We The People

The Taj Mahal is in the news again but not for its breathtaking beauty but as a site of political and religious dispute with some historians and political groups claiming that it's not representative of the Indian culture and that it's been built on the site of an erstwhile Shiva Temple. The controversy rose to the national and international stage when the UP tourism department's brochure chose to leave the UNESCO heritage site out. On this episode of We The People, we ask: can history be held hostage to political and religious ideologies? Should history textbooks each change with governments? In a multicultural country like India, who decides which parts of the subcontinent's history are indeed representative of 'Indian culture'?

Rahul Gandhi's elevation as the Congress president can happen any day now. On the back of the favourable response to his interactions overseas, some political pundits have sparked talk of a turning point for the Congress. On this episode of We The People, we ask: has Rahul Gandhi's new political confidence managed to rattle the BJP? Will Rahul Gandhi manage to translate his touted social media success into an electoral victory? And can the Congress revive itself by 2019 after the massive defeat in 2014?

The sale of firecrackers in Delhi-NCR has yet again been banned. After the worsening air quality of the capital city after Diwali in 2016, the Supreme Court had taken the emergency measure to ban crackers around the city following a petition by three children stating their right to clean air. While firecracker traders have repeatedly petitioned against the ban, citing their right to work and the attack on their livelihood, the top court has stayed firm on its pronouncement. On this episode of We The People, we ask: Is a ban on firecrackers enough to deal with India's menacing pollution problem? Shouldn't there be more permanent policy across the country to help tackle pollution concerns? Will the ban meet the same fate as stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana?

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on multiple occasions, has vowed to make India would a major global scientific power by 2022. But a protest held by the scientists in August 2017 in 37 different cities of India has brought to light the shortage of funds and also the scientific temperament in India today. On this edition of We The People, we ask: Is this a reason for concern? And, as the protesting scientists believe, is science in India facing the danger of being eclipsed by a rising wave of unscientific beliefs?

According to the World Health Organisation, India is the most depressed country in the world with 36 per cent of citizens battling depression or other mental health issues. Suicide is the leading cause of death among young people. Adding to the grim picture is the almost negligible size of mental health care sector with just three psychiatrists per million Indians. On this edition of We The People, we ask: Is it time we acknowledged the existence of a looming threat to India's young demographic in the form of severe mental crises? Can a measly expenditure of 0.06% of the health budget tackle this growing menace?

It is estimated that in India, a woman dies every two hours because of unsafe abortions. Just 10 per cent of the estimated 70 lakh abortions that happen in India every year are said to be documented; the rest are assumed to take place in shady clinics, often run by quacks. In a landmark ruling in September, the Supreme Court of India allowed a 13-year-old rape victim in Mumbai to terminate her 31-week pregnancy. Yet the same court in July ruled that a 10-year-old raped child, should not be allowed to abort at 28 weeks. On We The People we ask: Why did the families of these children have to go to the court for a private decision? And, is it time for the 46-year-old Indian abortion law to be amended?

Online self-harm game Blue Whale Challenge has gripped social media and headlines for the past many weeks. As per people who believe in the authenticity of the challenge, it is an online game that originated from Russia. A designated curator assigns players various tasks over a 50-day period, culminating in the player committing suicide. Several suicides across India have been linked to the challenges in some form or the other. As smartphones burrow their way further into our lives, becoming an additional limb, on this edition of We The People we ask, is there a new social and health crisis in India?

Gauri Lankesh's murder has unleashed the worst in both the political class as well as the civil society with a blame-game and ideological sparring taking precedence over justice. Narendra Dabholkar, Govind Pansare and MM Kalburgi, all rationalists and free thinkers in their own right, were killed in a manner eerily similar to Gauri Lankesh and the perpetrators are yet to be brought to book. On this episode of We The People, we ask: Was Gauri's killing ideologically motivated or is speculation about the killers doing disservice to the investigation? What does this murder mean for freedom of speech in India ? Is the space for dissent shrinking in the largest democracy in the world?

The Delhi High Court is hearing a cluster of petitions and counter-petitions on the issue of marital rape. While one side led by non-profits RIT Foundation and AIDWA is asking the court to declare marital rape a crime, the opposing party led by another non-profit Men's Welfare Trust is against the idea representing fears that the law could be misused. The government's stand is that criminalising marital rape may lead to "destabilisation of marriages". On this edition of We The People, we ask: What is more important, tradition or women's rights? Does the idea of consent become impotent after marriage? Who will decide the so-called definition of marital rape?

The conviction of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in a rape case unleashed a spate of violence across Punjab and Haryana. Many people have been killed due to the violence, arson and rioting by over one lakh people believed to supporters of the self-styled godman. Mobile internet services are barred in both Haryana and Punjab in anticipation of a more violent backlash to Ram Rahim's impending sentencing on Monday. While the Haryana High Court has pulled up the Khattar government for its failure to contain the lawlessness, the violence has made people across the nation question the godmen in India. On this episode of We The People, we ask: Why were the Dera supporters allowed to assemble in Panchkula - where the verdict was announced - in such large numbers? What explains the masses rallying behind a man convicted of having raped two of his own followers?

