India Insight

Dr. King's 1963 Letter from a Birmingham Jail: Do we need organized religion? w/Abhishek Kasid (Vinni), Ranjan Wali (Tinku), and Sunny Sharma

Join Sunny Sharma with his elder, insightful, and informative cousins in a discussion around some of the themes highlighted by Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King's most famous piece of writing from 1963 called Letter from a Birmingham Jail. We discuss such ideas as the need to break unjust laws in a society, moral authority to confront societal despotism, and most importantly whether there is a place for organized religion in the world today when so many young people are leaving religious insti...

The 44th President of the United States of America Barack Obama: Social Reformer without Societal Help

Whether it was on the Selma bridge, in Cairo, the stadiums of South Africa, the legislative chambers of England and India, or the executive halls of America, President Obama strove to reshape the mores of a globalized society away from separation, extremism, oppression, and bigotry towards a politic that stood for not only human rights, but also an understanding that rights can only be fostered through a sort of collective understanding of agency and responsibility that opened the door to fu...

Malcolm X: Radical intelligence in the face of Extreme Oppression

Malcolm X not only reimagined the place of black people in America and around the globe, but he also told the truth about the political mechanisms and techniques in society that denigrated the poor and working class. 

Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar: The Founding Father of India who we must find again

Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, born in 1891 and died in 1956, was indeed a unique visionary who combined practical advocacy with his education as a Ph.D. in economics and his training as a lawyer. He tested his principals in the fiery chasm of social and political liberty in India through the development of political parties and the testing of his academic scholarship. We have his principals in the Constitution of India and his legacy and experience of starting political parties for the subaltern (...

The French Revolution: A Revolution by and for the People that gave birth to the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen in 1789, a True Explosion of Hope

March 31 theme: Social Democracy (Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity) I have released five podcasts on March 31. The primary theme of these podcasts are the legacy of the French Revolution, and more specifically, the Buddha. Whether it was the first law minister of India Babasaheb Ambedkar, France grassroots reform from the left Jacobins, President John Adams, President Barack Obama, or Malcolm X, all these individuals, through constitutional precedent and social reform sought to make societ...

Radical Social Democracy Part 2: Government and The People w/Abhishek Kasid (Vinni), Ranjan Wali (Tinku), and Sunny Sharma

Reform precedes revolution and in the words of John Adams the only true revolution is that which occurs in the minds of the people. Similarly in the words of the first prime minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru, just as revolution occurs in the mind so does peace as demonstrated by his declaration that, “Peace is not a relationship of nations. It is a condition of mind brought about by a serenity of soul. Peace is not merely the absence of war. It is also a state of mind. Lasting peace can com...

Insightful quotes from the Enlightenment Era (Age of Reason) and Great Men

Quotation Themes:   Primary themes: Truth, risk, liberty and justice, morality, personal responsibility, conscience.  Secondary themes: Fragility of democracy, reputation/legacy, service, demanding rights, tyranny, duty and patriotism, societal and common welfare, fundamental rights, legality, reform, individual and collective agency or action, and constitutional liberties. In this 11-minute podcast, I highlight informative and insightful quotes by Enlightenment men as well as from Great ...

Building a Global Anti-War Grassroots Movement in our Backyard: Anti Regime Change Wars and Nuclear Disarming

 Just like America served as an example to the world in 1776, America again must be a beacon of hope showing their ability to reform themselves in line with the greater visions of their society. More importantly, we need an antiwar grassroots party and movement to counteract an ever increasingly dangerous world where war becomes more hazardous every day as nations are positioning themselves for a potential global conflict in line with what could only be characterized as a World War III. In ...

Radical Social Democracy Part 1 with Abhishek Kasid (Vinni), Ranjan Wali (Tinku), and Sunny Sharma

In this podcast, we discuss what Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, the Dalit (untouchable), illustrious writer of the India Constitution in 1950, lawyer, anthropologist, economist, and political human rights defender, meant by radical social democracy which has its origins from first and foremost Buddhism and secondarily from the Enlightenment era specifically the French revolution (liberty, equality, and fraternity). Moreover, we highlight the institutional barriers to social democracy, progress, and...

