The Barbed Wires Podcast

Angshuman Choudhury
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  • Politics
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A podcast on politics, geopolitics, society, history, personal fables and everything in between. Also available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. barbedwires.substack.com

Episodes

  1. Apr 14

    E09 | Looking through the Delimitation Haze in Assam

    In 2023, the Election Commission of India (ECI) announced the completion of the 'delimitation' process in Assam – redrawing electoral constituencies in a way that can only be called absurd. The process has not only visibly reshaped the state's electoral geography, but also changed the dynamics of political representation in the Lok Sabha election in 2024 and the more recent assembly election on 9 April. The process remains opaque and arbitrary, reflecting a larger problem with India's data collection regimes and privacy norms. Worse, the Assam delimitation model may not be replicated elsewhere in the country. In this episode, Srinivas Kodali, a Cyberabad-based digital researcher and activist, decodes the political and technical haze behind the process. Read his recent article on the issue, which also includes detailed maps of the reordered constituencies in Assam: https://thewire.in/politics/the-delimitation-of-assam-makes-no-geographical-sense-and-permanently-divides-people Following are shareable raw files of the delimited constituency maps that Kodali has manually created out of the non-machine readable maps published by the ECI: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1DyMfcfJwbicSJhksBR-Q-Xut7q6iMlGNDo also read his 2023 article on critical amendments to the Registration of Births and Deaths Act: https://thewire.in/tech/registration-of-births-deaths-aadhaar-voter-id This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit barbedwires.substack.com

    33 min

  2. Mar 21

    E8 | What's it like to represent Myanmar's democratic resistance at the UN?

    When the military in Myanmar forcefully seized power from the civilian government in February 2021, Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun, the country's permanent representative at the UN, found himself representing a coup regime. But, just days later, he openly dissented and expressed his support for the democratic resistance. The junta fired him, but five years on, he continues to hold the coveted position at the UN. Today, he represents Myanmar's democratic civilian leadership and the people's aspirations at the world's most important international body. In this episode, he joins us to talk about his unique diplomatic role and the situation in Myanmar. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit barbedwires.substack.com

    52 min

  3. Mar 16

    E07 | Decoding the Kurdish dilemma in the US/Israel-Iran war

    As the US-Israel's unprovoked war against Iran rages on, the Kurds – a vibrant and politically significant community in West Asia – find themselves in a tricky spot. Reports indicate that the CIA and Mossad have quietly tried to provoke the Iranian Kurds to militarily confront Tehran. But, that hasn't so far. Why? In this episode, Bilal Ata Aktas, a researcher and geopolitical consultant born and raised in the Kurdish part of Turkey, explains the Kurdish dilemma in Iran and the wider region. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit barbedwires.substack.com

    34 min

  4. Mar 7

    E06 | One Week Into the War, What Is Iran’s Strategy?

    As the US/Israel's war against Iran completes its first week of hostilities, Tehran continues to hold the line. Simultaneously, a complex political transition is underway in Iran. Meanwhile, by torpedoing IRIS Dena, an Iranian frigate off the coast of Sri Lanka and killing at least 80 sailors, the Trump administration has brought the war to the Indian Ocean in a particularly brash manner. In this episode, Bashir Ali Abbas, a senior researcher and West Asia expert at the Council for Strategic and Defence Research (CSDR), decodes the many overlapping layers of domestic political and geopolitical dynamics framing Iran's strategy and response of South Asian littorals to the downing of IRIS Dena. Read Bashir's columns on West Asia in The Indian Express here: https://indianexpress.com/profile/guest-writer/bashir-ali-abbas/. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit barbedwires.substack.com

    1h 10m
  5. E05 | Why hasn't India condemned US-Israel's unprovoked war against Iran?

    Mar 3

    E05 | Why hasn't India condemned US-Israel's unprovoked war against Iran?

