Beyond the Taj: The Story of India's Minorities

Unpacking the Lives of Indian Muslim Queens ft. Tom Verde

Many Muslim women have carved out their place in the crowded landscape of Indian history. One of them was Razia Sultan, the only female queen of the Delhi Sultanate, who broke the rules of pardah, who defied the will of an established elite to cater to the people. Another was Nur Jahan, a patron of the arts, a visionary of fashion and architecture, and a talented politician. Who were these women, and what can we learn from their stories? Journalist and author Tom Verde joins us to talk about the palace intrigue, political rebellion, and powerful legacies of these iconic Muslim queens, drawing on the stories found in his recently published book Queens of Islam [https://interlinkbooks.com/product/queens-of-islam/].

What it Means to be Muslim in Modi's India, ft. Sharjeel Usmani

The sheer amount of hate speech, violent attacks, and systemic abuses that inundate Muslims in India is suffocating. What, then, is it like to grow up in the climate of hate cultivated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Hindu supremacist supporters? Activist Sharjeel Usmani joins us for a heartbreaking and harrowing exploration of life as a Muslim in Modi's India.

The Stories and Scars of the 2002 Gujarat Pogrom, ft. Zara Chowdhary

The 2002 Gujarat Pogrom is not history. The violence and terror inflicted on thousands of Gujarati Muslims lingers with those who survived it decades after. With both empathy and courage, author Zara Chowdhary speaks about her family's experience in surviving the Gujarat pogrom, the experience of telling the stories of the victims, and the writing of her memoir, The Lucky Ones.

Building Hindu-Muslim Unity in the Diaspora ft. Ria Chakrabarty

Hindu-Muslim unity isn’t just found in India - it’s a concept that diaspora communities continue to work towards and reimagine abroad. In this special episode of Beyond the Taj, Safa Ahmed of Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC) and Ria Chakrabarty of Hindus for Human Rights (HfHR) engage in an honest conversation about their experiences with both division and solidarity in the Indian American diaspora, and discuss how Hindus and Muslims can combat the supremacist forces that seek to drive these communities apart.

Lessons from Sikh-Muslim Solidarity in the Diaspora ft. Arjun Singh Sethi

In this episode, we sit down with activist and scholar Professor Arjun Singh Sethi to explore the long history of solidarity between Muslim and Sikh communities in the diaspora. From the immediate aftermath of 9/11, when both communities were targeted by state surveillance and bigotry, to more recent coalition-building efforts aimed at opposing Hindu supremacy and transnational repression, this conversation traces how shared vulnerability gives rise to collective resistance.