A Rs 15,000 crore move to seize Pataudi properties

Written by: Aarthi Ramnath, Raghav Bikhchandani & Yash Budhwar

A Rs 15,000 crore move to seize Pataudi properties

The government plans to seize a number of properties—worth Rs 15,000 crore (Rs 150 billion)—owned by the Pataudis. The case has been brewing since 2014, but seems to have come to a head now—thanks to a court in Madhya Pradesh.

How it started: In 2014, the government issued a notice declaring the Pataudi family’s properties in Bhopal as “enemy property.” These include the Flag Staff House, Noor-Us-Sabah Palace, Dar-Us-Salam, Bungalow of Habibi, Ahmedabad Palace and Kohefiza Property.

Wtf is ‘enemy property’? It refers to all Indian assets of people who migrated to countries designated as “enemy nations” during a conflict. After the two wars against Pakistan (1965 and 1971) and one against China (1962), the government seized all such properties. The law is called the Enemy Property Act 1968—which says that all such “enemy assets” remain “permanently vested with the Custodian of Enemy Property, with no room for inheritance or transfer.”

Enter, the Pataudis: At the time of Partition, the princely state of Bhopal was ruled by Nawab Hamidullah Khan—who had three daughters. The eldest Abida migrated to Pakistan in 1950. The second married Nawab Iftikhar Ali Khan Pataudi—who beget Mansoor Ali Khan ‘Tiger’ Pataudi—who beget Saif Ali Khan. He inherited a number of his grandmother’s properties. But in 2014, the government used Abida’s migration to Pakistan to declare them enemy assets.

A 2017 amendment: Soon after Khan challenged the notice, the government passed an ordinance to explicitly disqualify heirs—who are Indian and remain in India—from claiming these properties:

The amendments broadened the definition of “enemy subject” and “enemy firm” to include legal heirs and successors, irrespective of their citizenship, whether Indian or from a non-enemy nation… The amendments effectively nullified inheritance claims, ensuring that such properties remained indefinitely under the control of the government.

Point to note: In a 2005 ruling, the Supreme Court recognised the right of a Raja’s son to inherit his properties in India—even though his father migrated to Pakistan. The 2017 law was introduced specifically to void other such claims.

What happened now: The case had been languishing in the courts—until the Madhya Pradesh High Court lifted a 2015 stay that prevented the government from seizing the properties. Khan has instead been directed to make his case to an appellate tribunal—while his court petition has been dismissed.

Why does this matter: Critics say the law violates property rights of citizens—who are presumably mostly Muslims with relatives who left for Pakistan—since there are not many Indians migrants to China. Then again, it’s hard to drum up sympathy for former royals.

Indian Express has the best overview of the case.

Yet another ‘obscenity’ row over MF Husain

Another day, another puritanical row over Indian art. The target this time: an exhibition of 116 MF Husain paintings at a New Delhi art gallery that took place at the end of last year.

The complaint: In a post on X, Delhi High Court lawyer Amita Sachdeva claimed to have taken photos of the ‘offensive’ paintings—filed a police complaint on December 9. The following day, she went back to the gallery with an investigating officer only to find that the paintings had been removed. The gallery claimed they were never on display.

The ‘offensive’ art: OTOH, here’s the damning evidence shared by a triumphant Sachdeva on X: two lightly drawn sketches of Ganesha and Hanuman—featuring nude women. Here is exhibit #1:

And exhibit #2:

What happened next: Delhi Police wasn’t impressed—and didn’t register an FIR against the gallery or its director. So, Sachdeva took her chugli to the High Court—demanding the court force the police to issue an FIR and preserve the gallery’s CCTV footage—presumably to catch them removing the paintings red-handed.

What the court said: It ordered the police to seize the two paintings as they “hurt religious sentiments”. But it isn’t clear whether they have done so.

Irony alert: As the gallery pointed out in a statement:

The complainant has herself displayed and publicised the images of the drawings over social media and television news media deliberately intending them to be viewed by a larger audience, while contending that the same images hurt her personal religious sentiments.

About those paintings: The paintings will likely be safe. A recent attempt by the Mumbai Customs Department to seize and destroy ‘obscene’ art by FN Souza and Akbar Padamsee was foiled by the courts. The Supreme Court position on obscene art was made clear back in a 2008 ruling:

There are so many such subjects, photographs and publications. Will you file cases against all of them? What about temple structures? Husain's work is art. If you don't want to see it, don't see it. There are so many such art forms in temple structures.

This also holds true for Sachdeva—who chose to visit the exhibition—and got up real close to get a look at offending breasts in a lightly drawn sketch.

So why do you care: Sachdeva already got what she wanted—by forcing the gallery to take down those paintings. All other art institutions likely took note. The censors did indeed win.

Reading List: BBC News has the best coverage and timeline of the controversy, as well as past legal issues. For more on legal precedent, check out Anshul’s X thread and the 2008 case, titled ‘Maqbool Fida Husain vs Raj Kumar Pandey’.

Chimps have quickfire inside jokes, too!

