What happened in Bahanaga Bazar railway station at 6:55 pm on June 2 that switched the Coromandel Express to a loop line where an ore-laden goods train was already standing?

In this issue

30-06-202336 STORIES

Questions over cause of Odisha train accident remain unresolved

Was it an error in the electronic signal system that caused the triple train collision at Balasore?

R.K. Radhakrishnan

How the disaster response to the Odisha train accident panned out

The victims’ bodies were kept in the nearby Bahanaga High School that acted as a temporary mortuary.

New books on the shelves

The early life of Gautam Buddha, a mother-daughter saga, a new Ponniyin Selvan translation, and more.

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Odisha train accident deaths: Where does the buck stop?

A National Rail Plan promised dedicated freight and express lines but there has been no update on it.

Congress questions BJP over rail safety following Odisha train accident

In turn, the BJP’s response was to troll the Congress and sidestep the issues involved.

R.K. Radhakrishnan

Social media rife with polarising disinformation on Odisha train tragedy

The falsehoods being spread in the immediate aftermath of the Balasore accident were laced with Islamophobia.

R.K. Radhakrishnan

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Editor’s Note: India’s worst train accident since 1995

There is evidence that the Railways is plagued by systemic neglect and callous disregard for safety.

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‘The Dystopian Times’ by Appupen

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Letters

Readers write in

Murky goings-on bring Chidambaram temple back into public focus

The power struggle to control the Chola-era temple enters another chapter.

Ilangovan Rajasekaran

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Science & Technology

Crystal that melts under UV light

As it melts, it exhibits changes in luminescence and colour.

R. Ramachandran

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Science & Technology

China on top in research articles

Its contributions to articles published in the Nature Index group of high-quality natural-science journals have been increasing since 2014.

R. Ramachandran

Map tales: Mammoth expeditions, intrigues, and momentous wars

An intriguing exhibition of British-India maps, organised recently by the Asiatic Society of Mumbai, explored some of these stories.

How government neglect left thousands homeless in Delhi’s Tughlakabad

The recent demolitions here show yet again how migrant labourers are routinely deprived of even the right to shelter.

Ashutosh Sharma

The battle for legacy and ideology in Shiv Sena

As the Shiv Sena celebrates its 57th anniversary, a fierce battle between factions threatens its core ideology and political future in Maharashtra.

Edward Lear: The man in the mirror

The Victorian limerick writer and artist spent 13 months travelling India’s length and breadth, drawing landscapes and keeping a cranky journal.

Anusua Mukherjee

Climate, catastrophe, and history: Review of ‘The Earth Transformed’ by Peter Frankopan

The book examines the role of weather and climate in shaping history and brings the environmental perspective to the fore.

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Pragmatism prevails: Review of ‘Hostile Homelands’ by Azad Essa

This book offers insights into the politics of Zionism and Hindutva but overlooks India’s self-interest and the role of realism in foreign policy.

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Science & Technology

Non-sugar sweeteners have ill effects: WHO

Available evidence suggests that such sweeteners do not help reduce body fat and may lead to undesirable effects.

R. Ramachandran

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Science & Technology

Michigan University study detects signs of activity in dying brain

Researchers detected intriguing brain wave patterns in four patients who passed away in hospital.

R. Ramachandran

India and Nepal: Redefining a relationship

Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kumar Dahal’s recent visit to India was more about optics than anything else.

Memory and desire: How movie-watching changed over time

From the era of crowded cinema halls to the convenience of streaming platforms, the film-watching experience has come a long way.

Remembering to forget: Review of ‘Time Shelter’ by Georgi Gospodinov

The 2023 International Booker Prize winner is both a hilarious comedy and a sombre reflection on the treachery of memory.

‘Build me a self’: Review of ‘Mother Muse Quintet’ by Naveen Kishore

Naveen Kishore’s second volume of poems is an exercise in pithiness, conveying layers of meaning without shouting them out.

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Science & Technology

An extrasolar radiation belt, a la Van Allen, seen for the first time

It was seen using a coordinated array of 39 radio dishes from Hawaii to Germany.

R. Ramachandran

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GDP estimates fail to adequately capture informal sector

The inherent bias in GDP statistics is exaggerated when it treats performance in the unorganised sector and organised sector as the same.

C.P. Chandrasekhar

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Pipeline burst in Guwahati exposes delays, quality gaps in mega projects

Over 70 per cent of the city’s population still depends on borewells for water 15 years after the launch of four prestigious water supply projects.

Sushanta Talukdar

Assam Rifles: A brief history

From a semi-military body in 1835, Assam Rifles has evolved into a region-specific force that has the northeastern region as its area of operation.

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Telangana’s unusually high summer rainfall raises climate change concerns

Experts warn that erratic weather patterns can have devastating effects on crops.

Rain and ruin: Telangana farmers battle crop damage and insurance woes

Crops across several lakh acres were damaged due to unseasonal rain and hailstorms from March to May, and the farmers have nothing to fall back on.

Languages not liked by Hindutva ideology suffer existential crisis

The 2011 census shows that except for Hindi, Sanskrit, and Gujarati, all other scheduled languages have suffered erosion.

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‘Succession’ allows viewers to marvel and smirk at the rich

The HBO series tells the story of the richest and the most arrogant and, yet, makes you care about their airy existence and pursuits.

Prathyush Parasuraman

Monumental train disaster at Balasore puts issues plaguing Railways in focus

The colossal accident on June 2 points mainly to an integral systems failure, which takes place only when earlier breakdowns were left unattended.

R.K. Radhakrishnan

As Manipur crisis escalates, government inaction triggers outrage

The violence in Manipur raises concerns about intelligence failure, the heavy militarisation, and ongoing economic blockades.

Chitra Ahanthem

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Impact of alien plants on Western Ghats causes concern

These plants, which are not native to the region, threaten to alter natural habitats and native biodiversity.

Anoop N.R.,T. Ganesh

Archive

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