All Indians Matter

A brutal heatwave is sweeping across India – a result of severe disruption in heat dissipation, with ecosystems like ponds, wetlands and jungles under attack, coupled with rising carbon emissions. This has serious economic and health implications and it requires a coordinated national plan. Please listen to the latest episode of All Indians Matter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone...

More than 4.7 crore cases are pending in courts across the country; 1.82 lakh for more than 30 years. There is a need to introduce a great deal of efficiency in the way our courts work. India needs to focus on information technology to energise and speed up courts while improving the quality of judgments. Arvind Singhatiya, CEO of LegalKart, who’s working to do just that, speaks to All Indians Mat...

The removal from textbooks of references to the Mughals, the 2002 Gujarat riots and Gandhi’s opposition to the saffron right wing is an attempt to rewrite history and push the Sangh agenda. At a time when education across the world is broadening to include new and inclusive global realities, education in India is getting constricted. It is a disservice to the nation and is unwarranted. Please list...

India claims steadfast commitment to environmental laws, but its actions belie that claim – think more coal blocks being opened up for mining and forests under siege. Is India serious about environmental laws and their compliance? Susan L Ostermann, assistant professor of global affairs and political science at the Keough School of Global Affairs at the University of Notre Dame, who’s just written...

The manhunt for  Sikh separatist Amritpal Singh brings into focus not just the danger he poses but also the underlying socioeconomic tensions in Punjab – from agriculture in decline to drugs and high unemployment. Please listen to the latest episode of All Indians Matter.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Academic freedom and institutional autonomy have declined significantly in India since the Narendra Modi government came to power. This has been emphasised by independent studies but we don’t need them to see what’s going on. Why is academic freedom important to society and, indeed, individual freedoms? Suhas Palshikar, academician and social and political scientist, speaks to All Indians Matter....

When our icons stay silent, they make a choice to condone oppression and abuse of the democratic process. To the people, it says it’s OK to not speak up. If you have a platform, you ought to take a stand. Please listen to the latest episode of All Indians Matter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Among the various worries about, and threats to, Indian democracy is the capture of institutions, hobbling their independence and posing a threat to liberties and the democratic process. How does this happen and what does it mean for you? Christophe Jaffrelot, renowned political scientist and Indologist, speaks to All Indians Matter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Supreme Court will soon hear arguments for and against legalising same-sex marriages in India. The matter is not just about choice or sexuality, but human rights. If two consenting adults want to enter into a legal union that, for many, is the ultimate step in love, who is the government or anyone else to stand in the way? Marriage would mean same-sex couples could own property together, have...

India is poised to have more than 60 cities with a population of more than one million each and six megacities with populations of at least 10 million each by 2030. But, our urban centres are hardly well managed. The growing urban population will strain resources like water and energy, infrastructure like roads, services like waste management and healthcare. So, how we manage our resources and pla...

The ‘Academic Freedom Index Update 2023’ has confirmed what we’ve known for a while: academic and cultural freedom, and institutional autonomy, have declined significantly in India since the Narendra Modi government came to power. The areas of concern span the gamut, from freedom to research and teach to campus integrity. Academic freedom is a derivative of freedom of thought and is critical to th...

India’s urban air quality is dismal. Recently, Mumbai was named the second most polluted city in the world in terms of air quality and it is said that the bulk of India’s population breathes air that is at least 10 times more polluted than the World Health Organization’s previous PM 2.5 standards. Bhavay Sharma, Senior Program Manager - Air Quality at WRI India, speaks to All Indians Matter. Learn...

The misuse of agencies like the CBI and ED keeps political opponents neutralised and critics in check. But it will ultimately lead to the erosion of democracy, weakening our legal safeguards and laying the foundation of rule by fear. It’s what will, in the end, erase our freedoms. Please listen to the latest episode of All Indians Matter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoi...

India ranks an abysmal 101 among 116 countries on the Global Hunger Index. Rural hunger has received a lot of attention – justifiably so – but what does hunger in urban India look like? With three decades of growth, the urban economy is thought to have done better than the rural one. In reality, large sections of our urban population face serious food insecurity. Growing unemployment and rising fo...

Section 153A wasn’t part of the original penal code but was introduced via an amendment. It remains in the IPC because of its use as a tool to suppress free speech and political opponents. Until it goes, it will continue to shrink our fundamental rights. Please listen to the latest episode of All Indians Matter.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The mere existence of elections does not mean we have a truly representative democracy. They need to be free and fair. We need electoral reforms to fix problems ranging from the use of money and divisive campaigns to mandates being twisted and cast aside through the splitting of parties. Most important of all, electoral reforms are needed to preserve citizens’ trust in democracy.  What are these r...

Edtech exploded onto the scene as COVID-19 shut India down. It was hailed as a shining star in India’s red-hot startup economy. But now it’s reeling from an avalanche of bad news: complaints about service quality, misleading marketing, even outright cheating. The latest: edtech firms are laying off staff by the thousands. What can they do to rebuild trust? Please listen to the latest episode of Al...

Santosh Ram’s short film, ‘Prashna’, is a poignant, emotional piece of storytelling about migrant sugarcane workers and their families, told through the eyes of one mother and her son. Every year, more than six lakh people from Marathwada migrate within Maharashtra or to Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh to cut sugarcane. They have neither formal contracts nor rights. They live in pitiable conditions a...

WPL will not only unlock and expand the commercial value of women’s cricket, it will lead to the development of the women’s game at the grassroots level. For advertisers, it’s likely to deliver a lucrative audience that includes teenage to young women. Maybe the BCCI should have launched the league sooner? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Did you know that regional rural banks, or RRBs, have 28.3 crore depositors and 2.6 crore borrowers? They were created to provide rural areas with basic banking services, and they also disburse pensions and NREGA wages. With the government infusing Rs 10,890 crore to recapitalise RRBs, greenlighting their listing on stock exchanges and pushing operational reforms, can they become booster rockets f...

The flagship rural jobs scheme has provided a lifeline to homes hurting from unemployment and soaring inflation. The slashing of its budget to Rs 60,000 crore has been dubbed an “assault” on people’s right to work. What impact will the lower allocation have on rural families and the overall economy? Please listen to the latest episode of All Indians Matter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit...

The Elgar Parishad case, in which several activists have been accused of making speeches that led to violence in Bhima Koregaon near Pune in 2018, drags on. Dalit scholar Anand Teltumbde, lawyer-activist Sudha Bhardwaj and poet Varavara Rao have got bail, but only after spending years in prison. But others, such as Vernon Gonsalves, continue to languish behind bars. Eighty-four-year-old Jharkhand-...

Reports say that Indian technology firms will lay off 80,000 to 1.2 lakh employees over the next two quarters. No wonder Indian workers, caught between rising inflation and job insecurity, are on edge. Please listen to the latest episode of All Indians Matter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The BBC documentary ‘India: The Modi Question’ angers Narendra Modi because it strikes at the heart of what he’s obsessed with: his international image. He hungers to be seen as someone who matters not only because he happens to be the prime minister of India but who is respected globally in his own right. It’s why he spends so much time on foreign tours, goes the extra mile to get pictures shot w...

India’s compliance with climate action hinges on funding – roughly $2.5 trillion by 2030, much of it from developed nations. This represents significant climate finance opportunities as well as challenges. What is India up against and what can it do to overcome it? Suranjali Tandon, who leads the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy’s work on sustainable finance and taxation, speaks to...