What's your ism?

In this episode of What's Your ISM? , Sudipto Mondal sits down with Journalist Kalpana Sharma to discuss her trailblazing career in journalism. They explore her early days with Himmat , a small but influential English-language weekly that stood for truth and justice during the post-Emergency era. Kalpana reflects on her work covering Dharavi and amplifying marginalized voices, as well as the evolu...

In Episode 26 of What's Your Ism? Sudipto Mondal speaks with Shailaja Paik, MacArthur 'Genius' Award winner and scholar, to delve into Dalit feminism, caste, and sexuality. They explore ‘Manuski,’ caste intersectionality, and the hidden stories of Dalit women in art like Tamasha. Episode releases tomorrow—stay tuned! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our guest this time is hard to define. President of PUCL Karnataka, law scholar, Constitutional expert, author, one of the country’s pioneering LGBTQ+ activists, co-founder of the Alternative Law Forum and the legatee of a family that laid the first foundation for secular education in Karnataka. Over two decades of human rights work and political organising, he has created his own unique ism combi...

How did the Modi government gain the Shompen tribe’s consent for the construction of two cities, a port and gas refinery on the Great Nicobar island? What does the Modi government’s plan to introduce carbon trading mean for the environment? How do the latest changes to the Forest Conservation Act threaten community forest? What to expect from the COP29 in November? Sudipto Mondal discusses the cli...

How did the civilian administration in India gain an upper hand over the military? Why did Pakistan and Bangladesh fail to control their generals? Nehru was initially dismissive of the armed forces, why and how did his view evolve? What was Jinnah’s view of the military? Sudipto Mondal discusses the Poles Apart – a newly released book comparing the three major military powers of South Asia – with...

Is it possible to survive in India without Aadhaar? How does one protect individual rights against an ever more powerful surveillance state? What is legally valid, paper records or digital records? Is privacy an elite obsession?  Sudipto Mondal discusses data privacy, state surveillance and digital rights with one of the last people in the country to resist the imposition of Aadhaar, the foun...

What role did eugenics play in the creation of a modern police force in India? What does it take for a Dalit woman to negotiate with the savarna dominated judiciary? What does it mean to be a ‘creamy layer’ Dalit in the most rarefied space in the Indian power structure? Sudipto Mondal discusses the savarna stranglehold on the judiciary and Brahminical policing with Nikita Sonavane, Lawyer and Rese...

What are the ways in which journalism in India is changing? Is Indian democracy safe? How deep is the rot in the country’s anti-corruption agencies and security establishment? Can the Indian army be trusted to stay out of civilian affairs? Sudipto Mondal discusses the state of the nation and the future of journalism with the country’s leading investigative journalist and founder of Confluence Medi...

In what ways is journalism in India changing? Is Indian democracy safe? How deep is the rot in the country’s anti-corruption agencies and security establishments? Can the Indian army be trusted to stay out of civilian affairs? In our latest episode of What’s Your Ism, Sudipto Mondal speaks to Josy Joseph, an  investigative journalist and founder of Confluence Media, about the state of the Ind...

In our latest episode of 'What's Your Ism' with Sudipto Mondal, Rahul Sonpimple opens up about his journey from student leader at JNU to forming the All India Independent Scheduled Castes Association, the future of Dalit politics, and why Dalit-Muslim unity is more crucial than ever.  Rahul delves into the complexities and contradictions within anti-caste coalition politics, especially the di...

From India’s sporting culture to the bodies governing it and the ways to make it more accessible, what role does sports have in nation-building? Can it be treated as a public good or an essential commodity? And how can sports accommodate differences of gender, class, and identity?   In this episode of What’s Your Ism , Sudipto Mondal speaks to Nandan Kamath, a lawyer and sports aficionad...

"In Maharashtra, power is concentrated in the hands of only 169 families. These rich Marathas control everything, and they’re not ready to accept the poor Maratha who is of the same caste, same lineage." In this episode of What's Your Ism, Sudipto Mondal speaks to Prakash Ambedkar about Maharashtra’s power structure and the most contentious issues in Dalit Ambedkarite politics in India today....

