Dear Friends,

Deepa Bharath from Associated Press contacted me from the United States to enquire into the background and current status of Sikh activism. She spoke to a number of activists and media professionals.

Please see here …

Dear Friends,

The New Delhi based writer Aakash Hassan called me to understand the Khalistan issue. Again long discussio, short quote.

Please read here …

Dear Friends,

When Canada pointed fingers at India, the Le Figaro correspondent from New Delhi, Emmanuel Derville called me to understand the situation and my views. The talk went on for long but the quote is short for reasons of word limit.

Please read here …

Dear Friends,

On the day Trudeau made his first announcement pointing fingers at India, I was on a discussion on France24. Do listen. The video has gathered exceptionally large numbers of comments directed at me. Do read some of them too.

44.07 minutes.

Link here …

Dear friends,

you would have noticed, when we keep allowing a person to be unruly at home, they turn out unruly even in public. This is what happened yesterday. TRT World contacted me to join a panel discussion on the No Confidence Motion. I consented but asked them who were the other panelists. They sent me names.

Here is the recording. Notice how because of one person’s uncouth blabbering, the host could call me in only at minute 15.25 out of the total 26 minutes.

Then we have our own dear Bangalore Electricity Supply Company. Yesterday, they cut electricity at 10 am promising to restore it at 5 pm. The talk was scheduled for 6.15 pm, actually started at 6.30 pm. There was no electricity. I had to do the call with a candle and a LED ring light I could connect to the computer. I look like I am not in the Silicon City of the East but sitting in some dark cave in the mountains.

This talk was an opportunity to present an uncensored view on what is going on in the country. But it became a great example for international audience to see all that is wrong with our democracy. Do bear with it if you have patience. English. Click here …

Dear friends,

in May this year, Dr Mathew Verghese from the Medico Pastoral Association invited me to give their 15 Golden Jubilee lecture. It was a proud moment for me to speak on ‘A Writer’s Reflection on Mental Health’ to a group of psychiatrists, psychologists, lay people. Who would have thought this would happen?

Please listen to the talk. The talk is about the making of my novel Sepia Leaves and my journey as a writer. It also dwells upon why I do what I do – work in the interstices of language and power.

If I can suggest, please listen. You can skip first 6 minutes and last 8 minutes. Click here …

Dear Friends,

Last Friday, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation interviewed me on matters Panjab. In the program below, I appear from minute 9.47 to minute 15.07.

Please listen…

Dear Friends,

A few days back Abhinandan Sekhri invited me to talk on NL Hafta about what is going on in Panjab. We discuss that in the first of two hours. English. However, the interview is behind paywall.

Please listen here …

Dear Friends,

Though I have traveled fairly well abroad, I am not an expert on the Diaspora. Even lesser on Sikh Diaspora because my travels were official, private, fellowship, never to interact with and understand the Diaspora.

However, when media contacts, given spaces are so shrunk – active ongoing censorship – I feel it becomes imperative to speak. Most of what I understand is how it would be if you look at people, traumas, questions of justice and am informed from books, social media, and interactions with members of the Diaspora.

A few days back, Nachiket Deuskar from Scroll spoke to experts and me on how the Sikh Diaspora thinks of issues in Panjab and about Indian government and Khalistan.

Note: there are issues I mentioned that the article did not capture: effect of racism on brown folks in the white world; post 9/11 antipathy towards Sikhs (called towel heads, shootings); black lists back home. Front blocked, back blocked, where would people go? Arbitrary response of Indian government. For example, Darshan Singh Dhaliwal, first deported and then awarded.

Please read here …