All Indians Matter

The economic crisis in Sri Lanka has trade and geopolitical implications for India, and is a danger to its investments in the island nation. For example, Colombo Port is a critical part of India’s global cargo route but it is crippled due to the cash crunch. Meanwhile, Chinese influence is hindering India’s economic opportunities in Sri Lanka. This is the time to rebuild ties with Colombo by offer...

The recent overturning of a capital punishment ruling has again put into focus the death penalty provision in law. The three men were on death row for eight years before they were found to be innocent. In those eight years, their young children had to turn to labour to survive and the wife of one of the men suffered a miscarriage. Are our investigative and judicial systems equipped and oriented to...

According to a National Commission for Women report, rural women walk up to 2.5 km every day to fetch potable water and that costs the country the equivalent of 150 million women days each year. In rupee terms, that’s a staggering Rs 1,000 crore. It leads also to social imbalances such as lower literacy levels and less earnings for women. As groundwater levels plummet and our freshwater sources ge...

At a time when the underprivileged are suffering the most because of the economic impact of the pandemic, when credit remains tough to get and when monetary pipelines are squeezed, can crowdfunding fill the vacuum? Dhaval Udani, founder of DanaMojo, India’s first payment solutions platform for NGOs, speaks to All Indians Matter.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The government wants to sell some public-sector banks, arguing that it makes for greater efficiency and a more competitive banking system. However, these banks are public assets, owned by you and I ultimately, and losing them to the mega rich would mean job losses, branch closures, fewer jobs for marginalised groups and rewarding major defaulters. Please listen to the latest episode of All Indians...

There are many forces that shape history but few people think of food as a factor. In fact, food and history are closely linked. For instance, it was the quest for spices that drew Vasco da Gama to India. All Indians Matter speaks about the link between food and history in India with Dr Tarana Husain Khan, a writer and food historian.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoice...

 A new Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report says India faces great risks from falling farm yields, water scarcity, lower productivity and sea-level rises that could swamp our financial nerve centres. India would be among the worst affected by warming, the report warns. Most worrying of all, these could lead to heightened social turmoil and even armed conflict. Please listen to the late...

Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) is a proudly Islamic and proudly Indian institution, a living symbol of the composite culture of India. AMU was once central to the progressive Muslim ethos but over the past few years many believe it has lost its once eminent status. What does AMU mean to the India of today and what lies ahead for it? Mohammed Wajihuddin, senior journalist and author of ‘Aligarh Mu...

The BJP, the clear winner in the latest round of Assembly elections, was helped in equal parts by its divisive agenda and an Opposition that couldn’t unite or get its act together. What impact this will have on India over the long term isn’t pleasant to think about. In the meantime, the winners will have to deliver on a range of promises, from jobs to connectivity and infrastructure to reviving in...

The hijab ban in Karnataka is only the latest instance of minorities, especially their women, being targeted in India. In this instance, they are being sought to be excluded from education and humiliated for being Muslim. Nidha Parveen, a hijabi, a student activist who led the anti-CAA/NRC movement at Delhi University and was targeted on the Bulli Bai auction page, speaks to All Indians Matter.  ...

Earlier this week, the Indian rupee hit a lifetime low as the Russian invasion of Ukraine raged on, crude oil prices soared and the spectre of higher inflation loomed large. A depreciating rupee has wide-ranging impact on your life – from higher fuel prices to a rise in the cost of living, shrinking salaries in some sectors and an erosion in the value of your equity holdings. Please listen to the...

It wasn’t just students; even teachers struggled as classes moved online during the COVID-19 lockdown. Lack of training added to the problem of poor digital infrastructure. How can teachers be readied for a new age of education delivery? Siddharth Rajsekar, renowned digital coach and author, discusses the way ahead on this episode of All Indians Matter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit mega...

The death of Zain, the son of Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, has put the focus on cerebral palsy. Zain was born with the condition, which hinders movement and posture, and can cause intellectual disability and seizures. Cerebral palsy is the most common motor disability in childhood, affecting 15%-20% of physically disabled children in India, yet awareness levels about it are low. This is compounded...

