Grand Tamasha

The last few weeks have seen a flurry of activity on the Indian politics and policy front. India has found itself front and center in the Ukraine crisis as it has repeatedly abstained from condemning the Russian invasion. Last week, in a visit that had tongues wagging, the Indian and Chinese foreign ministers met in New Delhi in the first high-level summit in two years. And, we’ve closed the books on five key state elections across the country—in which the ruling Bharaitiya Janata Party (BJP) emerged as victor in four of five contests.

To discuss all of the latest developments out of India, Milan is joined by Grand Tamasha news round-up regulars Sadanand Dhume (American Enterprise Institute and the Wall Street Journal) and Tanvi Madan (Brookings Institution). 

The trio discuss India’s evolving stance on the Russian invasion, Wang Yi’s surprise visit to India, and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s future. Plus, the three discuss what under-reported stories Grand Tamasha listeners should be paying attention to. 

1. Sadanand Dhume, “India Has a Lot to Lose in Ukraine,” Wall Street Journal, February 3, 2022.  
2. Tanvi Madan, “India is Not Sitting on the Geopolitical Fence,” War on the Rocks, October 27, 2021.
3. “India's High-Wire Act on Russia-Ukraine,” (with Raji Rajagopalan), Grand Tamasha, March 2, 2022.

“Water is everywhere—in the highest mountains, in the deepest ocean, in the Ganga, in sewers, within you, and in the air. But the glass of water in front of you is precious because it requires India’s volatile, varied water to be harnessed and brought to your home.” 

This is one of the main insights of a new book, Watershed: How We Destroyed India’s Water and How We Can Save It, by the author Mridula Ramesh. Ramesh is the founder of the Sundaram Climate Institute, a cleantech investor, and a leading public voice in India’s water and climate debates. 

Milan sits down with Mridula this week to discuss her 360-degree perspective on India’s water woes and how they can be addressed. The two discuss the origins of India’s water crisis, the role of agriculture, and how ordinary citizens and civil society groups can be part of the solution rather than part of the problem.

1. Chanpreet Khurana, “Mridula Ramesh: "Business leaders exist on a spectrum on 'water/climate awareness',” Moneycontrol, February 20, 2022.
2. “What COP26 Means for India—and the World,” (with Navroz Dubash), Grand Tamasha, November 17, 2021.
3. “How India Can Get to Net Zero Emissions,” (with Jayant Sinha), Grand Tamasha, October 13, 2021.

Last week, the results of five assembly elections were announced and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of Prime Minister Narendra Modi claimed impressive victories in four out of five contests—notching wins in Goa, Manipur, Uttarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh. 

In the state of Punjab, the upstart Aam Aadmi Party won a stunning victory that saw the demise of a whole slew of politicians with household names. The Congress Party, for its part, saw its fortunes diminish to an all-time low.

To discuss the drivers of these results—and the impact they have on politics and policy, this week Milan is joined by Sunetra Choudhury, national political editor of the Hindustan Times and a veteran political analyst. 

Milan and Sunetra discuss the fate of Mandal politics, the future of the Congress, and the position of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. Plus, the two discuss the political and policy impacts of these elections as India turns its attention to the 2024 general election.

1. Mirza Asmer Beg, Shashikant Pandey, and Shreyas Sardesai, “The BJP’s rock solid social coalition,” Hindu, March 12, 2022.
2. Rahul Verma, “Grand Old Party and Its Grand Illusions,” Times of India, March 13, 2022.

This week, the Indian government revealed that India’s economy expanded by 5.4 percent in the third quarter of the current fiscal year, which was well below market expectations. The latest GDP print raises fresh questions about the health of the Indian economy at a time when global headwinds are starting to pick up. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the spike in oil and other commodity prices, and persistent inflation all pose serious risks to India’s macroeconomic outlook.

This week on the podcast, Milan sits down with economist Sajjid Chinoy to discuss how India might weather these external shocks. Sajjid is chief India economist at JP Morgan and one of the most respected voices on the Indian macroeconomy. Milan and Sajjid discuss India’s policy trade-offs, the latest underwhelming GDP numbers, and India’s progress on asset sales. Plus, Milan asks Sajjid about the reforms needed to boost India’s long-term growth outlook.  

