What This Means

What's the motive behind SP chief Akhilesh Yadav targeting the Thakur/Rajput community in Uttar Pradesh by calling the Special Task Force the Special Thakur Force and then the Special Thoko Force? Will pushing such caste-based narrative advantage the Samajwadi Party in the 2027 assembly elections in the state? Amit Yadav, political commentator from UP, explains it all in this episode of What T...

"Inducting Ajit Pawar and taking his men (in Maha Yuti Alliance)... hasn't gone very well with the voters or the cadre, and right now it looks like a failure... NCP performed the worst amongst all the six major parties in the state in the Lok Sabha elections... "But I wouldn't say it is a complete failure yet... We will have to wait for the assembly election because Ajit Pawar ha...

"There is no Congress wave in Haryana; rather, there is a wave against the BJP. Congress was absent for the last four years, only becoming active shortly before the Lok Sabha elections when it finally got its act together. Otherwise, Congress was completely absent. Congress is simply benefiting from the anti-incumbency wave that we are currently seeing against the BJP." Abhinav Katyal, i...

"There are rumours, very strong rumours, in the Valley... that Engineer Rashid is being used by the 'agencies'... sort of planting him in the midst of the election campaign." "However, it seems very unlikely that the BJP should be working with an entity or a person like Engineer Rashid... whatever happens covertly is different, and none of us are privy to that. But overtly,...

"BJP should avoid introducing any major reforms for some time, as public sentiment has been quite negative towards them. Whatever they do, they are likely to face even more criticism comparatively." In this episode of What This Means with Diksha Yadav , our guest, Amit Yadav, discusses the following: What's happening in UP politics wrt BJP and SP. What is the situation on the 10 seat...

The five-cornered fight in the Haryana elections may work to the BJP's advantage, as AAP and the two alliances (INLD-BSP & JJP-ASP) could split the Congress vote more than the BJP's, turning it into a close contest between Congress and the BJP. In this episode of What This Means with Diksha Yadav , our guest, Rohit Pathania, discusses the following: Is Congress entering the elections w...

"The PDP, even in their strong pockets, is not doing very well. So, I don't know whether that leaves the valley open for the National Conference and if NC will go all the way up to winning 28-30 seats. But if the PDP gains from now on, it would be interesting to see. But at the moment, the PDP doesn't seem to be doing very well. Sunanda Vashisht shares this and more on the latest deve...

To know what factors influence Jharkhand politics and how people in the region vote, listen to EP75: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1mCc2Ys2Ob75m09bMOx3Te?si=FZm60WQATce8f2cvScRYdw Sujash Jha explains the following in this episode of What This Means with Diksha Yadav: - How influential is Champai Soren on the ground?  - Is there any sympathy among the tribal community for him after he was asked...

"I want to understand on what basis did the Kolkata police sent me a notice when in 2023 there is a Supreme Court judgement in some other case where the Supreme Court has said that members of the editors guild journalists cannot be arrested even if what they are publishing is fake because they are doing their job. This is a Supreme Court judgement. "I am just a citizen journalist. I am a...

"If you look at the statements made by leaders of these three parties (Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT), and NCPSP) over the past few years, it becomes clear that they have not been in favour of granting reservations to Marathas. However, with elections approaching, they are unlikely to express this openly for fear of losing votes, as Marathas constitute a significant portion of the state's popu...

As the 2024 Paris Olympics come to an end, listen to Sumati Mehrishi discuss in depth why and how we need to build spectatorship for various games and athletes, and the kind of impact it can bring in this episode of 'What This Means' with Diksha Yadav. Don't miss Sumati sharing lovely anecdotes and inspiring stories of athletes, along with insights into the work being done by the gover...

"Sheikh Mujibur Rehman, the founding father of Bangladesh, did not just play an important role in Direct Action Day but was an instigator of the 'Great Calcutta Killings'," says Rohit Pathania in this episode of What This Means with Diksha Yadav. - 16 August 2024 - Why we should never forget the Direct Action Day - What was the role of Sheikh Mujibur in the Direct Action Day - Mu...

"People in Bihar are seeing Jan Suraaj’s cadre being more active and loyal. Additionally, instead of endless whining about the issues, the party's young team also presents a roadmap for solving the problems," says Abhishek Kumar in this episode of What This Means with Diksha Yadav. - All that Prashant Kishor is doing in Bihar - Why RJD fears PK and his party - What PK's entry int...

