| Greetings from India! You're reading Meanwhile, Back Home, our daily newsletter specially curated for our overseas readers. While you were asleep, it was a whirlwind of a day here in India. We've got the top highlights lined up for you.
Welcome back, reader Back home – from Mumbai's chawls to Delhi's metro, from Chennai's tea stalls to Kolkata's clubs – screens glow in every corner as cricket fever grips the nation. At the Indian Premier League final underway in Ahmedabad (at the time of writing this newsletter), Punjab Kings (PBKS) skipper Shreyas Iyer elected to bowl first after winning the toss against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). Catch live updates/highlights.
Dear reader, When I wrote to you yesterday, the Indian Premier League final between Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Punjab Kings (PBKS) had just begun. What a night it turned out to be! RCB finally lifted their first-ever IPL trophy, edging past PBKS by six runs in a thrilling finale in Ahmedabad. What should have been a day of pure celebration sadly took a tragic turn. During the RCB victory parade near Bengaluru’s M Chinnaswamy Stadium, a stampede broke out as a massive crowd gathered. At least 10 are feared dead, and around 20 others are injured, three critically. The injured are being treated at Bowring and Vydehi hospitals.
A bittersweet ending to a long-awaited triumph. Also Read | How Punjab Kings deployed the 2023 World Cup final bowling tactics to scuttle RCB
💡Spotlight 1 census. 2 phases. 3 years. After a long pause due to the pandemic, the much-anticipated national Census will finally kick off on October 1, 2026.The Centre has announced that the Census will roll out in two phases over three years. Let’s break it down: 📌 Phase 1 The first leg of the Census will be carried out in India’s hilly and snow-bound regions, which includes Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Ladakh. These areas will get an early start due to weather constraints. 📌 Phase 2: For the rest of the country, Census operations will begin on March 1, 2027. This phase will include detailed enumeration along with caste data collection. 📌 Caste enumeration This Census will also feature caste-based data for the first time in decades, a long-standing demand from several political and social groups. 📌 Why the long timeline? With added complexity, tech-driven methods, and the inclusion of caste data, the Census needs more time. Also, delays from the Covid pandemic and repeated jurisdictional boundary freezes played a part.
☕ Spill the Expresso Kamal Haasan refuses to apologise: “The one who knows to forgive is a great person; the one who knows to ask for forgiveness is an even greater person.” Kamal Haasan, the filmmaker, made this dialogue famous in Virumandi, a 2004 Tamil movie written and directed by him. But can Kamal Haasan, the politician, live by it? It doesn’t look like it at the moment as the actor is digging his heels over offering an apology over his remarks on Kannada that have sparked a major row back home. His refusal to back down has threatened his forthcoming release, put an ally party in a spot, earned him a reprimand from the Karnataka High Court, and has cast a cloud over Haasan’s entry into the Rajya Sabha, a much-awaited political dream of the actor. Pak espionage network: Being in contact with Haryana-based YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra, who was arrested on charges of spying, and Ehsan-ur-Rahim alias Danish, an expelled Pakistani High Commission official has landed a Punjab-based YouTuber Jasbir Singh in hot water. Singh, who operates a YouTube channel called ‘Jaan Mahal’, was arrested in Mohali over his alleged involvement in a Pakistani espionage network. As he was being escorted into court, Singh briefly spoke to reporters, saying, “Truth will prevail”. Norway Chess With just two rounds to go, Norway Chess remains wide open. Arjun Erigaisi stunned leader Fabiano Caruana in a dramatic turnaround, punishing a late blunder under time pressure. The loss tightens the standings, with five players now within two points. Gukesh’s impressive streak ended at the hands of a focused Hikaru Nakamura, who controlled their game from the outset. Meanwhile, Magnus Carlsen uncharacteristically blundered a full piece in Armageddon against Wei Yi, a moment that may prove pivotal in the title race. As the tournament heads into its final stretch, every move—and every second—matters more than ever.
🚨 Must Read Word salad India's multilingual landscape reached its present form after millennia of migrations and mixing. It has been in many ways its greatest source of strength, and yet at times the cause behind some bitter political skirmishes. Check out our visual story based on the Indian Express Research series 'Languages of India', where we trace the many tongues of our nation.
📚 Book Nook Checkmate: If The Queen’s Gambit (Netflix) or Gukesh’s historic win over Magnus Carlsen at Norway Chess 2025 has you either dusting out your old chess sets or downloading an app on your phone, these five books—recommended by grandmasters—will sharpen your skills and deepen your understanding of the game. That’s all for now. Until next time, Aishwarya Khosla
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