JD retweeted
After Thane, Mumbai bans aerial firecrackers until November 25, with violators facing up to six months in jail. The move follows a surge in fires caused by firecrackers on Diwali night.
Good. It is high time some of these shameless people learnt that religious pride does not give them a licence to endanger other people’s lives, destroy the environment or hold entire neighbourhoods hostage to their reckless behaviour. As a practising Hindu myself, I find this deliberate defiance of safety regulations in the name of Hindu pride particularly objectionable.
And spare us the obnoxious ‘if you live in a matchbox, this is what you get’ nonsense. These are people setting off rockets inside residential society compounds, with several high-rise apartments catching fire as a result, and then having the audacity to mock the very residents whose homes and lives they put at risk. People work their entire lives to afford these apartments. Not everyone can afford an independent house, and that does not make their homes any less deserving of safety. If anything, the sheer contempt for other people’s lives displayed by these keyboard warriors is disgraceful.
JD retweeted
Muslim Americans are very hypocritical. They are kameenas, as Muqtedar Khan describes Hindu Americans.
So, by his own logic, Muqtedar Khan is a hypocrite and a big kameena. He sits in America and openly supports the Islamist regime in Iran, which executes people, brutally suppresses dissent and persecutes women over compulsory hijab. He goes out of his way to defend that regime, passionately argues with anyone who criticises it, and appears to share its stated hostility towards Israel, including its ambition to wipe Israel off the map. Yet he will never go and live in Iran.
The picture he paints of India is actually much closer to the reality of the countries he identifies with religiously. Across more than 50 Muslim-majority countries, how many offer democracy, ideological diversity, religious freedom and political dissent on a level comparable to what he enjoys in America or what Muslims enjoy in India? Not even one.
And he constantly portrays Muslims in India as a persecuted community, suggesting they are marginalised, discriminated against and have little space in the country. But Muslims in India enjoy freedoms and a degree of security that Muslims living in the very countries Muqtedar identifies with can only dream of. Forget the majority of Islamic nations that have been perpetually plagued by conflict fuelled by Islamist politics. Even some of the more stable countries in the Middle East have faced violent attacks by Islamist groups and fellow Muslims, a reality Indian Muslims have never had to experience. And don’t even get me started on what is happening in our own neighbourhood, particularly Pakistan, where Muslims continue to die in terror attacks carried out by their own brethren.
And being the name-dropper that Muqtedar is, someone who rarely speaks of an interaction unless it involves a president, prime minister or foreign minister, he has often name-dropped his meetings with India’s External Affairs Minister, Dr S. Jaishankar, recounting what he discussed with him and what he told him. This is quite amusing for someone who hardly has anything positive to say about India and constantly portrays it as an intolerant country where Muslims have little space or freedom. Yet the supposedly intolerant Indian establishment is accessible enough for him to secure an audience with its senior-most representatives. For someone so fond of disparaging India, he seems rather comfortable enjoying the access and recognition that the very system he criticises affords him.
In fact, this very name-dropping habit of his exposes the contradiction in his own narrative. His repeated references to meetings with India’s top political leadership only go on to demonstrate that India has a vibrant Left, liberal and socialist political tradition, alongside space for competing ideologies, including hardcore Islamist politics.
So, by the very standards he applies to Hindu Americans, who exactly is the hypocrite here? And who is the kameena?
JD retweeted
OMG, I can’t stop obsessing over this cute little Abu.
India, too, awaits its Abu El-Sayed moment. We desperately need a leader who builds bridges between communities, declares New Delhi the capital of Arab India and gives us a proper taste of Dilli Arabia.
Imagine India Today broadcasting live from the new Arab capital, with Rajdeep Sardesai sporting immaculate Arab headgear and a Palestinian keffiyeh, explaining to Hindus why their civilisation needs a little cultural reorientation. Prime-time debates could feature experts explaining why Hindu temples need a diversity audit, Sanskrit needs a makeover and Diwali needs to be renamed Eid-ul-Diwali.
And, of course, Rajdeep could anchor a special series titled ‘How to Be a Good Dhimmi: A Guide for the Hindu Majority’.
Now, this is the transformation we didn’t know we needed.
The possibilities are endless. Let’s go!
JD retweeted
So Iran has exempted Indian ships for commercial reasons, Chinese ships because it needs Beijing’s political backing, and Qatari ships because Doha is mediating between Tehran and Washington. Iraq, too, has secured an exemption. But Pakistan? Nothing.
