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Around Town

Modi won’t visit cheetahs at Kuno. Their welfare comes first for him—NTCA Inspector General

Amit Mallick, Inspector General of the National Tiger Conservation Authority, clarified the circumstances that surrounded the deaths of 10 cheetahs in Kuno National Park at a Delhi event.

‘Lack of criticism deters judiciary’—Justice Sanjib Banerjee asks academia to step up

The judge stuck to the discussion on ‘Group of Companies’ doctrine but not without commenting on the issue of intolerance toward criticism of judgments in India.

How did the Roma of Europe leave India? One theory blames Mahmud of Ghazni

The journey of the Roma from India to Europe is shrouded in mystery and historical conjecture. There's no clear answer to who they are.

China was active in Afghanistan ‘every day’ in 1980s. It wants the region’s mineral wealth

At a panel discussion on the Afghan-Soviet war, panellists debated over whether India should have gone “all in” on Afghanistan and discussed China's involvement in the war.

Launch of Murlidhar Bhandare’s memoir had no big speeches. His love story was the focus

His book, The Arc of Memory, is much more than his personal life. It also portrays India's fight for Independence, Ambedkar's philosophy, and how we arrived at the dynamic country we see today.

‘Little bit Naxalism is good’ —Ram Vilas Paswan believed rights aren’t granted but snatched

At the launch of the biography Ram Vilas Paswan: The Weathervane of Indian Politics, author Sobhana K Nair said that Paswan cringed on hearing the term “Urban Naxals”.

Jungle jalebis to titiri bird—India is losing words, not just landscapes

Authors Arati Kumar-Rao and Neha Sinha, in a talk at New Delhi’s Sunder Nursery, explored how India’s landscapes were responding to climate change and unplanned development.

Stars of Hindutva pop write songs about love jihad, Pulwama. They’re unofficial BJP anthems

Article 370, love jihad, and stereotypes about Muslim population growth are common themes, along with mentions of Shah Rukh Khan and his son Aryan Khan, as well as the other Khans.

‘Broken Promises’ Delhi launch ticks all Bihar boxes—Lalu-Nitish, ‘jungle raj’, Bihari slur

The rather dull talk at New Delhi's Constitution Club didn’t bring any new insight on the 15 years of Lalu Yadav's rule. Author Mrityunjay Sharma, a BJP member, simply narrated how he sees that era.

Creating jobs in agriculture not going backward, says TN Ninan. ‘Look at California almonds’

The former Business Standard editor said state governments should encourage farmer producer companies. Building businesses & exports from agricultural base is a sure-shot way of generating large-scale employment.

On Camera

Postcards from Hyderabad—stories Europeans told about the city

For all their colonial underpinnings, postcards from Hyderabad also inadvertently preserve a trace of local memory: a glimpse of a street, a face, a forgotten name.

Navigating Trump’s tariffs is no child’s play. Indian toymakers are losing out on orders, enquiries

Indian toymakers are now exploring new markets, but they want govt to negotiate a trade deal with US soon, introduce incentives and subsidies to make the industry more competitive.

What is Project Sudarshan Chakra, announced by Modi from ramparts of Red Fort

The project is meant to be a ‘protective shield that will keep expanding’, the PM said. It is on the lines of the ‘Golden Dome’ announced by Trump, it is learnt.

War of IAF, PAF doctrines: As Pakistan obsesses over numbers, India embraces risk, wins

Now that both IAF and PAF have made formal claims of having shot down the other’s aircraft in the 87-hour war in May, we can ask a larger question: do such numbers really matter?