Research Radio

On this episode of Research Radio we have Chakali Chandra Sekhar discussing his paper titled “⁠Dalit Women and Colonial Christianity: First Telugu Bible Women as Teachers of Wisdom”. Chakali Chandra Sekhar is currently working as a lecturer in English at SRR & CVR Govt Degree College, Vijayawada, in Andhra Pradesh, India.

For more episodes and to listen to EPW's other podcast Supplement head to ⁠⁠https://www.epw.in/podcasts⁠⁠

Subscribe to EPW to access all our content including the archives of The Economic and Political Weekly and The Economic Weekly dating back to 1949. ⁠⁠https://www.epw.in/subscribe.html⁠

On this episode of Research Radio we have Inderjeet Parmar discussing his paper titled “Poly Crisis or Organic Crisis?: The Crisis of the United States and the US-led World Order”. Inderjeet Parmar teaches international politics at City, University of London.

For more episodes and to listen to EPW's other podcast Supplement head to ⁠https://www.epw.in/podcasts⁠

Subscribe to EPW to access all our content including the archives of The Economic and Political Weekly and The Economic Weekly dating back to 1949. ⁠https://www.epw.in/subscribe.html⁠

On this episode of Research Radio we have A Suresh discussing his paper titled "Reinventing Agricultural Extension System in India: The Road Ahead" which he co-authored with V K Sajesh, R N Padaria, and A K Mohanty. Dr. A Suresh is Principal Scientist and Professor of Agricultural Economics at the Indian Council of Agricultural Research – Central Institute of Fisheries Technology in Kochi.

For more episodes and to listen to EPW's other podcast Supplement head to https://www.epw.in/podcasts

Subscribe to EPW to access all our content including the archives of The Economic and Political Weekly and The Economic Weekly dating back to 1949. https://www.epw.in/subscribe.html

On this episode of Research Radio we have Anish Tiwari discussing his paper titled “⁠The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of ‘Startup India": A Review of India’s Entrepreneurship Policy” which he co-authored with Teresa Hogan and Colm O’Gorman.

Anish Tiwari is a former Marie S Curie doctoral fellow, Dublin City University, Ireland. He is currently Senior Associate at PWC, Ireland.

For more episodes and to listen to EPW's other podcast Supplement head to https://www.epw.in/podcasts

Subscribe to EPW to access all our content including the archives of The Economic and Political Weekly and The Economic Weekly dating back to 1949. https://www.epw.in/subscribe.html

On this episode of Research Radio we have Khaliq Parkar discussing his paper titled “Platformisation, Infrastructuring, and Datafication: Regional Variations in the Digitalisation of Indian Cities” which he co-authored with Marie-Helene Zerah and Gaurav Mittal.

Khaliq Parkar is with the Centre d’études en sciences sociales sur les mondes africains, américains et asiatique (CESSMA) Université Paris Cité, Paris.

For more episodes and to listen to EPW's other podcast Supplement head to https://www.epw.in/podcasts

Subscribe to EPW to access all our content including the archives of The Economic and Political Weekly and The Economic Weekly dating back to 1949. https://www.epw.in/subscribe.html

In this episode of Research Radio, we have with us Sanjana Meshram and Aditya Rawat discussing conservation law in India and how it perpetuates Brahminical environmentalism. Today's discussion is based on their paper titled "Entrenching Brahminical Conservation: An Analysis of the Wild Life (Protection) Amendment Act".

Sanjana Meshram is a lawyer and heads the litigation team at the Criminal Justice and Police Accountability Project, Bhopal. Aditya Rawat is a law student and an intern with the Criminal Justice and Police Accountability Project, Bhopal.

For more episodes and to listen to EPW's other podcast Supplement head to https://www.epw.in/podcasts

Subscribe to EPW to access all our content including the archives of The Economic and Political Weekly and The Economic Weekly dating back to 1949. https://www.epw.in/subscribe.html

You can find the papers from the most recent edition of the EPW Review of Urban Affairs as well as all previous editions at https://www.epw.in/review-urban-affairs

For more episodes and to listen to EPW's other podcast Research Radio head to https://www.epw.in/podcasts

Subscribe to EPW to access all our content including the archives of The Economic and Political Weekly and The Economic Weekly dating back to 1949. https://www.epw.in/subscribe.html

In this episode of Research Radio, we have with us Dr. Keshab Das to discuss the changing role of intermediaries in the relationship between labour and capital as Indian labour gets increasingly integrated into global production networks based on his paper "Labour Agency and Global Production Networks in India: Intermediaries—Old and New".

