This Week in Explainers: Why Ladakh erupted in violent protests, leading to Sonam Wangchuk's arrest

India has said farewell to one of its iconic warplanes. The MiG-21s took their last flight this week, more than six decades after the jets were first inducted into the Indian Air Force (IAF).

United States President Donald Trump has intensified his global tariff war. He has announced 100 per cent on imports of branded and patented pharmaceutical drugs, which is likely to have a major impact on India.

Ladakh witnessed violent protests during a shutdown call earlier this week. At least four people died and dozens of others were injured as demonstrators clashed with the police.

Here’s all this and more in our weekly wrap from India.

1. India bid adieu to its iconic MiG‑21 fighter jets. The IAF retired the warplanes at a decommissioning ceremony at Chandigarh Air Force Station. It is the same base where the Soviet-origin aircraft was first inducted in 1963. Six Bison variants, led by Air Chief Marshal AP Singh, soared in the skies one last time.

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India’s “First Supersonics", the MiG‑21s, played a critical role in several conflicts, including the 1965 and 1971 wars, the 1999 Kargil conflict, and the 2019 Balakot air strikes. However, over the years, the fighter jets came to be known as the ‘flying coffin’. Now, the IAF has retired these historic warplanes and is waiting to welcome Tejas fighter jets. But what will happen to the decommissioned MiG-21s? We explain here.

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2. After slapping 50 per cent tariffs on India, Trump plans to impose 100 per cent taxes on imports of branded and patented pharmaceutical drugs, starting October 1. However, the pharma company will be exempt from the high tariff if it sets up manufacturing plants in the United States.

This comes after the US president threatened to impose levies on pharmaceutical imports, which were exempted from the higher rates during his first term. The tariffs on pharmaceuticals are part of Trump’s ongoing trade war against the US’ trading partners, including India. In the first half of this year, India exported $3.7 billion (Rs 32,505 crore) worth of pharmaceutical products to the US. How will the new tariffs impact India? Read our report to know more.

3. A shutdown call in Ladakh’s Leh turned violent, with four people being killed and over 70 injured in the clashes between the protesters and the police. Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, who spearheaded the demonstrations, ended his 15-day hunger strike in the wake of the violence, appealing for calm.

The Centre, however, blamed Wangchuk for the violence, alleging that his fiery speeches, including mentions of “references to Gen Z protests in Nepal”, provoked the demonstrators. He has now been arrested. As the spotlight turns to the activist, we take a look at what and why of the protests. Here’s our story.

4. India has boosted its missile defence system. It successfully launched the Agni-Prime Missile, an advanced intermediate-range ballistic missile, from a rail-based mobile launcher system.

The missile has a range of as far as 2,000 km, which covers China and Pakistan. The launch of Agni-Prime from a railcar is significant, which has “put India in the group of select nations having capabilities that have developed canisterised launch system from on the move rail network,” Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on X. India can already launch a nuclear missile from under the sea, surface, air, and now from a railway network. We explain the importance of the missile’s launch here.

5. The Indian rupee is trading near record lows, despite the US dollar continuing to weaken globally. The American currency has been on the decline due to several factors, including rising fiscal deficit, weakening growth prospects, and possible interest rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve.

Under normal scenarios, a falling dollar brings relief to emerging market currencies like the rupee by reducing import costs and attracting capital inflows. But this has not happened with the Indian rupee. We explore the reasons here.

6. Aryan Khan’s The Ba***ds of Bollywood has received rave reviews. However, the Netflix show has also landed in trouble over certain depictions.

Sameer Wankhede, who had arrested Aryan Khan’s son in 2021, has sued Shah Rukh Khan’s Red Chillies Entertainment and Netflix over his alleged portrayal in the series. He filed a defamation suit seeking Rs 2 crore in damages, alleging the show contains “false, malicious, and defamatory content” intended to tarnish his image. But why does he think so? We take a look here.

This is all we have for you this week. If you like how we analyse news, you can bookmark this page.