"More than 300 years after the death of Aurangzeb, whose full name was Abul Muzaffar Muhi-ud-Din Mohammad Aurangzeb..."

"... allies of India’s Hindu nationalist prime minister, Narendra Modi, have demanded his grave be removed. For Modi and his allies, the legacy of the Mughals, who ruled India for some six centuries, is a byword for the subjugation of Hindus by a foreign occupier. Udayanraje Bhosale, MP for Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Maharashtra, the state where Aurangzeb is buried, urged the authorities to 'send a bulldozer and raze his grave … he was a thief and looter'....For many Hindus, Aurangzeb was cruelty incarnate. Under his reign, from 1658 to 1707, Hindus were raped, butchered and forcibly converted by the Muslim dynasty. Aurangzeb was a devout Muslim and chose an austere lifestyle, unlike other Mughals.... Aurangzeb... specifically instructed that it should be plain and unmarked, unlike the monumental tombs of Akbar, Humayun and Jahangir, as well as the Taj Mahal — commissioned by Aurangzeb’s father, Shah Jahan, to house the resting place of his wife Mumtaz Mahal...."

From "Modi’s nationalists demand destruction of ‘thief’ emperor’s tomb/An MP from the ruling BJP party called for bulldozers to be sent to the grave of Aurangzeb, a move seen as part of the erasure of Islam from Indian history" (London Times).

"Thank you all for being here and now, uhh, who am I introducing next? Who’s next?"

Said the President of the United States — who is he? uhh, whatsisname? — quoted in "Awkward moment Biden fumbles, snaps at staffers after forgetting he was supposed to introduce Indian prime minister to stage" (NY Post).

We really don’t have a president.

Biden completely FORGOT he was at a press conference with the Prime Minister of India.

The entire world is laughing at us.
This guy is COOKED. pic.twitter.com/useM07uh0R

— Gunther Eagleman™ (@GuntherEagleman) September 21, 2024

ADDED: Yeah, seriously: Who is President?

"A daylong affair featuring popular singers, dancers and pounding music under a blazing sun, the 'Namaste Trump' rally was an unabashed homage to Mr. Trump."

"His name and image appeared on dozens of banners and billboards throughout the stadium and outside its grounds.... The event catered to Mr. Trump’s taste for a giant crowd. It also made vivid an image the leaders are jointly cultivating as larger-than-life, unapologetically brash figures leading their countries to bright new futures — even as their critics accuse both men of encouraging caustic nationalism and abuses against minorities.... Ahmedabad did not deliver the 10 million well-wishers that Mr. Trump has said Mr. Modi promised to turn out — television images suggested tens of thousands, not millions in the streets."

The NYT presents the Trump-in-India story, which it does not put at the top of the front page. The top story, in the NYT view, is the continuing spread of coronavirus.

By contrast, the Washington Post puts the Trump-in-India story at the top:

Clicking through on that headline, we get "Live updates: Trump touts $3 billion U.S.-India defense deal at massive rally with Modi." Sample text:

Following a 13-mile roadshow, President Trump arrived at Sardar Patel Stadium known as Motera stadium, to the cheers of more than a 100,000 people. Roads had a festive air with cut-outs of Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, flags of the two countries and colorful balloons. Onstage, Trump in a suit and neon yellow tie waved to crowds and hugged Modi. Trump’s daughter Ivanka was mobbed for selfies by excited spectators....

Abhishek Parihar, 18, a university student, heard about the event at a tutoring class and jumped at the chance to see the prime minister. “I am very excited to see Modi,” he said. And Trump? “Yes, him also,” said Parihar. Trump is a “very nice person and he was a successful businessman. And he is the best friend of Modi.”

"The moment I stand in reverence before every human being and see God in him, that moment, I am free."

Said Donald Trump, quoting "the great religious teacher Swami Vivekananda," in his biggest-ever speech— to a crowd of over 100,00 — in a cricket stadium in India.

The speech begins around 1:27:00, and it begins with extolling the greatness of India, but let me pinpoint 18 seconds, when he deals with religion. He's just said that Indians and Americans believe that "every person is endowed with a sacred soul" and this belief unites our 2 countries:



Vivekananda connected the idea of seeing God in every person to one's own individual experience of freedom, and Trump continues the leaps of reasoning in a quick sequence, and the last thing on this list gets a massive cheer from the crowd:

1. Seeing God in everyone.

2. Freedom!

3. We're all here to strive for greatness.

4. Bollywood! 

ADDED: I had to look up the name Vivekananda, if only to spell it right (Trump carefully pronounces: Vee-vay-kuh-mun-nuum).  From the Wikipedia article "Swami Vivekanda":

The Beatles did it in the 1960s, and now...

"Donald Trump Is Going to India to Find Himself/Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India is the American president’s spiritual home: an inferno of systemic cruelty" — NYT headline.