Dr. Keshab Das is Visiting prof at the institute for human development, New Delhi.

For more episodes and to listen to EPW's other podcast Supplement head to https://www.epw.in/podcasts

Subscribe to EPW to access all our content including the archives of The Economic and Political Weekly and The Economic Weekly dating back to 1949. https://www.epw.in/subscribe.html

In this episode of Research Radio, we have with us Prof. Mukul Sharma who will be discussing his work on Dalits and the environmental movement in India based on his papers titled "The Making of Moral Authority: Anna Hazare and Watershed Management Programme in Ralegan Siddhi", "The Vrindavan Conservation Project" and "Dalits and Indian Environmental Politics". Prof. Mukul Sharma currently teaches Environmental Studies at Ashoka University in Sonipat.

For more episodes and to listen to EPW's other podcast Supplement head to https://www.epw.in/podcasts

Subscribe to EPW to access all our content including the archives of The Economic and Political Weekly and The Economic Weekly dating back to 1949. https://www.epw.in/subscribe.html

In this episode of Research Radio, we have with us Dr. Radhika Kumar, who will be discussing the changing political landscape in the ‘Jatland’ of Haryana. This discussion is based on her papers titled ‘Saffronising 'Jatland': Mapping Shifts in the Electoral Landscape in Haryana’, ‘Stooping to Conquer: Jats and Reservations in Haryana’, ‘Why a Nationalist Rhetoric Failed the BJP in Haryana’. Dr. Radhika Kumar is with the Department of Political Science, Motilal Nehru College, University of Delhi.

For more episodes and to listen to EPW's other podcast Supplement head to https://www.epw.in/podcasts

Subscribe to EPW to access all our content including the archives of The Economic and Political Weekly and The Economic Weekly dating back to 1949. https://www.epw.in/subscribe.html

In this episode of Research Radio, we have Rajat Roy discussing his research on Dalit Political Subjectivity. In his papers titled "From Postcolonial Irony to Dalit Truth: A Perspective on Experience" and "Politics of Identity Contra Anti-caste Social Visions: The Matua Problem and Beyond," he highlights the uniqueness of Hindu life world and the social practices of castes. He argues that the postcolonial theory has not been sincere enough to look at caste and Brahmanical ideology critically as much as it has explored political questions like that of a Nation. Rajat Roy is an assistant professor of political science at Presidency University, Kolkata.

For more episodes and to listen to EPW's other podcast Supplement head to https://www.epw.in/podcasts

Subscribe to EPW to access all our content including the archives of The Economic and Political Weekly and The Economic Weekly dating back to 1949. https://www.epw.in/subscribe.html

This time on Research Radio we have with us Prof. Sunil Mani for a two-part episode on COVID-19 vaccine R&D and manufacturing in the US and in India based on his Special Article titled "The Role of Industrial Policy in Market-friendly Economies: Case of COVID-19 Vaccine R&D and Its Manufacturing in India and the US—I" and "The Role of Industrial Policy in Market-friendly Economies: Case of COVID-19 Vaccine R&D and Its Manufacturing in India and Its Contrast with the US—II". Prof. Mani is director and professor, RBI Chair, at the Centre for Development Studies, Thiruvananthapuram.

In Part 1 of this episode we will look at the differences in the approach adopted by the US and by India and the role of the each respective government in promoting R&D and Manufacturing.  

In Part 2 of this episode we discuss how intellectual property laws can facilitate and hinder the development and production of vaccines and the delicate balance of public private partnerships needed especially in the field of knowledge production and healthcare.

