

Grand Tamasha
Hindustan Times - HT Smartcast
Each week, Milan Vaishnav and his guests from around the world break down the latest developments in Indian politics, economics, foreign policy, society, and culture for a global audience. Grand Tamasha is a co-production of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and the Hindustan Times. And you are listening to Season 6.
This is a Hindustan Times production, brought to you by HT Smartcast.
This is a Hindustan Times production, brought to you by HT Smartcast.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Apr 24, 2024 • 57min
The Great Indian Poverty—and Inequality—Debate
Expert on poverty and inequality in India, Maitreesh Ghatak, dives into the complexities of poverty decline in India, analyzing government consumption survey data transparency issues, the unique path to poverty reduction, and the intricate relationship between inequality, poverty, and growth in the country.

Apr 3, 2024 • 39min
Decoding the Indian Economy
Economists Mohamed El-Erian, Michael Spence, and Pranjul Bhandari discuss India's economy, covering topics like inflation dynamics, RBI strategies, budget analysis, FDI decline, services vs. manufacturing debate, and fiscal deficit challenges. Insights on GDP growth rates, global dynamics, and economic outlook for India provided.

Mar 20, 2024 • 60min
The Citizenship Amendment Act's Next Chapter
1. “What’s Happening to India’s Rohingya Refugees? (with Priyali Sur and Daniel Sullivan),” Grand Tamasha, May 24, 2023.2. Mohsin Alam Bhat and Aashish Yadav, “CAA will not help persecuted Hindus, Sikhs from neighbouring countries,” Indian Express, March 19, 2024.3. “The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019,” PRS Legislative Research.4. Madhav Khosla and Milan Vaishnav, “The Three Faces of the Indian State,” Journal of Democracy 32, no. 1 (2021): 111-125.5. Mohsin Alam Bhat, “The Constitutional Case Against the Citizenship Amendment Bill,” Economic and Political Weekly 54, no.3 (2019): 12-14.6. Mohsin Alam Bhat, “‘The Irregular’ and the Unmaking of Minority Citizenship: The Rules of Law in Majoritarian India,” Queen Mary Law Research Paper No. 395/2022.7. Niraja Gopal Jayal, “Faith-based Citizenship,” The India Forum, October 31, 2019.

Mar 6, 2024 • 42min
Dalits in the New Millennium
Devesh Kapur, Chandra Bhan Prasad, Lant Pritchett, and D. Shyam Babu, “Rethinking Inequality: Dalits in Uttar Pradesh in the Market Reform Era,” Economic and Political Weekly 45, no. 35 (August 28-September 3, 2010): 39-49.
Devesh Kapur, Chandra Bhan Prasad, and D. Shyam Babu, Defying the Odds: The Rise of Dalit Entrepreneurs (New Delhi: Vintage, 2014).
D. Shyam Babu, “From empowerment to disenfranchisement: Lower caste mobilisation appears to have run its course,” Times of India, August 28, 2019.
Chandra Bhan Prasad, “Fellow Dalits, open your own bank: If no one else, Dalit middle class can fund Dalit capitalism to produce Dalit billionaires,” Times of India, November 25, 2019.
Devesh Kapur, “Fraternity in the making of the Indian nation,” Seminar 701 (2017).

Feb 28, 2024 • 50min
The End of the Electoral Bond Era
Milan Vaishnav, “On electoral bonds, a short-lived celebration,” Hindustan Times, February 17, 2024.
“Crime and Politics with Milan Vaishnav,” The DAKSH Podcast, September 2022.
Devesh Kapur and Milan Vaishnav, eds., Costs of Democracy: Political Finance in India (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2018).
Milan Vaishnav, When Crime Pays: Money and Muscle in Indian Politics (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2017).

Feb 21, 2024 • 53min
A Fresh Look at India’s Neighborhood First Policy
Constantino Xavier and Riya Sinha, “How India Budgets to Become a Leading Power,” Centre for Social and Economic Progress, February 8, 2023.
Constantino Xavier, “India: Looking to Help Frame a New Global Balance,” in Regional Security Outlook 2023 (Canberra: Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia Pacific, 2022).
Constantino Xavier and Amitendu Palit, eds., Connectivity and Cooperation in the Bay of Bengal Region (New Delhi: Centre for Social and Economic Progress, 2023).
Constantino Xavier and Jabin Jacob, eds., How China Engages South Asia: Themes, Partners and Tools(New Delhi: Centre for Social and Economic Progress, 2023).
Hillary Rodham Clinton, “Remarks on India and the United States: A Vision for the 21st Century,” Chennai, India, July 20, 2011.

Feb 7, 2024 • 43min
Separating Fact from Fiction
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.

Jan 24, 2024 • 51min
Governing India's Digital Revolution
“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.

Nov 22, 2023 • 56min
The Downfall of India's Princely States
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.

Nov 8, 2023 • 52min
The India-Canada Conundrum
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.