Let Me Explain

For decades, Karnataka’s old Mysuru belt remained out of the BJP’s reach, shaped instead by Vokkaliga-led caste equations and JD(S) dominance. But that’s changing fast. From Maddur’s clashes to the propaganda of fictitious characters Uri Gowda and Nanje Gowda, Hindutva politics is entering Karnataka’s heartland. In this episode of Let Me Explain , Pooja Prasanna breaks down how the BJP–JD(S) allia...

VC Sajjanar, the IPS officer who led the 2019 “Disha encounter,” is now Hyderabad’s new Police Commissioner. In this episode of Let Me Explain, @PoojaPrasanna68 looks at what his rise says about India’s dangerous glorification of encounter killings — and how cinema, media, and public adulation have helped turn cops who kill into heroes. From the Warangal acid attack case in 2008 to the Disha case...

Suresh Gopi — the angry cop on screen, the fiery journalist, the man whose monologues once shook theatres. Now, he’s Kerala’s first BJP MP. In this episode of Let Me Explain , Pooja Prasanna unpacks how Suresh Gopi took his mass-hero energy from the movie set to Parliament. From his image as a generous philanthropist who built homes and funded surgeries, to his temper with journalists and theatric...

At least 23 children in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan have died after consuming cough syrup contaminated with diethylene glycol (DEG), a toxic industrial chemical used in brake fluid.  In Madhya Pradesh, doctors raised warnings weeks before tests confirmed contamination in the drug ‘Coldrif’, but state and central regulators cleared the drug as safe. Tamil Nadu’s lab later found nearly 50% DEG...

What was supposed to be a show of strength at Vijay’s TVK rally in Karur turned into chaos, panic, and death. Fans waited for hours, permissions were ignored, and a preventable tragedy unfolded. But Karur is not an isolated accident. From RCB’s victory parade in Bengaluru to Pushpa 2 promotions in Hyderabad, to temple festivals to the Mahakumbh Mela—India’s obsession with massive crowds keeps endi...

2019’s “Howdy, Modi” promised a new chapter in India-U.S. friendship. But in 2025, the bond looks shaky. Trump’s 50% tariffs on Indian goods and a $100,000 H-1B visa fee are biting hard. In this week’s Let Me Explain , Pooja Prasanna dives into why India’s over-reliance on Trump’s personal rapport backfired, how high tariffs are affecting Indian exports, and why Indian IT companies and workers fac...

Why has the BJP failed to make real inroads in Tamil Nadu, even as it dominates much of India? From Dravidian politics and Tamil identity to Murugan yatras and cultural strategies, Pooja Prasanna unpacks why the state resists BJP’s playbook in this episode of Let Me Explain; the history, the ideological clash, and BJP’s current game plan as Tamil Nadu heads to the polls. For suggestions and feedba...

The Karnataka government’s choice of inviting Kannada writer and Booker Prize winner Banu Mushtaq to inaugurate the Mysuru Dasara celebrations this year has stirred a controversy. It has ignited a public debate on whether the festival should reflect Karnataka’s inclusive cultural identity or remain a strictly religious event. Critics argue that her identity and past remarks make her unfit for the...

Hate speech has found a new home. From X Spaces where Malayali right-wing voices urge Hindus to “arm themselves,” to YouTube’s Hindutva Pop songs with lyrics that glorify violence and rack up millions of monetised views, hate is being amplified, monetised, and often slipping past platform checks. Unchecked sexist tirades, conspiracy theories, and calls for violence spill out from these spaces into...

Bollywood’s record on portraying south Indians has been one of stereotypes, missteps, and mockery.  From Padosan (1968) to Shah Rukh Khan’s “curd noodles” in Ra. One , and now Janhvi Kapoor’s “Thekkapetta Sundari” which literally means “dumped beauty” in Param Sundari , the tropes remain the same.  Loud voices, broken Hindi, exaggerated accents, and token visuals of jasmine and coconuts...

Bengaluru is infamous for traffic. Deputy CM DK Shivakumar has pitched a 190-km tunnel road as the solution and recently invited global tenders for its construction.   But can underground car-only corridors really solve congestion? Critics warn it could drain ₹85,000 crore, worsen the city’s ecology, and undermine public transport investments. From flooding risks to environmental co...

Rahul Gandhi’s ‘vote chori’ allegation has put Bengaluru’s Mahadevapura in the spotlight. But fake voters and duplicate IDs are being found far beyond Karnataka.  This week on Let Me Explain , we hit the ground in Mahadevapura, and Kerala’s Thrissur, uncovering fake voters in a single address and duplicate EPIC IDs across states. From a brewery with 68 voters to IDs active in three states, th...

At a state backed film conclave in Kerala, Adoor Gopalakrishnan, a legendary director, criticised the state’s decision to fund SC/ST and women filmmakers. He said it would lead to corruption and SC/ST filmmakers should be given “intense training”.  His remarks are not an isolated misstep, and it is not the first time he has landed in controversy. It comes from a long pattern of exclusion in M...

On July 31, 2025, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) uncovered partial human remains from a site near the Nethravathi river in Dharmasthala. This location was among 13 identified by a former sanitation worker who alleged he had buried unidentified bodies there between 1995 and 2014. How many sites are being examined? What do official records show about unidentified deaths in the area? What have...

Jagdeep Dhankhar's sudden resignation as Vice President leaves behind a polarising legacy.   In this episode of Let Me Explain , Pooja Prasanna breaks down Dhankhar’s dramatic exit and how he turned what was supposed to be a neutral constitutional role into a highly polarising one.  From defending the RSS and attacking the judiciary to shutting down Opposition demands, we look...

This week on Let Me Explain, we’re in Dharmasthala—inside the chilling claims of mass burials, and missing women.  This isn’t the first controversy involving the temple. In 2012, a teenager named Sowjanya was raped and murdered in Ujire, a village in Dakshina Kannada district. But each time media houses and activists raised their voices, they were silenced using gag orders and ex parte injunc...

A former sanitation worker at Dharmasthala Manjunatha Swamy Temple in Karnataka, has alleged that he was forced to bury victims of rape and murder over nearly two decades. This isn’t the first controversy against the temple. In 2012, a teenager named Soujanya was raped and murdered in Ujire, a village in Dakshina Kannada district. Her family allege that one of the murderers worked for the temple....

The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) halted the release of Malayalam film Janaki vs State of Kerala , insisting the character’s name be changed. Why? Because Janaki is another name for the Hindu goddess Sita and a survivor shouldn’t carry a divine name according to the board. But this is not an isolated incident. From Punjab 95 , to Santosh , Nasir , and Sitaare Zameen Par , a disturbing...

In this special episode of Let Me Explain, Pooja Prasanna travels to the Keezhadi excavation site near Madurai — a place that’s rewriting what we thought we knew about the origins of urban life in India. According to archaeologists, with artefacts dating back to the 6th century BCE, Keezhadi offers archaeological backing to the Sangam era, a period celebrated in Tamil literature but long denied ma...