Grassroots Nation

Part 2: Jagdeesh Rao Puppala on the commons in India

In part 2 of this conversation, Jagdeesh Rao Puppala talks about the longstanding collaboration between theorists, researchers, practitioners and the government that has resulted in deepening our understanding of the commons. If you haven’t listened to part 1 yet, we strongly encourage you to do so first! Jagdeesh Rao Puppala is in conversation with his colleague Irina Snissar Lobo. This interview was recorded in Goa. Grassroots Nation is a podcast from Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies. For more information go to www.rohininilekaniphilanthropies.org or join the conversation on social media @RNP_foundation.

Jagdeesh Rao Puppala on embedding the commons in collaborative action

For more than three decades, Jagdeesh Rao Puppala has devoted his life to addressing one of the most complex challenges of our time: the stewardship of the commons: our shared resources and the collective responsibility they demand. A close collaborator of Nobel Laureate Elinor Ostrom, he is a co-founder of the Foundation for Ecological Security and served as its chief executive for nearly 20 years. The organization is widely recognized for its thoughtful, deeply grounded approach to managing shared natural resources and for reimagining how communities can come together to protect them. In the first of a two-part conversation, Jagdeesh is in conversation with his colleague Irina Snissar Lobo, and they reflect on his early years in rural India, his enduring connection to nature, and the difficult lessons he has learned in working to safeguard both ecosystems and the people who depend on them. Grassroots Nation is a podcast from Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies. For more information go to www.rohininilekaniphilanthropies.org or join the conversation on social media @RNP_foundation.

Gagan Sethi: Bravery is contagious

For over three decades, Gagan Sethi has been at the forefront of India’s civil society movement, building institutions, mentoring grassroots leaders, and advocating for the rights of marginalized communities. A co-founder of Janvikas, his work has spanned minority rights, Dalit empowerment, gender justice, and community-led governance. Along the way, he has helped shape and nurture several important civil society initiatives, including the Centre for Social Justice, Kutch Mahila Vikas Sangathan, Sahjeevan, Drishti, and the HID Forum. In this episode, Sethi sits down with his long-time colleague and friend Sushma Iyengar, founder of Kutch Mahila Vikas Sangathan. In a reflective conversation, they revisit his early life as the child of a family shaped by Partition, his formative years working with rural communities, and the moments that shaped his lifelong commitment to justice and equity. Grassroots Nation is a podcast from Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies. For more information go to www.rohininilekaniphilanthropies.org or join the conversation on social media @RNP_foundation.

Breaking walls and building bridges: Dr. Anita Patil-Deshmukh from PUKAR

In this conversation, Dr Anita Patil-Deshmukh, Executive Director of Partners for Urban Knowledge, Action and Research (PUKAR), speaks with Natasha Joshi, the Chief Strategy Officer at Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies about the journey that led her from medicine to development work. Together, they reflect on her formative years in a family shaped by activism, the early household lessons on equity and justice that influenced her worldview, and the dissonance she experienced when ideals at home did not always match the realities outside it. Dr. Patil-Deshmukh shares how her medical training at Grant Medical College and decades of work as a neonatologist in the United States, along with her public health education at Harvard University, deepened her understanding of health as a matter of dignity and rights. She reflects on her return to India, and how her commitment to addressing urban poverty, social determinants of health, and youth-led knowledge production shaped her leadership of PUKAR. A thoughtful conversation on listening, unlearning, and placing research in the hands of those most often excluded. This conversation was recorded in Mumbai. Grassroots Nation is a podcast from Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies. For more information go to www.rohininilekaniphilanthropies.org or join the conversation on social media @RNP_foundation.

No Observers, Only Participants

In this conversation, Dr Rajesh Tandon, the founder of PRIA sits down with Nikita Rakhyani to revisit the journey of an organisation born out of a deep belief in people’s power to shape their own futures. Together, they reflect on PRIA’s early days, the ideas and values that defined its mandate, and the conviction that knowledge, democracy, and development must be rooted in participation. Dr Tandon shares why working with people has always been central to PRIA’s work, and how letting communities lead continues to be both a principle and a practice. A thoughtful look back at decades of learning, listening, and collective action. Learn more about PRIA at www.pria.org or on Instagram @pria.india. Grassroots Nation is a podcast from Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies. For more information go to www.rohininilekaniphilanthropies.org or join the conversation on social media @RNP_foundation.