Ardent lover of Bharat, its beautiful ancient temples, rich civilisation & culture. Interests: Strategic, military affairs & all issues concerning my motherland
Dear Elon,
The online education, digital payments, and small businesses going global you speak of are already happening in India on dirt-cheap internet.
Jio revolutionized cheap internet back in 2016. The price per GB of data crashed from ₹228 to ₹8, shooting monthly usage from under 2 GB to 40 GB+ and turning connectivity from a luxury into a daily utility for hundreds of millions.
India’s internet sector isn't a damsel in distress waiting to be saved by a savior in orbit. That said, we still welcome competition. So drop the sarcasm and go finish your security clearances so Indians can actually choose whether they want affordable ground data or a shiny space toy.
Public taunts won't skip the line. Pfizer tried forcing its way into the Indian market during COVID era using the same playbook, bypassing mandatory protocols and leaning on public pressure through influencers. It didn't work then, and it won't work now.
This is Basem Naim.
Shortly after the 2006 elections, when Hamas’ Ismail Haniyeh briefly became Palestine’s PM, Naim entered his service as his bodyguard.
Why briefly?
Because while Hamas is a benign political party participating in routine democratic processes, it also has a military wing called Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades which is very...not-benign.
President Abbas wanted Haniyeh to dismantle this terrorist wing and recognize Israel.
Haniyeh refused.
And got sacked.
What followed was a bloddy civil war between Fateh (Abbas’ party) and Hamas (Haniyeh’s party) in the streets of Gaza. And Gaza is where Haniyeh was. Naim’s job was to keep Haniyeh safe.
In 2012, however, Naim resigned and moved to Egypt. A few years later, onward to UK. Where he applied for asylum citing “persecution” by Egypt.
Hmmm...an ex bodyguard to a rogue leader of a terrorist leader in a geography battered by terrorism seeking asylum? No way that’s happening, right?
It did.
To reiterate, al-Qassam Brigades was already listed as a terrorist organization by not only US, EU, and UN, but also separately by UK.
A literal terrorist was now a British asylee. But so what, don’t people deserve a second chance? Of course, Naim had reformed. Having long given up arms, our man was now working as an IT consultant living in an English suburb like any goody-two-shoes asylee.
Years pass. Naim is now a citizen.
Then comes 2021 and UK expands its terrorist designation from just the Brigades to the entirety of Hamas. Zero tolerance to terrorism. If your military wing is a terror group, so are you.
Not Naim. He’s long reformed. No reason to suspect him, let alone interrogate. So what he’s still publicly in contact with Hamas, now a designated terrorist organization? He didn’t do anything personally, right? All he did was do his 9-5, buy his groceries, go to bed...like any other Brit.
Until one day he didn’t.
In 2025, a joint operation by Mossad and German and Austrian agencies uncovered a plot to kill a large number of jews in coordinated terrorist attacks throughout Europe.
By Hamas.
A large weapons smuggling network was part of the plot. Guess who was found to be transporting firearms and ammunition between Berlin and Vienna!
During the investigation, the authorities recovered a pre-recorded “martyrdom” video. In the footage, Naim had filmed himself declaring that the planned attack was at the behest of the al-Qassam Brigades. Based on this intel, an arrest warrant was issued in Germany in October 2025.
Acting on which, UK’s NCA arrested him in Central London the following month.
But he remains a citizen of UK and never named in any British media outlet. Instead, you’ll see a mysterious Mr. X all over the news. Why?
Because the same year a Westminster Magistrates’ Court judge passed an order that barred publication of his name for 100 years. So the papers and TV channels named him Mr. X.
This absurd restriction has recently been challenged by The Times and, I hear, successfully so. So hopefully, we’ll start seeing more of Basem Naim and less of Mr. X in British media in coming days.
So this is how UK treats terrorists. If you’ve ever been denied a visa for travel or work, consider Naim’s “unconventional” route.
