Charcha: Recent Episodes
CAS
The online space has deeply inspired us at CAS, to stretch our limits and make use of the universal yet personal reach the online space adorns so perfectly. Charcha with CAS aims to broaden the conversation on Afghanistan by providing authentic narratives of scholars, activists and students who are working hard to make a difference in the subcontinent.
In this episode of Charcha Avi Arya Bhagat and Saharrsh KS explore the US withdrawal from Afghanistan and it's implications in conversation with experts.
Ambassador Farid Mamundzay joins us for an enlightening charcha, where the geopolitics of Afghanistan as placed in South Asia are discussed, and serious thought is given to the future of the country; will the Taliban be held accountable, and listen to the appeals of the people, or will violence break out once again in Afghanistan, which has suffered so much war for so long?
Afghanistan has experienced cataclysmic changes in the last 6 months, and the rights of women - which were hard fought in the nation - have been devastated. However, the Taliban have met stiff resistance from Afghan women, who have led the protests from the front. To discuss these issues and more, we are joined today by Ms. Heather Barr, the Associate Director of the Women's Rights Division of the Human Rights Watch.
Today our Charcha is with eminent Afghan researcher Mr. Kanishka Nawabi. He received an education in the UK securing an MBA, and an MA degree in International Relations from SOAS, University of London. He is currently in his final year PhD program at the University of South Wales, UK. He represents a generation of Afghans uprooted and displaced by war, who struck out on their own from scratch only to find themselves displaced again. He was appointed to serve as a Senior Advisor to the Afghan Ministry of Interior headed by Hanif Atmar.
In today’s episode we dwell on aspects of social and cultural change thrust upon Afghanistan with the ascent of the Taliban in Afghanistan twenty years after they were ousted by the US and their allies in the name of ‘war on terror’ and propagation of democracy, human rights and women’s rights. We are fortunate to be joined by Dr. Bahar Jalali an Afghan-American academic, who has been at the forefront of a campaign to push back against the Taliban’s infringement on Afghan culture and identity.
Welcome to Season 3 of the Centre for Afghanistan Studies, Charcha series which commences at a critical juncture as the clock seems to have turned full circle in Afghanistan. In this episode of Charcha we will try and understand how the unfolding developments in Afghanistan are viewed in India. Why is Afghanistan regarded as being significant to India’s geo–strategic calculus? What were the expectations in Kabul from New Delhi as the nascent Afghan republic took root and was subsequently challenged violently by the Taliban? How did India fare in response to managing those expectations and what could have been done differently? Now with the Taliban back in power what lies ahead as New Delhi seeks to navigate a challenging road ahead. Joining this episode we have the host Raghav Sharma, Associate Professor and Director, our research interns Zain Lokmanji and Ishita Dutta in conversation with Ambassador Vivek Katju. We hope you enjoyed listening to this episode of charcha with CAS.
We’ve spent several episodes in the past talking to scholars and policy makers to understand the various dynamics in and around Afghanistan. Our aim has always been to provide you, our dear listeners, with varied perspectives and this effort would be incomplete without drawing in voices from the ground.
In this episode, we present to you a creative voice of a local artivist, someone who has been using art not only for enhancing the aesthetic appeal of public spaces in Kabul that came to be dotted with ugly blast walls but also to convey messages on pressing social and political issues facing Afghanistan.
Our Hosts, Professor Raghav and Mahita talk to Kabul's very own Artivist, Mr. Omaid Sharifi, about the project he is currently managing and curating- 'The Artlords'.
Artlords is a grassroots movement of artists and volunteers who are motivated by their desire to pave the way for social change through their art. The group's name is a rather witty reference to the warlords who have been prominent on Afghanistan's prominent landscape.
Tune in to listen to Mr. Sharifi talk about the need for artivism, the impact of art in amplifying social messages, and the Artlords empowering work in Afghanistan.
You wouldn't want to miss this inspiring and intriguing episode!
In this episode of Charcha,we bring to light the lives and experiences of the Afghan Sikh and Hindu refugees living in India, who've been displaced for decades and lead a precarious existence marked by deep uncertainty and desperation.
Joining our hosts, Professor Raghav and Mahita, is Dr. Anwesha Ghosh, the author of 'Identity and Marginality in India' and a research fellow at the Indian Council of World Affairs.
She has conducted extensive research on migration and its impact on the South Asian region, particularly Afghanistan. Her book has contributed significantly to the literature on Afghan migrants (religious minorities) living in India.
Tune in to listen to the conversation on the lived realities of the Afghan Hindu and Sikh refugees in India as they attempt to integrate and survive the various challenges that they face while looking for a place called home.
Previously on Charcha, we have dedicated several episodes to understand the foundations of the ongoing Afghan peace process. We have focussed on the civilian as well as government perceptions to understand its importance and the various expectations that involved actors and spectators have from it. In this episode, we explore the narratives surrounding the contours of the Taliban identity, and try to understand the other side of the story.
