What's your ism?

Is it possible to survive in India without Aadhaar? How does one protect individual rights against an ever more powerful surveillance state? What is legally valid, paper records or digital records? Is privacy an elite obsession? Sudipto Mondal discusses data privacy, state surveillance and digital rights with one of the last people in the country to resist the imposition of Aadhaar, the founder of Internet Freedom Foundation and Hasgeek Kiran Jonnalagadda in Episode 22 of ‘What’s your ism?’ Watch the full episode on our YouTube channel or listen to this podcast, available on all streaming platforms. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What role did eugenics play in the creation of a modern police force in India? What does it take for a Dalit woman to negotiate with the savarna dominated judiciary? What does it mean to be a ‘creamy layer’ Dalit in the most rarefied space in the Indian power structure?Sudipto Mondal discusses the savarna stranglehold on the judiciary and Brahminical policing with Nikita Sonavane, Lawyer and Researcher Nikita Sonavane , founder of Bhopal-based Criminal Justice and Police Accountability Project (CPAP) in Episode 21 of ‘What’s your ism?’ Watch the full episode on our YouTube channel or listen to this podcast, available on all streaming platforms. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What are the ways in which journalism in India is changing? Is Indian democracy safe? How deep is the rot in the country’s anti-corruption agencies and security establishment? Can the Indian army be trusted to stay out of civilian affairs?Sudipto Mondal discusses the state of the nation and the future of journalism with the country’s leading investigative journalist and founder of Confluence Media Josy Joseph in Episode 20 of ‘What’s your ism?’ Watch the full episode on our YouTube channel or listen to this podcast, available on all streaming platforms. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In what ways is journalism in India changing? Is Indian democracy safe? How deep is the rot in the country’s anti-corruption agencies and security establishments? Can the Indian army be trusted to stay out of civilian affairs?In our latest episode of What’s Your Ism, Sudipto Mondal speaks to Josy Joseph, an  investigative journalist and founder of Confluence Media, about the state of the Indian democracy, central agencies, and the tide of change in journalism.   Watch. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In our latest episode of 'What's Your Ism' with Sudipto Mondal, Rahul Sonpimple opens up about his journey from student leader at JNU to forming the All India Independent Scheduled Castes Association, the future of Dalit politics, and why Dalit-Muslim unity is more crucial than ever. Rahul delves into the complexities and contradictions within anti-caste coalition politics, especially the difficulties in forging alliances between Dalits and Muslims.Watch the full episode on our YouTube channel or listen to this podcast, available on all streaming platforms. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From India’s sporting culture to the bodies governing it and the ways to make it more accessible, what role does sports have in nation-building? Can it be treated as a public good or an essential commodity? And how can sports accommodate differences of gender, class, and identity?  In this episode of What’s Your Ism, Sudipto Mondal speaks to Nandan Kamath, a lawyer and sports aficionado, about everything related to sports in India.  Tune in. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"In Maharashtra, power is concentrated in the hands of only 169 families. These rich Marathas control everything, and they’re not ready to accept the poor Maratha who is of the same caste, same lineage."In this episode of What's Your Ism, Sudipto Mondal speaks to Prakash Ambedkar about Maharashtra’s power structure and the most contentious issues in Dalit Ambedkarite politics in India today. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What are the ways in which the Congress is changing? What do you mean by the Hindu Left? Does the focus on building a larger coalition against the BJP dilute core issues? How does it deal with ideological conflicts within the INDIA coalition?In this episode of What's Your Ism Sudipto Mondal speaks to first time MP from Tamil Nadu Sasikanth Senthil. Sasikanth says that his ideology is shaped less by political theory, more by his life's experiences and the political turmoil in India with the rise of Hindutva.Watch the full episode on our YouTube channel or listen to this podcast, available on all streaming platforms. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How did the entry of the BJP and Hindutva complicate the already chaotic world of Indian sport? Are cricketers by design less anti establishment than footballers? Race and gender are today big conversations in the  global sporting community. Why is it difficult to talk about these things in India?In this episode of What's Your Ism Sudipto Mondal speaks to the renowned sports writer and critic Sharda Ugra. Sharda shares deep insights from her 30 years as a sports writer and critic as she grapples with the most pressing challenges before Indian sport. Watch the full episode on our YouTube channel or listen to this podcast, available on all streaming platforms. