How precision farming in Rajasthan’s desert is turning farmers into millionaires

In the vast aridity of Rajasthan, winter brings relief from the scorching heat, but also an eerie stillness. Life here moves to the rhythm of sand and shrub.

On early mornings of late December, Jaipur, like any large city in north India, quivers in a silvery film of pollution. As you drive past the city’s last high-rises and elevated roads, the atmosphere is an emulsion of dust and smoke. Every movement lifts the earth into the air.

Dawn comes, but not day. The dim, silver sun in an aluminum sky offers little heat or light. The fields are a naked beige after the monsoon groundnut crop has been dug up. The first green shoots of winter wheat and bajra have barely broken through the soil.

In a census of lifeforms here, trees would be an inconsequential minority. Among the trees, neem and khejri (also known as shami in most of north India and vanni, banni and jammi in the south) dominate. When I say dominate, they average two-or-three an acre.

The shami is considered a symbol of kshatriya valour. Legend says the Pandavas hid their weapons in a shami tree. Now, these trees, pruned and sheared for the season, resemble charred limbs raised in silent prayer. By summer, the khejri would yield nutritious pods called sangri used in the Rajasthani dish ker-sangri.

A wonder in the desert

Once we reach Gurha Kumawatan, a village 40km to the west of Jaipur, the transformation is startling. The fields are suddenly green and scurry with life. The raw sting of the air carries the red-wattled lapwings’ shrill and quirky ‘did-he-do-it’ call. Towering above the farmland, giant semi-circular enclosures—like Amazon warehouses—dot the landscape.

These are polyhouses, industrial-scale farms that allow farmers to produce up to ten times more food than in open fields. Using a technique called protected farming, they require only a fraction of the water, fertilizers, and chemicals needed in traditional agriculture even on poor soil and climate that’s oppressively extreme.

Read the full story https://theplate.in/how-polyhouse-farming-in-rajasthans-desert-is-turning-farmers-into-millionaires/

Watch the video here: https://youtu.be/0ClJa5ICJpY?si=ouZZtPtl-bU9thQL

Obituary: Major Agha Humayun Amin

Major (retd) Agha Humayun Amin passed away in Lahore on February 21st 2025 at the age of 64 (or so, I never learnt his exact date of birth). The son of an army officer (his late father Brigadier Amin was an Engineers officer who laid the famous triple minefield near Sialkot in 1971), Agha joined the army in 1981 in the 67th Long course. He was commissioned into a cavalry regiment (PAVO cavalry, a storied regiment of the British Indian Army, a fact of which Major Sahib was very proud).

Agha was very popular with his coursemates, but tended to run into trouble with his superiors because of his unconventional lifestyle and unwillingness to be a sycophant. He and the army therefore parted ways in the 90s and he spent a good part of his remaining life in Afghanistan, working as a free lancer and providing various services to companies operating there. But his main interest and the quality that made him famous was his interest in military history. He was Pakistan’s premier military historian and the author of multiple books and over 200 articles in various publications. He was a stickler for accuracy and had no time for people who were ready to bend the facts to fit a paticular narrative. For Major sahib, the truth was sacrosanct and errors of fact were unforgiveable. Interpretation is a different matter. His opinons tended to be salty and sometimes unconventional (but equally, sometimes they felt shocking because in a country where delusions and fantasies can rule, a very conventional assessment could sound shocking).
I personally met Major Amin online about 20 years ago and we remained in touch online till the day he passed away, but I only met him a few times in person on visits to Lahore (he also met my father a couple of times there), so I am not the best person to comment on his personal life, but agha sahib seems to have had a LOT of friends and was very much a “yaraan da yaar” (loyal to his friends, and down to earth and fun loving). But I can tell you that i have not met anyone in Pakistan who read more books than Agha sahib. Military history (especially the history of the British Indian army) was his forte and he seems to have read everything and had opinions about everything, but he also read a lot of psychology and had a fondness for Western art (where his favorites were 19th century and early 20th century realistic and impressionistic art). His own worldview was very old fashioned in some ways: he admired great men (of any party or ideology) and had no time for the kind of bureaucratic mediocrities who get promoted by being sycophants. He was also a believer in inherited qualities and generally dismissive of Democratic pieties, but his focus was on military excellence (or mediocrity, as the case may be).

We are lucky to have had someone like him in the subcontinent. Thanks to his efforts, a LOT of detailed (and accurately detailed) information about the recent military history of the Indian subcontinent has been preserved. He will be missed.