Sample text:

Last September at a rock-concert-like rally at a Houston football stadium, Mr. Modi and Mr. Trump walked hand-in-hand, the two stocky strongmen looking like brothers-in-arms. Certainly, nowhere in the world can Mr. Trump encounter a profounder fraternal spirit than among India’s present rulers. India under them fulfills, to a startling degree, the American president’s irascible fantasy of what the United States should be: a country cravenly surrendering its traditions of law and decency before a perpetually inflamed and ham-handed autocrat....

Irascible Fantasy.... a good album title.

Has anyone ever written "irascible fantasy" before? I'm so entranced by the phrase that I do a Google search. I get 9 hits, including the current NYT article, which is the second hit. The first hit is:

"Oh Lucky Country," Rosa R. Cappiello - 2009 - ‎Australian fiction: "My interest-disinterest in the love-they-neighbor routine is poised on the outer fringes of my awareness. I never remember, to begin with, the place where visions run ceaselessly, frozen and mediocre. From the depths it is easy for me to reach into my irascible fantasy, to give it free rein, and if necessary, to isolate myself within it...."

Hit #3:

Lee Seung Gi's K-fanclub Mocks Up Smexy Hwayugi Posters ... koalasplayground.com › 2017/11/19 › lee-seung-gis-k-fanclub-mock... Nov 19, 2017 - He's set to play the (in)famous Monkey King Sun Wukong, and in this narrative he's the arrogant irascible fantasy being that's now living in the ...

Something about "Smexy" makes me afraid to click. I'll just look it up in Urban Dictionary. Oh! It means "Smart and sexy." Now, I'm not afraid to look up Monkey King Sun Wukong. Here's the Wikipedia article on the subject... with this photograph:



I'm far afield from India now, so let's move on.

Hits #4-9 all seem like spam, with "irascible" joining "fantasy" pretty randomly: "important health address to an irascible fantasy springs casino fireworks customer," "my favorite memory and irascible fantasy i love your new video's," "that is why the 2 Net wigs do irascible fantasy except in the recent book book."

Welcome to Saturday! May all your fantasies be as irascible as you want them to be. Good morning!

"The foreign strategy of soothing tensions with the United States by stroking President Trump’s ego was put into vivid effect here Sunday..."

"... when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi lathered praise on his American counterpart at a massive rally celebrating the Indian diaspora. The leaders of the world’s two largest democracies took the stage together in Houston before a roaring crowd of tens of thousands of Indian Americans, where Modi delivered an unmistakable endorsement of Trump’s presidency and cast their joint appearance in historic terms. 'His name is familiar to every person on the planet,' Modi said as he introduced Trump. 'He was a household name and very popular even before he went on to occupy the highest office in this great country. From CEO to commander in chief. From boardrooms to the Oval Office. From studios to global stage.' The prime minister then repurposed his own campaign slogan in India to rally support for 'my friend' Trump in the United States: 'Abki baar, Trump sarkar,' meaning, 'This time, a Trump government.'....  Once Trump arrived, live video of him and Modi walking down a red carpet winding through the bowels of the stadium played on the screens as a drum band played in anticipation of their grand entrance. The two strode onto the stage holding hands. As Trump stood at his side grinning widely, Modi said he admired Trump’s 'concern for every American, a belief in America’s future and a strong resolve to make America great again... We are witnessing history in the making.'"

WaPo grouses in "Trump plays unusual role of warm-up act at massive Modi rally in Houston." "Bowels" is a nice touch. Bravo, WaPo!

"He actually speaks very good English..."

President Trump on Indian Prime Minister Modi: “He actually speaks very good English, he just doesn't want to talk right now.”

Audience and Prime Minister burst out laughing. pic.twitter.com/FimDRLYhFu

— The Columbia Bugle 🇺🇸 (@ColumbiaBugle) August 26, 2019

"So, to quote from one of Dylan’s transformative anthems which holds as much meaning today as it did when it was first sung in the 1960..."

Said Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, addressing (by video) a crowd that had assembled for a Coldplay concert. He then quoted:

"Come mothers and fathers, throughout the land, and don’t criticise, what you cannot understand. Your sons and your daughters, are beyond your command. Your old roads rapidly agin’. Please get out of the new one, if you can’t lend your hand, for the times they are a-changin’."

People knew what he was talking about: demonetization. His address even had a joke about Rs 100 notes:

"You have been smart in asking me to only address the gathering and not sing, else I’m pretty sure your audience would be asking you for their money back, and that too in Rs 100 notes."

Social media reacted:

@IndianExpress #Modi ji, can people criticise if they understand?

— Arun Gupta (@GuptaarunArun) November 19, 2016

And other Bob Dylan songs are pressed into service:

Since Modi ji is quoting Dylan....
"Yes, how many deaths will it take till he knows
That too many people have died?"

— SamSays (@samjawed65) November 20, 2016

That's from "Blowin' in the Wind," quoted to refer to reports that demonetization in India is killing people. The new policy — imposed suddenly and meant to control black money and counterfeiting — is a ban Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 banknotes. So people have had to line up to exchange their large notes for smaller notes, like those Rs 100 notes Modi saw fit to joke about. And there are reports that more than 50 people have died waiting in bank queues.

