Hello, Bengaluru. I took the new airport train from Cantonment Station yesterday evening at 5:55 pm. On-board I met Rahul, a 27 year old aircraft maintanence engineer who had a flight at 8:30 pm to Chennai. He was the only passenger on the train who was going to the airport.

WHEN GH0RI TOOK TO HIS HEELS WHILST FIGHTING A HINDU QUEEN

THE BATTLE OF KASAHRADA (Kayadara)
1178 AD

Strategy! Bravado! Glory!

(Thread)

The narrative set by left historians about one of their favorite poster boys "Gh0ri" is that he went unchallenged upon entering the Indian subcontinent with one king falling after another.(1)

They conveniently deleted this event. Why? An agenda aimed at making us feel weak and inferior against the invaders in an attempt to glorify them. Simple strategy: To destroy a civilization tamper their history.(2)

Gh0ri defeated Prithviraj Chauhan at the 2nd Battle of Tarain in 1192 and laid the foundation of Delhi Sultanate. What is not well known is the fact that 14 years before he won this battle, he was defeated by the queen of Gujarat "Naiki Devi"!(3)

In 1173 Md Gh0ri had conquered the Ghaznavids in Afghanistan. A ruthless, persistent and deceptive Gh0ri was successful in conducting massive raids deep inside Indian territory.(4)

I know the #COVID-19 numbers in India are not looking good, but here are my (not so) random thoughts on it

We have 2 options – one, rant & rail against the ‘system’ and lament how it has let us down; second, do whatever we can to avoid getting infected & if infected, minimize adverse consequences to ourselves & others. If you belong to the first, you can stop reading now

How can we avoid getting infected? There’s no magic bullet, I’m afraid. This is primarily a “stick to the basics” approach. More difficult than it sounds.

First, maintain all precautions that we know help. These include masks (whenever you are not at home and not alone), physical distancing to the extent possible, and washing hands frequently. The 3 Ws – Wear a mask, Watch your distance, Wash your hands.

Masks work, and are probably the most important precaution given our current understanding that aerosols are the predominant mechanism of spread. The best is a well-fitting N95 mask, which is now widely available & not too expensive – you could re-use them too.

J. Farish, a member of the Bombay government, writes in his letter in 1838~

"The natives of India must be kept down by a sense of our power, or they must willingly submit from a conviction that we are wiser, more just, and more humane to improve their conditions."

He further writes, "If well-directed, the progress of education would undoubtedly increase our moral hold over India, but, at the same time, we should also ensuring that it does not lead the Natives to a consciousness of their own strength."

As the Colonial government wanted natives to help British surveyors and engineers in their work, it translated the Engineering curriculum to vernacular languages. The first such attempt was made in a college set up in Bombay by Elphinstone, with Lt. George Jervis as its director.

Also, Colonial authorities found it much simpler and politically wiser to create a class of cheaply paid but loyal Indian low-level bureaucrats to help staff the provincial offices and act as a buffer or intermediary class to stand between the government and the masses.

Charles Trevelyan, Macaulay's brother-in-law, wrote in his book On the Education of The People of India (1838), "We British should not try to instill in the native a deep grasp of subjects, but to force them to ape & recite English, and metaphysics in the most slavish fashion."

Why have 300 million people been protesting in India? A few people have asked me about this so thought I’d offer a handy summary thread (1/22)

Small farmers make up 60% of India’s working population and are routinely romanticized as the backbone of the country. Nonetheless, decades of policy have given them a raw deal (2/22)

From the 1960s, innovations in agriculture (like pesticides and GM seeds) massively increased food production in India. But they also increased the need for small farmers to take out loans to pay for expensive seeds and equipment so they could produce competitively. (3/22)

These loans, with punitive repayment programmes, have dragged much of the farming population into debt spirals that have led to increased poverty, loss of dignity and, most notably, 300,000 suicides (4/22)

Against this background of farmer disempowerment, the ruling party in India, the BJP, tried to stealth pass three bills that would liberalise the agricultural sector and make farmers even worse off than they are right now (5/22)

Tata Trusts launches 2nd edition of the "India Justice Report"

Justice Madan Lokur, former Supreme Court Judge to give a special address.

@tatatrusts

#IndiaJusticeReport2020: Srinath N, Tata Trusts renders opening remarks.

Chief Editor of the Report, Maya Daruwala gives an overview of the report.

Druwala says the aim of the report was to assess the capacity of each State to deliver Justice.

@tatatrusts

#IndiaJusticeReport2020: The launch event is also being streamed live on

#IndiaJusticeReport2020 -

Maja Daruwala: We found that in most areas - vacancies, number of undertrials, overburdening of courts etc. - they remained very much as they are.

Only 30% of prisoners were convicts, the study showed, Daruwala points out, among other findings.

Last year the report had been confined to broad suggestions, but this year specific suggestions have been made since there has been a pandemic, Daruwala says.

#IndiaJusticeReport2020