In this engaging episode of London Vārta, we feature an illuminating conversation with Francesca Orsini, Professor Emerita of Hindi and South Asian Literature at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London. She is an acclaimed Italian scholar specialising in multilingual literary histories of South Asia. Her pioneering work explores Hindi, Urdu, and Indo-Persian texts. She taught Hindi at Cambridge University before joining the SOAS.

Francesca Orsini joins broadcaster Achala Sharma to reflect on her remarkable career, her profound connection to Hindi, and the vibrant literary landscapes of South Asia. “My heart belongs to Allahabad, as the city is my second home,” admits Orsini. 

Produced by Pervaiz Alam for Cine Ink, this discussion is a must-listen for anyone captivated by the interplay of language and culture.

For those keen to explore further, Professor Orsini’s notable works include The Hindi Public Sphere 1920–1940: Language and Literature in the Age of Nationalism (Oxford University Press, 2002), which explores Hindi’s pivotal role in colonial India’s nationalist discourse; Print and Pleasure: Popular Literature and Entertaining Fictions in Colonial North India (Permanent Black, 2009), revealing the lively world of popular fiction; Before the Divide: Hindi and Urdu Literary Culture (Orient BlackSwan, 2010), which re-examines the shared history of these languages; and her recent East of Delhi: Multilingual Literary Culture and World Literature (Oxford University Press, 2023), redefining world literature through the multilingual lens of Awadh. Her influential edited collections include Love in South Asia: A Cultural History (Cambridge University Press, 2006) and Tellings and Texts: Music, Literature and Performance in North India (Open Book Publishers, 2015), co-edited with Katherine Butler Schofield. 

This is a radio adaptation of legendary Urdu writer Ismat Chughtai's controversial story "Lihaaf". Directed by Prof. Pervaiz Alam, Lihaaf was a part of the radio production class of the students of School of Journalism and Mass Communication (SJMC), Apeejay Stya University, Gurgaon, India, in 2017. The lead role is performed by Pankhuri Singh, a student of MA Journalism, SJMC.

Why is Lihaaf Controversial? Lihaaf (The Quilt), a short story by Ismat Chughtai published in 1942, is narrated by a young girl who observes the life of Begum Jaan, the neglected wife of a Nawab. The story subtly explores themes of female sexuality, repression, and same-sex desire. Set in a traditional Indian Muslim household, Lihaaf depicts Begum Jaan’s loneliness and her intimate relationship with her maid, Rabbo, implied through suggestive imagery, particularly the metaphor of the “quilt.” Court Cases:

The story was deemed obscene by the British colonial authorities, leading to Ismat Chughtai being charged with obscenity under Section 292 of the Indian Penal Code in 1944. The trial took place in Lahore, where Ismat Chughtai and her contemporary Saadat Hasan Manto, also charged for his story Bu, defended their works. Manto discussed the controversy surrounding Lihaaf in detail in his sketch of Ismat Chughtai, available as a podcast on Cine Ink. Ismat Chughtai won the case. The controversy solidified her reputation as a bold feminist writer who addressed marginalised voices and societal hypocrisy, while also highlighting the era’s discomfort with discussions of female sexuality.

Bhupesh Shrivastav at SJMC recorded, edited and mixed Lihaaf. Malvika Kaul, Associate Professor, Mili Agarwal, Assistant Professor, and Swapnil Kumar, Coordinator, SJMC, assisted in the project. Courtesy: SJMC, Apeejay Stya University, India Lihaaf published by Rajkamal is available on Amazon. #Lihaaf #ismatchughtai #SJMC #ApeejayStyaUniversity #UrduStory #PankhuriSingh #cineink #cineinkpodcast #Rajkamal

Mahmood Farooqui and Darain Shahidi of the Dastangoi Collective bring Shrilal Shukla’s iconic Hindi novel Raag Darbari to life in a captivating performance, produced by Anusha Rizvi.