Joining the hosts Professor Raghav and Mahita, is Ms. Sippi Azerbaijani Moghaddam, a leading social scientist with 27 years of experience in conflict and post-conflict settings. She has been deeply engaged in studying the people, politics and psyche of Afghanistan since 1995, and over the years she has managed to build an extensive local network consisting of aid workers, adventurers and spies. Her work in Afghanistan moved between the Mujahideen on the front lines and the Taliban commanders around Afghanistan. She has also worked on providing victim assistance and has advocated towards equitable participation of women and men in civil society organisations in Afghanistan.
We hope that this charcha on Taliban Identity will be able to provide you with some context to the demands and actions of the Taliban.
In this season's very first episode, Professor Raghav Sharma and Mahita hosted Dr. Omar Sharifi, an esteemed cultural anthropologist and professor at the American university of Afghanistan. Dr. Sharifi has lived his entire life in Afghanistan, witnessing several turbulent changes through the civil war and the Taliban regime. He talked to us about what peace means to him, and how he envisages the intra-Afghan peace talks to play out. The Afghan Peace Process has proceeded in fits and starts since February 2020, following the 'peace deal' inked with between the US and the Taliban after nineteen years of war. The US initiative was widely critiqued as the Afghan government was marginalised in the process, troop withdrawal was predicated on political expediency as opposed to grim realities on the ground in Afghanistan and violence against civilians, especially journalists, members of civil society has spiralled in the run up to negotiations.
In a deeply insightful conversation, Dr. Sharifi has shared with us his views on the ongoing negotiations, the growing violence in Kabul, the implications of the peace talks in the geo-political region, and the need for the international community to pay attention to the Afghan Peace Process. He also discussed in detail India's potential influence in Afghanistan and the need for the country to be proactive in the peace process.
In this episode, we hosted this season's very first female guest, Ms. Wazhma Frogh, who is a prominent women's rights activist from Afghanistan. She has won several acclaims internationally for her advocacy to include perspectives of women in the security and policy-making frameworks of the country. She has founded the Women and Peace Studies Organisation in Afghanistan, a civil society organisation that ensures that women are involved in the local and national peace building efforts.
She talked to Mahita and Professor Raghav about the history of women's rights in Afghanistan, the need for more women in the peace building arena, and the resilient Redlines of the nation who have inspired and triggered a nation-wide movement for inclusion of minorities and women in peace, and freedom from violence and patriarchy.
Tune in to listen to a very engaging, inspiring and informative account of Ms. Wazhma Frogh's Afghanistan, the new Afghanistan, where brave women take charge and change things up!
In this episode, we take our conversation on the ongoing Afghan peace talks a little further and dwell deeper into the Afghan society to understand the nation's long and ongoing journey to peace. Joining our host Prof Raghav Sharma for a Charcha on Afghanistan's path to peace, is Mr. Malaiz Daud, an esteemed political analyst from Afghanistan, who has worked for governmental as well as non-governmental agencies. Mr. Daud was one of the organisers of the Loya Jirga (considered to be the highest expression of the Afghan people) in 2004, and he is currently a member of the Board of Directors of Peace Training and Research Organisation (PTRO). He brings this experience and so much more to a candid and insightful conversation that dissects the ongoing peace talks, the failure of the Bonn peace process, the fabric of Afghanistan's civil society and more importantly, the country's future.
Joining us in this episode is Abubakar Siddique, a senior correspondent for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL). Mr Siddique is the author of a critical book “The Pashtun Question” which brings forth a new perspective of social and political evolution of the Pashtun heartland, where he was born. We discuss with him various issues that dominate the Pasthun political landscape. We further delve into the larger Afghanistan politics and the implications of ongoing peace process.
On this episode of Charcha with CAS, hosts Mahita and Prof Raghav engage in a conversation with Mr. Tahir Qadiry, Chargé d'Affaires of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to India regarding the Afghan society before and after the US intervention, the Afghan Peace Deal, the intra-Afghan peace talks and the potential impacts of the peace deal in the region. The success of this deal, the endurance of the peace it proposes, and the future of the nation are highly uncertain in light of the Taliban’s continued violence, lack of political consensus in Kabul and wavering support for the Afghan war in Washington. Press play to listen to Mr. Qadiry's valuable insights on the uncertainties that haunt Afghanistan and keep the rest of the world on edge as the drama continues to unfurl in the Afghan theatre.
Balochistan has long been referred to as Pakistan's 'secret war', which no media outlet in Pakistan is allowed to report on. Developments in Balochistan are of seminal significance for Iran and Afghanistan, which are home to Baloch population, as well as India, which has been keeping an eye on the developments and its potential geo-political implications. In this episode of Charcha, we are delighted to host Mr. Mazdak Dilshan Baloch, a young political activist from Balochistan, who is striving hard to raise awareness on the Baloch issue at the international level and bring to light the challenges that he believes the Baloch face. Join hosts Mahita and Prof. Raghav as they converse with Mr. Mazdak about life and struggle in Balochistan, and as well as the struggle's geopolitical implications!
On this first episode of the series, we are trying to understand the ethno-cultural aspirations of the Pashtuns who live on both side of the Durand line/the Afghan-Pakistani border in the sub continent. Joining us is Afrasiab Khattak, former president ofll0l the Awami National Party, chairman of the Human rights commission of Pakisan and now closely associated with the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement.