Grand Tamasha podcast

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There are two narratives doing the rounds about Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit to Washington to break bread with U.S. President Donald Trump. The first narrative, touted by the government and its backers, is that Modi skillfully threaded the needle with Trump, standing up for Indian interests but also giving the president some important early wins that can position India well for the future. The second narrative suggests a more pessimistic vision: that U.S.-India relations are at a precarious juncture, where a volatile and transactional president just might upend bilateral ties at a time when India can scarcely afford it. To discuss where U.S.-India ties sit in the aftermath of the Modi visit, Milan is joined on the show today by Rajesh Rajagopalan . Rajesh is professor of International Politics at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi. He is an expert on nuclear policy, Indian foreign policy, and U.S.-India relations. He’s also the author of a new article in ThePrint titled, “ India-US ties stuck in cute acronyms. Delhi must wait out the chaos .” On this week’s show, Milan and Rajesh discuss Joe Biden’s foreign policy legacy, India’s longstanding demands for technology transfers, and the plateauing in bilateral ties. Plus, the two discuss Delhi’s view on Elon Musk and the future of U.S.-China relations. Episode notes: 1. “ Trump and Modi, Part Deux (with Sadanand Dhume and Tanvi Madan),” Grand Tamasha , February 19, 2025. 2. Rajesh Rajagopalan, “ India-US ties stuck in cute acronyms. Delhi must wait out the chaos ,” ThePrint , February 17, 2025. 3. Rajesh Rajagopalan, “ Trump’s blanket desire to avoid all wars can lead to the same wars he wants to avoid ,” ThePrint , November 11, 2024. 4. “ Dr. S. Jaishankar on the Future of U.S.-India Relations ,” Grand Tamasha , October 2, 2024. 5. Rajesh Rajagopalan, “ India keeps making the same foreign policy mistakes. World doesn’t think we’re being moral ,” ThePrint , September 11, 2024. 6. “ Looking Back at U.S.-India Relations in the Biden Era (with Ashley J. Tellis),” Grand Tamasha , September 11, 2024. 7. Rajesh Rajagopalan, “ India-US ties under Modi echo Nehru’s reluctance to commit. Hope consequences aren’t the same ,” ThePrint , July 17, 2024.…

Grand Tamasha

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Trump and Modi, Part Deux 53:05

11 дней назад53:05

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The news from India has been coming fast and furious. On February 1, the finance minister revealed the latest Indian budget amidst a backdrop of slowing economic growth. On February 8, a new government in the state of Delhi was elected and, for the first time in a quarter-century, it’s headed by the BJP. And on February 13, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had his first face-to-face sit-down with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House in the Trump 2.0 era. To discuss the latest events and what they mean for India, Milan is joined on the show this week by Grand Tamasha regulars by two Grand Tamasha regulars, Tanvi Madan of the Brookings Institution and Sadanand Dhume of the American Enterprise Institute and the Wall Street Journal . They discuss the BJP’s striking political resilience, the fortunes of the Aam Aaadmi Party, and India’s current economic malaise. Plus, they discuss Modi’s high-stakes meetings with Trump and Elon Musk and the future of the China-India-United States relationship. Episode notes: 1. “ Will India's Budget 2025 Turn the Economic Tide? (with Sumukar Ranganathan)” Grand Tamasha , February 5, 2025. 2. Sadanand Dhume, “ Foreign Lessons in the Perils of DEI and Affirmative Action ,” Wall Street Journal , January 29, 2025. 3. Tanvi Madan, “ Top Gun and Scattershot ,” Times of India , January 20, 2025. 4. Sadanand Dhume, “ Manmohan Singh’s Mixed Economic Legacy ,” Wall Street Journal, January 1, 2025. 5. Tanvi Madan, “ India is Hoping for a Trump Bump ,” Foreign Affairs , December 5, 2024.…

Grand Tamasha

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The Life, Death, and Legacy of Gauri Lankesh 51:06

