# Is Narendra Modi trying to rig India’s elections?

An episode of [Global Roaming with Geraldine Doogue and Hamish Macdonald](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1725924485), 19 Oct 2026, 29 min.

Audio: https://mediacore-live-production.akamaized.net/audio/02/pi/Z/gu.mp3

ABC Asia editor Karishma Vyas joins Geraldine Doogue and Hamish Macdonald to unpack a week of fast-moving stories across Asia. In India, a youth protest movement – born after the the chief justice of India offhandedly called unemployed graduates “cockroaches and parasites” – has taken to the streets of New Delhi following the government's decision to strike 130 million names from the electoral roll, triggering a police crackdown, mass arrests and detention of the movement's leaders. Meanwhile, in Laos, China has opened its first foreign air base, a former Vietnam War-era facility now repurposed with Beijing’s backing. Vietnam is watching the development closely given its own territorial disputes with China. Plus: the trial date is set for Simon Carman, the Australian man accused of murdering 17-year-old Tunchanok Donhomla in Pattaya, and what the case reveals about Pattaya’s sex tourism economy. Guest: Karishma Vyas, the ABC's Asia editor Recommendations: Karishma – NAZA documentary by Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor Hamish – 2026 ABC Boyer Lecture Series Geraldine – David Brooks, author Get in touch: We'd love to hear from you! Email us at global.roaming@abc.net.au Find all the episodes of Global Roaming now via the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts.

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