Daily Briefing: Lionel Messi-led Argentina lifts FIFA World Cup; Saeed Mirza on his memoir of Kundan Shah; and more

Messi has pulled off a – pardon the pun – Messiah act for the nth time. This one, though, will define his legacy. Not just because he – in his final attempt – did what Maradona did: win a World Cup. But in doing so, he’s lifted the economic gloom and despair that’s cast over Argentina. 

He won the World Cup because it was his true love. He tried, he waited, he cried, he fought, and finally it was his. For him, this might have not been about matching Diego Maradona or surpassing him, or ending the greatest-of-his-time debate with Cristiano Ronaldo.

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In the latest edition of Idea Exchange, filmmaker Saeed Mirza speaks about his memoir of Kundan Shah, director of the iconic Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro, blending the personal with the political and why he worries for young filmmakers.

In a Right to Information (RTI) reply to The Indian Express on December 15, the Election Commission said it had collected 54.32 crore Aadhaar numbers from registered electors until December 12 since the start of the voluntary drive on August 1, though the process of linking the Aadhaar with Voter IDs had not started yet.

From the Front Page

As concerns over slowdown in exports rise, the government is planning to regulate imports through hikes in duties. A senior government official told The Indian Express, “We are looking at non-essential imports for which there is enough manufacturing capacity.”

The Army has attributed the killing of two local residents outside an Army camp in Jammu and Kashmir to “unidentified terrorists”. The family members of those killed, however, have claimed that the two were victims of “mistaken identity” and fired upon by a sentry at the camp’s gate. The killings have brought despair and a plea by a 3-year-old that no one can fulfil.

After a dip in 2020 owing to the pandemic, organ donations picked up again in 2021 with 12,387 organs harvested from deceased as well as living donors. Behind this positive trend, however, is skewed distribution — both in terms of geographical origin as well as the status of donors.

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While the world was waiting eagerly for the FIFA World Cup final between France and Argentina, a large group of women was fighting social ills on a ground in Jharkhand, located 3,000 km away from Qatar. The Matra Shakti Football Tournament was contested by 32 all-women teams from 23 villages in Ranchi and Khunti districts. Central to every team, comprising married women and mothers, was a social issue — child marriage, sexual harrassment, domestic violence, and witchhunts, to name a few.

Four Indian cars were tested in the latest round of crash tests conducted by Global NCAPO, with the three featured cars from Maruti Suzuki faring poorly. The results have triggered a debate on safety of cars sold by global manufacturers in India and also the sanctity of these independent tests carried out by Global NCAP. The Indian Express goes in-depth on the results and the Bharat NCAP.

Latest trade data released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry show India exported goods worth almost $32 billion in November 2022 while its imports were valued at almost $56 billion. Exports grew by 0.6 per cent over November 2021 while imports grew by 5.4 per cent over the same month last year. We explain what to look for in the trade data, what’s behind the decline in exports growth, and more.

And Finally…

Scholars from India and Greece will collaborate to examine the history of Alexander of Macedon in India, especially in Malana, Himachal Pradesh, whose residents claim to be direct descendants of soldiers in the ruler’s army. Though Alexander was forced to turn back after his victory in Punjab, some of his soldiers and generals stayed back and legend has it that they settled in the isolated Himalayan village.

Delhi Confidential: Though the BJP is particular about the confidentiality of its meetings, there are whispers about party’s Tripura in-charge Mahesh Sharma over what he said at a meeting this weekend. While talking about “anti-party activities” of some leaders in the state unit, hit by factionalism, Sharma quoted a top party leader with whom he met last week to warn them. Sharma said the top leader had mentioned about the fate of those who had rebelled in the past.

🎧 In today’s episode of the ‘3 Things’ podcast, we talk about the Bihar hooch tragedy, protests in Bangladesh and a village from where weapons arrive in Punjab.

Until tomorrow,

Anandu Suresh, Rounak Bagchi, and Sonal Gupta