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National

- At 6.7%, growth slid to five-quarter low in Q1

- Senior ICAR scientists hired laterally without reservation

- Golden moment

- Cyclone Asna forms over Kutch; heavy rain batters Gujarat

- India yet to take a decision on Pak. invite to SCO meet

- Doval meets prominent Presidential aspirants ahead of Sri Lanka election

- Protests continue to rock Kolkata; Mamata writes to PM Modi again

- Ceasefires have become licences for criminal activities, says Nagaland MLA

- UCC a small measure of justice for women, says Vice-President

- Era of uninterrupted dialogue with Pak. is over, says Jaishankar

- Ahead of Assembly elections, Congress expels two MLAs from Maharashtra

- NIA chargesheets 10 accused in Mizoram arms seizure case

- Joint panel meeting on Waqf Bill witnesses heated debate

- Imprint of Bharat Jodo Yatra visible as Congress appoints new secretaries

- Students stage protest after worker sexually harasses girl at NIT-T hostel

- Union Education Ministry asks State to sign PM-SHRI MoU to get Samagra Shiksha funds

- Jharkhand former CM Champai Soren, son Babulal join BJP

- ‘J&K voters have to choose between terror, development’

- Delhi court orders framing of charges against Jagdish Tytler

- Confirm if all FIRs pertain to one interview in YouTuber case, says SC

- Mehbooba targets Omar over remarks against banned JeI

- T.V. Somanathan takes charge as Cabinet Secretary

- HC seeks Centre’s stand on petition against Patanjali

- Modi apologises for collapse of Shivaji statue in Maharashtra

- Fertilizers source of many ailments, switch to organic farming, says Shah

- 14268

- Migrant worker beaten to death, another injured by cow vigilantes in Haryana

- LGBTQIA+ couples can open joint bank accounts: Centre

- Easy form of worship

- Assam House abolishes break for Friday namaz

- CBFC withholding clearance for my film, claims Kangana

- ‘Clause 7(2) of U.P. digital media policy draconian’

- Sukesh Chandrashekhar gets bail in AIADMK symbol case

At 6.7%, growth slid to five-quarter low in Q1

Vikas Dhoot

NEW DELHI

GDP well below RBI’s prediction of a 7.1% uptick as well as 7.8% uptick registered in preceding quarter For the first time in a year, growth in the real Gross Value Added (GVA) outperformed the GDP growth GVA growth driven by significant growth in the Secondary Sector: National Statistical Office

Signalling a moderation in the economy’s growth momentum, India’s real GDP rose 6.7% in the April to June 2024 quarter, the slowest in five quarters, and well below the Reserve Bank of India’s expectation of a 7.1% uptick as well as the 7.8% uptick registered in the preceding quarter.

For the first time in a year, growth in the real Gross Value Added (GVA) in the economy outperformed GDP growth, with a 6.8% uptick in the first quarter (Q1) of 2024-25. This is a significant shift from the preceding two quarters, Q3 and Q4 of 2023-24, when real GVA growth lagged behind GDP growth by 1.8 and 1.5 percentage points, respectively.

The central bank has penned in a GDP growth of 7.2% for this year, and the softer-than-expected Q1 growth amid easing headline inflation may shift the dynamics for its hawkish monetary policy stance, especially with the U.S. Federal Reserve indicating an interest rate cut next month.

Chief Economic Advisor V. Anantha Nageswaran sought to play down the Q1 blip as “a slight slowdown that was anticipated by most commentators” as the conduct of the general elections had brought down government expenditure, including capital spends. “So in that sense, the 6.7% [growth] was well within the consensus anticipation,” he said.

‘Better alignment’

“At the same time, there is a better alignment between the demand and supply side of the economy, and many components of the demand side, such as final private final consumption expenditure, gross fixed capital formation and net exports have held up quite well,” he said. The 2% rise in farm sector GVA in Q1 indicates a turnaround from recent quarters’ lows, such as the 0.6% rise in January-March 2024, he noted.

Government final consumption expenditure tanked 0.2% in Q1, while public capital expenditure spends that include projects financed by the Centre, States and central public sector firms, were 33.3% lower than a year ago. Still, gross fixed capital formation grew 7.5%, recovering from a four-quarter low of 6.5% in the previous quarter, and private consumption outgoes seemed to rebound from last year’s weak trends to hit a six-quarter high of 7.4%.

‘Major components’

“The major components apart from public sector for capex are households and the private sector. A stagnation in the public sector capex along with a steady capex by the household sector indicates a modest pickup in the private sector capex,” said Paras Jasrai, senior economic analyst at India Ratings and Research.

“This GVA growth in Q1 has been driven by significant growth in the Secondary Sector (8.4%), comprising Construction (10.5%), Electricity, Gas, Water Supply & Other Utility Services (10.4%) and Manufacturing (7%) sectors,” the National Statistical Office said.

On the services side, however, growth in the job-intensive ‘Trade, Hotels, Transport, Communication & Services related to Broadcasting’ segment dropped to 5.7% from 9.7% in the same quarter last year, while ‘Financial, Real Estate and Professional Services’ eased to 7.1% from 12.6% a year ago. Economists attributed some of this to statistical base effects.

Senior ICAR scientists hired laterally without reservation

Kunal Shankar, A. M. Jigeesh

New Delhi/Chennai

More than 2,700 scientists at India’s top farm research body — accounting for an overwhelming majority of senior-level hires at the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) — have been recruited through lateral entry since 2007, undermining the goals of the reservation policy, documents accessed by The Hindu reveal.

A July 29 resolution of the Agricultural Research Service Scientists’ Forum — an association representing about 3,750 scientists at ICAR — has sought a ban on lateral entry into the research body. The resolution says that the lateral entry system “creates conflict among these two groups of scientists” and has made for a “toxic” work culture “which affects the efficiency of the system”. It adds: “Scientists who have served for more than 25 years at ICAR, those who were recruited by ARS [Agricultural Scientists Recruitment] examination are not getting Semi RMP [Research Management Positions] and RMP positions as the scientists recruited through lateral entry are blocking the opportunities.”

No SC/ST reservation

The resolution adds that the lateral entry system in ICAR does not provide reservation for SC/ST [Scheduled Caste and Tribe] candidates, violating the Constitution and disappointing those who have joined the institution through the examination system.

The Hindu reviewed the annual assessment reports of the Agricultural Scientists Recruitment Board (ASRB) since 2007. The Board is ICAR’s recruitment arm for India’s 113 Centrally-run agricultural research institutes. The reports show that RMPs — those at the grade of Senior Scientist or above — are recruited through “direct/lateral entry” or “recruitment by interviews”. On the other hand, there is the three-tier selection process — based on qualification, a National Eligibility Test, and an interview — called the “single entry system”, which is subject to reservation rules. Two-thirds of ICAR scientists are appointed through this examination process.

They still form the core of its agri researchers but they have little chance to make it to senior posts, which are filled through the lateral entry system.

The ICAR is one of the largest agricultural and allied activities research bodies globally. It employs 6,304 scientists, as per a July 2020 office memo. This is a marginal increase of 23 positions since 1997 across its eight divisions.

Of the current 6,304 on its rolls, 4,420 hold the grade of Scientists, who are recruited through the single-entry system that adheres to reservation policies. The remaining 1,884 positions — comprising Senior Scientists, Principal Scientists, Directors, Heads of Divisions (HoD), Heads of Regional Centres (HoRC), Project Coordinators (PCs), Directors-General, Additional and Deputy Directors-General — have been filled through the direct interview, or lateral entry process, which restricts affirmative action policies to be only followed for the lowest entrant. Including past appointments, there are more than 2,700 who have been hired using this system.

An August 2023 ASRB advertisement to fill senior-level positions relies on a July 7, 1994 letter from ICAR exempting such vacancies from the reservation policy. While this does not violate existing norms, it overlooks the 1995 Constitutional amendment introducing Article 16(4A) enabling reservations to be followed in promotions for SCs and STs. A five-judge bench of the SC in 2006 in Nagaraj Vs Union of India upheld the amendments as constitutionally valid while leaving it to the States to decide the adequacy of reservation based on quantifiable data.

It should be noted that the recruitment of scientists to government departments such as Space, Atomic Energy, and Earth Sciences are also exempt from reservation norms.

Golden moment

Crack shot: Avani Lekhara became the first Indian woman to win two Paralympic gold medals when she retained the women’s 10m air rifle title, with a new record score, in Paris on Friday.Getty ImagesAndy Lyons

Cyclone Asna forms over Kutch; heavy rain batters Gujarat

The Hindu Bureau

NEW DELHI

Emergency services personnel work on removing water from a flooded underpass on the outskirts of Ahmedabad. AFPSAM PANTHAKY

Cyclone Asna has formed over the Kutch coast in Gujarat and adjoining areas of Pakistan, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Friday. The cyclonic storm — a rare land-originating one in August and headed to the Arabian Sea — is expected to move further away from the western coast in the next 48 hours.

On the back of the cyclone, light to moderate rainfall occurred at most places in Gujarat and heavy to very heavy rainfall was reported at isolated places in Kutch and adjoining districts of Saurashtra on Friday, the IMD noted.

This is the first cyclonic storm in the Arabian Sea in August since 1976. The name Asna, meaning “the one to be acknowledged or praised”, has been given by Pakistan. Between 1891 and 2023, only three cyclonic storms formed in the Arabian Sea in August (in 1976, 1964, and 1944), according to IMD.

Low pressure off A.P.

Simultaneously, a well-marked low pressure area — a very early precursor to a cyclone — has formed in the Bay of Bengal off north Andhra Pradesh and south Odisha. It is likely to move further west-northwestwards towards north A.P. and adjoining south Odisha coasts and intensify into a depression during the next 36 hours. The IMD has forecast light rain over both States.

The build-up from cyclone Asna resulted in torrential rainfall in Gujarat this week. Rain-related incidents in Gujarat claimed 32 lives since Sunday. More than 18,000 people have been relocated, and around 1,200 rescued from flood-affected areas.

In some cases, security forces used helicopters to evacuate people to safer locations, according to the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC). It reported that the State has witnessed almost 111% rainfall so far, and more rain has been forecast till September 5. Regionwise, Kutch has witnessed 177% rainfall, Saurashtra 124%, north Gujarat 88%, east central region 105% and south Gujarat 111%.

Vadodara, the worst-hit city from the recent downpour, experienced some relief as water level in the Vishwamitri river dropped from 37 feet to 23.16 feet on Friday. However, several low-lying areas remain flooded.

Rainfall in August has been excessive in the country and much more than what the IMD forecast on August 1.

India yet to take a decision on Pak. invite to SCO meet

Suhasini Haidar

NEW DELHI

New Delhi has not attended any meetings of SAARC in Pakistan since 2016 ; MEA spokesperson lists PM’s travel plans for Sept. and Oct.; does not rule out India’s participation in SCO summit

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has so far deputed the Vice-President or External Affairs Minister to attend SCO HoG conferences.PTI

The government confirmed on Friday that it received an invitation from Pakistan for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Heads of Government (HoG) meeting in Islamabad on October 15 and 16.

However, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said it did not have a decision yet on whether India would participate and at what level that would be, even as it outlined other travel scheduled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in September and October this year.

“We have received the invitation for attending the Heads of Government Summit of the SCO from Pakistan, which will be hosted by Pakistan, and on that, as and when we have an update, we’ll share [it] with you,” said MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal.

While Mr. Modi is technically the Head of Government, India and Pakistan decided when they joined the regional grouping that their elected leaders would participate in the Heads of State summit, alongside Presidents of the other countries, and not the HoG. As a result, Mr. Modi has thus far deputed the Vice-President or External Affairs Minister to attend SCO HoG conferences.

In addition, India has refused to attend any meetings of the SAARC grouping in Pakistan since 2016, and it would be a major departure from this policy if the government were to send a Minister or high-level dignitary to Islamabad for the SCO meeting. Significantly, however, the MEA spokesperson did not explicitly rule out India’s participation at the conference in Pakistan, when questioned at the weekly briefing.

Mr. Jaiswal said Mr. Modi would visit Brunei Darussalam on September 3-4 and then Singapore on September 4-5.

Mr. Modi will travel next to the United Nations for the “Summit of the Future” special meeting on September 22-23 and is expected to stay on for a meeting of the Indian diaspora in New York, followed by the UN General Assembly. However, the MEA spokesperson declined to comment on whether the government has been able to tie up for the Quad Summit at the same time in New York. India was due to host the summit in 2024, but owing to Indian and U.S. election schedules, the dropping out of U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida from leadership races in their respective countries as well as Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s availability, MEA officials have been unable to announce a decision thus far.

Russia visit

Given his recent visit to Ukraine and India’s stated commitment to assist a peaceful resolution to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Mr. Modi’s possible next meeting with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the UNGA will be closely watched. He is then expected to travel to Russia for the BRICS summit on October 22-24, the Kremlin announced this week.

On October 25, Mr. Modi is expected to host German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Delhi for the biannual summit, where the conflict in Ukraine will again be at the top of the agenda. Asked whether India would play a mediator role, Mr. Jaiswal said Mr. Modi had indicated his willingness to play a “constructive role” in further peace.

Doval meets prominent Presidential aspirants ahead of Sri Lanka election

Meera Srinivasan

COLOMBO

Vital talks: NSA Ajit Doval with Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe in Colombo on Friday.PTI

Three weeks ahead of Sri Lanka’s crucial Presidential election, National Security AdviserAjitK.Doval, who arrived in Colombo on Thursday, met prominent Presidential aspirants, apart from political leaders representing the island nation’s Tamil and Muslim minorities.

In his meeting with President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who is seeking a mandate promising “economic stability”, Mr. Doval discussed ongoing economic collaboration between Sri Lanka and India, the Presidential Media Division said.

He also met Opposition figures Sajith Premadasa and Anura Kumara Dissanayake. India’s bilateral cooperation in economic development and security interests were among the main talking points in the meetings, the sources said.

In a post on X after his meeting with the visiting NSA, Mr. Dissanayake said: “We discussed the political relations between our two countries and the current political situation leading up to the presidential election.”

Mr. Doval also held extensive discussions with leaders representing the country’s ethnic minorities such as Tamils living in the north and east, the Malaiyaha (hill country) Tamils spread across the south and central parts of the island, and Muslims. Mr. Doval reportedly told the leaders that Tamil parties, currently grappling with internal divisions, could strengthen their position in national politics by working together with a coherent position. He is said to have remarked that in a democracy, it is “numbers that count”, a Colombo-based political source, who requested anonymity, told The Hindu on Friday.

Mr. Doval also met Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena on Thursday. In addition, key areas of bilateral cooperation partnerships in the energy sector, including private sector participation, were discussed, according to a press statement issued by the Prime Minister’s office.

India agreed to develop multiple power projects in Sri Lanka, across LNG and renewable energy initiatives. On Thursday, Indian High Commissioner in Colombo, Santosh Jha, handed over the first payment for India-backed hybrid energy projects in the Delft, Nainativu, and Analaitivu islands off the Jaffna peninsula.

“Mr. Dovalsaid that in the long run, Sri Lanka could generate more power than its domestic requirement, sell excess power to India, and gain huge financial benefits,” Mr. Gunawardena’s office said in the statement.

Security conclave

Meanwhile, member states of the Colombo Security Conclave on Friday signed the charter and Memorandum of Understanding for establishment of the CSC Secretariat.

Along with Mr. Doval, Maldivian NSA Ibrahim Latheef; Haymandoyal Dillum, High Commissioner of Mauritius to Sri Lanka; and Sagala Ratnayake, NSA to the President of Sri Lanka, signed the documents on behalf of the member states, the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement.

Protests continue to rock Kolkata; Mamata writes to PM Modi again

Shiv Sahay Singh

Kolkata

Demanding justice: BJP Mahila Morcha members marching towards the West Bengal Commission for Women on Friday. PTISwapan Mahapatra

More than 20 days after the rape and murder of a doctor at the R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital, protests continued to rock the city on Friday with leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s women’s wing putting a giant-sized model of a lock on the gate of the West Bengal State Women’s Commission. The BJP said the commission has neither made any statement nor taken any proactive steps after the violent crime.

Reiterating her request for stringent Central laws against crimes of sexual assault, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday again wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying that she received no reply from him for her previous letter. Referring to a letter by Union Minister of Women and Child Development Annapurna Devi, the Chief Minister said that it“barely attends the gravity of the issue” raised by her. Ms. Devi had said that onlysix exclusive POCSO Courts have been operationalised in the State till June 2024. The Trinamool Congress chairperson in her letter referred to fast-track courts and helpline numbers in the State.

In another development, the Chief Medical Officer of Health, Purba Medinipur, sent notices to 29 clinics and hospitals in the district for violating the Clinical Establishment Act. Doctors from these clinics and health establishments have been protesting. Notices were sent to 93 doctors at Midnapore Hospital for allegedly violating the Act.

This comes a day after Ms. Banerjee clarified that she did not threaten protesting resident doctors at a public meeting on August 28. The National Human Rights Commission issued a notice to Kolkata Police Commissioner Vineet Goyal seeking a report on the “barbaric” and “brutal” assault on the protesters during the ‘March to Nabanna’ on August 27. The notice was issued based on a complaint filed by a protester and the NHRC sought an “action taken” report from the police in 14 days.

Ceasefires have become licences for criminal activities, says Nagaland MLA

Rahul Karmakar

GUWAHATI

Kuzholuzo Nienu X/@k_azonienu

“The ceasefires between the Centre and some factions of extremist groups catering to Naga nationalism have turned into licences for criminal activities instead of fostering peace and stability,” a Nagaland MLA has said.

Kuzholuzo Nienu, an MLA of the Naga People’s Front (NPF) told the 60-member State Assembly on Thursday that the People’s Democratic Alliance government should rein in the armed cadres and direct them not to issue parallel orders and directives to the people on various issues. “The mandated government should give orders. The rule of law needs to be enforced,” he said in the House.

“The ceasefires seem to have given the licence (to some groups) for various criminal activities. Innocent people are being tortured and harassed under the guise of ceasefire and even pastors are not being spared,” Mr. Nienu said, pointing out that extremist groups were “popping up like mushrooms” and exploiting the ceasefire to engage in nefarious activities.

He also called for a crackdown on the non-ceasefire groups.

Mr. Nienu’s plea was similar to the content of a letter former Nagaland Governor R.N. Ravi wrote to Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio on June 16, 2020, complaining about extortionist “armed groups” running the show in the State. The armed groups or extremists are referred to as political groups in Nagaland.

Mr. Rio said there were 26 political groups sheltered in 15 designated but only five of them were in ceasefire agreements. He said unless the Nagas accepted the settlement agreed upon in the Framework Agreement and the Agreed Position, people “will not survive with 26 groups collecting taxes”. “A political solution that is inclusive, honourable, and acceptable to all Nagas will usher in an era of faster economic growth, greater investment, and employment opportunities for the youth,” he said.

UCC a small measure of justice for women, says Vice-President

The Hindu Bureau

New Delhi

Jagdeep Dhankhar Swapan Mahapatra

Echoing President Droupadi Murmu’s remarks on the R.G. Kar Hospital rape and murder case, Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Friday said a society where “women and girls do not feel safe is not a civilised society”. He also backed a Uniform Civil Code (UCC), calling it a “small measure of justice” for women.

Mr. Dhankhar was addressing students at Delhi University’s Bharati College. He called upon the citizens to echo the “clarion call” of the President on violence against women. In a piece to PTI, the President said it was time India woke up to the “perversion” of crimes against women, and countered the mindset that saw women as “less powerful, less capable, less intelligent”.

Resolve, create

“The President has said ‘enough is enough’. Let us call it “enough is enough”. I want this clarion call to be a national call. I want everyone to be a participant in this call. Let us resolve, create a system of zero tolerance when you make a girl or woman a victim,” Mr. Dhankhar said.

Stating that the “fear in the minds of our girls and women” was a cause for concern, Mr. Dhankhar said, “The society where women and girls do not feel safe is not a civilised society. That democracy is tarnished; it is the biggest obstacle to our progress today.”

‘Help your gender’

Mr. Dhankhar also underlined the urgent need to have a Uniform Civil Code for the country as a measure for gender equality and safety of women.“The Uniform Civil Code is a constitutional ordination. It is in the Directive Principles. The Uniform Civil Code that has been on the shelf for too long is a small measure of justice to your segment. Look around what it means. It will help in several ways, but majorly it will help your gender.”

Era of uninterrupted dialogue with Pak. is over, says Jaishankar

Kallol Bhattacherjee

NEW DELHI

As far as Pakistan is concerned, the age of “uninterrupted dialogue” has ended, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said on Friday.

Speaking at the launch of a book by veteran diplomat Rajiv Sikri at the Vivekananda International Foundation, the External Affairs Minister said relations in the neighbourhood were part of a continuity that had to be addressed in a dynamic manner.

“Neighbouring relationships are of utmost importance for every country in the world. They are continuing relationships which will always throw up problems,” he said, referring to the political developments in Bangladesh and Maldives and said, every country in the world had some issues with its neighbours. “It’s in the very nature of being a neighbour,” he said.

“The very closeness — the definition of a neighbour — is actually the complication,” the Minister said.

His toughest words were reserved for Pakistan with which India’s relations have remained frozen since at least 2016 when India ended dialogue with Islamabad against the backdrop of a sudden spike in cross-border terrorist attacks on military installations like in Pathankot and Uri.

‘We are not passive’

Taking on the model of “uninterrupted dialogue and uninterruptible dialogue,” which was made popular by Congress leader and former Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar during the UPA era, Mr. Jaishankar said: “I think the era of uninterrupted dialogue with Pakistan is over. Actions have consequences. In so far as Jammu and Kashmir is concerned, Article 370 is done. So the issue today is what kind of relationship can we possibly contemplate with Pakistan.”

“We are not passive. Whether events take a positive or a negative direction, either way, we will react,” he said, indicating that India will respond depending on the turn of a relationship with Pakistan.

Maharashtra Cong. expels 2 MLAs ahead of Assembly election

The Hindu Bureau

Mumbai

Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole announced on Friday the expulsion of MLAs Zeeshan Siddique and Jitesh Antapurkar from the party, just ahead of the upcoming Assembly election.

Speaking to reporters in Nagpur, Mr. Patole did not provide specific reasons for their expulsion.

The move comes over a month after it was revealed that seven Congress MLAs had cross-voted in the biennial election for 11 Legislative Council seats.

Asked about Mr. Siddique and Mr. Antapurkar, the Congress State chief said there was no point in discussing them further, as they had already been expelled from the party.

Mr. Siddique, who represents the Bandra (East) constituency, is the son of former Congress leader Baba Siddique, who had recently joined the Nationalist Congress Party, led by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar. While Mr. Antapurkar was elected from Deglur in the Nanded district.

Maharashtra is scheduled to go to the polls in November.

NIA chargesheets 10 accused in Mizoram arms seizure case

The Hindu Bureau

NEW DELHI

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has chargesheeted 10 accused in a Mizoram arms and explosives seizure case connected with Myanmar-based insurgent groups.

“All 10 accused have been charged with active involvement in the arms, ammunition, and explosives trafficking network operating on the Indo-Myanmar border. They have been chargesheeted under various sections of Indian Penal Code, Arms Act and, Explosive Substances Act,” it said on Friday.

Those named as accused are Lalrintluanga, Laldinpuia, Zoremsanga, Lalbiaktluanga, Lalrinsanga, Zothanmawia, Henry Siangnuna, J. Rohlupuia, Laldinsanga and David Lalramsanga.

The NIA said the case was registered in May 2022 following the seizure of a large quantity of explosives, firearms, and ammunition from two vehicles on the outskirts of Kelsih village in Aizawl’s Kulikawn. Four occupants of the vehicles were taken into custody.

Joint panel meeting on Waqf Bill witnesses heated debate

Sobhana K. Nair, Ziya Us Salam

New Delhi

How can District Collector be the final arbitrator of Waqf properties, ask Opposition members; they briefly walk out in protest after Chairman refuses to allow one of the witnesses to depose

1 of 2

2 of 2 The deletion of ‘waqf by user’ from the amended law will lead to the titles of properties destabilised and vulnerable to encroachment Asaduddin Owaisi AIMIM president

At a stormy eight-hour-long second sitting of Parliament’s Joint Committee on Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, there was a heated exchange between the Opposition and government members, especially on the clause allowing the District Collector to be the final arbitrator on Waqf properties.

The Opposition briefly walked out in protest after Chairman and BJP MP Jagdambika Pal refused to allow one of the witnesses to depose. The meeting began at 11 a.m. and went on till 7 p.m. The argument arose in the second half of the deliberations when advocate Fuzail Ahmad Ayyubi, who had deposed on behalf of the Indian Muslims of Civil Rights (IMCR), New Delhi, returned to speak for the Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board.

Mr. Pal, according to sources, said the panel had already heard Mr. Ayubbi’s views, while the Opposition said that the second time he would be specifically speaking on Uttar Pradesh. After Mr. Pal refused to relent, the Opposition walked out. Though, within a few minutes after registering their protest, they returned.

The Opposition expressed reservations on Section 3 of the law that makes the District Collector the “final arbitrator” of the Waqf properties. Several Opposition leaders argued that the District Collector cannot be the judge in the government’s own case. The District Collector had no quasi-judicial authority. The District Collector was a revenue officer and did not have the expertise to survey properties which the Act required.

Samajwadi Party MP Muhibullah, as per sources, contended that Waqf was part of the Islamic identity and should be treated as an intra-community affair. A District Collector, he argued, cannot be given a “supervisory role”.