    The Indian government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has so far refused to condemn what is essentially an unprovoked and illegal war by the US and Israel against Iran. It has also not commented on the assassination of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. PM Modi has, however, dialled up all the Gulf states and expressed concern at the violation of their territorial integrity and sovereignty. What explains New Delhi's stinging silence on Iran? Senior foreign affairs journalist, Nirupama Subramanian, joins us to discuss this question and more. Read her latest article on India's position here: https://www.newslaundry.com/2026/03/02/indias-silence-on-iran-is-not-strategic-autonomy-it-looks-more-like-strategic-dependence This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit barbedwires.substack.com

    47 min
  6. E04 | Decoding the BJP's tribal dilemma in Assam

    Mar 2

    E04 | Decoding the BJP's tribal dilemma in Assam

    As assembly elections in Assam approach, the BJP-led state government is making strategic moves to appease six tribal – or Scheduled Tribe (ST) – communities by creating new a special reserved category for them called 'ST (Valley)'. But, this has put the ruling party in an awkward spot between competing tribal electorates, as existing ST communities fear the loss of their own privileges to the new entrants. Manoranjan Pegu, a researcher and writer from Assam, helps us make sense of these emerging new complexities in the Northeast Indian state. Read Manoranjan's latest pieces on the issue here: 1. The new ST classification in Assam is political eyewash (1/1/2026): https://caravanmagazine.in/communities/st-classification-assam-2025 2. A festival, Death of 4 young people and Incessant WhatsApp discourses (31/1/2026): https://murkongselek.substack.com/p/a-festival-death-of-4-young-people This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit barbedwires.substack.com

    40 min

  7. Feb 17

    E03 | "The People Have Won": Ambassador M Humayun Kabir on the Historic Bangladesh Verdict

    Ambassador M Humayun Kabir, former Secretary at Bangladesh' Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ambassador to the United States, joins us to decode Bangladesh's historic political transformation. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit barbedwires.substack.com

    48 min

  8. 11/28/2023

    E02 | Operation 1027: A Researcher from Myanmar Explains the New Resistance Offensive

    In this episode, James*, a researcher from the Myanmar Policy Institute (MPI), unpacks the politics, economics and geopolitics behind the recent wave of attacks against the military junta in Myanmar called Operation 1027. Initiated by three ethnic armed organisations in northern Shan State, it has now spread to other parts of Myanmar, including Karenni State, Sagaing Region, Chin State and Rakhine State. *pseudonym Notes: * To understand the geographical spread of Operation 1027, check out the IISS conflict map. * Also, in case you’re interested, here is my recent article on Operation 1027 published in The Diplomat. Additional readings * Operation 1027 poses rare challenge to Myanmar junta, Radio Free Asia * ‘Operation 1027’: The End of the Beginning of Myanmar’s Spring Revolution, The Diplomat * Is ‘Operation 1027’ a Game Changer for Myanmar?, The Diplomat * Operation 1027 is Creating a New Political Template for Myanmar’s Future, The Irrawaddy * Brotherhood Alliance rewriting Myanmar’s war narrative, Asia Times * Another town on the India-Myanmar border falls to the resistance, Myanmar Now This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit barbedwires.substack.com

    1h 1m

  9. 03/28/2023

    E01 | China's Conflict Mediation in Myanmar: Who Wins and Who Loses?

    On 10 March, Saudi Arabia and Iran, two of West Asia’s fiercest rivals, startled the world when they announced a detente. The historic “peace deal” was brokered by China. But, much before this happened, Beijing was attempting to broker peace between various actors in a country much closer to home – Myanmar. The February 2021 coup by Min Aung Hlaing’s military derailed its complex conflict mediation project. But, Xi Jinping’s China put it back on track in no time. Yet, whom does a China-brokered peace in Myanmar benefit? Why is China even doing it? What kind of a peace is it? And what does Myanmar reveal about Chinese conflict mediation in the 21st century? I try to answer these questions in the first episode of the BW Podcast. Listen and share! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit barbedwires.substack.com

    22 min
  • 9 Episodes

About

A podcast on politics, geopolitics, society, history, personal fables and everything in between. Also available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. barbedwires.substack.com

Information

  • Creator
    Angshuman Choudhury
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    9
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Angshuman Choudhury
  • Show Website
    The Barbed Wires Podcast