The Caste System in India: Parallels, Dignity, and Inequality with Ranjan Wali (Tinku), Sunita Dhar Sharma (my mom), and Sunny Sharma

In this podcast, we discuss the nature of the caste system and its inevitable destruction. We highlight, in the words of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, the importance of social democracy to complement political democracy especially for the subaltern (underclass and Dalits). There is a drastic need for grassroots social reform to combat the evils of caste which are highlighted in the recent movie Origin released January 19, 2024. This movie is based on the book Caste: The Origin of our Discontents...

Why Mahatma Gandhi was so radical as seen through his time spent in South Africa? Part 2

Mahatma Gandhi was not just a peacemaker, he was a trouble maker. Initially, it was his talents as a social reformer through community organizing and law, not his occupation as a saint that built his career as one of the pillars of the Indian community in Natal, South Africa. He fought a paper war through petitions and new correspondence to highlight the inequities of Indians with the majority white South Africans. Gandhi was pivotal in reshaping the viewpoints and imagination of whites towa...

Why Mahatma Gandhi was so radical as seen through his vegetarian advocacy? Part 1

In this video I expound upon some insights and quotes from the book Gandhi before India by Ramachandra Guha from Chapter 2: Among the Vegetarians. I discuss why Gandhi carried the ethos of India, was so radical even in his twenties, and was such a radically intelligent social reformer as seen through his early community organizing, job as lawyer, and being a dedicated student of principles of world religion and compassion in London, South Africa, and subsequently India.

The Legacy of Malcolm X Part 2 with Ranjan Wali (Tinku) and Sunny Sharma

As Malcolm X evolved throughout his entire life, he stood for self reliance, black nationalism, dignity, and equality for all human beings.  Malcolm X knew the power of solidarity through an international coalition to defeat the evils of imperialism which underlined racist institutions throughout the world. He sought to bridge the psychological gap that the underclass, especially black people, needed to overcome to take ownership of their future and transcend their second class status in Am...

Cages and Granola Bars: Thoughts on Immigration and the Separation of Families July 6, 2018

The immigration system has become so entangled with the criminal justice justice system to the point that detainment of families is leading to separation of children from parents. We have a long legacy of our systems of legality and enforcement evolving into greater and more extensive systems of control that no single individual could have predicted. Today that system is the Immigration Customs and Enforcement agency, an organization that has introduced wide scale electronic surveillance to ...

Georges Bernanos Plea for Liberty Summary and Examination December 23, 2021

Plea for Liberty was published in 1944 during World War II. In this book, Bernanos makes a scathing criticism of the French bourgeoisie and hopes that free man and women will save Europe and open the door to childhood as he had done throughout his life. Bernanos famously said, "The modern state only recognizes rights, it no longer recognizes duty." Bernanos felt in his heart that the power of heroism, faith, and childhood once consecrated by the church would once again come about and defea...

Thoughts on education in reference to John Stuart Mill July 22, 2018

John Stuart Mill had a mental crisis in his 20s in which he began to question his lifestyle and unique utilitarian education that was predicated on his father's teachings. The ideas of Reason, logic, and efficiency divorced him from the ideas of beauty, aesthetics, and poetry. He came to the conclusion that the pleasure pain principle of utilitarianism had to be subjugated under the principle of individuality, society must foster free thinking persons and individualism. In this podcast, I d...

Georges Bernanos: Politics, imagination, and responsibility June 29, 2018

Georges Bernanos, like President Barack Obama, has helped me to understand my responsibility, place as a citizen in America and the power of individual agency to transforming our society. Yet, if I strive to be a social reformer, I can indeed heed the words of Bernanos's writing, but I must understand that Bernanos in no way lays out the blue print for change in society. Yet he knew the next generations, through creativity and imagination would organize a political and spiritual front to com...