All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen MP Asaduddin Owaisi flagged the consequences that the law would have on Uttar Pradesh. He argued that the Waqf properties in the State were governed by a State legislation.

“A majority of these properties were in the nature of ‘waqf by user’ and an overwhelming majority of these properties were religious in nature. The deletion of ‘waqf by user’ from the amended law will mean that the title of these properties, numbering over one lakh, will be destabilised and made vulnerable to encroachment,” he said.

AAP MP Sanjay Singh accused the BJP of not respecting the Constitution.

Imprint of Bharat Jodo Yatra visible as Congress appoints new secretaries

The Hindu Bureau

New Delhi

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi addresses the concluding ceremony of Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, in Mumbai in March. ANIANI

The much-awaited reshuffle of secretaries of the All India Congress Committee (AICC) was announced on Friday.

It showed a clear imprint of Rahul Gandhi, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha.

Several young people who were associated with the Kanniyakumari-to-Kashmir Bharat Jodo Yatra and the Manipur-to-Mumbai Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra have been rewarded with secretarial posts. Mr. Gandhi had led both yatras.

The newly appointed secretaries who were involved with the two yatras include Manoj Tyagi, Kunal Choudhary, Dheeraj Gujjar, Danish Abrar, Divya Maderna, and Mathew Antony.

Based on performance

While several old-timers have been dropped, some have been retained and given charge of important States because of their performance.

Chandan Yadav, who was earlier AICC secretary for Chhattisgarh, has been moved to Madhya Pradesh, Szarita Laithphlang has been moved from Tripura to Chhattisgarh, and Uttarakhand MLA Qazi Nizamuddin has been given Maharashtra.

The list of over 60 names also reflected the theme of social justice, with leaders from backward classes, tribal and minority communities finding a place.

Tribal leader and Lok Sabha MP from Odisha Saptagiri Ulaka and Indian hockey team captain-turned-Punjab MLA Pargat Singh are among the new secretaries appointed.

Former Youth Congress leader Suraj Hegde has made a comeback as AICC secretary for Punjab and Puducherry, while AICC spokesperson Alok Sharma has been made a secretary for Punjab.

The Congress president’s office has not seen any change with Pranav Jha and Gaurav Pandhi being retained as secretaries, while Ruchira Chaturvedi, who handled social media during the Bharat Jodo Yatra, has been made a secretary in the media department along with Vineet Punia.

Students stage protest after worker sexually harasses girl at NIT-T hostel

The Hindu Bureau

TIRUCHI

Tiruchi SP V. Varun Kumar and officials conducting an inquiry into an incident of sexual harassment at NIT-T campus. M. MoorthyMOORTHY M

Protests erupted at the National Institute of Technology-Tiruchi (NIT-T) after a technician allegedly sexually harassed a student at the women’s hostel on the campus at Thuvakudi on the outskirts of Tiruchi in Tamil Nadu on Thursday.

Acting on a complaint from the girl’s father, the Tiruverumbur All Women Police arrested the technician, G. Kathiresan, 38, on Thursday. He has been booked under Sections 332(3) and 75(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, read with Section 4 of the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Harassment of Women Act.

The technician was hired on contract by the institution to fix the WiFi system in the hostel. The survivor complained that he entered her room to install the system, and sexually harassed her. Outraged by the incident, the students staged a sit-in overnight.

“The warden and the steward should have been careful before letting in a male technician. Instead, they criticised the student for her dressing sense,” a student said.

The protests, which continued on Friday, led to an intervention by the Superintendent of Police, Tiruchi, V. Varun Kumar. NIT-T Director G. Aghila later held talks with the protesting students. The hostel warden expressed regret over the incident. Later, the students withdrew the protest.

“When we protested on Thursday, the wardens locked us inside. It was only after the male students raised a hue and cry that due attention was given to the issue,” a student said.

Some students alleged that male staff hired for repairs often loiter outside women’s toilets.

The institute said in a release said, “The administration of NIT-T has come up with more stringent measures for the safety of students, particularly girls, and to prevent the recurrence of such incidents.”

Education Ministry tells T.N. to sign MoU to get Samagra Shiksha funds

Maitri Porecha

New Delhi

1 of 2

2 of 2 Every State/UT is required to sign an MoU with the Ministry of Education, and so far, 32 States/ Union Territories have signed [the MoU] and have been on-boarded on the scheme’s platform Dharmendra Pradhan, Union Education Minister

Responding to Chief Minister M.K. Stalin’s letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking the release of funds under the Samagra Shiksha scheme for FY 2024-25, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has said that Tamil Nadu is required to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the PM-SHRI scheme aimed at developing exemplar schools that would offer leadership to other schools in the neighbourhood.

Mr. Pradhan said in his letter that the Centre had released all the four instalments for 2023-24, amounting to ₹1,876 crore, under Samagra Shiksha, an integrated scheme that envisages education as a continuum from pre-school to Class XII. Further, for 2024-25, ₹4,305.66 crore had been approved for Tamil Nadu, he said. “In September 2022, PM-SHRI was launched with an aim to develop more than 14,500 selected schools as exemplar schools that offer leadership to other schools in the neighbourhood, showcasing all the initiatives of the National Education Policy (NEP)-2020. Every State/Union Territory is required to sign an MoU with the Ministry of Education, and so far, 32 States/Union Territories have signed [the MoU] and have been on-boarded on the scheme’s platform,” he said.

He said that the Ministry had made repeated requests to Tamil Nadu to sign the MoU since September 2022.

“Tamil Nadu gave an undertaking on March 15, 2024, indicating willingness to sign the PM-SHRI MoU in 2024-25. After receiving the undertaking, the Ministry of Education sent a draft MoU to Tamil Nadu. However, I was surprised to see that the State responded with a modified MoU, vide letter dated July 6, where a key paragraph referring to the implementation of the NEP-2020 has been dropped in its entirety,” he said.

Jharkhand former CM Champai Soren, son Babulal join BJP

Amit Bhelari

Patna

Champai Soren -

Former Jharkhand Chief Minister Champai Soren joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at a grand function in Ranchi on Friday. His son, Babulal Soren, also joined the party.

Mr. Champai had quit the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha recently.

After joining the BJP, Mr. Champai said he had nurtured the JMM with his “blood and sweat” and earned a position in the party after a long struggle, but was humiliated and insulted. “After going through the insult and humiliation, I was thinking of retiring but seeing the love of the people and supporters, I dropped the decision and thought of forming a new party. But time was very less, so I joined the BJP,” Mr. Champai said at the event.

All top leaders of the Jharkhand BJP, State’s Assembly election in-charge Shivraj Singh Chouhan, co-in-charge Himanta Biswa Sarma, and BJP State president Babulal Marandi were present on the occasion.

Mr. Champai raised the issue of Bangladeshi infiltration in the Santhal Pargana. “The Santhal Pargana, which was created by our ancestors, today is dominated by Bangladeshi infiltrators. We all have to save it by making the lotus – BJP’s symbol – bloom there. The identity of the tribals is in danger and no party can fight this battle except the BJP,” he said.

Born into a family of farmers, Mr. Champai left studies after Class 10 and joined the Jharkhand movement in the 1980s. Nicknamed ‘Tiger’ by JMM founder Shibu Soren, he emerged as one of the tallest leaders in the party.

In the 1990s, he organised big rallies in the interest of unorganised workers in Jamshedpur and surrounding areas. From 1991 to 2019, he won all the elections, except one.

‘J&K voters have to choose between terror, development’

Peerzada Ashiq

JAMMU

Setting the narratives for the upcoming election in Jammu and Kashmir, Union Minister G.K. Reddy on Friday took on the National Conference-Congress alliance in the Union Territory and said the choice was “between terrorism and separatism or development and peace”.

“A conspiracy is being hatched to push J&K’s future into darkness. Everyone knows who is behind it. The BJP will defeat their designs and conspiracies. Our party will work for the interest of the youth,” Mr. Reddy, the BJP’s election in-charge for J&K, said at a press conference in Jammu.

Accusing the alliance between Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and NC vice-president Omar Abdullah as “an attempt to revive terrorism and separatism in J&K”, Mr. Reddy said, “People of J&K have to decide between terrorism and separatism or development and peace”.

He said Kashmir was once a hub of separatism and terrorism.

“However, after the revocation of Article 370, people want peace, brotherhood and development. They want ‘azadi’ of rights as envisioned by Baba Saheb Ambedkar,” Mr. Reddy said.

He said the BJP was preparing a Sankalp Patra (manifesto) for J&K in consultation with the people from different sections of the society.

“The BJP intends to empower every section of the society. The manifesto will have special focus on women, farmers, poor people and marginalised communities. It’s our priority,” he said.

Mr. Reddy said restoring the rights of migrant Kashmiri Pandits was on top of the party’s agenda. “This election is a mission against Pakistan’s designs and Pakistan,” the BJP leader said.

Delhi court orders framing of charges against Jagdish Tytler

A Delhi court on Friday ordered framing of charges against Congress leader Jagdish Tytler in a case related to the killing of three persons outside the Pul Bangash gurdwara during the anti-Sikh riots that broke following the assassination of then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on October 31, 1984. Special judge Rakesh Siyal of the Rouse Avenue Court said there was sufficient evidence against Mr. Tytler to put him on trial. Almost 40 years after the incident, the Congress leader will now face trial for murder, abetment of murder, rioting and promoting enmity among people based on religion. The matter was investigated by the CBI.

Confirm if all FIRs pertain to one interview in YouTuber case, says SC

The Hindu Bureau

NEW DELHI

The Supreme Court on Friday asked the Tamil Nadu government to confirm if every one of the 15 First Information Reports (FIRs) registered by the State police against YouTuber ‘Savukku’ Shankar pertained to the same interview given by him.

A three-judge Bench headed by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud also questioned the State’s move to issue a preventive detention order under the Tamil Nadu Goondas Act, as soon as Mr. Shankar was out from an earlier detention.

Advocate Balaji Srinivasan, who appeared for Mr. Shankar, submitted that 51% of the preventive detention orders in India came from Tamil Nadu every year. “There is a rampant misuse of the Goondas Act,” he said.

Mr. Srinivasan said all the FIRs related to the same interview. Mr. Shankar’s counsel submitted that his client was being harassed for exercising his right to free speech.

Mehbooba targets Omar over remarks against banned JeI

The National Conference (NC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who allied to form the Peoples Alliance for the Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) in 2019, were at daggers drawn on Friday over the banned Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) and its move to contest elections. PDP president Mehbooba Mufti took on NC vice president Omar Abdullah for his caustic remarks against the JeI’s decision to contest elections after remaining away from electoral politics for over three decades. She accused the NC of pushing the JeI into boycott politics. Ms. Mufti, whose party is accused of having a tacit understanding with the JeI during previous polls in Kashmir, has sought lifting of the ban on the JeI.

T.V. Somanathan takes charge as Cabinet Secretary

T.V. Somanathan took over as the Cabinet Secretary on Friday following the superannuation of Rajiv Gauba. Mr. Somanathan, a 1987-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of Tamil Nadu cadre, holds a PhD in Economics from Calcutta University. He has also completed the Executive Development Program of Harvard Business School and is a Chartered Accountant, Cost Accountant, and Company Secretary. He has served as Joint Secretary and Additional Secretary in the PM’s Office. Prior to his joining as the Cabinet Secretary, he was holding the charge of Finance Secretary and Secretary, Department of Expenditure.

HC seeks Centre’s stand on petition against Patanjali

The Delhi High Court on Friday sought a response from the Union government on a petition seeking action against the alleged misbranding of Patanjali’s ‘Divya Manjan’ as a vegetarian product. The plea claimed that though the dental care product was being sold with a “green dot”, symbolising that it was a vegetarian commodity, it contained fish extract. The High Court issued notice to the Centre, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), Patanjali, Divya Pharmacy (manufacturer), Yoga guru Ramdev, and other related parties on the petition filed by Yatin Sharma, an advocate.

Modi apologises for collapse of Shivaji statue in Maharashtra

The Hindu Bureau

Mumbai

The 35-foot statue was unveiled by the PM at Rajkot Fort last year; Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar says a new statue will be installed at same place

The 35-foot statue of the 17th century warrior king collapsed on Monday, creating uproar across the State.PTI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday apologised for the collapse of a statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj at Rajkot Fort in Maharashtra’s Sindhudurg. Mr. Modi said “Shivaji is our deity”.

Speaking after laying the foundation stone of the ₹76,000-crore Vadhvan Port project in Palghar district, Mr. Modi said, “For me, my colleagues, and everyone, Shivaji Maharaj is not just a king but a revered figure. I extend my apologies to everyone whose sentiments are hurt.”

The 35-foot statue of the 17th century warrior king collapsed on Monday, creating uproar across the State. The statue was unveiled by the Prime Minister on Navy Day (December 4) last year.

The Indian Navy has announced that a joint technical committee headed by the Navy with representatives from the State government and technical experts will investigate the incident.

In an apparent dig at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Mr. Modi said, “Some people keep insulting Veer Savarkar, refuse to apologise and instead head to court. My culture is different as the first thing I did was apologise to my revered deity.”

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Friday visited the fort. He later said in a post on X that “a grand statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj will be installed at the same place”.

Chetan Patil, the structural consultant named in the FIR registered in connection with the incident, has been arrested from Kolhapur, the police said.

Opposition protest

Congress leaders, including Lok Sabha MP Varsha Gaikwad, earlier staged a protest at Shivaji Park in Mumbai, demanding an apology from Mr. Modi over the collapse of the statue. Ms. Gaikwad also claimed that she was detained by the police at her residence ahead of Mr. Modi’s visit.

Fertilizers source of many ailments, switch to organic farming, says Shah

The Hindu Bureau

NEW DELHI

Union Home Minister Amit Shah during the signing of an MoU between NCOL and UOCB in New Delhi on Friday. PTI PTI

Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah said on Friday that it has been proven now that chemicals present in fertilizers are the source of several ailments such as hypertension, diabetes, thyroid, and even cancer. He said organic farming was linked to the health of 140 crore Indians.

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the National Co-operative Organics Ltd. (NCOL) and Uttarakhand Organic Commodity Board (UOCB) was signed in the presence of Mr. Shah.

Minister of State for Cooperation Krishna Pal Gurjar; Uttarakhand Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Ganesh Joshi; and Ashish Kumar Bhutani, Secretary, Ministry of Cooperation were present on the occasion.

Mr. Shah said the movement for organic farming has reached an important stage and cooperatives have an important role in making India the world’s largest organic food producing country.

He said there is awareness about organic products all over the world and there is a huge global market for the same. “When we increase India’s share by tapping this market, the share of our farmers in the profitable business of organic products and their income also increases.”

He said earlier there was no mechanism to check the quality of organic products and farmers did not get high prices and there was hesitation in using these products.

Reliable products

“To solve this issue, the Modi government established the NCOL. Amul and NCOL together will establish a network of international level laboratories across the country which will examine both organic land and products. They will provide reliable organic products to consumers as ‘Bharat’ and ‘Amul’ brands,” he said.

NCOL will ensure that the profit from organic products directly go to the bank accounts of the producing farmers. He stated that it is possible only in a cooperative set-up.

In another two or three years, products of ‘Bharat’ brand will cover all types of vegetarian food, Mr. Shah said.

(set by Hypatia)

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2 of 4

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4 of 4 Scan to play

Across

1 Fly from locations within time limits (6)

4 Snow crystals begin to float on Superior and Erie (6)

9 Water seeping in Victoria Quay (4)

10 Create cover art showcasing almost any city (10)

11 Abruptly turn violent in fight for justice (6)

12 Game played in Spooner's club venue (4-4)

13 Mathematician joining a new university, month after strike (9)

15 Initially all cinema theatres showed plays (4)

16 Student getting result in advance (4)

17 Becomes weak from trials (6,3)

21 Fixed bridges around river after freezing point's passed (8)

22 Eager American lost in European country (6)

24 Manager bothering previous supplier on vacation (10)

25 Shoot a smart guy (4)

26 Harry Potter character losing hat and old fur coat (6)

27 Small desk in firm (6)

Down

1 Strangely quiet lawyer, at first gets a drink (7)

2 Upgrade old key (5)

3 Restricted dining option upset men unpacking sandwiches (3,4)

5 Studied opening of legal auditor's books (6)

6 Incentives for bicycle moves in football, say (9)

7 Pulse and sugar could produce this excess with age (7)

8 MP has heard PM, say in assembly (6,7)

14 Starts to unwind near Amadeus playing on and on (2,7)

16 Address line etc. modified getting united again (7)

18 Take after one's parents in their careers! (7)

19 Overlook copy having one version originally (7)

20 Chicken caught by black bird (6)

23 Prince in bar's counter drinking a whiskey (5)

Migrant worker beaten to death, another injured by cow vigilantes in Haryana

The Hindu Bureau

GURUGRAM

A 26-year-old migrant worker from West Bengal was beaten to death and another person was injured by cow vigilantes in Haryana’s Charkhi Dadri earlier this week, over suspicions that they had eaten beef. Five people have been arrested and two juveniles in conflict with law have been detained on charges of being involved with the attack.

According to the first information report, on the morning of August 27, a group of young men came to Sabir, a scrap dealer living in a slum area near Badhra village, and took him to the local bus stand claiming that they had some scrap to dispose. The accused also called another migrant, Assam native Asiruddin, to the bus stand and allegedly beat up the duo there. When passers-by intervened, they took the two to some other location on their motorcycles. Mr. Sabir was later found dead near a canal in Bhandwa village. Mr. Asiruddin was found dumped at another location and is currently under treatment in hospital.

Mr. Sabir is survived by his wife and two-year-old daughter.

Charkhi Dadri Superintendent of Police Pooja Vashisth told The Hindu over phone that the accused were members of a cow vigilante gang and had beaten up the victims because they suspected that they had eaten beef. Ms. Vashisth said the people who intervened when the gang was beating up the duo had made a video of the attack, but did not report it to the police.

The accused have been identified as Abhishek, Ravinder, Mohit, Kamaljeet, and Sahil.

Mr. Sabir’s brother-in-law, Sujauddin, the complainant in the case, said that he, along with his father and sister’s family, lived in the slum area for the past five years, but had never faced any such trouble before. He demanded the strictest possible punishment for the accused.

LGBTQIA+ couples can open joint bank accounts: Centre

The Hindu Bureau

NEW DELHI

Persons from the LGBTQIA+ community cannot be prevented from opening joint bank accounts with their partners, the Union government said in an advisory this week, making it clear that they can also nominate each other as beneficiaries.

This comes nearly a year after the Supreme Court asked the Union government to consider providing equal entitlements to LGBTQIA+ couples, in a judgement that refused to recognise same-sex marriage. The top court, in the October 2023 judgment, directed the government to consider enabling LGBTQIA+ couples to be able to open joint bank accounts and nominate each other in case of death.

The August 28 advisory was issued by the Department of Financial Services as a “clarification” in connection with judgment. “There are no restrictions for persons of the Queer community to open a joint bank account and also to nominate a person in queer relationship as a nominee to receive the balance in the account, in the event of death of the account holder,” it said, adding that the Reserve Bank of India had also issued a clarification on this matter to all scheduled commercial banks on August 21.

Some private banks had already been enabling LGBTQIA+ couples to open joint bank accounts, even before the judgment. In a statement, Axis Bank welcomed the advisory, saying it “seamlessly aligned” with its inclusive banking initiative, which has let LGBTQIA+ persons in same-sex relationships nominate each other as beneficiaries and open joint bank accounts since September 2021.

In April, the government set up a six-member committee to define and elucidate “the scope of the entitlements of queer couples who are in unions”, in accordance with its submission to the top court.

The panel held its first meeting on May 21, the Social Justice Ministry told Parliament. A sub-committee meeting was held on May 31, and the first round of stakeholder consultations was held on July 25.

Easy form of worship

In all other incarnations, Lord Vishnu ascended back to the realm of His world, Srivaikunta, after the purpose of His manifestation was over, but in His appearance as Sri Rama and Sri Krishna, He stayed on in this earth, mingled with people and undertook various amazing feats.

Damal Sri Ramakrishnan said in a discourse that parents are usually more affectionate towards their children living away. Lord in Srivaikunta, though worshipped by celestials and nithyasuris, is fond of the human beings living at a far distant place on earth.

Types of worship

There are nine types of worshipping God. Hearing about Godly deeds and His stories (sravanam) is the easiest. Thiruvalluvar says the most incredible wealth is earned by listening to discourses of the learned, which is the sublimest of all wealth. (Selvathul Selvam — kural 411).

Andal calls for ever singing and listening to the glory of Kesava. (kesavanai padavum nee kette kidathiyo). This is called “Sravana yagna.” Like oblations offered in fire, our ears absorb the great deeds of God narrated by exponents. It is said that a person must take a holy dip in the river Ganga, recite at least a verse in the Bhagavad Gita, chant Gayathri Mantra, offer basil leaves to God, apply sandal paste (gopi chandan), perform Salagrama puja, and fast on Ekadasi day.

Only some people can do all the above due to some impediment or constraint. The person who hears God’s stories gets the benefits of all the above.

Assam House abolishes break for Friday namaz

The Hindu Bureau

GUWAHATI

The Assam Assembly on Friday abolished a British-era rule that enabled Muslim members to take a two-hour break to offer namaz on Fridays.

Thanking Speaker Biswajit Daimary and the legislators for this “historic decision”, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the House prioritised productivity by shedding a vestige of colonial baggage. “This practice was introduced by Syed Saadulla of the Muslim League in 1937,” he said.

A statement issued by the secretariat said since the creation of the State Assembly, the sitting of the House on Fridays used to be adjourned at 11 a.m. to facilitate the Muslim members to go for namaz. The Assembly used to resume proceedings after their return from offering prayers. On all other days, the House would conduct its proceedings without any such adjournment for religious purposes.

The demand to do away with the two-hour break on Fridays was first made by MLAs of the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2017, a year after the party came to power in Assam in alliance with two regional parties.

CBFC withholding clearance for my film, claims Kangana

The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) is withholding the release of her film Emergency, actor Kangana Ranaut said in a post on X on Friday. Ms. Ranaut, who is also an MP, alleged that the CBFC staff had faced threats over the content of the film, owing to which the censor board was hesitating in handing over the certificate to the producers. CBFC Chairperson Prasoon Joshi did not immediately respond to a query. Records on the CBFC’s website show that the film had been cleared after a few modifications. It is not clear how the CBFC is withholding certification for a film that has already been certified.

‘Clause 7(2) of U.P. digital media policy draconian’

The Hindu Bureau

NEW DELHI

Journalist bodies on Friday urged the Uttar Pradesh government to immediately withdraw Clause 7(2) from its Digital Media Policy-2024.

The statement has been endorsed by the Indian Women’s Press Corps, Press Association, Digipub News India Foundation, and the Software Freedom Law Centre. “The wide and ambiguous ambit of this clause makes it draconian. It infringes on the right to freedom of speech and expression under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution that encompasses the practice of journalism, which often involves highlighting the failures of the government pertaining to public affairs or in matters of public interest,” it said.

Sukesh Chandrashekhar gets bail in AIADMK symbol case

A Delhi court on Friday granted bail to alleged conman Sukesh Chandrasekhar in a bribery case related to the AIADMK’s “two leaves” election symbol. Special Judge Vishal Gogne granted bail to Mr. Chandrasekhar noting he had undergone detention for a period more than the maximum jail term specified for the offence he was accused of committing. He, however, will remain in jail in connection with other cases whose trial is ongoing. Mr. Chandrasekhar was accused of acting as a middleman for then AIADMK leader T.T.V Dhinakaran and trying to bribe an Election Commission of India (EC) official to secure the party’s two leaves symbol for the faction led by V.K. Sasikala.

Regional

- Kerala CPI(M) sidesteps question on Mukesh’s resignation as MLA

- H.P. marriage law: ‘Party unit was unaware of Bill before it was introduced in House’

- No need for CBI probe into Kallakurichi hooch tragedy, Tamil Nadu govt. tells HC

- Top court to set up five-judge Bench to hear Kerala’s plea on ceiling on net borrowing

- It’s either him or us, says NCP over Sena Minister remarking he doesn’t get along with them

- Akal Takht declares SAD chief guilty of religious misconduct

- ‘BJP’s attachment to Ayodhya only for land-related greed’

- Cong. protest against M.P. govt. over unemployment, price rise

- J&K Cong. leader to appeal against U.P. court sentence over 2012 election code violation

- Pastoralists versus policy

- Exotic fruits, exceptional returns

- A citizen in waiting

Kerala CPI(M) sidesteps question on Mukesh’s resignation as legislator

The Hindu Bureau

Thiruvananthapuram

The State committee may discuss the matter today ; it also came under attack after a junior artist alleged that sexual abuse issue was raised with govt. earlier; protests continue in Kochi, Kollam

Congress workers protesting against CPI(M) MLA Mukesh, actor Siddique and filmmaker Ranjit in Kochi. SPECIAL Arrangement

The CPI(M) Kerala Secretariat met here on Friday amid increasingly strident calls for the resignation of party MLA and actor M. Mukesh, who is facing accusations of sexual exploitation and abuse. The party is yet to indicate that it discussed the political controversy surrounding Mr. Mukesh. The party’s State committee might weigh the matter on Saturday.

Local Self-Governments Minister M.B. Rajesh refused to speculate on Mr. Mukesh’s fate as party legislator and said the party would clarify.

On Thursday, Left Democratic Front (LDF) convener E.P. Jayarajan had indicated that Mr. Mukesh’s exit would depend on whether the Opposition, which has been clamouring for the actor’s resignation, would ask two Congress legislators facing rape charges to relinquish their posts.

