Indian Mandala

So far, the only real rapprochement, unintentionally fostered by the tycoon’s tariffs, is the one in the shadow of the Himalayas. But for India, the first steps suggest that it promises to be an uphill battle.

The court has suspended the “Land Pooling Policy 2025” for four weeks. Launched by the Aam Aadmi Party government to acquire 65,533 acres of agricultural land for residential and industrial purposes, the measure is contested by farmers and the opposition who say it was approved without consultation with village assemblies. Trade unions, which have organised several protests in recent days, denounce inadequate compensation, risks to the livelihoods of labourers and benefits only for large real estate groups.

The US president's decision to impose such a high tariff is causing economic and diplomatic upheaval in New Delhi. The measure includes sanctions over India's relations with Russia and its membership in the BRICS group. While the opposition calls it a “catastrophic failure of foreign policy”, the Modi government says it wants to negotiate a "fair deal" again in August. But US aggressiveness is pushing New Delhi to consider a tactical rapprochement with Beijing, while Washington is boosting ties with Islamabad, fuelling tensions in an already fragile regional context.

In a report released yesterday, the human rights group accuses India of expelling 1,500 Muslims to Bangladesh between May and June without due process, fuelling religious and ethnic discrimination. Those expelled include Indian citizens with valid papers, as several witnesses testified. In Assam, where the situation is most critical, evictions and home demolitions have been ongoing for months, involving thousands of families, expelled or detained, partly to make way for business development.

The Indian prime minister visited Ghana and Trinidad and Tobago before travelling to Argentina, Brazil (for the BRICS summit), and Namibia to boost ties with developing countries and challenge Chinese influence. Billions-dollar investments in Africa and South-South cooperation top the agenda, while at home the opposition accuses him of neglecting domestic crises.

At Milan Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2026, Prada presented leather sandals identical in design to the traditional Kolhapuri chappal of Maharashtra, without any acknowledgement of the Chamar artisans, one of India's indigenous and outcast tribes. The high price and the distribution of leather rings during the show to emphasise the sandal's distinctive detail sparked protests on Indian social media. Activists have long been calling on fashion houses to recognise cultural origins and share profits with local communities.

Son of anthropologist Mahmood Mamdani and filmmaker Mira Nair, the 33-year-old democratic socialist won the Big Apple’s Democratic mayoral primary. A critic of Indian Prime Minister Modi and close to the Palestinian cause, if elected, he would become New York’s first Shia Muslim mayor. His political education was strongly influenced by his Indian parents.

The tragedy involving a Boeing 787 Dreamliner yesterday, with over 200 victims, casts a long shadow on Air India’s growth plans. Once the national carrier, it was sold to the Tata Group a few years ago. The accident, the first with multiple deaths for this model, hits the company amid an ambitious expansion, while New Delhi wants India to become a global aviation hub. The investigation is focusing on the engine's thrust, but it will take time.

The state government wants to arm only indigenous people for self-defence. For BJP Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, such a step is justified on security grounds, while the opposition sees the attempt to provide weapons to some communities as exacerbating tensions with Bengali Muslims.

During a major anti-terror operation in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh, security forces eliminated 27 Maoist rebels, including Nambala Keshava Rao, who had led the group since 2017. This marks a strategic victory for the Modi government, which aims to eradicate the threat by 2026. The insurgency, in decline for years, appears increasingly isolated and lacking support among the new generation of tribal youth.

Even during military operations against Pakistan-administered Kashmir, false reports had already begun to circulate in India. But the repressive measures have continued even after the violence subsided. The government has shut down thousands of accounts and banned Pakistani media. A university professor has been jailed over a critical post, and at least 11 citizens have been arrested on charges of espionage.

After years of disregarding opposition demands, the Indian government has changed course and decided to include caste classification in the next national census. Behind the political move lie electoral pressures and the growing influence of disadvantaged castes. No official date has been set, but according to local media, the census is expected to take place in 2026.