For more episodes and to listen to EPW's other podcast Research Radio head to https://www.epw.in/podcasts

Subscribe to EPW to access all our content including the archives of The Economic and Political Weekly and The Economic Weekly dating back to 1949. https://www.epw.in/subscribe.html

This time on Research Radio we have with us Prof. Sunil Mani for a two-part episode on COVID-19 vaccine R&D and manufacturing in the US and in India based on his Special Article titled "The Role of Industrial Policy in Market-friendly Economies: Case of COVID-19 Vaccine R&D and Its Manufacturing in India and the US—I" and "The Role of Industrial Policy in Market-friendly Economies: Case of COVID-19 Vaccine R&D and Its Manufacturing in India and Its Contrast with the US—II". Prof. Mani is director and professor, RBI Chair, at the Centre for Development Studies, Thiruvananthapuram. 

In Part 1 of this episode we will look at the differences in the approach adopted by the US and by India and the role of the each respective government in promoting R&D and Manufacturing.

In Part 2 of this episode we discuss how intellectual property laws can facilitate and hinder the development and production of vaccines and the delicate balance of public private partnerships needed especially in the field of knowledge production and healthcare.

For more episodes and to listen to EPW's other podcast Research Radio head to https://www.epw.in/podcasts 

Subscribe to EPW to access all our content including the archives of The Economic and Political Weekly and The Economic Weekly dating back to 1949. https://www.epw.in/subscribe.html

On this episode of Research Radio we have Sameer Mohite discussing his research on Caste among School Children in Maharashtra. In his  papers titled  "Critical Thinking on Caste among Schoolchildren in Maharashtra: Case Study of Two Schools in Chiplun" and "Caste amongst Schoolchildren: A Response" he discusses whether schools have been successful in encouraging children to overcome caste prejudice by bringing students from different castes together. Sameer Mohite currently teaches at Nirmala Niketan College in Mumbai. 

For more episodes and to listen to EPW's other podcast Research Radio head to https://www.epw.in/podcasts 

Subscribe to EPW to access all our content including the archives of The Economic and Political Weekly and The Economic Weekly dating back to 1949. https://www.epw.in/subscribe.html

Sudarshan Kottai teaches at the Jindal School of Psychology and Counselling, OP Jindal Global University, Sonipat and has published several articles in EPW including, “How Kerala’s Poor Tribals Are Being Branded As 'Mentally Ill'”, “Migrant Workers and the Politics of Mental Health”, “A Mental Health Epidemic?: Critical Questions on the National Mental Health Survey”, and “Social Sensitivity of Mental Health Systems”.

In this episode of Research Radio we speak to Tathagatan Ravindran about the rising ‘pink tide’ in Latin America based on his papers in EPW titled “Bolivia at the Crossroads”, “Neo-liberal Restoration at the Barrel of a Gun: Dissecting the Racist Coup in Bolivia”, “Return of the Left in Bolivia: Social Movements and Popular Power”, and “The Left Victory in Colombia: From Resistance to Power” . He discusses the Left victories and struggles in Latin America and his own experiences of watching these unfold.

In her book 'Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents' Isabel Wilkerson looks to the Indian caste system to provide the vocabulary to expose the invisible substructure underlying race in America. Wilkerson draws comparisons between Racism in America and Caste in India in the way certain logics and practices - such as purity-pollution and endogamy - are used to establish one's status, access to resources, and humanity. In this episode we have Gopal Guru in conversation with R. Srivatsan and P. Thirumal discussing Isabel Wilkerson's book and the overlaps and exclusions between Race, Caste, and Class.

Our guests have expressed their views on Isabel Wilkerson's book in their article published in the EPW, titled "Engaging with Isabel Wilkerson’s Idea of Race" by R. Srivatsan and "On Philosophical Causality and the Problem of Evil" by P. Thirumal

To view the Pears Soap advertisement mentioned by R. Srivatsan please refer to the show notes on the EPW website.

In this episode Atul Bhardwaj discusses his papers on Contemporary Capitalism and the 4th Industrial Revolution. The first paper titled 'Decay of Liberalism and Withering Away of the Left: Fourth Industrial Revolution' talks about how the technology-driven revolution is fundamentally affecting the relationship between capital and labour. And how this change is driving right-wing populism across the globe while the left seems to be left behind.