18 дней назад51:06

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On September 5, 2017, the journalist Gauri Lankesh was shot and killed outside of her house in Bangalore by armed assailants traveling on a motorbike. Lankesh, a journalist and social activist, was known for being a fierce critic of right-wing Hindutva politics and her murder has widely been seen as retribution for her outspoken views. A new book by the journalist Rollo Romig , I Am on the Hit List: A Journalist's Murder and the Rise of Autocracy in India , recounts the extraordinary life and tragic death of Gauri Lankesh. Rollo is a journalist, essayist, and critic. He has been reporting on South India since 2013, most often for The New York Times Magazine . To talk more about his new book and his years reporting from South India, Rollo joins Milan on the show this week. They discuss Rollo’s love affair with Bangalore, Lankesh’s complex character, the shadowy rightwing organization Sanatan Sanstha implicated in her killing, and the police investigation into her death. Plus, the two discuss Gauri Lankesh’s legacy and what her murder tells us about the state of contemporary India. Episode notes: 1. Nitish Pahwa, “ A Reporter Who Risked and Lost Her Life in Modi’s India ,” New York Times , August 6, 2024. 2. Rollo Romig, “ How to Steal a River ,” The New York Times Magazine , March 1, 2017. 3. Rollo Romig, “ What Happens When a State Is Run by Movie Stars? ” The New York Times Magazine , July 1, 201 4. Rollo Romig, “ Masala Dosa to Die For ,” The New York Times Magazine , May 7, 2014.…

Grand Tamasha

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Will India's Budget 2025 Turn the Economic Tide? 39:47

25 дней назад39:47

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On February 1st, India’s finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented her eighth Budget of the Modi era. This year’s budget was tabled at a precarious economic juncture, for India and for the world. India has been challenged by slowing growth, persistent inflation, and global uncertainties motivated in part by the return of Donald Trump to the White House just a few weeks ago. So, how has the finance minister approached this delicate moment? What are the government’s priorities for the coming fiscal year? And has it made the tough decisions that could revive underlying animal spirits? To discuss these and many other questions, Milan is joined on the podcast this week by Sukumar Ranganathan , editor-in-chief of the Hindustan Times . Long-time listeners will know that Sukumar has regularly appeared on the show to share his insights on India’s political economy with us. On this week’s show, Milan and Sukumar discuss India’s worrying growth slowdown, the government’s pitch for deregulation, and a generous tax cut for the middle class. Plus, the two discuss the potential impacts of Trump’s tariffs on the Indian economy. Episode notes: 1. “ Anticipating the Unintended ,” issue 287, February 2, 2025. 2. Roshan Kishore, “ What the budget does for politics ,” Hindustan Times , February 2, 2025. 3. Roshan Kishore, “ What the budget does for demand ,” Hindustan Times , February 2, 2025. 4. Roshan Kishore, “ What the budget does for the fisc ,” Hindustan Times , February 2, 2025. 5. Roshan Kishore, “ What the budget 2025 means for economic reforms ,” Hindustan Times , February 2, 2025. 6. “ Previewing India's 2024 General Election (with Sukumar Ranganathan),” Grand Tamasha , April 17, 2024.…

Grand Tamasha

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Sri Lanka's Peaceful Revolution 52:48

5 weeks назад52:48

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2024 was widely hailed as the year of elections with 73 countries holding elections in and more than 1.5 billion voters exercising their franchise. On Grand Tamasha, we’ve discussed the 2024 Indian general election as well as the recent U.S. presidential election at some length. But there was another important election in South Asia which has important ramifications both for India and the wider Indo-Pacific. In September 2024, for the first time in Sri Lanka’s history, a third-party candidate was elected president. According to Neil DeVotta, our guest on the show this week, the election was nothing short of a peaceful revolution that represents a dramatic political realignment in the island nation. Neil DeVotta is a professor of politics and international affairs at Wake Forest University, where he works on South Asian security and politics, ethnicity and nationalism, conflict resolution, and democratic transitions. And he’s also the author of a recent essay in the January 2025 issue of the Journal of Democracy , called “ Sri Lanka’s Peaceful Revolution .” To kick off the thirteenth season of the podcast, Milan sits down with Neil to discuss the tumultuous political history of Sri Lanka, its charismatic new president Anura Kumara Dissanayake, and the state of the Sri Lankan economy. Plus, the two discuss how Dissanayake will delicately balance relations with both India and China. Episode notes: 1. Neil DeVotta, “ Sri Lanka's Peaceful Revolution ,” Journal of Democracy 36.1 (January 2025): 79-92. 2. Neil DeVotta, “ Colombo's Controversial New President ,” East Asia Forum, 24 July 2022. 3. Neil DeVotta, “ A Win for Democracy in Sri Lanka ,” Journal of Democracy 27.1 (January 2016): 152–66. 4. “ South Asia's Economic Turmoil (with Ben Parkin),” Grand Tamasha , September 21, 2022. 5. “ Inside Sri Lanka's Economic Meltdown (with Ahilan Kadirgamar),” Grand Tamasha , May 18, 2022.…

