

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 6, 2022 • 43min
Democracy and Anti-Corruption Protests in India
Christine Hall, “GlobalWonks relaunches as Enquire AI following $5.5M round,” TechCrunch, December 15, 2021.
Bilal Baloch, “10 years later, assessing UPA’s response to IAC,” Hindustan Times, December 11, 2021.
Sandip Sukhtankar and Milan Vaishnav, “Corruption in India: Bridging Research
Evidence and Policy Options,” India Policy Forum 11: 193-276.

Mar 30, 2022 • 47min
Russia, China, and Pivotal State Elections
Sadanand Dhume, “India Has a Lot to Lose in Ukraine,” Wall Street Journal, February 3, 2022.
Tanvi Madan, “India is Not Sitting on the Geopolitical Fence,” War on the Rocks, October 27, 2021.
“India's High-Wire Act on Russia-Ukraine,” (with Raji Rajagopalan), Grand Tamasha, March 2, 2022.

Mar 23, 2022 • 38min
How to Fix India’s Water Crisis
Chanpreet Khurana, “Mridula Ramesh: "Business leaders exist on a spectrum on 'water/climate awareness',” Moneycontrol, February 20, 2022.
“What COP26 Means for India—and the World,” (with Navroz Dubash), Grand Tamasha, November 17, 2021.
“How India Can Get to Net Zero Emissions,” (with Jayant Sinha), Grand Tamasha, October 13, 2021.

Mar 16, 2022 • 37min
The Road to the 2024 Election Starts Now
Mirza Asmer Beg, Shashikant Pandey, and Shreyas Sardesai, “The BJP’s rock solid social coalition,” Hindu, March 12, 2022.
Rahul Verma, “Grand Old Party and Its Grand Illusions,” Times of India, March 13, 2022.

Mar 9, 2022 • 35min
How Will the Ukraine Crisis Impact India’s Economy?
Sajjid Chinoy, “Managing the crude price pressure,” Indian Express, March 4, 2022.
Sajjid Chinoy, “4 choices, no free lunch: Budget attempted a balancing act in a complex domestic & global macro environment,” Times of India, February 3, 2022.
“Breaking Down India’s Budget,” (with Roshan Kishore), Grand Tamasha, February 16, 2022.
Sajjid Chinoy and Toshi Jain, “India’s 4Q21 GDP underwhelms, underscoring the pandemic’s scars,” J.P. Morgan, February 28, 2022.

Mar 2, 2022 • 34min
India’s High-Wire Act on Russia Ukraine
Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan, “Why Did Russian President Putin Visit India?” Observer Research Foundation, December 15, 2021.
Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan, “India’s Place in the New U.S. Indo-Pacific Strategy,” Observer Research Foundation, February 24, 2021.
Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan, “Putin and Xi Frame a New China-Russia Partnership,” Observer Research Foundation, February 15, 2021.
“The Looming Cloud of Sanctions Over U.S.-India Relations,” (with Sameer Lalwani), Grand Tamasha, September 29, 2021.

Feb 22, 2022 • 41min
Nehru’s Long Shadow Over India
“Episode 262: Nehru’s Debates,” (with Adeel Hussain and Tripurdaman Singh), The Seen and The Unseen (podcast), January 31, 2022.
Tripurdaman Singh, Sixteen Stormy Days: The Story of the First Amendment of the Constitution of India.
“Madhav Khosla on India’s Founding Moment,” Grand Tamasha, January 29, 2020.

Feb 16, 2022 • 34min
Breaking Down India’s Budget
Roshan Kishore, “Math of the economy: How to understand the Budget,” Hindustan Times, February 2, 2022.
Roshan Kishore, “Three questions which capture India’s medium-term economic challenge,” Hindustan Times, February 3, 2022.
Poonam Gupta, “Budget steers clear of drama in complex economic environment,” Economic Times, February 2, 2022.
Rohit Lamba and Raghuram Rajan, “Don’t Mimic China’s Economic Model,” Times of India, February 15, 2022.

Feb 1, 2022 • 34min
India’s Future in a Changing Global Order
India’s Path to Power: Strategy in a World Adrift, Centre for Policy Research and Takshashila Institution.
“The Biden-Modi Summit and the Future of U.S.-India Relations” (with Ashley Tellis), Grand Tamasha, September 22, 2021.

Dec 21, 2021 • 1h 9min
The State, the Economy, and the Art of Podcasting
Lant Pritchett, “Is India a Flailing State?: Detours on the Four Lane Highway to Modernization,” Harvard Kennedy School.
Shruti Rajagopalan and Alex Tabarrok, “Premature Imitation and India’s Flailing State,” The Independent Review.
Keshava Guha, “In Farmers vs Modi, A Big Lesson For Congress,” NDTV.com.
Amit Varma, “Narendra Modi Takes a Great Leap Backwards,” Times of India.
Amit Varma, “#9: Why Are My Episodes so Long?” The India Uncut Newsletter.
Emergent Ventures, Mercatus Center at George Mason University.
“The Seen and The Unseen” book project.
Amit Varma, “We Are Fighting Two Disasters: Covid-19 and the Indian State,” Times of India.
Amit Varma, “Lessons from an Ankhon Dekhi Prime Minister,” Times of India.
W.S. Merwin, “Separation.”