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Thursday, January 8, 2026
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The FinePrint

National security over liberty: How SC’s Umar-Sharjeel bail order runs counter to earlier rulings

Citing their role in 'larger conspiracy' behind the 2020 riots, the court denied Umar Khalid & Sharjeel Imam bail despite years of incarceration, taking a position that contrasts with several of its earlier rulings.

Maharashtra’s Kham shows even ‘dead’ urban rivers can be revived—here’s the blueprint

From mapping 249 sewage discharge points to discovering hidden freshwater springs, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar's four-pillar plan offers lessons for cities across India.

How Chandigarh University climbed to the top rank — pressure & placements

Rankings, record placements, and rigid rules define Chandigarh University’s rapid ascent to India's top ranked private university.

BCCI has sabotaged India’s approach to Bangladesh

The BCCI decision has given new life to the lunatic fringe of the Hindu Right. It now has the confidence to force policy changes in accordance with its communal campaigns.

How Kanpur declined. A story of short-sighted protests, politics & policy

Not everyone agrees on who is to blame for Kanpur’s decline. Even RSS-backed trade unions don’t rush to blame the striking workers of the 1970s and the 1980s.

Inside Oscar-nominated Homebound boys’ village in UP—a heavy burden of memory

On screen, Chandan and Shohaib are given ambition and possibility — young men preparing for government jobs, dreaming of becoming sipahi. However, the reality was a bit different.

As Trump seeks regime change, the long arm of anti-Americanism in Venezuela—from Chavez to Maduro

Venezuelan President Maduro has been in power for over a decade despite a failing economy & US sanctions. Genesis of the crisis between the countries began almost 30 years ago.

Kolkata’s Priya Cinema is a bhadralok bastion. Shows Satyajit Ray to Dhurandhar housefull

Bengal’s 700 single-screen halls have dwindled to 130 but south Kolkata’s Priya Cinema is still drawing housefulls. ‘We have marketed and positioned ourselves for decades.’

India’s urban co-op banks are turning the page—crisis to cautious revival, one metric at a time

With bad loans shrinking & capital buffers stronger, urban co-op banks’ new umbrella body NUCFDC is now prioritising rollout of digital transformation.

How Old Delhi’s Delite Cinema outlived Golcha, Jubilee, Novelty. ‘Solution is romance’

The Raizada family has been keeping single-screen moviegoing alive in Old Delhi since the Nehru era. Cash registers are still ringing at Delite Cinema.

On Camera

Why Pinarayi Vijayan is going soft on an Ezhava leader’s anti-Muslim hate speech

Pinarayi Vijayan once called Vellappally Natesan, the general secretary of SNDP Yogam, Kerala’s Pravin Togadia. Now he is giving his hate speech a free pass.

500% tariffs ahead for India? Trump’s lined up a big bad Bill for countries buying Russian oil

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham says bill will be 'well-timed, as Ukraine is making concessions for peace and Putin is all talk, continuing to kill the innocent'.

2025: Pakistan’s deadliest year in over a decade

Islamabad-based think-tank PICSS's new report says Pakistan saw 'pronounced escalation' in violence last year, with 3,413 conflict-related deaths compared to 1,950 in previous year.

A year-end Mea Culpa in National Interest—The Army-Islam combo doesn’t kill democracy

Many of you might think I got something so wrong in National Interest pieces written this year. I might disagree! But some deserve a Mea Culpa. I’d deal with the most recent this week.