Nous Podcast

Did British Colonial Rule Reshape Hindu–Muslim Relations? | Prof. SherAli Tareen

Prof. SherAli Tareen explores the limits of Hindu–Muslim coexistence in South Asia, drawing on Perilous Intimacies. The discussion examines how Muslim scholars debated pluralism, theology, and political power during colonial rule and the rise of modern identities.

Nous Podcast

Why Gandhi Thought India Didn’t Need Secularism | Prof. Akeel Bilgrami

Prof. Akeel Bilgrami unpacks the meaning of secularism, distinguishing it from secularisation and tracing its historical evolution. The conversation explores Gandhi’s critique, Mughal governance, and contemporary political challenges shaping the future of secularism in India.

Nous Podcast

Economic Fundamentalism and the Commercialization of Human Vulnerability

Dr. Javed Jamil examines how modern economics—from the Industrial Revolution to today’s “Billionaire Raj”—has deepened inequality. Discussing inflation, taxation, banking, and Zakat, he questions whether economic systems should serve profit alone or promote health, justice, and social peace.

Nous Podcast

How Architecture Marginalizes Muslims in India?

In this conversation, Fahad Zuberi, PhD Scholar at MIT, explores the politics of demolition and space in contemporary India. Using the concept of “punitive domicide,” he explains how law, architecture, and state power intersect to produce exclusion and reshape citizenship and public space.

Explainer

Budget 2026 Explained: What Did India’s Minorities Really Get?

This video analyses the Ministry of Minority Affairs’ Budget 2026 allocation beyond headline figures, examining real spending, inflation-adjusted trends, and shifting priorities to understand what the numbers truly mean for minority welfare in India.

Explainer

Madrasas & its Contribution in Shaping Knowledge & Learning

Watch Episode 1 of our Madrasa Series: The History and Evolution of Madrasas. Moving beyond media stereotypes, this explainer traces the madrasa’s origins as a place of learning and its historic role as a centre of education and scholarship across the Islamic world and India.

Nous Podcast

Non-Violence vs Politics of Hate: Does Gandhi Still Matter?

Journalist Asad Ashraf in conversation with Professor Apoorvanand revisits Mahatma Gandhi as a political thinker and moral force. Moving beyond hagiography, the discussion examines his ideas on non-violence, mass politics, economics, and why Gandhi continues to unsettle contemporary India.

Projects

School Education in a Muslim-Concentrated Urban Neighbourhood: Evidence from a Large-Scale Household Survey in Jamia Nagar, Delhi

Based on a large-scale household survey in Jamia Nagar, Delhi, this report examines school access, educational costs, and learning outcomes among children in a Muslim-concentrated urban neighbourhood, highlighting the structural factors shaping educational inequality.

Explainer

SIR Explained: Law, Citizenship & Exclusion | Adv. Fawaz Shaheen

This video examines four critical questions raised by lawyer and researcher Fawaz Shaheen on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls—an exercise affecting over 50 crore voters and reshaping the constitutional promise of universal adult franchise.

Nous Podcast

What Economic Growth Stories Neglect in India | Dr. Amir Ullah Khan

India’s growth story is often told through markets and income—but who is left out? In this Nous podcast, Dr. Amir Ullah Khan unpacks how exclusion is shaped by policy, institutions, and labour markets, showing why development without justice deepens inequality and demands urgent course correction.

Nous Podcast

Sanctions, Regime Change, and the Architecture of U.S. Empire | Vijay Prashad

The US kidnapping of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro marks a critical moment in contemporary global politics. For decades, the United States has positioned itself as the guardian of a “rules-based international order.” This episode explores how fragile and selective that framework becomes when imperial power is directly exercised. The abduction

Nous Podcast

Uttarakhand UCC Imposes Hindu Code on Other Communities — Maulana Khalid Saifullah Rahmani

A conversation with Maulana Khalid Saifullah Rahmani on Muslim Personal Law, the role of the AIMPLB, Islamic approaches to reform, women’s rights, and the Uniform Civil Code—set within the framework of India’s constitutional order and religious diversity.

