Ganatantra

This week on Ganatantra Sarayu Natarajan and Alok Prasanna Kumar discuss the second season of Ganatantra and how Covid19 has impacted the subjects they spoke about.

This week on Ganatantra Sarayu Natarajan and Alok Prasanna Kumar discuss the impact of the Covid19 pandemic on public policy.

This week on Ganatantra Sarayu Natarajan and Alok Prasanna Kumar welcome back Shoaib Daniyal to talk about the politics of West Bengal.If you would like to hear Shoaibs previous appearance you can find that here: https://ivmpodcasts.com/ganatantra-episode-list/2019/5/5/ep-13-west-bengal-polarization-and-mobilization-feat-shoaib-daniyal

This week on Ganatantra Sarayu Natarajan and Alok Prasanna Kumar talk to Dr. Kailash in their continuing series on Federalism in India.

In this week's episode, Dr. Manisha Priyam joins us to discuss Delhi politics. She walks us through her fieldwork and her prediction of the rise of the AAP, the new politics of Delhi post the violence at JNU and the deeply communal campaign, and the importance of urban services in thinking about political change in India.

As a recent set of results shows, India's voters choose very differently in state and national elections. What explains this pattern across the country and what implications does it have for federal politics?In this episode, hosts Alok and Sarayu are joined by Rahul Verma of CPR, co-author of "Ideology and Identity: The Changing Party Systems of India" to talk about India's party systems.

As a state with came into existence on the basis of a demand for linguistic reorganization, it's somewhat of a mystery that Karnataka has not yet seen a mass movement or major political party based on linguistic identity.We're joined by Dr Chandan Gowda of the Azim Premji University to unpack this mystery and understand the cultural and caste politics of Karnataka.

All governments need to raise and spend money but in India's complex three tier government, the process by which this money is raised and spent is a subject with serious political and constitutional implications.We are joined by Pranay Kotasthane of the Takshashila Institution to talk about the how money flows between various governments in India and what this means for governance.In this episode we also refer to YV Reddy and GR Reddy's "Indian Fiscal Federalism"

The image of Kerala politics contains two dissonant and contrary images - that of a state with some of the best human development indicators in the world but also high numbers of targeted killings.In this week's episode, we're joined by journalist and editor, Prem Panicker, to understand these two phenomena in the context of Kerala's politics.

In the third series of episodes of Season 2, we'll be discussing federalism and State politics in India going in-depth into the politics of certain states and some larger themes to understand politics at the state level. In this episode, Sarayu and Alok introduce the topic and outline what's in store for the rest of the season.

In this episode celebrating one year of the Ganatantra, Sarayu and Alok talk about the problems with police in India - why there's low trust in then, why they're failing at law and order and investigation functions and why there have been almost no serious attempts at reform.

As Indian public universities become both spaces for and subjects of political disputes (often breaking out into violence) it's worth examining what it means for such universities to be "political" especially in the face of increasing privatization of higher education.In this episode, we are joined by Jean Tomas Martelli who has studied the processes by which students cut their political teeth in Jawaharlal Nehru University, to explore this subject and understand how students in the public universities become "political".

Indian cinema has had a complex relationship with politics, reflecting prevailing political trends and having provided the base for the launch of many a political career.This week we're joined by MK Raghavendra, award winning film Critic and author of several books on Indian cinema to talk about how cinema and politics are intertwined.

The news media is sometimes called the "fourth pillar of democracy" but at a time when its business model is under attack thanks to large internet companies, and its credibility at risk in the age of "#fakenews", existential questions about its role in a modern democracy are bound to rise. In this episode, we speak to Dr Aasim Khan of IIIT - Delhi about the past, present and future of the news media in a Democracy.

As we head towards the end of 2019, Sarayu and Alok discuss the General elections and State Assembly elections of the year and what they told us about the state of politics in India. We use the various insights given to us by the experts who joined us over this year. Think of this as an analysis episode that builds on what we have learnt over the year in speaking to our guests and researching for this episode.

We're releasing this special episode of Ganatantra today to talk about the recently passed Citizenship Amendment Act, fears over a proposed all India National Register of Citizens and the government's response to it through internet shutdowns and imposition of Section 144. In this episode we try to explain why the CAA is problematic whether or not it's linked to NRC, why the NRC will be an all round disaster however it's implemented and how our colonial laws allow govts to gag peaceful protests.

