Author Amitav Ghosh in conversation with Shekhar Gupta on opium, geopolitics & his Smoke and Ashes

[@marzin13]

Very insightful to learn about the flower power poppy, besides the history of cotton and indigo. Thanks!

[@DeepakSharma-su6gc]

What was the cameraman having during the presentation! Complete slide show was missed out.

[@Abhishek-fe7hc]

Opium

[@nalininayak7830]

Enjoyed the discussion. But it would have been great if the pictures that Mr.Ghosh showed during his talk could have also been shown in the video

[@monojdas-gupta5918]

I felt exactly the identical way. It was a sloppy omission.

[@voicification]

This.

[@shilpabosco2605]

Sir, India even in late 70 s and 80 s used to export opium from mumbai port and the company was Balmer Lawrie. The high value of cargo for export was brought in containers to the port for loading was onlu brought under strict customs escort only.The ocean freight was very high as the calculation was done on basis of advalorem.

[@iloveriponst]

Great conversation . Was the cameraman under instruction to not show the slides while Mr . Ghosh gave the talk ? Just wondering .

[@johndoe-vc1we]

I think he does not speak English

[@monojdas-gupta5918]

Just sloppy production.

[@sandhyaraomehta1072]

Thanks to The Print for showcasing this important talk

[@ajanup1]

Bombay produced economy and Calcutta economists. So many great nuggets. Amitav Ghosh is exceptional. Brilliant

[@devgupta8815]

During British Rule Bengali Hindus developed a parasitical culture, intellectualism and laughable poetry ( of the Moon in June variety ) w/o an economic basis of their own. Whatever little effort there was ( D N Tagore, the real founder of SBI of today ) we’re dissipated by their descendants ( R N Tagore )

[@monojdas-gupta5918]

I would not know if that is a back handed complement.

[@Somaateesh]

Photographer seems to have been intoxicated as well. Forgot to zoom in on pictures that Amitava Ghosh is referring to, in his lecture.

[@shiladityabikashsingh6457]

Intellectually enriching...specially when Amitav and Shekhar are interfacing. Thanks to The Print.

[@gopra]

thanks to Print and Harper to bring this production. very interesting !

[@gautamsinha5998]

For once a show on the print more engrossing than cut the clutter 😊 Thanks SG

[@shameemakhtar1375]

Why couldn’t the slides be shown?

[@abhishekyadav479]

Please release long episodes as podcasts also

[@rishigupta1738]

Excellent book and discussion. Thanks

[@shakunmaithelmandal8125]

Attended the session yesterday! Amitav is an erudite speaker Got a signed copy and now looking forward to reading it!

[@eliotanderson6554]

Lucky 😢

[@tapemaj]

Why aren’t the slides showing ?

[@jamilkhan715]

Very informative! I am from KP province, Pakistan. Pusshtoon of the area, and people of Afghanistan in particular are the main producers and traders of the heroine, but very few addicts of the products. Rather its users are considered the most despicable members of the community. Why it is so?

[@monojdas-gupta5918]

I am glad you raised the point. I am awfully interested to know where there was a wildfire of addiction to opium in China there were relatively fewer such cases in India where they had easier access.

[@sanjayvaidya4925]

1st rule of drug biz. Never get high on your own supply. Get it?

[@manas5000]

Please show the presentation of paintings and photos so that we can get the holistic idea

[@harisundar8698]

Enriching and revealing conversation this 👌🏻

[@captmohitsharma]

How is it that none of slides in the presentation are shown in the video?

[@johndoe-vc1we]

Because the camera guy does not understand English?

[@girirajsinghkushwaha2530]

In medieval times the Rajputs and their fighting armies used to consume opium while fighting! I have yet to see any research of the impact of their defeats in major battles even fighting bravely!

[@monojdas-gupta5918]

In British India, it was to become rum ration.

[@earthling017]

Good talk. But what's the point if the pictures in the presentation are not shown.

[@sanjayvaidya4925]

Just started the book bit surprised theres no mention of the stealing of tea from china. By 1800, it was easily the most popular drink among Britons. Robert Fortune was a 19th-century Scottish botanist who helped the East India Trading Company swipe the secrets of tea production from China. The problem? All the tea in the world came from China, and Britain couldn't control the quality or the price. Online.

[@prajwalsakhare7850]

1:19:05 😂😂😂😂 this was so good untill this point from here forward complete stupidity

[@worldsgonenuts539]

Fascinating! Just ordered this book.

[@mohankannegal8988]

Absolutely wonderful stuff from The Print. And thanks Amitabh Ghosh. Will read it.

[@thecomment9489]

When Amitabh Ghosh said that the Westerners loooked upto the Chinese in the 17th century as a master race equal to their own and they copied the Chinese model of meritocracy and many other aspects of nation state the show host Shekhar Gupta seems to be visibly disturbed as he has an agenda to serve.

[@Cyrano1971]

Good observation! I was thinking the same. SK always dreams of a tryst with US. See how he was highlighting recent US- India collaboration.

