The Wire Talks

India’s left parties are no longer as influential as they used to be. In her new book, Comrades and Comebacks: The Battle of the Left to Win the Indian Mind, Saira Shah Halim, CPI(M) candidate in the 2024 elections, analyses the reasons for this and suggests the way forward. “There have been strategic decisions that went wrong, but morally the Left has never made a mistake,” she said in a podcast conversation with Sidharth Bhatia. Halim talks of the need to bring in the youth and look at contemporary issues – “Let’s look at gig workers, at student networks, at climate change movements, at women,” she said. She felt that the BJP could not be taken on by showing "soft-Hindutva”. She believes Mamdani had shown radical ideas — “I mean, this guy is unfazed, he is taking on Donald Trump, he is taking on these right wing oligarchs, he is taking on these big capitalists, and he is winning because, you know, people are liking these new ideas, which are a far cry from the traditional morals of what the old communists stood for,” though she clarifies that the old guard was right in its own way.

Comedians and satirists have borne the brunt of the state and of people who are offended by something or the other, but even so, the stand up comedy scene is quite active with many faces. One such is Punit Pania, who left his corporate job 10 years ago and is now a very successful stand up comic.   His topics range from poor roads and civic architecture, know-all bhakt uncles, and NRIs, but he also talks about social issues. “In my first open mic, I had two minutes and talked about domestic violence because I felt it had to be talked about,” he said to Sidharth Bhatia in a podcast conversation. He noticed that a man from the audience left, “dragging a woman behind.”   Pania says he is not a political activist, but his comedy cannot help being political. “Why there are potholes on the road and why there is no beef on your plate, both things are politically driven. And those are just the most blatant examples. If you really drill down, almost every aspect of your life has a political background to it.”   Even so, he slips in references to political leaders. “When you completely inundate the country with your image and your persona and then people can't even mention your name. Even slightly critically. How is that fair? So, when you take all the credit you will get all the blame also.”    He also explains why the laws have made religion out of bounds but there are still “innovative ways to say what you want to say.”

Why have digital scams become so commonplace? And why are senior citizens falling prey to scamsters?   “We can say that a vast number of people who fall for cyber scams are senior citizens,” says Ruby Dhingra, a former journalist who co-founded Saksham Senior which works to digitally empowers senior citizens.   “There are a number of reasons for this, ranging from neurological factors and the fact that seniors have money in the bank, property etc.,” Dhingra said in a podcast conversation with Sidharth Bhatia.   She gives some examples of the kind of scams that are being perpetrated—from sextortion to investment opportunities to ‘digital arrest’ which has become very common. “A banker in Delhi lost Rs 23 crore to a digital arrest scam.”   “The digital arrest is the scariest,” she said. The victim is isolated from everyone and threatened with arrest if they step out of the house. “There have been cases where the victim is under digital arrest for a month.” She said most scam organisations work out of South East Asia and the government brought back many hundreds of Indians last year who had been kept there forcefully.

It is no longer unusual to hear of someone, especially from a younger generation, who is undergoing therapy from a mental health professional, which is a big change from some years ago.    The Covid lockdown increased “stress, depression and anxiety for many” says Maherra Desai, clinical psychologist in Mumbai’s Jaslok Hospital on World Mental Health Day. “Social media too has increased a sense of isolation,” she says during a podcast discussion with Sidharth Bhatia. Desai explains there are many reasons why people seek out therapists — they may be in distress or feel they need help — “They recognise the need for mental health.”   She says not only do younger Indians seek out therapists for themselves, but also persuade their elders to do so too. “A de-stigmatisation has happened.” And queries come from all kinds of places. “I get messages from remote parts of the country from people who have found my number.” Many consult online too. “Online consultation too has taken off—earlier I was skeptical, but I now see it can be effective.”   India has a need but also a severe shortage of qualified counsellors. “The World Health Organisation recommends 3 psychiatrists per one lakh population, but India has only 0.75 per lakh.”

In President Trump’s second term, he has imposed several sanctions against India, starting from 50% tariffs on Indian exports for importing oil from Russia and the latest one of a massive $100,000 fee for new H1B applications. Considering that Indians get 70% of new H1B visas, it will affect professionals from India the most.   What is the reason behind these decisions, especially since many countries, including China, import oil from Russia? Does he have anything against India, more so since he calls Narendra Modi his friend?   “Trump is a bully and he likes strong leaders. ” says Manoj Joshi, Distinguished Fellow at the Observer Research Foundation in this candid interview. Also, he says, “India does not offer the kind of business opportunities that China does.” As far as his praise for Pakistan, he has business opportunities with crypto deals there. “Plus, Pakistan. Nominated him for the Nobel Prize. He desperately wants it,” he said to Sidharth Bhatia on the podcast The Wire Talks.    He said the Indian side has chosen not to respond to Trump’s claims, “keeping a discreet silence.” “When we have no leverage, there is no point posturing.” Also, he said, “Indian leaders are not known for taking a courageous stand.”   Joshi also mentioned the huge fee on H1B visas, which, it has been clarified, are only for new applicants. “I don’t think H1B is a closed chapter.”