Researchers have made a delightful discovery about our simian cousins. Chimpanzees that share a close relationship often make hand gestures that have meaning only to them—exactly like humans. In this case, they observed a daughter making a special sign—when she wants her mum to give her a ride on her back. Like so:

Point to note: The fact that great apes makes gestures has long been known:

Chimps have a rich repertoire of them, which they use in ways that might not technically qualify as language but are certainly language-like. More than 80 gestures have been translated, including a palm-up, arm-extended request for food; a loud, long scratch that invites grooming; and a two-footed stomp that means “Stop that!”

What’s new is the discovery of “idiosyncratic” gestures:

There are so many words or gestures or things that are almost like inside jokes, that only have a meaning with just one other person. That happens very often to us humans. And now we also see that it happens in the wild, in chimps.

Not all experts agree that this is the case with chimps. New York Times and The Guardian have lots more on the scientific debate.

Louis Vuitton’s Olympic medals lose their shine

The Paris Olympics were supposed to be LVMH’s moment in the global spotlight—luxury champagne, designer outfits for athletes, and medals designed by their prestigious jewelry brand, Chaumet. But less than four months after the Games, those medals have literally started to lose their shine. More than 100 athletes have reported that their medals are flaking, rusting or just falling apart. Here’s what French swimmer Clement Secchi’s “crocodile skin” trophy looks like:

What went wrong?: Turns out, the varnish used to protect the medals was missing a key ingredient this time around—an anti-rust chemical now banned by the EU. That said, it’s still a PR debacle for LVMH—which spent $163 million on sponsorship. The International Olympic Committee has now “vowed to find replacements”—identical to the original. (New York Times)

what caught our eye

business & tech

Quick commerce zindabad—Blinkit can now deliver smartphones—including iPhone 16—-within 10 minutes in Delhi NCR, Mumbai, and Bangalore.
Meanwhile, Zomato’s Q3 profits plunged 57% from the same period last year—which hardly bodes well for the delivery biz.
Trouble in tech bro paradise. Elon Musk bashes the $500 billion 'Stargate' deal helmed by OpenAI and SoftBank—and backed by his BFF Trump.
People say they are being forced to follow Trump on Instagram—and Meta won’t allow them to unfollow him.

sports & entertainment

The Indian cricket board wants host Pakistan’s name removed from Indian jerseys for the 2025 Champions Trophy. There’s no such thing as being too petty.
Trevor Noah will once again host the 2025 Grammys—offering much-needed humour in the wake of the LA wildfires.
IMDb founder Col Needham will step down as CEO after 35 years—passing the baton to Nikki Santoro, the first woman to lead the entertainment database.

health & environment

Just weeks after devastating wildfires, residents of Los Angeles now have to brace themselves for rain that could create toxic ash runoff.
Also worrying: over 50,000 people faced evacuation warnings as another fire burnt through 15 square miles late Wednesday morning north of LA.
The unexplained deaths from a mystery disease continue in rural Jammu and Kashmir—Badhaal village in Rajouri district has been declared as a containment zone.

as for the rest

In an unexpected show of bro aggression, Donald Trump has warned Putin to end the Ukraine war or face heavy taxes, tariffs, and sanctions. Vlad is very afraid.
At least 13 people were killed in Maharashtra—when they jumped from a train spooked by rumours of fire—only to be hit by another oncoming train.
Over 20,000 undocumented Indians in the US face deportation. Btw, this was a key point raised by Secretary of State Marco Rubio in his convo with S Jaishankar.
Related read: Tanul Thakur in Indian Express on the “real H-1B scam”—and how it operates.
The Trump administration has threatened federal employees with “adverse consequences” if they fail to report on colleagues who defy his order to purge diversity, equity and inclusion efforts from their agencies. Totalitarian much?
Prince Harry settled his case against two Rupert Murdoch-owned tabloids—for an “unequivocal apology” and at least $12.3 million in damages.
For the first time in nine years, South Korea’s birthrate has bounced back in 2024, thanks to a post-COVID marriage boom and a 3% rise in newborns—all hail the ‘baby bump’!
Scientists confirm the universe is expanding faster than physics can explain.
Mittens the cat racked up serious frequent flyer points—making three trips between New Zealand and Australia in 24 hours after being forgotten in the plane’s cargo hold!
New York Times (splainer gift link) offers an intriguing take on eating at McDonald’s around the world—arguing it may offer a truly “authentic” experience.

Three things to see

One: In what is being read as an alarming omen, the page hosting the US Constitution on the White House website shows a ‘404 error’ with the message: “page not found”. In fact, there is not a single mention of the word “Constitution” anywhere on the site! The Trump administration has also deleted a government website on reproductive rights. (The Hindu)

Two: A paralysed man—with microelectrodes in his brain—used a new brain-computer interface to fly drones! He just had to think about moving his fingers. Check out the test run below. New Scientist has more nerdy details.

Three: On January 15, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket launched two landers towards the Moon. One of them is carrying something special: a tiny Swedish cottage called the Moonhouse—made by artist Mikael Genberg. Check it out below. (Gizmodo)