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Mains 2021 Result declared - In or Out?

@SergioRamos Lol, Jaipur?


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@Purplesunbird meine bas map pe dekha hai, bagal mein kabristan lag raha tha isliye laga kahi ussi ki baat toh nahi ho rahi :P
Turns out I’m not the geoguesser I thought I was XD


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Anyone else have Dholpur House as their centre? 
We were told on both days that people tested positive for covid and couldn’t give the paper. 
One wasn’t allowed in on the essay day, at least 1 positive case yesterday (didn’t give rest of the papers) and 1 today in our hall. 
Across the 3 days several people coughing, no social distancing, not even proper masking up. 
Don’t want to complain but UPSC in their press release said that people with symptoms would be seated separately, nothing of that sort. 

Hopefully the centre doesn’t become a hotspot :/
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@Murali tbh what you just said doesn’t need a ‘certified nutritionist’ tag :P


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@Murali yeah certainly not but for a sedentary lifestyle it’s okayish enough. As far as my experience goes, without whey supplements it’s very difficult for a vegetarian to get their daily fill of protein to gain muscle mass. 


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Delhi vaalon, any suggestions how to let off steam? Some relatively less known places to visit, good places to eat, anything!
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@DM this is the perfect weather to enjoy Delhi my friend!


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@sjerngal the cafe looks quite nice, thanks!
Lodi gardens is really close to where I live so definitely going to give it more than a few visits now 


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@Xiodyn8261 perfect! Just what I was looking for, thank you mate :D


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@KingSlayer23 very curious to know what your diet is


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@Arsene my comments were typed while I was eating a rasgulla 😬


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I’m just here for the inevitable ‘USA bad because…’ when China decides to invade Taiwan and how Pooh didn’t have a choice because of a threat to their sphere of influence.


Quite amusing seeing how people are able to water down years of complex geopolitical issues and decide their own villains.

All I have to say is my heart goes out to people who’ll lose their lives, their loved ones, people who’ll have to face severe financial, emotional and physical problems for the years to come just because they have no say in the political games of the elites.

Restoring the glory of USSR, restoring the glory of Germany, history being repeated but how, a farce or a tragedy?

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News feed the past few days

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Deleted


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@Villanelle honestly, I’ve seen a lot of the same talking points on Reddit. Broadly we view this issue from 3 vantage points: one’s the western version, vastly dominating the online sphere, easily winning the propaganda war; second is Putin’s version, for his allies and the citizens in support and the third is what I’d call the pragmatic view. 
If you believe the western version, this ‘invasion’ has no justification at all, it’s very cruel and basically the second coming of Hitler. 
If you believe the Putin version, the West is out to get Russia and the old glory of USSR must be restored.

Now look at this issue from broad lenses. Putin’s hand is, to quite a large extent, forced. Given enough time, Ukraine would have joined NATO, no country should be okay with the neighbour inviting the enemy at your doorstep. This is pretty much very well understood in international diplomacy, isn’t it? We’ve ourselves seen the ramifications of Nepal and Sri Lanka, to name a few, getting close to China. He could have done it earlier but felt the time is ripe now, COVID, a predictable and non-impulsive USA president, it’s own economic power driven by their energy resources etc. 
Saying that it’s given countries even more reasons to join NATO is simply ignoring the inching progress they’ve been steadily making already. Expecting Russia to simply play the diplomatic waiting game isn’t realistic because they aren’t stupid. 
Condensing these actions as just Putin being deranged is simply revelling in western propaganda. He’s time and time again shown that he’s not a stupid leader set out for world domination. Attacking him on his appearance, his supposed ‘cancer’ diagnosis, his mental infirmity, his desperation etc would be simply falling prey to western propaganda. I’m using this word a lot but it’s during this conflict that I’ve truly grasped what power this big P word possesses. 
Just some time back a large section of western social media used to be so obsessed with Neo-Nazis, to the extent that everyone not supporting a particular line of thought was branded as one and subsequently flooded with ‘cancellation’ messages. What changed? It’s factual information that the initial offensive was against these Neo-Nazis, so why is the media mute about all this? Why isn’t Zelenskyy being condemned for his tacit support for these groups?
Only a few months ago we saw the incident of USA bombing ‘ISIS terrorists’, actually turned out to be little kids. No sanctions? No UN resolutions? No lectures on humanity and morality by the ever superior blue eyes white overlords of the Western Hemisphere?
Didn’t USA assassinate an independent country’s general recently too? Most of the western countries are or have been embroiled in large conflicts on foreign soil, almost all of them uninvited. Where’s the same level of condemnation then? No sanctions, nothing. 
But dare some other country take decisions for their own selves.

