Indira Ranamagar is Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives of Nepal since January 2023. She started her career as a primary science and maths teacher in village schools in the southeast of Nepal, and became a social worker in prisons in 1990. For well over 30 years now, she has been a prolific human rights and social worker. In 2000, she founded the NGO Prisoner’s Assistance Nepal, which looks after prisoners' welfare and works to give children whose parents are imprisoned an education and a roof over their heads.

In 2022, she was elected to Nepal’s House of Representatives on behalf of a brand-new political party, taking her social work from the streets to parliament.

In 2007, Indira was named an Asia 21 Young Leader by the global network of Asia Society, while in 2009 her NGO PA Nepal received the Asia Society Asia 21 Public Service Award. In 2017, she was the first Nepali to feature on the BBC’s list of the 100 most influential women in the world.

For more on Nepal, watch this episode of our popular series A Closer Look: a quick but deep dive into the Himalayan nation with Nepalese investor Suman Joshi, recorded in March, 2023.

STATE OF ASIA brings you engaging conversations with leading minds on the issues that shape Asia and affect us all.
Stay up-to-date on all events and activities at Asia Society Switzerland: subscribe to the newsletter and support our work by becoming a member.

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STATE OF ASIA is a podcast from Asia Society Switzerland.
Season 6, episode 3 - Published: April 29, 2024
Host/Producer: Remko Tanis, Programs and Editorial Manager, Asia Society Switzerland

Nalin Mehta is a political scientist and journalist in Delhi, India, and author of The New BJP, a work you can only call THE book on the BJP, the largest political party in the world.
Under the leadership of India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the BJP has solidified its position as the uncontested center of power in the world's most populous country.

As India heads to the polls over a 6-week period beginning April 19, we talk with Nalin about how the BJP built and expanded its power base, and what Modi, who is all but certain to once again win the elections, could set as priorities upon starting his second decade as Prime Minister.

STATE OF ASIA brings you engaging conversations with leading minds on the issues that shape Asia and affect us all.
Stay up-to-date on all events and activities at Asia Society Switzerland: subscribe to the newsletter and support our work by becoming a member.

-
STATE OF ASIA is a podcast from Asia Society Switzerland.
Season 6, episode 2 - Published: April 16, 2024
Host: Nico Luchsinger, Executive Director, Asia Society Switzerland
Editor/Producer: Remko Tanis, Programs and Editorial Manager, Asia Society Switzerland

There is little to dispute about Asia's rise as a key feature of our time. Already the world's most populous region, Asian countries have steadily gained in economic and political influence on the world stage in recent decades. While in the past this development has been driven heavily by China, the next few years will see countries like India, Indonesia, and Vietnam expand their international clout.

As the balance of power shifts east, will the world order inevitably change? Asia is far from a monolithic actor, and for all the talk about an "Asian Century", there is arguably no coherent vision from Asia on how the global community should operate. And many countries, especially China, have benefitted from the current system, and might seek to adjust rather than replace it.

In this bonus episode of STATE OF ASIA, listen to four experts taking sides over the motion "Asia’s Rise Will Lead to a New World Order", as they did in an Oxford Debate in front of a live audience in Zurich on April 8, 2024.

Presenting clear-cut, time-constrained, well-thought-out arguments are:

• John Delury, a historian and a professor at Yonsei University in Seoul.
• Abigaël Vasselier, director for Policy and European Affairs and head of the Foreign Relations team at MERICS in Berlin.
• Julia Ganter, Programme Director International Affairs at the German foundation Körber-Stiftung and head of the Körber Emerging Middle Powers Initiative, based in Berlin.
• John Lee, director of consultancy East West Futures and a researcher at the Leiden Asia Centre.

Watch the entire debate on the Asia Society YouTube channel, and learn more about the speakers on our website.

Our Oxford Debate series offers insights into complex issues, presented in short and clear arguments. Find all editions here.

Stay up-to-date on all our activities: subscribe to the newsletter and support our work by becoming a member.

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STATE OF ASIA is a podcast from Asia Society Switzerland.
Season 6, bonus episode 3 - Published: April 9, 2024
Host and Producer: Remko Tanis, Programs and Editorial Manager, Asia Society Switzerland