The Listening Post

It is election season in India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi seems set to win a third successive term in the national elections — for good reason, say his supporters. They claim 10 years of the Modi government have transformed India, from lifting millions out of poverty to elevating India’s global status, but his critics say Modi’s record is far from perfect.In this episode of The India Report, we analyse how India has fared in the past decade on the foreign policy and economic policy fronts.Featuring:Jayati Ghosh - Professor of economics, University of MassachusettsAnand Gurumurthy - BJP spokesperson  and economistSuhasini Haider - Diplomatic affairs editor, The HinduRaghuram Rajan - Former governor, Reserve Bank of IndiaVeena Sikri - Former external affairs diplomat for India

With international reporters locked out, Palestinian journalists have made huge sacrifices to keep the world informed of the unprecedented killing and destruction in Gaza.More media workers have been killed by Israel since October 7 than in any other conflict in modern history.Like the rest of the population, Gaza's journalists have also been maimed, arrested or threatened, have seen their homes and offices destroyed and are grieving over the loss of those close to them.The Listening Post spent time with three Al Jazeera journalists between February and March 2024.Contributors:Anas al-Sharif – Reporter, Al Jazeera ArabicHind Khoudary – Reporter, Al Jazeera EnglishMarah Elwadiya – Journalist, Al Jazeera DigitalA Listening Post/Ain Media co-production.Tariq Nafi – Senior ProducerShrouq Aila – Gaza-based ProducerAhmed Madi – ProducerKit Harwood – EditorMeenakshi Ravi – Executive ProducerSubscribe to our channel http://bit.ly/AJSubscribeFollow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/AJEnglishFind us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/aljazeeraCheck our website: https://www.aljazeera.com/Check out our Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/aljazeeraenglish/Download AJE Mobile App: https://aje.io/AJEMobile@AljazeeraEnglish#Aljazeeraenglish#News

Six months into Israel’s devastating war on Gaza, the United Nations Security Council has finally passed a resolution demanding a ceasefire. The United States’s abstention marks a pivotal moment in Israel’s increasing international isolation.In the Israeli media, the opposition to the UN vote is near-unanimous and unsurprising. More striking is the lack of interest from American news outlets. The implications this story raises are perhaps a little uncomfortable for them - they hit too close to home.Contributors:Ramzy Baroud - Editor, The Palestine ChronicleArdi Imseis  - Former UNRWA officialDaniel Levy - President, US-Middle East ProjectSarah Leah Whitson - Executive Director, DAWNOn our radar:A New York Times piece has revealed more information about the mass surveillance Israel has deployed on Palestinians in Gaza. Producer Tariq Nafi reports on how facial recognition is being used to collect and catalogue the faces of Palestinians, “without their knowledge or consent".Modi’s messaging machineIn a few weeks, India will launch a six-week-long process of voting for the next national government - and Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to win an historic third term in office. Producer Meenakshi Ravi explores the all-encompassing information ecosystem that is likely to help put Modi back in the prime minister’s office.Featuring :Neerja Chowdhury - Contributing editor, Indian ExpressNilanjan Mukhopadhyay - Author, Narenda Modi: The man, the timesSaba Naqvi - Author, The Saffron Storm

With India amid a national election campaign, its news media is in sharp focus. Until recently it was believed that the sheer diversity of outlets ensured a range of perspectives, but now, India’s mainstream media has largely been co-opted by the Bharatiya Janata Party and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Just how did the media in India get to this point and what does it mean for the upcoming elections?Featuring:Ravish Kumar - Former Host, NDTVShashi Shekhar Vempati - Former CEO, Prasar BharatiPramod Raman - Chief Editor, MediaOneAmy Kazmin - Former South Asia Bureau Chief, Financial TimesMeena Kotwal - Founder, The MooknayakSubscribe to our channel http://bit.ly/AJSubscribeFollow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/AJEnglishFind us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/aljazeeraCheck our website: https://www.aljazeera.com/Check out our Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/aljazeeraenglish/Download AJE Mobile App: https://aje.io/AJEMobile@AljazeeraEnglish#Aljazeeraenglish#News

The threat to ban TikTok in the United States has prompted an online backlash. Critics question the premise that Chinese ownership poses a security risk and suggest the real reason may be the surge in pro-Palestinian content since October 7.Contributors:Julia Angwin - Tech Policy Writer, New York Times; Founder, Proof NewsRussel Brandom - Tech Editor, Rest Of The WorldMarwa Fatafta - MENA Policy and Advocacy Director, Access NowEvan Greer – Director, Fight for the FutureOn our radar:In yet another deadly raid on Gaza’s al-Shifa Hospital, Israel abducted Palestinian journalists covering the story – including one of Al Jazeera’s own. Producer Nicholas Muirhead reports.Why Russia has looted Ukraine’s artFollowing Vladimir Putin’s expected re-election this week, we’re revisiting a story about the Russian military’s targeting of Ukraine’s heritage. Producer Tariq Nafi explores how Russia’s war on Ukrainian culture is designed to rewrite history and weaken the country’s resistance.Featuring:Milena Chorna - Head of International Exhibitions, War Museum in UkraineAlina Dotsenko - Director, Kherson Regional Art MuseumIhor Poshyvailo - General Director, Maidan Museum

