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The emphatic Congress win in Karnataka highlights again the limits of BJP’s strategy of communal polarisation.

In this issue

02-06-202340 STORIES

Curious conundrums: Review of ‘One Small Voice’ by Santanu Bhattacharya

See-sawing between the hackneyed and the nuanced, this debut novel manages to offer an astute analysis of contemporary middle-class India’s paradoxes.

A spymaster speaks: Review of ‘A Life in the Shadows’ by A.S. Dulat

A.S. Dulat focusses on his relationship with Kashmiris and believes that a muscular policy does not move us closer to solving issues in the Valley.

Hormis Tharakan

Critical gaze: Review of ‘India is Broken’ by Ashoka Mody

Successive dispensations in independent India have failed to devise people-friendly economic regimes.

Paranjoy Guha Thakurta

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Letters

Readers write in.

FLQ: The Frontline Quiz

Some grave issues are covered this time.

Sumant Srivathsan

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The dawn men of Delhi

Town criers walk the bylanes of Old Delhi, performing the age-old task of waking up households for the Sehri meal taken at dawn through Ramzan.

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New books on the shelves

Fantasy fiction, a map of a Mughal city, a microhistory of the Sultans of Oman, and much more.

Kerala Christians are cosying up to the BJP, but at what cost?

Recent attacks on churches are a reminder that they are playing with fire.

Battleground Barsu: Ecology versus economy conflict continues in Maharashtra

Protests against a refinery in Barsu have pitted the industrial complex against activists and villagers, putting the State government in a tangle.

Behind Sharad Pawar’s resignation drama

Though the events seem well-timed, whether the NCP chief will remain true to his Phule-Shahu-Ambedkar legacy remains to be seen.

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The Philippines in danger of being sucked into US-China conflict over Taiwan

The Marcos Jr presidency has witnessed the US military regaining control of its bases in the archipelago.

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A scripted performance in Chandigarh puts stubble burning in focus

The performative hearing saw real activists and lawyers working not only within a script but also within conventions of the National Green Tribunal.

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With heatwaves on the rise, does India have a heat emergency plan?

With climate projections indicating a sixfold increase in heatwaves by 2060, such plans are needed immediately to protect vulnerable communities.

Roxy Mathew Koll

‘Missing’ monuments of India tell a tale of neglect

The reintroduction of the AMASR Amendment Bill sparks concerns over the future of India’s protected monuments and archaeological sites.

Delhi University in the dock following suicide of ad hoc teacher

It blew the lid off one of the university’s worst-kept secrets and drew attention to a serious lacuna in teacher appointments.

T.K. Rajalakshmi

K.K. Shailaja: ‘I am an ordinary party worker’

In her powerful memoir, the former Health Minister of Kerala urges women to be bolder and question regressive beliefs.

T.K. Rajalakshmi

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Journalists, human rights defenders in Kashmir face increasing assaults

A playbook that closely restricts press freedom is playing out, which has seen journalists being harassed through a variety of means.

Gas poisoning deaths in Giaspura reveal infrastructure neglect

The urban slum for migrant workers in Ludhiana exposes the government’s neglect of planning and pollution control.

Ashutosh Sharma

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‘Court abdicated its responsibility’: Rachna Dhingra on the Bhopal gas tragedy

The social activist discusses several critical issues concerning the disaster from the survivors’ perspective.

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Future of HEC hangs in the balance as salaries remain unpaid for over a year

As employees suffer, there is no clarity whether the government intends to privatise a PSU with good potential for profitability.

T.K. Rajalakshmi

Black on white: Review of ‘The Laughter’ by Sonora Jha

Jha’s new novel is a satire on the many fears that were born with this millennium, and it is a fearsome one.

Latha Anantharaman

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Science & Technology

Insights into the dengue virus in India

It is different from the strains in other countries, which were used to make vaccines there.

R. Ramachandran

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Science & Technology

A new platform to produce hydrogen

Hydrogen energy via photocatalytic production promises sustainable green energy.

R. Ramachandran

Science & Technology

Palladates the new likely hunting arena for superconductors

A study finds that superconductivity can be attained at higher temperatures with palladates than the previously heralded nickelates.

R. Ramachandran

Tech Shakespeare: When English literature meets engineering

A teacher of English literature and a classroom of budding engineers are forced to get into a nodding acquaintance through the bard’s works.

Alone with silence in Kökar

The first sight of Kökar, a remote island in the Baltic Sea confirms everything I had dreamt of, giving the landscape an almost hallucinatory quality.

Jaideep Unudurti

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The genius of Miss Elanius

Which home does not have at least one Miss Elanius drawer, jammed with randomly assorted objects?

Ramakrishna Desiraju

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‘The Kerala Story’ is greedy in its impulse to demonise Muslims

In it, expressions of love for India and Hinduism are intertwined with hostility towards Islam.

Prathyush Parasuraman

Girl power revolution: Anupama Hireholi from Saundatti creates history

Half a century after Vijay Tendulkar’s controversial play about the jogtin practice, the town will be known for something besides the Yellamma temple.

Go First filing for bankruptcy raises questions about ‘open skies’ policy

The government has constantly tweaked policy to favour private entrants in the airlines sector.

C.P. Chandrasekhar

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Science & Technology

Why India needs a museum for its fossils

We are losing invaluable palaeontological history because we have neither a legal framework nor the awareness to protect fossils.

Nandita Jayaraj

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Impact of election results to go beyond electoral politics in Karnataka

The results are likely to have a far-reaching impact on the State’s socio-economic and cultural life.

Why the BJP’s communal calculations in Karnataka failed

A multi-layered analysis looks at why religious polarisation did not give the party a clean sweep in Coastal Karnataka.

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Editor’s Note: What does the Karnataka election result portend?

It is an important one because the Congress won decisively against a party that fought purely on divisive terms.

Bengaluru the only outlier amid Congress’ triumph across Karnataka

Even though the State overwhelmingly voted for the Congress, the garden city bucked the trend by giving the BJP 16 out of its 28 seats.

R.K. Radhakrishnan

How the Congress secured a historic victory in Karnataka

The victory was based on a campaign strategy that focused on local issues, opposed corruption, and avoided communal rhetoric.

Vikhar Ahmed Sayeed

Karnataka result shows India’s natural position is in the centre

The Congress victory in the State shows there is a hard limit to the popularity of Hindutva.

Mallikarjun Kharge leads from the front as Congress conquers Karnataka

The Congress president’s astute management of the party’s internal dynamics quelled latent infighting within the Karnataka state unit.

Vikhar Ahmed Sayeed

Civil society organisations played key role in Congress victory

Groups such as ‘Eddelu Karnataka’ and ‘Bahutva Karnataka’ made voters aware of the BJP government’s failures.

Vikhar Ahmed Sayeed

The Chola chronicles: Review of ‘Rajaraja Chola: King of Kings’

A comprehensive overview of the Chola dynasty written in a colourful and easy style.

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