The podcast has been produced by Pervaiz Alam and Achala Sharma for Cineink. 
This Cineink podcast in Hindi is adapted from a stage production performed in London on April 8, 2025, before a live audience.

Sahitya Academy Award-winning ‘Raag Darbari’ is a sharp, humorous Hindi novel that brilliantly satirises corruption, bureaucracy, and the intricacies of rural Indian life. Originally published by Rajkamal in 1968, its relevance endures today. The novel is also available in English, translated by Gillian Wright.

Based in Delhi, the Dastangoi Collective is renowned for reviving the ancient art of Persian and Urdu storytelling.

In a revealing episode of Cine Ink’s podcast London Vārta, former Intelligence Bureau officer and R&AW chief Amarjit Singh Dulat describes the 1989 kidnapping of Rubaiya Sayeed, daughter of the then-Home Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, by JKLF militants as a “textbook example of how not to handle a crisis.” The abduction marked a turning point in Kashmir’s history, igniting widespread militancy in Jammu and Kashmir.

Speaking with broadcaster Pervaiz Alam, AS Dulat, a key intelligence figure in Kashmir during the crisis, admitted to significant intelligence failures in the subsequent decade, as the region faced unprecedented violence. He emphasised that the Rubaiya kidnapping serves as “a case study for training on what to avoid.”

Dulat recounted receiving a call from the then-Cabinet Secretary T.N. Seshan, informing him that Union Ministers I.K. Gujral and Arif Mohammad Khan were sent to Srinagar to negotiate Rubaiya’s release. He noted that inadequate briefing from Delhi hindered their efforts.

He also highlighted intelligence and strategic missteps during the 1999 Kargil War and the hijacking of Indian Airlines flight IC-814, underscoring systemic challenges in crisis management.

In his book The Chief Minister and the Spy (2025), Dulat suggests former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah privately expressed willingness to support the 2019 abrogation of Article 370 but felt excluded by the government. Abdullah later called this suggestion “a figment of [Dulat’s] imagination.” Clarifying in the podcast, Dulat said, “Just 2-3 days before the abrogation, Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah, and their Anantnag MP, Justice Hasnain Masoodi, met the Prime Minister (Narendra Modi). I don’t know what they discussed, but Farooq told me he was not informed about the decision (abrogation of article 370 in advance).” 

Dulat’s insights, rooted in his extensive career and detailed in works like Kashmir: The Vajpayee Years (2015), The Spy Chronicles (2018), and A Life in the Shadows (2022), provide a rare perspective on India’s intelligence operations and Kashmir’s complex political landscape. London Vārta is a podcast series of interviews produced by the London-based media comp[any, Cine Ink. All podcasts are available on Apple, Spotify and YouTube. 

India’s veteran journalist, columnist and author, Saeed Naqvi is in conversation with Pervaiz Alam on Cine Ink podcast series ‘London Vārta’. 

“Rajiv asked me, Saeed, what do you think about opening the embassy of Israel in India as some of my people are against it. Muslim leaders tell me that the Muslim vote will slip away from Congress if I allowed an Israeli Embassy,” reveals Naqvi. 

Formerly associated with the Statesman, Indian Express and Sunday Times, Saeed Naqvi is also known for his ground-breaking television interviews with world leaders such as Mikhail Gorbachov, Nelson Mandela, Fidel Castro, Muammar Gaddafi, Henry Kissinger, Yitzhak Shamir, Yitzhak Rabin, Shimon Peres, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Benazir Bhutto, Mohammad Najibullah and Hamid Karzai. 

As he completes 60 years in journalism, Saeed Naqvi admits playing a key role in forging diplomatic relations between India and Israel when Rajiv Gandhi became the Prime Minister of India in 1984. 
Naqvi goes on to mention the names of the people who were critical of opening an Israeli embassy. They were Najma Heptullah, Ghulam Nabi Azad and Ahmed Patel, he reveals hesitatingly. 

Naqvi says he advised Rajiv Gandhi to go ahead with his plans. He told him “Rajiv, they are out of touch, as always, from Muslim thinking.” 

