South Central 22 | US Deportations,  Waqf Amendment Act

South Central 22 | US Deportations, Waqf Amendment Act

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In Episode 22 of South Central, hosts Dhanya Rajendran, Pooja Prasanna, and Leena Reghunath discuss the US crackdown on Indian students through self-deportation notices and detentions and the implications of the Waqf Amendment Act 2025 with Suhasini Haidar, Diplomatic Affairs Editor at The Hindu, and Senior Counsel Zafarullah Khan.

On the scale of the US crackdown, Suhasini says, “What we have seen in the last two months is... governments making it very clear they don't care if due process is followed or not. The idea that the US government now is essentially saying we don't care what's right and wrong… that's never happened before.”

Dhanya says, “There definitely is panic amongst the student community… especially that anything they post on social media, anything they do on their campuses, can come back to bite them.”

On the Indian government’s muted response, Pooja says, “Isn’t there such a mismatch between what we see — the kind of personality we see of Mr Modi in speeches in Parliament, this bravado — but the minute it comes to implementation of that foreign policy… Rest of it has been extremely meek, hasn’t it?”

As the conversation shifts to the Waqf Amendment Act 2025, Zafarullah says, “The present amendments do not address the shortcomings in the administration of the Waqf and its properties. The focus is on how to deprive the Waqf of their landed properties. 

On the BJP’s claim of protecting the Muslim community’s interests, Dhanya says, “This is a party which did not give a seat to a Muslim. It stood and watched when Muslims’ homes were demolished; when there were hate speeches made against Muslims. And you want the community to suddenly believe that you want to protect their lands, you want transparency in the system, and that is why you have brought the Waqf Act? That is hypocritical. Nobody’s going to buy that argument.”

Zafarullah adds, “It is an economic deprivation of the community. That is the agenda. To deprive the community of its resources and thereby make them dependent and second-class citizens.”

All this and more—tune in.


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Audio Timecodes 

00:00:00 - Intro

00:01:23 - Announcements

00:03:03 - Headlines 

00:13:39 - US Deportations

00:44:51 - Waqf Amendment Act

01:09:13 - Letters

01:14:23 - Recommendations

References

RSS and BJP’s quiet takeover of Auroville

A storm brews at Isha Foundation: Sexual assault allegations and countercharges

Great Nicobar: Tribal lands don’t show up on maps as Union govt pushes mega project

Wrongly accused of 'Hamas support': Indian student speaks after being forced to flee US

Whittling down sources of U.S. soft power

Waqf bill cleared in Lok Sabha, Opposition calls it attack on minorities

Recommendations

Suhasini Haidar 

Indian Genius

Zafarullah Khan 

Adolescence  

Anatomy of a Fall

Laapataa Ladies 

Choose Your Enemies Wisely

Leena Reghunath 

British Tourist Detained 

Photojournalist witnesses Venezuelan migrants' arrival in El Salvador

Try that in a small town

Pooja Prasanna 

The Residence

Why I am an Atheist

Dhanya Rajendran

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Produced by Bhuvan Malik, edited by Jaseem Ali.

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