Episode notes:

1. Sajjid Chinoy, “Managing the crude price pressure,” Indian Express, March 4, 2022.
2. Sajjid Chinoy, “4 choices, no free lunch: Budget attempted a balancing act in a complex domestic & global macro environment,” Times of India, February 3, 2022.
3. “Breaking Down India’s Budget,” (with Roshan Kishore), Grand Tamasha, February 16, 2022.
4. Sajjid Chinoy and Toshi Jain, “India’s 4Q21 GDP underwhelms, underscoring the pandemic’s scars,” J.P. Morgan, February 28, 2022.

Late last week, Russia launched a full-scale military invasion of Ukraine, deploying the might of the Russian military to conduct a hostile takeover of its sovereign neighbor. Over the past few days, India’s role has received significant attention as it has neither condoned Russia’s behavior nor condemned it in the strongest terms. 

India has a long strategic relationship with Russia that it can ill afford to rupture when it has thousands of Chinese troops on its northern border. At the same time, there are increasing calls from the West for India to “get off the fence.”

This week on the show, Milan sits down with strategic affairs expert Dr. Rajeswari (Raji) Pillai Rajagopalan to talk about the ongoing Ukraine crisis. Dr. Rajagopalan is the director of the Centre for Security, Strategy and Technology at the Observer Research Foundation in New Delhi. She has extensive experience—both inside and outside of government—on matters of Indian foreign policy and national security. 

Milan and Raji discuss the history of India-Russia relations, the extent of shared defense ties, and the friction that has developed in the relationship. Plus, the two discuss India’s tight-rope walk on Ukraine and the ramifications of the crisis for the Indo-Pacific. 

1. Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan, “Why Did Russian President Putin Visit India?” Observer Research Foundation, December 15, 2021.
2. Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan, “India’s Place in the New U.S. Indo-Pacific Strategy,” Observer Research Foundation, February 24, 2021.
3. Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan, “Putin and Xi Frame a New China-Russia Partnership,” Observer Research Foundation, February 15, 2021.
4. “The Looming Cloud of Sanctions Over U.S.-India Relations,” (with Sameer Lalwani), Grand Tamasha, September 29, 2021.

India’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, died nearly six decades ago, but it is remarkable how much his legacy continues to color modern Indian life. 

From the border dispute with China to debates over fundamental rights and Hindu-Muslim relations, the current policy discourse in India cannot be disentangled from Nehru’s own ideological convictions and those who did battle against him. 

A new book by Adeel Hussain and Tripurdaman Singh, Nehru: The Debates That Defined India, shines a spotlight on four consequential debates that Nehru engaged in that get to the heart of the Indian polity. The authors join Milan on the show this week to discuss Nehru’s enduring legacy, his intellectual sparring partners, and contentious debates over nationalism, communalism, civil liberties, and foreign policy.

1. “Episode 262: Nehru’s Debates,” (with Adeel Hussain and Tripurdaman Singh), The Seen and The Unseen (podcast), January 31, 2022.
2. Tripurdaman Singh, Sixteen Stormy Days: The Story of the First Amendment of the Constitution of India.
3. “Madhav Khosla on India’s Founding Moment,” Grand Tamasha, January 29, 2020.

On February 1, the Union government presented its budget for the upcoming fiscal year—setting the tone for its midterm pivot as the government turns toward 2024 and the end of its  second term in office. What are the biggest takeaways from this year’s budget? How did the markets receive it? And what does it tell us about India’s uncertain economic recovery? 

To discuss these questions and much more, Milan is joined on the podcast this week by Roshan Kishore, data and political economy editor at the Hindustan Times.

Milan and Roshan discuss India’s macroeconomic context, the government’s long-term growth strategy, and lagging private demand. Plus, the two discuss potential headwinds arising from the global economy and the debate over India’s long-term trend growth rate.