Alok and Sarayu discuss the big political events of 2019 - Article 370 in Kashmir, the Supreme court judgment on Ayodhya and the CAA/NRC - and examine their political implications. References are made to relevant episodes and material from previous episodes.

The political and constitutional crisis in Maharashtra, which unfolded after the 2019 Assembly elections once brought to the public glare the potential for misuse of the office of the Governor. It has prompted calls to abolish the office or reform it in some fundamental ways. In this episode Sarayu and Alok discuss this constitutional position and unpack the source of the recent political controversies that have taken place as a result of the Governor's actions.

The Indian Constitution guaranteed universal adult franchise from the moment it came into force. In a country with inequalities and divisions based on caste, gender, language, and ethnicity, this was a radical move that speaks of the vision of the founders. Yet, the process by which universal suffrage became a reality remained shrouded in obscurity until recently. The credit for bringing to light the fascinating process of the preparation of the first electoral rolls in independent India goes to Dr. Ornit Shani who, on the basis of her painstaking original research, wrote the award-winning book, How India Became Democratic. In this episode, we're joined by Ornit Shani to speak about her book, The insights and revelations about Indian democracy we get from the process by which electoral rolls were first prepared and why, perhaps, there's more reasons to be optimistic about India's democracy than we think.

Unlike India's neighbouring countries, the Indian Armed Forces have never intervened in any manner in the affairs of civilian government. The reasons for this have been explored by scholars and has been attributed to a range of factors from the sociological to the historical to the institutional. However, that does not mean that Armed Forces are entirely apolitical. Not least when they are invoked repeatedly by civilian rulers to justify political actions. In this episode, we speak to Srinath Raghavan, Senior Fellow at Carnegie India to talk about the complex relationship between the Armed Forces and the civilian government. Book mentioned in this episode : Army and Nation by Steven I. Wilkinson

In the last decade or so, the Indian higher judiciary and its functioning have come under the scanner like never before. The Supreme Court's proceedings are covered daily, often minute by minute in important cases and its judgements dissected minutely. Although it is supposed to be a judicial body, the political role of courts cannot be denied. Whether in its judgements or even choosing to hear certain cases and not others, the higher judiciary has an impact on the political landscape in various ways. Part of this has to do with the changing role of the court, and the ways in which judges are appointed to the bench. In this episode we are joined by Dr Aparna Chandra of the National Law University, Delhi to dissect the recent functioning of the courts, the process of appointment, and the political role of the court.

Large scale migration has been a feature of life in the Indian subcontinent in the last two centuries, both within and out of the region. In his book, "India Moving" Chinmay Tumbe calls it the 'Great Indian Migration Wave' - an ongoing process that is probably the largest and longest migration stream in history. This is a process that both contributes to and is a consequence of marginalization. In this episode, we speak to Dr. Tumbe to unpack some of the themes in his book and see how migration and marginalization intersect and impact.

Popular discourse about Maoists in India veers from the extremes of heroism to demonization with little attempt to address the nuances of the situation. Given that the movement draws its support from some of the most Marginalised communities in India, there's a need to unpack its appeal and its limitations. In this episode, we speak to Alpa Shah of the London School of Economics and Political Science about her recent book, "Nightmarch". On the shortlist for the Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay New India Foundation Book Prize, 2019 it is a deep examination of the contradictions of the Maoist movement in 21st century India, told in an accessible and engaging manner.

Earlier this year, the Supreme Court of India ordered state governments to begin eviction of Adivasis and Forest dwellers whose claims for forest rights under the Forest Rights Act had been dismissed. Following a backlash against the move from Adivasi communities, the Supreme Court put this order on hold. In this episode, we're joined by Rajni Soren an advocate-activist who works in issues related to forest rights and practices in the Chhattisgarh HC to talk about how the Adivasi movement have used the law and political institutions to protect their rights.

