Grand Tamasha

The Indian Who Helped Build Silicon Valley

podcasts@ceip.org (Milan Vaishnav, Kanwal Rekhi) — Wed, 22 Apr 2026 01:00:00 +0000

Over the past several decades, the story of Silicon Valley has been deeply intertwined with the story of Indian immigrants—engineers, entrepreneurs, and investors who helped shape the technology revolution while building new bridges between the United States and India.

Few individuals embody that journey as vividly Kanwal Rekhi. Rekhi was the first Indian-American founder & CEO to take a venture-backed company public on the NASDAQ. He also co-founded and built The Indus Entrepreneurs—or TiE—into the largest global network of Indian entrepreneurs, and cofounded Inventus—where he is building the venture franchise into a catalyst for India’s tech revolution.

He writes about his life in his new memoir, The Groundbreaker: Entrepreneurship, the American Dream, and the Rise of Modern India, which traces his remarkable journey from a modest upbringing in India to becoming one of the most influential figures in the Indian diaspora in the United States.

To talk more about his book, Kanwal joins Milan on the podcast this week. They discuss his lifelong passion for entrepreneurship, his modest upbringing and challenging early family life, and his role in building the modern Internet. Plus, the two discuss Kanwal’s role in India’s landmark telecommunications reforms and his recent efforts to boost entrepreneurs in India.

Episode notes:

“The Secret to Indian Americans' Success (with Meenakshi Ahamed),” Grand Tamasha, June 4, 2025.
Meenakshi Ahamed, Indian Genius: The Meteoric Rise of Indians in America (New Delhi: HarperCollins India, 2025).
Kanwal Rekhi, “I’m a tech founder from India. Here’s why I’m worried about the future of America,” San Francisco Chronicle, February 3, 2026.
Zofeen Maqsood, “Kanwal Rekhi’s next mission: 10 million entrepreneurs by India at 100,” American Bazaar, March 3, 2026.

India’s Middle Class Hits a Breaking Point

podcasts@ceip.org (Milan Vaishnav, Saurabh Mukherjea, Nandita Rajhansa) — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 01:00:00 +0000

For decades, India’s growth story has rested on the spectacular rise of its middle class. But a new book argues that this very group—roughly 40 million income-tax–paying households—is now under acute strain.

Facing a convergence of job disruption, wage stagnation, and rising debt, the middle class may no longer be the engine of growth it once was. This is the argument made in a new book titled, Breakpoint: The Crisis of the Middle Class and the Future of Work. It is authored by Saurabh Mukherjea, along with Nandita Rajhansa and Sapana Bhavsar

Saurabh is the founder of Marcellus Investment Managers and the author of six previous books. Prior to setting up Marcellus, Saurabh was the CEO of Ambit Capital. He is also a Founding Director of the Association of Portfolio Managers in India

Nandita is an economist and a small and midcap analyst at Marcellus. She’s the co-author of a national bestseller, Behold the Leviathan: The Unusual Rise of Modern India, which was published in 2024.

Milan speaks with Saurabh and Nandita about the Indian middle class’s most vulnerable moment since 1991, the hollowing out of middle-skill jobs, the structural challenges with India’s education system, the worrying trend in declining placement rates and salaries, and the explosion in household debt. Plus, the trio discuss how AI and automation are remaking the Indian economy—both for good and for ill.

Episode notes:

Saurabh Mukherjea and Nandita Rajhansa, “Educated and employed but still struggling: India's middle class under strain,” BBC, March 30, 2026.
“A Sixth of Humanity and the Dreams of a Nation (with Devesh Kapur and Arvind Subramanian),” Grand Tamasha, October 22, 2025.
Saurabh Mukherjea, Nandita Rajhansa and Sapana Bhavsar, “Graduate and unemployed: India’s middle-class rulebook for career & success no longer works,” ThePrint, March 23, 2026.

Inside The Complex: Family, Power, and India in Turmoil

podcasts@ceip.org (Milan Vaishnav, Karan Mahajan) — Wed, 8 Apr 2026 01:00:00 +0000

On this week’s show, Milan sits down with the novelist Karan Mahajan, author of a much-anticipated new novel, The Complex. Karan and Milan discussed the book at our first ever live Grand Tamasha event at Carnegie headquarters in Washington, DC on March 16. Karan is an associate professor in Literary Arts at Brown University and the author of the books Family Planning and The Association of Small Bombs.

Can India Thrive in Trump’s World?

Wed, 1 Apr 2026 01:00:00 +0000

Donald Trump’s return to the White House has once again altered the contours of international politics. For India, this evolving context raises several important questions about the viability of its foreign policy approach. This week on the podcast, Milan sits down with three of the contributors to a new compilation published by the Carnegie Endowment—Shoumitro Chatterjee, Sameer Lalwani, and Tanvi Madan—to discuss the uncertain trajectory of Indian foreign policy.

Inside Washington: Ami Bera on Shifting U.S.–India Ties

podcasts@ceip.org (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace) — Wed, 25 Mar 2026 01:00:00 +0000

Over the past two decades, Washington and New Delhi have drawn steadily closer—driven by shared concerns about China, expanding economic ties, and a growing Indian diaspora in the United States. To help us unpack all of this, this week Milan spoke with Congressman Ami Bera in his office on Capitol Hill.

Bangladesh’s Political Reset

podcasts@ceip.org (Milan Vaishnav, Naomi Hossain) — Wed, 18 Mar 2026 01:00:00 +0000

For decades, Bangladesh has long oscillated between competitive democracy and dominant-party rule. In 2024, mass protests brought an abrupt end to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s long tenure in power, opening the door to Bangladesh’s most consequential election in more than a decade—one that returned the Bangladesh Nationalist Party to power and reshaped the country’s political landscape.

With Hasina’s fall and a new government in office, the country once again stands at a crossroads—testing whether institutional reform and electoral competition can deliver lasting democratic stability.

To talk about the new political era in Bangladesh, Milan is joined on the show this week by Naomi Hossain. Naomi is Global Research Professor with the Department of Development Studies at SOAS University of London. She has researched extensively across Bangladesh and has managed large international studies spanning 20 countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and Europe. Naomi is the author of the acclaimed 2017 book, The Aid Lab: Understanding Bangladesh's Unexpected Success.

Naomi and Milan discuss the abrupt end to Hasina’s fifteen-year rule, the performance of the interim government under Muhammad Yunus, and the prospects for new prime minister Tarique Rahman. Plus, the two discuss the country’s immense economic challenges and the role of the military.

Episode notes:

Naomi Hossain, “Ali Riaz's Big Bet,” Counterpoint, January 19, 2026.
Naomi Hossain, “Dhaka pre-election diary (pt 1, possibly, of 2),” Substack, January 6-19, 2026.
“How India Lost the Neighborhood (with Muhib Rahman),” Grand Tamasha, February 11, 2026.
“Sri Lanka's Peaceful Revolution (with Neil DeVotta),” Grand Tamasha, January 25, 2025.

India’s AI Moment?

podcasts@ceip.org (Milan Vaishnav, Anirudh Suri) — Wed, 11 Mar 2026 01:00:00 +0000

Just weeks ago, India hosted the 2026 AI Impact Summit, the latest chapter in a global process that began in 2023 in the UK. For India, the stakes could not be higher: it’s a country with immense technical talent and a data-rich digital ecosystem, but also a services-led growth model that AI could either boost or seriously disrupt.

For the Modi government, the summit was part diplomatic showcase, part investment pitch, and part declaration of ambition. To talk more about the summit and its key takeaways, Milan is joined on the show this week by Anirudh Suri.

Anirudh is a nonresident scholar with Carnegie India. His interests lie at the intersection of technology and geopolitics, climate, and strategic affairs. He is also a managing partner at India Internet Fund, a technology-focused venture capital fund based in India and the United States. He’s the author of The Great Tech Game: Shaping Geopolitics and the Destinies of Nations, published in 2022. And he’s also the host of a podcast by the same name, “The Great Tech Game,” which focuses on technology, business and geopolitics.

Milan and Anirudh discuss the evolution of global AI summitry, the debate over India’s elusive “DeepSeek moment,” and the country’s indigenous large language models (LLMs). Plus, the two discuss the effects of AI on India’s services industry and India’s quest to marshal its domestic scientific talent.

Episode notes:

1. Anirudh Suri, “Learning from DeepSeek, honing India’s AI strategy,” Hindustan Times, March 2, 2025.

2. Anirudh Suri, “The Missing Pieces in India’s AI Puzzle: Talent, Data, and R&D,” Carnegie India, February 24, 2025.

3. Anirudh Suri, “Winning the AI race with research talent,” Hindustan Times, November 3, 2024.

4. “Governing India's Digital Revolution (with Rahul Matthan),” Grand Tamasha, January 23, 2024.

Populism and the Politics of India’s Foreign Policy

podcasts@ceip.org (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace) — Wed, 4 Mar 2026 02:00:00 +0000

We tend to think of populist leaders around the world as disruptive—skeptical of international institutions, impatient for change, and prone to upending foreign policy norms.

But a new book by scholars Sandra Destradi and Johannes Plagemann argues that—while populists can have dramatic impacts on foreign policy—the extent of change depends on two key factors: the personalization of foreign policy and leaders’ ability to use foreign policy as a tool of domestic political mobilization.

The book is called Populism and Foreign Policy, and it looks at transitions from non-populist to populist governments in Bolivia, the Philippines, Turkey, and India.

To talk more about the book’s findings—especially as they relate to Indian foreign policy—Sandra Destradi joins Milan on the show this week. Sandra holds the Chair of International Relations at the University of Freiburg, Germany, and she is currently serving as a DAAD long- term Guest Professor at Reichman University in Herzliya, Israel. She is the author of several articles and books on India, including the 2012 book, Indian Foreign and Security Policy in South Asia: Regional Power Strategies.

Milan and Sandra discuss the definitional debates around populism, the conditional effects of populism on foreign policy, and the reasons for the Modi government’s differential approach to Pakistan and China. Plus, the two discuss why populists might express an enhanced willingness to contribute to global public goods, the limited opportunities for mobilization against multilateral institutions, and the differences between populists in the Global North versus the Global South.

Episode notes:

1. “Populism, South Asian Style (with Adnan Naseemullah and Pradeep Chhibber),” Grand Tamasha, December 18, 2024.

2. Johannes Plagemann and Sandra Destradi, “Populism and Foreign Policy: The Case of India,” Foreign Policy Analysis 15, no. 2 (April 2019): 283–301.

3. Sandra Destradi, “Domestic Politics and Regional Hegemony: India’s Approach to Sri Lanka,” E-International Relations, January 14, 2014.

Europe’s Discovery of India

podcasts@ceip.org (Garima Mohan, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 25 Feb 2026 02:00:00 +0000

Over the past year, Europe–India relations have entered a markedly upbeat phase. What was once a diffuse partnership—long on rhetoric, short on strategy—now looks far more purposeful.

From the announcement on a long-delayed EU-India Free Trade Agreement to expanding cooperation on security, technology, and migration, Europe and India appear to be—finally—converging around a shared strategic logic.

To unpack what’s driving this convergence—and where its limits lie—Milan is joined on the show this week by Garima Mohan. Garima is a senior fellow in the Indo-Pacific program at the German Marshall Fund based in Brussels. In this capacity, she leads GMF’s work on India and serves as convenor of the India Trilateral Forum.

Her research focuses on Europe-India ties, EU foreign policy in Asia, and security in the Indo-Pacific. She’s also the author of a new GMF report titled, “A Long Time Coming: Europe and India have discovered a strategic partnership,” published in January 2026.

Milan and Garima discuss the geopolitical drivers that are bringing the EU and India closer together, Europe’s views on the limits to India’s potential, and the key takeaways from the EU-India FTA. Plus, the two discuss how Russia might derail Indo-European security cooperation and the urgent need for Europe to invest in India expertise.

Episode notes:

1. “Europe’s long-awaited free-trade deal with India,” The Economist, January 25, 2026.

2. Garima Mohan, “As Trump takes Office, Planets Align for the EU and India,” India’s World, March 6, 2025.

3. “Can Europe be India's Plan B? (with James Crabtree),” Grand Tamasha, September 17, 2025.

4. “India and the Reordering of Transatlantic Relations (with Tara Varma),” Grand Tamasha, March 11, 2025.

5. “Mr. Modi Goes to Europe (with Garima Mohan),” Grand Tamasha, May 11, 2022.

India’s Return to the Trade Game

podcasts@ceip.org (Mark Linscott, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 18 Feb 2026 12:55:17 +0000

After years of trade skepticism, India appears to be back in the deal-making business—signing new agreements, reviving stalled talks, and announcing ambitious frameworks with key bilateral partners.

A few weeks ago, the European Union and India announced a mega-trade deal that was more than two decades in the works. And just days after this news broke, the White House announced that the United States had also reached an understanding with India on trade, an issue which had sapped relations between the two erstwhile partners over the past year.

To help make sense of what’s changed—and what hasn’t—Milan is joined on this show this week by Mark Linscott. Mark is a nonresident senior fellow on India at the Atlantic Council and a Senior Advisor with The Asia Group. He previously served as the assistant US trade representative for South and Central Asian Affairs from 2016 to 2018.

He has more than 30 years of experience working on trade and economic issues at the Commerce Department and USTR. It is my pleasure to welcome him to the show for the very first time.

Milan and Mark discuss India’s new external trade posture, the geopolitics and economics of the EU-India FTA, and the timing and substance of India’s trade deal with the United States. Plus, the two discuss India’s relative positioning vis-à-vis other Asian competitors and the possible roadblocks in the way of a larger U.S.-India accord.

Episode notes:

Ravi Dutta Mishra, “How India’s US deal tariff advantage over Bangladesh vanished overnight,” Indian Express, February 10, 2026.
Arvind Subramanian, “India may be about to become one of the world’s most open economies,” The Economist, February 5, 2026.
Michael Kugelman and Mark Linscott, “What to know about the US-India trade deal,” Atlantic Council “Dispatches” blog, February 2, 2026.
“Can the U.S. Salvage Its Relationship with India? (with Lisa Curtis),” Grand Tamasha, February 4, 2026.
Michael Kugelman and Mark Linscott, “The India–EU trade deal is worth watching, but not overhyping,” Atlantic Council “Dispatches” blog, January 27, 2026.

How India Lost the Neighborhood

podcasts@ceip.org (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace) — Wed, 11 Feb 2026 02:00:00 +0000

Over the past few years, South Asia has witnessed a striking wave of mass protests toppling governments and upending long-standing political arrangements in countries ranging from Bangladesh to Nepal and Sri Lanka. These upheavals are often explained in terms of domestic factors—such as corruption, economic mismanagement, and democratic backsliding.

But in a recent Foreign Affairs essay titled “The Folly of India’s Illiberal Hegemony,” the scholar Muhib Rahman argues that there is a larger regional story at play—one that implicates not just local leaders, but also India and the United States. The essay challenges the assumption that India’s regional leadership has been a stabilizing force and asks whether New Delhi’s choices have instead helped create openings for China across South Asia.

To talk more about the essay, Muhib joins Milan on the show this week. Muhib is a Perry World House Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania. His research sits at the intersection of international security, emerging technologies, and the politics of the Global South. He has served as a Postdoctoral Associate at Cornell University and holds a Ph.D. in Government from the University of Texas-Austin.

Muhib and Milan discuss India’s illiberal hegemony in its neighborhood, the downturn in Bangladesh-India ties, and the enabling role of the United States. Plus, the two discuss the drivers of the “India Out” phenomenon in countries ranging from Nepal to the Maldives and how China is positioning itself to take advantage.

Episode notes:

1. Muhib Rahman, “Bangladesh’s Quiet Pivot to China,” The National Interest, October 27, 2025.

2.    Muhib Rahman, “Explaining Trump’s Surprising Turn to Pakistan,” War on the Rocks, October 1, 2025.
3.    “Why Washington Is Wooing Pakistan (with Uzair Younus),” Grand Tamasha, October 1, 2025.
4.    “Sri Lanka's Peaceful Revolution (with Neil DeVotta),” Grand Tamasha, January 29, 2025.

Can the U.S. Salvage Its Relationship with India?

podcasts@ceip.org (Lisa Curtis, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 4 Feb 2026 05:21:43 +0000

U.S.-India relations were once described as one of Washington’s MOST important strategic bets in the twenty-first century. But over the past year, that partnership has come under serious strain—buffeted by trade disputes, sharp rhetoric, and deep disagreements over Pakistan and Kashmir.

In the current print edition of Foreign Affairs, Lisa Curtis and Richard Fontaine argue that this rupture is not just another rough patch, but rather a potentially consequential turning point. The essay, “America Must Salvage Its Relationship with India—or Risk Losing a Global Swing State,” makes the case that how Washington manages its ties with New Delhi in this moment will have lasting implications for the Indo-Pacific balance of power, U.S. credibility in Asia, and competition with China.

To talk more about this new piece, Lisa joins Milan on the show this week. Lisa is Director of the Indo-Pacific Security Program at the Center for a New American Security. She is a foreign policy and national security expert with over 20 years of service in the U.S. government—including at the National Security Council, CIA, State Department, and Capitol Hill. Most recently, Lisa served as Senior Director for South and Central Asia at the National Security Council from 2017 to 2021.

Milan and Lisa discuss the “fit of presidential pride and pique” that has derailed bilateral ties, President Trump’s repeated desire to mediate between India and Pakistan, and the sudden revival in U.S.-Pakistan ties. Plus, the two discuss America’s strategic competition with Beijing, what it will take for Washington to remedy its trust deficit with New Delhi, and the long-term consequences of a sustained rupture between the United States and India.

The State of Indian Politics in 2026

podcasts@ceip.org (Milan Vaishnav, Sunetra Choudhury) — Wed, 28 Jan 2026 02:00:00 +0000

2026 is shaping up to be a hectic political year in India. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has appointed the relatively unknown Nitin Nabin to take over as party president. The BJP and its opposition challengers are gearing up for high-stakes assembly elections in five states later this spring. And the Election Commission of India (ECI) is in the midst of a controversial revision of India’s gargantuan electoral rolls.

To discuss these and the country’s other key political stories, Sunetra Choudhury—the national political editor of the Hindustan Times—joins Milan to kick off the fifteenth season of Grand Tamasha. The two sat down for a special episode recorded live in HT’s New Delhi studio.

Listeners will know Sunetra from her past appearances on the podcast, as well as from her reporting for the Hindustan Times—and, of course, from her book Black Warrant, which has since been adapted into a hit Netflix crime drama of the same name. Sunetra has over two decades of reporting experience and was the recipient of the Red Ink award in journalism in 2016 and the Mary Morgan Hewett award in 2018.

Milan and Sunetra discuss the prevailing political winds in Delhi, the BJP’s surprising new president, and the long shadow of the 2025 Bihar assembly elections. Plus, the two discuss the upcoming state elections, the inner turmoil within the Congress Party, and the ECI’s controversial “special intensive review.”

Episode notes:

“Interpreting the 2025 Bihar Verdict (with Roshan Kishore),” Grand Tamasha, November 19, 2025.
“How India’s Women Are Redefining Politics (with Ruhi Tewari),” Grand Tamasha, November 5, 2025.
Sunetra Choudhury, “NDA's landslide win will cause ripples far beyond Bihar,” Hindustan Times, November 15, 2025.

Grand Tamasha’s Best Books of 2025

podcasts@ceip.org (Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 17 Dec 2025 02:00:00 +0000

Grand Tamasha is Carnegie’s weekly podcast on Indian politics and policy co-produced with the Hindustan Times, a leading Indian media house. For six years (and counting), host Milan Vaishnav has interviewed authors, journalists, policymakers, and practitioners working on contemporary India to give listeners across the globe a glimpse into life in the world’s most populous country.

Each December, Milan looks back at the conversations we’ve hosted during the course of the year and selects a handful of books that stayed with him long after our recording wrapped. This year’s selections span biography, history, and political economy—but they share a common thread: Each offers a bold reinterpretation of India at a moment of profound political and social churn.

In keeping with this tradition, here—in no particular order—are Grand Tamasha’s top books of 2025.

A Sixth of Humanity: Independent India’s Development Odyssey
By Devesh Kapur and Arvind Subramanian. Published by HarperCollins India.
Believer’s Dilemma: Vajpayee and the Hindu Right’s Path to Power, 1977–2018
By Abhishek Choudhary. Published by Pan Macmillan India.
Shattered Lands: Five Partitions and the Making of Modern Asia
By Sam Dalrymple. Published by HarperCollins India.

Taken together, these books showcase the breadth of scholarship animating debates on India and South Asia today. They remind us that the region’s past remains contested, its present deeply complex, and its future still uncertain. I hope you find these conversations as stimulating and inspiring as I did.

One final note here: As you consider your year-end charitable giving, we hope you will choose to support Grand Tamasha.

This season, you might have noticed that we’ve expanded into video, allowing listeners to watch full-length conversations on YouTube. Listener contributions sustain the costs of production, research, and distribution—especially as we expand our video offerings.

The podcast receives no external funding beyond what our audience generously provides, and contributions from U.S.-based supporters are fully tax-deductible.

We would be grateful for whatever support you can offer. Please visit https://donate.carnegieendowment.org/for more information on how you can give.

On behalf of the entire team, we hope you have a wonderful holidays. Thanks for listening to the show—and see you in the new year.

Episode notes:

1. “The Forgotten Partitions That Remade South Asia (with Sam Dalrymple),” Grand Tamasha, October 29, 2025.

2. “A Sixth of Humanity and the Dreams of a Nation (with Devesh Kapur and Arvind Subramanian),” Grand Tamasha, October 22, 2025.

3. “Vajpayee and the Making of the Modern BJP (with Abhishek Choudhary),” Grand Tamasha, September 3, 2025.

4. Milan Vaishnav, “Grand Tamasha’s Best Books of 2024,” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, December 17, 2024.

5. Milan Vaishnav, “Grand Tamasha’s Best Books of 2023,” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, December 19, 2023.

6. Milan Vaishnav, “Grand Tamasha’s Best Books of the Year,” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, December 20, 2022.

The Quiet Resilience of U.S.–India Defense Cooperation

podcasts@ceip.org (Sameer Lalwani, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 10 Dec 2025 02:00:00 +0000

Despite a year marked by tariff battles, confusion over Washington’s China policy, and the shock of the 2025 India–Pakistan war, one part of the U.S.–India relationship has held firm: bilateral defense cooperation. The two sides recently announced a new defense framework, are deepening links between their private sectors, and are boosting military-to-military ties.

To review the state of the U.S.-India defense relationship and to help unpack the secrets of its success, Milan is joined on the show this week by Sameer Lalwani. Sameer is a senior advisor with the Special Competitive Studies Project and a non-resident senior fellow with the German Marshall Fund.

Sameer and Milan discuss how the U.S.-India defense partnership has survived the general tumult in the relationship, the significance of a recently signed defense framework agreement, and the future of defense co-production and co-development. Plus, the two discuss Inda’s lessons learned from Operation Sindoor and whether China still serves as the glue that keep these two powers together.

Watch this episode on YouTube.

Episode notes:

1. Sameer Lalwani, “Don’t Call it a Comeback: Why US-India Relations are Due for a Rebound,” Special Competitive Studies Project, November 20, 2025.

2. Sameer Lalwani and Vikram J. Singh, “How to Get the Most Out of the U.S.-Indian Defense Partnership,” War on the Rocks, February 11, 2025.

3. “Why Washington Is Wooing Pakistan (with Uzair Younus),” Grand Tamasha, October 1, 2025.

4. “From Convergence to Confrontation: Trump’s India Gambit (with Ashley J. Tellis),” Grand Tamasha, September 24, 2025.

5. “Can Europe be India's Plan B? (with James Crabtree),” Grand Tamasha, September 17, 2025.

6. “How This India-Pakistan Conflict Will Shape the Next One (with Joshua White),” Grand Tamasha, May 21, 2025.

7. “Operation Sindoor and South Asia’s Uncertain Future (with Christopher Clary),” Grand Tamasha, May 14, 2025.

Rewriting India’s Education Story, One Girl at a Time

podcasts@ceip.org (Gayatri Nair Lobo, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 3 Dec 2025 02:00:00 +0000

This year, the non-profit Educate Girls became the first Indian organization ever to receive the Ramon Magsaysay Award—often called Asia’s Nobel Prize. The foundation recognized the group for its groundbreaking work enrolling out-of-school girls, improving learning outcomes, and shifting social norms in some of India’s most underserved communities. It’s a remarkable milestone for an NGO that began in rural Rajasthan and now reaches millions of households across the country.

To discuss the challenges—and the opportunities—surrounding girls’ education in India, Milan is joined on the show this week by Gayatri Nair Lobo, the CEO of Educate Girls. Gayatri has more than 25 years of experience across the consulting and development sectors. Before joining Educate Girls, she led the ATE Chandra Foundation and the India School Leadership Institute. She has also held senior roles at Dalberg Advisors and Teach For India.

Milan and Gayatri discuss the origins of Educate Girls, the supply and demand-side barriers to girls’ education, and the launch of the world’s first Development Impact Bond. Plus, the two talk about the use of tools like randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and machine learning in delivering education and how to forge lasting partnerships with state governments.

Episode notes:

1. “A Blueprint for India’s State Capacity Revolution (with Karthik Muralidharan),” Grand Tamasha, May 23, 2024.

2. “Understanding the Delhi Education Experiment (with Yamini Aiyar),” Grand Tamasha, January 22, 2025.
3. “How India’s Women Are Redefining Politics (with Ruhi Tewari),” Grand Tamasha, November 5, 2025.
4. “Rohini Nilekani on the Secret to Successful Governance,” Grand Tamasha, October 5, 2022.

Beyond the Raj: Recasting the India–UK Partnership

podcasts@ceip.org (Milan Vaishnav, Avinash Paliwal) — Wed, 26 Nov 2025 02:00:00 +0000

India and the United Kingdom have spent decades trying to define their post-colonial relationship—part partnership, part rivalry, and often, part courtship. Today, that relationship is being recast amid trade talks, tech cooperation, and geopolitical shifts.

The two sides recently signed a landmark trade agreement and officials in London and New Delhi are sounding a new tone of optimism about what the two countries might do together— especially in a post-American world.

To talk more about the new era in ties between the UK and India, Milan is joined on the podcast this week by Avinash Paliwal. Avinash is a Reader in International Relations at SOAS University of London. He is the author of two books, My Enemy’s Enemy – India in Afghanistan from the Soviet Invasion to the US Withdrawal and India’s Near East – A New History. In 2024-25, he was seconded to the UK Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office where he covered ‘India and South Asia’.

Milan and Avinash discuss the troubled history between the two powers, the transformation of the relationship in recent years, and their emerging trade and technology links. Plus, the two discuss the Indian diaspora in the United Kingdom, frictions around Russia and Pakistan, and the impact of rising nativism in the UK.

Listen on YouTube here.

Episode notes:

1. Avinash Paliwal, “India’s bilateral diplomacy: A quiet rehaul of India-UK relations,” Grand Tamasha, November 5, 2025.

2. “The Past, Present, and Future of India’s Near East (with Avinash Paliwal),” Grand Tamasha, November 20, 2024.

3. “What the Taliban Takeover Means for India (with Avinash Paliwal),” Grand Tamasha, September 15, 2021.

4. “Can Europe be India's Plan B? (with James Crabtree),” Grand Tamasha, September 17, 2025.

5. “India and the Reordering of Transatlantic Relations (with Tara Varma),” Grand Tamasha, March 11, 2025.

Interpreting the 2025 Bihar Verdict

podcasts@ceip.org (Roshan Kishore, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 19 Nov 2025 02:00:00 +0000

Bihar has once again delivered a political drama worthy of its reputation—record turnout, sharp debates over the voter rolls, a decisive victory for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), and a fresh round of questions about whether the opposition has what it takes to displace Modi and the BJP.

The NDA—anchored by Nitish Kumar and his Janata Dal (United), together with the BJP and other allies—secured a landslide victory by winning 202 out of 243 seats in the state assembly. The opposition, for its part, saw little change in its vote share from 2020, but could only muster 35 seats.

To work through the elections—and their larger meaning for India’s political economy—Milan is joined on the show today by the Hindustan Times data and political economy editor Roshan Kishore. Over the past several months, Roshan and his team have consistently put out the most thoughtful data and analysis on the trends in Bihar.

Milan and Roshan discuss the resilience of the JD(U)–BJP alliance, the polarization in the electorate, and the dissonance within the opposition alliance’s campaign. Plus, the two discuss the Election Commission of India (ECI)’s controversial review of electoral rolls, the impact of upstart Prashant Kishor and his Jan Suraaj Party, and what the elections portend for India’s political economy beyond November.

Watch this episode here.

Episode notes:

1. Roshan Kishore and Abhishek Jha, “Not conspiracy, political economy explains Bihar results,” Hindustan Times, November 18, 2025.

2. Nishant Ranjan and Roshan Kishore, “The resurrection of ‘coalition of extremes’ in Bihar,” Hindustan Times, November 15, 2025.
3. Abhishek Jha and Roshan Kishore, “How did Bihar go from a 2020 cliff-hanger to a 2025 landslide?” Hindustan Times, November 15, 2025.
4. Roshan Kishore, Abhishek Jha, and Nishant Ranjan, “Three key takeaways from Bihar results,” Hindustan Times, November 15, 2025.
5. Roshan Kishore, “Bihar election results: Twelve Ds that explain the Bihar results,” Hindustan Times, November 14, 2025.
6. “A Sixth of Humanity and the Dreams of a Nation (with Devesh Kapur and Arvind Subramanian),” Grand Tamasha, October 22, 2025.
7. Neelanjan Sircar, “The Welfarist Prime Minister: Explaining the National-State Election Gap,” Economic and Political Weekly 56, no. 10 (March 2021).

Understanding South Asia’s “Ordinary Rebels”

podcasts@ceip.org (Kolby Hanson, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 12 Nov 2025 02:00:00 +0000

How do non-state armed groups act when the state seeks not to crush them—but to tolerate their activities? This is the central question of a new book by the political scientist Kolby Hanson titled, Ordinary Rebels: Rank-and-File Militants between War and Peace.

Kolby is an assistant professor of government at Wesleyan University, and his new book looks at how state toleration fundamentally transforms armed groups by shaping who takes up arms—and which leaders they follow.

The book draws on a range of innovative surveys and in-depth interviews tracing four armed movements over time in Northeast India and Sri Lanka. The book looks not so much at what armed groups do when they fight—but what they do when they don’t.

To talk more about his new book, Kolby joins Milan on the show this week. They discuss what it means to be a “likely” recruit of an armed group, the complex political economy of India’s northeast, and the way in which state toleration operates on a spectrum. Plus, the two discuss the prospects for long-term peacebuilding in South Asia and how Kolby’s new book sheds light on the troubling January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Episode notes:

1. Paul Staniland, Ordering Violence: Explaining Armed Group-State Relations from Conflict to Cooperation (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2021).

2. “The Past, Present, and Future of India’s Near East (with Avinash Paliwal),” Grand Tamasha, November 20, 2024.

3. “Paul Staniland on the Surprising Decline in Political Violence in South Asia,” Grand Tamasha, October 7, 2020.

4. “Binalakshmi Nepram on the Realities of India’s Oft-Forgotten Northeast,” Grand Tamasha, June 3, 2020.

How India’s Women Are Redefining Politics

podcasts@ceip.org (Ruhi Tewari, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 5 Nov 2025 02:00:00 +0000

For much of India’s democratic history, the woman voter has either been invisible or ignored – at times she has been spoken for, but very rarely listened to.

A new book by the journalist Ruhi Tewari argues that this is no longer the case and seeks to understand why women have emerged from the political shadows.

What Women Want: Understanding the Female Voter in Modern India draws on years of journalism and field reportage to trace the rise of the woman voter from 1947 to the present day.

Ruhi is a journalist with nearly two decades of experience covering politics, policy and their intersection for leading Indian media organizations. She’s developed a reputation for being a savvy political reporter who spends quality time in the field understanding what makes voters, politicians, and parties tick.

Ruhi joins Milan on the show this to talk more about her new book. They discuss the “subtle but steady shift” in how women voters are perceived, the narrowing gender gap in voter turnout, and the distinctive voter behavior of India’s women. Plus, Ruhi and Milan discuss the proliferation of “pro-women” welfare schemes and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s unique ability to connect with the woman voter.

Watch this episode on YouTube here.

Episode notes:

1. Milan Vaishnav, ed. How Indian Voters Decide (Washington, DC: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 2025).

2. Anirvan Chowdhury, “How the BJP Wins Over Women,” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, April 26, 2024.
3. Rithika Kumar, “What Lies Behind India’s Rising Female Voter Turnout,” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, April 5, 2024.

4.Milan Vaishnav, “Indian Women Are Voting More Than Ever. Will They Change Indian Society?” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, November 8, 2018.

5. Milan Vaishnav and Jamie Hintson, “Will Women Decide India’s 2019 Elections?” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, November 12, 2018.

6. “Taking On India's Patriarchal Political Order (with Soledad Artiz Prillaman),” Grand Tamasha, October 22, 2024.

The Forgotten Partitions That Remade South Asia

podcasts@ceip.org (Sam Dalrymple, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 29 Oct 2025 01:00:00 +0000

As recently as 1928, a vast swathe of Asia—India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Burma, Nepal, Bhutan, Yemen, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait—were bound together under a single imperial banner, an entity known officially as the “Indian Empire,” or more simply as the British Raj. And then, in just fifty years, the Indian Empire shattered. Five partitions tore it apart, carving out new nations, redrawing maps, and leaving behind a legacy of war, exile and division.

A new book the author Sam Dalrymple, Shattered Lands: Five Partitions and the Making of Modern Asia, presents the unknown back story of how the Indian Empire was unmade. Sam is a historian and award-winning filmmaker who grew up in Delhi. He graduated from Oxford University as a Persian and Sanskrit scholar. In 2018, he co-founded Project Dastaan, a peace-building initiative that reconnects refugees displaced by the 1947 Partition of India. His debut film, Child of Empire, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2022, and he runs the history Substack @ travelsofsamwise.

To talk more about his new book, Sam joins Milan on the podcast this week. They discuss Sam’s personal journey with the Partition of the subcontinent, the forgotten separation of Burma from the Indian Empire, and Delhi’s dismissiveness of its Gulf outposts. Plus, the two talk about the creation of Pakistan, the twin genocides of 1971, and the special resonance of the princely state of Junagadh in modern-day Gujarat.

Episode notes:

1. Sam Dalrymple, “The Gujarati Kingdom That Almost Joined Pakistan,” Travels of Samwise (Substack), July 5, 2025.

2. Nishad Sanzagiri, “Shattered Lands by Sam Dalrymple review – the many partitions of southern Asia,” The Guardian, July 1, 2025.

3. “Ramachandra Guha Revisits India After Gandhi,” Grand Tamasha, April 19, 2023.

4. Preeti Zacharia, “Interview with historian Sam Dalrymple, author of Shattered Lands,” Hindu, July 8, 2025.

5. Sam Dalrymple, “The Lingering Shadow of India’s Painful Partition,” TIME, July 14, 2025.

A Sixth of Humanity and the Dreams of a Nation

podcasts@ceip.org (Devesh Kapur, Arvind Subramanian, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 22 Oct 2025 01:00:00 +0000

A Sixth of Humanity: Independent India's Development Odyssey is a landmark new book by the scholars Devesh Kapur and Arvind Subramanian.

The book is an audacious attempt to trace how India—uniquely and daringly—attempted four concurrent transformations—building a state, creating an economy, changing society, and forging a sense of nationhood under conditions of universal suffrage.

It is the joint product of one of India’s most respected political scientists and one of its best known economists. The book includes insights from politics, economics, history, and literature and provides a developmental history of India that is big, bold, engaging, and utterly unique.

To talk more about their book and the lessons it holds for India’s next 75 years, Arvind and Devesh return to Grand Tamasha to speak with Milan.

Devesh Kapur is the Starr Foundation professor of South Asia Studies at Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies.

Arvind Subramanian is senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, in Washington, DC. He previously served as former chief economic adviser to the government of India.

The trio discuss the vision for the book, India’s checkered history of upholding the rule of law, and what we get wrong about India’s tryst with central planning. Plus, they discuss India’s stellar record as an export powerhouse, the long shadow of vested interests, the pressures on India’s model of fiscal federalism, and ongoing challenges with nation-building.

Watch the video version of this episode here.

Episode notes:

1. Arvind Subramanian, “Can India reverse its manufacturing failure?” Financial Times, November 10, 2024.

2. Josh Felman and Arvind Subramanian, “Is India Really the Next China?” Foreign Policy, April 8, 2024.

3. “The Future of India's Fiscal Federalism (with Arvind Subramanian),” Grand Tamasha, October 16, 2024.

4. Amit Ahuja and Devesh Kapur, eds., Internal Security in India: Violence, Order, and the State (New York: Oxford University Press, 2023).

5. “Opening the Black Box of India’s Internal Security State (with Amit Ahuja and Devesh Kapur),” Grand Tamasha, May 10, 2023.

6. Devesh Kapur, “Why Does the Indian State Both Fail and Succeed?” Journal of Economic Perspectives 34, no. 1 (Winter 2020): 31-54.

7. Rohit Lamba and Arvind Subramanian, “Dynamism with Incommensurate Development: The Distinctive Indian Model,” Journal of Economic Perspectives 34, no. 1 (Winter 2020): 3-30.

8. Yamini Aiyar, “New GST regime: A grand bargain reduced to imperfect compromise,” Hindustan Times, October 7, 2025.

9. “A Blueprint for India’s State Capacity Revolution (with Karthik Muralidharan),” Grand Tamasha, May 23, 2024.

The Court and the Republic: A Conversation with Justice D.Y. Chandrachud

podcasts@ceip.org (Justice Dhananjaya Yeshwant Chandrachud, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 15 Oct 2025 01:00:00 +0000

Justice Dhananjaya Yeshwant Chandrachud was the fiftieth chief justice of India. An alumnus of Harvard Law School, he served as additional solicitor general of India. He was appointed as a judge of the Bombay High Court in 2000 and became the chief justice of the Allahabad High Court in 2013. In 2016, he was elevated to the Supreme Court of India, where he served as chief justice from November 2022 to November 2024.

Justice Chandrachud is the author of a new compilation of speeches titled, Why the Constitution Matters. In it, the author reflects on his quarter-century of experience as a judge, illustrating how the Constitution impacts everyday life and why it remains a cornerstone of democracy.

Justice Chandrachud joins Milan this week to about his new book and the state of the Court in India today. The two discuss the place of the Court in India’s current political environment, the relationship between the judicial and executive branches, the weaknesses in the rule of law supply chain, and the role of the Court in “cleansing politics.” Plus, the two discuss the Court’s verdict in the controversial electoral bonds case, the judicial branch’s need for administrative reforms, and public trust in the Supreme Court.

Episode notes:

1. “A Blueprint for India’s State Capacity Revolution (with Karthik Muralidharan),” Grand Tamasha, May 23, 2024.

2. “The Indian Supreme Court in the Modi Era (with Gautam Bhatia),” Grand Tamasha, December 13, 2023.

3. “Demystifying the Indian Supreme Court (with Aparna Chandra),” Grand Tamasha, November 15, 2023.

4. Pratik Datta and Suyash Rai, “How to Start Resolving the Indian Judiciary’s Long-Running Case Backlog,” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, September 9, 2021.

5. Devesh Kapur and Milan Vaishnav, “Strengthening Rule of Law,” in Bibek Debroy, Ashley J. Tellis, and Reece Trevor, eds. Getting India Back on Track: An Action Agenda for Reform (New Delhi: Random House India, 2014): 247-263

H-1Bs, India, and the Global Talent Wars

podcasts@ceip.org (Britta Glennon, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 8 Oct 2025 01:00:00 +0000

Earlier this month, the Trump administration announced a stunning $100,000 fee on new H-1B visas—the main channel through which U.S. employers hire foreign professionals in technology, engineering, and research.

The move has sent shockwaves through America’s innovation ecosystem, prompting fears that companies will either look abroad—or scale back their ambitions at home.

Few countries will be as impacted by this change as India, whose citizens account for nearly three-quarters of annual H-1B visa petitions. So, what happens when the world’s largest economy makes it harder for global talent to come in?

To answer this question, Milan is joined on the show this by Britta Glennon. Britta is an assistant professor of management at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a faculty research fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research. Her research focuses on immigration and cross-border innovation. Much of her work dispels long-held myths about immigrants and how they influence the U.S. economy.

Milan and Britta discuss the pluses and minuses of America’s “demand-driven” skilled immigration system, the impact on Indians of the Trump administration’s massive new fee on H-1B visas, and how the availability of skilled worker visas impact offshoring decisions. Plus, the two discuss how America’s competitors are poaching U.S. talent, the complex connection between immigration and innovation, and the economic costs of the green card backlog.

To watch this episode, click here.

Episode notes:

1. Britta Glennon, “Skilled Immigrants, Firms, and the Global Geography of Innovation,” Journal of Economic Perspectives 38, no. 1 (Winter 2024): 3-26.

2. Britta Glennon, “How Do Restrictions on High-Skilled Immigration Affect Offshoring? Evidence from the H-1B Program,” Management Science 70, no. 2 (February 2024): 907-930.

3. Saerom (Ronnie) Lee and Britta Glennon, “The Effect of Immigration Policy on Founding Location Choice: Evidence from Canada’s Start-up Visa Program,” NBER Working Paper 31634 (August 2023).

4. Robert Flynn, Britta Glennon, Raviv Murciano-Goroff, and Jiusi Xiao, “Building a Wall Around Science: The Effect of U.S.-China Tensions on International Scientific Research,” NBER Working Paper 32622 (May 2025).

5. Vox, “$100,000 for a visa,” Today, Explained (podcast), September 25, 2025.

Why Washington Is Wooing Pakistan

podcasts@ceip.org (Uzair Younus, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 1 Oct 2025 01:00:00 +0000

One of the most surprising developments in Washington, if you’re a South Asia-watcher, is the surprising turn in U.S.-Pakistan relations. Having largely sidelined Pakistan over the past decade or more, the current U.S. administration has courted Pakistan with an enthusiasm that has caught many analysts off-guard.

In June, Trump hosted Pakistan’s army chief, Asim Munir, in the White House. A few weeks later, the White House struck a trade deal with Pakistan that kept the tariff rate at 19 percent, lower even than the 25 percent rate slapped on India. Finally, officials from both sides have been discussing joint ventures in cryptocurrency and critical minerals.

To talk more about the sudden thaw in U.S.-Pakistan ties, Milan is joined on the show this week by Uzair Younus. Uzair is Chief Product Officer at TAG AI, the artificial intelligence-enabled platform developed by The Asia Group.

Prior to joining The Asia Group, Uzair served as Director of the Pakistan Initiative at the Atlantic Council. He’s the host of the podcast, Pakistonomy, a show which gives listeners an accessible way of understanding developments related to the politics, economics, and foreign policy of Pakistan. Uzair is also the author of a new book, Future Ready: Innovation, Abundance And The Global South.

On this week’s show, the two discuss Washington’s quiet reassessment of Pakistan, the Trump administration’s interest in Pakistan’s critical minerals, and the military lessons of Operation Sindoor. Plus, the two discuss the prospects for India-Pakistan rapprochement and the Trump administration’s interest in mediation.

To watch this episode, click here.

Episode notes:

1. Uzair Younus, “The US Is Rethinking the India-Pakistan Dynamic,” The Diplomat, September 3, 2025.

2. Moeed Yusuf, “Why America Should Bet on Pakistan,” Foreign Affairs, September 11, 2025.

3. “How This India-Pakistan Conflict Will Shape the Next One (with Joshua T. White),” Grand Tamasha, May 21, 2025.

4. “Operation Sindoor and South Asia’s Uncertain Future (with Christopher Clary),” Grand Tamasha, May 14, 2025.

5. “Pakistan's Political Earthquake (with Zoha Waseem),” Grand Tamasha, February 14, 2024.

From Convergence to Confrontation: Trump’s India Gambit

podcasts@ceip.org (Milan Vaishnav, Ashley J. Tellis) — Wed, 24 Sep 2025 01:00:00 +0000

For a quarter century, Washington policymakers made a strategic bet on India premised on the belief that shared values, shared interests, and a shared strategic convergence in Asia would bind these two countries together as ‘natural allies’ in the twenty-first century.

All of this optimistic talk came crashing down to Earth a few months ago with the Trump administration’s decision to slap 25 percent tariffs on Indian exports. This was exacerbated by a second decision to add an additional 25 percent tariff on India for its import of Russia oil.

Taken together, these policy measures plunged U.S.-India relations into their most significant crisis since the late 1990s and the era of U.S. sanctions on India in the wake of the latter’s nuclear tests.

How did we get here? Where are we now? And where might we be going?

These are the questions Milan takes up on this week’s show with guest Ashley J. Tellis. Tellis is the Tata Chair for Strategic Affairs at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and is well-known to Grand Tamasha listeners as one of the sanest, wisest voices on South Asia and U.S.-India relations, more specifically.

Milan and Ashley discuss the policy of U.S. “strategic altruism” toward India, the ongoing trade negotiations between the United States and India, and Modi’s recent visit to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) meeting in China. Plus, the two discuss the latest turn in U.S.-Pakistan relations and whether the thaw in China-India relations is sustainable.

To watch this episode, click here.

Episode notes:

1. Robert D. Blackwill and Ashley J. Tellis, “The India Dividend: New Delhi Remains Washington’s Best Hope in Asia,” Foreign Affairs 98, no. 5 (September/October 2019): 173-183.

2. Ashley J. Tellis, “India’s Great-Power Delusions: How New Delhi’s Grand Strategy Thwarts Its Grand Ambitions,” Foreign Affairs 104, no. 4 (July/August 2025): 52-67.

3. Lisa Curtis, Dhruva Jaishankar, Nirupama Rao, and Ashley J. Tellis, “What Kind of Great Power Will India Be? Debating New Delhi’s Grand Strategy,” Foreign Affairs 104, no. 5 (September/October 2025): 186-195.

4. Ashley J. Tellis, “America’s Bad Bet on India: New Delhi Won’t Side With Washington Against Beijing,” Foreign Affairs, May 1, 2023.

5. Milan Vaishnav, “How India Can Placate America,” Foreign Affairs, July 16, 2025.

6. “Trade Wars: Trump Targets India (with Sadanand Dhume and Tanvi Madan),” Grand Tamasha, August 12, 2025.

7. “What Kind of Great Power Will India Become? (with Ashley J. Tellis),” Grand Tamasha, July 2, 2025.

Can Europe be India's Plan B?

podcasts@ceip.org (James Crabtree, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 17 Sep 2025 01:00:00 +0000

India’s once-flourishing ties with Washington have soured in Trump’s second term, marked by punishing tariffs and penalties over Russian oil. This turbulence reinforces New Delhi’s instinct for “multi-alignment,” and the desire to hedge between great powers rather than bet on any single partner.

Against this backdrop, a new paper by the journalist and analyst James Crabtree argues that now is the time for Europe to shine and to make the case that it is India’s most promising alternative in a shifting global order.

The paper is called, “Pivot to Europe: India’s Back-Up Plan in Trump’s World,” and it has just been published by the European Council on Foreign Relations, where James is a distinguished visiting fellow.

James spent ten years as a journalist and foreign correspondent, notably for the Financial Times, where he served as the Mumbai bureau chief. He is the author of the much-celebrated book, The Billionaire Raj: A Journey Through India’s New Gilded Age, published in 2018. He is currently a columnist for Foreign Policy and hard at work on a second book on the United States in Asia.

James joins Milan on the show this week to discuss the turmoil in U.S.-India relations, the historical underperformance of Europe-India relations, the looming China challenge, and the factors which have made Europe a more “geopolitically serious” actor. Plus, the two discuss the nascent thaw in China-India ties and how Europe can avoid short-termism to forge stronger bonds with India over the long haul.

Episode notes:

1. James Crabtree, “Why India Should Not Walk Into the China-Russia Trap,” Foreign Policy, August 27, 2025.

2. “India and the Reordering of Transatlantic Relations (with Tara Varma),” Grand Tamasha, March 11, 2025.

K.M. Panikkar and the Making of Modern India

podcasts@ceip.org (Narayani Basu, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 10 Sep 2025 01:00:00 +0000

A Man for All Seasons: The Life of K.M. Panikkar is the new book by the author Narayani Basu. It documents the life and times of one of modern India’s most fascinating characters. Panikkar defies simple description. He was a journalist who founded the Hindustan Times; a bureaucrat who advised India’s princely states; a poet, a philosopher, and an international relations scholar. He served as India’s ambassador to China and to Egypt. And he helped develop a critical plan to reorganize India’s states on linguistic lines.

Basu’s book brings Panikkar out of the shadows and, in so doing, sheds as much light on this enigmatic figure as it does on India’s quest to find its place in the world.

Basu is the bestselling author of V.P. Menon: The Unsung Architect of Modern India and Allegiance: Azaadi & the End of Empire. She is a historian and foreign policy analyst, who specializes in spotlighting lesser known—but nevertheless key players—in the story of Indian independence.

She joins Milan on the podcast this week to discuss the incredible personal and professional journey of K.M. Panikkar. They discuss his family circumstances, his surprising path to Oxford and his formative years in Paris, his prolific writings, and his lifelong relationships with Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru. Plus, the two discuss his intimate relations with India’s princely states and his prescient vision of Indian federalism.

Episode notes:

1. Shubhangi Misra, “KM Panikkar was a scapegoat. It was easier to blame him for China than Nehru,” ThePrint, August 1, 2025.

