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Tuesday, July 22, 2025
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The FinePrint

If parties co-opt judges into political system, the last bastion of Indian democracy will fall

We live in an age when the whole country looks to the judiciary to keep the legislative and the executive branches in check. Should we allow political parties to win judges over to their side?

South India’s Jain goddesses you haven’t heard of: Establishers of dynasties, fierce protectors

Jvalamalini’s legends depict her as ferocious and straightforward. Ambika is maternal, a protector of children and kings alike.

In Tamil Nadu’s Tiruppur, Bihari migrants are the new business bosses. Who do they employ?

Many migrant workers have reinvented themselves as entrepreneur-owners of textile units in Tiruppur, the export hub of Tamil Nadu. They call it ‘Tiruppur ka jadoo’.

India must legalise contract soldiers recruited to fight foreign wars. Agniveers are coming

Successive governments have been squeamish at the prospect of Indian citizens serving foreign wars. It's time to stop pretending the problem doesn’t exist and start protecting contract soldiers legally.

Affectionate diplomacy & politics underestimated in West. India-Russia ties offer a lesson

India and Vietnam won't take an overtly transactional or unsentimental approach towards Russia. It's the West that needs a dose of 'affectionate politics' in calculating Russia’s global clout.

Domestic workers are turning hostile in court after alleging torture in Delhi NCR homes

Gurugram saw two harrowing cases of minor girls tortured by employers within a year. The outrage has faded and so has their quest for ‘justice’.

Winnability not the only reason BJP’s pushing fresh faces. It’s a signal to headline hunters

Dropping MPs, MLAs to beat anti-incumbency has been one of the core formulae of success for Modi since his chief ministerial days. But does it really work?

Is brand India dimming? Pollution panic, dire warnings for women, big dip in foreign tourists

India’s rising global stature hasn’t solved its image issues. Pollution, travel advisories about women’s safety, and negative press are dragging down its standing as a tourist destination.

Don’t fight wars of tomorrow with weapons of yesterday. Armies must prepare for future battles

In trying to get everything onto a single platform, the ‘best’ one, we end up getting nothing at all. The best is the enemy of the good.

Animal cruelty needs more than tough laws, aggressive policing. Colonial-era battles show why

The more-than-century-old story of policing how humans treat animals—sometimes bizarre, sometimes tragic—shows complex questions of class and culture are involved, too.

On Camera

Bihar mimics 19th-century American South. Citizenship is now weaponised to exclude voters

Disenfranchisement by institutional fiat is profoundly undemocratic. The effect of the ECI's new documentary process in Bihar will tilt the scales in favour of the BJP.

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.