Australia India Institute Podcast

As a pioneer in her field, Kishwar is contributing to the food tapestry of Australia through cultural exchange. In this podcast, Kishwar sheds a light on roots of South Asian cooking, celebrating Australian produce and local growers. Listen to how Kishwar shares her experience of India, her leadership as a South Asian woman making an impact on India Australia ties through shared produce. As an advocate for food security, Kishwar sees food as a celebration but also a basic human right, a basic need. Her support for ASRC and UNWFP highlights the impact on food systems in refugee camps in Bangladesh and its empowerment for women. Kishwar shares how Australia has come a long way embracing South Asian flavours and a growing South Asian diaspora from the 1980s to feeling comfortable taking a samosa to school, as much as a Vegemite sandwich. She shares how much more confident the current generation is through food and how Australian society has changed over time. Her connection between Australia and India shared through food, family and cultural celebrations is a journey bringing so much life to multicultural Australia through sharing her joy of cooking and cuisine.

Investing in Renewable Energy: Collaborating through Tech  This podcast was recorded live in New Delhi on the sixth of September, during the Australia India Leadership Dialogue. It is conversation between Mike Cannon-Brookes, the co-CEO and co-Founder of Australian founded tech company Atlassian, and Suhasini Haidar, the Diplomatic Editor of The Hindu. It delves into Mike's passion for investing in renewable energy, why there is an urgency to decarbonise our two economies, and how Australia and India can work together to achieve net zero emissions targets.

Tagore is one of the founding fathers of the Republic of India, alongside the likes of Nehru, Gandhi and Ambedkar. He was a world-renowned poet, composer, playwright, painter and social reformer among many other things and was best known outside of South Asia for his collection of poems, Gitanjali, that awarded him the Nobel prize in Literature 1913, the first non-European to win such a prize. Tagore authored around 200 books and made 3000 artworks. He founded an art school, university, and rural development institute and composed the National anthems of both India and Bangladesh. There are a myriad of reasons to study Tagore, so today we are going to explore his work on love in terms of its norm-making and worldmaking. To explore this, CEO Lisa Singh will be joined by two leading Tagore scholars: Dr Liane Hartnett and Professor Bindu Puri for this Chats over Chai podcast episode.

Dr. Surjeet Dhanji, Manager for Victorian Government Projects at the Australia India Institute chats to Arpita Das, founder of Yoda Press, and Editor of South Asian Series, Melbourne University Press. Arpita is also visiting faculty, lecturer at Ashoka University, where she teaches critical thinking. Amongst her many other ventures is her feminist electives, and in this podcast, Arpita shares with us her journey as a writer, publisher, advisor, and teacher.

Tamil Nadu located in the southern Part of India, is the country's 2nd largest economy, 3rd largest exporting state and currently contributes 8.95% to India's net exports. Over the years the state has attracted tremendous investment and emerged as the number one investment destination in the first nine months of the Financial Year of 2022. The state is also a leader in renewables and has been contributing 16 per cent to India's total installed grid capacity connected to renewables and is ranked 9th globally in net share of wind energy in total power generation. The list of Tamil Nadu's achievements goes on! There is no doubt that concerted efforts from the government, industry and the people of the state have played a significant role in bringing these outcomes for the state. On this podcast we have Australia India Institute CEO The Hon Lisa Singh in conversation with the Finance Minister of the State The Hon. Dr Palanivel Thiaga Rajan, helping us understand Tamil Nadu's journey in becoming India's top investment hub.

Published in 2018, An India Economic Strategy to 2035: Navigating Potential to Delivery, created a blueprint for the future of Australia's economic engagement with India and remains a key framework for driving the Australia-India relationship forward. This month, the India Economic Strategy Update was published and launched by Trade, Tourism and Investment Minister Dan Tehan in Melbourne. Join Ambassador Anil Wadhwa and Australia India Institute CEO Lisa Singh in this Chats over Chai podcast as they unpack what the IES Update means for the future of economic engagement between Australia and India. This episode will examine which sectors are identified as a priority in the IES Update; will India respond with its own Economic Update; and, as Ambassador Wadhwa points out, will the Update drive economic investment in critical minerals between Australia and India.