2. Narayani Basu, “How K.M. Panikkar became India’s first ambassador to China,” Mint Lounge, July 13, 2025.

3. “Jairam Ramesh on the Many Lives of V.K. Krishna Menon,” Grand Tamasha, March 24, 2021.

Vajpayee and the Making of the Modern BJP

podcasts@ceip.org (Abhishek Choudhary, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 3 Sep 2025 01:00:00 +0000

Believer’s Dilemma: Vajpayee and the Hindu Right’s Path to Power, 1977-2018 is the much anticipated second volume of author Abhishek Choudhary’s biography of former BJP prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The book traces his life from his stint as external affairs minister in the short-lived Janata government to his death in 2018 following a period of prolonged illness.

The first volume of this biography, Vajpayee; The Ascent of the Hindu Right, 1924-1977, was widely acclaimed, winning the 2023 Tata Literature First Book Award in 2023. Abhishek Choudhary studied economics in Delhi and Chennai, followed by stints in development and journalism.

To discuss part two of this exceptional work, which Ram Guha calls the “finest biography of an Indian prime minister that I have ever read,” Abhishek joins Milan on the podcast this week. They discuss Vajpayee’s entry into the Sangh Parivar, his turbulent stint as foreign minister, and his core ideological beliefs. Plus, the two discuss Vajpayee’s unique partnership with L.K. Advani and his dealings with Narendra Modi in the aftermath of the 2002 Gujarat riots.

Episode notes:

1. “Vinay Sitapati on the Political History of the BJP Before Modi,” Grand Tamasha, December 16, 2020.

2. “Hindutva Politics in the Diaspora (with Edward Anderson),” Grand Tamasha, June 25, 2025.

3. “Savarkar, In His Own Words (with Janaki Bakhle),” Grand Tamasha, March 27, 2024.

Trade Wars: Trump Targets India

podcasts@ceip.org (Sadanand Dhume, Milan Vaishnav, Tanvi Madan) — Tue, 12 Aug 2025 15:00:00 +0000

Last week, U.S. President Donald Trump issued an executive order slapping India with a 25 percent special tariff due to its purchases of Russian oil. This surprise measure raised the total tariff on Indian exports to the United States to 50 percent—among the highest rates imposed by the United States on any country in the world.

But India is not just “any country.” Over the last quarter-century, it has emerged as one of America’s most valuable strategic partners. Trump’s tariff move has plunged the bilateral relationship into crisis, raising difficult questions about the future of both U.S. and Indian foreign policy.

Grand Tamasha emerged from its summer hiatus for an emergency episode to make sense of these developments and their global ramifications. For this special episode, Milan is joined by Grand Tamasha regulars, Sadanand Dhume of the American Enterprise Institute and the Wall Street Journal and Tanvi Madan of the Brookings Institution.

The trio discuss the drivers behind Trump’s decision, India’s response to the crisis, and the future of India’s policy of “multi-alignment.” Plus, the two discuss the U.S. government’s 180-degree turn on Pakistan and the prospects for an amicable resolution of the U.S.-India trade spat by summer’s end.

Episode notes:

1. Praveen Swami, “Asim Munir’s India nuke threat from US ballroom—‘will take half the world down,’” ThePrint, August 10, 2025.

2. Sadanand Dhume, “India Is Losing Its Best and Brightest,” Wall Street Journal, July 30, 2025.

3. “Tanvi Madan on the geopolitical shifts revealed by the India-Pakistan crisis,” The Economist, May 12, 2025.

4. Ashley J. Tellis, “India’s Great-Power Delusions,” Foreign Affairs (July/August 2025).

5. Nirupama Rao, Dhruva Jaishankar, Lisa Curtis, and Ashley J. Tellis, “What Kind of Great Power Will India Be?” Foreign Affairs (September/October 2025).

6. Milan Vaishnav, “How India Can Placate America,” Foreign Affairs, July 16, 2025.

7. “What Kind of Great Power Will India Become? (with Ashley J. Tellis),” Grand Tamasha, July 2, 2025.

What Kind of Great Power Will India Become?

podcasts@ceip.org (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace) — Wed, 2 Jul 2025 01:00:00 +0000

Two summers ago, Ashley J. Tellis published an essay in Foreign Affairs titled, “America’s Bad Bet on India,” which led to an extended, highly charged debate about the future of the U.S.-India relationship.

Just a few weeks ago, Ashley published another big-picture piece in Foreign Affairs titled, “India’s Great-Power Delusions,” which has once again got people talking.

In his new piece, Ashley argues that India is on its way to becoming a great power, but perhaps not the kind of power that many in the world are expecting.

On this week’s season finale of Grand Tamasha, Ashley makes his return to the show. Ashley holds the Tata Chair for Strategic Affairs at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. He served in the U.S. government during the George W. Bush administration, where he was intimately in involved in negotiating the U.S.-Indian civil nuclear deal.

Ashley and Milan discuss the U.S. policy of “strategic altruism” toward India, compare India and China’s growth record, and unpack the drivers of India’s quest for multipolarity. Plus, the two discuss India’s growing illiberalism and the complex ways domestic politics shapes foreign policy.

Episode notes:

1. “Reexamining America’s Bet on India (with Ashley J. Tellis),” Grand Tamasha, June 21, 2023.

2. Ashley J. Tellis, “Great Expectations: India amid US-China Competition,” in Hal Brands, ed., Lessons from the New Cold War: America Confronts the China Challenge (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2025).

3. Ashley J. Tellis, “India Sees Opportunity in Trump’s Global Turbulence. That Could Backfire,” Carnegie Endowment Emissary (blog), April 9, 2025.

4. “Trade, Tariffs, and India's Silver Lining (with Shoumitro Chatterjee),” Grand Tamasha, April 16, 2025.

5. “The Precarious State of U.S.-India Ties (with Rajesh Rajagopalan),” Grand Tamasha, February 26, 2025.

Hindutva Politics in the Diaspora

podcasts@ceip.org (Edward Anderson, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 25 Jun 2025 01:00:00 +0000

How and why did Hindu nationalism become popular among India’s diaspora after India’s independence in 1947? This is the central question of Hindu Nationalism in the Indian Diaspora: Transnational Politics and British Multiculturalism, a 2023 book by the historian Edward Anderson.

The book interrogates the distinctive resonance Hindutva ideology has overseas, and the multiple ways in which the diaspora engages with British politics and society, while sustaining connections back home in India.

Anderson is assistant professor in History at Northumbria University in Newcastle. He was previously the Smuts Research Fellow in Commonwealth Studies at the University of Cambridge, where he obtained a PhD in History.

Anderson joins Milan on the show this week to discuss the trajectory of Indian migration to Britain, the founding of the first overseas Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) shakha, and the Emergency’s impact amongst the diaspora. Plus, the two discuss the role of the diaspora in funding politics and the emergence of “neo-Hindutva.”

Episode notes:

1. “A Reappraisal of Indira Gandhi’s Life—and Legacy (with Srinath Raghavan),” Grand Tamasha, June 11, 2025.

2. “The Secret to Indian Americans' Success (with Meenakshi Ahamed),” Grand Tamasha, June 4, 2025.

3. “The Indian American Vote in 2024 (with Sumitra Badrinathan and Devesh Kapur),” Grand Tamasha, November 6, 2024.

4. “What to read about Hindutva,” The Economist, April 5, 2024.

The Decline and Fall of an Indian Ed Tech Empire

podcasts@ceip.org (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace) — Wed, 18 Jun 2025 01:00:00 +0000

India’s celebrated education technology company Byju’s went from being one of the world’s most hyped start-ups to being sued for fraud in a Delaware court and accused of engaging in unethical, if not illegal, behavior.

The episode serves as a cautionary tale about the world of start-ups, venture capital, and the crushing social pressures Indian children and parents face to climb up the social ladder.

The story of the rise—and sudden fall—of Byju’s and its founder Byju Raveendran is detailed by the journalist Yudhijit Bhattacharjee in a new piece for the online magazine Rest of World titled, “The math tutor and the missing $533 million.”

Bhattacharjee is a contributing writer at The New York Times Magazine whose writing has also appeared in The New Yorker, National Geographic, Wired, and other U.S. magazines.

He is also the author of the New York Times-bestselling nonfiction thriller, The Spy Who Couldn’t Spell, and host of the podcast “Scam Likely.”

To talk more about his recent reporting, Yudhijit joins Milan on the show this week. They discuss the rags-to-riches backstory of Byju Raveendran, the anxiety Indian families experience around education and career success, and Byju’s miraculous rise—and sudden downfall. Plus, the two discuss the larger lessons of this episode for start-ups, investors, and India’s future as a consumer market.

Episode notes:

1. Pradip K. Saha, The Learning Trap: How Byju’s Took Indian Edtech For A Ride (New Delhi: Juggernaut, 2024).

2. Chloe Cornish, Jyotsna Singh, and Mercedes Ruehl, “How a teaching app feted by Silicon Valley was left chasing the Indian dream,” Financial Times, October 3, 2022.

3. “When venture capitalism goes wrong,” Financial Times, October 23, 2024.

4. “Understanding the Delhi Education Experiment (with Yamini Aiyar),” Grand Tamasha, January 22, 2025.

A Reappraisal of Indira Gandhi’s Life—and Legacy

podcasts@ceip.org (Srinath Raghavan, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 11 Jun 2025 01:00:00 +0000

Indira Gandhi’s ascent as prime minister of India in 1966 seems obvious with the benefit of hindsight, but it was entirely unforeseen at the time.

Within years—if not months—she emerged as one of the most powerful political leaders of her era—serving as prime minister for fifteen years, leaving behind a complex and deeply controversial legacy.

A new book by the historian Srinath Raghavan, Indira Gandhi and the Years that Transformed India, unpacks that legacy, uncovering fresh material that challenges much of the conventional wisdom we’ve accumulated over the years.

Srinath is professor of international relations and history at Ashoka University and nonresident scholar at Carnegie India. He is the author of several celebrated books, including India’s War: The Making of Modern South Asia and Fierce Enigmas: A History of the United States in South Asia.

He joins Milan on the show this week to discuss Gandhi’s unforeseen right to power, the daunting conditions which greeted her premiership, and her improvisatory leadership during the 1971 war. Plus, the two discuss Gandhi’s mixed economic legacy, the onset of the Emergency, and how our understanding of the “long 1970s” must be updated.

Episode notes:

1. Soutik Biswas, “The forgotten story of India's brush with presidential rule,” BBC News, June 9, 2025.

2. TCA Srinivasa Raghavan, “Indira Gandhi and the Years that Transformed India,” Hindu Business Line, May 27, 2025.

The Secret to Indian Americans' Success

podcasts@ceip.org (Meenakshi Ahamed, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 4 Jun 2025 01:00:00 +0000

Indian Genius: The Meteoric Rise of Indians in America is a new book by the author and journalist Meenakshi Ahamed.

While many immigrant groups have found success in the United States, few have excelled as far and as fast as Indian Americans, reaching heights in a single generation that many thought would take the better part of a century to achieve.

Ahamed’s new book offers fascinating portraits of several Indian Americans in three distinct sectors—technology, medicine, and public policy. The book tries to understand what exactly accounts for Indian Americans' ability to break into mainstream American culture and their meteoric rise within its ranks.

Listeners may remember our 2021 conversation with Meena on her previous book, A Matter of Trust: India–US Relations from Truman to Trump.

To talk about her new book, Meena joins Milan on the show this week. They talk about the “godfather” of the Indian tech community in Silicon Valley, the balance between creativity and execution, and the role of caste. Plus, the two discuss the real (and perceived) influence of Indian Americans in Washington.

Episode notes:

1. Sanjoy Chakravorty, Devesh Kapur, and Nirvikar Singh, The Other One Percent: Indians in America (New York: Oxford University Press, 2016).

2. “Understanding India’s Diaspora,” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

3. Sumitra Badrinathan, Devesh Kapur, and Milan Vaishnav, “Indian Americans at the Ballot Box: Results From the 2024 Indian American Attitudes Survey,” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, October 28, 2024.

4. “Meenakshi Ahamed on U.S.-India Relations from Truman to Trump,” Grand Tamasha, February 17, 2021.

Decolonization and India’s Constitutional Order

podcasts@ceip.org (Sandipto Dasgupta, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 28 May 2025 01:00:00 +0000

Anticolonial movements of the 20th century generated audacious ideas of freedom. After decolonization, however, the challenge was to give an institutional form to those radical ideas.

Legalizing the Revolution: India and the Constitution of the Postcolony is a new book by the scholar Sandipto Dasgupta which provides an innovative account of how India ultimately addressed this daunting challenge.

It's a fresh, somewhat revisionist look at the making of the postcolonial constitutional order and tries to place the current crisis of liberal democracy in proper historical and conceptual context.

Sandipto is an assistant professor of politics at the New School for Social Research, where he works on the history of modern political and social thought, especially the political theory of empire, decolonization, and postcolonial order.

To talk more about his book, Sandipto joins Milan on the podcast this week. They discuss the two-way relationship between decolonization and constitution-making, the absence of representation unity between the Congress Party and the masses, and why India’s leaders believed a planned economy would forestall a social revolution. Plus, the two discuss how the absence—rather than the excesses—of democracy have led to rising majoritarianism.

Episode notes:

1. “Republic Day Episode: Madhav Khosla on India’s Founding Moment,” Grand Tamasha, January 28, 2020.

2. Sandipto Dasgupta, “Gandhi’s Failure: Anticolonial Movements,” Perspectives on Politics 15, no. 3 (2017).

3. Sandipto Dasgupta, “‘A Language Which Is Foreign to Us’: Continuities and Anxieties in the Making of the Indian Constitution,” Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East 34, no. 2 (2014): 228–242.

How This India-Pakistan Conflict Will Shape the Next One

podcasts@ceip.org (Milan Vaishnav, Joshua White) — Wed, 21 May 2025 01:00:00 +0000

At this point, you’ve probably read 1,001 post-mortem analyses of the India-Pakistan conflict, desperately searching for some new nugget or data point that helps you understand this brief, but intense clash between these two South Asian rivals.

In this sea of hot takes, one essay stands out both for its analytical clarity and its wisdom. That piece was written by the scholar Joshua T. White and it’s simply titled, “Lessons for the next India-Pakistan war.”

It was published by the Brookings Institution, where Josh is a non-resident fellow with the Foreign Policy program. Josh is also professor of the practice of international affairs at The Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in Washington, D.C.

Josh has served at the White House as senior advisor and director for South Asian affairs at the National Security Council. And he’s also worked at the Pentagon, where he helped get the U.S.-India Defense Technology and Trade Initiative off the ground.

To talk more about his piece and the recent conflict, Josh rejoins Milan on the podcast this week. He and Milan discuss how the global debate on “attribution” has tilted decisively in India’s favor, troubling new precedents about military target selection, the depth of Pakistani information operations, and the widespread use of drones and unmanned aerial vehicles in the recent conflict. Plus, the two preview Josh’s forthcoming book, Vigilante Islamists: Religious Parties and Anti-State Violence in Pakistan.

Episode notes:

1. Joshua T. White, “Lessons for the next India-Pakistan war,” Brookings Institution, May 14, 2025.

2. “Operation Sindoor and South Asia’s Uncertain Future (with Christopher Clary),” Grand Tamasha, May 14, 2025.

3. “US views of India-China ties and their impact on the US-India partnership (with Lisa Curtis, Joshua T. White, and Tanvi Madan),” Brookings “Global India” podcast, February 7, 2024.

4. “U.S.-India Ties After the ‘2+2’ Summit (with Joshua White),” Grand Tamasha, April 27, 2022.

Operation Sindoor and South Asia’s Uncertain Future

podcasts@ceip.org (Milan Vaishnav, Christopher Clary) — Wed, 14 May 2025 01:00:00 +0000

On Saturday, India and Pakistan announced a ceasefire, ending—at least for now—the latest bout of armed conflict between the two South Asian rivals. The announcement followed the launch of “Operation Sindoor”—India’s response to the April 22nd terrorist attack in Kashmir, which claimed the lives of 26 innocent civilians.

India’s strike prompted a worrying tit-for-tat standoff which quickly escalated into the worst conflict between the two nuclear-armed nations in a quarter-century. The fighting has stopped for now, leaving policymakers, scholars, and analysts the task of deciphering the longer-term consequences of the recent crisis.

To break things down, Milan is joined on the show this week by Christopher Clary. Chris is an associate professor of political science at the University of Albany. He’s also a non-resident fellow at the Henry L. Stimson Center in Washington, D.C.

Listeners may remember Chris from his 2022 appearance on Grand Tamasha, when he discussed his book, The Difficult Politics of Peace: Rivalry in Modern South Asia.

Milan and Chris discuss why the Pahalgam episode marked a new chapter in India-Pakistan relations, how the recent conflict will serve as a template for the next crisis, and the possible motivations for U.S. intervention. Plus, the two discuss what the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the Middle East can teach us about India and Pakistan’s likely future.

Episode notes:

1. Christopher Clary, “India-Pakistan rivalry is old, but Pahalgam marked a new chapter,” Times of India, May 11, 2025.

2. Sudhi Ranjan Sen et al., “Trump Truce Leaves India Furious, Pakistan Elated as Risks Loom,” Bloomberg, May 11, 2025.

3. Karishma Mehrotra et al., “The U.S. helped deliver an India-Pakistan ceasefire. But can it hold?” Washington Post, May 10, 2025.

4. “When and Why Do India and Pakistan Fight (with Christopher Clary),” Grand Tamasha, September 14, 2022.

Recovering the Lost Indosphere

podcasts@ceip.org (William Dalyrmple, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 7 May 2025 01:00:00 +0000

The Golden Road: How Ancient India Transformed the World is the new book by the celebrated historian William Dalrymple. For listeners of Grand Tamasha, Dalrymple surely needs no introduction. He is the bestselling author of nine books, including The Last Mughal, The Anarchy, and City of Djinns. He is cofounder of the Jaipur Literature Festival and cohost of the wildly popular podcast, “Empire,” with Anita Anand.

His new book, The Golden Road, highlights India’s often forgotten role as a crucial economic fulcrum, and civilizational engine, at the heart of the ancient and early medieval worlds. It tells the story of the forgotten Indosphere and its multiple legacies.

To talk more about his new book, William joins Milan from our studio in Washington, D.C. They discuss the reasons the Indosphere has been obscured from history, the alluring narrative of the Sinocentric “Silk Road,” and Buddhism’s extraordinary journey around the world. Plus, the two discuss the deep penetration of the Hindu epics into Asia, India’s scientific and mathematical discoveries, and whether an Indian mindset of cultural absorption and synthesis can be recovered.

Episode notes:

1. Abhrajyoti Chakraborty, “The Golden Road by William Dalrymple review – the rational case for ancient India’s ingenuity,” The Guardian, September 15, 2024.

2. William Dalrymple, “‘In Britain, we are still astonishingly ignorant’: the hidden story of how ancient India shaped the west,” The Guardian, September 1, 2024.

3. Willaim Dalrymple, “Vibrant, Cacophonous Buddhism,” New York Review of Books, September 21, 2023.

Terror, Trade, and Trump’s India Policy

podcasts@ceip.org (Tanvi Madan, Sadanand Dhume, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 30 Apr 2025 01:00:00 +0000

It’s been a typically busy few months in the world of Indian politics and policy.

To roundup all the latest developments from India, Milan is joined on the show this week by Grand Tamasha regulars Sadanand Dhume of the American Enterprise Institute and the Wall Street Journal and Tanvi Madan of the Brookings Institution.

The trio discuss the recent terrorist attack which killed 26 civilians in Jammu and Kashmir, U.S. Vice President JD Vance’s recent whirlwind trip to India, and Trump’s tariff threats and India’s calibrated response.

Plus, they review the first 100 days of the Trump administration and discuss what, if anything, has surprised them about the early months of Trump 2.0.

Episode notes:

1. Sadanand Dhume, “JD Vance’s India Visit Highlights Closer U.S. Relations,” Wall Street Journal, April 23, 2025.

2. Sadanand Dhume, “Trump’s Tariffs Are Modi’s Greatest Economic Test,” Wall Street Journal, April 9, 2025.

3. Tanvi Madan, “Top Gun & Scattershot,” Times of India, January 20, 2025.

4. “Modi Meets Trump, With Tanvi Madan,” The President’s Inbox (podcast), February 18, 2025.

5. “Trump & Modi: Part Deux (with Sadanand Dhume and Tanvi Madan),” Grand Tamasha, February 19, 2025.

India’s Precocious Welfare State

podcasts@ceip.org (Louise Tillin, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 23 Apr 2025 01:00:00 +0000

In India today, so many political debates are focused on welfare and welfarism. It seems that state after state is competing to offer the most electorally attractive benefits to its voters. The central government, for its part, has pioneered a new model of social welfare built around digital ID and direct cash transfers to needy households.

Making India Work: The Development of Welfare in a Multi-Level Democracy is a new book by the scholar Louise Tillin. It examines the development of India’s welfare state over the last century from the early decades of the twentieth century to the present. In so doing, it recovers a history previously relegated to the margins of scholarship on the political economy of development.

Louise is a Professor of Politics in the King’s India Institute at King’s College London. She is one of the world’s leading experts on Indian federalism, subnational comparative politics, and social policy. She is the author or editor of several previous books, including Remapping India: New States and their Political Origins.

Louise joins Milan on the show this week to discuss India’s “precocious” welfare regime, the late colonial debates over social insurance in India, and the pros and cons of the Nehruvian development model. Plus, the two discuss inter-state variation in modes of social protection and the current debate over welfare in India circa 2025.

Episode notes:

1. “Understanding the Delhi Education Experiment (with Yamini Aiyar),” Grand Tamasha, January 22, 2025.

2. Louise Tillin, “This is the moment for a new federal compact,” Indian Express, June 16, 2024.

3. Rohan Venkataramakrishnan, “Interview: How has Indian federalism evolved under the BJP?” Scroll.in, April 13, 2024.

4. Louise Tillin and Sandhya Venkateswaran, “Democracy and Health in India| Is Health an Electoral Priority?” (New Delhi: Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, 2023)

Trade, Tariffs, and India's Silver Lining

podcasts@ceip.org (Shoumitro Chatterjee, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 16 Apr 2025 01:00:00 +0000

On April 2nd, the U.S. government announced a host of sweeping tariff hikes with every single one of America's trading partners. The aim of the so-called “Liberation Day” tariffs was ostensibly to “rebalance” the global trading system, as some Trump advisors have put it.

However, the drastic measure roiled markets and eventually resulted in the President imposing a 90-day pause on most tariffs, with the exception of strategic sectors and imports from China. India, for its part, was slapped with a 26% tariff even as top officials were negotiating a bilateral trade agreement with their American counterparts.

While the fate of future tariffs and any side agreements are unknown, the episode raises serious questions about India’s global economic strategy. To talk about where India goes from here, Milan is joined on the show this week by Shoumitro Chatterjee. Shoumitro is an Assistant Professor of International Economics at Johns Hopkins-SAIS. His research lies at the intersection of development economics, trade, and macroeconomics, but he has also done seminal work on the role of agriculture in development.

Milan and Shoumitro discuss India’s surprising export-led success, its underperformance in low-skilled manufacturing, and the country’s inward turn post-2017. Plus, the two discuss how India can take advantage of the current global uncertainty and where the politically sensitive agricultural sector fits in.

Episode notes:

1. Shoumitro Chatterjee, “In Trump’s tariff world, India must say: We are open for business,” Indian Express, April 4, 2025.

2. Abhishek Anand, Shoumitro Chatterjee, Josh Felman, Arvind Subramanian, and Naveen Thomas, “How quality control orders are crippling India's trade competitiveness,” Business Standard, March 4, 2025.

3. Shoumitro Chatterjee and Arvind Subramanian, “India’s inward (re)turn: is it warranted? Will it work?” Indian Economic Review 58 (2023): 35-59.

4. Shoumitro Chatterjee, Devesh Kapur, Pradyut Sekhsaria, and Arvind Subramanian, “Agricultural Federalism: New Facts, Constitutional Vision,” Economic and Political Weekly 62, no. 36 (2022): 39-48.

5. Shoumitro Chatterjee and Arvind Subramanian, “India’s Export-Led Growth: Exemplar and Exception,” Ashoka Center for Economic Policy Working Paper No. 01, October 2020.

6. Shoumitro Chatterjee and Arvind Subramanian, “To embrace atmanirbharta is to choose to condemn Indian economy to mediocrity,” Indian Express, October 15, 2020.

7. Shoumitro Chatterjee and Arvind Subramanian, “Has India Occupied the Export Space Vacated by China? 21st Century Export Performance and Policy Implications,” in Euijin Jung, Arvind Subramanian, and Steven R. Weisman, editors, A Wary Partnership: Future of US-India Economic Relations (Washington, D.C.: Peterson Institute for International Economics, 2020).

8. Shoumitro Chatterjee and Devesh Kapur, “Six Puzzles in Indian Agriculture,” India Policy Forum 13, no. 1 (2017): 185-229.

A New Era of Electioneering in India

podcasts@ceip.org (Amogh Dhar Sharma, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 9 Apr 2025 01:00:00 +0000

Over the last decade, election campaigns in India have undergone a dramatic shift. Political parties increasingly rely on political consulting firms, tech-savvy volunteers, pollsters, data-driven insights, and online battles to mobilize voters. But what exactly is driving these changes in the landscape of electioneering?

The Backstage of Democracy: India's Election Campaigns and the People Who Manage Them is a new book by the scholar Amogh Dhar Sharma which tries to locate answers to this question. The book takes readers behind the scenes, where they are introduced to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) IT cell workers, campaign consultants, data strategists and backroom politicians.

Amogh is a Leverhulme Early Career Fellow in the Department of International Development at the University of Oxford. His research explores the interface between politics and technology, political communication, and histories of science and technology.

Amogh joins Milan on the show this week to discuss the professionalization of politics in India, how the middle class relates to politics, and the BJP’s unexpected embrace of digital technology. Plus, the two discuss enigmatic backroom strategist Prashant Kishor and the rise of political consultants.

Episode notes:

1. Amogh Dhar Sharma, “The Cautious Rise of Political Consulting in India,” The Wire, September 6, 2024.

2. Roshan Kishore, “Terms of Trade: How to look at the rise of electoral consultants in India,” Hindustan Times, February 21, 2025.

3. Nilesh Christopher and Varsha Bansal, “How a Secret BJP War Room Mobilized Female Voters to Win the Indian Elections,” WIRED, July 30, 2024.

The Reactionary Spirit in America—and Abroad

podcasts@ceip.org (Zack Beauchamp, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 2 Apr 2025 01:00:00 +0000

A reactionary antidemocratic ethos born and bred in America has come to infect democracies around the world. This is the central thesis of a timely new book by the journalist Zack Beauchamp, The Reactionary Spirit: How America's Most Insidious Political Tradition Swept the World.

Through a mix of political history and reportage, The Reactionary Spirit reveals how the United States serves the birthplace of a new authoritarian style, and why we’re now seeing its evolution in a diverse set of countries ranging from Hungary to Israel to India.

Zack is a senior correspondent at Vox, where he covers challenges to democracy in the United States and abroad, right-wing populism, and the world of ideas. He is also the author of “On the Right,” a newsletter about the American conservative movement.

To talk more about the book and our current political moment, Zack joins Milan on the show this week. The two discuss the rise of competitive authoritarianism, inequality and democracy, and the strange era of “autocracy without autocrats.” Plus, Zack and Milan discuss transnational linkages between rightwing populists and India’s role in the global fight for reclaiming democracy.

Episode notes:

1. Zack Beauchamp, “Why do US politics affect the rest of the world?” Vox, February 28, 2025.

2. Zack Beauchamp, “Their democracy died. They have lessons for America about Trump’s power grab,” February 5, 2025.

3. Zack Beauchamp, “America’s reactionary moment is here,” Vox, November 19, 2024.

4. Zack Beauchamp, “The global trend that pushed Donald Trump to victory,” Vox, November 6, 2024.

5. Zack Beauchamp, “Why the far right is surging all over the world,” Vox, July 17, 2024.

Kishore Mahbubani and the Asian Century

podcasts@ceip.org (Kishore Mahmubani, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 26 Mar 2025 01:00:00 +0000

Kishore Mahbubani is widely regarded as one of Asia’s most well-known diplomats, commentators, and strategic analysts. Having grown up in poverty in Singapore in the 1950s, however, there was nothing preordained about Mahbubani’s success.

But over the course of the second half of the twentieth century, he would go on to become one of the most recognizable and revered diplomats of his generation.

Mahbubani served in Cambodia, Malaysia, and the United States. He was Permanent Secretary at the Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs and twice served as the country’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations. He later served as founding dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy.

Mahbubani chronicles his life journey in a new memoir titled, Living the Asian Century: An Undiplomatic Memoir.

Mahbubani’s journey mirrors Singapore’s own metamorphosis and the book sheds equal light on Mahbubani’s life as it does the Asian country’s own improbable evolution.

To talk more about the book, Kishore Mahbubani joins Milan on the podcast this week. They discuss Kishore’s childhood poverty, his “Indian soul,” and his lifelong interactions with former Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew. Plus, Milan and Kishore discuss the explosion of cultural self-confidence in Asia and what this means for the emerging world order.

Episode notes:

1. [open access] Kishore Mahbubani, The Asian 21st Century (Springer, 2022).

2. Kishore Mahbubani, “It’s Time for Europe to Do the Unthinkable,” Foreign Policy, February 18, 2025.

3. Tony Chan et al., “America Can’t Stop China’s Rise,” Foreign Policy, September 19, 2023.

4. Kishore Mahbubani and Lawrence H. Summers, “The Fusion of Civilizations: The Case for Global Optimism,” Foreign Affairs (May/June 2016).

The Indian Economy's Many Possible Futures

podcasts@ceip.org (Sajith Pai, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 19 Mar 2025 01:00:00 +0000

The Indus Valley Annual Report, published by Blume Ventures, is an annual deep-dive into the Indian macroeconomy, the Indian consumer, and the innovation ecosystem in India. The report has become one of the most highly anticipated reports on the economy—pored over by policy wonks, economic analysts, and India watchers.

The lead author of the report is Sajith Pai. Sajith is a partner at Blume Ventures, an early stage venture firm with offices in Mumbai, Bangalore, Delhi, and San Francisco. Sajith oversees consumer and India B2B investing at Blume. Prior to joining Blume, Sajith had a two-decade career in various corporate strategy roles with the Times of India Group.

To talk more about this year’s report, Sajith joins Milan from his office in Noida. The two discuss the origins and objectives of the Indus Valley Annual Report, India’s post-pandemic recovery trajectory, and India’s low (and declining) savings rate. Plus, the two discuss the trials and tribulations of India’s manufacturing sector and whether India can become an artificial intelligence (AI) powerhouse.

Episode notes:

1. Abhishek Anand et al., “How quality control orders are crippling India's trade competitiveness,” Business Standard, March 4, 2025.

2. Abhishek Anand et al., “Multiplying multi-plants: A new and consequential phenomenon,” Journal of Development Economics 174 (May 2025).

3. “Sajith Pai Unpacks the 2024 Indus Valley Annual Report and the Changing Indian Consumer,” Ides of India (podcast), July 4, 2024.

4. “Will India's Budget 2025 Turn the Economic Tide? (with Sukumar Ranganathan),” Grand Tamasha, February 5, 2025.

India and the Reordering of Transatlantic Relations

podcasts@ceip.org (Milan Vaishnav, Tara Varma) — Wed, 12 Mar 2025 01:00:00 +0000

Europe is not typically the focus of the Grand Tamasha podcast but recent developments involving Europe, the United States, and India raise fresh questions about the future shape of the international order.

Last week, a high-level European Commission delegation embarked on a historic trip to New Delhi, where the two sides spoke optimistically of a promising new chapter in their relationship. Across the ocean in Washington, however, there were alarming signs of a breakdown in the Trans-Atlantic relationship, with the unprecedented Oval Office dressing down of Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

To discuss where things stand in Europe, India, and the United States, Milan is joined on the show this week by Tara Varma. Tara is a visiting fellow in the Center of the United States and Europe at the Brookings Institution. Until December 2022, she was a senior policy fellow and the head of the Paris office of the European Council on Foreign Relations. She has previously worked and lived in Shanghai, London, New Delhi, and Paris.

Milan and Tara discuss the growing wedge between the United States and Europe, the significance of the recent EC visit to New Delhi, the prospects of an EU-India trade pact, and the prospects of a “New Yalta” summit between China, Russia, and the United States. Plus, the two discuss the emerging bonhomie among right-wing nationalists and the prospects of the Trump administration engineering a Sino-Russia split.

Episode notes:

1. Sophia Besch and Tara Varma, “A New Transatlantic Alliance Threatens the EU,” Carnegie Emissary (blog), February 20, 2025.

2. Patricia M. Kim et al., " The China-Russia relationship and threats to vital US interests,” Brookings Institution, December 16, 2024.

3. Tara Varma and Caroline Grassmuck, “What is going on in France?” Brookings Institution, December 13, 2024.

4. C. Raja Mohan, “In Trump’s world, India and Europe need each other,” Indian Express, February 27, 2025.

How India Engages the World

podcasts@ceip.org (Dhruva Jaishankar, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 5 Mar 2025 02:00:00 +0000

Vishwa Shastra: India and the World is the new book by the scholar and foreign affairs analyst Dhruva Jaishankar. The book provides a comprehensive overview of India’s interactions with the world—from ancient times to the present day.

The book also serves as a comprehensive resource for those seeking to understand how India might define the emerging world order. In so doing, it rebuts the conventional wisdom that India lacks a strategic culture.

Dhruva is Executive Director of the Observer Research Foundation America, which he helped establish in 2020. He has previously worked at Brookings India, the German Marshall Fund of the United States, and the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C.

Dhruva joins Milan on the podcast this week to talk more about his book and the evolution of Indian foreign policy. The two discuss why India’s approach to the world is so poorly understood, misperceptions of India’s strategic culture, and the pre-independence drivers of Indian foreign policy. Plus, Dhruva and Milan assess the state of India-Pakistan relations, challenges to India’s ability to connect with Southeast Asia, and whether and how Trump 2.0 alters India’s strategic picture.

Episode notes:

1. Dhruva Jaishankar, “Foundation for layered India-America relations,” Hindustan Times, February 17, 2025.

2. Gunjan Singh, “Vishwa Shastra: A comprehensive guide to India's evolving foreign policy,” Business Standard, January 9, 2025.

3. Dhruva Jaishankar and Tanvi Madan, “The Quad Needs a Harder Edge,” Foreign Affairs, May 19, 2022.

The Precarious State of U.S.-India Ties

podcasts@ceip.org (Rajesh Rajagopalan, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 26 Feb 2025 02:00:00 +0000

There are two narratives doing the rounds about Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit to Washington to break bread with U.S. President Donald Trump.

The first narrative, touted by the government and its backers, is that Modi skillfully threaded the needle with Trump, standing up for Indian interests but also giving the president some important early wins that can position India well for the future. The second narrative suggests a more pessimistic vision: that U.S.-India relations are at a precarious juncture, where a volatile and transactional president just might upend bilateral ties at a time when India can scarcely afford it.

To discuss where U.S.-India ties sit in the aftermath of the Modi visit, Milan is joined on the show today by Rajesh Rajagopalan. Rajesh is professor of International Politics at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi. He is an expert on nuclear policy, Indian foreign policy, and U.S.-India relations. He’s also the author of a new article in ThePrint titled, “India-US ties stuck in cute acronyms. Delhi must wait out the chaos.”

On this week’s show, Milan and Rajesh discuss Joe Biden’s foreign policy legacy, India’s longstanding demands for technology transfers, and the plateauing in bilateral ties. Plus, the two discuss Delhi’s view on Elon Musk and the future of U.S.-China relations.

Episode notes:

1. “Trump and Modi, Part Deux (with Sadanand Dhume and Tanvi Madan),” Grand Tamasha, February 19, 2025.

2. Rajesh Rajagopalan, “India-US ties stuck in cute acronyms. Delhi must wait out the chaos,” ThePrint, February 17, 2025.

3. Rajesh Rajagopalan, “Trump’s blanket desire to avoid all wars can lead to the same wars he wants to avoid,” ThePrint, November 11, 2024.

4. “Dr. S. Jaishankar on the Future of U.S.-India Relations,” Grand Tamasha, October 2, 2024.

5. Rajesh Rajagopalan, “India keeps making the same foreign policy mistakes. World doesn’t think we’re being moral,” ThePrint, September 11, 2024.

6. “Looking Back at U.S.-India Relations in the Biden Era (with Ashley J. Tellis),” Grand Tamasha, September 11, 2024.

7. Rajesh Rajagopalan, “India-US ties under Modi echo Nehru’s reluctance to commit. Hope consequences aren’t the same,” ThePrint, July 17, 2024.

Trump and Modi, Part Deux

podcasts@ceip.org (Milan Vaishnav, Sadanand Dhume, Tanvi Madan) — Wed, 19 Feb 2025 02:00:00 +0000

The news from India has been coming fast and furious.

On February 1, the finance minister revealed the latest Indian budget amidst a backdrop of slowing economic growth. On February 8, a new government in the state of Delhi was elected and, for the first time in a quarter-century, it’s headed by the BJP. And on February 13, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had his first face-to-face sit-down with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House in the Trump 2.0 era.

To discuss the latest events and what they mean for India, Milan is joined on the show this week by Grand Tamasha regulars by two Grand Tamasha regulars, Tanvi Madan of the Brookings Institution and Sadanand Dhume of the American Enterprise Institute and the Wall Street Journal.

They discuss the BJP’s striking political resilience, the fortunes of the Aam Aaadmi Party, and India’s current economic malaise. Plus, they discuss Modi’s high-stakes meetings with Trump and Elon Musk and the future of the China-India-United States relationship.

Episode notes:

1. “Will India's Budget 2025 Turn the Economic Tide? (with Sumukar Ranganathan)” Grand Tamasha, February 5, 2025.

2. Sadanand Dhume, “Foreign Lessons in the Perils of DEI and Affirmative Action,” Wall Street Journal, January 29, 2025.

3. Tanvi Madan, “Top Gun and Scattershot,” Times of India, January 20, 2025.

4. Sadanand Dhume, “Manmohan Singh’s Mixed Economic Legacy,” Wall Street Journal, January 1, 2025.

5. Tanvi Madan, “India is Hoping for a Trump Bump,” Foreign Affairs, December 5, 2024.

The Life, Death, and Legacy of Gauri Lankesh

podcasts@ceip.org (Rollo Romig, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 12 Feb 2025 02:00:00 +0000

On September 5, 2017, the journalist Gauri Lankesh was shot and killed outside of her house in Bangalore by armed assailants traveling on a motorbike. Lankesh, a journalist and social activist, was known for being a fierce critic of right-wing Hindutva politics and her murder has widely been seen as retribution for her outspoken views.

A new book by the journalist Rollo Romig, I Am on the Hit List: A Journalist's Murder and the Rise of Autocracy in India, recounts the extraordinary life and tragic death of Gauri Lankesh. Rollo is a journalist, essayist, and critic. He has been reporting on South India since 2013, most often for The New York Times Magazine.

To talk more about his new book and his years reporting from South India, Rollo joins Milan on the show this week. They discuss Rollo’s love affair with Bangalore, Lankesh’s complex character, the shadowy rightwing organization Sanatan Sanstha implicated in her killing, and the police investigation into her death. Plus, the two discuss Gauri Lankesh’s legacy and what her murder tells us about the state of contemporary India.

Episode notes:

1. Nitish Pahwa, “A Reporter Who Risked and Lost Her Life in Modi’s India,” New York Times, August 6, 2024.

2. Rollo Romig, “How to Steal a River,” The New York Times Magazine, March 1, 2017.

3. Rollo Romig, “What Happens When a State Is Run by Movie Stars?” The New York Times Magazine, July 1, 201

4. Rollo Romig, “Masala Dosa to Die For,” The New York Times Magazine, May 7, 2014.

Will India's Budget 2025 Turn the Economic Tide?

podcasts@ceip.org (Milan Vaishnav, Sukumar Ranganathan) — Wed, 5 Feb 2025 02:00:00 +0000

On February 1st, India’s finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented her eighth Budget of the Modi era. This year’s budget was tabled at a precarious economic juncture, for India and for the world. India has been challenged by slowing growth, persistent inflation, and global uncertainties motivated in part by the return of Donald Trump to the White House just a few weeks ago.

So, how has the finance minister approached this delicate moment? What are the government’s priorities for the coming fiscal year? And has it made the tough decisions that could revive underlying animal spirits?

To discuss these and many other questions, Milan is joined on the podcast this week by Sukumar Ranganathan, editor-in-chief of the Hindustan Times.

Long-time listeners will know that Sukumar has regularly appeared on the show to share his insights on India’s political economy with us. On this week’s show, Milan and Sukumar discuss India’s worrying growth slowdown, the government’s pitch for deregulation, and a generous tax cut for the middle class. Plus, the two discuss the potential impacts of Trump’s tariffs on the Indian economy.

Episode notes:

1. “Anticipating the Unintended,” issue 287, February 2, 2025.

2. Roshan Kishore, “What the budget does for politics,” Hindustan Times, February 2, 2025.

3. Roshan Kishore, “What the budget does for demand,” Hindustan Times, February 2, 2025.

4. Roshan Kishore, “What the budget does for the fisc,” Hindustan Times, February 2, 2025.

5. Roshan Kishore, “What the budget 2025 means for economic reforms,” Hindustan Times, February 2, 2025.

6. “Previewing India's 2024 General Election (with Sukumar Ranganathan),” Grand Tamasha, April 17, 2024.

Sri Lanka's Peaceful Revolution

podcasts@ceip.org (Neil DeVotta, milan vaishnav) — Wed, 29 Jan 2025 02:00:00 +0000

2024 was widely hailed as the year of elections with 73 countries holding elections in and more than 1.5 billion voters exercising their franchise. On Grand Tamasha, we’ve discussed the 2024 Indian general election as well as the recent U.S. presidential election at some length. But there was another important election in South Asia which has important ramifications both for India and the wider Indo-Pacific. In September 2024, for the first time in Sri Lanka’s history, a third-party candidate was elected president.

According to Neil DeVotta, our guest on the show this week, the election was nothing short of a peaceful revolution that represents a dramatic political realignment in the island nation.

Neil DeVotta is a professor of politics and international affairs at Wake Forest University, where he works on South Asian security and politics, ethnicity and nationalism, conflict resolution, and democratic transitions. And he’s also the author of a recent essay in the January 2025 issue of the Journal of Democracy, called “Sri Lanka’s Peaceful Revolution.”

To kick off the thirteenth season of the podcast, Milan sits down with Neil to discuss the tumultuous political history of Sri Lanka, its charismatic new president Anura Kumara Dissanayake, and the state of the Sri Lankan economy. Plus, the two discuss how Dissanayake will delicately balance relations with both India and China.

Episode notes:

1. Neil DeVotta, “Sri Lanka's Peaceful Revolution,” Journal of Democracy 36.1 (January 2025): 79-92.

2. Neil DeVotta, “Colombo's Controversial New President,” East Asia Forum, 24 July 2022.

3. Neil DeVotta, “A Win for Democracy in Sri Lanka,” Journal of Democracy 27.1 (January 2016): 152–66.

4. “South Asia's Economic Turmoil (with Ben Parkin),” Grand Tamasha, September 21, 2022.

5. “Inside Sri Lanka's Economic Meltdown (with Ahilan Kadirgamar),” Grand Tamasha, May 18, 2022.

Understanding the Delhi Education Experiment

podcasts@ceip.org (Milan Vaishnav, Yamini Aiyar) — Wed, 22 Jan 2025 02:00:00 +0000

One of the most talked about policy experiments in India in recent memory is the reform of government schools in the city-state of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. Under the leadership of the Aam Aadmi Party, the Delhi government has implemented an innovative program to equip students with foundational literacy and numeracy. But while these reforms are much discussed, they have been surprisingly under-studied. A new book by the scholar Yamini Aiyar tries to remedy this gap.

Yamini’s new book, Lessons in State Capacity from Delhi's Schools, draws on three years of ethnographic research where she and a team of colleagues were embedded in a cluster of schools across the national capital.

Yamini is currently Visiting Senior Fellow at the Saxena Center for Contemporary South Asia and the Watson Institute at Brown University. Many of our listeners will know her from her work with the Centre for Policy Research in New Delhi, where she served as President from 2017 to 2024.

To kick off season thirteen of Grand Tamasha, Yamini joins Milan on the show this week. They discuss Yamini’s decade-long adventure studying India’s public schools, the core elements of the Delhi education model, and the mysterious ways in which the India bureaucracy operates. Plus, they discuss whether the Delhi experiment can travel beyond the national capital.

Episode notes:

1. “How Bureaucracy Can Work for the Poor (with Akshay Mangla),” Grand Tamasha, March 29, 2023.

2. Yamini Aiyar and Shrayana Bhattacharya, “The Post Office Paradox: A Case Study of the Block Level Education Bureaucracy,” Economic & Political Weekly 51, no. 11 (2016).

3. Lant Pritchett, “Is India a Flailing State?: Detours on the Four Lane Highway to Modernization,” HKS Faculty Research Working Paper Series RWP09-013, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, 2009.

4. Devesh Kapur, Pratap Bhanu Mehta, and Milan Vaishnav, Rethinking Public Institutions in India (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2017).

Grand Tamasha's Best Books of 2024

podcasts@ceip.org (Milan Vaishnav) — Fri, 20 Dec 2024 02:00:00 +0000

Grand Tamasha is Carnegie’s weekly podcast on Indian politics and policy co-produced with the Hindustan Times, a leading Indian media house. For five years (and counting), Milan has interviewed authors, journalists, policymakers, and practitioners working on contemporary India to give listeners across the globe a glimpse into life in the world’s most populous country.

For the past two years, in anticipation of the show’s holiday hiatus, we’ve published an annual list of our favorite books featured on the podcast over the previous twelve months.

In keeping with this tradition, here—in no particular order—are Grand Tamasha’s top books of 2024.

Savarkar and the Making of Hindutva
By Janaki Bakhle. Published by Princeton University Press.

Accelerating India's Development: A State-Led Roadmap for Effective Governance
By Karthik Muralidharan. Published by Penguin Viking India.

The Identity Project: The Unmaking of a Democracy (published in the United States and the UK as The New India: The Unmaking of the World’s Largest Democracy)
By Rahul Bhatia. Published by Context (South Asia); Little, Brown (UK); and PublicAffairs (United States).

In this special bonus episode, Milan talks about why he loved each of these books and includes short clips from his conversations with Janaki, Karthik, and Rahul.

This is the final episode of our twelfth season. Thanks to our listeners to being such loyal followers of the show. We’re excited to kick off our thirteenth season in mid-January after taking a short holiday break.

Episode notes:

1. Milan Vaishnav, “Grand Tamasha’s Best Books of 2023,” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, December 19, 2023.

2. Milan Vaishnav, “Grand Tamasha’s Best Books of the Year,” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, December 20, 2022.

3. “Identifying the New India (with Rahul Bhatia),” Grand Tamasha, September 25, 2024.

4. “A Blueprint for India’s State Capacity Revolution (with Karthik Muralidharan),” Grand Tamasha, May 22, 2024.

5. “Savarkar, In His Own Words (with Janaki Bakhle),” Grand Tamasha, March 27, 2024.

Populism, South Asian Style

podcasts@ceip.org (Adnan Naseemullah, Pradeep Chhibber, milan vaishnav) — Wed, 18 Dec 2024 02:00:00 +0000

If there is one thing political scientists can agree on, it is that we live in an era of populism. With the recent election of Donald Trump, populism has returned to the United States, raising questions about what changes we might see in upcoming elections in 2025.

South Asia has been no stranger to populism and a new book, Righteous Demagogues: Populist Politics in South Asia and Beyond, provides a framework for understanding its origins, its evolution, and its prospects. The authors of this new book are the scholars Dann Naseemullah and Pradeep Chhibber and they join Milan on the show this week to discuss their new book.

Dann is a Reader in International Politics at King's College London. And Pradeep is currently Professor of Political Science and the Indo-American Community Chair in India Studies at the University of California, Berkeley.

The three discuss the COVID-era origins of the book, definitions of populism, and the ways in which populism has played out across the subcontinent over the last seven decades. Plus, they talk about the future of ousted Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, the current turmoil in Bangladesh, and what exactly is new in the “New India” under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Episode notes:

1. “The Lessons of Gujarat Under Modi (with Christophe Jaffrelot),” Grand Tamasha, May 29, 2024.

2. Pradeep Chhibber and Adnan Naseemullah, “This is how Modi is different from other Right-wing populists like Trump, Erdogan & Duterte,” ThePrint, August 21, 2019.

Party Instability and Political Violence in India

podcasts@ceip.org (Aditi Malik, milan vaishnav) — Wed, 11 Dec 2024 02:00:00 +0000

Where and when ethnic violence breaks out is a question of longstanding concern to the India policy community.

Previous work in political science has pointed to a diverse array of factors—ranging from civil society bonds to elite networks and coalition politics as potential explanations. A new book by the scholar Aditi Malik highlights political parties, specifically party instability, as the principal culprit.

In Playing with Fire: Parties and Political Violence in Kenya and India, Aditi highlights how the levels of party instability informs the decisions of political elites to organize or support violence. Settings marked by unstable parties are more vulnerable to recurring and major episodes of party violence than those populated by durable parties. This is because transient parties enable politicians to disregard voters' future negative reactions to conflict.

