Seema Chishti
@seemay.bsky.social
490 followers 83 following 87 posts
Journalist, Writer || Editor @thewire_in || Books - Sumitra and Anees: Tales and Recipes from a Khichdi Family | Note by Note: The India Story || Tweets mine ||
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Reposted by Seema Chishti
Unidentified men grabbing someone off the street and putting her in a car because she wrote an op-Ed. This as flatly authoritarian as anything we’ve seen in this country in a very long time.
Video of the international student at Tufts being arrested by "federal authorities" in Massachusetts has been released and it's terrifying.

They're not even uniformed officers. Just secret police thugs in hoodies and masks.

From WCVB: youtu.be/PuFIs7OkzYY
Reposted by Seema Chishti
Reposted by Seema Chishti
The foreign ministers of Japan, China, and South Korea held trilateral talks in Tokyo on Saturday, seeking to further cooperation and lay the groundwork for a potential leadership summit as the countries confront economic disruption and rising global political tensions.
Japan, China, South Korea Meet as US Tariff Pressure Rises
The foreign ministers of Japan, China, and South Korea held trilateral talks in Tokyo on Saturday, seeking to further cooperation and lay the groundwork for a potential leadership summit as the countr...
www.bloomberg.com
Reposted by Seema Chishti
Faculty, alumni, rabbis outside the Columbia Manhattanville campus this afternoon, condemning the detention of Mahmoud Khalil by ICE , and the University’s response www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGzx...
LIVE: Columbia University faculty, Jewish leaders condemn ICE detention of Mahmoud Khalil
YouTube video by Reuters
www.youtube.com
Reposted by Seema Chishti
#TheWireLive | Global Boom, Indian Bust: M.K. Venu Explains India’s Historic Share Market Crash

Zeeshan Kaskar in conversation with The Wire's founding editor M.K. Venu

Join here at 4.30pm: youtube.com/live/U84mSvD...
Global Boom, Indian Bust: MK Venu Explains India’s Historic Share Market Crash | The Wire LIVE
YouTube video by The Wire
youtube.com
Reposted by Seema Chishti
#Special: Modi Govt’s Plan for the ‘World’s Largest Museum’ Raises Many Red Flags

Little is known about the much-touted, controversial Yuga Yugeen Bharat National Museum set to come up in New Delhi, or about the future of the existing National Museum.
Special: Modi Govt’s Plan for the ‘World’s Largest Museum’ Raises Many Red Flags
Little is known about the much-touted, controversial Yuga Yugeen Bharat National Museum set to come up in the North and South Block buildings, or about the future of the existing National Museum. The ...
thewire.in
Reposted by Seema Chishti
“We were on the Titanic, and everyone knew it was hitting the iceberg.”

Eric Hobsbawm, on living in Berlin in the Thirties. Eerily resonant.
Reposted by Seema Chishti
I keep seeing takes like this marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevo...

1. I don't like the status quo on policy X
2. Trump is thoughtlessly blowing things up, including on policy X
3. It might turn out better after being blown up so 🤷

We're on the road to authoritarianism, not your preferred policy.
Reposted by Seema Chishti
The Wire @thewire.in · Feb 11
India, Globally: The Rupee, Persecution and an Ideology of Concern

A fortnightly highlight of how the world Is watching our democracy.
India, Globally: The Rupee, Persecution and an Ideology of Concern
A fortnightly highlight of how the world Is watching our democracy.
thewire.in
Reposted by Seema Chishti
The Wire @thewire.in · Feb 11
An Era of Darkness: How No Data Helps BJP’s Politics

The absence of data is not about academics and researchers losing out. It is actively helping the ruling party carry on with its politics without any roadblocks and preventing basic questions being asked of it.

@seemay.bsky.social ✍️
An Era of Darkness: How No Data Helps BJP’s Politics
The absence of data is not about academics and researchers losing out. It is actively helping the ruling party carry on with its politics without any roadblocks and preventing basic questions being as...
thewire.in
Reposted by Seema Chishti
The Wire @thewire.in · Feb 10
In Manipur, a Pawn Is Sacrificed to Save the King

Why exactly did the national leadership of the BJP, which had been throwing its weight behind Biren Singh, get him to resign?

Sangeeta Barooah Pisharoty✍️
thewire.in/politics/man...
In Manipur, a Pawn Is Sacrificed to Save the King
Why exactly did the national leadership of the BJP, which had been throwing its weight behind Biren Singh, get him to resign?
thewire.in
Reposted by Seema Chishti
Tomorrow, 12pm onwards, The Wire's team of editors and reporters will be live to analyse the #DelhiElection2025 results.

Join us for real-time updates and insightful analysis here:
www.youtube.com/live/552eBpg...
www.youtube.com
Reposted by Seema Chishti
Completely agree.

But can we stop saying "illiberal" when these figures are actually coming for democracy itself, not just "liberalism" (seen by many as a distinct, problematic ideology, or a luxury addition to democracy, etc.)?
If illiberal leaders tell you they are going to “purge” the government, they mean it. I have been sharing this historical truth for a while now, and always some smug, semisophisticated pundit just waves it away telling not to overreact (in the Netherlands we have a lot of those)…
This is a hostile takeover of the federal government by a private citizen of unlimited means with no restrictions and no transparency. Welcome to the Deep State www.reuters.com/world/us/mus...
Reposted by Seema Chishti
Reposted by Seema Chishti
We like to pat ourselves on the back because of the antiquity and richness of our civilisation.

Yet, when it comes to preservation and conservation, no one seems to care.

This piece in the Economic Times is just the latest example.
Reposted by Seema Chishti
Point is not that every move by aspiring autocrats is tactical or strategic genius. Important not to fall into the trap of "authoritarian inflation," i.e. overestimate these figures.

Point is that much of our political language obscures agency altogether.
Norms don't just "erode;" democracies don't just "slide."

It's conscious destruction and direction.

Actors have agency.

Which means: One can hold particular people accountable.

"Processes," not so much.
Reposted by Seema Chishti
Reposted by Seema Chishti
7yo: “I have encouraged everyone in my class to believe in Santa because parents definitely don’t have time to buy all those presents. Certainly not for Christmas.”
Reposted by Seema Chishti
Love it when bookshops or libraries arrange their books appropriately...
Reposted by Seema Chishti
This lack of oversight of emerging AI technologies, keeps me awake at night.

We made this same mistake w/ social media. Its lack of oversight has led to harmful effects on our mental health & it has been weaponized by nefarious actors to manipulate public opinion & elections.

When will we learn?