Introduction

Professor Salvatore Babones is an American sociologist, academician and higher education commentator who is currently an associate professor at the University of Sydney and an adjunct scholar at the Centre for Independent Studies. He has authored over a dozen books and academic articles and writes about Asia’s role in the global political economy with special focus on China and India. Babones criticized democracy indices for downgrading India’s ranking under the Modi government in 2022, which won him followers among Indian conservatives, while liberals grew suspicious of him. Babones is also a social media buff and has a huge fan following in India. In this edition of Podcast with Smita Prakash shot in February 2023, Babones talks about western biases against India and how a handful of intellectuals vilify India on the global stage in connivance with western media outlets. He also talks about Islamophobia in Indian politics, the RSS, and New India.