Across India, radical Dalit movements have dipped their toes into electoral politics as they have tried to represent their communities in institutions of governance. What challenges do they face? Why has the BSP been more successful at electoral politics in Uttar Pradesh and not say, the VCK in Tamil Nadu? How does the current system of reserved seats affect the electoral prospects of Dalit parties across India? Would the scenario have been different if the Poona Pact was never entered into? We are joined by Hugo Gorringe, author of "Panthers in Parliament", as we try to answer these questions and understand how India's Westminster style of Parliamentary democracy affects the electoral aspirations of Dalit parties.

The platform gig economy has brought several changes in the way work is performed and organised. Some kinds of work challenge the very underpinnings of labor and industrial laws - such as the need for a place of work and the space for collective bargaining. Tech mediated platform gig work while offering flexibility to those who seek it and low entry barriers, may also in its own way be expanding the margins of society leaving those who are doing such work with little recourse in the law or little opportunity to negotiate futures. In this context, Alok and Sarayu discuss futures of workers and discuss the ways in which politics and law needs to be imagined.

The historic NALSA judgment (National Legal Services Authority v. Union of India, 2014) was historic in that it read in major rights to be applicable to the transgender community, including specific directives to the government around social and economic welfare. The implications of this judgment were diluted with the Transgender Persons Bill 2018. The legislation has faced significant resistance and criticism within the community. To discuss the voices within the movement, claims for social welfare, the particular challenges faced by trans-men, and multiple marginalities - and the ways these play into shaping the transgender movement and the broader societal implications - we are joined by Nadika Nadja, who is a trans-lesbian feminist and a writer and researcher with interests in History and Archaeology, Entertainment, Gender and Internet.

Few issues in post independence India have caused as much heated debate as the issue of reservation in government jobs and college seats. The purpose of this move as the SC famously put it, was parity and not charity. However, with the 103rd Constitutional amendment allowing reservations on purely economic criteria, that too beyond the 50% limit the SC had enforced in the past, does this goal of reservation policy still hold true? To talk about this, we're joined by Dr Gopal Guru, editor at the Economic and Political Weekly and former professor at JNU. In this episode we go into history of reservations in India, the evolution of the term "Dalit" and the future path of social justice movements in the country.

The preparation of the final list of the National Register of Citizens has stirred up more than its share of controversy with two million or so people in Assam suddenly facing the prospect of being rendered stateless. The anti-migrant (read anti-Bengali) rhetoric which informed the legal structure for the NRC has had many unintended victims - women, transgender persons, scheduled tribes and even native Assamese who couldn't "prove" citizenship. In this episode, we're joined by Smitana Saikia of FLAME University, Pune to talk about the history and impact of this exercise and how it has caused and has the potential to cause further marginalization. You can listen to this show and other awesome shows on the IVM Podcasts app on Android: https://ivm.today/android or iOS: https://ivm.today/ios, or any other podcast app.

Ganatantra Season 2: We're back from hiatus and we have an exciting new lineup of episodes for you! In this intro episode, Sarayu and Alok outline what you can look forward to, the three themes around which episodes will be structured and why we've chosen the topics we have.

In this episode, we're joined by Dr Andrew Whitehead to frame the debate over Article 370's abrogation in the context of Kashmir's complicated history. We look at the circumstances of Kashmir's entry into the Indian Union and why the provision exists as it does. At the same time, the reactions around the repeal of Article 370 and the downgrading of J&K to a Union Territory has already elicited a range of reactions in India and elsewhere. We end this episode with a look at what lies ahead for the region

The abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution has been a long standing promise of the Bharatiya Janata Party and it would not surprise too many that they chose to act on it. Yet, what surprised everyone was the manner in which it was done, and the circumstances in Kashmir which were prevailing when this move took place. In this episode, Sarayu and Alok discuss the Constitutional and political implications of the abrogation of Article 370 and the potential implications for the future of Indian federalism. You can listen to this show and other awesome shows on the IVM Podcasts app on Android: https://ivm.today/android or iOS: https://ivm.today/ios, or any other podcast app.

Over the last six months we have discussed the macro of Indian politics, addressing large themes and looking at the politics at State level. In this episode, the last before we take a short hiatus, we go into the micro of India’s politics where we talk about Sarayu’s doctoral thesis on how people’s voting choices in an urban setting may be determined more by a very specific type of service delivery on the part of politicians rather than larger questions of ideology, caste or national concerns. You can listen to this show and other awesome shows on the IVM Podcasts app on Android: https://ivm.today/android or iOS: https://ivm.today/ios, or any other podcast app.

