In conversation with Harsh Mander and Vinay Lal on Gaza and Indian complicity

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2l1cz-LR1n4

In conversation with Kunal Kamra on Adivasi rights

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DeNNqzvl6M&t=185s

WORT 89.9 Community Radio, Madison

 Amitabh at the Community Radio Madison interviewed me on the situation in Bastar

https://www.wortfm.org/the-naked-government-power-play-in-chhattisgarh-state/

Conversation with Anuradha SenGupta in "The Big Picture'

 

Conversation with Anuradha SenGupta in "The Big Picture' on what Amit Shah's 'deadline' to finish Maoism means for villagers. 

There may be relief at an end to the operations, but they are worried about mining, displacement, and also the little things that the Maoists managed which were important in their lives - settling village disputes, helping women escape patriarchy, land levelling and village communal farming..

The Maoists may go, but if the camps remain, thats a new battle to fight

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GVKB05pWzo

Will Modi Sarkar listen to the adivasis of Bastar now that the Maoist insurgency is nearing its end?

 Shalini Gera, advocate, and I had a conversation with Ajoy Ashirwad of The Wire 30 May 2025

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIWfCGXCMpE

Interview by CG Khabar, 20 April 2025

 Raghavendra Singh of CG Khabar interviewed me on the sidelines of a meeting in Dalli Rajhara on the need for peace talks. He asked about how I came to Bastar, the murder charges against me, and about the situation in Bastar. I argued that whatever the outcome of the peace talks between govt and Maoists - and its extremely important that there be peace talks - we need justice. All those killed, raped and displaced during this conflict should get some justice.  There is a third party to the talks - which is the most important - and that is the people of Bastar

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvE7IuV-7s0

La Trobe University: Protest, Dissent, and the Struggle for Justice in India

Protest, Dissent, and the Struggle for Justice in India on 28 July 2022.

 

In this conversation, Professor Nandini Sundar discussed her widely read 2020 report on threats to academic freedom in India, recent arrests of academics journalists, and activists, and her three decades of writing and scholarship about Adivasi communities in Bastar district, Chhattisgarh. The conversation took place on the two-year anniversary of the arrest of Delhi University professor of English Hany Babu.  Professor Sundar discussed his arrest, and the arrests of other lawyers, activists and academics who have been charged in the infamous Elgar Parishad case. The conversation concludes with Professor Sundar’s thoughts on the rights granted to all citizens by the constitution of India.

 

We are extremely grateful to Professor Sundar, Ian Woolford and Gerald Roche for giving so generously of their time to share their knowledge and expertise with us.

 

If you were unable to attend the live event or would like to view or listen again, you will find the recording as follows: (you are welcome to share the links)

 

  YouTube 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEEZMZPlIiY

Journal of Indian Law and Society interview

http://jilsblognujs.wordpress.com/2014/12/04/conversation-with-prof-nandini-sundar-professor-of-sociology-at-du/

Interviews, TV following the killing of Mahendra Karma, March 25th 2013

 http://www.firstpost.com/india/chhattisgarh-is-still-not-free-from-salwa-judum-nandini-sundar-819983.html

 http://www.rediff.com/news/slide-show/slide-show-1-maoists-must-learn-to-work-in-a-democratic-framework/20130531.htm#1

TV panel discussions

http://ibnlive.in.com/videos/394383/is-it-time-for-an-allout-war-on-maoists.html

http://ibnlive.in.com/shows/The+Last+Word/394575.html

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Must Watch Interview: Dilip Simeon on NDTV

http://khabar.ndtv.com/video/show/ndtv-special-ndtv-india/277795

Public Sociology Class

I participated in one of Michael Burawoy's Public Sociology classes online, with students from across the world. It was a great experience.  

http://isapublicsociology.wordpress.com/2012/02/07/week-3-nandini-sundar/

The Path to a Conflict-Free State

Contrary to the dominant narrative that areas where Naxalites are strong are where the state has been absent, for the last 100-150 years, there has been a gradual expansion of the state in tribal areas regardless of whether the people want it or not. However, the state has been expanding in the wrong areas. You have an extension of the forest department, the bureaucracy, the patwari and the forest guard. But at the same time there is no state presence in the form of school teachers, healthcare workers and other services.

The problem here is that the state only wants to take a military approach towards ending Naxalism. This will not work as it has been proven in the case of Kashmir and the North East. It may have ‘worked’ in Punjab, but that was because the people were already alienated from the militants. The criterion of success is also debatable because of the grave violations of human rights. In terms of a constitutional approach to conflict resolution, I wouldn’t say that was an approach that worked.

Nandini Sundar: Disarming The Jungle Lords

© Copyright 2010, Business.in.com

Nandini Sundar: Disarming The Jungle Lords

Chhattisgarh’s strategy of arming civilians to fight Naxalites will continue despite the Supreme Court’s verdict, activist Nandini Sundar tells Forbes India

by K.P. Narayana Kumar | Jul 18, 2011

NANDINI SUNDAR Age: 43 Profession: An activist for the cause of Adivasis caught in the anti-naxal operations in Chhattisgarh; Head of the Department of Sociology, Delhi School of Economics; was previously Associate Professor, Centre for the Study of Law and Governance, Jawaharlal Nehru University Education: M.A., M.Phil & Ph.D in Anthropology, Columbia University, New York. B.A. Philosophy, Politics and Economics, Oxford University Interests: Reading, walking What do you think would be the repercussions of the Supreme Court order which has banned the use of Special Police Officers in anti-naxal operations? How would it change things on ground in Chhattisgarh? It will change things on ground only if the Chhattisgarh government is sincere about implementing it. But from the initial reactions, I don’t think they are serious about addressing the issue and in fact they are doing what they have always done, which is to refuse to follow the court’s orders. In 2008, the court directed them to compensate people affected by the (Salwa Judum orchestrated) violence, ensure that people can return home,  ensure that there is a list of missing people and file FIRs, but they have done nothing. If you read their affidavits over the years, their only defense has been that all these people are naxalite supporters. They have displayed complete contempt for the court. I am afraid that they will try and do that again. They now say they will file a review petition.