The second paper titled 'The Capital–Labour Rupture and the World Order' takes this further arguing that cyber-capitalism is  the driving force of the current changes in global political economy. It argues that with the help of these technologies, capitalism is breaking free from labour and is being supported by the right-wing conservatives who are undermining the educated middle class and polarising the society to help reduce the population pool that will be entitled to universal basic income in the ensuing age of mass joblessness.

Nikita Sonavane and Srujana Bej join us in this episode of Research Radio. We will be discussing their article titled Construction(s) of Female Criminality: Gender, Caste and State Violence. We recommend reading the two articles “The Anxious State” and “Death by Excise Policing: The Widening Web of Carcerality in India.” Their article was a part of a specially commissioned series of seven articles published in EPW Engage on the state of NT-DNT communities in India. Both researchers refer to the CPA Project's report "Drunk on Power: A Study of Excise Policing in Madhya Pradesh," which offers rich details and insights.

Nikita Sonavane is the co-founder of the Criminal Justice And Police Accountability Project (CPA Project) focused on building accountability against criminalisation of marginalised communities by the police and the criminal justice system. Srujana Bej is a lawyer and researcher with interests in spatial justice, the rights to food and education, and critical legal studies.

This podcast is based on the article “ Setting the Record Straight on Birsa Munda and His Political Legacy” which was authored by Dr Joseph Bara. The article was published in EPW journal on 25th July 2020.

Dr Bara is an independent scholar on tribal history and education in modern India and was formerly with Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. He is currently based in Ranchi.

This is part two of the podcast. You can find Part-I here.

These are some of the questions that researcher Gurumurthy Kasinathan will help address. We will be discussing his articles "The Edtech Leviathan" and "Platform Capitalism and Edtech."

Gurumurthy Kasinathan is one of the founders of IT for Change. His  areas of expertise include ICT integration in school education, teacher  education and pre-service teacher education.

Opening excerpt courtesy: LearnIt

This podcast is based on the article “ Setting the Record Straight on Birsa Munda and His Political Legacy” which was authored by Dr Joseph Bara. The article was published in EPW journal on 25th July 2020.

Dr Bara is an independent scholar on tribal history and education in modern India and was formerly with Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. He is currently based in Ranchi.

This podcast is in two parts and this is the part one. Please make sure you listen to part two as well.

This podcast is based on the article “Anti-conversion Legislation in Karnataka: BJP’s Responsible Governance or Descent in Communal Chaos?” which was published in EPW journal on 15th January, 2022.

Cynthia Stephen is an independent social policy researcher and analyst and independent journalist. She is also a well-known trainer on Gender, policy and Development issues. Her body of work includes leadership in several people’s initiatives for justice, in large country-wide women’s empowerment groups, and theoretical work on Women’s concerns from the unrecognised perspective of women and girls from a large number of marginalised sections in India.

The podcast has been conceptualised, recorded and edited by Rahul Bhise.

These are some of the questions that researchers Dr Kanchi Kohli and Dr Manju Menon will help address. We will be discussing their EPW article titled “Narratives of Natural Resource Corruption and Environmental Regulatory Reforms in India.” Their article was a part of a specially commissioned series of five papers for EPW’s annual Review of Environment and Development.

Manju Menon is a senior fellow at CPR, where she undertakes research, writing and community projects on environmental justice and the politics of resource rights. Kanchi Kohli is a senior researcher at CPR. Her policy research and practice explore the links between law, development, sustainability and environmental justice.

Opening excerpt courtesy: NDTV/Govt regulator CAG tables report on coal, Delhi airport

This podcast is based on the article Namdeo Dhasal’s new language that was published in EPW journal on 27th October, 2018.

Yogesh is a poet, columnist, writer and founder of Panther’s Paw Publication. He is also a PhD scholar at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences. He is studying the History of Ambedkarite Shahiri in Maharashtra.

January 15 is marked as the death anniversary of Poet extraordinaire Namdeo Dhasal, and EPW pays homage to him with this feature.

The podcast has been conceptualised, recorded and edited by Rahul Bhise. 