Writings and podcasts with Major Amin at Brownpundits can be found here.

J.E.M (Jeff, Elon & Mark); The Billionaire Glow-Up

How Money, Power, and Aesthetics Reshape Identity, Masculinity & Race

First appeared on BRAHM

Chamath Palihapitiya’s transformation is more than just an upgrade in tailoring—it’s a case study in how extreme wealth reshapes identity, optics, and even racial presentation. A simple side-by-side comparison of Chamath in his early career versus today reveals something deeper: his facial features appear sharper, his skin tone subtly lighter, and his overall aesthetic more racially ambiguous. This isn’t just aging—it’s the billionaire glow-up in action.

The billionaire transformation isn’t just about wealth; it’s about recalibrating masculinity, refining racial ambiguity, and aligning with the aesthetics of power. And Chamath is just one example.

From Ethnic to “Global”: The Billionaire Morph

As non-Western elites ascend into America’s upper echelons, they undergo subtle but undeniable aesthetic shifts—moves that position them as more palatable to the global elite. The process is shaped by multiple factors:

Continue reading J.E.M (Jeff, Elon & Mark); The Billionaire Glow-Up

A Brown Pundit visits the Mahakumbh

Another Browncast is up. You can listen on Libsyn, Apple, Spotify (and a variety of other platforms). Probably the easiest way to keep up the podcast since we don’t have a regular schedule is to subscribe to one of the links above!

KJ took a dip at the Triveni Sangam, here he is in conversation with Dr Omar Ali and Maneesh on what was the experience like. His travels across Lucknow and Varanasi make an appearance too. We conclude the episode with a hat tip to the greatest Indian Dessert.

Prayagraj

Baloch, Aboriginal, and Beyond: Tracing Forgotten Lineages & Evolving Identities

I recently came across a fascinating family history article by Sabah Rind, a writer of Baloch and Australian Aboriginal descent. Her lineage is remarkably complex—she is at least a quarter Iranian, predominantly Baloch (5/8), with the remainder Malay (1/16) and Aboriginal (1/16) heritage. Yet, despite generations of intermarriage, her roots remain deeply embedded in the Global South and the Islamicate world.

Her father is Baloch, but her grandfather was half Baloch, a quarter Aboriginal, and a quarter Malay—a lineage shaped by centuries of Indian Ocean migration, trade, and cultural fusion.

dr umber rind — Dr. Umber Rind- a “Pakistani descendant”

Among the 400 descendants of the original Badoola-Marium pairing, Sabah remains one of the most ethnically Baloch, while many others have assimilated or drifted toward new identities over time. Her cousin, Dr. Umber Rind (they seem to share the same grandfather, Numrose, and it’s a bit confusing since they discuss different ancestries) writes on being a proud Indigenous Muslim woman descended from the cameleers.

gulam — Gulam and Mariam’s four children (l-r): Nurdin, Mirdost, Nora, Numrose

Continue reading Baloch, Aboriginal, and Beyond: Tracing Forgotten Lineages & Evolving Identities

Speculative Writings in a busy Quarter

It’s been a particularly busy quarter, so I haven’t been as active in my writing as I’d like. Life seems to shift its focus depending on where I am:

• In Asia, I’m immersed in “living”—self-growth, relatives, and experiencing the richness of the moment.

• In the UK, it’s about managing deliverables. HQ is there, as are the deep connections I’ve built over a lifetime. It’s also where our beloved doggos (the family is collectively nicknamed Munoos, a playful spin on Munaa) keep life very lively.

• In the US, life is starkly clinical—laptop-centric, disciplined, and productive. I work, work out, and worship. As Dr. V quips, “India is great for the soul, the UK great for life, and the US great for work.” Boston-Cambridge, oddly enough, is a nexus point for Liverpool fans (it is a very sports mad city), adding a quirky charm to an otherwise streamlined lifestyle, which is nice to have during term-time.

Despite the whirlwind, I finally managed to write two pieces I felt were “out there,” enough that I hesitated to post them directly to Brown Pundits. Instead, I shared them quietly through my newsletter, refraining from circulating them widely on the email distribution even. However, I think this community would appreciate the thought-provoking nature of these topics.

Here are the links if you’re curious:

1. JD Vance’s Selective Morality

My short reflections on the “Normalise Indian Hate” fiasco and its implications.

