Send us Fan Mail

We speak to Zia Ahmad OAM on his wonderful achievement and recognition as the first Muslim to receive the Medal of the Order of Australia for services to journalism and the second member of his family to receive the nation’s highest civilian honour.

Zia Ahmad is the editor-in-chief of the Australasian Muslim Times, AMUST, the country’s leading independent Muslim newspaper and news portal, founded with his father in 1991.

He is a valued member of The Humanism Project, a progressive South-Asian collective that advocates for social justice in Australia.

In this freewheeling interview, he traces his remarkable journey as a child from Kashmir, in India, to Sydney in Australia, the life lessons from his father as they built a new life here, and the guiding principles that have shaped his worldview, passions and humanity.

Watch, listen, subscribe.

Thank you for listening! Watch all episodes of Pause with Nandini on https://youtube.com/c/NRIAffairs

Send us Fan Mail

Dr. Aditya Sondhi is a Senior Advocate at the Supreme Court of India, a scholar, and an Ambedkarite. He frequently lectures on the application of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar’s constitutional philosophy in modern jurisprudence.

He joins us for a special Dalit History Month episode in association with Hindus for Human Rights Australia, and takes us in chamber for a free wheeling conversation. Highlights:

- Constitutional morality as envisioned by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar
- The Manusmriti and the place of religious texts within courthouses.
- In India, is it fair to say ‘Caste is the Law'?
- The role of unions in the era of an Uberised workplace
- Protections for domestic worker rights within an Ambedkarite vision for an equitable society
- His personal connection to Dr. Ambedkar’s legacy, and his relevance in our deeply divided world today.

Dr. Sondhi also hosts 'The PodCaste' available on Spotify which features conversations around caste, seeking to unravel the visible and invisible presence of caste in urban settings, academia and practice.

He is the author of Poles Apart: The Military and Democracy in India and Pakistan (Penguin, 2024).

As always, like, share and subscribe.

Thank you for listening! Watch all episodes of Pause with Nandini on https://youtube.com/c/NRIAffairs

Send us Fan Mail

Mohamed Alharbi, a part of the core campaign leadership that brought Zohran Mamdani's bid for Mayor of New York to a historic win, unpacks how people centred politics triumphed. An exclusive Pause with Nandini catch up on the sidelines of Australian Progress 2026.

We speak of strategy and tactics but more about working with heart. He also reflects on what this win means for people of colour, the way the conservatives were won over and of course, Aunties for Zohran, who evidently have no chill.

Thank you for listening! Watch all episodes of Pause with Nandini on https://youtube.com/c/NRIAffairs