We The People

Tweets, memes and Instagram reels dominated the narrative of the defamation trial involving actors Johnny Depp and Amber Heard, wherein the former sued the latter for $50 million dollars for defamation in a civil litigation case in a Virgina court. An overwhelming majority of the internet came out in steadfast support of Depp - and on the flip side - Heard was 'memeified', vilified and harassed by online users. What does the public reaction to the verdict reveals about society itself - and how does this high-profile trial impact other survivors of domestic abuse? On tonight's episode of We The People, we ask - Amber Heard became the punchline, but is the joke on us?

IndiGo airlines was recently sent a show cause notice by the aviation watchdog DGCA over its inappropriate handling of a special needs child. The airline had refused to allow the child and his family to board a flight, claiming he was in a 'state of panic' and posed a threat to other passengers. Was this incident unusual - perhaps leading us to see more inclusivity, or was this indicative of a more systemic problem? Are laws enough to safeguard the rights of the specially-abled?

It's an image and an admission that has gone viral around the world. Kim Kardashian attended the Met Gala in New York in Marilyn Monroe's dress and happily recounted losing 16 pounds in three weeks by barely eating to get into her dress. Have we gone too far? Where do we draw the line when it comes to unrealistic beauty standards?

 

Across India, people are marking the death anniversaries of their loved ones who succumbed to the deadly Covid second wave that hit India in April last year. On tonight's episode of We The People, we revisit the people who went to Covid hell and back during that bleak period when oxygen became a precious commodity, when ICU beds seemed unattainable, when crematoriums couldn't keep up with the deaths around the nation. Were lessons learnt from the second wave, and can we as a society recover from such terrible loss?

[Sponsored] 43% of Indian STEM graduates are women, but only 14% women make up the Indian STEM workforce. Why? Research shows no innate cognitive or biological differences between boys and girls when it comes to studying math and science - yet, young girls are presented with kitchen sets or dolls on their birthdays while boys receive toy robots and construction sets. Are our unconscious gender biases holding us back?

The CUET, or the Central Universities Entrance Test, serves to become a 'corrective' entrance exam for 45 central universities in order to do away with skyrocketing cut-offs based on disproportionately difficult state boards. On this episode of We The People, we explore whether the CUET will be all it claims to be - a way of reducing pressure on beleaguered board students across India - or simply another exam that they will have to study for.

There will be no fines for not wearing masks in about 5 states in India. With the COVID-19 positivity rate coming down substantially and a majority of the population vaccinated, the Delhi government joined the states of Maharashtra, West Bengal, Telangana and Haryana and announced that they no longer impose a penalty on people for not wearing a mask in public. So, should you stop wearing your mask? Is it safe to unmask now?

This week, as property developer Supertech was declared insolvent for not paying their dues to the Union Bank of India, people who bought homes from them are crossing their fingers that this will lead to some accountability for the developers who have left a myriad of projects unfinished. What lies in store for a home owner who has invested in a project where the builder has become insolvent or unable to complete the construction to handover possession of the flat purchased? Watch this episode of We The People for more.

It's International Women's Day and on this episode of We The People we are going to hold a mirror to us as a society. The spotlight is on India's deeply entrenched and patriarchal ways of thinking that needs to change, if we are to drive equality for women. With Ariel's SEE EQUAL #ShareTheLoad campaign, we focus on the unpaid labour women perform in their respective households during their everyday lives. This week, the focus is on equal partners playing equal roles. We discuss, if men can share the load equally with other men, what is coming in the way of them sharing the load with their wives?

As Goa goes to polls, NDTV speaks to writers, journalists, property dealers and people who recently shifted to Goa from big cities on what key issues they face in their daily lives. From skyrocketing property prices to a local versus outsider bias, this is what the people of Goa have to say on election eve.