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Tuesday, July 22, 2025
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Around Town

‘I see Chanakya in Modi’. But Piyush Mishra’s new focus isn’t politics, it’s music

He is on tour with his ‘lyrics-oriented’ band. Its name, Ballimaaraan, was inspired by Mirza Ghalib’s house — an indication of his love for Delhi and theatre.

‘Worse than war veterans’—Emmy Award winner’s new book on horror of trafficking in India

Ruchira Gupta's The Selling of Innocents won the Emmy Award in 1996. Now, she teaches a course on combatting human trafficking at New York University,

Cricket nostalgia, political nods — Sehwag & Tharoor’s jokes liven up cricket book launch

Cricket administrator Amrit Mathur's book Pitchside is an inside account of the Indian team — from Sachin’s favourite seat to Tiger Pataudi’s dislike for public appearances.

India and Sri Lanka have a complicated relationship — trust is a difficult, two-way street

Last week, the Neighbourhood First series discussed ‘Sri Lanka after Rajapaksa: Recovery or Standstill’ at Delhi’s India International Centre.

Commandos, candour, criticism–what marked Hussain Zaidi’s ‘RAW Hitman’ book launch in Delhi

RAW Hitman, Hussain Zaidi’s latest work, came out of an interview with Lakshman Singh Bisht, who served as a security officer for Narendra Modi, LK Advani, and Rajnath Singh.

4000 bird watchers, 50000 checklists, 492 species – how IIT scientists gained from their data

Crowdsourced bird data is akin to jagged pieces of a puzzle that researchers use and put together to see how an ecosystem evolves.

Quad architect Shinzo Abe foresaw a world beyond alliances, says Jaishankar at book launch

The launch of 'Importance of Shinzo Abe' saw tributes from S Jaishankar, Sanjaya Baru and ambassadors Hitoshi Suzuki and Deepa Gopalan Wadhwa.

Eight step wells, 2 cities, 10 years—how collaboration revived crumbling Mughal ‘baolis’

Called ‘Restoring Stepwells, Reviving Life’, an IIC exhibition, which opened on 22 July and closes today, shows how eight step wells – two in Delhi, six in Hyderabad – were painstakingly resuscitated.

UP Dalits grew in confidence because of BSP. That’s why they are voting for BJP today

A Dalit vote for BJP is viewed as a step back from Ambedkarite goals. New book Maya Modi Azad: Dalit Politics in the Time of Hindutva explains BSP’s decline.

East India Company fought hard for its coins in India. Even Aurangzeb’s fury couldn’t stop it

Mughal India protected its coins fervently. Then, East India Company entered the picture.

On Camera

India’s TRP ecosystem needs a reset. Time to end BARC monopoly

A ratings monopoly in India has led to lack of technological variation, resulting in sluggish systems detached from market dynamics.

India-US set to ink mini trade deal soon, reach understanding on agricultural & dairy products

Mini deal will likely see no cut in 10% baseline tariff on Indian exports announced by Trump on 2 April, it is learnt, but additional 26% tariffs are set to be reduced.

Not just AK-203, India & Russia to jointly manufacture AK-19 and PPK-20 for domestic use and export 

India-Russia JV is also racing to deliver 7,000 more AK-203 assault rifles by 15 Aug. These are currently being made with 50% indigenisation and this will surge to 100% by 31 December.

Strategic partner one day, tactical nightmare the next: India’s learning Trumplomacy the hard way

Public, loud, upfront, filled with impropriety and high praise sometimes laced with insults. This is what we call Trumplomacy. But the larger objective is the same: American supremacy.