BIC TALKS

Mayur Suresh talks to host Pavan Srinath about the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), and how thousands of Indians are in prison or in custody, without recourse to bail, and awaiting a trial that may never take place. Mayur discusses how the UAPA came about, how it absorbed some of the worst features of the Prevention of Terrorism Act, and how it can be used without much judicial oversight, by governments and police forces in power.

Dr Mayur Suresh is a faculty member of the School of Law at the School of Oriental and African Studies, SOAS, London. He used to practice law in New Delhi at various courts, and has worked and written extensively on India's anti-terror laws, legal theory, sexuality and gender identity.

BIC Talks is brought to you by the Bangalore International Centre. Visit the BIC website to learn more about the guest and for links, references and related readings.

Mayur Suresh talks to host Pavan Srinath about the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), and how thousands of Indians are in prison or in custody, without recourse to bail, and awaiting a trial that may never take place. Mayur discusses how the UAPA came about, how it absorbed some of the worst features of the Prevention of Terrorism Act, and how it can be used without much judicial oversight, by governments and police forces in power. 

Dr Mayur Suresh is a faculty member of the School of Law at the School of Oriental and African Studies, SOAS, London. He used to practice law in New Delhi at various courts, and has worked and written extensively on India’s anti-terror laws, legal theory, sexuality and gender identity.

BIC Talks is brought to you by the Bangalore International Centre. Visit the BIC website to learn more about the guest and for links, references and related readings. 

Caleb Simmons and Manu S Pillai talk about how sovereignty was conceived in India in the 18th and 19th centuries. They explore how two very different rules of Mysore: Tipu Sultan and Krishnaraja Wodeyar III laid their claims to sovereign rule over their kingdom. They discuss Caleb's recent book, Devotional Sovereignty: Kingship and Religion in India.

Dr. Caleb Simmons is an Associate Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Arizona. He specialises in religion in South Asia, especially Hinduism. His research spans religion and state-formation in medieval and colonial India to contemporary transnational aspects of Hinduism.

Manu S. Pillai is a historian and author of several books, most recently The Courtesan, the Mahatma & the Italian Brahmin: Tales from Indian History. He is currently pursuing his PhD from King's College London.

BIC Talks is brought to you by the Bangalore International Centre. Visit the BIC website to learn more about the guest and for links, references and related readings.

Caleb Simmons and Manu S Pillai talk about how sovereignty was conceived in India in the 18th and 19th centuries. They explore how two very different rules of Mysore: Tipu Sultan and Krishnaraja Wodeyar III laid their claims to sovereign rule over their kingdom. They discuss Caleb’s recent book, Devotional Sovereignty: Kingship and Religion in India.

Dr. Caleb Simmons is an Associate Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Arizona. He specialises in religion in South Asia, especially Hinduism. His research spans religion and state-formation in medieval and colonial India to contemporary transnational aspects of Hinduism.

Manu S. Pillai is a historian and author of several books, most recently The Courtesan, the Mahatma & the Italian Brahmin: Tales from Indian History. He is currently pursuing his PhD from King’s College London.

BIC Talks is brought to you by the Bangalore International Centre. Visit the BIC website to learn more about the guest and for links, references and related readings.

Simran Mangharam and Dipti Ramesh talk about how modern relationships and marriages are evolving in urban India. They explore how gender and personal dynamics are evolving within each relationship, and Simran shares examples from the thousands of people she has coached.

Simran Mangharam is a Dating and Relationship Coach. She is the founder of Floh, a dating community that connects singles in real-life at events. Before Floh, she co-founded an executive search firm and is an MBTI Certified Counsellor. She writes a regular column called "With Love" on modern relationships in India for the Sunday edition of The Hindustan Times.

Dipti Ramesh worked closely with Simran as the COO at Floh. Prior to Floh, she worked with Amnesty International India in the field of women's rights. She continues to work with nonprofits in the areas of gender and equality and the prevention of abuse.

BIC Talks is brought to you by the Bangalore International Centre. Visit the BIC website to learn more about the guest and for links, references and related readings.

Simran Mangharam and Dipti Ramesh talk about how modern relationships and marriages are evolving in urban India. They explore how gender and personal dynamics are evolving within each relationship, and Simran shares examples from the thousands of people she has coached. 

Simran Mangharam is a Dating and Relationship Coach. She is the founder of Floh, a dating community that connects singles in real-life at events. Before Floh, she co-founded an executive search firm and is an MBTI Certified Counsellor. She writes a regular column called "With Love" on modern relationships in India for the Sunday edition of The Hindustan Times. 

Dipti Ramesh worked closely with Simran as the COO at Floh. Prior to Floh, she worked with Amnesty International India in the field of women's rights. She continues to work with nonprofits in the areas of gender and equality and the prevention of abuse.

BIC Talks is brought to you by the Bangalore International Centre. Visit the BIC website to learn more about the guest and for links, references and related readings. 

Scholar and translator Arshia Sattar speaks to editor and critic Somak Ghoshal about her new book Maryada: Searching for Dharma in the Ramayana. This episode is an edited audio discussion first aired as a BIC Streams livecast.

