logo
episode-header-image
Aug 2021
9m 52s

India's secret freedom radio

Bbc World Service
About this episode
<p>When Indian independence leaders, including Gandhi, were jailed in 1942, activists set up a secret radio station to carry the message of rebellion against British rule. Among the campaigners who worked at the station was Usha Mehta, who was later imprisoned for broadcasting anti-British news and playing patriotic music. Claire Bowes has been listening to ... Show More
Up next
Today
The creation of the International Criminal Court
In 1998, at a conference organised by the United Nations, a blueprint was devised for what would be the world's first permanent International Criminal Court.Judge Phillipe Kirsch chaired the Rome conference that led to the formation of the court. He tells Gill Kearsley about the ... Show More
10m 23s
Aug 22
Geneva Conventions
In 1859, Swiss businessman Henry Dunant witnessed the Battle of Solferino, in Italy. He couldn’t believe the lack of aid for the wounded soldiers and came up with two ideas – a voluntary aid organisation and an international treaty to protect those injured in wartime. They went o ... Show More
10m 2s
Aug 21
The rise and fall of BlackBerry
In the early 2000s, BlackBerry was the phone that ruled the world. But within a decade, it collapsed, overtaken by the touch screen revolution.Sam Gruet speaks to former co-CEO Jim Balsillie about BlackBerry’s meteoric rise, its battle against Apple, and the moment he knew it was ... Show More
9m 50s
Recommended Episodes
Apr 2022
The Foundations of Modern India
The greatest anti-imperial rebellion of the nineteenth century, The Indian Rebellion of 1857, witnessed mass violence against the British. Ninety years later, Indian freedom was founded on a deadly fratricide that singularly spared the outgoing masters. As a result, India’s found ... Show More
25m 46s
Mar 2023
Isabel Huacuja Alonso, "Radio for the Millions: Hindi-Urdu Broadcasting Across Borders" (Columbia UP, 2022)
From news about World War II to the broadcasting of music from popular movies, radio played a crucial role in an increasingly divided South Asia for more than half a century. Radio for the Millions: Hindi-Urdu Broadcasting Across Borders (Columbia University Press, 2023) by Isabe ... Show More
41m 31s
Jan 2023
Why India banned the BBC’s Modi documentary | The Listening Post
The Indian government’s decision to ban a BBC documentary about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s role in the 2002 Gujarat riots, which left more than a thousand people dead, has become its own story. It has drawn global attention to Modi’s record in office and the subsequent declin ... Show More
25m 16s
Jun 2024
Meme to Maverick: The Rise of Brand Rahul Gandhi
Rahul Gandhi's comeback in India's blockbuster general elections defied every exit poll and expert prediction. Once the target of the ruling party and its IT cell’s jokes, Gandhi walked across the country..literally..twice..into many more hearts than people had given him credit f ... Show More
24m 12s
Jan 2022
Hitler's Indian ally: Subhas Chandra Bose
The Indian independence campaigner, Subhas Chandra Bose, sided with Hitler's axis powers in World War Two to try to free his country from British rule. We'll hear from his great-niece about why she thinks that if he had lived he could have changed the course of India's history. W ... Show More
50m 20s
Dec 2023
India Is Transforming. But Into What?
India is known as a country of paradoxes, and a new one has recently emerged. At the same time that the country is poised to become a major global player — with a booming economy and a population that recently surpassed China’s — its democracy is showing signs of decay.Prime Mini ... Show More
1 h
Sep 2023
Canada Confronts India Over Alleged Assassination
Warning: This episode contains descriptions of violence.The relationship between two democratic allies fell to its lowest point in history this week, after Canada accused India of assassinating a Sikh community leader in British Columbia in June.Mujib Mashal, The Times’s South As ... Show More
27m 2s
Feb 2022
Pankaj Mishra, research into Indian history
Pankaj Mishra's Run and Hide tells a story of modern Indian times, as the hidden pasts of wealthy, Gatsby-style tech entrepreneurs must be reckoned with.And to help put this modern India in context, Dr Pragya Dhital will consider the resonances of the tumultuous period of "The Em ... Show More
44m 48s
Aug 2022
3. Mutiny, Uprising, and Rebellion
In 1857 tensions in Company-controlled India came to a head in what the British called 'The Indian Mutiny', now referred to in India as the First War of Independence. The uprising and bloody reprisals sent shockwaves through the Empire, ended the rule of the East India Company, a ... Show More
54m 13s
Apr 2023
Is the conviction of Rahul Gandhi a turning point for India?
The de facto leader of India's opposition, Rahul Gandhi, has been stripped of his seat in parliament and is facing two years in prison for allegedly defaming Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Gandhi has lodged an appeal, and is out on bail until a hearing on April 13. Fourteen opposi ... Show More
23m 27s
Listen to millions of songs and podcasts on Anghami