[@Jayzzs]

SK was driving his point than the book in this context. He kind of understands that in the end, and says a guy in the audience is more apt to take this interview..

[@benishan3]

😂😂

[@sunilbanerjee]

I quite agree.Guptaji came prepared with his own brief and "persevered"with the question when Ghosh seemed to give it a pass or ignore it.The clear anti-Xi Jin Ping thrust of Guptaji seemed to have gone abegging.

[@johndoe-vc1we]

​@@Cyrano1971everbody is highlighting Indo US collaboration right now. Don't know why as its yet to begin.

[@tajdeco3418]

It is sad that we cannot see the presentation. A split screen would have been ideal

[@sohailrekhy2658]

Love from Bhutan, wish we could have made the tour.

[@selvan38]

Starts at 11:17

[@KKSNG1949]

आश्चर्य है कि भोजपुरी जानने वाला लेखक गाजीपुर को घाजीपुर बोलता है

[@arshbansal96]

The pictures used in that presentation were indeed very informative. Good job done in making the slides too 👏

[@tapemaj]

But slides weren’t showing dear

[@monojdas-gupta5918]

@@tapemaj I did not see any either. I was not the luckier one in the hall.

[@sunitarajadhyaksha4078]

Cameraman missing in action

[@smritimoyhalder605]

Well done print SG

[@Jayzzs]

I think Shekar Gupta should stop interviewing. He should rather start giving interviews.

[@sunilbanerjee]

Guptaji seems unfamiliar with being unobtrusive.He should've been in showbiz.

[@ekamsat429]

The cameraman was very "peaceful" - as Ghosh mentioned - totally blissed out! Pathetic.

[@prasantadatta5151]

Great meet.

[@sukhisumedhan]

I love listening to him speak tad more than reading him.

[@aadarshkadambi9319]

A great talk...but suboptimal video.....i mean, after the first 3 minutes, what was the need to have the camera pointed at Amitav, instead of all those slides that he's talking about?...like really, did the editorial team have some great idea to deprive us of those slides, and just watch the speaker speaking? Very sloppy and uninteresting coverage.

[@alokghosh54]

The camera man needs training. Rather than focussing on the speaker he should have focussed on presentation

[@santoshruslan7315]

The batteries in the mic must be everyday battery made in India 😂

[@artnarchist1392]

Gupta being compared to a ToI reporter is the highlight lmao😅

[@ranjitvirdi3600]

Empire of Cotton .. read it. An equally important "plant"

[@venkataraghotham7586]

Dr Ghosh is showing a lot of pictures but these illustrations are not captured in this video What a waste

[@michealanderson2282]

when british came , established British east India company on 31/dec/1600 ,they did only trade and did not even dream of challenging Delhi Battle of Plassey 23/june/1757 happened after 157 years . To just give you a context , if British had come today in 2023 then Battle of Plassey would happen in 2180 AD. How can SG infer that we Indians are weak (always) and are a easy pick 157 years later. Most times i am baffled by these intellects(so called) line of thinking.

[@shubhamkumar-nw1ui]

Good point.... Maybe the British didn't win , we lost because of our political ,social , educational shortcomings which British just took advantage of

[@sanjayvaidya4925]

Imagine that. Ww1 Ww2 millions of Indian troops on dunkirk to north Africa and far east. Millions of £ worth of arms munitions food grains stocks bill still unpaid. Bit more reading required dont choose the select few. Move on. Churchills secret war by Madhushree Mukerjee. Modern India 1885 1947 by Sumit Sarkar. Enjoy.

[@sanjayvaidya4925]

​@@shubhamkumar-nw1ui This mindset could be the ignorance they still use. They came here cause there was value they didnt have. Wars are won and lost. Mindset. Bharat overtook britain economically. They now invest in Bharat no more free ride.

[@shubhamkumar-nw1ui]

@@sanjayvaidya4925 I am not differing. I am just saying that the rulers at that time were very short sighted ( of course since most of them were themselves invaders) they didn't invest in education, industry, technology..they just were making money as taxes while rest of world was slowly dominating the world through trade.

[@sanjoypasricha8722]

What’s the point of showing the Speaker and not the paintings and pictures on the screen that Amitav Ghosh is describing in detail. Terrible editing

[@mrnanta2011]

B 0:02 0:02

[@eliotanderson6554]

❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@sanjaysaksena619]

The author greatly exaggerates the importance of opium. To say that the whole structure of the British Empire rested on opium is a total lie. Do we really believe there would gave been no British Empire if there were mo opium ? Nonsense. Even in terms of agricultural commodities, spices cotton and tea had a greater influence than opium. At mo point in our history did opium account for even give percent of agricultural production. Nobody asked the simple question - what percent of total international trade did opium constitute?