But it was PM Narsimha Rao who actually allowed to establish full diplomatic relations between India and Israel in 1992, Naqvi says. 

“I have a plaque at home which says twelve trees have been planted on the hills of Jerusalem in the name of Saeed Naqvi for having played a role in Indo-Israeli relations,” Naqvi says on London Varta. “The Israeli State planted the saplings at a function where I was invited along with Khushwant Singh. We were given the plaques,” Naqvi adds. 

“That was a mistake, I accept it,” Saeed Naqvi confesses as he discusses the ongoing Israeli military campaign in Gaza, calling it “Genocide and ethnic cleansing”. He criticises the Indian response to Gaza situation and calls it “Lamenting!” 
Saeed Naqvi says Shimon Peres, former PM and President of Israel, once told him “Saeed, Indo-

Israeli relations are like French perfume- they are to be smelled, not drunk.” 
In this long podcast, Saeed Naqvi talks about his exclusive interviews with Mikhail Gorbachov, Col. Qaddafi and Fidel Castro, and how they appeared before him. 

On a lighter note, Naqvi shares how he ended up with a world class scoop early in his career after getting access to Maharishi Yogi’s ashram in the Himalayas where The Beatles were meditating. Maharshi whispered a Mantra in  my ear, and all doors were open, he says mischievously. Along with fellow photographer, Raghu Rai, Naqvi reported intimate details of the Ashram for his paper as he had access to John Lennon, George Harrison, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr.

Born in Mustafabad, a small town in UP, and growing up in  Lucknow, Naqvi had  spent ‘great time’ with some of the legendary Urdu poets and writers. He describes meeting Josh Malihabadi, Firaq Gorakhpuri, Majaz Lucknavi, Sajjad Zaheer, Razia Sajjad Zaheer and Rahi Masoom Raza. 
Naqvi recites his favourite Urdu poetry and also talks about his family and his wife, Aruna. 
Saeed Naqvi has authored several books including Reflections of an Indian Muslim (1993), The Last Brahmin Prime Minister (1996), Being the Other: The Muslim in India (2016) and The Muslim Vanishes (2022). 

The podcast with Saeed Naqvi was recorded in London on 5 November, 2024. London Vārta and other podcasts for Cine Ink are produced by Achala Sharma and Pervaiz Alam. 

This programme is in Hindi/Urdu. Senior journalist Qurban Ali made headlines when he approached his local police station in New Delhi to register an FIR against the prime minister for making communal and inflammatory remarks about Muslims at an election rally on April 21, 2024 at Banswara in the state of Rajasthan. 

Qurban Ali is in conversation with broadcaster Pervaiz Alam in Cine Ink series, London Vārta, discussing why he felt compelled to take the extreme step of filing a case against the PM. 
In another case, the Supreme Court is already hearing Qurban Ali v Union of India, a Public Interest Litigation, filed against the alleged hate speech at the Dharam Sansad in Haridwar and by Hindu Yuva Vahini in Delhi.

Qurban Ali has been a journalist for than 40 years. He has worked with BBC Hindi Service & BBC Hindi TV as a reporter and producer. He has also worked with Rajya Sabha TV, Doordarshan News, UNI and Ravivar Patrika.

London Varta has been produced by Cineink, UK. 

Back after 10 years with a new novel 'The Girl with the Seven Lives’, Vikas Swarup unravels the mystery behind his success as a novelist in conversation with broadcaster Pervaiz Alam on Cine Ink podcast “London Varta”. This podcast is in Hindi/Urdu. 

There’s huge excitement in the fiction world. The blurb promises Swarup's new book is filled with the same evocative prose, immersive narrative and propulsive energy that made his first book Q&A (Slumdog Millionaire) a global bestseller, getting 10 Oscar nominations.

In this podcast, Vikas Swarup shares fascinating stories about his novels- Q&A, The Accidental Apprentice, The Girl with the Seven Lives- and how the books have been adapted for the screen.

