Today’s episode is the second part of my conversation with Rajmohan Gandhi, a historian and biographer involved in efforts for trust-building and reconciliation and author of more than fifteen books, of which the most recent is Fraternity: Constitutional Norm and Human Need. He taught history and politics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign from 1997 until he retirement in 2022. His most recent initiative is We Are One Humanity (WAOH), a writers collective responding to the worldwide thrusts against democracy and equality. We spoke about his reflections on communal violence between Hindus and Muslims, revenge and reconciliation in South Asia, Sikhs and Buddhists, differences between north and south India, constitutional values, and much more. 

Recorded April 17th, 2025.

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Today my guest is Rajmohan Gandhi, a historian and biographer involved in efforts for trust-building and reconciliation and author of more than fifteen books, of which the most recent is Fraternity: Constitutional Norm and Human Need. He taught history and politics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign from 1997 until his retirement in 2022. His most recent initiative is We Are One Humanity (WAOH), a writers collective responding to the worldwide thrusts against democracy and equality. We spoke about his reflections on his biographies of the founding fathers, Vallabhai Patel, Mohandas Gandhi, C Rajagopalachari, and Gaffar Khan, their competing visions, debates with others like Ambedkar and Nehru, constitutional values, the civil rights movement, his faith, and much more. 

Recorded April 18th, 2025.

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Timestamps

Intro - 00:00:00

Patel - 00:01:34

Rajaji - 00:31:20

Ghaffar Khan - 00:51:53 

Gandhi - 01:05:53

Competing Visions - 01:17:32

Biographies of Family Members - 01:18:54

Serendipity in the Research Process - 01:23:40

Civil Rights in the US - 01:27:23

Pessimistic or Optimistic? - 01:35:16

Role of God and Faith - 01:36:27

Outro - 01:38:20

Today my guest is Prachi Mishra, who is a Professor in the Department of Economics, and Director and Head of Isaac Center for Public Policy at Ashoka University. Prior to joining Ashoka, Prachi was Chief of the Systemic Issues Division and Advisor in the Research Department at the International Monetary Fund. 

We spoke about the current state of the Indian economy, India’s growth trajectory, if the rupee is overvalued, India’s fiscal consolidation, and much more. We also spoke about Trade, but this episode was recorded before the big tariff announcements on April 2.  

Recorded March 31st, 2025.

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Today my guest is Sajith Pai, who is a Partner at Blume Ventures, an early stage Indian venture fund. He is also a well known writer, and the author of the annual Indus Valley Report. We spoke about the trends in the latest Indus Valley Report, the stratifications in Indian consumer markets, investor sentiment, policies and infrastructure to foster the AI boom in India, the AI start-up scene and much more.   

Recorded March 6th, 2025.

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Timestamps

00:00:00 - Intro

00:04:32 - 2025 Trends

00:24:30 - Last Year vs. This Year

00:32:25 - The Role of Artificial Intelligence

00:45:59 - Artificial Intelligence Startup Scene

01:16:40 - Sajith’s Reading Habits

01:22:20 - Outro

Today my guest is Justice Jasti Chelameswar, who is a former justice of the Supreme Court of India. Prior to his elevation, he served as chief justice in High Courts in Gauhati and Kerala and as a justice in the Andhra Pradesh High Court. 

We spoke about his judgments on electoral qualifications, judicial conduct, transparency in judicial appointments, the constitutional right to privacy, separation of powers, and how dissent shapes constitutional interpretation, and much more.

Recorded February 25th, 2025.

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Timestamps

00:00:00 - Intro

00:01:27 - Election Law Cases

00:17:15 - Process of Writing Opinions

00:25:38 - Misconduct of Judicial Officers

00:31:34 - NJAC Opinion

00:44:47 - Fundamental Right to Privacy

01:06:29 - Death Penalty Matters

01:15:36 - Outro

Today my guest is Akshay Jaitly, one of the founders of Trilegal, one of India’s leading law firms. He specializes in advising on energy and infrastructure projects. His research interests include power sector reform, the energy transition and public-private contracting.

We talked about the top-down nature of electricity regulation and pricing in India, the dysfunctional DISCOMS, the reforms required for an energy transition towards renewables and nuclear energy, and much more. 

Recorded February 11th, 2025.

