Welcome to season 2 of the Podcast Books and Us. Kicking off the season with a book about a groundbreaking event that kicked off changes in India’s political landscape - the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’, the epic 4,000-kilometre nationwide march organizedby the main opposition party – the Indian National Congress from September 2022 to January 2023.  The march from the country’s southern tip at Kanyakumari to Kashmir in the north, was held under the stewardship of Rahul Gandhi, Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha), and former President of the Indian National Congress. Rahul Gandhi is now also Leader of  Opposition, Lok Sabha.

The journey across the country revived theparty as well as gave them an opportunity to connect with the people directly. The book is a compilation of articles written by political stalwarts as well ascivil society members who participated in the yatra.

 Here we talk to the co-editors of the book Pushparaj Deshpande and Ruchira Chaturvedi, both of whom were part of the yatra, and understand the many layers of meaning of the yatra, it’s social, political, economic and cultural aspects.

Pushparaj is the director of the Samruddha Bharat Foundation (www.samruddhabharat.in). He is the series editor of the ‘Rethinking India’ volumes, the ‘Reshaping India’ volumes, and the co-editor of many other books. He writes for numerous national dailies. He has also worked with various legislators, the Rajya Sabha TV, the Rajiv Gandhi Institute for Contemporary Studies and the Indian National Congress.

Ruchira is the national convenor of 'Social Media and Digital Communications', Indian National Congress, and has previously worked with the party in variouscapacities. She is also a Fellow of the ‘Konrad Adenauer School for Young Politicians' and an 'American Council of Young Political Leaders' delegate.

Get the book from Amazon: https://amzn.in/d/26lTCmo

For feedback you can write to us at podcast@ramonproductions.org