In Focus by The Hindu

The March 21, 2022 crash of China Eastern Airlines Flight 5735 was one of China’s worst aviation disasters, killing all 132 people on board. Investigations are on-going to determine how a Boeing 737-800 suddenly plunged into a near-vertical descent into the mountains of southern China from cruising altitude in normal weather conditions. On May 17, 2022, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing U.S. investigators, that flight data indicated someone in the cockpit intentionally crashed the plane.

In this episode, Mohan Ranganathan explains how pilot suicides have caused air disasters in the past, how a pilot can bring down a plane, and the lessons for aviation going forward.

Guest: Mohan Ranganathan, air safety expert, former airline pilot and instructor on Boeing 737s, former member of Civil Aviation Safety Advisory Council

Host: Ananth Krishnan, China correspondent, The Hindu

Edited by Reenu Cyriac

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One of the primary justifications given by Russian for its invasion of Ukraine was the relentless eastward expansion of NATO. But now two more countries in Russia’s neighbourhood – Sweden and Finland – have announced their decision to join NATO. Finland shares a 1,340km long border with Russia. This means that even as Russia is trying to build a buffer between Russia and a pro-NATO Ukraine in the Donbas region, Russia’s land border with NATO is set to double.

How does Finland and Sweden joining NATO change the strategic dynamics of the region? And what are Russia’s options in terms of a response?

Guest: Stanly Johny, International Affairs Editor, The Hindu

Host: G. Sampath, Social Affairs Editor, The Hindu

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It looks as if the saga of the National Register of Citizens, or NRC as it is called, will not be ending anytime soon for the people of Assam.

Despite a final NRC created under the direct supervision of the Supreme Court of India, BJP governments at the Centre and State continue to stonewall its implementation.

At stake is the citizenship status of a little over 19 lakh persons whose names did not figure in the final NRC published under Supreme Court orders in August 2019. Nearly three years have passed, but the persons left out – both Muslims and Hindus – haven’t had the opportunity to address their citizenship status.

For long, the immigrant issue has been used to play political football with the lives of the people of Assam. It appears that the ruling BJP doesn’t want to implement the final NRC as the numbers don’t suit its political orientation.

Of late, Assam’s NRC coordinator, Hitesh Dev Sarma, has written to judges in the Foreigners Tribunals, saying that the NRC as published, under the express orders of the Supreme Court, not be treated as final. At least one of the judges has responded to Mr. Sarma by asking him not to interfere in the functioning of the Tribunals, which was beyond his jurisdiction.

So, where does the NRC and those affected by it, go from here? To discuss these issues, I am joined from Assam by Sanjoy Barbora, who teaches at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences in Guwahati.

Guest: Dr. Sanjoy Barbora is Professor at the Guwahati campus of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS).

Host: Amit Baruah, Senior Associate Editor, The Hindu

Edited by Reenu Cyriac

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

India’s triumph at the Thomas Cup seems to have caught the nation – and many even in the badminton community – by surprise. For the longest time India has struggled to make it past the quarter-finals, but this time we achieved back-to-back victories over former champions Malaysia and Denmark to make it to the final, and in the final, against all odds, we blanked 14-time champions Indonesia 3-0.

This is a historic achievement. It has already been compared to India’s 1983 triumph at the cricket world cup. So how was this success story scripted? What were the odds? And how can India build on this spectacular achievement?

Guest: Rakesh Rao, Deputy Editor (Sports), The Hindu

Host: G. Sampath, Social Affairs Editor, The Hindu

Edited by Ranjani Srinivasan

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Everything that can go wrong with a country is in full play in Sri Lanka. Anger and violence at food and fuel shortages, power cuts, collapsing purchase power, and above all a demand for the ruling Rajapakse clan to quit the island nation’s politics is growing.

President Gotabaya Rajapakse has sacrificed his brother, Mahinda, to cling onto power as the Go, Gota Go, cries in the streets of Sri Lanka continue to be heard. In desperation, the United National Party leader Ranil Wickremesinghe has been appointed Prime Minister in place of Mahinda Rajapakse.

Can this six-time Prime Minister get Sri Lanka out of its current economic and political mess? Can the President continue in office? Is Mr. Wickremesinghe serious about abolishing the executive presidency in Sri Lanka, which many believe lies at the root of the country’s problems.

Guest: Dr. Paikiasothy Sarvanamuttu, Executive Director of the Centre for Policy Alternatives.