Vive la liberte: Georges Bernanos political thoughts and ideas May 5, 2018

Lived from 1888-1948 Christian Writer, Political Agitator, Whistleblower, WWI Soldier, and Human rights defender The French Catholic Novelist and Thinker Georges Bernanos was not just a free man, but he was indeed a man of the people, the greatest representation of France's coinciding spirit of liberty. For Bernanos, writing was indeed a transformative process for him and was emblematic of "individualism without selfishness," a value he wanted to proliferate among his entire audience so peo...

Why you should read Georges Bernanos's political thought: Spirit Voice February 20, 2018

Georges Bernanos voice represented the conscience and spirit of France's coinciding spirit of liberty. As demonstrated by his Christian fiction and political thoughts, Bernanos is certainly one of the greatest writers in human history. He was not just a man of rights, but more importantly was a man of responsibility, duty, and love. Bernanos questioned all complacent ways of thinking making one to questions whether he fits anywhere ideologically. Truly he was a Catholic man against all syste...

The Legacy of Malcolm X Part 1 with Ranjan Wali (Tinku) and Sunny Sharma

In this podcast, Sunny and Tinku discuss the impact and legacy of one of the greatest intellectuals of common sense, self determination, equality, dignity, and self respect in the 20th century Malcolm X. Malcolm X through the power of persuasion and oratory built the nation of Islam and was at the pinnacle of forming an international coalition of African and Middle Eastern nations to transform the issue of civil rights into human rights by bringing the issue of segregation/second class citi...

Civil Disobedience in India with Ranjan Wali (Tinku) and Sunny Sharma

Countries such as India and America have a long tradition of Civil Disobedience. This is the primary tool to enact public policy reform and social change in society when complemented by legislative action, judicial reform, and executive decision making. From Henry David Thoreau to Eugene Debs to those group of exceptional leaders led by Mahatma Gandhi and Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King,  Civil Disobedience is the medium by which society speaks its conscience to the rest of the world so the ...

Accountability, Transparency, and Trust For All People in India with Ranjan Wali (Tinku) and Sunny Sharma

I continue my discussion with my cousin Tinku on the need for Awareness of Rights,  Accountability, Transparency, and Basic necessities for the common man in India. We also discuss the problem of rampant inequality in India and continue our discussion on the need for a new generation of social reformers in our society like Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar and Vinobe Bhave.  Moreover we discuss the need for trust among Indians of different class, caste, religions, language, and gender in order for the...

Who is Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta?

Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta  Lived:  August 27, 1910—September 5, 1997 (aged 87)   Career: Catholic nun, humanitarian Mother Teresa was one of the great servants of humanity. “It was a call within my vocation. It was a second calling. It was a vocation to give up even Loreto where I was very happy and to go out into the streets to serve the poorest of the poor. It was in that train, I heard the call to give up all and to follow Him into the slums—to serve Him in the poorest of the p...

The Legacy of the 2nd President of the United States John Adams

 John Adams was the most consequential leader and figure when it came to the success and objectives of the American Revolution. Adams spent much of the years 1780-1789 abroad. He helped to conclude the post-war peace treaty with Great Britain, was a Diplomat to Holland and France, and served as the first United States Ambassador to Great Britain. The Constitution of 1780, drafted by John Adams, is the oldest written constitution in the world still in effect. This Constitution, primarily dr...

The Legacy of Dr. Ambedkar in India with Abhishek Kasid (Vinni), Sunita Dhar Sharma (my mom) and Sunny Sharma

In this 38 minutes podcast we talk about the importance of Dr. B.R Ambedkar and how he foresaw many of the problems of inequality, propaganda harming freedom of the press, class divide through caste, and untouchability in India. My cousin Vinni provides sharp insight on these problems in Indian society while my mom interrogates the place of Ambedkar and hope for the future of young people in India. Is there an erosion of public trust in main stream media and so called democratic institutio...