In an article on the same day, CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat cautioned the party against engaging in what she termed “you did this, I did that sort of useless argument” when providing a safety environment for women.

Some sections of the media interpreted Ms. Karat’s article as an oblique critique of Mr. Jayarajan’s position. In Alappuzha, Communist Party of India (CPI) State Secretary Binoy Viswam denied a rift in the LDF over Mr. Mukesh’s resignation.

Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan alleged that a power group in the CPI(M) headed by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan shielded wrongdoers in the party. He doubted whether an enfeebled CPI could act as a force for the good in the ruling alliance.

The CPI(M) also came under criticism after a junior artist alleged that she had approached the party and government against an assistant director who “drugged and raped” her on a 2022 film set.

In Kochi, demonstrators vented their anger by beating effigies of Mukesh, Siddique, and Ranjith, all accused of sexual assault, with brooms. In Kollam, a protest march was held outside Mukesh’s residence, with activists calling for his immediate resignation as MLA.

Congress leader Anil Akkara filed a petition with the Kerala High Court Registrar, seeking to shift the hearing of the anticipatory bail petition filed by Mr. Mukesh from the Ernakulam Principal Sessions Judge to another court.

FIR against Jayasurya

Meanwhile, the police have registered an FIR against actor Jayasurya based on a statement filed by an actor who worked with him on a film set in Thodupuzha in 2013. The woman emailed her complaint to the State Police Chief.

‘Party unit unaware of Bill to raise age of marriage for women before passed in House’

The Hindu Bureau

CHANDIGARH

State Congress chief Pratibha Singh with CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu. File photoANI

Even as the Congress government in Himachal Pradesh passed a Bill to raise the minimum age of marriage for women from 18 to 21 years, State Congress president Pratibha Singh on Friday told The Hindu that she was “unaware” of the Bill before it was introduced in the Assembly.

The new legislation assumes significance as the Congress had in 2021 opposed a similar Bill introduced in the Lok Sabha by the Narendra Modi government at the Centre.

“The party unit was unaware of the Bill before it was introduced and passed in the State Assembly. However, I am yet to go through the legislation. I am not sure if it’s different or similar to the Bill that was introduced a few years ago in the Lok Sabha,” Ms. Singh said.

She, however, dismissed reports of a lack of coordination between the party’s State unit and the government. “There's no lack of coordination,” Ms. Singh said.

Taking a dig at the ruling party in the State, the Opposition BJP, which neither supported nor opposed the Bill, said while the BJP has always been in favour of increasing the minimum age of marriage for women to 21, Ms. Singh’s remark has once again exposed the chinks within the Congress in the State.

“The factionalism within the Congress is known to everyone. The party’s State president saying that she was unaware about the Bill before it was introduced in the Assembly makes it clear that there is no communication and understanding between the government and the party’s State unit. This will eventually have an adverse effect on the running of the State,” Leader of the Opposition Jairam Thakur said.

The State was pushed into political turmoil earlier this year following a rebellion against Chief Minister Sukhvider Singh Sukhu’s government by some of his own party colleagues amid a power tussle between the ‘rival’ camps of Mr. Sukhu and Ms. Singh, who is the widow of former Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh.

While six of the Congress MLAs cross-voted in favour of a BJP candidate during the Rajya Sabha election, threatening the survival of the Congress government, the crisis eventually subsided, with the months-long saga witnessing disqualification of MLAs and two rounds of bypolls in the State.

No need for CBI probe into Kallakurichi hooch tragedy, Tamil Nadu govt. tells HC

Mohamed Imranullah S.

CHENNAI

The State told the Madras HC that CB-CID had already completed the investigation. PICHUMANI K

There is absolutely no need to order a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the Kallakurichi hooch tragedy that has claimed 68 lives, since the Crime Branch-Criminal Investigation Department (CB-CID) has already completed the investigation, arrested 24 individuals, and is ready to file a chargesheet, the State government told the Madras High Court on Friday.

Appearing before the first Division Bench of Acting Chief Justice D. Krishnakumar and Justice P.B. Balaji, who were seized of a batch of public interest litigation petitions insisting upon a CBI probe, Advocate-General (A-G) P.S. Raman said that the CB-CID had traced the source of the methanol, detained 11 out of the 24 individuals under the Goondas Act, and examined 244 witnesses.

He said that the State investigating agency was awaiting only the serology and toxicology reports from the forensic laboratory, after which the chargesheet would be laid before the court concerned. He wondered whether any purpose would be served by transferring the probe to the CBI at this stage and expecting the central agency to begin the investigation from scratch.

The A-G said that a special team headed by a Deputy Superintendent of Police of the CB-CID had been constituted to investigate the case, and that it had made great strides in a short span of time since the first death was reported on June 19. He also submitted the details of the investigation conducted so far in a sealed cover, and said that the details could not be shared in the public domain for the time being.

Pointing out that the PIL petitioners, I.S. Inbadurai, K. Balu, A. Mohan Doss, and B. Parthasarathy, belonged to the AIADMK, the PMK, the BJP, and the DMDK, the A-G said that none of the petitioners had been able to point to any flaw in the investigation conducted by the CB-CID.

Petitioners’ argument

He said that Mr. Inbadurai had rushed to the court on June 21 without seeing how the CB-CID proceeds with the investigation. Responding to the petitioners’ argument that the public had lost confidence in the CB-CID probe, the law officer said that not a single member of the families of the deceased or any public-spirited individual or non-governmental organisation had said so.

Top court to set up five-judge Bench to hear Kerala’s plea on ceiling on net borrowing

The Hindu Bureau

New Delhi

The Kerala government, represented by senior advocate Kapil Sibal, in the Supreme Court on Friday made an oral mentioning about the formation of a Constitution Bench to examine whether a State has an “enforceable right” to raise its borrowing limits over and above the cap fixed by the Union government.

The oral mentioning was made before Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud by senior advocate Kapil Sibal for Kerala.

The reference to a Constitution Bench was made by a two-judge Bench of Justices Surya Kant and K.V. Viswanathan in April this year on the basis of an original suit filed by Kerala. Chief Justice Chandrachud agreed to look into it.

The reference had raised seminal questions on whether “fiscal decentralisation” was an aspect of Indian federalism and if central regulations fixing net borrowing ceilings on States were a violation of the principles of federalism.

The court had also referred to the Constitution Bench the issue of whether financial restrictions introduced by the Centre had meted out a differential treatment to Kerala compared to other States.

‘Examine restrictions’

The two-judge Bench further asked the Constitution Bench to examine if the borrowing restrictions of the Centre were in conflict with the role assigned to the Reserve Bank of India as the “public debt manager”.

Finally, Justice Kant’s Bench had framed the question whether it was mandatory for the Centre to have prior consultation with States for giving effect to the recommendations of the Finance Commission.

However, the court had been skeptical about Kerala’s prowess to use its funds wisely. It had refused to pass any judicial order directing the Union government to lift the net borrowing ceiling for Kerala or enable the State to borrow ₹26,226 crore on an immediate basis. The Bench had observed that the Centre had already allowed a “substantial relief”of ₹13608 crore to the State for it to tide over the immediate crisis.

The Division Bench noted that there was a vacuum in law concerning Article 293 of the Constitution, which dealt with the financial borrowings by States.

It’s either him or us, says NCP over Sena Minister remarking he doesn’t get along with them

The Hindu Bureau

Mumbai

The tension within the Mahayuti government ever since the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) came on board has become palpable yet again with Health Minister Tanaji Sawant, who belongs to Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena, remarking that “he feels like vomiting sitting with the Nationalist Congress Party Ministers”. Incensed NCP leaders demanded on Friday that Mr. Sawant be sacked over his comments made at an event in Dharashiv a day earlier.

The Health Minister had made the remark while emphasising that he has been a hardcore Shiv Sainik all his life and never got along with the Congress and NCP. “After the Cabinet meetings, I come out and vomit,” he had said.

NCP spokesperson Umesh Patil said that the party will pull out of the alliance if Mr. Sawant is not dropped from the Cabinet.

“It is him or NCP,” he said, urging Mr. Pawar – the party chief and Deputy Chief Minister – and other senior party leaders to quit.

Another party leader, Amol Mitkari, reiterated the same and said the NCP has been silent just to keep the coalition going. “It is only the Chief Minister who can treat his nausea. If they take no action, it will be tit for tat,” he said, hinting at hitting back.

The Opposition took note of the rift to raise concerns over the stability of the government “when the parties in the alliance have grudges against each other”.

Congress leader Nitin Raut said, “This remark reflects that it is just a coercive alliance for power and does not align ideologically. Can people of Maharashtra trust this government?”

‘Ajit will be thrown out’

NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) spokesperson Clyde Crasto predicted that the BJP [the third constituent of the alliance] will soon throw Mr. Pawar out from the Mahayuti. “Ajit Pawar is compromising on self-respect for power. It is unbelievable,” said Mahesh Tapase, another NCP(SP) leader.

Akal Takht declares SAD chief guilty of religious misconduct

The Hindu Bureau

CHANDIGARH

Sukhbir Singh Badal-

The Akal Takht on Friday declared Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal ‘tankhaiya (guilty of religious misconduct)’ for several decisions that hurt the sentiments and interests of the ‘panth (Sikh community)’ when the party was in power in Punjab from 2007 to 2017.

The decision, which was announced by Akal Takht chief priest Jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh in Amritsar, comes days after Mr. Badal appeared before the highest temporal seat of Sikhs and tendered an unconditional apology for “all mistakes committed by the party and its government.”

Mr. Singh said it has been decided to declare the SAD chief ‘tankhaiya’ till he appears before the Akal Takht as a ‘nimana (humble)’ Sikh, offers an explanation, and seeks forgiveness for the “misdeeds” in the next 15 days. The Akal Takht has also summoned all Sikhs who served as Ministers in the then SAD-led government.

After the verdict, Mr. Badal said he bows his head and accepts the order of the Akal Takht. He wrote on X that he would soon appear before the Akal Takht and apologise.

The move comes as a blow to Mr. Badal’s leadership, which is facing internal rebellion and criticism from senior party leaders. Discontent within the SAD, brewing for years, intensified after the party’s poor performance in the recent Lok Sabha election.

On July 1, the rebels appeared before the Akal Takht and submitted an apology letter for “four mistakes” when their party was in power. They alleged that Mr. Badal, who was the then Deputy Chief Minister, was responsible for these “mistakes”.

The mistakes, as per the letter, included the pardon granted to Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in a 2007 blasphemy case and failure of the then SAD-led government to punish those involved in the sacrilege of the Guru Granth Sahib at Bargari village in 2015.

‘BJP’s attachment to Ayodhya only for land-related greed’

Mayank Kumar

Lucknow

Akhilesh Yadav

Amid the likelihood that the circle rate of land in Ayodhya will increase, the Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav on Friday alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) bought the land at a low price in the temple town and arranged to increase the rates when it was time to sell. He added that the land of Ayodhya itself has become a victim of the BJP’s bargaining and profiteering.

“In Ayodhya, BJP leaders bought land for their own people at a low price and when the time came to sell it, the BJP government made arrangements to increase the circle rate. The land of Ayodhya has become a victim of BJP bargaining and profiteering. The people of Ayodhya had already known that BJP does not have an emotional attachment to Ayodhya but a ‘land-related’ and ‘profit-related’ greed,” Mr. Yadav said.

‘Farmers not heard’

He alleged that when the farmers of Ayodhya demanded increasing circle rate, the government didn’t paid heed to it but when the BJP people brought land at cheap rates, they increased the circle rate. “When the BJP’s greed did not spare Ayodhya, it is needless to say what they would be doing to the rest of the country.,” the SP leader alleged.

Cong. protest against M.P. govt. over unemployment, price rise

Hundreds of Madhya Pradesh Congress workers on Friday held a protest against price rise, unemployment and other issues and tried to march to the residence of Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, prompting police to use water cannons and tear gas to stop them. M.P. Congress chief Jitu Patwari, who was thrown off by the force of water from a cannon after he climbed onto a barricade, said he was slightly hurt, adding that “hundred or two hundred injured protesters are with me in hospital”. “We are going to continue our protests as the BJP government in M.P. has failed on all counts,” Mr. Patwari asserted. PTI

J&K Cong. leader to appeal against U.P. court sentence

Congress leader Vikar Rasool Wani, a party candidate from Banihal constituency for the upcoming Assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir, on Friday said he will go to a higher court against the sentence by alower court of Uttar Pradesh against him in a 2012 case related to violation of the Model Code of Conduct. A U.P. court, according to media reports, sentenced Mr. Rasool to five months in prison and imposed a fine of ₹1,000. The Congress leader apparently violated Section 188 of the Indian Penal Code by organising a public meeting at Junior High School in Mithapur village of Gulavathi “without permission”.

Pastoralists versus policy

The fight for grazing rights in Maharashtra’s forests is a matter of survival for the Dhangars, say leaders from the tribal community. Abhinay Deshpande finds that the shepherds struggle with finding legal pastures for their sheep, even as their migratory way of life ebbs

1 of 4 Contested pastures: Shepherds of the Dhangar community lead their flocks of sheep to graze in Buldhana district of Maharashtra. EMMANUAL YOGINI EMMANUAL YOGINI

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4 of 4 EMMANUAL YOGINI EMMANUAL YOGINI EMMANUAL YOGINI

Sitting quietly on a worn nawar palang (rope cot) in a makeshift camp on the outskirts of his village, Bapu Hanumathe Kolpe, a shepherd who is roughly 65 years old, speaks of a life spent at the mercy of villagers and forest officials. The sun has weathered his clothes — a white dhoti and kurta, with a long pancha (length of cloth) draped over his shoulder. It has aged his Gandhi topithat rests atop his thick, white hair. His appearance and demeanour tell the story of a lifetime spent in the fields as a nomad, tending sheep, foraging in the forest, leading a life to the rhythm of nature.

Kolpe’s eyes, however, tell a different story — of worry, loss, and uncertainty. As he talks about the pain of not having a safe place and the plight of his flock that are his livelihood, his legacy, and his connection to the land, his voice is tinged with sorrow. “We watch our lambs die, four or five a day,” he says. There are many problems: the lack of green fodder is one. Another is the weather itself. “It’s difficult for them to survive a monsoon. It rains non-stop and the water enters their lungs,” he says.

Kolpe is a native of Hivarkhed near Khamgaon town in Buldhana district of Maharashtra. Despite having a house in the village, he, his sons and their families, and the over 300 sheep, live on the outskirts, in a shevni, a temporary shelter with blue-and-yellow tarpaulin covers held aloft by bamboo sticks.

The Dhangar community, to which Kolpe belongs, has herded sheep for generations and roamed the land with its flock. It is on the Vimukta Jati and Nomadic Tribes (VJNT) list in the State, but the Centre categorises the community as Other Backward Classes (OBC).

Now, according to the community members, their tradition is under threat for various reasons, including the lack of support from government agencies. The Forest Department’s decades-old ban on grazing in protected areas has left Kolpe, and thousands of Dhangars like him struggling over the years. “We’ve always relied on these lands, but the forest officials tell us we can’t graze our livestock in our jungles. Where else can we go?” he says.

Frustrated by the enforcement of regulations, hundreds of Dhangars marched to the Sub-Divisional Officer’s office in Khamgaon on August 12, demanding the establishment of ‘grazing corridors’ for their sheep and goats. The community initially voiced these concerns in October 2022 by sending 12,000 postcards to Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his deputy Devendra Fadnavis, highlighting the urgent need to restore traditional grazing lands.

However, despite their previous efforts, progress has been minimal, leading to the recent march, which was led by a PhD scholar from the University of Edinburgh, Saurabh Hatkar, 30, who heads the Mendhpal Putra Army (army of the sons of shepherds).

Caught between laws

About 20 km away, in Nandri village, Buldhana district, Dilip Murli Hatkar, another shepherd with over 400 sheep, says the ban isn’t just a rule — it’s a daily battle for survival and a threat to their very existence.

“The officials treat us like outsiders. They impose hefty penalties (at least ₹300 per sheep), and when we fail to pay, they seize and auction our flock,” he says. The shepherds in the region live in constant fear of losing more sheep.

For over nine months in a year, the pastoralists travel for more than 400 km in the region in search of fodder for their livestock and return home before the onset of the monsoon. They face a similar problem from the forest officials as they wander, but it increases when they halt for a longer period during the monsoon.

“We are on the road for most of the year, facing hurdles and when we reach home, the struggle intensifies. We can’t go far, because of the rain, and forest officials don’t allow grazing. As a result, the sheep succumb to illness or starvation,” says Subash Bichkule from Antraj village, who has over 200 sheep and goats. Empty medicine bottles are seen at the makeshift camps.

Seated on a palang coveredwith a gongadi (a rough all-weather shawl made out of sheep wool), he says protecting the flock from snakebites, jackals, leopards, and other wild animals is a different task altogether. “Homecoming is scary for us,” he says with frustration. The nomadic lifestyle also restricts the community’s access to education and health care.

Officials claim they’re simply following the rules. State Forest Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar refutes allegations about restrictions on livestock grazing in forest areas. “There is no outright ban on Dhangars grazing their sheep or goats on forest land. Although it technically violates forest laws, we usually overlook it and allow them access on humanitarian grounds,” he says.

However, he adds that shepherds are strictly prohibited from grazing their livestock in the forests between June and September, as this is the critical regeneration period when new plants are most vulnerable. “They are advised to graze their livestock on revenue land instead.”

He says this practice isn’t unique to Maharashtra, and that many States restrict grazing during the monsoon, when sprouts and inflorescence emerge. “If we allow grazing during this time, there will be no new plants in the forest, which would severely impact the ecosystem,” he says.

The Indian Forest Act, 1927 prohibits cattle grazing, and pronounces a penalty of up to ₹500 in addition to compensation for damage done to the forest, which will be determined by the area’s forest officer.

As per Rules 13 and 14 of the Maharashtra Forest Rules, 2014, pasturing of cattle in forests is prohibited except in areas specially assigned, and always under a permit. However, the State government may give pastoralists permission, keeping in mind “the safety and the maintenance of forests in perpetuity”.

The Forest Rights Act, 2006, also known as the Scheduled Tribes (ST) and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, permits traditional activities such as grazing. However, while the Dhangars are classified as a nomadic tribe in Maharashtra, they do not have ST status, which is accorded by the Central government.

Political power

Saurabh says the Forest Department issues grazing passes for a dedicated area during the migration period — between November and May — which is of “no use” to them. “We are used to migration and cannot stay at a place for long. It’s in our DNA. Even during the monsoon, members of our community look for a reason to venture out,” he says.

The Dhangars hold significant electoral influence in western Maharashtra, Marathwada, and pockets of Vidarbha and north Maharashtra. The second-largest community in the State after the Marathas, the Dhangars constitute 9% or 1.5 crore of the State’s population as per the 2011 Census. They wield substantial voting power in at least seven Lok Sabha seats and about 40 Assembly segments, including high-profile constituencies such as Baramati, Daund, Shirur, Indapur, and Sangola, which are strongholds of the Nationalist Congress Party (SP) led by Sharad Pawar. The community’s latest demand for grazing corridors unfolds in the context of the Assembly election, which is due later this year.

The Dhangars also play a key role in the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Ma-Dha-V strategy, aimed at consolidating the Malis (Ma), Dhangars (Dha), and Vanjaras (V). This political formula, developed by the party in the 1980s, is designed as a foil to the traditional Congress vote bank of Marathas, Dalits, and Muslims.

“The country’s economic policy is deeply rooted in animal husbandry,” says Rashtriya Samaj Paksha (RSP) chief Mahadev Jankar, who is an MLC and leader of the community.

Reflecting on his tenure as Minister for Animal Husbandry and Dairy Development (July 2016 – November 2019), he says Maharashtra had to import mutton, eggs, fish, and milk from Telangana, Gujarat, and West Bengal, and noted that the situation remains unchanged. He argues that allowing livestock grazing in the State would boost meat production. “Ignoring our legitimate demands could have serious political consequences in the upcoming Assembly election,” he warns.

In addition, Jankar, whose RSP is part of the ruling Mahayuti alliance, called on the State government to issue gun licences to shepherds for self-defence against wild animals. “Our people often venture deep into the forests in search of better pastures, where they face attacks from bears, wild boars, leopards, and other big cats. To protect themselves, the Maharashtra government should grant them gun licences,” he says, quickly adding that if anyone misuses them, then legal action should be taken.

A way of life

According to Saurabh, nearly 70% of grazing areas in Buldhana have diminished over the years. He attributes this loss to various factors, including the designation of land as ‘protected’ under the Indian Forest Act, 1927, conversion to farmland, and development activities.

He cites the 1996 establishment of the Dnyanganga Wildlife Sanctuary, which borders his home village of Nandri, as a significant example. “Since the sanctuary’s creation, conflicts have frequently risen between shepherds and Forest Department officials over access to traditional grazing lands,” he says.

Saurabh explains that Dhangars have followed traditional herding routes for generations, but suddenly in the 1990s, the department began designating protected forest areas. As a result, their movements have been increasingly viewed as encroachments. This is a threat to their future.

“The Forest Department has constructed barriers along these traditional paths, and we are now seen as intruders,” says Saurabh, who is an engineer by education. His doctoral research is on the lives, livelihoods, and identities of the shepherd community.

He argues that tribes have coexisted with forests for centuries, travelling these routes repeatedly. “All we ask is to be permitted to continue doing so. We should be allowed to practise our traditional livelihood, which is also diminishing.”

When the Dhangars migrate, the men tend to the sheep, while the women manage the lambs. Women also cook, fetch water, collect fodder for the oxen, and care for the children.

“The burden on us is twice as heavy,” says Jiabai Hatkar, 70, adjusting her sturdy traditional silver bangles at Nandri. “At the makeshift camps set up each week during migration, we handle most of the responsibilities. Protecting the lambs from wild animals and even dogs is a major challenge,” she says. When the men get back with the sheep, the women identify the mothers and give the lambs to them, to suckle.

Bichkule’s wife Sulabha shares Jiabai’s sentiments. “We also need to forage for firewood in the jungle for cooking. This has always been our way of life — I saw my mother and grandmother doing this, and we are used to it,” she says, taking a brief pause from preparing lunch for her family.

Back in Hivarkhed, Kolpe wishes the forest officials would allow them access to the forest even during the rains. At night, a pack of five dogs guards the sheep. “They play a crucial role in keeping the lambs safe from predators. Sometimes, they give chase and get the lambs back alive from the mouths of wild animals,” he says.

Exotic fruits, exceptional returns

Farmers in Telangana are driving a transformation in agriculture by cultivating non-native fruits. Deccan Exotics, a farm in Sangareddy district run by two brothers, has emerged as a hub for the cultivation and research of these crops, boasting the country’s largest collection of dragon fruit varieties and expanding into avocado cultivation through collaboration with global experts. highlight this thriving venture

1 of 4 Builder-turned-agriculturist Chandrashekar Rao Madhavaram at the Deccan Exotics farm which he runs along with his doctor-brother at Aliabad village in Sangareddy; Lamb Hass variety of avocado at the farm. MOHD ARIF MOHD ARIF

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4 of 4 There is need for more research on avocado cultivation before it can be widely adopted as a commercial crop Neeraja Prabhakar, Vice-Chancellor of Sri Konda Laxman Telangana State Horticultural University, Mulugu

At the Deccan Exotics farm on a Tuesday morning, Chandrashekar Rao Madhavaram beckons visitors to sample a fruit that resembles the Indian Jamun but surprises the palate with a hint of sweetness. The 42-year-old builder-turned-agriculturist explains that the freshly plucked fruit is Jabuticaba, native to Brazil and Bolivia, that has found a new home in the quaint village of Aliabad in Sangareddy district, about 52 kilometres from the outskirts of Hyderabad.

The full scope of this 30-acre farm is revealed only when one steps through the gates — it is an agricultural marvel, and a centre for research and development in exotic fruit plants. It is the brainchild of his younger brother, Srinivas Rao, an MD in General Medicine, who has poured his heart into growing 25 varieties of exotic fruits.

Chandrashekar Rao, who holds a B.Tech degree in Mechanical Engineering and an MBA, reflects on their journey, inspired by their father, Prasad Rao. “Our father’s deep interest in farming drove us to explore agriculture. However, we wanted to carve a niche by focusing on exotic fruit crops,” he says.

Established in 2017, the farm is more than just a place to grow crops; it’s a centre for innovation. In recent years, it has transformed into a hub for cultivation and propagation of exotic fruits like dragon fruit and avocados. In 2018, the two brothers registered a Farmer Producer Organisation (FPO) called Deccan Exotics Pvt. Ltd., bringing together 10 members to advance their agricultural pursuits.

Srinivas Rao’s fascination with dragon fruit began in 2016, after his first taste of the tropical delight. Determined to introduce it to Telangana, he embarked on a journey, visiting 13 countries including Vietnam, Taiwan, and the Philippines to extensively study the fruit. Despite initial setbacks due to a lack of research on its cultivation, his persistence paid off. Today, their farm grows over 50 varieties of dragon fruit, including seven commercial types, making it India’s largest collection. Among those, the ‘Deccan Pink’, developed by their FPO, stands out for its resilience to harsh weather and its productivity, yielding three times more fruit than other varieties.

The impact of their work is evident: nearly 2,000 farmers across 500 acres in Telangana now cultivate dragon fruit, with a focus on the Siam Red variety, which thrives in local conditions. The FPO has trained around 5,000 farmers from 25 States, equipping them with the skills to diversify their crops and improve their livelihood. During peak season, the farm supplies over two lakh saplings, says Srinivas Rao.