Aditi is an Associate Professor of Political Science at the College of the Holy Cross. She studies political violence, gender-based violence, social movements, and contentious politics.

She joins Milan on the show this week to talk about her book and the implications of her research findings. They discuss the role of elites in fomenting violence, when voters sanction violent politicians, and the similarities and differences in ethnic violence in Kenya and India. Plus, they discuss what Aditi’s book tells us about the January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

Episode notes:

1. “Paul Staniland on the Surprising Decline in Political Violence in South Asia,” Grand Tamasha, October 7, 2020.

2. Aditi Malik, “Playing with Fire: Parties and Political Violence in Kenya and India,” Fifteen Eighty Four (CUP) Blog, August 14, 2024.

3. Zack Beauchamp, “Narendra Modi is Celebrating his Scary Vision for India’s Future,” Vox, January 27, 2024.

4. Aditi Malik. “Hindu-Muslim Violence in Unexpected Places: Theory and Evidence from Rural India,” Politics, Groups, & Identities, Vol. 9, No. 1 (2021): 40-58.

Muslims in the New India

podcasts@ceip.org (Hilal Ahmed, milan vaishnav) — Wed, 4 Dec 2024 02:00:00 +0000

The discourse in India today on the issue of the Muslim community seems to swing between two contrary positions.

According to the Hindu nationalist narrative, Muslims are a monolithic religious category whose presence justifies the need for greater Hindu solidarity. On the other hand, there is the narrative offered by liberals, who claim to protect Muslims as a religious minority to defend Indian democracy.

A new book by the scholar Hilal Ahmed, A Brief History of the Present: Muslims in New India, departs from these unidimensional notions of Muslim identity. It applies concepts from political science, history, and political theory to provide a much more nuanced view of India’s Muslim community.

Ahmed is an associate professor at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS), where he is also associated with the Lokniti Programme for Comparative Democracy. He is an authority on political Islam, electoral behavior, and Indian democracy.

Ahmed joins Milan on the show this week to talk about “substantive Muslimness,” the meaning of Hindutva, and what exactly is new if the “new India.” Plus, the two discuss the state of the political opposition and the BJP’s vulnerabilities.

Episode notes:

1. “Identifying the New India (with Rahul Bhatia),” Grand Tamasha, September 25, 2024.

2. “What Really Happened in India's 2024 General Election? (with Sanjay Kumar),” Grand Tamasha, September 18, 2024.

3. Hilal Ahmed, “CSDS-Lokniti post-poll survey: The three main takeaways,” Hindu, June 7, 2024.

4. “Decoding the 2024 Indian General Elections (with Sunetra Choudhury and Rahul Verma),” Grand Tamasha, June 6, 2024.

5. “Neha Sahgal on Religion and Identity in Contemporary India,” Grand Tamasha, June 30, 2021.

The Truth About the "Foreign Hand" in India

podcasts@ceip.org (Paul McGarr, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 27 Nov 2024 02:00:00 +0000

Over the past twelve months, tales of spies and spycraft have complicated India’s relationships with key Western partners.

In recent months, both Canada and the United States have alleged that India’s foreign intelligence agency was involved in a complex plot to identify and target Khalistani separatists who were citizens of those countries.

In India, these allegations have, in turn, revealed deep skepticism about the actions of western spy agencies and the negative role they’ve played in India and across the Global South.

A new book, Spying in South Asia: Britain, the United States, and India’s Secret Cold War, offers the first comprehensive history of US and UK intelligence operations in the Indian subcontinent. The author of this book is Paul McGarr, a lecturer in Intelligence Studies at King’s College London.

To talk more about his new book—and the West’s 50-year battle to win the hearts and minds of Indians—Paul joins Milan on the show this week.

The two discuss India’s tradition of spycraft, the long shadow of the British Raj, and secret collaboration between the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency and its Indian counterparts. Plus, the two discuss why the covert efforts of British and American intelligence agencies in 20th century India largely proved to be misguided and self-defeating.

Episode notes:

1. VIDEO: “Indira Gandhi Overdid the ‘Foreign Hand’ but Some of Her Fears About the CIA were real ,” The Wire, November 21, 2024.

2. “Inside the Secret World of South Asia's Spies (with Adrian Levy),” Grand Tamasha, October 27, 2021.

The Past, Present, and Future of India’s Near East

podcasts@ceip.org (Avinash Paliwal, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 20 Nov 2024 02:00:00 +0000

India’s Near East: A New History is an important new book by the scholar Avinash Paliwal.

The book traces the history of how New Delhi has grappled with the twin challenges of forging productive ties with its eastern neighbors—namely, Bangladesh and Myanmar—while building a robust administrative state in India’s Northeastern states.

It is the story of a state’s struggle to overcome war, displacement and interventionism, but which exposes the limits of independent India’s influence both inside and outside its borders.

Avinash joins Milan on the show to talk more about his new book. Avinash is a Reader in International Relations at SOAS University of London, where he specializes in South Asian strategic affairs.

Avinash and Milan discuss India’s state-building experience in the northeast, the fate of the “Look East” and “Act East” policies, and India’s often contentious relations with both Burma and Bangladesh. Plus, the two discuss how two factors—China and Hindutva— are remaking India’s approach to the near east.

Episode notes:

1. “What the Taliban Takeover Means for India (with Avinash Paliwal),” Grand Tamasha, September 15, 2021.

2. “Binalakshmi Nepram on the Realities of India’s Oft-Forgotten Northeast,” Grand Tamasha, June 3, 2020.

3. Avinash Paliwal, “Bangladesh on razor’s edge: Why India must wake up to the looming economic crisis and political instability to its east,” Indian Express, December 13, 2022.

The U.S. Election, India, and Indian Americans

podcasts@ceip.org (Sadanand Dhume, Milan Vaishnav, Tanvi Madan) — Wed, 13 Nov 2024 02:00:00 +0000

The never-ending U.S. election has finally ended and Republican nominee Donald Trump has clinched a decisive victory. Trump is on track to win 312 electoral college votes and, for the first time, a majority of the popular vote.

Kamala Harris, a surprise entrant in the race, lost a closely contested election, marking the second time in three elections that a female Democratic presidential nominee failed to topple Trump.

The election has implications for Indian Americans, for India, and for U.S.-India relations.

To discuss these topics and more, Milan is joined on the show this week by Grand Tamasha news roundup regulars, Sadanand Dhume of the Wall Street Journal and the American Enterprise Institute and Tanvi Madan of the Brookings Institution.

The trio discuss the election results, the voting patterns of Indian Americans, what a Trump 2.0 might look like, and the implications of the elections for U.S.-India relations

Episode notes:

1. Tanvi Madan, “India will need to adapt to a new White House,” Indian Express, November 4, 2024.

2. Sadanand Dhume, “Indian-Americans and the ‘Racial Depolarization,’” Wall Street Journal, November 6, 2024.

4. VIDEO: “Deciphering the Indian American Vote,” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, October 31, 2024.

5. Milan Vaishnav, “With Trump, it’s back to the future for the US,” Hindustan Times, November 6, 2024.

6. Sumitra Badrinathan, Devesh Kapur, and Milan Vaishnav, “How Will Indian Americans Vote? Results From the 2020 Indian American Attitudes Survey,” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, October 14, 2020.

7. AAPI Data tweet on exit poll data on Asian American voters, November 8, 2024.

8. Tanvi Madan, “Has India made friends with China after the Modi-Xi agreement?” Brookings Institution, October 29, 2024.

The Indian American Vote in 2024

podcasts@ceip.org (Sumitra Badrinathan, Devesh Kapur, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 6 Nov 2024 02:00:00 +0000

As American voters go to the polls, all indications point to a statistical dead-heat between vice president and Democratic Party nominee Kamala Harris and former Republican president Donald Trump. The outcome will likely turn on tens of thousands of voters in a handful of key swing states. According to leading pollsters and polling aggregators, the race in these states is too close to call.

In this hotly contested race, one demographic whose political preferences are much discussed, though less studied, is Indian Americans. A new study, the 2024 Indian American Attitudes Survey (IAAS), tries to fill this gap. The IAAS is a nationally representative online survey conducted by the Carnegie Endowment in conjunction with data and analytics firm YouGov. The report is authored by Sumitra Badrinathan of American University, Devesh Kapur of Johns Hopkins-SAIS, and Grand Tamasha host Milan Vaishnav.

This week on the show, Milan speaks with Sumitra and Devesh about the main findings of their new report and what they portend for the election as well as future political trends in the United States.

Episode notes:

1. Sumitra Badrinathan, Devesh Kapur, and Milan Vaishnav, “Indian Americans at the Ballot Box: Results From the 2024 Indian American Attitudes Survey,” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, October 28, 2024.

2. VIDEO: “Deciphering the Indian American Vote,” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, October 31, 2024.

3. Sumitra Badrinathan, Devesh Kapur, and Milan Vaishnav, “How Will Indian Americans Vote? Results From the 2020 Indian American Attitudes Survey,” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, October 14, 2020.

4. Christopher H. Achen and Larry M. Bartels, Democracy for Realists: Why Elections Do Not Produce Responsive Government (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2016).

5. Sara Sadhwani, “Asian American Mobilization: The Effect of Candidates and Districts on Asian American Voting Behavior,” Political Behavior 44 (2022):105–131.

6. Devesh Kapur, Nirvikar Singh, and Sanjoy Chakravorty, The Other One Percent: Indians in America (New York: Oxford University Press, 2016).

7. “Sumitra Badrinathan and Devesh Kapur Decode the 2020 Indian American Vote,” Grand Tamasha, October 14, 2020.

Understanding Irregular Indian Migration to the United States

podcasts@ceip.org (Gil Guerra, Sneha Puri, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 30 Oct 2024 01:00:00 +0000

The United States is fast approaching the end of a lengthy presidential campaign in which the issue of immigration has taken center stage.

Former President Donald Trump has repeatedly attacked President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris for failing to protect America’s borders, with Trump’s misleading claims that immigrants in Ohio are eating people’s pets emerging as one of the defining moments of the race so far. Harris, on the other hand, has gone on the offensive, blaming Trump for sabotaging a bipartisan Senate bill that would have beefed up border protection.

Amidst this back-and-forth, there’s been relatively little attention paid to the changing composition of who exactly is trying to enter the United States without prior authorization. Since 2020, India has emerged as the country of origin for the largest number of migrants attempting to enter the U.S. outside of the Western Hemisphere.

A new analysis by the Niskanen Center, “Indian migrants at the U.S. border: What the data reveals,” digs into what we know—and what we don’t—about this surge from India. The authors of this new analysis, Gil Guerra and Sneha Puri, join Milan on the show this week to talk about their new research.

Gil is an Immigration Policy Analyst at the Niskanen Center, where he focuses on immigration and foreign policy, migrant integration, and demographic trends at the U.S.-Mexico border. And Sneha is an Immigration Policy Fellow at the Niskanen Center, focusing on a wide range of immigration policy issues such as legal migration pathways, employment-based visas, and irregular migration.

The three discuss the data on irregular migration, the surge in Indian “encounters” at the border, and the reasons behind the spike. Plus, the trio discuss the similarities and differences between Chinese and Indian migration, the recent controversies around Khalistani separatists in the diaspora, and the policy options facing the next U.S. president.

Episode notes:

1. Gil Guerra and Sneha Puri, “Indian migrants at the U.S. border: What the data reveals,” Niskanen Center, September 16, 2024.

2. Gil Guerra, “Four countries that will shape migration in 2024 – and beyond,” Niskanen Center, April 1, 2024.

3. Sergio Martinez-Beltran, “Indian migrants drive surge in northern U.S. border crossings,” NPR, September 10, 2024.

4. Sanjoy Chakravorty, Devesh Kapur, and Nirvikar Singh, The Other One Percent: Indians in America (New York: Oxford University Press, 2016).

5. Devesh Kapur and Milan Vaishnav, “Industrial Policy Needs an Immigration Policy,” Foreign Affairs, August 22, 2024.

6. Terry Milewski, Blood for Blood: Fifty Years of the Global Khalistan Project (New York: Harper Collins, 2021).

7. Aparna Pande, From Chanakya to Modi: Evolution of India's Foreign Policy (New Delhi: Harper Collins India, 2017).

8. “Dr. S. Jaishankar on the Future of U.S.-India Relations,” Grand Tamasha, October 2, 2024.

9. “The India-Canada Conundrum (with Sanjay Ruparelia),” Grand Tamasha, November 8, 2023.

Taking On India's Patriarchal Political Order

podcasts@ceip.org (Soledad Artiz Prillaman, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 23 Oct 2024 01:00:00 +0000

One of the most remarkable developments in Indian politics in recent years is the surge in female voter turnout. For the first several decades after Independence, women’s participation on Election Day lagged men’s by between 8 to 12 percentage points. In recent years, however, that gender gap has completely disappeared. In most state elections today, women turn out to vote with greater frequency than men.

But this good news story obscures a puzzling fact: while Indian women vote at high rates, they are markedly less involved than men in politics between elections. A new book by the political scientist Soledad Artiz Prillaman gives us an explanation of why.

Soledad is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Stanford University and the author of an award-winning new book, The Patriarchal Political Order: The Making and Unraveling of the Gendered Participation Gap in India.

She joins Milan on the show this week to talk about gender and politics and what can be done to ensure women have a seat at the table even when the electoral spotlight is off. The two debate the nature of coercive political power, the importance of social norms, and the ubiquity of patriarchy. Plus, the two discuss the backlash to women’s empowerment.

Episode notes:

1. Soledad Artiz Prillaman, “Strength in numbers: how women's groups close India's political gender gap,” American Journal of Political Science 67, no. 2 (2023): 390-410.

2. Gabi Kruks-Wisner, Claiming the State: Active Citizenship and Rural Welfare in India (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2018).

3. “What the Women's Reservation Bill Means for Women (with Carole Spary),” Grand Tamasha, October 25, 2023.

4. “Making the Indian Economy Work for Women (with Shaili Chopra,” Grand Tamasha, October 19, 2022.

The Future of India's Fiscal Federalism

podcasts@ceip.org (Arvind Subramanian, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 16 Oct 2024 01:00:00 +0000

Indian federalism is encountering some of its biggest challenges since the early years of the republic. Relations between the union government in Delhi and the states are rocky, to put it mildly.

India’s better-off states are growing increasingly agitated about a system of fiscal federalism in which richer states end up subsidizing poorer, more backward ones.

The new Goods and Services Tax (GST) has attracted fresh criticism because its benefits have not been shared equally by all states.

And the coming fight over how parliamentary seats will be allocated across states has only added fuel to the fire.

To discuss the brewing crisis in Indian federalism, Milan is joined today on the show this week by the economist Arvind Subramanian. Arvind is a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. He also served as the chief economic advisor to the government of India between 2014 and 2018. He recently co-authored a new essay in Economic and Political Weekly, “GST Revenue Performance: Gainers and Losers after Seven Years.”

Milan and Arvind discuss the foundations of the GST, its implications for India’s federal design, and its revenue implications. Plus, the two discuss growing resentment among India’s prosperous states over fiscal transfers, questions about political representation, and the prospects of a new grand federal bargain.

Episode notes:

1. Varun Agarwal et al., “GST Revenue Performance: Gainers and Losers after Seven Years,” Economic and Political Weekly 59, no. 37 (September 14, 2024): 35-49.

2. Varun Agarwal et al., “GST revenues: The fate of the compensation cess amid Centre-state row,” Business Standard, July 3, 2024.

3. Varun Agarwal et al., “GST's revenue performance: Centre's sacrifice for cooperative federalism,” Business Standard, July 3, 2024.

4. Josh Felman and Arvind Subramanian, “Is India Really the Next China?” Foreign Policy, April 8, 2024.

5. Arvind Subramanian et al., “Understanding GST revenue performance,” Business Standard, January 1, 2024.

6. Arvind Subramanian and Josh Felman, “Why India Can’t Replace China,” Foreign Affairs, December 9, 2022.

Busting India’s Demographic Myths

podcasts@ceip.org (Poonam Muttreja, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 9 Oct 2024 01:00:00 +0000

There is hardly a day that goes by when the subject of India’s demographics is not front and center in the news.

Whether it is India surpassing China as the world’s most populous country, questions about how the Indian economy can provide enough jobs for a growing workforce, or how population should be used to allocate everything from legislative seats to fiscal transfers, demographics are at the heart of many debates surrounding India’s political economy.

To talk about India’s demographics and its demographic transition, Milan is joined on the show this week by Poonam Muttreja, who serves as the Executive Director of the Population Foundation of India.

For over 40 years, she has been a strong advocate for women’s health, reproductive and sexual rights, and rural livelihoods. Before joining PFI, she served as the India Country Director of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation for 15 years.

Poonam and Milan discuss the myths of overpopulation, India’s fertility decline, and conspiracy theories around India’s changing religious demographics. Plus, the two discuss male participation in family planning and what government should (and should not) do to manage India’s demographics.

Episode notes:

1. Poonam Muttreja and Martand Kaushik, “Dispelling population myths triggered by a working paper,” Hindu, May 30, 2024.

2. Sanghamitra Singh, “We're worried about population explosion. So let's talk brass tacks,” Hindustan Times, July 27, 2023.

3. Zubeda Hamid, “Education remains the most effective contraceptive: experts,” Hindu, July 5, 2024.

4. Poonam Muttreja, “Centering women and marginalized communities in India’s population policy,” Times of India, July 17, 2024.

5. Poonam Muttreja, Sanghamitra Singh, and Martand Kaushik, “Busting myths about India’s population growth,” IDR, August 14, 2024.

6. Nirmala Buch, “Reservation for Women in Panchayats: A Sop in Disguise?” Economic and Political Weekly 44, no. 40 (October 3, 2009): 8–10.

Dr. S. Jaishankar on the Future of U.S.-India Relations

podcasts@ceip.org (Dr. S. Jaishankar) — Wed, 2 Oct 2024 01:00:00 +0000

On this week’s show, we’re doing something a little different.

This week, India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar paid a visit to our Carnegie Endowment office in Washington to take part in a fireside chat with Carnegie’s President Mariano-Florentino (Tino) Cuéllar.

Dr. Jaishankar’s visit to Washington comes on the heels of last week’s Quad Summit and a spate of high-level meetings coinciding with the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

This week, in place of our usual programming, we’re bringing you Dr. Jaishankar’s hour-long engagement at Carnegie. In the conversation, and the Q&A that followed, the Minister discussed the state of U.S.-India ties, the prospect of an “Asian NATO,” the war in Ukraine, and the future of Taiwan. Plus, he fielded questions on India’s neighborhood policy and the government’s relationship with the Indian diaspora.

We found this conversation insightful and illuminating, and we think you will too. Milan will be back in the host’s chair for next week’s show.

Episode notes:

1. “Looking Back at U.S.-India Relations in the Biden Era (with Ashley J. Tellis),” Grand Tamasha, September 11, 2024.

2. “EAM Jaishankar on India's Pluralism, Jammu and Kashmir, and Globalization,” Grand Tamasha, October 1, 2019.

Identifying the New India

podcasts@ceip.org (Rahul Bhatia, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 25 Sep 2024 01:00:00 +0000

The Identity Project: The Unmaking of a Democracy is a new book by the journalist Rahul Bhatia. Many Grand Tamasha listeners will recognize Rahul’s byline in revered publications like the New Yorker, the Guardian, and Caravan. He’s written celebrated profiles of everyone from Arnab Goswami to cricket chief N. Srinivasan. And his reporting has taken on subjects from Baba Ramdev’s business empire to the COVID-19 pandemic.

His new book is based on six years of research and reportage from across India, where he set out on a quest to understand the ideological moorings of what we have come to call “the New India.” To talk more about his book and the state of democracy in India, Rahul joins Milan on the podcast this week.

The two discuss Rahul’s reporting on Aadhaar—India’s unique biometric identification program—and its precursors, the Hindu nationalist push for a new national citizenship regime, and the inner workings of the Indian state’s coercive power. Plus, the two discuss whether and how the results of India’s 2024 election have been a setback to the cause of Hindu nationalism.

Episode notes:

1. Rahul Bhatia, “The trials of an Indian witness: how a Muslim man was caught in a legal nightmare,” The Guardian, March 2, 2023.

2. Rahul Bhatia, “How India’s Welfare Revolution Is Starving Citizens,” The New Yorker, May 16, 2018.

3. Rahul Bhatia, “The Year of Love Jihad in India,” The New Yorker, December 31, 2017.

4. Rahul Bhatia, “India Loves Data but Fails to Protect It,” New York Times, April 3, 2018.

5. “Governing India's Digital Revolution (with Rahul Matthan),” Grand Tamasha, January 24, 2024.

What Really Happened in India's 2024 General Election?

podcasts@ceip.org (Sanjay Kumar, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 18 Sep 2024 01:00:00 +0000

It has been more than three months since the conclusion of India’s massive 2024 general elections. And it is no exaggeration to say that the results of the election caught many, if not most, election observers by surprise.

To many, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) appeared invincible in national elections especially given the widespread popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. And yet, the party suffered a significant setback, emerging as the single largest party but well short of a parliamentary majority.

So, what actually happened in these elections? How can we understand the BJP’s surprising showing? Has the Modi magic dissipated? And is Rahul Gandhi the new standard bearer of change?

To discuss these and many other questions, Milan is joined on the show this week by Sanjay Kumar. Sanjay is Professor at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies in New Delhi and co-director of Lokniti, India’s premier public opinion research organization. Since 1996, Lokniti has carried out a National Election Study after every general election, creating a unique repository of knowledge on the political and social attitudes of the Indian citizen.

On the show, Milan and Sanjay discuss the key findings from this year’s National Election Study. They talk about the resonance of the INDIA alliance’s campaign, divergent outcomes in the Hindi belt, Modi’s declining popularity, and the emerging realignment in southern politics. Plus, the two discuss the reasons for India’s exit poll debacle.

Episode notes:

1. Suhas Palshikar, Sandeep Shastri, and Sanjay Kumar, “CSDS-Lokniti 2024 pre-poll survey: There is no clear and close challenger to the BJP this time. ‘Ifs and buts’ apply,” Hindu, April 13, 2024.

2. Sandeep Shastri, Sanjay Kumar, and Suhas Palshikar, “CSDS-Lokniti post-poll survey: A return to an era of genuine coalitions,” Hindu, June 6, 2024.

3. Lokniti Team, “Post-poll survey: Methodology,” Hindu, June 6, 2024.

4. Sandeep Shastri, “CSDS-Lokniti post-poll survey: Modi factor seems to have stagnated over a decade,” Hindu, June 6, 2024.

5. Sanjay Kumar and Fuhaar Bandhu, “CSDS-Lokniti post-poll survey: BJP maintains advantage among young voters,” June 7, 2024.

6. Lokniti Team, “CSDS-Lokniti post-poll survey: Clearing misconceptions about the post-poll survey,” Hindu, June 9, 2024.

7. “Decoding the 2024 Indian General Elections (with Sunetra Choudhury and Rahul Verma),” Grand Tamasha, June 6, 2024.

8. “Why India’s Modi Underperformed (with Ravi Agrawal, Yamini Aiyar, and Milan Vaishnav),” FP Live, June 7, 2024.

9. “India's 2024 Election—and its Aftermath (with Sadanand Dhume and Tanvi Madan),” Grand Tamasha, June 19, 2024.

Looking Back at U.S.-India Relations in the Biden Era

podcasts@ceip.org (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace) — Wed, 11 Sep 2024 01:00:00 +0000

After a short summer break, Grand Tamasha is back with its twelfth season!

As we head into the U.S. presidential elections and bid farewell to the Biden administration, it seems like an opportune time to discuss the last four years of U.S.-India ties under President Biden and to take stock of where we are at this particular moment in history.

To do so, Milan is joined by one of the show’s most popular guests, Ashley J. Tellis. Ashley holds the Tata Chair for Strategic Affairs at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, where he specializes in international security and U.S. foreign and defense policy. He has a special focus on Asia and the Indian subcontinent and is widely considered one of the world’s most respected voices on Indian foreign policy and U.S.-India relations.

Ashley and Milan talk about the Trump inheritance, the Biden administration’s handling of the explosive “murder-for-hire” plot,” and the unfinished business of the U.S.-India civil nuclear deal.

Plus, the two discuss India’s relations with Russia and China and how the U.S. has managed tensions and opportunities in each. Finally, the duo debate how the outcome of the U.S. election might shape the trajectory of bilateral ties.

Episode notes:

1. Ashley J. Tellis, “Inevitable Fractures: The Ukraine War and the Global System,” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, May 13, 2024.

2. Ashley J. Tellis, “Completing the U.S.-India Civil Nuclear Agreement: Fulfilling the Promises of a Summer Long Past,” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, November 27, 2023.

3. “Reexamining America’s Bet on India (with Ashley J. Tellis),” Grand Tamasha, June 21, 2023.

4. Ashley J. Tellis, “America’s Bad Bet on India,” Foreign Affairs, May 1, 2023.

5. Ashley J. Tellis, Bibek Debroy, and C. Raja Mohan, Grasping Greatness: Making India a Leading Power (New Delhi: Penguin, 2022).

The Dilemma of an Indian Liberal

podcasts@ceip.org (Gucharan Das, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 26 Jun 2024 01:00:00 +0000

Gurcharan Das is one of India's best-known authors and thinkers. He had a celebrated career in business, most notably as the CEO of Procter and Gamble in India, before devoting his full attention to writing. He is the author of numerous best-selling books, including India Unbound, The Difficulty of Being Good, and India Grows at Night.

Most recently, Das has written a new book called The Dilemma of the Indian Liberal, in which he recounts his own professional and intellectual journey and traces how and why he became a liberal. In telling his own story, he also narrates the story of an India that continues to struggle in its own quest to become a successful liberal democracy.

To close out the eleventh season of Grand Tamasha, Milan welcomes Gurcharan Das to the show for the very first time. They discuss Das’ reactions to the 2024 Indian general election, the Indian variant of liberalism, and Das’ journey with liberalism. Plus, the two discuss Das’ ill-fated foray into politics and why community is so important to preserving liberal values.

With this episode, Grand Tamasha officially begins its summer vacation. Stay tuned for more information on Season 12 of the show, which will get kick off in September. Happy summer!

Episode notes:

1. “Gurcharan Das on why it’s lonely being an Indian liberal,” The Economist, March 19, 2024.

2. Suresh Seshadri, “Review of The Dilemma of an Indian Liberal by Gurcharan Das: Keeping the faith,” Hindu, May 3, 2024.

3. Gurcharan Das, “There’s good & bad nationalism. One cherishes power, the other the nation,” ThePrint, April 8, 2024.

4. “India's 2024 Election—and its Aftermath (with Sadanand Dhume and Tanvi Madan,” Grand Tamasha, June 19, 2024.

5. “Decoding the 2024 Indian General Elections (with Sunetra Choudhury and Rahul Verma),” Grand Tamasha, June 6, 2024.

India's 2024 Election—and its Aftermath

podcasts@ceip.org (Sadanand Dhume, Tanvi Madan, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 19 Jun 2024 01:00:00 +0000

This week on Grand Tamasha, Milan is joined by Grand Tamasha’s India news roundup regulars: Sadanand Dhume of the Wall Street Journal and the American Enterprise Institute and Tanvi Madan of the Brookings Institution.

On the show this week, the trio discusses the 2024 Indian general election and its aftermath.

They debate the politics, as well as the economic and foreign policy implications of the result. Did Rahul Gandhi rehabilitate himself? Will coalition politics derail economic reforms? How are foreign capitals reacting to the surprise result?

Milan, Tanvi, and Sadanand discuss these questions and much more.

Episode notes:

Sadanand Dhume, “India’s Election Humbles Narendra Modi,” Wall Street Journal, June 5, 2024.
Sadanand Dhume, “India Could Become Venezuela on the Ganges,” Wall Street Journal, May 22.
“India's Modi Looks to Retain Power (with Tanvi Madan),” Bloomberg Daybreak Asia (podcast), June 5, 2024.
“Two years into the Biden administration’s Indo-Pacific Strategy: A conversation with Assistant Secretary Daniel Kritenbrink,” Brookings Institution, May 14, 2024.
“Decoding the 2024 Indian General Elections (with Sunetra Choudhury and Rahul Verma),” Grand Tamasha, June 6, 2024.

Making 'Make In India' Come Alive

podcasts@ceip.org (Trinh Nguyen, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 12 Jun 2024 01:00:00 +0000

On Sunday night, India’s new National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government was sworn into office, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at its helm once more.

We have a new group of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) allies, a new group of ministers, and a new look in terms of how the Modi government will function in its third term. However, the economic challenges the new government faces are quite old.

Many experts believe that concerns about inflation, jobs, and lack of upward mobility dented the BJP’s electoral prospects in the recent general election. To talk about the Indian economy and the steps the new government must take, Milan is joined on the show this week by Trinh Nguyen.

Trinh is a senior economist covering emerging Asia at Natixis, based in Hong Kong, where she surveys economic trends across Asia, including in India. She previously worked at HSBC as an ASEAN economist from 2011 to 2015. She is also a nonresident scholar in the Asia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Trinh and Milan discuss the market reaction to the surprise 2024 election result, the key vulnerabilities for the Indian economy, and how India is performing relative to its Asian peers. Plus, the two discuss India’s ability to leverage the “China+1” moment, the recent slump in foreign direct investment (FDI), and whether coalition government spells doom for reforms.

Episode notes:

“Political Earthquakes: Key 2024 Elections in Emerging Markets and What it Means for Growth and Reforms,” Natixis, June 4, 2024.
Trinh Nguyen, Kelly Wang, and Diana Zhao, “Lower current account deficit shields India from external shocks and future success hinges on sustaining it,” Natixis, May 29, 2024.
Trinh Nyugen and Kelly Wang, “Modi Drove Growth with Public Investment, Supported by Higher Fiscal Revenue; Foreign Inflows Should Help with Funding Pressure,” Natixis, April 12, 2024.
Trinh Nguyen and Kelly Wang, “India's Womenomics? Modi’s Decade of Formalisation of Jobs Marches Forward,” Natixis, March 8, 2024.
“How India's Economy Can Break the Mold (with Rohit Lamba),” Grand Tamasha, May 15, 2024.
“The Great Indian Poverty—and Inequality—Debate (with Maitreesh Ghatak),” Grand Tamasha, April 24, 2024.
“Decoding the Indian Economy (with Pranjul Bhandari),” Grand Tamasha, April 3, 2024.

Decoding the 2024 Indian General Elections

podcasts@ceip.org (Rahul Verma, Sunetra Choudhury, Milan Vaishnav) — Thu, 6 Jun 2024 01:00:00 +0000

We’ve finally come to the end of the 46-day Indian general election. And we have a surprising result which many experts did not see coming. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of Prime Minister Narendra Modi failed to secure a single-party majority in the Lok Sabha in what is being interpreted as a major setback.

The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) did, however, win a majority and is set to form a new government on June 8th under Modi’s leadership. The opposition Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) grouping, in turn, performed much better than expected, winning 233 seats—a massive increase from 2019.

On today’s podcast, we bring you a conversation that Milan recorded with two of India’s leading political experts: Sunetra Choudhury, national political editor of the Hindustan Times, and Rahul Verma, Fellow at the Centre for Policy Research in New Delhi.

The trio spend an hour digging into the nitty gritty of these election results. They discuss the BJP’s stumbles, the INDIA alliance’s keys to success, and what the election tells us about national issues like the economy and Hindu nationalism. Plus, the three discuss what the we can expect from the new NDA government.

If you’re interested in the video of the conversation, you can find it on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/live/JfhZEAclHv4

Episode notes:

1. Milan Vaishnav, “Looking back before looking ahead in 2024,” Hindustan Times, June 5, 2024.

2. Sunetra Choudhury, “As Cong nears 100 seats, Kharge makes overtures to NDA parties, works the phone,” Hindustan Times, June 4, 2024.

3. Rahul Verma, “Elections that reminded netas, people are the boss,” Times of India, June 5, 2024.

4. “India Elects 2024,” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

The Lessons of Gujarat Under Modi

podcasts@ceip.org (Christophe Jaffrelot, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 29 May 2024 01:00:00 +0000

Gujarat Under Modi: Laboratory of Today’s India is a new book by the scholar Christophe Jaffrelot but one that has an old backstory.

It is the definitive account of Narendra Modi’s tenure as chief minister of the state of Gujarat. And it helps place into context the changes we’ve seen in national politics, economic policy, and society over the past ten years under Prime Minister Modi. It is a book that the author started researching twenty years ago and is finally out in the world.

To talk more about the book, Christophe joins Milan on the show this week. He is the Avantha Chair and Professor of Indian Politics and Sociology at the King’s India Institute. He teaches at Sciences Po and is also a non-resident scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Milan and Christophe discuss the tortuous backstory to the book, what attracted Christophe to the Gujarat story in 2001, and how the BJP established total hegemony in the western state. Plus, the two discuss the “Gujarat model” under Modi, the idea of a “deeper state,” and the often-tense relations between Modi and the Sangh Parivar.

Episode notes:

1. “Christophe Jaffrelot on India’s First Dictatorship,” Grand Tamasha, April 14, 2021.

2. Sudha Ramachandran, “Christophe Jaffrelot on What Makes Brand Modi Successful,” The Diplomat, April 8, 2024.

3. Christophe Jaffrelot, “A Deeper State,” The Caravan, February 13, 2024.

4. Christophe Jaffrelot, “The enduring personality cult of Narendra Modi,” February 13, 2024.

A Blueprint for India’s State Capacity Revolution

podcasts@ceip.org (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace) — Wed, 22 May 2024 01:00:00 +0000

Over the last five years, Milan has interviewed authors of big books, that have brought innovative new ideas to the India policy debate. And he’s also interviewed authors of lengthy books. On the show this week, he sits down with an author who’s written a big book in every sense of the term.

It is no stretch to say that Accelerating India’s Development: A State-Led Roadmap for Effective Governance is one of the most important books written about the political economy of India’s development. Over 600 pages and 200 pages of notes, it takes readers on an exhaustive deep dive of India’s governance challenges, especially in delivering essential public services. The book draws on a wealth of research and practical insights to offer actionable, evidence-based strategies for reforms.

The author of this new book is the economist Karthik Muralidharan. Karthik is the Tata Chancellor’s Professor of Economics at the University of California San Diego.

He is one of the most prolific economists of his generation and his works spans public finance and development economics, with a focus on education, health, welfare, and public service delivery.

Milan and Karthik discuss the book’s origin story, Karthik’s framework for thinking about state capacity, and how to change the incentives of politicians and bureaucrats. Plus, the two discuss some of the book’s big ideas, ranging from data collection to public sector contracting and cash transfers.

Episode notes:

1. Karthik Muralidharan, Niehaus, Paul, and Sandip Sukhtankar, "General Equilibrium Effects of (Improving) Public Employment Programs: Experimental Evidence from India," Econometrica 91, no. 4 (2023): 1261-1295.

2. Karthik Muralidharan, Paul Niehaus, and Sandip Sukhtankar, "Integrating Biometric Authentication in India’s Welfare Programs: Lessons from a Decade of Reforms," Center for Effective Global Action Working Papers, University of California, 2022.

3. Karthik Muralidharan, Paul Niehaus, Sandip Sukhtankar, and Jeffrey Weaver, "Improving Last-Mile Service Delivery Using Phone-Based Monitoring," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics 13, no. 2 (2021): 52-82.

4. Karthik Muralidharan, Paul Niehaus, and Sandip Sukhtankar, "Building State Capacity: Evidence from Biometric Smartcards in India," American Economic Review 106, no. 10 (2016): 2895-2929.

5. Karthik Muralidharan, “A New Approach to Public Sector Hiring in India for Improved Service Delivery,” India Policy Forum 12, no. 1 (2016): 187-236.

How India's Economy Can Break the Mold

podcasts@ceip.org (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace) — Wed, 15 May 2024 01:00:00 +0000

Breaking the Mould: India’s Untraveled Path to Prosperity is a big new book by the economists Raghuram Rajan and Rohit Lamba. The book is both a critique of India’s development model as well as a manifesto for reform.

Most notably, it challenges the conventional wisdom that India’s primary goal should be to transform the country into a blue-collar manufacturing powerhouse. Rajan and Lamba argue that India cannot duplicate China’s development model, but it has the opportunity to leapfrog by focusing higher up the value chain.

To discuss the book’s ideas and its policy implications, Milan is joined on the show this week by Rohit Lamba. Rohit is an economist at New York University-Abu Dhabi and will soon be joining the Economics Department at Cornell University. He’s twice worked in the chief economic advisor’s office in the Indian Ministry of Finance.

The two discuss what the critics get right about the Indian economy, why India cannot blindly follow the Chinese model, and how India can pivot “from brawn to brain.” Plus, Rohit and Milan discuss the manufacturing versus services debate, India’s inward economic turn, and what India must do to upgrade its human capital.

Episode notes:

1. W. Arthur Lewis, “Economic Development with Unlimited Supplies of Labour,” The Manchester School 22 (1954): 139-191.

2. Rohit Lamba and Arvind Subramanian, “Dynamism with Incommensurate Development: The Distinctive Indian Model,” Journal of Economic Perspectives 34, no. 1 (2020): 3-30.

3. Devesh Kapur, “Why Does the Indian State Both Fail and Succeed?" Journal of Economic Perspectives 34, no. 1 (2020): 31-54.

4. Devesh Kapur, “Exit,” Seminar 677 (2015).

What Rahul Gandhi Wants

podcasts@ceip.org (Samanth Subramanian, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 8 May 2024 01:00:00 +0000

The third phase of India’s 44-day long polls took place this week with voting held in 94 constituencies across 12 states. Thus far, the elections have been marked by lower-than-expected turnout, intensifying communal rhetoric, and a sharp debate about inequality and redistribution.

Against this backdrop, the New York Times Magazine recently published an essay by the journalist Samanth Subramanian titled, “Time Is Running Out for Rahul Gandhi’s Vision for India.” The essay was based on a reporting trip in February of this year in which Samanth traveled Uttar Pradesh with Rahul Gandhi, the former president of the Congress Party who remains its most promising face. Samanth is the author of several award-winning books, This Divided Island: Life, Death and the Sri Lankan War and A Dominant Character: The Radical Science and Restless Politics of J.B.S. Haldane. He has also long reported on India and Indian politics.

To talk more about his recent essay, Samanth joins Milan on the podcast this week. On the show, he and Milan discuss Rahul Gandhi’s political vision, the tensions within the Congress Party, and Gandhi’s strengths and weaknesses as a politician. Plus, the two debate the party’s fortunes, its relationship with Muslims, and the Gandhi family legacy.

Episode notes:

1. Rahul Bhattacharya, “Rahul Gandhi is on the march. But where is he heading?” 1843 Magazine, May 2, 2024.

2. Samanth Subramanian, “multi-storied,” Substack newsletter.

3. Bhagi Siva and Samanth Subramanian, “What it takes to live near an elephant herd,” Washington Post, January 21, 2024.

4. Samanth Subramanian, “When the Hindu Right Came for Bollywood,” New Yorker, October 10, 2022.

5. Samanth Subramanian, “How Hindu supremacists are tearing India apart,” Guardian, February 20, 2020.

Inside the BJP Campaign

podcasts@ceip.org (Smriti Kak Ramachandran, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 1 May 2024 01:00:00 +0000

The incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of Prime Minister Narendra Modi entered this election as the clear favorite with every single pre-election survey pointing a decisive victory. However, the party is leaving no stone unturned in its effort to notch a third consecutive parliamentary majority.

To discuss the BJP’s campaign, Milan is joined on the show this week by Smriti Kak Ramachandran, a veteran journalist who covers the BJP for the Hindustan Times. Smriti has spent over a decade in journalism combining old fashioned leg work with modern story telling tools.

Milan and Smriti discuss how the BJP is responding to lower-than-expected turnout in the first phase of voting, Modi’s communally-tinged speech in Rajasthan, and the surprising omission from the BJP’s manifesto. Plus, the two discuss the states the BJP is keeping a close eye on, from Odisha in the east to Tamil Nadu in the south.

Episode notes:

1. Smriti Kak Ramachandran, “Lok Sabha polls: BJP announces new candidate for Ladakh,” Hindustan Times, April 23, 2024.

2. Smriti Kak Ramachandran, “No changes to constitution, assures PM,” Hindustan Times, April 22, 2024.

3. Smriti Kak Ramachandran, “Odisha gives BJP sleepless nights,” Hindustan Times, April 18, 2024.

4. Smriti Kak Ramachandran, “Lok Sabha election manifestos: Modi’s Guarantee, Congress’s NYAY,” Hindustan Times, April 16, 2024.

5. Smriti Kak Ramachandran, “String of new BJP entrants puts focus on headhunter,” Hindustan Times, April 16, 2024.

6. Smriti Kak Ramachandran, “BJP Lok Sabha poll manifesto: A mix of welfare politics, ideological causes,” Hindustan Times, April 14, 2024.

7. “Previewing India's 2024 General Election (with Sukumar Ranganathan),” Grand Tamasha, April 17, 2024.

8. Pratap Bhanu Mehta, “Why voters’ silence is making the BJP nervous,” Indian Express, April 24, 2024.

The Great Indian Poverty—and Inequality—Debate

podcasts@ceip.org (Maitreesh Ghatak, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 24 Apr 2024 01:00:00 +0000

As India heads to the polls, a new chapter is being written in a very old debate about poverty and inequality in India. This debate has been stirred up by the release of new data from a government-sponsored consumption survey, which some have argued shows a massive decline in poverty in India. Others believe that this data are not so unequivocal and point to a widening gap between top income-earners and ordinary Indians.

To make sense of this debate, Milan is joined on the show this week by Maitreesh Ghatak. Maitreesh is a professor of economics at the London School of Economics, where he has been the director of the Development Economics Group at the research centre, STICERD, since 2005. He is a widely respected voice on India’s economic development and has been especially focused, in recent years, on questions of growth, poverty, and inequality.

Milan and Maitreesh discuss the government’s recent consumption survey, contested claims that India has eliminated extreme poverty, and recent inequality trends. Plus, the two discuss the overall health of the macro-economy and the state of India’s statistical system.

Episode notes:

1. Maitreesh Ghatak and Rishabh Kumar, “Poverty in India Over the Last Decade: Data, Debates, and Doubts,” The India Forum, April 10, 2024.

2. Maitreesh Ghatak, “The rise of the affluent is the real India growth story,” Hindustan Times, February 29, 2024.

3. Maitreesh Ghatak, “The simmering debate over poverty rate,” Mint, May 4, 2023.

4. Maitreesh Ghatak, Ramya Raghavan, and Linchuan Xu, “Trends in Economic Inequality in India,” The India Forum, September 19, 2022.

5. Maitreesh Ghatak, “India’s Inequality Problem,” The India Forum, June 23, 2021.

6. “The Crisis in India’s Economic Data (with Pramit Bhattacharya),” Grand Tamasha, February 12, 2020.

7. “Decoding the Indian Economy (with Pranjul Bhandari),” Grand Tamasha, April 3, 2024.

Previewing India's 2024 General Election

podcasts@ceip.org (Milan Vaishnav, Sukumar Ranganathan) — Wed, 17 Apr 2024 01:00:00 +0000

In just a few days, India’s eighteenth general elections will get underway with voting in the first phase kicking off on April 19. Between April 19 and June 1, India will have seven separate polling days culminating in a final counting of votes on June 4.

Every single pre-election survey to date shows the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) alliance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi winning a comfortable majority of seats in the Lok Sabha. If these predictions come to fruition, it would be the first time that a party has won three consecutive elections under the same leader since Congress during the Nehru period.

To preview these elections—and what they mean for India’s future—Milan is joined on the show this week by Sukumar Ranganathan, editor-in-chief of the Hindustan Times. Few people in India have observed and analyzed politics, economics, and social change as comprehensively as Sukumar.

Milan and Sukumar discuss the issues animating voters this election, the state of the economy, and the significant expansion of the BJP coalition. Plus, the two discuss the opposition’s struggles, the BJP’s big push in the southern states, and what we know about the agenda for Modi 3.0.

Episode notes:

1. Milan Vaishnav, “On electoral bonds, a short-lived celebration,” Hindustan Times, February 17, 2024.

2. “Decoding the Indian Economy (with Pranjul Bhandari)” Grand Tamasha, April 3, 2024.

3. Sukumar Ranganathan, “Five Things with @HT_Ed,” Hindustan Times (newsletter).

4. Hindustan Times, General Elections Retrospective (accessed via the HT app).

Is India Ready to Launch?

podcasts@ceip.org (Ankit Panda, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 10 Apr 2024 01:00:00 +0000

On March 11, the Indian Defense Research and Development Organization conducted the maiden test of its Agni-V MIRV (Multiple Independently Targetable Re-Entry Vehicle) missile. MIRV capability is a complex technology and there are only a handful of countries that have developed it.

The test represents a breakthrough for India’s missile program but it’s also prompted warnings of a new arms race in the Indo-Pacific, a region already marked by sharpening geopolitical rivalries. To discuss India’s missile program, its defense posture, and its emerging space policy, Milan is joined on the show this week by Ankit Panda. Ankit is the Stanton Senior Fellow in the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. He’s an expert on the Asia-Pacific region and his work encompasses nuclear strategy, arms control, missile defense, nonproliferation, and emerging technologies.

Ankit and Milan discuss the significance of India’s MIRV test and the new “missile age” in the Indo-Pacific. Plus, the two discuss the China-India-Pakistan triangle, the importance of India’s 2019 anti-satellite test, and the future of India’s space policy.

Episode notes:

1. Ankit Panda, Indo-Pacific Missile Arsenals: Avoiding Spirals and Mitigating Escalation Risks (Washington, D.C.: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 2023).

2. “Southern Asia's Nuclear Future with Ashley J. Tellis,” Grand Tamasha, October 26, 2022.

3. Ankit Panda, “The Indo-Pacific’s new missile age demands Washington’s attention,” Breaking Defense, November 16, 2023.

4. Ankit Panda, “How India’s breakthrough as an ‘elite space power’ devalues discovery and innovation,” South China Morning Post, April 7, 2019.

5. Alex Travelli, “The Surprising Striver in the World’s Space Business,” New York Times, July 4, 2023.

6. Toby Dalton et al., “Dimming Prospects for U.S.-Russia Nonproliferation Cooperation,” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, March 14, 2024.

Decoding the Indian Economy

podcasts@ceip.org (Pranjul Bhandari, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 3 Apr 2024 01:00:00 +0000

It seems wherever you turn these days, there are stories about India’s status as the fastest growing major economy in the world. Its growth rates remain the envy of both the developed—and the developing—world. But what is really happening under the hood? What are the opportunities for India in a world riven by conflict and technological disruptions? And what challenges might it face as it tries to navigate these choppy waters?

To talk about the nuts and bolts of the Indian economy, Milan is joined on this week’s show by the economist Pranjul Bhandari. Pranjul is chief India and Indonesia economist and managing director for global research at HSBC. Whether it’s breaking down the latest GDP print, forecasting India’s inflation dynamics, or dissecting India’s annual budget, Pranjul is one of the sharpest and most prolific observers of the Indian economy.

Milan and Pranjul discuss the latest growth figures from India, the stickiness of inflation, and underwhelming consumption growth. Plus, the two discuss the puzzle of India’s foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows and what it will take for the “Make in India” program to succeed. The duo conclude with a discussion about the reforms India must prioritize if it is to achieve sustained rapid growth.

Episode notes:

1. Mohamed El-Erian and Michael Spence, “The Indian Giant Has Arrived,” Project Syndicate, March 22, 2024.

2. Pranjul Bhandari, “Beyond the budget: what happened when no one was really looking?” Mint, January 30, 2024.

3. Pranjul Bhandari, “India’s fiscal future: Lots done, more to do,” Mint, November 22, 2023.

4. Pranjul Bhandari, “India’s growth prospects are on the up. What changed?” Indian Express, December 19, 2023.

5. Pranjul Bhandari, “Building an India for manufacturers,” Indian Express, October 9, 2023.

Savarkar, In His Own Words

podcasts@ceip.org (Janaki Bakhle, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 27 Mar 2024 01:00:00 +0000

In today’s India, there are few historical figures whose writing and thinking help explain the current ideological zeitgeist more than Vinayak Damodar Savarkar.

Despite this newfound attention, Savarkar is often viewed in black and white—as a staunch Hindu nationalist who devoted his life to expounding the virtues of conservative, Hindu majority rule.

A new book by the Berkeley historian Janaki Bakhle, Savarkar and the Making of Hindutva, paints a much more nuanced picture of the Hindutva ideologue. Savarkar was certainly a Hindu champion, but he was also an anti-caste progressive, a pioneering advocate for women’s rights, and a patriotic poet.

To talk more about Savarkar’s multiple identities—and his legacy in today’s India—Janaki joins Milan on the podcast this week. They discuss Savarkar’s life under surveillance, shifts in his views on Muslims, and his desire to jettison caste in order to strengthen Hindu identity. Plus, the two discuss Savarkar’s Marathi poetry and his ideas about the nation-state.

Episode notes:

1. Janaki Bakhle, “Savarkar accepted intercaste marriages for one reason—it kept Hindus within the community,” ThePrint, February 24, 2024.

2. Janaki Bakhle, Two Men and Music: Nationalism in the Making of an Indian Classical Tradition (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005).

