IDR Interviews

Co-founder of Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS) and a key figure in the agitation for the right to information, Shankar Singh tells us about his early influences and building and sustaining movements.

Activist and lawyer Flavia Agnes tells us why securing women’s rights today seems much harder than it was in the ‘80s and argues that legislative reform is a battle half won without litigation support.

A pioneer of queer and feminist movements in India, Maya Sharma sheds light on the intersectionality of gender, geography, class, and sexuality.

A glimpse of the remarkable life of Dr Kirit Parikh, who has been an integral part of India's public policy landscape for almost five decades.

In this freewheeling conversation, Bill Drayton emphasises that everyone has the right, and ability, to be a giver. And in today’s world where everything is changing, everybody can, and must, be a changemaker.

Recognised for her pathbreaking work in Kutch, Sushma Iyengar shares what led her to focus on the intersection of women’s rights and rural development, and why she believes the scope of women’s empowerment today is limited to economic transformation.

Renowned social activist and a driving force behind the movements that led to the RTI Act and MGNREGA, Aruna Roy tells us what it takes to sustain truly participatory movements and why we must fight for our democratic right to dissent.

Having pioneered the concept of SHGs, Aloysius Fernandez speaks about his journey over the last several decades, and how building institutions is the beginning of the basis of power for marginalised people.

‘Waterman of India’, Rajendra Singh, shares insights on how the availability of water improves all aspects of life in India, and why the COVID-19 pandemic has the potential to bring about a revolution in the country.

Known for his pathbreaking work in the development sector, Vijay Mahajan talks about inequality, the direction our society is headed in, and how the ‘idea of India’ cannot be realised by the state alone.