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Dr. Audrey Truschke
@AudreyTruschke
Associate Prof of South Asian history | Activist | hindutvaharassmentfieldmanual.org | Tweets academic + educational + critical | Anti-fascist
Dr. Audrey Truschke’s Tweets
Third year in a row that USCIRF has recommended India be designated a "Country of Particular Concern."
This is a testament to the worsening situation in India and that some of us -- many of us -- wish to do our part to confront the growing horrors. #India #HumanRights #Modi
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So far today, I’ve had terrible coffee and a travesty of a sandwich, but manuscripts are on the way.
#worthit #manuscripts #archive #research
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The archive beckons, and it has been too long…
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Odisha: No Arrests Yet of Bajrang Dal Members Who 'Attacked' Ambedkar Jayanti Rally
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Letters to the Editor: Hindus against hate | The Indian Express
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"The time is long overdue for Hindus around the world to break our collective silence..."
Just published in - our statement featuring Hindu religious leaders from 6 countries speaking out against rising anti-Muslim violence in India.
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Criticize as you like (short of slander, hate, and threats please -- I've had a lot of those today). If you want a historian to listen, criticize through peer-reviewed scholarship. But there's no need, really. I'm well aware of the range of scholarly opinions on this point.
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Let me address this.
One, I'm not speaking to the "entire Sikh community." My Twitter feed is for folks interested in what a historian has to say, regardless of your religious identity.
Two, I wrote a book. Check the notes, find the Persian sources if you like. To criticize...
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You are a professor at Rutgers University. If you are going to make a historical case, shouldn’t you cite your sources at the time of post so the entire Sikh community can actually address it? You didn’t do that. What you did was very unfair and leaves no space for real critique. twitter.com/audreytruschke…
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If you believe something as a matter of faith, then you can rest on that. You aren't obligated to engage with historians. But it is neither reasonable nor efficacious to ask us for reverence, deference to your faith, or to stop doing our jobs.
#HistoricalMethod
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There's a lesson here for all of us.
If you disagree with a historian, that's great. Cite and argue in good faith. Take your opponent at their strongest, not their weakest. And rely on evidence. Otherwise, you make a mockery of what you seek to protect.
Alternatively...
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I've gotten some irate, hate-filled messages today that are upset with my historical views on Tegh Bahadur's execution. One thing that is cringe-worthy about this is as follows --
There's a legitimate historical argument on this point, and the haters undercut their own side.
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Historian Romila Thapar on what she’d like her legacy to be:
“I would like there to be a generation that goes on asking questions.”
ft.com/content/43ee0b #History #India
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Awesome stuff here, on the digitisation of an important Mughal archive
Digitization of Akhbarat – Royal Asiatic Society #Aurangzeb #archive #Persian
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What is University of Chicago doing?
Reminder that U of Chicago has financial ties with the Indian government. There have been accusations of Indian government meddling in university affairs (e.g., the Vivekananda Chair) for years.
#UChicago #BJP #highereducation
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asked if someone close to govt of india had pressured them. no response yet
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One way to distinguish Hindutva (a political ideology) vs. Hinduism (a religion) --
Aurangzeb (a mythologized Aurangzeb anyways) is critical within Hindutva ideology. In contrast, he's a rather minor figure, at most, in the history of Hinduism.
#Hinduism #Hindutva #Aurangzeb
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In a room full of top editors and journalists , to draw their attention to the persecution of Muslims in India and the dictatorship no one talks about. And to get a standing ovation from the icons of the profession. This one is for the Washington Post
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Why do I share this stuff?
To analyze. To educate. To not be so alone. And to take away its power. The idea is that I should be embarrassed as a female target of harassment. I reject that. Instead, I see reason for the attackers and their supporters to feel great shame.
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These sexist attempts to silence a scholar trade on widely shared social norms around female sexuality.
Do you share some of those norms? We all do, and it is important to address how sexism out here in the wilds of social media finds parallels and even support in other arenas.
