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. 1 day ago

    I hope Modi is defeated in 2029, like the PM in my first novel ‘The Actor’

    I hope Modi is defeated in 2029, like the PM in my first novel ‘The Actor’: Tavleen Singh to Karan Thapar for The Wire. ...................................... You probably know Tavleen Singh as a columnist and the author of serious political books. Today I shall introduce Tavleen Singh the novelist. Her first book, The Actor, was recently released. Set sometime in the future, it’s the story of India under an autocratic and dictatorial Prime Minister commonly known as Guruji. He’s a spellbinding speaker. He’s obsessed with himself. He’s ruthless towards his opponents and critics. And very conscious of his image in the media. Does that sound familiar? I suspect it’s meant to. Joining me now to talk about her book is Tavleen Singh herself.

    I hope Modi is defeated in 2029, like the PM in my first novel ‘The Actor’

  2. 5 days ago

    Haaretz expose of Netanyahu believable, his behaviour was “criminal”: Gershon Baskin

    Haaretz expose of Netanyahu believable, his behaviour was "criminal": Gershon Baskin, Middle East Director, International Communities Organisation and Israeli hostage negotiator, to Karan Thapar for The Wire. ....................................... The Hamas attack on Israel on October the 7, 2023 traumatised the country. 1,200 people were killed and over 250 taken hostage. In response Israel carried out what many consider a genocide. Nearly 75,000 have been killed and the Gaza Strip decimated. But now the Israeli newspaper Haaretz has revealed that Israel had advance warning and ignored it. Prime Minister Netanyahu was informed by the President of the Emirates about ten days in advance but allegedly did nothing. Is this story believable? If it is what are its full implications? My guest is the Middle East Director of the International Communities Organisation and the well-known Israeli hostage negotiator, Gershon Baskin.

    Haaretz expose of Netanyahu believable, his behaviour was “criminal”: Gershon Baskin

  3. 10 Sept

    BAPS has created outrage in France, embarrassed Macron govt, damaged India’s image

    BAPS has created outrage in France, embarrassed Macron govt, damaged India's image: Christophe Jaffrelot, Professor of South Asian Politics at Sciences Po and Professor of Indian Politics and Sociology at King's College, London ....................................... The decision to keep women away when a delegation from BAPS visited the Eiffel Tower recently has provoked outrage in Paris and headlines in India. That’s the subject I shall discuss today. The Mayor of Paris has called it unacceptable. Marine Le Pen, the French opposition leader, has demanded an inquiry. But has it also embarrassed the Macron Government? Has it damaged India’s image? And is it a result of the close relationship between BAPS, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Gujarat BJP? My guest is one of the world’s top authorities on Indian studies, Professor of South Asian Politics at Sciences Po in Paris and Professor of Indian Politics and Sociology at King’s College, London, Christophe Jaffrelot.

    BAPS has created outrage in France, embarrassed Macron govt, damaged India’s image

  4. 7 Sept

    Mohan Bhagwat’s speeches are confused and duplicitous, not proof Hindutva has changed

    Mohan Bhagwat's speeches are confused and duplicitous, not proof Hindutva has changed: Suhas Palshikar, Chief Editor, Studies in Indian Politics, to Karan Thapar for The Wire. ....................................... Several people have concluded after reading about Mohan Bhagwat’s speeches in America that he is genuinely celebrating diversity and even sounding like a new Jawaharlal Nehru. Is that the correct conclusion or is it misleading and even naïve? That’s the core issue I shall discuss today. My guest is the Chief Editor of Studies in Indian Politics, Prof. Suhas Palshikar.