Saying Russian people don’t support this war, according to who? The section of the media that wants you to believe that this is entirely due to actions of a single man who’s lost his bearings? 
During USA’s Vietnam misadventure, there were large scale protests. Didn’t mean that people didn’t support the war still. I’d reckon it’s the same for Russia. While they won’t have a 100% approval, there’s certainly around 70% or more of the population that would support their country. That’s just my personal analysis so don’t ask me for sources on this. 

Russian teams are getting kicked off tournaments, individuals are losing possessions, businesses are being boycotted. Russia is the big bad once again. A month back the same oligarchs were being courted by the same politicians, these same politicians help important board portfolios in big Russian companies. 
These actions aren’t driven by a change of heart, would have been nice if they were. But I now refuse to believe a single word of the ‘news’ that’s being put out by the popular media, since it contains narratives that their politicians want everyone to believe.

Russia is the aggressor in so far their actions are concerned but not when the whole conflict is being discussed. They aren’t the victims but neither is Ukraine. It’s only being looked at as the victim because it’s the smaller guy. They played their cards, they challenged Russia and now when Russia is replying they’re playing the victim card. 
The real victims are the common people. Ukrainians are getting killed, Russians are getting killed, both facing economic hardships and none of it has been decided by them. 

Russia will win the territory war and the west will win the information war. 
As Indians, this is a good warning for us. We can’t forever rely on the current global economic, corporate and social media systems. You never know when they can decide to turn on you.


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I thought illustrations meant diagrams so I drew diagrams of the scenarios I could think about like a comic strip
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D503said

» show previous quotes

muje lagta hai paisa aur kai cheez sirf bahana hai

sirf paise se log bewkuf nai banenge

they capture the minds of people by ideology also

they have some formula for winning

Pesa is God in todys world. Koi Akshay Kumar yuhi aakey PuBG ban hone par Logo ko appease krne ke liye fake FAUG nhi announce kar deta, ya PMCARE fund ka phla donor nhi bnata. Theres a quid pro quo. To conduct propaganda you need influencers , you need dedicated workers who can spin all kind of wild conspiracy theories, you need to cultivate a new breed of intellectuals who can talk about vision ias jihad and such nonsense while keeping a solemn face, you need FB executives who don't ban groups propagating hatespeech and genocidal calls so as not to mar their business prospects with the ruling party, and not to forget you need pliant news anchors ready at a whistle to push your propaganda and dehumanise opponents. All of this requires money. money may not the only factor but it's an important factor. Waki apni apni views hai yaar.


itna lamba chauda mat likh bhai abhi focus kam hai

😂

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This will ruffle a few feathers but this judgement and the reaction to it shows how distinctively anti-Indian a very large section of Muslims are. 
The court asked the petitioners to prove that hijab is an essential practice which incidentally finds no mention whatsoever in the Quran. All it asks for us to be dressed modestly. To my understanding, Hijab as a cultural artefact has gained prominence in the recent times, post the increasing dominance of the Saudi theologians. 
On a personal observation basis, Hijab wasn’t so prominent as recently as 10-15 years back. 
Yet the way Muslims are reacting to this verdict, calling it ‘apartheid’, ‘nazism’ and what not just shows how ‘Indian’ they truly are.
No respect for the rules and laws of the land and that too in favour of what is largely a cultural import from a foreign nation. Since when did objects of patriarchy become a symbol of power? Only in the Muslim world I guess. 
I’ve always maintained that a reform against the hijab must originate from Muslim women themselves. Today I can confidently say that in order to chase the ‘persecution dopamine’, Muslim women are completely willing to subject themselves to ‘loving patriarchy’ in the name of ‘culture’. 
The colleges maintained a stand they’ve had since forever, wear what you want outside the gates, inside, you wear the uniform. A stand that’s been very consistent. Now with the rise of institutions like PFI, you suddenly see all these new formed ‘existential’ issues for Muslims. Surprisingly (or not), the so called educated, ‘intellectual’ elite are on the wrong side of the debate (again).
I don’t consider myself an opportune feminist, my stand is clear, under no pretext must objects of patriarchy be justified. Ghungat, Purdah, Hijab and the ilk have no other justification for their existence outside of dictations by men who have traditionally held power. ‘It’s religious’, ‘it’s our faith’ has no argumentative standing. 