Frank Wesley, was a prolific and influential artist from Azamgarh who later worked in Mussoorie, India. He became known for pushing boundaries in religious art forms and he won various accolades. His art work had broad appeal, with his work featuring in a Vatican display, on the first UNICEF Christmas card and, perhaps most notably, on the urn for the ashes of Mahatma Gandhi, the father of the nation. In this podcast Professor Nathan Grills from the Aii, who has a personal connection to Frank's artwork through his work and research in Mussoorie, speaks to Frank's son Michael Wesley, Deputy Vice Chancellor International at the University of Melbourne, as they explore Frank's journey as part of the Indian diaspora in Australia. 50 years later, as part of University of Melbourne delegation to India, Michael and Nathan will visit Mussoorie in April to further develop research and educational linkages.

On 24 February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine. Going beyond the contested regions in the East, the Russian troops marched on other Ukrainian cities, including Kyiv, and Putin announced that his nuclear forces were on high alert. This war has had a significant humanitarian, economic, and geopolitical fallout. Meanwhile the UN General Assembly has voted to adopt a resolution condemning Russia's invasion of Ukraine, with some 141 countries demanding that Moscow immediately withdraw its forces from the soil of its sovereign neighbour. While 5 voted against the resolution, some 35 countries abstained from voting, including India. For India, a nation one may say is isolated in an increasingly hostile region, its challenge is to continue to engage with the West while trying not to abandon ties with an old ally, Russia. This podcast decodes India's stance on the Ukraine crisis with Professor Ian Hall, from Griffith University, Dr Daniel Markey from United States Institute of Peace and the Australia India Institute's CEO Lisa Singh.

2021 witnessed the historic elevation of the QUAD when the leaders of the four nations met in the US and discussed the future of the QUAD and the Indo-Pacific. The members also agreed to work together on multiple issues of significance, and through their QUAD vaccine diplomacy played a crucial role in helping the region deal with the pandemic. QUAD nations have time and again expressed concerns over the ever-changing geopolitical environment in the Indo-Pacific. So will 2022 see an increase in efforts to collectively tackle common security issues among QUAD members? What role will the QUAD play in shaping the future of the Indo-Pacific? Concerns over global supply chains have also been imperative to the QUAD's agenda, so will the QUAD consider broadening its agenda to include economic and trade aspects? This podcast features an interview with Dr. Rajesh Rajagopalan, a Professor of International Politics at Jawaharlal Nehru University and the Australia India Institute's CEO Hon Lisa Singh.

The Australia India Institute's Director, Lisa Singh in conversation with Professor Bindu Puri from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) on the significance of satyagraha as a method of earning rights through self-suffering rather than inflicting suffering on others and the influence of such satyagraha on contemporary movements and as an inspiration to those who seek to fight oppression and injustice through truth and non-violence.

COVID-19 is the virus that shut down the world. High vaccination rates have the potential to unlock global travel, however both India and Australia have a long way to go to vaccinate their populations. What can India and Australia learn from each other's experiences in rolling out COVID-19 vaccines? And what role does, or could, the media play towards a successful vaccine rollout in India and Australia? Speakers: Professor Joy Mammen, Associate Director of Christian Medical College and Hospital, Head of vaccine rollout A/Prof Margie Danchin, Consultant Paediatrician, Royal Children's Hospital, and A/Prof at the University of Melbourne and Murdoch Children's Research Institute Dinesh Malhotra, Editor and Founder of the Bharat Times Moderated by Professor Nathan Grills, Senior Research Advisor at the AII and Public Health Physician at the Nossal Institute for Global Health

