This week on Hafta, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Manisha Pande, Jayashree Arunachalam and Raman Kirpal are joined by Ishaan Tharoor, a foreign affairs columnist at The Washington Post and Advocate Vrinda Grover. 

The discussion opens with an examination of the United States’ military operation in Venezuela and its global implications. Ishaan Tharoor says the Trump administration’s approach marked a clear shift in posture. “What we’re seeing is a set of impulses and a set of ideologies manifesting in very concrete ways.”

This operation, he adds, reflects a departure from earlier US claims of restraint. “The administration has pinned its flag to the mast of not being the kind of administration that wouldn’t wade into major wars or nation-building projects abroad.”

Manisha Pande discusses the implications of Trump's Venezuela operation for sovereignty in the Global South. “You are going back to that 19th century idea of imperial power among nation states, which says economic might precedes political sovereignty. Just because we are stronger economically, or we helped you build your systems and industries, we now have control over your political affairs. That's very alarming to me. And where does this stop?”

The panel then turns to the Supreme Court’s recent decision denying bail to Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam in the 2020 Delhi riots conspiracy case while granting bail to five other accused.

Vrinda Grover remarks, “I think the Supreme Court needs to reflect very carefully on its own role. It does not help to apologise decades later for decisions like ADM Jabalpur, where fundamental rights were held to be suspended during the Emergency. Here, the court is saying that young people who organised protests — and who did not indulge in violence — must remain behind bars, as if they pose a grave danger.”

She adds, “The tone and tenor of the judgment present this as an extremely dangerous situation. But that claim collapses when you look at who has been granted bail and who has not. So, what exactly is the Supreme Court saying?”

This and a lot more. Tune in!

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