Where Were You When

Where were you on 27 February 2002 as India witnessed one of its bloodiest Hindu-Muslim riots in Gujarat over three days prompted by the burning of a train in Godhra? Twenty years since the Gujarat riots which led to at least a thousand deaths, there are still many questions and elusive answers about how a large-scale massacre could take place over a span of three days. Who started the fire in coach S-6 of Sabarmati Express? Was the state complicit in the violence that followed in the aftermath?  In this episode of Where Were You When we revisit the event. Tune in! Interviews (In order of appearance) Jatin Vaghela, son of Rajesh Vaghela — a karsevak who died in Godhra train burning incident Imtiyaz Khan, survivor of Gulberg Society massacre Shama Pathan, Gujarat 2002 riots survivor Rakesh Sharma, documentary filmmaker Voiceover and Production: Shorbori Editor: Shelly Walia Music: Big Bang Fuzz Sounds: Freesound, Doordarshan, Final Solution News articles and references: 'Lord Ram has given me new lease of life' Communal Riots in Gujarat: The State at Risk? by Christophe Jaffrelot Naroda Patiya Riots: A Timeline of the Case that Killed 97 Muslims Timeline of the Riots in Modi’s Gujarat History of Communal Violence in Gujarat 15 years after Godhra, we still don’t know who lit the fire Is Godhra Violence Still Shaping India’s Political Discourse 20 Years On? Revisiting Sabarmati Express Fire That Engulfed Gujarat in 2002 Gulberg Society: The case so far Nanavati panel gives Modi clean chit in post-Godhra riots Supreme Court to peruse 2002 Gujarat riots’ SIT closure report Not Shielded Anybody In 2002 Riots: Probe Team Tells Supreme Court The 2002 Gujarat riots cases and their statuses so far 2002 Gulberg massacre: Gujarat HC suspends life term of three more convicts

RK Laxman, the legendary cartoonist spoke through his cartoons, about the concerns of The Common Man — a character that featured for almost half a century in The Times Of India's daily cartoon strip, You Said It.   Laxman's bald, bespectacled, and dhoti-clad Common Man was part of every frame as either a spectator or a subject. And, the way Laxman wrote the captioned dialogues, not only resonated with the readers but politicians as well.  How Laxman's genius brought his aam aadmi to life on TV as Wagle is a lesson in creative wisdom. Tune in as we speak with Aanjan Srivastava who played this Common Man in Wagle Ki Duniya and Atish Kapadia who has re-created the show which is called Wagle Ki Duniya - Nayi Peedhi, Naye Kissey. We also catch up with editorial cartoonist, Manjul, who breaks down how RK Laxman captured modern India and its problems through his cartoons.

It's been 20 years since Karan Johar's cult-classic 'Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham' (or K3G as it's popularly known), captured our attention with a dazzling star-cast, extravagant sets and glitzy fashion. We may find the KJo brand of films as far off from reality as it can be, yet can we honestly stop humming to 'Suraj Huya Madhyam' or forget the moment when Shahrukh Khan aka Raj jumps out of the helicopter?  Love it or hate it, K3G delivered the entertainment that it promised to. 20 years on, we caught up with film critics and journalists, Khalid Mohamed and Aseem Chhabra to understand our love-hate relationship with KJo's Cinema.  We also speak with three child artistes from K3G — Maalvika Raaj who played young Kareena Kapoor, Parzaan Dastoor who plays Usman Siddiqui, and Jesse Lever who plays the son of Haldiram played by Johnny Lever, and they take us through the lesser-known details behind the making of K3G. Tune in.

Two years have passed since the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act was passed in the parliament. In these two years, those who have protested against the act, have also faced repercussions in the form of arrests and detentions.  Yet, the government has not written and rules implementing CAA. What is it that probably has resulted in this delay? Is it the protesting section of the country?  Protests have become synonymous to any debate around CAA. In this episode, we caught up with activist and scholar, Fahad Ahmed, who led the massive protests in Mumbai, right after the act was passed. We also speak with political commentator,  Professor Apoorvanand and Advocate Nizam Pasha who is lawyer in the Supreme Court of India. Tune in. 

How a film that was rejected by two lead actors and its director, went on to become a success? Why did the film's director, Milan Luthria had to initially stop shooting after having worked for four days with Vidya Balan? Is the film addressing the male gaze or providing for it?  Tune in as Milan Luthria and Emraan Hashmi revisit the making of The Dirty Picture, and RJ Stutee help us understand our sentiments for the movie.

PM Modi's supporters were quick to call the announcement banning the 500 and 1000 notes as his 'master-stroke' to tackle the black money, corruption, fake notes and terrorism. The stroke however killed more jobs than the black money. So, was the government able to cleanse the economy of the black money? Has there been any economic progress that could be attributed to the note-ban? To answer these questions, we caught up with NDTV's former managing editor, Aunindyo Chakravarty. We also spoke with journalist Brajesh Dubey who broke the news of demonetisation fifteen days before the announcement. How did he do that? Tune in.

