Praṇay Manocha

When I heard the term 'Clive of India' I thought it was a stark example of how British & Indian historical memories diverge. Indians see Robert Clive as a villain who used conquest & treachery to exploit Bengal. That this monster is honoured with my country's name fills me with disbelief.

Are there any Palestinian-origin British people, or Palestinians living in the UK - here on Bluesky? I'd love to follow them. Please share their profiles if you know anyone please. Thank you!

None of the major parties in Israel support an independent Palestinian state.

looks like our strategy is to invest in stuff that will kill us. everyone is saying "10% chance AI will kill us all" - so what do we do? Invest heavily in AI others: "climate change will kill us"....so we build new oil and gas. bravo. just bravo.

Read the word ‘nadir’ in a book, implying the lowest point, and my Hindi brain thought: surely that’s wrong?! Turns out English ‘nadir’ comes from Arabic ‘nazir’ while ‘nadir’ is a different word in Arabic/Hindi, it means rare, precious, exceptional. Same sound, opposite meanings. Mind blown.

Press Club in Delhi this evening

Let's be clear, they wouldn't dare do this to a white Christian terrorist, no matter how evil. He's Muslim, and that's at the core of this. Trump has made the US a joke country. Absolutely barbaric. Even North Korea, Iran or China don't do this.

Vance has announced a ban on tech companies sponsoring green cards / visas for their workers because it was "taking jobs away from Americans". Most of these were granted to Indians...so you know what will happen next, right? These jobs will permanently move to India.

Andy Burnham please make this happen

If we all agree that the NHS is one of Britain's crowning achievements and health services should be free at the point of use, why not food? Why should food not be freely available to everyone? We can still have private food for those who want it. But most of us, we can eat healthy and free.

I'm only just discovering the layers of hypocrisy of Ed Sheeran and I'm a bit blown away

Reform says it wants to take us back to “the country that was”. What a lie. They want to tear up institutions this country helped create, turn our backs on Europe and abandon the international order we helped build. That isn’t patriotism. It’s national vandalism.

FromFB: Why aren't these part of the #NHS? Get rid of these billionaire leeches. Why are we still paying hundreds of millions a year for them to shake 2 or 3 hands a month? #Republic

THE INDEPENDENT: Lancashire councillor Nigel Swales has defected from Reform UK to Labour, saying Reform was embroiled in scandal and lacked a serious plan or leadership to deliver change. It is the first defection from Reform to Labour. - by Millie Cooke

Fewer international students means the fee burden will only keep going up. The problem starts when we start counting international students as immigrants, thus making the government want to reduce their numbers to bring "net migration" down, even though they each contribute £140K to the UK economy.

My brain is unable to reconcile with the irony of celebrations at the return of the Bayeux Tapestry to the very museum that hoards and denies access to historical treasures of so many other countries.

Remembered this delightful photo I took of Tibetan kids playing cricket at a refugee camp in South India. Brings me joy.

I've long argued that every newsroom should have an immigration correspondent who travels beyond Westminster to meet local communities, those on the frontline and, of course, new arrivals. Pleased to contribute to this excellent report @reutersinstitute.bsky.social.

Some good news. This still doesnt grant access to all worker rights (eg unfair pay, harassment etc) but skilled migrants' interests were ignored by recent worker rights' legislation and policy, so this is refreshing. PS: I could have used stronger worker rights when I arrived as a skilled worker

THE GUARDIAN: The UK’s “one in, one out” asylum scheme has not deterred desperate crossings: it has returned people to homelessness, violence and exploitation, pushing some to risk the Channel again. - by Diane Taylor

There are 47 people alive today who have won the Fields Medal, a top honour in the field of Mathematics. One of these people came as a refugee to Britain.

When supporting migrants, people often use terms like poor, essential, hard-working, desperate. These may be true, but why not use words like persistent, innovative, exceptional, inspiring - all of which are equally true.

Somehow, people with such inane opinions never have any problem funding the royal family. But Notting Hill, where 2 million people celebrate their culture for just one weekend? No no no 🙄

Norway is my favourite country in the world, but for all its virtues, the country has two deep flaws. 1. Its national wealth is based off oil. 2. It has a monarchy, which is at odds with the liberal, progressive values the country exports so enthusiastically.

Reform has already polled at a level at which First-past-the-post could turn roughly three votes in ten into majority government ** Nearly 100 Labour MPs already support a commission into electoral reform. We need more to come out in support.

Never forget.

Nay-Paul is colonial pronunciation by the way. Reject it. It's Nay-paal. It's very easy to switch to the correct way, try it when you're on your own, then keep it when you're with others.

Maybe this will inspire British politicians to adopt moderately bolder policies?