The Sandip Roy Show

Few policy ideas in India have generated as much political heat as the caste census. From television studios to opinion pages, the argument is no longer just whether a caste census should be conducted, but what it is meant to achieve.Is the exercise simply about collecting data? Does it focus only on historically marginalised communities? And can the act of counting caste alter social identities themselves?In this episode, host Sandip Roy asks these questions to social activist and writer Anand Teltumbde, author of The Caste Census, and Yogendra Yadav of Swaraj India, who also serves as the national convenor of the Bharat Jodo Abhiyan.Produced by Shashank BhargavaEdited and mixed by Suresh Pawar

June is Pride Month around the world but does India need to march to that calendar? More Indian cities now hold Pride in winter, when it’s cooler and the streets are fuller. And that practical shift opens a bigger question, why has India so often taken its cues from the West when our own queer histories run deep?And this week host Sandip Roy is joined by writer Sindhu Rajasekaran, whose new book traces how the British reformed and silenced India’s queer futures, to take a look at erased lineages and what they mean for Pride in India.Produced by Shashank BhargavaEdited and mixed by Suresh Pawar

When people from upper castes talk about caste, it’s often through headlines — about atrocities or reservations — stories reduced to data, distant and impersonal. And even when caste violence is discussed, it’s usually set in faraway villages, rarely finding a place in books written in English.That’s what makes Rakshit Sonawane’s novel The Scum of the Earth stand out. Drawing from his own life as a first-generation learner from a family that once faced untouchability and later embraced Buddhism, Sonawane tells a deeply personal story of caste and identity.A graduate in English literature who has worked with media houses like The Indian Express, Mid-Day, and The Free Press Journal, he joins Sandip this week to talk about his journey and why he chose fiction to tell his truth.Produced by Shashank BhargavaEdited and mixed by Suresh Pawar

Every election season, attention turns to India’s Hindi heartland, a region central to the country’s politics and identity. It has produced most of India’s prime ministers and a large share of its parliamentarians, while also witnessing some of the most intense communal clashes and temple–mosque disputes. Yet, it also remains the cradle of the Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb, a culture rooted in coexistence and shared traditions.This week on the show, host Sandip Roy speaks with Ghazala Wahab, whose new book, The Hindi Heartland, traces the region’s complex history and examines its continuing influence on India’s politics and society.Produced by Shashank BhargavaEdited and mixed by Suresh Pawar

Many of us grew up with only a patchy knowledge of Bhutan. And these days, most stories about the country in India tend to focus on tourism. But what was it like to grow up in Bhutan in the 1950s and 60s? Kunzang Choden, who grew up in a landed household, explores this in her memoir, Telling Me My Stories, which paints a complex portrait of a country caught in the winds of change.This week on the show, Sandip speaks to Choden about her childhood in Bhutan, the transformations she witnessed, and how they continue to shape the country today.Produced by Shashank BhargavaEdited and mixed by Suresh Pawar

In recent years, online retail has transformed how we shop—bringing everything from food to taxis to our doorstep. The convenience is undeniable, but the gig economy behind it remains largely unexamined. How does this system impact those who work in it, use it, or build it? This week on the show, host Sandip Roy speaks to social science researcher Vandana Vasudevan, author of OTP Please: Online Buyers, Sellers and Gig Workers in South Asia, to explore the hidden human stories behind the apps and algorithms that power our everyday lives.Produced by Shashank BhargavaEdited and mixed by Suresh Pawar

Long relegated to the footnotes of history, Lal Bahadur Shastri is often overshadowed by the towering legacies of Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi. But what if Shastri hadn’t died suddenly after signing the Tashkent Agreement with Pakistan? Would Indira Gandhi still have become Prime Minister? And how might India’s political trajectory have changed?In this episode, host Sandip Roy speaks to Sanjeev Chopra, author of The Great Conciliator, a new biography of Shastri. Chopra, a former IAS officer and former director of the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration, traces Shastri’s rise to power and explores why India’s second Prime Minister deserves a closer look today.Produced by Shashank BhargavaEdited and mixed by Suresh Pawar