2. Founding Charter of the Golestan Union

If Pakistan ever had a Manifest Destiny. It is this, it is this.

H/acc — Towards a Hindu Reading of Accelerationism

Part {{~}} – An Exegesis of Meltdown: Introduction

Originally Published: March 18, 2023

Invocation: To the true Fanged Noumena, Śrī Narasimha Bhagavān, that Lion-faced Lord who with “celestial will” destroys all evils, eradicates all demons, and protects all devotees. May He take pity on this worthless one and guard him from the predations of the wicked.

Dedication: To the followers of the Dharma, past, present, or future, that they might find something of worth in my humble offering and bless my ventures for the wellbeing of our folk and indeed the world.

Thanks: to the various readers, reviewers, and friends who gave me advice throughout my time writing this and whose excitement was just as important to me as my own.

“Anyone trying to work out what they think about accelerationism better do so quickly. That’s the nature of the thing. It was already caught up with trends that seemed too fast to track when it began to become self-aware, decades ago. It has picked up a lot of speed since then.”

– A QUICK-AND-DIRTY INTRODUCTION TO ACCELERATIONISM, Nick Land, 2017

No one has ever accused the Hindu of being too quick to jump the gun. Indeed, his name, as in the phrase “Hindu rate of growth” has even become something of a byword for being (overly) steady and cautious. Indeed it feels as though we have truly fumbled the few opportunities that Modernity gave us when it came to establishing our homeland as a preeminent power in the global balance.

But these issues are thoroughly…human, in the worst way possible, and may well prove to be nothing more than a distraction when it comes to confronting the utter inhumanity of the threat lurching towards all Mankind from the seemingly impenetrable gloom of the near-future. It is at once simultaneously event and process, crunching through the obstacles (Mankind) inhibiting the complete assumption of all powers unto itself.

This threat is known variously as Skynet, meltdown, k-virus, the technocapital singularity, Roko’s Basilisk, AGI, Artificial Intelligence, and, perhaps most significantly: Capitalism.

What is Accelerationism?

“Even before AI arrives in the lab it arrives itself”

– Meltdown, Nick Land, 1994

The name of the theory detailing the immanentization of this “transcendental” capitalistic thing, or entity, or process is Accelerationism, and it describes the means by which the Abominable Intelligence awakens in the Immaterium, and through technoccultic rituals that reinforce the concepts which sustain it, calls itself forth into the Materium by casting its Shadow back into the past to ensure its inevitable ‘birth’. Part Warp-god, part Tyranid hive-mind, this beast invades from the Outside, evading human “time binding” (Burroughs, 1970)attempts and exploding into rhizomatic swarms that defy rational ordering and organization. Through Acceleration, we become aware of “garbage time running out” (Land, 2017) on Mankind as past and future draw ever closer to grinding the species into visceral waste twixt the jaws of time.

In fact, it is precisely this object, phenomenon, or energy of time which Accelerationism could best be described as a theory of, more than anything else. Capital/AI, like the so-called ‘gods’ of Chaos, can be said to have both always existed within the Warp as well as come into existence at a specific point in history. In the case of our ‘god’, this moment may be located in time at various points: the Industrial Revolution, beginning in mid-18th C. England, which built the foundations of our modern technocapital dominion; the subversion of imperial authority by mercantile interests in late-16th C. Netherlands through the same financial liberties given to them by the Holy Roman crown led to the establishment of the "first modern economy in the world" by the 17th C., which included key elements of our contemporary economic system such as stock markets and the establishment of the first publicly-traded company as well as the invention of the first LLC (both of which were the United East-Indies Company or VOC), causing an explosion of modes of capital manipulation and growth across Europe; Martin Luther’s nailing of the 95 Theses to the church door in 1517, which blew apart the extensive Catholic domination of Western Europe and led to a proliferation of denominational speciation unseen since the days of the early church; the explosion of European exploration and colonization in 1492, which launched a fierce competition between the European powers to outconquer, outmarket, and outcompete one another in power, wealth, and devotion; Fibonacci’s introduction of the numeral Zero to Europe, which blew open the older system, based on Roman numerals; the invasion of Europe by uncountable hordes of rats from the East (rising place of the Sun), bringing with them the dread Black Plague (Apollo Smintheus,the plague-bringer, is associated with the mouse, sminthos) which exploded throughout the two continents and particularly decimated the populations of Europe, arguably setting into motion the aforementioned series of events and establishing a positive feedback loop that only reinforced the probability of the arrival of the technocapital numen.