A Qatar-operated LNG carrier carrying gas for Karachi has already been hit by Iranians. What happened to all those Tehran trips by Trump’s favourite Field Marshal? Has the peace marshal’s diplomatic magic run out, or did it crash along with his big daddy’s midterm setback? And whatever happened to the much-celebrated Islamabad Declaration? Was all that premature victory-lapping the entire diplomatic achievement?
So much peacemaking, and not even a seat at the exemption table. Hahahahahaha 😆
Turns out, having powerful daddies isn’t quite the same as having diplomatic leverage.
JD retweeted
Abdul’s?
I was prepared for a cow joke. But Abdul’s grammar has inflicted deeper wounds on my eyes than Abdul could ever inflict in a cowshed. The contempt for English in this camel shed appears to be every bit as profound as the contempt for people of other faiths. Apparently, neither grammar nor religious tolerance survives here.
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Guess who else idealises Abdul El-Sayed, apart from India’s drawing-room secularists and self-appointed progressives? The Muslim Brotherhood.
Ikhwan Online, which describes itself as the Muslim Brotherhood’s official website, has just celebrated El-Sayed’s victory in Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary, hailing it as a defeat for pro-Western forces.
I see that some people in India have already declared that this country also needs an ‘Abdul El-Sayed moment’. Perhaps the cycle will come full circle when we have our own Abdul El-Sayed, who, much like the fronts operated by extremist networks, wraps himself in the language of democracy, equality, and humanity, all while enjoying the endorsement of Hafiz Saeed and Masood Azhar.
Brilliant
Rajdeep Sardesai’s latest sermon on India’s need for an ‘Abdul El-Sayed moment’ is a perfect example of the intellectual dishonesty that passes for political commentary in this country.
First, he posts that India needs a politician whose faith doesn’t matter and whose politics is about building bridges between communities.
When challenged, he comes back with an explanation even more problematic, hollow and bereft of evidence.
He now argues that India needs Muslim politicians elected from Hindu-majority constituencies, claims the reverse is equally rare, complains about the absence of Muslim MPs in the BJP and a Muslim Union Cabinet minister, and insists that India needs an American-style cross-community electoral coalition.
A few inconvenient realities for him.
In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, 24 Muslim MPs were elected. Around 10 of them won from constituencies where Muslims were not the majority. Afzal Ansari won from Ghazipur, where Muslims constitute roughly 10% of the population. Navaskani, from the so-called Indian Union Muslim League, won from Ramanathapuram, where Muslims account for just 11.84% of the population. Think about this for a moment. A party that chooses to carry the Muslim League name, despite the League’s violent role in the Partition of India, can contest an election in this country and even win from a constituency where nearly 88% of the population is non-Muslim. This reflects a degree of electoral accommodation that only Hindus can demonstrate.
Now look at the other side.
The 2024 Lok Sabha had 14 constituencies with a Muslim population of at least 50%. Muslim candidates won all 14. Not a single Hindu MP was elected from a Muslim-majority constituency.
So, yes, Hindu-majority electorates have repeatedly elected Muslim representatives. BUT MUSLIMS HAVE NOT.
This is precisely the question Rajdeep would rather brush aside with a vague assertion that the reverse is also true.
Second, why is the absence of Muslim BJP MPs being presented as proof of India’s failure?
Rajdeep points out that the BJP has no Muslim MP and the Union Cabinet has no Muslim minister. But how many Muslim politicians are willing to contest on a BJP ticket without risking being branded a kafir by their own community? And how many would be willing to openly associate themselves with the party without facing that kind of religious denunciation?
These are questions he conveniently leaves out.
And even if a Muslim candidate were to win on a BJP ticket from a Hindu-majority constituency, would people like Rajdeep accept that as genuine cross-community electoral accommodation? Or would they question whether that candidate was elected or selected?
Third, comparing India to America while discussing religious representation is perhaps the most fundamental flaw in his argument.
India is not America. Our histories are entirely different.
India was partitioned following a violent Islamist separatist movement rooted in the Two-Nation Theory. The demand was not simply that Hindus and Muslims were separate nations. It was that Indian Muslims needed a separate political homeland because they could not accept being governed by a Hindu-majority electorate.
That history cannot be erased from any serious discussion of religion and politics in the subcontinent.
So we must discuss the electoral behaviour and political realities of subcontinental Muslims across India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Nobody is suggesting that India should emulate either country. But our shared history and religious politics make these comparisons very relevant.
In Pakistan, the discrimination goes even beyond electoral behaviour. Its Constitution explicitly bars non-Muslims from becoming President or Prime Minister. Speaks volumes about the mindset of subcontinental Muslims.