In this episode, we talk about the institutional tug-of-war that has taken place between the judiciary and the political executive over who controls the procedure to appoint judges to the High Courts and the Supreme Court. In this episode we try to unpack why governments have been concerned about exercising some sort of control over the process and why we are presently stuck in an unacceptable situation where almost no one is happy with the way judges are being appointed. You can listen to this show and other awesome shows on the IVM Podcasts app on Android: https://ivm.today/android or iOS: https://ivm.today/ios, or any other podcast app.

The NDA in Bihar faced anti-incumbency at both the State and Union levels when it went to the polls in 2019. Its stunning performance in the elections, improving on its performance from 2014 suggests that the alliance was able to in fact benefit from pro-incumbency in favour of Narendra Modi and possibly, Nitish Kumar. Just how was this achieved and what happened to Bihar's famed caste calculus? We are joined by Parth MN, a freelance journalist who covered the State of Bihar (among other "Hindi belt" states) extensively before the elections, to talk about why Bihar voted the way it did. You can find Parth's writing in the run up to the elections here: https://www.firstpost.com/author/parth-mn You can listen to this show and other awesome shows on the IVM Podcasts app on Android: https://ivm.today/android or iOS: https://ivm.today/ios, or any other podcast app.

Arguably, a central issue in the 2019 elections was the idea of India. The right, notably the BJP, imagine an idea of India at whose centre is a Hindu, and where Muslims (and others are excluded). But who is a Muslim? To discuss issues such as the homogenising tropes of the pukka mussalman, the notion of representation, presence and voice in democracy, and the interplay between law and politics, we are joined by Dr. Hilal Ahmed, Associate Prof at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, and the author of Siyasi Muslims: A Story of Political Islams in India (2019). You can listen to this show and other awesome shows on the IVM Podcasts app on Android: https://ivm.today/android or iOS: https://ivm.today/ios, or any other podcast app.

With the Bharatiya Janata Party and the National Democratic Alliance managing to almost repeat their 2014 performance in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, from the looks of it the Bahujan Samaj Party and Samajwadi Party failed to stitch up an effective alliance to counter them. Even though issues of agricultural distress, jobs, and law and order featured prominently in discussions about the state, somehow the "Gathbandhan" failed to capitalise on it to reduce the BJP's tally by much. In this episode, we are joined by veteran journalist and editor Hard News, Sanjay Kapoor to make sense of the way in which UP voted in 2019.

Political institutions, be the elected assemblies or political parties have not had the presence of women in their ranks, and not in senior levels. Is that too sweeping a statement? How does one parse presence, representation and voice for women in an electoral democracy? To discuss this, we are joined by Dr Carole Spary, co-author (with Dr. Shirin Rai) of Performing Representation (2018), which is a commentary on women in Indian politics, to talk about how to think about women in electoral politics, and whether, some parties are better able to incorporate women into their fold. You can listen to this show and other awesome shows on the IVM Podcasts app on Android: https://ivm.today/android or iOS: https://ivm.today/ios, or any other podcast app.

Tamil Nadu was one of the only states (the others being Kerala and Punjab) to resist the otherwise comprehensive sweep by the National Democratic Alliance in 2019. Yet, in the simultaneously held Assembly bypolls, the state-level ruling AIADMK was not as comprehensively routed. TN is state that has seen seen some political upheavals lately, with the passing of two senior leaders, J Jayalaithaa and K Karunanidhi. Why did TN resist the NDA sweep? In this episode, Dr Andrew Wyatt from the University of Bristol joins us to talk about how the DMK-Congres alliance managed to hold off the BJP, the historical trajectory of TN politics, and the impetus of regionalism in the state. We talk to him about what the TN assembly elections (2021) in the last segment. You can listen to this show and other awesome shows on the IVM Podcasts app on Android: https://ivm.today/android or iOS: https://ivm.today/ios, or any other podcast app.