Buoyed by their success with dragon fruit, the duo have set their sight on another crop in high demand — avocado. In 2022, they partnered with IG International, one of India’s top fresh fruit importers, to create IG Deccan Pvt. Ltd. This joint venture aims to plant 5 million avocado trees over the next five years, with saplings primarily imported from Israel. To ensure the best genetic material and technology, IG Deccan has teamed up with Haskelberg, Israel, and joined the Green Motion platform in collaboration with Eurosemillas, expanding the varieties and rootstocks available to farmers.

Avocado ambitions

Srinivas Rao sees a promising future for avocado cultivation in India. “Given our geographical and climatic conditions, we can successfully grow avocados with some adjustments in farming methods,” he says. Currently, the farm nurtures 15,000 avocado saplings, with additional plants spread across 25 acres in Gongulur village. These imported saplings are quarantined for a year before being distributed to farmers, with each plant priced between ₹1,400 and ₹1,800 depending on age, variety, and rootstock.

“Local varieties are priced between ₹100 and ₹300,” he adds.

Despite challenges like high initial investment and the long wait before plants yield commercially viable fruit, the Rao brothers are confident in the profitability of avocado farming. The imported varieties can yield up to 10 tonnes per acre, with market prices ranging from ₹100 to ₹250 per kilogram in India. However, they caution that only those with substantial investment capacity should pursue large-scale avocado cultivation, as the demand for Indian-grown varieties in international markets remains limited.

Chandrashekar Rao says a major tea estate has expressed interest in avocado farming in north India. He also notes that young, enterprising individuals, exposed to the best farming practices in the USA, Israel, and other countries, are increasingly drawn to cultivating exotic fruits in India, including Telangana.

The Pinkerton avocado, known for its creamy texture and versatility in the kitchen, is one such variety being cultivated. “This fruit is rich in healthy fats and essential vitamins and minerals, making it a valuable addition to any diet,” Chandrashekar Rao says, highlighting nutritional benefits that have made avocados a staple in many households worldwide. Deccan Exotics imports avocado saplings from Israel, USA and Spain.

Inspired by success with dragon fruit, farmers like Md. Ramzan from Seetharampuram village in Hanamkonda district are cautiously venturing into avocado cultivation. “After successfully growing dragon fruit, I planted a dozen avocado saplings, though I was warned they might topple in the black soil,” says Ramzan, who invested nearly ₹5 lakh in his 20-gunta dragon fruit farm, earning ₹130 per kg, while retail prices range from ₹200 to ₹260 a kg.

Similarly, G. Gopal, a school dropout from Bachepally village in Sangareddy district, turned to exotic fruit farming after watching videos on social media. With an inherited plot and additional land bought from his construction work earnings, Gopal now owns 25 acres. “I learned about dragon fruit cultivation through YouTube and scoured nurseries until I found quality saplings in Rajahmundry, Andhra Pradesh,” he shares.

Gopal has taken up cultivation of the pink pulp variety of dragon fruit across five acres, focusing on a drip irrigation system, poles and ribs for the plants. “Over three years, the investment has come to about ₹6 lakh per acre. I started harvesting in the second year itself. With proper care and timely doses of soil nutrients, some farmers even see returns in the first year,” Gopal explains.

Saplings of success

In his first year, Gopal produced 10 tonnes of dragon fruit, which rose to 30 tonnes this year, with 20 tonnes already sold. “Last year, I earned ₹90,000 per tonne, and this year, the price has risen to ₹1 lakh per tonne, with 400 saplings planted per acre. Harvesting starts in May and continues until November. We get quality fruit for at least five years before the requirement for fresh saplings arises,” he says.

Collaborating with another farmer, Gopal has also ventured into date cultivation on 20 acres. The plantation was taken up four years ago, and the first harvest last year yielded 6 tonnes. “This year, we have increased production to 10 tonnes and earning ₹1.1 lakh per tonne,” he adds.

Despite his focus on commercial plantations, Gopal continues to grow traditional crops like paddy, cotton, and soybean on another 20 acres.

Basvanthpur Ramesh Reddy, a 32-year-old MBA graduate from Ranzole in Zaheerabad of Sangareddy district, left a lucrative corporate job to pursue his passion for farming. After earning his MBA degree in New Zealand, Reddy returned to India and began experimenting with dragon fruit cultivation in 2016 by planting a dozen saplings. Impressed with the results, he expanded his dragon fruit farm from two to five acres in 2018, investing ₹5 lakh per acre. He sourced saplings from Maharashtra and also began cultivating other exotic fruits, combining his business acumen with his love for agriculture.

Neeraja Prabhakar, Vice-Chancellor of Sri Konda Laxman Telangana State Horticultural University in Mulugu, notes that dragon fruit has almost become a local crop, thriving in nearly all parts of Telangana. “However, there is need for more research on avocado cultivation before it can be widely adopted as a commercial crop,” she says, adding that the university is also conducting research on avocado and other exotic plants, including jackfruit, at their farms.

She highlights that Rambutan and passion fruit have potential for cultivation in Telangana, which encompasses three agro-climatic regions— north, central, and southern.

She mentions an ongoing collaboration between the university and Deccan Exotics on various research projects. “We have also obtained an accession number from ICAR-National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources for new jackfruit clones,” she adds. An accession number, also known as an Indigenous Collection (IC) number, is the primary identifier for germplasm collected in India and conserved in seed genebanks or other storage facilities.

Horticulture officials note that dragon fruit flowering and fruiting align with monsoon, with flowers blooming at night and pollinated by nocturnal creatures like bats and hawk moths. This pollination is essential for fruit setting, size, and overall yield. Typically, the flowering and fruiting occur in three to five cycles between June and November, with fruits ready for harvest 30 to 35 days after flowering.

Each fruit weighs between 200 to 700 grams, depending on management practices. In well-maintained orchards, economic yields begin after three years, with an average of up to 15 tonnes per acre.

To establish a dragon fruit orchard, approximately 2,000 saplings are required per acre, with four plants planted around each concrete pole spaced eight feet apart.

Mylavaram Venkanna, a farmer from Jeedikal village in Jangaon district, reveals that he sourced 2,028 saplings from Vizianagaram and set up 504 poles of eight-foot height. “I irrigate every 15 days using a drip system,” he said.

Blooming profits

Dragon fruit prices range from ₹150 to ₹260 per kg, depending on the size and pulp colour. According to a vendor at a roadside shop in Old Alwal, Secunderabad, “We buy dragon fruit by the kilogram and sell it by the piece. While the price per kilogram is between ₹200 and ₹250, individual fruits are sold for ₹40 to ₹50.”

The government provides a subsidy of nearly ₹1.60 lakh per acre to dragon fruit farmers under the Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH), a Centrally sponsored scheme aimed at holistic growth of the horticulture sector. This includes ₹92,000 in the first year and ₹32,000 annually for the next two years each, applicable to a farmer for up to one hectare. “The selection of farmers is done by the respective district horticulture officer, based on the sanctioned funds,” a horticulture officer explains.

However, no subsidy is currently available for avocado cultivation. Regarding the marketing of dragon fruit, an official says, “Dragon fruit consumption is increasing, and there is a strong market for it. Traders are coming directly to farms to procure the produce.”

P. Raji Reddy, a farmer from a remote village in Jagtial district, shares his experience: “After seeing dragon fruit cultivation on social media, I bought saplings online and planted them in my home garden four years ago. Since last year, we have been enjoying home-grown fruit.”

S. Shoury Reddy, executive director of Bala Vikasa, a prominent NGO promoting sustainable agricultural practices in South India, highlights Telangana’s ideal conditions for dragon fruit cultivation. He believes the State has the potential to cultivate dragon fruit on 10,000 acres due to market demand. “While the initial investment is high, the returns are substantial. Dragon fruit can be processed into chips, jam, juice, and even wine, which is being produced in Hyderabad,” Reddy notes.

He is also growing various exotic fruits on his five-acre farm near Warangal, including Rambutan, Longan, Baraba, and star fruit. “Passion fruit can thrive in Telangana, and we are also cultivating multiple all-season mango varieties,” he adds.

Meanwhile, date palms are being cultivated across several districts, including Medak, Nalgonda, Mahabubnagar, and Karimnagar.

Vyalla Harish Reddy, an NRI from Munjampally village in Jagtial district, has planted date saplings on 5.5 acres, along with 20 different fruit plants on half an acre. “We also constructed facilities for cows, chickens and ourselves on 0.25 acre,” he says. While he resides in Texas, his parents manage the farm.

Harish planted about 350 date palms on five acres, with each plant costing ₹4,200, totaling nearly ₹15 lakh. “Additional expenses for drip irrigation and fencing brought the total investment to approximately ₹25 lakh, or ₹5 lakh per acre,” he says.

He expects a yield of 2-3 tonnes per acre starting from the fifth year, with the Barhi variety dates priced at ₹120 per kg. The anticipated annual income is around ₹12 lakh, with ₹3 lakh spent on labour, fertilizers, and pesticides. The profit margin is ₹9 lakh.

Harish researched date farming extensively on YouTube before reaching out to young farmers in Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh, who managed their date farms while working as software engineers.

“Though it is expensive and exotic, even if a farmer invests ₹3 lakh to plant on just one acre, they can earn around ₹2 lakh per year in profits. This is 8-10 times higher than the returns from traditional paddy farming,” he adds.

Farmers are also cultivating dates on 17 acres in Nagarkurnool district and five acres in Nagarjunasagar constituency, according to sources.

A citizen in waiting

Rasheeda Bano, 52, was born to Kerala-origin parents in Karachi in 1972 but moved to her parents’ native place in Kannur in 2008. Ever since, she has fought a valiant battle to secure citizenship for herself and her children. The battle, although ongoing, is half-won, reports Mithosh Joseph

1 of 3 I never imagined that getting citizenship was such a tormenting task. And I’m fighting for it all alone, living all the while on an extended visa. Rasheeda Bano

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3 of 3 Rasheeda Bano along with her grandchildren at her house at Ukkas Motta, near Thalassery, in Kannur district; (below) Rasheeda Bano with the newly received Kerala High Court order at her house. MITHOSH JOSEPH

‘Thanal’, meaning shade, is anondescript house in suburban Ukkas Motta, located about eight km from Thalassery in Kerala’s Kannur district. Rasheeda Bano, a 52-year-old woman, has lived there since 2008 and is painfully aware of the mischievous tag it carries as ‘Pakistani house’. Her efforts to get rid of it have not borne fruit yet; she’s still fighting for Indian citizenship.

Bano was born in 1972 in Karachi, to parents of Kerala origin, who were small-time tobacco and pan masala vendors. After completing her Plus Two, shemarried a Malayali trader Mohammed Maroof, who was settled in Pakistan. But the family struggled with financial instability, prompting them to sell their property and move to Kerala in 2008.

Her battle to secure Indian citizenship for herself and her six children began soon after her arrival. The onus was entirely on her to earn citizenship for her and six of her children, four daughters and two sons, as her husband left for Dubai soon after they arrived in Kerala.

“I never imagined that getting citizenship was such a tormenting task. And I’m fighting for it all alone, living all the while on an extended visa. More than 20 visits made to the Pakistan High Commission in Delhi to secure multiple clearances, countless paperwork, and verifications by the local police have all put me in distress,” says Bano, clutching three of her grandchildren.

Significant challenges

While her three older children — Afshan, Sadiya and Kasim —secured Indian citizenship with relative ease as she was able to collect and submit all necessary documents in a timebound manner, her younger daughters, 28-year-old Sumaira and 26-year-old Mariam, faced significant challenges, resulting in a prolonged legal fight. In July 2024, after a four-year legal battle, the KeralaHigh Court directed the Union government to grant them citizenship. “But there is no end in sight for my plight as I am continuing with the procedures again to secure citizenship for me and my youngest son Ismail,” she says. The years of relentless struggle haven’t diminished her zeal.

Bano is determined to attend communicative English classes to improve her language skillsso that she caninteract fluently with officials. Shetooka few short-term courses in counselling and psychology as well to improve her mental abilities. Ever since her arrival at Ukkas Motta, she has been doing sundry jobs like tailoring and catering to make a living. All her children except Ismail, 22, are married off. Bano says she scrimped and saved money to raise the children and fight the cases.

Amidst social ostracism and criticism came the High Court order as a beacon of hope. The court asked the Centre to grant Sumaira and Mariam citizenship considering the no-objection certificate issued by the Pakistani authorities.

Issue of renunciation certificates

While the Centre had decided to grant them registration as citizens under the Citizenship Act of 1955, the family failed to secure renunciation certificates from the Pakistan government. “Although we approached the Pakistan High Commission multiple times, they rejected our application in the absence of original passports. We had surrendered the passports when the two children were minors. As the Pakistan authorities could not trace the old documents, they refused to give renunciation certificates,” recounts Bano.

The order passed by Justice T.R. Ravi came as a huge relief to the struggling family. The court observed that the requirement for renunciation certificates could only be treated as a rule of evidence and not as a substantive requirement. The court also found that the other documents submitted by the petitioners were sufficient to show that they had renounced their Pakistani citizenship. The Centre was, therefore, asked to issue orders for registration of their citizenship in three months.

“We are happy that our mother’s determined fight has finallysucceeded. You cannot imagine our excitement in waiting for the original citizenship certificate in the wake of the favourable court order,” say Sumaira and Mariam, who faced several roadblocks in continuing their education upon the family’s arrival in India.They are hopeful that their youngest brother Ismail will also get citizenship sooner than later.

Mariam, who has resumed her degree course, recalls that the family was going through social isolation and insults on account of the delay in securing citizenship. “Our marriages were delayed too because of the Pakistani label and the treatment as ‘anti-nationals’. We won only because of the steadfast fight of our mother. The struggle is worth being made into a film,” she adds.

Sumaira, too, attests to her mother’s singular focus in her fight for justice. She says people awaiting citizenship now seek Bano’s counsel. “We had no steady income for survival. She did sundry jobs to raise the money for all expenses,” she says.

Special help desks sought

Bano says the amendment to some old rules and the addition of rigid regulations delayed the process of citizenship for Sumaira and Mariam. She feels that there should be a special help desk at district Collectorates to facilitate such services.

Bano says it’s the absence of a birth certificate that’s holding up her own citizenship application “although it was approved provisionally several years ago”. It is also required under the Citizenship Amendment Act of 2019 for securing citizenship for Ismail, who’s now pursuing MBA in distance education mode, she maintains.

Bano’s 78-year-old mother is a kidney patient who needs dialysis every week.“One of my grandchildren is autistic who has also undergone liver transplant. It took several years for my children to familiarise with Indian culture after their arrival from Pakistan. We are in the middle of extreme crises but the fight for proving our identity as Indians must move on for survival in this land,” she affirms.

Biggest challenges

Lack of government assistance or permission to own property is the biggest challenge faced by Bano. The housewhere she residesbelongs to one of her relatives. Any property transaction will be possible only on production of the citizenship certificate. The family survivesonthe modest income from a textile shop run by Bano’s son KasimatNadapuram, some 25 km away.

“My biggest relief is that I have never faced any humiliating experience from any police officers. They were all compassionate after seeing my genuine struggle along with my children,” says Bano, going on to name a few who stood by her. But she can’t say the same about the officials at the Pakistani mission who remained apathetic.

Court comes to the rescue

M. Sasindran, the lawyer who appeared for the family at the Kerala High Court, says the court understood that it was impossible for Bano’s daughters to present citizenship renunciation certificates from Pakistan.“The court found that there were no reasons to object to their citizenship in the name of impossible things and technicalities ignoring the fact that they had been staying here for several years after giving up Pakistan citizenship,” he says.

Many people from the northern parts of Kerala went to Pakistan immediately before and afterPartition expecting a better life. But many of them rued their decision later and sought to return. Sasindran is arguing a few more such cases.

In 2011, the Kerala government had recorded the total number of Pakistani citizens of Kerala origin as 248. Of this, 189 persons were from Kannur, Malappuram, and Kozhikode districts, according to the data from the Foreigners Regional Registration Office in Kozhikode. Kannur, with 131 such people, had the highest number. Many of them died while awaiting citizenship, say police officers.

Mullappally Ramachandran, former Union Minister of State for Home,says it was during his tenure thatameeting of about 100 such people was arranged for the first time in Kerala at Vadakara, the constituency he represented, in the presence of senior Central government officials. “The goal was to address their concerns. I did everything possible, including long-term visa permission and the cessation of deportation measures for them, as they were seeminglycaught between thedevil and the deep sea. Elderly people and those suffering from serious ailments were there in the group,” Ramachandran recalls.

“I took up their case at the request of E.T. Mohammed Basheer, MP. I was of the view that none of them went to Pakistan with a guilty intent. There were multiple reasons for their departure,” he says.

Many suffer in isolation

Shakir Thuvoor, a Malappuram-based human rights activist and the State secretary of the National Human Rights and Anti-Corruption Force, argues for an immediate resolution of the issue on humanitarian grounds.“These people suffer in isolation at a time when we celebrate the 78th anniversary of our Independence. They do not have any identity proof, voting rights, and are not covered under any of the welfare schemes. The situation should change,” he says.

And Bano echoes the sentiment. “It’s a harrowing experience to clear the legal proceedings at the Pakistani mission. It would be a huge relief to people like me if there was a national-level cell with a senior government officialto guide and help us,” she says. At the end of it all, Bano simply hopes for some quality time to live with dignity as a citizen of India.

Edit

- The collapse of categories and post-individualism

- A game plan for India’s success as 2036 Olympic host

- Hateful, baleful

- Growth matrix

- letters to the editor

- The human cost of factory explosions

The collapse of categories and post-individualism

Varghese K. George

Categorisation, the counting and the labelling of people, places, time, events, and human activities form the basis of all governance and politics. The 2024 Paris Olympics demonstrated, on the one hand, the rigidity and the brutality of categories, and on the other, the fluidity, biases and even the impossibility of it. Indian woman wrestler Vinesh Phogat was disqualified for being overweight by 100 grams for her category — the objectivity of which has not been questioned by anyone including the wrestler herself. Imane Khelif, the Algerian boxer who won the gold in her weight category, had her sex questioned.

In 2023, the International Boxing Association (IBA) had disqualified her for failing a “separate and recognized test, whereby the specifics remain confidential”. The Paris Olympics organisers said they also went by the passport which identifies Ms. Khelif to be a woman, her sex assigned at birth. Some media reports linked Ms. Khelif’s disqualification in a gender eligibility test and, thus, not participating in the IBA world championship in New Delhi in 2023 to Russian President Vladimir Putin. All told, a person’s sex is no longer an incontrovertible objective fact, as his or her weight is. The methods to identify a person’s sex — chromosomes, hormone levels, genitalia, have been contested. To the extent that sex is a biological fact, it is an increasingly alterable one. When combined with gender, it is a question of personal choice, according to the increasingly popular view in the United States. The sex and gender debate is a major trigger for the social and political dysphoria in the West.

The fluctuation of categories

The fluidity of categories has been a serious governance challenge throughout history. Who is a citizen and who is alien? What kind of violence is crime and what kind is honourable? What is legitimate politics and what is not? Where does homeland end and foreign land begin? Such questions have pushed societies to conflicts and countries to wars, as agreements are difficult to come by, and harder to hold. Currently, live political contestations over categories include the fluidity of Kamala Harris’s ethnicity: is she more Asian- American than African-American? Should Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes communities be categorised into subgroups for better achievement of social justice goals in India?

Modernity celebrated individualism as a higher level of social evolution, and communities that bind individuals to social norms, faith and traditions came to be viewed as regressive through its lens. The building blocks of modern, secular communities, and nations, are supposed to be atomised individuals who share their belief in atomised individualism with other atomised individuals. The individual participated in politics and market as the fundamental autonomous unit of humanity. The individual was indivisible, indestructible.

Sex categories, male and female, are (at least used to be) a rare point of agreement across religious faiths, political ideologies, and science. In fact, western creationists in recent years began citing British evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins in support of their position that humans are divided into male and female. Prof. Dawkins has argued that categories in general do not hold because the natural world is a fluid continuum, but sexes are a remarkable and undeniable exception. It is the union of clearly differentiated male and female reproductive cells that makes procreation possible. He notes intersex individuals exist, but that only proves the rule of sexual binaries. What has muddled this rare point of universal agreement of faiths and science is the relatively new idea of sex as choice, guided by gender perception.

The new idea as ‘choice’

According to the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, “sex refers to a set of biological attributes” and “gender refers to the socially constructed roles, behaviors, expressions and identities.” “…sex is usually categorized as female or male”, while “gender exists along a continuum and can change over time”. Sex is what one is, and gender is what one feels. The question becomes contentious over translating the feeling into being — gender affirming sex transition. Should that be allowed? If yes, what is the age of consent in this regard? Should public schools and public health systems facilitate this? These questions are pulverising the U.S. in this election season.

That an individual is their thought is not a new thought. The individuality of a person has been about their thoughts and feelings, and not their bodies. The mind changes over time. People move from one faith to another, or from one line of political thinking to another, without altering their bodies, generally speaking. The mind determines an individual’s relationship with others. Individualism is about the inviolability of the individual — body and mind. The mind seeks to preserve the physical body — its liberty, safety, and nourishment. The integrity of the physical body was taken for granted and considered sacrosanct; surgeries and interventions that modernity made possible were to restore the normative features and functions of the body; not to alter them.

Gender affirming sex transition changes that relationship between an individual’s mind and body. It does not undermine the sexual binary, as it is often misrepresented. In fact, it reinforces the binary — a person who wants to transition is in fact seeking medical intervention to achieve the normative anatomical features of one of the sexes. In the previously familiar universe, when there was conflict between the body and the mind — being and feeling — feeling had to yield to being. Feeling could have been fleeting, after all. That the body, not the mind, should change is the new idea. Individual autonomy elevated to this level, paradoxically, disaggregates the individual into components, and reconstitutes them into a new biological entity. The mind is fluid, and assuming that the body should keep pace with the fluidity of the mind, is a radically mind-bending idea. This throws out of the window one of the longest held, and universally shared truths — that there is man and woman. That there is nothing permanent about an individual being a man or woman is a bewildering post-truth. It is post-individualism; individualism devouring itself.

This paradox mirrors the bigger dilemma of liberalism itself. Liberalism, by virtue of self-identification, has to tolerate all types of illiberal ideas. For instance, liberalism has to accommodate religious and cultural practices, which in turn are oppressive towards its own followers. Liberalism thus undermines itself. Individualism and conflicting group claims have already caused disorienting social fragmentation. Sex transition makes fragmentation inside the individual self, which was considered composite.

Science and evidence

Proponents and opponents of gender affirming care try to bolster their argument using data and science. Technology has given humanity the immense capacity to enforce categories by digitally profiling and labelling each individual. But, simultaneously, by choice and under duress, individuals increasingly defy categories by crossing geographical and social borders. Sex categories are the new frontier for human mobility. That the body should fall in line with the mind’s feeling is an idea. Ideas usually precede the technological know how that translate it into reality — for instance, flight. Science will more likely enable that idea, rather than prove or disprove anything about it. Science and technology do not just discover existing reality but also create new ones. As new technologies shift medical interventions from restorative to transformatory, the body is set lose its normative form anyway. Sex could follow gender, and as all other matters of the mind, it will be about a choice that one makes. One’s mind is accessible to another only to the extent that it is articulated, which means, a person can only be what they claim. Gender ideology has set the U.S., and the West in general, on a course of collective cognitive dissonance. One part of these societies seek to hold on to their last truth, while the other is dismantling the notion of the inviolable individual that built them.

varghese.g@thehindu.co.in

A game plan for India’s success as 2036 Olympic host

Manuraj Shunmuga- sundaram an advocate at the High Court of Madras and a spokesperson of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)

In his Independence Day address from Red Fort to the country, this August, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that it was India’s dream to host the 2036 Olympic Games, adding that preparations were being made for this. This is an audacious announcement to say the least. India has never hosted the Olympics before. India has almost always underperformed in the global athletic arena. India has limited world class track and field infrastructure.

Yet, the Olympic ambition does not seem far-fetched. The country’s sporting prowess is growing. Its sportspersons enjoy enormous respect among their peers. The Indian sports engagement is at an all-time high. However, whether India succeeds in its Olympic bid or not will depend on how the country builds consensus both within and beyond its borders.

Electing the future host

Hosting an Olympic Games is a marathon effort, as this writer witnessed first hand when visiting the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. There is a lot of ground to cover in preparing the infrastructure. In Paris, for instance, there were ‘329 medal events in 32 sports (including the four additional sports)’ that bring the best athletes in the world on one stage, not to mention the lakhs of tourists. Since 2019, the process for host bidding has undergone a complete overhaul. These changes are part of the reforms brought in by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) after allegations of corruption were made in connection with the award of the 2016 Rio and 2020 Tokyo Games. The revamped selection process was first tried in 2021 when the bidding process was conducted to choose Brisbane as the host city for the 2032 Games.

The contender cities are now engaged in confidential exchanges by the Future Host Commission (FHC), a dedicated body set up by the IOC. The remit of the FHC goes beyond ensuring integrity. It also runs feasibility assessments, studies environmental concerns and human rights standards as part of the process. The IOC is expected to hold an election at the conclusion of the dialogue process led by the FHC, likely in 2026, where its members will vote to choose the host of the 2036 Games.

