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The FinePrint

In Ukraine, tanks face an existential battle. Is it time to ditch them?

Even though India fought its last major tank battle in 1965—the famous battle of Asal Uttar—the armour continues to have a key place in operational plans.

Nothing has changed about Taliban, from terror to Sharia. Islamic world should pressure them

From upholding women’s rights to ensuring safety & internal harmony, the Taliban have backtracked on every promise they made, and the outcome can’t be great.

How ‘organic’ diktat, Chinese infra brought farmers to their knees on Rajapaksa turf Hambantota

Farmers in Sri Lanka's Hambantota struggle to keep crops alive without effective fertilisers, with rampaging elephants — displaced due to ill-conceived infra projects — posing another threat.

US ignores failure to shut Pakistan border for Afghan defeat. India, please take note

The US could have used its coercive resources to compel Pakistan to shut down the Taliban’s transborder sanctuaries. It chose not to—costing its victory.

Coordinated campaign? India #1 source for pro-Russia tweets amid Ukraine war, says Ashoka study

Study by Ashoka University’s Centre for Analysis of Network Data & Insight Derivation looks at pro-Russia & pro-Ukraine tweets between February, when the war began, and May.

From pest attacks to climate change, India’s mango yield hits new lows this year

Untimely rains, heatwaves and the red-banded caterpillar wreak havoc on the ‘king of fruits’ in UP and Bihar

‘Would you catch a fallen star’ — Song for fallen BJP CMs, from Deb to Rawats to Yediyurappa

The moral of the story is—don’t look for rhyme and reason when it comes to the installation or removal of CMs by the BJP high command. There's none.

How India’s power crisis is self-made & why we could face another crunch during the monsoon

In 109 of 165 thermal power plants that are currently operational, the actual coal stock is less than 25 per cent of normative stock that they are mandated to keep.

India has debated sedition at length but it won’t go without the overhaul of justice system

Preventive Detention has stayed its course because India didn’t invest much in the investigative competence of the police, or legal acumen of the prosecutors.

Behind Krishna Janmabhoomi controversy lies centuries of politics & a Mughal game of thrones

Krishna Janmabhoomi at the centre of a bitter legal fight. A court has begun hearings on a petition demanding that the Shahi Idgah mosque, which stands alongside the temple, be sealed.

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?