Parley by The Hindu

Recently, while hearing an appeal by a man who was sentenced to 10 years in prison for maintaining a consensual relationship with a minor girl, the Bombay High Court said that it is high time India considered reducing the age of consent for sex. The court pointed out that after the enactment of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012, many adolescents are being prosecuted for consensual relationships with minor girls. Should the age of consent be revised in India? Here we discuss the question. Guests: Shraddha Chaudhary, a PhD Researcher, Faculty of Law, University of Cambridge and Lecturer, Jindal Global Law School; Bharti Ali, Co-founder and Executive Director of the HAQ Centre for Child RightsHost: Abhinay Lakshman

On July 18, the top leaders of 26 Opposition parties joined hands to form INDIA (Indian National Developmental, Inclusive Alliance), a coalition to take on the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance in the 2024 general elections. The coalition plans to set up an 11-member coordination committee, prepare an action plan, and eventually work out a seat-sharing arrangement. But is seat adjustment enough for Opposition unity? Here we discuss this question.Guests: Suhas Palshikar taught political science at Savitribai Phule University, Pune, and is chief editor of Studies in Indian Politics; E. Sridharan, the Academic Director and Chief Executive of the University of Pennsylvania Institute for the Advanced Study of IndiaHost: Sandeep Phukan

Delimitation is the process of redrawing boundaries of Lok Sabha and State Assembly constituencies based on a recent Census to ensure that each seat has an almost equal number of voters. The last delimitation exercise took place in 1976. While the current boundaries were drawn on the basis of the 2001 Census, the number of Lok Sabha and State Assembly seats remained frozen on the basis of the 1971 Census. In 2002, the Constitution was amended to place a freeze on the exercise until the first Census conducted after the year 2026.Should delimitation be delayed any further? Here we discuss the question.

Twenty-four years after its formation, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) split on July 2 over the question of succession. In 2022, the Shiv Sena went through a similar churn. This malady is not unique to Maharashtra; many regional parties in India, such as the Samajwadi Party (SP), have gone through this. Others, such as the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), seem poised to go undergo this churn. Are regional parties facing a succession problem? Here we discuss the question.  Guests: Sugata Srinivasaraju, senior journalist and author of Furrows in a Field — The Unexplored Life of H.D. Deve Gowda; Neelanjan Sircar, Senior Fellow at the Centre for Policy ResearchHost: Sobhana K. Nair

Over the past few years, the Indian government has increasingly been trying to control law and order by shutting access to the Internet, whether in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), Manipur or Punjab. Between 2016 and 2022, 60% of Internet shutdowns across the world took place in India. Should shutdowns be used to maintain public order? Here we discuss the question.Guests: Radhika Jhalani, Counsel with the Software Freedom Law Center in New Delhi; Karnika Seth, Founding Partner of Seth Associates and a cyberlawyer practising at the Supreme CourtHost: Aroon DeepRead the parley article hereYou can now find The Hindu’s podcasts on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Stitcher. Search for Parley by The Hindu.Write to us with comments and feedback at socmed4@thehindu.co.in

The intellectual class of West Bengal, euphemistically termed the Bhadralok, has long held a pivotal role in shaping culture, politics and policy in the State. From producing timeless cinema to dominating political power to setting policies on welfare, reforms and state interventions, this segment of Bengali society performed an outsized role. But all indications are that its influence is fading quickly in the State and beyond. Surajit Chandra Mukhopadhyay and Sandip Roy ponder the relevance of the Bhadralok in a discussion moderated by Shiv Sahay SinghGuests: Surajit Chandra Mukhopadhay, Dean, School of Social Sciences and Humanities, The Assam Royal Global University; Sandip Roy, author and journalist.Host: Shiv Sahay Singh

Last month, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee asked the Health Department to consider starting a three-year diploma course for medical practitioners, who would then serve in primary health centres (PHCs). This is not the first time that such a proposal has been considered in the country. India has nearly 1 lakh MBBS seats, but there continues to be a massive shortage of doctors in rural areas. Will a shorter course help bring in more medical professionals to serve where they are needed or will it erode the structure of medical education? Here we discuss the question. Guests: Dr. Sudha Seshayyan, former Vice Chancellor, The Tamil Nadu Dr MGR Medical University; Dr. Soham D. Bhaduri, Health Policy and Leadership Specialist; Editor-in-Chief, The Indian PractitionerHost: Zubeda Hamid

On June 2, 2023, an accident involving three trains took place in Balasore district of Odisha. It claimed 288 lives and left more 1,200 people injured. The tragedy has left several questions in its wake about safety, signalling, and overcrowding. Here we discuss whether the Indian Railways is stretched beyond its capacity. Guests: Mahesh Mangal, former additional member of the Railway Board. He led the team which developed Kavach; Sudhanshu Mani, retired General Manager of the Integrated Coach Factory of the Indian Railways in Chennai, creator of the Vande Bharat Express.

In a recent note, former Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan questioned the success of the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme in boosting India’s domestic manufacturing and exports. The PLI scheme was introduced by the Centre in 2020. Lakhs of crores of rupees have been allocated towards subsidising companies that manufacture in India. The Centre believes that the PLI scheme has boosted the domestic manufacturing sector, but critics have questioned its success. Do PLI schemes for manufacturing work? Here we discuss the question.

After its loss in the recent Assembly elections in Karnataka, the Bharatiya Janata Party is left with no State government in south India. It is part of an alliance in the Union Territory of Puducherry. The governments of the five States of the south are led by different parties — the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam in Tamil Nadu, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) in Kerala, the YSR Congress Party in Andhra Pradesh, the Bharat Rashtra Samithi in Telangana, and the Congress in Karnataka. This is not a new trend; the south has rarely followed the electoral trend set by the north. In the 1977 Lok Sabha elections, while the Congress was wiped out in the Hindi heartland, it continued to hold onto its seats in the south. Similarly, in the last nine years, even at the peak of its popularity the BJP has been unable to breach the southern fortress as convincingly as it would like to. Is there a north-south divide in politics? Here we discuss the question.Guests: K.K. Kailash teaches at the Department of Political Science, Hyderabad University; Sudha Pai is a political scientist and former Professor, JNUHost: Sobhana K. Nair