Dr Umesh Bagade and Dr Sangita Thosar join us on the podcast to share their insights based on extensive experience teaching Omvedt’s work and knowledge about anti-caste and feminist movements in Maharashtra. Our reading list charts the growth of her scholarship. We discuss Dr Omvedt’s articles titled “Jotirao Phule and the Ideology of Social Revolution in India,” “Development of the Maharashtrian Class Structure, 1818 to 1931,” and “Non-Brahmans and Nationalists in Poona”

Umesh R Bagade is a professor at Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University, Aurangabad. His research and teaching interests include the history of anti-caste movements, the intellectual and social history of modern Maharashtra, historiography, studies of caste economy and history of caste gender consciousness. Sangita Thosar is an assistant professor at the Advanced Center for Women’s Studies at Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai. Her research and teaching interest include caste and gender, women’s role in various social movements, questions of citizenship and the rights of Dalit–Adivasi women.

This podcast is based on the article Dalit Politics in Maharashtra that was published in EPW journal on 21st April 2012. This article is authored by Dr Harish S Wankhede. Dr Wankhede is an Assistant Professor at the Centre for Political Studies at JNU, New Delhi. He has written about caste, Dalit movement, Dalit Politics in the states of Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh. He specialises in Political Theory, Public Institutions, Secularism and Social Justice and Cinema.

Dr Prabha Kotiswaran has analysed hundreds of such cases since the 1960s. She joins us on the podcast to discuss her findings. Dr Kotiswaran is a Professor of Law and Social Justice at King’s College London. She is currently working on a multi-year project titled “Laws of Social Reproduction” and is an advisory member of EPW’s Review of Women’s Studies. We recommend reading the following related articles as well: “What Does Work-From-Home Mean for Women?” “Estimating Unpaid Care Work: Methodological Issues in Time Use Surveys” and “'Wages for Housework' for Indian Society and Digitalising Economy”

We will be discussing Hooda’s articles titled “Decoding Ayushman Bharat: A Political Economy Perspective” and “Health Insurance, Health Access and Financial Risk Protection.” We will be discussing Karpagam’s articles titled “Falling Through the Gaps: Women Accessing Care under Health Insurance Schemes in Karnataka” and “Critique of the Model of Universal Health Coverage in Karnataka.” Our Reading List contains insights from EPW's archive on the Ayushman Bharat.

Audio courtesy: YouTube/Narendra Modi

The classroom can be a space for us to engage in deep learning, rigorous  debate, collaboration and critical thinking. It’s a space where our  senses can be active and nourished. However, entry into the classroom  has been historically limited to upper-caste cis men. What happens when  these exclusions are challenged?
This is a bonus episode of Research  Radio, where P Thirumal and Carmel Christy join us to discuss their EPW article on higher education in India and their scholarship on media  studies. Dr P Thirumal teaches at the Department of Communication,  University of Hyderabad. He teaches courses related to theory, history  and media Science with reference to modernity and deep time. His  scholarship has focused on the cultural histories of North East India  including embodiment studies focussing on discriminatory practices of  Dalit Bahujans in higher education institutions in India. Dr Carmel  Christy K J is currently an International Fellow of the Urban Studies  Foundation, Glasgow, which is affiliated to the International Institute  for Asian Studies, Leiden. She teaches journalism at Kamala Nehru  College, University of Delhi. Her research on the politics of gender,  sexuality, caste, religion, media and urban space broadly focuses on  spatial production of marginality and responses to it in India.
We will be discussing their co-authored piece “Why Indian Universities Are Places Where Savarnas Get Affection and Dalit-Bahujans Experience Distance.” We will also discuss Christy’s book “Sexuality and Public Space in India: Reading the Visible” and her article “Universities as Spaces of Disaffection” and Thirumal’s recent article “Regurgitative Violence: The Sacred and the Profane in Higher Education Institutions in India” and “Dominant Bodies and Their Ethical Performances: Violence of Caste Embodiment in Higher Educational Institutions.”

Audio courtesy: Summertime by Tokyo Music Walker https://soundcloud.com/user-356546060 [CC BY 3.0]

We will be discussing several works including “Ethics of Reading Ambedkar’s Text” and Guru's lecture at the English and Foreign Languages University from 2017, which was documented by the publication Dalit Camera.

