We can't speak symbolically because that makes us inaccurate

We can't lament because we're not providing solutions

We can't provide solutions because they will not work

We can't refer to society or trends because that means we're generalizing

The cruelty of our civil service is a logic that was built by Lord Cromer, grandfather to Sir Evelyne Baring, the governor of Kenya who oversaw the Mau Mau concentration camps during the 1950s.

The sadism of the civil service and bureaucracy in Kenya has a long history.

Lord Cromer is considered the guru of civil service bureaucracy. He was so instrumental that even the Americans took lessons from him.

LC indirectly argued that civil servants must have no compassion or connection to the people who live where they are sent.

LC said that London must be the center of empire and must dictate how the empire runs. However, civil servants sent to far areas of the world would adopt the "defect" of seeing issues in their local context and forgetting London's interests.

The other thing LC instituted was profile of the hollow, colorless and inhuman bureaucrat. Because the British empire was the appointed incarnation of the Roman Empire, civil servants had to forget their own humanity and lay it at the service of empire.

Another cruelty LC introduced was secrecy and silence. Civil servants were never to reveal their real intentions. They were to avoid being noticed, and they were to avoid putting anything in writing. They were to operate under the radar as much as they could.

Corruption doesn't start at the public purse. It starts at the basic idea that people can be stupidly rich from no work of their own, but of others.

So until we deal with the monstrosity of the title deed, we will not fundamentally address corruption in Kenya.

That system of stealing people's work starts with the title deed.

What is a title deed? It is not the land. It is the legitimacy of her majesty the queen to own and decide what happens with land.

When someone has a title deed, they are saying that the queen has allowed them to use that land mentioned in the deed, and that the queen is committed to using force to validate that deed.

The problem is, who gave the queen the authority to guarantee use of the land?

The only way she got is is through stealth. Or what others politely call "enclosure."

What is an enclosure, and why is it a form of corruption?

Imagine we are that romantic non-colonized village that our elites like to con us about. We live next to a forest. The forest provides our food, fuel, building materials and trade. And through our culture and rituals, we replenish the forest, hold it sacred and protect it.

A few weeks ago, I asked this question: since Muigai doesn't respect the 2010 constitution, why is he invested in #BBInonsense, and in getting Kenyans to accept? He can just run for another term, send cops to kill people, the US will support him and he will remain in office.

The great #KOT explained this to me: #BBINonsense isn't about destroying the constitution. It's about destroying the story. Unfortunately, the only story which we use to challenge Muigai is the constitution.

We don't know our history, we have no theology, our arts are commercialized, our cultures are corrupted, and our education is destroyed. The last pillar standing between us and full scale uthamaki fascism is the Constitution 2010.
#BBINonsense #UhuruinSagana

I honor the lawyers and those working hard to ensure #BBINonsense doesn't happen. But I hallenge us in the arts, in faith, in history to do our work to spport those in law with philosophical, theological, artistic and educational arguments against #BBINonsense.

If Magoha can say, despite the constitution, that kids should be caned, it means that education is completely spineless. #uhuruinsagana #BBInonsense

MAHARAANI TARARANI: THE QUEEN OF MARATHAS

Rani Tarabai was the brave daughter-in-law of Chhatrapati Shivaji and one of the greatest medieval Monarchs India ever had.
She was born in 1675 to one of the bravest commander-in-chiefs of Shivaji's Army named Hambir Rao Mohite.

Tarabai was just 8yrs old when she was married to Shivaji's younger son, Rajaram. Mughals and Marathas were constantly at war with each other. Shivaji was crowned the ruler of the Independent Maratha Swarajya in 1674 which was established by him.

However,the great leader died in 1680&the Maratha Samrajya went into a complete&total chaos.Marathas saw some very tough times ahead. In 1689,when Raigad Fort fell to the Mughal Army of over 15000,Shivaji's first wife Saibai and his elder son Sambhaji were captured&put to death.