    Mohan Bhagwat’s speeches are confused and duplicitous, not proof Hindutva has changed

  5. 4 Sept

    Q1 GDP growth “difficult to accept” but S. C. Garg is “conceptually illogical”

    Q1 GDP growth "difficult to accept" but S. C. Garg is "conceptually illogical" and completely wrong: former Chief Statistician, Pronab Sen, to Karan Thapar for The Wire. ....................................... Today we focus on the recently released Q1 GDP figure. It’s created a storm of controversy. So we ask is the 7.8% figure credible or, as former Finance Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg has said, should it be 2.6%? Beyond that why do we frequently overestimate GDP growth? And how accurately are we calculating GDP? My guest is the one man who should know the answers to these questions, India’s former Chief Statistician, Pronab Sen. In the interview, Prof. Sen suggests that for the next five years the government should issue GDP growth figures according to two separate series, one that uses the old series as the base and the second that uses the new series as the base. Prof. Sen says this will make for transparency. As regards the general overestimation of GDP growth, Prof. Sen says that the government must by the middle of next year issue back series figures stretching all the way to 2011-12 on the basis of the new methodology for calculating GDP introduced in February this year. This is because he believes we have been overestimating GDP growth for the last decade and a half, which has been, hopefully, corrected by the new series and, therefore, issuing back figures is essential. Finally, Prof. Sen says that in his opinion the C Grade given to India by the IMF for the way it calculates GDP is warranted and justified.

    Q1 GDP growth “difficult to accept” but S. C. Garg is “conceptually illogical”

  6. 1 Sept

    The shuddhikaran was “a crime”; Uttarakhand police behaved “bizarrely & inexplicably”

    The shuddhikaran was "a crime"; Uttarakhand police behaved "bizarrely & inexplicably": Justice Madan Lokur, former Supreme Court Judge, to Karan Thapar for The Wire. ....................................... The saga of the shuddhikaran carried out in Haldwani after Mallikarjun Kharge’s rally last month has taken a bizarre turn. Blatantly and repeatedly ignoring Rahul Gandhi’s demand that an FIR be filed, the Uttarakhand police have instead filed an FIR against Rahul Gandhi for promoting enmity and outraging religious feelings. So today we ask a fundamental question: what does this reveal of the Uttarakhand government’s attitude to crimes against Dalits? At the end of the day that’s the single biggest issue that is staring us in the face. My guest is one of India’s most highly regarded former judges of the Supreme Court, Justice Madan Lokur.

    The shuddhikaran was “a crime”; Uttarakhand police behaved “bizarrely & inexplicably”

  7. 31 Aug

    Sonia’s book: Penguin lacks spine, govt is nervous, we’re not a democracy but electoral autarchy

    Penguin lacks spine, govt is nervous, we're not a democracy but electoral autarchy: former Cabinet Minister, Editor and Author, Arun Shourie, to Karan Thapar for The Wire. ....................................... Reports that Penguin Random House India will not be publishing Sonia Gandhi’s memoirs whilst Alfred Knopf will publish them in America have raised worrying questions. Does this mean the book will be available abroad but perhaps not in India? Is this because of its references to Prime Minister Modi, the RSS and Chinese intrusions into India as reports suggest? What does this reveal about Indian publishers? More importantly, what does it reveal of the government in a country that boasts it’s the mother of democracy? Those are the key issues I shall raise today with my guest. He is a former cabinet minister and newspaper editor and renowned author, Arun Shourie.

    Sonia’s book: Penguin lacks spine, govt is nervous, we’re not a democracy but electoral autarchy

  8. 25 Aug

    Sugar situation “a fiasco”, “total failure of policy”, Govt has been “irresponsible”: Ashok Gulati

    Sugar situation "a fiasco", "total failure of policy", Govt has been "irresponsible": Ashok Gulati, Distinguished Professor at ICRIER, to Karan Thapar for The Wire. ....................................... Why have sugar prices risen so sharply in recent weeks? Should imports have been permitted a lot earlier than the 20th of August? Was the delayed response negligent or even irresponsible? And how much of the blame lies with the government? Those are some of the key issues I shall raise today with a former Chairman of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices and presently Distinguished Professor of Agriculture at ICRIER, Ashok Gulati.

    Sugar situation “a fiasco”, “total failure of policy”, Govt has been “irresponsible”: Ashok Gulati
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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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