Frontline Conversations

The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal has come under scrutiny following the deletion of more than 90 lakh names and questions over the impact on the Assembly election results. In this episode of Frontline Conversations, Prasenjit Bose, chairperson of the SIR panel of the West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee, discusses the allegations of disproportionate deletion...

The police crackdown on protests demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar has drawn criticism over the use of force against protesters, the detention of journalists, and restrictions on movement and internet access in Delhi. In this episode of Frontline Conversations, former IPS officer Meeran Chadha Borwankar speaks about the Delhi Police’s handling of the protests,...

The ongoing hunger strikes by IIT Bombay students and by the parents of Sahil Wakode, a second-year student who died on campus, over alleged caste discrimination have brought renewed attention to the issue in higher educational institutions. In this episode of Frontline Conversations, Deepali Salve, a PhD student and Ambedkarite activist, speaks to independent journalist Greeshma Kuthar about the...

In this episode of Frontline Conversations, Tatsam Mukherjee speaks with filmmaker Gurvinder Singh about his cinema, Punjab, memory, identity and the stories that remain outside mainstream narratives. Singh discusses his latest film "Rehmat", his experiences growing up as a Sikh in Delhi during the 1984 anti-Sikh violence, and how those memories shaped his understanding of religious identity and c...

In this episode of Frontline Conversations, anthropologist, translator and editor Onaiza Drabu discusses Kashmiri language, literature and cultural memory. Drawing on her edited volume, "The Big Book of Kashmiri Literature", she speaks about language loss, the stigma around speaking Kashmiri, and the renewed interest among younger Kashmiris in reclaiming the language. Drabu discusses how oral trad...

The death of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay student Sahil Wakode has renewed questions about caste discrimination in India’s higher educational institutions. Eminent sociologist and former UGC Chairman Sukhadeo Thorat discusses the issue and the need for stronger mechanisms to address discrimination on campuses. In this episode of Frontline Conversations, Thorat draws on his 2007 AIIM...

In this episode of Frontline Conversations, Sanjay Kumar, political analyst and former director of the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS), discusses the political dynamics shaping Uttar Pradesh ahead of the 2027 Assembly election and what they could mean for national politics. Kumar examines the Samajwadi Party’s Pichhada-Dalit-Alpsankhyak (PDA) strategy and its core support among...

In this episode of Frontline Conversations, Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi, Jammu & Kashmir National Conference (JKNC) MP from Srinagar, confirms that he will resign from the party on November 3, 2026, saying Farooq Abdullah’s recent statement on Article 370 left him with no reason to reconsider. Mehdi speaks about his growing differences with JKNC over Article 370, 35A and the demand for restoration of...

In this episode of Frontline Conversations, Gowhar Geelani speaks with Michael Kugelman, resident senior fellow for South Asia at the Atlantic Council, about US policy towards India in the context of US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor's recent visit to Kashmir and Leh. Kugelman discusses whether Gor’s remarks in Srinagar, including his description of "Jammu and Kashmir as an important part of India...

In this episode of Frontline Conversations, Sagrika Rajora of Voters’ Adhikar Manch discusses the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Delhi and the large-scale deletion of voters from the electoral register. She speaks about the impact of the exercise on migrants, working-class people, residents of slums and resettlement colonies, minorities and people with unstable hous...

In this episode of Frontline Conversations, Manuraj Shunmugasundaram, lawyer and author of "The People's Sanctum", discusses the 100-year struggle to democratise temples in India, particularly temple entry, caste, social justice and constitutional equality. Manuraj traces the story from the Vaikom Satyagraha of 1924 to contemporary debates over temple administration, priesthood and religious freed...

In this episode of Frontline Conversations, Prabha Kotiswaran, Professor of Law and Social Justice at King’s College London, speaks about her book "Wages for Housework: India’s Experiment with Unconditional Cash Transfers to Women". The book looks at India’s growing use of unconditional cash transfers to women through the lens of feminist social reproduction theory, with field research in Goa, Ass...

In this episode of Frontline Conversations, Apar Gupta, lawyer, digital rights activist and founder-director of the Internet Freedom Foundation, discusses the recent GenZ protest at Jantar Mantar where the Delhi Police and the government used digital surveillance along with censorship and online repression. Gupta speaks about the use of facial recognition technology, CCTV networks, drones and othe...