Nous Podcast

What’s Happening in Ladakh? Hanifa Jaan Breaks It Down

In this Nous podcast episode, MP Hanifa Jaan joins Asad Ashraf to examine Ladakh after Article 370—probing democratic erosion, bureaucratic control, identity, environmental crises, and the region’s struggle for genuine representation and constitutional safeguards.

Nous Podcast

How Shaheen Bagh Redefined Indian Muslim Political Agency

This roundtable reexamines Shaheen Bagh as a decisive moment of Muslim political assertion during the CAA–NRC crisis. It explores protest, policing, media narratives, and the unresolved questions Shaheen Bagh left for Muslim political futures in India.

Nous Podcast

The Muslim Crisis is Philosophical, Before It Is Political: Unraveling the Roots of Modernity with Hassan Spiker

Ali Javed engages philosopher Hasan Spiker to diagnose the "Muslim Crisis." Spiker argues the issue isn't geopolitical, but ontological: Muslims increasingly inhabit a "borrowed philosophy." A deep dive into the metaphysical roots of modern confusion.

2025 Year in Review: Restoring Dignity Through Epistemic Power

As we close another year, we reflect on the journey of nous - not merely as a media house or a think tank, but as a growing knowledge ecosystem dedicated to reshaping the discourse on Muslim life in India.  Our foundational belief remains unchanged: power follows intelligibility. What cannot be

Nous Podcast

How Law and Impunity Shape Christian Minority Life in South Asia | Tehmina Arora Explains

Narratives around religious conversion are reshaping laws, policing, and daily life for minorities across South Asia. From legal harassment to mob violence, this discussion highlights regional patterns raising urgent questions about religious freedom and state accountability.

Explainer

Deconstructing the Meaning of Jihad

In this video, renowned author and Islamic scholar Dr. Javed Jamil explains the true meaning of Jihad, a concept that has been repeatedly misrepresented in public discourse. At its core, Jihad refers to the struggle against injustice and evil — whether internal (self-discipline and moral restraint) or external (oppression, exploitation, and

Documentary

Six Years of Silence: Recollecting the Horror of December 15 at Jamia Millia Islamia

"They were beating to kill." Six years after the police crackdown at Jamia Millia Islamia, survivors recount the trauma of December 15. From the library assault to the lingering silence on campus, this is the story of a "black day" and the elusive wait for justice.

Nous Podcast

Babri to Waqf: Eroding Equality Before Law - Senior Advocate MR Shamshad

Sr. Advocate MR Shamshad exposes how selective justice—from Babri to Waqf—is eroding equality. A deep dive into the crisis of institutional accountability and the urgent need for constitutional literacy to protect minority rights in India.

Research

The Archaeological Survey of India, Keezhadi, Sambhal, and the Practices of Hindutva Archaeology

Archaeology shapes how we imagine the present by helping us understand the past, and it remains a crucial tool for doing so. But in India, it often intersects with Hindutva narratives. From Ayodhya to Keezhadi, this article examines how archaeology is shaped by the contexts in which it is produced.

Nous Podcast

Muslim Identity & the Nation-State: Critiquing Wael Hallaq

Revisiting Hallaq’s critique of the modern state, the episode highlights how both the ‘Islamic polity’ and the ‘nation-state’ are often theorized through idealized, hypothetical models that never fully existed in practice. We trace the historical role of Jamiat, Deoband, and other Muslim institutions that emerged in periods of relative

Politics

Crisis of Secularism? Rethinking Politics in Bihar & India

Is the crisis of secular politics merely operational or deeply ideological? We dissect the Bihar verdict, the exclusion of Muslim agency, and why the opposition must move beyond tokenism toward genuine power-sharing to survive.

Nous Podcast

Inside the RSS Archive: What Their Own Records Reveal | Dr. Shamsul Islam

Dr. Shamsul Islam dives into RSS archives to challenge established narratives. From the origins of the Two-Nation Theory to the freedom struggle, discover what their own records reveal about India's past.

Decrypted by Nous

Muslims, Development, and the Politics of Neglect in Bihar

Despite forming 17% of Bihar’s population, Muslims remain largely invisible in its development story. Concentrated in Seemanchal’s poorest districts, they face deep gaps in education, jobs, and representation—raising urgent questions ahead of the 2025 Bihar election.