We The People is a television talk show in India hosted by Sarah Jacob. The programme is broadcast every Sunday night at 8 pm on NDTV 24x7. It was originally hosted by Barkha Dutt.
Show format We the People is a debate show on current affairs. A six- to eight-person panel is invited for each discussion. A panel typically consists of politicians, social scientists, academicians, social workers and celebrities, depending on the topic. The live audience often poses questions directly to panelists and are occasionally asked for a snap poll to weigh in on an argument. The show encompasses a wide variety of topics and is not limited to political issues.
Awards and accolades We The People won the 14th Asian Television Award for Best Talk Show for the year 2008 and Best Talk Show (English) at the "NT Award 2000".CNN-IBN, NDTV bag TV awards The Hindu, 19 July 2007. Barkha was named "the most intelligent TV host" by Indian Television Awards, and also as Best Talk Show Anchor.
List of episodes
2001 Date Title Topic 4 February Gujarat earthquake: The aftershock 21 October The Indian Muslim voice
2005 Date Title Topic 18 December Sex change: Breaking free 25 December Divided by borders, united in grief
2006 Date Title Topic 1 January Best of 2005 8 January Do public figures have the right to private life? 15 January Should IIMs be allowed to go global? 29 January Is Chennai India's most conservative city? 5 February Demolition: Is the capital headed for chaos? 26 February Minority report: Will a religious survey harm the Indian Army? 5 March Will quotas in private schools make education more accessible? 12 March Is Islam's moderate voice silent? 19 March Should there be regulations for sting operations? 26 March Office of profit: Is the law irrational? 2 April Should we take beauty pageants seriously? 10 April Will the OBC quota create equality? 16 April Rape cases: Should we have stricter laws? 30 April Should the quota system be scrapped? 14 May Budhia: Are we helping or hurting him? 21 May Is religion hijacking creativity? 4 June Is celebrity activism meaningful? 11 June Is society to harsh with drug users? 18 June Indo-Pak debate: A generation gap? 25 June Is India's military still biased against women? 2 July Is 90 percent not enough for college admissions anymore? 9 July Are religious traditions fair to women? 14 July Mumbai blasts: Time to get tough on terrorism 30 July Does India really honour its soldiers? 6 August Cola row: Is there too much fuss over fizz? 13 August Is India still in awe of royalty? 18 August Have the rules of marriage changed? 27 August Should Vande Mataram be mandatory? 10 September Are teachers undervalued and underpaid? 25 September Is there any point in banning smoking in films? 1 October Gandhigiri: Is it realistic? 22 October The fight for gay rights 29 October Behind the veil 5 November Do media campaigns help or hurt justice? 12 November Medical tourism: Have hospitals become hotels? 19 November Do we need stricter alcohol laws? 3 December Godmen & Politics: Unholy alliance? 3 December Do spiritual leaders encourage blind faith? 10 December Freedom vs faith: Has India forced MF Husain into exile? 17 December Has the Afzal debate been politicised? 31 December Trapped by nature: India's sex change phenomena
2007 Date Title Topic 7 January Are Noida killings India's shame? 14 January Policing the internet: Possible or desirable? 28 January Have Indians lost faith in the judicial process? 4 February Death debate: Should euthanasia be legalised? 12 February Who should decide what we watch? 25 February Will Samjhauta blasts be a turning point in Indo-Pak relations? 11 March Do Indian women still need feminism? 18 March Is there a conflict between farms and WB factories? 26 March Will you go under the knife to look better? 1 April Is Team India being unfairly targeted? 8 April Muslims: Pushed into a stereotype? 15 April Flag & Anthem: Are Indians over-sensitive? 22 April Has tabloid journalism become a norm? 30 April Has judicial activism crossed the line? 6 May Does popular opinion sanction encounter killings? 13 May Has art been hijacked by moral police? 19 May Do temples have a right to restrict entry? 20 May Are extremists defining Sikh identity again? 17 June Is politics a man's world? 24 June Drugs: Why can't India say no? 9 July Are Indians obsessed with weight? 22 July Should it be legal to select the sex of your child? 5 August Is sympathy for Sanjay justified? 12 August Single Men = Good fathers? 26 August Is anti-Americanism outdated? 2 September Should the sex trade be legalised? 16 September Should faith influence government policy? 23 September Are sting operations unethical? 29 September Do people have the right to die with dignity? 30 September Indian Military Academy: Soldiering on 7 October Why is modern India intolerant? 15 October Can single men make good fathers? 28 October N-deal rollback: UPA's image hurt? 11 November Is the ban on child labour unrealistic? 19 November Nandigram: Can the CPM recover? 25 November Can creative freedom be absolute? 9 December Has Gujarat progressed under Modi?