Sambhaji's wife and son Shahu were taken prisoners to the Mughal court. During the same battle, Shivaji's second son Rajaram(Tarabai's husband) , who was the heir to the throne now, managed to escape using a disguise. He made his way to the Gingee Fort in Tamil Nadu.

Mughal General Zulfikar Khan, however, followed them to Gingee laying siege to the Gingee Fort. From 1690-1698,This was the longest siege by a Mughal Army of any Fort which stands testimony to the military and diplomatic credentials of Rani Tarabai.

#Thread
An interesting story of Kamala Devi hazarika for all Sanatanis...🙏

A Xtian missionary was sent to Assam for the promotion of religion. His name was Cruz. He came across to one the boys from an influential family in Assam to teach him English.
@noconversion

Cont 👇

The p@stor slowly began to study the house and he learned that the boy's grandmother was the most influential person in the house. So he thought 'Corrupting the grandmother's mind can make the whole family Xtian as well as the whole village.

Cont 👇

The p@stor began to tell Grandma the stories of how J€$u$ cured leprosy of lepers, how He gave sight to the blind, etc..But after listening to him, the strong Sanatani grandmother said. A stone turned into a living woman (Ahalya) for our Rama when he touched the stone.

Cont 👇

She spoke of Rama setu where stones floated in sea just by writing his name on the stones and that they are still floating today.
The p@stor continued his efforts but all his tricks went in vain.

Cont 👇

One day he had brought a cake from the church and he thought of offering it to grandmother but he was doubtful that she would eat it. But contrary to his expectation, she took the cake and ate it.

Cont 👇

Did you know?

When Saudi Arabia's King visited India in 1955, PM Nehru ordered all the Hindu Temples and Idols of Hindu Deities that came in Saudi King's way to be covered up.
Our temples are the architectural marvels in their own league.

Each of our temples tells the story of our rich history and cultural heritage. Was Nehru that ashamed of his own nation's heritage that he had to cover them up or there was some other reason? The answer would be best known to him only.

PM Nehru invited the then Saudi King Saud bin Abdul Aziz to India who accepted the invitation and planned a 17 day long official visit to India in 1955. Saudi King had brought a large delegation with him and he had to visit various Indian cities like Mumbai, Hyderabad, Agra,

Aligarh, Shimla, Mysore and Varanasi. However, when Saudi King reached Varanasi, Nehru ordered to cover all the temples and Idols with curtains that came in the way of the Royal Convoy. During his stay in Varanasi, Govt buildings were painted with the words "Kalma Tayyiba".

'Kalma Tayyiba' means 'There is not God but only Allah and Mohammed is his messenger'. In addition to it, Pooja and Aartis were also stopped at temples. I can call it the appeasement politics of the highest order and Nehru was indeed the greatest appeaser of all times.

Mahabharat - the great war - 18 days of heroism, deceit, blood and intrigue - now as a mega Twitter thread.

I'll add the events from a few days of the war each day.

Caveats: lots of editorialization, creative liberties and interpretations.

There will also be a lot of asides - especially around war strategy and tactics, the characters and their motivations and non-canon storylines.

Over the years, I've read multiple versions, phenomenal translations and modern retellings. So be prepared for a potpourri.

There are different ways of looking at this war. Was it a family feud? Sure - but whose family? Shantanu's or Satyavati's? Was Vyas essentially telling us his family history? And then Kunti added a twist to this tale. Here's a helpful chart:

Satyavati's two sons from Shantanu both died without children. Vyas - her first son - fathered Dhritarashtra and Pandu (and Vidur).

Pandu never fathered any children. Kunti and Madari gave birth to six demi-gods (Karna and the five Pandavs).

So Satyavati Vs Kunti and Madari.

Or was this a fight between two massive neighbouring kingdoms - the Kurus and the Panchals? While many smaller kingdoms joined the battle, most of the Pandav army (more than half of their 7 divisions) came from the Panchals. King Drupad and his son Shikhandi led two divisions.