ARGUMENTATIVE INDIANS PODCAST

SPEAKERS

Lt. General Ajay Kumar Singh
PVSM, AVSM, SM, VSM (Retd.), former Commander in Chief of Southern Command of Indian Army, 11th Lieutenant Governor of Andaman and Nicobar Islands and currently Advisor to O.P. Jindal Global University (JGU).   

Shrabani Basu
Journalist and Author of many critically acclaimed books including For King and Another Country: Indian Soldiers on the Western Front 1914-18 and Victoria & Abdul: The True Story of the Queen’s Closest Confidant, and Spy Princess: The Life of Noor Inayat Khan. Shrabani is a frequent commentator on Indian history on British television and radio and has appeared in several BBC documentaries on the subject of Empire.   

Dr. Indivar Kamtekar
Associate Professor of Modern History at the Centre for Historical Studies of the Jawaharlal Nehru University. He is the Modern History editor of the journal Studies in History. He has been a member of the Indian Historical Records Commission, and of the editorial board of the journal Modern Asian Studies. He is also the co-author of the book History in the Making: The Visual Archives of Kulwant Roy.

SYNOPSIS
How does one reconcile with the fact that these soldiers through their devoted services and unbending loyalty were further strengthening a foreign power that was subjugating and exploiting their countrymen? #Britain never had a large contingent in India. It was the Indian soldiers of the #BritishIndianArmy who ensured that no native ruler in India could challenge the British authority. After securing indisputable hegemony for Britain over all of India, they helped it extend its power over our neighbours from Afghanistan to Burma. Sure the Indian soldiers fought valiantly in the world wars, but the people they fought in places extending from Egypt to Malaysia bore no ill-will towards Indians. They were not India’s enemies.

We laud the mutineers of #1857 as India’s first independence heroes, then how can we also commemorate those who chose the #EastIndiaCompany over India and enabled it to defeat these mutineers and brutally crush India’s first rebellion for independence. Similarly, we cannot simultaneously valorise the Indian National Army led by Subhash Chandra #Bose and also those who defeated it so that India continued to remain firmly under the yoke of British tyranny.

However, soldiers fight for the government of the day. All over the world, good soldiers are expected to follow the orders, and not question the motives behind them. The political situation and societal values have considerably changed since the days of the British Indian Army. Is it fair for us to apply our contemporary lens and discredit the sacrifices of these brave Indian men?

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DISCLAIMER:
We invite thought leaders from across the ideological spectrum. The guests in our sessions express their independent views and opinions. Argumentative Indians does not profess to subscribe, agree or endorse the same or be in anyway responsible for the stance, words and comments of our guests.

Bharat Ki Bhashaein - The Indian Language Project 
भारत की भाषाईन - भारतीय भाषा परियोजना, भारत की भाषाएँ - भारतीय भाषा परियोजना, ਭਾਰਤ ਕੀ ਭਾਸ਼ਾਈਂ - ਭਾਰਤੀ ਭਾਸ਼ਾ ਪ੍ਰੋਜੈਕਟ, ভাৰত কি ভাষায়েন - ভাৰতীয় ভাষা প্ৰকল্প, ভারত কি ভাষাইন - ভারতীয় ভাষা প্রকল্প, ڀارت جي ڀاشاين - هندستاني ٻولي پروجيڪٽ,, பாரத் கி பாஷெய்ன் - இந்திய மொழி திட்டம், భారత్ కీ భాషేయిన్ - ది ఇండియన్ లాంగ్వేజ్ ప్రాజెక్ట్ഭാ, രത് കി ഭാഷാഇൻ - ഇന്ത്യൻ ഭാഷാ പദ്ധതി, بھارت کی بھاشاین - ہندوستانی زبان کا پروجیکٹ,, ભારત કી ભાષા - ભારતીય ભાષા પ્રોજેક્ટ, ଭରତ କି ଭ ha ଶାଇନ୍ - ଭାରତୀୟ ଭାଷା ପ୍ରକଳ୍ପ |

SPEAKER:
Mahmood Farooqui is an Indian writer, performer and director. He specializes in a type of story-telling known as Dastangoi. Farooqui along with his uncle Shamsur Rahman Faruqi, noted Urdu poet and literary critic, revived Dastangoi, the ancient art of Urdu storytelling. He was awarded the Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Pursakar in 2010 for it.

