The Hindu Crossword 8208 Solutions - by Vinod & Rajagopal

Across
1 Running late, timid Ben, he scurried (6,4) BEHIND TIME (timid Ben, he scurried = ana. TIMID+BEN+HE)
7 Flowering shrub, one among the best (4) HEBE (Container => tHE BEst)
9 Law number one backed in court case (6) ACTION (Law=ACT, number one=NOI=>number one backed=ION=>Law number one backed = ACT+ION)
10 The present time of the Hindus (4,4) KALI YUGA (Direct)
11 Dirty woman can translate without a difficulty (8) SLATTERN (translate without a=TRANSLATE-A=TRNSLATE=>translate without a difficulty = ana. TRNSLATE)
12 Change is hard here for an entertainer (6) GEISHA (Container => ChanGE IS HArd)
13 Colourful bird, once part of a royal seat (7) PEACOCK (Direct -> ref. to the Peacock Throne)
16 Immersed in the deepest confusion (7) STEEPED (deepest confusion = ana. DEEPEST)
17 A sparkler of a suit (7) DIAMOND (suit -> as in a pack of cards)
19 Suffered and finished off around the old city (7) ENDURED (finished off=ENDED, old city=UR=>finished off around the old city = END(UR)ED)
22 The way church accepts a new attitude (6) STANCE (The way=ST, church=CE, a=A, new=N=>The way church accepts a new = ST(A+N)CE)
23 Involved in love, Bala suffered more than anything else (5,3) ABOVE ALL (love, Bala suffered = ana. LOVE+BALA)
26 Al's force dissipated in the open air (8) ALFRESCO (Al's force dissipated = ana. ALS+FORCE)
27 Growing old, a German is in a doubly good situation (6) AGEING (a=A, German=EIN??=>German is in a doubly good=EIN in GG=G(EIN)G=>A+GEING)
28 No start for ethical kind of examination (4) ORAL (ethical=MORAL=>No start for ethical = MORAL-M)
29 Going back to childish ways (10) REGRESSION (Direct)

Down
2 Outdo 40 Roman characters, say (5) EXCEL (40 Roman characters=XL, 'say' is the homonym indicator=>XL sounds like EXCEL)
3 Stupid like a Dostoevsky character (7) IDIOTIC (Ref. to Dostoevsky's book The Idiot)
4 Thick component of condensed milk (5) DENSE (Container => conDENSEd -- 'milk' is redundant)
5 For the trendy sort, an option for payment without cash (2,4) IN KIND (trendy=IN, an option for payment without cash=KIND)
6 Provide illumination in the glen somehow (9) ENLIGHTEN (in the glen somehow = ana. IN+THE+GLEN)
7 Crazy new way in lease (7) HAYWIRE (new way=ana. WAY=AYW, lease=HIRE=>new way in lease = H(AYW)IRE)
8 Large portion of Edam, perhaps, for the VIP (3,6) BIG CHEESE (Large=BIG, Edam is a kind of cheese=>portion of Edam, perhaps=CHEESE)
14 Letter writer: sounds like an English shooter (9) EPISTOLER (English=E, shooter=PISTOLER => E+PISTOLER)
15 Corn needs to be treated with a capacitor (9) CONDENSER (Corn needs to be treated=ana. CORN+NEEDS)
18 Substance extracted by a miner alert to opportunities (7) MINERAL (Container =>a MINER ALert)
20 "Integrity without knowledge is weak and — ... " (Samuel Johnson, Rasselas) (7) USELESS (Direct)
21 Chant about a right kind of garment (6) SARONG (Chant=SONG, a=A, right=R=>Chant about a right = S(AR)ONG)
24 Make a speech, blackleg, in Old English! (5) ORATE (blackleg=RAT, Old English=OE=>blackleg, in Old English = O(RAT)E)
25 In music, slowly advanced with love (5) LENTO (advanced=LENT, love=O=>advanced with love = LENT+O)