In this episode of Frontline Conversations, Saurav Das, chief spokesperson of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), discusses how a youth-led platform that began as a viral online campaign became the face of nationwide protests demanding accountability over exam paper leaks. Das speaks about the movement that culminated in the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, the government's...

In this episode of Frontline Conversations, author and journalist Arup Kumar Dutta discusses his latest novel "Leaves No Longer Green" and explains why he chose fiction to tell the forgotten history of indentured labour in Assam's tea plantations. Drawing on decades of research into the tea industry, Dutta reflects on the brutal recruitment of plantation workers under British rule and how fiction...

In this episode of Frontline Conversations, Editor emeritus at Toronto Star, Haroon Siddiqui, speaks about his six-decade career in journalism, the evolution of multicultural Canada, the changing nature of Western media, and the politics of identity in an increasingly polarised world. Born in Warangal and raised in Hyderabad, Siddiqui reflects on his early years in India, his migration to Canada i...

Amid a fragile US-Iran ceasefire and a major shift in West Asian geopolitics, what does the latest agreement mean for Iran, Israel, the US, and the future of the region? In this episode of Frontline Conversations, Talmiz Ahmad, former Indian diplomat and West Asia expert, analyses the changing dynamics of the Middle East and the forces shaping its future. Drawing on his decades of diplomatic exper...

In this episode of Frontline Conversations, Sagarika Ghose, Rajya Sabha MP, Trinamool Congress, discusses the unprecedented political crisis facing the Trinamool Congress following its defeat in the West Bengal 2026 Assembly election. As the party grapples with defections by senior leaders, legislators, and parliamentarians, Ghose offers her perspective on the reasons behind the exodus, the role o...

In this episode of Frontline Conversations, Jawhar Sircar, Former Rajya Sabha MP, Trinamool Congress, analyses the political crisis engulfing the Trinamool following its electoral defeat and the rebellion by a majority of its legislators. Sircar reflects on the structural weaknesses within the party, the rise of Abhishek Banerjee, the growing discontent among Trinamool leaders, and the factors tha...

In this episode of Frontline Conversations, Ritabrata Banerjee, Leader of the Opposition, Trinamool Legislative Party, speaks about the political upheaval that has shaken West Bengal politics following the Assembly election results. Banerjee discusses the rebellion by a majority of Trinamool MLAs, allegations of internal authoritarianism, the growing influence of Abhishek Banerjee within the party...

In this episode of Frontline Conversations, MLA Sheikh Khursheed and Abrar Rashid, brother and son of MP Engineer Rashid respectively, speak about the personal and political fallout of Engineer Rashid's seven-year incarceration, the impact of Article 370, and the future of Kashmir politics. Abrar Rashid reflects on growing up without his father, the trauma experienced by families separated by impr...

Why did thousands of Andhra Pradesh farmers voluntarily give up their land for Amaravati? In this episode of Frontline Conversations, social anthropologist Carol Upadhya discusses the rise, fall, and revival of Andhra Pradesh's capital city project, exploring caste politics, land pooling, real estate booms, environmental risks, the Amaravati protests, and the political contest between Chandrababu...

In this episode of Frontline Conversations, Abhijeet Dipke, founder of the viral Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), speaks about the movement that has captured the imagination of millions of young Indians in just a few weeks. What began as political satire has rapidly evolved into a youth-led campaign centred on unemployment, exam controversies, political representation, and growing disillusionment with...

In this episode of Frontline Conversations, political scientist Yogendra Yadav speaks about the growing controversy surrounding delimitation, the North-South political divide, federalism, representation, and the future of Indian democracy. He explains why the debate over Lok Sabha seat reallocation has triggered deep anxieties in southern states, and why he believes the principle of federal balanc...

In this episode of Frontline Conversations, host Gowhar Geelani leads a discussion on the disappearance and shrinking of Kashmir’s lakes and wetlands, following a recent CAG report that revealed more than 500 lakes in Jammu and Kashmir have either vanished or significantly receded. The panel examines the environmental, political, and social dimensions of Kashmir’s ecological crisis—from shrinking...