The Suno India Show – Details, episodes & analysis

It has been more than a year since the Supreme court released Narayan Chetanram Chaudhary in March 2023. Narayan was convicted along with his co-accused for gruesome murders in Pune and sentenced to death. But after 28 years of jail, the Supreme court released him as per the Juvenile Justice Act after it was proved that he was just 12 years old at the time of offence. 

How is he coping with life outside jail? In this podcast, Menaka Rao visited him in his village in Bikaner to understand how Narayan is managing life in society.

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Punjabis are infamous for their obsession with migrating abroad, especially to Canada. There’s a saying among diaspora Punjabis that goes, “Jitthe assi, utthe Punjab,” meaning “We create Punjab wherever we go.” But, in the recent past, a new narrative of ‘Vatan vaapsi’ or ‘Reverse Migration’ has taken hold in Punjabi media. According to podcasts and some news articles, Punjabis are sick of living abroad and are excited to return to their homeland. 

In this episode, Kudrat Wadhwa investigates how much truth there is to the claim that Punjabis are returning to India and why people are coming back, if they are. 

References: 

Is a waning Canadian dream fuelling reverse migration in Punjab?

91% Parents ‘satisfied’ Over Their Wards Moving Abroad, Says Study | Chandigarh News - Times of India

Back to Motherland | Reverse Migration | Part 6 | EP 68 | Punjabi Podcast

Punjabi Students Becoming Homeless In Canada | ਕੈਨੇਡਾ ਵਿਚ ਬੇਘਰੇ ਹੋ ਰਹੇ ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ਸਟੂਡੈਂਟਸ

Homless 6 punjabi munde te ik kudi dekho kime reh rhe ne

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In this episode, Suno India's Padma Priya talks to Dr. Abhishek Mangeshikar, a gynecologist specializing in endometriosis. He explains what endometriosis is and why it is difficult to diagnose.
Dr. Mangeshikar also addresses common myths surrounding endometriosis, such as the belief that pregnancy or menopause can cure the disease. He emphasizes the importance of patient advocacy and provides advice on how to push back against dismissive attitudes from medical professionals. Additionally, he discusses risk factors for endometriosis and the presence of silent symptoms, such as kidney damage.

In this conversation, Dr. Abhishek Mangeshikar discusses various aspects of endometriosis, including diagnosis, management, surgical considerations, psychological impact, and patient education. He emphasizes the importance of thorough imaging and the limitations of routine gynecological ultrasounds in diagnosing endometriosis. Dr. Mangeshikar explains that while hormonal treatments can provide relief from pain, they do not stop the growth of endometriosis. He also highlights the significance of choosing an experienced endometriosis surgeon and provides key questions to ask when considering surgery.
The conversation touches on the recurrence of endometriosis, the psychological impact of the disease, and the resources provided by Endometriosis India. Dr. Mangeshikar shares his approach to patient education through social media and emphasizes the need for action in improving the understanding and treatment of endometriosis.

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The West Bengal government is working on opening a coal mine in the district of Birbhum. The mine in the Deucha Pachami area will be the largest in Asia and the second largest in the world. It will displace around 21,000 people, majority of whom belong to scheduled castes and tribes. 

India is one of the governments around the world that have signed the UN Framework Convention of Climate Change. This year, the Union Ministry of Coal set up a Just Transition division for which the World Bank is supposed to provide an aid of $1.15 million. We have committed to net zero carbon emissions by 2070. So why are we increasing coal production while promising to phase it down? 

To understand these contradictions, our reporter Suryatapa Mukherjee speaks to Pradip Swarnakar in this episode of The Suno India Show. He is a professor and the founder of the Just Transition research centre at IIT Kanpur. 

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The World Health Organisation has declared monkeypox a public health emergency of international concern. Nearly 70 countries have reported cases of Monkeypox so far.

In July, India had its first known case of monkeypox in Kerala when a 35-year old man who returned from the Middle East was detected with the disease. Since then four cases have been detected, including one in Delhi from a person with no travel history abroad.

Suno India’s Menaka Rao speaks to Dr Giridhar Babu on this issue. He is a professor and head of Life Course epidemiology at the Indian Institute of Public Health, which is a constituent of the Public Health Foundation of India.

References

First case of monkeypox in India reported from Kerala - The Economic Times
Delhi reports first Monkeypox case, India's fourth | India News - Times of India
Clinical management and infection prevention and control for monkeypox: interim rapid response guidance, 10 June 2022
India's fourth monkeypox case in Delhi; patient went to Himachal, no history of foreign travel

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From Hyderabad police snatching phones on streets to check for ‘ganja’ to Delhi police seizing journalist Mohammed Zubair’s devices for a tweet, such seizures have become a routine part of policing. After all, with modern technology, our personal devices have become repositories of our whole lives. So it gives the police easy access to all our information in one place, making investigations that much easier. 