Host: Amit Baruah, Senior Associate Editor, and former Sri Lanka correspondent, The Hindu

Edited by Ranjani Srinivasan

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The still unofficial victory of Bongbong Marcos, son of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, in the Philippine presidential election, is both comprehensive and complete. A family that had to flee the country is now back in power.

For those familiar with the country’s politics, it doesn’t come as a surprise. Powered by Facebook and other forms of social media, the narrative around the Marcos family was carefully altered over the years.

Bongbong replaces strongman President Roberto Duterte, a polarizing figure in the country’s politics. Will Bongbong be like his father or Duterte in his political practice? Or will he prove to be a surprise package?

The Philippines, which has had a long-standing alliance with the United States, has to contend with an increasingly assertive China. What will be Bongbong’s foreign policy?

Guest: Ravi Velloor, Singapore-based columnist and Associate Editor of .The Straits Times

Host: Amit Baruah, Senior Associate Editor, and former Southeast Asia Correspondent, The Hindu.

Edited by Ranjani Srinivasan

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

John Lee, a former security chief of Hong Kong, has been appointed as the city’s new Chief Executive. He will replace the current leader Carrie Lam on July 1. Known to be a pro-Beijing administrator, he oversaw the crackdown on pro-democracy protests in 2019.

His appointment comes at a significant time in Hong Kong’s history --- this year marks 25 years since Hong Kong’s was handed over by the British to China, under the broad governance principle of ‘one country, two systems’. What does John Lee’s term mean for the future of civil liberties in Hong Kong? And what’s the mood like in the city in the year of the 25th handover anniversary?

Guest: Ananth Krishnan, The Hindu’s China correspondent.

Host: G. Sampath, Social Affairs Editor, The Hindu

Edited by Reenu Cyriac

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The semiconductor ecosystem in India has been abuzz with energy ever since the government announced a ₹ 76,000 crore scheme to incentivise semiconductor and display system manufacturers to set up shop in India. Corporate announcements have also started trickling in. Vedanta has allied with Foxconn for its foray. The ISMC of Israel has signed an MoU wit Karnataka. In all this, there still lingers the question, should India seriously spend its funds and effort over setting up such an ecosystem? After all, semiconductor manufacturing requires consistent power supply and a significant amount of clean water.

If India should, indeed, get in manufacturers, what lessons could it take away from similar efforts made in the past, which had largely fizzled out?

Guest: Niju Vijayan, Partner at Avanteum Advisors. He has had long years of exposure to the ESDM (Electronic System Design & Manufacturing) industry, of which semiconductors are a part.

Host: K. Bharath Kumar

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Five months have passed without the Government appointing a Chief of Defence Staff. The post fell vacant after Gen. Bipin Rawat died in a tragic helicopter crash on December 9. It was speculated that the former Army Chief Gen. Manoj Mukund Naravane would be appointed the new Chief of Defence Staff but he retired from service at the end of April.

Why has the Government not appointed a new Chief of Defence Staff? Can a retired chief be appointed to the job? Or will the post created with much fanfare go to either the serving Air Force or Navy chief given that Gen. Manoj Pande has just been appointed the chief of army staff?

Guest: Rahul Bedi, senior Journalist and defence analyst

Host: Amit Baruah, Senior Associate Editor, The Hindu

Edited by Reenu Cyriac

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In March this year, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and his counterpart from Meghalaya Conrad Sangma signed an agreement in New Delhi to partially resolve the 50-year-old border dispute between the two states. Reports indicate that matters have been resolved in six out of the 12 border locations that had disputes. At the same time, Home Minister Amit Shah has said that 70% of the border disputes between the two states have been resolved by this agreement. Subsequently, Arunachal Pradesh and Assam decided to form district-level committees for settling their boundary disputes.

There are now hopes that, following the ‘50-50’ model that Assam and Meghalaya followed, the disputes between Assam and Arunachal will also see resolution.

Assam has border disputes with most of its neigbouring states. But in this edition of InFocus, we take a closer look at the causes of its disputes with Meghalaya and Arunachal, and whether the Assam-Meghalaya agreement can serve as a template for resolving all the other border disputes in the North-East.

Guest: Patricia Mukhim, the editor of Shillong Times.

Host: G. Sampath, Social Affairs Editor, The Hindu

Edited by Reenu Cyriac

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices