Aijaz Ahmad discusses with Newsclick the current stand-off between the US and Iran after the current round of sanctions that includes Irani Central Bank. He believes that the US policy is regime change and no solution can take place unless other countries such as India, Brazil, Turkey, Russia, China, etc intervene.

Prof. Gul Mohammad Wani of Kashmir University and Shujaat Bukhari, senior journalist based in Srinagar talk about the response of the Indian state over the past year following widespread protests in the Kashmir valley featuring youth pelting stones at security establishments. They identify a major trust deficit among Kashmiris about the Indian state and suggest that the Indian state should work towards overcoming the deep alienation by addressing issues related to human rights violations. The promising headway in working toward a political solution in the mid 2000s by engaging with Pakistan and other political actors in Kashmir should be used as a reference point as work is done to come to a "final political solution in Kashmir".

Loud and uninformed commentary in the India media poses a danger to the debate over death penalty.

 Anna Hazare's fast on the Jan Lokpal Bill has touched a chord in the people – the outpouring of support that has come from all corners of the country and amongst different sections is a testament to this. It is clear that we as Indians are simply tired of knowing that scams are happening on an ever increasing scale and we are unable to do anything about it. It is this helplessness that is building up the anger which is now being reflected in the wide support that Anna Hazare's fast has received.

In the second part of his inteview with Newsclick, former chairman of the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board of India, Dr. A. Gopalakrishnan speaks about the question marks on nuclear energy post the Fukushima-1 Reactors' incidents.

V. Vivekanandan, Advisor, South Indian Federation of Fishermen Societies, speaks on the issues confronting fishermen in South Tamil Nadu, apropos the problems between India and Sri Lanka over fishing close to the maritime boundary.