Audio courtesy: Summertime by Tokyo Music Walker https://soundcloud.com/user-356546060 [CC BY 3.0]

Nitin Dhaktode and  Aditi Priya join us on Research Radio. Nitin is a senior doctoral  research scholar at the School of Development Studies, Tata Institute of  Social Sciences, Mumbai. He has also worked with social audit units for  over three and a half years in Hyderabad and across India. Aditi Priya  is a research associate at LEAD at Krea University, Sricity. She started  the group Bahujan Economists.  Her research interests include maternity entitlements, maternal and  child health and gender-based violence and the role of the police.

We will discuss Aditi’s article “Birth Pangs: Universal Maternity Entitlements in India” and Nitin’s article “Caste in MGNREGA Works and Social Audits.”

Audio courtesy: Summertime by Tokyo Music Walker https://soundcloud.com/user-356546060 [CC BY 3.0]

Santosh Suradkar is our guest for this week. Dr Suradkar teaches at the Department of History, Gondwana University, Gadchiroli. His research  areas include peasant, labour, caste and Dalit history. We will discuss his EPW article “Mukti Kon Pathe? Caste and Class in Ambedkar’s Struggle.”

Audio courtesy: Summertime by Tokyo Music Walker https://soundcloud.com/user-356546060 [CC BY 3.0]

We’ll discuss her articles “Dalit Women, Vulnerabilities, and Feminist Consciousness” and “Reflections on the 'Chalo Nagpur' Campaign.”

Audio courtesy: Summertime by Tokyo Music Walker https://soundcloud.com/user-356546060 [CC BY 3.0]

We will discuss his EPW article “Paramakudi Violence: Against Dalits, Against Politics." We will also explore his articles “Critique of Caste Violence” and “Dalit: the making of a political subject” published in Social Scientist and Critical Quarterly respectively.

Audio courtesy: Summertime by Tokyo Music Walker https://soundcloud.com/user-356546060 [CC BY 3.0]

She has published several articles in EPW, and we’ll focus on two today: "Of Whales and Wheels: Buddhist Lessons in Democracy" and "Invitation to Practise Social Fellowship." Also, read Geetha's article "Ambedkar and Periyar’s intellectual comradeship," which was published by Forward Press.

Audio courtesy: Summertime by Tokyo Music Walker https://soundcloud.com/user-356546060 [CC BY 3.0]

To start us off Chinnaiah Jangam joins us. Dr Jangam is an Associate  Professor in the Department of History. His research focus is on the  social and intellectual history of Dalits in modern South Asia. He’s published several articles in EPW that employ innovative archival research methods. Here are two that we discuss in this episode: “Dalit Chronicles from the Telugu Country” and “Politics of Identity and the Project of Writing: a A Dalit Critique.” 

Audio courtesy: Summertime by Tokyo Music Walker https://soundcloud.com/user-356546060 [CC BY 3.0] 

"Hindu culture and the caste system," writes Gail Omvedt in her EPW article on Jotirao Phule in 1971 "rested upon Brahmanism; hence Phule, who aimed for the complete destruction of caste, superstition and inequality  within Indian tradition, linked his thought with a movement of opposition to the Brahman elite." On Phule’s birth anniversary, we’ll  discuss his writing on caste, class, and gender relations in South Asia  and importantly, the methods he used to counter Brahmanism and patriarchy in collaboration with his co-traveller and wife Savitribai Phule.

Tejas Harad joins us on Research Radio to discuss his engagement and research primarily on Jotirao Phule. Tejas has worked at EPW since 2013 as a copy-editor and regularly contributes to multiple news publications in his individual capacity. We will also partially focus on Savitribai Phule, but this episode does not cover the depth of her  work. Last year, Tejas started a bilingual journal called the Satyashodhak to make the Satyashodhak Samaj archive more accessible to people but the portal's focus is not limited to that, in his words.

A few articles on the Jotirao Phule and related topics:

• Jotirao Phule and the Ideology of Social Revolution in India, Gail Omvedt, 1971
• Education as Trutiya Ratna: Towards Phule-Ambedkarite Feminist Pedagogical Practice, Sharmila Rege, 2010
• Liberating Jyotiba Phule, Gopal Guru, 2003
• Remembering Jotiba Phule, the Mahatma Who Fought Against Brahmin Hegemony, Tejas Harad, 2018
• Varna System in the Dharmasutras, Tejas Harad, 2020

Audio courtesy: The last ones by Jahzzar [CC BY-SA 3.0].

