Frontline Conversations

In this episode of Frontline Conversations, defence analyst, author, and director of the Force Institute, Pravin Sawhney, examines the rapidly escalating war in West Asia following US–Israel strikes on Iran, and Iran's retaliatory attacks across the region. He argues that the conflict is fundamentally a “war of survival” for Iran and contends that it is unlikely to lose so long as it preserves its...

In this episode of Frontline Conversations, author and journalist Sanjoy Hazarika speaks to writer Samrat Choudhury about his latest book, "River Traveller: Journeys On The Tsangpo-Brahmaputra From Tibet To The Bay Of Bengal"—a sweeping blend of memoir, reportage, history, and river journey spanning Tibet, Northeast India, and Bangladesh. The discussion traces the 2,900-kilometre journey of the Br...

In this episode of Frontline Conversations, Rajya Sabha MP and CPI(M) leader John Brittas reflects on what may be the most consequential State election in India today: the Kerala Assembly Election 2026. As Kerala heads into a high-stakes contest, Brittas examines whether the Left Democratic Front (LDF) can retain power for a third consecutive term, what anti-incumbency really means on the ground,...

In this thought-provoking episode of Frontline Conversations, Professor Thomas Müller, who teaches at the University of Würzburg, reflects on one of the most fundamental yet elusive elements of social life: trust. Elaborating on his talk at the Madras Institute of Developmental Studies, Müller challenges the idea that trust can be planned, measured, or engineered in an age dominated by algorithms,...

In this episode of Frontline Conversations, public intellectual and activist G. N. Devy explains why India’s upcoming caste census risks repeating a historic injustice by failing to properly count denotified and nomadic tribes (DNTs)—communities criminalised under colonial rule and still living with its consequences. Tracing the origins of stigma to the Criminal Tribes Act of 1871, Devy details ho...

In this episode of Frontline Conversations, filmmaker and theatre director Dakxin Chharra speaks about what it means to grow up in a community historically branded as “criminal”—and why that colonial stigma continues to shape policing, housing, cinema, and everyday life in India. Chharra discusses his journey from community theatre in Ahmedabad to founding Budhan Theatre, one of India’s most influ...

In this episode of Frontline Conversations, Author Asha Gopinathan speaks to Nandita Jayaraj about her book "Anna Mani: The Uncut Diamond", a biography of one of India’s most important yet overlooked scientists. The discussion traces the life and work of Anna Mani, a pioneering meteorologist whose contributions shaped India’s weather science, atmospheric research, and scientific instrumentation in...

In this episode of Frontline Conversations, former Chief Election Commissioner Om Prakash Rawat speaks about the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and the growing controversy around large-scale voter deletions across several States. Drawing on his experience at the helm of the Election Commission of India (ECI), Rawat examines the legal basis of the SIR, the administrativ...

In this episode of Frontline Conversations, Vamsi Vakulabharanam, co-director of the Asian Political Economy Program and associate professor of economics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, unpacks how caste operates in Indian cities, often invisibly, but no less powerfully than in villages. Speaking from the Madras Institute of Developmental Studies, where he delivered a lecture on Caste...

In this episode of Frontline Conversations, writer and journalist Rudraneil Sengupta speaks about his debut crime novel, “The Beast Within”, a gritty, dark work of crime fiction set in Delhi. Drawing on years of crime reportage, Sengupta explains why fiction, rather than non-fiction, allowed him to capture the deeper truths of crime, policing, and the nature of evil. Sengupta discusses how his clo...

Published on September 29, 2025. In this exclusive interview with Frontline, Siddiq Wahid, a Distinguished Professor from Shiv Nadar University and an expert on Tibet and Ladakh affairs, comments on the escalating crisis in Ladakh. He argues that the Centre must worry as growing discontent in the region threatens to take an unpredictable turn. With 75 years of demonstrated loyalty to India now bei...

Published on September 12, 2025. In this episode of Frontline Conversations, writer and journalist Aatish Taseer discusses his new book “A Return to Self: Excursions in Exile”. A memoir-travelogue, the book probes belonging, identity, and migration in a world where history is politicised and purity is weaponised. Taseer reflects on the fragility of India’s urban elite, the failures of the Oppositi...

