Indian Ocean (English)

Five years after the Taliban's return to power, Asma Kakar, a former BBC Afghanistan journalist and now heading the Afghan Journalists in Exile programme at the Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung South Asia, speaks about what has changed for women and girls in Afghanistan: banned salons, forced marriage, a healthcare system in collapse, and the quiet, everyday forms of resistance that persist.

Asma also works for the Women for Women podcast and has written on this same subject in a recent article for RLS.

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Ahead of International Women’s Day, we speak with Menaha Kandasamy of the Ceylon Workers Red Flag Union in Sri Lanka.

Tea from Sri Lanka reaches cups around the world. But the workers behind it—most of them women—continue to face low wages, unsafe conditions, and the long shadow of a colonial plantation system.

In this episode, Menaha discusses the workers’ tribunal on plantation labour, the challenges of organizing in the estates, and why international solidarity still matters.

Listen to the conversation.

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A deep dive into Nepal’s geopolitical landscape as the world moves toward multipolarity. Dr. Khagendra Prasai and Tauqueer Ali Sabri unpack the global transition from US-led unipolarity to a more contested multipolar world. We explore how these shifts shape Nepal’s position between India and China, the risks of great-power rivalry, and the openings and challenges for left movements in South Asia.

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In this episode of Indian Ocean, Vinod Koshti, Project Manager at Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung (RLS) South Asia, speaks with Renu Thakur, founder of Association for Rural Planning and Action (ARPAN), about the untold struggles of single women in rural Uttarakhand - widowed, divorced, deserted, or unmarried - who continue to be denied their rightful share of land. Together, they explore why land is far more than a piece of property: it is about dignity, identity, and survival. What does it mean to be a farmer without land in your name? Tune in to hear how women in India’s hill regions navigate patriarchy, legal blind spots, and systemic neglect in their fight for recognition and justice.

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What does agrarian capitalism really look like in Bangladesh? In this compelling episode of Indian Ocean, Prof. M. M. Akash, one of Bangladesh's leading economists, joins host Vinod Koshti from RLS, South Asia to explore the layered realities of rural life, agricultural labour, and evolving class structures. From the resilience of smallholder farmers and the rise of bottom-up capitalism to the critical role of women and the precarious future of agricultural workers, this conversation offers rare, on-the-ground insights into the shifting socio-economic landscape of rural Bangladesh. Prof. Akash also speaks candidly about the threats posed by corporate agribusiness, the future of 21st-century socialism, and the urgent need for fair trade and dignified wages.”

Listen in to understand why Bangladesh’s countryside is both a site of survival struggle and a space of hope—and why it matters to all of us, globally.

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In this episode of Indian Ocean, Tauqueer Ali Sabri speaks with Dr. Heinz Bierbaum—Chairman of the Executive Board of the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation—on the urgent challenges and possibilities for the global Left. From democracy to the gig economy, far-right populism, migration, and climate justice, the discussion explores how the Left is responding to a rapidly shifting world order.

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On Dr B.R. Ambedkar’s birth anniversary, we return to his warnings and radical proposals — not just about democracy, but about the deep-rooted economic and social structures that keep it from working.

In this episode of the Indian Ocean podcast, Tauqueer Ali Sabri, project manager at RLS South Asia, speaks to Professor Sukhdeo Thorat about caste, race, women, economic discrimination, and why Ambedkar’s vision of fraternity — drawn from Buddhism, not the French Revolution — remains so relevant today.

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India’s sugar industry relies on the hard labor of informal workers, many of whom face exploitative conditions, withheld wages, and even debt bondage. In this episode, Rajiv Kumar, program manager at RLS South Asia, speaks with Sudhir Katiyar from the Centre for Labour Research and Action about the challenges faced by sugarcane harvesting workers, the shortcomings of existing labor laws, and the potential of the Mathadi Act to bring much-needed protections. They also discuss the role of multinational corporations and how global supply chain laws—like Germany’s Due Diligence Act—can help hold companies accountable.

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The gig economy is booming in India, but at what cost? While platforms promise flexibility, millions of workers struggle with low wages, lack of social security, and algorithmic control.

In this episode of Indian Ocean, we speak with labor law expert Babu Mathew about the challenges gig workers face and the fight for fair wages, social protections, and collective bargaining rights.

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In this episode, we sit down with Maximilian Schirmer of Die Linke to discuss the party’s remarkable success in Berlin. How did they mobilize voters, especially young people, and bring the question of class back into mainstream politics? What lessons can progressive movements worldwide learn from their campaign? We dive into the strategies behind their victory, the challenges of countering the far-right, and the role of international solidarity in strengthening the left.

Maximilian Schirmer is the Berlin State Chairman of Die Linke and Deputy Chairman of Germany’s Left Party

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