2008 Date Title Topic 13 January Should blogs be regulated? 20 January Should politicians be considered for Bharat Ratna? 27 January Does India take its national symbols too seriously? 3 February Does India overplay the race card? 10 February Is 18 old enough for marriage? 17 February Pakistan: Democracy or dictatorship? 2 March Should history be determined by popular sentiment? 9 March Is India a fair field for men and women? 16 March Scarlett Keeling case: Goa's dark side? 23 March Would you go under the knife to look better? 30 March Will higher salaries for bureaucrats improve performance? 6 April Can politics and sports be kept separate? 13 April Will quotas create equity or end excellence? 20 April Can non-violence still be effective? 27 April Does materialism define the New India? 4 May Should smoking and drinking be banned on-screen? 11 May Do women need political reservation? 18 May Has India become indifferent to terror attacks? 1 June 'Police'ing the media? 15 June Are India and America finally equal partners? 22 June Amitav Ghosh's sentiments behind Sea of Poppies 3 August Should the sex trade be legalised? 10 August Jammu & Kashmir: The siege within 24 August How should India deal with 'azaadi' demands? 31 August Mamata, a roadblock for Nano dream? 7 September Made-to-order babies? 14 September Not just skin-deep prejudice 14 September Is India losing the war against terror? 21 September Can SIMI and Bajrang Dal be equated? 28 September Why are Indians obsessed with fairness? 5 October Is it time to decriminalise homosexuality? 12 October Have the attacks on Christians destroyed India's image? 19 October Will the financial crisis change India's attitude to money? 26 October Is India's city of dreams getting destroyed by regionalism? 2 November Obama or McCain: Who is better for India? 9 November Can India's political establishment create an Obama like inspiration? 16 November 'Hindu' terror: Myth or fact? 23 November Is the Indian dream in danger after the global financial crisis? 30 November Enough is enough: India's 9/11 7 December Anger into action: What can India do next? 14 December Anatomy of anger 21 December Has the Minority Affairs Minister embarrassed India's Muslims? 28 December J&K verdict: End of separatism?
2009 Date Title Topic 11 January No war, no peace: India's Pakistan problem? 18 January Should Satyam be saved? 25 January The Slumdog phenomenon 2 February Is peace possible between India and Pakistan? 8 February The Advertising debate 15 February The culture wars 1 March Jai Ho: From Dharavi to LA and back 8 March Should IPL and elections be held together? 15 March Regional parties: The Kings makers? 22 March Death, love, life on TV 29 March New middle-class political activism 6 April Politics in the age of TV 12 April Small parties: big ambitions 19 April Should godmen stay out of politics? 26 April How safe are our schools and colleges? 3 May Who's afraid of Mayawati? 10 May Who is India's Obama? 24 May Will Indian polity get a younger soul? 31 May Ragging: From tradition to abuse 7 June Racism: Indians as targets 14 June Women and Affirmative Action 21 June Royalty in the age of democracy 28 June One nation, one Board: Is India ready? 5 July The right to be gay 12 July Royalty and Indian politics 2 August Right to motherhood 16 August Has India over-reacted to the swine-flu? 23 August Political parties scared of history? 30 August Religious symbols in a secular society 6 September Is politics killing history and literature? 13 September Austerity, Congress style? 20 September Should everyone in India know Hindi? 27 September Women in Army: Time for a greater role? 4 October Gandhi's legacy: Are we too politically correct? 11 October Is Mumbai no longer cosmopolitan? 25 October The Maoist Muddle 25 October Is a peace initiative with the Maoists possible 1 November The Indira Gandhi legacy 8 November Vande Mataram and Fatwa politics 15 November National language: What's that? 22 November 26/11: Lessons learnt? 6 December India's skin deep prejudice 13 December Nation vs regionalism 20 December Private lives, public gaze 27 December Ruchika's case: Mockery of justice?
2010 Date Title Topic 3 January Best of We The People 2009 10 January Is India soft on sexual misconduct? Rape in India 17 January Get a picture or save a life? 24 January Is TV exploiting young children? 31 January Mukesh Ambani, Montek at LSE debate 7 February Mumbai and the idea of India 28 February MF Husain: Let down by India? 7 March Being Muslim in today's India? 14 March Re-branding Modi? 28 March "Salaam Namaste" to pre-marital sex? 4 April Right to education: Quantity over quality? 11 April Maoists vs the state 18 April IPL: Indian Political League 16 May Is globalisation a bad word? 23 May Young politicians, old ideas? 30 May India's maoist challenge 6 June The death penalty debate 20 June Is Twitter here to stay? 27 June Office relationships: Harassment or consensual? 4 July Government vs Army on the Armed Forces Act? 11 July India's population: Boon or bane? 18 July The language wars 25 July Surrogacy: Exploiting the poor? 1 August Commonwealth games: National shame? 8 August India: The Twitter republic 15 August Superbug: Bias against India? New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase 1 22 August Is the 'real India' forgotten? 12 September Pension for ex-Army men: A question of equality? 19 September Ayodhya verdict: Time for closure? 26 September Ayodhya: Is 'reconciliation' realistic? 24 October India: Game for corruption? 31 October Alimony and the modern woman 14 November Is corruption in our roots? 21 November Government show who is "The Big Boss"? 28 November The new-age neta 5 December The art of giving 19 December Will WikiLeaks change diplomacy world over? 26 December Binayak Sen: Targeted by the state?
2011