India Tomorrow is a seven-part series by The Anthill, a podcast from The Conversation. As India heads to the polls in April and May for the world’s biggest democratic exercise, we’ll explore, in weekly instalments, the ways in which nationalism and populism are playing out in the Indian context.
The topics we’ll investigate in this series are wide-ranging, and we’ll be hearing from academics around the world about their research into some of the key issues facing Indian society in the 21st century.
Click here to listen to the India Tomorrow trailer from The Anthill
Our first episode, Fake news and the battle for information, examines the role that fake news has played in fuelling violence against certain groups in India. We speak to academic experts about what motivates online trolls who spread misinformation. And we find out who is winning the battle to shape the public debate. Listen here and read the transcript.
In part two, The politics of Hindu nationalism, we’ll work our way through the trajectories of Hindu nationalism in India and the ways in which it interacts with and responds to claims of caste emancipation. Listen here and read the transcript.
Part three will take us to the valley of Kashmir, the site of confrontation between India and its neighbour Pakistan, both nuclear-armed. We’ll explore the history of the conflict, what it means for ordinary Kashmiris and what the recent escalation of tensions means for the upcoming elections. Listen here and read the transcript.
In part four, Women, gender and love, we dig into what life is like for women in India, including the social pressures facing young women. We’ll explore the extent to which they make up an electoral group in Indian politics, and find out how well they are represented among the country’s lawmakers. Listen here and read the transcript.
Part five will focus on the ups and downs of the Indian economy during the first term of prime minister Narendra Modi, with special attention to the spectacular policy of banning high-denomination currency notes that shocked the country and that’s implications continue to be debated. Listen here and read the transcript.
In the sixth part, we’ll examine the role of young people in Indian politics and the concerns and aspirations of the estimated 135m first-time voters in the 2019 elections. Listen here and read the transcript.
The final, seventh episode, our panel of academic experts guide us through the Indian election results and their implications – not just for India’s future but also the global future of democracy. Listen here.
You can sign up to The Anthill newsletter to get an email about each new episode. Listen to The Anthill podcast via The Conversation’s website, or you can subscribe wherever you get your podcasts from, including iTunes, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher and PocketCasts.