The Real Legacy of Malcolm X

Season 4 Episode 5 In this 16 minute podcast I highlight the legacy of Malcolm X by describing some of his most important ideas, his background, one of his most famous speeches "the Ballot or the Bullet" (1964), and articulating 10 of his most important quotes.  Malcolm X was one of the greatest intellectuals of the 20th century, but was indeed a contradiction. Through his efforts to form a local and international coalition he was a paragon for brotherhood of the underclass, but also a adv...

The Legacy of Babasaheb Ambedkar

In this 8 minute podcast I describe the legacy of one of the Founding Fathers of India, greatest social reformer, and one of the primary drafters of the Indian constitution Babasaheb Ambedkar. Likened to Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King and President Barack Obama, B.R. Ambedkar rose from what would be normally a life of obscurity, neglect, poverty, and disempowerment to be a shining example of educational transformation as well as a life dedicated to transforming the underclass in India which...

Diversity, Education, and Censorship- Babasaheb Ambedkar and Abul Kalam Azad

In this podcast, I summarize the lives of two of the most influential figures to the fight for Indian independence, the depressed classes, and diversity. We stand on the shoulders of Babasaheb Ambedkar and Abul Kalam Azad, men who were erudite and impeccable leaders of India's constituent assembly and the movement for human rights. I also talk about the reality of censorship during the British Raj. 

The Founding Fathers and Mothers of India and Swaraj

In this podcast, I describe the 9 founding fathers and mothers of India's constitutional and democratic system and institutions. I also give an overview of some important events in the Indian Independence movement such as the War for Indian Independence of 1857 and Gandhi's movement of non-cooperation, civil disobedience, and Swaraj (self-reliance). 

Analysis of Barack Obama's Greatest Political Speech- The 2004 Democratic National Convention (DNC)

In this podcast, I highlight the major reasons why the 44th president of the United States Barack Obama's 2004 Democratic National Convention (DNC) speech was the greatest political speech of the 21st century in America or perhaps even in all of American history. 

The state of Kashmir and Article 370 w/Dr. Prem Sharma (my dad)

Hello everybody, in this podcast I discuss with my Garwhali dad Prem Sharma on the politics and history of Article 370, asking whether it was beneficial for Kashmiris in the past and present. My dad has a Ph.D and is a research infection microbiologist who has held faculty positions at Emory and Harvard University. He married my mom, who is a Kashmiri pandit and immigrated to the United States in 1986.

Barack Obama- Lessons for the Next Generation

In this podcast, I outline some of the lessons the 44th president of the United States Barack Obama describes for the next generation of leaders, entrepreneurs, innovators, humanitarians, etc.  In this video I highlight some of Obama ideas such as the poverty of ambition, importance of imagination, experimentation, volunteering through citizenship and humanitarianism, taking good risks versus speculative risk, and more.

Summary and Critical Insight on The Discovery of India by Jawaharlal Nehru

In this podcast, I provide critical insight and examination of one of the most important and seminal books on Indian history called The Discovery of India. This book was written by the first prime minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru a stern advocate for international brotherhood and national development.

Barack Obama- Uniter and Chief Part 2

I extend on my previous podcast on why Barack Obama is the most significant president of the modern era. Barack Obama presided over a time period of tumultuous reform which included the Black lives matter movement, occupy wall Street, and the Arab Spring. Through his example he provided an inherent meaning to equity and fairness, racial tension, and the aspirations towards democracy for millions abroad and millions yet to be born. It is undoubtable that history will view Barack Obama as per...

Barack Obama- The Uniter in Chief

In this podcast, I do a follow up recording about the significance of the 44th president of the United States Barack Obama who was a master class orator, negotiator, constitutional expert, human rights advocate, and uniter during the recession and a time of racial and political tension in the country. Barack Obama learned of the limitations of power as a community organizer and subsequently as a lawyer in training. Like his favorite president Abraham Lincoln Obama absorbed the Midwestern va...