Jayprakash Narayan aka 'Doosra Gandhi' or the second Gandhi, is often held responsible for providing legitimacy to RSS and Jana Sangh. But some say that it's wrong to focus on something as important as this, without its historical context.  Then how should we view JP's statement, 'If the RSS is fascist, so am I'? Is it because this endorsement has allegedly emboldened the right wing? Or we blame him because we lack a critical understanding of JP's politics?  In this special episode of 'Where Were You When', we critically evaluate the great leader with the help of his peer, loyalists, and political analysts.  For this podcast, The Quint's Fabeha Syed caught up with JP's colleague and a fellow Gandhian, Dr. Razi Ahmad, Secretary/ Director, Gandhi Sangrahalaya, Patna. You will also listen to Shivanand Tiwari. He is a JP's loyalist and an RJD veteran. We interviewed two political analysts and commentators as well. First is Sudheendra Kulkarni. He was an aide to India’s former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajapyee, and was also chairman of the Observer Research Foundation Mumbai. And then, we have interviewed Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay. He is an author and journalist based in Delhi. He has authored the book ‘The Demolition: India at the Crossroads’ and ‘Narendra Modi: The Man, The Times’. Tune in to this crash-course in the modern political history of India, as we try to dive deeper into the ways JP used to think and lead.

The law against Triple Talaq or The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act, 2019, was passed two years ago amid protests from the opposition who blamed the government for targetting only the Muslim community. On 30th July 2019, this law was passed in the parliament with 99 votes in its favor. Giving triple talaq would be a non-bailable and cognizable offense, meaning the police would not need a warrant for arrest. The victim will get the right to alimony and the magistrate will decide the issue. This law criminalizes the Islamic practice called 'Talaaq-e-biddat' that grants instant divorce when a husband utters the word 'talaq' three times for his wife. Now, on the two-year anniversary of The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act, 2019, we spoke to two women who filed their cases under this law. Joining us in the podcast is the managing partner of LCZF(Law Firm), Firdouse Qutb Wani, who has also been the Amicus Curiae, Hon'ble National Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission, New Delhi. We are also joined by Wajeeh Shafiq, advocate on record, the Supreme Court of India. He is also the standing counsel for Delhi Waqf Board, Delhi High Court. He has also represented Rizwan Ahmad, the husband of Shayara Bano, in Writ Petition (C) no.118/2016 ( Shayara Bano vs. Union of India & ors ) (Triple Talaq case). Rizwan Ahmad was respondent no. 5 in that case.

Uphaar Cinema fire is a reminder of how the tragedy was a man-made disaster that killed 59 people - the youngest of them was just a month old. The fire from the tragedy that struck 24 years ago, still rages on in the hearts of those parents who lost their children on 13th June 1997. Neelam and Shekhar Krishnamoorthy lost both their children - Unnati (17) and Ujjawal (13), and have since then dedicated their lives to fight for justice that hasn’t been given to those who lost their loved ones to the tragedy. In this episode, we speak with the parents who lost their children that day. Tune in.

12 March 2020. India saw its first COVID-19 death after a 76-year-old man from Kalaburagi succumbed to the virus. More than a year later, the country has recorded over 3 lakh deaths even as a more devastating second wave of the pandemic rages on. But who is to blame? How do we understand the scale of the damage in numbers? And is it even possible to get the actual toll?  And, most importantly, what learnings must we take from here? In this latest episode, Fabeha Syed tries to find the answers to some of these questions from veteran virologist Dr Shahid Jameel, public health expert and St Stephen's Hospital's former director Dr Mathew Varghese, and Dr Murad Banaji, who is a senior lecturer of Mathematics in Middlesex University, London. Host, Producer, Sound Designer: Fabeha Syed Editor: Shelly Walia Music: Big Bang Fuzz

Facing West Indies - the two-time world champions, in the world cup, and breaking them in their third was far-fetched before the great match of 83. How Balwinder Sandhu clean bowled Gordon Greenidge and Kapil Dev's iconic catch to send Vivian Richards out, the match was nothing less than a miracle India wasn't expecting. How India turned it around on the Lord's grounds? And what was going on in the players' minds, is what all-rounder and a dynamic squad member Kirti Azad reminisces in this special podcast. In this episode, The Quint's Fabeha Syed also caught up with the former Team India Manager, PR Maan Singh (1983), former General Manager BCCI, Amrit Mathur, Cricket journalists, Hemant Buch, and Chandresh Narayanan. Tune in. Host, Producer, Sound Designer: Fabeha Syed Editor: Shelly Walia Music: Big Bang Fuzz

More than two decades ago, Amitabh Bachchan made his debut on the small screen only to become the most successful host in the history of Indian television. The show, ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati’ not only brought the great actor closer to his fans but also changed the way people watched TV. But, what was it like to recreate an internationally successful British quiz show – ‘Who Wants To Be A Millionaire’ – for an Indian audience? The answer involves the spirit of ‘jugaad’, perseverance, and coming together of the sharpest minds of the TV industry. In this episode, The Quint's Fabeha Syed caught up with the quizmaster, Siddhartha Basu, cinematographer, Hemant Chaturvedi, and KBC's first crorepati, Harshvardhan Navathe. Tune in, as our guests reminisce about when KBC started – only to create history, and give the ‘aam janta’ dreams to dream. Host, Producer, Sound Designer: Fabeha Syed Editor: Shelly Walia Music: Big Bang Fuzz