Elections are weeks away in India and opposition parties are attempting to take on the seemingly unstoppable juggernaut of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is seeking a third consecutive term.The opposition claims that Modi’s success rate has very little to do with his governance – but more because scores of his political rivals have been arrested or charged on questionable grounds. They say it has kneecapped the opposition and gamed the political arena in favour of the governing party.In this episode of The India Report, Sreenivasan Jain examines whether these actions are – as the Prime Minister claims – part of his crusade against high-level corruption, or an unprecedented campaign against of the opposition which is deeply dangerous to India’s democracy.Featuring:Derek O’Brien - Member of Indian ParliamentAdish Aggarwala - President, Supreme Court Bar AssociationAnjali Bhardwaj - Founder, Satark Nagrik SangathanPriyanka Kakkar - Chief Spokesperson, AAPMaya Tudor - Professor, Blavatnik School of Government

With the global media’s attention trained on Gaza since October 7, things have worsened for Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, and near impossible for journalists to cover.With their movement severely restricted, dozens of Palestinian journalists have been arrested, often held without trial or charge.Contributors:Anan Quzmar - JournalistAssal Rad - Middle East Scholar and AuthorMariam Barghouti - Writer and JournalistOren Ziv - Journalist, +972 MagazineOn our radar:Ahead of an upcoming election in India, there has been a slew of movie releases built around key Modi government talking points. Producer Tariq Nafi discusses Bollywood’s role in electioneering.George Soros - Financier, philanthropist Or bogeyman?Hungarian-American billionaire financier and philanthropist George Soros has been at the centre of countless conspiracy theories. Flo Phillips sifts through fact and fiction to understand how the crusade against Soros became one of the most destructive smear campaigns of the 21st century and a blueprint for others.Featuring:Emily Tamkin - Author, The Influence Of SorosHannes Grassegger - Reporter and Founder, Polaris NewsMarius Dragomir - Director, Center For Media, Data and Society (CMDS)Credits: George Soros images courtesy of the Open Society Foundations

The politics of Hindu nationalism have played a central role in the dramatic rise of the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. As the elections have neared, the Modi regime has turbocharged its Hindu-first agenda - best exemplified in the inauguration of the Ram Temple in the city of Ayodhya.Veteran journalist Sreenivasan Jain explains how the opening of this temple - and the whitewashing of its controversial past - illustrates how Modi and his party have made their brand of Hindu supremacism not only acceptable, but a key part of Narendra Modi’s appeal to Indians.Featuring:Asaduddin Owaisi - Member of the Indian ParliamentUma Bharti - Former Vice-President, Bharatiya Janata PartyHartosh Singh Bal - Political Editor, The Caravan

The United States' airdrops of aid into Gaza are a textbook case of cognitive dissonance on the part of the US administration - dropping food while continuing to send Israel bombs with which to pulverise Gaza. And the gulf between what’s happening on the ground and the mainstream media’s reportage continues to widen.Contributors:Laura Albast - Fellow, Institute for Palestine StudiesMohamad Bazzi - Professor, New York UniversityAntony Loewenstein - Author, The Palestine LaboratoryMouin Rabbani - Co-editor, JadaliyyaOn our radar:Since Israel launched its assault on Gaza, the war has been a delicate subject for Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. The war has led to censorship of news coverage and suppression of public protest. Meenakshi Ravi reports.Israel's cultural annihilation in GazaThe Listening Post has covered Israel’s war on Gaza through the prism of the media, including the unprecedented killing of Palestinian journalists. But there’s another level to what’s unfolding in Gaza: the genocidal assault on Palestinian history, existence and culture.Featuring:Jehad Abusalim - Executive Director, The Jerusalem Fund

In December 2023, The New York Times published an explosive article - now widely discredited - that detailed Hamas’s agenda to weaponise rape and sexual violence on October 7. We reveal the controversies surrounding the article along with the broader issue of Western media outlets’ pro-Israeli/anti-Palestinian bias.Lead contributors:Ali Abunimah - Director, Electronic IntifadaChris Hedges - Former Middle East Bureau Chief, The New York TimesYumna Patel - Palestine News Director, MondoweissOn our radar:After they won an award at the Berlinale film festival, the reaction to a speech by filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Basel Adra has become the latest example of Germany’s toxic debate on Gaza.  Meenakshi Ravi reports.Genocide in Gaza through the eyes of Israeli soldiersFor months, Israeli soldiers in Gaza have been documenting their own war crimes against Palestinians and sharing them on social media.The Listening Post collected and reviewed hundreds of items. We asked three experts on human rights and torture to examine the material.Featuring:Basil Farraj - Assistant Professor, Birzeit UniversityLisa Hajjar - Professor of Sociology, UC Santa BarbaraSarah Leah Whitson - Executive Director of Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN)Producers: Tariq Nafi and Elettra ScrivoWith thanks to: Younis Tiwari and Tali ShapiroSubscribe to our channel http://bit.ly/AJSubscribeFollow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/AJEnglishFind us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/aljazeeraCheck our website: https://www.aljazeera.com/Check out our Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/aljazeeraenglish/Download AJE Mobile App: https://aje.io/AJEMobile@AljazeeraEnglish#Aljazeeraenglish#News