'Maryada' is the Sanskrit word for 'boundary' and also means 'propriety of conduct'. In the Ramayana, the word carries special weight because it comes to be used as the defining virtue of Rama, the 'maryada purushottama' or 'ideal man'.

But even though Rama is regarded as the epitome of dharma in his thoughts and deeds, the Ramayana does not provide us with one single template for what is right. Nor does it tell us that dharma is beyond the reach of human understanding and action. On the contrary, it holds out the promise that everyone can search for a dharma they believe in, one that is all the more precious because it has been sought and found rather than given and received.

In this thought-provoking book, Arshia Sattar writes with compassion, tenderness and understanding about dharma as a multiplicity of appropriate choices, showing us that when we choose one way of being and doing over another, we will be as often wrong as we are right.

BIC Talks is brought to you by the Bangalore International Centre. Visit the BIC website for show notes, links and more information about the guests.

Scholar and translator Arshia Sattar speaks to editor and critic Somak Ghoshal about her new book Maryada: Searching for Dharma in the Ramayana. This episode is an edited audio discussion first aired as a BIC Streams livecast.

‘Maryada’ is the Sanskrit word for ‘boundary’ and also means ‘propriety of conduct’. In the Ramayana, the word carries special weight because it comes to be used as the defining virtue of Rama, the ‘maryada purushottama’ or ‘ideal man’.

But even though Rama is regarded as the epitome of dharma in his thoughts and deeds, the Ramayana does not provide us with one single template for what is right. Nor does it tell us that dharma is beyond the reach of human understanding and action. On the contrary, it holds out the promise that everyone can search for a dharma they believe in, one that is all the more precious because it has been sought and found rather than given and received.

In this thought-provoking book, Arshia Sattar writes with compassion, tenderness and understanding about dharma as a multiplicity of appropriate choices, showing us that when we choose one way of being and doing over another, we will be as often wrong as we are right.

BIC Talks is brought to you by the Bangalore International Centre. Visit the BIC website for show notes, links and more information about the guests.

In this podcast Professor Zelizer in conversation with Prateeti Punja Ballal examines the origins of the Republican Party, the GOP, since the 1950s, focusing on how it changed from becoming the party of Lincoln to the party of Trump. Zelizer argues that this transformation has been in the works for decades. This episode is an edited audio discussion first aired as a BIC Streams livecast. 

Julian E Zelizer has been among the pioneers in the revival of American political history. He is the Malcolm Stevenson Forbes, Class of 1941 Professor of History and Public Affairs at Princeton University, and a CNN Political Analyst and a regular guest on NPR’s “Here and Now.” He is the author and editor of 21 books including, The Fierce Urgency of Now: Lyndon Johnson, Congress, and the Battle for the Great Society (2015), the winner of the D.B. Hardeman Prize for the Best Book on Congress and Fault Lines: A History of the United States Since 1974 (Norton), co-authored with Kevin Kruse. His new book is Burning Down the House: Newt Gingrich, The Fall of a Speaker, and the Rise of the New Republican Party (Penguin Press). He is currently writing a new book about Abraham Joshua Heschel for the Jewish Lives Series of Yale University Press. Zelizer, who has published over 1000 op-eds, has received fellowships from the Brookings Institution, the Guggenheim Foundation, the Russell Sage Foundation, the New York Historical Society, and New America. He also co-hosts a popular podcast called Politics & Polls.

Prateeti Punja Ballal is a Bangalore based scholar. 

BIC Talks is brought to you by the Bangalore International Centre. For the full list of books and epics discussed in the episode along with links, please visit the episode page on the Bangalore International Centre website.

In this podcast Professor Zelizer in conversation with Prateeti Punja Ballal examines the origins of the Republican Party, the GOP, since the 1950s, focusing on how it changed from becoming the party of Lincoln to the party of Trump. Zelizer argues that this transformation has been in the works for decades. This episode is an edited audio discussion first aired as a BIC Streams livecast. 

Julian E Zelizer has been among the pioneers in the revival of American political history. He is the Malcolm Stevenson Forbes, Class of 1941 Professor of History and Public Affairs at Princeton University, and a CNN Political Analyst and a regular guest on NPR’s “Here and Now.” He is the author and editor of 21 books including, The Fierce Urgency of Now: Lyndon Johnson, Congress, and the Battle for the Great Society (2015), the winner of the D.B. Hardeman Prize for the Best Book on Congress and Fault Lines: A History of the United States Since 1974 (Norton), co-authored with Kevin Kruse. His new book is Burning Down the House: Newt Gingrich, The Fall of a Speaker, and the Rise of the New Republican Party (Penguin Press). He is currently writing a new book about Abraham Joshua Heschel for the Jewish Lives Series of Yale University Press. Zelizer, who has published over 1000 op-eds, has received fellowships from the Brookings Institution, the Guggenheim Foundation, the Russell Sage Foundation, the New York Historical Society, and New America. He also co-hosts a popular podcast called Politics & Polls.

Prateeti Punja Ballal is a Bangalore based scholar. 

BIC Talks is brought to you by the Bangalore International Centre. For the full list of books and epics discussed in the episode along with links, please visit the episode page on the Bangalore International Centre website.