News and Views

Urmila Matondkar, the Rangeela (1995) star who blazed across Bollywood through the ‘90s and after, is contesting as a Congress candidate from a difficult seat in Mumbai – Mumbai North. The area comprises a mixed population of linguistic and religious communities, uber luxe towers and swathes of slums, old East Indian gaonthans and suburbs, which have witnessed an exponential growth in the last dec...

Leaders are campaigning in full swing as we prepare for the next phase of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. And in some cases, the josh has tended to lean towards hate speech. So what is preventing the EC from taking timely action? There’s a lot going on still, other than hate speech — like, whether or not the EC will change its decision about stalling Modi’s biopic until elections are over. Tune in t...

A grateful nation bows each year on BR Ambedkar’s birth anniversary (on 14 April) to pay tribute to his tremendous contributions in the making of our Constitution. His advocacy inside India’s Constituent Assembly for the parliamentary form of government was brilliant, and is still considered legendary. But in view of how poorly our Parliament has performed, we as a nation might do well to reconsid...

Opinion polls show that the Modi mania is back, especially among the youth. Gone are the memories of demonetisation, GST, rising prices, and mob lynchings. People want Modi back for another round. Is this because we are fickle? Aren’t we lacking in jobs, social security, labour reforms? Are we a populace full of masochists? Modi, if anything, should be booted for causing immense social and economi...

When the election season of 2019 is written about in history books, one thing will stand out: the competitive welfarism that parties across the board have promised to voters. The reason perhaps, is that we are going into the polls at a time of deep economic distress, especially for the poor. There have been unprecedented job-losses, the real income of farmers has gone down, and rural wages have co...

Imagined Homelands is a collaboration between The Quint and India Migration Now. This podcast series aims to look at the lives of migrants and problems of immigration. For the first episode of this podcast, we spoke to Rohingya refugees settled in West Delhi’s Bodela locality. Is India providing a safe environment for them? What are their employment opportunities? And who are the most affected mem...

We have officially stepped into the election season and there are a lot of developments to track! From Union Minister Smriti Irani's degree to a letter to President Kovind written by 150 ex-servicemen against the politicisation of armed forces in the election campaigns — here’s what transpired after the phase one of polls. Tune in to The Quint's election special vodcast series – Chunav Tracker, wi...

Some hours ago astrophysicists brought us the real look of a far away black hole for the first time in history. Numerous science fiction writers, artists, and thinkers have dreamt and visualised the image of a black hole before. But, this is the first time we see a real image of a black hole using powerful (wo)man-made telescopes. The target was a supermassive black hole located at the centre of t...

Mainland liberals and progressives were more than okay with former JNUSU President Kanhaiya Kumar as long as he was sloganeering with JNU students, getting beaten up by lawyers, and facing jail time as an “anti-national”. But their favour eroded quickly as they witnessed his soaring rise to becoming the CPI candidate from Begusarai in Bihar, and how people were gladly putting their money on him. F...

A film that was mysteriously pulled out of Bengal theatres after release had become a flashpoint for debate over artistic freedom in West Bengal. Bhobishyoter Bhoot, directed by Anik Dutta, pegged as a political satire, was unofficially ‘banned’ from the screens on 15 February, as buzz swirled about orders received from ‘higher ups’ about a possible ‘law and order’ threat that the film presented....

The Quint spoke to Shakti which is a Bengaluru-based civil society initiative that is gunning for more women in politics through online programmes, fundraising and other support systems. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Quint reached Jadoda village in Muzaffarnagar to find out about the issues that matter to women voters in UP, their hopes from the next government and their opinion on women’s representation in politics. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The tea tribes were Congress supporters but in the 2014 general elections, it shocked the Congress, by choosing two BJP MPs from the tea belt. One of the main reasons for this switch was the long-standing demand of Scheduled Tribe Status. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

India’s northeast has 8 states and together they send 25 member of parliament to the Lok Sabha. But are these parliamentarians heard in the parliament? The students of St Anthony's college, Shillong give an insight. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With elections drawing close, political parties have released their manifestos, projecting for the nation their promises in the years to come. How many promises will would be kept, how many ignored, remains a moot question. The Congress Manifesto, titled ‘Hum Nibhayenge’, was released on 2 April, while the BJP Manifesto, titled ‘Sankalp Patra’, was released on 8 April. For more podcasts from The Q...

Politics can be unforgiving, but forgiveness has fit into YS Jaganmohan Reddy’s electoral calculus. The leader of the YSR Congress party and chief ministerial aspirant in Andhra Pradesh, has suddenly decided to “forgive” the Congress party and has said so in public. Interestingly, he has chosen the last few days of campaigning in Andhra Pradesh, which goes to polls on 11 April, to invoke forgivene...

Are environmental concerns ever top of the agenda as far as elections in India are concerned? Well, the good news is that (unlike previous elections), both leading national parties, namely, the Congress and the BJP, have separate sections related to issues such as forest, tribal rights and clean air, in their respective manifestos. A cursory glance at their manifestos shows that while the national...

The first phase of what is going to be a really long election season, has begun with 91 seats, across 20 states going on polls, on 11 April. From voter turn out to an alleged sniper threat to Congress President Rahul Gandhi during his visit to Amethi — what are the highlights of the first day of polling? Tune in The Quint's election special vodcast series – Chunav Tracker with The Quint’s Editoria...

In this episode of Sadda Haq, The Quint explains the process that follows when no single party or a pre-poll coalition manages to secure majority in Lok Sabha. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There is a point in the film when one of the characters utters “it’s all too obvious” and it seems like the fourth wall broke and we were being addressed directly! It’s all too obvious indeed and the lumbering manner in which the tale is told doesn’t help matters either. Written and directed by Robbie Grewal, RAW is set in the 1970s leading up to the events that created Bangladesh. Frenzied camera...

Radhika Apte talks about getting trolled for Netflix, striving for even better content, and making her place in the West. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Do you feel that in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, no candidate from your constituency is worth voting for? Have you lost hope in all of them and think they are corrupt? are you eager to vote, yet want to send a stern warning to political parties? If these pre-poll questions are bothering you as a voter, then in this episode of Sadda Haq, we will explain how NOTA can come to your rescue. Learn...

Pankaj Tripathi has had a long and tumultuous journey to success in Bollywood. After auditioning for years and playing small parts in different films, he has now made a special place for himself. He speaks to us about his struggling days, why talent will always be above nepotism and actors that inspire him. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Being dubbed as 'the place of terror' in various national media after the dastardly suicide attack that killed 40 CRPF jawans, Pulwama is battling with the 'terror' tag, and so is its youth. The Quint reaches this district of South Kashmir to find out who will vote, who will not, and why? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s been two years since loan waivers had been announced by the Maharashtra government. A huge number of farmers have still not been able to get benefits from the government. Farmers are discontented as there is constant pressure from the banks. In the year 2017, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had announced the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Krishi Samman Yojna. Under the scheme, farm...