Raj Dhiman (21) is among the Indian students marooned in the Ukrainian city of Lviv. Like the others, he’s desperate to get out but he says Ukrainian soldiers are beating them up and preventing them from crossing into Poland. They would have left earlier but the Indian embassy kept assuring them things were fine. Now, he says, the embassy won’t even answer their calls. Please listen to this emotio...

The outcome of the Manipur state election will indicate the mood of the entire North-East. AFSPA, insurgency and jobs dominate the electoral conversation in the state which has tumultuous history and deep ethnic divides. Please listen to the latest episode of All Indians Matter.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is a crucial election year. Five states are making a choice. It’s almost a semi-final to the 2024 general election, and you can see that in the intensity of the campaigning. How these states vote will give us not only a fair idea of India’s political mood but also perhaps what direction our democracy will take. What are the main electoral issues? Who are the main players? How does the elector...

We all know about Mahatma Gandhi’s work, but few know of the role his wife Kasturba played in it. Kasturba was not a mute but was, in fact, a great freedom fighter, a pioneering satyagrahi and often her husband’s chief strategist and harshest critic. All Indians Matter presents a six-part series, ‘Kastur: In Gandhi’s Shadow, His Guiding Light’, to bring into focus the woman Kasturba really was. Jo...

Marital rape is at the centre of a heated debate with those opposing its criminalisation citing “men’s rights”, “potential misuse of the law” and “impact on Indian society”. What is the case all about, and why are we debating in 2022 whether marital rape should get legal protection? Shouldn’t a woman’s right over her body - or to refuse sex if she doesn’t want it - be paramount? So what if the per...

The Russia-Ukraine conflict could affect India in various ways – by raising oil and LNG prices, nudging inflation higher, to making stock markets even more volatile. It has implications also for our relationship with China and defence procurement. Please listen to the latest episode of All Indians Matter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

126 tigers died in India in 2021, the most since data began being compiled, for reasons ranging from habitat loss to poaching and from habitat fragmentation to hunting of the tiger’s prey species by locals hit badly by the COVID-19 lockdown. So what can be done to preserve and augment the progress India has achieved over the decades on tiger conservation? Internationally renowned wildlife filmmake...

Budget 2022 was presented in the backdrop of extremely worrisome levels of unemployment. India needs to create 100 million jobs by 2030 with roughly 10 million aspirants entering the employment market every year. Instead, we’ve had rising  job losses and increasing public anger. By not tackling this crisis head-on, and by even stepping back on crucial employment safety nets, this Budget isn’t grea...

The recent controversy over charitable organisations’ FCRA registration cancellations has sparked a debate on the regulations governing such organisations, especially tax incentives, and how getting them right could transform philanthropy in India. Ingrid Srinath, Director of the Centre for Social Impact and Philanthropy at Ashoka University, and Priyadarshini Singh, Senior Visiting Fellow at the...

Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Goa, Manipur and Uttarakhand will hold their Assembly elections weeks from now. What does unemployment look like in these states? Given our large population and the rate at which we’re adding young people to the potential workforce, are these states keeping up? Please listen to the concluding part of All Indians Matter’s series ‘Where are the jobs?’ Learn more about your ad...

India’s higher education system is at an inflection point. With at least 30 million students, India’s is the third largest higher education system in the world. However, it is characterised by low to average standards. One of the solutions offered in the New Education Policy is multidisciplinary education. What exactly is multidisciplinary education and what are the challenges to its rollout? Vete...

India simply can’t seem to make a dent in rising unemployment numbers. At 7.91% in December 2021, the rate has soared past 2018-19 and 2017-18 levels. The data shows that the rot set in as far back as four years ago, so don’t blame COVID-19 alone. All Indians Matter kicks off a special, two-part series on unemployment in India, titled ‘Where are the jobs?’. In the first part, we look at the data,...