India's devastating second wave of COVID-19 is finally showing signs of easing after weeks of lockdowns across the country. But hospitals in India are still overflowing with COVID-19 patients. In this podcast, we hear from two frontline health workers in India who share their experiences treating COVID-19 patients in intensive care and counselling patients and their families. This podcast was a collaboration between the Australia India Institute and the University of Melbourne's Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry & Health Sciences, with support from the Global Health Alliance Melbourne. Speakers Dr. JV Peter – Director of Christian Medical College, Vellore and ICU consultant Jubin Varghese – Sister Mary Glowrey Scholar and Emmanuel Health Association (EHA) clinical psychologist Professor Jane Gunn – Dean of Medicines, Dentistry & Health Sciences, University of Melbourne (Co-Chair) Professor Nathan Grills – AII Senior Research Adviser and Global Health Professor at the School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne (Co-Chair)

As coronavirus continues to ravage India, students from India find themselves torn between family responsibilities at home and their studies in Australia. Monash University PhD candidate Shaheen Ahmed is in Melbourne and unable to be with her family in India. While Dr Akash Aaron is using his medical skills to support a charitable hospital in India, but his situation is hindering his studies at the University of Melbourne. In this podcast, hosted by AII’s Acting Director Professor Ashok Muthupandian and Delhi Project Manager Parul Nadar, both students share how their lives have been impacted by COVID-19. The Australia India Institute has been contributing to the knowledge of India in Australia and the building of the bilateral relationship for over 10 years. The current COVID-19 crisis in India is devastating because it directly touches many of our families, friends, colleagues and associates. We learn daily of people within our networks suffering or succumbing to this terrible illness. As this crisis continues, it is important that we offer our support and strengthen our engagement with India even further.

In this podcast, the Australia India Institute’s Professor Ashok Muthupandian, Professor Nathan Grills and Dr Haripriya (Priya) Rangan discuss the current COVID-19 crisis devastating India and how the Institute and University of Melbourne are lending support. Professor Ashok Muthupandian is the AII’s Acting Director and the Assistant Deputy Vice-Chancellor International at the University of Melbourne. Professor Nathan Grills is an AII Senior Researcher Adviser and Global Health Professor at the School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne. Dr Haripriya Rangan is an AII Academic Fellow and Principal Fellow of the School of Geography at the University of Melbourne. Frontline charitable organisations that University of Melbourne partners with: • CMC Vellore: 500 Covid19 beds. Requesting support for vaccines, COVID19 tests, oxygen concentrators. • Emmanuel Hospital Association : 20 hospitals in rural India serving the poor. Requesting support for PPE, medications, oxygen cylinders/concentrators. • The Catholic Health Association of India : responding to Covid19 across 3500 health facilities. Melbourne University is conducting training to equip their response to Covid19.

In the second episode of Ten Minutes India, we speak with Senior Research Adviser at the Australia India Institute, Jyoti Shukla. Jyoti Shukla is a Lecturer in Property at the Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning at the University of Melbourne. She also works as a Senior Research Adviser at the Australia India Institute. Issues related to housing and land economics are of prime interest to Jyoti and most of her publications are in related fields. This episode will focus on compulsory land acquisition as in when the government takes over privately owned land for a public project.

In the first episode of our new podcast series for 2020, Ten Minutes India, we speak with Dr Roja Singh. Roja Singh's critical ethnography on caste and gender is rooted in interactions and lived experiences in communities of Dalit women in Tamil Nadu, India. Situated in transnational feminist discourses, Singh's perspective as a Dalit woman, provides an intersectional social analysis of power structures that sustain caste dominance in South India today.

