Ep. 06: Indira Gandhi, Welfare and Politics (feat. Dr. Diego Maiorano)

U • News • Society & Culture • Government

In this episode we speak to Dr. Diego Maiorano, Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the National University of Singapore about two fascinating topics. First we ask him about his book Autumn of the Matriarch: Indira Gandhis Final Term in Office which examines Indira Gandhis last term in office, and the political and social implications of her last term. We also ask about the residues of her politics in contemporary India. Second, we touch upon Diegos current work on the NREGA program, and his fieldwork in Andhra Pradesh, and the politics of welfare. It is a longish episode, but we cover a lot about history, contemporary politics, and the complex political economies of welfare delivery on the ground. Discussed on this episode: Autumn of the Matriarch PostClientelistic Initiatives in a Patronage Democracy: The Non Distribution of Pork in Indias MGNREGA You can listen to this show and other awesome shows on the new and improved IVM Podcast App on Android:https://ivm.today/android or iOS:https://ivm.today/iosSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ep. 00: Introduction to Ganatantra

1 min 25 sec

The Ganatantra podcast is about politics in India, but steering clear of intrigue and personalities, and the everyday news cycle. Join political science thinker Dr Sarayu Natarajan, the founder of Aapti Institute, a think tank which looks at issues of...
Ep. 01: Understanding Indian politics

15 min 16 sec

How can we understand how to understand Indian politics In this debut episode, we Alok and Sarayu talk about what this podcast will be about we explore how and why politics is not just about elections but also what happens in between, how...
Ep. 02: Farmers Mobilization & Agricultural Distress in India

24 min 44 sec

Why are farmers in India mobilizing and agitating What are the politics behind the waiver of Farm Loans by State Governments across the country In this episode, Sarayu and Alok go in depth into the economic and political causes for rural distress...
Ep. 03: Political Violence & Riots

16 min 51 sec

Does promoting violence give political parties in India electoral gains Steven Wilkinsons book Votes and Violence: Electoral Competition and Ethnic Riots in India seems to suggest so, looking at electoral data. While Wilkinson looks primarily at...
Ep. 04: Social Media and Political Parties (with Venkat Ananth)

44 min 11 sec

What is the landscape of social media in India How are political parties using social media to cement narratives and organise voters What are different types of media And what is different from broadcast media In this episode, we talk to Venkat...
Ep. 05: Women's representation in politics (feat. Shruthi Viswanathan)

34 min 19 sec

There has been a long standing demand for reservations in legislatures in India for women. Currently, fifty percent of positions in panchayati raj institutions are reserved for women. If womens issues are to come to the fore in politics, is increased...
Ep. 06: Indira Gandhi, Welfare and Politics (feat. Dr. Diego Maiorano)

48 min 55 sec

In this episode we speak to Dr. Diego Maiorano, Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the National University of Singapore about two fascinating topics. First we ask him about his book Autumn of the Matriarch: Indira Gandhis Final Term in Office which...
Ep. 07: The Politics of Land ownership in India (featuring Raksha Kumar)

39 min 8 sec

Concerns about land and land rights have been key political issues from the beginning of the republic. Even as India urbanizes, these issues have not receded but taken new forms and new dimensions. Issues of land acquisition and redistribution, and...
Ep. 08: General Elections 2019: What's on the minds of voters and candidates (feat. Astha Kapoor)

1 hr 1 min 24 sec

Starting this week we hope to discuss important themes and issues that might inform how voters choose and how parties reach out to voters in the upcoming elections. Before each phase of election, we will pick one state going to the polls and break...
Ep. 09: Telangana & Andhra Pradesh - Welfare, Caste and Regional aspirations (feat. KK Kailash)

46 min 38 sec

Indias newest state goes to the polls tomorrow in the first phase of polls alongside its parent state. Though Telangana and Andhra Pradesh were once the same state, their political trajectories have been very different and likewise the socio ...
Ep. 10: Assam and North East: NRC and sub-nationalism (feat. Kham Khan Suan Hausing)

49 min 32 sec

As parts of Assam and the North Eastern states of India go to the polls we take this opportunity to discuss some of the issues which have caused much discussion, debate and anxiety in the region. Specifically the implementation of the National...
Ep. 11: Gujarat: Jobless growth, marginalization and caste mobilization (with Aarefa Johari)

35 min 47 sec

Gujarat goes to the polls in the third phase of elections. In the last five years it has seen economic upheaval as a result of demonetisation and implementation of the GST. It has also seen mass agitation by Patidars and Dalits over reservations and...
Ep. 12: Anti-incumbency at the State and Centre (feat. Roshan Kishore)

26 min 17 sec

Contrary to popular perception, Rajasthan is a diverse state which features everything from well irrigated agricultural regions to deserts, large urban centres, to a significant tribal belt along the border with Gujarat. It was also the state where it...
Ep. 13: West Bengal: Polarization and Mobilization (feat Shoaib Daniyal)

