The Interview With Karan Thapar

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From incisive questions to insightful responses, the most definitive interviews that you need to watch out for.

  1. Claim passport only travel document serious mistake and govt should apologize: Justice Madan Lokur

    1 day ago

    Claim passport only travel document serious mistake and govt should apologize: Justice Madan Lokur

    Claim passport only travel document serious mistake and government should apologize: Justice Madan Lokur, former Supreme Court Judge, to Karan Thapar for The Wire. ......................................... One of India’s most highly regarded former Judges of the Supreme Court, who is presently Chairperson of the United Nations Internal Justice Council, says that the statement made by the government that an Indian passport is “only a travel document” and not proof of citizenship is “a serious mistake” and the government should apologize or, at least, clarify that this was an error. Justice Lokur points out that The Passports Act of 1967 repeatedly refers to passports and travel documents thus clearly indicating that passports and travel documents are not the same thing but two different entities. He says that “passports are accepted (by the receiving country) because they embody the issuing state’s assertion that the bearer is one of its own nationals … when the Republic places its seal upon a passport it’s doing more than permitting international travel. It’s formally vouching for one of its own citizens before the world.” That’s the critical message an Indian passport embodies and conveys. Justice Lokur also points out that if the government does not treat the Indian passport as proof of citizenship it could lead foreign embassies to deny visas to Indians until they can find some other way of proving their citizenship. This could create a major problem for Indian travellers and for those members of the Indian diaspora who retain Indian citizenship. Finally, Justice Lokur points out that Section 20 of The Passports Act, which permits the government to issue a passport to a person who is not a citizen of India if that is deemed to be in the public interest, does not weaken the argument that passports are intended for citizens but actually strengthens it. As he says, this is the exception that proves the rule. Justice Lokur also raises the question that if passports are deemed to be only travel documents then where does that leave diplomatic and official passports issued to ministers, government officials, ambassadors and, even, the Chief Justice of India and the Prime Minister of India? Are they just travel documents bearing a different colour and nothing more? If they are, on what grounds can ambassadors claim diplomatic immunity?

    26 min
  2. Starmer Will Resign, Perhaps Today, and Burnham Will Become UK’s PM

    24 Jun

    Starmer Will Resign, Perhaps Today, and Burnham Will Become UK’s PM

    Andy Burnham’s emphatic victory in a bye-election in Makerfield has probably sealed Keir Starmer’s fate as prime minister of Great Britain. Initially Starmer refused to go. In fact he repeatedly said he would fight to keep the job. But now there’s speculation he could resign as early as later today. So this morning we ask what do the next few weeks hold for him? What sort of prime minister has he been? And what can we expect from Andy Burnham? My guest is a former Editor at Large at CNN Ashis Ray.

    28 min
  3. 'The Real Trinamool is Mamata Banerjee and She Will Return to Power; The BJP is My Enemy till Death'

    24 Jun

    'The Real Trinamool is Mamata Banerjee and She Will Return to Power; The BJP is My Enemy till Death'

    In a strong and passionate defence of Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee, the well-known and highly regarded Trinamool Lok Sabha MP, Mahua Moitra, has forcefully said: “The real Trinamool is Mamata Banerjee and she will return to power.” Mahua Moitra said: “The Trinamool Congress is a Party that was started by Mamata Banerjee and gets its legitimacy, gets its vote, gets its mandate from Mamata Banerjee. So any so-called rebel or split, whatever there may be, they are not the Trinamool Congress. As long as Mamata Banerjee is alive and she is still involved in politics the Trinamool is the Trinamool.”

    28 min
  4. 'I’m no defender of Abhishek Banerjee; TMC's in serious crisis; ultimately Mamata is responsible'

    24 Jun

    'I’m no defender of Abhishek Banerjee; TMC's in serious crisis; ultimately Mamata is responsible'

    On the day the Trinamool Congress Party split at the Lok Sabha level in Delhi, following its earlier split at the legislature level in Bengal, one of its most highly regarded Lok Sabha MPs, Saugata Roy, has said that the Party is in serious crisis adding that he is no defender of Abhishek Banerjee and accepting that in the ultimate analysis Mamata Banerjee is responsible for what’s happened. However, Dr. Roy said that he would not himself defect from the Party and that those who had, whether in Delhi or Bengal, have done so as part of BJP’s Operation Lotus under threat and attracted by money.

    19 min
  5. Gymkhana Club takeover motivated by Govt greed, lack of democracy & destruction of institutions

    24 Jun

    Gymkhana Club takeover motivated by Govt greed, lack of democracy & destruction of institutions

    In a hard-hitting and unremitting interview, the former Law Minister and former Human Resource Development Minister, Kapil Sibal, who is also one of the leading lawyers presenting the Gymkhana Club’s case in Court, has said that the government is seeking to acquire the Gymkhana Club not on the grounds it has argued in its letter of May 22, 2026 but for three other reasons i.e. “Bureaucratic greed, lack of democratic instincts and destruction of institutions”.

    22 min
  6. Should Nirmala Sitharaman be removed as Finance Minister?

    24 Jun

    Should Nirmala Sitharaman be removed as Finance Minister?

    Is the state of the Indian economy “near-crisis”? Is weak private investment the key problem? Despite the government’s well-intentioned reforms are its deeper instincts and habits putting off investors? And is the solution changing personnel at ministerial, technocratic and bureaucratic levels? And does that in fact mean it’s time to replace Nirmala Sitharaman as Finance Minister? Those are the views of my guest, former Chief Economic Advisor and Senior Fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, Arvind Subramanian.

    31 min
  7. 'Rahul Gandhi’s a Dilettante, Lacks Commitment and Charisma, Unlikely to Ever Be PM': Ramachandra Guha

    24 Jun

    'Rahul Gandhi’s a Dilettante, Lacks Commitment and Charisma, Unlikely to Ever Be PM': Ramachandra Guha

    In an interview to discuss how he views Rahul Gandhi as a leader of Congress and Leader of the Opposition, the well-known and highly regarded historian, author and political commentator, Ramachandra Guha, says Rahul Gandhi is a dilettante, who lacks commitment and certainly lacks charisma and is unlikely to ever make it to Prime Minister of India. Ramachandra Guha says: : “Rahul Gandhi may be a good fellow; nonetheless, those who wish for a successful pushback against the hate-filled regime of the BJP should perhaps stop looking to him as their principal source of hope.” Ramachandra Guha adds: “As a prospective prime ministerial challenger to Narendra Modi, Rahul Gandhi lacks discipline, gravitas and a curriculum vitae.”

    31 min
  8. 'The Economy Seems to Be on the Brink of a Major Crisis - We Must Reduce the Fertiliser Subsidy'

    24 Jun

    'The Economy Seems to Be on the Brink of a Major Crisis - We Must Reduce the Fertiliser Subsidy'

    In an interview to discuss the cumulative impact of the Gulf War on Indian agriculture, Ashok Gulati, Professor of Agriculture at ICRIER and arguably India's foremost authority on the subject, says: “The economy seems to be on the brink of a major crisis". Professor Gulati is particularly concerned about how the fertiliser subsidy is likely to surge this year. He believes that it could balloon from 1.71 lakh crore to 3.0 lakh crore. He also points out that the cost at which urea is imported is $935 per tonne but it's sold at $70 per tonne. Professor Gulati points out that the time has come to end such freebies and he proposes three reforms which would help reduce the fertiliser subsidy.

    27 min
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From incisive questions to insightful responses, the most definitive interviews that you need to watch out for.

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