04:10:49.266-05:00Comments on Dispatches from Zembla: Pankaj Mishra on Small Town IndiaAlokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12947383354732747209noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12674755.post-74343564017458783652007-08-15T15:38:00.000-05:002007-08-15T15:38:00.000-05:00yes i agree. but there is also a trend in revision...yes i agree. but there is also a trend in revisionist history that claims that the british empire was essentially a benevolent one. it is encouraging that people like mishra are writing against this argument.Alokhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12947383354732747209noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12674755.post-11939155612403491162007-08-15T13:02:00.000-05:002007-08-15T13:02:00.000-05:00I know it is a common argument but I think Mishra ...I know it is a common argument but I think Mishra is over reaching and simplifying. I dont completely disagree with him but I think the relation is more sublte and there are and always have been far too many factors at play.Szerelemhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17911190230851186924noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12674755.post-79450129200036155642007-08-15T11:55:00.000-05:002007-08-15T11:55:00.000-05:00Oh i think he is just making the standard claim th...Oh i think he is just making the standard claim that the british empire was mainly responsible for the current problems in the middle east and with radical islam. even after that it was american self-interest (another me-too-imperialist) which propped and supported the fanatical Islamic extremism. I think this argument has a lot of merit.<BR/><BR/>It is not just true of the British empire, it is true for every other empire too. They all ultimately collpse but not before they have made all sorts of problems with ethnicities even more intractable than they were before. Collapse of the Austrian empire for example. Even the history of the Ottomans...Alokhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12947383354732747209noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12674755.post-13482187226204306052007-08-15T11:17:00.000-05:002007-08-15T11:17:00.000-05:00no when he talks about Churchill and jihadists."Ch...no when he talks about Churchill and jihadists.<BR/><BR/>"Churchill assailed him for helping Britain’s “enemies,” “Hindustan,” against “Britain’s friends,” the Muslims. Little did Churchill know that his expedient boosting of political Islam would eventually unleash a global jihad engulfing even distant New York and London."Szerelemhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17911190230851186924noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12674755.post-59732343801081640632007-08-15T07:58:00.000-05:002007-08-15T07:58:00.000-05:00you mean where he says indian state was more bruta...you mean where he says indian state was more brutal in suppressing self-determination of ethnic minorities than the british empire?Alokhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12947383354732747209noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12674755.post-71726843756423330662007-08-15T04:10:00.000-05:002007-08-15T04:10:00.000-05:00Alok: not a fan of Thomas. L. Friedman eh?Too much...Alok: not a fan of Thomas. L. Friedman eh?<BR/><BR/>Too much of Mishra is nauseating. I am all for cautious optimism but he is too much. Btw, did you read his New Yorker article? The end mad me do a complete double take...it was so ridiculousSzerelemhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17911190230851186924noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12674755.post-28284775749231760532007-08-15T00:48:00.000-05:002007-08-15T00:48:00.000-05:00Actually, having read the article, I kind of feel ...Actually, having read the article, I kind of feel nostalgic myself...<BR/><BR/>And I did prefer the old Bangalore, by far.Cheshire Cathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07463645065346922684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12674755.post-21883605632230950842007-08-15T00:13:00.000-05:002007-08-15T00:13:00.000-05:00he is not really a socialist either. he just style...he is not really a socialist either. he just styles himself as a self-conscious intellectual, as opposed to journalists and pamphleteers, one who holds a more "nuanced" opinion on subjects and hesitates before making final judgments, specially if they are optimistic ones.<BR/><BR/>he is just highlighting the obvious contradictions in the globalization stories being sold by the usual peddlers... genius loci is just one such contradiction. there are many more.Alokhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12947383354732747209noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12674755.post-32540430246210639552007-08-15T00:01:00.000-05:002007-08-15T00:01:00.000-05:00Oh, he's one of those die-hard socialists, he'll n...Oh, he's one of those die-hard socialists, he'll never see reason. Better than Arundhati Roy, at any rate.<BR/><BR/>Actually, I do think genius loci is valuable. I also think it's inescapable, there's a limit to the power of globalization.Cheshire Cathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07463645065346922684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12674755.post-88123709321088832052007-08-14T23:37:00.001-05:002007-08-14T23:37:00.001-05:00oh may be it was "world is flat now"?oh may be it was "world is flat now"?Alokhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12947383354732747209noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12674755.post-38583465428213641302007-08-14T23:37:00.000-05:002007-08-14T23:37:00.000-05:00looks like you are not a fan.me, i feel like takin...looks like you are not a fan.<BR/><BR/>me, i feel like taking some valium capsules after I read one of those earth-is-flat-now articles. i guess reading mishra is healthier.Alokhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12947383354732747209noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12674755.post-45147837209640572112007-08-14T23:32:00.000-05:002007-08-14T23:32:00.000-05:00Pankaj Mishra must be SO unhappy, with India doing...Pankaj Mishra must be SO unhappy, with India doing as well as it is now.Cheshire Cathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07463645065346922684noreply@blogger.com