This week on Research Radio, Sameena Dalwai and Aabhinav Tyagi join  us to discuss their work on the Indian judiciary and reservations. Dr  Dalwai is with the Jindal Global Law School, Sonipat. She writes in  Marathi and English on caste, gender, sexuality, cultural nationalism,  and the law. Aabhinav teaches political science at Scottish  International School, Shamli. He hosts a new podcast called “The  Gobarment.” We’ll be discussing their EPW article titled “Impact of Uttarakhand's Reservation Judgment on Women.” This episode was recorded in July 2020 and, therefore, does not comment on recent developments on reservations.

Audio courtesy: The last ones by Jahzzar [CC BY-SA 3.0].

Deepa Joshi joins us to discuss her work on access to water. Dr Joshi is with the International Water Management Institutes and Research  Program on Water, and Ecosystem where she is the Gender, Youth, and  Inclusion Lead. We’ll discuss her EPW article “Caste, Gender and the Rhetoric of Reform in India's Drinking Water Sector.

Audio courtesy: The last ones by Jahzzar [CC BY-SA 3.0].

Protiva Kundu joins us this week to discuss the state of India’s public education system by focusing on teachers. Dr Kundu is with the  Centre for Budget and Governance Accountability where she leads research on the financing of education. We’ll discuss her EPW article where she analyses data from six states to understand if teachers are the ones who are letting our system down. In the second half of the podcast, we’ll also discuss the landmark National Education Policy, 2020 and we’ll focus on its impact on teachers. Also, have a look at the interactive feature we made based on the article: http://bit.ly/teachers-epw. 

Audio courtesy: The last ones by Jahzzar [CC BY-SA 3.0].

The strict lockdown announced last March was followed by an increase in violence against women and girls by cis-men, and particularly violence in the ostensibly sacred and safe space of the home. Today we’ll ask—how can domestic violence be prevented?
Poonam Kathuria and Jasoda Rana join us on Research Radio to discuss their efforts to support survivors. Jasoda Rana is a counselor with  Violence Prevention and Support cell, at the Community Health and  Referral hospital, in Radhanpur, Gujarat. She works with survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence. Poonam Kathuria is the founder-director of the Society for Women's Action and Training  Initiatives-SWATI. Poonam has over 25 years of experience in a leadership role working for the prevention of gender-based violence,  women’s empowerment, and leadership. The public health system is supposed to provide girls and women with care and rehabilitation, besides documenting and providing evidence of the violence. We’ll explore how this system can be improved based on SWATI's article “Making Rural Healthcare System Responsive to Domestic Violence: Notes from Patan in Gujarat” (outside the paywall).

Audio courtesy: The last ones by Jahzzar [CC BY-SA 3.0].

We will speak to Payal Hathi and Nikhil Srivastav about how caste-based-discrimination by Savarnas negatively affects the health of patients and leads to exploitative work conditions for hospital cleaners. Payal Hathi is with the Research Institute for Compassionate  Economics (r.i.c.e) and is a graduate student at the University of  California, Berkeley. Nikhil Srivastav is also associated with r.i.c.e. and Research And Action for Health in India (RAAHI). We will discuss their article “Caste Prejudice and Infection: Why a Dangerous Lack of Hygiene Persists in Government Hospitals."

Audio courtesy: The last ones by Jahzzar [CC BY-SA 3.0].

Before we hear from them, a little more  context: Rama and Ramdas, along with their colleagues, have worked to  actualise the transformative potential of education for Adivasi students  in the town of Gudalur, located in the Nilgiris. The town is home to  five Adivasi communities: the Paniyas, the Bettukurumbas, the  Mullukurumbas, the Kattunayakas, and the Irulas. They constitute about  10% of the population of Gudalur. And we’ll learn more about their  educational journey based on their article: "Social Movements and Educational Change: A Case Study of the Adivasi Munnetra Sangam." 

Audio courtesy: The last ones by Jahzzar [CC BY-SA 3.0].