Even though the Bharatiya Janata Party managed to cross the half-way mark for the second successive time in the 2019 elections, the coalition era of India's politics is well and truly entrenched, arising partly from the high degree of fragmentation in the Indian party system. Parties spend enormous amounts of time and energy in working out the minute details of pre-poll alliances, and are driven y a range of factors - the network brought by the alliance partner, the local caste dynamics, and concerns about perception. We're joined by Dr. Christiane Andersen to talk about the findings in her doctoral work which explores this question and offers some surprising results on what makes parties chose each other in a pre-poll alliance. You can listen to this show and other awesome shows on the IVM Podcasts app on Android: https://ivm.today/android or iOS: https://ivm.today/ios, or any other podcast app.

The National Democratic Alliance managed to repeat its 2014 election performance in Maharashtra winning 41 seats; the United Progressive Alliance, despite the alliance with the NCP did worse than 2014. This, in a state which has seen farmer mobilisations and caste based agitation (by Marathas and Dalits, but for different reasons) needs to be unpacked. In this episode, Sarthak Bagchi, Assistant Professor at Ahmedabad University joins us to talk about how the Bharatiya Janata Party- Shiv Sena alliance managed to hold on in the state through careful incorporation of disparate caste groups, the importance of entrenched networks and the role of turncoats, and the impact of the Bahujan Vanchit Aghadi and MIM alliance on Dalit-Bahujan politics, and what lies ahead in the Assembly elections for Maharashtra later this year. You can listen to this show and other awesome shows on the IVM Podcasts app on Android: https://ivm.today/android or iOS: https://ivm.today/ios, or any other podcast app.

The results of the 2019 elections have shown that brand and personal messaging on the part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi played a large role in the massive victory of the Bharatiya Janata Party. Going forward, social media platforms, both established ones such as Twitter and Facebook, and newer entrants such as Tik Tok and Sharechat, will play a key role in political messaging and election campaigns. In this episode we're joined by Dr Joyojeet Pal, Associate Professor at the University of Michigan to explain how individual politicians use social media to build their personal brands with voters and citizens, and how political parties' messaging reflects this. You can listen to this show and other awesome shows on the IVM Podcasts app on Android: https://ivm.today/android or iOS: https://ivm.today/ios, or any other podcast app.

Election commentators and nerds of all hues pore over turnout numbers to see if they can read the tea leaves that point to the eventual verdict. It has been no different in the 2019 general elections, with discussions about phase by phase turnouts and what it implies. The final turnout in #Elections 2019 are not very different from 2014. In this episode, Sarayu and Alok discuss what turnout can tell you, the factors that influence it, and the impact of structural factors on the ground and institutions in mediating turnout. You can listen to this show and other awesome shows on the IVM Podcasts app on Android: https://ivm.today/android or iOS: https://ivm.today/ios, or any other podcast app.

In a couple of days, discussions about the 2019 General elections will hinge on the release of exit poll numbers put up by various survey and media agencies. We explore what it takes to go from a good track record in calculating vote shares to problems in predicting how many seats a party will win. Why do opinion and exit polls struggle in India? Is it just a matter of resources, the complexity of the first-past-the-post-system in a diverse country, or the difficulty in integrating social theory into polling questions? How do you tell if an opinion or exit poll is credible? And perhaps most importantly, why does it matter? To discuss this and more, we are joined by one of India's leading pollsters, Sanjay Kumar of the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies to help us make sense of the numbers and what lies behind them.

In this episode, we are joined by Ankur Bhardwaj, Senior Editor at Business Standard to talk about the State of Haryana which goes to the polls in the 6th phase of polling. Assembly elections are also scheduled a few months after Lok Sabha polls suggesting that both could be impacted by the same trends and patterns. While the Jat community has dominated politics in the state of Haryana, the inter-caste violence that broke out in 2016 over reservation and many other issues exposed the political and social fault lines among the "chattis biradari" of Haryana. How have political parties moved to consolidate their support among various communities? Are we seeing a re-alignment among communities along very different party lines? Join us as we discuss these and more issues with Ankur. You can follow Ankur Bhardwaj on twitter here: https://twitter.com/Bhayankur You can listen to this show and other awesome shows on the IVM Podcasts app on Android: https://ivm.today/android or iOS: https://ivm.today/ios, or any other podcast app.

