BIC TALKS

Rahul Rao (@thariel) and Poorna Swami discuss whether cities, nations and communities should retain statues honouring 18th and 19th century slave traders and imperialists.

There are movements to bring down the statues of Confederate Generals in the United States of America, Colonial rulers in Europe, Gandhi in Africa. Rahul and Poorna explore if they are morally justified. If they are, where does one draw the line?

Rahul Rao is a senior lecturer at SOAS, the School of Oriental and African Studies, London, and the author of 'Out of Time: The Queer Politics of Postcoloniality' (Oxford University Press 2020). Poorna Swami is an independent writer and journalist based in Bangalore.

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

Rahul Rao and Poorna Swami discuss whether cities, nations and communities should retain statues honouring 18th or 19th century slave traders and imperialists.

There are movements to bring down the statues of Confederate Generals in the US, Colonial rulers in Europe and Gandhi in Africa – Rahul and Poorna explore if they are morally justified. If they are, where does one draw the line?

Rahul Rao is a senior lecturer at SOAS, London, and Poorna Swami is an independent writer and journalist.

Supreme Court Advocate Jayna Kothari and Tejas AP talk about trans rights, important legal judgments in India, the US and elsewhere in recent years, and the path towards gender equity and inclusion.

This is the first of two episodes hosted by Tejas on gender equity, and here Jayna unpacks the recent US Supreme judgment on LGBTQ workers' discrimination, the decriminalisation of Section 377 in India, the 2014 NALSA vs. Union of India judgment on gender-based discrimination in India, and more. They discuss how India needs to now move beyond decriminalisation and start affirming positive rights for LGBTQ+ individuals, and pass new equality laws.

Jayna Kothari is a Senior Advocate who practices in the Supreme Court of India. She is the co-founder of the Centre for Law and Policy Research in Bangalore. Jayna had argued in the Supreme Court in the recent constitutional challenges to Section 377 and adultery, which were both decriminalized.

Tejas AP (he/him/his) lives and works in Bangalore. He heads Research Communications at Azim Premji University. He works with researchers to present their findings in as engaging and accessible a manner as possible to a general audience. He is an urbanisnt to the core, indulges in fantasy cartography, and tirelessly advocates for over consumption of filter coffee.

Supreme Court Advocate Jayna Kothari and Tejas AP talk about trans rights, important legal judgments in India, the US and elsewhere in recent years, and the path towards gender equity and inclusion.

This is the first of two episodes hosted by Tejas on gender equity, and here Jayna unpacks important US and Indian legal judgments from the last decade. They discuss how India needs to now move beyond decriminalisation and start affirming positive rights for LGBTQ+ individuals, and pass new equality laws.

Aeronautical engineer and retired test pilot Joseph Thomas talks to host Pavan Srinath about aerial survey and mapping of the India-China border, about the evolution of mapping technology in the subcontinent, and about the longest contested border in the world.

Mr Thomas discusses how maps were drawn and land was measured between the 19th century and today, the advent of aerial mapping in India, to where we are today. He elaborates on his time in aerial mapping using Canberra aircraft, a time when India had better maps of the border areas and a technological lead over China for almost two decades. He also discusses how international borders are delineated and demarcated, and provides context for the full long India-China border, as well as the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh.

Joseph Thomas is an Indian Air Force pilot who flew transport and logistics during the 1962 Indo-China War. From 1967 to 1971 he flew in the reconnaissance and aerial survey squadron, taking part in border surveys, and aerial mapping of the entire country. He is also a test pilot and helped start the Indian Air Force Test Pilot School. He retired as a Wing Commander in 1984, and was awarded a Vayu Sena Medal.

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

Aeronautical engineer and retired test pilot Joseph Thomas talks to host Pavan Srinath about aerial survey and mapping of the India-China border, the evolution of mapping technology, and explains the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh.

Mr Thomas flew transport aircraft during the 1962 Indo-China War for the Indian Air Force, and thereafter flew in aerial survey squadron, taking part in border surveys, and aerial mapping of the entire country. He retired as a Wing Commander in 1984.

Evolutionary biologist and herpetologist Ishan Agarwal talks to host Pavan Srinath about discovering new species of geckos and other wildlife in India.

India's ecosystems and biodiversity are facing new threats every day, but dedicated researchers are finding large numbers of new species of lizards, frogs, insects and more in the last decade or two.

Ishan Agarwal has helped discover about 40 new species of small animals till date, and shares how new species are found, identified and named. He shares stories of naming geckos after his mother who inspired his love for nature, after places where the species were found, and how scholars pay homage or have fun while naming new species. Ishan also discusses modern scientific tools and modern understanding of what constitutes a species. He links these discoveries to larger ideas of studying biodiversity, environmental conservation and climate change.

Ishan Agarwal (@geckoella on Instagram) is an evolutionary biologist by training and studies lizards, their biological diversity, evolution and natural distribution. He is currently a scientist at the Thackeray Wildlife Foundation and focuses on studying the biodiversity of peninsular India.

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

Evolutionary biologist and herpetologist Ishan Agarwal talks to host Pavan Srinath about discovering new species of geckos and other wildlife in India.

India’s ecosystems and biodiversity are facing new threats every day, but dedicated researchers are finding large numbers of new species of lizards, frogs, insects and more in the last decade or two.

Ishan has helped discover about 40 new species till date, and shares how new species are discovered, identified and named – and why all this matters

Bestselling author Chetan Bhagat talks to Journalist Shrabonti Bagchi about the COVID-19 pandemic, his reactions to it as a writer, and about the future of books and publishing beyond 2020.

This is the first podcast in a new WorldLit series, a collaboration between the Bangalore Literature Festival and the Bangalore International Centre. The BIC-BLF WorldLit series will feature podcast episodes here on BIC Talks, and live events on BIC Streams.

In this episode of BIC Talks, Chetan Bhagat talks to Shrabonti Bagchi about his reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic and the ways in which it is changing the world around us. How does the life of a successful writer change during a pandemic, and how are the current and long-term impacts of the pandemic influence fiction? What is the future of publishing, literature festivals, book launches, and books and entertainment in general?

Chetan Bhagat is the author of eight novels and three non-fiction books, most recently, The Girl in Room 105 (Westland 2018) and India Positive (Westland 2019). Shrabonti Bagchi is a journalist based in Bangalore, and currently the National Features Editor at Mint.

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

Bestselling author Chetan Bhagat talks to Journalist Shrabonti Bagchi about the COVID-19 pandemic, his reactions to it as a writer, and about the future of books and publishing beyond 2020.

This is the first BIC Talks Podcast in a new WorldLit series, a collaboration between the Bangalore Literature Festival and the Bangalore International Centre. The BIC-BLF WorldLit series will feature two events every month, a podcast episode here on BIC Talks, and a live event on BIC Streams.