The Citizenship Amendment Act's Next Chapter

podcasts@ceip.org (M. Mohsin Bhat, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 20 Mar 2024 01:00:00 +0000

A few weeks ago, the Indian government formally notified the rules implementing the controversial 2019 Citizenship Amendment Act, or CAA. The law provides persecuted religious minorities hailing from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan an expedited pathway to Indian citizenship, provided they belong to the Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jain, Parsi, or Sikh communities. Notably, the law does not provide such a pathway to those who belong to the Muslim faith.

The notification of the CAA rules—on the eve of India’s 2024 general election—has kicked off a fresh debate over the law, its implementing provisions, and the resulting implications for the future of secularism in India.

To discuss all of this and more, Milan is joined on the show this week by legal scholar M. Mohsin Alam Bhat. Mohsin is a Lecturer in Law at Queen Mary University of London, where he specializes in constitutional law and human rights. Mohsin has written extensively about law and citizenship in India.

Milan and Mohsin discuss the origins of the CAA, its constitutionality, and the fine print of the CAA rules. Plus, the two discuss the situation in Assam, that state’s National Register of Citizens (NRC), and the prospects of an all-India NRC exercise.

Episode notes:

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.

Eating India, One State at a Time

podcasts@ceip.org (Zac O'Yeah, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 13 Mar 2024 01:00:00 +0000

Zac O’Yeah is a Swedish novelist, rock musician, and author of the Majestic Trilogy—a trio of detective stories set in his adopted home of Bengaluru. And if that were not enough, he’s also the author of the brand-new book, The Great Indian Food Trip: Around a Subcontinent à la Carte.

In the book, O’Yeah catalogues his travels crisscrossing India on a gluttonous search for the best food and drink—from the pickled mussels of Kerala to the goat’s brain of Mumbai’s Irani cafes and the signature masala dosas of Mysore. The book offers readers a mouth-watering, whirlwind tour of Indian cuisine.

On this week’s show, O’Yeah joins Milan to talk about the culinary wonders of India. They discuss the simple pleasure of Koshy’s in Bengaluru, where to eat proper “club” food, and the surprising “pizza-lovers’ paradise” that is Puducherry. Plus, O’Yeah dishes about his boozy night drinking caju in Goa with writers Orhan Pamuk and Amitav Ghosh and reveals what Indian dishes are on his list of essentials.

Episode notes:

1. Sidharth Bhatia, “An Eating and Drinking Tour of India, With Some Misadventures Along the Way,” The Wire, July 8, 2023.

2. Zac O’Yeah, “A culinary trip across Southeast Asia,” Indian Express, January 6, 2024.

Dalits in the New Millennium

podcasts@ceip.org (D. Shyam Babu, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 6 Mar 2024 02:00:00 +0000

Over the last several decades, there have been monumental changes in the social, economic, and political lives of Dalits, who have historically been one of the most oppressed groups in all of South Asia.

A new volume edited by three leading scholars of India—Dalits in the New Millennium—examines these changes, interrogates their impacts on Dalit lives, and traces the shift in Dalit politics from a focus on social justice—to a focus on development and socio-economic mobility.

D. Shyam Babu, who along with Sudhai Pai and Rahul Verma, is one of the co-editors of this important new book joined Milan on the show this week to talk more about their findings. Shyam Babu is a Senior Fellow at the Centre for Policy Research in New Delhi. His research focuses on how economic changes in India have been shaping social change and transformation for the benefit of marginalized sections, especially Dalits.

The two discuss Dalits’ shift toward the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the decline of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) of Mayawati, and what “Ambedkarization” has done for the Dalit community. Plus, the two discuss the shortcomings Dalits experience in their “social citizenship” and the successes and challenges of Dalit capitalism.

Episode notes:

1. 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.

2. Devesh Kapur, Chandra Bhan Prasad, and D. Shyam Babu, Defying the Odds: The Rise of Dalit Entrepreneurs (New Delhi: Vintage, 2014).

3. D. Shyam Babu, “From empowerment to disenfranchisement: Lower caste mobilisation appears to have run its course,” Times of India, August 28, 2019.

4. 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.

5. Devesh Kapur, “Fraternity in the making of the Indian nation,” Seminar 701 (2017).

The End of the Electoral Bond Era

podcasts@ceip.org (Leah Verghese, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 28 Feb 2024 02:00:00 +0000

Two weeks ago, a five-judge bench of India’s Supreme Court ruled that electoral bonds—a controversial instrument of political giving introduced by the Narendra Modi government—violated the Constitution and would immediately cease operating.

Under the court’s ruling, the State Bank of India will immediately stop issuing bonds; the Election Commission of India must disclose details of all transactions since April 2019; and any bonds which have not yet been encashed are to be refunded.

On this week’s podcast, Grand Tamasha host Milan Vaishnav—who has written extensively about campaign finance in India—takes a turn in the hot seat. In a special collaboration with DAKSH, a Bangalore-based non-profit working on judicial reforms and access to justice, Leah Verghese (host of the DAKSH Podcast) interviews Milan about the Court’s ruling and what it means for the future of political funding in India.

The two discuss the history of campaign finance in India, the controversy around electoral bonds, and the controversy around foreign funding of elections. Plus, Milan and Leah discuss why ordinary Indians should care about the dynamics of election funding.

Episode notes:

1. Milan Vaishnav, “On electoral bonds, a short-lived celebration,” Hindustan Times, February 17, 2024.

2. Crime and Politics with Milan Vaishnav,” The DAKSH Podcast, September 2022.

3. Devesh Kapur and Milan Vaishnav, eds., Costs of Democracy: Political Finance in India (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2018).

4. Milan Vaishnav, When Crime Pays: Money and Muscle in Indian Politics (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2017).

A Fresh Look at India’s Neighborhood First Policy

podcasts@ceip.org (Constantino Xavier, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 21 Feb 2024 02:00:00 +0000

With general elections just months away, it is the era of the ten-year retrospective—a chance for India watchers to reflect on what has changed over the past decade under the Narendra Modi government—and what has not.

One area especially deserving of scrutiny is India’s relations with the neighborhood. The Modi government came to power with an eye towards reimagining India’s relationships in South Asia, and across the Indo-Pacific.

Yet, the past ten years have seen tremendous upheaval in the region--set against a backdrop of growing competition between India and China to gain the upper hand.

Few people in India have watched this space more closely than Constantino Xavier. Tino is a Fellow in Foreign Policy and Security Studies at the Centre for Social and Economic Progress in New Delhi, where he leads the Sambandh Initiative on regional connectivity.

Tino joins Milan on the show this week to discuss whether the Modi government’s approach to the neighborhood demonstrates more continuity than change. Plus, the two discuss the recent crisis in India-Maldives relations, the Ministry of External Affairs’ budget woes, and the potential of an India-Middle East-European Economic corridor.

Episode notes:

1. Constantino Xavier and Riya Sinha, “How India Budgets to Become a Leading Power,” Centre for Social and Economic Progress, February 8, 2023.

2. 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).

3. Constantino Xavier and Amitendu Palit, eds., Connectivity and Cooperation in the Bay of Bengal Region (New Delhi: Centre for Social and Economic Progress, 2023).

4. Constantino Xavier and Jabin Jacob, eds., How China Engages South Asia: Themes, Partners and Tools (New Delhi: Centre for Social and Economic Progress, 2023).

4. Hillary Rodham Clinton, “Remarks on India and the United States: A Vision for the 21st Century,” Chennai, India, July 20, 2011.

Pakistan's Political Earthquake

podcasts@ceip.org (Zoha Waseem, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 14 Feb 2024 02:00:00 +0000

Last Thursday, voters in Pakistan went to the polls in the country’s first general elections since the July 2018 election that brought former prime minister Imran Khan to power. In 2022, Khan was ousted in an unprecedented no confidence vote and now finds himself behind bars.

In the months before the election, Khan’s political party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), was repressed with party members jailed, harassed, and eventually forced to contest the 2024 elections as independents. Pakistan’s powerful military was widely seen as the guiding force behind these moves. But the election results appear to have caught the military—and perhaps many Pakistanis—by surprise.

At last count, PTI-backed independent candidates emerged as the single largest party, with allegations of vote rigging rampant. Meanwhile, Pakistan’s traditional political heavyweights are engaged in a furious effort to form a coalition government.

To talk about the election, and what it means for Pakistan and the region, Milan is joined on the show this week by Zoha Waseem. Zoha is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Warwick and author of Insecure Guardians: Enforcement, Encounters and Everyday Policing in Postcolonial Karachi.

Milan and Zoha discuss the tumultuous months leading up to the contested polls, the reasons for the PTI’s surprise showing, and what comes next. Plus, the two discuss what these election results mean for India-Pakistan relations.

Episode notes:

1. “South Asia’s Economic Turmoil (with Ben Parkin),” Grand Tamasha, September 21, 2022.

2. “Pakistan After Imran Khan (with Aqil Shah),” Grand Tamasha, May 4, 2022.

3. Zoha Waseem, “A House Divided: Karachi’s Politics Remain in Flux,” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, May 3, 2022.

Separating Fact From Fiction

podcasts@ceip.org (Mariyam Alavi, Milan Vaishnav, Supriya Sharma) — Wed, 7 Feb 2024 02:00:00 +0000

From the Obama “birther” movement in the United States to the fringe politicians who believe congestion pricing in London is part of an international “socialist plot,” it is no exaggeration to say that conspiracy theories have become part of the standard political playbook the world over.

But when it comes to outlandish conspiracy theories, India stands out as a country where such tales are driving everyday political conversations in a major way. Buoyed by politicians, the media, and social media forwards, they have come to be accepted as reality by many people.

A new book, Love Jihad and Other Fictions: Simple Facts to Counter Viral Falsehoods, takes aim at these conspiracy theories, subjecting them to strict journalistic scrutiny using ground reporting, data, and a bit of common sense. The authors—Sreenivasan Jain, Mariyam Alavi, and Supriya Sharma—are veteran journalists with a long track record of ground reporting.

On this week’s show, Mariyam and Supriya join Milan on the show to talk about the book. The trio discuss allegations of “love jihad,” rumors of widespread religious conversions, and claims of “minority appeasement.” Plus, the three discuss what lessons this book holds for journalism and civic discourse more generally.

Episode notes:

1. Karan Thapar, “Debunking propaganda myths, restoring truths,” Hindustan Times, January 27, 2024.

2. Sreenivasan Jain, Mariyam Alavi, and Supriya Sharma, “Bringing Journalistic Scrutiny to Hindutva Conspiracy Theories,” The Wire, January 17, 2024.

India and the Emerging Chip Race

podcasts@ceip.org (Pranay Kotasthane, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 31 Jan 2024 02:00:00 +0000

It seems like you cannot open a newspaper, listen to a foreign policy podcast, or open Twitter/X without somebody somewhere sounding off on the emerging geopolitical battle over semiconductors. Semiconductors, which we colloquially refer to as chips, have quickly moved from the periphery to center-stage of global high politics.

To discuss this high-stakes race, and India’s role in it, Milan is joined on the show this week by the scholar Pranay Kotasthane. Pranay is Chair of High-Tech Geopolitics at the Takshashila Institution in Bangalore and, with Abhiram Manchi, is the author of the new book, When the Chips Are Down: A Deep Dive into a Global Crisis.

Pranay and Milan discuss the history of the technology, importance of semiconductors at the current geopolitical crossroads, and how the world will balance national security interests and with rapid technological change. Plus, the two discuss India’s most recent attempt to build a semiconductor ecosystem and the policy missteps that bedeviled past efforts.

Episode notes:

1. “India's Tryst With Policymaking (with Pranay Kotasthane),” Grand Tamasha, January 25, 2023.

2. Pranay Kotasthane and Raghu S. Jaitley, Missing In Action : Why You Should Care About Public Policy (New Delhi: Penguin India, 2023).

3. Pranay Kotasthane, “Anticipating the Unintended,” weekly Substack newsletter.

Governing India's Digital Revolution

podcasts@ceip.org (Rahul Matthan, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 24 Jan 2024 02:00:00 +0000

This week, Grand Tamasha kicks off its eleventh season with a special return guest to the podcast. The Third Way: India’s Revolutionary Approach to Data Governance is an important new book by the lawyer-scholar-and-author Rahul Matthan. Rahul is a partner at the law firm Trilegal, where he heads their technology practice. Over the past several years, he has worked closely with the Government of India, most recently as DPI advisor to the Ministry of Finance during India’s G20 presidency.

Rahul joins Milan on the show this week to discuss India’s unique approach to building digital public infrastructure (DPI)—an ecosystem that can have transformative impact at home but also build partnerships for India abroad. They talk about India’s DPI evolution, India’s unique public-private model, and whether India’s approach can be replicated abroad. Plus, the two discuss how India can mitigate the risks posed by excessive surveillance, privacy breaches, and beneficiary exclusion.

Episode notes:

1. “What the Personal Data Protection Act Means for India (with Rahul Matthan),” Grand Tamasha, Septemner 27, 2023.

2. “Book Discussion: The Third Way: India’s Revolutionary Approach to Data Governance,” Carnegie India Global Technology Summit 2023, December 7, 2023.

3. Rahul Matthan, “Tech policy in India has had a year packed with action,” Mint, December 27, 2023.

Grand Tamasha Unveils the Best Books of 2023

podcasts@ceip.org (Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 20 Dec 2023 02:00:00 +0000

Back in 2019, we started the Grand Tamasha podcast on a whim. India’s 2019 general elections were around the corner, and we sensed that there might be a (temporary) marketplace for a weekly audio podcast focused on Indian politics and policy for diehards hoping to keep up with the campaign action. Nearly five years later, the podcast has become a weekly fixture and the marketplace has turned out to be more welcoming that we had imagined.

For Milan, one of the joys of doing a podcast week-in and week-out is the ability to read some of the best new books on India and speak with their authors—from journalists to historians, and political scientists to novelists. Last year, we published our first annual list of our favorite books featured on the podcast in 2022. As the current year comes to an end and we prepare for a mini-podcast hibernation for the holidays, here—in no particular order—are our Grand Tamasha top books of 2023 (drumroll, please):

Shadows at Noon: The South Asian Twentieth Century

By Joya Chatterji. Published by Yale University Press, Penguin Random House India, Vintage.

Migrants and Machine Politics: How India's Urban Poor Seek Representation and Responsiveness

By Adam Michael Auerbach and Tariq Thachil. Published by Princeton University Press.

Age of Vice

By Deepti Kapoor. Published by Riverhead, Juggernaut.

Making Bureaucracy Work: Norms, Education and Public Service Delivery in Rural India

By Akshay Mangla. Published by Cambridge University Press.

In this episode, Milan talks about why he loved each of these books and includes short clips from his conversations with Joya, Adam and Tariq, Deepti, and Akshay.

Think of this final episode of our tenth season as our little holiday present to you—our listeners.

Episode Notes:

Grand Tamasha’s Best Books of 2023

The Indian Supreme Court in the Modi Era

podcasts@ceip.org (Gautam Bhatia, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 13 Dec 2023 02:00:00 +0000

Over the past decade, India has witnessed significant conflict within—and around—several democratic institutions meant to act as a check on executive power. One of the most important theatres of conflict has been the judiciary—more specifically, the Supreme Court.

A new book by the legal scholar Gautam Bhatia, Unsealed Covers: A Decade of the Constitution, the Courts and the State, takes readers through some of the most controversial cases that have come before the court during this critical decade. Gautam is a lawyer who has been personally involved in several important contemporary constitutional cases. He is the author of multiple books of fiction and non-fiction and founder of the influential, “Indian Constitutional Law and Philosophy” blog.

Gautam joins Milan on the show this week to talk about the relationship between judicial assertiveness and the strength of the government in power, disconcerting signs of excessive judicial deference, and ongoing debates over the right to privacy.

Plus, the two discuss the controversial issue of electoral bonds, the government’s proposed law outlining new procedures to select election commissioners, and the vagaries of the controversial anti-defection law.

1. Gautam Bhatia, “Decoding the Supreme Court’s Election Commission Judgment – I,” Indian Constitutional Law and Philosophy (blog), March 3, 2023.

2. Gautam Bhatia, “A case that scans the working of the anti-defection law,” Hindu, February 24, 2023.

3. Gautam Bhatia, “The Supreme Court’s Right-to-Privacy Judgment,” Economic & Political Weekly 52, no. 44 (November 4, 2017).

What the 2023 State Elections Tell Us About 2024

podcasts@ceip.org (Milan Vaishnav, Dipankar Ghose, Sunetra Choudhury) — Wed, 6 Dec 2023 02:00:00 +0000

On December 3, votes were finally tallied in four Indian states which went for elections this past month—the last test parties and candidates will face before the general elections in April-May of next year.

After much anticipation, Counting Day left very little to the imagination. In a big setback for the Congress Party and the opposition alliance more broadly, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won decisive elections in three big Hindi belt states—Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan. The lone Congress Party victory came in the southern state of Telangana, where it displaced the once-dominant regional party—the Bharat Rashriya Samithi (BRS).

To discuss the results—and what they tell us about the race for 2024—Milan is joined this week by two veteran political journalists: Sunetra Choudhury, the political editor of the Hindustan Times, and Dipankar Ghose serves, the paper’s deputy national editor.

The trio discuss the impressive performance of the BJP, the Congress Party’s lingering weaknesses, and how these results will shape the 2024 campaign. Plus, Milan, Sunetra, and Dipankar talk about the next steps for the opposition I.N.D.I.A. alliance and whether Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra had any long-term impact.

Episode notes:

Prashant Jha, “What BJP wins in 3 states mean for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections,” Hindustan Times, December 4, 2023.

Vaibhav Tiwari, “‘Conceit’: Congress slammed by INDIA bloc allies after 3-1 election drubbing,” Hindustan Times, December 4, 2023.

Ritesh Mishra and Dipankar Ghose, “Misfired OBC gambit, infighting: How to lose a mandate in 5 years,” Hindustan Times, December 4, 2023.

Sunetra Choudhury, “HT Interview: Unsavoury words were used against me…Madhya Pradesh election results have silenced them: Scindia,” Hindustan Times, December 4, 2023.

Tackling India’s Air Pollution Crisis

podcasts@ceip.org (Anant Sudarshan, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 29 Nov 2023 02:00:00 +0000

Anyone who has even casually glanced at the news over the past several weeks would be hard pressed to miss the plethora of headlines about north India’s air pollution crisis. Every year as late Fall rolls around, air pollution across north India—including in the nation’s capital of Delhi—climbs to levels that make life almost unlivable for hundreds of millions of residents.

As bad as the crisis is, the situation is not helpless. Milan’s guest on the show this week, the economist Anant Sudarshan, has spent years trying to evaluate solutions to what seems like an intractable problem. Anant is an Associate Professor in the Department of Economics at the University of Warwick and a Senior Fellow at the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC).

Milan and Anant discuss the contours of India’s air pollution crisis, the country’s environmental data challenge, and the efficacy of Delhi’s controversial “odd-even” scheme. Plus, the two discuss strategies for managing industrial pollution, the potential of Indian emissions markets, and whether voters sufficiently value the air they breathe.

Episode notes:

Michael Greenstone et al., “The Solvable Challenge of Air Pollution in India,” India Policy Forum 2017-18: 1-51.

Michael Greenstone et al., A Roadmap Towards Cleaning India’s Air (EPIC India and Harvard Kennedy School, 2018).

Michael Greenstone et al., “Can Pollution Markets Work in Developing Countries? Experimental Evidence from India,” Working Paper, January 27, 2023.

The Downfall of India's Princely States

podcasts@ceip.org (John Zubrzycki, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 22 Nov 2023 02:00:00 +0000

One of the most remarkable episodes in modern Indian history is the story of how the leaders of over 550 sovereign princely states were convinced that they should give up their independence to become a part of a free India. This monumental task of accession was carried out over weeks, not months or years.

But accession was just the first step in an ongoing drama between India’s princes and the rulers of the Indian republic, a drama that would unfold over the next many decades. A new book, Dethroned: Patel, Menon and the Integration of Princely India, captures this incredible story in almost cinematic fashion. The book’s author is John Zubrzycki, an Australia-based writer who has previously worked in India as a diplomat as well as a foreign correspondent.

John joins Milan on the show this week to discuss life in princely India, the myth of India’s “bloodless revolution,” and the cast of characters tasked with integrating India. Plus, the two discuss the incredible story of the accession of Junagadh, Indira Gandhi’s decision to abolish privy purses, and the legacy of the princes seven-and-a-half decades on.

Episode notes:

“India’s Hidden Treatise on Statecraft (with Rahul Sagar),” Grand Tamasha, November 2, 2022.

“The Hidden History of Conservative Economics in Post-1947 India (with Aditya Balasubramanian,” Grand Tamasha, October 11, 2023.

“Ramachandra Guha Revisits India After Gandhi,” Grand Tamasha, April 19, 2023.

Demystifying the Indian Supreme Court

podcasts@ceip.org (Aparna Chandra, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 15 Nov 2023 02:00:00 +0000

In recent years, there has a growing concern that the Supreme Court of India is not firing on all cylinders. Critics have argued that the court functions in an opaque manner, exhibits excessive deference to the executive, is sluggish in concluding cases, and is hampered by an excessive reliance on super-lawyers who can get their cases heard for exorbitant fees.

A new book, Court on Trial: A Data-Driven Account of the Supreme Court of India, examines each of these critiques, using hard data from the Court’s own functioning. Milan’s guest on the show this week is one of the book’s authors, constitutional lawyer Aparna Chandra.

Aparna is an associate professor of law at the National Law School of India, and has previously worked at the National Judicial Academy in Bhopal and the National Law University in Delhi, where she founded the Centre for Constitutional Law, Policy and Governance.

Milan and Aparna talk about the institutional crisis facing the Court, the Court’s shocking backlog, and the arbitrary powers of the Chief Justice. Plus, the two discuss the controversy around judicial appointments, the excessive deference the Court pays to the government of the day, and what if anything can be done to improve the Court’s effectiveness.

Episode notes:

“A Court in Crisis? Interview with the authors of 'Court on Trial', a data-driven analysis of the Supreme Court of India,” Bar&Bench, September 7, 2023.

[VIDEO] “How do we fix the Supreme Court of India?” Scroll Ideas, September 1, 2023.

Soutik Biswas, “Supreme Court: Why India's powerful top court is in a 'crisis,’” BBC News, July 31, 2023.

The India-Canada Conundrum

podcasts@ceip.org (Sanjay Ruparelia, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 8 Nov 2023 02:00:00 +0000

It’s been six weeks since Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took to the floor of Parliament to announce that Canadian security agencies had evidence of credible allegations that Indian authorities had a hand in the killing of a Canadian citizen, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, on Canadian soil in June 2023. Nijjar was a well-known activist in Sikh diaspora circles but someone Indian authorities branded a terrorist.

Trudeau’s allegations led to a rapid downward spiral in bilateral relations between India and Canada, a spiral that shows no immediate sign of ending. To discuss these recent events—and the larger question of bilateral relations between Canada and India—Milan is joined on the show this week by Sanjay Ruparelia. Sanjay is Associate Professor in the Department of Politics and Public Administration at Toronto Metropolitan University, where he holds the Jarislowsky Democracy Chair. He is the host of the podcast, “On the Frontlines of Democracy,” and the author of Divided We Govern: Coalition Politics in Modern India.

Milan and Sanjay discuss how India fits into the Canadian government’s Indo-Pacific strategy, the two countries’ longstanding bilateral struggles over trade and investment, and the explosive growth of the Indian diaspora in Canada. Plus, the two discuss the allegations surrounding the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, the Indian government’s response, and the precarious position the Biden administration finds itself in.

Episode notes:

Sanjay Ruparelia, “The opportunities and challenges of courting India,” in Maxwell A. Cameron, David Gillies and David Carment, eds., Democracy and Foreign Policy in an Era of Uncertainty: Canada Among Nations 2022 (Palgrave Macmillan, 2023): 241-268.

“Reframing Canada’s Global Engagement: Ten Strategic Choices for Decision-Makers,” Global Canada, September 2020.

Sanjay Ruparelia, “In India, the government’s election machine is humming – but the economy and democracy are at risk,” The Globe and Mail, March 22, 2022.

India’s Pivot in the Middle East

podcasts@ceip.org (Nicolas Blarel, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 1 Nov 2023 01:00:00 +0000

As the fighting between Israel and Hamas intensifies, the world is bracing for the widening of a conflict that has the potential to escalate quickly and bring in outside powers from the region and beyond.

India’s position in the aftermath of the horrific Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7th—and the subsequent Israeli military response—has been noteworthy. Unlike many countries in the Global South, which offered qualified support for Israel after the attacks and have positioned themselves with the Palestinian cause, India’s initial response made no mention of Gaza at all.

To make sense of India’s evolving position and the ways in which its Middle East policy has shifted over the decades, Milan is joined on the show this week by the political scientist Nicolas Blarel. Nicolas is Associate Professor of International Relations at the Institute of Political Science at Leiden University in The Netherlands and the author of The Evolution of India's Israel Policy: Continuity, Change, and Compromise since 1922.

Milan and Nicolas discuss India’s response to the conflict in Israel-Palestine, its growing embrace of Israel, and the growing bilateral security partnership. Plus, the two discuss the Modi government’s simultaneous outreach to Gulf Arab states and the factors that could shape how India responds to an expanded regional conflict.

Episode notes:

Crystal A. Ennis and Nicolas Blarel, eds., The South Asia to Gulf Migration Governance Complex (Bristol, UK: Bristol University Press, 2022).

Nicolas Blarel, The Evolution of India's Israel Policy: Continuity, Change, and Compromise since 1922 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2015).

Sumit Ganguly and Nicolas Blarel, “Modi’s Comments on Israel-Gaza War Signal Shift,” Foreign Policy, October 12, 2023.

Nicolas Blarel, “Navigating Asian Rivalries: Israel’s ties with China and India,” National University of Singapore-Middle East Institute, Singapore Insights No. 300, July 25, 2023.

What the Women's Reservation Bill Means for Women

podcasts@ceip.org (Carole Sprary, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 25 Oct 2023 01:00:00 +0000

In September, India’s parliament passed a long-anticipated piece of legislation, known as the Women’s Reservation Bill.

The bill—which sailed through both houses of Parliament within days of being introduced— reserves one-third of seats in the national parliament and the various state assemblies for women—formalizing a quota that has long existed at the local levels in India, but never at higher levels of politics.

To discuss the bill—what it says, why it was passed, and what it might mean for Indian politics more generally—Milan is joined on the show this week by the political scientist Carole Spary, who is Associate Professor at the University of Nottingham and Director of the university’s Asia Research Institute.

She is the author of two important books related to female representation: Gender, Development, and the State in India and Performing Representation: Women Members in the Indian Parliament (with Shirin Rai).

Milan and Carole discuss the state of female political representation in India today, why getting a women’s reservation bill passed has taken so long, and why its implementation is likely to be delayed for years.

Plus, the two discuss the firsthand experience of women inside the halls of Parliament and whether India is witnessing a new era of “women-centric” governance.

Episode notes:

1. Carole Spary, “Women candidates, women voters, and the gender politics of India’s 2019 parliamentary election,” Contemporary South Asia 28, no. 2 (2020): 223-241.

2. Carole Spary, “Missed opportunities: time is running out for the Indian government to pass legislative gender quotas bill,” King’s India Institute, November 1, 2018.

3. Shireen M. Rai and Carole Spary, “Populism, parliament, and performance,” Seminar 752 (April 2022).

What the Solar Revolution Means for India and the World

podcasts@ceip.org (Ajay Mathur, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 18 Oct 2023 01:00:00 +0000

One of the major themes of India’s G20 presidency, which concludes later this year, has been the advancement of an ambitious green transition for the 21st century.

If the world’s hopes of accelerating a clean, sustainable, just, affordable, and inclusive energy transition are to come to fruition, ensuring the spread of solar power—especially to the poorest parts of the globe—will be essential. Milan’s guest on the show this week is tasked with doing exactly this.

Dr. Ajay Mathur is the Director General of the International Solar Alliance (ISA), a relatively new international consortium of more than 120 countries. ISA’s overarching objective is to foster the efficient consumption of solar energy to reduce the world’s dependence on fossil fuels.

Dr. Mathur was formerly the Director General of The Energy and Resources Institute and the Director General of India's Bureau of Energy Efficiency. He and Milan discuss the explosive growth in solar power and what that means for India—and the world. They also talk about the promise of green hydrogen, the impediments to solar adoption, and the expansion of mini-grid technology.

Episode notes:

1. Ajay Mathur, “International finance must take a lead in mobilising solar investments,” Business Standard, September 7, 2023.

2. 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.

The Hidden History of Conservative Economics in Post-1947 India

podcasts@ceip.org (Aditya Balasubramanian, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 11 Oct 2023 01:00:00 +0000

Toward a Free Economy: Swatantra and Opposition Politics in Democratic India is a new book on the Swatantra Party, a leading opposition party that emerged after Indian independence to contest the entrenched dominance of the Congress Party. The leaders of Swatantra imagined a conservative alternative to the left-of-center Congress, one that embraced libertarian principles and promoted the idea of a “free economy.” This new book, written by the historian Aditya Balasubramanian, holds many lessons for how we understand democracy, neoliberalism, and India’s own economic evolution today.

This week Milan sits down with Balasubramanian, a lecturer in economic history at the Australian National University, to talk more about his new work and the history of conservative economic thought in India. The two discuss why and how Swatantra leaders parted ways with Gandhi and other leading lights of the nationalist movement, the meaning of a “free economy,” and the ordinary Indians who powered the party’s sudden rise in the late 1960s. Plus, the two discuss the legacy of the Swatantra Party several decades after the party’s collapse and the death of its key figures—and what lessons it might hold for India’s opposition.

Episode Notes:

Aditya Balasubramanian, “Toward a Free Economy: Swatantra and Opposition Politics in Democratic India,” Lecture at King’s India Institute, July 5, 2023.

Aditya Balasubramanian, “Some lessons for INDIA from the Swatantra Party,” Hindustan Times, August 31, 2023.

An Unconventional History of 20th Century South Asia

podcasts@ceip.org (Joya Chatterji, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 4 Oct 2023 01:00:00 +0000

Shadows at Noon: The South Asian Twentieth Century is a sweeping new book by the historian Joya Chatterji. The book tells the subcontinent's story from the British Raj through independence and partition to the forging of the modern nations of India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. This is no ordinary history, however. Of course, there is plenty of politics and an in-depth discussion of citizenship, nationalism, and political leaders past and present. But there is equal attention paid to unconventional topics—such as food, leisure, and household dynamics.

Joya Chatterji is a Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge, Emeritus Professor of South Asian History at the University of Cambridge and Reader in International History at the London School of Economics.

She joins Milan on the podcast this week to talk about this career-defining work. The two discuss the continuity—and change—in the post-1947 trajectories of Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan; India’s unique liberal “accent”; and the striking resemblance between Nehru and Jinnah that often goes unsaid. Plus, the two discuss the region’s culinary habits, the unspoken tensions within South Asian households, and what sets Bollywood apart from Hollywood.

Episode Notes:

William Dalrymple, “Shadows at Noon: The South Asian Twentieth Century by Joya Chatterji review – charming, genre-defying study,” The Guardian, July 3, 2023.

Rana Mitter, “Shadows at Noon — Joya Chatterji exposes the beating heart of south Asia,” Financial Times, August 11, 2023.

“Ramachandra Guha Revisits India After Gandhi,” Grand Tamasha, April 19, 2023.

What the Personal Data Protection Act Means for India

podcasts@ceip.org (Rahul Matthan, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 27 Sep 2023 01:00:00 +0000

This August, India’s parliament passed a landmark piece of legislation, known as the Digital Personal Data Protection Act. The new act provides a framework for the protection of users’ personal data and the privacy of individuals.

The passage of this bill marks the culmination of a decade-long effort to frame a data privacy law—an effort that has had many twists and turns. To talk more about this important piece of legislation and what it means for India and Indians, Milan is joined on the show this week by Rahul Matthan. Rahul is a partner in Trilegal’s Bengaluru office where he heads the firm’s telecom, media, and technology practice. Over the past decade, he has been intimately involved with India’s data privacy efforts as a lawyer, author, and technology expert. He is the author of several books, including the forthcoming, The Third Way: India’s Revolutionary Approach to Data Governance. Since 2016, he has written a weekly column for Mint called “Ex Machina.”

Milan and Rahul discuss the long and winding road that led to the passage of the data protection bill, the compromises struck along the way, and critics’ concerns about national security exemptions. Plus, the two discuss the debate over data localization and the evolution of an active, well-connected technology policy community across India.

Episode Notes:

Rahul Matthan, “Get on with data protection now that the law’s enacted,” Mint, August 15, 2023.

Rahul Matthan, “Companies must work hard to ensure data protection,” Mint, August 7, 2023.

Rahul Matthan, “The draft data privacy law surprises with its simplicity,” Mint, July 18, 2023.

Anirudh Burman, “Resisting the Leviathan: The Key Change in India’s New Proposal to Protect Personal Data,” Carnegie India, November 28, 2022.

India's G20 Triumph

podcasts@ceip.org (Ashok Malik, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 20 Sep 2023 01:00:00 +0000

On Saturday, September 9, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi surprised observers by announcing on Day One of the G20 summit in New Delhi that all 20 member nations had achieved consensus on the New Delhi G20 Summit Leaders Declaration.

The announcement capped nine months of frenzied activity which involved thousands of meetings, consultations, and side events associated with India’s G20 leadership. It also came just days after some negotiators warned that a consensus may be out of reach—due to continued disagreement over language condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

To talk about the G20 summit—and what it means for India and Indian foreign policy—Milan is joined on the show this week by Ashok Malik. Ashok is a Partner at The Asia Group and Chair of its India Practice. He previously served as Policy Advisor to External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and, between 2017 and 2019, speech writer and spokesperson for the President of India.

Milan and Ashok discuss the big deliverables from the Delhi summit, the meaning of the new India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor, and the striking alignment between the United States and India. Plus, the two discuss the growing influence of foreign policy on Indian domestic politics.

Episode Notes:

Prashant Jha, “On Modi’s foreign policy, here is what the Opposition gets it wrong,” Hindustan Times, September 14, 2023.

Ashok Malik, “The continuity constituency and Modi's re-election bid,” Economic Times, August 29, 2023.

[VIDEO] “G20 Summit 2023 India (with Ashok Malik),” CNN-News18, September 12, 2023.

“Ro Khanna on the U.S.-India Partnership,” Hindustan Times, September 13, 2023.

Ro Khanna on the U.S.-India Partnership

podcasts@ceip.org (Ro Khanna, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 13 Sep 2023 01:00:00 +0000

Ro Khanna is a Member of the United States Congress who has represented California's 17th congressional district since 2017. He also serves as co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans, and recently led a bipartisan delegation to India that coincided with India’s Independence Day. During their visit, the eight-member delegation met with business, tech, and government leaders in Mumbai, Hyderabad, and New Delhi.

To talk more about his visit—and his views on U.S.-India relations—Ro Khanna joins Milan on the show this week. The two discuss his visit to India, the impact his Indian grandfather had on his life, and the state of democracy in the country. Plus, Milan and Ro discuss cricket diplomacy, U.S. industrial policy, and what Democrats need to do to win the votes of the Asian American diaspora.

Episode Notes:

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.

The Next Chapter in U.S.-India Defense Ties

podcasts@ceip.org (Lindsey Ford, milan vaishnav) — Wed, 6 Sep 2023 01:00:00 +0000

After a long summer break, we are excited to be back with the tenth season of Grand Tamasha. To kick off our brand-new season, this week Milan sits down with the U.S. government’s point person on the U.S.-India defense relationship to discuss the next chapter in U.S.-India defense ties.

Lindsey Ford is the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for South and Southeast Asia. In this capacity, she serves as the principal advisor to senior leadership at the Pentagon for all policy matters pertaining to this vast region. Chief among her responsibilities is managing the day-to-day defense relationship with India.

Lindsey is no stranger to the world of U.S.-India relations, having worked extensively on this relationship during previous roles at the Brookings Institution, the Asia Society Policy Institute, and an earlier stint at the Pentagon between 2009-2015.

Milan and Lindsey discuss the historic June 2023 summit between President Biden and Prime Minister Modi, breakthroughs in U.S.-India defense co-production and co-development, and the new ways in which the U.S. and Indian governments are collaborating with industry, think tanks, and academics on defense innovation. Plus, the two discuss the emerging security architecture in the Indo-Pacific and the Quad’s agenda for the future.

Episode Notes:

“Reexamining America’s Bet on India (with Ashley J. Tellis),” Grand Tamasha, June 21, 2023.

[VIDEO] Ely Ratner and Lindsey Ford, “Building a More Resilient Indo-Pacific Security Architecture, Hudson Institute,” March 2, 2023.

The White House, “Joint Statement from the United States and India,” June 22, 2023.

Rudra Chaudhuri, Konark Bhandari, and Ashima Singh, “The U.S.-India Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET): The Way Forward,” Carnegie India, January 24, 2023.

Rescuing the Indian Statistical System

podcasts@ceip.org (Pramit Bhattacharya, Milan Vaishnav) — Thu, 6 Jul 2023 01:00:00 +0000

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 Bhattacharyato 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.

A Realistic and Resilient U.S.-India Partnership

podcasts@ceip.org (Arzan Tarapore, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 28 Jun 2023 01:00:00 +0000

Last week on the show, Milan sat down with the Carnegie Endowment’s Ashley J. Tellis to discuss his much talked about Foreign Affairs essay titled, “America’s Bad Bet on India.”

In that piece, Ashley argues that if U.S. policymakers are expecting India to come to America’s aid in the event of a military conflict with China, they would be well advised to keep their expectations in check. Ashley argues that such a military coalition is highly unlikely in the foreseeable future.

A month after Ashley’s piece was published, the scholar Arzan Tarapore penned a response in Foreign Affairs titled, “America’s Best Bet in the Indo-Pacific.”

Arzan, a Research Scholar at the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center at Stanford University, joins Milan on the show this week to discuss why coalition warfare is the wrong benchmark with which to assess U.S.-India security cooperation.

Milan and Arzan discuss the policy differences between Delhi and Washington, the practical ways in which the United States and India can cooperate to constrain China, and the prospects of iCET (the U.S.-India Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology). Plus, the two discuss the future of the Quad and how Australia fits into the budding U.S.-India partnership.

Episode notes:

“Reexamining America’s Bet on India (with Ashley J. Tellis),” Grand Tamasha, June 21, 2023.

Arzan Tarapore, “What the Quad could learn from AUKUS,” The Interpreter (blog), April 3, 2023.

Christopher Chivvis, “What Biden Wants From Modi’s State Visit,” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, June 20, 2023.

“Pivotal States: What Direction for the U.S.-India Partnership (with Christopher Chivvis, Lisa Curtis, and Ashley J. Tellis),” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, June 9, 2023

Arzan Tarapore, “India and the US gear up for strategic competition,” The Strategist, June 26, 2023.

Reexamining America’s Bet on India

podcasts@ceip.org (Ashley Tellis, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 21 Jun 2023 01:00:00 +0000

In a few days, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will arrive in Washington, D.C. to begin a historic state visit that is expected to further cement ties between the United States and India. Over the past two decades, this relationship has gone from awkward resentment during the Cold War to full-throated embrace after the year 2000.

But a new essay by Ashley J. Tellis in Foreign Affairs titled, “America’s Bad Bet on India,” warns that there are limits to U.S.-India cooperation and Washington would be wise to wake up to them. Ashley, who holds the Tata Chair for Strategic Affairs at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, joins Milan on the podcast this week to discuss his essay and his motivations for writing it.

Ashley and Milan discuss the bipartisan bet U.S. officials have made on India since the year 2000, the logic of “strategic altruism,” and the challenges facing the bilateral defense partnership. Plus, the two preview Modi’s state visit and discuss both its symbolic importance as well as it’s substantive significance.

Episode notes:

1. Ashley J. Tellis, “America’s Bad Bet on India,” Foreign Affairs, May 1, 2023.

2. “U.S.-India Relations, With Ashley J. Tellis,” The President’s Inbox (podcast), May 16, 2023.

3. Ashley J. Tellis, Bibek Debroy, and C. Raja Mohan, eds., Grasping Greatness: Making India a Leading Power (New Delhi: Penguin Viking, 2022)

4. Arzan Tarapore, “America’s Best Bet in the Indo-Pacific,” Foreign Affairs, May 29, 2023.

Exploring Caste in America

podcasts@ceip.org (Sonia Paul, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 14 Jun 2023 01:00:00 +0000

Later this summer, California could be first American state to ban discrimination on the basis of caste. California’s move, and the moves by universities, cities, and towns across the country, to raise issues of caste discrimination has generated a massive controversy that is roiling the Indian American community in the United States.

One reporter, the freelance journalist Sonia Paul, has been doggedly pursuing this story for years, even before it became a mainstream news issue. Sonia is an award-winning journalist, writer, producer and story editor based in Oakland, California, and she is the daughter of immigrants from India and the Philippines.

Sonia joins Milan on the show this week to talk more about her reporting and the state of caste in America. Sonia and Milan discuss the difficulties of reporting on caste in America, the coded ways in which discrimination often takes place, and the debates in the Indian American community over moves to add caste as a protected category. Plus, the two discuss the fierce contest over California’s draft legislation.

Episode notes:

1. Sonia Paul, “The hidden caste codes of Silicon Valley,” BBC, April 18, 2023.

2. Sonia Paul, “Trapped in Silicon Valley’s Hidden Caste System,” Wired, March 1, 2022.

3. “California Could Become the First State to Ban Caste Discrimination,” KQED “The Bay” (podcast), June 5, 2023.

4. 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.

5. Maari Zwick-Maitreyi, Thenmozhi Soundararajan, Natasha Dar, Ralph F. Bheel, and Prathap Balakrishnan, Caste in the United States: A Survey of Caste Among South Asian Americans (Equality Labs, 2018).

6. Sonia Paul, “From Black Lives Matter, activists for India’s discriminated Dalits learn tactics to press for dignity,” The World, November 12, 2015.

7. Patrick Cox, “Which version of Indian history do American school students learn?,” The World, April 27, 2017.

8. Sonia Paul, "When Caste Discrimination Comes To The United States," NPR "Code Switch" podcast, April 25, 2018

Unleashing India’s Animal Spirits

podcasts@ceip.org (Subhashish Bhadra, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 7 Jun 2023 01:00:00 +0000

Leaders come and go, but institutions stay forever. This is the central takeaway of a new book by Subhashish Bhadra, Caged Tiger: How Too Much Government Is Holding Indians Back.

Subhashish is an economist whose career has straddled both the policy and corporate worlds. He has worked at a leading global management consulting firm, a venture capital firm, and a tech start-up, working closely with CEOs, entrepreneurs, bureaucrats, politicians and academics throughout his career.

His new book is a call to action that encourages Indians to move beyond their fixation with leaders and focus instead on building strong state institutions. While discussions of state capacity are typically the stuff of academic conference rooms and think tank seminars, Bhadra believes they should be at the core of everyday discussions Indians have on the future of their democracy.

Subhashish joins Milan on the show this week to discuss his motivations for writing the book, the institutional flaws in Indian democracy, the need for a new “social contract” on welfare, and the appropriate balance between states and markets in India. Plus, Subhashish explains what ordinary citizens can do to change the status quo.

Episode notes:

Anirudh Burman, “Resisting the Leviathan: The Key Change in India’s New Proposal to Protect Personal Data,” Carnegie India, November 28, 2022.

Vijay Kelkar and Ajay Shah, In Service of the Republic: The Art and Science of Economic Policy (New Delhi: Penguin India, 2022).

Devesh Kapur, Pratap Bhanu Mehta, and Milan Vaishnav, eds. Rethinking Public Institutions in India (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2017).

The Democratic Dynamism of India's Slums

podcasts@ceip.org (Tariq Thachil, Adam Auerbach, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 31 May 2023 01:00:00 +0000

If you’ve spent any time reading books, watching movies about—or traveling to—India—chances are you’ve come across the depiction of an urban slum somewhere along the way. In most of these popular portrayals, slums are dens of inequity and deprivation. Citizens appear to be trapped in a vortex of poverty, bad governance, and corruption. In these stories, politicians and their henchmen appear to have the last laugh, extracting whatever they can from citizens who have few exit options.

A new book by the political scientists Adam Auerbach and Tariq Thachil, Migrants and Machine Politics, informs us that much of what we think we know is based on myth, not fact.

Adam and Tariq join Milan on the podcast this week to discuss a decade’s worth of research in the slums of Bhopal and Jaipur. The trio discuss what slums look like from the bottom-up rather than the top-down, the realities of machine politics in India, and the surprising agency that poor citizens possess. Plus, they discuss how two trends—centralization and Hindu nationalism—might shape the future of local politics.

Episode notes:

Adam Auerbach et al. “Rethinking the Study of Electoral Politics in the Developing World: Reflections on the Indian Case,” Perspectives on Politics 20, no. 1 (2022): 250-264.

Adam Auerbach and Tariq Thachil, “Cultivating Clients: Reputation, Responsiveness, and Ethnic Indifference in India's Slums,” American Journal of Political Science 64, no. 3 (2020): 471-487.

Adam Auerbach and Tariq Thachil, “How Clients Select Brokers: Competition and Cho

What’s Happening to India’s Rohingya Refugees?

podcasts@ceip.org (Daniel Sullivan, Priyali Sur, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 24 May 2023 01:00:00 +0000

The Rohingya people have suffered decades of persecution in Myanmar, most recently in 2017 when the country’s security forces launched a major crackdown on the minority group—causing more than a million Rohingya to flee the country. While the vast majority of Rohingya sought refuge in neighboring Bangladesh, India has been home to tens of thousands Rohingya refugees.

A new report by The Azadi Project and Refugees International—A Shadow of Refuge: Rohingya Refugees in India—sheds light on the plight of Rohingya in India, drawing from field visits in Delhi and Hyderabad. The authors of this new report are Daniel Sullivan and Priyali Sur and they join Milan on the show this week to talk more about their report.

The trio discuss the absence of an Indian law on refugees and asylum seekers, the Rohingya’s living conditions in India, and the shrinking number of vocal advocates for their cause. Plus, the three discuss the foreign policy implications of the refugees and what role the United States might play.

Episode notes:

[VIDEO] “Displaced and Detained: Rohingya in India,” The Azadi Project, May 16, 2024.

Khushboo Sandhu and Meryl Sebastian, “Rohingya and CAA: What is India's refugee policy?” BBC, August 19, 2022.

Refugees International, “The Situation of the Rohingya and Deadly Sea Crossings,” March 1, 2023.

The Congress Comeback in Karnataka

podcasts@ceip.org (Sugata Srinivasaraju, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 17 May 2023 01:00:00 +0000

On May 13, the Congress Party notched a major election win—a decisive single-party majority in the southern state of Karnataka—earning the highest vote share of any party in the state since 1989. For the Congress, which is starved of election victories, this result could not have come at a better time as the country gears up for national elections early next year. The incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) put in a disappointing performance, one that is likely to prompt some soul-searching as the party regroups for another round of regional polls this fall.

To unpack what happened in Karnataka and what it means—for the state and for India—Milan is joined on the podcast this week by author and journalist Sugata Srinivasaraju. Sugata is one of the most respected political journalists in Karnataka and the author of several books, including Furrows in a Field: The Unexplored Life of HD Deve Gowda.

The two discuss the contours of an expensive and animated election campaign, the keys to the Congress Party’s success, the impact of Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra, and why the “Modi magic” did not turn the tide for the BJP. Plus, the two discuss what this round of polls tells us about next year’s general elections.

Episode notes:

“Religious Polarization in Karnataka (with Sugata Srinivasaraju),” Grand Tamasha, April 13, 2022.
[VIDEO] Sugata Srinivasaraju, “Karnataka Results 2023: Decoding the failure of JD-S as the kingmaker,” Times of India, May 14, 2023.
Dhrubo Jyoti, “Cong conquers Karnataka with 136 seats,” Hindustan Times, May 14, 2023.
Shoaib Daniyal, “Modi and Hindutva: Why did BJP’s two big guns fail to fire in Karnataka?” The India Fix (newsletter), May 14, 2023.

Opening the Black Box of India’s Internal Security State

podcasts@ceip.org (Amit Ahuja, Devesh Kapur, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 10 May 2023 01:00:00 +0000

Since Independence, the Indian state has grappled with a variety of internal security challenges—insurgencies, terrorist attacks, caste and communal violence, riots, and electoral violence. Their toll has claimed more lives than all of India's five external wars combined.

Despite this, we know surprisingly little about the institutions of the state tasked with managing internal security. How well has India contained violence and preserved order? How have the approaches and capacity of the State evolved to attain these twin objectives? And what impact does the State's approach have on civil liberties and the quality of democracy?

These are three questions that a new book, Internal Security in India: Violence, Order, and the State, takes up. It’s an important new volume co-edited by two of the best-known political scientists working on India—Amit Ahuja of the University of California-Santa Barbara and Devesh Kapur of Johns Hopkins-SAIS.

Amit and Devesh join Milan on the podcast this week to discuss their new book and the lessons it holds for law and order in India. The trio discuss the centralization of internal security powers, the surprising decline in public violence, and the explosion in the size of India’s paramilitary forces. Plus, the three debate whether violence has moved from the periphery of Indian politics to center stage.

Soutik Biswas, “Is India seeing a decline in violence?” BBC News, January 16, 2023.
Ajai Shukla, “India's tryst with counterinsurgency,” Business Standard, March 15, 2023.
Devesh Kapur, “The worrying rise of militarisation in India’s Central Armed Police Forces,” ThePrint, November 29, 2017.
Amit Ahuja and Devesh Kapur, “Internal security threats: the 1980s,”Hindustan Times, 2022.