FDR May 22, 1932 Address at Oglethorpe University in Atlanta, Georgia (my alma mater)

In this podcast I record the speech by the 32nd president of the United States Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933-1945) given on May 22, 1932 at my alma mater Oglethorpe University. Similar to Georges Bernanos of France and the 44th president Barack Obama who also presided over implementing reforms to recover a recession in America, FDR is perhaps one of the greatest human rights advocates of his era while also being one of the greatest social reformers in history. This speech gives a glimpse into ...

The Legacy of Malcolm X

In this podcast I briefly describe the legacy of Malcolm X. "Standing up and telling the truth can warp reality." Malcolm X was the best example of the above statement as he changed the minds and perspectives of millions of people during his lifetime and after his death.

Christ and other Human Rights Luminaries

The importance of Christ and other Human Rights icons.

Christ, Revolution, and other Human Rights Luminaries

The importance of Christ, different perspectives on revolution, and other Human Rights icons. Some of the intellectuals, philosophers, and luminaries of brotherhood I highlight mainly from the 20th century include Christ, the French Catholic novelist Georges Bernanos, Reverend Dr. Martin Luther king Jr., and Jiddu Krishnamurti. I specifically highlight the three evils of society as illustrated by Dr. King which are poverty, militarism, racism, and the overarching evil of materialism which h...

Why America Needs a Left and how the Movement for the People’s Party is a part of that long tradition?

The Legacy of Nelson Mandela

One last thing I forgot to mention, Nelson Mandela set the standards for wise international diplomacy throughout the world in the 21st century. "Young people when aroused can topple the towers of oppression." -Nelson Mandela (Madiba) Madiba famously said education is the guide to political liberation. More importantly he represented not only the anti apartheid movement in South Africa but also the tidal wave of 20th century revolution primarily in the global south that eventually teared do...

Why Mahatma Gandhi is a Great Soul?

In this video I give an introduction to who Mahatma Gandhi was and explain why we revere him and call him great. Gandhi knew the power of symbolism and social media. During Gandhis life time many inventions were made that brought the world together including wide scale newspapers, radio, and tv. Gandhi new how to masterfully use these mediums to galvanize support for his movement by highlighting the depravity and despotism of British colonialism. Swaraj or self reliance, Hindi Muslim unity, ...

The Legacy of Mahatma Gandhi as seen through three of his successors

In this podcast I highlight the legacy of Mahatma Gandhi as seen through three of his successors Maulana Azad, Jawaharlal Nehru, and Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

The Legacy of Jawaharlal Nehru and James Madison

In this podcast I talk about the four principles of governance of the first prime minister of India Nehru and the three principles of the US constitution as outlined by James Madison who was the fourth president of the United States of America. Additionally I outline 8 principles of governance which are shared by the US and India.

The Legacy of Jawarharlal Nehru and James Madison

In this podcast I talk about the four principles of governance of the first prime minister of India Nehru and the three principles of the US constitution as outlined by James Madison. Additionally I outline 8 principles of governance which are shared by the US and India.

Factions, India, and Human Rights with Ranjan Wali (Tinku) and Sunny Sharma

Factions, India, and Human Rights

Secularism and Human Rights in India Part 2

This podcast is an extension of the previous episode still pertaining to Indian issues of Secularism, Human Rights, and Democracy.

Secularism and Human Rights in India Part 1 with Abhishek Kasid (Vinni), Ranjan Wali (Tinku) and Sunny Sharma

In this podcast Sunny Sharma and his elder cousins Tinku and Vinni discuss the place of Secularism in Indian society and why its under threat. We briefly discuss some of the luminaries that upheld secularism and human rights in India including emperor Ashoka, king Akbar, and the secular ethos of the India founding fathers.

Secularism and Human Rights in India Part 1

In this podcast Sunny Sharma and his elder cousins Tinku and Vinni discuss the place of Secularism in Indian society and why its under threat.