Grand Tamasha

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Understanding the Delhi Education Experiment 1:04:19

6 weeks назад1:04:19

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One of the most talked about policy experiments in India in recent memory is the reform of government schools in the city-state of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. Under the leadership of the Aam Aadmi Party, the Delhi government has implemented an innovative program to equip students with foundational literacy and numeracy. But while these reforms are much discussed, they have been surprisingly under-studied. A new book by the scholar Yamini Aiyar tries to remedy this gap. Yamini’s new book, Lessons in State Capacity from Delhi's Schools , draws on three years of ethnographic research where she and a team of colleagues were embedded in a cluster of schools across the national capital. Yamini is currently Visiting Senior Fellow at the Saxena Center for Contemporary South Asia and the Watson Institute at Brown University. Many of our listeners will know her from her work with the Centre for Policy Research in New Delhi, where she served as President from 2017 to 2024. To kick off season thirteen of Grand Tamasha, Yamini joins Milan on the show this week. They discuss Yamini’s decade-long adventure studying India’s public schools, the core elements of the Delhi education model, and the mysterious ways in which the India bureaucracy operates. Plus, they discuss whether the Delhi experiment can travel beyond the national capital. Episode notes: 1. “ How Bureaucracy Can Work for the Poor (with Akshay Mangla),” Grand Tamasha , March 29, 2023. 2. Yamini Aiyar and Shrayana Bhattacharya, “ The Post Office Paradox: A Case Study of the Block Level Education Bureaucracy ,” Economic & Political Weekly 51, no. 11 (2016). 3. Lant Pritchett, “ Is India a Flailing State?: Detours on the Four Lane Highway to Modernization ,” HKS Faculty Research Working Paper Series RWP09-013, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, 2009. 4. Devesh Kapur, Pratap Bhanu Mehta, and Milan Vaishnav, Rethinking Public Institutions in India (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2017).…

Grand Tamasha

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Grand Tamasha's Best Books of 2024 22:55

10 weeks назад22:55

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Grand Tamasha is Carnegie’s weekly podcast on Indian politics and policy co-produced with the Hindustan Times , a leading Indian media house . For five years (and counting), Milan has interviewed authors, journalists, policymakers, and practitioners working on contemporary India to give listeners across the globe a glimpse into life in the world’s most populous country. For the past two years, in anticipation of the show’s holiday hiatus, we’ve published an annual list of our favorite books featured on the podcast over the previous twelve months. In keeping with this tradition, here—in no particular order—are Grand Tamasha ’s top books of 2024. Savarkar and the Making of Hindutva By Janaki Bakhle. Published by Princeton University Press. Accelerating India's Development: A State-Led Roadmap for Effective Governance By Karthik Muralidharan. Published by Penguin Viking India. The Identity Project: The Unmaking of a Democracy (published in the United States and the UK as The New India: The Unmaking of the World’s Largest Democracy ) By Rahul Bhatia. Published by Context (South Asia); Little, Brown (UK); and PublicAffairs (United States). In this special bonus episode, Milan talks about why he loved each of these books and includes short clips from his conversations with Janaki, Karthik, and Rahul. This is the final episode of our twelfth season. Thanks to our listeners to being such loyal followers of the show. We’re excited to kick off our thirteenth season in mid-January after taking a short holiday break. Episode notes: 1. Milan Vaishnav, “ Grand Tamasha’s Best Books of 2023 ,” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, December 19, 2023. 2. Milan Vaishnav, “ Grand Tamasha’s Best Books of the Year ,” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, December 20, 2022. 3. “ Identifying the New India (with Rahul Bhatia),” Grand Tamasha , September 25, 2024. 4. “ A Blueprint for India’s State Capacity Revolution (with Karthik Muralidharan),” Grand Tamasha , May 22, 2024. 5. “ Savarkar, In His Own Words (with Janaki Bakhle),” Grand Tamasha , March 27, 2024.…