What are the ways in which the Congress is changing? What do you mean by the Hindu Left? Does the focus on building a larger coalition against the BJP dilute core issues? How does it deal with ideological conflicts within the INDIA coalition? In this episode of What's Your Ism Sudipto Mondal speaks to first time MP from Tamil Nadu Sasikanth Senthil. Sasikanth says that his ideology is shaped less...

How did the entry of the BJP and Hindutva complicate the already chaotic world of Indian sport? Are cricketers by design less anti establishment than footballers? Race and gender are today big conversations in the  global sporting community. Why is it difficult to talk about these things in India? In this episode of What's Your Ism Sudipto Mondal speaks to the renowned sports writer and criti...

In these Indian elections, a cross section of progressive mass organisations helped the Congress curtail the BJP’s electoral power. But what does the Congress resurgence mean for the progressive agenda and the fight against Hindutva? What do we make of Rahul Gandhi's good Hindu versus bad Hindu narrative? In the first episode of the post election season of What's Your Ism, Sudipto Mondal speaks to...

Fighting 'fascist' BJP is the second freedom struggle: Journalist and activist Teesta Setalvad said that the country is at a historic crossroads. This is the time, she said, to build the broadest possible coalition against the BJP and Hindutva, even if it means working with problematic opposition parties such as the Congress. In the last set of critical political conversations in this season of Wh...

People are not happy with the Election Commission: Major General Sudhir Vombatkere, a prominent voice in anti-Hindutva civil society circles, said that the conduct of the Election Commission and its openly partisan positions has eroded people's trust in these Lok Sabha elections.  In the last set of critical political conversations in this season of What's Your Ism, Sudipto Mondal spoke to th...

The Congress and opposition parties are increasingly occupying left spaces. The founder of eedina.com and prominent left activist from Karnataka, H V Vasu responds to criticism that progressive mass movements have been co-opted by the Congress and other non-BJP opposition parties. In the last set of critical political conversations in this season of What's Your Ism, Sudipto Mondal spoke to three l...

Caste and untouchability are widely perceived as a Hindu phenomenon – orthodoxically, they are categorised as “illegitimate” in the Muslim community. But the Dalit Muslims facing caste oppression strive for legitimacy. So, what is the complex history and dynamics of castes among Muslims? How is it perceived in the political economy amid scarcity mongering around reservations?   In this two-pa...

Caste and untouchability owe their origins to brahmanical Hinduism. But caste oppression is not restricted to the Hindu community. Dalit Christians and Dalit Muslims face challenges in asserting their rights and demanding affirmative action.   In this two-part episode on What's Your Ism, Sudipto Mondal speaks to Ambedkarite author Shalin Maria Lawrence and sociologist-professor Khalid An...

Sumeet Mhasker, a labour sociologist and professor at OP Jindal Global University, has been analysing non-Brahmin and OBC politics over the last century and how these communities respond to the question of Hindutva and their economic hardship. In this episode of What’s Your Ism, host Sudipto Mondal and professor Mhasker discuss the premise of Maharashtra’s Maratha reservation agitation and the sen...

D Raja, the general secretary of the Communist Party of India, says a communist revolution is not possible in India by only focussing on economic concerns. In this special two-part episode on What's Your Ism, Sudipto Mondal earlier spoke to the CPIM’s Sitaram Yechury. In this part, Raja reflects on the role of BR Ambedkar and the Buddha in shaping his communist ideology, Modi’s India, and internat...

Amid the ongoing election fever, the Left parties are looking to regain their lost ground. But what are the limitations facing the Red Flag? Why do Indian communists share a difficult relationship with the anti-caste movement? And what is happening in the international communist movement?     In this special two-part episode on What's Your Ism, Sudipto Mondal speaks to the two talle...

RS Praveen Kumar, a former IPS officer, who had quit the civil services to join the Bahujan Samaj Party, has once again taken a u-turn. Last month, the popular Ambedkarite jumped to the BRS – a party he had earlier described as “casteist” and “feudal”. So what triggered this shift? What are his views on the anti-caste movement?       In this episode of What’s Your Ism...

Sagarika Ghose, the journalist-turned-politician who recently made headlines for joining the Trinamool Congress, is set to contest the Rajya Sabha polls. Has she abandoned the journalism front? How does she look at Hindutva? What made her pull out of mainstream media?  In this candid conversation with Sudipto Mondal for What’s your ism? – a podcast by The News Minute and Newslaundry – Ghose t...