Sanjeev Sanyal, economist and member of India's Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council, found himself in an online spat on X after a controversial post, in which he likened the ongoing US political tension to the eve of the American Civil War.
On Thursday, Sanyal wrote on X, "The conversations in the US now resemble those of 11th April 1861. A dangerous time."
The conversations in the US now resemble those of 11th April 1861 ….. a dangerous time
September 11, 2025This was posted after a conservative influencer, Charlie Kirk, was killed at a campus event in Utah, leading to a wave of online political discourse.
Sanjay joined the bandwagon by likening the ongoing tension in the US to the American Civil War. However, his post was met with strong pushback from some American users.
One, identifying himself as Will Tanner, replied: “Wow, Sanjeev I don't remember your name in any histories of the war, or our politics at that time.”
Sanyal hit back, arguing that global conversations about U.S. instability were valid.
“Wow Will, no one from that time is alive and posting on social media. Americans comment on the rest of the world, and the rest of the world will comment on you. The rapid unwinding of social cohesion in US is a concern to the rest of us. Don't see why we cannot converse about it," he wrote.
Wow Will, no one from that time is alive and posting on social media. Americans comment on the rest of the world, and the rest of the world will comment on you. The rapid unwinding of social cohesion in US is a concern to the rest of us. Don't see why we cannot converse about it.
September 12, 2025Another critic, Le Roi Rouis, dismissed Sanyal's intervention. “There was no one named ‘Sanjeev' in our country in 1861. Don't lecture us about our history.”
The demise of Kirk is the latest in a pattern of escalating political violence in the United States. In the wake of his death, President Donald Trump, posting on his platform Truth Social, blamed the 'radical left' for Kirk's killing and announced that flags would fly at half-staff to mourn him.
A host of politicians across both Democratic and the Republic parties have offered prayers to Kirk and extended support to his family.
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