Author: Rishvanth Reddy Mucheli
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Episode 8: The Smart and the Dumb: The Politics of Education in India
What does education do? Whose needs are being met by education? What does education mean to different people? Why did schooling fall short in providing equality of opportunity? Vishal Vasanthakumar joins us in this episode to illustrate the complex issues involved in the provision and purpose of education in India. References: Vishal Vasanthakumar: LinkedIn, Twitter,…
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Episode 7: The Multiple Careers of Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay
Nico Slate begins his book ‘Coloured Cosmopolitanism: The Shared Struggle for Freedom in the United States and India‘ with the following paragraph: In the spring of 1941, in the midst of the Second World War, Kamaladevi Chattopadhyaya sat down in the “whites only” section of a segregated train traveling through the American South. Just across…
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Episode 6: A History of Economic Policy in India
In this episode, I am in conversation with Rahul De, to discuss the key ideas in his book ‘A History of Economic Policy in India: Crisis, Coalitions and Contingency’. Rahul takes us through the meaning of economic history and the need for studying it. He situates industrial development in colonial India and its integration with…
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Episode 5: The Life and Times of George Fernandes
In this episode, I am in conversation with Rahul Ramagundam to talk about his book, ‘The Life and Times of George Fernandes’. George was a rare individual in politics, who did not care about his self-image or about leaving behind a legacy. His life was his legacy. In 1984, in a note exchanged with Jaya…
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Archives: A Case for LawFing
When I visited the Navakarnataka bookstore last Saturday, I chanced upon a small book titled ‘A Case for LawFing’, written and edited by S. R. Gautham. This is a “collection of humorous titbits and anecdotes relating to Law and Lawyers”. Though there is no further information about the author, in a newsletter ‘Communique’, which is…
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Archives: The Confluence: A Play by Suri V. Subramanyam
During my visit to the Select Book Shop on Brigade Road, Bangalore, I found a slim copy of The Confluence: A Play by Suri V. Subramanyam. Without even looking for any details, I just brought that book because it’s a very small book (6 pages) and I would need something to read in a single…
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Every vote counts?
Sometimes even just ‘1’ vote will matter a lot. Based on Assembly elections data from 1962 till now (taken from TCPD), 7 MLAs won with a margin of only ‘1’ vote. It means 7 people who could have become MLAs did not because someone from their kith and kin would not have taken voting very…
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Two tall-tales on B.R. Ambedkar
Myth making is an integral part of political science and politics, especially when it comes to immortalising famous personalities. To keep the memories of notable people alive, we share stories about them, and their remarkable messages and acts. Sometimes we create stories and myths about them. Though those tall tales are not real, they have…