1/ Indians must have no confusion about how we reached impressive Covid herd immunity: "India’s masses didn’t have the luxury to ‘work from home’ and follow social distancing, but they might have silently built India’s herd immunity"

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."

Most elite Indians (primarily savarna white collar urban english medium educated folks like me) land on Western shores convinced that we are just as advanced and developed as these countries as a people. It's just "corruption" in India holding us back. Then reality hits. /1

We see that the West works better on a daily level, but not because of some mythical genetic or societal immunity to this mythical "corruption" villain. Cos there is corruption in Western politics too. They seem to have institutions and systems built over ages to minimize it.

But most Indians who reach these shores are engineer/mba/doctor types. Trained in secondary vocational type disciplines. So our default approach is to find a quick engineering type solution. We have almost zero exposure to sociology, psychology, economics, anthropology, etc.

I remember being like that. Engineer-MBA who thought that because my vocabulary and exposition skills were above average and my quant skills were above average, I deserve a seat at the table on any discussion. Be it climate change, public health, efficacy of vaccines, etc.

For anything, I thought I knew the best. Why was this Obama fellow not trying my absolutely brilliant healthcare reform plan that I have posted on a blog with nice tables and graphs and references to IIT and IIM slang? Does he not know I'm from an IIM? <1% acceptance rate!

The BJP Bhakt is more dangerous than the BJP itself. He uses the BJP to channelise his hate, insecurities, and biases against the minorities, political parties and all those who he disagrees with. In BJP he has found a voice which he had lost for 700 years. (1/22)

THREAD

1/n
Saturn in Shravana – Unfolding the hidden mysteries
 
Saturn is currently transiting the Vishnu’s own nakshatra i.e., Shravana.This transit of karma karaka carries a divine message of transformation which a common man might not understands. By the way of this article,

2/n

I want to take you to the transcendal journey where hidden clues about karma and destiny can be decoded.

I don’t want to complicate the things so let’s start from some general knowledge about the nakshatra of Shravana. The star of Shravana is ruled by moon according to

3/n

Vimshottari Dasha scheme and it is opposite moon’s own house of cancer. So, the first important thing to understand is that any planet which will be placed in the nakshatra of Shravana will aspect moon’s own house too. Here is the catch. As the planet is affecting the

4/n

cancer sign too which is natural 4th house of Kalpurusha Kundli, it will definitely impact our mind and emotions. #Saturn is a restrictive planet currently in own sign of #Capricorn. The Saturn transit through this sign is believed to bring gloom and depressive tendencies

5/n

all over the globe. Additionally, when it transits through #Shraavana, there is possibility of upheavals and major up and downs all over the globe. According to Brihat Samhita, Saturn in the Shravan star creates issues for the king’s officer or King’s chief Brahmin.