In this episode, we are joined by Shoaib Daniyal of Scroll.in’s team to talk about politics in West Bengal and learn about how the BJP is mobilising in this critical state that goes to polls tomorrow. We learn about the trajectory of left politics in Bengal and its entrenchment, and then its gradual dissipation. We learn about the rise of the Trinamool, and now the right. The BJP seems to be gaining from the Left strongholds, building on disillusionment to implant a macho, pan-Hindu identity. You can listen to this show and other awesome shows on the IVM Podcasts app on Android: https://ivm.today/android or iOS: https://ivm.today/ios, or any other podcast app.

Contrary to popular perception, Rajasthan is a diverse state which features everything from well irrigated agricultural regions to deserts, large urban centres, to a significant tribal belt along the border with Gujarat. It was also the state where it was possibly the "Modi wave" began in 2013 leading to the eventual clean sweep of the State by the Bharatiya Janata Party in the 2014 elections. In that context, what should we make of the Congress' victory in the Vidhan Sabha elections in 2018? Will the State vote in the same manner in the Centre as it did for the State or are their reasons to believe that the vote will be different this time? How do local political economies play into the electoral calculus? We are joined by Roshan Kishore, Data & Political Economy Editor at Hindustan Times to look at what the data tells us about the State and what we might expect going ahead. You can listen to this show and other awesome shows on the IVM Podcasts app on Android: https://ivm.today/android or iOS: https://ivm.today/ios, or any other podcast app.

Gujarat goes to the polls in the third phase of elections. In the last five years it has seen economic upheaval as a result of demonetisation and implementation of the GST. It has also seen mass agitation by Patidars and Dalits over reservations and atrocities respectively, and a resurgence of the Congress in the last Assembly elections. What are the issues on voters' minds this time? Will the economic downturn and agricultural distress play a role in determining the outcome? We're joined by Scroll.in's Aarefa Johari, an award winning journalist who has extensively covered the state in the last few years, to give us her thoughts and insights You can listen to this show and other awesome shows on the new and improved IVM Podcast App on Android: https://ivm.today/android or iOS: https://ivm.today/ios.

As parts of Assam and the North Eastern states of India go to the polls we take this opportunity to discuss some of the issues which have caused much discussion, debate and anxiety in the region. Specifically the implementation of the National Register of Citizens in Assam and the proposed introduction of the Citizenship Amendment Bill which aims to give accelerated citizenship to non-Muslim refugees from Muslim majority countries around India. We are joined by Dr Suan to understand the background of the issue, why it has come to the fore at this time and what it means for the politics of not just Assam but the rest of India as well. You can listen to this show and other awesome shows on the new and improved IVM Podcast App on Android: https://ivm.today/android or iOS: https://ivm.today/ios

India's newest state goes to the polls tomorrow in the first phase of polls alongside its "parent" state. Though Telangana and Andhra Pradesh were once the same state, their political trajectories have been very different and likewise the socio - economic concerns. In this episode we are joined by KK Kailash to discuss the evolution of politics in the two states, attempting to understand the policies of the Telangana Rashtra Samiti, the appeal of Pawan Kalyan's Jana Sena and the difference between "regional" and "regionalist" parties. You can listen to this show and other awesome shows on the new and improved IVM Podcast App on Android: https://ivm.today/android or iOS: https://ivm.today/ios

Starting this week we hope to discuss important themes and issues that might inform how voters choose and how parties reach out to voters in the upcoming elections. Before each phase of election, we will pick one state going to the polls and break down the political issues and trends in that state. Each episode will feature an expert who has studied the state for decades to offer in depth insight on the state we're discussing. In this introductory episode, we break down the major issues that have come up in surveys and conversations with voters and why. What are the economic issues on voters' minds and why? Will national security concerns have a bearing? These are some of the questions we hope to address here. Alongside, the issue of a Universal Basic Income has also entered the conversation in the run up to the elections. We are joined by Astha Kapoor to make sense of the UBI and promises of political parties in this respect. You can listen to this show and other awesome shows on the new and improved IVM Podcast App on Android: https://ivm.today/android or iOS: https://ivm.today/ios