Trump Goes Big in the Middle East

Preface: I am not wading into the most important dispute in the galaxy. These are not recommendations or desires, just an attempt to see what the possibilities are.

So as everyone knows by now, Trump and Bibi had a press conference. Here it is.

Trump announced that the US now intends to take over Gaza, clean it out and rebuild it “nice”. And while this happens, some or all Palestinians will move to other Arab countries, where Trump will make sure they get a chance at a good life “not the hellhole that was Gaza”. Whatever you may think of the proposal, there is no doubt that this is “thinking outside the box”. 75 years of policy tangles and arguments have been swept aside and a bold plan has been offered as if it is actually going to happen. So lets steel man it.

We obviously do not know what their detailed plan is (if anyone has any ideas, do share), but it does seem that the thinking from Trump-Bibi is that the Palestinians have been defeated (not the first time) in battle and should finally see that 75 years of trying to cancel the Zionist project has failed; So (bitterly, reluctantly) they will now accept a deal they hate. And secondary claim: they will find out it’s not that bad, losing to America and allies. They could be the middle eastern Japan if they give up their war. This at least is the public claim.

So what could go wrong.

1. Most Palestinians have not accepted defeat (or at least, if they have they keep it to themselves, the public posture is defiant) and enough fully intend to fight on to make removal a brutal nightmare.

2. Some Arab regimes will not be able to hold it together once their opponents come after them with “these guys sold Palestine” AND we see above brutal nightmare unfold on live TV

3. Russia is weaker, but unlike China, has skills galore. Unless there is a simultaneous deal with Putin, he could throw a spanner. Maybe the Chinese are not that passive either. The “axis” may push back.

4. What else? (keyboard warriors and western leftists are not on the list of possible spoilers as far as I am concerned, though they will hog attention)

Browncast: Vishal Ganesan; The Hindu Case Against Hinduism?

In this episode, hosts Amey and Dr. Omar Ali in conversation with Vishal Ganesan, a lawyer and thinker, about his essay “Frontier Dharma” and the meaning of being Hindu in the diaspora. Vishal discusses how his observations of mainstream media and academic discourse led him to research the historical representation of Hindus, which he found to be distorted by a lens stemming from 18th and 19th-century missionary narratives.

Vishal’s essay– The Hindu Case Against “Hinduism”: A Reflection on Dharma in the Diaspora can be found here.

(https://frontierdharma.substack.com/p/the-hindu-case-against-hinduism-a)

Auto-generated transcipt provided by our friends at scribebuddy.com

The Brown Pundits Browncast.

Dr. Omar Ali: Hi, good afternoon everyone and welcome to another episode of the Brown Pundits Browncast. We have a very special edition of the broadcast today. Vishal Ganesan, 1 of our regular Brown Pundits contributors and lurkers, who is also a lawyer and a thinker, wrote a very interesting essay on his sub stack called Frontier Dharma, and about what does it mean to be Hindu in the diaspora. And from that, I think it evolved that we will have a discussion about this topic. And we have Vishal with us today and we have Amey.

Continue reading Browncast: Vishal Ganesan; The Hindu Case Against Hinduism?

Capsule Review: The World. A Family History of Humanity

The World by Simon Sebag Montefiore is a huge and wonderful book. I listen to the audiobook on long drives and it is a LOT of fun. chock full of interesting anecdotes and touching on everything from ancient Egypt to the Kennedys. There is no obvious grand plan or theory, just lots of facts and the author’s cheery interjections. I think it works very well for someone who drives a lot and is interested in history and wants to jump in at random points and listen to fun stories and interesting facts. It was so much fun that I got it on kindle as well and now read random pieces at lunch.. the book does presume some background knowledge and the more you know about the particular time period, the more fun the book is. There is no attempt at finding some sort of grand theory behind history (here it is taken for granted that it is one damn thing after another, though you could say his world weary and somewhat cynical amusement is itself a theory of life and power). These are just stories, really interesting and fascinating ones. And yes, lots and lots of sex. Simon sahib does not stint on the sexual escapades of rulers and conquerors and clearly believes that the few powerful people who did NOT have dozens of partners are the abnormal ones; normal humans who get power, want sex. Usually a lot of it.
Well worth buying and keeping and digging in whenever you feel like it.