- 1020-1140, Chaulukyas vs. Paramaras: No jauhar
- 1100-1200, Paramaras vs. Chauhans: No jauhar
- 1150-1180, Chaulukyas vs. Chauhans: No jauhar
- 1160-1180, Chauhans vs. Gahadavalas: No jauhar
- 1200-1500, Sisodias vs. Rathores: No jauhar
- 1300-1400, Sisodias vs. Paramaras: No jauhar
- 1300-1500, Sisodia internal succession wars: No jauhar
- 1300-1400, Rathores vs. Paramaras: No jauhar
- 1350-1500, Rathores vs. Bhatis: No jauhar
- 1100-1300, Kachwahas vs. Chauhans: No jauhar
- 1000-1200, Internal Chauhan branch feuds: No jauhar
- 1100-1300, Bhatis vs. Jadons: No jauhar
- 1100-1150, Tomaras vs. Chauhans: No jauhar
- 1400-1500, Rathores vs. Kachwahas: No jauhar
No fewer than two dozen major wars were fought among the Rajputs with zero Muslim involvement. Not a single episode involved self-immolation of any kind. Not one. Neither Indian, nor foreign accounts record a single instance. Now see this:
- 712-712, Dahir of Sind vs. Muhammad bin Qasim: Jauhar committed.
1232-1232, Gwalior (Rajputs) vs. Iltutmish: Jauhar committed
- 1301-1301, Ranthambore vs. Alauddin Khalji: Jauhar committed
- 1299-1299, Jaisalmer vs. Alauddin Khalji: Jauhar committed
- 1303-1303, Chittor vs. Alauddin Khalji: 1st jauhar of Chittor
- 1327-1327, Kampili vs. Muhammad bin Tughluq: Jauhar committed
- 1326-1326, Jaisalmer vs. Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq: Jauhar committed
- 1486-1486, Kuva (Kankavati) vs. Mahmud Begada: Jauhar committed
- 1528-1528, Chanderi vs. Babur: Jauhar committed.
- 1535-1535, Chittor vs. Bahadur Shah: 2nd jauhar of Chittor
- 1543-1543, Raisen vs. Humayun: 3 jauhars committed
- 1568-1568, Chittor vs. Akbar: 3rd jauhar of Chittor
- 1634-1634, Bundelkhand vs. Aurangzeb: Jauhar committed
- 1710-1710, Daddanala vs. Mir Fazlullah: Jauhar committed
Similarly, when the British came, we had a series of gruesome engagements starting with Plassey and Buxar, then going on to the Carnatic Wars, the Anglo-Mysore Wars, the Anglo-Maratha Wars, the Anglo-Gurkha War, the Anglo-Sikh Wars, the Anglo-Burmese Wars, the Anglo-Afghan Wars, and many, many more.
No jauhar.
Now, when someone like that book reviewer condemns “Hindutva” for “glorifying jauhar,” I am fully on their side. I agree it was a morbid ritual that does not belong in a civilized society, thank goodness we no longer do that. But do you see a pattern in the above lists?
Why do you think this macabre ritual was practiced EXCLUSIVELY in conflicts involving Muslim forces?
Why didn’t women feel the need to self-immolate when their kingdoms fell to any other adversary?
You can’t be dumb enough to not draw the only possible conclusion here.
Nobody glorifies jauhar, it was not picnic.
We “honor” it. No, not the immolation itself but the debilitating sentiment behind it. With the honor we keep our alive in our collective memory. Know why?
Because the demons that drove our ancestors to such extremities still live and breathe amongst us to this day.
And they haven’t changed one bit.
When someone prefers death to your touch, what even are you?
In Kerala, Islamic scholar Kanthapuram A.P. Aboobacker Musliar said that women should remain confined to their homes and that public appearances by women lead to great destruction.
After that, Big Tv journalist Aparna Kurup questioned and criticized his views on her show.
And now, Big Tv has not only removed the video of the show from all social media platforms, but journalist Aparna Kurup has also issued an apology.
So, Freedom of the Media is not in danger now, and our pseudo feminists seem to have consumed Fevicol.
The so-called "Smash the Patriarchy" brigade has gone completely silent. Perhaps they don't want to "smash the patriarchy" as they fear their own heads might get smashed in this case.
