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. Indian Americans Are Very Afraid in a Way That They Haven’t Been Probably Since the Post 9-11 Era

    1 DAY AGO

    Indian Americans Are Very Afraid in a Way That They Haven’t Been Probably Since the Post 9-11 Era

    With the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) picking up immigrants  especially brown looking people, and even deporting them, a climate of fear has built up among the Indian community, says Sravya Tadepalli.    “Indians are the third most undocumented community in America,” says Tadepalli, deputy executive director of Hindus for Human Rights (HfHR). “Among Indians there is a perception that we are all here legally, as tech workers, doctors, but many Indians are not in a position of privilege,” she says in a podcast conversation with Sidharth Bhatia.   Many organisations are working on educating Indians of their rights vis a vis ICE, she says. HfHR runs a Know Your Rights programme. “We’ve operated at Hindu mandir’s in New York City, coordinating with 10 of them and distributed Know Your Rights cards, conducted training.”  HforHR claims it is the ‘only Hindu organisation working to protect our community from the viciousness of ICE violence.’ Pointing out that organisations like Hindu Swayamsewak Sangh, which is linked to the RSS, “cares more about hating on Muslims rather than supporting Hindus. I’ve never seen a statement from the HSS about ICE. I've never seen any actions from the HSS about ICE. So that should tell us something.”  She emphasises that HfHR spreads “progressive Hindu ideas. We have monthly discussions, called Baithaks for Liberation, where people talk about Hindu liberal ideas, which promote inclusivity, equality, diversity.” This emphasis on the “social justice principles of Hinduism can weaken the stronghold that Hindu nationalists have.”

    39 min
  2. Piyush Goyal lied or was ignorant when he said GM items won’t enter India

    5 DAYS AGO

    Piyush Goyal lied or was ignorant when he said GM items won’t enter India

    We present two separate interviews, packaged as one, with Ashok Gulati, Distinguished Professor at ICRIER, and Avik Saha, National President of the Jai Kisan Andolan, on the question has India been successful in ensuring that genetically modified produce or its derivatives are not given access to the Indian market? The government insists that is the case but could there be room for doubt? We explore the extent to which there is credible room for doubt. Both guests believe that traces of GM material will enter India. Mr. Gulati believes this will almost certainly be the case when we import Dried Distillers Grains from America and could be the case (we are not sure) when soya oil is imported from America. Mr. Saha is fairly sure that it will be the case both when DDGs and soya oil are imported. This means that when the Commerce and Industry Minister, Piyush Goyal, told a press conference on Saturday that “no genetically modified items will enter India” he was not correct. Mr. Saha inclines towards the belief that Mr. Goyal lied or was misled. Mr. Gulati believes that Piyush Goyal probably didn’t know that DDGs contain traces of GM and was perhaps only talking about the direct import of American soya and corn rather than their derivatives.

    42 min
  3. Ramachandra Guha on Why India is Becoming a Hindu Pakistan; He Calls It “Medieval Barbarism”

    8 FEB

    Ramachandra Guha on Why India is Becoming a Hindu Pakistan; He Calls It “Medieval Barbarism”

    Historian, author and political commentator Ramachandra Guha, believes that India is becoming a Hindu Pakistan and that the treatment of Muslims is a form of “medieval barbarism”. He says: “India in 2026 is as close to being a Hindu Pakistan as it has ever been … in politics and in the law, in symbol and in substance, in word and in deed, India is … becoming ever more like Pakistan, except that here it is Hindus, and not Muslims, who rule over fellow citizens who are of other faiths.”

    39 min
  4. IN If BNP Wins Bangladesh Elections Tarique Rahman Will Improve Relations With India

    5 FEB

    IN If BNP Wins Bangladesh Elections Tarique Rahman Will Improve Relations With India

    In exactly a week, on the 12th of February, Bangladesh will hold what The Economist calls its first proper elections since 2008. Foreign policy expert Shafqat Munir, a Senior Fellow at the Bangladesh Institute of Peace and Security Studies, says that if the Bangladesh Nationalist Party wins, as is widely expected, it’s 60-year old leader, Tarique Rahman, will seek to reset and improve the relations with India.

    24 min
  5. PM wrong, this isn't an historic budget; it’s unremarkable and doesn’t tackle economy's problems

    4 FEB

    PM wrong, this isn't an historic budget; it’s unremarkable and doesn’t tackle economy's problems

    In an interview to discuss and analyse Sunday’s budget, economist, former Chief Statistician and former Country Head of the International Growth Centre Pronab Sen says the prime minister’s description of the budget as historic is not correct. Instead, Sen described this as “a business-as-usual” budget which he called “unremarkable”. Asked how well the budget has tackled the problems the economy faces, Sen made clear that it has not done so effectively. He said he couldn’t see “the bada boost” to job creation, which the prime minister identified in his post-budget statement. And Sen thought it was “irresponsible” for the finance minister to have almost forgotten about agriculture in her budget.

    38 min
  6. Ajit Pawar Was Secular but Ran With the Hare and Hunted With the Hounds; His Legacy is Development

    29 JAN

    Ajit Pawar Was Secular but Ran With the Hare and Hunted With the Hounds; His Legacy is Development

    In an interview to discuss the politics, personality and legacy of the former Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Ajit Pawar, who died yesterday in an air crash, political analyst Suhas Palshikar says he was secular and did not indulge in the Hindu-Muslim “bashing” associated with the Pawar’s ally the BJP. However, Prof. Palshikar says that Pawar’s style of politics was akin to “running with the hare and hunting with the hounds”. Palshikar says that history will remember Ajit Pawar for the work he did for the development of Maharashtra. In time the scams that were associated with his name or the alliance with the BJP will be forgotten or diminish in importance and what will be remembered is Pawar’s commitment to development.

    27 min
  7. BCCI’s Ego Responsible for Crisis Facing T20 World Cup; ICC is Damaged

    28 JAN

    BCCI’s Ego Responsible for Crisis Facing T20 World Cup; ICC is Damaged

    Sharda Ugra, who is widely considered India’s foremost sports journalist, says the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s ego is responsible for the potential crisis facing the T20 World Cup due to start on the 7th of February. As she put it: “The ICC is basically just the Dubai office of the BCCI”. The crisis facing the T20 World Cup emerges out of Pakistan’s threat to boycott this event. Mohsin Naqvi, the head of the Pakistan Cricket Board and the country’s interior minister, has indicated that Pakistan will decide about its participation on Friday or, even, as late as Monday. Ugra says the ICC has mishandled the present crisis, which began with Bangladesh’s demand that its matches be held in Colombo rather than Kolkata and Mumbai but, actually, goes all the way back to BCCI’s instructions to Kolkata Knight Riders to drop Mustafizur Rahman from their team. She says without Pakistani participation (if that happens) the T20 World Cup would be damaged and its credibility is “out of the window”.

    21 min
  8. For Trump Might is Right and the Rest of the World Has to Adjust to That Reality

    19 JAN

    For Trump Might is Right and the Rest of the World Has to Adjust to That Reality

    The Interview With Karan Thapar

    39 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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