| 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.
Dear reader, Let us begin today’s edition with the heart-wrenching story of an Indian-origin man who spent over two decades languishing in an American jail for a crime he did not commit. Movie buffs might call it a case of life imitating art. In a Georgia courtroom, a judge exonerated 50-year-old Sandeep ‘Sonny’ Bharadia in under a minute, ending a legal nightmare that began in 2001 when Bharadia was wrongly convicted of burglary and sexual assault. Bafflingly, despite DNA evidence pointing to another man, Bharadia remained incarcerated for 22 years.
💡Spotlight In Maharashtra’s political arena, once again up is down and down is up, as cousins Uddhav and Raj Thackeray have put their differences apart after two decades. However, as the family publicly embraced each other, one of the allies — the Indian National Congress (INC)—was conspicuously absent. We break down this political development: 📌 Between rock (Bihar) and the hard place (Mumbai): With Bihar elections looming, the INC cannot be seen cozying up to Raj Thackeray, whose anti-Hindi and anti-north Indian rhetoric could alienate voters in the Hindi heartland. 📌 Fragmented vision Congress leaders in Maharashtra are frustrated as the Thackerays are spearheading a “Marathi first” movement, Congress appears listless and uncertain whether to join or stay neutral. The lack of clarity from Delhi only deepens the paralysis as on the national level, Congress needs to keep Uddhav Thackeray on its side, while sidestepping the shadow of Raj Thackeray. 📌Rift revealed: The upcoming BMC elections are a source of contention between the alliance and have exposed the fissures in the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA). Many in Congress feel that aligning with Uddhav Thackeray will wean away their minority votes away from them, without getting reciprocal support. Many are arguing about going solo in Mumbai. 📌 INDIA Bloc in Disarray:But with the alliance already on shaky ground, the party’s safest move was to skip the reunion, avoid Raj’s shadow—and hope silence keeps Uddhav close.
☕ Spill the Expresso Malayalam cinema report card: The first half of 2025 has been a mixed bag for Malayalam cinema. While 2024 was a golden year, 2025 began with disappointments such as Identity. The only January hit was Rekhachithram. Superstar dynamics shifted as Mohanlal made a grand comeback with Empuraan and Thudarum, while Mammootty stumbled with Bazooka. Valentine’s Day weekend and April releases mostly flopped. May and June were uneven, though Ronth and Moonwalk stood out. Despite some bright spots, the industry faces creative fatigue and inconsistent output.
🚨 Must Read Trump against BRICS: With the US weaponising the global financial infrastructure, countries around are seeking to reduce their dependence on the US dollar and the US-led global financial system. Not one to take it lying down, in a fresh salvo, US President Donald Trump has pronounced an additional 10 per cent tariff on any country aligning itself with the “anti-American policies” of the BRICS coalition, which includes India. The coalition originally included just Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, but has expanded to include 1o nations. US Trump had threatened BRICS nations of a 100 per cent tariff “if they so much as even think” about reducing the use of the dollar in global trade.
📚Book Nook Pen & Poison British-Indian author Salman Rushdie has never hesitated to wield his pen like a sword. And, has paid a steep price for it: a fatwa that forced him into hiding, and most recently, a knife to the eye. Some of the major literary feuds he has been involved in include former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and fellow writers and literary critics: John Updike, Marathi Jnanpith laureate Bhalchandra Nemade or John Carrie. Have a good day, Until tomorrow, Aishwarya Khosla
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