india

Updated: Sep 04, 2019 15:39 IST

Last week on the Grand Tamasha podcast, Milan Vaishnav (Director of the South Asia programme at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace) talked with journalist Rahul Pandita about the Indian government’s decision to abrogate Article 370 of the Constitution, which granted Jammu and Kashmir semi-autonomous status. According to Rahul, while many Kashmiris are up in arms over the government’s decision, many residents quietly support the move.

This week, the Grand Tamasha podcast series continues its exploration of the events unfolding in Jammu and Kashmir by speaking with Salman Soz, who offers a very different perspective on the actions on the ground. Soz is an international development expert who hails from Kashmir and a member of the opposition Indian National Congress. He is also the author of a new book, The Great Disappointment: How Narendra Modi Squandered a Unique Opportunity to Transform the Indian Economy.

Salman believes the scrapping of Article 370 will have serious, adverse consequences for the state and for Indian democracy on the whole. Milan and Salman discuss the latter’s personal ties to the state, when a return to “normalcy” might be possible, whether Article 370 can be linked to the state’s troubles, and what state politics looks like in the future.