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Grand Tamasha

Grand Tamasha

By: Hindustan Times - HT Smartcast
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 Each week, Milan Vaishnav and his guests from around the world break down the latest developments in Indian politics, economics, foreign policy, society, and culture for a global audience. Grand Tamasha is a co-production of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and the Hindustan Times. And you are listening to Season 6. This is a Hindustan Times production, brought to you by HT Smartcast. Political Science Politics & Government Social Sciences
Episodes
  • What Kind of Great Power Will India Become?

    What Kind of Great Power Will India Become?
    Jul 2 2025
    Two summers ago, Ashley J. Tellis published an essay in Foreign Affairs titled, “America’s Bad Bet on India,” which led to an extended, highly charged debate about the future of the U.S.-India relationship.Just a few weeks ago, Ashley published another big-picture piece in Foreign Affairs titled, “India’s Great-Power Delusions,” which has once again got people talking.In his new piece, Ashley argues that India is on its way to becoming a great power, but perhaps not the kind of power that many in the world are expecting.On this week’s season finale of Grand Tamasha, Ashley makes his return to the show. Ashley holds the Tata Chair for Strategic Affairs at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. He served in the U.S. government during the George W. Bush administration, where he was intimately in involved in negotiating the U.S.-Indian civil nuclear deal.Ashley and Milan discuss the U.S. policy of “strategic altruism” toward India, compare India and China’s growth record, and unpack the drivers of India’s quest for multipolarity. Plus, the two discuss India’s growing illiberalism and the complex ways domestic politics shapes foreign policy. Episode notes: 1. “Reexamining America’s Bet on India (with Ashley J. Tellis),” Grand Tamasha, June 21, 2023. 2. Ashley J. Tellis, “Great Expectations: India amid US-China Competition,” in Hal Brands, ed., Lessons from the New Cold War: America Confronts the China Challenge (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2025). 3. Ashley J. Tellis, “India Sees Opportunity in Trump’s Global Turbulence. That Could Backfire,” Carnegie Endowment Emissary (blog), April 9, 2025. 4. “Trade, Tariffs, and India's Silver Lining (with Shoumitro Chatterjee),” Grand Tamasha, April 16, 2025. 5. “The Precarious State of U.S.-India Ties (with Rajesh Rajagopalan),” Grand Tamasha, February 26, 2025.
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    49 mins
  • Hindutva Politics in the Diaspora

    Hindutva Politics in the Diaspora
    Jun 25 2025
    How and why did Hindu nationalism become popular among India’s diaspora after India’s independence in 1947? This is the central question of Hindu Nationalism in the Indian Diaspora: Transnational Politics and British Multiculturalism, a 2023 book by the historian Edward Anderson.The book interrogates the distinctive resonance Hindutva ideology has overseas, and the multiple ways in which the diaspora engages with British politics and society, while sustaining connections back home in India.Anderson is assistant professor in History at Northumbria University in Newcastle. He was previously the Smuts Research Fellow in Commonwealth Studies at the University of Cambridge, where he obtained a PhD in History.Anderson joins Milan on the show this week to discuss the trajectory of Indian migration to Britain, the founding of the first overseas Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) shakha, and the Emergency’s impact amongst the diaspora. Plus, the two discuss the role of the diaspora in funding politics and the emergence of “neo-Hindutva.” Episode notes: 1. “A Reappraisal of Indira Gandhi’s Life—and Legacy (with Srinath Raghavan),” Grand Tamasha, June 11, 2025. 2. “The Secret to Indian Americans' Success (with Meenakshi Ahamed),” Grand Tamasha, June 4, 2025. 3. “The Indian American Vote in 2024 (with Sumitra Badrinathan and Devesh Kapur),” Grand Tamasha, November 6, 2024. 4. “What to read about Hindutva,” The Economist, April 5, 2024.
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    48 mins
  • A Reappraisal of Indira Gandhi’s Life—and Legacy

    A Reappraisal of Indira Gandhi’s Life—and Legacy
    Jun 11 2025
    Indira Gandhi’s ascent as prime minister of India in 1966 seems obvious with the benefit of hindsight, but it was entirely unforeseen at the time.Within years—if not months—she emerged as one of the most powerful political leaders of her era—serving as prime minister for fifteen years, leaving behind a complex and deeply controversial legacy. A new book by the historian Srinath Raghavan, Indira Gandhi and the Years that Transformed India, unpacks that legacy, uncovering fresh material that challenges much of the conventional wisdom we’ve accumulated over the years.Srinath is professor of international relations and history at Ashoka University and nonresident scholar at Carnegie India. He is the author of several celebrated books, including India’s War: The Making of Modern South Asia and Fierce Enigmas: A History of the United States in South Asia.He joins Milan on the show this week to discuss Gandhi’s unforeseen right to power, the daunting conditions which greeted her premiership, and her improvisatory leadership during the 1971 war. Plus, the two discuss Gandhi’s mixed economic legacy, the onset of the Emergency, and how our understanding of the “long 1970s” must be updated. Episode notes: 1. Soutik Biswas, “The forgotten story of India's brush with presidential rule,” BBC News, June 9, 2025. 2. TCA Srinivasa Raghavan, “Indira Gandhi and the Years that Transformed India,” Hindu Business Line, May 27, 2025.
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    58 mins
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