Tavleen Singh is a journalist, author and columnist. In this interview with Manisha Pande, she talks about being one of India’s first women journalists in the 1970s, comparisons between present-day politics and the Emergency, and burning issues like the hijab verdict in Karnataka and the abrogation of Article 370.

On changing her stance on Modi, Tavleen says, “Only fools don’t change their minds...I would much rather continue to support Modi if he would stop the violence and hatred, and if he would say ‘this is what we stand for’.”

While she believes Sonia Gandhi is a “remarkably successful politician, and nobody can take that away from her”, Tavleen explains how the Congress would have survived without the Gandhis. Asked about the state of television news, she says, “I think there are some anchors – I am not going to name them – who are ideologically, totally committed to the Hindutva project.”

Watch.

Text by Nawaal Arshad.