India’s march towards its Olympic ambition began in 2010, after New Delhi hosted a successful Commonwealth Games. The Union Government reformed sports associations through the National Sports Development Code (‘Sports Code’). With an eye on improving the sports ecosystem from the grassroots level, the Khelo India Scheme was launched in 2017. Under this scheme, the focus is on upgradation of sports infrastructure, development of talent, promotion of sports and sports academies.

Under the Khelo India Rising Talent Identification programme, there is a push to develop and identify talented individuals between the ages of nine to 18 years. The Committee formed for identification of talented individuals makes recommendations on Khelo India athletes who are then nurtured with support from the government. At the Paris Olympics this year, 28 Indian athletes who participated were Khelo India athletes.

States and events

Sports is a state subject, being included under Entry 33 of the State List under the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution of India. Among the States and Union Territories, Tamil Nadu leads in terms of infrastructure. Recently, the Government of Tamil Nadu announced a Global Sports City on the outskirts of Chennai. It is expected that it will have international facilities including a multipurpose stadium, football grounds, athletic tracks, an Olympic-size swimming pool, a velodrome, sports science facilities, a sports medicine centre and other sporting infrastructure.

Tamil Nadu has taken a leap when it comes to beach sports. Kovalam, a coastal town off Chennai, has been hosting international surfing events. Chennai hosted an international beach volleyball tournament in 2010 and an international sailing regatta in 2014.

Planning ahead

The biggest expenditure for countries organising the Olympics is from building sporting infrastructure. However, Paris capitalised on existing venues and facilities, thus reducing the capital expenditure.

According to the Union Government, Tamil Nadu has nearly 390 Olympic-standard infrastructure facilities; Delhi is second with nearly 161 and Odisha third with 153. Tamil Nadu, having hosted the South Asian Federation Games in 1995 and the Khelo India Youth Games in 2024, has invested in considerable sporting infrastructure. Similarly, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, hosted the FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup 2023 and showcased its world-class sporting facilities. By leveraging States such as Tamil Nadu, Delhi and Odisha, which already have sports infrastructure, India would be in a better position to advance a cost-efficient and eco-friendly bid to host the 2036 Games.

There is much at stake when India makes its bid to host the 2036 Olympics. Parties, governments and stakeholders across political or territorial lines must come together in the national interest. But, the leadership for this must come from the highest echelons in the Union government. India’s Olympic bid must necessarily be constructed through a collaborative and cooperative approach amongst stakeholders. States must be taken into confidence and a multi-stakeholder, representative committee ought to be formed to plan for India’s bid. By leveraging the expertise of States such as Tamil Nadu and Odisha, the committee should put forward its best proposal in line with the criteria devised by the FHC. Only such an effort would be in the national interest and a bid that is truly representative of the country’s potential.

Hateful, baleful

Assam CM is transgressing his oath by making hateful remarks against Muslims

Hate speech, especially by elected authorities and targeting a specific community, has been repeatedly flagged as a possible trigger for ethnic conflagrations and atrocities that could have catastrophic consequences. Politicians in India are well aware of this but this does not deter the most cynical among them from using hate speech to further a polarising agenda. A case in point is the Chief Minister of Assam, Himanta Biswa Sarma. The BJP leader continues to revel in making communally sensitive remarks, targeting the State’s minority communities. On Tuesday, he explicitly said that he would take sides against “Miya Muslims” — a discriminatory euphemism for the minority Bengali Muslim community — and would not let them “go to Upper Assam”. These remarks were in the context of a debate on the law and order situation after a gangrape of a minor in Dhing. During the 2024 general election, Mr. Sarma, in speech after speech, had used rabidly communal language to target Muslims, with nary a response from the Election Commission of India. He even said, “Islamophobia is real for many of us [Hindus]”.

By making these statements repeatedly, Mr. Sarma is going against the oath he took as the Chief Minister — that he will bear true faith and allegiance to India’s secular Constitution. He should be condemned for explicitly saying that he will side against a particular community. Second, by amplifying demands by groups that have threatened an entire community to leave “Upper Assam” and suggesting that the minority community does not have the right to free movement, he is furthering hate in a State which has been affected by ethnic violence. From violent anti-immigrant agitations to militancy and a flawed process of identifying “foreigners” that has brought misery to the poor, Assam has been through crises; some of those issues continue to fester. Instead of finding ways of reconciliation, all-round harmony and peace, he uses the cynical ploy of fostering division in order to reap the benefits out of the politics of hate. As actions in nearby Myanmar and the plight of the Rohingya show, repeated use of hate speech to characterise a minority community and the amplification of communalism have disastrous consequences. The Union government and the BJP leadership have shown no inclination to rein in the errant Chief Minister. Unlike party leaders who have been reprimanded for utterances targeting sections such as farmers, Mr. Sarma uses hate speech against Muslims. But if the government is serious about improving the lot of the Assamese people — the State has among the poorest HDI indicators in the country — it has to put an end to hate speech as a communally charged environment militates against all-round development.

Growth matrix

Economic outlook is evenly poised but reforms need acceleration

The first official gauge of the economy’s performance so far in 2024-25 pegs real GDP growth at 6.7% between April and June, a five-quarter low and below the central bank’s projection. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), which expects a 7.2% GDP growth through 2024-25 following last year’s 8.2% surge, had revised its estimate for Q1 from 7.2% to 7.1%, earlier this month. The actual numbers are underwhelming and mark a clear cooling in the economic momentum, although some base effects are in play. Growth in the Gross Value Added (GVA) in the economy came in higher at 6.8%, after a year of widening divergences with the GDP print. At the onset of this fiscal year, major hopes hinged on a normal monsoon boosting farm sector output and easing inflation, which could lift the weak rural demand and private consumption witnessed last year. Higher demand would bolster private firms’ propensity to invest in new capacities, and ease the pressure on public spending to prop up growth. That the government would still ramp up capital expenditure by 17% to ₹11.11 lakh crore this year, while it waited for this narrative to unfold, was the other pillar underpinning this year’s growth aspirations.

As things stand, this script is yet to fully play out. The stretched general election has sharply scuppered public capex, and the government will need to redouble efforts to meet its spending goals. The good news is that private consumption spends bounced to a six-quarter peak of 7.4%, partly thanks to easing headline inflation. But food prices remain elevated. The monsoon has been better than last year but a tad erratic and uneven, temporally as well as spatially. Farm GVA growth has moved up to a four-quarter high of 2% but the next few weeks will determine whether the sector rebounds in earnest (and food inflation cools). Projections of above normal downpours in September may well affect standing kharif crops. This is a key monitorable for the RBI, whose independent monetary policy panel members have flagged a 1% GDP growth loss this year and next, if interest rate cuts are delayed. India may still grow 6.5% to 7% this year, but most expect growth to slip to 6.5% in 2025-26, with the medium-term potential hovering around that number. This is too slow for comfort. As top IMF official Gita Gopinath pointed out recently, policymakers need to urgently pursue meaningful reforms across all aspects of the economy, and improve the efficiency of its institutions and the judiciary. This is critical to lift its growth potential and fulfil hopes of creating gainful employment for its young, fast enough for India’s demographics to yield a dividend.

Report and fallout

In the cases of sexual abuse being reported following the Justice K. Hema Committee report, the emerging fact is that the alleged perpetrators seem to be middle aged and even senior citizens. These are people with ‘political power, social status, money power, experience in the industry and even long-standing brand value’. If committees are formed in other States to investigate the state of the film world in each State, there are sure to be many more scandals to uncover and cases being filed.

M.C. Vijay Shankar,

Chennai

The Hema Committee report is also about other problems in the industry. But the media is focusing only on subjects that will drive TRP ratings and sell pages. What about the plight of ‘junior artists’? And the facilities at shooting spots? Will anything be done about these?

Bina Paul,

Kochi

A.G. Noorani

A.G. Noorani was a wizard in whichever sphere he was involved in (Inside pages, August 30). His inimitable style of writing and faultless delivery of speeches with facts and figures, particularly on legal issues, won him many admirers.

V. Johan Dhanakumar,

Chennai

His articles in Frontline , especially on the Kashmir dispute and the India-China border issue are treasures. They will help policymakers to reflect on the roots of such problems and even take corrective measures.

Syed Sultan Mohiddin,

Kadapa, Andhra Pradesh

Of particular interest to readers like me were his columns in Frontline where he covered extensive ground on a gamut of subjects. Largely devoid of legal jargon, they were as comprehensible to laymen as they were to those familiar with the subjects on which he expounded.

C.V. Aravind,

Bengaluru

The human cost of factory explosions

On August 21, a blast at Escientia Advanced Sciences, a pharmaceutical manufacturing unit in Anakapalli district of Andhra Pradesh, left 17 people dead and 36 injured. Since 2019, up to 119 industrial accidents have occurred in undivided Visakhapatnam district, of which Anakapalli is a part, leading to the deaths of 120 people. Harish Gilai reports on the alleged negligence and apathy by companies and the precarious lives of workers

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2 of 5 Y. Lovamma mourns the death of her husband Y. Chinna Rao, who was killed in an explosion at the Escientia Advanced Sciences manufacturing unit in Atchutapuram SEZ in Anakapalli on August 21. V. Raju V. Raju

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4 of 5 The Escientia Advanced Sciences Private Limited manufacturing unit where the blast occurred. V. Raju V. Raju

5 of 5 Many accidents are occurring in drug manufacturing companies because of issues pertaining to reactors. We have asked the factories to make safety gear mandatory for workers on duty. V. Anitha Home Minister

Lovamma, 28, led a hectic life as a homemaker in Vasettipalem village in Atchutapuram mandal, Anakapalli district of Andhra Pradesh. She would begin the day early, cleaning the house and cooking breakfast and lunch for her husband, Y. Chinna Rao, 32, and their two children, 10 and 6.

Chinna Rao worked as a painter at Escientia Advanced Sciences Private Limited, a company that manufactures active pharmaceutical ingredients and intermediate chemicals, in the Atchutapuram Special Economic Zone (SEZ), 3 kilometres away. He would help Lovamma get their daughter ready for school and pack the children’s lunch boxes. His shift began at 8:30 a.m. When the children headed off to school with their father, Lovamma would continue with her household chores. She would take a nap in the afternoon before her husband returned.

On the afternoon of August 21, while Lovamma was resting, she got a phone call from a neighbour. “Lova, mee aayina company lo reactor pelioyindi anta, velli choodu em ayyindo (Lova, there has been an explosion at the company where your husband works. You need to go there and see what has happened),” the neighbour said, her words tumbling out.

Eighteen hours after that call, Lovamma had still not received any information about her husband either from the police or the factory management. She learned that the explosion had occurred at about 2:15 p.m. on August 21 and had left 17 people dead and 36 severely injured. According to a press release by the Anakapalli district administration, 381 employees work at the unit though it is unclear how many of them were present that day. The blast took place when the workers were on a break.

Since 2019, according to the Anakapalli district administration, 119 industrial accidents have occurred in undivided Visakhapatnam district comprising Visakhapatnam and Anakapalli, leading to the deaths of 120 people.

‘Companies simply do not care’

The day after the explosion, scores of workers from various pharma companies boycotted duty and gathered at the Escientia unit. They were joined by residents of neighbouring villages. Speculation was rife that more bodies were stuck on the first floor of the building, where the explosion had occurred due to leakage of a solvent.

Lovamma, too, had parked herself in front of the Escientia unit gate at the SEZ, with her daughter nestled in her lap. She was desperate for answers. “What should I tell my children,” she asked, tears streaming down her face.

Lovamma’s mother, Satyavathi, said that the police had shown them a body that had charred beyond recognition. “They claimed that it was Chinna Rao’s body, but we are not convinced. We are hoping that he is still inside. Maybe he is stuck under something? Please ask the officials to search under the rubble again,” she pleaded.

The workers were furious. “A month ago, an accident had occurred at the neighbouring Vasant Chemicals. One person died. What lessons have the factories learned? Do our lives even matter?” shouted a worker at the gate as the police tried to pacify the crowd. Nearby, a group of women raised slogans against the factory management, demanding that they shut down operations. Two policewomen flanked them, asking them to keep calm, with little success.

The bodies of the people who had died in the tragedy had been shifted to hospital. But the family members of several victims refused to budge. They demanded an immediate audience with Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu.

“This is not an isolated incident. People regularly die in industrial accidents. Companies do not adhere to safety measures. They simply do not care. Until when will such accidents be allowed to happen?” a woman demanded to know.

Officials tried to convince her that Naidu was scheduled to inspect the unit and meet the relatives of the victims soon. “We will be here until he arrives,” she retorted.

K. Venkatesh, who lost his cousin, Pudi Mohan, in the tragedy, sat crumpled under a tree. “Mohan was only 19. He had joined the unit two months ago. He had completed intermediate education and enrolled for a degree programme in distance mode. Meanwhile, he wanted to help his family financially and joined the company,” he said, clutching a photo of his cousin’s body that had been clicked for identification purposes. The photo showed injuries to Mohan’s chest and left ear.

As the crowd waited for Naidu to arrive, Deputy Superintendent of Police of Parawada Sub-Division, K.V. Satyanarayana, tried to convince them that there were no more bodies lying inside the unit. He waved a list of the names of the dead and injured, as well as the names of the hospitals where they had all been shifted.

Seven severely injured workers had been shifted to a private hospital at Venkojipalem in Visakhapatnam, which is about 50 km from the accident site, while three more had been shifted to a hospital in Sheela Nagar in Visakhapatnam, about 35 km away. Sixteen injured victims had been admitted in a private hospital in Anakapalli town, about 20 km from the site of the explosion. The rest, who had sustained minor injuries, were shifted to NTR Hospital, Anakapalli.

All the bodies had been sent to the state-run King George Hospital in Visakhapatnam for postmortem. Some relatives refused to allow postmortems unless the government shut down the unit and paid compensation to the families.

Neela Devi, 19, had married Chiranjeevi, a fitter in the company, only six months ago. She is five months pregnant now and grieving the loss of her husband. “I want him back,” she cried.

Visakhapatnam District Collector M.N. Harendhira Prasad rushed to the hospital and told the victims that the government would help in every possible way. He announced an ex gratia of ₹1 crore to the kin of each of the deceased and ₹25 lakh to ₹50 lakh to each of the injured.

The blast and the response

A short drive away from the industry is the SEZ colony. Employees, people sitting at tea stalls, shoppers at vegetable markets, and travellers at bus stations all said they were shaken by the blast. Police personnel had been deployed along the streets and were busy relaying information on their walkie-talkies about the convoy route of the Chief Minister, who was scheduled to reach the factory by the afternoon.

The Atchutapuram SEZ is spread over nearly 6,000 acres, while the Jawaharlal Nehru Pharma City (JNPC) at Parawada, the neighbouring mandal of Atchutapuram, is spread over 2,000 acres. Both the zones house 200 pharmaceutical, chemical, and other industries.

Industrial accidents are not new to the employees or the residents. However, the accident at Escientia on August 21 was different. “The explosion was so intense that we saw body parts strewn around the premises,” said A. Ramakrishna, a worker, who was in the building that day.

Thick flames engulfed the surroundings, witnesses said. Videos of raging fires and pictures of disfigured bodies went viral on social media within minutes of the explosion, creating panic among the residents. The district police and fire department personnel rushed to the spot. A National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team was deployed for rescue operations by 5 p.m.

“We used some 14 fire tenders and around 50 personnel to douse the flames. It took us an hour to prevent the fire from spreading to the upper floors of the factory. We used boom lifts and cranes. We rescued 13 people after breaking the glasses on the third floor,” said Regional Fire Officer, Niranjan Reddy. Though the in-house firefighting equipment was in working condition, no emergency rescue team was present at the premises during the operations, Reddy said. The building lacked natural ventilation, he alleged.

L. Venkata Ramana, a senior worker from the unit, was absent on the day of the accident. He rushed to the spot on hearing about it. “I have never seen so many ambulances, firemen and NDRF teams chipping in for such a rescue operation. Many bodies were charred beyond recognition. I am very lucky,” he said.

The Deputy Inspector of Factories, Anakapalli, Narayana Rao, attributed the explosion to the leakage of MTBE (Methy Tertiary-Butyl Ether) solvent. “The MTBE solvent leaked from the pipeline flange on the second floor. It is highly inflammable and spread to the first floor. It might have come in contact with electrical panels, which might have caused vapour clouds, leading to the explosion,” he said. “The walls and pillars appear to have blown up under the impact of the explosion. People might have been trapped under the debris and died.” He described the incident as a “clear case of negligence by the factory management as it failed to stop the leakage.”

Chief Minister Naidu and Home Minister V. Anitha held a meeting with officials after inspecting the accident site. They also met the family members of the victims. Confirming to the media that “human negligence led to the accident,” Naidu promised stringent measures to curb such accidents. The Chief Minister and Home Minister said that the Escientia management were not cooperative and did not even respond to queries of government officials after the accident.

The police registered a first information report against the management of Escientia Advanced Sciences under Sections 106 (1) (causing death due to negligence not amounting to culpable homicide) and 125 (a) and (b) (endangering life or personal safety) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Suraksha Sanhita, which replaced the Indian Penal Code.

Led by Anakapalli District Collector Vijaya Krishnan, a high-level committee comprising the officials of the pollution control board, and of the revenue, factories, and police departments, has been formed to probe the incident.

A spate of accidents

The ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP)-led National Democratic Alliance government has blamed the previous YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) government for the lack of a proper policy to monitor industries, citing it as the major reason for recurring industrial accidents. YSRCP president and former Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy refuted the allegations saying the current government had failed to follow up on a government order brought out during his tenure to monitor industries closely.

The order directs every company to generate a self-compliance report over the safety measures being taken on its premises. One month after the report is submitted, a committee comprising officials from the labour, revenue, and other departments is to inspect the company to check whether the report is accurate and to make recommendations if needed. The government gives the company 15 days to make the required amendments. Later, it is the responsibility of the joint collector to visit the company and check whether everything is in place.

Less than 24 hours after the Chief Minister warned factory managements of stringent action in case of any lapse in adherence to safety measures, another industrial accident occurred in a pharma unit, Synergene Active Ingredients, at JNPC, Parawada, in the early hours of August 23, injuring four workers. Of them, three succumbed to burn injuries two days later.

The District Secretary of the Centre of Trade Unions, Ganisetti Satyanarayana, said though accidents keep happening, the managements rarely bother to strengthen safety measures. “After an accident, authorities form a committee to ascertain the cause and the committee publishes a report. Its recommendations are never revealed. Safety audits are never conducted,” he said.

The District Secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), Anakapalli, K. Lokanadham, said that in 2019, the YSRCP government had issued government order No. 62, which specifies which establishments under the SEZ and the export processing zone are exempt from inspections. He demanded that the present government scrap this order.

Industries have been the major source of employment for many people from Andhra Pradesh. Workers from States such as Odisha, West Bengal, Jharkhand, and Bihar also migrate to the State and work at factories at meagre salaries.

Tella Santosh, a worker from JNPC, said that he earns ₹11,000 monthly as a helper at a unit and works an eight-hour shift. “My work involves shifting load and helping engineers on duty. We are informed about the do’s and dont’s, especially on what to touch and what not to,” he said.

Suresh Kumar, another worker, said that he has been trying to obtain a visa to work in a Gulf country for a long time. Until that happens, he said he has to work here to earn some money. “A number of workers are here only because they are unable to get visas. Compared to India, safety standards abroad are much better,” he said.

Post back-to-back incidents, a high-level meeting was organised by Andhra’s Home Minister, who hails from the same district. It was attended by managements, representatives of various industries from the SEZ and JNPC, apart from members of workers’ unions. At the meeting, there were mixed responses when workers were asked about the safety gear they wear or the precautionary measures they take at these factories, Anitha said. Some complained that they were not given any safety gear on duty, while some said that they were provided basic gear, such as gloves and shoes. Some representatives of industries said that safety gear was given as an option, but workers chose not to wear them.

“Many accidents are occurring in drug manufacturing companies because of issues pertaining to reactors. We have asked the factories to make safety gear mandatory for workers on duty. We have directed them to provide basic training to workers immediately after recruitment. Besides, before taking up work, the workers should be told about the dos and dont’s,” she said.

Meanwhile, Lovamma found out the same day from the police that the disfigured body shown to her was her husband’s. As Lovamma went back home, Satyavathi, her mother, said, “I’m worried about my daughter. What will she do now?”

gilai.harish@thehindu.co.in

Business

- Core sectors grew 6.1% in July

- IPO bull run may continue as filings pick up momentum

- Chipset shortage to hit festival season white goods supply

- ‘Shriram Properties eyes ₹5,000-cr. sales’

- Chemfab Alkalis puts off caustic soda plan

- NCLT okays ₹3,330-cr. Dickey-Adani Coastal Energen resolution

- ‘ULI, OCEN to help reset credit access’

- Vistara to merge with Air India from Nov. 12

- Tata Motors introduces slew of urban mobility vehicles

- Adani Ports to buy $185 mn stake in OSV firm Astro

- ‘BPCL mulls ₹1.70-lakh cr. capex under Project Aspire’

- Fintech to enhance ease of living in the world: Modi

- Mahindra, Israel’s Sentrycs to develop anti-drone solutions

- Zydus Life’s Jarod injectables unit gets U.S. FDA warning

Core sectors grew 6.1% in July

The Hindu Bureau

New Delhi

Growth in electricity generation eased to a 6-month low pace of 7% last month, while natural gas production contracted for the first time in well over a year; Index of Core Industries lifted by 6.6% jump in refinery products, fastest rise in 8 months

Output at India’s eight core sectors grew 6.1% in July, rebounding from June’s five-month low pace of 5.1%, data from the Commerce and Industry Ministry showed on Friday.

The Ministry had earlier pegged June’s core sector growth at 4%, the lowest in 20 months, and the revision was largely driven by a sharp upgrade to steel output numbers, which now reflect 6.7% growth compared with a 27-month low of 2.7% estimated earlier. Electricity generation numbers were also revised for June to show a 8.6% rise, compared with 7.7% estimated earlier.

In July, electricity generation growth slid to a 6-month low of 7%, while natural gas production contracted for the first time in over a year, shrinking 1.3%. Coal output growth eased to 6.8%, the least in at least 13 months.

Crude oil output dropped for the third straight month, with the year-on-year decline deepening to 2.9%. Despite these weakening trends, the Index of Core Industries (ICI) was lifted by a 6.6% jump in refinery products, the fastest rise in eight months, and fertilizer output growth hitting a seven-month high of 5.3%.

Steel and cement production also gathered momentum, rising at a three-month high rate of 7.2% and a four-month peak of 5.5%, respectively.

Most economists noted that July’s core sector rebound was not broad-based. "The key segments that have driven the growth of core output in July are the oil refineries, fertilizers and steel,” said Suman Chowdhury, ED and chief economist Acuité Ratings & Research. “We expect core sectors' growth to average between 5.5% and 6% this year, given the pickup in public capital expenditure.”

IPO bull run may continue as filings pick up momentum

Ashley Coutinho

Mumbai

As many as 18 companies have filed their draft offer documents for initial public offerings in August, the most number of filings in a month this year and the third highest in a decade.

Top filings this month include JSW Cement, International Gemmological Institute, Hero Fincorp, and Manjushree Technopack. Each of these firms may raise ₹3,000-4,000 crore.

The IPO market has seen an upswing in the past few weeks, driven by strong market sentiment, liquidity, and stable macroeconomic factors, according to experts.

“The filings are a result of the buoyant mood prevalent in the market today, which can be seen in the subscription figures and listing gains,” said Pranav Haldea, Managing Director of PRIME Database.

Big winners

Fifty IPOs have hit the market in CY24, mopping up over ₹53,000 crore, data from primedatabase.com shows. Of this, nine companies gained more than 50% on listing day over their offer price.

Vibhor Steel Tubes and BLS E-services led with returns of 193% and 175% on debut. Eighteen companies are sitting with gains of over 50% based on Thursday’s closing prices, with Jyoti CNC Automation, Exicom Tele-Systems, Platinum Industries and Bharti Hexacom up more than 100%

“Recently listed IPOs have performed exceptionally well, boosting confidence among both companies and investors.

This renewed optimism is prompting investors to look at opportunities in the primary market and driving promoters to raise funds through IPOs. Foreign investors also favour India’s primary market given its potential for higher returns,” according to a note by Pantomath Capital Advisors, a mid-market investment bank.

Swift approvals

According to Mr. Haldea, there has been a tangible increase in the speed at which IPOs are getting approved and unveiled, with companies now coming to the market within a week or two of getting the regulatory nod.

“Reduction in approval timelines has helped and the regulator must be commended for this,” he said, adding that the pipeline for filings for the next few months looks robust.

Twenty-one companies have received SEBI approval for their IPOs and may tap the market to mop up over ₹19,000 crore.

Another 45 companies are waiting for regulatory approval. These companies can potentially raise more than ₹1 lakh crore.

(The writer is with The Hindu businessline)

Chipset shortage to hit festival season white goods supply

Aroosa Ahmed

Mumbai

Production has been impacted due to the delayed arrival of crucial raw materials.yorkfoto

A global shortage of chipsets is expected to impact the availability of consumer durables this festival season. White goods makers are experiencing delays in the arrival of components, disrupting production.

“We have started witnessing a sudden shortage of chipsets due to production issues. This will impact the availability of consumer durable products across categories and influence the festival season sales. There are also delays in the arrival of chipset shipments. The production issue and delays will affect stock availability across categories. It is difficult to predict when the situation will normalise,” Avneet Singh Marwah CEO of SPPL, an exclusive brand licensee of Thomson in India, told businessline.

