Grand Tamasha

Эпизоды

• BJP Ascendant at Home, Tested Abroad 27.05.2026 53мин

  Milan Vaishnav, Sadanand Dhume, and Tanvi Madan discuss whether India is becoming a “one-party state,” the current state of the opposition, and the headwinds facing the Indian economy. Plus, the three discuss Pakistan’s diplomatic moment, Trump’s recent China trip, and Marco Rubio’s visit to India.
• Rethinking India’s Growth Story 20.05.2026 53мин

  Abhishek Anand and Milan Vaishnav discuss the controversy over India’s GDP estimates, important reforms within India’s statistics ministry, and the debate over the Reserve Bank of India’s policies to defend the rupee. Plus, the two discuss Abhishek’s work on power sector reform and the embrace of non-tariff barriers that stymie the spirit of India’s new bilateral trade agreements.
• Can India Keep Its Balance in West Asia? 13.05.2026 47мин

  For more than a decade, India has steadily deepened its ties with the Gulf while trying to balance competing interests across the region. How is India being impacted by the Iran crisis? And what do these geopolitical shifts mean for India’s West Asia policy? To discuss these and other questions, Milan is joined on the show this week by Kabir Taneja, the Executive Director of the Observer Research Foundation’s Middle East office.
• Flash Episode: India's 2026 Elections Explained 08.05.2026 59мин

  It’s safe to say that India’s 2026 state assembly elections have scrambled many of the assumptions that have long shaped our understanding of Indian politics. To make sense of these results, Milan is joined today by Neelanjan Sircar and Yamini Aiyar—two of the sharpest observers of Indian politics and political economy.
• India’s Delimitation Dilemma 06.05.2026 1ч 12мин

  India hasn’t updated how political power is distributed across its states in five decades—and the consequences are mounting. Recently, Milan sat down with Shruti Rajagopalan of the Mercatus Center at George Mason University for a wide-ranging webinar on delimitation, representation, and the reshaping of Indian democracy.
• India’s Youth Boom Meets a Jobs Bust 29.04.2026 53мин

  For more than three decades, India’s growth story has rested on the promise of a large and youthful workforce. But a new report published by the Centre for Sustainable Employment at Azim Premji University takes a comprehensive look at how young Indians move from education into the labor market—and asks whether India is successfully converting its demographic dividend into an economic one. This week on the show Milan speaks with the report’s lead author Rosa Abraham, who heads theCentre for Sustainable Employment at Azim Premji University.
• The Indian Who Helped Build Silicon Valley 22.04.2026 59мин

  Kanwal Rekhi was the first Indian-American founder & CEO to take a venture-backed company public on the NASDAQ. He also co-founded and built The Indus Entrepreneurs—or TiE—into the largest global network of Indian entrepreneurs. He writes about his life in his new memoir, which traces his remarkable journey from a modest upbringing in India to becoming one of the most influential figures in the Indian diaspora in the United States. Kanwal joins Milan to discuss his lifelong passion for entrepreneurship, his modest upbringing and challenging early family life, and his role in building the modern Internet.
• India’s Middle Class Hits a Breaking Point 15.04.2026 56мин

  For decades, India’s growth story has rested on the spectacular rise of its middle class. But a new book argues that this very group—roughly 40 million income-tax–paying households—is now under acute strain. Facing a convergence of job disruption, wage stagnation, and rising debt, the middle class may no longer be the engine of growth it once was. This is the argument made in a new book titled, Breakpoint: The Crisis of the Middle Class and the Future of Work. It is authored by Saurabh Mukherjea, along with Nandita Rajhansa and Sapana Bhavsar.
• Inside The Complex: Family, Power, and India in Turmoil 08.04.2026 51мин

  On this week’s show, Milan sits down with the novelist Karan Mahajan, author of a much-anticipated new novel, The Complex. Karan and Milan discussed the book at our first ever live Grand Tamasha event at Carnegie headquarters in Washington, DC on March 16. Karan is an associate professor in Literary Arts at Brown University and the author of the books Family Planning and The Association of Small Bombs.
• Can India Thrive in Trump’s World? 01.04.2026 55мин

  Donald Trump’s return to the White House has once again altered the contours of international politics. For India, this evolving context raises several important questions about the viability of its foreign policy approach. This week on the podcast, Milan sits down with three of the contributors to a new compilation published by the Carnegie Endowment—Shoumitro Chatterjee, Sameer Lalwani, and Tanvi Madan—to discuss the uncertain trajectory of Indian foreign policy. 
• Inside Washington: Ami Bera on Shifting U.S.–India Ties 25.03.2026 35мин

