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Journalism of Courage
Good morning,
Cash prizes, cars, government jobs, brand deals – and even a revoked suspension, the rewards haven’t stopped pouring in for India’s World Cup-winning women’s cricket team. From Madhya Pradesh’s promise to reinstate fast bowler Kranti Gaud’s father, suspended 15 years ago, to Harleen Deol landing a skincare endorsement after playfully quizzing the PM about his routine, India’s next-gen sports icons are here. Jemimah Rodrigues and Shafali Verma’s Instagram followings have doubled and their endorsement values have soared past crores. As Punjab’s Amanjot Kaur put it, after being welcomed home with a cavalcade, “You can see what changes have happened since we won the World Cup.”
Following the paper trail: Maharashtra’s Joint Inspector General of Registration Rajendra Muthe declared that the 40-acre Pune land at the centre of the Ajit Pawar-linked controversy “belonged to the state government and could not be sold at any cost”. The land — watan property of the Mahar (now SC) community — was taken over in 1955 and leased to the Botanical Survey of India till 2038, yet was sold in May 2025 for Rs 300 crore by a power of attorney holder to Amadea Enterprises LLP, co-owned by Parth Pawar and Digvijay Patil. The sale used a stamp duty waiver introduced months after Ajit joined the Shinde-Fadnavis government. Fadnavis has promised “strong action” and said the probe will continue even after the deal’s cancellation. Ajit insists “not a single paisa was exchanged.” Read our full story here.
A town that was: Once, its chimneys billowed smoke and its factories thrummed with life. Dalmianagar, Bihar’s own industrial township, produced everything from cement and sugar to paper, soap and asbestos sheets. At its peak, Rohtas Industries Limited employed more than 10,000 workers, drawing people from across states. Today, Dalmianagar stands abandoned, a relic of Bihar’s lost industrial age. Once hailed as a parallel Jamshedpur, it now stands abandoned, a relic of Bihar’s lost industrial age.What turned this thriving township into a Rust Belt? And is there any hope of revival? Read.
The PK Factor: In Bihar’s crowded political arena, Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj Party has become the subject of curiosity – an “unknown, untested player” that insists on keeping its distance from both major blocs. As political scientist Suhas Palshikar writes, Kishor’s challenge lies in groping for a suitable political platform outside of these two ideological nodes (Mandal and Hindutva) but that’s also where his opportunities lie. Palshikar states that Kishor’s “ideological equivocations and talk of governance may work as an asset.” Whether Jan Suraaj survives its Bihar test, he asserts, will determine if Kishor can “strive to be a significant player outside Bihar” — or fade into the background.
“THE G2 WILL BE CONVENING SHORTLY!” – Donald Trump’s post ahead of his meeting with China President Xi Jinping in Seoul set off ripples. While foreign policy analysts have come to expect the unexpected from Trump, this was unusual even within that context. ‘G2’, first coined in 2005, lands differently today in an era defined by strategic rivalry, tariffs, and an uneasy Indo-Pacific. Under Xi, China has increasingly asserted itself in various domains, and it was Trump himself who once cast Beijing as America’s chief adversary. So his renewed ‘G2’ talk now has Washington’s partners watching warily – especially New Delhi, already bruised by tariffs and a postponed Quad summit – as they weigh whether this is a thaw in tensions or a twist in the Trump-Xi power play.
‘Haq’ revisits one of India’s landmark court case – the 1985 Shah Bano verdict – through the story of Shazia Bano (played by Yami Gautam Dhar), “a woman hurt and angered by her husband’s betrayal, yet someone who holds on to the fraying shreds of her dignity,” writes Shubhra Gupta in her review. Inspired by Shah Bano but told with “welcome restraint,” director Subhash Kapoor avoids the melodrama that could have easily overtaken the subject. Gautam is “excellent, keeping flashy histrionics in check,” while Emraan Hashmi makes for “the entitled shauhar hiding his patriarchal prancing behind the fig-leaf of faith.” Haq, the review notes, “does what it sets out to do with clear-eyed empathy,” giving us an ordinary woman who fought for her right and made without even realising it, history.
That’s it for today, have a great weekend!
Malavika Jayadeep