Senator Lisa Singh was the first woman of South Asian heritage to be elected to Australia's Parliament. She spoke to Dr Priya Chacko about why Australia needs to forge stronger bonds with India and what steps can be taken to strengthen the bilateral relationship. Host: Dr Priya Chacko Producer: Simon Papagiorcopulo Audio Engineer: Chris Hatzis

Has the Modi government delivered on its election promises? What does February's interim budget tell us about the future of the world's fastest-growing economy? Dr Amitendu Palit from the National University of Singapore's Institute for South Asian Studies shares his expert insights with the Aii. Host: Simon Papagiorcopulo Producer: Simon Papagiorcopulo Audio Engineer: Chris Hatzis

Vice-Chancellor of the University of Witwatersrand Adam Habib joins Professor Haripriya Rangan to discuss how India is perceived in South Africa and how institutions in the Global South are moving to address inequality in education. Host: Haripriya Rangan Audio Engineer: Chris Hatzis

There are 22 official languages in India, but more than 780 have been recognised. It can be a challenge to communicate across the country, and while the most common language is Hindi there’s a communication of all sorts in a variety of dialects and scripts. Guests: Professor Robin Jeffrey, Professor Ian Woolford Host: Matthew Smith

Religion and caste divide Indians in many ways – religion primarily between Hindu and Muslim, with Hindus further divided by a complex caste system that can influence where they work, how they live and who they marry. How is modern India dealing with internal divisions? Guest: Professor Robin Jeffrey Host: Matthew Smith

With a fast-growing population and aspirations to join the throwaway prosperity of the developed world, India generates vast quantities of waste, sewage and pollution. How does it deal with the problem? Guests: Emeritus Professor Robin Jeffrey, Associate Professor Assa Doron Host: Matthew Smith

Over the years, the Indian National Congress has largely looked to the Nehru-Gandhi family for leadership, making them powerful figures in India's political landscape. Does current leader Rahul Gandhi have what it takes? Guest: Emeritus Professor Robin Jeffrey Host: Matthew Smith

India goes to the polls in 2019, and popular incumbent Prime Minister Narendra Modi is currently favoured to retain his position. With close to a billion people eligible to vote, elections in India present immense organisational hurdles. Guest: Emeritus Professor Robin Jeffrey Host: Matthew Smith

In 2017, India celebrated 70 years of independence from British rule. Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the country, calling for the people to set aside their differences. “India is about peace, unity and goodwill,” said Modi. “we have to take the country ahead with the determination of creating a new India.” Can a new India emerge from the old? How has it been shaped by its years in the British Empire? Guest: Emeritus Professor Robin Jeffrey Host: Matthew Smith

Professor Srila Roy from the University of the Witwatersrand explores the evolution of feminism in India and highlights the local impact of the global #MeToo movement. Hosts: Dr Amanda Gilbertson and Dr Amy Piedalue Producer: Simon Papagiorcopulo Audio Engineer: Gavin Nebauer

What is gender justice, and how can we work toward gender equality and security in India and across the world? In this episode, Dr Kikon, Lecturer in Anthropology and Development at the University of Melbourne some key features of gender justice in India and South Asia with Dr Amy Piedalue.

Land is many things to different people. In India, as elsewhere, it bestows status, is a source of livelihood, and I san asset that earns rents as well as profits. But how has the commodification of land resulted in legal, and sometimes violent contestations involving the state, landowners, corporations, and communities?

Many analyst believe the only way for India to meet rising energy demands will be to build dozens of new coal-fired power stations - much like China during its rapid economic development in recent decades. But is India ready to carve out a new path forward? Guest: Professor Rangan Banerjee Host: Dr Jonathan Balls Producer: Kog Ravindran Audio Engineer: Gavin Nebauer This podcast is brought to you in association with the Melbourne Energy Institute, the Australia India Institute @ Delhi and founding partners La Trobe University and the University of New South Wales.

"'Education is like nectar of the gods' said one parent'... some people were willing work 16 hour days so that their children could remain in school" - Professor Craig Jeffrey CREDITS Host: Professor Craig Jeffrey Producer: Kog Ravindran Audio Engineer: Gavin Nebauer This podcast is brought to you in association with the Australia India Institute @ Delhi and founding partners La Trobe University and the University of New South Wales.

"There's never been an urban solution to a rural problem ... only the people on the ground know the solution to rural problems." This has been the driving principle of Bunker Roy, who in 1972 founded the Barefoot College, in the village of Tilonia in Rajasthan, India, with the mission provide basic services and solutions in rural communities with the objective of making them self-sufficient. Guest: Bunker Roy Host: Dr Trent Brown Producer: Kog Ravindran Audio Engineer: Gavin Nebauer This podcast is brought to you in association with the Australia India Institute @ Delhi and founding partners La Trobe University and the University of New South Wales.