Industry experts said there have been disruptions in the supply chain, with rising tensions in West Asia.

“Production has been impacted due to the delayed arrival of crucial raw materials, including chipsets, due to the Red Sea crisis. Companies that ramped up production earlier are likely to face a lesser impact. Alternative routes are being used for transportation, resulting in delays and increased shipment costs,” an expert said.

Muted growth

Durable goods makers witnessed muted growth in H1 due to the general elections and are expecting an increase in sales in H2. Manufacturers are expecting a growth of up to 40% this festival season. Original Equipment Manufacturers had increased their production capacity in H1 anticipating higher demand.

“The festival season begins with Onam in Kerala for which we have already announced the specially curated Onam Maharaja offer for our Kerala consumers. The offers include extended warranties and cashback to easy EMI and lucky gifts worth up to ₹95,000, and we will see the momentum of offers continuing through the next couple of months till Diwali. To add to the festival cheer, we have an extensive product line-up with intelligent AI technology that optimises performance and adds convenience. We expect 40% higher consumption during the festival season this year compared with last year,” said Kamal Nandi, Business Head and EVP, of Godrej Appliances.

“Consumers can expect some of the year’s lowest prices, with discounts ranging from 15-30%,” added Mr. Marwah.

(The writer is with The Hindu businessline)

‘Shriram Properties eyes ₹5,000-cr. sales’

The Hindu Bureau

CHENNAI

Shriram Properties Ltd. (SPL) has plans to double sales to ₹5,000 crore, triple its revenue and quadruple its profits by FY27, said Group CEO J. Gopalakrishnan.

“Our desire is to achieve what we did in the past 25 years within the next 10 years,” Mr. Gopalakrishnan told the media.

SPL has 42 projects on hand with a development potential of 42 million sq. ft. and it aims to double its inventory in two years.

Ssince RERA’s introduction in 2006, SPL’s sales volume rose 3.5 times to 4.6 million sq. ft. and value grew fivefold to ₹2,362 crore. Mr. Gopalakrishnan said. The firm’s annual handovers had risen fourfold to more than 3,000 units in FY24, he said.

Celebrating its silver jubilee, SPL unveiled a new brand identity ‘SPLNxT’ focusing on the mid-segment. Under this the firm aims to sell more than 20 mn sq. ft. in Bengaluru, Chennai, Pune and Kolkata. In Chennai, it expects to add about 6-8 mn sq. ft. in two years.

Chemfab Alkalis puts off caustic soda plan

N. Anand

CHENNAI

Chemfab Alkalis Ltd. (CCAL) has deferred the caustic soda project in Karaikal for the time being on account of a sharp slide in the global prices of the chemical compound.

“We have deferred our 250 tonne per day caustic soda project in Karaikal for now,” CCAL’s annual report quoted Chairman Suresh Krishnamurthi Rao as saying. “We will move forward at an appropriate time,” he added.

CCAL makes basic inorganic chemicals and PVCO pipes with units in Karaikal and Sri City.

The firm plans to double its PVCO pipe capacity at Sri City in FY25 from two lines to four.

“We intend to add three more lines during FY26, increasing capacity to seven lines by 2025-26 to meet the anticipated demand from government initiatives such as Jal Jeevan Mission,” Mr. Rao said.

“The market outlook for PVCO pipes looks quite robust with more State Government Boards commencing the usage of PVCO pipes,” he added.

NCLT okays ₹3,330-cr. Dickey-Adani Coastal Energen resolution

Sanjay Vijayakumar

CHENNAI

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on Friday approved Dickey Alternative Investment Trust and Adani Power Ltd.’s ₹3,335.52 crore (excluding resolution process cost) resolution plan for bankrupt Coastal Energen Private Ltd., which owns and operates an imported coal-based thermal power plant at Tuticorin, Tamil Nadu.

As per the plan, Coastal Energen’s secured lenders would receive about ₹3,330 crore, or 28.52% of the admitted claims of about ₹11,677 crore.

The consortium has incorporated a special purpose vehicle (SPV) to implement the plan.

In February, Dickey Alternative Investment Trust and Adani Power received approval from Competition Commission of India for acquiring the entire stake in Coastal Energen Pvt. Ltd. in a 51:49 ratio.

NCLT admitted Coastal Energen for the corporate insolvency resolution process via an order dated February 4, 2022 following a case filed by SBI and appointed Radhakrishnan Dharmarajan as the resolution professional

He filed the application before NCLT seeking nod for the resolution plan.

‘ULI, OCEN to help reset credit access’

The Hindu Bureau

MUMBAI

Shaktikanta Das ANIANI

Initiatives like the Account Aggregator framework, Unified Lending Interface (ULI), Open Credit Enablement Network (OCEN) will help redefine credit access, particularly for small firms and individuals, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das said on Friday at the Global FinTech Fest 2024.

“The Reserve Bank’s regulatory frameworks have facilitated new and innovative businesses to grow in an orderly manner. These regulatory initiatives reflect our commitment to support innovation with prudence,” he stressed.

Mr. Das said collaboration between policymakers, regulators, and innovators was the defining element of India’s fintech journey. The success stories in India’s fintech space like Aadhar, UPI, and Digilocker were the results of such collaborative efforts.

Vistara to merge with Air India from Nov. 12

The Hindu Bureau

NEW DELHI

The sun will set on Vistara on November 12 when the airline will move to the Air India brand with its flights carrying the ‘AI’ flight code instead of its ‘UK’ designator, and flight bookings too, moving to the latter’s web portal thereby completing the merger between the airlines.

Starting September 3, passengers will no longer be able to book tickets with Vistara for travel on or after November 12. Vistara will continue to take bookings and operate flights as usual till November 11.

The merger was announced by Vistara and AI soon after Singapore International Airlines (SIA) said the Indian government approved the plan for foreign direct investment in AI.

SIA, which held a 49% stake in Vistara along with Tata Sons, will now hold 25.1% in the combined entity in return for an investment of ₹2,058.5 crore.

Tata Motors introduces slew of urban mobility vehicles

Tata Motors unveiled ‘ innovative’ mass-mobility solutions, including the all-new Tata Ultra EV 7M, a green, zero-emission, intra-city electric bus. The domestic auto major also showcased a diverse range of passenger transport solutions, including the Tata Magna EV (bus), Tata Magic Bi-fuel (van), Tata Ultra Prime CNG (bus), Tata Winger 9S (van), Tata CityRide Prime (bus) and Tata LPO 1822 (bus)aimed at offering customised solutions in varied utilities and duty cycles.

Adani Ports to buy $185 mn stake in OSV firm Astro

The Hindu Bureau

MUMBAI

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd. (APSEZ) said it had agreed to buy 80% stake in Offshore Supply Vessel (OSV) operator Astro Offshore in an all-cash deal for $185 million, implying an enterprise value of $235 million.

The transaction is expected to be value accretive from the first year itself, the company said.

Astro Offshore is a global OSV provider, operating in West Asia, India, Far East Asia and Africa. It owns a fleet of 26 OSVs, including anchor handling tugs and flat-top barges.

‘BPCL mulls ₹1.70-lakh cr. capex under Project Aspire’

The Hindu Bureau

MUMBAI

Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (BPCL has a total planned capital expenditure of ₹1.70 lakh crore under Project Aspire — a five year strategic framework — CMD G. Krishnakumar told shareholders at the AGM.

This includes ₹75,000 crore for refineries and petrochemicals, ₹10,000 crore for green energy, ₹20,000 crore for marketing expansion, ₹25,000 crore for city gas distribution and ₹32,000 crore for upstream business. He said BPCL planned an investment of ₹1 lakh crore towards net-zero by 2040.

Fintech to enhance ease of living in the world: Modi

The Hindu Bureau

MUMBAI

India’s fintech ecosystem would play a significant role in helping enhance the quality of life for people worldwide, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said addressing the Global Fintech Fest (GFF) 2024. He added that fintech had played a significant role in democratising financial services in the country.

“I am confident that India’s fintech ecosystem will enhance the ease of living of the entire world. Our best is yet to come,” Mr. Modi asserted.

Mahindra, Israel’s Sentrycs to develop anti-drone solutions

Mahindra Group said it signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Israel’s Sentrycs Ltd. to explore opportunities for developing and providing ‘differentiated anti-drone solutions’ in India for civilian and military applications. “The MoU will focus on transfer of technology and manufacturing of radio frequency-based counter-drone solutions under the Government of India’s ‘Make in India’ initiative,” Mahindra Group said in a statement.

Zydus Life’s Jarod injectables unit gets U.S. FDA warning

Zydus Lifesciences Ltd. said the U.S. health regulator has issued a warning letter for its injectables manufacturing facility at Jarod, near Vadodara, Gujarat over manufacturing regulations. The warning letter issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) relating to its injectables manufacturing facility at Jarod does not contain any data integrity-related violations, Zydus Lifesciences said in a regulatory filing with the exchanges. PTI

Foreign

- Members at Pacific Islands Forum back joint police plan, maintain ties with Taiwan

- Harris defends her drift from liberal stance, says ‘values have not changed’

- ‘Powerless’ Venezuelans

- Pakistan conducts military strike in Balochistan, kills 5

- Taliban refuses to cooperate after UN slams morality law

- ‘Pakistan relaxed rules to award road contract to China’

- Israeli strike kills three Palestinians on the third day of West Bank raid

- Russian strikes on Ukraine's Kharkiv kill six, including child

- Turkiye arrests 100 suspected IS members in latest mass detention

- Germany deports first Afghans since Taliban regime took control

- Hasina’s leave from Bangladesh,leaving room for new power dynamics to emerge.

- China pushes rivals’ limits in regional disputes to expand its control

- Egyptian swirl

- Zelenskyy loses his shine in war-fatigued east Ukraine

- Brazilian SC freezes Starlink assets amid row with Elon Musk

- Far-left rebel seeking peace with Putin stirs Germany

Members at Pacific Islands Forum back joint police plan, maintain ties with Taiwan

Agence France-Presse

Nuku’alofa

Show of strength: Members of the Pacific Islands forum pose for a group picture in Neiafu in Tonga’s Vava’u on Thursday.AFPTUPOU VAIPULU

Pacific leaders endorsed a major joint policing initiative and rebuffed moves from China’s allies to sideline Taiwan on Friday, as they wrapped up a regional summit in Tonga.

Security was a focal point at this year’s Pacific Islands Forum, an unwieldy bloc of U.S. partners, China friends and states still tied to Taiwan.

U.S.-ally Australia convinced its Pacific neighbours to back a landmark plan giving it a greater role in training the region’s police.

The scheme would create up to four regional police training centres and a multinational crisis reaction force, backed by $271 million in initial funding from Australia.

Although hailed as a “godsend” by nations such as Fiji, others closer to Beijing were cooler on the idea.

“The only thing that we do not agree to is that it imposes conditions on our own domestic security,” Solomon Islands Foreign Minister Peter Agovaka said on Friday.

Taiwan stays

Critics suggested the deal was less about police, and more about carving up the region to keep China on the margins.

Such concerns were fanned when Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was caught joking with a top U.S. diplomat about going “halfsies” on the cost.

The forum’s final declaration endorsed the policing plan but noted some members may need to first conduct their own “national consultation”.

China’s closest Pacific friend, Solomon Islands, also spent the week agitating behind closed doors to effectively oust Taiwan as a development partner — ending three decades of participation.

Solomon Islands Foreign Minister Agovaka said the forum was for “sovereign states” and “not states that are governed by another jurisdiction”.

The final declaration blocked that idea, and instead “reaffirmed” a 1992 agreement that paved the way for Taiwan to take part.

China’s special envoy to the Pacific Islands Qian Bo reacted to the statement with disbelief. “It must be a mistake. It must be a mistake. You know, this is certainly not the consensus,” he told journalists at the summit.

“This should not be the final communique, there must be a correction on the text.”

The South Pacific was once seen as a bastion of support for Taiwan’s claim to statehood, but China has been methodically whittling this down.

In the last five years, Solomon Islands, Kiribati and Nauru have all been persuaded to switch to recognising Beijing instead of Taipei.

Beijing insists its diplomatic allies withdraw recognition of the self-ruled island. Palau, Marshall Islands and Tuvalu maintain diplomatic relations with Taipei, but face constant pressure to change.

U.S. territories Guam and American Samoa were elevated to associate members of the forum, also against the wishes of Solomon Islands.

Climate cash

Addressing the forum this week, United Nations chief Antonio Guterres threw his weight behind renewed Pacific efforts to drum up climate finance.

His climate call to arms was reinforced by a new report showing the Pacific’s coral atolls and low-lying islands are disproportionately threatened by rising seas. Tongan Prime Minister Siaosi Sovaleni, the summit host, said Pacific nations had resolved to hold a “global pledging event” to raise cash for a climate fund this year.

With a new headquarters to be based in Tonga, the fund is currently well short of its $500 million goal.

Although it did not feature on any official agenda, a push for deep-sea mining also generated heated discussion.

A company backed by Pacific microstate Nauru said it was planning to scale up ocean mining operations as early as 2026.

Other forum members, such as Palau, have called for a moratorium, believing lingering questions about environmental harms need to be addressed. Friday’s forum committed to holding an official “talanoa” — or dialogue — on the divisive topic this year.

Pacific leaders scored a small win on the issue of New Caledonia, where proposed electoral reforms this year stoked deadly unrest.

French press

A Pacific delegation is expected to embark soon on a fact-finding mission to the French territory, with the date yet to be set.

The French government was repeatedly chided during the forum for its handling of the ongoing crisis.

“We have seen lots of nice press about the French delegation throughout this week,” French Ambassador Veronique Roger-Lacan said.

Harris defends her drift from liberal stance, says ‘values have not changed’

Associated Press

SAVANNAH

The Democratic presidential nominee says she is seeking consensus as she tries to strike a middle ground on issues such as banning fracking and decriminalising illegal border crossings; she supports Israel’s ‘right to defend itself’ in Gaza war

Poll bugle: Vice-President Kamala Harris speaks at a campaign rally in Savannah in Georgia on Thursday.AP Jacquelyn Martin

Vice-President Kamala Harris on Thursday defended shifting away from some of her more liberal positions in her first major television interview of her presidential campaign, but insisted her “values have not changed” even as she is “seeking consensus.”

Sitting with her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, Ms. Harris was asked specifically about her reversals on banning fracking and decriminalising illegal border crossings — positions she took during her last run for President. She confirmed she does not want to ban fracking, an energy extraction process key to the economy of swing-State Pennsylvania, and said there “should be consequence” for people who cross the border without permission.

“I think the most important and most significant aspect of my policy perspective and decisions is my values have not changed,” Ms. Harris said.

The interview with CNN’s Dana Bash came as voters are still trying to learn more about the Democratic ticket in an unusually compressed time frame. President Joe Biden ended his re-election bid just five weeks ago. The interview focused largely on policy, as Ms. Harris sought to show that she had adopted more moderate positions on issues that Republicans argue are extreme, while Mr. Walz defended past misstatements about his biography.

Ms. Harris defended the administration’s record on the southern border and immigration, noting that she was tasked with trying to address the “root causes” in other countries that were driving the border crossings.

Asked about Israel’s war in Gaza, Ms. Harris said, “I am unequivocal and unwavering in my commitment to Israel’s defence and its ability to defend itself.” But the Vice-President also reiterated what she has said for months, that civilian deaths are too high amid the Israeli offensive.

‘Powerless’ Venezuelans

An employee in a cosmetics store during a blackout in Caracas in Venezuela. A blackout early on Friday morning left Venezuela in darkness, reported the government, which attributed the failure to a “sabotage” by the opposition in the midst of its claims of electoral fraud. AFPPEDRO RANCES MATTEY

Pakistan conducts military strike in Balochistan, kills 5

Press Trust of India

Karachi

Out of the blue: At least 50 people, including 14 troops, were killed after militants struck Balochistan during earlier this week.REUTERSNASEER AHMED

At least five terrorists of a banned militant group were killed and three were injured in ongoing intelligence-based operations in multiple districts in Balochistan following a string of terror attacks last weekend.

The security forces launched the operations after the banned Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) — a separatist outfit — claimed responsibility for carrying out at least four terror attacks across the restive province, killing about 50 people, including 14 security forces. At least 21 militants were also gunned down in the attacks.

The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement on Friday: “The security forces are conducting extensive intelligence-based operations (IBOs) to hunt down the perpetrators of these heinous acts.

“On the night [of] 29/30 August, in three separate IBOs in Kech, Panjgur, and Zhob district, five terrorists were sent to hell by the security forces, while three terrorists got injured during the intense fire exchange,” the ISPR said.

It added that the sanitisation operations would “continue until all perpetrators are brought to justice”.

Taliban refuse to cooperate after UN slams morality law

Agence France-Presse

Kabul

The Taliban regime’s Morality Ministry said it would not cooperate with the United Nations mission in Afghanistan, calling it “an opposing side”.

The announcement comes after the UN mission (UNAMA) warned that a new morality law — requiring women to cover up completely and not raise their voices — would damage prospects for engagement with the international community.

The Taliban Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice (PVPV) said that “due to its continued propaganda, the PVPV will not provide any support or cooperation with UNAMA, which will be considered as an opposing side”.

“We want international organisations, countries, and those individuals who criticised the mentioned law to respect the religious values of Muslims and refrain from such criticisms and statements that insult Islamic values and sanctities,” the Ministry said on Thursday.

Last week, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan, Richard Bennett, was banned from entering the country after joining other UN experts urging the international community to “not normalise the de facto authorities or their appalling human rights violations”.

‘Pakistan relaxed rules to award road contract to China’

Press Trust of India

Islamabad

Pakistan relaxed bidding rules to directly award a $2 billion contract to China for the construction of a strategically important road, according to a media report on Friday.

The Cabinet’s Economic Coordination Committee led by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Thursday approved to invoke a special rule to exempt the requirement for the international competitive bidding to award a contract to Chinese firms for the construction of a section of the Karakoram Highway, The Express Tribune newspaper reported.

The Thakot-Raikot section of the highway is critical to keep China-Pakistan connected through the land route.

Pakistan had signed the framework for the construction of Thakot-Raikot section of Karakoram Highway in June during the visit of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to Beijing. China will give a $2 billion loan for the project. The existing road portion will be submerged due to the construction of the Diamer-Basha, Dasu, Azad Pattan and Thakot dams along the road.

Israeli strike kills three Palestinians on the third day of West Bank raid

REUTERSRANEEN SAWAFTA

Israel said it killed three Hamas militants in an air strike in the occupied West Bank on Friday, taking the toll from the military operation now in its third day to at least 19. The UN warned that Israel’s military operation in the West Bank is “fuelling an already explosive situation” in the territory and pressed Israel to end it. afp

Russian strikes on Ukraine’s Kharkiv kill six, including child

AFPSERGEY BOBOK

Russian strikes killed at least six persons in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, including a 14-year-old girl at a playground. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia dropped a guided bomb on the city and asked Kyiv’s allies to take “strong decisions” to bolster his country’s air defence systems. afp

Turkiye arrests 100 suspected IS members in latest mass detention

REUTERSDILARA SENKAYA

Turkiye arrested over 100 suspected members of the Islamic State group this week, authorities said on Friday, the latest mass detention targeting the terror organisation. The country has been hit by several major attacks claimed by IS, including a 2017 nightclub shooting that killed dozens of people. afp

Germany deports first Afghans since Taliban regime took control

APKay Nietfeld

Germany said on Friday it deported Afghan criminals back to their home country for the first time since Taliban authorities took power in 2021, as Berlin faces pressure to get tougher on migration. The 28 Afghan nationals were all “convicted of serious crimes and had no right to remain in Germany”, a government official said. afp

With Hasina in exile, a rival family is set to take centre stage in Bangladesh

Agence France-Presse

Dhaka

Hours after the collapse of the Hasina government, her rival and two-time Prime Minister Khaleda Zia was released from house arrest; with Zia too sick to rule, her heir, Tarique Rahman, looks ready to take over; however, the students who led Hasina’s overthrow have no fondness for Zia either

Surging support: Bangladesh Nationalist Party activists gather near a poster of BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia, during a rally in Dhaka on August 7, 2024. AFP-

Two women dominated Bangladeshi politics for decades. One was chased into exile. The other is newly free from custody and too sick to rule, but her heir looks set to take power.

Ex-Premier Sheikh Hasina, 76, fled the country by helicopter for neighbouring India this month as huge crowds demanding an end to her rule marched towards her palace.

Hours after the student-led uprising sparked the sudden collapse of her government, her lifelong rival and two-time Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, 79, was released from house arrest for the first time in years.

Members of Ms. Zia’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) endured crackdowns and mass arrests under Ms. Hasina, who pointed to her Opposition’s cosy relations with Islamists as justification.

A caretaker government has run the country since Ms. Hasina’s ouster — but it has to hold new elections eventually, and now that the BNP has emerged from the underground, its members are confident of their prospects.

“People who supported us from behind for a very long time, they are now coming to the front,” Mollik Wasi Tami, a leader of the party’s student wing, said.

‘No political plans’

Interim leader and Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, 84, has said he has no plans to continue in politics after his current role is finished.

The students who led Ms. Hasina’s overthrow have no fondness for Ms. Zia either, and it remains unclear whether they would support a future BNP government or seek to form their own party.

But whatever they decide, analysts say that when polls are held, the BNP is the force with the cross-country network, the political experience and the drive to win.

“In the next election, whenever it takes place, the BNP has more appeal,” Bangladeshi politics expert Ali Riaz said.

Ms. Zia herself is too ill to assume the prime ministership a third time.

She has suffered from numerous chronic health complaints since she was jailed in 2018 after a graft conviction widely seen as politically motivated, whatever the charge’s true merits.

Ms. Zia has only appeared in public once since her release, in a pre-recorded video statement to a BNP rally in Dhaka from a hospital bed.

“We need love and peace to rebuild our country,” she told thousands of party faithful at the rally, held two days after Ms. Hasina left Bangladesh.

Her supporters are planning to take her abroad for urgent medical care, clearing the way for her eldest son and heir apparent Tarique Rahman to take the reins.

‘He will come back’

Mr. Tarique has led the BNP since his mother’s conviction while in exile in London, where he fled to avoid his own set of graft charges — which his party is now working to quash.

“When the legal problems are solved, he will come back,” Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, the BNP’s secretary-general, said.

Mr. Tarique’s visage already appears alongside that of his mother on the party’s banners and campaign materials, including at the rally held two days after Ms. Hasina’s toppling.

The fact that rally happened at all was a remarkable departure from Ms. Hasina’s rule.

The BNP’s senior leaders and thousands of activists were jailed late last year ahead of January elections that — without any genuine political opposition — returned Ms. Hasina to power.

The decades-old contest between Ms. Zia and Ms. Hasina is a dynastic battle that predates the political career of both women.

Ms. Hasina’s father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Ms. Zia’s husband Ziaur Rahman both led the country in the early years after its 1971 liberation war against Pakistan. Both were assassinated.

Both women joined forces in protests that ousted a military dictator in 1990 and then contested elections against each other the following year. They have alternated in power ever since, with their parties serving as vehicles for their fierce rivalry.

Ms. Zia’s first administration in 1991 was hailed for liberalising Bangladesh’s economy, sparking decades of growth. But her second term from 2001 saw several graft scandals — some implicating Mr. Tarique — and Islamist attacks, including one that almost killed Ms. Hasina.

Ms. Zia was also accused of steering Muslim-majority Bangladesh, and her nominally big tent BNP, away from their secular roots by allying with the Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami.

The partnership gave Ms. Hasina cover to persecute both parties by claiming she was fighting extremism — an excuse bolstered by several terror attacks during her time in office.

Alliance with Jamaat

Retired Dhaka University professor Abul Kashem Fazlul Haq said any collaboration between both forces risked antagonising the avowedly secular students who toppled Hasina. “They are aware that they will be hurt if they do politics based on religion,” he said.

But Mr. Alamgir, the BNP’s secretary-general, said the party was open to renewing the alliance if it boosted their chances of forming the next government. “The BNP will definitely look for victory,” he said. “If the Jamaat helps, then definitely.”

China reasserts its claims in regional disputes, pushes rivals’ limits

Agence France-Presse

Beijing

Pressure point: A vessel identified by the Philippine Coast Guard as a Chinese navy ship during a supply mission to Sabina Shoal. AFPJAM STA ROSA

China’s campaign of confrontation, from remote reefs in Southeast Asia to Taiwan and far-flung Japanese islands, is designed to wear down regional rivals competing with it for contested territories, analysts say.

Beijing in recent years has asserted its claims in the long-running disputes far more boldly as its military strength has grown.

The escalating actions — over islands in the East China Sea claimed by Japan, the self-ruled territory of Taiwan and the South China Sea — have also come, as Beijing’s rivals have drawn closer to the United States.

“[China] believes its strong-arm tactics are paying dividends,” Duan Dang, a maritime security analyst, said.

China has in recent months deployed military and coast guard vessels in a bid to eject the Philippines from a trio of strategically important reefs and islands in the South China Sea.

The latest flashpoint is Sabina Shoal, just 140 km west of the Philippine island of Palawan and roughly 1,200 km from China’s island of Hainan.

On Monday, Beijing said it took “control measures” against two Philippine Coast Guard ships that “illegally” entered the waters near Sabina Shoal.

Manila countered that Chinese vessels had stopped Philippine ships from resupplying their own coast guard vessels in the area — slamming Beijing as the “biggest disruptor” to regional peace.

China has for years sought to expand its power in the South China Sea, brushing aside an international ruling that its claim to most of the waterway has no legal basis.