Why is Hindu willingness to elect Muslims routinely celebrated as evidence of secularism, while the reluctance of Muslim-majority electorates to elect Hindus is hardly discussed?
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JD retweeted
Diljit Dosanjh is a crafty operator.
I have often heard Khalistani extremists on X Spaces discussing, among themselves in Punjabi, the need to conceal their real ideological positions from white audiences because they need their acceptance and support. The strategy, as they describe it, is to avoid alienating white and Christian communities while directing hostility towards Hindus under the guise of anti-India racism. These circles are among the most active drivers of anti-India and anti-Hindu sentiment online.
Diljit appears to understand this game rather well. His concerts are increasingly becoming platforms for political messaging. At his Delhi concert, he invoked his controversial film Satluj, made remarks about Punjabi superiority and told the audience not to teach Punjabis how to fight their battles. And then, as if to neatly package the provocation, he followed it up with ‘I love you all’ and other affectionate platitudes. This seems to be his pattern. Make a politically loaded statement, soften the atmosphere with a few sentimental lines and expect the audience to overlook the messaging. During the promotions of Sardaar Ji 3 too, he made controversial remarks about looking beyond national borders and how art should transcend national boundaries, at a time when India and Pakistan were still dealing with heightened military tensions following Operation Sindoor. These remarks earned him considerable praise from Pakistani vloggers and celebrities hostile to India. This is hardly apolitical artistic expression.
So let’s stop pretending that Diljit is merely an artist. He is increasingly behaving like a political actor, leveraging his fame, concerts, and cultural influence to advance a particular ideological narrative. The Sikh supremacist politics he appears to espouse cannot be sanitised by wrapping it in the language of artistic expression, Punjabi pride, or cultural identity. If he wants to enter the political arena, he should have the courage to do so openly. He cannot keep exploiting the privileges and goodwill afforded to an entertainer while using the stage to push political messaging and then hiding behind the convenient excuse that it is all just art.
And those who continue to mistake this political posturing for innocent artistic expression should perhaps ask themselves whether they are being deliberately taken for a ride.
JD retweeted
Actor Imran Khan tenders an unconditional apology before the Bombay High Court for participating in protests against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
The court came down heavily on the actor, a US citizen and Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cardholder, questioning his participation in a political demonstration in India and observing that he could not claim the same rights as an Indian citizen. It also remarked that he had no right to criticise the country in this capacity.
The controversy began after Khan was detained during a protest in Mumbai on October 10. The FRRO subsequently issued him a ‘Leave India Notice’, directing him to leave India by October 28. The Bombay High Court has now kept the notice in abeyance until December 7, while directing him to submit his response, an undertaking and an unconditional apology.
JD retweeted
Pakistan: Two members of a polio vaccination team abducted by armed men in Azam Warsak village, Birmil Tehsil, South Waziristan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and taken to an undisclosed location.
Polio workers are repeatedly targeted in Pakistan because sections of its radicalised Islamist milieu have long portrayed vaccination campaigns as a Western conspiracy to sterilise Muslims or undermine the Muslim population. Some Islamic clerics and extremist networks also brand vaccination campaigns un-Islamic. The resulting hostility has made polio workers, particularly women administering door-to-door vaccinations, vulnerable to threats, abductions and targeted killings.
JD retweeted
🚨 US President Donald Trump cancels his scheduled rallies in Kansas and Iowa, while Vice-President JD Vance abruptly calls off his Friday visit to St. Cloud, Minnesota.
The timing of these cancellations, coming within hours of each other, is raising serious questions about what may be unfolding behind the scenes in Washington.
With reports of fresh Pentagon briefings to Trump on possible military action against Iran, the sudden change in the administration’s schedule is particularly concerning. Is Washington preparing for a major military offensive against Iran? Could the administration be gearing up for a significant escalation that requires the President and Vice-President to remain close to the centre of decision-making?
JD retweeted
Pakistan’s military-controlled judicial system sentences a human rights lawyer couple to 10 years in prison each. Their crime? Representing families of victims of enforced disappearances in Balochistan and speaking out against human rights abuses.
Human rights lawyer couple sentenced to 10 years' prison in Pakistan bbc.in/4irzyMS
JD retweeted
Since Ukraine began its series of strikes on Russian data centres in October, there appears to have been a considerable decline in anti-Indian hate speech online. Whether the two are connected is another question, but it is an interesting development.
