Guest Info
Kavita Srivastava, born in 1962, is a dedicated Indian human rights activist with a two-decade-long commitment to safeguarding democratic and constitutional rights and seeking justice for rights violations. She collaborates with various social groups to advocate nonviolent approaches to justice in cases of gender, class, caste, religion, or nationality-based atrocities. Notably, she played a pivotal role in the women’s movement in Rajasthan, leading to laws against practices like widow burning and national guidelines to combat violence against women.
Since 1994, Kavita has actively promoted the formation of citizens’ collectives to protect civil liberties and democratic rights. Additionally, she contributes to the broader cause of nuclear disarmament and peace in South Asia and advocates for mine clearance. In 2001, she successfully brought the “Right to Food” issue to the Supreme Court. Kavita also serves as the national secretary of the Union for Civil Liberties.
About the Show
With great power comes great responsibility. Nowhere is this truth more pertinent than in the world’s largest democracy. With its recent triumphant moon mission and the culmination of the 2023 G20 Summit, India has undeniably seized global attention. Yet, amidst the jubilation and headlines, we must dare to ask: Are these achievements genuinely worth celebrating, or do they mask deeper, more troubling failures lurking beneath the surface?
This week, on the “My Thoughts Exactly” segment of the Global Indian Podcast, Rajan Nazran welcomes Kavita Srivastava, an Indian Human Rights activist, to share her insights on the concealed facets of India that often escape our conversations. She delves into the unsettling realities of the current government’s hypocrisy, casting a spotlight on how its brand of Hindu nationalism threatens to tear apart the social fabric of the nation. She opines that India is not a theocratic state, and unquestioning allegiance to any such ideology is a betrayal of the very spirit of the Indian Constitution. No nation can thrive when the fundamental right to voice an opinion is unjustly criminalised.
From the shadows cast by the setbacks of the G20 Summit in 2023 to the spectres of food insecurity, caste discrimination, religious tensions, and the plight of the Dalits, Srivastava addresses the burning issues that she believes demand urgent attention – issues that are too often relegated to the periphery.
The rise of a Hindu nationalistic state poses an alarming threat to the sacred principles and values enshrined in the Constitution of India, where one narrow narrative seeks to dominate over reason and logic.
Join us in this discourse, an unfiltered exploration into the state of democracy in India under the current administration. It’s a clarion call to pause, reflect, and subject leaders to scrutiny essential in a vibrant democracy. Tune in now!
Produced by Global Indian Series for the Global Indian Network.
Script by Rajan Nazran
original idea: Rajan Nazran
Introduction music: (https://freesound.org/people/SilverIllusionist)
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