1. Roshan Kishore, “Math of the economy: How to understand the Budget,” Hindustan Times, February 2, 2022. 
2. Roshan Kishore, “Three questions which capture India’s medium-term economic challenge,” Hindustan Times, February 3, 2022.
3. Poonam Gupta, “Budget steers clear of drama in complex economic environment,” Economic Times, February 2, 2022.
4. Rohit Lamba and Raghuram Rajan, “Don’t Mimic China’s Economic Model,” Times of India, February 15, 2022.

Due to scheduling conflicts, there is no new episode of Grand Tamasha this week. A new episode of Grand Tamasha will air next Tuesday at 9:00 PM EST/Wednesday 7:30 AM IST.

Most of our listeners do not need an introduction to the Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan. You’ve watched his movies. You’ve sung the songs his films have popularized. You might even have had his poster on your wall growing up. 

A new book by the economist Shrayana Bhattacharya, Desperately Seeking Shah Rukh: India's Lonely Young Women and the Search for Intimacy and Independence, describes another role that Shah Rukh has fulfilled: he has been the north star for women across India as they search for intimacy, independence, and empowerment. 

Shrayana joins Milan on the podcast to discuss her new book—which is part economics tract, part reportage, part social commentary, and part feminist call to arms. Milan and Shrayana discuss how Shah Rukh has become a female (but not feminist) icon, the economics behind the lack of women’s agency in India, and her own struggles with love and loneliness. Plus, the two discuss the mysteries of the Delhi social scene and the ways government policy can help challenge conservative, patriarchal social norms. 

1. K.X. Ronnie, “Interview, Shrayana Bhattacharya, author, Desperately Seeking Shah Rukh – “I’m a loud and proud feminist economist,” Hindustan Times, November 27, 2021.
2. Devesh Kapur, Neelanjan Sircar, and Milan Vaishnav, “Introduction to e-Symposium: Urbanisation, gender, and social change in north India,” Ideas for India, December 6, 2021.
3. Milan Vaishnav, “Women and work: How much does measurement matter?” Ideas for India, May 10, 2021.
4. Ruth Pollard, “What a Bollywood Megastar Means for Women in India,” Bloomberg, December 9, 2021.

India’s Path to Power: Strategy in a World Adrift is a manifesto written by eight of India’s leading public intellectuals that seeks to chart a future course for Indian’s foreign policy. But, unlike most foreign policy reports, it delves into thorny issues of economics, climate change, global governance, and India’s domestic politics. 

This week on the show, Milan is joined by one of the report’s key authors, Ambassador Shivshankar Menon. Ambassador Menon is a distinguished fellow at the Centre for Social and Economic Progress in New Delhi and has had a long and distinguished career in government—serving as national security advisor, foreign secretary, and high commissioner to China and Pakistan, among other notable positions. 

Milan and Ambassador Menon discuss the India-China-U.S. triangle, the fate of India’s “Neighborhood First” policy, and the state of civil-military relations. Plus, the two talk about the centrality of democracy at home to India’s power projection abroad.

Episode notes:

1. India’s Path to Power: Strategy in a World Adrift, Centre for Policy Research and Takshashila Institution.
2. “The Biden-Modi Summit and the Future of U.S.-India Relations” (with Ashley Tellis), Grand Tamasha, September 22, 2021.

On Sunday, January 23, India reported more than 333,000 active COVID cases while the official number of fatalities surpassed 500 deaths. What is the state of COVID in India today? What lessons has this pandemic imparted? And what, if anything, does COVID mean for the future of economics and politics in the country. 

To discuss these questions and to kick off the seventh season of the podcast, Milan speaks with Sukumar Ranganathan, editor-in-chief of the Hindustan Times, on the show this week.

Milan asks Sukumar to assess India’s COVID response, the impact the pandemic has had on federalism, and whether India’s economy has turned a corner. Plus, Milan and Sukumar discuss whether COVID has fundamentally changed India’s future economic and political trajectories.

1. Sukumar Ranganathan, “In 2022, what India must do to learn to live with Covid,” Hindustan Times, December 11, 2021.
2. “Anup Malani on India’s COVID Second Wave,” Grand Tamasha, April 27, 2021.
3. “Niha Masih on Reporting on India's COVID-19 Crisis,” Grand Tamasha, June 16, 2021