In June, Chinese coast guard personnel brandishing weapons boarded Philippine vessels near the disputed Second Thomas Shoal.

The recent incidents have come as the Philippines has strengthened ties with its ally the U.S.

Mr. Duan said the pact might “deter outright war”, but Beijing still saw a chance to tighten the screws on Manila while Washington was distracted by the ongoing West Asia conflict and the uncertainties around its own presidential election.

However the Philippines on Thursday flagged the possibility of U.S. escorts for its resupply missions.

‘Push the envelope’

Chong Ja Ian, an associate professor of political science at the National University of Singapore, said China was trying to “wear down” Filipino resolve. Beijing is posing a “direct challenge to the Philippines’ ability to administer and make use of its exclusive economic zone”, he said. They are “trying to push the envelope [but stay] below the threshold of aggression”, he explained.

China’s recent assertiveness has extended far beyond South China Sea.

Around Taiwan, it has sent increasing numbers of fighter jets, drones and naval vessels as part of a strategy that analysts say is designed to keep the democratic island exhaustingly vigilant against a possible invasion.

China has also in recent years ratcheted up pressure over a disputed island group controlled by Japan in the East China Sea.

“People sometimes look at the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait and the East China Sea... as isolated,” said Mr. Chong.

“They are not. These are all areas where [China] hopes to be able to establish more control,” he said. “They’re trying to see how far they can push.”

The swing of things

Sight to behold: An Egyptian dancer performs the Tanoura at al-Muizz street in the old Islamic quarter of Cairo. The art form is an unique combination of Sufi whirling, Egyptian folklore and philosophy of life with the dancers representing the planets. AFPKHALED DESOUKI

Zelenskyy loses his shine in war-fatigued east Ukraine

Agence France-Presse

Kleban-Byk

Olena Semykina, the owner of a village shop in east Ukraine, voted for President Volodymyr Zelenskyy five and a half year ago, hoping the fresh-faced political newcomer would end the fighting unleashed by Russian proxy forces in 2014.

The screech of an artillery shell over her leafy village in the war-battered Donetsk region and the plumes of dark smoke billowing on the horizon suggested that her hopes for his first term had fallen short.

“We expected the war to end, like he promised. But the war hasn’t ended. There’s even more fighting. It seems to me that it’s become even more intense,” the 43-year-old said from the village of Kleban-Byk, where invading Russian forces are fast approaching.

Across the industrial Donetsk region some war-fatigued residents, like Olena who voted for Mr. Zelenskyy in 2019, have lost faith in the 46-year-old leader as Russia’s invasion grinds through its third year.

In interviews, Donetsk residents blamed him for failing to prevent the full-scale invasion in the first place, for daily speeches that felt empty or for being out of touch with Ukrainians living near the front lines.

Donetsk has been partially controlled by Russian proxy forces since they wrested control over swathes of the industrial territory in 2014.

Mr. Zelenskyy swept to victory five years later, promising to end the bitter fighting and stamp out systemic corruption among Soviet-style political elites.

His ratings are falling precipitously , standing at 55%, according to polling by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology.

‘Talks a lot, does little’

“To be honest, I don’t listen to him at all anymore. It’s pointless. I don’t believe in anything he says. He talks a lot but does little,” said Vadim, a miner in Selydove, another Donetsk-region town in Russia’s sights.

Mr. Zelenskyy’s first five-year term officially ended earlier this year. Under martial law, Kyiv cannot host elections, which would anyway face myriad obstacles with millions of Ukrainians abroad, living under Russian occupation or near active hostilities.

Meanwhile, Some in Donetsk were more sympathetic to Mr. Zelenskyy.

Brazilian SC freezes Starlink assets amid row with Elon Musk

Agence France-Presse

Brasília

Bitter feud: CEO of SpaceX Elon Musk (left) and Brazilian Supreme Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes. AFP EVARISTO SA

A standoff between a Brazilian Supreme Court judge and Elon Musk intensified on Thursday as the billionaire’s Starlink company said its assets had been frozen in the country amid a feud over the fate of his social media platform X.

The episode began on Wednesday when Brazilian Supreme Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes threatened to suspend X unless Mr. Musk named a new legal representative for the company in Brazil within 24 hours.

Then on Thursday, Mr. Musk’s satellite internet operator Starlink said it had received an order from Mr. Moraes that “freezes Starlink’s finances and prevents Starlink from conducting financial transactions” in the country. Starlink, which operates in Brazil, particularly in the Amazon, alleged that the order “is based on an unfounded determination that Starlink should be responsible for the fines levied — unconstitutionally — against X.”

The company said on X that it intended “to address the matter legally.”

Mr. Moraes, who also presides over Brazil’s Superior Electoral Tribunal, has spearheaded a battle against disinformation in South America’s largest nation, clashing with Mr. Musk along the way.

Several of the X accounts he ordered suspended belonged to supporters of Brazil’s former far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, who tried to discredit the voting system in the 2022 election, which he lost.

Mr. Moraes’s Wednesday decision escalated the months-long feud.

Far-left leader seeking peace with Putin causes a stir

Agence France-Presse

Jena

A radical far-left politician who wants to make peace with Russia’s Vladimir Putin looks set to play a key role in regional elections in the former East Germany on Sunday.

Sahra Wagenknecht, 55, born in communist East Germany to an Iranian father and a German mother, defected from the far-left Die Linke to form her own party, BSW, last year.

Ms. Wagenknecht has caused a stir in Germany by calling for negotiations with Mr. Putin, an end to the government’s support for Ukraine and a radical crackdown on immigration.

Despite a boost in the opinion polls, Ms. Wagenknecht’s campaign has not all been plain sailing; at an event on Thursday a suspect was arrested after she was sprayed with red paint at a rally.

“We will not be intimidated,” Wagenkecht said on X after the incident.

BSW won an impressive 6.2% in June’s European Union elections and looks set to pick up between 15 and 20% of the vote on Sunday in Saxony and Thuringia.

At a recent rally in her hometown of Jena, Ms. Wagenknecht spoke passionately about her upbringing in East Germany and “the fear that nuclear bombs could fall here in Europe”.

BSW wants to stop weapons deliveries to Ukraine and rejects plans to allow the United States to periodically station long-range missiles in Germany.

She also called for tougher immigration laws, days after a Syrian man allegedly stabbed three people to death in the western city of Solingen.

Sports

- Resilient Avani fires India to a golden start

- Alcaraz loses the battle against an ice-cool van de Zandschulp; Osaka falls to Muchova

- Golden points rule the day as U Mumba, Delhi win

- Goldies

- I focused on the thought process and not the result: Avani

- Sri Lanka collapses after Atkinson registers maiden century

- Preethi thrilled at being India’s first-ever track medallist

- Manish honours late elder brother with Parisian success

- Important results

- Respect in retrospect: assessing Dhawan’s standing among India’s openers

- STACKING UP

- Ingebrigtsen continues finding answers after losing the 1,500m plot in Paris

- Not a tightrope

Resilient Avani fires India to a golden start

Sports Bureau

The shooter betters own record set at Tokyo en route to defending her 10m air rifle crown as debutant Mona joins her on the podium; Manish, Preethi bring more cheer

1 of 4

2 of 4 Delightful day: Avani and Mona registered a unique double in shooting while Manish took silver and Preethi a bronze. GETTY IMAGES, REUTERSENG CHIN AN

3 of 4

4 of 4

Be it the Olympics or the Paralympics, shooting has seen encouraging results for the Indian contingent at the Paris Summer Games. Avani Lekhara, Mona Agarwal and Manish Narwal all made the podium on the first day of shooting on Friday.

Avani became the first Indian to claim successive Paralympic gold medals, defending her women’s 10m air rifle (SH1) title. Mona won bronze in the same event, making it a historic double.

Avani, 22, shot a superb 249.7 to erase her own Paralympic record of 249.6 set in the Tokyo Games three years ago. In qualification, she shot a 625.8 to be placed second. Mona, the two-time World Cup gold medallist, shot a 623.1 to lie fifth.

The elimination rounds were a tense affair. By the fourth round, Avani (187.0) and Mona (186.8) were in the top two spots. The latter overtook the former in the fifth round as the pair confirmed two medals. In the end, however, Avani's experience came in handy with Korea's Lee Yunri taking the second spot.

In the shootout, Avani began with a 9.9 while Lee shot a 10.7. But the Korean’s nerves took over as she managed only a 6.8 in the next while Avani shot a 10.5, sealing her second gold on the trot.

The Jaipur-born shooter had a challenging run-up to the Olympics, having gone under the knife for a long-standing gallbladder issue. That procedure forced her to take a break for a month and a half.

“It mentally hampered me because I am not training months away from the Paralympics,” said Avani in a video call from Chateauroux. “Even though it’s a small surgery, a lot of core muscles weren’t working the way they were before and so I had to work on that more. My team worked heavily to get me back on track.”

Fitting riposte

Growing up, Mona faced a lot of discrimination due to her polio diagnosis. She found her calling in shooting after trying out shot put, discus, javelin and weightlifting.

“In 2010, I left home to fulfil my dreams. At that time, my family objected and said it wouldn’t accept me or let me into the house again. But now they’re all celebrating with me,” said Mona.

The 37-year-old mother of two is excited to share the triumph with her children. “When I left for practice, I had to leave my kids behind. Everyday, they would video call me and tell me how much they missed having me over. They said, ‘GPS lagake ghar vaapas aajao.’ I cried at least once everyday speaking to them,” she revealed.

Manish, who won gold in the Tokyo Games in the Men’s 10m Air Pistol SH1 event, missed out on the podium top step this time. After lying sixth at the end of the first series, he slowly moved up.

After taking the top spot at the end of the third elimination round with a score of 158, he slipped to second in the fourth as Korea’s Jo Jeongdu overtook him. He maintained his second spot and earned the right to shoot for gold. However, his first effort in the final round was an agonising 8.9 to Jo’s 10.8. Manish never recovered.

In Tokyo, Manish had his elder brother Manjeet Singh by his side to celebrate his triumph. However, Manjeet tragically passed away in a road accident in 2022.

“Last time when I won a medal in Tokyo, we danced and celebrated the entire night. Now, I am missing him a lot. He’s gone but his memories are with me,” he said, struggling to hold back his tears. Manish had Paralympic Committee of India president Devendra Jhajharia by his side consoling him.

Earlier, Preethi Pal won India’s first medal on the Paralympics track with a bronze in the women’s T35 100m event, registering a personal best of 14.21s along the way. China's Zhou Xia (13.58) and Guo Qianqian (13.74) won the gold and silver.

Historic first

The 23-year-old Preethi, a farmer's daughter from Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh, significant physical challenges when she was born as her lower body was plastered for six days after birth. Weak legs and an irregular leg posture made her prone to various diseases. She underwent various traditional treatments to strengthen her legs, including wearing calipers for eight years from the age of five.

At 17, Preethi's perspective began to change when she watched the Paralympic Games on social media. But her life-changing moment came when she met Paralympic athlete Fatima Khatoon, who introduced her to para-athletics.

She qualified for the Asian Para Games last year in China, where she finished fourth in both the 100m and 200m sprints. She moved to Delhi to train under coach Gajender Singh and fine tuned her running techniques, leading to her winning a bronze medal each in 100m and 200m in World Para Athletics Championships.

Alcaraz loses the battle against an ice-cool van de Zandschulp; Osaka falls to Muchova

Agence France-Presse

New York

Huge upset: Defeat ended Alcaraz’s dream of becoming only the third man in the modern era to win the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open in the same season.Getty ImagesLUKE HALES

Former champions Carlos Alcaraz and Naomi Osaka were knocked out of the US Open on Thursday as the final Grand Slam of the year lost two of its biggest crowd-pullers.

Alcaraz, the World No. 3 and 2022 champion in New York, was stunned by Dutch World No. 74 Botic van de Zandschulp 6-1, 7-5, 6-4.

Osaka, who counts the 2018 and 2020 US Opens amongst her four career Majors, slipped to a 6-3, 7-6(5) loss at the hands of 52nd-ranked Czech Karolina Muchova.

Alcaraz had made at least the quarterfinals in his three previous appearances in New York. Thursday’s defeat was his earliest at a Grand Slam since a second round exit at Wimbledon in 2021.

Defeat ended his dream of becoming only the third man in the modern era to win the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open in the same season.

Van de Zandschulp said he was lost for words after only his second career win over a top five player.

“It was an incredible evening out here in my first time in the night session on Arthur Ashe,” he said.

“I tried to stay calm. You have to keep your head against these guys otherwise they will take advantage.”

For Osaka, her comeback from maternity leave remains stalled. She missed last year’s tournament after giving birth to daughter Shai but made up for that absence in the first round when she brushed aside Jelena Ostapenko for a first top 10 win in four years.

However, on Thursday the 26-year-old went down to a straight sets loss to 2023 semifinalist Muchova, leaving her without a third round appearance at the Majors since the 2022 Australian Open.

World No. 1 Sinner won his 50th match of the year when he defeated America’s 49th-ranked Alex Michelsen 6-4, 6-0, 6-2.

Women’s World No. 1 Iga Swiatek charged into the third round, routing 217th-ranked Ena Shibahara of Japan 6-0, 6-1 to record her 55th match win of 2024.

Swiatek saw likely semifinal opponent Elena Rybakina withdraw from the tournament ahead of her second round clash with 143rd-ranked French qualifier Jessika Ponchet.

Rybakina issued a statement saying she was forced to withdraw “because of my injuries”.

Golden points rule the day as U Mumba, Delhi win

Amol Karhadkar

Chennai

Pulling strings: Manav upstaged Sharath Kamal.M. VEDHANVEDHAN M

No contest in the Ultimate Table Tennis league’s fifth edition had witnessed five golden points — a unique feature of the tournament.

History was created and repeated at the Nehru Indoor Stadium on Friday as the double-header, which saw the largest turnout of the league so far, saw five golden points in both.

While U Mumba edged past Chennai Lions 8-7 to remain in the top four, Dabang Delhi TTC rolled over Puneri Paltan Table Tennis 11-4 to emerge as the table-topper (it has played one match more).

The golden point proved pivotal as the Mumba-Lions tie went down to the wire with veteran Mouma Das stunning Maria Xiao. Even the last match went to the decider as Mouma — with a Nataraj-like forehand sidespin serve — readied for her trademark forehand kill but Xiao managed to land a return deep into her opponent’s backhand side to force an error.

The only match that didn’t have a golden point was the one between Sharath Kamal and Manav Thakkar. Despite a sea of yellow egging the former on, Manav proved too fast for the veteran. But the home fans had their memorable moment when Sharath lobbed for most of the 17-shot rally before sealing the point with a forehand top-spin far from the table.

The home fans stayed back to cheer for G. Sathiyan, who converted two golden points to beat Joao Monteiro.

The results: U Mumba TT bt Chennai Lions 8-7 (Aruna Quadri bt Jules Rolland 10-11, 11-9, 11-7; Sutirtha Mukherjee lost to Sakura Mori 8-11, 10-11, 7-11; Maria Xiao & Manav Thakkar bt Sakura & A. Sharath Kamal 11-7, 11-10, 11-4; Manav bt Sharath 6-11, 11-8, 11-9; Maria Xiao lost to Mouma Das 10-11, 8-11, 11-10).

Dabang Delhi TTC bt Puneri Paltan Table Tennis 11-4 (G. Sathiyan bt Joao Monteiro 11-10, 11-6, 11-10; Orawan Paranang bt Natalia Bajor 11-9, 10-11, 11-7; Sathiyan & Paranang bt Anirban Ghosh & Bajor 11-6, 11-3, 11-2; Andreas Levenko lost to Ankur Bhattacharjee 10-11, 6-11, 7-11; Diya Chitale bt Ayhika Mukherjee 11-10, 11-6, 11-4).

Carlotta Gilli (Ita): Women’s 100m Butterfly-S13

Francesco Bocciardo (Ita):Men’s 200m Freestyle-S5

Tully Kearney (GBr):Women’s 200m Freestyle-S5

Erica Maria Castano Salazar (Col):Women’s Discus F55

Julio Cesar Agripino Dos Santos (Bra):Men’s 5000m-T11

Asila Mirzayorova (Uzb):Women’s Long Jump-T11

Raoua Tlili (Tun):Women’s Shot Put-F41

Jose Gregorio Lemos Rivas (Col):Men’s Javelin-F38

Xia Zhou (Chn):Women’s 100m-T35

Avani Lekhara (Ind):Women’s 10m Air Rifle Standing SH1

Jeongdu Korjo (Kor):Men’s 10m Air Pistol SH1

Korey Boddington (Aus):Para Cycling Track: Men’s C4-5 1000m Time Trial

Emily Petricola (Aus):Para Cycling Track: Women’s C4 3000m Individual Pursuit

Alexandre Leaute (Fra):Para Cycling Track: Men’s C2 3000m Individual Pursuit

Francek Gorazd Tirsek (Slo):Mixed 10m Air Rifle Standing SH2

Jaco Van Gass (GBr):Para Cycling Track: Men’s C3 3000m Individual Pursuit

Lizzi Jordan (GBr):Para Cycling Track: Women’s B 1000m Time Trial

Oleksandr Komarov (Ukr):Men’s 100m Freestyle-S5

Tully Kearney (GBr):Women’s 100m Freestyle-S5

Ami Omer Dadaon (Isr):Men’s 100m Freestyle-S4

Yang Hong (Chn): Men’s 200m Individual Medley-SM6

Maisie Summers-Newton (GBr):Women’s 200m Individual Medley-SM6

David Kratochvi (Cze):Men’s 400m Freestyle-S11

Liesette Bruinsma (Ned):Women’s 400m Freestyle-S11

Stefano Raimondi (Ita): Men’s 100m Breaststroke-SB9

Chantalle Zijderveld (Ned): Women’s 100m Breaststroke-SB9

Ihar Boki (NPA):Men’s 100m Backstroke-S13

Gia Pergolini (USA):Women’s 100m Backstroke-S13

Andrei Kalina (NPA):Men’s 100m Breaststroke-SB8

Anastasiya Dmytriv (Esp): Women’s 100m Breaststroke-SB8

I focused on the thought process and not the result: Avani

PTI

Shooter Avani Lekhara, who produced a record-shattering top finish in women’s 10m air rifle (SH1), spoke about the competition. “It was a very close final and I was focusing on my thought process and not the result. I’m happy that the Indian national anthem was the first one played in the arena this time too”.

Sri Lanka collapses after Atkinson registers maiden century

Getty ImagesSTU FORSTER

England took a stranglehold over Sri Lanka in the second Test at Lord’s after a century by fast bowler Gus Atkinson and another batting collapse by the tourists on Friday.

The scores: England 427 in 102 overs (Root 143, Atkinson 118, Fernando 5/102) & 22/1 in 7 overs vs. Sri Lanka 196 (Mendis 74).

Preethi thrilled at being India’s first-ever track medallist

Getty ImagesDAVID RAMOS

Preethi Pal, who won India’s first athletics medal in a Paralympics track event, was delighted. “This was my first Paralympics and I am yet to believe that I have won a medal. I am feeling proud that I have won India’s first track medal in the Paralympic Games,” said Preethi Pal.

Manish honours late elder brother with Parisian success

SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

Manish, who dedicated the medal to his brother Manjeet, said, “This medal is the reward of eight years of hard work.” His father Dilbag revealed that the death of Manjeet had sent the family into a shock. “Manjeet died after a water tanker crushed him under its wheels. Shikha (Manish’s sister) suffered the most due to the tragedy.

Men: Second round: 25-Draper (GBr) bt Acosta (Arg) 6-4, 6-2, 6-2; 10-de Minaur (Aus) bt Virtanen (Fin) 7-5, 6-1, 7-6(3); 14-Paul (USA) bt Purcell (Aus) 7-5, 6-0, 1-0, retd.; Diallo (Can) bt 24-Fils (Fra) 7-5, 6-7(3), 6-4, 6-4; Evans (GBr) bt Navone (Arg) 6-4, 6-3, 6-3; Mensik (Cze) bt Schoolkate (Aus) 6-7(4), 2-6, 6-2, 7-6(5), 7-6(3); 5-Medvedev (Rus) bt Marozsan (Hun) 6-3, 6-2, 7-6(5); van de Zandschulp (Ned) bt 3-Alcaraz (Esp) 6-1, 7-5, 6-4.

Doubles: First round: 2-Bopanna (Ind) & Ebden (Aus) bt Haase & Arends (Ned) 6-3, 7-5.

Women: Third round: 7-Zheng (Chn) bt Niemeier (Ger) 6-2, 6-1; 26-Badosa (Esp) bt Ruse (Rou) 4-6, 6-1, 7-6(8); 3-Gauff (USA) bt 27-Svitolina (Ukr) 3-6, 6-3, 6-3.

Second round: 22-Haddad Maia (Bra) bt Sorribes Tormo (Esp) 6-2, 6-1; 1-Swiatek (Pol) bt Shibahara (Jpn) 6-0, 6-1; Ponchet (Fra) bt 4-Rybakina (Kaz) w/o; 16-Samsonova (Rus) bt Bouzkova (Cze) 3-6, 7-6(1), 6-3; 6-Pegula (USA) bt Kenin (USA) 7-6(4), 6-3; 25-Pavlyuchenkova (Rus) bt Cocciaretto (Ita) 5-7, 6-1, 6-2; Muchova (Cze) bt Osaka (Jpn) 6-3, 7-6(5); Wozniacki (Den) bt Zarazua (Mex) 6-3, 6-3.

Respect in retrospect: assessing Dhawan’s standing among India’s openers

K.C. Vijaya Kumar

The left-hander might not always have received the attention he deserved, but his white-ball numbers, partnership with Rohit Sharma and impact in ICC tournaments place him among the country’s very best in ODIs. Reasonably effective in Tests, he was also an adept T20 bat

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India’s opening gambit in cricket is often seen as the hallowed preserve of four iconic batters. In Tests, there is no escaping the greatness of Sunil Gavaskar and the audacity of Virender Sehwag. And in limited-overs cricket, specifically ODIs, look no further than the genius of Sachin Tendulkar and the voracious run-appetite of Rohit Sharma.

However, in a team-sport, even if individuals gain a massive halo and inspire youngsters to follow in their footsteps, there is no escaping the need for a good partner. Gavaskar was blessed to have the obduracy of Chetan Chauhan, Aunshuman Gaekwad and fleetingly Arun Lal. Towards the end of his storied career, the Mumbaikar had K. Srikkanth as his aggressive counter.

Formidable alliances

Sehwag initially had Aakash Chopra and later the celebrated Gautam Gambhir, truly a Delhi troika with varying shades in batsmanship and temperament. Tendulkar, meanwhile, forged a formidable alliance with Sourav Ganguly, and later found in Sehwag, a kindred spirit. And for Rohit, look no further than Shikhar Dhawan. The latter slotted into that cherished ‘southpaw opener’ zone of ODIs, an area lit up by the finesse of Ganguly and the fiery blade of Adam Gilchrist.

For a generation of fans, the West Indian duo of Gordon Greenidge and Desmond Haynes was the go-to combination when it came to enduring openers, be it Tests or ODIs. Subsequently every pair that walked out, in whites or coloured attire, across the cricketing globe, felt the pressure of comparison. Still, Tendulkar and Ganguly, and their successors Rohit and Dhawan carved a space unique for themselves in ODIs.

Within this quartet of Indian batters, Dhawan perhaps never got the attention he deserved. Tendulkar was always the maestro, Ganguly, a feisty skipper, and both could bowl too, and that further embellished their respective legacies. At the other end of the spectrum, Rohit has always revealed a hunger for ‘Daddy Hundreds’, the kind that deflated rivals and set off Diwali fireworks in the stands; additionally, he is an astute captain.

Dhawan, who retired last Saturday (August 24) through a sweet video posted on his social media platforms, was perhaps seen as a lesser star, much like S. Venkataraghavan among the famous spin-quartet of yore. An individual shadowed by others isn’t new to cricket. The legendary Rahul Dravid had the dazzling brilliance of Tendulkar to contend with; equally, in vital partnerships, it was V.V.S. Laxman, who mostly walked away with the plaudits. Yet, Dravid found his path, formed his legacy and remains a bulwark in the batting pantheon.

Dhawan took his time to graduate to the senior India colours even if he was an outstanding under-19 player, soon expected to rub shoulders with M.S. Dhoni and the rest. The left-hander first turned out for India in 2010. It was an ODI at Visakhapatnam against the visiting Aussies. The salty air over the coastal metropolis was tinged with expectations and Dhoni fuelled it further by praising the imminent debutant Dhawan.

The opener, though, was dismissed for a duck. An expected growth story seemed to be vaporising even before the ink had dried on paper. But Dhawan hung in and made the same opposition pay a heavy price when he made his Test debut against the men from Down Under at Mohali in 2013. The result was a 187, all quicksilver runs, exaggerated celebrations, endearing smiles, and Dhawan was here to stay.

The opener’s life

Openers never have it easy, especially stepping out on day one, against fresh pacers on a surface yet to be judged, while the middle-order allows the teabags to gently infuse into cups of hot water inside the dressing room. And in the second dig, there is no time to rest sore legs after a long fielding stint and perhaps allow the mind to wander.

In the books on classical batsmanship, men atop the batting tree were expected to defend and set the base for the number three and four batters to cash in. Dhawan obviously was more in tune with the trend of modern openers setting an aggressive tone, both in Tests and limited-overs cricket. The graceful David Gower and the gritty Allan Border defined two ends of batting aesthetics when it came to the southpaws of the 1980s and early 1990s. Dhawan wasn’t someone who could be placed in this either-or classification.