Demography, Democracy, and India’s Destiny?

podcasts@ceip.org (Milan Vaishnav, Tanvi Madan, Sadanand Dhume) — Wed, 3 May 2023 01:00:00 +0000

At long last, we come to that time in every Grand Tamasha season where Milan stops to round up the last news on Indian politics and policy with two longtime friends of the podcast—Sadanand Dhume of the American Enterprise Institute and the Wall Street Journal and Tanvi Madan of the Brookings Institution.

This week on the show, the trio discuss three topics. First, they discuss India’s passing China as the world’s most populous country and what this means for the country’s future prospects. Second, there’s been a steady drumbeat of articles and Twitter discussions about India’s role in the world, prompted in part by the one-year anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, among others. Milan, Sadanand, and Tanvi discuss the latest on Indian foreign policy. Last but not least, many scholars and analysts believe India’s democracy is moving in reverse but who exactly has the standing to debate and discuss these developments? They take on that question as well.

Episode notes:

Sadanand Dhume, “Will India’s Growing Population Bring an Economic Boom?” Wall Street Journal, April 27, 2023.

Mujib Mashal and Alex Travelli, “India Is Passing China in Population. Can Its Economy Ever Do the Same?” New York Times, April 19, 2023.

“'Europe Has to Grow Out of Mindset That Its Problems Are World's Problems': Jaishankar,” Press Trust of India, June 3, 2022.

Tanvi Madan, “Lessons from Ukraine: It’s Complicated,” Brookings Institution, February 24, 2023.

Walter Russell Mead, “India’s BJP Is the World’s Most Important Party,” Wall Street Journal, March 20, 2023.

Barkha Dutt, “The best way to strengthen India’s democracy? Leave it to the Indians,” Washington Post, April 20, 2023.

Adam Tooze, “Why CPR Is Necessary and the Suspension of Its Registration Dangerous,” The Wire, March 29, 2023.

The Mythmaking of Nehru’s India

podcasts@ceip.org (Taylor Sherman, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 26 Apr 2023 01:00:00 +0000

Nonalignment, secularism, socialism, democracy, high modernism—these are all ideas that students of India have long associated with India’s first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru. These elements have been so embedded in the Indian psyche that we regularly speak of a “Nehruvian consensus” without thinking twice.

A new book by the scholar Taylor C. Sherman, a professor in the Department of International History at the London School of Economics and Political Science, revisits this consensus and finds that all is not what it seems. These high-minded notions that we’ve long associated with Nehru are—at their core—myths. And like all good myths, there’s a kernel of truth somewhere in there but the reality is far more nuanced.

Taylor joins Milan on the show this week to discuss these myths, which she’s documented in a new book, Nehru's India: A History in Seven Myths. The two discuss the disconnect between Nehru’s rhetoric and the lived realities on the ground, the trouble with the notion of a “Nehruvian consensus,” and the “software” bugs of Indian democracy. Plus, the two discuss how Nehru’s legacy can help us understand the rise of Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Episode notes:

Taylor C. Sherman, “The Myth of Nehru the Architect of Independent India,” in Nehru's India: A History in Seven Myths (Princeton University Press, 2022).

“Revisiting the Myths of Nehru’s India: Apoorvanand in Conversation with Taylor C. Sherman,” The Wire, February 25, 2023.

“Nehru's Long Shadow Over India (with Adeel Hussain and Tripudaman Singh),” Grand Tamasha, February 23, 2022.

“Madhav Khosla on India’s Founding Moment,” Grand Tamasha, January 29, 2020.

Ramachandra Guha Revisits India After Gandhi

podcasts@ceip.org (Ramachandra Guha, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 19 Apr 2023 01:00:00 +0000

Find a list of the defining books about India published in the last 75 years and there’s one book that will show up on list after list after list—Ramachandra Guha’s magisterial India After Gandhi.

For years, historians approached India as if history more or less ended with the partition of the subcontinent and the achievement of India’s independence in 1947. Guha’s India After Gandhi broke this mold and, in so doing, helped to define what a generation of students, scholars, and readers understands of India in the decades after independence.

This year, Picador has published the third edition of India After Gandhi, which brings the book’s narrative up to the present day with a new chapter on the post-2016 Modi era.

To talk about his landmark book—and some of the themes that it covers—Ram Guha joins Milan on the podcast this week. The two discuss Gandhi’s legacy after 75 years of independence, the inspiration behind India After Gandhi, and the transformation of Indian democracy in the past decade. Plus, the two discuss the themes, events, and people from India’s history that are crying out for greater evaluation.

Episode notes:

Ramachandra Guha, “India against Gandhi — a legacy rewritten,” Financial Times, January 27, 2023.

Ritika Chopra, “Purged from NCERT Textbooks: Hindu extremists’ dislike for Gandhi, RSS ban after assassination,” Indian Express, April 8, 2023.

Ramachandra Guha, “The Cult of Modi,” Foreign Policy, November 4, 2022.

Is India’s Moment a Mirage?

podcasts@ceip.org (Ashoka Mody, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 12 Apr 2023 01:00:00 +0000

India Is Broken: A People Betrayed, Independence to Today is a big new book on India by the economist Ashoka Mody. Mody is an economic historian at Princeton's School of Public and International Affairs and a longtime official at the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

His new book provides readers with an unvarnished look at India’s twin economic and political failures over the past 75 years. Challenging the conventional wisdom, Mody argues that India’s post-independence leaders—from Jawaharlal Nehru all the way to Narendra Modi—have failed to confront India's true economic problems, seeking easy solutions instead. As a popular frustration grew, India’s democracy suffered, leading to an upsurge in nationalism, violence, and corruption.

Mody joins Milan on the podcast this week to talk more about his book. The two discuss Mody’s controversial thesis, the inadequacy of GDP as a metric of economic development, and the parallels between pre-Partition India and India of the president. Plus, the two talk about Mody’s solutions for addressing India’s twin economic and political challenges.

Notes:

Ashoka Mody, “India’s Boom Is a Dangerous Myth,” Project Syndicate, March 29, 2023.

Ashoka Mody, “India’s Broken State,” Project Syndicate, February 20, 2023.

Milan Vaishnav, When Crime Pays: Money and Muscle in Indian Politics (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2017).

The Aftermath of the Adani Affair

podcasts@ceip.org (Menaka Doshi, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 5 Apr 2023 01:00:00 +0000

Few stories have captured more headlines in India this year than the saga of Gautam Adani. Adani is CEO of the Adani Group and a regular fixture on the Forbes list of Global Billionaires. He was at one point the third richest man in the world.

In January, Adani and his companies were accused of stock manipulation by New York-based investment firm Hindenburg Research. This sent Adani Group stocks plummeting while Adani’s own net worth took a massive nosedive. Today, the group is trying to calm investors and strengthen its balance sheets even as both the Supreme Court and India’s securities regulator are investing possible wrongdoing.

To talk more about the Adani affair, Milan is joined on the show this week by Menaka Doshi, Senior Editor at Bloomberg News. Menaka is one of India’s most respected financial journalists. She previously served as Managing Editor of BloombergQuint and Executive Editor of CNBC-TV18.

Milan and Menaka discuss the origins of the Adani Group, the allegations against them, and the future for the embattled company. Plus, the two discuss the relationship between Gautam Adani and Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the risks of possible contagion.

Episode notes:

Menaka Doshi, “India’s SEBI to submit report on Adani to Court-Appointed Panel,” Bloomberg, March 29, 2023.

Menaka Doshi and Rajesh Kumar Singh, “Adani Total Gas Says Expansion and Spending Plans are Intact,” Bloomberg, February 7, 2023.

Hindenburg Group, How the World’s 3rd Richest Man is Pulling the Largest Con in Corporate History, January 24, 2023.

Adani Group, “Adani Response,” January 29, 2023.

How Bureaucracy Can Work for the Poor

podcasts@ceip.org (Akshay Mangla, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 29 Mar 2023 01:00:00 +0000

Over the decades, India has developed a reputation for having a strong society but a weak state. This bureaucratic, lumbering behemoth has especially struggled to deliver basic public goods like health, education, water, and sanitation.

But a new book by the University of Oxford political scientist Akshay Mangla, Making Bureaucracy Work: Norms, Education and Public Service Delivery in Rural India, forces us to revise this conventional wisdom.

In some parts of India, the state has succeeded in delivering quality primary education for its poorest citizens despite sharing the same institutional framework and often the same demographic characteristics of other, poorly performing regions.

To talk more about why and when the state works, Akshay joins Milan on the podcast this week. Akshay and Milan discuss the importance of norms in driving policy implementation, the stark variation in education outcomes in north India, and the ways in which authoritarianism and deliberation can coexist. Plus, the two discuss the Modi government’s New Education Policy and the future of primary education in the country.

1. Akshay Mangla, “Social conflict on the front lines of reform: Institutional activism and girls’ education in rural India,” Public Administration and Development 42, no. 1 (2022): 95-105.

2. Akshay Mangla, “Elite Strategies and Incremental Policy Change: The Expansion of Primary Education in India,” Governance 31, no. 2 (2018): 381-399.

3. “Making Development Work for the Poor (with Rajesh Veeraraghavan),” Grand Tamasha, April 20, 2022.

4. “Rohini Nilekani on the Secret to Successful Governance,” Grand Tamasha, October 5, 2022.

The Untold Global Backstory of India's Nuclear Program

podcasts@ceip.org (Jayita Sarkar, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 22 Mar 2023 01:00:00 +0000

India's nuclear program is often conceived as an inward-looking endeavor of secretive technocrats. But a new book by the scholar Jayita Sarkar, Ploughshares and Swords: India's Nuclear Program in the Global Cold War, challenges the conventional wisdom, narrating a global story of India's nuclear program during its first forty years.

It is a story about nuclear ambiguity, Cold War geopolitics, territorial ambition, and visionary engineers and scientists. Jayita, who is a senior lecturer in economic and social history at the University of Glasgow and the founding director of the Global Decolonization Initiative, joins Milan on the show this week to talk more about her book.

The two discuss the elite coterie of scientists and engineers responsible for India’s nuclear program, the myth of India’s peaceful, non-violent rise, and the many global inputs to India’s nuclear ambitions. Plus, the two discuss the surprising roots of India’s controversial 1974 nuclear tests and the country’s struggles to fulfill its nuclear energy potential at home.

“Southern Asia's Nuclear Future with Ashley J. Tellis,” Grand Tamasha, October 26, 2022.
[Open-access] Jayita Sarkar, Ploughshares and Swords: India's Nuclear Program in the Global Cold War(Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2022).

The Long and Winding Road of U.S.-India Relations

podcasts@ceip.org (Seema Sirohi, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 15 Mar 2023 01:00:00 +0000

Thirty years ago, Seema Sirohi first moved to Washington as a journalist charged with covering India’s relationship with the United States. At the time, Washington saw India as a problem—rather than a useful part of its foreign policy solution—to big, complex global challenges.

Today, the situation could not be more different: the United States and India are deeply enmeshed in a strategic partnership that runs the gamut, from space to terrorism, and from climate change to technology. Seema, a U.S.-based columnist for the Economic Times, narrates this tectonic shift in a new book, Friends with Benefits: The India-U.S. Story.

On this week’s show, she joins Milan to discuss the book and her own personal journey. They discuss the evolution of U.S.-India ties over the past three decades, including the rocky years of the early 1990s, the breakthrough in the George W. Bush administration, and the setbacks towards the end of India’s UPA-2 government. Plus, the two discuss the Washington establishment’s blind spots on both China and Pakistan and how these have repeatedly come at the cost of greater cooperation with India in years past.

Narayan Lakshmanan, “Review of Seema Sirohi’s Friends with Benefits: The India-U.S. Story—Ringside view to bilateral ballet,” Hindu, February 17, 2023.
“Southern Asia's Nuclear Future with Ashley J. Tellis,” Grand Tamasha, October 26, 2022.
“U.S.-India Ties After the ‘2+2’ Summit,” with Joshua White, Grand Tamasha, April 27, 2022.

Age of Vice: When Art Meets Life

podcasts@ceip.org (Deepti Kapoor, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 8 Mar 2023 02:00:00 +0000

Age of Vice is the blockbuster new novel by the author Deepti Kapoor. It’s a love story, wrapped inside a tale of capitalism run amok, wrapped inside a violent story of gangland politics.

In nearly 600 pages, it transports readers from the badlands of eastern Uttar Pradesh to the five-star hotels and fabulous bungalows of New Delhi. To call this book a sensation would be the understatement of the year. Readers have snapped up copies, book editors have issued glowing reviews, and a television series is already in the works.

Deepti Kapoor grew up in north India and worked for several years as a journalist in New Delhi. She’s the author of a previous novel, A Bad Character, published in 2015.

To talk more about Age of Vice and the inspiration behind it, Deepti joins Milan on the podcast this week. They discuss Deepti’s journey from Delhi reporter to novelist, the research she conducted for the book, and the cynicism embedded in Indian politics. Plus, the two discuss the book’s adaptation for the screen and the planned trilogy of books that is in the works.

Ron Charles, “Deepti Kapoor’s thriller ‘Age of Vice’ starts 2023 with a bang,” Washington Post, December 29, 2022.
Milan Vaishnav, When Crime Pays: Money and Muscle in Indian Politics (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2017).
Josy Joseph, A Feast of Vultures: The Hidden Business of Democracy in India (New Delhi: HarperCollins India, 2016).
Deepti Kapoor, “Driving in Greater Noida,” Granta, February 23, 2015.

A Portrait of India's Parliament

podcasts@ceip.org (Ronojoy Sen, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 1 Mar 2023 02:00:00 +0000

The decline of India’s parliament is a refrain that has often been repeated over the last seventy-five years of modern Indian democracy. A new book on India’s Parliament addresses the decline thesis head-on and provides a warts-and-all assessment of India’s legislative chamber.

The book is called House of the People: Parliament and the Making of Indian Democracy and its author is the scholar Ronojoy Sen. Ronojoy, a senior research fellow at the Institute of South Asia Studies at the National University of Singapore, joins Milan on the podcast this week to discuss the evolution of India’s parliament, the constitutional pre-history of legislative institutions in India, and the surprising lack of debate around universal suffrage.

Plus, the two discuss the plague of parliamentary disruptions, the black box of conflicts of interest, and how the practice of Indian democracy transformed the institution of Parliament.

Madhav Khosla and Milan Vaishnav, “The Three Faces of the Indian State,” Journal of Democracy 32, no. 1 (January 2021): 111-125.
Ronojoy Sen, “Has the Indian Parliament stood the test of time?” Observer Research Foundation, August 15, 2022.

Can India Break Away From Russia?

podcasts@ceip.org (Happymon Jacob, Milan Vaishnav, Sameer Lalwani) — Wed, 22 Feb 2023 02:00:00 +0000

On February 24, the world will commemorate the one-year anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The ongoing war has fueled considerable debate among foreign policy analysts about the long-term consequences for the nature and evolution of global order. In the wake of the ongoing conflict, few relationships have been as hotly debated as the ties between India and Russia.

In the pages of Foreign Affairs, two of the best strategic minds working on Indian foreign policy—Happymon Jacob of Jawaharlal Nehru University and the Council for Strategic and Defense Research and Sameer Lalwani of the U.S. Institute of Peace—have engaged in a serious and constructive debate on what the future holds in store for India’s relations with Russia.

This week, Happymon and Sameer join Milan to expand on their debate. Happymon argues that we’re seeing the beginning of decoupling between Russia and India, while Sameer is skeptical. He envisions a future in which Russia-India relations, while perhaps declining, exhibit significant resilience. The trio also discusses China-Russia relations, U.S. efforts to supply India’s military, and the prospects of India serving as an honest broker to end the war.

Happymon Jacob, “Russia is Losing India,” Foreign Affairs, September 22, 2022.
Sameer Lalwani and Happymon Jacob, “Will India Ditch Russia?” Foreign Affairs, January 24, 2023.
“The Looming Cloud of Sanctions Over U.S.-India Relations (with Sameer Lalwani),” Grand Tamasha, September 29, 2021.
Sameer Lalwani and Tyler Sagerstrom, “What the India–Russia Defence Partnership Means for US Policy,” Survival (2021).
Sameer Lalwani, Frank O’Donnell, Tyler Sagerstrom, and Akriti Vasudeva, “The Influence of Arms: Explaining the Durability of India–Russia Alignment,” Journal of Indo-Pacific Affairs, January 15, 2021.
Happymon Jacob, “The futility of underbalancing China,” The Indian View (newsletter), January 23, 2023.

Can India Lead From the Front?

podcasts@ceip.org (ashley j tellis, milan vaishnav) — Wed, 15 Feb 2023 02:00:00 +0000

In 2016, Ashley J. Tellis published an important paper in which he unpacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for India to become a leading, rather than a balancing, power on the global stage. This call reflected an important change in how the country’s top political leadership conceived of its role in international politics.

In the years following, Ashley and a group of collaborators have been working to flesh out what becoming a leading power would actually mean in practice. Their findings have finally been published in a new volume, Grasping Greatness: Making India a Leading Power, edited by Ashley along with Bibek Debroy and C. Raja Mohan.

Ashley holds the Tata Chair for Strategic Affairs at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. On the show this week, Ashley joins Milan to talk about his latest project. He and Milan discuss India’s internal debate about its growing global role, the ideological constraints to realizing India’s economic potential, and lingering doubts about India’s liberal commitments. Plus, the two discuss whether India’s incremental pace of reforms is a harm or a hindrance to its wider ambitions.

Ashley J. Tellis, “Grasping Greatness: Making India a Leading Power,” in Ashley J. Tellis, Bibek Debroy, and C. Raja Mohan, Grasping Greatness: Making India a Leading Power (New Delhi: Penguin India, 2022).
Ashley J. Tellis, “India as a Leading Power,” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, April 4, 2016.
Lakshmi Puri, “The will to power: How India can become a leading power in the world,” FirstPost, January 27, 2023.
“Southern Asia's Nuclear Future With Ashley J. Tellis,” Grand Tamasha, October 26, 2022.

Adding Up India's Budget

podcasts@ceip.org (Milan Vaishnav, Sukumar Ranganathan) — Wed, 8 Feb 2023 02:00:00 +0000

Last week, India’s finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented her government’s Fiscal Year 2023 budget. As in years past, the entire analyst class has been working overtime to scrutinize the minister’s speech and the underlying budget spreadsheets to understand how this government plans to steer the Indian economy in the midst of global headwinds and an important general election in 2024.

To discuss this year’s budget and all that it means, Milan is joined on the show this week by Sukumar Ranganathan, editor-in-chief of the Hindustan Times. There are few journalists in India who follow budgets more closely or more insightfully.

Milan and Sukumar discuss the government’s big infrastructure push, its electoral signaling, and future plans to raise revenue. Plus, the two discuss what we can say definitively about the Modi government’s economic philosophy after nine years in office.

Prashant Jha, “Budget passes BJP’s political test ahead of 2024 elections,” Hindustan Times, February 2, 2023.
Roshan Kishore, “Nightwatchman’s Budget ahead of elections,” Hindustan Times, February 2, 2023.
Abhishek Jha and Roshan Kishore, “The Indian economy: Past, present, future,” Hindustan Times, February 6, 2023.
Archana Masih interview with Milan Vaishnav, “‘Adani affair overshadowed Budget's stability, prudence,'” Rediff News, February 6, 2023.

The Congress Party's Quest for Relevance

podcasts@ceip.org (Dipankar Ghose, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 1 Feb 2023 02:00:00 +0000

The Congress Party’s Bharat Jodo Yatra has spent more than 120 days traveling the length of India from the southern city of Kanniyakumari to the northern state of Jammu and Kashmir.

After traveling more than 3,500 kilometers, the march formally ended on January 30 in Srinagar.

The yatra has grabbed headlines and riled up Congress supporters, but the question remains—what does it actually mean for the future of the Congress Party?

To talk about the yatra’s legacy, Milan is joined on the show this week by Dipankar Ghose, deputy national editor of the Hindustan Times and three-time winner of the prestigious Ramnath Goenka Award. Dipankar covered the yatra when it traveled through Rajasthan in late December, and he and Milan discuss the yatra’s impact on the Congress Party’s fortunes, Rahul Gandhi’s image, and the party’s “vision” problem. Plus, the two discuss the BJP’s reaction to the yatra and what comes next for India’s struggling principal opposition party.

Dipankar Ghose, “Counting milestones: A day in the life of the Bharat Jodo Yatra,” Hindustan Times, December 16, 2022.
Dipankar Ghose, “Congress political crisis: The parallels in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh,” Hindustan Times, September 26, 2022.
“G20, State Elections, and the Future of the Congress Party (with Sadanand Dhume and Tanvi Madan),” Grand Tamasha, December 14, 2022.

India's Tryst With Policymaking

podcasts@ceip.org (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace) — Wed, 25 Jan 2023 02:00:00 +0000

After a short holiday break, this week we kick off the ninth season of Grand Tamasha. Milan’s guest on the show is Pranay Kotasthane, author of the new book—Missing In Action: Why You Should Care About Public Policy, co-authored with Raghu Jaitley.

What is the Indian state? How does it work? How does it fail? And how can it evolve? These are just some of the questions that this important new book tries to tackle.

Unlike most books in this genre, it is written for the proverbial man or woman on the street, refraining from jargon and acronyms to educate, and possibly even entertain, readers interested in how policy is made.

Pranay, who serves as deputy director at the Takshashila Institution in Bangalore, and Milan discuss the difference between a democracy and a republic, the role of ideology in Indian politics, pro-business vs. pro-market policies, and the enduring weakness of the Indian state. Plus, the two discuss the shrinking of the “middle” space in public discourse and what that means for the future of Indian democracy.

IVM Podcasts, Puliyabaazi (Hindi Podcast), hosted by Saurabh Chandra, Pranay Kotasthane, and Khyati Pathak.
“Anticipating the Unanticipated,” weekly Substack newsletter by Pranay Kotasthane and Raghu Jaitley.
“Missing in Action is Here,” Anticipating the Unanticipated, Number 195.

Grand Tamasha Unveils the Best Books of 2022

podcasts@ceip.org (Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 21 Dec 2022 02:00:00 +0000

One of the blessings (though it sometimes feels like a curse) of hosting Grand Tamasha, Carnegie’s weekly podcast on Indian politics and policy, is that our host Milan Vaishnav ends up reading a ton of books and interviewing many authors. In what we hope will become an annual holiday tradition, Milan has made a list of his top three India reads of the year, based on some of the books we’ve highlighted on the show’s recently wrapped eighth season.

Our Grand Tamasha top three books of 2022 (drumroll, please):

Desperately Seeking Shah Rukh: India’s Lonely Young Women and the Search for Intimacy and Independence

By Shrayana Bhattacharya. Published by HarperCollins India.

The Progressive Maharaja: Sir Madhava Rao’s Hints on the Art and Science of Government

By Rahul Sagar. Published by Hurst/HarperCollins India.

The Newlyweds: Rearranging Marriage in Modern India

By Mansi Choksi. Published by Atria/Icon/Penguin Viking.

In this episode, Milan talks about why he loved each of these books and includes short clips from his conversations with Shrayana, Rahul, and Mansi. Think of this bonus episode as our little holiday present to you, our listeners. We'll see you in January.

G20, State Elections, and the Future of the Congress Party

podcasts@ceip.org (Milan Vaishnav, Sadanand Dhume, Tanvi Madan) — Wed, 14 Dec 2022 02:00:00 +0000

To commemorate the season finale of Season Eight of Grand Tamasha, Milan welcomes back show regulars Sadanand Dhume (American Enterprise Institute and the Wall Street Journal) and Tanvi Madan (Brookings Institution) to discuss the latest developments in the world of Indian politics and policy.

The trio discusses the recent elections in Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, and Delhi, and what, if anything, they tell us about the political landscape heading into the 2024 general election. They also review Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra and debate the future of the Congress Party. Finally, they discuss the significance of India’s G20 presidency and its domestic political salience.

Milan, Tanvi, and Sadanand wrap up the show by highlighting one India-related trend they’ll be keeping their eye on in 2023.

“A Test of the BJP’s Dominance in Gujarat (with Mahesh Langa),” Grand Tamasha, December 6, 2022.
“Previewing India’s G20 Agenda (with Karthik Nachiappan),” Grand Tamasha, November 30, 2022.
“Congress Drama, Indian Diplomacy, and the Diaspora (with Sadanand Dhume and Tanvi Madan),” Grand Tamasha, October 12, 2022.

A Test of the BJP’s Dominance in Gujarat

podcasts@ceip.org (Mahesh Langa, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 7 Dec 2022 02:00:00 +0000

This past week, voters in the state of Gujarat went to the polls to select the 182 newest members of the state assembly. While the votes will be counted on December 8, there is an aura of inevitability around the result; journalists, pundits, and polls all point toward a decisive victory by the incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of Narendra Modi.

But this year’s contest is not without its fair share of intrigue. In what has traditionally been a two-party contest between the BJP and the Congress Party, this year Gujarat features an ambitious new entrant in the form of the Aam Aadmi Party.

To talk more about this year’s election and what it signifies, Milan is joined on the show this week by the journalist Mahesh Langa. Mahesh is a veteran journalist who currently serves as the Gujarat correspondent for the Hindu. He previously covered the state for the Hindustan Times.

The two discuss the significance of the 2022 race, AAP’s pitch to voters, and the Congress’ listless campaign. Plus, the two discuss the enduring legacy of the 2002 riots and the salience of the “Gujarat Model.”

Mahesh Langa, “Modest turnout of 59.11% registered in the second phase of Gujarat Assembly elections,” Hindu, December 5, 2022.
Mahesh Langa, “Congress views terrorism from prism of vote bank, says PM Modi,” Hindu, November 27, 2022.
Nistula Hebbar and Mahesh Langa, “With two Opposition firebrands of 2017 now in BJP camp, election loses its spark,” Hindu, November 23, 2022.

Previewing India’s G20 Agenda

podcasts@ceip.org (Karthik Nachiappan, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 30 Nov 2022 02:00:00 +0000

In December, India will assume the presidency of the G20, an international forum comprising the world’s twenty largest economies. It’s India’s first time chairing the group, and it represents a major diplomatic and political opportunity for the government to shape perceptions around India’s role in the world and to make headway on some of its key priorities heading into 2024, a general election year.

To discuss India’s agenda at the G20 and its approach to multilateralism more generally, Milan is joined on the show this week by the scholar Karthik Nachiappan. Karthik is a research fellow at the Institute of South Asian Studies at the National University of Singapore and a nonresident senior fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute in Ottawa. Karthik is the author of the book, Does India Negotiate?, which revises the conventional narrative that India’s multilateral behavior is prickly, obstructionist, and defensive.

Milan and Karthik discuss India’s emerging G20 agenda, its attitude toward existing multilateral institutions, and what its behavior at the recent COP27 climate summit tells us about its evolving approach. Plus, the two discuss India’s digital soft power ambitions and how those aims could conflict with international concerns about data localization.

Karthik Nachiappan, Does India Negotiate? (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2020)
Karthik Nachiappan, “The international politics of data: When control trumps protection,” Observer Research Foundation, October 26, 2022.
Arindrajit Basu and Karthik Nachiappan, “Data opportunity at the G20,” Hindu, August 18, 2022.
“How Rising Powers Can Make—Or Break—International Order” (with Rohan Mukherjee), Grand Tamasha, November 16, 2022.

Indian Media's Moment of Reckoning

podcasts@ceip.org (Manisha Pande, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 23 Nov 2022 02:00:00 +0000

A recent controversy involving the online news site the Wire and the tech giant Meta has sparked a new debate on the media in India. The recent controversy has been something of a Rorschach test with some critics castigating digital media for playing fast and loose with the truth and others defending the media from further intrusion by the state. The debate is far from academic as its consequences have implications for freedom of expression, government regulation, and democratic accountability.

To discuss the state of the Indian media in the year 2022, Milan is joined on the show this week by the journalist Manisha Pande. Manisha is the executive editor of Newslaundry, a well-regarded digital news site that is dedicated to covering the media ecosystem in India today. She is the host and producer of the Newslaundry show, TV Newsance, which offers a satirical look at television news in India.

In addition to discussing the media controversy involving the Wire, Milan and Manisha discuss the business-media nexus, shrinking space for anti-government criticism, and the dangers of self-censorship. Plus, the duo discuss why the sorry state of prime-time news television refuses to change.

“Mehrauli Murder Case and 'sansani' reporting,” TV Newsance 193, November 19, 2022.
Manisha Pande, “Why we report on the media,” Newslaundry, June 25, 2022.
Manisha Pande, “‘It’s not a newsroom, it’s a durbar’: Inside the Republic of Arnab Goswami,” Newslaundry, September 7, 2020.

How Rising Powers Can Make—Or Break—International Order

podcasts@ceip.org (Rohan Mukherjee, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 16 Nov 2022 02:00:00 +0000

Why do rising powers on the global stage sometimes challenge an international order that enables their growth, yet at other times support an order that constrains them? This is the core question motivating a big, new book on international order by political scientist Rohan Mukherjee.

The book is titled, Ascending Order: Rising Powers and the Politics of Status in International Institutions, and it is a comprehensive study of conflict and cooperation as new powers join the global arena. The book focuses on how international institutions shape the choices of rising states as they pursue equal status with established powers.

Rohan is an assistant professor of international relations at the London School of Economics and Political Science. To talk more about his new book, Rohan joins Milan on the show this week from his office in London.

The two discuss China’s surprisingly cooperative behavior in the post-Cold War era, India’s grievances with the liberal international order, and the importance of status concerns in international relations. Plus, Milan and Rohan discuss India’s approach to the nuclear nonproliferation regime during the Cold War, U.S. policies to restrain China, and the implications of a more isolationist U.S. foreign policy for rising powers.

Inside the COP27 Showdown

podcasts@ceip.org (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace) — Wed, 9 Nov 2022 02:00:00 +0000

This week, climate negotiators and world leaders from around 200 countries are descending on the Egyptian resort town of Sharm el Sheikh for COP27—the twenty-seventh gathering of the 197 nations that signed up to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change back in 1992.

As proceedings get underway, a huge question mark hangs over this year’s climate summit. Rich nations are pushing for poor countries to announce greater cuts to carbon emissions, but developing countries claim that their developed counterparts have stiffed them when it comes to climate finance.

To make sense of this dynamic at this year’s gathering and to explore the unique role India plays, journalist Bill Spindle joins Milan on the show this week.

Bill is the climate and energy editor at the new journalism start-up, Semafor. He’s also a ten-year veteran of the Wall Street Journal, where he served as South Asia Bureau Chief from 2016 to 2020. Bill has spent the last year crisscrossing the length and breadth of India reporting on the transformation of India’s energy sector—a journey he documented on Substack.

Bill and Milan discuss the developed vs. developing country deadlock that imperils the COP27 proceedings, India’s opportunity to play a leadership role, and the continuing uncertainty over U.S.-China relations. Plus, the two discuss Bill’s year-long adventure traveling 8,000 kilometers across India by train.

Semafor “Climate” newsletter by Bill Spindle.
Bill Spindle, “Energy: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly,” The Energy Adventure(r) newsletter, June 14, 2022.
Bill Spindle, “The Free Power Flywheel,” The Energy Adventure(r) newsletter, August 29, 2022.
Bill Spindle, “Global climate conference threatens to be a bust,” Semafor, October 22, 2022.
“How India Can Get to Net Zero Emissions (with Jayant Sinha),” Grand Tamasha, October 13, 2021.
“What COP26 Means for India—and the World (with Navroz Dubash),” Grand Tamasha, November 17, 2021.

India’s Hidden Treatise on Statecraft

podcasts@ceip.org (Rahul Sagar, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 2 Nov 2022 01:00:00 +0000

Regular Grand Tamasha listeners will recall that Milan had the scholar Rahul Sagar on the podcast several months ago to talk about his new book, To Raise a Fallen People: How Nineteenth Century Indians Saw Their World and Shaped Ours.

That book was a look at the nineteenth-century intellectual roots of India’s foreign policy strategy and its approach to great power politics. And now Rahul has another book out—this one is called, The Progressive Maharaja: Sir Madhava Rao’s Hints on the Art and Science of Government.

Rahul returns to the podcast this week to talk to Milan about an important but largely forgotten set of lectures that represented the first treatise on statecraft produced in modern India. Plus. Milan and Rahul talk about the legacy of India’s princely states, the unique historical figure of Madhava Rao, and why the latter’s treatise has been largely ignored—until today.

“What Kind of World Power Does India Want to Be (with Rahul Sagar),” Grand Tamasha, June 1, 2022.
Rahul Sagar, To Raise a Fallen People: How Nineteenth-Century Indians Saw Their World and Shaped Ours (Juggernaut, 2022).
Ideas of India, online database curated by Rahul Sagar

Southern Asia's Nuclear Future With Ashley J. Tellis

podcasts@ceip.org (Milan Vaishnav, Ashley J Tellis) — Wed, 26 Oct 2022 01:00:00 +0000

The competitive and often antagonistic relationships between China, India, and Pakistan have roots that predate their possession of nuclear weaponry. Yet the significant transformation of the nuclear capabilities that is now underway in all three countries simultaneously complicates and mitigates their geopolitical rivalries.

This is one of the central arguments advanced by a new report authored by Ashley J. Tellis, the Tata Chair for Strategic Affairs at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. The report, Striking Asymmetries: Nuclear Transitions in Southern Asia, is an authoritative account of the transitions in the nuclear weapons programs in China, India, and Pakistan over the last two decades.

Ashley joins Milan on the show this week to discuss his new report and its implications. Milan and Ashley discuss China’s post-Cold War shift to its conservative nuclear posture, the developmental underpinnings of India’s nuclear program, and Pakistan’s diverse, burgeoning nuclear weapons arsenal. Plus, the two discuss U.S. policy options to manage China’s nuclear modernization and the logic of an India-France-United States nuclear partnership.

“How China Sees India With Ambassador Shyam Saran,” Grand Tamasha, September 7, 2022.
“When and Why Do India and Pakistan Fight (with Christopher Clary),” Grand Tamasha, September 14, 2022.
Ashley J. Tellis, India's Emerging Nuclear Posture: Between Recessed Deterrent and Ready Arsenal (RAND Corporation, 2001).
Ashley J. Tellis, Alison Szalwinski, and Michael Wills, eds. Strategic Asia 2019: China’s Expanding Strategic Ambitions(Washington, D.C.: National Bureau of Asian Research, 2019).

Making the Indian Economy Work for Women

podcasts@ceip.org (Shaili Chopra, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 19 Oct 2022 01:00:00 +0000

Shaili Chopra was a well-known business journalist, working for outlets such as NDTV Profit and ET Now, before she decided to leave prime-time journalism and become an entrepreneur, launching a new digital media platform—SheThePeople—dedicated to telling the untold stories of women in India and around the world.

She has a new book out called, Sisterhood Economy: Of, By, For Wo(men), which distills some of the many lessons that she has learned over the years. The book is based on conversations with more than 500 women—and men—across India and touches on questions from love and marriage to livelihoods and the economy to business and Bollywood.

Shaili joins Milan on the show this week to talk about the book’s key messages. The two discuss her radical decision to quit her high-profile job in journalism, the vexing question of women’s labor force participation, and the social norms and conventions governing Indian marriage. Plus, Shaili and Milan talk about the catalytic role technology can play in a woman’s life and why mothers-in-law often get a bad rap.

Lamat R. Hasan, “Review: Sisterhood Economy Of, By, For Wo(men) by Shaili Chopra,” Hindustan Times, October 6, 2022.
Arunima Mazumdar, “Interview: Shaili Chopra, author, Sisterhood Economy: Of, By, For Wo(Men) - “Caste and gender inequality go hand in hand,” Hindustan Times, September 30, 2022.
“How Shah Rukh Khan Inspires Female Empowerment (with Shrayana Bhattacharya),” Grand Tamasha, December 15, 2021.

Congress Drama, Indian Diplomacy, and the Diaspora

podcasts@ceip.org (Tanvi Madan, Sadanand Dhume, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 12 Oct 2022 01:00:00 +0000

These days, the world of Indian politics and policy appears to be moving at warp speed—even by Indian standards. To make sense of all the latest developments out of India, this week Milan is joined by Grand Tamasha regulars—Sadanand Dhume of the American Enterprise Institute and the Wall Street Journal, and Tanvi Madan of the Brookings Institution.

The trio discusses three topics. First, they examine the latest drama coming out of the Indian National Congress and discuss the race to take over India’s Grand Old Party. Second, Milan, Sadanand, and Tanvi discuss the key takeaways and controversies from External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar’s lengthy visit to the United States. And finally, the group unpacks the creeping signs of religious polarization in the Indian diaspora, stretching from Canada to the United Kingdom and to the United States.

Plus, the three share the best thing on India they’ve read in the past six months.

Tanvi Madan, “China Has Lost India: How Beijing’s Aggression Pushed New Delhi to the West,” Foreign Affairs, October 4, 2022.
Sadanand Dhume, “Hindu Nationalism Threatens India’s Rise as a Nation,” Wall Street Journal, June 10, 2022.
Prashant Jha, “A story of friendship: The underlying theme of Jaishankar’s Washington DC visit,” Hindustan Times, September 30, 2022.
“Rearranging Marriage in Modern India (with Mansi Choksi),” Grand Tamasha, September 28, 2022.
Jayita Sarkar, Ploughshares and Swords: India's Nuclear Program in the Global Cold War (Cornell University Press, 2022).

Rohini Nilekani on the Secret to Successful Governance

podcasts@ceip.org (Rohini Nilekani, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 5 Oct 2022 01:00:00 +0000

Rohini Nilekani is an author and philanthropist who has worked for over three decades in India’s social sectors. She is the founder of Arghyam, a foundation for sustainable water and sanitation, and she also co-founded Pratham Books, a nonprofit which aims to enable access to reading for millions of children. With her husband Nandan, she is the co-founder and director of EkStep, a nonprofit education platform.

Her latest book, Samaaj, Sarkaar, Bazaar (Society, State, and Markets): A Citizen-First Approach, encapsulates many of the lessons she has learned in her years working in the civil society and philanthropic sectors.

To talk more about these lessons, Rohini joins Milan on the show this week from Bangalore. The two discuss Rohini’s unlikely start in the world of civic activism, the role technology can play in bringing the state, society, and market into better alignment, and what works to reform urban governance. Plus, the two discuss the state of philanthropy in India and growing concerns about closing space for civil society in India.

Rohini Nilekani, Samaaj, Sarkaar, Bazaar: A Citizen-First Approach (available open-access).
“Off-the-Cuff with Rohini Nilekani,” ThePrint, September 9, 2022.
“How to Fix India’s Water Crisis (with Mridula Ramesh),” Grand Tamasha, March 23, 2022.

Rearranging Marriage in Modern India

podcasts@ceip.org (Mansi Choksi, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 28 Sep 2022 01:00:00 +0000

The Newlyweds: Rearranging Marriage in Modern India is a moving account of love in contemporary India. The book’s author, Mansi Choksi, follows three couples across the heartland of India as they navigate boundaries—of caste, class, religion, and traditional gender norms. What follows is a tale of romance, endurance, violence, and occasionally heartbreak. The Newlyweds does what most social science texts simply cannot—it brings us into the private lives of young people in love in India.

Mansi’s writing has appeared in Harper’s, the New York Times, the New Yorker, National Geographic, Slate and the Atlantic. This week, she joins Milan on the podcast to talk about modern love in a changing India, how love and politics intersect, and what her book tells us about India’s social fault lines. Plus, Milan and Mansi discuss life in “Tier Two” India.

Mansi Choksi, “How ‘Love Commandos’ Help Young Lovers Cross Caste Lines,” Literary Hub, September 6, 2022.
Mansi Choksi, “‘Did You Feel a Fire Between Us?’” Slate, August 30, 2022.
“How Shah Rukh Khan Inspires Female Empowerment,” (with Shrayana Bhattacharya), Grand Tamasha, December 15, 2021.
“Neha Sahgal on Religion and Identity in Contemporary India,” Grand Tamasha, June 30, 2021.
“Rachel Brulé on Gender Quotas and Gender Inequality in India,” Grand Tamasha, May 26, 2021.
Snigdha Poonam, Dreamers: How Young Indians Are Changing the World (Harvard University Press, 2018).

South Asia's Economic Turmoil

podcasts@ceip.org (Benjamin Parkin, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 21 Sep 2022 01:00:00 +0000

In country after country in South Asia, we are seeing worrying signs of economic turmoil and political upheaval. Earlier this year, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan lost a bruising no-confidence vote, resulting in his abrupt ouster. But now the new coalition government that took over from Khan is struggling under the weight of a rising debt burden.

Sri Lanka has experienced a full-blown crisis, resulting in Asia’s first default in decades and the collapse of the Rajapaksa government.

While India’s economic prospects remain relatively positive, there too there are concerns about how widely the gains of recent economic growth are being shared.

To discuss South Asia’s economic outlook, journalist Benjamin Parkin joins Milan on the show this week. Ben is the South Asia correspondent for the Financial Times based in New Delhi and has previously worked with Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal.

The two discuss the external headwinds, domestic policy missteps, and continued uncertainty plaguing South Asian economies from Afghanistan to Bangladesh. They also discuss how China is using the present moment to press its advantage and how the West is responding. Plus, the two talk about India’s economic trajectory and the sharply divided views on its recovery.

“Pakistan After Imran Khan,” (with Aqil Shah) Grand Tamasha, May 4, 2022.
“Inside Sri Lanka’s Meltdown,” (with Ahilan Kadirgamar) Grand Tamasha, May 18, 2022.
Benjamin Parkin and Farhan Bokhari, “Man of the People or Agent of Chaos? Imran Khan Divides Pakistan,” Financial Times, September 5, 2022.
Benjamin Parkin, “Sri Lanka Raises Taxes in Effort to Secure IMF Bailout,” Financial Times, August 30, 2022.
Benjamin Parkin and John Reed, “Bangladesh is ‘Being Killed by Economic Conditions Elsewhere in the World,’” Financial Times, August 24, 2022.

When and Why Do India and Pakistan Fight

podcasts@ceip.org (Christopher Clary, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 14 Sep 2022 01:00:00 +0000

Since their mutual independence in 1947, India and Pakistan have been locked into a fierce rivalry that shows no signs of abating anytime soon.

But a new book by the political scientist Christopher Clary, The Difficult Politics of Peace: Rivalry in Modern South Asia, suggests that our traditional narrative of doom and gloom glosses over a rich history of cooperation, contestation, conflict, and conciliation that defies easy explanations.

This week on the show, Milan sits down with Chris Clary to discuss why and when rival states pursue conflict or cooperation. Clary is an assistant professor of political science at the University at Albany and a nonresident fellow with the Stimson Center in Washington, D.C.

The two discuss the primacy of leaders, the surprising cooperation India and Pakistan have often forged, and the South Asian security community’s blind spots. Plus, Chris tells Milan why there is ample evidence for continued pessimism in bilateral peace negotiations.

“Pallavi Raghavan on an Alternative History of India-Pakistan Relations,” Grand Tamasha, April 7, 2020.
Brian Finlay, “The Passing of Our Co-Founder Michael Krepon,” Henry L. Stimson Center, July 16, 2022.
“Myra MacDonald on the India-Pakistan Battle for Siachen,” Grand Tamasha, March 9, 2021.

How China Sees India With Ambassador Shyam Saran

podcasts@ceip.org (Shyam Saran, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 7 Sep 2022 01:00:00 +0000

This week we kick off the eighth season of Grand Tamasha with a very special guest. On the season premiere, Milan sits down with Ambassador Shyam Saran, former Indian foreign secretary and one of the most decorated Indian diplomats of his generation. Saran, currently a senior fellow at the Centre for Policy Research in New Delhi, is the author of a new book, How China Sees India and the World. This new volume is a companion to his highly acclaimed 2018 book, How India Sees the World.

Milan speaks with Shyam Saran about his lengthy career studying China and learning Mandarin, India’s relative ignorance of Chinese politics and society, and the sources of China’s unique model of social order. Plus, the two discuss the current border standoff between India and China and the prospects of a China-centric world.

Shyam Saran, “Signs of Twin Troubles in China,” Business Standard, August 17, 2022.
Shyam Saran, “Why India@75 Must Pay Attention to Fault Lines,” Mint, August 15, 2022.
“India’s Future in a Changing Global Order (with Shivshankar Menon),” Grand Tamasha, February 2, 2022.

Season Finale: Where is Indian Foreign Policy Going?

podcasts@ceip.org (Sadanand Dhume, Tanvi Madan, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 15 Jun 2022 01:00:00 +0000

This season, in twenty episodes, Grand Tamasha has covered a lot of ground—from the war in Ukraine, to the UP elections, and India’s water crisis. We will be taking a little break to recharge our batteries, but we will be back in August with all-new Grand Tamasha content.

To bring the curtains down on the seventh season of Grand Tamasha, Milan is joined on the podcast by podcast regulars, Sadanand Dhume of the American Enterprise Institute and Wall Street Journal and Tanvi Madan of the Brookings Institution.

The trio discusses the foreign policy crisis which engulfed India last week after two BJP spokespersons made statements criticizing the Prophet Mohammed; the 180-degree turn in popular perceptions of India’s stance on the Russian invasion of Ukraine; and how India was received at the annual Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore.

Plus, the three offer their summer reading recommendations for India policy enthusiasts.

Sadanand Dhume, “Hindu Nationalism Threatens India’s Rise as a Nation,” Wall Street Journal, June 9, 2022.
Shoaib Daniyal, “The India Fix,” Scroll.in.
Carnegie India, “Ideas and Institutions,” Carnegie India.
Ananth Krishnan, “The India-China Newsletter.”
Suyash Desai, “The PLA Bulletin.”
Manoj Kewalramani, “Eye on China,” Takshashila Institution.

How Five-Year Plans Shaped India's Economy—and Democracy

podcasts@ceip.org (Nikhil Menon, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 8 Jun 2022 01:00:00 +0000

In 2014, soon after coming to power, the Narendra Modi government decided to abolish India’s decades-old Planning Commission, replacing it with a new government think tank meant to facilitate cooperative federalism. For years, the Planning Commission devised detailed, five-year, central plans meant to guide India’s economy and allocate funds from the center to India’s states.

Eight years later, the Planning Commission may be gone, but it is not forgotten. A new book by the University of Notre Dame historian Nikhil Menon, Planning Democracy: How a Professor, An Institute, and an Idea Shaped India, provides a wide-ranging history of the marriage between liberal democracy and a socialist economy, uncovering the way planning came to define not just the economy but the nation itself.

Nikhil is Milan’s guest on the show this week. They talk about the legacy of India’s planning infrastructure, the unique influence of pioneering statistician P.C. Mahalanobis, and the ways in which India’s statistical architecture was the envy of the world. Plus, the two discuss the decline of planning, the vestiges that carry on today, and India’s weakened data institutions.

“India’s once-vaunted statistical infrastructure is crumbling,” Economist, May 19, 2022.
Nikhil Menon, “A short history of data,” Hindu, March 21, 2019
Pramit Bhattacharya, “How India’s Statistical System Was Crippled,” Mint, May 7, 2019.

What Kind of World Power Does India Want to Be?

podcasts@ceip.org (Rahul Sagar, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 1 Jun 2022 01:00:00 +0000

What kind of world power does India want to be? Few questions have been asked as often or as intensely since India’s economic take-off in the early 1990s and the corresponding rise in its foreign policy ambitions.

Many of our intellectual debates seek answers to this question by looking back to the dawn of independence in 1947. A new book by political scientist Rahul Sagar, To Raise a Fallen People: How Nineteenth Century Indians Saw Their World and Shaped Ours, invites readers to look even further back to the oft-forgotten, raucous debates of the 19th century.

Rahul joins Milan on the podcast this week to talk about his new book and the intellectual roots of India’s strategic thought. Milan and Rahul discuss the debate over India’s strategic culture, its “half-hearted” approach to great power politics, and the salience of 19th-century debates for understanding the current foreign policy discourse on Russia-Ukraine.

Rahul Sagar, “If it doesn’t learn from the past, the West can lose India (again),” Times of India, May 22, 2022.
Rahul Sagar, The Progressive Maharaja: Sir Madhava Rao's Hints on the Art and Science of Government (London: Hurst, 2022).
Rahul Sagar, “‘Jiski Lathi, Uski Bhains’: The Hindu Nationalist View of International Politics,” in Kanti Bajpai, Saira Basit, and V. Krishnappa, eds., India’s Grand Strategy: History, Theory, Cases (New Delhi: Routledge, 2016).

The Indo-Australian Vote and Milan’s Delhi Reunion

podcasts@ceip.org (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace) — Wed, 25 May 2022 01:00:00 +0000

Over the weekend, Australian voters elected a new government with the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and Anthony Albanese at the helm, ousting the ruling Liberal-National Coalition for the first time in a decade. Key to the ALP’s landmark victory was the vote of the Indo-Australians, now the second largest immigrant group in Australia.

A new Carnegie study co-authored by Devesh Kapur, Caroline Duckworth, and our very own Milan Vaishnav, sheds light on three elements of the Indo-Australian community’s political behavior: the community’s political preferences, leadership preferences, and policy priorities.

This week, we put Milan in the hot seat to discuss his new study along with Caroline Duckworth, a James C. Gaither Junior Fellow in Carnegie’s South Asia Program. We also wanted to turn the tables on Milan to ask him about his recent trip to Delhi—his first in the COVID-era. We talk about India’s ongoing heat wave, the political mood in the country, and the fractures in Indian federalism.

