We The People

Foreigners are often told that there's no better way to sample Indian culture than attending a "Big Fat Indian Wedding". In our homes and on our screens, there's no better way to bring large families together for celebrations that are often our greatest memories of a lifetime. But behind the celebrations lies a darker story. In most cases, given India's poverty levels, the festivities impose a crushing burden on the hosts. There is enormous pressure to host as lavish a wedding as possible. People save for a life-time, to throw that one big party - and often these savings are not enough. Many become deeply indebted as a result of wedding festivities. Today on We The People ask: is it time to trim the big fat Indian wedding? Or Is this too great an intrusion on personal liberty?

A 24-year-old former employee of the internet video company The Viral Fever wrote an anonymous blog accusing the Founder and CEO Arunabh Kumar of repeatedly harassing her and traumatizing her with unsolicited and offensive sexual advances - charges that he has strongly refuted. Within hours, many more women shared similar distressing experiences. The workplace has always been an uneasy terrain for women, especially in the predominantly male sectors such as law and technology. On We The People, we ask - just how progressive is this new start-up culture? Were we naive to be taken in by the fancy logos and fashionable workplaces? As we herald a "new India", is all big talk drowning out the noise on the ground? Are these high profile new Indian companies just as flawed as the old guard they are trying to replace?

Last week on the day of Holi, women students at two girls' hostels in Delhi University were barred from stepping out. Earlier this month, Union Minister Maneka Gandhi said early curfews in hostels protect the youth from themselves as they are "hormonally challenged". On this edition of We The People we ask: is gender equality a distant dream in Indian colleges? Are political opinions reserved only for men? Why do we resort to restricting women's freedom for their 'safety' instead of educating the men?

Riding on the popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the BJP has swept the Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand assembly elections. The ruling Samajwadi Party who went into the polls in alliance with Congress has taken a bashing while Mayawati's BSP, which was considered the dark horse, has been obliterated. As the mid-term mandate gives PM Modi a thumping victory, on We The People we ask: Has BJP under Narendra Modi and Amit Shah successfully disrupted the trend of vote bank politics in India? Is it time Congress looked for a new leadership? And with this victory, are 2019 Lok Sabha Elections a done deal for BJP?

The violent protests outside Ramjas college of Delhi University have once again raised the question of how free are Indians to exercise their freedom of speech - a right that is enshrined in our constitution. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today said that freedom of speech cannot come at the cost of challenging the country's sovereignty. On We The People, we ask: isn't the idea behind the freedom of speech to defend thoughts and voices that are uncomfortable? Isn't communicating the government's shortcomings a necessary element of a pluralist society and a democracy like India? If we stifle the freedom to grapple with uncomfortable ideas right at the grassroots, that is, our educational institutions, where are we as a society headed?

Banned in more than 20 countries, this form of talaq, still practised in India, finds no mention in the Quran. Last year, the Allahabad High court called the practice 'unconstitutional'. Seventy years after independence, Muslim women in our country can still be banished out of their own homes without warning. Is the debate about religious freedom or just basic human rights promised to every citizen of the country in our constitution? On We The People, we ask: is it time the world's largest democracy caught up with its neighbours and banned triple talaq? Will the Supreme Court ruling finally deliver the judgement that women like Shayara Bano and Gulshan Parveen have been waiting for?

India has been shamed by a series of recent cases where accident victims lay pleading for help while the onlookers stood by, taking pictures and making videos instead. On We The People, we ask: why do we not help accident victims? People say they hesitate to get involved because they fear police harassment or legal hassles. Is this a valid excuse? Are we living in times of social paradox where we are digitally connected but detached from reality? Should we have a law that holds people accountable if they don't help? Should 'Bad Samaritans' be punished?

The new year is barely a month old but 2017 has already seen filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali being attacked by a fringe group on the sets of his next film 'Padmavati' and protests against author Taslima Nasreen at the Jaipur Literature Festival. On We The People, we ask: has the argumentative Indian become overly sensitive? All over the world, the right to expression is subject to reasonable restriction, but have India's myriad restrictions crossed the threshold of reason?

This week Supreme Court upheld the Delhi High Court verdict that made it mandatory for private unaided schools, built on Delhi Development Authority land, to seek permission of the Delhi Government before hiking tuition fees. The AAP government has hailed this decision as historic and warned schools of strict action if they don't comply. On We The People, we ask: can the fee regulation solve the demand-supply gap? Will micromanaging school fees disincentivise educational entrepreneurs? While Right to Education is a fundamental right, in reality, India offers education of acceptable quality only to those who can pay for it. Multiple studies have highlighted miserable quality of education in our government schools. One in six teaching positions in government schools are vacant. So are private schools the answer? On the other hand, have private schools made education a business where the focus is only on profit books? We debate.

After a state government ordinance on Jallikattu, the bull-taming event was held in certain places in Tamil Nadu. But the protesters want more. They are asking for a "permanent solution" to the issue. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O Panneerselvam has said that he would bring in a draft of permanent law in the state assembly soon. On We The People, we ask: does Jallikattu involve cruelty to animals to the point where it ought to be banned? Should the government be issuing ordinances to get around court verdicts every time they prove to be unpopular with the public? Are we moving from rule of the law to mob rule?