We The People

This past week saw the #MeTooIndia movement take over social media in India with women calling out their harassers online. It has been a very emotional, difficult and angering last couple of days. Countless women have shared their stories of sexual harassment in the workplace especially in media and entertainment. Well-known editors and journalist have been accused as have poets, writers and directors. These charges have largely been sparked by actor Tanushree Dutta's allegations against colleague Nana Patekar. But it quickly moved beyond Bollywood after allegations of sexual misconduct against comedian Utsav Chakaraborty which in turn saw journalists start sharing their stories of harassment. On this episode of We The People, we are saying the time is up and it's time for things to change.

On We The People, we debate why India has not had a #MeToo moment. This past week we have seen a high profile hearing of allegations of sexual harassment against US Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh and Bill Cosby's conviction. We have also seen Padma Lakshmi speaking about sexual abuse she faced years ago. But when closer home, former actor Tanushree Dutta accused Nana Patekar, stalwarts of Bollywood remained silent. Moreover, social media has exploded asking Ms Dutta why she chose to speak up a decade after the incident. On We The People, we take a look at what happens when women speak up about sexual abuse and what happens when they don't. Is the 'due process' we are meant to follow, tilted in favor of the powerful? Does speaking up hurt the survivor more? And what will be India's watershed moment?

The Ganga is in crisis and has been for several decades. All the towns and villages along the Ganga continue to dump their industrial and household waste into the river. The BJP included the cleaning of the Ganga in its 2014 election manifesto and the government has announced a new draft law for cleaning the Ganga which includes an armed force for protecting the river with prison terms and fines for those who pollute it. But the river was still one of the most polluted rivers in the world. A CAG report last year claimed much of the funds earmarked for Ganga clean-up had not been used, projects had not been finalised and there was no long term-plan that had been finalised. On this episode of We The People, we ask How polluted is the river? What is the government doing? What has been done so far? What are 'clean river' criteria? Can the government meet its targets? Why is it difficult to clean up the Ganga?

This past week saw a massive victory for equality in India with the Supreme Court decriminalising homosexuality. It's been a long and difficult legal journey. But petitioners and activist say that this is only half the battle won. On We The People, we discuss with activists, lawyers and members of the LGBTQ community that even though the law has changed, what about mindsets? Many challenges remain as they still face discrimination in the workplace and in finding housing.

The Supreme Court has reserved its verdict on a PIL challenging India's adultery law. Currently, according to the 157-year-old section 497 of the IPC, a man can be punished with up to five years in prison, for having an affair with a married woman if it was without her husband's permission. As it stands, the woman in the case cannot be punished as she isn't viewed as an active agent, rather as a man's property. Also, a married woman doesn't have the right to file criminal charges if her husband is the one having an affair. The government has asked the court not to change the law but make it gender neutral to protect the sanctity of marriage. While the National Commission for Women has asked it be made a civil offence, as it's between two individuals. While the Court's final decision is awaited, the justices have already observed the law is anti-women and it's archaic. This issue must also be looked at in relation to privacy. Today, we take a look at some of the issues this case has raised. In an age when the

The rapes at a children's shelter in Bihar's Muzaffarpur has shocked and shamed the country. A place meant as a shelter for girls where over 34 of the inmates from ages 7 to 17 were repeatedly raped, abused and subjected to terrible violence. What has emerged is a sickening story of a nexus between the man who ran the shelter, Brajesh Thakur, and politicians, police, bureaucrats and even goons. It's a story that has left us all horrified and has raised so many questions. We ask how did this happen, how many other places is it happening in, how can we prevent something like this from ever happening again and how do we ensure the perpetrators are punished.

Earlier this month, the tragic death of Anissia Batra, a 39-year-old air hostess took place in Delhi. The police are investigating whether Anissia committed suicide by jumping off of her terrace, while her family maintains she was murdered by her husband. But what has also emerged is a story of a young, independent woman, who was from an army family, her father a retired major general who was in an allegedly abusive marriage for two years there are even allegations of dowry demands being made. The question many are asking is, why would a woman who friends describe as headstrong, independent, professionally successful endure such a marriage. This also raises larger questions about urban women and the silence around domestic abuse. What recourse do they have and while we have strong laws on dowry and domestic abuse how effective are they? Where have they failed and, also are they misused?

This week the Supreme Court hearing the case for entry of women to Sabarimala temple in Kerala observed that women have as much right to pray as men and even questioned whether this was a form of discrimination against women. Another significant case due in Supreme Court is on the issue of Nikah Halala which was meant to protect women from being divorced lightly but has been totally misused and corrupted. Both these cases bring up broader issues regarding the treatment of women in religion. Many of our religious practices today have evolved in a deeply patriarchal society and as such women are often oppressed and not treated at par with men. In this episode of We The People, we debate whether putting restrictions on women is something that is common to all religions and whether having more women in positions of power can bring about a change in their favour.

