Grand Tamasha

Karan Thapar, “Debunking propaganda myths, restoring truths,” Hindustan Times, January 27, 2024. Sreenivasan Jain, Mariyam Alavi, and Supriya Sharma, “Bringing Journalistic Scrutiny to Hindutva Conspiracy Theories,” The Wire, January 17, 2024.

“What the Personal Data Protection Act Means for India (with Rahul Matthan),” Grand Tamasha, Septemner 27, 2023. “Book Discussion: The Third Way: India’s Revolutionary Approach to Data Governance,” Carnegie India Global Technology Summit 2023, December 7, 2023. Rahul Matthan, “Tech policy in India has had a year packed with action,” Mint, December 27, 2023.

Experts Rahul Sagar, Aditya Balasubramanian, and Ramachandra Guha discuss the history of India's princely states, the Congress Party's changing stance towards them, the challenges of integrating them into the Indian Union, the management of the states by the Indian Political Department, a dispute over Junagar's succession, and the abolishment of privy purses and its impact on Indian politics.

Sanjay Ruparelia, expert on India-Canada relations and author, discusses the strained relationship between the two countries, the growing Indian diaspora in Canada, and the political influence of the Sikh diaspora. The podcast also explores Canada's Indo-Pacific strategy and the possibilities of resetting the relationship under new administrations in both countries.

Crystal Ennis and Nicolas Blarel discuss India's evolving Middle East policy and its response to the Israel-Palestine conflict. They explore Modi's initial support for Israel, changing positions of the Congress party, and India's envy towards Israel's security capabilities. The podcast also highlights the historical context of India's relationship with Israel, their defense partnership, and the potential implications for India's Middle East relations.

Exploring the Women's Reservation Bill and its impact on gender representation in Indian politics. Examining the low percentage of female representation in Parliament and state assemblies. Discussing the alternative approach of mandating party tickets for women candidates. Exploring the challenges faced by women MPs and the BJP government's approach to women and governance. Analyzing the implications of the Women's Reservation Bill for political parties, politicians, and campaigns.

1.Ajay Mathur, “International finance must take a lead in mobilising solar investments,”Business Standard, September 7, 20232. Ajay Mathur, “Here's how solar can help triple renewable energy by 2030,” World Economic Forum, August 14, 2023.3. “What COP26 Means for India—and the World,” (with Navroz Dubash),Grand Tamasha, November 17, 2021.4. “How India Can Get to Net Zero Emissions,” (with Jayant Sinha),Grand Tamasha, October 13, 2021. 

Prashant Jha, Ashok Malik, and Ro Khanna discuss the recent G20 Summit in New Delhi, India's growing international engagement, the Delhi Declaration's noteworthy commitments, the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor, US-India cooperation, and insights from Ashok Malik's diverse career and India's G20 participation.

Ro Khanna, “The New Industrial Age,”Foreign Affairs, January/February 2023. “The Next Chapter in U.S.-India Defense Ties(with Lindsey Ford),”Grand Tamasha, September 5, 2023. Sumitra Badrinathan, Devesh Kapur, Jonathan Kay, and Milan Vaishnav, “Social Realities of Indian Americans: Results From the 2020 Indian American Attitudes Survey,” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, June 9, 2021. Arvin Alaigh, “A Reckoning for the Modi Democrats,”Dissent, December 23, 2020.

Programming Note: This is the very last episode of Season Nine of Grand Tamasha. As is our usual, we are going to take July and August off to recharge our batteries. We will be back in September with our tenth season of podcasts, and we’re excited about the conversations we have planned for the Fall. Some of our listeners may recall way back in February 2020—the month before the world came to a standstill—Milan sat down with the journalistPramit Bhattacharya to to discuss the unfolding crisis in Indian economic data. Pramit returns to the show today to discuss a new report that he’s just published with Carnegie titled, “India’s Statistical System: Past, Present, Future.”Pramit’s new report is the single-best resource on the trials and tribulations of India’s data machinery. It contains the kind of straight-ahead reporting and analysis that people have come to expect from Pramit, who writes the “Truth, Lies, and Statistics” column forMintand the “Simply Economics” column for theHindustan Times.Milan and Pramit discuss why it is both the best and worst of times for data users in India, how India squandered its competitive advantage in statistical data, and just exactly what today’s data crisis means for the average Indian. Plus, the two discuss Pramit’s ideas for overhauling the system. Episode notes:“Pramit Bhattacharya on the Crisis in India’s Economic Data,”Grand Tamasha, February 12, 2020.Arvind Subramanian, “India's GDP Mis-estimation: Likelihood, Magnitudes, Mechanisms, and Implications,” Harvard Kennedy School Working Paper, June 2019.Pramit Bhattacharya, “How India’s Statistical System Was Crippled,”Mint, May 7, 2019.Pramit Bhattacharya, “Make our statistics credible again,”Mint, January 3, 2022.