On the night of 2nd December 1984, tonnes of poisonous gas leaked from a factory that made pesticides. It not only killed thousands of people but continues to affect a larger part of Bhopal's population.  Leela Bai, who was just a 26-year-old mother of five at the time when the disaster happened, lost her son that night. She later lost another son due to gas poisoning. A few months later, her husband also died of a similar condition. She now lives off a meager pension that hardly makes the ends meet.  Unfortunately, Leela Bai's family shares this fate with thousands of others who continue to battle with health conditions compounded with financial distress as the consequences of a disaster that took place more than three decades ago.  In this episode, two survivors of Bhopal Gas Tragedy recount the horrors of that night and tell us where were they, when a gas leak from a pesticide plant changed the fate of a city called Bhopal. We also speak with activists who explain the different battles faced by the survivors, even after these many years.  Tune in.  Host, Producer, Sound Designer: Fabeha Syed Guests: Leela Bai, Bhopal Gas Disaster Survivor Shamshad Bi, Bhopal Gas Disaster Survivor Balkrishna Namdeo, Activist, Bhopal Gas Peedit Nirashrit Pension Bhogee Sangharsh Morcha. Tim Edwards, Executive Trustee, Bhopal Medical Appeal Syed Tabish Ali, Information Officer, Bhopal Medical Appeal Editor: Shelly Walia Music: Big Bang Fuzz

Ayodhya, a small temple town in Uttar Pradesh is loaded with medieval history and Hindu mythology. There have been little skirmishes here and there but nothing big enough to be a national issue until the events in the run up to the sixth of December 1992 and the demolition of the Babri masjid mosque that set India in a different political course altogether. It's been more than years since the 16th century mosque was razed to the ground and the political events, the violence, the aftermath are all well documented. So for this episode, we asked journalists and a filmmaker to recount what happen on 6 December 1992 when the Babri Masjid was demolished. Tune in! Editor and Host: Shorbori Purkayastha Guests: Pragya Tiwari, Senior Journalist Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, Writer and Senior Journalist Anand Patwardhan, Filmer Producer: Shelly Walia Music: Big Bang Fuzz Check out our two part Ayodhya explainer: Explained: How Babri Demolition in 1992 Changed India Explainer: Key Arguments That Will Decide Ayodhya Dispute in SC Listen to the breakdown of the Ayodhya verdict: Ayodhya Verdict: Everything You Need to Know About the Judgment

Around 157 years after Section 377 of the IPC, a law that criminalised homosexual acts between consenting adults, was introduced in British India, its discrimnating parts were finally struck down in the Supreme Court on 6 September 2018. It’s been a year since that historic judgment was passed and in this episode of Where Were You When, four members of Delhi's queer community share their stories from the day Section 377 was watered down. How much has changed since? And what is the agenda forward? Tune in!

'Burial binds you to the place', tells oral historian Aanchal Malhotra while narrating a story from the Partition. For more stories of the people who chose to stay back in India, listen to this special episode of Where Were You When. 

Nikhil Advani’s action thriller starring John Abraham — Batla House which is inspired by the real events from Operation Batla House is releasing on 15 August. It’s been 11 years since the encounter but many questions still remain unanswered. On 13 September, 2008 five bombs exploded in various parts of Delhi between 6-6:30 pm. Indian Mujahideen a terrorist organization took responsibility for it. And six days later a team of seven members of the Delhi police and led by Special Cell inspector Mohan Chand Sharma carried out the Batla House encounter or Operation Batla House. Two young boys from Azamgarh - Atif Ameen who was a student of Jamia and Mohammad Sajid a minor said to be members of Indian Mujahideen who were responsible for several bomb blasts were killed in the encounter. Inspector Sharma who was also injured in the incident later succumbed to his injuries in the Holy Family hospital. There's not one straight or standard version to how the Batla House encounter actually happened. Was it a fake encounter or a real one? What happened on 8 September 2008? In this episode of Where Were You When, students and professors of Jamia Millia Islamia University and residents of Batla House tell us their version of what they saw during the encounter and how it changed people’s perceptions. Tune in!

India is celebrating its 70th Republic Day on 26 January 1950, but where were you when India celebrated its very first Republic Day in 1950? For the fourth episode of this podcast series, we spoke to four senior citizens to relive their memories of India's first Republic day when the Constitution had come into effect making India a fully functional independent republic.

Podcast | Where were you when the VP Singh's decision to provide 27% reservation for OBCs led to violent protests and self-immolations in 1990? Tune in to this podcast!

A fighter pilot and a war veteran, Air Commodore (retd.) Ravish Malhotra nearly became the first Indian in space. But fate, rather the authorities in Delhi where Indira Gandhi was Prime Minister, had other plans. Ravish Malhotra was picked as the two finalists who trained in USSR for India’s first mission to space. Listen to his story on how he trained alongside Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma and ultimately lost out on making history, to him.