Chhattisgarh: The Future of India? Interview of me by David Barsamian 29 November 2009

NANDINI SUNDAR
Chhattisgarh: The Future of India?
Interviewed by David Barsamian
New Delhi, India 29 November 2009

Nandini Sundar is a professor of sociology at the Delhi School of Economics, Delhi University.

Let’s start with Chhattisgarh, a state in India where you have spent a great deal of time and you’ve written about. There is an uprising there. What do people need to know about this particular state and the forces and issues at work?

One is that it’s a state which has a large population of Adivasis, indigenous people. Originally, when it came into being and was hived off from Madhya Pradesh, of which it used to be a part, the sort of official rhetoric was that in both Chhattisgarh and in the adjoining state of Jharkhand, there would be greater attention to Adivasi issues. Instead of that happening, what one has seen is that the hiving of the state actually was a way for the sort of local ruling elite to more concentratedly exploit the natural resources that both Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh have. So it’s a state which is, say, about 38% Adivasi, has a large proportion of Chhattisgarhi what are called other backward classes, or not upper-caste people. And it’s also very, very mineral rich and very forested. So it’s a sort of classic case of rich state, poor people.

Rediff Interview: Infosys prize winner to spend money to educate Bastar youth

December 13, 2010 11:13 IST, Rediff.com

Sumita Vaid Dixit

Professor Nandini Sundar who won the Infosys Prize 2010 in social anthropology speaks about the apathy of Indian bureaucracy

Professor Nandini Sundar's passionate study of issues of counterinsurgency, adivasi politics and identities has not only created awareness among people, but has also sensitised policymakers. 

Sundar, Head of Department of Sociology at Delhi School of Economics, talks to Sumita Vaid Dixit of Careers360 about her Infosys prize, the bureaucracy's apathy and her third book.

Funding is a privilege Indian varsities must earn

Interview by Virginia Dominguez on AAA

Virginia Dominguez, President of the American Anthropological Association recently interviewed me - on my passions, anthropology, journal editing and so on. The full recording can be found at:

http://blog.aaanet.org/2010/08/05/inside-the-presidents-studio-nandini-sundar/

'Does Mr Chidambaram believe in democracy?' Rediff Interview, by Girija Shivakumar, May 2010

The last six weeks have seen a series of deadly attacks on security forces and civilians by the Maoists or Naxalites, the insurgent group present in eight states, which Prime Minister Manmohan Singh describes as the gravest threat to India.
While the Maoists claim they are fighting a war on behalf of landless tribals, their opponents call them armed terrorists exploiting tribal sentiments.
In their worst-ever attack on April 6, Maoists massacred 76 Central Reserve Police Force personnel in Dantewada, Chhattisgarh. In another murderous attack on May 17, they killed 40 civilians and special police officers in Bijapur, Chhattisgarh.
The recent attacks have left Union Home Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram grappling with the most serious internal security crisis on his watch.
As the government revisits its anti-Maoist strategy with Congress party President Sonia Gandhi advocating a redressal of the root causes of the problem, the debate on how to tackle the issue has gained in significance in the public space.
Sociologist Nandini Sundar has been doing research on Adivasi issues for the last twenty years. She is the author of Subalterns and Sovereigns: An Anthropological History of Bastar (1854-2006). Along with two others she filed a public interest litigation in the Supreme Court in 2007 against the excesses of the Salwa Judum, the anti-Maoist organisation of tribals in Chhattisgarh.
In this interview with Girija Shivakumar, Sundar, a professor at Delhi University, argues how the home minister has no grasp of the situation and highlights the importance of peace talks in finding a solution.

'More violence since Salwa Judum started' ET Interview 2008

'More violence since Salwa Judum started'
24 Jun, 2008, 0033 hrs IST,Najeeb Mubarki and Pothik Ghosh, TNN
(Interview in Economic Times)

The logic of electoral politics should have prompted the BJP to undermine the Salwa Judum, which was to begin with an initiative of Congress MLA Mahendra Karma. Instead, we see a complete convergence between the two .

The Salwa Judum was not just an initiative by Mahendra Karma – it had full state backing all along, and that’s why both Congress and the BJP support it.

Salwa Judum was probably started by the police, and it grew after Mahendra Karma got involved. It suited the BJP to have him lead it. It also suited Karma because he had led similar movements in the past. Karma has always sided with the BJP against his own party.

At the ground level, however, there are workers from both parties who are not happy with the activities of the Salwa Judum. Mostly, it has been people at the top in Chhattisgarh, including senior state government functionaries, and the security establishment in Delhi, particularly in the home ministry, who have colluded in establishing the Judum and keeping it alive.