There has been growing anti-immigration and anti-Indian sentiment in many countries, including in Australia. A Member of Parliament recently claimed that the government was bringing in too many Indians so that they would vote for it.  The government criticised her and her own party demoted her status. A government report in 2021 called Indians a “national asset”. “The educated people and those in white collar jobs know this, but the rest of the populace does not,” says Surjeet Dhanji, an academic fellow at the Australia India Institute and a scholar of migration. “But when you have the Liberal party saying we need to cap migration or cap international students, and when Indians are among the leading numbers of migrants, what kind of message are you sending?” The Indians are polite, they work hard, they pay taxes, they speak English, but “there are no Indians in leadership roles,” she said to Sidharth Bhatia in a podcast conversation. “We need a concerted effort by the Indian community to tell the layperson who watches the news or is on social media that Indians are contributing.” But Australians don’t like it when “migrants bring their home issues to this country.” She explains that after the anti-Indian violence in 2008 and after Covid, migration slowed down and a huge backlog built up. “But the numbers of Indians are no more than of any other community,” she said. However,  they are visible in many blue collar jobs such as couriers, hospitality, security guards. 

The agitation in Nepal last week had three dimensions—the total collapse of the state machinery, multiple forces joining the GenZ agitators and unprecedented destruction of public and private property, says Mahendra P. Lama, senior professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi and an astute observer of Nepal for several decades. Lama was in Kathmandu during the agitation and also spoke to several local citizens.   “There was a huge gap between GenZ and the government,” he said in a podcast conversation with Sidharth Bhatia, ”but there was a pattern to the violence-it was well sequenced, with arson, looting, mayhem, killing.”  He expressed surprise that the army was not summoned on the first day and the political parties remained quiet.   Over the past 10 years, there have been 14 prime ministers, some lasting barely three months and none of them had done anything for the country or its citizens. He said Nepalis were not violent people but the “Maoists had inculcated a culture of violence in the country.” He embossed that over this period, “India had nothing to bring stability to Nepal or help build institutions,” he said, adding, “India needs to change its strategy in Nepal.”

What is the cause of the severe flooding seen in northern states and cities?    “Climate change and its impact is intensifying rainfall pattern. The bigger failure is how our cities are designed, planned and managed and continue to grow,” says Mihir Bhatt, Ahmedabad based architect and urban planner. Bhatt is the director of the All India Disaster Management Institute, which works on initiatives in risk reduction and climate resilience.   He said there was a “design mismatch.” “Our stormwater systems and drainage networks are built for rainfall pattern for the past, not for the present, even less for the future,” he said to Sidharth Bhatia in a podcast conversation.   He also gave the example of Gurugram, where “rapid urbanisation filled in natural catchments that once absorbed excess water from the neighbouring area.” Flooding would be seen in rural and urban areas for the near and perhaps long term future, but many solutions are there. He gave the example of Nagaland, where 39 local government bodies came together to work with the state government on disaster mitigation. “I am not a pessimist” he said. “Indians can build something if we let them.”

The reason why the Marathas have begun agitating for reservations in recent years is because there is a “rural as well as urban crisis” in the state’s political economy, says Sumeet Mhaskar, professor of sociology in OP Jindal University. Marathas are getting no access to economically secure jobs because more and more government jobs are contractual.   Mhaskar explains the process for getting reservations is not the Government Resolution (GR) such as the Maharashtra government has done. “Reservations can only be given by the Backward Caste Commission.” Nonetheless, he says, now the “OBC groups will agitate. They may go to court.” One danger for the OBCs is that the Marathas will stand for election in seats which are reserved for OBCs, he explains.    He also feels there is a political dimension to the entire agitation, especially since Fadnavis is a Brahmin and power traditionally has been held by Marathas. He points out that elections to municipal bodies are to be held soon and if Devendra Fadnavis hadn’t granted what the agitators wanted it would have had an impact on the elections.

A rupture has taken place within our community relationships and this will take a long time to heal even if the government changes. This is the candid analysis by Manoj Kumar Jha, academic and one of the more articulate Indian parliamentarians.   “Dogwhistling has moved from the fringe to the centre,” he says in a podcast conversation with Sidharth Bhatia.   Jha’s collection of columns has recently been published under the title In Praise of Coalition Politics and Other Essays on Indian Democracy. The essays cover a variety of subjects ranging from the caste census, Waqf properties, the RSS and government servants, and Jha’s letters to Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru.    Jha says university appointments are made keeping in mind the candidate’s affiliation to the organisation. “The only thing spoken in favour of the new vice-president is that he is a die-hard RSS man. Is this a qualification for a post where the first one (vice-president) was Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan?”   Jha says, “If I love my nation, I must critique my government.” He points out that Nehru sat through debates where he was critiqued. “What is so sacrosanct today that you report from Assam and sedition laws are applied?”