Grand Tamasha

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Populism, South Asian Style 50:09

11 weeks назад50:09

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If there is one thing political scientists can agree on, it is that we live in an era of populism. With the recent election of Donald Trump, populism has returned to the United States, raising questions about what changes we might see in upcoming elections in 2025. South Asia has been no stranger to populism and a new book, Righteous Demagogues: Populist Politics in South Asia and Beyond , provides a framework for understanding its origins, its evolution, and its prospects. The authors of this new book are the scholars Dann Naseemullah and Pradeep Chhibber and they join Milan on the show this week to discuss their new book. Dann is a Reader in International Politics at King's College London. And Pradeep is currently Professor of Political Science and the Indo-American Community Chair in India Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. The three discuss the COVID-era origins of the book, definitions of populism, and the ways in which populism has played out across the subcontinent over the last seven decades. Plus, they talk about the future of ousted Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, the current turmoil in Bangladesh, and what exactly is new in the “New India” under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Episode notes: 1. “ The Lessons of Gujarat Under Modi (with Christophe Jaffrelot),” Grand Tamasha , May 29, 2024. 2. Pradeep Chhibber and Adnan Naseemullah, “ This is how Modi is different from other Right-wing populists like Trump, Erdogan & Duterte ,” ThePrint , August 21, 2019.…

Grand Tamasha

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Party Instability and Political Violence in India 43:00

12 weeks назад43:00

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Where and when ethnic violence breaks out is a question of longstanding concern to the India policy community. Previous work in political science has pointed to a diverse array of factors—ranging from civil society bonds to elite networks and coalition politics as potential explanations. A new book by the scholar Aditi Malik highlights political parties, specifically party instability, as the principal culprit. In Playing with Fire: Parties and Political Violence in Kenya and India , Aditi highlights how the levels of party instability informs the decisions of political elites to organize or support violence. Settings marked by unstable parties are more vulnerable to recurring and major episodes of party violence than those populated by durable parties. This is because transient parties enable politicians to disregard voters' future negative reactions to conflict. Aditi is an Associate Professor of Political Science at the College of the Holy Cross . She studies political violence, gender-based violence, social movements, and contentious politics. She joins Milan on the show this week to talk about her book and the implications of her research findings. They discuss the role of elites in fomenting violence, when voters sanction violent politicians, and the similarities and differences in ethnic violence in Kenya and India. Plus, they discuss what Aditi’s book tells us about the January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Episode notes: 1. “ Paul Staniland on the Surprising Decline in Political Violence in South Asia ,” Grand Tamasha , October 7, 2020. 2. Aditi Malik, “ Playing with Fire: Parties and Political Violence in Kenya and India ,” Fifteen Eighty Four (CUP) Blog , August 14, 2024. 3. Zack Beauchamp, “ Narendra Modi is Celebrating his Scary Vision for India’s Future ,” Vox , January 27, 2024. 4. Aditi Malik. “ Hindu-Muslim Violence in Unexpected Places: Theory and Evidence from Rural India ,” Politics, Groups, & Identities , Vol. 9, No. 1 (2021): 40-58.…

Grand Tamasha

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Muslims in the New India 47:07