Produced by Achala Sharma, Cine Ink Podcast 'London Vārta' features authors, journalists, artists and newsmakers. 

“When you put 2 .3 million people for 18 years now in the biggest cage in the world, you should expect any kind of resistance and struggle, even the most brutal and cruel and criminal one. And this is what we faced. And then the aftermath,” says Israeli journalist Gideon Levy in conversation with Pervaiz Alam on “London Vārta”, a Cine Ink podcast series.

Once the British daily, The Independent, described Gideon Levy as the most hated man in Israel – and perhaps the most heroic.

Israeli columnist and commentator writing for the newspaper Haaretz, Gideon Levy has emerged as a long-time critic of his country’s leadership. 

Born in 1953 in Tel Aviv, Levy tells Pervaiz Alam how his grandparents were murdered in the Holocaust but somehow his parents survived and came to Israel as refugees. His father earned his living through a bakery shop.

In his youth days Levy was a zionist and joined the Israeli Defence Force as a radio reporter. He worked as an aide and spokesman for Simon Peres, the Labour leader, who went on to become the PM and President of Israel. 

Levy has authored two books; “The Punishment of Gaza”  and “The Killing of Gaza: Reports on a Catastrophe”.

A PhD in Linguistics from the Jawahar Lal University of New Delhi, she is a political satirist known for posting short videos on social media as Dr. Medusa, not her real name. She says she won’t be able to live a life without expressing her dissent. However, self preservation is equally important, therefore, to avoid trolling by two-rupee trolls she uses satire as a protective armour. Dr Medusa is in conversation with broadcaster, Pervaiz Alam. 

Originally from Assam, she’s a Sangeet Visharad from Lucknow, and loves reciting the poetry of Faiz Ahmad Faiz and Habib Jalib. 

Her specialisation as a linguist is in developing the diagnostic tools in the field of Alzheimer as language deficits are frequent in dementia.

This programme ‘London Vārta: Freedom of Speech” was recorded on 30 May, 2024, for Cine Ink podcasts, based in London. 

Pankaj Pachauri is in conversation with Pervaiz Alam in Cineink’s podcast series: London Vārta - Freedom Of Speech. In a wide-ranging interview, former Communication Adviser to PM Dr Manmohan Singh, Pachauri says: If I were to advise PM Narendra Modi, I would try to convince him to hold a big press conference for at least two hours at the new Media Centre in New Delhi. Let the journalists ask all sorts of questions. This would help him in changing his image of a ‘dictator’. Personally, I think he should do it because he is a great interviewee. 

Pachauri adds: I hope PM Modi will hold a press conference during the ongoing election campaign. There’s a perception that PM Narendra Modi does not believe in democratic values whereas questioning the govt is actually a democratic value.

‘London Vārta - Freedom Of Speech’ podcast is available in both audio and video formats on Apple, Spotify and YouTube. 

“No, I do not ever want to write a book about my working with  Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. This is what I promised to Dr Singh when I saw how betrayed he felt when his former media adviser Sanjay Baru’s book (Accidental Prime Minister: Making and Unmaking of Manmohan Singh) came out,” says Pankaj Pachauri, former Communication Adviser to PM Manmohan Singh (2012-2014). Pankaj adds, Dr Singh told me at that time “I have been stabbed in the back.”


PM Manmohan Singh’s Last Press Conference: The preparation and a last minute surprise…
Pankaj Pachauri reveals: PM Manmohan Singh addressed 167 press conferences in his 10-year rule. But his last press conference as PM was a masterclass. It took us three months to prepare for the presser. Anticipating at least 100 possible questions, we sought facts and figures from various govt departments, and prepared a 100-page document to assist Dr Singh but he barely looked at it. He just skimmed through the information we had collected. 

Pachauri explains: One hundred and thirty journalists attended the press conference on 3rd January 2014 in New Delhi. This was the last press conference of PM Singh. Sixty two questions were asked. Dr. Singh was spot on. However, we were ambushed by one question, asked by a journalist from Assam. I confess, we had not anticipated this question. The journalist asked: What steps the govt has taken to address the depleting population of rhinos in Assam. 

