Uncuff India

As protests by civilians continue and are forcefully suppressed, it becomes essential to confront the state's response to dissent. This episode engages with the relevance of protests in today's political climate. Neha Dixit, an independent journalist based out of New Delhi, speaks to us about their experiences of reporting state violence and social inequity and the cost and consequence of speaking truth to power. She focuses on the intersection of politics, gender and Social Justice in South Asia through long form, investigative, narrative pieces. She has reported for publications including Al Jazeera, The New York Times, The Washington Post, among others.

You can read transcript: https://bit.ly/UncuffIndia_E9Transcript

A fresh episode of Uncuff India to round up the year!

In this episode, we explore the global rise in right wing governance and what this translates into for social justice and human rights movements across different socio-political contexts. Our remarkable guest Dr Cynthia Enloe also touches upon citizen responses tothe resurgence of right-wing governance.Cynthia Enloe is a Research Professor of Politics and Women's Studies at Clark University in Massachusetts. Her teaching and writing has explored feminist questions about the interplay of patriarchy and militarism in women's lives around the world. Among her books are "Bananas, Beaches and Bases: Making Feminist Sense of International Politics" and "Manoeuvres: The International Politics of Militarizing Women's Lives."

You can read the transcript at: https://bit.ly/UncuffIndia_E8Transcript

Uncuff India is back with a fresh episode!

In this episode, we attempt to understand the differential impact of armed violence on women and the impunity state forces enjoy. Through real-life examples from the Indian context, our magnetic guest, Chitrangi Kakoti, talks us through what we can do to preserve memory regarding these incidents of armed violence. Chitrangi Kakoti has an MSc. in East Asian Relations and an MA in Critical Gender Studies. Her research interests broadly include gender and security studies, feminist social movements, cyberfeminism, and sexuality studies. Currently, she is working as a Senior Program Associate at TARSHI, a Delhi-based NGO.

CW: Various forms of abuse, self-immolation

You can read the transcript at: https://bit.ly/UncuffIndia_E7Transcript

Uncuff India is going strong- the sixth episode is now live!

In this episode, we unpack experiences of reporting acts of State violence against people of marginalised religious communities, especially by people of these communities. We also revisit the idea of State violence and reconstruct its scope to include the lived experiences of people who find themselves on religious margins and focus on the different agents that have led to normalisation of State violence. It also delves into the personal impact of reporting incidents of State violence and what helps sustain the fight to hold the State accountable. For this episode, we have the effervescent Fatima Khan join us. Fatima Khan is a senior correspondent at The Quint where she covers national politics, hate crimes and social justice. She is a recipient of the International Press Institute award for Covid reporting, a UNFPA Laadli award for gender reporting and the Human Rights Religious Freedom Journalism Awards, 2023 for her video series on the imapct of the Hijab ban in Karnataka.

CW: Riots, Hate Crimes, Physical Abuse, Lynching, Islamophobia

This fifth episode of the podcast is sure to spark a lot of conversations in your micro-communities.

Through this episode, we aim to unpack caste violence, its agents and its various manifestations. Our insightful guest, Dr Swati Kamble, also speaks to us about the history of Dalit resistance, the role of women in the movement and also how writing became the medium for seeking justice. Dr Swati Kamble is an anti-caste intersectional feminist and independent researcher-activist whose research broadly focuses on human rights and social justice movements, decolonisation and intersectionality. Currently, she is researching the digital activism of Dalit women and middle-class Dalit women’s mobility in the Indian neo-liberal market and is also collaborating with Dalit, indigenous and marginalised groups and organisations in India for the mapping and archival of indigenous forms of knowledge and decolonisation.

You can read the transcript at: https://bit.ly/UncuffIndia_E5Transcript

Content warning: caste violence and genocide, untouchability, physical abuse, gang rape, rape, sexual assault

Welcome to the fourth instalment of the Uncuff India podcast.