Caroline Duckworth, Devesh Kapur, and Milan Vaishnav, “Indo-Australian Voters and the 2022 General Election,” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, May 18, 2022.
Jonathan Kay, “A Heat Wave Has Pushed India’s Dysfunctional Power System Into a Crisis,” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, May 12, 2022.

Inside Sri Lanka's Economic Meltdown

podcasts@ceip.org (Ahilan Kadirgamar, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 18 May 2022 01:00:00 +0000

Sri Lanka has been the site of dramatic economic and political upheaval over the past several weeks as years of economic mismanagement have resulted in rampant inflation, shortages of essential commodities, and the country’s first sovereign default in the post-independence era.

The island’s dire economic conditions have spurred angry, and sometimes violent, protests which resulted in the sudden resignation of Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and continued calls for the resignation of Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the country’s president and the prime minister’s brother.

To discuss the economic and political causes and consequences of this crisis, Milan is joined on the show this week by political economist Ahilan Kadirgamar. Ahilan is Senior Lecturer at the University of Jaffna and one of Sri Lanka’s leading political economists.

Ahilan and Milan discuss the tense situation on the ground, the economic roots of the current crisis, and the prospects for a return to wide-scale violence. Plus, the two discuss India’s role in extending an economic lifeline to Sri Lanka and whether the island nation can put a decades-old legacy of ethnic strife behind it.

“Rethinking Sri Lanka’s economic crisis,” Interview with Ahilan Kadirgamar, Himal South Asian, February 28, 2022.
Ahilan Kadirgamar, “Polarization, Civil War, and Persistent Majoritarianism in Sri Lanka,” in Thomas Carothers and Andrew O’Donohue, eds., Political Polarization in South and Southeast Asia: Old Divisions, New Dangers (Washington, D.C.: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 2020).
Ahilan Kadirgamar, "Sri Lanka stares at bankruptcy or redemption," The Hindu, April 16, 2022.
Ahilan Kadirgamar. "The Political Economy of the Crisis in Sri Lanka," Economic & Political Weekly, April 30, 2022.

Mr. Modi Goes to Europe

podcasts@ceip.org (Garima Mohan, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 11 May 2022 01:00:00 +0000

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently completed a three-country, whirlwind tour of Europe. The trip began in Germany, where Modi met with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, then continued with a stop in Denmark, where he participated in the India-Nordic Summit, and wrapped up in Paris, where he sat down with newly reelected French President Emmanuel Macron.

To discuss Modi’s Europe visit and its lasting implications, Milan is joined on the show this week by Garima Mohan. Garima is a senior fellow in the Asia program at the German Marshall Fund based in Berlin. Her research focuses on Europe-India ties, EU foreign policy in Asia, and security in the Indo-Pacific.

Milan and Garima discuss how Europe sees India’s evolving stance on Russia-Ukraine, India’s ambitious (and nuanced) European outreach, and the trajectory of defense collaboration. Plus, the two discuss how Europe and India are working together on cross-cutting issues from climate to trade and technology.

Episode notes:

Nayanima Basu, “Modi’s trip shows India & EU can grow closer despite differences on Russia’s Ukraine invasion,” ThePrint, May 6, 2022.
Garima Mohan and Thorsten Benner, “Look More at India!” Der Spiegel, May 2, 2022.
Sreemoy Talukdar, “An assessment of EU-India ties as Modi visits Europe: Sheer political will driving strategic convergence beyond differences,” Firstpost, May 4, 2022.

Pakistan After Imran Khan

podcasts@ceip.org (Aqil Shah, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 4 May 2022 01:00:00 +0000

On April 11, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan was ousted from office, having suffered defeat in a dramatic no confidence vote in the national assembly. Soon after, Shehbaz Sharif—former chief minister of Punjab and brother of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif—was sworn into office as his replacement, capping a dizzying few weeks of political intrigue.

To make sense of the latest developments in Pakistan, including what they mean for India, this week Milan is joined on the show by Aqil Shah. Aqil is the Wick Cary associate professor in the Department of International and Area Studies at the University of Oklahoma and a visiting scholar in the South Asia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Aqil is the author of The Army and Democracy: Military Politics in Pakistan, one of the best guides to civil-military relations in Pakistan.

Milan and Aqil discuss Imran Khan’s dramatic fall from grace, the challenges facing the new government, and the country’s complicated civil-military power balance. Plus, they talk about what these developments mean for India and Pakistan’s frosty bilateral relationship.

Aqil Shah, “The Shambolic End of Imran Khan,” Foreign Affairs, April 15, 2022.
Aqil Shah, “Pakistan’s ‘Moderate Taliban’ Strategy Won’t Hold Up—For Anyone,” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, September 30, 2021.
Aqil Shah, “Pakistan: Voting Under Military Tutelage,” Journal of Democracy 30, no. 1 (2019): 128-142.

U.S.-India Ties After the ‘2+2’ Summit

podcasts@ceip.org (Joshua White, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 27 Apr 2022 01:00:00 +0000

Two weeks ago, the foreign and defense ministers of the United States and India met in Washington for the fourth annual U.S.-India “2+2” Dialogue. The annual meeting has become an important focal point in the growing partnership between the United States and India, and this year’s edition received even more scrutiny than usual.

For one, it featured a high-level virtual meeting between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and U.S. President Joe Biden. But it also took place against the backdrop of the Russian invasion in Ukraine and tensions in the bilateral relationship over how that conflict should be handled.

To discuss the key takeaways from the 2+2, Milan is joined on the show this week by Joshua White. Josh is associate professor of the practice of South Asia studies at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in Washington and a nonresident fellow in the Foreign Policy program at the Brookings Institution. Josh also has extensive experience working in the U.S. government, having done stints at both the National Security Council and the Pentagon.

Milan and Josh discuss the trajectory of U.S.-India ties under the Biden administration, the big takeaways from the 2+2, and how the two sides are dealing with the thorny issue of Russia-Ukraine. Plus, Josh gives listeners a behind-the-scenes look at putting together a high-level ministerial summit.

Joshua T. White, After the foundational agreements: An agenda for US-India defense and security cooperation(Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution, 2021)
Joshua T. White, “Nonstate threats in the Taliban’s Afghanistan,” February 1, 2022, Brookings Institution, https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2022/02/01/nonstate-threats-in-the-talibans-afghanistan/
Ashley J. Tellis, “‘What Is in Our Interest’: India and the Ukraine War,” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, April 25, 2022.

Making Development Work for the Poor

podcasts@ceip.org (Rajesh Veeraraghavan, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 20 Apr 2022 01:00:00 +0000

One of the most vexed questions in development studies is why the poor often receive such poor government services. The development literature is littered with hundreds—if not thousands—of examples of elite capture, weak state capacity, corruption, and subversion.

But a focus on the failures obscures the fact that, every once in a while, the state does get it right and the top-down and the bottom-up meet in a place that produces positive benefits for ordinary citizens.

How exactly this happens is the subject of a new book by Georgetown University professor Rajesh Veeraraghavan, Patching Development: Information Politics and Social Change in India. Milan and Rajesh discuss how bureaucrats and civil society forged an unlikely partnership in the south Indian state of Andhra Pradesh to implement the world’s largest workfare program at scale. Plus, the two talk about the the role of technology in government, the political economy of India’s National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA), and the limits of transparency.

“Information Politics and Social Change,” Ideas of India (podcast) with Shruti Rajagopalan and Rajesh Veeraraghavan, March 3, 2022.
Philip Keefer and Stuti Khemani, “Why Do the Poor Receive Poor Services?” Economic and Political Weekly 39, no. 9 (2004): 935-943.
Diego Maiorano, “The Politics of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act in Andhra Pradesh,” World Development 58 (2014): 95-105.

Religious Polarization in Karnataka

podcasts@ceip.org (Sugata Srinivasaraju, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 13 Apr 2022 01:00:00 +0000

Over the past two months, the southern Indian state of Karnataka has been the site of significant religious tensions as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government—and Hindu nationalist organizations associated with it—have advanced policies and issued statements that many believe have explicitly targeted Muslims in the state.

From a ban on hijabs in school to calls for boycotting Muslim businesses, we are seeing sharpening religious divisions in the state that is home to India’s biggest technology hub, Bangalore.

To make sense of the latest developments in the state, Milan is joined on the show this week by Sugata Srinivasaraju, a respected political journalist and author who has been covering political developments in Karnataka for decades. Sugata is the author of several books, including Furrows in a Field: The Unexplored Life of H.D. Deve Gowda.

Sugata and Milan discuss the BJP’s rise to prominence in Karnataka—its lone southern stronghold—and the spate of recent controversial developments, from the ban on hijabs in school to calls for boycotting establishments serving halal food. Plus, the two discuss the upcoming 2023 assembly elections, the BJP’s dilemma, and the fractures within the political opposition.

Sugata Srinivasaraju, “Balancing Opinion And Diverting Attention,” New Indian Express, April 7, 2022.
Soutik Biswas, “Bangalore: How polarisation is dividing India's Silicon Valley,” BBC, April 7, 2022.
Pooja Prasanna, “Karnataka’s Hindutva hate politics: Blame it on a weak CM and an edgy Opposition,” The News Minute, April 6, 2022.

Democracy and Anti-Corruption Protests in India

podcasts@ceip.org (Bilal Baloch, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 6 Apr 2022 01:00:00 +0000

When Ideas Matter: Democracy and Corruption in India is the title of a new book by the author Bilal Baloch. The book provides a framework for understanding how governments respond to credibility crises.

We all know that governments act in their own interests—but what are those interests? How are they defined? And where do they come from?

These are the questions that Bilal explores in his new book, through an examination of two seminal crises in Indian history: Indira Gandhi’s response to the JP movement in the mid-1970s and the UPA government’s reaction to the India Against Corruption movement a decade ago.

Milan and Bilal discuss the role ideas play in shaping government policy during acute crises, the relevance of ideas in interpreting India’s response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the factional divisions that exist within the Modi government. Plus, the two discuss Bilal’s new career as a tech start-up entrepreneur.

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.

Russia, China, and Pivotal State Elections

podcasts@ceip.org (Milan Vaishnav, Sadanand Dhume, Tanvi Madan) — Wed, 30 Mar 2022 01:00:00 +0000

The last few weeks have seen a flurry of activity on the Indian politics and policy front. India has found itself front and center in the Ukraine crisis as it has repeatedly abstained from condemning the Russian invasion. Last week, in a visit that had tongues wagging, the Indian and Chinese foreign ministers met in New Delhi in the first high-level summit in two years. And, we’ve closed the books on five key state elections across the country—in which the ruling Bharaitiya Janata Party (BJP) emerged as victor in four of five contests.

To discuss all of the latest developments out of India, Milan is joined by Grand Tamasha news round-up regulars Sadanand Dhume (American Enterprise Institute and the Wall Street Journal) and Tanvi Madan (Brookings Institution).

The trio discuss India’s evolving stance on the Russian invasion, Wang Yi’s surprise visit to India, and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s future. Plus, the three discuss what under-reported stories Grand Tamasha listeners should be paying attention to.

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.

How to Fix India’s Water Crisis

podcasts@ceip.org (Mridula Ramesh, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 23 Mar 2022 01:00:00 +0000

“Water is everywhere—in the highest mountains, in the deepest ocean, in the Ganga, in sewers, within you, and in the air. But the glass of water in front of you is precious because it requires India’s volatile, varied water to be harnessed and brought to your home.”

This is one of the main insights of a new book, Watershed: How We Destroyed India’s Water and How We Can Save It, by the author Mridula Ramesh. Ramesh is the founder of the Sundaram Climate Institute, a cleantech investor, and a leading public voice in India’s water and climate debates.

Milan sits down with Mridula this week to discuss her 360-degree perspective on India’s water woes and how they can be addressed. The two discuss the origins of India’s water crisis, the role of agriculture, and how ordinary citizens and civil society groups can be part of the solution rather than part of the problem.

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.

The Road to the 2024 Election Starts Now

podcasts@ceip.org (Sunetra Choudhury, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 16 Mar 2022 01:00:00 +0000

Last week, the results of five assembly elections were announced and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of Prime Minister Narendra Modi claimed impressive victories in four out of five contests—notching wins in Goa, Manipur, Uttarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh.

In the state of Punjab, the upstart Aam Aadmi Party won a stunning victory that saw the demise of a whole slew of politicians with household names. The Congress Party, for its part, saw its fortunes diminish to an all-time low.

To discuss the drivers of these results—and the impact they have on politics and policy, this week Milan is joined by Sunetra Choudhury, national political editor of the Hindustan Times and a veteran political analyst.

Milan and Sunetra discuss the fate of Mandal politics, the future of the Congress, and the position of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. Plus, the two discuss the political and policy impacts of these elections as India turns its attention to the 2024 general election.

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.

How Will the Ukraine Crisis Impact India’s Economy?

podcasts@ceip.org (Sajjid Chinoy, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 9 Mar 2022 02:00:00 +0000

This week, the Indian government revealed that India’s economy expanded by 5.4 percent in the third quarter of the current fiscal year, which was well below market expectations. The latest GDP print raises fresh questions about the health of the Indian economy at a time when global headwinds are starting to pick up. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the spike in oil and other commodity prices, and persistent inflation all pose serious risks to India’s macroeconomic outlook.

This week on the podcast, Milan sits down with economist Sajjid Chinoy to discuss how India might weather these external shocks. Sajjid is chief India economist at JP Morgan and one of the most respected voices on the Indian macroeconomy. Milan and Sajjid discuss India’s policy trade-offs, the latest underwhelming GDP numbers, and India’s progress on asset sales. Plus, Milan asks Sajjid about the reforms needed to boost India’s long-term growth outlook.

Episode notes:

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.

India's High-Wire Act on Russia-Ukraine

podcasts@ceip.org (Raji Rajagopalan, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 2 Mar 2022 02:00:00 +0000

Late last week, Russia launched a full-scale military invasion of Ukraine, deploying the might of the Russian military to conduct a hostile takeover of its sovereign neighbor. Over the past few days, India’s role has received significant attention as it has neither condoned Russia’s behavior nor condemned it in the strongest terms.

India has a long strategic relationship with Russia that it can ill afford to rupture when it has thousands of Chinese troops on its northern border. At the same time, there are increasing calls from the West for India to “get off the fence.”

This week on the show, Milan sits down with strategic affairs expert Dr. Rajeswari (Raji) Pillai Rajagopalan to talk about the ongoing Ukraine crisis. Dr. Rajagopalan is the director of the Centre for Security, Strategy and Technology at the Observer Research Foundation in New Delhi. She has extensive experience—both inside and outside of government—on matters of Indian foreign policy and national security.

Milan and Raji discuss the history of India-Russia relations, the extent of shared defense ties, and the friction that has developed in the relationship. Plus, the two discuss India’s tight-rope walk on Ukraine and the ramifications of the crisis for the Indo-Pacific.

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.

Nehru's Long Shadow Over India

podcasts@ceip.org (Adeel Hussain, Tripurdaman Singh, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 23 Feb 2022 02:00:00 +0000

India’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, died nearly six decades ago, but it is remarkable how much his legacy continues to color modern Indian life.

From the border dispute with China to debates over fundamental rights and Hindu-Muslim relations, the current policy discourse in India cannot be disentangled from Nehru’s own ideological convictions and those who did battle against him.

A new book by Adeel Hussain and Tripurdaman Singh, Nehru: The Debates That Defined India, shines a spotlight on four consequential debates that Nehru engaged in that get to the heart of the Indian polity. The authors join Milan on the show this week to discuss Nehru’s enduring legacy, his intellectual sparring partners, and contentious debates over nationalism, communalism, civil liberties, and foreign policy.

“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.

Breaking Down India’s Budget

podcasts@ceip.org (Roshan Kishore, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 16 Feb 2022 02:00:00 +0000

On February 1, the Union government presented its budget for the upcoming fiscal year—setting the tone for its midterm pivot as the government turns toward 2024 and the end of its second term in office. What are the biggest takeaways from this year’s budget? How did the markets receive it? And what does it tell us about India’s uncertain economic recovery?

To discuss these questions and much more, Milan is joined on the podcast this week by Roshan Kishore, data and political economy editor at the Hindustan Times.

Milan and Roshan discuss India’s macroeconomic context, the government’s long-term growth strategy, and lagging private demand. Plus, the two discuss potential headwinds arising from the global economy and the debate over India’s long-term trend growth rate.

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.

Encore: How Shah Rukh Khan Inspires Female Empowerment

podcasts@ceip.org (Shrayana Bhattacharya, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 9 Feb 2022 02:00:00 +0000

Due to scheduling conflicts, there is no new episode of Grand Tamasha this week. A new episode of Grand Tamasha will air next Tuesday at 9:00 PM EST/Wednesday 7:30 AM IST.

Most of our listeners do not need an introduction to the Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan. You’ve watched his movies. You’ve sung the songs his films have popularized. You might even have had his poster on your wall growing up.

A new book by the economist Shrayana Bhattacharya, Desperately Seeking Shah Rukh: India's Lonely Young Women and the Search for Intimacy and Independence, describes another role that Shah Rukh has fulfilled: he has been the north star for women across India as they search for intimacy, independence, and empowerment.

Shrayana joins Milan on the podcast to discuss her new book—which is part economics tract, part reportage, part social commentary, and part feminist call to arms. Milan and Shrayana discuss how Shah Rukh has become a female (but not feminist) icon, the economics behind the lack of women’s agency in India, and her own struggles with love and loneliness. Plus, the two discuss the mysteries of the Delhi social scene and the ways government policy can help challenge conservative, patriarchal social norms.

K.X. Ronnie, “Interview, Shrayana Bhattacharya, author, Desperately Seeking Shah Rukh – “I’m a loud and proud feminist economist,” Hindustan Times, November 27, 2021.
Devesh Kapur, Neelanjan Sircar, and Milan Vaishnav, “Introduction to e-Symposium: Urbanisation, gender, and social change in north India,” Ideas for India, December 6, 2021.
Milan Vaishnav, “Women and work: How much does measurement matter?” Ideas for India, May 10, 2021.
Ruth Pollard, “What a Bollywood Megastar Means for Women in India,” Bloomberg, December 9, 2021.

India’s Future in a Changing Global Order

Wed, 2 Feb 2022 02:00:00 +0000

India’s Path to Power: Strategy in a World Adrift is a manifesto written by eight of India’s leading public intellectuals that seeks to chart a future course for Indian’s foreign policy. But, unlike most foreign policy reports, it delves into thorny issues of economics, climate change, global governance, and India’s domestic politics.

This week on the show, Milan is joined by one of the report’s key authors, Ambassador Shivshankar Menon. Ambassador Menon is a distinguished fellow at the Centre for Social and Economic Progress in New Delhi and has had a long and distinguished career in government—serving as national security advisor, foreign secretary, and high commissioner to China and Pakistan, among other notable positions.

Milan and Ambassador Menon discuss the India-China-U.S. triangle, the fate of India’s “Neighborhood First” policy, and the state of civil-military relations. Plus, the two talk about the centrality of democracy at home to India’s power projection abroad.

Episode notes:

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.

Can India Beat COVID in 2022?

podcasts@ceip.org (Sukumar Ranganathan, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 26 Jan 2022 02:00:00 +0000

On Sunday, January 23, India reported more than 333,000 active COVID cases while the official number of fatalities surpassed 500 deaths. What is the state of COVID in India today? What lessons has this pandemic imparted? And what, if anything, does COVID mean for the future of economics and politics in the country.

To discuss these questions and to kick off the seventh season of the podcast, Milan speaks with Sukumar Ranganathan, editor-in-chief of the Hindustan Times, on the show this week.

Milan asks Sukumar to assess India’s COVID response, the impact the pandemic has had on federalism, and whether India’s economy has turned a corner. Plus, Milan and Sukumar discuss whether COVID has fundamentally changed India’s future economic and political trajectories.

Sukumar Ranganathan, “In 2022, what India must do to learn to live with Covid,” Hindustan Times, December 11, 2021.
“Anup Malani on India’s COVID Second Wave,” Grand Tamasha, April 27, 2021.
“Niha Masih on Reporting on India's COVID-19 Crisis,” Grand Tamasha, June 16, 2021

The State, the Economy, and the Art of Podcasting

podcasts@ceip.org (Shruti Rajagopalan, Amit Varma, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 22 Dec 2021 02:00:00 +0000

This week, we conclude Season Six of Grand Tamasha with a bang. Before Milan was a podcast host, he was a podcast consumer. And two of his favorite India podcasts are “The Seen and the Unseen” with Amit Varma and “Ideas of India” with Shruti Rajagopalan. So, what better way to end our season than with a massive mash-up of three leading India podcasts.

Amit and Shruti join Milan on the show this week to discuss the relevance of Lant Pritchett’s popular characterization of India as a “flailing state” and whether there is such a thing as the “Modi economic doctrine” eight years into his prime ministership. Plus, the three discuss the art and science of podcasting.

Grand Tamasha will be taking a little holiday break, but we will be back in late January with a new season of insightful conversations on Indian politics and policy. Stay tuned for more information about our new season!

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.”

How Shah Rukh Khan Inspires Female Empowerment

podcasts@ceip.org (Shrayana Bhattacharya, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 15 Dec 2021 02:00:00 +0000

K.X. Ronnie, “Interview, Shrayana Bhattacharya, author, Desperately Seeking Shah Rukh – “I’m a loud and proud feminist economist,” Hindustan Times, November 27, 2021.
Devesh Kapur, Neelanjan Sircar, and Milan Vaishnav, “Introduction to e-Symposium: Urbanisation, gender, and social change in north India,” Ideas for India, December 6, 2021.
Milan Vaishnav, “Women and work: How much does measurement matter?” Ideas for India, May 10, 2021.
Ruth Pollard, “What a Bollywood Megastar Means for Women in India,” Bloomberg, December 9, 2021.

Tibet: India and China's 'Three-Body Problem' in the Himalayas

podcasts@ceip.org (Nirupama Rao, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 8 Dec 2021 02:00:00 +0000

Ambassador Nirupama Rao has had the kind of career that every Indian Foreign Service aspirant dreams of. In 2011, she retired as foreign secretary to the Government of India, the most senior position in the foreign service. She has served as spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs, ambassador to Sri Lanka, ambassador to China, and ambassador to the United States of America.

She is also the author of a new book, The Fractured Himalaya: India Tibet China, 1949-62. The book is a deep dive into one of the most consequential periods of India-China relations—a period whose repercussions are felt even today.

Ambassador Rao joins Milan on the podcast this week to discuss Nehru’s long fascination with China, his inability to settle India’s border dispute with China, and his “flawed heroic” character. Plus, the two discuss the current state of border tensions and the deep roots of China’s infrastructure advantage in the Himalayas.

“Pallavi Raghavan on an Alternative History of India-Pakistan Relations,” Grand Tamasha, April 7, 2020.
“Modi's Farm Law Reversal, India-China, and Trade Policy,” Grand Tamasha, November 23, 2021.
“Kanti Bajpai on Why China and India Are Not Friends,” Grand Tamasha, July 6, 2021.
C. Raja Mohan, “Nirupama Rao’s latest book, The Fractured Himalaya, is a lucid account of Sino-Indian relations,” Indian Express, November 7, 2021.

Unpacking the Modi Government's Farm Law Reversal

podcasts@ceip.org (Harish Damodaran, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 1 Dec 2021 02:00:00 +0000

In September 2020, India’s Parliament passed three farm reform bills that the government claimed would radically change the way in which agriculture was practiced in the country. Yet, just over twelve months later, the same government announced its intention to repeal those laws—a major concession to large-scale, dogged protests launched by farmers in northern India.

The repeal of the farm reform laws, hailed by many observers as a short-term victory for struggling farmers, has also raised complex questions about the future of agriculture in a rapidly urbanizing India. To consider some of these questions, Milan is joined on the podcast this week by Harish Damodaran. Harish is a senior fellow at the Centre for Policy Research in Delhi, where he is enjoying a sabbatical from his day job as national rural affairs and agriculture editor at The Indian Express.

Harish and Milan talk about the state of Indian agriculture, the motivations behind the farm reform laws, and the complex reasons the government eventually withdrew them. Plus, the two discuss the next stage of farmers’ demands and what this setback does to the larger push for agrarian reform.

Harish Damodaran, “In burying farm laws, Govt may have held off demand for right to MSP,” Indian Express, November 20, 2021.
Harish Damodaran, “Farm Bills 2020: Actual text vs perception,” Indian Express, September 21, 2020.
Mukulika Banerjee, “The Rural Roots of Citizenship and Democracy in India,” Grand Tamasha, November 9, 2021.
Yamini Aiyar and Mekhala Krishnamurthy, “The farm laws: Why this is not a 1991 moment,” Hindustan Times, November 26, 2021.

Modi's Farm Law Reversal, India-China, and Trade Policy

podcasts@ceip.org (Milan Vaishnav, Tanvi Madan, Sadanand Dhume) — Wed, 24 Nov 2021 02:00:00 +0000

We are nearly done with our sixth season of Grand Tamasha and we have been shamefully overdue in scheduling a news round-up for the Fall.

To set things straight and to discuss the latest news coming out of India, Milan is joined on the podcast this week by Grand Tamasha regulars Sadanand Dhume of AEI and the Wall Street Journal and Tanvi Madan of the Brookings Institution.

The three discuss the Modi government’s abrupt about-turn on the farm law bills, the perilous state of China-India relations, and new murmurs out of Delhi on the trade policy front. Plus, Tanvi, Sadanand, and Milan discuss three stories coming out of India that podcast regulars should be following.

Sadanand Dhume, “Farmers Will Reap the Benefits of Modi’s Reforms,” Wall Street Journal, October 1, 2020.
Sadanand Dhume, “What New Delhi Needs to Stand Up to Beijing,” Wall Street Journal, November 11, 2021.
Tanvi Madan, “Major Power Rivalry in South Asia,” Council on Foreign Relations, October 2021.

What COP26 Means for India—and the World

podcasts@ceip.org (Milan Vaishnav, Navroz Dubash) — Wed, 17 Nov 2021 02:00:00 +0000

After two, torturous weeks of around-the-clock negotiations at the COP26 Summit in Glasgow, Scotland, diplomats from nearly 200 countries agreed to accelerate their commitments to reduce carbon emissions, phase out fossil fuels, and ramp up aid to poor countries, many of whom are the biggest victims of the climate crisis.

However, not everyone is pleased with the outcome in Glasgow. Climate experts point out that the accord will not put the world on track to avoid catastrophic warming beyond 1.5 degrees Celsius.

To discuss the Glasgow accord, India’s commitments, and the questions that remain, Milan is joined on the show this week by Navroz Dubash, a professor at the Centre for Policy Research in New Delhi and a veteran energy and climate scholar, policy adviser, and activist.

Navroz and Milan discuss the big takeaways from COP26, India’s surprise net-zero pledge, and an eleventh hour fracas over language on coal. Plus, the two discuss the credibility deficit plaguing the United States’ climate diplomacy.

Jayant Sinha, “How India Can Get to Net Zero Emissions,” Grand Tamasha, October 12, 2021.
Navroz Dubash, “Understanding India’s climate pledges,” Hindustan Times, November 12, 2021.
Navroz Dubash, “Unlocking climate action in Indian federalism,” Hindustan Times, August 11, 2021.

The Rural Roots of Citizenship and Democracy in India

podcasts@ceip.org (Mukulika Banerjee, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 10 Nov 2021 02:00:00 +0000

For more than fifteen years, the scholar Mukulika Banerjee has been deeply embedded in the social and political life of two villages in the state of West Bengal—studying developments there, both during elections and between them. Her new book, “Cultivating Democracy: Politics and Citizenship in Agrarian India,” is a deeply researched study of Indian democracy that shows how agrarian life creates values of citizenship and active engagement that are essential for the cultivation of democracy.

Mukulika Banerjee is an associate professor in social anthropology at the London School of Economics, and she joins Milan on the podcast this week to discuss the importance of India’s status as a “republic,” what B.R. Ambedkar got wrong about rural life, and popular misconceptions about agriculture. Plus, the two discuss the evolution of Bengali politics and the regional roots of illiberalism.

Mukulika Banerjee, “Elections as Communitas,” Social Research, Spring 2011.
Mukulika Banerjee, “A small ‘feastie’ in a Republic’s anniversary,” Indian Express, January 26, 2020.
Pradeep K. Chhibber and Amit Ahuja, “Why the Poor Vote in India: 'If I Don't Vote, I Am Dead to the State,’” Studies in International Comparative Development, 2012.
Christophe Jaffrelot, “Narendra Modi and India's New Political System,” Grand Tamasha, October 5, 2021.

How the Pulwama Case was Cracked

podcasts@ceip.org (Rahul Pandita, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 3 Nov 2021 01:00:00 +0000

On February 14, 2019, a suicide bomber crashed into an Indian paramilitary convoy in Pulwama, Kashmir, killing forty Indian soldiers. The attack was the deadliest assault on Indian security personnel in Kashmir in three decades and captured the attention of domestic and international headlines. It also led to a nationalist fervor that fueled, in part, the BJP’s dramatic reelection just months later in the 2019 general election.

How did the attack take place? Who were the masterminds of the operation? And how does this attack fit into a decades-long story of terrorism, militancy, and spycraft that has come to define the contemporary politics of Kashmir? These questions are clinically addressed in a new book by the journalist Rahul Pandita, The Lover Boy of Bahawalpur: How the Pulwama Case was Cracked.

This week, Rahul joins Milan on the show to discuss the inside story of the Pulwama attacks, the Indian investigation into the attack’s masterminds, and India’s retaliatory airstrikes on Pakistani territory. Plus, the two discuss the legacy of the Modi government’s abrogation of Article 370 and the nature of the terrorism threat in Kashmir today.

Episode notes:

“Rahul Pandita on Kashmir: ‘You can leave Kashmir but Kashmir never leaves you,’” Grand Tamasha, August 29, 2021.
Adrian Levy, “Inside the Secret World of South Asia's Spies,” Grand Tamasha, October 26, 2021.
Rahul Pandita, “Kashmir’s New Insurgency,” Open Magazine, October 22, 2021.
Rahul Pandita, “The Usual Suspects,” Open Magazine, September 10, 2021.

Inside the Secret World of South Asia's Spies

podcasts@ceip.org (adrian levy, milan vaishnav) — Wed, 27 Oct 2021 01:00:00 +0000

Spy Stories: Inside the Secret World of the RAW and the ISI is the brand new book by investigative journalists Adrian Levy and Cathy Scott-Clark. Spy Stories relies on unprecedented access to top military and intelligence officials in both India and Pakistan to shed light on some of the most consequential crises in recent South Asian history—from the 2001 attack on the Indian Parliament, to the 2011 killing of Osama bin Laden, and the suicide bombing in Pulwama on the eve of India’s 2019 general election.

This week on the show, Milan sits down with Levy to discuss the secret world of South Asia’s top spies. The two discuss the different trajectories of the ISI and RAW, the defining character of India’s current National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, the roots of turmoil in Kashmir, and the long shadow of the IC 814 hijacking. Plus, Milan asks Adrian about the terror outlook for India in the wake of America’s Afghanistan exit.

“What the Taliban Takeover Means for India,” Grand Tamasha, September 14, 2021.
Adrian Levy and Cathy Scott-Clark, The Siege: The Attack on the Taj (Penguin, 2013).
Aqil Shah, “How Will the Taliban Deal With Other Islamic Extremist Groups?” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, August 31, 2021.

Joanna Slater on the Pivotal Stories She Covered in India for the Washington Post

podcasts@ceip.org (Milan Vaishnav, Joanna Slater) — Wed, 20 Oct 2021 01:00:00 +0000

Joanna Slater is a veteran journalist who served as the Washington Post India bureau chief based in New Delhi from 2018-2021. She was posted there during one of the most consequential periods in recent Indian history—covering the 2019 general elections, the abrogation of Article 370 in Kashmir, the COVID-19 pandemic, the Pegasus hacking revelations, and much more.

This week on the show, Joanna joins Milan to talk about her tenure in New Delhi and what she learned on the job.

The two discuss Joanna’s long history with India, the constraints journalists face while carrying out their jobs, and what it was like to cover some of the biggest stories in recent years from the ground. Plus, the two discuss how Joanna met her future husband on the set of a Bollywood hit movie starring Aamir Khan and the India story that Joanna still dreams about.

“Niha Masih on Reporting on India’s COVID-19 Crisis,” Grand Tamasha, June 15, 2021.
Joanna Slater and Niha Masih, “The spyware is sold to governments to fight terrorism. In India, it was used to hack journalists and others,” Washington Post, July 19, 2021.
Joanna Slater and Shams Irfan, “Inside a Delhi hospital, oxygen runs fatally short as covid cases mount,” Washington Post, April 24, 2021.
Niha Masih and Joanna Slater, “They were accused of plotting to overthrow the Modi government. The evidence was planted, a new report says,” Washington Post, February 10, 2021.
Joanna Slater, “A young Indian couple married for love. Then the bride’s father hired assassins,” Washington Post, August 19, 2019.
Joanna Slater, “In Modi’s move on Kashmir, a road map for his ‘new India,’” Washington Post, August 15, 2019.
Joanna Slater, “In the world’s biggest election, India’s Narendra Modi pushes fear over hope,” Washington Post, April 11, 2019.

How India Can Get to Net Zero Emissions

podcasts@ceip.org (Jayant Sinha, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 13 Oct 2021 01:00:00 +0000

In a few weeks, climate negotiators from around the world will descend on Glasgow, Scotland, for the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as COP 26.

Amid dire warnings from climate scientists about our warming planet and desperate calls for stepped-up action, India finds itself at the center of the conversation. At home, Indians are debating how to tackle climate change without hampering an economy that has started to slowly recover from the COVID pandemic.

To discuss India’s options and the path forward, Milan is joined on this week’s show by Jayant Sinha, a key figure in India’s ongoing climate change debate. Jayant is a member of Parliament from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the chairperson for the Standing Committee on Finance. He’s also authored or co-authored several publications advocating for India to adopt a net-zero approach.

Milan and Jayant discuss possible pathways for India’s future carbon emissions, the arguments for and against a net-zero approach, and what lessons India can draw from international experience. Plus, the two discuss what responsibilities countries like the United State have when it comes to helping India and other developing countries address the climate challenge.

Chloe Farand, “Indian lawmaker submits private bill to achieve net zero emissions by 2050,” Climate Home News, March 18, 2021.
Jayant Sinha, “India's search for greener pastures should end in a climate change law,” Economic Times, March 10, 2021
Jayant Sinha et al., Getting to the Green Frontier, Observer Research Foundation, 2020.
Jayant Sinha and Anshu Bhardwaj, “The many paths to a greener future,” Business Standard, July 22, 2021

Narendra Modi and India's New Political System

podcasts@ceip.org (Christophe Jaffrelot, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 6 Oct 2021 01:00:00 +0000

French political scientist Christophe Jaffrelot’s new book, Modi’s India: Hindu Nationalism and the Rise of Ethnic Democracy, is a comprehensive exploration of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi—its origins, policies, philosophy, and relationship to democracy.

Patrick Heller of Brown University calls the book “the most detailed, theoretically sophisticated, and comprehensive analysis of the rise of Modi’s BJP as a dominant electoral force.”

Christophe joins Milan on the podcast to talk about Modi’s rise to national prominence, his relationship with the Sangh Parivar, and the constraints that exist on his power. Plus, the two discuss the state of individual freedoms in India today and why Christophe believes that the BJP dominance under Modi represents a new political system in India, rather than just a new party system.

Episode notes:

Christophe Jaffrelot and Pratinav Anil, India’s First Dictatorship: The Emergency, 1975-77 (Oxford University Press, 2021).
Angana P. Chatterji, Thomas Blom Hansen, and Christophe Jaffrelot, eds., Majoritarian State: How Hindu Nationalism is Changing India (Oxford University Press, 2019).
“Christophe Jaffrelot on India’s First Dictatorship,” Grand Tamasha, April 13, 2021.

The Looming Cloud of Sanctions Over U.S.-India Relations

podcasts@ceip.org (Milan Vaishnav, Sameer Lalwani) — Wed, 29 Sep 2021 01:00:00 +0000

Last week, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi made his maiden visit to Washington under the new Biden administration. It was all sunlight and good vibes and—for a week—American and Indian policymakers ignored the fact that a darkening cloud is gathering over U.S.-India relations in the form of potential U.S. sanctions.

Milan’s guest on the show this week, political scientist Sameer Lalwani, thinks that this threat of sanctions is very much real. Sameer is a senior fellow in Asia strategy at the Stimson Center in Washington and an expert on issues ranging from nuclear deterrence to national security decision and counterinsurgency.

Sameer and Milan discuss how India might run afoul of the U.S. Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), what the Biden administration might do to avoid a crisis in bilateral relations, and how India might help its own case. Plus, the two discuss how the fallout in Afghanistan will affect India-Pakistan relations and the prospect of future violence between the two nuclear-armed neighbors.

Sameer Lalwani, “What India can do to avoid US sanctions over Russia,” Hindustan Times, September 22, 2021.
Sameer Lalwani, “Strategizing to Exit Afghanistan: From Risk Avoidance to Risk Management,” War on the Rocks, March 29, 2021.
Sameer Lalwani and Tyler Sagerstrom, “What the India–Russia Defence Partnership Means for US Policy,” Survival (2021).
Sameer Lalwani, Frank O’Donnell, Tyler Sagerstrom, and Akriti Vasudeva, “The Influence of Arms: Explaining the Durability of India–Russia Alignment,” Journal of Indo-Pacific Affairs, January 15, 2021.
Sameer Lalwani, “America Can’t Ignore the Next Indo-Pakistani Crisis,” War on the Rocks, February 26, 2021.
Ashley J. Tellis, “The Biden-Modi Summit and the Future of U.S.-India Relations,” Grand Tamasha, September 21, 2021.

The Biden-Modi Summit and the Future of U.S.-India Relations

podcasts@ceip.org (Ashley J Tellis, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 22 Sep 2021 01:00:00 +0000

This week, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives in Washington for his first in-person meeting in the American capital with U.S. President Joe Biden. Modi, Biden, and the leaders of Australia and Japan will also be gathering for an in-person edition of the Quad Leader’s summit.

To understand what’s on the agenda and what it means for the United States and for India, Milan is joined this week by Ashley J. Tellis. Ashley holds the Tata Chair for Strategic Affairs and is a senior fellow at Carnegie.

Milan and Ashley discuss the agenda for the coming Biden-Modi summit, turbulence in U.S.-India relations, and whether the Quad is paying dividends. Plus, the two speak about the impact of regime change in Afghanistan on India, on U.S.-Pakistan ties, and the future of U.S.-India cooperation in the region.

Evan S. Medeiros and Ashley J. Tellis, “Regime Change Is Not an Option in China,” Foreign Affairs, July 8, 2021.
Ashley J. Tellis, “Well Begun Is Half Done? Managing U.S.-India Relations,” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, April 27, 2021.
Ashley J. Tellis interview with Karan Thapar, “Taliban Win Big Setback for India but India’s Importance for US Has Sharply Increased,”The Wire, September 7, 2021.

What the Taliban Takeover Means for India

podcasts@ceip.org (Avinash Paliwal, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 15 Sep 2021 01:00:00 +0000

It’s been a month since the fall of Kabul and the sudden Taliban takeover of Afghanistan. In the intervening weeks, policymakers the world over have been scrambling to understand the reasons for the sudden collapse of the Afghan government, the real aims of the new Taliban regime, and the geopolitical implications of this crisis for the region AND for the world.

To kick off the sixth season of Grand Tamasha, this week Milan is joined by Avinash Paliwal to discuss what these developments mean for India. Avinash is a senior lecturer in international relations and deputy director of the SOAS South Asia Institute. His book, My Enemy’s Enemy: India in Afghanistan from the Soviet Invasion to the US Withdrawal, is one of the best guides we have to understanding India’s role in Afghanistan.

Milan speaks with Avinash about the notion of a “Taliban 2.0”, the composition of the new Taliban government, the divisions within the Pakistani establishment, and India’s back-channel talks with the Taliban. Plus, the two of them discuss what the crisis means for U.S.-India relations and India’s counterterrorism priorities.

Episode notes:

Avinash Paliwal, “A strategic shock for the subcontinent,” Hindustan Times, August 25, 2021.
Stephanie Findlay and Amy Kazmin, “Taliban cabinet shows west has little leverage over Afghanistan’s new rulers,” Financial Times, September 8, 2021.
Devirupa Mitra, “India's New Visa Policy for Afghans Is in Limbo, Leaving Thousands Tense,” The Wire, September 7, 2021.
Amy Kazmin, “Taliban mount charm offensive to win Afghans’ trust,” Financial Times, September 3, 2021.

Kanti Bajpai on Why China and India Are Not Friends

podcasts@ceip.org (Kanti Bajpai, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 7 Jul 2021 01:00:00 +0000

One year ago, Chinese and Indian forces traded blows in the remote Galwan Valley—resulting in the first deaths along the Line of Actual Control since 1975. Months later, India would be hit by the coronavirus, whose precise origin story in China we still do not fully understand. Indian public opinion towards China has soured and Beijing has nervously watched India double-down on its engagement with the so-called “Quad.”

It’s against this backdrop that the scholar Kanti Bajpai has released a timely new book, India Versus China: Why They Are Not Friends. Kanti is the Director of the Centre on Asia and Globalisation and Wilmar Professor of Asian Studies at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in Singapore and he joins Milan on the podcast this week.

The two discuss the untold pre-history of the Chinese-Indian rivalry, the sources of the trust deficit between the two countries, and China’s surprising soft power advantage. Plus, the two discuss possible scenarios for China-India conflict and India’s pressing domestic reforms agenda.

Grand Tamasha, “Darshana Baruah on the Indian Ocean Imperative,” April 6, 2021
Grand Tamasha, “Ananth Krishnan on What China’s Rise Means for India,” October 20, 2020
Grand Tamasha, “Ashley J. Tellis on India’s China Conundrum,” September 22, 2020
“Off the Cuff with Kanti Bajpai,” ThePrint
Kanti Bajpai, “Why does China consistently beat India on soft power?” Indian Express, June 23, 2021

Neha Sahgal on Religion and Identity in Contemporary India

podcasts@ceip.org (neha sahgal, milan vaishnav) — Wed, 30 Jun 2021 01:00:00 +0000

Over the last two-and-a-half years, Milan and his guests have spent a lot of time on the podcast talking about some of the biggest questions facing Indian society. What is driving an increase in religious nationalism? To what extent is religious intolerance on the rise? Is caste morphing from a marker of hierarchy to a marker of difference? And what, if anything, does it mean to be truly Indian?

These are just some of the questions a landmark new study by the Pew Research Center—released today—asks and answers, drawing on an important new survey of religion, identity, and belonging. On the show this week, Milan is joined by Neha Sahgal, associate director of research at Pew and one of the lead investigators of this new work.

Milan and Neha discuss the coexistence of religious tolerance and religious segregation in India, the salience of caste identity and Hindu nationalism, and the evidence for “secularization theory.” Plus, the two discuss why South India is an outlier in many respects and what larger lessons the study holds for Indian democracy.

Neha Sahgal et al,"Religion in India: Tolerance and Segregation," Pew Research Center.

Arora Akanksha on Her Unlikely Quest to Run the United Nations

podcasts@ceip.org (arora akanksha, milan vaishnav) — Wed, 23 Jun 2021 01:00:00 +0000

Note: Milan’s interview with Arora Akanksha took place on June 18. On June 19, the United Nations General Assembly formally approved a second term for the incumbent António Guterres—officially bringing the selection process to a close.

Earlier this month, the United Nations Security Council recommended the reelection of António Guterres as secretary-general, virtually assuring the Portuguese leader a second term at the helm of one of the world’s most consequential bodies.

But not everyone is standing by to coronate Mr. Guterres. Arora Akanksha—a Canadian citizen of Indian heritage—is running an insurgent campaign to unseat the incumbent Secretary-General. Her campaign has attracted attention—not only for its boldness—but also because Ms. Akanksha has spent the last several years toiling inside the UN and has been unafraid to call out its shortcomings from within.

Arora joins Milan on the podcast this week. The two of them discuss her north Indian roots, circuitous path to the UN, and unlikely decision to run for the UN’s top job. Plus, the two discuss Arora’s diagnosis of what ails the UN and her priorities for reform.

Rick Gladstone, “Who Is Arora Akanksha, the 34-Year-Old Running for U.N. Secretary General?” New York Times
Adam Iscoe, “On the Secret Campaign Trail to Lead the U.N.” New Yorker
Stephanie Fillion, “A Millennial UN Staffer Who Is Daring to Run Against Secretary-General António Guterres,” PassBlue

Niha Masih on Reporting on India's COVID-19 Crisis

podcasts@ceip.org (milan vaishnav, niha masih) — Wed, 16 Jun 2021 01:00:00 +0000

In India, there are growing signs that the country is slowly exiting the second wave of the COVID crisis as people get back to work, localities lift lockdown restrictions, and markets reopen. But the second wave leaves behind a trail of devastation, loss, and widespread anger. And Indians may not have much time to enjoy a return to normalcy, as government officials are already warning of a third wave of the virus.

To discuss where things stand in India today, Milan is joined Niha Masih, a Delhi-based correspondent for the Washington Post. Niha reflects on her family’s struggle with the COVID-19 pandemic, the mental toll the pandemic has taken, and the under-reported challenges rural India faces. Plus, the two discuss the Indian government’s new vaccine policy and the political implications of the crisis for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Niha Masih, “My whole family was infected in India’s devastating coronavirus surge. Not all survived,” Washington Post
Niha Masih and Taniya Dutta, “As India’s pandemic surge eases, a race begins to prepare for a possible next wave,” Washington Post
Niha Masih, “India’s coronavirus crisis spreads to its villages, where health care is hard to find,” Washington Post
Joanna Slater, Niha Masih, and Shams Irfan, “In an Indian city, obituaries reveal missing coronavirus deaths and untold suffering,” Washington Post
Joanna Slater and Niha Masih, “In India’s devastating coronavirus surge, anger at Modi grows,” Washington Post
Milan Vaishnav, “Will voters hold Modi to account for India’s covid-19 crisis? Don’t bet on it,” Washington Post
“Sadanand Dhume and Tanvi Madan on the political and foreign policy ramifications of India's COVID second wave,” Grand Tamasha
“Samanth Subramanian on India’s Vaccine Conundrum,” Grand Tamasha
“Anup Malani on India’s COVID Second Wave,” Grand Tamasha

Sumitra Badrinathan, Devesh Kapur, and Jonathan Kay on How Indian Americans Live

podcasts@ceip.org (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace) — Wed, 9 Jun 2021 01:00:00 +0000

A troubling surge in hate crimes and discrimination targeting Asian Americans has hit the headlines in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The violence has cast a newfound spotlight on the bigotry many Asian immigrant populations experience in the United States.

While Indian Americans have not borne the brunt of the discrimination of the COVID era, the community is no stranger to prejudice. A new study by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Johns Hopkins-SAIS, and the University of Pennsylvania looks at the question of discrimination and the broader social realities of the Indian diaspora of the United States.

Milan is a co-author of this study, and this week he sits down with his fellow co-authors—Sumitra Badrinathan, Devesh Kapur, and Jonathan Kay—to discuss the report’s findings. They discuss the degree of everyday discrimination Indian Americans face, the connection between polarization in India and divisions in the United States, and the ways in which divides in the diaspora could affect U.S.-India relations. Plus, the group reflects on larger issues of identity, social networks, and belonging in the Indian diaspora.

Episode notes:

Sumitra Badrinathan, Devesh Kapur, Jonathan Kay, and Milan Vaishnav, “Social Realities of Indian Americans: Results From the 2020 Indian American Attitudes Survey”
Grand Tamasha, “Sumitra Badrinathan and Devesh Kapur Decode the 2020 Indian American Vote”
Grand Tamasha, “Sumitra Badrinathan and Devesh Kapur on How Indian Americans View India”
Sumitra Badrinathan, Devesh Kapur, and Milan Vaishnav, “How Will Indian Americans Vote? Results From the 2020 Indian American Attitudes Survey”
Sumitra Badrinathan, Devesh Kapur, and Milan Vaishnav, “How Do Indian Americans View India? Results From the 2020 Indian American Attitudes Survey”

Sadanand Dhume and Tanvi Madan on the political and foreign policy ramifications of India's COVID second wave

podcasts@ceip.org (sadanand dhume, milan vaishnav, tanvi madan) — Wed, 2 Jun 2021 01:00:00 +0000

This week on the show, Milan is joined by Grand Tamasha news round-up regulars Sadanand Dhume of the American Enterprise Institute and the Wall Street Journal and Tanvi Madan of the Brookings Institution.

This week, Milan, Sadanand, and Tanvi discuss the political state of affairs in India in the wake of recent state elections, the foreign policy ramifications of the COVID-19 second wave, and the government’s ongoing tussle with social media companies.

Plus, the three speculate about who will lead the opposition in India’s 2024 general elections.

Episode notes:

Sadanand Dhume, “Modi Declared Victory, Then Covid Struck Back With a Vengeance,” Wall Street Journal
Sadanand Dhume, “India’s Second Covid Wave Recedes. Will a Third One Sweep In?” Wall Street Journal
Dhruva Jaishankar and Tanvi Madan, “How the Quad Can Match the Hype,” Foreign Affairs

Rachel Brulé on Gender Quotas and Gender Inequality in India

podcasts@ceip.org (milan vaishnav, rachel brule) — Wed, 26 May 2021 01:00:00 +0000

In the early 1990s, India legislated sweeping new gender quotas in local government in the hopes that women’s political empowerment would help to rectify centuries-old social and economic inequalities. But, despite these moves, we know surprisingly little about whether and how quotas have undone entrenched social, political, and economic hierarchies around the world.