That said, none of this makes me an uncritical admirer of Washington. The US is a deeply transactional power, has a long history of interventions and is certainly not an ally India can blindly trust. But this reflexive anti-Americanism in sections of India’s strategic and former intelligence community is something else altogether.
For some, virtually every global development has an American hand behind it. Every anti-Indian narrative is amplified by the West, every geopolitical crisis has Washington pulling the strings, and some will even entertain theories about October 7 being an Israeli inside job.
A section of this community seems to be stuck in the geopolitical imagination of the 1980s, when the Soviet Union occupied a very different place in India’s strategic calculus. Russia today is no Soviet Union. It has its own interests and strategic priorities, which do not always align with India’s. Nostalgia for the old Indo-Soviet strategic relationship cannot substitute for an assessment of present-day geopolitical realities.
What is particularly worrying is that this worldview is also being passed on to a younger generation as strategic wisdom. There is a difference between understanding American power and making America the explanation for everything that goes wrong in the world.
JD retweeted
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is a compulsive liar. He invokes the arrival of Indian troops in Srinagar on 27 October 1947 while omitting what happened five days earlier. On 22 October, Pakistan sent Islamist fighters to invade Jammu and Kashmir, unleashing murder, looting, rape, and abduction on Hindu and Sikh minorities in the riyasat’s Muslim-majority districts bordering Pakistan. Kashmir’s Baramulla also witnessed horrific atrocities, with Muslims among the victims too. The Maharaja signed the Instrument of Accession on 26 October, following which Indian troops arrived on 27 October to repel the Pakistani invasion. Sharif’s version of history begins with India defending a territory Pakistan had invaded.
And speaking of suffering and repression in free Jammu and Kashmir while ignoring Pakistan’s role in decades of violence is rich. Pakistan-backed jihadist terrorism has cost countless Kashmiri lives and devastated families and communities. Kashmiris have paid a terrible price for terrorism exported across the border and sustained by Pakistan. Meanwhile, in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, protests demanding political rights, economic relief, and accountable governance were met with a crackdown that left at least 24 people dead in June 2026 alone. Sharif condemns India while ignoring both Pakistan’s role in Kashmiri suffering and the grievances of people under Pakistani occupation.
He condemns the incarceration of so-called Kashmiri political leaders, activists, and human rights defenders. Does he extend the same concern to political dissenters in Pakistan and protesters in PoJK? The continuing military crackdown there exposes the consequences of challenging Pakistan’s authority.
Sharif accuses India of changing Jammu and Kashmir’s political, legal, and demographic character while expecting Pakistan’s actions in occupied territory to escape scrutiny. Why does he demand international scrutiny of India while Pakistan’s atrocities in PoJK go unquestioned?
Sharif invokes UN resolutions on self-determination while ignoring their conditions. The UN framework envisaged the cessation of hostilities and the withdrawal of Pakistani Islamist fighters and military regulars who had entered Jammu and Kashmir to unleash terror. Pakistan cannot invoke a proposed plebiscite while ignoring the steps that were supposed to precede it.
Sharif pays tribute to Kashmiris who have suffered and sacrificed. But Kashmiris are not a political prop for Pakistan. The victims of the 1947 invasion, families devastated by jihadist terrorism, and people living under Pakistani occupation are all part of this history. Pakistan cannot claim to speak for every Kashmiri while ignoring those who challenge its own rule.
Sharif promises Pakistan’s moral, diplomatic, and political support for Kashmiris. What about people in PoJK demanding political rights, economic relief, and freedom from Pakistani occupation?
Sharif wishes Kashmiris peace, dignity, and security. Yet Pakistan continues to evade accountability for the 1947 invasion, the jihadist terrorism that has devastated Kashmir, and the grievances of people under its occupation. Jammu and Kashmir cannot remain an instrument of confrontation with India while Pakistan ignores the rights of people challenging its own rule. Sharif’s message accuses India at every turn while keeping Pakistan’s own record out of the picture.
Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif's Message on Jammu & Kashmir Black Day, 27 October 2026.
Seventy-nine years ago, Indian forces landed in Srinagar, marking the beginning of a tragic chapter in the history of Jammu and Kashmir, one that continues to cast its long shadow over the region to this day. Since then, the people of Jammu and Kashmir have been denied the realization of their inalienable right to self-determination, as affirmed in the relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions.
The people of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) have endured immense hardship, suffering and repression. Yet their courage, resilience and unwavering resolve to secure their fundamental rights remain undiminished. The sacrifices of successive generations stand as a powerful testament to their enduring commitment to freedom, dignity and justice.
