Podcasts · 3 Things

MPSC paper leak protests, Garba's commercial boom, and Kolkata's deadly stampede

19 Oct 2026 · 35 min

First, we speak to The Indian Express’ Alok Deshpande about the 11-day protest by Maharashtra government-job aspirants, the allegations of examination irregularities that triggered it, and how political intervention led to an inquiry and the MPSC chairman going on leave. Next, we speak to The Indian Express’ Ritu Sharma about Garba’s evolution from a traditional Gujarati folk dance into a multi-crore cultural enterprise, and the role played by Bollywood, social media, migration and government promotion. (13:50) And in the end, we look at the stampede at Kolkata’s Chorbagan Durga Puja pandal that killed 19 people, the combination of rain, overcrowding and confusing announcements that may have triggered it, and the questions raised over crowd management and safety. (31:50) Hosted by Ichha Sharma Produced and written by Niharika Nanda and Ichha Sharma Edited and mixed by Suresh Pawar

The episode on the publisher’s site ↗ (opens in a new tab)