A new book by the political scientist Rachel Brulé—Women, Power and Property: The Paradox of Gender Inequality Laws in India—tackles precisely this question through a broad-ranging study of quotas in India and their impacts not just on women’s lives, but on the broader system of status hierarchy and dominance that permeates Indian society.

Rachel, an assistant professor of global development policy at the Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University, joins Milan on the show this week to talk about her new book, the entrenched nature of gender inequality in India and around the world, and the complex effects of quotas on development outcomes in India. Plus, the two discuss the prospects of the Women’s Reservation Bill, a long-pending bill that would reserve one-third of parliamentary and state assembly seats in India for women.

Episode notes:

Rachel Brulé and Nikhar Gaikwad, “Culture, Capital and the Political Economy Gender Gap: Evidence from Meghalaya’s Matrilineal Tribes,” Journal of Politics
Rachel Brulé, “Reform, Representation & Resistance: The Politics of Property Rights’ Enforcement,” Journal of Politics
Isabel Wilkerson, Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents

Samanth Subramanian on India’s Vaccine Conundrum

podcasts@ceip.org (milan vaishnav, samanth subramanian) — Wed, 19 May 2021 01:00:00 +0000

One of the enduring puzzles about the tragic second wave of COVID is how India, the world’s largest vaccine producer, faces an alarming shortage of vaccines.

A new essay by the journalist Samanth Subramanian for the online news organization Quartz argues that there’s no single answer, but rather a “timeline of dysfunction” marked by what he calls “government negligence, corporate profiteering, opaque contracting, and the inequities of the global pharmaceutical market."

Samanth is a senior reporter at Quartz covering the future of capitalism. He has previously written for the Guardian Long Read, the New Yorker, the New York Times Magazine, and WIRED. He's also the author of three books, including A Dominant Character: The Radical Science and Restless Politics of JBS Haldane, one of the New York Times' 100 Notable Books of 2020.

Samanth is Milan’s guest on the show this week and the two discuss how the Indian government has managed the deadly second wave of the COVID pandemic, the role the Serum Institute of India and its enigmatic CEO have played in India’s vaccine production, and the patchy rollout of the government’s vaccine delivery. Plus, the two discuss what the United States and the international community must do to help vaccinate the developing world.

Episode notes:

Samanth Subramanian, “In the push for new vaccines, taxpayers keep paying and paying,” Quartz.
Samanth Subramanian, “The US’ support for vaccine patent waivers still leaves plenty to be resolved,” Quartz.
Samanth Subramanian, “Why is India, the world’s largest vaccine producer, running short of vaccines?” Quartz.
Samanth Subramanian, “India is feeling all the pain—and none of the gain—of an undeclared lockdown,” Quartz.

Himanshu Jha on the Right to Information Act’s Long and Winding Road

podcasts@ceip.org (himanshu jha, milan vaishnav) — Wed, 12 May 2021 01:00:00 +0000

More than fifteen years ago, India’s parliament passed a sweeping piece of legislation known as the Right to Information Act—a law that transforms the way ordinary citizens access the inner workings of government, offering them an unprecedented glimpse into how policy is made, how funds are allocated, and how interests are served.

A new book by the political scientist Himanshu Jha, Capturing Institutional Change: The Case of the Right to Information Act, asks a seemingly simple question: why would a state that is so deeply penetrated by vested interests, initiate a far-reaching process of reform that would expose the very special interests who have benefited from opacity in the first place?

This week on the podcast, Milan sits down with Himanshu, who is a lecturer and research fellow in the Department of Political Science at the South Asia Institute at Heidelberg University. The two talk about the domestic and foreign origins of law, the implementation challenges it has faced, the ways in which it has challenged vested interests, and how the government has tried to undermine transparency.

Aditi Phadnis on India's Pivotal State Elections

podcasts@ceip.org (aditi phadnis, milan vaishnav) — Wed, 5 May 2021 01:00:00 +0000

On Sunday, the highly anticipated results from five state assembly elections across India were announced. These results come at a time of great uncertainty in India as the country is in the throes of a devastating second wave of the coronavirus, which is racking up nearly 400,000 new cases every day.

To help make sense of these elections and how they fit into the broader Indian political landscape, this week on the show Milan speaks with veteran journalist Aditi Phadnis, political editor at the Business Standard. Aditi and Milan discuss the reasons behind Mamata Banerjee’s decisive victory in West Bengal, the Left’s historic showing in Kerala, the BJP’s win in Assam, and the DMK’s comeback in Tamil Nadu. Plus, the two discuss the implications of this election for Indian federalism, governance, and the popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Episode notes:

Milan Vaishnav, “Will voters hold Modi to account for India’s covid-19 crisis? Don’t bet on it,” Washington Post
Neelanjan Sircar, “The Bengal model to counter the BJP,” Hindustan Times
Aditi Phadnis, “It's BJP again in Assam, but who will be the next chief minister?” Business Standard
Aditi Phadnis, “Going gets tougher for Modi govt as election results favour Opposition,” Business Standard
Aditi Phadnis, “Mamata Banerjee's wheelchair stops the BJP juggernaut in West Bengal,” Business Standard
Aditi Phadnis, “National politics set to change as Mamata Banerjee keeps West Bengal,” Business Standard

Anup Malani on India’s COVID Second Wave

podcasts@ceip.org (anup malani, milan vaishnav) — Tue, 27 Apr 2021 01:00:00 +0000

It has been a harrowing week for India. The country is reeling under the effects of a devastating second wave of the coronavirus, which is responsible for more than 300,000 new cases a day and more than 2,000 fatalities. And these official numbers are almost certainly a dramatic undercount.

To understand what is driving this new second wave of the virus and the global health implications of the surge, professor Anup Malani joins Milan on the show this week. Anup is the Lee and Brena Freeman professor at the University of Chicago Law School and a professor at the Pritzker School of Medicine.

Anup and Milan discuss India’s second COVID wave—what we know, what we don’t know, and what we need to find out. Plus, they discuss the findings of numerous serological studies Anup and his co-authors have conducted across India, the contested role of lockdowns, and the worrying prospect of vaccine nationalism.

Episode notes:

Anup Malani, “Research Notes” newsletter
Serological studies carried out by Anup Malani and his co-authors
Arvind Gupta et al, “To Friends in the United States: Facilitate Global Vaccine Manufacturing”
Amanda Glassman and Rachel Silverman, “The International Community Has One Job: Getting COVID-19 Under Control”

Pradeep Gupta on What Makes the Indian Voter Tick

podcasts@ceip.org (milan vaishnav, pradeep gupta) — Wed, 21 Apr 2021 01:00:00 +0000

This month, voters are going to the polls in five Indian states to select the members of their respective state assemblies. These polls are being seen as a test of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity and the ability of the Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to grow or further consolidate its popularity in the eastern and southern parts of the country.

Election results will be announced on May 2 but, before then, we will hear from a litany of exit polls that will try to predict the outcomes of these five contests. The exit polls conducted by Axis My India will among the most eagerly anticipated. The firm has garnered a reputation for accurately predicting a spate of recent elections across India. Milan’s guest on the show this week is Pradeep Gupta, the Chairman and Managing Director of Axis My India and author of the brand-new book, How India Votes: And What It Means.

Milan and Pradeep discuss why it is so hard to conduct election surveys in India, why Indian voters are delivering more decisive mandates of late, and how Narendra Modi has established a unique connection with Indian voters. Plus, the two discuss the state of the political opposition and how Modi was able to turn demonetization, a questionable economic policy measure, into a big political winner.

Episode notes:

Pradeep Gupta’s interview with Karan Thapar of The Wire
Milan Vaishnav, “Understanding the Indian Voter,” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Amit Ahuja and Pradeep Chhibber, “Why the Poor Vote in India: ‘If I Don't Vote, I Am Dead to the State’”

Christophe Jaffrelot on India’s First Dictatorship

podcasts@ceip.org (christophe jaffrelot, milan vaishnav) — Wed, 14 Apr 2021 01:00:00 +0000

Most people who work on India regularly refer to India as the world’s largest democracy and the most enduring democracy in the developing world. However, they often have to footnote such statements with the caveat that India experienced a twenty-one-month period of Emergency Rule in the late 1970s during which democracy was placed in cold storage.

A new book, India’s First Dictatorship--The Emergency 1975-1977, by Christophe Jaffrelot and Pratinav Anil breaks new ground in providing us with a comprehensive history and political analysis of this exceptional period. Christophe joins Milan on the show this week to discuss why the Emergency was imposed, how it was imposed, and why—in the end—it was undone. Plus, the two talk about talk about parallels between the political power structure in India circa the late 1970s and today.

Episode notes:

Rohan Venkataramakrishnan, “Interview: Christophe Jaffrelot on understanding the Emergency and its relevance to Modi’s India,” Scroll.in
Pratinav Anil, “The Myth of Congress Socialism,” Himal Southasian

Darshana Baruah on the Indian Ocean Imperative

podcasts@ceip.org (darshana baruah, milan vaishnav) — Wed, 7 Apr 2021 01:00:00 +0000

Few regions of the world have gotten more attention in the first few months of the Biden administration than Asia. And, within Asia, top leaders from Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to President Joe Biden himself have singled out the importance of the Indo-Pacific region in particular.

To discuss why this region has gotten such significant air-time and to help us understand what shape greater power competition might take there, Darshana Baruah joins Milan on the podcast this week. Darshana is an associate fellow with the South Asia program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace where she leads Carnegie’s new Indian Ocean Initiative.

Darshana and Milan discuss the strategic importance of the Indian Ocean, India’s evolving views toward the “Quad,” and how the United States and India might cooperate in this critical region. Plus, the two discuss China’s strategic motivations and the existential issue of climate change for the region’s small island nations.

Darshana Baruah, “Showing Up is Half the Battle: U.S. Maritime Forces in the Indian Ocean,” War on the Rocks
Darshana Baruah, “What is Happening in the Indian Ocean?” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Darshana Baruah, “India in the Indo-Pacific: New Delhi’s Theater of Opportunity,” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Evan Feigenbaum and James Schwemlein, “How Biden Can Make the Quad Endure,“ Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Ambassador Taranjit Singh Sandhu on U.S.-India Relations in the Biden Era

podcasts@ceip.org (Milan Vaishnav, Taranjit Singh Sandhu, Ambassador Sandhu) — Wed, 31 Mar 2021 01:00:00 +0000

The Biden administration has been in office for just a little over two months but India has already emerged as an important foreign policy priority for the president and his new team. But what do the United States and India seek to do together? What is the significance of this month’s leadership-level Quad summit? And, at a time when democracy is under stress globally, how are these two democracies managing their own domestic challenges at home?

To discuss these questions and more, the Indian Ambassador to the United States Taranjit Singh Sandhu joins Milan on the podcast this week. There are few people in the Indian government who have more experience living and working in the United States as Ambassador Sandhu, who is on his third tour of duty in Washington.

Ambassador Sandhu and Milan discuss how U.S.-India relations have evolved since the former’s first posting in Washington in 1997 and what the future might hold for the bilateral partnership. Plus, the two discuss democracy in India, the importance of the Quad, and the state of U.S.-India economic ties.

Episode notes:

Joe Biden, Narendra Modi, Scott Morrison and Yoshihide Suga, “Our four nations are committed to a free, open, secure and prosperous Indo-Pacific region,” Washington Post
Milan Vaishnav, “The Decay of Indian Democracy,” Foreign Affairs
Sumitra Badrinathan, Devesh Kapur, and Milan Vaishnav, “How Do Indian Americans View India? Results From the 2020 Indian American Attitudes Survey,” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Jairam Ramesh on the Many Lives of V.K. Krishna Menon

podcasts@ceip.org (Milan Vaishnav, Jairam Ramesh) — Wed, 24 Mar 2021 01:00:00 +0000

Rasputin, Lucifer, Evil Genius, Sombre Porcupine, The World’s Most Hated Diplomat. These are just some of the choice names that people have given for the former diplomat and politician V.K. Krishna Menon.

Menon is, in many ways, one of the most consequential figures in post-Independence India and he is the subject of a recent book by the politician and author Jairam Ramesh, titled: A Chequered Brilliance: The Many Lives of V.K. Krishna Menon. The book was awarded the Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay-New India Foundation (NIF) Book Prize for 2020.

Jairam Ramesh is Milan’s guest on the show this week. The two discuss Ramesh’s approach to biography writing, Menon’s inscrutable personality, his status as Nehru’s “soulmate,” and his lasting legacy for Indian foreign policy. Plus, the two discuss Menon’s contemporary relevance as India stares down the possibility of another conflict with China over their contested border.

Episode notes:

Jairam Ramesh, Intertwined Lives: P.N. Haksar & Indira Gandhi

Sadanand Dhume and Tanvi Madan on the Quad, Indian Democracy, and Modi's Economic Reforms

podcasts@ceip.org (milan vaishav, sadanand dhume, tanvi madan) — Wed, 17 Mar 2021 01:00:00 +0000

This week on the podcast, Milan is joined once more by Grand Tamasha “news round-up” regulars Sadanand Dhume of the American Enterprise Institute and the Wall Street Journal and Tanvi Madan of the Brookings Institution. This week, the trio discuss three topics: last week’s heads-of-state summit of the “Quad” countries; recent, controversial assessments on the health of Indian democracy; and the Modi government’s renewed economic reforms push.

Plus, the three offer recommendations for Indian cultural exports that sustained them during the pandemic.

Myra MacDonald on the India-Pakistan Battle for Siachen

podcasts@ceip.org (Myra MacDonald, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 10 Mar 2021 02:00:00 +0000

The contested borders between India, China, and Pakistan render the Himalayas one of the world’s most dangerous geopolitical flashpoints in the year 2021. A new book by the journalist Myra MacDonald, White as the Shroud: India, Pakistan and War on the Frontiers of Kashmir, takes readers inside the long-simmering conflict over the Siachen glacier—one of the most obscure and forbidding battlegrounds in the world.

Myra joins Milan on the podcast this week to talk about her new book and its larger implications for regional and global politics. The two discuss Myra’s lifelong passion for India/South Asia, the origins of India and Pakistan’s decades-long battle for Siachen, and the toll war at 20,000 feet takes on soldiers from both sides. Plus, Myra reflects on how the Modi government’s August 2019 abrogation of Article 370in Jammu and Kashmir has impacted relations with both China and Pakistan.

Episode notes:

Myra MacDonald, Heights of Madness: One Women`s Journey in Pursuit of a Secret War
Myra MacDonald, Defeat is an Orphan: How Pakistan Lost the Great South Asian War
Grand Tamasha, “Ashley J. Tellis on India’s China Conundrum”

Shoumitro Chatterjee and Mekhala Krishnamurthy on the Economics (and Politics) of India’s New Farm Laws

podcasts@ceip.org (Shoumitro Chatterjee, Milan Vaishnav, Mekhala Krishnamurthy) — Wed, 3 Mar 2021 02:00:00 +0000

In September 2020, Indian lawmakers approved three controversial agriculture bills amidst an uproar on the floor of Parliament. That uproar would soon manifest outside of Parliament as tens of thousands of farmers took to the streets on the outskirts of Delhi to protest the passage of these laws. Today, the government and the farmers are locked in a months-long standoff, with everyone from the Supreme Court to foreign governments weighing in on the confrontation.

To discuss the farm laws—the motivations behind them, their likely consequences, and the political fallout—Milan sits down with two experts on Indian agriculture, Shoumitro Chatterjee of Penn State University and Mekhala Krishnamurthy of Ashoka University and the Centre for Policy Research.

The three discuss the state of Indian agriculture, the motivations behind the new laws, the anxieties that have fueled the protests, and possible compromises that can resolve the current impasse. If you have been watching the protests in India unfold but are struggling to make sense of them, this episode will help you fill in the blanks.

Episode notes:

Shoumitro Chatterjee, Mekhala Krishnamurthy, Devesh Kapur, and Marshall M. Bouston, “A Study of the Agricultural Markets of Bihar, Odisha and Punjab”
Yamini Aiyar and Mekhala Krishnamurthy, “On Farm Laws, How the Centre Faltered”
Mekhala Krishnamurthy, “Modi govt can bring real agriculture reforms only by working with states”
Shoumitro Chhatterjee and Mekhala Krishnamurthy, “Farm laws: First principles and the political economy of agricultural market regulation”
Bharat Ramaswami, “Constituency for reforms in BJP-ruled states can disprove fears that farm laws are a corporate plot”
Shoumitro Chatterjee and Arvind Subramanian, “India’s Export-Led Growth: Exemplar and Exception”

Sonia Faleiro on Life and Death in India’s Heartland

podcasts@ceip.org (Milan Vaishnav, Sonia Faleiro) — Wed, 24 Feb 2021 02:00:00 +0000

One night in the summer of 2014, two teenage girls living in a remote village in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh went missing. Hours later, they were found dead and hanging from a tree in a mango orchard. A media frenzy ensued that propelled the case to the front pages of national newspapers and prime time cable news. It was quickly decided that this was another clear-cut case of rape and murder in India’s heartland.

A haunting new book, The Good Girls: An Ordinary Killing, by the author Sonia Faleiro reveals that the truth, however, is far murkier.

Sonia is Milan’s guest on the podcast this week and the two discuss the origins of The Good Girls, the notion of honor in contemporary Indian society, the pervasiveness of caste in the Hindi heartland, the troubled state of policing, and the battle Indian girls face even before leaving their homes.

Parul Sehgal of the New York Times has this to say about The Good Girls: “‘The Good Girls’ is transfixing; it has the pacing and mood of a whodunit, but no clear reveal; Faleiro does not indict the cruelty or malice of any individual, nor any particular system. She indicts something even more common, and in its own way far more pernicious: a culture of indifference that allowed for the neglect of the girls in life and in death.”

Episode notes:

Parul Sehgal, “A Double Tragedy in India and the Search for Elusive Answers,” New York Times.
Rafia Zakaria, “Death in the Mango Orchard,” The Baffler

Meenakshi Ahamed on U.S.-India Relations from Truman to Trump

podcasts@ceip.org (milan vaishnav, meenakshi ahamed) — Wed, 17 Feb 2021 02:00:00 +0000

As a new administration takes office in Washington, followers of the U.S.-India relationship are eagerly anticipating what shape ties between these two nations will take under a new president. A new book by the journalist Meenakshi Ahamed, A Matter of Trust: India–US Relations from Truman to Trump, offers a sweeping portrait of this relationship over seven decades.

This week on the show, Milan sits down with Meenakshi to discuss the evolution of U.S.-India relations, from the moment of independence in 1947 to Joe Biden’s inauguration in 2021. The two discuss Nehru’s perennial skepticism of America, Bill Clinton’s lifelong fascination with India, and how China’s recent actions have given the partnership an unprecedented boost.

Episode notes:

Rudra Chaudhuri, India and the United States Since 1947
Tanvi Madan, Fateful Triangle: How China Shaped U.S.-India Relations During the Cold War
Grand Tamasha, “Tanvi Madan on the U.S.-India-China Fateful Triangle”
Grand Tamasha, “Ashley J. Tellis on India’s China Conundrum”

Sumitra Badrinathan and Devesh Kapur on How Indian Americans View India

podcasts@ceip.org (sumitra badrinathan, devesh kapur, milan vaishnav) — Wed, 10 Feb 2021 02:00:00 +0000

Indian Americans are now the second-largest immigrant group in the United States. Their growing political influence and their courtship by the Indian government raises important—as yet unanswered—questions. How do Indians in America regard India, and how do they remain connected to developments there? What are their attitudes toward Indian politics and changes underway in their ancestral homeland? And what role, if any, do they envision for the United States in engaging with India?

This week on the show, Milan sits down with his co-authors Sumitra Badrinathan and Devesh Kapur to unveil the findings of a new report they’ve authored on how Indian Americans view India. Milan, Sumitra, and Devesh discuss what their new data tells us about Indian Americans remain connected to their ancestral homeland, how they assess the performance of Narendra Modi, and how they view India’s democratic trajectory. Plus, the trio talk about what a more divided diaspora might mean for U.S.-India relations and India’s foreign policy in the years to come.

Episode notes:

Grand Tamasha, “Sumitra Badrinathan and Devesh Kapur Decode the 2020 Indian American Vote”
Grand Tamasha, “Deep in the Heart of Texas: Inside ‘Howdy, Modi!’”
Sumitra Badrinathan, Devesh Kapur, and Milan Vaishnav, “How Will Indian Americans Vote? Results From the 2020 Indian American Attitudes Survey”
Sanjoy Chakravorty, Devesh Kapur, and Nirvikar Singh, “The Other One Percent: Indians in America.”

Sukumar Ranganathan on India’s Budget Breakthrough

podcasts@ceip.org (Sukumar Ranganathan, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 3 Feb 2021 02:00:00 +0000

On Monday, the Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented one of the most highly anticipated Indian budgets in recent memory. Facing a global health pandemic, a severe economic slowdown, and continued anxieties over inflation, some commentators argued that this budget was not simply the most important of the Modi government’s tenure, it was one of the most important in three decades.

To breakdown this year’s budget and to kick off the fifth season of Grand Tamasha, Milan was joined by Sukumar Ranganathan, editor in chief of the Hindustan Times. Sukumar and Milan break down the nuts and bolts of the budget—from spending priorities to the fiscal deficit and the government’s ambitious plans for disinvestment. The two also discuss the government’s broader economy strategy, including India’s continued inward turn on trade.

Episode notes:

Editorial, “What Union Budget 2021-2011 Gets Right,” Hindustan Times.
Roshan Kishore, “Where the Budget Gets India’s Economy Wrong,” Hindustan Times.
Yamini Aiyar, “Decoding the Budget and the Economics of Welfare,” Hindustan Times.
Shoumitro Chatterjee and Arvind Subramanian, “India’s Inward (Re)Turn: Is it Warranted? Will it Work?”

Vinay Sitapati on the Political History of the BJP Before Modi

podcasts@ceip.org (Milan Vaishnav, Vinay Sitapati) — Wed, 16 Dec 2020 02:00:00 +0000

This week on the show, Milan sits down with Vinay Sitapati, political scientist and author of the blockbuster new book, Jugalbandi: The BJP Before Modi. Vinay’s new book gives readers the crucial backstory to understanding India’s current political moment and it is full of historical insights, colorful anecdotes, and a decent dash of insider gossip.

Vinay and Milan discuss the unusual duo of Atal Behari Vajpayee and L.K. Advani, Hindu nationalism’s obsession with elections, the BJP’s “schizophrenic” approach to economics, and how the Hindu nationalist movement manages to balance the twin impulses of inclusion and exclusion. Plus, Vinay explains how a better understanding of the BJP of yesteryear can inform our thinking about Narendra Modi and Amit Shah today.

Episode notes:

Vinay Sitapati, “Election is the ideology,” Indian Express
Vinay Sitapati, Half-Lion: How P.V Narasimha Rao Transformed India
Christophe Jaffrelot, The Hindu Nationalist Movement in India

This is the last episode of Grand Tamasha season 4! We'll be back in January with new episodes. If you have feedback or episode ideas, please contact us at podcasts@ceip.org. Happy holidays!

Ravinder Kaur on India’s “Brand New Nation”

podcasts@ceip.org (milan vaishnav, ravinder kaur) — Wed, 9 Dec 2020 02:00:00 +0000

By now, we are all familiar with the catch phrases, colorful billboards, and slick branding: Incredible India. India Shining. Make in India. New India.

But these are not just the frivolous creations of marketing executives and tourist brochures—they are the stuff of 21st century nation branding. This is the argument of a new book by the scholar Ravinder Kaur, Brand New Nation: Capitalist Dreams and Nationalist Designs in Twenty-First Century India.

Ravinder, a professor of Modern South Asia Studies at the University of Copenhagen, joins Milan on the show this week to talk about her new book. The two discuss how brand-building is displacing nation-building in the 21st century and who the makers of India’s “new brand” actually are. Plus, Milan and Ravinder discuss the untold backstory of the “India Shining” campaign and why Prime Minister Modi’s notion of a “New India” is not all that new after all.

Episode notes:

Martin Wolf, “Best books of 2020,” Financial Times
Ravinder Kaur, “‘I Am India Shining’: The Investor-Citizen and the Indelible Icon of Good Times”
Roshan Kishore, “Review: Brand New Nation by Ravinder Kaur”
Ravinder Kaur, “Who Owns the Republic?”

Chinmay Tumbe on India's Age of Pandemics: Then and Now

podcasts@ceip.org (chinmay tumbe, milan vaishnav) — Wed, 2 Dec 2020 02:00:00 +0000

Although this history has largely been forgotten today, India was the epicenter of three major pandemics throughout the 19th and early 20th century.

A new book by the economist Chinmay Tumbe, The Age of Pandemics: 1817-1920—How They Shaped India and the World, takes readers on a tour of three previous pandemics—cholera, the plague, and influenza—that ravaged India and highlights what we might learn from this past trauma.

This week on the show, Chinmay speaks with Milan about India’s “Age of Pandemics” and why this dark chapter in Indian history has been glossed over. Chinmay and Milan also discuss the parallels between pandemics past and present, how pandemics have shaped politics, and why the flight of internal migrants is one of the most stylized facts of pandemics in history.

Episode notes:

Chinmay Tumbe, India Moving: A History of Migration
Government of India, Economic Survey 2017-18, “India on the Move and Churning: New Evidence.”
Chinmay Tumbe, “Excerpt: The Age of Pandemics”

Evan Feigenbaum on Asia's Fragmented Future

podcasts@ceip.org (Evan Feigenbaum, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 25 Nov 2020 02:00:00 +0000

Of the many questions being asked about U.S. president-elect Joe Biden’s foreign policy, chief among them is how the new president might handle relations with China.

The future trajectory of U.S.-China relations matters not just for the U.S. and China, but it also has real implications for India—its economics, politics, and foreign policy.

On the podcast this week, Milan sits down with Evan Feigenbaum, Vice President of Studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and an expert on the Asia region—from China to Kazakhstan to India and Sri Lanka.

Evan talks to Milan about the Trump administration’s Asia legacy, India’s inward turn, and the strategic relevance of the Quad. Evan also has some useful, pithy advice for how the incoming Biden administration might position itself in the Asia-Pacific.

Episode notes:

Evan Feigenbaum, “Biden Faces Immediate Tests in Asia”
Evan Feigenbaum, “Asia’s Future Beyond U.S.-China Competition”
Evan Feigenbaum, Twitter thread on America’s (missing) economic strategy in Asia
Hindustan Times, “RCEP would have hurt India’s economy, FTA with EU not easy: S Jaishankar”

Sadanand Dhume and Tanvi Madan on Biden, Bihar, and U.S.-India Bonhomie

podcasts@ceip.org (Milan Vaishnav, Tanvi Madan, Sadanand Dhume) — Wed, 18 Nov 2020 02:00:00 +0000

Last week, the world saw two highly anticipated elections come to an end. The never-ending 2020 U.S. presidential election finally came to a close—with Democratic challenger and former Vice President Joe Biden capturing the White House.

On the other side of the world, tens of millions of voters went to the polls in the north Indian state of Bihar. The election produced a narrow victory for the ruling National Democratic Alliance—a coalition principally made of the Bharatiya Janata Party and its regional ally, the Janata Dal (United)

Joining Milan to talk all things elections are Grand Tamasha news-round up regulars Sadanand Dhume of the American Enterprise Institute and theWall Street Journal and Tanvi Madan of the Brookings Institution.

The trio discuss the key lessons of the U.S. 2020 election, the implications for India, and what the election tells us about the configuration of power in the United States come January 2021. Milan, Sadanand, and Tanvi also discuss the Bihar elections, what they say about Modi’s popularity, and the trials and tribulations of the political opposition.

Episode notes:

“Donald Trump Mashup”
Sadanand Dhume, “Will Biden Say Howdy Modi?”
Milan Vaishnav, “US: The end of a corrosive chapter”
Tanvi Madan, “For Delhi, US election result is consequential in terms of how the next administration approaches China”

Viral Acharya on India’s Quest for Financial Stability

podcasts@ceip.org (Viral Acharya) — Wed, 11 Nov 2020 02:00:00 +0000

Thanks to the COVID-19 crisis, India’s economy is expected to shrink by at least 9 percent this fiscal year—a gut punch that comes on the heels of several years of continuously slowing growth. At the heart of India’s economic woes is a severe banking crisis that some have argued has sapped the vitality out of India’s investment cycle and consumed the energies of government economic firefighters.

This week, Milan sits down with Viral Acharya, former Deputy Governor at the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) from 2017-2019, and author of the recent book, Quest for Restoring Financial Stability in India.

Milan and Viral discuss the health of India’s economy, the “silent crisis” afflicting India’s financial sector, the future of central bank independence in India, and the role that Indian economists based overseas can play back home.

Rukmini on What Data Tells Us About India's COVID-19 Fight

podcasts@ceip.org (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace) — Wed, 4 Nov 2020 02:00:00 +0000

Since the onset of the novel Coronavirus, award-winning data journalist Rukmini has investigated the virus’ spread in India like very few people have.

Twice a week since March, she’s been recording her thoughts on the pandemic in a short “mini-podcast” called The Moving Curve.

In 100 bite-sized episodes, Rukmini has helped educate Indians--and their political leaders--about this unprecedented public health crisis straight from her home studio.

This week, Rukmini joins Milan to talk about the state of COVID-19 in India, the country’s surprisingly low fatality rate, and what large-scale seroprevalence studies tell us about where the virus is heading. Plus, Rukmini evaluates the impact of India’s lockdown and how the media has reported on the pandemic.

Episode Notes:

The Moving Curve Episode 98: “Pandemic Research, Made in India”
Rukmini, “Covid-19 spread in some unique ways in India, new contact tracing data shows”
Rukmini, “Why India has emerged as pandemic epicentre, despite early lockdown”
Partha Mukhopadhyay, “Is India’s Covid-19 death rate higher than Italy’s?”
IDFC Institute, “Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in slums and non-slums of Mumbai, India, during June 29-July 19, 2020”

Pankaj Mishra on the Crisis of Liberalism in India and the World

podcasts@ceip.org (Milan Vaishnav, Pankaj Mishra) — Wed, 28 Oct 2020 01:00:00 +0000

Pankaj Mishra is the acclaimed author of numerous books of fiction and non-fiction. He is a frequent contributor to some of the world’s top publications the New York Times, New York Review of Books, Guardian, the New Yorker, and Bloomberg.

His new book, Bland Fanatics: Liberals, Race, and Empire, focuses on the decay of Western liberalism but somehow manages to cover an array of topics from Salman Rushie to The Economist to British colonialism and Indian politics.

Pankaj and Milan discuss the state of Indian democracy, the (absent) standard-bearers of Indian liberalism, and how the Cold War-era conception of democracy helped India geopolitically. They also discuss what the British Raj can tell us about Brexit and the future of big government, for good and for ill.

Episode Notes:

Pankaj Mishra, Bland Fanatics: Liberals, Race, and Empire
Pankaj Mishra, Age of Anger: A History of the Present
Pankaj Mishra, “Coronavirus Will Review an All-Powerful State”
Ramachandra Guha, “The 50-50 democracy”
Ashutosh Varshney, Battles Half Won: India’s Improbable Democracy

Ananth Krishnan on What China’s Rise Means for India

podcasts@ceip.org (Milan Vaishnav, Ananth Krishnan) — Wed, 21 Oct 2020 01:00:00 +0000

In the summer of 2008, the journalist Ananth Krishnan moved to Beijing to pick up some Mandarin. Little did he know that this fateful decision would kick off a decade-long immersion in Chinese politics, economics, foreign policy, and culture.

This week on the podcast, Ananth talks with Milan about his new book, “India’s China Challenge: A Journey Through China’s Rise and What It Means for India.” Ananth, the China correspondent for the The Hindu, talks to Milan about India’s underinvestment in understanding Chinese domestic affairs, the lessons India should learn from China’s economic miracle, and the status of current border tensions between the two neighbors. Plus, the two discuss how India can respond to the economic and political challenge that China poses.

Episode notes:

Grand Tamasha with Ashley J. Tellis on “India’s China Conundrum”
Ashley J. Tellis, “Hustling in the Himalayas: The Sino-Indian Border Confrontation”

Sumitra Badrinathan and Devesh Kapur Decode the 2020 Indian American Vote

podcasts@ceip.org (Milan Vaishnav, Devesh Kapur, Sumitra Badrinathan) — Wed, 14 Oct 2020 04:00:00 +0000

Although Indians in America account for less than one percent of registered voters, this election season they have been actively wooed by both Democrats and Republicans in an unprecedented manner.

Thanks to the increasing political influence of Indian Americans, the camaraderie between Donald Trump and Narendra Modi, and the addition of Kamala Harris to the Democratic ticket, there is a sense that this community’s votes are very much at play.

Today, Milan speaks with Sumitra Badrinathan (University of Pennsylvania) and Devesh Kapur (Johns Hopkins-SAIS) about the findings of a brand new survey--the Indian American Attitudes Survey (IAAS)-- that sheds light on the political attitudes of Indian Americans (full disclosure: Milan is a co-author of the new study).

Milan, Devesh and Sumitra discuss why Indian Americans, contrary to media reports, remain solidly with the Democratic Party and why they are overwhelmingly concerned with kitchen table issues, rather than foreign policy concerns such as U.S.-India relations. They also talk about the impact of Kamala Harris, partisan polarization among Indians in America, and why Republicans face an uphill climb to win over Indian American voters.

Notes:

Sumitra Badrinathan, Devesh Kapur, and Milan Vaishnav, “How Will Indian Americans Vote? Results From the 2020 Indian American Attitudes Survey”
Sanjoy Chakravorty, Devesh Kapur, and Nirvikar Singh, “The Other One Percent: Indians in America”
Sara Sadhwani, “Kamala Harris is likely to bring in Indian American voters, this research finds”
Devesh Kapur, “Diaspora, Development, and Democracy: The Domestic Impact of International Migration from India”

Paul Staniland on the Surprising Decline in Political Violence in South Asia

podcasts@ceip.org (Paul Staniland, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 7 Oct 2020 01:00:00 +0000

The political landscape of South Asia has changed dramatically in the last two decades. Insurgencies that were raging across the subcontinent in the 1990s and early 2000s have largely been contained and the heavy-hand of the state has enjoyed a remarkable resurgence. Why has this happened and what exactly does it mean for South Asia’s future?

To shed light on the surprising conflict dynamics in South Asia, this week Milan is joined by political scientist Paul Staniland, author of a recent Carnegie essay titled, “Political Violence in South Asia: The Triumph of the State?” Paul is an associate professor at the University of Chicago and nonresident scholar with the South Asia Program at Carnegie.

Milan and Paul discuss intra-state conflict trends in the region, the massive rise in India’s internal security forces, the precarious state of liberal democracy in South Asia, and what South Asia can tell us about political violence in America.

Episode notes:

Paul Staniland, Adnan Naseemullah, and Ahsan Butt, “Pakistan’s Military Elite.”
Paul Staniland, “Leftist Insurgencies in Democracies.”
Paul Staniland, “4 Questions on India, Liberalism America, Etc.”
Paul Staniland, “Trends in Insurgency in South Asia.”

Nidhi Razdan on the State of the Indian Media

podcasts@ceip.org (Milan Vaishnav, Nidhi Razdan) — Wed, 30 Sep 2020 01:00:09 +0000

If you’ve watched prime time television in India at any point in the last two decades, there is zero chance that you are not acquainted with Milan’s guest on the show this week. Since 1999, the journalist Nidhi Razdan has been reporting on the biggest news coming out of India--from politics to the economy and, especially, foreign affairs.

A stalwart presence night after night on NDTV--one of India’s leading news outlets--Nidhi was the executive editor of the channel and the primary anchor of their prime time news show, “Left, Right & Centre.” In June 2020, Nidhi announced that she was taking a break from reporting journalism in order to teach journalism at Harvard.*

Milan asks Nidhi about how television journalism has changed over the last two decades, why the business model of journalism is broken, and the festering issue of self-censorship in newsrooms. Milan and Nidhi also discuss the surprise “India angle” to the U.S. elections and the international ramifications of the Article 370 decision in Kashmir, Nidhi’s home state.

* EDITOR’S NOTE: On this episode of the podcast, Milan identified Nidhi Razdan as an associate professor of journalism at Harvard University and spoke with her about her future teaching plans. On January 15, Nidhi Razdan revealed that she was the victim of a sophisticated phishing attack and that her Harvard appointment was a central element of this fraud. In a subsequent blog post, Razdan provided further details about the alleged attack.

Episode Notes:

Nidhi Razdan, “The Shameful Vilification Of Rhea Chakraborty”
Amit Varma, “Driven to Extremes. Part 1: News Television”
Sevanti Ninan, “How India's Media Landscape Changed Over Five Years”
Priya Ramani, “Your Guide To Loving Indian Media Again”
Grand Tamasha episode with Ashley J. Tellis on “India’s China Conundrum”

Ashley J. Tellis on India’s China Conundrum

podcasts@ceip.org (Milan Vaishnav, Ashley J. Tellis) — Wed, 23 Sep 2020 01:00:12 +0000

For the first time in decades, shots have been fired between China and India along the Line of Actual Control. As India grapples with the twin domestic crises of COVID and the economy, it simultaneously must manage a complex diplomatic and defense engagement with the Chinese.

This week on this show, Milan sits down with the Carnegie Endowment’s Ashley J. Tellis, one of the world’s foremost experts on Indian foreign policy. Milan and Ashley discuss recent fighting along India’s Chinese border, the motivations animating Chinese strategic calculations, the implications for U.S. foreign policy, and growing international concerns about the character of India’s domestic regime.

Notes:

Ashley J. Tellis, “Hustling in the Himalayas: The Sino-Indian Border Confrontation”
Ashley J. Tellis, “India’s Path to the Big Leagues”
Carnegie India webinar, “The Sino-Indian Border: Escalation & Disengagement”
Sushant Singh, “Can India Transcend its Two-Front Challenge?”
Seema Sirohi, “Pre-Election Bhai-Bhai”

Sadanand Dhume and Tanvi Madan on India’s Triple Whammy: COVID, China, and the Economy

podcasts@ceip.org (Milan Vaishnav, Sadanand Dhume, Tanvi Madan) — Wed, 16 Sep 2020 01:00:03 +0000

This week on Grand Tamasha, Milan is joined by podcast regulars Sadanand Dhume of the American Enterprise Institute and the Wall Street Journal and Tanvi Madan of the Brookings Institution to discuss the triple-whammy of crises facing India. The three discuss the latest on India’s contested border with China, the raging COVID pandemic--which shows very little sign of slowing down, and end with a discussion of the latest economic data.

As always, they end by chatting about the news you need to be following (but may not be) and who had the best and worst weeks in India.

Notes:

Tanvi Madan’s book, “Fateful Triangle: How China Shaped U.S.-India Relations During the Cold War”
Sadanand Dhume’s Wall Street Journal column, “What Beijing Lost With Its Border Clash Blunder.”
Yamini Aiyar on the future of India’s fiscal federalism.
Vivek Dehejia on India’s endangered growth story.
Vijay Joshi’s book, “India’s Long Road: The Search for Prosperity.”

Scaachi Koul on the Collision of Indian Politics and Culture

podcasts@ceip.org (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace) — Wed, 9 Sep 2020 01:00:22 +0000

Scaachi Koul is an Indo-Canadian culture writer at Buzzfeed and the author of the 2017 book of essays, “One Day We’ll All Be Dead and None of This Will Matter.”

For those of you who spend any time on social media, you will know Scaachi is a force of nature--dishing out sharp-witted takes on cultural and political issues from Kamala Harris to the Netflix show Indian Matchmaking. But she’s also written extensively about her Kashmiri identity and her life as an Indian woman growing up in Canada.

This week on the podcast, Scaachi joins Milan to discuss her Indo-Canadian upbringing, how politics in Kashmir stirs up family conflict, and the cultural import of “Indian Matchmaking.” She also talks about her unique relationship with her father--a frequent (and humorous) presence in her writing and on her social media feed.

Episode notes:

Scaachi’s article on the Kamala Harris VP pick.
Scaachi’s essay on how Kashmir is dividing her family
Scaachi’s 2017 book of essays
Scaachi’s take on the Netflix show, “Indian Matchmaking”

The Life and Times of Amit Varma

podcasts@ceip.org (Amit Varma, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 2 Sep 2020 01:00:09 +0000

If you’re listening to this podcast, chances are you are a fan of the podcast, “The Seen and the Unseen.” For 186 episodes and counting, the journalist Amit Varma has been putting together some of the most thoughtful, insightful and eclectic conversations with the best and brightest in India.

This week, Amit joins Milan on the show to reflect on his career as a journalist, author, entrepreneur, podcast host, and--yes--professional poker player. Milan talks to Amit about his libertarian leanings, his views on nationalism, and why exactly India has so few economic reformers.

Show notes:

1. Amit’s podcasts: “The Seen and the Unseen” and “Econ Central”

2. Previous episodes of “The Seen and the Unseen” with Pratap Bhanu Mehta, Karthik Muralidharan, and J.P. Narayan.

3. The archives of “Range Rover,” Amit’s poker column for the Economic Times

4. A previous episode of “The Seen and the Unseen” in which Amit speaks at length about libertarianism

5. Amit’s newsletter, “India Uncut”

6. Amit’s Times of India column on nationalism

Pratap Bhanu Mehta on Indian Democracy at 73

podcasts@ceip.org (Milan Vaishnav, Pratap Bhanu Mehta) — Wed, 26 Aug 2020 01:00:23 +0000

On August 15, 2020, India celebrated its 73rd birthday. To reflect on the state of Indian democracy and to kick off the podcast’s fourth season, Pratap Bhanu Mehta joins Milan for a wide-ranging conversation on India’s past, present, and future.

Pratap is a professor of political science at Ashoka University and contributing editor and columnist at the Indian Express. He is a noted author, scholar, and commentator, not to mention arguably India’s finest public intellectual.

Pratap and Milan discuss what the COVID crisis says about Indian democracy, the future of secularism in India, the popular yearning for strongman rule, and the maladies plaguing India’s rule of law institutions.

Vipul Mudgal on India’s Policing Challenge

podcasts@ceip.org (Milan Vaishnav, Vipul Mudgal) — Wed, 10 Jun 2020 01:00:10 +0000

The police in India, as in America, face a reckoning. From the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protests to the Delhi riots and the COVID pandemic, recent events have raised troubling questions about the quality of Indian policing. In 2019, the non-profit Common Cause and the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies issued a report on the “Status of Policing in India.” The report is one of the most comprehensive, empirical examinations of the police on record.

This week on the show, Vipul Mudgal, the Director of Common Cause, joins Milan to discuss the colonial legacy of the Indian police, the personnel and operational challenges ordinary police officers must confront, and the contested role the police have played during the COVID pandemic. Vipul also outlines a reform blueprint for more effective policing.

Programming note: This is the very last episode of Season Three of Grand Tamasha. As usual, we are going to take a little time off this summer to recharge our batteries and prepare for a brand-new season of Grand Tamasha, which we will kick-off at the end of the summer. During this break, please send us your feedback, comments, and criticisms. You can contact us on Twitter @MilanV or email the Grand Tamasha team at podcasts@ceip.org.

Binalakshmi Nepram on the Realities of India’s Oft-Forgotten Northeast

podcasts@ceip.org (Binalakshmi Nepram, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 3 Jun 2020 01:00:04 +0000

Here’s a hard truth about policy conversations on India: we rarely hear about India’s northeast. In fact, in doing more than 50 episodes of this podcast, not even one has been dedicated to the northeastern region of the country.

The Northeast is a region of immense geostrategic importance. It is home to nearly 50 million Indian citizens. It is also home to South Asia's longest running armed conflict, where over 50,000 people have died. And, yet, it is often written off as a footnote, an outlier or part of the periphery.

To enlighten us--and to educate us--about this often overlooked corner of India, social activist and indigenous leader Binalakshmi Nepram joins Milan on the show this week. Bina is the Founder of the Manipur Women Gun Survivors Network and also serves as Convenor of the Northeast India Women Initiative for Peace.

Bina and Milan discuss the impact of COVID-19 on the Northeast, how the region fits into India’s popular imagination, the intense discrimination the region’s citizens endure, and the decades-long conflict that has upended the lives of tens of millions of ordinary Indians. Plus, Bina tells Milan about what inspired her to establish two of the Northeast’s leading human rights groups.

Roshan Kishore on India’s flagging economy, the impacts of the lockdown, and the government’s policy response

podcasts@ceip.org (Roshan Kishore, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 27 May 2020 01:00:06 +0000

Two weeks ago, the Modi government announced a series of economic measures intended to get the Indian economy back on track after the country’s prolonged lockdown in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis.

Over five days, the Finance Minister addressed a series of daily press conferences in which she outlined the government’s plan of action to assist the country’s poorest citizens, reform the country’s regulatory framework, and stimulate new investment.

To break down the meaning of these latest moves, Roshan Kishore, Data and Political Economy editor at the Hindustan Times, joins Milan this week on the show. The two discuss India’s long-term economic downturn, the immediate impacts of the nationwide lockdown, the Modi government’s economic relief package, and the state of the political opposition.

COVID-19 Fallout: Migrants, the Economy, and Foreign Policy (Live from Zoom!)

podcasts@ceip.org (Sadanand Dhume, Milan Vaishnav, Tanvi Madan) — Wed, 20 May 2020 01:00:01 +0000

This week, Milan sits down with podcast regulars Sadanand Dhume of the American Enterprise Institute and the Wall Street Journal and Tanvi Madan of the Brookings Institution for a special live edition of the Grand Tamasha news round-up. The three discuss India's emerging response to the coronavirus, its economic fallout, and the ramifications for India's foreign policy. The trio also answered viewer questions, recommended their favorite quarantine binge-watches, and debated the role of peas in keema. Watch the livestream here.

Special Event: #GrandaTamashaLive

podcasts@ceip.org (Tanvi Madan, Milan Vaishnav, Sadanand Dhume) — Mon, 18 May 2020 16:38:45 +0000

YOU'RE INVITED: Join Milan, Tanvi, and Sadanand for a special LIVE episode of Grand Tamasha on Tuesday, May 19, at 11am EST / 8:30pm IST. Tune in as they break down the week's news - and join the live chat to ask questions! Add it to your calendar, and join the live show here.

Journalist Sopan Deb on Meeting the Immigrant Parents Who Raised Him

podcasts@ceip.org (Sopan Deb, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 13 May 2020 01:00:01 +0000

This week on the show, Milan is joined by New York Times journalist Sopan Deb--author of the brand-new memoir, Missed Translations: Meeting the Immigrant Parents Who Raised Me.

Whether it’s Hasan Minhaj’s comedy--OR the spectacle of the “Howdy, Modi” rally in Houston--OR Aarti Shahani’s heartbreaking memoir--listeners of this show know that getting inside the Indian immigrant experience is one of Grand Tamasha’s obsessions.

On the surface, Sopan is a successful journalist, comedian, and cultural commentator. But in his new book, he explores a side of his life that existed well below the surface--his estrangement from his parents, the alienation he felt as an immigrant kid in a mostly white New Jersey suburb, and the heartbreak he endured watching his family life not so much fall apart as melt away.

Milan and Sopan discuss his toxic family life, his Indian-American coming-of-age story, and his life-changing journey to meet the parents who raised him.

Former Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian on India’s Economic Response to the COVID-19 crisis

podcasts@ceip.org (Arvind Subramanian, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 6 May 2020 01:00:06 +0000

After a six-week nationwide lockdown in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, on May 3rd the Indian government commenced a calibrated relaxation of this unprecedented shutdown. To discuss the economic impacts of the crisis and what steps government can take to cushion the blow, this week on the show Milan welcomes back the economist Arvind Subramanian. Arvind served as the chief economic advisor to the Government of India between 2014-2018 and is currently a professor at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard and a Senior Fellow at the Peterson Institute.

Milan speaks with Arvind about how Indian authorities should respond to the economic crisis, the utter failure of global economic cooperation, and whether China’s reputational hit offers India an opportunity. Plus, the two discuss Arvind’s long-standing support for a universal basic income (UBI) for India and whether the country has the necessary infrastructure in place to deliver an effective UBI.

Shankkar Aiyar on the Proliferation of India’s “Gated Republics”

podcasts@ceip.org (Shankkar Aiyar, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 29 Apr 2020 01:00:02 +0000

In a much cited 2009 essay, economist Lant Pritchett argued that India is not a failed or a failing state, but a flailing one. In Pritchett’s words, India is “a nation-state in which the head, that is the elite institutions at the national level remain sound and functional but this head is no longer reliably connected via nerves and sinews to its own limbs.”

A new book the author and journalist Shankkar Aiyar takes the argument one step further. Aiyar’s new book, The Gated Republic: India’s Public Policy Failures and Private Solutions argues that the failure of India’s public sector to deliver on its most essential functions has created a massive gap, which the private sector has had no choice but to fill.

On this week’s episode, Milan speaks with Aiyar about the causes and consequences of the proliferation of India’s “gated republics,” what the COVID-19 crisis reveals about the Indian state, and whether democracy is part of the solution or part of the problem.

India’s Coronavirus Response, Anti-China Sentiment, and the Communalization of COVID-19

podcasts@ceip.org (Sadanand Dhume, Milan Vaishnav, Tanvi Madan) — Wed, 22 Apr 2020 01:00:11 +0000

This week, Milan sits down with podcast regulars Sadanand Dhume of the American Enterprise Institute and the Wall Street Journal and Tanvi Madan of the Brookings Institution for a special “Happy Hour” edition of the “Grand Tamasha” news round-up.

