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The FinePrint

Pashto films inspired Bollywood once. But Zia, 9/11, Taliban all led to their decline

Look at Pathans in Bollywood films, the golden era of Pashto films defied borders. Now, they have been reduced to vulgar movies in shady halls of Pakistan.

From gaon to Golf Links — Modern India is still under the spell of black magic

Lona Chamarin and Ismail Jogi aren't commonly known — unless you are with a tantrik invoking these mystery figures as part of his Kamakhya vashikaran spell.

Indians bit off more than they can chew. Many pandemic pet dogs homeless now

From an average of five adoptions a month in 2020, new homes for pets have fallen to just one or two now. Adoption agencies are toughening clauses.

‘Running Boy’ Pradeep Mehra’s overnight fame shows India’s obsession with merit and success

Feeding the idea ‘hard work will give rewards’, in a country where ‘a chaiwala can become a PM’, helps stave off questions about inequality.

400-acre campus painted with nostalgia, an Asian melting pot — how Nalanda 2.0 is taking shape

With a 200-strong international student community, 'unique courses', and a campus cradled by Rajgir hills, Nalanda hopes to achieve the stature of its centuries-old predecessor.

Lost, found or vanished: For many child runaways, dice rolls at New Delhi railway station

India’s ‘lost’ children are usually trying to escape from something: crippling poverty, deprivation, violence, abuse, or simply unbearable pressure to perform well in exams.

Let farmers lease land like people rent houses – Land laws are holding India back

All states place restrictions on who can buy farmland. India’s low score on the protection of property rights harms farmers.

Anatomy of Gujarat’s ‘Rs 6,000-cr coal scam’: UPA-era MSME subsidy that beneficiaries ‘never got’

A scheme guaranteeing subsidised coal for MSMEs was formulated in 2007-08 under the Manmohan Singh govt. Its implementation in Gujarat has spawned allegations of corruption.

India’s nuclear doctrine is useless. Discard no-first-use, say nukes are for China threat

The government has to change its view of nuclear weapons as mere symbols of power and see them as affording India a dynamic military means against China.

Crisis-hit Sri Lanka bets big on $14 bn China-backed Port City, wants reluctant India to invest

China has invested $1.4 billion in the strategically located project. But the Rajapaksa govt wants India to invest in the potential metropolis, which is Sri Lanka's first SEZ.

On Camera

This is how Strait of Hormuz shock is forcing a global trade reset

The current Iran war has laid bare a fundamental reality: 20 per cent of global energy trade cannot afford to rely on a single artery, no matter how resilient and cost-effective.

SEBI proposes return of open market share buybacks to support stocks

Regulator seeks feedback on allowing firms to repurchase shares via exchanges after tax changes, as markets reel from war-led selloff and foreign outflows.

South Korea’s Cheongung-II missile system makes its mark in West Asia war. Here’s why

UAE has been using this defence system, which is similar to America's Patriots, against Iranian missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles.

Gulf war exposed India’s fragilities. It’s time for navel-gazing, in the national interest

It’s easy to understand why the government can’t speak the hard truth. When this war ends, as all wars do, India’s interests will lie with both the winner and the loser.