What a proud moment for Pakistan. Imagine how great your own citizens are you are forced to make a public appeal to your own citizens to stop begging in Saudi Arabia and stop breaking laws since they risk of being deported and hence takes a hit at remittances.
DGSIPR tried its best to put the most respectful Urdu vocabulary but unfortunately the content is just pure disgrace. Terrific achievement as a nation.
Seriously Mr Ambassador?? Taxila is a Sanskrit word. Nalanda & Taxila flourished until Islam came through and ravaged them. Islam is much younger than Taxila. Do read up some genuine history before exposing the depth of your ignorance through tweets like these.
Walking through #Taxila, it’s impossible not to be struck by the depth of Pakistan’s history. For centuries, this was a centre of learning that connected people, ideas & cultures from across the region & beyond. A fascinating visit and a beautiful reminder of 🇵🇰 rich heritage.
The man in your meme oversaw one of the most severe economic collapses in modern history. How severe? Here:
National income down 60%.
Industrial output down 69%.
Iron and steel down 96%.
Coal down 68%.
Agriculture down 40%.
Exports down to 1.3% of 1913 levels.
The Russian Famine of 1921–1922, entirely man-made, by the way, killed an estimated 5 million people.
The Bolshevik clowns attempted to abolish money by aggressively printing rubles to fund the state. Between 1913 and 1921, prices exploded by a factor of 16,800, leading to rampant hyperinflation.
By early 1921, the economy was so broken that Lenin faced massive peasant revolts and mutinies from his own military.
Next time you feel the urge to mock your own country on economy, try an example that doesn’t make you look like nincompoops.
Cracker of a piece on liberal hypocrisy by @ShivAroor - Every line is a quotable quote
“when Bengal is the subject. Outrage suddenly transforms into hesitation, certainty becomes nuance. And accountability dissolves into a fog of cultural defensiveness”
https://t.co/gsgHVYsgy3
This is but a fraction of what transpired on the ground in 2021.I genuinely hope not one person from TMC is allowed to enter the BJP,and everyone responsible for the post poll pogroms, RG Kar & Sandeshkhali is legally punished expeditiously. Political defeat alone isn't enough.
Polarising, consolidating and banking on Muslim votes is victory of democracy, secularism in action, pluralism; consolidating Hindu vote in reaction is fascism, death of democracy, blow to secularism.
The banality of evil that was TMC rule 👇. If these thugs are allowed to escape, it will be grave injustice to a people who had to tolerate the jihadi jungle raj in Bengal. They must suffer what they inflicted, and worse. That will be justice. Virtue signalling can be done later.
Total seats won by INC on 4th May: 90
Total Hindu INC victors: 12
Hindus form just 13% of INC legislators elected yesterday.
Leave aside the irony of “jitna abadi utna haq”, it seems the party is ghettoising & marginalising itself, whether by intent or by circumstance.
1. Just got off a call with @UnSubtleDesi. I couldn't be happier for her and both of us couldn't help but discuss the harrowing days of post poll violence in West Bengal in 2021. So I am going to share what happened five years ago just so ppl know what happened. #WestBengal2026.
The Bengali word for "rainbow" is Ramdhonu, which means "Lord Ram’s bow." For thousands of years, Bengalis have referred to it by this name.
In 2017, in West Bengal school textbooks, "Ramdhonu" was replaced by the word Rongdhonu, which means "bow of colors." This word was not a part of traditional Bengali language and Mamata govt introduced it specifically to replace "Ram"dhonu.
To make matters worse, Rongdhonu comes from Bangladesh, where the Islamic government has been using it instead of Ramdhonu since they came into existence as an Islamic country.
Imagine the scale of appeasement!
India’s Military Is Preparing for the Wrong War
India’s military strategy remains geared toward fighting the next big conventional war, even as its two closely aligned regional adversaries, China and Pakistan, prosecute asymmetric campaigns against it. China’s stealthy land grabs in Ladakh in 2020 — achieved without firing a single shot — offer a telling example.
