Consti-tuition

It's the FINAL episode of Season 2. In this episode, let's explore the one thing that is on everyone's minds: General Elections. Indian elections are big. Like, really really big. But the question we're dealing with today is how is this biggest political slug-fest on the planet funded? Meghnad explains how are funds procured by political parties, how they're spent, for what purpose and what are the different shady loopholes politicians use to escape the law. Our political parties have something to hide and it's not pretty.

"Knowledge is Power." — Petyr Baelish Our governments—all of them, regardless of which party runs them—seem to have imbibed this singular philosophy. But then one fine day, about a decade ago, the UPA government passed this uncharacteristically good law which broke that belief. It was called the Right to Information Act and it changed ... everything. For the first time, citizens had the absolute right to ask anything and demand information from the governments they elect. The happiness of the Act was shortlived because successive governments have tried to stifle it in one way or another. In extreme situations, political actors and officials have even resorted to getting RTI activists killed. In this episode of Consti-tuition, Meghnad tells you about this one epic weapon every citizen has and how they can wield it to hold the people they elect accountable. People in power are scared, very, very scared, of the Right to Information Act.

In this episode of Consti-tuition, Meghnad makes a case in favour of reservations. Point to note: Reservations are not an employment guarantee scheme, it's a way to achieve social justice. Justice for who, you ask? It's about social justice for those who have been marginalised and oppressed for thousands of years and over generations. The current debate around reservations has been twisted by politicians and circumstances created by politicians. But it would be worthwhile to go back in history, to a time when non-politicians allowed reservations for the marginalised classes in their princely states.

In Part 2 of the Gender series, Manisha takes you through the history of the fight for gender rights in India and across the world. Our woke Supreme Court has decriminalised homosexuality and there are movements in the Parliament to give Transpeople their rights. While India is, mulling over LGBT rights, there are still a lot of questions that remain unanswered.

Public figures and decisionmakers tend to make ridiculous claims which sometimes have no factual backing. But before we blame them for doing so, let's look at the fundamental reason that gives our leaders so much confidence while saying random things: Public Education. India has an effective Right to Free and Compulsory Education Act which makes sure every child gets the basic education required for them to become productive members of our society. But that's all on paper. The implementation of this act to make our schools effective is a whole 'nother can of worms. In this episode, let's talk about our Right to Education, whether it is effective at all and how we can hope to fix it. Can we even fix it?

Privacy is an inalienable fundamental right—which the Supreme Court confirmed last year—which is intrinsic to our Right to Liberty. But what does it really mean? Do we really need it? Can't we all just get along like the residents of the Bigg Boss house? In an age of rapidly evolving technology, where data is considered the new oil, we have to talk about and understand why it's important to protect our Right to Privacy. If we don't, we're just handing over our personal lives and the key to controlling our behavior to powerful authority figures and private companies. Data, when collected in large amounts, will always be exploited by those collecting it. For instance, if you dump potatoes in front of CM Yogi Adityanath's house, phones are going to be tapped to track you down, you hear? Watch this episode where Meghnad breaks down privacy, mass surveillance and how to behave when there is a camera in your bedroom. Oh yes, and don't forget to do the homework in the end!

Meghnad explains the widespread use of Hindi and how it affects non-speakers. Is Hindi our national language? Do we have a national language? The answer to both these questions is absolutely not. In this episode, the first part of the Language combo, Meghnad explains how Hindi turned into a language which is so widespread and used in India. He also wonders out loud: what happens when a person doesn't understand Hindi or English? What all can she not do in a multilingual country like ours? This is part one of two for Language. In the next episode, we talk about the other widely adapted and used language: English.