Grand Tamasha

This week on the Grand Tamasha podcast, we bring you some special bonus content--a conversation Milan recorded with political scientist Christophe Jaffrelot in June 2019 in the aftermath of the momentous Indian general election. Christophe is one of the world’s best-known scholars of India, having written some of the field’s foundational texts dissecting caste politics and Hindu nationalism. In his conversation with Milan, Christophe discusses the factors that led to the BJP’s crushing victory in the 2019 election, starting with the magnetic charisma and “national populism” of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The two also debate the long-term implications of the election for the construction of a Hindu rashtra (nation), the future of secularism, and what the election portends for the future shape of politics in India’s south.