Whatever

[Saran Shanmugam @saranstm]

People in the thread asked - What about the Vijayanagara Empire? What about the Marathas?

My position is straightforward.

The era of independent Tamil imperial power effectively ended in 1311 with Malik Kafur's invasion and the defeat of the Pandyas. Over the following decades, that political order faded away. While smaller Tamil chieftains and local rulers continued to govern parts of Tamilakam, the region as a whole was subsequently ruled by dynasties whose primary language was not Tamil.

That is precisely why I find many self-styled Tamil nationalists unconvincing - whether the Dravidian variety or those who claim to be the "AGMARK" guardians of Tamil identity.

One leader mortgaged the interests of both Tamil Nadu and Tamils in Sri Lanka, not to mention the infamous "fast" that lasted from breakfast to lunch.

Another openly refers to a man responsible for acts of terrorism that killed many Tamils as "Appa."

Neither those leaders nor their followers have the moral authority to lecture others on Tamil pride or to rewrite history for political convenience.

The best path forward for the people of Tamil Nadu is to reject divisive and separatist politics. Take pride in Tamil language and culture, preserve its rich heritage, and be good citizens of India. Tamil identity and Indian identity are not mutually exclusive.

[Nupur J Sharma @UnSubtleDesi]

OpIndia was the first to label the Delhi Riots as Delhi Anti Hindu Riots. It was a pogrom against Hindus, something we spent 6 years proving and writing about.

Today, the court agrees.

[Malay Krishna @Malay4Product]

I taught JEE physics for years. That paper breaks strong kids in three hours.

This exam is five hours of theory and five hours of lab work, and these five did close to perfect scores on it.

Let me tell you what actually happened.

The International Physics Olympiad is the world championship of school physics. It was the 56th edition. Held in Bucaramanga, Colombia, from July 5 to 12.

381 students. More than 85 countries. Every one of them the best physics student their country could find.

India sent five kids.

All five came back with gold.

Their names are Kanishk Jain from Pune. Riddhesh Anant Bendale from Indore. Rishit Garg from Dwarka in Delhi. Shresth Suraiya from Mumbai. Svarit Joshi from Ahmedabad.

We know a hundred cricketers by their nickname and not one of these boys. :)

That clean sweep put India at joint World Number One. Tied with China, Russia, Kazakhstan, South Korea and Taiwan.

Those are countries that pour serious money and national pride into science education. We are standing level with them.

Now here is what the exam actually was.

Two papers. Each five hours long.

The theory paper had three problems. One on the thermodynamics of paramagnetic cooling. One on the photoionisation of ozone. One on the dynamics of electron positron pairs.

The experimental paper was another five hours in a lab, working through heat transfer and thermodynamic processes in fluids.

That means you get given equipment you have never seen, and you have to design your own experiment, take your own readings, handle the errors, and reach a real answer.

Not multiple choice. No shortcuts. No pattern recognition. You either understand physics or you sit there for five hours.

HBCSE says the Indian students were near perfect on theory and excellent on the practical too.

Now, this was India's 27th appearance at the IPhO.

Across all those years, about 44 percent of Indian students have won gold, 41 percent silver, 10 percent bronze.

In the last ten years, every single Indian student has come home with a medal. 62 percent gold, 38 percent silver.

Not one kid has gone and come back empty handed in a decade.

Five golds in one year has happened only twice. This year, and in 2018.

So who built this.

The programme is run by HBCSE, the Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education. It sits under TIFR, which sits under the Department of Atomic Energy.

They run the whole funnel. A national exam, then a national olympiad, then a brutal selection and training camp, and out of everyone in the country, five kids get on a plane.

The team was led by Professor Anwesh Mazumdar of HBCSE-TIFR and Dr Leena Joshi from St Xavier's College, Mumbai.

The scientific observers were Professor Ananda Dasgupta from IISER Kolkata and Nisha Kelkar from Gogate-Joglekar College in Ratnagiri.

Yes. Ratnagiri. A college in a small coastal town in Maharashtra.

This is public education doing something the private coaching industry could never do on its own.

The coaching industry is very good at one thing. Teaching you to solve a known problem fast.

That is what JEE and NEET reward, and I say that with love because I was part of that world.

But an olympiad paper does not have a known type. There is no shortcut chapter. There is no formula sheet that saves you. You have to sit with a problem you have never seen and think.

That is a completely different muscle. And a government funded centre has been quietly building it in Indian teenagers for 27 years.

So yes, be proud. Loudly.

HBCSE also shared that around 64 percent of India's olympiad medallists go on to do a PhD.

But only about 32 percent of medallists end up settling in India.

I do not say that to spoil the moment. These kids owe the country nothing. They earned every option they have.

But it should tell us something. We are excellent at finding this talent. We are excellent at training it. We are still not great at giving it somewhere worth staying.

Congratulations Kanishk, Riddhesh, Rishit, Shresth and Svarit. This is one of the best things an Indian did this year and most of the country will never hear about it.

[Whatever @PComandur]

@smitadeshmukh @JindalSteel_In Not just that, arrest them for sedition if they're repeat offenders...that would hopefully be a deterrent for others who want to do it either for money or because they hate Bharat...

[Whatever @PComandur]

@labstamil PKS agrees...

[Whatever @PComandur]

@BBCWorld Terrorists have no religion, but judges do?

[Whatever @PComandur]

@sharathjothi No, it means they're going to burn the bad guys with the fire in the tail...there's historical precedence for it...

[Whatever @PComandur]

@bhatnaturally How's the coffee, sir?

[Scarlet Heart 🐬 @_Saffron_Girl_]

I'm Tamil and I choose "Trivikram" over Dravidian, Periyarist Vetrimaran's propaganda movie.

[Rajaram @Rajaram93584674]

The "Christian appropriation of Lord Muruga" is a decades old project !

A small thread with some info taken from the book

"Breaking India"
by @RajivMessage & @arvindneela

Please RT and spread for max reach...
(1/n)
#Hindu #Muruga

[Whatever @PComandur]

@TVMohandasPai Par for the course for these third rated criminals...

[Whatever @PComandur]

@tathvamasi6 He has no shame

[Whatever @PComandur]

@TheGopalan Mannargudi Rajagopalaswamy temple tank is also called Haridra tank, and is the largest temple tank in India.

[Tamil Labs 2.0 @labstamil]

What exactly is the argument of Poet Arivumathi in his book "Thamizh Murugan" which is the inspiration for Dhanush x Vetrimaaran's next project?

A thread rebutting his book using his own sources. Do read this important thread, RT it and think for yourself (1/n)

[Whatever @PComandur]

@ARanganathan72 @GanKanchi Teesta is the cancer...

[Whatever @PComandur]

@Jeba_here @fathimafarhanaS If you trust in Jesus and Jesus alone then you too shouldn't talk about Lord Murugan. Yet, you have, ergo, you don't trust in Jesus alone. I don't blame you for that..

[Whatever @PComandur]

@Jvnior But because you're a Muslim, you should convert to Hinduism

[Whatever @PComandur]

@Nrvs90s He got some chins music

[Wimbledon @Wimbledon]

Absolute grass court cinema! 🎦

This ridiculous point between Alejandro Davidovich Fokina & Felix Auger-Aliassime is the Play of the Day presented by @Barclays

[The Analyzer (News Updates🗞️) @Indian_Analyzer]

THROWBACK to this epic🕶️

Switzerland at the UN: “We urge India to protect MINORITIES & uphold FoE.”

India’s response:
"We offer to help Switz. tackle RACISM, systemic discrimination, & XENOPHOBIA.” 💀

Unhinged diplomacy🤣🔥