The three discuss how India is faring in its pitched battle against the Coronavirus, the reasons behind festering anti-China sentiment among many Indians across the political spectrum, and the impact COVID-19 is having on India’s domestic politics.

Plus, the trio discuss their personal lockdown strategies for staying sane during self-isolation.

Amitabh Behar on How Coronavirus Aggravates Inequality in India

podcasts@ceip.org (Milan Vaishnav, Amitabh Behar) — Wed, 15 Apr 2020 01:00:32 +0000

India is in the middle of an unprecedented 21-day countrywide lockdown as it tries to contain the growing threat of Coronavirus. This virus has wrought so much fresh destruction but it also has the potential to exacerbate pre-existing inequalities in Indian society.

This week on the show, Milan speaks with Amitabh Behar, the Chief Executive Officer of Oxfam India. For seven decades, Oxfam India has been providing humanitarian and development assistance across India in an effort to address gaps in service delivery, gender equity, injustice, and livelihoods.

Amitabh and Milan discuss India’s response to the crisis, the precarious lives of India’s urban poor and migrant labor, the pandemic’s particular effects on women, and the connection between entrenched social norms and violence against women.

Pallavi Raghavan on an Alternative History of India-Pakistan Relations

podcasts@ceip.org (Pallavi Raghavan, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 8 Apr 2020 01:00:19 +0000

When it comes to the matter of relations between India and Pakistan, you’ve heard all of the familiar tropes. Two nuclear-armed rivals with hundreds of thousands of troops amassed along a contested border. A Hindu-majority India pre-destined to be at odds with a Muslim-majority Pakistan. A vibrant democracy in the east, a military-dominated polity in the west.

A new book by the historian Pallavi Raghavan offers a very different account about relations between these two South Asian rivals in the immediate aftermath of Partition in 1947. Contrary to the conventional doom-and-gloom narrative, Raghavan’s book Animosity at Bay: An Alternative History of the India-Pakistan Relationship, 1947-1952 shows how amity and a spirit of cordiality infused relations between India and Pakistan in the first five years of their independence.

This week on the podcast, Milan speaks with Pallavi about her book and the lessons it holds for today. The two discuss why yet another book on India-Pakistan relations was necessary, how India and Pakistan developed constructive relations in the wake of the traumas of Partition, and why the declining power of the state explains the difference in bilateral ties between the 1950s and today.

Aarti Shahani on Her Indian-American Immigrant Story

podcasts@ceip.org (Aarti Shahani, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 1 Apr 2020 01:05:31 +0000

If you listen to National Public Radio, chances are you’ve heard the journalist Aarti Shahani report on some of the biggest technology stories in the world. Microsoft. Google. Apple. Facebook. Aarti has covered them all.

But there’s one story you may not have heard of--and that is Aarti’s own. In a new memoir, Here We Are: American Dreams, American Nightmares, Aarti documents her family’s harrowing journey--from Partition-era India to Casablanca, Morocco to Queens, New York.

Aarti’s parents came to America with little money in their pockets and no legal documents to remain in the country. Battling poverty, discrimination, and wayward business partners, the Shahani family manages to make it. Until one day, nearly everything falls apart. Aarti’s father was arrested and accused of operating an electronics store that was a front for the Cali drug cartel. What followed was a jail sentence for Aarti’s father in New York’s notorious Riker’s Island prison and a years-long struggle to fight off deportation.

This plot sounds like a made for Netflix special. But this is real life. This is Aarti’s story.

This week on the show, Milan talks to Aarti about her new memoir, her immigrant story, the “unsung heroes of low-end globalization,” and what she learned about America’s broken immigration system along the way.

Author Madhuri Vijay on Her Award-Winning Book, “The Far Field”

podcasts@ceip.org (Milan Vaishnav, Madhuri Vijay) — Wed, 25 Mar 2020 01:00:19 +0000

In the wake of her mother's untimely death, a young woman from Bangalore--born into a life of privilege--drops everything and travels to the opposite end of India--to the state of Jammu and Kashmir--to search for a long-lost figure from her childhood--an enigmatic Kashmiri man named Bashir Ahmed.

What follows is a tale of romance, intrigue, conflict, politics, self-discovery, and tragedy. Readers will find this and much more in the best-selling novel, The Far Field, written by author Madhuri Vijay. The book won the 2019 JCB Prize for Literature, one of India’s most prestigious literary awards. The Washington Post book critic Ron Charles says that The Far Field “offers something essential: a chance to glimpse the lives of distant people captured in prose gorgeous enough to make them indelible — and honest enough to make them real.”

This week, Milan speaks with Vijay from her home in Hawaii. They discuss Vijay’s journey as a writer, her decision to set her book in Kashmir, and the surprising connections between her idyllic adopted home of Hawaii and the conflicted state of Jammu and Kashmir.

Tanvi Madan on the U.S.-India-China “Fateful Triangle”

podcasts@ceip.org (Milan Vaishnav, Tanvi Madan) — Wed, 18 Mar 2020 01:00:06 +0000

Since the end of the Cold War, it has become commonplace to view America’s relationship with India through the prism of China. But a new book by the Brookings Institution scholar Tanvi Madan argues that China’s centrality to U.S.-India relations is hardly a product of the past few decades.

Tanvi’s new book, Fateful Triangle: How China Shaped U.S.-India Relations during the Cold War, offers a historically grounded yet readable guide to the ways in which China has influenced the trajectory of U.S.-India ties--directly and indirectly--since India’s independence in 1947.

This week on the show, Milan and Tanvi discuss the twists and turns in the U.S.-India relationship over the decades, what India’s policy of “non-alignment” really meant, and whether nature and nurture are finally converging to forge a common American and Indian view on China.

Jessica Seddon on India’s Air Pollution Crisis

podcasts@ceip.org (Jessica Seddon, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 11 Mar 2020 01:00:03 +0000

In 2018, the World Health Organization (WHO) published a list of the 15 most polluted cities in the world. 14 of the 15 were in India. This is a troubling statistic that has been repeated ad nauseam in the media, by environmental advocates, and by concerned citizens of the country. But what are the causes of this environmental crisis, what are the social costs, and what—if anything—can be done about it?

To tackle these questions, Milan sits down with Jessica Seddon on this week’s show. Jessica is the Global Lead for Air Quality at the Ross Center for Sustainable Cities at the World Resources Institute and she has spent more than a decade living and working in India on issues related to urbanization, infrastructure, the environment, and decentralization.

Milan and Jessica discuss air pollution’s wide-ranging social impacts, why the crisis is so acute in India, the impact of Delhi’s “odd-even” experiment, and what—if anything—policymakers can do to turn the tide against toxic air quality in India’s cities.

Trump’s India Trip, Delhi Riots, and India in American Domestic Politics

podcasts@ceip.org (Sadanand Dhume, Tanvi MAdan, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 4 Mar 2020 02:00:07 +0000

This week, Milan sits down with podcast regulars Sadanand Dhume of the American Enterprise Institute and the Wall Street Journal and Tanvi Madan of the Brookings Institution for the first “Grand Tamasha” news round-up of 2020.

The three discuss President Trump’s whirlwind, 36-hour visit to India, the ghastly Delhi riots that coincided with his trip, and the prospect of India becoming a political football in America’s 2020 presidential election season.

And the trio could not resist talking about Ivanka Trump’s Tal Mahal internet memes, a very strange puppet video, and a Delhi schoolboy who would not let the Secret Service get in the way of his bhangra moves.

Adam Auerbach and Gabi Kruks-Wisner on How the Poor Navigate the Indian State

podcasts@ceip.org (Adam Auerbach, Milan Vaishnav, Gabi Kruks-Wisner) — Wed, 26 Feb 2020 02:00:01 +0000

If the poor represent a majority of voters in India, why doesn’t this electoral power translate into better quality government services? Why are some vulnerable communities able to secure development from the state while others fail?

These are some of the big questions that political scientists Adam Auerbach and Gabi Kruks-Wisner shed light on in this week’s episode of “Grand Tamasha.”

Adam is assistant professor in the School of International Service at American University and his new book is called Demanding Development: The Politics of Public Goods Provision in India’s Urban Slums. Gabi is assistant professor of politics and global studies at the University of Virginia and the author of Claiming the State: Active Citizenship and Social Welfare in Rural India.

Milan talks with Adam and Gabi about citizenship and political leadership in 21st century India, the strategies the poor employ to win access to development, and whether or not their research leaves them optimistic or pessimistic about democracy’s future in India.

Amit Ahuja on the Roots of Dalit Politics

podcasts@ceip.org (Milan Vaishnav, Amit Ahuja) — Wed, 19 Feb 2020 02:00:07 +0000

India is home to over 200 million Dalits, formerly known as “untouchables,” who have historically occupied the bottom rung of the Hindu caste hierarchy. In recent decades, however, Dalits have experienced unprecedented political and social mobilization.

But, across India’s states, the collective action undertaken by this historically marginalized community has been highly uneven--this is the argument of a brand new book by the political scientist Amit Ahuja titled, Mobilizing the Marginalized: Ethnic Parties Without Ethnic Movements.

Amit is a professor at the University of California-Santa Barbara and one of the wisest voices on Indian politics, social change, and foreign policy. This week, Milan sits down with Amit to talk about his new book, the status of Dalit politics circa 2020, the BJP’s Dalit outreach, and Amit’s innovative research on marriage markets in India.

Pramit Bhattacharya on the Crisis in India’s Economic Data

podcasts@ceip.org (Milan Vaishnav, PRamit Bhattacharya) — Wed, 12 Feb 2020 02:00:06 +0000

“The credibility of India’s official statistics has hit rock-bottom in recent years.” This is the conclusion reached by Milan’s guest on the show this week, Pramit Bhattacharya. Today, economists openly question the sanctity of India’s GDP growth figures. The government has chosen to scrap or suppress economic surveys it has conducted when they have thrown up inconvenient truths. And the apex statistical body in the country has been hollowed out by mass resignations.

Few have studied these issues more closely that Pramit Bhattacharya, who serves as data editor at Mint. Milan and Pramit discuss the decline in India’s legendary statistical prowess, the controversy over faulty GDP figures, the scrapping of inconvenient government surveys, and the broader adverse impacts on India’s economic credibility.

Jerry Rao on The Past, Present, and Future of Conservatism in India

podcasts@ceip.org (Milan Vaishnav, Jerry Rao) — Wed, 5 Feb 2020 02:00:08 +0000

In 2015, the historian Ramachandra Guha wrote an essay in the Indian magazine Caravan that ruffled a lot of feathers. Guha remarked that while India had a right-wing party in power, the country lacked a serious right-wing intellectual ecosystem.

A new book by the author and entrepreneur Jerry Rao argues that India in fact has a long, ancient tradition of right-wing thought. Rao’s book, The Indian Conservative: A History of Indian Right-Wing Thought, examines the contribution conservative ideas have made—and could make in the future—to the economy, politics, culture, society, and aesthetics of India.

On this week’s episode, Milan and Jerry sit down to talk about the roots of conservative thought in India, the connection between Hindu nationalism and conservative tradition, and what the future holds for Indian secularism.

Republic Day Episode: Madhav Khosla on India’s Founding Moment

podcasts@ceip.org (Milan Vaishnav, Madhav Khosla) — Wed, 29 Jan 2020 02:00:20 +0000

On January 26, 2020—Republic Day—India celebrated the 70th anniversary of its landmark Constitution. This milestone comes at a time when India is engaged in an intense, contested, and sometimes violent, debate over India’s constitutional values and what it means to be truly Indian.

It is for this reason that a new book by the scholar Madhav Khosla on the Indian Constitution could not have come at a more opportune time. Madhav’s new book, India’s Founding Moment: The Constitution of a Most Surprising Democracy, places the Indian Constitution under a microscope—drawing on insights from philosophy, political science, history, and legal scholarship.

Madhav and Milan discuss the motivations behind India’s embrace of liberal democracy, the Indian roots of the Indian Constitution, and how to think about the pressing, modern-day questions around citizenship.

Supriya Sharma on Citizenship, Protests, and the Indian Media

podcasts@ceip.org (Supriya Sharma, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 22 Jan 2020 02:00:03 +0000

On January 10, the newly passed Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) officially came into force. The act provides for an expedited pathway to citizenship for illegal migrants from a number of non-Muslim faiths hailing from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan and who seek refuge in India. The act has prompted intense protests across cities and towns in India. The act dovetails with another one of the Modi government’s priorities, the creation of a national register of citizens (NRC) that aims to weed out illegal migrants from India’s citizenship rolls.

To talk about the bill, the street protests, and the ruling BJP’s larger objectives, on a recent trip to New Delhi, Milan sat down with Supriya Sharma, the executive editor of Scroll.in, in this first episode of the third season of Grand Tamasha. Scroll is one of India’s leading online news organization and its reporters have been at the forefront when it comes to covering the popular resistance to both the CAA and the NRC. Supriya has extensively covered the protests—and the state’s brutal response—in the crucial Hindi heartland state of Uttar Pradesh.

Milan and Supriya also discuss the economic slowdown and how that might be fueling popular discontent as well as the state of the media environment in India today.

Citizenship Travails, Maharashtra Elections, and Election Meddling

podcasts@ceip.org (Milan Vaishnav, Sadanand Dhume, Tanvi Madan) — Wed, 18 Dec 2019 02:00:33 +0000

On the season two finale of Grand Tamasha, Milan sits down with podcast regulars Sadanand Dhume of the American Enterprise Institute and the Wall Street Journal and the Brookings Institution’s Tanvi Madan to round up this month’s political news from India. First, Milan and his guests discuss the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the protests that have rocked India. Next, they discuss the original “Grand Tamasha,” also known as the never-ending 2019 Maharashtra assembly election. Finally, Milan, Sadanand, and Tanvi debate the unusual intermingling of Indian politics and domestic politics in the United States and the United Kingdom.

This is the last episode of Grand Tamasha in 2019. Join us for season three, which kicks off in late January 2020. We would love to hear from you with any and all feedback on the show--what you like, what you hate, and what guests you’d like to hear from. Please email us at podcasts@ceip.org.

Sushant Singh on India’s Defense Budget

podcasts@ceip.org (Sushant Singh, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 11 Dec 2019 02:00:04 +0000

One of the most reliable laments about Indian defense policy is that the Government of India spends far too little on defense. Experts say this is a problem for at least two reasons. First, India lags behind many of its strategic competitors when it comes to spending—which only deepens the country’s asymmetry in capabilities. Second, without greater investment, India won’t be able to live up to its own rhetoric of becoming a leading, rather than a balancing, power on the world scene.

This week on the podcast, Milan talks all things defense policy with Sushant Singh. Sushant is the deputy editor of the Indian Express newspaper, where he writes about national security, international relations, the judiciary and investigative agencies. Before turning to journalism, Sushant served in the Indian Army for twenty years, including multiple stints in Jammu and Kashmir.

Milan and Sushant discuss the crippling costs of personnel and pensions, the classic “guns versus butter” debate, and the much-anticipated national security strategy.

Katherine Eban on Fraud in India’s Generic Drugs Industry

podcasts@ceip.org (Milan Vaishnav, Katherine Eban) — Wed, 4 Dec 2019 03:36:41 +0000

90 percent of the world’s pharmaceutical market is comprised of generic drugs. Generics have been hailed as low-cost alternatives to their more expensive brand-name counterparts, thereby providing low-income patients around the world with affordable medicines.

An explosive new book, Bottle of Lies: The Inside Story of the Generic Drug Boom, by journalist Katherine Eban demolishes this myth and provides a dizzying, page-turning investigation of the lies, deceit, and outright fraud that run rampant in the generics industry. The narrative arc of the book is built around the rapid rise and the dramatic decline of the Indian generics manufacturer Ranbaxy.

This week, Milan speaks with Katherine to discuss her decade-long investigation, the contested role that India plays, and the consequences for public health.

Anit Mukherjee on the ‘Absent Dialogue’ Between Civilians and the Military in India

podcasts@ceip.org (Milan Vaishnav, Anit Mukherjee) — Wed, 27 Nov 2019 02:00:30 +0000

Over the years, one could fill a small library with books that have been written about how Indian democracy survived against all of the odds—inequality, poverty, a difficult neighborhood, and a sprawling geography. Somewhat surprisingly, however, very few books have been written about the role the military has played—or not played—as it were. Many of India’s neighbors have experienced military coups and some, like Pakistan, have been unable to shake near-constant military involvement in daily political life.

And yet, all is not well when it comes to civil-military relations in India. This is the argument of Milan’s guest on the show today, Anit Mukherjee, who is the author of the brand new book, The Absent Dialogue: Politicians, Bureaucrats, and the Military in India. Anit is a professor at the Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore who also just so happens to be a former officer in the Indian Army. Milan and Anit chat about civil-military relations in India, its impact on defense capabilities, and the prospect of reform under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Aatish Taseer on India, Indian Politics, and Citizenship

podcasts@ceip.org (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace) — Wed, 20 Nov 2019 02:00:09 +0000

This week on Grand Tamasha, Milan sits down with the writer Aatish Taseer, an award-winning author who writes extensively about India and South Asia in his growing body of fiction and non-fiction writing. His most recent book, “The Twice Born: Life and Death on the Ganges,” is part travelogue, part social commentary, and part autobiographical journey of self-discovery set in the city of Benares, the spiritual capital of Hinduism.

Two weeks ago, Aatish received notice that the government of India was revoking his status as an Overseas Citizen of India—known as OCI. The government alleges that Aatish concealed the fact that his father, the late Salman Taseer, was a Pakistani citizen (a violation of OCI regulations). Aatish was born in London, is now a permanent resident of the United States, but was raised in New Delhi, where he spent his formative years. Milan speaks with Aatish about his life, his reporting, and the latest developments around his citizenship status.

Vivan Marwaha on the Hopes and Hype of Indian Millennials

podcasts@ceip.org (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace) — Wed, 13 Nov 2019 02:00:02 +0000

There is arguably no more consequential generation to the future of India than today’s millennials. The median age of India’s population is just 28 years old. This means that Indian millennials number around 400 million--roughly one-third of the entire Indian population. By the year 2021, two-thirds of India’s population will be within the working age of 20-35 years. It is no exaggeration to say that the economic, political, and social views of India’s youth will have a profound effect on the country’s future trajectory.

This week on the show, Milan speaks with Vivan Marwaha, who is both an Indian millennial and the author of a new book on Indian millennials—What Millennials Want—that will be published by Penguin Random House India in 2020. Milan and Vivan talk about India’s much-ballyhooed “demographic dividend,” whether there is an Indian Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez waiting in the wings, and why India’s youth are bullish on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership.

The Rise of the "Scams Raj"

podcasts@ceip.org (Milan Vaishnav, Snigdha Poonam) — Wed, 6 Nov 2019 02:00:04 +0000

Milan talks with Snigdha Poonam, national affairs reporter for the Hindustan Times, on the startling rise of truly outrageous scams across India. Through a series of eye-popping investigations, Snigdha and her colleagues have mastered the art of exposing extraordinary scams involving ordinary people in India. They have uncovered call center scams, insurance scams, exam scams, fake jobs scams, and other scams that you did not even know existed.

Snigdha is the author of the book, Dreamers: How Young Indians Are Changing Their World, and has a knack for getting deep inside the psyche of the Indian heartland. Milan speaks with Snigdha about her journalistic exploits, the personal toll of investigative reporting, and what is powering the proliferation of scams in the “New India.” Here is their conversation, recorded in the Hindustan Times studio in New Delhi last summer.

State Elections, the U.S. Congress on Kashmir, and a Nobel Prize for India

podcasts@ceip.org (Milan Vaishnav, Sadanand Dhume, Tanvi Madan) — Wed, 30 Oct 2019 01:00:06 +0000

Milan sits down with podcast regulars Tanvi Madan (Brookings Institution) and Sadanand Dhume (American Enterprise Institute and the Wall Street Journal) to round up this month’s news.

This month’s round up tackles three topics. Last week, voters elected new state governments in Haryana and Maharashtra in the first polls since May’s general election. Milan, Sadanand, and Tanvi discuss the results and their significance for Indian politics going forward. Second, the U.S. Congress recently held a hearing on the state of human rights in South Asia. This hearing saw a contentious debate break out about the state of play in Jammu and Kashmir. Our guests debate what this means for U.S.-India relations. And finally, three economists--Abhijit Banerjee, Esther Duflo, and Michael Kremer--were awarded this year’s Nobel Prize in economics. This particular Nobel has created a lot of buzz in India, not least because Banerjee is a native son of West Bengal and both he and Duflo have spent much of the careers working on issues of development and poverty in India. The trio discuss the Indian reaction to the prize announcement.

Yamini Aiyar on the Hits and Misses of Modi’s Welfare Agenda

podcasts@ceip.org (Milan Vaishnav, Yamini Aiyar) — Wed, 23 Oct 2019 01:00:02 +0000

When Narendra Modi campaigned for India’s top job in 2014, he contrasted the incumbent Congress Party’s “politics of welfare” with the BJP’s preferred approach, which emphasized the “politics of growth.” Modi and the BJP famously dismissed the Congress government’s emphasis on entitlements, arguing that--if brought to power--it would prioritize empowerment. Five years later, the BJP has won its second consecutive single-party majority. While political scientists are debating the precise factors that led to the BJP’s triumph, the consensus view is that the ruling party’s roll-out of popular welfare schemes--from healthcare to gas connections to toilets --was an important contributing factor. This week on the podcast, Milan sits down with Yamini Aiyar, President and CEO of the Centre for Policy Research, arguably one of India’s finest public policy research institutions. Yamini is one of India’s most respected voices on development, having worked for years at the intersection of public service delivery, policy, and politics. Milan and Yamini discuss the Modi government’s approach to welfare, the role of technology in augmenting state capacity, and the unfinished business of the past.

Shoaib Daniyal on How the BJP Conquered West Bengal

podcasts@ceip.org (Milan Vaishnav, Shoaib Daniyal) — Wed, 16 Oct 2019 01:00:30 +0000

When India went to the polls in the Spring of 2019, there were few states that election observers were watching more closely than the state of West Bengal. Home to 100 million Indians and responsible for 42 seats in Parliament, West Bengal is always a state worth watching. Yet, this time was different. For decades, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been a bit player in this eastern state. For three decades, the state was a bastion of India’s Communist parties. And since 2011, the state has been dominated by Mamata Banerjee and the Trinamool Congress, a popular Bengali regional party. And, yet, in 2019 the BJP did the unthinkable. It won 18 of Bengal’s seats--earning a stunning 40 percent of the vote. And it did so despite having a minimal party organization on the ground. This summer, Milan sat down with Shoaib Daniyal of the Indian digital news site Scroll.in. During the election, Shoaib did some of the most interesting and most illuminating reporting on the electoral battle in Bengal. Here’s our conversation from the Hindustan Times studio in New Delhi from this July.

Ashley J. Tellis on America’s “India Dividend”

podcasts@ceip.org (Ashley Tellis, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 9 Oct 2019 01:00:02 +0000

For nearly twenty years, relations between the United States and India have been on the upswing. Once a nuclear pariah and a country tagged as an important partner of the former Soviet Union, India has steadily grown closer to America since the start of the George W. Bush administration.

This week, Milan talks with Ashley J. Tellis, co-author (with former U.S. Ambassador to India Robert Blackwill) of a new essay in Foreign Affairs called, “The India Dividend.” Ashley holds the Tata Chair for Strategic Affairs at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and was a key protagonist, during his time in the U.S. government, in the project to bolster U.S.-India ties. Ashley explains why the logic of U.S.-India ties is misunderstood by so many and why exactly the United States and India share a strategic convergence when it comes to China. Milan also asks Ashley about how the two countries can resolve flashpoints like Russia, Iran, and trade and how to assess the significance is of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent trip to the United States.

Deep in the Heart of Texas: Inside “Howdy, Modi!”

Thu, 3 Oct 2019 01:00:03 +0000

This week on the podcast, Milan and executive producer Lauren Dueck take listeners deep in the heart of Texas and inside the gargantuan “Howdy, Modi!” rally held in Houston on September 22nd. Milan and Lauren speak with three Indians residing in Houston about their experiences taking in Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and U.S. President Donald Trump. Why did they show up? What did they experience? And what were the main takeaways for the United States, India, and Indian-Americans? To discuss the larger significance of the historic rally, Milan and Lauren also speak with Sonia Paul, a freelance journalist and audio producer who covered the event for the Atlantic. If you are wondering what it felt like to be in the stadium that day, look no further.

EAM Jaishankar on India's Pluralism, Jammu and Kashmir, and Globalization

podcasts@ceip.org (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace) — Tue, 1 Oct 2019 02:00:05 +0000

EAM Subrahmanyam Jaishankar stopped at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace on the first day of his whirlwind trip through Washington, DC. We were lucky enough to record the conversation, which was hosted by Carnegie President William J. Burns, and Ashley J. Tellis. Today we're sharing the minister's remarks in full, along with a selection of the questions we thought Grand Tamasha listeners might be most interested in. The video of the full event will be available on our website in the coming days, and we'll update this description when it's posted.

“Howdy, Modi,” the Kashmir Clampdown, and the Indian Economy

podcasts@ceip.org (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace) — Wed, 25 Sep 2019 01:00:34 +0000

On this week’s podcast, Milan sits down with Grand Tamasha regulars Sadanand Dhume of the American Enterprise Institute and Wall Street Journal and Tanvi Madan of the Brookings Institution to round up the latest news on Indian politics and policy.

The two begin by dissecting the massive, 50,000 person “Howdy, Modi” rally held over the weekend at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas. They discuss the optics, the significance, Trump’s role, and the key takeaways from Modi’s address. Later on the podcast, the three talk about the ongoing lockdown in the state of Jammu and Kashmir and the BJP’s endgame in the contested state. Milan, Sadanand, and Tanvi conclude with an assessment of the Indian government’s measures to shore up the flagging Indian economy.

Prashant Jha on Why We Missed the Modi Wave

podcasts@ceip.org (Prashant Jha, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 18 Sep 2019 01:00:03 +0000

Milan speaks with Prashant Jha, opinion editor at the Hindustan Times and author of the book, How the BJP Wins: Inside India’s Greatest Election Machine. So many election analysts, journalists, and political scientists failed to predict the massive mandate that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) claimed in the 2019 general election. This has prompted a good deal of soul-searching as to why. In this conversation, Prashant—who was one of the few who picked up on the pro-Modi wave during the campaign—explains why so many election observers missed the writing on the wall.

Milan also speaks with Prashant about the current state of the BJP, the induction of BJP president Amit Shah into the government, what ails the Congress Party, and what could upset the BJP’s current electoral dominance.

Niha Masih on the History and Political Implications of the NRC in Assam

podcasts@ceip.org (Milan Vaishnav, Niha Masih) — Wed, 11 Sep 2019 01:00:02 +0000

Milan speaks with Niha Masih of the Washington Post about the ongoing political drama surrounding the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam. Nearly 33 million residents of Assam applied to have their names included on the register, which was intended to distinguish between who was a legitimate resident of the state of the Assam and who was an illegal migrant from Bangladesh. When the list finally came out in late August, nearly 2 million people discovered that their names were left off the list--calling their citizenship status into question.

Niha recently spent time on the ground in Assam and she and Milan discuss the history of the NRC process, its contested implementation, and the political color it has taken on in recent years. The two also debate the political implications of the registry for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the fate of the millions whose names did not appear on the revised list.

Salman Soz on what the abrogation of Article 370 means for Jammu and Kashmir—and for India

podcasts@ceip.org (Salman Soz, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 4 Sep 2019 01:00:11 +0000

Last week on the podcast, Milan talked with journalist Rahul Pandita about the Indian government’s decision to abrogate Article 370 of the Constitution, which grants the state of Jammu and Kashmir semi-autonomous status. According to Rahul, while many Kashmiris are up in arms over the government’s decision, many residents quietly support the move.

This week, we continue our exploration of the events unfolding in Jammu and Kashmir by speaking with Salman Soz, who offers a very different perspective on the actions on the ground. Soz is an international development expert who hails from Kashmir and a member of the opposition Indian National Congress. He is also the author of a new book, The Great Disappointment: How Narendra Modi Squandered a Unique Opportunity to Transform the Indian Economy.

Salman believes the scrapping of Article 370 will have serious, adverse consequences for the state and for Indian democracy on the whole. Milan and Salman discuss the latter’s personal ties to the state, when a return to “normalcy” might be possible, whether Article 370 can be linked to the state’s troubles, and what state politics looks like in the future.

Rahul Pandita on Kashmir: “You can leave Kashmir but Kashmir never leaves you”

podcasts@ceip.org (Rahul Pandita, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 28 Aug 2019 01:00:15 +0000

Milan sits down with journalist Rahul Pandita to talk about the situation in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. Rahul has an intense personal connection to the state—he was just fourteen years old when he and his Kashmiri Pandit family were forced into exile. He speaks with Milan about a recent reporting trip he took to Kashmir in the aftermath of the government’s decision to abrogate Article 370 of the Constitution, ending seven decades of constitutional autonomy for the state.

Milan and Rahul discuss the fall-out of the government’s move, the contradictory narratives from the ground, and the prospects for violence. Rahul also explains his frustration with mainstream media’s “apocalyptic” reporting from Kashmir, which he says fails to adequately report all sides of the story.

Rahul documented the heartbreaking story of Kashmir and his connection to it in his 2013 book, Our Moon Has Blood Clots: A Memoir of a Lost Home in Kashmir. Today, Rahul is a journalist with OPEN Magazine.

Christophe Jaffrelot on the Modi Moment in Indian Politics

podcasts@ceip.org (Milan Vaishnav, Christophe Jaffrelot) — Wed, 21 Aug 2019 01:20:01 +0000

This week on the Grand Tamasha podcast, we bring you some special bonus content--a conversation Milan recorded with political scientist Christophe Jaffrelot in June 2019 in the aftermath of the momentous Indian general election. Christophe is one of the world’s best-known scholars of India, having written some of the field’s foundational texts dissecting caste politics and Hindu nationalism.

In his conversation with Milan, Christophe discusses the factors that led to the BJP’s crushing victory in the 2019 election, starting with the magnetic charisma and “national populism” of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The two also debate the long-term implications of the election for the construction of a Hindu rashtra (nation), the future of secularism, and what the election portends for the future shape of politics in India’s south.

Kashmir, the Indian Economy, and the PM’s Independence Day Speech

podcasts@ceip.org (Sadanand Dhume, Milan Vaishnav, Tanvi Madan) — Wed, 21 Aug 2019 01:00:08 +0000

In the season premiere, Milan hosts an end-of-summer news round-up with Sadanand Dhume of the American Enterprise Institute and Wall Street Journal and Tanvi Madan of the Brookings Institution.

Milan and his guests discuss three topics: the Modi government’s decision to abrogate Section 370 of the Indian Constitution granting semi-autonomous status to Jammu and Kashmir, the slumping Indian economy, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Independence Day address.

Programming note: this season we're changing up our format to allow us to dig deeper into the issues you care about. Each episode will either break down the news of the week, or feature an interview with an expert. Thanks for listening!

U.S.-India Trade Woes and Shereen Bhan on Modi’s Economic Agenda

podcasts@ceip.org (Richard Rossow, Shereen Bhan, Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 19 Jun 2019 01:00:33 +0000

First, Milan sits down with Richard (Rick) Rossow who holds the Wadhwani Chair in U.S.-India Policy Studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington. With years of experience in the private sector as well as in the think tank world, Rick follows India’s trade and investment scenario India more closely than almost anyone else on the planet. Rick and Milan discuss the recent trade fallout between the United States and India and whether we are at the beginning of an ugly trade war. Rick and his colleagues have also been tracking the Modi government’s economic reforms through a unique reforms scorecard, and Rick tells us about what we can expect from Modi 2.0 based on the experience of Modi 1.0.

Then, Milan sits down with Shereen Bhan, Managing Editor of CNBC-TV18, during her recent trip to Washington. Shereen has a front-row seat when it comes to Indian economic news, and she and Milan have a wide-ranging conversation on everything from India’s contested GDP numbers to private sector sentiment. Shereen also discusses the Modi government’s reform agenda, the road ahead for the Goods and Services Tax (GST), and questions around India’s trade policy.

The BJP in Power and Ashley J. Tellis on India’s Foreign Policy Future

podcasts@ceip.org (Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 12 Jun 2019 01:00:00 +0000

First, Milan sits down with Uttam Kumar of the Hindustan Times to discuss the state of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on the heels of its second consecutive election victory. Uttam and Milan discuss the role that Amit Shah, the longtime confidant of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and newly inaugurated Union Home Minister, will play in the Modi 2.0 government. Uttam also shares his insights into the future of the BJP party organization, the makeup of the Cabinet, and the government’s early priorities.

Then, Milan talks with Ashley J. Tellis, who holds the Tata Chair for Strategic Affairs at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Milan asks Ashley about the foreign policy challenges facing the new government, as laid out in Tellis’ new Carnegie essay, “Troubles Aplenty: Foreign Policy Challenges for the Next Indian Government.” Tellis also assesses Modi’s first-term foreign policy record and the current turmoil in U.S.-India relations. Milan ends the conversation by asking Tellis to reflect on Modi’s choice of Dr. S. Jaishankar as the new External Affairs Minister.

Modi’s Cabinet and Sajjid Chinoy on the Economic Choices Facing the New Government

podcasts@ceip.org (Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 5 Jun 2019 01:00:00 +0000

First, Milan sits down with Sadanand Dhume of the American Enterprise Institute and the Wall Street Journal to discuss the Modi government’s Cabinet picks. Sadanand and Milan discuss the two most notable additions to the Cabinet—Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar and Home Minister (and BJP Party President) Amit Shah. The two also discuss the issue of Modi’s second-term mandate as well as the relatively limited institutional checks and balances the prime minister faces going forward.

Then, Milan talks with Sajjid Chinoy, the chief India economist for JP Morgan. Sajjid is a prolific commentator on the Indian economy and a trusted external adviser to the government; he currently serves on the Advisory Council to the Fifteenth Finance Commission. Sajjid talks with Milan about the economic headwinds the government faces as it takes office and the hard choices the new government must tackle head-on in its first few months. Milan and Sajjid also discuss the global economic environment, the continuing problems ailing the rural sector, and the need to fix India’s economic “plumbing”.

The Election Aftermath and Devesh Kapur on the Indian State

podcasts@ceip.org (Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 29 May 2019 01:00:00 +0000

First, Grand Tamasha's Executive Producer Lauren Dueck takes the helm to interview Milan on the election aftermath. Milan and Lauren discuss whether the election marks a structural break in Indian electoral history and what, if any, impact the economy had on the outcome. The two also discuss whether secularism has a leg to stand on going forward.

Then, Milan sits down with Devesh Kapur, director of Asia programs at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). Devesh has spent much of his career researching the Indian state and he talks with Milan about his diagnosis of the challenges facing Indian public institutions. The two discuss India’s personnel shortcomings, whether India is truly a “patronage democracy,” and what should be on next government’s administrative reform agenda.

Election Postmortem With Tanvi Madan

podcasts@ceip.org (Milan Vaishnav) — Fri, 24 May 2019 18:00:00 +0000

Milan talks to Tanvi Madan of the Brookings Institution about the BJP's victory in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. We'll be back in your feed at our regularly scheduled time next week.

The End of the Never-Ending Campaign and Gilles Verniers on Data and Elections

podcasts@ceip.org (Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 22 May 2019 01:00:00 +0000

First, the new national political editor of the Hindustan Times Sunetra Choudhury joins Milan to round up this week’s news. Sunetra reflects on some of her key takeaways from the 2019 campaign and how, if at all, this year’s election broke new ground. The two also discuss the recent electoral turmoil in West Bengal and the regional opposition’s backroom discussions over a post-election “Federal Front.”

Then, Milan sits down with Gilles Verniers, assistant professor of political science and Ashoka University and co-director of the Trivedi Centre for Political Data. If you’ve encountered insightful, data-driven election analyses this cycle, chances are Gilles or his colleagues had something to do with it. Milan and Gilles discuss how 2019 has stacked up in terms of women candidates and the nomination of incumbents. The two end their conversation by reviewing Gilles’ list of “states to watch” on May 23 as the results come in.

Notes from the Campaign Trail and Rukmini S. on Journalism and the 2019 Elections

podcasts@ceip.org (Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 15 May 2019 01:00:00 +0000

First, James Crabtree of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy and author of the best-selling book, The Billionaire Raj: A Journey Through India’s New Gilded Age, joins Milan to talk about his recent campaign trip to Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. The two discuss the pitched battle in UP, the impact of Priyanka Gandhi, and the BJP’s rise in West Bengal. Milan and James also discuss the menace of stray cattle in Uttar Pradesh and its impact on rural voters.

Then, Milan speaks with freelance data journalist and author of the Scroll.in series, *How India Votes*, Rukmini S. Rukmini shares her disappointment with the state of election reporting in India and the struggle to generate a theory of the Indian voter. Milan and Rukmini also talk about gender and caste—two important themes of the 2019 election that could shape the final outcome. The two conclude with a discussion of the challenges the BJP faces in replicating its landmark 2014 performance.

The Economist on Modi and Rahul Verma on Ideology in Indian Politics

podcasts@ceip.org (Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 8 May 2019 01:00:00 +0000

First, Max Rodenbeck and Alex Travelli of the Economist South Asia bureau join Milan to discuss the newspaper’s recent editorial arguing that while BJP Prime Minister Narendra Modi “has been neither as good for India as his cheerleaders foretold, nor as bad as his critics…imagined,” the risks associated with a Modi-led BJP still outweigh the rewards. The three discuss the Economist’s editorial line, the nature of the 2019 campaign, and what’s at stake for India. Alex and Max also dispel the notion that coalition government is bad for governance in India.

Then, Milan speaks with Rahul Verma of the University of California-Berkeley and the Centre for Policy Research in New Delhi. Rahul is the co-author, with Pradeep Chhibber, of a fascinating new book on Indian politics, Ideology and Identity: The Changing Party Systems of India. Rahul’s new book busts the myth that Indian politics is non-ideological simply because it does not adhere to the traditional left-right spectrum that characterizes Western politics. Milan and Rahul discuss how status politics and the role of the state in social life animate party competition in India and how these two factors are changing over time. Rahul also weighs in on the cracks that are emerging within the BJP’s core ideological coalition and the risks this fracture poses for the party’s future.

The Hindi Heartland Votes and Niranjan Rajadhyaksha on the Modi Economy

podcasts@ceip.org (Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 1 May 2019 01:30:00 +0000

This week on the Grand Tamasha podcast, Neelanjan Sircar of Ashoka University and the Centre for Policy Research joins Milan for our weekly news roundup. The two discuss Neelanjan’s recent column on the epic electoral battle in the crucial heartland state of Uttar Pradesh, whose 80 seats hold the key to the next government. Milan and Neelanjan also discuss whether recent state election results are a good barometer for how those states will behave in national elections.

In this week’s interview segment, Milan speaks with Niranjan Rajadhyaksha, Research Director and Senior Fellow at the IDFC Institute in Mumbai and author of the “Café Economics” column in Mint. Niranjan is one of India’s most thoughtful economists and, in this conversation, he provides his big picture assessment of the Modi economy after five years. Milan and Niranjan discuss India’s “two-speed economy,” the banking crisis, India’s export opportunity amidst the brewing U.S.-China trade spat, and the reform agenda for the next government. Niranjan also offers his two-prong rule of thumb for making sense of India’s contested economic data.

The Mudslinging Campaign and Barkha Dutt on the “Fear” Election of 2019

podcasts@ceip.org (Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 24 Apr 2019 01:00:00 +0000

This week on the Grand Tamasha podcast, Sadanand Dhume of the American Enterprise Institute and Tanvi Madan of the Brookings Institution join Milan to discuss the latest news from the campaign trail. The three discuss the BJP’s controversial nomination of Sadhvi Pragya and the criticism of the Election Commission’s management of the polls. The three also discuss whether we can read anything into the modest voter turnout in the first two phases of the election.

In this week’s interview segment, Milan talks with veteran journalist Barkha Dutt (of the Washington Post and Tiranga TV) about her reporting on the 2019 election. The two discuss the fake news epidemic in India, the electoral salience of national security, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s economic messaging. Milan and Barkha also debate whether the Congress President Rahul Gandhi can successfully connect with voters.

A Conversation with India’s New CEA Krishnamurthy Subramanian

podcasts@ceip.org (Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 17 Apr 2019 01:00:00 +0000

This week we are doing something a little different. Milan Vaishnav sits down with the new Chief Economic Adviser (CEA) to the Government of India, Dr. Krishnamurthy Subramanian. Milan had talked with Subramanian at the Georgetown University India Ideas Conference, hosted by the Georgetown India Initiative in partnership with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI).

In his first official visit to Washington, Subramanian speaks with Milan about India’s macro-economic fundamentals, the status of India’s “twin balance sheet” challenge, and the road map for India’s Goods and Services Tax (GST). They also discuss the new wave of minimum income support schemes cropping up across India and their impact on the fiscal deficit. FICCI President Sandip Somany also joined Milan and Subramanian for the conversation. They also took questions from a live audience.

Modi’s Enduring Popularity, Majoritarian Rhetoric, and Snigdha Poonam on Young Voters

podcasts@ceip.org (Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 10 Apr 2019 01:00:00 +0000

First, Milan sits down with Sadanand Dhume of the American Enterprise Institute and Wall Street Journal. In a recent column, Sadanand writes that “an outcome that appeared uncertain a few months ago looks exceedingly likely: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, leader of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, is poised to win a second term.” Milan speaks with Sadanand about his recent trip to western Uttar Pradesh and the on-the-ground pro-Modi sentiment he found there. The two also discuss a recent column Sadanand penned on the BJP’s worrying majoritarian rhetoric and Milan’s recent Washington Post op-ed on why voters are searching for an excuse to back Modi.

Then, Milan speaks with Snigdha Poonam, national affairs reporter for the Hindustan Times, on her series on first-time voters. Each week, Snigdha and her colleagues profile a first-time voter across India and documenting their perspective on the 2019 race and what influences their vote. Milan and Snigdha talk about how young voters view Modi, Rahul Gandhi, and India’s economic travails. They also speak about Snigdha’s acclaimed book, Dreamers: How Young Indians Are Changing Their World, and the aspirations and anxieties that animate India’s youth.

Congress Manifesto, Left Politics, and Shashi Tharoor on the Congress Vision in 2019

podcasts@ceip.org (Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 3 Apr 2019 01:00:00 +0000

First, Milan sits down with Roshan Kishore, data and political economy editor at the Hindustan Times. They discuss the Congress Party’s newly unveiled manifesto and its economic centerpiece - a new minimum income support scheme (called “NYAY”, or Nyuntam Aay Yojana).The two also discuss the tensions between the Congress and Left parties in light of Rahul Gandhi’s decision to contest elections from Kerala and the general travails of Left politics in India today.

Then, Milan speaks with Congress Member of Parliament Dr. Shashi Tharoor, who took a short break from hectic campaigning in his constituency of Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala to join the show. Milan speaks with Tharoor about the Congress vision for 2019, the top concerns of voters in his constituency, and why the Congress has devoted so much energy to the issue of the controversy surrounding the Rafale fighter jet deal. Milan also asks Tharoor about the future of secularism and why Tharoor has written about the need to reclaim Hinduism from Hindutva.

First Week of Campaigning and Hasan Minhaj on the Battle for the Soul of India

podcasts@ceip.org (Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 27 Mar 2019 01:00:00 +0000

First, Milan sits down with Irfan Nooruddin, the Hamad bin Khalifa Professor of Indian Politics in the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University and Director of the Georgetown India Initiative. Milan and Irfan discuss the first week of official campaigning—including ticket selection by the major parties, the state of alliances, and the BJP’s claim that coalitions are “a potential recipe for causing irreparable damage to India & Indians.” Irfan, who is also the author of Coalition Politics and Economic Development, tells Milan why Indian voters should not fear coalitions, especially those that involve one of India’s two principal national parties.

Then, Milan chats with Indian-American comedian Hasan Minhaj, star of the hit Netflix show, Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj. In the season finale of Patriot Act, which aired on March 17, Minhaj turned his focus to the Indian general elections. In just half an hour, Minhaj covered topics ranging from Narendra Modi to the Congress Party’s corruption scams to the rising tide of nationalism—all with his trademark satirical humor. Milan speaks with Hasan about what it’s like commenting on Indian politics as a member of the Indian diaspora, why the 2019 election is a battle for the soul of India, and how forwards on a family WhatsApp group convinced him to do a show on Indian politics.

Corruption, Southern Politics, and Ruchir Sharma Reflects on 25 Years on the Campaign Trail

podcasts@ceip.org (Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 20 Mar 2019 01:00:00 +0000

First, Milan sits down with Reuben Abraham, CEO and senior fellow at the IDFC Institute in Mumbai. A Kerala native who has lived and worked in Hyderabad and now calls Mumbai home, Reuben talks to Milan about the electoral salience of corruption, alliance politics, and recent political developments in southern India.

Then, Milan sits down with author, columnist, and investor Ruchir Sharma to discuss his new book, Democracy on the Road: A 25 Year Journey Through India. For the past 25 years, Ruchir has been spending at least one week every year on the campaign trail in India. In their conversation, Ruchir recounts his run-ins with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Gandhi family, and other prominent politicians. He also reflects on some of the deeper drivers of voter behavior, from economic growth to caste and constituency service.

India’s Economic Woes and the Patchy History of Election Polling

podcasts@ceip.org (Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 13 Mar 2019 01:00:00 +0000

First, Milan Vaishnav sits down with Roshan Kishore (Data and Political Economy Editor, Hindustan Times) to discuss the latest economic figures from India. The Government of India reported that GDP growth in the third quarter of 2019 clocked in at 6.6 percent—the slowest pace in five quarters. India’s GDP growth forecast for 2018-19 has also been revised downwards to 7 percent from 7.2 percent. Milan and Roshan discuss the political implications of India’s slowing economy, the nature of rural distress, and how to make sense of India’s contested employment data.

Then, Milan speaks with Neelanjan Sircar, one of India’s leading public opinion experts. Sircar, an assistant professor at Ashoka University and senior visiting fellow at the Centre for Policy Research in New Delhi, explains why pollsters have such a hard time forecasting elections in India and how to make sense of the public opinion surveys that are rushing in ahead of the 2019 general elections. Sircar explains why it is incredibly difficult, if not impossible, for an Indian version of Nate Silver—the star number cruncher of American elections—to emerge. Milan also talks with Sircar about the status of the heated election race in West Bengal, a state Sircar has been researching for a decade.

India-Pakistan Tensions and When Foreign Policy Matters for Domestic Politics

podcasts@ceip.org (Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 6 Mar 2019 02:00:00 +0000

Milan Vaishnav talks about the aftermath of the recent conflict between India and Pakistan and its ramifications for India's domestic politics and foreign policy with Alyssa Ayres (Senior Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations) and Rezaul Hasan Laskar (Foreign Editor, Hindustan Times). Although major hostilities have paused, tensions between the two neighbors remain high. But as India's election approaches, the domestic spin game has begun. The three discuss the government’s approach, the opposition’s positioning, and how international diplomacy fared during the crisis.

Then, Milan speaks with Vipin Narang, associate professor of political science at MIT and a nonresident scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Narang is one of the few scholars to have thought deeply about when foreign policy actually matters for domestic politics in India. While the conventional wisdom holds that foreign policy is an elite issue that does not capture the imagination of the masses, Narang (and co-author Paul Staniland) argue that foreign policy can penetrate mass politics when the issue is salient and the lines of accountability are clear. Narang also explains why Modi and the BJP are likely to benefit from the recent crisis.

India's Strike on Jaish Camp Across the LoC, and Arvind Subramanian on Universal Basic Income

podcasts@ceip.org (Milan Vaishnav) — Wed, 27 Feb 2019 02:00:00 +0000

This week on Grand Tamasha, Milan Vaishnav sits down with Sadanand Dhume (Resident Scholar, American Enterprise Institute and Wall Street Journal columnist) and Sukumar Ranganathan (Editor-in-Chief, Hindustan Times) to discuss the aftermath of India’s targeted military strikes against Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorist camps in Pakistan. The strikes were a direct response to the tragic February 14 JeM attack on Indian paramilitary forces in Jammu and Kashmir, in which at least forty Indian soldiers lost their lives. The three discuss the current mood in New Delhi and the implications for the coming general elections. They also debate the ramifications of the conflict for state politics in Jammu and Kashmir and the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) standing in the troubled state.

Then, Milan speaks with Arvind Subramanian, the former chief economic adviser to the Government of India, about the idea of a universal basic income (UBI) for India. Subramanian was responsible for putting the idea of an Indian UBI on the policy agenda with his landmark proposal in the government’s 2017-2018 Economic Survey. Since then, several states have implemented modified versions of a UBI and both the Congress Party and the ruling BJP have announced their own income support schemes. Subramanian, who is currently a professor at the Harvard Kennedy School and a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute of International Economics, weighs in on the competing proposals and outlines his own proposal for a QUBRI (Quasi-Universal Rural Basic Income).

Trailer

podcasts@ceip.org (Milan Vaishnav) — Mon, 25 Feb 2019 20:45:00 +0000

Grand Tamasha debuts February 27! Here's a taste of what's coming up. Every week Milan will break down the biggest news with fellow experts in Indian politics, and interview an important guest on topics that transcend the headlines.