13 weeks назад47:07

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The discourse in India today on the issue of the Muslim community seems to swing between two contrary positions. According to the Hindu nationalist narrative, Muslims are a monolithic religious category whose presence justifies the need for greater Hindu solidarity. On the other hand, there is the narrative offered by liberals, who claim to protect Muslims as a religious minority to defend Indian democracy. A new book by the scholar Hilal Ahmed , A Brief History of the Present: Muslims in New India , departs from these unidimensional notions of Muslim identity. It applies concepts from political science, history, and political theory to provide a much more nuanced view of India’s Muslim community. Ahmed is an associate professor at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS) , where he is also associated with the Lokniti Programme for Comparative Democracy . He is an authority on political Islam, electoral behavior, and Indian democracy. Ahmed joins Milan on the show this week to talk about “substantive Muslimness,” the meaning of Hindutva, and what exactly is new if the “new India.” Plus, the two discuss the state of the political opposition and the BJP’s vulnerabilities. Episode notes: 1. “ Identifying the New India (with Rahul Bhatia) ,” Grand Tamasha , September 25, 2024. 2. “ What Really Happened in India's 2024 General Election? (with Sanjay Kumar) ,” Grand Tamasha , September 18, 2024. 3. Hilal Ahmed, “ CSDS-Lokniti post-poll survey: The three main takeaways ,” Hindu , June 7, 2024. 4. “ Decoding the 2024 Indian General Elections (with Sunetra Choudhury and Rahul Verma) ,” Grand Tamasha , June 6, 2024. 5. “ Neha Sahgal on Religion and Identity in Contemporary India ,” Grand Tamasha , June 30, 2021.…

Grand Tamasha

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The Truth About the "Foreign Hand" in India 53:46

14 weeks назад53:46

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Over the past twelve months, tales of spies and spycraft have complicated India’s relationships with key Western partners. In recent months, both Canada and the United States have alleged that India’s foreign intelligence agency was involved in a complex plot to identify and target Khalistani separatists who were citizens of those countries. In India, these allegations have, in turn, revealed deep skepticism about the actions of western spy agencies and the negative role they’ve played in India and across the Global South. A new book, Spying in South Asia: Britain, the United States, and India’s Secret Cold War , offers the first comprehensive history of US and UK intelligence operations in the Indian subcontinent. The author of this book is Paul McGarr , a lecturer in Intelligence Studies at King’s College London . To talk more about his new book—and the West’s 50-year battle to win the hearts and minds of Indians—Paul joins Milan on the show this week. The two discuss India’s tradition of spycraft, the long shadow of the British Raj, and secret collaboration between the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency and its Indian counterparts. Plus, the two discuss why the covert efforts of British and American intelligence agencies in 20th century India largely proved to be misguided and self-defeating. Episode notes: 1. VIDEO: “ Indira Gandhi Overdid the ‘Foreign Hand’ but Some of Her Fears About the CIA were real ,” The Wire , November 21, 2024. 2. “ Inside the Secret World of South Asia's Spies (with Adrian Levy) ,” Grand Tamasha , October 27, 2021.…

Grand Tamasha

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The Past, Present, and Future of India’s Near East 52:57

15 weeks назад52:57

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India’s Near East: A New History is an important new book by the scholar Avinash Paliwal . The book traces the history of how New Delhi has grappled with the twin challenges of forging productive ties with its eastern neighbors—namely, Bangladesh and Myanmar—while building a robust administrative state in India’s Northeastern states. It is the story of a state’s struggle to overcome war, displacement and interventionism, but which exposes the limits of independent India’s influence both inside and outside its borders. Avinash joins Milan on the show to talk more about his new book. Avinash is a Reader in International Relations at SOAS University of London, where he specializes in South Asian strategic affairs. Avinash and Milan discuss India’s state-building experience in the northeast, the fate of the “Look East” and “Act East” policies, and India’s often contentious relations with both Burma and Bangladesh. Plus, the two discuss how two factors—China and Hindutva— are remaking India’s approach to the near east. Episode notes: 1. “ What the Taliban Takeover Means for India (with Avinash Paliwal) ,” Grand Tamasha , September 15, 2021. 2. “ Binalakshmi Nepram on the Realities of India’s Oft-Forgotten Northeast ,” Grand Tamasha , June 3, 2020. 3. Avinash Paliwal, “ Bangladesh on razor’s edge: Why India must wake up to the looming economic crisis and political instability to its east ,” Indian Express , December 13, 2022.…

Grand Tamasha

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The U.S. Election, India, and Indian Americans 40:52