Courts and laws have broken down what were forever considered essential religious practices even before this country officially existed. Why can’t the great learned feminists and Muslim intellectuals recognise what the real problem here is? I haven’t seen one person from the famous intellectual cabal decry the creeping imposition of hijab. 
I’m a Hindu but I’m an Indian first, I didn’t burst crackers on Diwali because it’s not an essential practice and it harms the environment, I don’t believe in casteism because it’s not an essential practice, I couldn’t keep long hair at school because it’s not an essential practice. All this requires respect for the law of the land. On the other hand, despite court orders, loudspeakers are still growing in number- no power can get them to even lower the volume; new controversies are routinely being generated as evident from this hijab fiasco. 

Funnily enough, it’s now the state that’s denying these ‘bright’ girls education by not allowing them to wear the hijab in college. 


 Absolutely baffles me how people don’t see a problem with this
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@Akkku which violence are you talking about? Last I checked, protest was legal in the country. Even in that case, though I support the judgement, that was a blatant overreach by the judiciary imo. Additionally, wasn’t one of the petitioners a Muslim? What role does she have in a religion and a sect that doesn’t concern her? 
Plus, the situation we’re talking about isn’t comparable. But of course this is the kind of whataboutery expected from your ilk of spineless cowards.
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Akkkusaid

@necromancer Haha. Irony! 

You think violence in form of preventing women forcefully to not enter in blatant violation of SC judgment is a protest.

But, you are the same person who is perturbed by someone opposing today's judgment peacefully and mark it is a anti-India.

Epic!


Eh, I’ll bite. 

Today’s judgement was simply a trigger. It’s just one in a series of continuous observations I’ve made over the years. Hijab = not Indian culture, didn’t originate here, a foreign import growing in prominence due to the rising Saudi influence on Indian Muslims. Court declared it non-essential to Islam->reaction of the Muslim community like their very existence is now under threat and that it is a continuation of a series of ‘encroachments’ of their faith (prayer in mosque etc.). Had the court gone the other way and declared it essential, would you have supported it? Do you know what that means? That every Muslim woman is now bound to wear the hijab. The court simply upheld what was always the norm, hijab isn’t essential, never was; rules on uniform in educational institutions takes precedence over religion. Here I’m not even going into the debate if hijab should even be used or not. 

You raised up the Sabarimala issue. A sect that follows its own practices, on their own religious premises. An issue which has no elements of comparison except that the broad concepts of court and religion is involved. None of the devotees had any problem, the people who raised the issue did so based on their own personal motivation. They weren’t devotees and had no role. Even then, the cultural practice that was followed had a local origin. Where I can easily construe why they’re so willing to defend this practice. This doesn’t hold for the hijab case, does it? 

If you want to raise the Sabarimala issue, why not raise it in conjunction with entry of women in mosques? Why is a Muslim woman petitioning for an entry to a temple she has nothing to do with instead of campaigning for her sistrens and their entry to mosques?

I see no point in comparing these two cases.

The only irony I see here is a Muslim woman supposedly fighting against patriarchy for an entry to a particular temple vs Muslim women fighting for a permanent imposition of patriarchy on themselves. 



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RaGasaid

Minatosaid

tg vale kal ka bolrhe h 

Bhai upsc walo ne khud bol rakha hai, fir bhi agar ye haal hai to kya hi bole..😸


UPSC ne fir palti maari hai :P

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In

2nd attempt, 1st mains, Anthropology

Will be very honest, wasn’t expecting this at all because my 1st optional paper went horribly.

To those who didn’t make it, I’m not the one you’ll want to hear comforting words from but keep your head high, take a couple of days to digest your emotions. If you’re giving another attempt, give it your all, no self doubts. 

If you’re out of the race, this isn’t everything. Life definitely has better stuff waiting for you, hard work never goes in vain! 

Those who cleared, congratulations! Hopefully we all see each other on the final list :)

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