We The People

A year has passed since 86 per cent of all currency in India was declared invalid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Hailed as one of the most disruptive economic policies anywhere in the world, the practice has both supporters and serious critics. On this episode of We The People, we ask: if 99% of the demonetised currency is back in the system, where did the black money stock go? Can demonetisation and issuance of larger denominations of currency stop people from hoarding money illegally? From targeting black money to terrorism to pushing for digitisation, what indeed was the aim of the exercise which stopped the economy in its tracks also claiming multiple lives in the process?

The Taj Mahal is in the news again but not for its breathtaking beauty but as a site of political and religious dispute with some historians and political groups claiming that it's not representative of the Indian culture and that it's been built on the site of an erstwhile Shiva Temple. The controversy rose to the national and international stage when the UP tourism department's brochure chose to leave the UNESCO heritage site out. On this episode of We The People, we ask: can history be held hostage to political and religious ideologies? Should history textbooks each change with governments? In a multicultural country like India, who decides which parts of the subcontinent's history are indeed representative of 'Indian culture'?

Rahul Gandhi's elevation as the Congress president can happen any day now. On the back of the favourable response to his interactions overseas, some political pundits have sparked talk of a turning point for the Congress. On this episode of We The People, we ask: has Rahul Gandhi's new political confidence managed to rattle the BJP? Will Rahul Gandhi manage to translate his touted social media success into an electoral victory? And can the Congress revive itself by 2019 after the massive defeat in 2014?

The sale of firecrackers in Delhi-NCR has yet again been banned. After the worsening air quality of the capital city after Diwali in 2016, the Supreme Court had taken the emergency measure to ban crackers around the city following a petition by three children stating their right to clean air. While firecracker traders have repeatedly petitioned against the ban, citing their right to work and the attack on their livelihood, the top court has stayed firm on its pronouncement. On this episode of We The People, we ask: Is a ban on firecrackers enough to deal with India's menacing pollution problem? Shouldn't there be more permanent policy across the country to help tackle pollution concerns? Will the ban meet the same fate as stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana?

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on multiple occasions, has vowed to make India would a major global scientific power by 2022. But a protest held by the scientists in August 2017 in 37 different cities of India has brought to light the shortage of funds and also the scientific temperament in India today. On this edition of We The People, we ask: Is this a reason for concern? And, as the protesting scientists believe, is science in India facing the danger of being eclipsed by a rising wave of unscientific beliefs?

According to the World Health Organisation, India is the most depressed country in the world with 36 per cent of citizens battling depression or other mental health issues. Suicide is the leading cause of death among young people. Adding to the grim picture is the almost negligible size of mental health care sector with just three psychiatrists per million Indians. On this edition of We The People, we ask: Is it time we acknowledged the existence of a looming threat to India's young demographic in the form of severe mental crises? Can a measly expenditure of 0.06% of the health budget tackle this growing menace?

It is estimated that in India, a woman dies every two hours because of unsafe abortions. Just 10 per cent of the estimated 70 lakh abortions that happen in India every year are said to be documented; the rest are assumed to take place in shady clinics, often run by quacks. In a landmark ruling in September, the Supreme Court of India allowed a 13-year-old rape victim in Mumbai to terminate her 31-week pregnancy. Yet the same court in July ruled that a 10-year-old raped child, should not be allowed to abort at 28 weeks. On We The People we ask: Why did the families of these children have to go to the court for a private decision? And, is it time for the 46-year-old Indian abortion law to be amended?

Online self-harm game Blue Whale Challenge has gripped social media and headlines for the past many weeks. As per people who believe in the authenticity of the challenge, it is an online game that originated from Russia. A designated curator assigns players various tasks over a 50-day period, culminating in the player committing suicide. Several suicides across India have been linked to the challenges in some form or the other. As smartphones burrow their way further into our lives, becoming an additional limb, on this edition of We The People we ask, is there a new social and health crisis in India?

Gauri Lankesh's murder has unleashed the worst in both the political class as well as the civil society with a blame-game and ideological sparring taking precedence over justice. Narendra Dabholkar, Govind Pansare and MM Kalburgi, all rationalists and free thinkers in their own right, were killed in a manner eerily similar to Gauri Lankesh and the perpetrators are yet to be brought to book. On this episode of We The People, we ask: Was Gauri's killing ideologically motivated or is speculation about the killers doing disservice to the investigation? What does this murder mean for freedom of speech in India ? Is the space for dissent shrinking in the largest democracy in the world?

The Delhi High Court is hearing a cluster of petitions and counter-petitions on the issue of marital rape. While one side led by non-profits RIT Foundation and AIDWA is asking the court to declare marital rape a crime, the opposing party led

by another non-profit Men's Welfare Trust is against the idea representing fears that the law could be misused. The government's stand is that criminalising marital rape may lead to "destabilisation of marriages". On this edition of We The

People, we ask: What is more important, tradition or women's rights? Does the idea of consent become impotent after marriage? Who will decide the so-called definition of marital rape?