Published on September 8, 2025. In her new book, India: 5,000 Years of History on the Subcontinent, Audrey Truschke once calls historians “killjoys”. It is, she tells Frontline, because people often like to weave “fantastic, semi-mythical ideas about the past where everything comes together”. The task of the historian, then, is to untie these neat ribbons of conviction and insist: it was not like...

Originally published on July 10, 2025 In this episode of Frontline Conversations, filmmaker Honey Trehan speaks about his upcoming biographical film "Punjab '95", which has run into a wall of censorship. The film, based on the life and legacy of Sikh human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra, revisits a dark, documented chapter of India’s recent history—mass disappearances, extrajudicial killings...

Published on August 22, 2025 In this episode of Frontline Conversations, political activist Yogendra Yadav talks about the growing crisis of credibility in the Election Commission of India. He criticises the Commission’s unusual press conference over mass voter deletions in Bihar under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), calling it the “biggest disenfranchisement drive in history.” Yadav warns t...

Published on August 28, 2025 In this episode of Frontline Conversations, Sociologist and professor Surinder Jodhka speaks about caste, inequality, and education in contemporary India. Drawing on decades of research, Jodhka explores the paradoxes of caste in a democratic nation: even as modernisation and liberalisation promised its decline, caste has become more visible and complex. He discusses ho...

Published on August 19, 2025 Sanjay Kumar, co-director of Lokniti-CSDS and a seasoned psephologist, offers a lucid critique of the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of Bihar’s electoral rolls, a first such exercise in over two decades. He notes the need to excise duplicates and update obsolete entries—but warns that the heavy documentation requirements and exclusion of widely...

Published on August 19, 2025 In this episode of Frontline Conversations, Politician and academic Manoj Kumar Jha talks about his new book “In Praise of Coalition Politics and Other Essays on Indian Democracy”, published by Speaking Tiger, and reflects on the future of Indian democracy after the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Jha argues that coalition governments are essential to check the “majoritarian...

Published on May 24, 2025. On May 23, 2025, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) asked lead archaeologist K. Amarnath Ramakrishna to revise and resubmit his monumental 982-page report on the first two phases of the Keezhadi excavations. The ASI stated that two external experts had vetted the report and recommended changes to enhance its scientific rigour and authenticity. In this episode of Fr...

Published on August 15, 2025. In this episode of Frontline Conversations, filmmaker and writer Paromita Vohra discusses her latest documentary “Working Girls”, which explores the invisible labour of women across India—from erotic dancers in Madurai to domestic workers in Mumbai. Vohra blends humour, animation, and music to create a film that invites curiosity rather than guilt. The documentary, ba...

Published on July 23, 2025. In this episode of Frontline Conversations, CPI(ML) Liberation leader Dipankar talks about major changes in India’s election process, starting with Bihar. Dipankar criticises what he calls the “biggest constitutional attack” in decades, pointing to voter exclusion and the politicisation of the Election Commission. With over 40 years of grassroots work, Dipankar explains...

Published on July 21, 2026. In this episode of Frontline Conversations, economist and former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan offers an analysis of India’s economic direction, both at home and globally. In a broad conversation with senior journalist Sukumar Muralidharan, Rajan talks about global trade barriers, India’s industrial policy, and the challenges to achieving inclusive growth. He explains why...

Published on July 17, 2025. In this episode of Frontline Conversations, veteran cricket writer Gideon Haigh speaks about his new book “Indian Summers”, a chronicle of over a century of India-Australia cricket. Haigh reflects on the evolution of one of modern cricket’s fiercest rivalries—from the epic 2001 Eden Gardens Test to India's back-to-back series wins in Australia. He discusses why Virat Ko...

Published on July 28, 2025. As Bihar prepares for the 2025 Assembly election, a new voter list revision has sparked controversy, with fears that it could leave out Muslims, women, and marginalised castes. In this episode of Frontline Conversations, Ashish Ranjan, founder of the Data Action Lab for Emerging Societies, talks about what the data actually says and what it means for democracy in India....

Published on July 12, 2025. In this interview, Frontline speaks to Professor Jagdeep S. Chhokar, founding member of the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), about the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar. The ongoing revision has triggered alarm over mass voter deletions, particularly of migrant and marginalised communities, with critics calling i...