[@CricketPanchayat-d1k]

Only arms & ammunition don't fight. You need motivated man also.thats why America failed everywhere, including vietnam

[@phoenixrising8640]

It was the US and NATO &allies, all their private contractors and ANDSF and US-BACKED militias, all with the most advanced military technology and equipment plus an airforce while our Taliban had nothing...majority of us Afghans support Taliban and our Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan government and security forces now. We hated the US and NATO foreign invader terrorists and their Afghan puppets. Our Taliban controlled most of Afghanistan for years and were gaining ground and support rapidly which is why the US had to negotiate the Doha deal for safe passage out of Afghanistan. The mainstream media, Westernized Afghan dispora, Afghan puppets ,& NATO countries dehumanized and demonized our Taliban. Taliban are our own Afghans who are us and we are them. The US and NATO Afghan puppets were for themselves and for their own benefit. We are happy they ran away with their foreign masters and to ither countries

[@priortokaraew7569]

i don't know if some cameramen are worth their salaries.

[@manmohanmehta5697]

What was the role of parsees and bagdadi Jews in opium trade in India.

[@idealraghu]

how's the camera man..fire him right now

[@pgaditiya5702]

peak awwkward moment at 45:45 or so loll

[@Rahul.Rao.]

Title of the video is very misleading. Dare I say, Clickbait .

[@avinashshekdar3884]

Indira Gandhi nationalised private banks because the "Seths and Baniyas" owning these Private Banks were a Risk to Democracy.😮 They were likely to create "Cronie Capitalism". Mrs Gandi's action to Nationalise Pvt Banks was to my little understanding, was purely, "Save Democracy from Capitalism!!😂.🙏.

[@veerendrasaraswathi]

Interviewer: 1. Rahul Gandhi or UPA/ the coalition will come to power in 2024? Or is it Modi sarkaar again? 2. Biden or Trump? 3. While the LGBTQ community has the right to express themselves and their views cant people wear “There are only two genders” T shirts? 4. Should India be buying the GE 404 engines and then develop jointly GE 414 when they are only transferring 80% Technology. 5. Will Rajamouli next movie cross the 2,000 crore revenue mark? Will it win a proper Oscar? 6. Will Xi Jinping and CCP invade Taiwan even after US has increased its Indo Pacific military presence? 7. The Indian stock markets are on fire is this the right time to Invest? 8. We are seeing floods, heavy rainfall in India and forest fires in USA. Do you think climate change is real? 9. Do you think GCP will take over AWS? Amitav Ghosh. Basically its the two plants Tea and Opium plants to be blamed. :)

[@sandeep9bansal]

I’m absolutely smitten by Amitav ghosh sea of poppies it’s a cult book

[@surjitkumar8877]

He is not responding the question, only gloating about China

[@ChessPlayer78]

It was sham war, a 20yr marriage.

[@curiousthor]

plants have intelligence??? he was magnanimous enough to recognise he wasnt litrate of chinese history. unfourtunately he do3snt extrapolate his ignorace to botany and science

[@jaideepc786]

Given all his brilliance & intellect, as a layman one wonders what concrete steps or recommendations did he give to 2 Prime Ministers, when he was C H I E F E C O N O M I C A D V I S O R to change some specific policy or a recommendation which would address the several problems or symptoms that he points out above. Without that, it just seems like biased anti-govt criticism and empty theoretical babble. As a doctor, he has to suggest some alternate prescriptions. As a compounder, its ok perhaps to identify whst is wrong with the patient or perhaps how much more sick will he get.

[@nazmulahsan4057]

started reading few minutes ago.....

[@sabysengupta3218]

Gorkhas are joining Wagner group

[@sreyanshuchaterjee3962]

I believe books should be written by folks who have boots on the ground or who have considerable experience dealing with facts on ground than eminent elite cabal of poetic warriors who bring upon climate change at drop of a hat and attend never-ending echo chambers of sycophants. Sadly most of the books that is written lack credibility these days. The opium wealth and Bengal babudom doesn't go that far isn't it? Bengal was the hub of opium production, on which the British minted money in China. The Chinese opium addicts filled British coffers, where Bengali Zamindar class was profiting off the destitute. Even the parsis and the elite trader community got sucked into it, chartering ships to ferry opium! Let the dirty secrets define what Bengal is today and what grand narrative we set for ourselves. The great Bengali literature and culture and elitism is simply an outcome of excess wealth and elitism. Look at the hinterlands of Bengal, they still live poor and resource scarce. I believe a better book worth reading be, The Imperial Drug Trade, Joshua Rowntree. Food for thought: Why was the British Army stationed in Khyber Pass to safeguard opium trade?

[@johndoe-vc1we]

One could say the British did on a global level what you accuse Bengal of doing. They aren't ashamed indeed proud.

[@johndoe-vc1we]

Do agree with your first para though so any comments in that regard should be taken lightly

[@alokghosh54]

Amitav or Amitava?

[@soonpohtay4794]

Poppy, opium, India, sepoys, East India Co., Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sikh Policemen, Dogs & Chinese not allowed in the Parks of Shanghai...enforced by the Sikh Policemen..

[@MrMaddss123]

A big fart from Amitav Ghosh.....most useless author

[@Shaggy-8392]

Free Aafiya Siddiqui

[@newbharathindi]

guy is not a good speaker going all over