Before joining Dr. Manmohan Singh as his communication advisor, Pankaj had reported from Delhi, Hong Kong, London & Boston. He started his journalistic career at the Patriot, followed by The Sunday Observer, India Today, BBC and NDTV. He was producer of news and current affairs at the BBC World Service & Hindi Service in London for 6 years. 

At NDTV, he anchored popular TV progs such as Money Mantra and Hum Log. He was also channel’s Managing Editor. 

BBC is not the BBC it used to be…
Discussing the state of media in India, Pankaj criticised the restructuring of BBC in India. According to BBC, in the month of April, 2024, its operation in India separated in two. BBC said the changes were being made to meet the country's foreign investment rules. A new Indian-owned company called the Collective Newsroom has started producing content for the BBC's six other Indian language services. BBC admits that the move came a year after BBC India's Delhi offices were searched by Indian authorities. Those searches by income tax officials came weeks after the broadcaster aired a documentary in the UK - but not in India - critical of PM Modi.

“BBC is not the BBC it used to be. By outsourcing its news output, it has become another media outlet just like other media companies of India. Therefore, it ought to be treated just like any other Indian outfit, now, and has to face same pressures. 
Pankaj founded an online platform GoNews in 2017 and ran it...

Arm-twisting through legal means and harassment of journalists by the current govt in India is to create “a chilling effect”. And there’s a word for it, SLAPP, Paranjoy Guha Thakurta explains:  Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation. The process is the punishment, Thakurta says. 

Thakurta is one of India’s best known journalists. But he’s controversial too.  Besides having been questioned by Delhi Police for freelancing with a news portal which is under investigation by the govt, Thakurta also faces various allegations in multiple court cases for his writings, primarily, the defamation.

Paranjoy was one of more than 180 editors, investigative reporters and other journalists around the world who were selected as possible candidates for surveillance by government clients of the surveillance firm NSO Group, according to Amnesty International. 

Paranjoy is in conversation with broadcaster Pervaiz Alam, discussing the challenges faced by journalists in protecting the freedom of speech in India. Having worked with Business India, BusinessWorld, The Telegraph, India Today, The Pioneer, Television Eighteen (now Network 18), Lok Sabha Television and other networks, Paranjoy joined India’s prestigious Economic and Political Weekly as its Editor in 2016 but had to resign amid a controversy. 

He has been a visiting faculty member at the prestigious Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad. Thakurta has published, authored and collaborated with other writers on more than 30 books, including, Gas Wars, Sue The Messenger and Flying Lies. 

“I will ask questions. I’m not backing off. Let me make this clear to this government,” says Abhisar Sharma, famous Journalist and television anchor, in this long interview with broadcaster Pervaiz Alam on Cine Ink’s new podcast series London Vārta: Freedom of Speech. 
Abhisar Sharma is an award-winning journalist and has worked with BBC Hindi, NDTV, Zee TV, Aajtak and ABP as a reporter, presenter and anchor of news and current affairs programmes in London and Delhi.
The series London Vārta: Freedom of Speech is available both in video and audio formats on YouTube, Apple, Spotify and other major podcast platforms. 
Abhisar Sharma was summoned twice by the Delhi Police for questioning in connection with a case filed under anti-terror law UAPA of India, following charges that he was involved with a news portal which was accused of spreading pro-China propaganda. He has also been questioned by India’s Enforcement Directorate as well in another case. 
London Vārta: Freedom of Speech will be profiling some of India’s leading television anchors and journalists who have launched their own YouTube channels, attracting millions of viewers to get their alternate news and current affairs. In conversation with broadcaster Pervaiz Alam, the guests share their journey from mainstream media or ‘Legacy Media’ to Social Media as the space for independent journalists shrinks day by day in India. 

