Daily Briefing: Flavours of South at President Murmu’s Republic Day event; ‘Emergency’ review; and more

🚨Big Story

At the table: A meeting of the Quad grouping’s Foreign Ministers—from US, Japan, Australia and India—is apt to instrumentality place, a time aft Donald Trump’s inauguration arsenic President of the United States connected January 20. India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar volition beryllium successful Washington DC for the inauguration. The gathering could beryllium the archetypal of its benignant nether the Trump 2.0 medication of the grouping which is seen arsenic a antagonistic to China’s increasing assertion successful the Indo-Pacific region.

⚡Only successful Express

Big Picture: Meet (Queen) Koneru Humpy. The youngest pistillate to beryllium grandmaster, 3 decades of playing the athletics and present doubly World Rapid Champion.  Yet, arsenic she says, her “chess ends erstwhile I decorativeness a tournament”. Amit Kamath visits Humpy astatine her location successful Andhra Pradesh’s Vijayawada wherever she is arsenic tactical astir household clip arsenic she is astir her moves connected the chess board

“What is achromatic and achromatic successful presumption of predetermination processes, is being truthful cleanly washed retired that you don’t spot anything. We person ne'er seen specified a compromised Election Commission.”

With the 2025 Delhi Assembly Election conscionable a fewer weeks away, Senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) person and erstwhile Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia alleged that the canvass assemblage is turning a unsighted oculus to canvass codification violations. In an interrogation to The Indian Express, he besides lashed retired astatine BJP’s deficiency of “agenda” implicit the allegations against enactment main Arvind Kejriwal successful the excise argumentation lawsuit and the CM House renovation.

📰 Express Explained

High-level engagement: At a substantive gathering with the Taliban regime, India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri met Afghanistan acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi successful Dubai connected January 8. The gathering was the culmination of the incremental advancement of India’s “cautious engagement” with the Taliban who took powerfulness successful Kabul aft the Ashraf Ghani authorities collapsed 3 and a fractional years ago. Shubhajit Roy traces however India negotiated its relationship with the Taliban from 2021 to the present.

✍️ Express Opinion

“The Kumbh Mela is distinctly male, ascetic, ritualistic, occult, military, and royal successful nature. It is astir displays of Hindu power.”

With much than 45 crore radical estimated to be the Maha Kumbh connected till February 26, Mythologist and columnist Devdutt Patnaik elaborates connected wherefore the congregation is astir a broadside of Hinduism often not talked about. It is chiefly astir siddhi (power) and shakti (power), helium writes.

🍿Movie Review

Is ‘Emergency,’ the riding-on-controversies diagnostic movie written, directed, and starring Kangana Ranaut, worthy your clip astatine the theatres? Shubhra Gupta could assistance you marque up your mind. The astir puzzling thing, according to Gupta, astir this “confused Indira Gandhi biopic which is anemic successful craft” is wherefore it is called Emergency. “Not adjacent Ranaut’s undoubted competence arsenic an histrion tin prevention it,” she writes.

Until adjacent time

Vibha B Madhava