16 weeks назад40:52

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The never-ending U.S. election has finally ended and Republican nominee Donald Trump has clinched a decisive victory. Trump is on track to win 312 electoral college votes and, for the first time, a majority of the popular vote. Kamala Harris, a surprise entrant in the race, lost a closely contested election, marking the second time in three elections that a female Democratic presidential nominee failed to topple Trump. The election has implications for Indian Americans, for India, and for U.S.-India relations. To discuss these topics and more, Milan is joined on the show this week by Grand Tamasha news roundup regulars, Sadanand Dhume of the Wall Street Journal and the American Enterprise Institute and Tanvi Madan of the Brookings Institution. The trio discuss the election results, the voting patterns of Indian Americans, what a Trump 2.0 might look like, and the implications of the elections for U.S.-India relations Episode notes: 1. Tanvi Madan, “ India will need to adapt to a new White House ,” Indian Express , November 4, 2024. 2. Sadanand Dhume, “ Indian-Americans and the ‘Racial Depolarization,’ ” Wall Street Journal , November 6, 2024. 3. Sumitra Badrinathan, Devesh Kapur, and Milan Vaishnav, “ Indian Americans at the Ballot Box: Results From the 2024 Indian American Attitudes Survey ,” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, October 28, 2024. 4. VIDEO: “ Deciphering the Indian American Vote ,” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, October 31, 2024. 5. Milan Vaishnav, “ With Trump, it’s back to the future for the US ,” Hindustan Times , November 6, 2024. 6. Sumitra Badrinathan, Devesh Kapur, and Milan Vaishnav, “ How Will Indian Americans Vote? Results From the 2020 Indian American Attitudes Survey ,” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, October 14, 2020. 7. AAPI Data tweet on exit poll data on Asian American voters, November 8, 2024. 8. Tanvi Madan, “ Has India made friends with China after the Modi-Xi agreement? ” Brookings Institution, October 29, 2024.…

Grand Tamasha

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The Indian American Vote in 2024 44:38

17 weeks назад44:38

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As American voters go to the polls, all indications point to a statistical dead-heat between vice president and Democratic Party nominee Kamala Harris and former Republican president Donald Trump. The outcome will likely turn on tens of thousands of voters in a handful of key swing states. According to leading pollsters and polling aggregators, the race in these states is too close to call. In this hotly contested race, one demographic whose political preferences are much discussed, though less studied, is Indian Americans. A new study, the 2024 Indian American Attitudes Survey (IAAS) , tries to fill this gap. The IAAS is a nationally representative online survey conducted by the Carnegie Endowment in conjunction with data and analytics firm YouGov. The report is authored by Sumitra Badrinathan of American University, Devesh Kapur of Johns Hopkins-SAIS, and Grand Tamasha host Milan Vaishnav. This week on the show, Milan speaks with Sumitra and Devesh about the main findings of their new report and what they portend for the election as well as future political trends in the United States. Episode notes: 1. Sumitra Badrinathan, Devesh Kapur, and Milan Vaishnav, “ Indian Americans at the Ballot Box: Results From the 2024 Indian American Attitudes Survey ,” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, October 28, 2024. 2. VIDEO: “ Deciphering the Indian American Vote ,” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, October 31, 2024. 3. Sumitra Badrinathan, Devesh Kapur, and Milan Vaishnav, “ How Will Indian Americans Vote? Results From the 2020 Indian American Attitudes Survey ,” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, October 14, 2020. 4. Christopher H. Achen and Larry M. Bartels, Democracy for Realists: Why Elections Do Not Produce Responsive Government (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2016). 5. Sara Sadhwani, “ Asian American Mobilization: The Effect of Candidates and Districts on Asian American Voting Behavior ,” Political Behavior 44 (2022):105–131. 6. Devesh Kapur, Nirvikar Singh, and Sanjoy Chakravorty, The Other One Percent: Indians in America (New York: Oxford University Press, 2016). 7. “ Sumitra Badrinathan and Devesh Kapur Decode the 2020 Indian American Vote ,” Grand Tamasha , October 14, 2020.…

Grand Tamasha

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Understanding Irregular Indian Migration to the United States 1:05:05

18 weeks назад1:05:05