His publications include the award-winning Besieged: Voices from Delhi,1857, Habib Tanvir: Memoirs, Dastangoi,an introduction to the art of dastangoi, and A Requiem for Pakistan: The world of Intizar Husain, a personal exploration of the literary and biographical world of Intizar Husain and brief history of modern Urdu Literary Culture

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DISCLAIMER:
We invite thought leaders from across the ideological spectrum. The guests in our sessions express their independent views and opinions. Argumentative Indians does not profess to subscribe, agree or endorse the same or be in anyway responsible for the stance, words and comments of our guests.

At the #WhiteHouse reception to celebrate Eid al-Fitr on 2nd May, US #president  #joebiden  said that Muslims are globally being targeted with violence. This certainly seems to be the case, with news reports about state oppression, social ostracism, hate crimes and mob violence from around the world increasingly having one thing in common - the religious identity of the victims. Muslims seem to be the target of discriminatory policies ranging from racial profiling in the #US to #CAA in India to hijab bans in Europe. Furthermore Sri Lanka’s shutting down of Madrasas, China’s #Uighur concentration camps and Myanmar’s ethnic cleansing reinforce the view that this is a global phenomenon. And it is not limited to the state-backed policies alone. Vandalism and terror attacks on mosques seem to have become disturbingly frequent in places as far away as Australia, France and Canada. And as per most international watchdogs, both sides of the Atlantic are witnessing a surge in violent crimes against Muslims, especially women who wear clothing associated with their religion.

Is the global Muslim community under siege, as has been asserted by some observers? While the anecdotal evidence would clearly suggest so, does empirical data support it?

Explaining social and political trends playing in numerous nations across different continents simply by pointing towards Global #Islamophobia leaves many questions unanswered. What is causing the selective targeting of Muslims? Why is this happening now at the same time in so many places? What makes Muslims more vulnerable to such targeting than other minorities in many countries? What are the possible solutions?

In order to take on any challenge, it is crucial to first develop a proper understanding of it. This is our aim with the proposed knowledge session.

SPEAKER:
Prof. Khaled A. Beydoun
Professor Khaled A. Beydoun is a law professor, author and public intellectual. He serves as a law professor at Wayne State University, a Scholar-in-Residence at the Berkman Klein Center at Harvard University, and Associate Director of the Damon J. Keith Center for Civil Rights in Detroit. Professor Beydoun is author of the critically acclaimed book American Islamophobia: Understanding the Roots and Rise of Fear, and co-editor of Islamophobia and the Law – published by University of Cambridge Press.

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DISCLAIMER:
We invite thought leaders from across the ideological spectrum. The guests in our sessions express their independent views and opinions. Argumentative Indians does not profess to subscribe, agree or endorse the same or be in anyway responsible for the stance, words and comments of our guests.

In the first episode of the Documentary Series, Argumentative Indians explore

"India's Language Story- Looking for the Missing Links"

 As a union of not just states, but of several linguistically diverse peoples, it is unsurprising that disputes over languages have a long history in India. Mass protests and brutal riots were witnessed during the decades after the independence as states were slowly reorganised on linguistic lines. While some languages initially overlooked by the constitution won their battle for official recognition, others gave up and perished, and some still continue to fight. 

 

BJP, the Hindu-nationalist party, currently in power at the centre, is accused of pushing for Hindi-imperialism. However, the debate over national language predates them by over a century. Many of India’s leading independence leaders including Mahatma Gandhi were in favour of linguistic unification and ending the dominance of English, the language of the colonisers. 

The unified language Mahatma Gandhi had endorsed was not Hindi, but Hindustani, the language of Indian nationalism and freedom struggle. He believed it would be a more secular choice, fusing Urdu and Hindi into one. Secular it may have been, but it surely wasn’t inclusive of vast swathes of Indians in the South and the East. And now the case for Hindustani is all but dead, with many Indians coming to see Urdu as a non-Indian language. 

On the other hand, English has gone from success to success. While understood by a tiny portion of the urban elite at the time of the independence and limited to official use only, in the past 75 years English has penetrated into almost all spheres of Indian life, and percolated down to its remote towns and villages. 

After seeing its economic value, most Indians are now loath to give up English, but a small faction still hopes for a national “Link Language” of Indian origin. But any discussion on it rapidly descends into repugnant language chauvinism. “Tamil is the oldest language.” “Bengali is the sweetest language.” “Those who don’t know Hindi cannot be Indians”… and more such trite statements are commonly thrown around. 

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DISCLAIMER:
We invite thought leaders from across the ideological spectrum. The guests in our sessions express their independent views and opinions. Argumentative Indians does not profess to subscribe, agree or endorse the same or be in anyway responsible for the stance, words and comments of our guests.