"Magic has an incredible power to unite, to transgress cultural and social boundaries, and to create communities of feeling." - Professor Craig Jeffrey CREDITS Host: Professor Craig Jeffrey Producer: Kog Ravindran Audio Engineer: Gavin Nebauer This podcast is brought to you in association with the Australia India Institute @ Delhi and founding partners La Trobe University and the University of New South Wales.

What is power and how does it operate in India today? Who commands power and how does power infuse politics and everyday social relations? And have power relations changed in India over time? CREDITS Guest: Professor John Harriss Host: Dr Trent Brown Producer: Kog Ravindran Audio Engineer: Gavin Nebauer This podcast is brought to you in association with the Australia India Institute @ Delhi and founding partners La Trobe University and the University of New South Wales.

Recent demonetisation efforts by Narendra Modi have attempted to address underlying issues of power and distribution in India. But have these measures addressed the problem of India's 'black economy' ? CREDITS Host: Dr Trent Brown Guest: Professor Stuart Corbridge Producer: Kog Ravindran Audio Engineer: Gavin Nebauer This podcast is brought to you in association with the Australia India Institute @ Delhi and founding partners La Trobe University and the University of New South Wales.

If India's bulging youth population can be harnessed in the next 20 years, it will set the country on an unprecedented run of economic growth. But how do you provide skills training to 400 million Indians by 2022? That's the task Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set for himself and his government. CREDITS Host: Dr Trent Brown Guest: Dr Divya Nambiar Producer: Kog Ravindran This podcast is brought to you in association with the Australia India Institute @ Delhi and founding partners La Trobe University and the University of New South Wales.

Ram Guha and Gideon Haigh are two of cricket's most passionate fans. They also happen to be two of the sport's best writers. Listen in as they catch up for the first time in many years. This is one fascinating conversation you don't want to miss. CREDITS Host: Gideon Haigh Guest: Ramachandra Guga Producer: Kog Ravindran Audio Engineer: Gavin Nebauer This podcast is brought to you in association with the Australia India Institute @ Delhi and founding partners La Trobe University and the University of New South Wales. This podcast is brought to you in association with Asialink Business.

Historians often neglect India’s role in World War II. In his new book ‘India's War: The Making of Modern South Asia, 1939-1945’, historian Dr Srinath Raghavan explores India’s contribution to the war effort and the tremendous way in which the war impacted India. CREDITS Host: Souresh Roy Guest: Dr Srinath Raghavan Producer: Kog Ravindran Audio Engineer: Gavin Nebauer This podcast is brought to you in association with the Australia India Institute @ Delhi and founding partners La Trobe University and the University of New South Wales.

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi can claim to have restored India’s economic growth trajectory and built a remarkable international profile. He has positioned himself domestically as a leader who gets things done. However, he is seeking to make fundamental changes to the relationship between New Delhi and the states, between politics and business, and, more controversially, between society and religion. CREDITS Host: Dr Trent Brown Guest: Pramit Pal Chaudhuri Producer: Kog Ravindran Audio Engineer: Gavin Nebauer This podcast is brought to you in association with the Australia India Institute @ Delhi and founding partners La Trobe University and the University of New South Wales.

Join us as political cartoonist Ajit Ninan from the 'Times of India' discusses the daily process of capturing the public discourse of the world's largest democracy. CREDITS Host: Sushi Das Guest: Ajit Ninan Producer: Kog Ravindran Audio Engineer: Gavin Nebauer This podcast is brought to you in association with the Australia India Institute @ Delhi and founding partners La Trobe University and the University of New South Wales.