"Libtard" is a portmanteau word, but of what? Liberal + ???

This topic arose in the comments to my post last night that took The New Yorker to task for publishing the sentence: "In India, Hindu supremacists have adopted Rush Limbaugh’s favorite epithet 'libtard' to channel righteous fury against liberal and secular élites." In fact, Rush Limbaugh never says "libtard."

I added: "'Libtard' is an offensive word, unnecessarily dragging in disrespect for the mentally challenged." I have always heard the word as a combination of "liberal" and "retard." But in the comments, MadisonMan asked: "Does the 'tard' come from retard, or bastard?" I think it's obvious: 1. "Retard" is often shortened to just "'tard" and no one ever says "'tard" to mean "bastard," and 2. The contempt expressed in the use of the word seems to be about stupidity and not orneriness.

Urban Dictionary confirms my understanding, in the top-voted definition and in all the competing definitions.

But here's an op-ed in the NYT (from 2014), "Testing the Ideas of India." See? It's India again.

The [the right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party's] dominance during this election campaign has had unexpected benefits, including reviving the belief that secularism is a value — even if it’s a value that needs reviving, and redefining. In rambunctious Twitter arguments, “sickular” is often used as a pejorative term, along with “libtard,” a composite for “liberal bastard.” This language, however extreme, is a sign that between the small but noisy groups of Hindu supremacists and the small but equally vociferous groups of committed left-liberals lies a vast middle ground.

I don't know if that columnist got it right, and who knows how the word "libtard" came into being in India? It didn't come from Rush Limbaugh, but did it come from other Americans? If so, was the "tard" misunderstood as connected to "bastard" or was the NYT op-ed writer — Nilanjana S. Roy — just innocent of the American word "tard" and making her own assumption? Roy is a novelist born, educated, and living in India. She's not a good source of the origin of the American epithet "libtard," which seems to have a life of its own in India.

When he met with Obama, Indian Prime Minister Modi was wearing a suit that looked like it had gold pinstripes...

... but those stripes were his name, embroidered over and over, in tiny letters.

The detail on narendra modi's "pinstripe" suit yesterday. via @Harneetsin via @sarvatragam pic.twitter.com/VmfrUwHMO0
— कनिका गहलौत (@kanikagahlaut) January 26, 2015

And that's not all:

When he met the president at the airport – a break from tradition – Modi was clad in a cream-colored outfit with a bright orange shawl with paisley at the ends draped over his shoulder. He donned a green safa with a large, red, circular plume and an orange scarf attached at the back to Monday’s Republic Day parade.

... During a reception in the lavish garden of the presidential palace Monday afternoon, Modi wore a bright orange shirt and a cream-colored shawl draped over both shoulders. He wore another orange piece at the India-U.S. CEO forum later that day – what appeared to be a vest with a neutral shirt underneath.

ADDED: For comparison: The "Fuck You" tie.

The Times of India catches Obama in "an ungainly sight" — chewing gum during the Republic Day parade in New Delhi.

He was also seen taking the gum out of his mouth while Prim Minister Modi was "trying to explain something." Was Modi trying to explain why you shouldn't chew gum during the Republic Day parade?

The Times of India includes some Twitter commentary:

[A]uthor Shobhaa De...  said, "Barack bhai working his jaws overtime and chewing gum! At least it isn't gutka. But seriously - gum during a formal parade?".

"Glad to see @BarackObama is so human. Like most Americans, he chews gum. Anyone know what brand?," was how noted film-maker Shekhar Kapur reacted.

"Barack bhai" — what does that mean? Yahoo Answers says it means "brother," but:

'Bhai' exactly means brother. But in Mumbai this term is used for gangster....

Now, what is "gutka"?

Gutka or Gutkha... is a preparation of crushed areca nut (also called betel nut), tobacco, catechu, paraffin, slaked lime and sweet or savory flavorings.... A mild stimulant, it is sold across India in small, individual-sized packets that cost between 2 and 10 rupees per packet. Gutka is consumed by placing a pinch of it between the gum and cheek and gently sucking and chewing... Many states of India have banned the sale, manufacture, distribution and storage of gutka and all its variants...

I guess Shobhaa De knew it wasn't gutka because the mouth action didn't include gentle sucking. As for Shekhar Kapur's question: "Anyone know what brand?" I, like most Americans, know that the brand is Nicorette.

"Last month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched an effort to have yoga become recognized first and foremost as an Indian practice grounded in the Hindu tradition."

"For India to effectively claim to own yoga, Modi would need to secure what’s called a 'geographical indication.'"

A geographical indication is a formal acknowledgement of location’s importance to a specific product—in the European Union, it’s what protects a fizzy beverage made in the Champagne region of France from imitators produced elsewhere...