Ep 210: Feeding the Hungry in the Pandemic

A virus can kill you -- and so can hunger. The lockdown last year led to an explosion of hunger around the country. Where the state failed, civil society stepped in. Ruben Mascarenhas joins Amit Varma in episode 210 of The Seen and the Unseen to discuss his initiative, Khaana Chahiye, that fed lakhs of people in Mumbai. Also discussed: activism, local politics and the clash between principles and the will to power. Also check out: 1. Khaana Chahiya. (also on Twitter.) 2. Litmus Test Project. 3. A Life in Indian Politics -- Episode 149 of The Seen and the Unseen (w JP Narayan). 4. Participatory Democracy -- Episode 160 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Ashwin Mahesh). 5. Cities and Citizens -- Episode 198 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Ashwin Mahesh.) 6. Previous episodes of The Seen and the Unseen on the pandemic: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. 7. We Are Fighting Two Disasters: Covid-19 and the Indian State -- Amit Varma. 8. Reforming Urban Governance -- Episode 48 of The Seen and the Unseen (w V Ravichandar). 9. Urban Governance in India -- Episode 31 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Shruti Rajagopalan). 10. Where Have All The Leaders Gone? -- Amit Varma. 11. AAP and Down -- Mayank Gandhi and Shrey Shah. 12. Politics and the Sociopath (2014) -- Amit Varma. 13. Fixing Indian Education -- Episode 185 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Karthik Muralidharan) 14. Education in India -- Episode 77 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Amit Chandra). 15. Our Unlucky Children (2008) -- Amit Varma. 16. Fund Schooling, Not Schools (2007) -- Amit Varma. 17. Where Anna Hazare Gets It Wrong (2011) -- Amit Varma. Also, registration is now open for Amit's online courses, The Art of Clear Writing and The Art of Podcasting.