More than 70 children lost their lives in a hospital in Uttar Pradesh's Gorakhpur last week due to an alleged shortage of oxygen. The UP health minister maintains that such deaths in the month of August are a yearly feature for Gorakhpur, the UP government has denied any dearth of oxygen. In May this year, a CAG report had warned of glaring technical shortages with many hospitals in the country including the hospital in question. On this episode of We The People, we ask: Is an expenditure of 1.16% of the GDP enough for an already crumbling health care? Has the public sector of a welfare country like India failed to provide adequate care for its people? Is the proposed PPP model the solution in waiting for India?

Seven decades ago, India threw off its yoke of colonialism and bondage. The India of then was not a homogenous entity nor is the India of today. All religions, castes, classes, ages and genders came together to fight for their freedom. Ironically, the free India of the 21st century continues to bicker over the definition of nationalism. On this episode of We The People, we ask: are symbols like war tanks and national flags enough to instill nationalism in the citizens? Does a diverse country of 1.2 billion people work better with diverse ideas of nationalism? Who decides what the definition of nationalism is? Shouldn't people in a democracy be free to choose their individual form of nationalism?

Indian domestic workers, comprising of mostly women and minors, have endured abuse and exploitation for a long time by their employers. The abuse often ranges from withholding of wages to starvation, not allowing time for sleep or rest, beatings, torture, and even sexual exploitation. In this edition of We The People, we ask, how can we help India's domestic help secure basic dignity in labour? Who will help India's domestic help? Are work-related rights the sole prerogative of the well-to-do?

Since 2014, there has been a deluge of opposition leaders who have found home in the BJP, six Congress MLAs from Gujarat being the latest. The BJP now has governments in 18 out of 29 states. With Nitish deserting the RJD and joining hands with the BJP in Bihar, the Opposition seems to have lost the one face that could have led them against the BJP in 2019. On this episode of We The People, we ask: with Congress leaders critical of their central leadership, is it time for the Grand Old Party to seek change at the top? Is Nitish's new-found camaraderie with the BJP going to cost the Opposition a respectable chance in the next general elections? Is 2019 a won battle for the BJP?

In the last few weeks, farmer agitations are making headlines from Delhi to Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Punjab, Haryana, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh. According to the government, there have been 11,400 farmer suicides in 2016. In 2013-14, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had committed to doubling farmer incomes in the next 5 years. But despite such high-level political commitments, progress on the ground has sadly been lacking for decades. On this edition of We The People, we turn the spotlight on the growing rural distress in India. And analyse why are farmers across India protesting? Are their demands valid? And is India's agrarian sector a tinderbox waiting to explode?

The multicultural Indian society seems to be at an inflection point. While most of the youth think it's okay to have sex before marriage, around 80 per cent continue to adhere to the age-old process of arranged marriages. Moving with the times, the top court of the country ruled that live-in relationships in India are now acceptable and not taboo yet the censor board just recent expressed discomfort at the word "intercourse" in an upcoming movie. On this episode of We The People, we ask: Is female sexuality still hostage to the society's patriarchal structure? Is "modern" India ready to talk about sex or is Indian modernism still being stifled by a conservative baggage?

Ever since he assumed office in 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has visited more than 60 countries. His visit to Israel earlier this week, the first ever by an Indian Prime Minister in a departure from the traditional Israel-Palestine policy, signals that India under PM Modi's leadership is not afraid to explore unconventional relationships if they eventually serve the country's needs. That being said, the recent India-China standoff in Doklam proves that India may need to prioritise its relations with its neighbours over the rest of the world. On We The People, we ask: Is India making new friends in the Global North at the cost of its relationships with its immediate neighbours? Have the Prime Minister's many foreign visits resulted in substantial gains for the country? Does India have an opportunity to fill in the void between an unsure US and an unpredictable China?

Hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke out on the wave of lynchings targeting minorities across the country, yet another man was lynched in the name of cow protection. The phenomenon of lynching, unfortunately, is not new to the country but the growing spate of killings and mob violence by the so-called cow vigilantes has instilled a sense of fear in the country's minorities. On this episode of We The People, we ask, have the basic ideals enshrined in our Constitution become too lofty to achieve? Have the PMs's strong words against mob violence fallen on deaf ears? Is India breaking at the seams of its diverse and delicately patched social fabric?

It's been eleven days since the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha called for an indefinite strike, demanding a separate state. Peaceful protests have made way for violent unrest. With the supporters of Gorkhaland out on the streets, the heart-achingly beautiful region of Darjeeling is on fire. The army has been sent in along with the paramilitary forces to try and restore law and order. Three protesters have died, one policeman has been stabbed. Shops are closed, hotels shut, businesses stalled, and ATMs are now cashless. On this edition of We The People, we ask - Is it a summer of discontent in the Darjeeling hills? Are the state and the centre playing with fire by ignoring the Gorkha identity issue? And is the demand for Gorkhaland even feasible?

Be it Serena Williams - one of the world's greatest female athletes, film actors like Kareena Kapoor Khan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan or a commoner walking on streets, most of us have been victims of body shaming at some point of time in our lives. Body shaming is a practice of humiliating people by making critical comments about their physical appearance. On this edition of We The People, the question is, who gets to decide if someone is fit or not? Is the obsession with weight and colour fair? Have we gone way too far under the pressure of looking "perfect"?