The Interview With Karan Thapar
From incisive questions to insightful responses, the most definitive interviews that you need to watch out for.
Episodes
Mohan Bhagwat's speeches are confused and duplicitous, not proof Hindutva has changed: Suhas Palshikar, Chief Editor, Studies in Indian Politics, to Karan Thapar for The Wire.
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Several people have concluded after reading about Mohan Bhagwat’s speeches in America that he is genuinely celebrating diversity and even sounding like a new Jawaharlal Nehru. Is that the correct conclusion or is it...
Q1 GDP growth "difficult to accept" but S. C. Garg is "conceptually illogical" and completely wrong: former Chief Statistician, Pronab Sen, to Karan Thapar for The Wire.
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Today we focus on the recently released Q1 GDP figure. It’s created a storm of controversy. So we ask is the 7.8% figure credible or, as former Finance Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg has said, should it be 2.6%? Beyond t...
The shuddhikaran was "a crime"; Uttarakhand police behaved "bizarrely & inexplicably": Justice Madan Lokur, former Supreme Court Judge, to Karan Thapar for The Wire.
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The saga of the shuddhikaran carried out in Haldwani after Mallikarjun Kharge’s rally last month has taken a bizarre turn. Blatantly and repeatedly ignoring Rahul Gandhi’s demand that an FIR be filed, the Uttarakhan...
Penguin lacks spine, govt is nervous, we're not a democracy but electoral autarchy: former Cabinet Minister, Editor and Author, Arun Shourie, to Karan Thapar for The Wire.
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Reports that Penguin Random House India will not be publishing Sonia Gandhi’s memoirs whilst Alfred Knopf will publish them in America have raised worrying questions. Does this mean the book will be available abroad but...
Sugar situation "a fiasco", "total failure of policy", Govt has been "irresponsible": Ashok Gulati, Distinguished Professor at ICRIER, to Karan Thapar for The Wire.
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Why have sugar prices risen so sharply in recent weeks? Should imports have been permitted a lot earlier than the 20th of August? Was the delayed response negligent or even irresponsible? And how much of the blame lies with the gove...
Yesterday (21/8) the police were wrong and Rahul Gandhi was right - two top lawyers: Salman Khurshid, former Law Minister, and Sanjay Hegde, Senior Advocate, to Karan Thapar for The Wire.
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There was great drama in the centre of Delhi yesterday when Rahul Gandhi staged a 7-hour dharna outside the Parliament Street police station. He went there to help Sahil Lochab file an FIR against whoever sho...
Imran Khan and Pak govt will come to "a deal" and he'll get "relief": Najam Sethi, Founding Editor, Friday Times, to Karan Thapar for The Wire.
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On Tuesday the Pakistan Supreme Court ordered that Imran Khan be shifted to a private hospital for medical examination and treatment. 24 hours later the Shehbaz Sharif government moved a review petition calling this discriminatory. Today that petition w...
Modi's dimaagi naxals charge is Orwellian but Gen Z will fight back: Mani Shankar Aiyar, former Cabinet Minister, to Karan Thapar for The Wire.
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In this interview, Mani Shankar Aiyar compares Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s assertion that dimaagi naxals are a threat to India and must be identified and isolated both to George Orwell’s thought crime and thought police from 1984 as well ...
Mecca defence pact gives Pakistan a greater profile in Mid East - no doubt about it: Shyam Saran, former Foreign Secretary, to Karan Thapar for The Wire. ....................................... Does the three nation Saudi-Turkish-Pakistani defence pact announced last week have serious and worrying implications for India? Does it strengthen Islamabad vis-a-vis Delhi? Does it raise questions about India’s relationship with S...
There’s growing apprehension that the government could bring the Foreign Contribution Regulation Amendment Bill to parliament in the last few days of the monsoon session. It’s silence on this matter is not reassuring. Meanwhile, the opposition and the Christian community in particular strongly oppose the bill. They’ve called it undemocratic, unconstitutional, dangerous and deeply alarming. Today we examine the bil...
The credibility of Modi govt depends on fulfilling its promise to restore statehood to J&K: Omar Abdullah, Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, to Karan Thapar for The Wire.
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August the 5th was seven years since the abrogation of Article 370 and Jammu and Kashmir’s loss of statehood. Whilst most people have accepted that the abrogation is irrevocable, the Modi government has promised t...
If restoration of statehood in J&K depends on BJP coming to power we could wait 100s of years: Radha Kumar, Co-chairperson, Forum for Human Rights in Jammu and Kashmir, to Karan Thapar for The Wire.
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Today, August the 5th, is seven years since the abrogation of Article 370 and Jammu and Kashmir’s loss of statehood. Whilst most people have accepted that the abrogation is irrevocable, t...
Did "uncertainty and the meaninglessness of life" fuel student protests?: Prof. Suhas Palshikar, Chief Editor, Studies in Indian Politics, to Karan Thapar for The Wire.
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How should we assess the outcome of last week’s student protests? Is there a wider message that they have signalled? For the government? For the country? And how should we view the future of the Cockroach Janata Party and ...
Gen Z has lost its fear & will not be silent & helpless in face of Modi govt excesses & injustices: Neha Bora, National President, AISA, to Karan Thapar for The Wire.
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Is Saturday’s agreement between the Modi government and the Cockroach Janta Party secure or is it in danger of being breached? Will the Bihar government apologize for its police constable firing an AK-47 at the p...
Student protest success a personal defeat for Modi; his self-confidence will weaken: Aakar Patel, Author and Chairman Amnesty India, to Karan Thapar for The Wire.
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Today we focus on the outcome of the Cockroach Janata Party’s protest culminating in Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation. Was this a defeat for the government and how significant was it? Who deserves the credit? Abhijeet Dipk...
Was Chief Justice's refusal to take up student case irresponsible? Dushyant Dave calls it "failure of constitutional duty": Dushyant Dave to Karan Thapar for The Wire.
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On Wednesday when a lawyer attempted to convince the Supreme Court to admit a case about how the fundamental rights of young students had been breached when they were beaten up by the police and miscreants the Chief Justice refus...
In 1947 India came far closer to balkanization than we realize: Josy Joseph, Author, Birth of a Nation: The Twenty-One Days That Made India, to Karan Thapar for The Wire.
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How close did India come to balkanization in 1947? A recent book, based on previously unseen documents from the archives of India, suggests that the last 21 days before independence were critical. During that period several st...
I stand with the protesting students; this is not the India I love; I don't take Modi seriously: Naseeruddin Shah to Karan Thapar for The Wire.
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My guest today is probably one of the greatest actors on the Indian screen. Many rightly consider him an actor’s actor. Earlier today he posted a video expressing his anguish and deep concern about the way protesting students have been treated in ...
Sonam Wangchuk symbolizes the best of India; the Modi government badly mishandled his fast: Ramachandra Guha to Karan Thapar for The Wire.
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For 21 days Sonam Wangchuk has fasted to try and force Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan to resign over the NEET issue. This morning the government forcibly took him to Safdarjung Hospital to end his fast. However, his wife, Gitanjali Angmo, has tweeted ...
The cow belt has hijacked the future of India and is the curse of our politics: Author and Lawyer, Javed Gaya, to Karan Thapar for The Wire.
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Has the cow belt hijacked the future of India? Is its influence the curse of Indian politics? Is India in danger of being consumed by its past? And does the baleful influence of Uttar Pradesh dominate Indian politics? In his recent book ‘Heartland Ri...
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