This episode examines the nature and sites of warfare and the changing definitions, experiences of war itself. The hosts and the guest also discuss the diverse ways in which the State encourages and benefits from gender minority groups becoming agents of war. The episode also looks at the role of women in peace building movements or as peacemakers. The perceptive Dr. Ather Zia features in this episode. Ather is a political anthropologist, poet, short fiction writer, and columnist. She is an associate professor in the Department of Anthropology and Gender Studies Program at the University of Northern Colorado, Greeley. She has published a poetry collection, The Frame, and another collection is forthcoming. Ather's ethnographic poetry on Kashmir has won an award from the Society for Humanistic Anthropology. She is the founder-editor of Kashmir Lit and is the co-founder of Critical Kashmir Studies Collective, an interdisciplinary network of scholars working on the Kashmir region.

We are sure that you're going to listen to this episode on loop!

We are once again accepting submissions for the Uncuff India prize. You can find more information about it here: https://bit.ly/UncuffIndiaPrize_MoreInfo

You can read the episode transcript at: https://bit.ly/UncuffIndia_E4transcript

Content warning: mentions of war, violence, violence in Kashmir

A new month and a new Uncuff India episode!

This episode examines the perceptions regarding the police and its relationship with different individuals and groups on the basis of their social identities. The police system is slowly becoming a weapon of choice for ensuring discipline and the episode dives into the values that guide this. The episode also explores the messaging around the police force and the multiple ways in which it is expressed and/or experienced.

We are joined by the passionate Neeraj Shetye in this episode. Neeraj is the Partnerships and Communications Manager at the Oxford India Centre for Sustainable Development (OICSD) at Somerville College, University of Oxford. Prior to OICSD, Neeraj worked at the Oxford Internet Institute as a Research Support Officer.  Neeraj consults for grassroots collectives in India on program design and outreach. 

P.S. One of our upcoming episodes also explores the relationship of the police with dissent and dissenters.

We are once again accepting submissions for the Uncuff India prize. You can find more information about it here: https://bit.ly/UncuffIndiaPrize_MoreInfo

You can read the episode transcript at: bit.ly/UncuffIndia_E3Transcript

The second episode of the Uncuff India podcast is now live on podcast streaming platforms! Give it a listen!

In this episode, the intimate space of the 'home' is scrutinised, where the marginalized are often subject to acts of violence. The relationship between violence and spaces within which violence can occur are also explored. The episode also focuses on the linkages of violence within public and private spaces while also touching upon the various ways in which the State can proactively address violence in intimate spaces and be held accountable as well. The amazing Dr. Jagriti Gangopadhyay joins us on this episode. Dr. Jagriti is currently an Assistant Professor and the faculty coordinator for the Center for Women’s Studies, at the Manipal Centre for Humanities, Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE). Her most recent publication is a co-edited a book titled, “Eldercare Issues in China and India”, published by Routledge, U.K.

Tune in for a very honest and insightful conversation!

The second edition of the Uncuff India Prize is also now live! Send in your art, writing and audiovisual pieces inspired by the episode. Know more about the prize at https://bit.ly/UncuffIndiaPrize_MoreInfo.

You can read the episode transcript at: https://bit.ly/UncuffIndia_E2Transcript

In the first episode of this season, we examine what state violence actually is and how it plays out. The episode sets the context for what State violence looks like in India, and who the stakeholders involved/impacted by it are. We investigate this with the wonderful Chandni Chawla, a human rights lawyer in Mumbai who represents a variety of clients charged with criminal offences. Join us as we break down the fundamentals of state violence with Chandni Chawla!

We are also launching the first edition of the Uncuff India Prize where you can send in art, literary, audio, and visual pieces inspired by this episode. Know more about the Uncuff India Prize here: bit.ly/UncuffIndiaPrize_MoreInfo

You can find the transcript at https://bit.ly/UncuffIndia_E1Transcript