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The FinePrint

Legal fight has made Dalit student battle-hardened. ‘Ready for anything at IIT Dhanbad’

Muzaffarnagar's Atul Kumar had to go through Jharkhand and Madras high courts and the Supreme Court for his admission to IIT Dhanbad, after missing the deadline to pay Rs 17,500 fee by mere seconds.

How a sense of humiliation gave rise to the modern Jat identity & impacted Haryana’s politics

In early 20th century, Jats adopted elements of Arya Samaj movement. Since then, from kshatriya to kisan to demand for OBC status, their identity evolved in response to modern anxieties.

Not all of Haryana’s retired wrestlers join politics. Ticket checkers, police, property dealers

Pinki Malik is gearing up for her last match. Her eyes are set on gold in the National Championships. But it's not her ultimate goal—it's just a means to a coveted promotion in the railways.

From dreamer to schemer, a man duped 10 yrs ago turned conman himself, peddling fake visas

The issue of fake visa rackets is rampant. In July, Delhi Police’s Indira Gandhi International Airport wing said that they had arrested 108 fake visa agents this year alone.

Sikkim’s war on GLOF. Monks, shamans, scientists are all in the fight

Sikkim's South Lhonak glacial lake outburst flood killed 90 people in 2023. Villagers are angry and the state government is wary of attributing the GLOF to climate change—Rs 2,500 crore insurance claim is at stake.

Port Blair’s new name ‘Sri Vijaya Puram’ isn’t historical or decolonial. It’s politics

Srivijaya today is one of Southeast Asia’s most puzzling polities. It made temple gifts from Thailand to Bengal and Tamil Nadu. And many of its remains have disappeared into private collections.

Maharashtra-born Shailaja Paik 1st Dalit to get US ‘genius’ grant. ‘Dalits gave their blood’

The MacArthur Fellowship of $800,000 awards Shailaja Paik for her pioneering scholarship focusing on the intersection of Dalit studies, gender, and sexuality in modern India.

Even as SC questions ‘bulldozer justice’, its victims still live on ruins of their homes, forever in fear

SC extends ban on properties of those suspected of criminal activities being demolished without court's permission. Victims struggle to rebuild homes, livelihoods yrs after such action.

Brahmins didn’t always wear the sacred thread. They adopted it at the start of the Common Era

When we scratch below the surface, many so-called immemorial or even eternal ideas, customs, and institutions are found to have historical origins in defined times and spaces.

Haryana’s politics is entwined with its multiple regional identities. How they shape voter choices

Dominant communities such as the Bagri and Deswali Jats, Yadavs in Ahirwal and Meo Muslims in Mewat will determine which way the political winds blow in 5 October assembly elections.

On Camera

Maharashtra’s language war reaches West Bengal. Actor Prosenjit Chatterjee is the first victim

While the language war in other states is targeting those who can't speak the local language, in Bengal, even those whose mother tongue is Bengali have to constantly prove their Bengali-ness.

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.

DRDO successfully tests latest version of UAV-launched precision missile, ULPGM-V3

Capable of being fired in plain and high-altitude areas, it has day-and-night capability and two-way data link to support post-launch target, aim-point update.

Modi’s Bharat vs Indira’s India: 11-yr report card of politics, diplomacy, economy, nationalism

As Narendra Modi becomes India’s second-longest consecutively serving Prime Minister, we look at how he compares with Indira Gandhi across four key dimensions.