While China has claimed that 160 countries reaffirmed commitment to its one-China principle following the visit to Taiwan by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, India said Friday its own "relevant policies are well known and consistent" and don't require a reiteration. Breaking its silence on the Taiwan issue, and as China intensifies its military drills, the government expressed concern over the rising Cross-Strait tensions and called for restraint and for avoiding any attempt to unilaterally change the status quo. 
While India follows a one-China policy, and has only unofficial ties with Taiwan, it stopped reiterating the same in bilateral documents with China well over a decade ago and following differences with Beijing over issues related to Jammu and Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh.
"Like many other countries, India too is concerned at recent developments. We urge the exercise of restraint, avoidance of unilateral actions to change status quo, de-escalation of tensions and efforts to maintain peace and stability in the region," said MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi, responding to media queries about India's position.

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DISCLAIMER:
We invite thought leaders from across the ideological spectrum. The guests in our sessions express their independent views and opinions. Argumentative Indians does not profess to subscribe, agree or endorse the same or be in anyway responsible for the stance, words and comments of our guests.

Described in the oldest texts of the Rigveda, Saraswati surpassed in majesty and might all other rivers. Pure in her course from the mountains to the ocean, she descended with a roar down the slope, her fierce current gurgling through its canyon course, containing ~powerful floods inside her. She was the “perfect mother, unsurpassed river, supreme goddess” (Sindhumata).

She finds repeated mentions in Brahamanas and the Mahabharata, in the Puranas and the Smritis. Saraswati intrigued philosophers and poets for generations.

Over thousands of years, as no such river flowed in the physical form, she assumed an other-worldly or mythical status in the minds of Indians, who continue to venerate her as the goddess of knowledge, learning, wisdom, music and the arts.

For centuries people have believed her to be an invisible river that merges into the holy rivers of Ganga and Yamuna at the Triveni Sangam. Millions of Hindus believe that taking a dip there will wash away their sins and free them from the cycle of rebirth.

There are legends that tell us that Saraswati flows underground. One such legend has it that the beautiful goddess Saraswati sprung from the forehead of her father Brahma, the god of creation. It is said that as soon as Brahma looked at her beauty, he was filled with desire for her. Unhappy with the amorous attentions he bestowed upon her, she tried to dodge and hide. This is why the river Saraswati flows underground.

However these #myths  and #legends  are not sufficient to satiate the curiosity of modern Indians. Since the 20th century, numerous searches have been undertaken for the lost physical river.

Why does a river not seen for thousands of years evoke so much interest? Because according to many in resolving the mystery of #saraswati  is the key to understanding our beginning, as a people, as a #culture  and as a #civilisation  .

While the mystery still endures, in recent years major breakthroughs have significantly expanded our knowledge about #saraswati  — These include satellite imagery of ancient river channels, population genetic studies and #archeological  discoveries. 

So what do we know now? And how to make sense of it? 

To address this we are joined by renowned scholar Dr. Lajwanti Shahani, an archaeologist specialising in Harappan and Mesopotamian cultures. 

SPEAKER: 
Dr. Lajwanti Shahani, an archaeologist with a PhD (from Deccan College,
Pune) in Harappan sea trade of 5000 years ago with another ancient civilization Mesopotamia, and two local cultures of the Persian Gulf region called Dilmun (Bahrain and Qatar), and Magan (Oman Peninsula).
For her fieldwork, she have travelled across Gujarat and Kutch in India, plus the UAE and Oman in the Oman Peninsula identifying markers, and artefacts, of the trade connect:

Apart from her PhD thesis and Master’s dissertation, she has a number of published papers, presented at various conferences on archaeology and marine archaeology, both national and international.

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DISCLAIMER:
We invite thought leaders from across the ideological spectrum. The guests in our sessions express their independent views and opinions. Argumentative Indians does not profess to subscribe, agree or endorse the same or be in anyway responsible for the stance, words and comments of our guests.

#sufism  in #india  is associated with mysticism - from #kashmir  to #kanyakumari  our land is abound with legends of great fakirs, magical amulets, and sacred dargahs. Far away from the strict tenets of Orthodox Islam, Sufism spread and prospered in India for centuries, operating in a largely spiritual domain. Millions of Indians, regardless of their religious affiliations, still flock to shrines of venerated Sufi saints scattered across the subcontinent. They make earnest wishes and sacred vows in the hope of divine intervention. Yet most of them know little to nothing about the philosophies of those saints. Sufism has exerted such prolonged and profound influence on Indian thought and culture, that its ideas are no longer distinguishable. Over the centuries they have blended into our collective wisdom just like Sufi poetry and music are now integral to India. 