India has continued its efforts to suppress legitimate political expression and silence the voices that represent the aspirations of the Kashmiri people. The prolonged incarceration of Kashmiri political leaders, activists and human rights defenders remains deeply concerning. It underscores the need for due process, respect for basic liberties, and greater international attention to the situation in Jammu and Kashmir.
Since 5 August 2019, India has taken a series of unilateral measures in IIOJK, accompanied by sweeping restrictions on fundamental freedoms. These measures, affecting the political, legal and demographic character of the territory, have drawn serious international attention. Pakistan has consistently called for these developments to be addressed in accordance with international law and the applicable United Nations Security Council resolutions.
Pakistan's position on Jammu and Kashmir remains clear, consistent and principled. Lasting peace and stability in South Asia cannot be achieved without a just and peaceful resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, in accordance with the relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions and the aspirations of the Kashmiri people.
On this solemn occasion, I pay tribute to the countless Kashmiri men, women and children who have offered immense sacrifices in pursuit of their rights. Their memory will always be honoured. The aspirations of the Kashmiri people cannot be extinguished through coercion or repression.
On this Jammu & Kashmir Black Day, the Government and people of Pakistan reaffirm their unwavering solidarity with the people of IIOJK. Pakistan will continue to extend its moral, diplomatic and political support to the Kashmiri people, and to advocate for their legitimate rights at every national and international forum.
May the people of Jammu and Kashmir realize a future of lasting peace, dignity and security, and the fulfilment of their aspirations, including the right to self-determination.
JD retweeted
As a member of the minority community from Jammu and Kashmir, I had to hear Farooq Abdullah’s words twice because I could not believe a man of his stature had said them. Speaking to workers in Baramulla, he claimed that Pakistan keeps our identity alive by raising Kashmir at international forums and that Islamabad is protecting us.
Protecting us? Pakistan has given this land graves, grief and gunfire. It sent terrorists who drove minorities out of the Valley, orphaned our children (Hindus and Muslims alike) and left families afraid to live in their own homes. Too many in Jammu and Kashmir have cremated or buried their loved ones because of the violence Pakistan has fuelled.
And look at how Pakistan treats the subjects of Jammu and Kashmir who live under its occupation. In Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK), people protesting for their rights have faced deadly violence. A local rights body counted 80 deaths by early August, while residents put the toll much higher. Does their suffering count for nothing? Is Pakistan’s international rhetoric more important than the lived reality of the people it claims to represent?
Farooq saab is a veteran politician who knows exactly what Pakistan’s role in Jammu and Kashmir has meant. The question is: how long will he be allowed to make such statements without being held politically accountable? This is precisely the kind of politics that has allowed Kashmir’s entrenched political elite to use Pakistan’s hostility as leverage against New Delhi, while expecting no accountability for their own words.
The Centre has often appeared content to treat him as a harmless veteran politician. But his words have consequences, particularly for those of us who have lived and are still living with the cost of Pakistan’s hostility.
If the government still does not act against him, it should at least demand accountability from the National Conference leadership, including his son and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah. Jammu and Kashmir has bled enough. Its people deserve better than to hear the country responsible for so much of their suffering being praised as their protector.
JD retweeted
Very interesting remarks. Marco Rubio draws a parallel between US engagement with Pakistan and India’s ties with Iran, arguing that Washington needs to engage with Islamabad given Pakistan’s nuclear status and strategic geographical location. He further suggests that maintaining ties with Pakistan gives the US leverage to discourage actions by Islamabad that concern New Delhi. The rationale is a notable departure from the position Rubio took as a US senator, when he advocated cutting aid to Pakistan.
JD retweeted
Pakistan’s land borders, as of this weekend:
🇮🇳 India: closed, hostile, unresolved.
🇦🇫 Afghanistan: Durand Line in constant exchange of fire.
🇮🇷 Iran: trade halted at Taftan and Gabd-Rimdan, with some 2,000 trucks stranded and LPG supplies for Karachi in question.
🇨🇳 China: open, but the Khunjerab Pass is on borrowed time as winter closes in.
This is what strategic encirclement looks like, except Pakistan did most of the encircling itself.
And we were told this was the era of brilliant Pakistani diplomacy. A Field Marshal who could charm Washington and even manage Trump. But what good is winning over the West if you have managed to alienate nearly every single neighbour on your own borders?
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Link to the article: theprint.in/opinion/pakistan…
JD retweeted
Are Asim Munir’s personal ambitions drawing Pakistan into one strategic blunder after another? Read my analysis for ThePrint.