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In these Indian elections, a cross section of progressive mass organisations helped the Congress curtail the BJP’s electoral power. But what does the Congress resurgence mean for the progressive agenda and the fight against Hindutva? What do we make of Rahul Gandhi's good Hindu versus bad Hindu narrative?In the first episode of the post election season of What's Your Ism, Sudipto Mondal speaks to Karnataka’s most prolific bi-lingual writer, Shivasundar. He has also been involved in Left activism for nearly four decades.Shivasundar makes some incisive observations about the present state of Left politics and the so-called ‘pragmatism’ of collaborating with the Congress. He says that the Congress is fundamentally an enabler of Brahminism and neo liberal capitalism. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Fighting 'fascist' BJP is the second freedom struggle: Journalist and activist Teesta Setalvad said that the country is at a historic crossroads. This is the time, she said, to build the broadest possible coalition against the BJP and Hindutva, even if it means working with problematic opposition parties such as the Congress.In the last set of critical political conversations in this season of What's Your Ism, Sudipto Mondal spoke to three leading civil society intellectuals and leaders days before the Lok Sabha results: Major General Vombatkere, founder of eedina.com and left activist Vasu and the secretary of Citizens for Justice and Peace Teesta Setalvad.In this part, Teesta accepted the criticism that working with parties such as the Congress to defeat the BJP throws up ideological contradictions. But the times call for more pragmatic measures. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

People are not happy with the Election Commission: Major General Sudhir Vombatkere, a prominent voice in anti-Hindutva civil society circles, said that the conduct of the Election Commission and its openly partisan positions has eroded people's trust in these Lok Sabha elections. In the last set of critical political conversations in this season of What's Your Ism, Sudipto Mondal spoke to three leading civil society intellectuals and leaders days before the Lok Sabha results: Major General Vombatkere, founder of eedina.com and left activist Vasu and the secretary of Citizens for Justice and Peace Teesta Setalvad.In this part, General Vombatkere expressed fears that the supporters of the BJP might trigger a law and order situation irrespective of the outcome in these elections. If things go out of hand, central forces and even the army could be called in, he said. This led to an interesting deviation in the conversation with Vombatkere and Sudipto discussing the culture of the Indian army and its history. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Congress and opposition parties are increasingly occupying left spaces. The founder of eedina.com and prominent left activist from Karnataka, H V Vasu responds to criticism that progressive mass movements have been co-opted by the Congress and other non-BJP opposition parties.In the last set of critical political conversations in this season of What's Your Ism, Sudipto Mondal spoke to three leading civil society intellectuals and leaders days before the Lok Sabha results: Major General Vombatkere, H V Vasu and Teesta Setalvad, the secretary of Citizens for Justice and Peace.In this part, Vasu said that the Congress and other so-called secular parties have serious contradictions but are not impossible to collaborate with. "If they can use us, we can also use them," he said while underlining that there is growing sentiment in activist groups that they should independently enter electoral politics. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Caste and untouchability are widely perceived as a Hindu phenomenon – orthodoxically, they are categorised as “illegitimate” in the Muslim community. But the Dalit Muslims facing caste oppression strive for legitimacy. So, what is the complex history and dynamics of castes among Muslims? How is it perceived in the political economy amid scarcity mongering around reservations? In this two-part episode on What's Your Ism, Sudipto Mondal speaks to Ambedkarite author Shalin Maria Lawrence and sociologist-professor Khalid Anis Ansari about the complexities of anti-caste politics  among Christians and Muslims in South Asia.In part two, Ansari sheds light on the history of Dalit Muslims, religious nationalism, the anti-caste movement in pre-partition India, the caste census, and anti-caste mobilisation within Muslims.   On the Muslim imagination of a sovereign nation, Ansari says, “I think there are also regional histories.” He adds, “The experience of a Kashmiri Gujjar Muslim is very different from the experience of a Shia Muslim or the ones in the Valley. Caste is written all across…There are all kinds of cleavages and contradictions.”    Tune in. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Caste and untouchability owe their origins to brahmanical Hinduism. But caste oppression is not restricted to the Hindu community. Dalit Christians and Dalit Muslims face challenges in asserting their rights and demanding affirmative action.  In this two-part episode on What's Your Ism, Sudipto Mondal speaks to Ambedkarite author Shalin Maria Lawrence and sociologist-professor Khalid Aniz Ansari about the complexities of anti-caste politics  among Christians and Muslims in South Asia.In part one, Lawrence talks about caste oppression in the Christian community, Periyar, caste identity, political lobbying in Tamil Nadu, the POA Act, and laws to protect the rights of minorities at the intersection of caste.  She also recounts her lived experiences of discrimination in church. “Within my church, I’m an untouchable. Within the church my ancestors built. The church I stopped going to. For generations, only Dalit women have been sweeping the church. Why?”   Tune in.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.