Democracy In India - Full Interview from Sep 2022 Revisited

What Democracy Looks Like In...

“If you have money, then you are in politics. In India the same thing happens. People in money come to politics and they think that they have to they spend money to win elections, and then they think their job is to take that money back.”

In this re-visited interview on What Democracy Looks Like In India from Sep 2022, Father and daughter Venkat and Vidhya demonstrate a generational shift in how democracy is perceived in India today. We talk about famous political dynasties, whether being a politician should be a full-time job, and the significance (or not) of religion in Indian politics.

This is the full version of the interview, including part two that was never published back in 2022 because of (chaotic!) events in my personal life at the time that caused the podcast to go on hiatus for a while.

This week I am re-releasing all the interviews from this podcast in their full-length versions. This is in preparation for the last episode of the season, an interview with anthropologist Nicola Sharratt on Democracy in the United States. Look out for that interview, coming later in December 2024.

What Democracy Looks Like In... is a podcast where ordinary voters explain how democracy works in their countries. In each episode an emigrant voter and a voter currently on the ground describe their lived experiences of democracy, of voting, and of trust versus corruption in their home country. Find out more about the topics discussed in this episode and the series as a whole at ⁠⁠⁠⁠www.democracyinpodcast.com⁠⁠⁠⁠!