We The People

With the central government telling the Supreme Court that they would like a ban on commercial surrogacy, we debate the ethical issues around motherhood and the choices that arise from this unregulated industry of surrogacy worth $2 billion. As multiple infertility centres , or "baby factories" as they are called , mushroom around the country , the question of exploitation of poor women who choose to act as surrogate mothers still remains to be answered. How does the Indian establishment deal with the question of exploitation of women on one hand and their choice & right on their bodies on the other. And is banning the only solution to this 'rent a womb' industry which many claim is a blessing for couples facing infertility?

In this episode, we explore what it is like being a transgender in India and how is life seen through the Third 'I'. Legally recognized, yet socially ostracized. The transgender community is still living on the society's edge.

Acclaimed novelist and Poet Vikram Seth is the latest high profile writer to weigh in on the return of literary honours by writers across India. Speaking exclusively to NDTV, Vikram Seth said, while awards personally mean little to him but the response of the Sahitya Akademi has been "mealy mouthed". Mr Seth said that he admires those who had returned the honours and felt it required a lot of courage. Asked by a young student if he too would return his Sahitya Akademi award, which he won for his novel in verse- The Golden Gate, Mr Seth said that he was waiting to see what happens at the next meeting of the Akademi. If the Akademi continues to remain passive on free speech and the protection of thinkers and writers, he too would give back the honor, Mr Seth said.

On this episode of We The People, we discuss the political response to the mob killing of a man in Uttar Pradesh's Dadri over rumors that his family had consumed beef. Why has administration not taken action against murderers? Instead, the meet was sent for testing. As Dadri remains tense, more politicians visit the family of Mohammad Akhlaq, while they appeal the incident should not be politicized. Will and should PM Modi speak out?

For India to achieve 2 hospital beds per 1,000 people, we need 17.5 lakh additional beds and Rs 3.7 lakh crore investment by 2025, according to a study. This means, there will be more Avinash, Aman, Tanya and Rishabh - 4 children who succumbed to dengue this month. On We The People, the haunting stories of two families who lost their kids to dengue for alleged denial of timely treatment by hospitals. We ask: What's killing people - dengue or denial of care? Has the pursuit of medicine become all about profit and business rather than passion and service? Should private hospitals be mandated to reserve some beds for the poor? And does the dengue scare expose the class apartheid of India's hospitals?

Three rationalists have been murdered in cold blood in last three years. Is the space for free thought shrinking in the country? Does criticising faith mean an invitation to death?

As the nation celebrates the 50th year of the 1965 war, another battle rages on - it's a 40-year-old issue over One Rank One Pension. The government has made an announcement but what do our war veterans think about it? Do our soldiers get their due? What do our war veterans and their families think? A special show from the Hussainiwala Martyrs' Memorial from the India-Pakistan Border captures the untold stories from the 1965 war, stories depicting courage and a never-say-die spirit.

On We The People, we debate: is India's Modi-fied Pakistan policy an example of strong leadership or is it a risky gamble? Is there now a clear imprint of National Security Adviser Ajit Doval on the new foreign policy? And with India's red lines leaving Pakistan red-faced, what next in the deadend dialogue?

Has the government's Swachh Internet campaign ended in an anti-climax? Has the last word been spoken on ban on porn. In this episode we discuss what's worse for women - pornography or the suggestive, sleazy camera angles on women who do item numbers? Is there a gender divide in the porn debate? Can India learn from UK which has banned child porn & rape porn?

Does the hanging of Yakub Memon portray India as a strong state? Or, does it give a sense of selective justice being delivered, until those accused for the riots of 1992 are also punished? What is the value of justice, delivered more than two decades later?