"Hasina’s resignation is very bad news for India. More so since India has, displaying poor judgement, put all its eggs in one basket. India has been backing Hasina to the exclusion of all other parties, including the BNP, whose overtures towards India have been repeatedly rebuffed by New Delhi," says Jaideep Mazumdar in this episode of What This Means with Diksha Yadav. - How this regime...

"BJP needs a single point person to take on Rahul Gandhi. This person must be young, articulate, and have worked their way up from the grassroots level," says Abhishek Banerjee in this episode of What This Means with Diksha Yadav. One of the main criticisms the BJP faces is its ability to create the right narrative, counter the Opposition's narrative, and its messaging and communicat...

#ThePluralismProject 03 | ft. Aravindan Neelakandan In this episode, we discuss: 1. Emergence of Samanvaya 2. Samanvaya vs Tolerance 3. Samanvaya Across Religions: Pluralistic vs Monopolitistic Religions 4. Hinduism vs Heterodox Religions To listen to latest podcast episodes & quizzes download the Swarajya App: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.swarajyamag.mobil...

"Bihar has zero expressways as of now, so the state really needed this and still needs a lot more," says Adarsh Pandit as he explains what Budget 2024 means for the state of Bihar in this episode of What This Means with Diksha Yadav. In this episode: - Why there is no mention of poll-bound states—Jharkhand, Maharashtra, and Haryana—in the Budget - The importance of various infrastructure...

'Major issue in Jammu region is security. People are afraid and worried about what is happening because terror attacks happened in Kathua and Reasi; these are safe places. Jammu is also worried about demographic invasion by Rohingyas,' says Sunanda Vashishtha. In this episode of What This Means, we discuss: 1. What has changed in the past 10 years in J&K politics 2. Various political p...

In this episode of 'What This Means,' we discuss with our guest Amit Yadav the following: 1. Key takeaways from the BJP's election review meet in Uttar Pradesh 2. Sarkaar vs. Sangathan: What to make of the blame game 3. What really went wrong for the BJP in UP that no one is talking about To listen to latest podcast episodes & quizzes download the Swarajya App: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠htt...

The BJP's silence on nearly everything is something that will probably start haunting it very soon if it does not come out all guns blazing now, countering the narrative and social media strategy that the opposition is mounting against it, says Rohit Pathania in this episode of WTM with Diksha Yadav. In this episode, we discuss: - What's working for Congress in Haryana - Challenges for the...

#ThePluralismProject 02 | ft. Aravindan Neelakandan In this episode, we discuss: 1. Emergence of Hindu Consciousness as the National Conscience of India 2. The term 'Hindu' over time 3. The Hindu Identity & Theodiversity 4. Hindu Rashtra - Existential Reality To listen to latest podcast episodes & quizzes download the Swarajya App: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://play.google.com/store/apps/...

#ThePluralismProject 01 | ft. Aravindan Neelakandan In this episode we discuss: 1. Emergence of Religious Consciousness 2. Differenece b/w Monotheistic, Monopolistic & Pluralistic Religion 3. What Happens When Theodiversity Declines? 4. The Need to Preserve Theodiversity To listen to latest podcast episodes & quizzes download the Swarajya App: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://play.google.com/store/ap...

'The biggest challenge for the BJP in Maharashtra is that the Marathi media is completely hostile to them. It's just not favourable to the BJP, and also every day they are involved in creating fake news, news without any fact-checking and running it like a narrative,' says Anay Joglekar in this episode of WTM with Diksha Yadav. In this episode, we discuss: - Who has an edge? Mahayuti,...

"BJP lost all the 5 Scheduled Tribe reserved Lok Sabha seats of Jharkhand this time (in the 2024 general elections), however, this anti-BJP sentiment was not built overnight among the STs, but rather has been happening since long," says Suyash Jha, in this episode of WTM with Diksha Yadav. In this episode, we discuss: - Which political party is dominant in which region - 5 Major concerns...

#ThePluralismProject 01 | Hindutva with Aravindan Neelakandan In this episode we discuss: 1. Hindutva, Hindu Dharma & Hinduism 2. The Emergence of Hindu Consciousness 3. Samanvaya & Protecting the Theo-diversity Link To The Buy Book: https://shorturl.at/YdYTl To listen to latest podcast episodes & quizzes download the Swarajya App: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://play.google.com/store/apps/detail...