Feminist icon and publisher Urvashi Butalia discusses the deep desire Indian woman have to change their lives and her role in giving these women a voice. CREDITS Host: Dr Dolly Kikon Guest: Urvashi Butalia Producer: Kog Ravindran Audio Engineer: Gavin Nebauer This podcast is brought to you in association with the Australia India Institute @ Delhi and founding partners La Trobe University and the University of New South Wales.

India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru wanted India to have a mixed economy, one that assimilated the best of capitalism and socialism. Nearly 70 years down the line, many believe India adopted the worst of both worlds. From the 1990s onwards we’ve seen the emergence of cronyism in India, where governments act in a manner that benefits the privileged few. But is there hope for change? CREDITS Host: Dr Trent Brown Guest: Paranjoy Guha Thakurta (Editor, Economic and Political Weekly) Producer: Kog Ravindran Audio Engineer: Gavin Nebauer This podcast is brought to you in association with the Australia India Institute @ Delhi and founding partners La Trobe University and the University of New South Wales.

"I can't help imagining how a 100 rupee note might have been worth 80 rupees one month, 85 the next, then 90, 95 and finally the day came when real value and printed value aligned and it acquired its 'true worth'." - Professor Craig Jeffrey CREDITS Host: Professor Craig Jeffrey Producer: Kog Ravindran Audio Engineer: Gavin Nebauer This podcast is brought to you in association with the Australia India Institute @ Delhi and founding partners La Trobe University and the University of New South Wales.

Despite two decades of economic growth, more than 70 percent of urban Indian workers don’t have formal sector jobs. Entrepreneur Sahil Shekhar explores inefficiencies in the education and labor markets that prevent matching the right candidate with the right skills for the right job. CREDITS Host: Dr Trent Brown Guest: Sahil Sekhar Producer: Kog Ravindran Audio Engineer: Gavin Nebauer This podcast is brought to you in association with the Australia India Institute @ Delhi and founding partners La Trobe University and the University of New South Wales.

"Youth across the world are putting their political effort into 'being the change they want to see in the world' – a phrase that is misattributed to Gandhi." "The Occupy Movement is a good example. Rather than spending time petitioning politicians, Occupy activists sought to build an ideal society – a ‘better tomorrow’ - realised through such activities as free yoga classes, lectures, and democratic debates. Scholars refer to this as ‘prefigurative politics’: the channelling of political energy into performing now one’s vision of a better world." - Professor Craig Jeffrey Credits This podcast is brought to you in association with the Australia India Institute @ Delhi and founding partners La Trobe University and the University of New South Wales. Host: Professor Craig Jeffrey Producer: Kog Ravindran Audio Engineer: Gavin Nebauer

Much of the health economics literature in India has focused on the pervasive problem of malnutrition and infectious diseases. However, a topic that has garnered considerably less attention is the rising phenomenon of obesity. CREDITS Host: Souresh Roy Guest: Professor Pushkar Maitra Producer: Kog Ravindran Audio Engineer: Gavin Nebauer This podcast is brought to you in association with the Australia India Institute @ Delhi and founding partners La Trobe University and the University of New South Wales.

"Young people often reproduce pernicious systems. But they also undermine them. Even forms of political action that can be ushered quite quickly into the categories of ‘progressive’ or ‘retrogressive’ often contain within them contradictory impulses and potentials." - Professor Craig Jeffrey Credits This podcast is brought to you in association with the Australia India Institute @ Delhi and founding partners La Trobe University and the University of New South Wales. Host: Professor Craig Jeffrey Producer: Kog Ravindran Audio Engineer: Gavin Nebauer

As India continues its quest get one billion Indians online by 2020, filmmaker Andrew Garton discusses his new film 'Ocean in a Drop' which explore the impact of broadband internet on rural India. Credits This podcast is brought to you in association with the Australia India Institute @ Delhi and founding partners La Trobe University and the University of New South Wales. Credits This podcast is brought to you in association with the Australia India Institute @ Delhi and founding partners La Trobe University and the University of New South Wales. Host: Dr Trent Brown Guest: Andrew Garton Producer: Kog Ravindran Audio Engineer: Gavin Nebauer