No 9800, Friday 26 Mar 10, Sankalak

ACROSS
1 - Method of checking population growth: for Orientals, it is funny (13) - STERILISATION* It wasn't very funny when it happened in India during Sanjay Gandhi's time!
10 - Aromatic plant with small fruit, hardly used (9) - {S}{PEAR}{MINT}

11 - Mason's cottage? (5) - LODGE [CD]
12 - The new and the old organic chemical (5) - {ETH*}{OL}
13 - Shockingly bad guise Gore exposed (9) - EGREGIOUS*
14 - Brown, democrat, one behind the other (6) - {TAN}{DEM}
16 - Newton or Walton (5) - ISAAC [E]
19 - It entertains and may also reveal end of anarchy (5) - {TELL}{Y}
20 - Some meat at home for European composer (6) - {CHOP}{IN}
25 - Vegetable one may get to cure bends (9) - COURGETTE*

26 - A game for motor dealers, heartless (5) - {CAR}{D(-ealer)S}
27 - Depressed in extremes of fixation, escaped (5) - {F{LOW}(-ixatio)N}
28 - Lack of energy in girl with poor, unsatisfactory diet (9) - {LASS}{IT{U}DE*}
29 - Put to sleep in the theatre perhaps (13) - ANAESTHETISED [E]
DOWN
2 - Such trouble with biters! (8) - TEETHING [CD]
3 - Rustic, like a farmer's milieu (5) - RURAL [E]
4 - Stand around doing nothing (6) - LOITER [E]
5 - Instrumentalist, one accepted by hero is ending concert (8) - {S{I}TAR}{IS}{T}

6 - Means of communication, one had to be wired for it (9) - TELEGRAPH [CD]
7 - Alumnus, not necessarily advanced in years (3,3) - OLD BOY [CD]
8 - Bill does not become an act till the President gives it (6) - ASSENT [CD]
9 - Robbery by a believer losing head (5) - (-t)HEIST
15 - First appearance of a black period in history altered finally (9) - EMERGENC(-y+e)E
17 - Tell a pet about something in the blood (8) - PLATELET*
18 - It provides an opening to the photographer (8) - APERTURE [CD]

21 - Her son got transformed into an eater (6) - NOSHER*
22 - “And fools, who came to _____, remained to pray” (Goldsmith) (5) - SCOFF [E]
23 - Backward American, brought into being to induce one to commit perjury (6) - {SU}{BORN}
24 - He would have an agreement with a lessor (6) - LESSEE [E]
26 - Hot on the tongue, but cold to the ear (5) - CHILI(~chilly)

GRID