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Timestamps

00:00:00 - Intro 00:01:06 - Electricity in India 00:15:31 - DISCOMs 00:41:26 - Open Access 00:44:31 - Expanding Capacity 00:46:52 - Renewable Energy 00:50:04 - Technology Diffusion 00:59:11 - Nuclear Power 01:17:18 - Outro

Today my guest is Christopher J Coyne, who is a Professor of Economics at George Mason University, the Associate Director of the F.A. Hayek Program at the Mercatus Center. We talked about the economics of conflict and peace, history of the US security state, the US intervention in Afghanistan, domestic consequences of militarism abroad, and much more. 

Recorded January 15th, 2025.

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Today my guest Katherine Butler Schofield who is a professor of South Asian Music and History at King’s College London. She is the author of the recent book Music and Musicians in Late Mughal India: Histories of the Ephemeral, 1748–1858.  She also hosted a podcast series called The Histories of the Ephemeral on the same theme.

We talked about the history of classical music in India - from Natyasastra to Dhrupad and to khayals and qawallis. about Aurangzeb’s relationship with music, the sacking of Delhiand it’s influence on hindustani classical music, the powerful tawaifs of that time, and much more.

Recorded January 24th, 2025.

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Timestamps

(00:00:00) - Intro

(00:02:17) - The Nāṭyaśāstra and Tasting Music

(00:09:29) - Raga Style and Persian Influences

(00:18:35) - The Influence of Intoxicants

(00:19:42) - Aurangzeb and Other Courtly Characters

(00:33:37) - Aurangzeb’s Demise and Its Effect on Music

(00:43:15) - Traveling Musicians and the Spread and Rise of Different Forms

(00:49:49) - Development of Tomri

(00:55:37) - What Makes Punjab So Different

(00:59:17) - The Tawaif

(01:02:06) - The Stories of Sophia Plowden and Khanam Jan

(01:18:07) - Outro

Today my guest is Anton Howes head of innovation research at The Entrepreneurs Network, and the historian-in-residence at the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce. He is the author of Arts and Minds: How the Royal Society of Arts Changed a Nation and the excellent Substack Age of Invention.  We talked about salt trade in India, the Dutch culture of innovation, the Royal Society of Arts, endogenous versus O-ring theories of growth, why the Industrial Revolution took place in Britain, and much more. 

Recorded November 11th, 2024.

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Timestamps

(00:00:00) - Intro

(00:01:29) - History of the Salt Trade and Salt Tax in India

(00:11:12) - Harvesting Salt in Bengal

(00:17:140 - The Great Hedge of India

(00:23:58) - The Rationale for Taxing Salt

(00:25:49) - The Western European Salt Trade and Land Control 

(00:34:22) - The Dutch Golden Age

(00:39:44) - Baltic Salt and New Forms of Sleeching

(00:45:51) - Maritime Trade

(00:48:24) - Why Did the Industrial Revolution Take Place in Britain and Not Elsewhere?

(01:03:14) - Solving the Problem of Debasement in Britain

(01:08:33) - The Path to the Royal Society of Arts

(01:16:39) - A Culture of Tinkerers and Improvers 

(01:20:49) - The Society of Arts’ Aims and Legacy

(01:31:15) - Theories of Progress

(01:40:20) - The Society of Arts and the Tool of Status

(01:47:43) - Outro

Today my guest is Anant Sudarshan, an Associate Professor at the Department of Economics at the University of Warwick and a Senior Fellow at the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC). We talked about air pollution in India, crop burning, subsidizing electricity, depleting ground water, the impact of the collapse of keystone species and much more. 

Recorded November 25th, 2024.

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Timestamps

(00:00:00) - Intro

(00:01:52) - Air Pollution in India

(00:06:00) - Causes of Pollution in Delhi

(00:07:32) - Addressing Crop Burning as a Source of Pollution

(00:14:11) - Regulatory Frameworks for Pollution in India

(00:18:16) - Creating a Market for Pollution

(00:39:52) - Vehicular Pollution and Rationing

(00:53:56) - How Subsidies Complicate the Pollution Problem

(01:02:44) - Pigouvian Subsidies

(01:08:19) - Electricity as a Right

(01:26:04) - The Near-Extinction of Vultures in India

(01:38:41) - Outro