In this series, Humanists UK Chief Executive Andrew Copson hosts unscripted, one-on-one discussions over the course of 60 minutes with philosophers, scientists, campaigners, entertainers, and historians.

In his most recent book, Rajeev Bhargava investigates the founding narrative of the Indian republic and clarifies its ethical ideals, suggesting that with the right fundamental ethical vision, India might save itself from further polarisation, and may even heal some of its divisions.

Rajeev Bhargava’s work on individualism and secularism is internationally acclaimed. His publications include Individualism in Social Science (1992), What Is Political Theory and Why Do We Need It? (2010) and The Promise of India’s Secular Democracy (2010). His edited works include Secularism and Its Critics (1998), Politics and Ethics of the Indian Constitution (2008) and Politics, Ethics and the Self: Re-reading Hind Swaraj (2022). He is on the advisory board of several national and international institutions, and was a consultant for the United Nations Human Development Report, on cultural liberty.

Rajeev was born in 1954 and educated in Delhi and Oxford. He is currently an honorary fellow at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies and the director of its Parekh Institute of Indian Thought. He was also the centre’s director from 2007 to 2014. He has taught at the University of Delhi and Jawaharlal Nehru University (Delhi). He has been a fellow at Harvard University (Massachusetts, US), University of Bristol, Institute of Advanced Studies (Jerusalem), Wissenschaftskolleg (Berlin) and the Institute for Human Sciences (Vienna). He is currently an honorary fellow at Balliol College, Oxford (UK).