America’s war in Iran has again underscored the new logic of warfare: advantage no longer rests solely with the technologically superior, but with the strategically adaptive. Despite unleashing overwhelming force, the U.S. failed to convert its tactical successes into a tangible strategic outcome in the face of Iran’s asymmetric reprisals.
This is a lesson India can ill afford to ignore, given its continued emphasis on importing big-ticket platforms. It has consistently ranked among the world’s largest arms importers.
New Delhi is now advancing a major Rafale deal with France worth around $40 billion — far exceeding its cumulative investment this century in indigenous missile and drone development. The Iran war, much like the conflict in Ukraine, highlights that low-cost drones and missiles are now decisive, transformative weapons of deterrence and reprisal, often outpacing traditional high-end systems in strategic effect.
India’s costly obsession with conventional war is blinding it to a simple reality: big-ticket weapons no longer deliver commensurate strategic returns. https://t.co/seJ7BD5HID
.@OmarAbdullah is trying to restore Art 370 via piecemeal legislations. If this bill passes, then it would ban non-locals from leasing properties in Kashmir. Thereby, safeguarding monopoly of Kashmiri elites on hotels, resorts and tourist venues. Indian National media is SILENT!
Lol the audacity. Bitch the only inheritors of Cyrus’ legacy had to flee Iran and seek refuge in India to escape jihad not once but twice.
You are shamelessly co-opting a culture that you did everything in your capacity to ethnically cleanse (and failed miserably). That’s what your Paki neighbors do with the IVC.
In Ramzan, Paks discuss on TV "Ghazwa e Hind"- when Muslims would capture Hind, kill/convert all Hindus and make every Hindu female s€x sl@ve (Maal e Ganimat) as mentioned in Quran/Hadith.
But Dhurandhar is Islamophobic coz Arfa/Dhruv know Islam better. https://t.co/AzJwMG7D3e
A Security Fiasco in India’s Northeast: The arrest of six Ukrainian nationals — all war veterans — and one American citizen with combat experience in the Syria and Libya conflicts by India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) for providing military equipment and training to Chin rebels and other militants in Myanmar with ties to Indian insurgent groups casts an unflattering light on the security apparatus in India’s vulnerable northeast.
■ According to court filings, the seven accused mercenaries entered India on tourist visas and traveled undetected to the sensitive border state of Mizoram without obtaining the mandatory Restricted Area Permits (RAP). They then illegally crossed the unfenced international border into Myanmar’s Chin State.
■ The court filings state that, while in Myanmar, they provided training to Chin insurgents and other ethnic rebels with documented links to Indian militant organizations such as ULFA(I), NSCN and the Kuki National Army operating in the northeast. This training included:
→Drone operations and assembly
→Jamming technology and weapons handling
→Supplying a “huge consignment” of drones sourced from Europe
■ The seven men subsequently re-entered India through the Mizoram-Myanmar border — again without detection by border or local police forces — before traveling deep into the Indian mainland.
■ They were eventually tracked by federal agencies and arrested on March 13 at transit hubs far from the Myanmar border while in the process of leaving India:
→The American was detained at Kolkata airport
→Three Ukrainians were arrested at Delhi airport
→Three Ukrainians were arrested at Lucknow airport
The NIA has charged them under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), including Section 18 (terrorist conspiracy). The introduction of European-sourced drone technology and jamming expertise into this theater represents a significant “force multiplier” for insurgent groups.
The investigation further indicates that the seven men were part of a broader conspiracy to transport sophisticated drones and other Western weapons into Myanmar via India, effectively establishing a “tactical corridor” through India’s northeastern borders.
The scale of the security lapse is difficult to overstate. That these individuals were able to enter India, reach its northeast with military equipment, cross into Myanmar, and then return through the same route without detection points to a serious intelligence and border management failure.
Their successful movement of a large consignment of drones and related supplies through Mizoram suggests that external provisioning of arms to Indian insurgent groups may be occurring more frequently — and more invisibly — than officially acknowledged.
Taken together, these developments suggest that India’s northeast risks becoming a permissive operating environment for foreign actors fueling the Myanmar conflict, with spillover effects increasingly visible in Indian border states such as Manipur, Mizoram and Nagaland.