This week the deaths of 11 members of a family in Delhi's Burari has once again shifted the spotlight on occult practices and superstitious beliefs that continue to kill people across India. The Delhi police is investigating a theory that the family planned and executed a bizzare mass hanging as a thanks giving ritual to celebrate the engagement of one of the family members. According to investigations so far, one of the family members Lalit Chundawat, allegedly hallucinated about his dead father advising him on spiritual salvation and on various rituals to undertake for wealth and happiness, including this mass hanging where they would be saved, in the nick of time by the dead father's spirit. Surviving Chundawat family members have refuted this thread of the investigation. They say they are victims of media sensationalism but this hair raising case has lead us to ask: Can India get freedom from superstition? Does India needs a comprehensive national anti-superstition legislation to deal with crimes related

Three years ago this week, the Modi government launched its smart cities campaign, an ambitious plan to build 100 futuristic "smart" cities in India, but as this week's devastating flooding after the monsoon in Mumbai and Srinagar shows, perhaps fixing accident-prone cities is the greater task at hand. In Delhi, the plan to cut over 16,000 fully-grown trees in a city that has the worst air quality in the world exposes how much our cities are screaming for urban planning in India. Where does the Smart Cities Mission stand today three years into its launch? Are we a long way from setting up citizen-friendly and sustainable cities across India? Is environmental degradation an acceptable price to pay for economic growth?

The government has announced lateral entry of private sector professionals into the senior bureaucracy. Will this bring in much needed talent? Or will this allow the government to bring in ideologically like-minded people?

Plastic has an ubiquitous presence in our lives, it's all encompassing. A wonder substance that can never be destroyed, that has revolutionalised convenience, that has played a critical role in all technological advancements, from computers to replacement heart valves. Yet, it is now threatening plants, animals, marine life and even humans. We talk about the scourge of plastics. Can we live without it?

The sky-high marks scored by students in this year's 12th board exams have yet again reignited the debate on whether these high scores signify their ability to think and solve problems. In this episode of We The People, we debate if students getting near-perfect scores means they are really learning better. Does this mean that our youth is getting smarter, more well-informed? Or does it mean they are just better note-takers and rote-learners? And what does this mean for college cut-offs - which are already above 97% at the top colleges?

In the last 48 hours, we have seen obscene power play, leaked audio tapes of inducements of money and favours. One did not think it was possible but in the last week, the dignity and the confidence of the people in the political system has fallen even more. We are a country today that is not worried about horse-trading but in fact, it seems to have gotten so normalised that people are actually finding it exciting and not dangerous. That is the subject for our discussion tonight - at what point does legitimate political strategising cross the line into lawlessness? And where do the shenanigans of the Congress and BJP fit on this spectrum?

This week, India made global headlines. We beat all other countries in one sphere. The World Health Organisation, in its latest report, listed the 20 most polluted cities in the world, and the top 14 are in India. Kanpur topped the list with a PM 2.5 level of 173, that is 17 times the safe limit. In close second place was Faridabad, with 172. The 3rd position goes to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's parliamentary constituency Varanasi . The list includes the national capital Delhi, Gaya, Patna, Agra, Muzaffarpur, Srinagar, Gurgaon, Jaipur, Patiala and Jodhpur coming in 14th place. Is our government taking steps to combat air pollution? What does it take to stop accepting pollution as the price of progress?

A government plan to involve private companies to maintain India's best-known monuments has landed the centre at the centre of a huge controversy over news that Dalmia Bharat Group had "adopted" the iconic Red Fort. The opposition accused the government of trying to commercialise everything, wondered why the government could not spare Rs 5 crore every year on the monument that the company had agreed to spend over the next five years. With mounting criticism from opposition and historians, we debate that if in 70 years of our independence we have not managed to evoke a sense of value among people, then will we be able to protect the other heritage, which we so proudly keep listing on international registers? What will instil a sense of history and heritage among the local community?

According to the International Labour Organisation, India can increase its GDP by $1 trillion by increasing the female labour force participation. However, in 2017, India slipped 21 ranks on WEF's gender gap report. With Indian women leaving the workforce at an unprecedented rate, on this episode of We The People, we ask: why are Indian women opting out of work? Is maternity an impediment to successful careers for women? Has the government done enough to ensure women's retention in the workforce?

President Ram Nath Kovind on Sunday signed an executive order bringing into force an ordinance that proposes the death penalty for rapists of children under the age of 12. The law comes on the heels of immense outrage over the Kathua rape case and a number of others which had children as victims. On this episode of We The People, we ask: will the death penalty act as a deterrent to possible perpetrators or will it make the reporting of the heinous crime even more difficult? With the conviction rates in the country for rape at an abysmal low, will this law end up being a mere eyewash and will it further burden the legal system as many experts fear?

The brutal rape and murder of an 8-year-old in Kathua, an alleged rape by a BJP legislator in Unnao and the brazen attempts to obstruct justice in both the cases have shaken India's conscience. With protests across the country, a condemnation from the United Nations and an open rebuke for the Prime Minister by a group of former civil servants, it would seem the society isn't ready to sit back and allow such atrocities to continue. On this episode of We The People, we ask: with the number of rapes having increased by 50 per cent since 2012, has nothing changed in India since Nirbhaya? Does India need more laws to deal with the worsening rape crisis or is better execution the solution? With about a third of the lawmakers charged criminally, does the rot go deeper than it appears?