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These are attempts to silence a woman in the public sphere.
If you care at all about public discourse, perhaps public-facing scholarship specifically, then join many of us in contending with the negative impacts of this maligning and attacks.
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Today's edition of #misogyny hate mail, specifically focused on trying to demean a female scholar by sexualizing her.
I get this stuff every day. Here's why you should care about it --
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Headline that also would've worked pretty well in the 11th century --
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On the anti-Muslim violence underway in India, how it might unfold, and the role that some American universities are playing in platforming its architects.
scroll.in/article/102210 #Hindutva #Modi #India #HigherEd
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Alright folks, that's a wrap. Sorry I didn't get to all the questions. Until next time...
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Seems like a good moment for a Q and A --
What are your questions on being a historian who works on the Mughals and other premodern Indian subjects. I'll answer as many good-faith questions as I can for a bit; maybe some bad-faith ones too.
#Mughal #history #historiography
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The world is full of amazing things, like people who think they're arguing with a historian on Twitter without citing any evidence, whatsoever. Truly adbhuta.
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There's actually conflicting reports on the location in premodern sources. If you read Persian and were a Mughal historian, you'd probably know that.
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Your historical reading is totally crash. Guru Tag Bahadur beheaded in Delhi twitter.com/AudreyTruschke…
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History aside, we should talk about modern times -- Why is a Hindu nationalist PM talking about a Mughal emperor who died over 300 years ago?
Because he's indicating approval for taking "retribution" on present-day Indian Muslims. It's part of the Hindutva violence machine.
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For those who are upset by this reading of what was, I have argued, a political affair for the Mughals, a gentle reminder that I interpret Tegh Bahadur's execution as a historian. As such, I follow the evidence, regardless of how I or anybody else feels about it.
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The Aurangzeb dog whistle, back again.
Honestly, my historical reading of this 1675 execution (which may or may not have been in Delhi, btw) is that no religious identity would have saved Tegh Bahadur from Mughal state wrath.
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Red Fort is witness that Aurangzeb, tyrants like him might have beheaded many people but our faith could not be separated from us: PM Modi
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"While Kashmir may not be in the nightly news, what's happening there deserves world's attention & it's an example of how PM is taking India in the wrong direction in terms of human rights & democracy."
~ US Rep. at Congressional Briefing on Kashmir
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The Hindu Right loves lawsuits against people who tell the truth --
Note that Gabbard spoke about this on Tucker Carlson's show, which always platforms a white supremacist and recently platformed an anti-Asian racist. The right wing flocks together.
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Sitting MLA in India is arrested over a tweet criticizing Modi by (correctly) pointing out his ideological similarities to Godse, Mahatma Gandhi's murderer.
theprint.in/politics/gujar #Godse #Modi
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It's on Twitter, so it must be true. #goodlife
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No problem at all as @AudreyTruschke pulls in a deep fly ball to the warning track, 3 outs!
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Join me & & & Abhishek Amar for Digital Archives of Asia hosted by April 22 1-3 PM ET I'll be talking about and how we preserve, interp, and make accessible histories and cultures of Asia+diasporas
Reg. link -
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Historical research can be rather tedious at times, but it’s worth it.
I’ve spent much of today going through land grants to Brahmins in medieval south India, an archive they bores me to tears except for moments when it offers searing clarity on social structures and changes.
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Starting now! Make sure to tune in, we'll be live-tweeting the briefing below ⬇️
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Our Special Congressional Briefing on Kashmir is starting in 1 hour! Join us: tinyurl.com/Briefing20April
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Relief efforts at #Jahangirpuri #Delhi
If you know about any affected person whose small business has been destroyed in the demolition, please contact us (comment/DM). We will try to help them in restoring their livelihood (thela, stall etc).
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I received emails this morning with the below subject lines; inside were threats of violence.
Folks, the anti-Semitism of the Hindu Right doesn't come into play all that frequently, but when it does, it is terrifying.
#Hindutva #Antisemitism
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