In this episode, host Sandip Roy Show is joined by author Ruchir Joshi who takes us back to Calcutta in the early 1940s, an era charged with political upheaval, global war, and cultural ferment. Set against the backdrop of Tagore’s death, Subhash Bose’s escape, the Quit India Movement, and the looming Bengal Famine, Joshi’s novel Great Eastern Hotel captures a city on the brink of transformation. Sandip and Ruchir discuss why the years 1941–1943 were pivotal, how Calcutta became a crossroads of empire and resistance, and how a diverse cast of characters from elite Bengalis to British expatriates and street pickpockets bring this moment alive.Produced by Shashank BhargavaEdited and mixed by Suresh Pawar

India recently saw heated debates around the three-language formula — a policy suggesting students learn a modern Indian language like Hindi, and English. While some saw it as a backdoor push for Hindi, the real picture might be far more layered.But as we argue over Hindi versus English, or regional versus national languages, a deeper concern often gets overlooked: the hundreds of other languages quietly fading away. According to the People’s Linguistic Survey of India, the country had at least 780 languages in 2010 — many of them endangered, some down to their last handful of speakers.In this episode, we explore India’s vast linguistic diversity with two people who’ve spent their lives working to preserve it. Host Sandip Roy speaks to G.N. Devy, cultural activist and editor of the People’s Linguistic Survey of India, and linguist Anvita Abbi, known for her work on minority and tribal languages across India, especially those of the Great Andamanese.Produced by Shashank BhargavaEdited and mixed by Suresh Pawar

Long before press freedom indexes were even conceived, the Urdu newspaper Pratap was speaking truth to power in undivided India — and paying a heavy price for it. Launched in 1919, Pratap quickly ran afoul of the British Raj but remained defiantly independent.After independence, its legacy continued with the launch of Vir Pratap, its Hindi successor. But how fearless did these publications remain after independence?This week, host Sandip Roy speaks to Chander Mohan, who served as editor of Vir Pratap for forty years, and his daughter Jyotsna Mohan, a journalist with nearly three decades of experience, to explore the journey and enduring impact of these pioneering publications.Produced by Shashank BhargavaEdited and mixed by Suresh Pawar

Social media has revolutionised the world of home chefs, bringing everyday cooks into the spotlight. From a woman in the Northeast showcasing her daily thali of fermented foods to a mother-son duo in rural Bengal cooking over a mud stove, food storytelling is more diverse than ever. Cookbooks are emerging from Dalit kitchens to Saraswat Brahmin traditions, highlighting how caste and cuisine remain deeply intertwined in India. But is this visibility changing the role of caste in food, or merely reinforcing old divides?In this episode, host Sandip Roy is joined by Dr Sucharita Kanjilal, Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Bard College, and Dr Sylvia Karpagam, a public health doctor and researcher to discuss how food continues to shape identity, social boundaries, and even public health in India.Edited and mixed by Suresh Pawar

While India has long been known as a tea-drinking nation, the specialtiy coffee scene is rapidly growing, with consumption on the rise and the industry projected to surpass $1 billion by 2032. But is this growth as promising as it seems? In this episode, host Sandip Roy speaks to Raghunath Rajaram and Namisha Parthasarathy, founders of Aramse, an independent speciality coffee company and content platform, along with Binny Varghese, co-founder of the Barista Training Academy and an SCA-certified Barista.Produced by Shashank BhargavaEdited and mixed by Suresh PawarIn episode image (from left to right): Raghunath Rajaram, Binny Varghese, and Namisha Parthasarathy.Further listening: Is India neglecting its indigenous spirits?The brave new world of Indian craft chocolate

Once overshadowed by destinations like Rajasthan, Kerala, and Goa, the Northeast is gaining recognition as a hub for unique travel experiences. Beyond the famed Kaziranga rhinos and Shillong waterfalls, cultural festivals like Arunachal’s Ziro Music Festival and Nagaland’s Hornbill Festival have firmly established the region on the travel map.In this episode, host Sandip Roy speaks with Nishant Sinha, co-founder of Chalo Hoppo, and Grace Marbaniang, co-founder of Escape to Meghalaya, to explore the rising appeal of Northeast India as a must-visit destination and examine whether the region is prepared for this tourism boom.Produced by Shashank BhargavaEdited and mixed by Suresh Pawar