50 min 11 sec

In this episode, we are joined by Shoaib Daniyal ofs team to talk about politics in West Bengal and learn about how the BJP is mobilising in this critical state that goes to polls tomorrow. We learn about the trajectory of left politics in...
Ep. 14: Haryana - Caste competition and conflict (feat. Ankur Bhardwaj)

32 min 45 sec

In this episode, we are joined by Ankur Bhardwaj, Senior Editor at Business Standard to talk about the State of Haryana which goes to the polls in the 6th phase of polling. Assembly elections are also scheduled a few months after Lok Sabha polls...
Ep. 15: Exit Polls and Surveys : Accuracy and Transparency (with Sanjay Kumar)

41 min 20 sec

In a couple of days, discussions about the 2019 General elections will hinge on the release of exit poll numbers put up by various survey and media agencies. We explore what it takes to go from a good track record in calculating vote shares to...
Ep. 16: Voter Turnout

27 min 44 sec

Election commentators and nerds of all hues pore over turnout numbers to see if they can read the tea leaves that point to the eventual verdict. It has been no different in the 2019 general elections, with discussions about phase by phase turnouts and...
Ep. 17: Social Media, Political Messaging and Branding (feat. Dr Joyojeet Pal)

38 min 7 sec

The results of the 2019 elections have shown that brand and personal messaging on the part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi played a large role in the massive victory of the Bharatiya Janata Party. Going forward, social media platforms, both...
Ep. 18: Caste and networks in Maharashtra feat. Sarthak Bagchi

45 min 30 sec

The National Democratic Alliance managed to repeat its 2014 election performance in Maharashtra winning 41 seats the United Progressive Alliance, despite the alliance with the NCP did worse than 2014. This, in a state which has seen farmer...
Ep. 19: What drives pre-poll coalitions to work (and what doesn't) feat. Dr. Christiane Andersen

32 min 35 sec

Even though the Bharatiya Janata Party managed to cross the halfway mark for the second successive time in the 2019 elections, the coalition era of Indias politics is well and truly entrenched, arising partly from the high degree of fragmentation in...
Ep. 20: Caste, political recruitment and party systems in Tamil Nadu feat. Dr. Andrew Wyatt

41 min 43 sec

Tamil Nadu was one of the only states the others being Kerala and Punjab to resist the otherwise comprehensive sweep by the National Democratic Alliance in 2019. Yet, in the simultaneously held Assembly bypolls, the statelevel ruling AIADMK was not...
Ep. 21: Gendered Parliament - Women, elections and our democracy feat. Dr. Carole Spary

44 min 48 sec

Political institutions, be the elected assemblies or political parties have not had the presence of women in their ranks, and not in senior levels. Is that too sweeping a statement How does one parse presence, representation and voice for women in an...
Ep. 22: Failed alliances and national narratives in Uttar Pradesh (feat Sanjay Kapoor)

39 min 38 sec

With the Bharatiya Janata Party and the National Democratic Alliance managing to almost repeat their 2014 performance in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, from the looks of it the Bahujan Samaj Party and Samajwadi Party failed to stitch up an effective...
Ep. 23: Political Islams: Muslims, Indian politics and the 2019 verdict feat. Dr. Hilal Ahmed

45 min 10 sec

Arguably, a central issue in the 2019 elections was the idea of India. The right, notably the BJP, imagine an idea of India at whose centre is a Hindu, and where Muslims and others are excluded. But who is a Muslim To discuss issues such as the...
Ep. 24: Bihar: the Modi wave and welfare delivery in bihar feat. Parth MN

34 min 6 sec

The NDA in Bihar faced antiincumbency at both the State and Union levels when it went to the polls in 2019. Its stunning performance in the elections, improving on its performance from 2014 suggests that the alliance was able to in fact benefit from...
Ep. 25: The Political War over Judicial Appointments

27 min 41 sec

In this episode, we talk about the institutional tugofwar that has taken place between the judiciary and the political executive over who controls the procedure to appoint judges to the High Courts and the Supreme Court. In this episode we try to...
Ep. 26: Patronage networks in urban housing in Bengaluru

26 min 14 sec

Over the last six months we have discussed the macro of Indian politics, addressing large themes and looking at the politics at State level. In this episode, the last before we take a short hiatus, we go into the micro of Indias politics where we...
Ep. 27: Article 370: The constitutionality and politics of repeal

27 min 41 sec

The abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution has been a long standing promise of the Bharatiya Janata Party and it would not surprise too many that they chose to act on it. Yet, what surprised everyone was the manner in which it was done, and the...
Ep. 28: Article 370: The history and future of Kashmir

26 min 38 sec

In this episode, were joined by Dr Andrew Whitehead to frame the debate over Article 370s abrogation in the context of Kashmirs complicated history. We look at the circumstances of Kashmirs entry into the Indian Union and why the provision exists...