  Over the past two decades, Washington and New Delhi have drawn steadily closer—driven by shared concerns about China, expanding economic ties, and a growing Indian diaspora in the United States. To help us unpack all of this, this week Milan spoke with Congressman Ami Bera in his office on Capitol Hill.
• Bangladesh’s Political Reset 18.03.2026 48мин

  In 2024, mass protests brought an abrupt end to Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s long tenure in power, opening the door to Bangladesh’s most consequential election in more than a decade. To talk about this new political era, Milan is joined on the show this week by Global Research Professor Naomi Hossain, with the Department of Development Studies at SOAS University of London.
• India’s AI Moment? 11.03.2026 48мин

  Just weeks ago, India hosted the 2026 AI Impact Summit, the latest chapter in a global process that began in 2023 in the UK. For the Modi government, the summit was part diplomatic showcase, part investment pitch, and part declaration of ambition. To talk more about the summit and its key takeaways, Milan is joined on the show this week by Anirudh Suri, a nonresident scholar with Carnegie India.
• Populism and the Politics of India’s Foreign Policy 04.03.2026 51мин

  We tend to think of populist leaders around the world as disruptive—skeptical of international institutions, impatient for change, and prone to upending foreign policy norms. But a new book by scholars Sandra Destradi and Johannes Plagemann argues that—while populists can have dramatic impacts on foreign policy—the extent of change depends on key factors. Milan and Sandra discuss the definitional debates around populism, the conditional effects of populism on foreign policy, and the reasons for the Modi government’s differential approach to Pakistan and China.
• Europe’s Discovery of India 25.02.2026 41мин

  Over the past year, Europe–India relations have entered a markedly upbeat phase. What was once a diffuse partnership—long on rhetoric, short on strategy—now looks far more purposeful. To unpack what’s driving this convergence—and where its limits lie—Milan is joined on the show this week by German Marshall Fund senior fellow Garima Mohan to discuss the geopolitical drivers that are bringing the EU and India closer together, Europe’s views on the limits to India’s potential, and the key takeaways from the EU-India FTA.
• India’s Return to the Trade Game 18.02.2026 40мин

  After years of trade skepticism, India appears to be back in the deal-making business—signing new agreements, reviving stalled talks, and announcing ambitious frameworks with key bilateral partners. To help make sense of what’s changed—and what hasn’t—Milan is joined by Mark Linscott, a nonresident senior fellow on India at the Atlantic Council who previously served as the assistant US trade representative for South and Central Asian Affairs from 2016 to 2018.
• How India Lost the Neighborhood 11.02.2026 38мин

  Over the past few years, South Asia has witnessed a striking wave of mass protests toppling governments and upending long-standing political arrangements in countries ranging from Bangladesh to Nepal and Sri Lanka. These upheavals are often explained in terms of domestic factors—such as corruption, economic mismanagement, and democratic backsliding. Muhib Rahman - a Perry World House Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania and expert in intersection of international security, emerging technologies, and the politics of the Global South - and Milan discuss India’s illiberal hegemony in its neighborhood, the downturn in Bangladesh-India ties, and the enabling role of the United States.
• Can the U.S. Salvage Its Relationship with India? 04.02.2026 46мин

  U.S.-India relations were once described as one of Washington’s MOST important strategic bets in the twenty-first century. But over the past year, that partnership has come under serious strain—buffeted by trade disputes, sharp rhetoric, and deep disagreements over Pakistan and Kashmir. To talk more about this new piece, Lisa Curtis joins Milan on the show this week. Lisa is Director of the Indo-Pacific Security Program at the Center for a New American Security.
• The State of Indian Politics in 2026 28.01.2026 50мин

  Milan and Sunetra discuss the prevailing political winds in Delhi, the BJP’s surprising new president, and the long shadow of the 2025 Bihar assembly elections. Plus, the two discuss the upcoming state elections, the inner turmoil within the Congress Party, and the ECI’s controversial “special intensive review.”
• Grand Tamasha’s Best Books of 2025 17.12.2025 14мин

  To mark the end of 2025 and Grand Tamasha's 14th season, Milan reflects on some of hist most impactful conversations with authors and researchers this year, and their books.