In this episode, hosts Dhanya Rajendran, Pooja Prasanna, and Leena Reghunath are joined by The News Minute’s Anisha Sheth, comedian and writer Nithin Kamath and lawyer Suhrith Parthasarathy,
The panel first discusses the widening rift between local people and migrants in Bengaluru and the Kannada language row. Dhanya says, “For many Kannadigas, this isn’t just about language. It’s really about erasure. There is a fear among locals that their city, culture, and identity are being sidelined.”
Anisha adds, “It’s become an argument over a fight for economic resources – land, water, all of these things. And that’s acquired a kind of belligerence on all sides.”
Nithin observes,“On social media, anything related to Kannada, Karnataka, or Bengaluru has become a keyword of sorts. People lace Kannada sentiments into any issue, like with the Shiladitya Bose road rage incident. By the time the facts come out, the damage is already done.”
Pooja says: “Bengaluru is a welcoming city. We don’t care what the accent is; if the words are right, we’re just so happy that somebody is making an effort [to learn our language].” She believes “fissures” between Kannidagas and migrants began to appear when some people tried making “everything about ‘you people’ versus ‘us people’” and were “unwilling to even acknowledge the local culture.”
The conversation then shifts to Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar’s remarks about alleged judicial overreach in the wake of the Supreme Court setting a timeline for the President and the Governors for clearing bills passed by state assemblies.
Suhrith Parthasarathy says, “Our constitutional design is such that the judiciary, which comprises an unelected body of members and judges, will act as a check on not just executive excesses but also legislative excesses.”
Leena points out that the Supreme Court has asked the President and Governor to “do your job for what you were appointed”. “Be a constitutional head, a sagacious counselor, pour oil over troubled waters,” she says of what the apex court wants them to do.
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Audio timecodes
00:00:36 – Support TNM
00:01:01 – Introductions
00:02:16 – Pahalgam terror attack
00:11:43 – Bengaluru language debate
00:51:05 – Vice President vs Supreme Court
01:15:21– Letters
01:21:58 – Recommendations
References
They shot him, told me to tell Modi': Chilling account of Kashmir terror attack
Inside Bengaluru’s ‘Kannadiga vs Outsider’ divide
Bengaluru road rage case: Police book car driver, IAF officer unnamed in FIR
The SC ruling reining in the Governor is a boost to federalism
Recommendations
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Suhrith Parthasarathy
Leena Reghunath
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Produced by Bhuvan Malik, edited by Jaseem Ali.
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