Rekha Raj joins us to discuss her article "Dalit Women as Political Agents." Raj is a Dalit feminist writer and activist. She is with the School of Gandhian Thought and Development  Studies at M G University, Kerala. 

Audio courtesy: The last ones by Jahzzar [CC BY-SA 3.0].

Four economists will join us this week on Research Radio: Jean Dreze, Reetika Khera, Isabel Pimenta, and Prankur Gupta. Dr Khera is with the IIT Delhi, Dr Dreze is with Ranchi University. Isabel was formerly with the European Commission in the Directorate General for International Cooperation and Development, Brussels. Prankur is a PhD scholar at The University of Texas at Austin. We will discuss their article titled "Casting the Net: India’s Public Distribution System after the Food Security Act." Also have a look at the article "Aadhaar and Food Security in Jharkhand: Pain without Gain?" and a related feature "The Aadhaar Game: Can You Survive This Maze To Reach Your Food Ration?"

Audio courtesy: The last ones by Jahzzar [CC BY-SA 3.0].

We will speak to Balmurli Natarajan and Suraj Jacob about the politics of vegetarianism in India. Dr Jacob is a political economist affiliated with Azim Premji University, Bengaluru and Centre for Development Studies, Trivandrum. Dr Natrajan is an anthropologist affiliated with William Paterson University of New Jersey, United States and Azim Premji University, Bengaluru. We will discuss their EPW articles titled "'Provincialising' Vegetarianism: Putting Indian Food Habits in Their Place" and "Deepening Divides: The Caste, Class and Regional Face of Vegetarianism."

Audio courtesy: The last ones by Jahzzar [CC BY-SA 3.0]. 

This week we’ll speak to Renu Addlakha about women with visual disabilities, and the women’s movement. We’ll also discuss how medical and legal systems inform our understanding of disability. Dr Addlakha is with the Centre for Women’s Development Studies or CWDS in New Delhi. She’s published several articles in EPW about the topics that we will be discussing today and here are two that we recommend: "Women with Visual Disabilities and the Women’s Movement" (http://bit.ly/women-disability) and "Disability Law in India: Paradigm Shift or Evolving Discourse?" (http://bit.ly/law-disability).

Audio courtesy: The last ones by Jahzzar [CC BY-SA 3.0].

India is highly vulnerable to the effects of the global climate crises, and is simultaneously now the third largest contributor of greenhouse gases in the world. To address a crisis as complex and long-standing as climate change requires effective institutions. Shibani Ghosh and Navroz Dubash join us this week to share their research examining the effectiveness of Indian institutions and policies to address the global environmental crises. We’ll be focusing on an EPW article written by Navroz and Neha Joseph (http://bit.ly/climate-epw ). Joseph could not join us for this interview. But we'll be discussing Shibani and Navroz's article that expands on the EPW article on climate policy in India. It can be freely downloaded here.

Shibani Ghosh is a Fellow at the Centre for Policy Research and an Advocate-on-Record, Supreme Court of India. Her work focuses on environmental law and governance. Navroz K Dubash is also with the Centre for Policy Research where he is a professor. His work focuses on climate change, air quality, energy and water, and he has played the role of researcher, policy advisor and activist for over 25 years.

This is the second episode of our new season featuring a refreshed format, new graphics, and a line-up of exciting scholars. Our goal remains the same: each week, we’ll take you on a behind-the-scenes tour of work published in EPW. We hope you tune in, and share your feedback!

Audio courtesy: The last ones by Jahzzar [CC BY-SA 3.0].

Colleges and universities hold the potential to transform society by raising social consciousness and enabling social and economic mobility. Historically and today, however, this potential has been constrained by accessibility barriers, deficiencies in curriculums, skewed funding allocations, among other factors. Ankit Kawade, who is an MPhil candidate at the Centre for Political Studies at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, joins us this week to discuss his article titled “The Impossibility of Dalit Studies” published last year (http://bit.ly/dalit-studies). 

This is the first episode of our new season featuring a refreshed format, new graphics, and a line-up of exciting scholars. Our goal remains the same: each week, we’ll take you on a behind-the-scenes tour of work published in EPW. We hope you tune in, and share your feedback! 

Audio courtesy: The last ones by Jahzzar [CC BY-SA 3.0].