In this session we aim to discuss Sufism’s history in India that spans over a millenia. We hope to understand its powerful appeal to all kinds of Indians - from poor Dalits to mighty Sultans, the role it played in India’s religious and political developments, how it shaped Indian society and culture, and how it in turn got shaped by them, and finally its place and relevance in today’s India. 

SPEAKER:
Moin Mir is a London-based writer of Indian origin. He began writing under the influence of his grandfather, a scholar of Sufism, Omar Khayyam, and Mirza Ghalib. He is the author of critically acclaimed book Surat: Fall of a Port, Rise of a Prince. His second book The Lost Fragrance of Infinity has been commended for beautifully blending history with philosophy in a story that spans continents. 

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DISCLAIMER:
We invite thought leaders from across the ideological spectrum. The guests in our sessions express their independent views and opinions. Argumentative Indians does not profess to subscribe, agree or endorse the same or be in anyway responsible for the stance, words and comments of our guests.

From #WendyDoniger to #EvanSpiegel to #justintrudeau , and more recently #rihanna  and #gretathunberg  Thunberg, we tend to go up in arms at every hint of being slighted or criticised by an outsider. Is this because we are exceptionally thin-skinned? Or is this because we are trying to regain control of the international narrative about India, still plagued with #colonial  prejudices.
This is a complex matter and opinions tend to diverge drastically. With the aim of exploring this topic in depth, some of the brightest minds of India from varied fields including Politics, Technology, History, Entertainment and Journalism came together in this insightful debate.
We are proud to have brought together such an amazing group of panelists:
Sanjay Jha - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sanjay-jh...
Vikram Sampath - https://www.linkedin.com/in/vikram-sa...
Shweta Kothari - https://www.linkedin.com/in/shwkothari
Shashank Pathak - https://www.linkedin.com/in/shashank-ai/
Sukrit Sharma - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sukrit-sh...
Yajur Arora -

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DISCLAIMER:
We invite thought leaders from across the ideological spectrum. The guests in our sessions express their independent views and opinions. Argumentative Indians does not profess to subscribe, agree or endorse the same or be in anyway responsible for the stance, words and comments of our guests.

In 1998, former president #drkalam  predicted that India was on its way to becoming a #superpower  . Since then people have started referring to India as an emerging global power.

In 2009 Hillary Clinton called India "not just a regional power, but a global power". Following year US President Barack Obama stated “India is not just a rising power, it has already risen.” More recently Biden administration welcomed India’s “emergence as a #globalpower ”.

Indians have come to believe their ascent to superpower status is inevitable. However the economic growth has stalled, and for the first time since independence middle class has begun to shrink. India is failing to provide quality #education  , decent #healthcare  and most importantly jobs to its ever burgeoning population. Further the nation is struggling to keep up with the rapid technological breakthroughs such as Artificial Intelligence, Drone Warfare, 3D Printing, 5G and Blockchain taking place outside its borders.

Is Dr Kalam’s prediction still possible?

PANELISTS

Gen JJ Singh - 21st Chief of Army Staff, Former Governor of Arunachal Pradesh
Dilip Cherian - Public Relations expert, Political Campaign Advisor, well known Lobbyist
Bharat Karnad - Author, Emeritus Professor for National Security Studies
Abhijit Iyer-Mitra - Journalist, Researcher, Defence & International Security Expert 
Shehzad Poonawalla - Lawyer, Civil Rights Activist, Political Commentator   

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DISCLAIMER:
We invite thought leaders from across the ideological spectrum. The guests in our sessions express their independent views and opinions. Argumentative Indians does not profess to subscribe, agree or endorse the same or be in anyway responsible for the stance, words and comments of our guests.

SPEAKER:
Indian historian and journalist. Editor-at-Large at Fortune India where he writes a weekly column. He is also a columnist for Aspen Italia and The New Indian Express.In 2019, his book "The Man Who Saved India" won the prize for best work of non-fiction at the Valley of Words literary festival in India. In 2018, he became the only Indian to win the Wilbur Award given by the Religion Communicators Council of America for his book "Being Hindu". In 2015, his book Recasting India was shortlisted for the Hayek Prize given by the Manhattan Institute, a conservative American think-tank. Hindol Sengupta’s tenth book Sing, Dance and Pray was released on May 14, 2022. This is the authorized biography of Srila Prabhupada, Founder-Acharya of ISKCON.

#sardarpatel #indianhistory #indianhistorylive #indianleaders #indiaindependence #partition #indiaindependence 

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DISCLAIMER:
We invite thought leaders from across the ideological spectrum. The guests in our sessions express their independent views and opinions. Argumentative Indians does not profess to subscribe, agree or endorse the same or be in anyway responsible for the stance, words and comments of our guests.