In this first episode of “London Vārta: Freedom of Speech”,  Utkarsh Amitabh, CEO of Network Capital, is in conversation with broadcaster Pervaiz Alam. Amitabh has recently authored a book: Passion Economy And The Side Hustle, published by Penguin. 
He is also the Chief Marketing Officer of 5ire.org, a blockchain unicorn valued at $1.5 Billion. 
Utkarsh Amitabh is a writer at Harvard Business Review, Chevening Fellow at University of Oxford and a World Economic Forum Global Shaper who represented the community at the Annual Meeting in Davos.
An engineer by training, Utkarsh read philosophy at Pembroke College, University of Oxford and earned his MBA from INSEAD Business School (France) where he was recognised as the Andy Burgess Scholar for Social Entrepreneurship. 
Utkarsh worked at Microsoft for 7 years across US, Europe and India, leading business development for big bet projects. He is a TED speaker, Raisina Fellow, and the recipient of the INK Fellowship. 
He is also a trained actor and played “Major Metcalf” in one of the world's longest running plays. He loves to travel and has been to more than 80 countries.
London Vārta: Freedom of Speech 
Meet some of the most prominent journalists and broadcasters from India, discussing their journey from ‘Legacy Media’ to Social Media via Youtube in a series of podcasts, London Vārta: Freedom of Speech, produced by Cine Ink, a hub of podcasts based in London.  

Background: A report by the Reuters news agency in April, 2024, headlined the phenomenon “Critics of India's Modi migrate online as mainstream media stays deferential.”

With more than 800 million people online, India is the country with the largest YouTube audience, 462 million, in the world. With more than 400 million WhatsApp users, the country is seeing a record number of exchange of good, bad and ugly internet links.

A report “The 2024 Indian Elections: The Strategic Use of Journalism, Social Media, and Internet Governance in a Modi-centric Election” by Ralph Schroeder, Neeraj Shetye and Maknoon Wani, published in April 2024, for the Oxford Internet Institute, the University of Oxford, says: The Worrying State of Indian Journalism - India’s ranking in the  World Press Freedom Index has consistently deteriorated over the past few years, touching a record low of 161 out of 180 countries in 2023, falling 11 positions compared to 2022. One of the main issues leading to the downgrade is the concentrated ownership of Indian media  where businesses such as Reliance Industries, which is close to the Prime Minister, has been able to buy more than 70 media outlets in the country. This has significantly affected Indian journalism: As Antara Dev Sen observes, “An independent journalist is the bedrock of responsible media as opposed to embedded journalists, enlisted by dominant political, ideological or business interests”. 

The report adds: Disinformation on social media played an important, though not decisive, role in the previous two elections. 2014 is sometimes dubbed the ‘Twitter election’ and 2019 the ‘WhatsApp’ election. 2024, with YouTube among the main outlets that Indians use for news may come to be known as the ‘YouTube election’.

The year 2023 has seen been witnessing one of the the most heated debates on the idea of having a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in India. The framers of the Indian constitution endeavoured to have a common set of laws governing personal matters such as marriage, divorce, inheritance, and adoption for all citizens, irrespective of their religious affiliations.

Both Muslims and Christians have expressed their reservations about the idea which is yet to be presented in a legal format. Various tribes and other minority groups in India are also opposed to the introduction of a UCC. Why?

Prof. Tahir Mahmood, India’s renowned jurist specialising in Islamic Law, Hindu Law, Religion and Law and Law Relating to Minorities, and Former Member, Law Commission of India, is in conversation with Pervaiz Alam. He says Indian Muslims have been let down by their scholars as most Muslim countries in the world, including Pakistan, have codified the Islamic family law. “According to Islamic law, triple divorce is illegal. All Muslim countries have abolished it.” But in India Muslim scholars are still divided over it.

Prof. Mahmood has authored more than 20 books on law and has been Dean, Faculty of Law, University of Delhi, Chairman, National Commission for Minorities and Member, National Human Rights Commission. The Supreme Court of India has cited his scholarly work on Islamic laws in some of its judgments.