But do you want the police to have access to everything about you? Not only is it a concern because of our right to privacy, but also there have been allegations of the police planting evidence on such devices. So where does the law stand on this and what are our rights? To find out, host Suryatapa Mukherjee speaks to tech and legal researcher and human rights activist Usha Ramanathan in this episode of The Suno India Show. 

This interview happened before the Supreme Court upheld the Enforcement Directorate’s powers relating to arrest, attach property, search and seize under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

References 

Criminal Procedure Bill: Break a law and the police can store your personal information - Suno India
Criminal Procedure Bill: Data collection can lead to surveillance by different govt bodies - Suno India  
How the Tarun Tejpal verdict set back the rape law reforms - Suno India 
Zubair’s arrest: Can a journalist be forced to hand over his electronic devices to the police? | Scroll
Bhima Koregaon: Forensic report says key evidence against jailed activist was planted | The News Minute 
Riley v. California (06/25/2014)

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In celebration of 75 years of Independence, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced free booster doses at government vaccination centres for 75 days from July 15 to September 30, 2022. A few days after this announcement, the news website The Wire published a shocking story on how the Central Drug Standards Control Organisation - the CDSCO - the country’s drug regulatory agency- never approved of precautionary doses.

In this episode, we speak to Banjot Kaur, the reporter who broke this important story this July. Early this year, a Telangana court asked The Wire to take down several articles related to vaccine policy based on a defamation suit by Bharat Biotech, which manufactures Covaxin. One of these stories pulled down was Banjot’s story. She has been writing on science and public health for 12 years, and has worked at Down to Earth Magazine and Times of India.

References

PM Modi's address to the nation
Exclusive: Nobody Approved India’s ‘Precautionary’ Doses – The Wire Science
Press briefing on the actions taken, preparedness and updates on COVID-19, Dated: 24.12.2021
10 Questions the Indian Govt Must Answer About Vaccines for Minors and Boosters
DCGI clears Bharat Biotech, SII COVID-19 vaccines but efficacy question unanswered
https://www.sunoindia.in/the-suno-india-show/why-a-covaxin-controversy-in-bhopal-is-worrying-trial-participants-activists-and-experts/

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The Reuters Digital Report 2022 which surveyed 46 countries around the world to find out what is the state of news consumption today. It has several interesting findings. For example: Trust in news has decreased globally as people suspect political biases. Young people are especially likely to selectively avoid news because of it being depressing. Can’t really blame them can we?  But surprisingly, India is one of the countries where trust has increased compared to the previous year. India is also more mobile-focused than other countries with 72% of Indians surveyed accessing news through their mobile phones.

Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2022 
Don't jail journalists for what they say… India a democracy: Germany | Indian Express 
How India's Media Landscape Changed Over Five Years | The India Forum
67 journalists arrested, detained, questioned in India in 2020 for their work | The News Minute 

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The episode, part of a mini-series sets context about why it is important to communicate well during a pandemic like COVID-19 and features discussions between Suno India editor-in-chief DVL Padma Priya and Prof Anant Bhan, a researcher in Global health, bioethics and health policy who works for a not-for-profit health policy organisation Sangath and also Dr Usha Raman, professor at the Department of Communications at the University of Hyderabad. 

This mini-series has been made possible by a grant from the Thakur Family Foundation. 

India readies itself to address the threat of pandemic influenza
India’s Pandemic Preparedness and Response

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In May 2022, the Delhi High Court delivered a verdict on several petitions seeking to remove the marital rape exception in the rape law. Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code excludes sexual intercourse between a married couple. The verdict was split with Justice Rajiv Shakder ruling in favour of removing the exception, and Justice C Hari Shankar dismissing the petition.  

In this episode, we try to discuss our opinion on the judgement, especially the dissenting verdict which seeks to keep the marital law exception in the rape law. Suno India’s Padmapriya DVL and Menaka Rao discuss the judgement threadbare, thinking aloud about the implications of this judgement 

Delhi High Court marital rape judgement
Independent Thought vs. Union of India and Anr.
Criminalisation of marital rape | Appeal filed in Supreme Court against Delhi High Court’s split verdict – The Hindu
Conjugal rights before the Supreme Court | Explained News,The Indian Express
National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5), 2019-21
Women and Consent Carole Pateman Political Theory, Vol. 8, No. 2. (May, 1980), pp. 149-168.

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