He was unique in his own inimitable way. He hustled runs, cut, pulled, drove and often charged out to spinners and pacers, and was nimble enough to either press forward and loft or move sideways and whip one over fine-leg. Fielding restrictions in limited-overs cricket offered him the freedom to find untenanted spaces during the initial overs.

Placed tenth among India’s highest run-getters in ODIs, Dhawan finished with 6,793 at a fine average of 44.11, with 17 tons and a remarkable strike-rate of 91.35 further adding to his glory. He was a debonair ODI star, a key to India’s 2013 Champions Trophy triumph in England, and one who always found his voice in ICC tournaments.

More importantly, Dhawan forged a bond with his friend Rohit. If the Delhiite was all sunshine and Punjabi pop, Rohit was this laconic star, oscillating between the cover-drive and a desire to be in the shadows. They had meals together on tours, shared a good laugh, and this kinship spilled onto the turf. Together they stitched 5,148 runs, averaging 45.55, and are placed fourth in the all-time list of opening partnerships, one that has Tendulkar and Ganguly atop the pole.

In his element

But in Tests, with its added scrutiny, this desire to get off the starting blocks at breakneck speed often cost Dhawan his wicket. Still his 2,315 runs studded with seven hundreds in 34 Tests offered some welcome stability, often in association with M. Vijay at the other end. In T20Is and in the Indian Premier League, Dhawan was in his element too.

He was always ready, be it to open or to lead when his fellow batting stars skipped a few low-profile ODIs overseas. Much like Yuvraj Singh and now Mohammed Siraj, Dhawan always came across as this player who genuinely cherished the achievements of his teammates. It did not matter if he was in form or fighting for a place in the eleven, Gabbar was always in good spirits, twirling his moustache, slapping his thigh and teaching his mates some groovy steps.

Many bowlers too danced to his tunes on the field and it was no surprise that the great Dale Steyn congratulated Dhawan on a fine career. A late bloomer in international cricket, Dhawan finally ceded territory at 38. He will be remembered as this flamboyant opener in ODIs and a reasonably effective one in Tests. His tale will always be a story of respect in retrospect, and his teammates will miss him, at the crease and while filming Instagram reels!

getty images

Ingebrigtsen continues finding answers after losing the 1,500m plot in Paris

Reuters, Agence France-Presse

The presumptive favourite to defend his Olympic title, the Norwegian flamed out in his favourite event. But he has bounced back in style. After claiming the Olympic 5,000m gold, he has extracted a measure of revenge in the 1,500m and shattered the 3,000m world record

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Ingebrigtsen in numbers

3:26.73

1,500m personal best

12:48.45

5,000m personal best

4:43.13

2,000m world record

4 Major titles

(2xOlympic, 2xWorld)

7:17.55

3,000m world record

Jakob Ingebrigtsen did not raise too many eyebrows when he declared before Paris 2024 that he was the overwhelming favourite for the 1,500 metres. “If I don’t get injured and I don’t get sick, I think it’s going to be a walk in the park,” he said.

Ingebrigtsen has a habit of making grand proclamations. At just 18, he came up with “I don’t consider anyone better than me until it’s proven”, and last year he announced that his “goal is to become the greatest runner of all time”.

Addicted to winning

The Norwegian also walks the talk more often than not. A serial winner, he was seeking to match Briton Sebastian Coe, the only man to claim two Olympic 1,500m titles. When Ingebrigtsen raced to gold in Tokyo, he appeared untouchable in the event.

But nobody, least of all the uber-confident 23-year-old, could have foreseen back-to-back world championship defeats before Paris 2024. The first came in Eugene in 2022, when Britain’s Jake Wightman had the temerity to pass him entering the last 200 metres. A year later at the Budapest worlds, Josh Kerr delivered an amazing carbon copy for another British gold.

Ingebrigtsen, who like most elite athletes doesn’t digest defeat too well, was drawn into a war of words with Kerr. After coming up short in Budapest, he called Kerr “just the next guy”. Kerr later claimed Ingebrigtsen had “major weaknesses” and the Norwegian fired back saying he could beat the Briton “blindfolded”.

As a result, the 1,500m final in Paris, billed as a showdown between Ingebrigtsen and Kerr, was one of the most hotly anticipated races of the Games. Ingebrigtsen, who had strung together an impressive summer streak of 1,500m wins, culminating in a European record run in Monaco, was the odds-on favourite and appeared intent on stamping his authority from the start.

The Norwegian set a scorching pace early, aiming to both destroy his rivals’ legs and show them who was boss. But the approach backfired. Cole Hocker, Kerr and Yared Nuguse passed a flagging Ingebrigtsen before the finish, terminating his title defence.

After having lost the plot so spectacularly and being run out of the medals, Ingebrigtsen responded in the best manner possible. He accepted the defeat without offering excuses. “Well, I guess he [Kerr] did show up after all,” he wrote on his Instagram page. “Cole Hocker, Yared Nuguse and Josh Kerr outsmarted me. They were ‘the best guys’ when it really mattered. And I want to congratulate them all on a great performance.”

Instant amends

Ingebrigtsen then turned his attention to the 5,000 metres, determined to make immediate amends. He won Olympic gold with a fierce final lap, adding to his two world titles over the distance, and earning himself some redemption. He became the third man in history, after Paavo Nurmi and Hicham El Guerrouj, to win Olympic titles in both the 1,500 and 5,000m. Nurmi (1924) and El Guerrouj (2004), however, achieved the feat at the same Games.

But Ingebrigtsen wasn’t satisfied; the 1,500m defeat at the Olympics still rankled. Last week’s Lausanne Diamond League offered an opportunity to extract a small measure of revenge, given that he would race Hocker again. Ingebrigtsen duly regained his authority over the distance, beating the reigning Olympic champion by more than two seconds.

Ingebrigtsen accelerated to the front after the initial pace-setters faded, with a couple of American runners on his coattails. He led going through the bell for the final lap, Hocker tried to respond at the 150m mark, but this time there was no catching the Norwegian, who had stayed sensible in the early running. The 3:27.83s in balmy conditions was a far cry from his personal best 3:26.73, but it answered the questions Ingebrigtsen had been grappling with.

“It’s been almost two weeks since Paris so there was plenty of time to recover,” said Ingebrigtsen. “For me a lot of it has been mental, including going home, taking some easy days and then getting back to work. Tonight’s race gave me good answers and I’m looking forward to building on this for my next race and the rest of the season.”

Ingebrigtsen did build on the win days later, shattering the decades-old 3,000 metres world record by more than three seconds at the Chorzow Diamond League meeting. He finished in seven minutes 17.55 seconds, erasing the 1996 record set by Kenya’s Daniel Komen (7:20.67). It was the longest-standing men’s athletics world record in individual track events.

The 23-year-old was in shock when he crossed the line and looked at his time, putting his hands on his head in disbelief.

“It feels special, amazing. Based on my training, I can never predict exactly what kind of time I am capable of,” he said. “I would not have imagined I could run 7:17, though. At the beginning the pace felt really fast but then I started to feel my way into the race and found a good rhythm. [The] 3,000 is a tough distance. After four-five laps you feel the lactic acid but you need to get going. The conditions were difficult with the heat but it is the same for everyone.”

Hunting world records

Last September, Ingebrigtsen had smashed a 24-year-old world record in the rarely run 2,000 metres by more than a second, finishing in 4 minutes, 43.13 seconds at a Diamond League meet in Brussels. “It’s always fun to break a record but, to be honest, it wasn’t difficult for me to break this one,” he had said then.

The ambitious Ingebrigtsen has other world records in his sights as well, and science suggests he has what it takes to launch assaults on the best marks of all time. A study published in the journal Frontiers in Sports and Active Living, based on performance data gathered from elite athletes, claimed that Ingebrigtsen’s ability to quickly reach his maximum oxygen consumption (VO2) and maintain it through a race explained his dominance in the middle distances.

This particularity allows the Olympic champion “to run at a greater pace than his competitors throughout the race, even though we see him start less strongly,” said Amandine Aftalion, co-author of the study.

Ingebrigtsen tempered his tendency to make sweeping pronouncements, but only slightly. “It is truly amazing how we as athletes develop ourselves and we run even faster at almost every competition we participate,” he said. “Now I want to challenge world records at all distances, but it is one step at a time.”

Not a tightrope

Athletes compete in a high-altitude slackline competition at China’s Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, in this photograph.

Slacklining involves walking or running along a length of flat webbing suspended between two anchors, most commonly trees. Although it looks like a tightrope, slacklines — made of nylon or polyester — have significantly less tension and stretch and bounce, behaving in essence like a narrow trampoline.

Slacklining’s roots are often traced to California’s Yosemite National Park, where rock climbers used bouncy lines to improve their skills.

An independent sport with several disciplines and championships, slacklining also serves as a balance training aid in competitive sport, exercise and physiotherapy.

High-altitude slacklining or highlining demands a calm approach and discipline. A lot of attention is paid to safety.

Highliners double up the webbing with a safety system (a rope or another webbing), and attach themselves to both with a harness, a leash and a ring. As a result, falls involve small, protected swings in open air.

Weekend

- Stole the show

- Rings a bell?

- A meticulously-crafted vision

- Mari Selvaraj’s profound, deeply aching bio-drama is a masterpiece

- Lacks writing to complement its experimentation

- A gut-bursting nightmare

- A weird, disconcerting trip

Stole the show

Soma Basu

Embroiderer Annie Titus Mammen launches her first line of embellished pashmina stoles

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Annie Titus Mammen prefers to maintain a low profile. To the extent that the fashion designer from Chennai launched her first-ever Instagram page tambour.1985 just about three months ago. She has never had an outlet of her own to sell her product line. But it is her portfolio of work that leaves you wide-eyed.

“I have always done what I love to do — embroidery, and I remain busy with the orders of my clients,” she says. At a recent event in Delhi where she showcased her first personal collection of exquisitely decorated pashmina stoles in collaboration with event consultant Kajoli Sahgal, Annie says, “These are my first products that I can really call my own; something I could control from start to finish. The 53 stoles she displayed wowed the visitors who were privy to her day-long show in the capital and many were bought instantaneously.

After partnering with celebrated fashion designers all over the world for 40 years, Annie has finally introduced her own piece d’art. “I love to do things at my pace now. There is a different joy in showcasing your own products directly,” says the 63-year-old powerhouse of talent, whose product line sells only at Evoluzione in Chennai. “That way, I do not have to bother about marketing, sales or product promotion but only concentrate on my designer creations,” she adds.

Skilfully blending tradition with modernity, Annie says, she chose to paint and embroider on pashmina stoles because she finds the Indian market saturated with embroidered saris and dresses. “Also, stoles are light-weight, very utilitarian and easy to drape for all age groups,” says the designer.

There is colour, texture and flow in Annie’s stoles. Her creations are not loud or blingy but she uses subtle and elegant colours to connect boundaries between Nature, environment, art and philosophy. With extensive use of hand-sewn bees, insects, animals, birds, flowers, trees and words, Annie’s visually attractive designs are both sophisticated and playful.

Each dress, accessory or interiors that she has enhanced with her intricate designs in the last four decades are and have remained unique. And they had to: Because Annie has only crafted masterpieces for hallowed names such as French couture embroiderer Francois Lesage, Chanel, Balenciaga, Louis Vuitton, and more. “You will not find a copy of any of my work anywhere,” she underlines.

In the early Eighties when the first generation of Indian fashion designers such as Satya Paul, Rohit Khosla, Tarun Tahiliani, Abu-Jani and Sandeep Khosla were breaking into the global fashion scene with their creations, the young Annie was silently and simultaneously rising as an innovator with her skilfully crafted embroidery.

A The textile design graduate from Mumbai’s Sophia College and armed with a degree in Fashion Design from Philippines, Annie the then 21-year-old incubated an embroidery unit for export in Chennai in 1982. She was 21 then. Three years later she established her entrepreneurial venture, Tambour, that gained a reputation for embroidery from high end luxury brands over the years.

In 1985 she met the iconic British designer Zandra Rhodes, who gave her the first break. “Zandra wanted a beaded evening wear. I was focussed intensely on embroidery. With Zandra as my first business partner, I learnt a lot, perfected the skill, elegance and sophistication that go with designer wear because such was her requirement,’’ says Annie, who has worked with some of the best names in fashion, retailed at American luxury stores Neiman Marcus, and Bergdoff Goodman, and has a client list that includes Katharine, Duchess of Kent.

“Machines never touch my embroidery. Everything is passionately and painstakingly handcrafted,” she says. In 1993, she started working with Lesage and also partnered with Balenciaga.

For Kate Moss’ bridal wear designed by Lesage, Annie worked on the wedding veil while the trousers she crafted for Balenciaga were worn by Beyonce. Annie has done Schiaparelli bridal wear and specifically recalls a gown with 2,500 embroidered flowers of 14 types done with French knots and needles. For another client in France, she reproduced Napolean’s chair in Louvre.

She was also associated with Jean Francois Lesage’s projects for the king of Thailand that included redoing the royal guest chambers for hosting Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip. For the 300th anniversary celebrations of St.Paul’s Cathedral, London, she created all vestments for the event including the frontal altar. They are still in use, she says. When businesses took a hit during the pandemic, Annie was busy embroidering on leather jackets for a design house in Italy.

“For all the creative work I do, I never get to see, feel or touch the final product. My core work is exporting my embroideries for bridal wear and haute couture; the clients are all private, mostly veiled in secrecy,” she says and adds, “it has been a satisfying journey for me to get my work into the world and connect with the right people to unlock exciting new projects.”

Rings a

Shilajit Mitra

The sophomore season of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power brings on Sauron — not the skull-helmeted demi-god of the film trilogy, but a complex schemer and manipulator

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4 of 4 (Clockwise from right) Poster of the second season of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power; Charlie Vickers as Annatar/Sauron; and Charlie Vickers and Charles Edwards. Special arrangement and Twitter/The Lord of the Rings on Prime Twitter/The Lord of the Rings on Prime

What would JRR Tolkien have made of modern Singapore? The island city-state, with its feats of urban greenification, would have certainly struck the dreamer of Middle-earth. He would have also paused, one imagines, below those tall, scraggly ‘supertrees’ that loom in the bayfront area — but do not of course walk, unlike the Ents of Tolkien’s imaginings. Such thoughts flickered through my mind on a recent trip to the garden city, while covering the premiere of the second season of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, streaming episodically on Prime Video.

Between frequent detours to Chinatown and other food-and-culture hubs across the city, we catch up with the show’s cast and crew. The first season, released in 2022 and culled from Tolkien’s appendices in his epic novel, confidently stacked up multiple dramatic pieces. But now the Jenga tower sways precariously, and all eyes are on Sauron (Charlie Vickers). Initially introduced as a castaway named Halbrand, the supposed king of the Southlands, his revelation as the uber-villain of epic high fantasy left observers reeling. It lurches the show into a darker, twistier terrain.

“In the new season, we see Sauron going to Eregion to meet Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards), who is the Leonardo da Vinci of the elves,” says showrunner JD Payne, who has created the series with Patrick McKay.

“We get to watch him seduce, manipulate and ultimately gaslight Celebrimbor. That process of driving someone to insanity in order to get them to do what you want…that’s where a good thriller really lives.”

There were hints, in the first season, of a complex dynamic brewing between Sauron and the elven-smith Celebrimbor. It is a relationship built on flattery, egoism, and toxic co-dependency. As with Halbrand, the guise he donned to manipulate the elven warrior Galadriel (Morfydd Clark), the dark lord assumes a new form before Celebrimbor; that of Annatar (The Lord of the Gifts), an angelic emissary, or so he says, of the divine Valar. He is the Steve Jobs of the Second Age, stopping at nothing before the ultimate ring — the One Ring — is forged.

Payne expands on rooting the new season in character psychology. “We have all known, whether in romantic relationships or friendships or work relationships, someone who has that tendency where they can use you without any remorse,” he says. “As we watch Sauron pick apart Celebrimbor’s sanity, it’s a harrowing thing to experience.”

None of which, of course, has rubbed off on the actors playing these two characters. Off-screen, Vickers and Edward share an easy bonhomie, going off on tangents and even completing each other’s sentences. Despite their age difference — Charlie is 31, Charles is 54 — they sound like old chums. “From the beginning, there was a genuine understanding between us,” says Charlie. “We have been doing this for five years now,” adds Charles. “Our scenes in the new season are restricted to one set. We both approach our scenes in a low-key way… not low-key as in lazy, we are both quite detailed and perfectionist in our ways. But there’s a real ease that we share.”

Sauron’s manipulation of Celebrimbor is the epochal event that sets the LOTR mythos into motion. “If there was a huge boulder sitting on the top of a hill, we are giving it the first push,” says Charles. It is also the first instance when, in earnest, we get to glimpse a more earthbound side to Sauron — not the outsized, skull-helmeted demi-god of the film trilogy, but a complex schemer and shape-shifter. All he wants, really, is to bend and organise Middle-earth to his will. Is OCD-ing (at such an extreme) all that evil? “I want to bring the level of complexity to Sauron that Tolkien wrote about,” Charlie says. “It’s not a tokenistic portrayal where he’s made to appear three-dimensional just for the sake of it. Tolkien was very detailed about how, in this age, Sauron wanted to heal and re-order Middle-earth. For me, the whole character comes from that side of his personality.”

I ask them what a Sauron-Celebrimbor spin-off would look like. This prompts a brainwave that shaves my interview time by half. “Maybe we can be neighbours in a small village in the Southlands, with a pub nearby,” Charles ventures animatedly. “Right, but you will be very wealthy, Celebrimbor, with a large house and a garden,” Charlie shoots back. “Maybe I can be your gardener. We can call it The Gardens of Power.”

The writer was in Singapore on the invitation of Amazon Prime Video.

The first three episodes of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2 are streaming on Prime Video.

A meticulously-crafted vision

Gopinath Rajendran

Thanks to an impressive ensemble cast, PS Vinothraj’s sophomore feature is even better than his debut Koozhangal

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After what is the best scene of Kottukkaali when the film and its cast’s emotions hit a crescendo, a passive Meena (a brilliant Anna Ben) climbs into an auto, waiting for her time to come. Her eyes brim with tears, like a dam operating at the brink of its capacity, but not a drop jumps out to soothe her thwacked cheeks; in her books, that would mean conceding defeat. This is one among several endearing moments in director PS Vinothraj’s sophomore feature which is even better than his debut Koozhangal — India’s entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 94th Academy Awards — showing us that all the critical acclaim that came his way was no flash in the pan.

In many ways, Kottukkaali shares multiple parallels with Koozhangal: both are, in a way, travel films, capturing the trials and tribulations of a family, and both films start bang in the thick of the action. Just like the travellers moving from one place to another, the story expands to share more details with us as the film progresses. In a long montage, we see Meena’s family getting ready for a short trip; water bottles are filled, a scooter is rented and a man preps his auto for the long haul. As the family embarks on the journey, we learn that they believe Meena is ‘under the spell’ of her lover who we never meet. Said to be someone from an oppressed caste, this enrages the entire family, especially Pandi (an explosive Soori), whom she is betrothed to and this leads to her being dragged to a shaman to ‘deal with it’.

Akin to Koozhangal again, there is blatant sexism and chauvinism distilled through generations of patriarchy and filtered through centuries of caste pride. But unlike the earlier film which took its time to deliver the core message, Kottukkaali is flagrant about what it wants to put out. What makes Vinothraj a voice to reckon with, just like his contemporaries like Pa Ranjith and Mari Selvaraj, is how brilliantly he uses his prowess over cinematic language to write a story with which he evokes a myriad emotions within us. Apart from the basics like the red rooster being a parallel to the red dress-sporting Meena — both want to escape and enjoy their freedom but are tied down to sacrifice themselves — Vinothraj lets you connect the dots and read between the lines. Neither does he want to provide a solution to the issue at hand, nor does he take cinematic liberties that would have pulled us out of this masterpiece garbed in reality.

While most of the films’ first slides thank the makers’ kins or the almighty, Vinothraj thanks Nature and his film shows you why. Apart from being a silent spectator to the happenings within Meena and Pandi’s families, it provides wonderful metaphors for the filmmaker to drive home his crucial points. In a scene that is equal parts hilarious and heartening for us, a fierce bull blocks the road and the men have no luck going past him; finally, a young girl lures the bull out of the way with words of affirmation. Like the rooster and the bull, Meena is Nature personified, unwilling to yield to the demands of mortal men.

Vinothraj does a splendid job of explaining how this group of men and women, with their own problems to deal with, come together in the name of family to solve what they think is a bigger predicament. Right from one person dealing with an insect bite while relieving himself in the morning, to another coping with a runaway father, their personal problems sound insurmountable. But somehow, they all converge on the idea of having everything in their control and taking brute measures if things go haywire. The film accentuates this with a fantastic scene where the men flex their brawn to lift an auto. They are so naturally disruptive, that even to ring the temple bell, they would rather shake the very pole the bells are attached to.

But thanks to the writing, this fragmental display of masculine arrogance gets thwarted with ease as they are shown to be those who can’t even control their bladders, start an auto, or deal with a fly in the eye; that is when the family’s women rise to the occasion with comparatively amicable and saner approaches. But despite their voices being silenced by that of men whose rules dictate that a menstruating woman can’t enter a temple premises, the women also end up being the flag-bearers of regressive beliefs. Vinothraj even takes humorous digs at the men’s crumbling egos as Nature does everything it can to delay their journey; there’s a hilarious throwaway line on how a character attributes his friend’s immense growth in life to the time his father shed his trousers.

The technical choices the makers have opted for also make Kottukkaali an experience to remember. With no background score, the camera work, at times, makes us one among the family members with its super-tight shots, or turns us into a mere spectator with its static shots as the characters whiz through the frames. I couldn’t help but muster a chuckle when the film, produced by Sivakarthikeyan, uses the ‘Othaiyadi Pathayila’ track from Kanaa, another film bankrolled by the actor, in a pivotal scene.

Apart from an intriguing plot accented by a terrific supporting cast, it is Anna Ben and Soori’s career-best performances that elevate Kottukkaali into one of this year’s best films. Both their characters have to carry the burden of resentment and exasperation, a product of multiple quarrels that would have unfolded before the film’s happenings, which explains the wrath of Pandi and why Meena is the ‘kottukkaali’, the adamant one. With just one piece of dialogue in the entire film, Anna pulls off the steadfast nature and unwavering spirit of Meena admirably; Vinothraj shows how she always has a way of getting things to work, with a quick shot of her loose ring that’s made to fit by looping a little thread through it. On the other side, Soori is anger personified as the black-shirted Pandi whose volatile nature comes to the fore for the smallest of things.

Without being pompous about its themes, Kottukkaali excels at showcasing a day in the life of a dysfunctional family doused with patriarchal norms. While the open-ended climax might feel divisive, it also opens a realm of possible outcomes that the filmmaker generously lets us pick one from. In an industry where directors suffer from the sophomore curse, Vinothraj delivers a more well-rounded second film, and proves that he’s here to stay... and win.

Kottukkaali is currently running in theatres

Mari Selvaraj’s profound, deeply aching bio-drama is a masterpiece

Bhuvanesh Chandar

Burdened beyond his years, a tender-hearted boy from a world far removed from contemporary cinema discourse sits at his bench in school. With the naivities of the age tussling inexplicable feelings he is suddenly brushed with, he takes out a pink, embroidered handkerchief from his pocket and takes a whiff. Akin to the presence of the person who gave it to him, the cotton too transports him to a world of comfort. The situation, what the cloth means to him in that scenario, and the relief he feels from it, sends him a cold shiver. In Vaazhai, we see a slow-motion close-up of his feet, letting go of the cold stone floor underneath, and clenching the wooden footrest under his desk.

This is just one of the countless moments in the film that make you ponder if cinema could, after all, make you feel the mud under your feet or the pangs of hunger on a sunny day. In his most personal work yet, director Mari Selvaraj displays exceptional control over his film language.

Through the three feature films and his written work, including Marakkave Ninaikkiren, Mari has attempted to ease himself of all the pain he had been carrying. Vaazhai is a tale inspired by a deep-seated trauma that had become the bedrock for who he has grown to become.

Everything in Mari’s world of Vaazhai is meticulously-crafted from life, and at its centre is Mari himself, an inspired, fictionalised version — as Sivanaindhan a.k.a Sivanenjam (Ponvel), who lives in the village of Karunkulam with his sister Vembu (Dhivya Duraisamy) and mother (Janaki). When we first see this child, he wets his pants after a nightmare, fearing the worst. For any other child, anxious bells would ring at the thought of going to school every Monday; but this was a Friday night. Sivanaindhan is petrified of the weekends, as he has to join fellow community members to carry heaps of plantain at a plantation, an assignment he would avoid even by impaling his foot with a thorn to get excused.

School is where he gets to be who he is: a child. So he scores A-grades with ease and indulges in shenanigans with Sekar (Raghul), Sivanaindhan’s partner-in-crime. School is also where he can meet Poongodi (Nikhila Vimal), a teacher Sivananindhan is smitten with. In her, he finds someone who accepts him for who he is, and sees a mother who does not punish him but rewards his honesty. To us, Poongodi reflects the larger society that is distanced beyond measure from the reality of Sivanaindhan.

The scenes featuring Sivanaindhan, Sekar and Poongodi are tender and endearing. Mari’s writing shines as he pairs even this idea with a poignant counterpart in the film. In the very first scene, we see Sivanaindhan dance merrily at a funeral — death in the community means he need not go to the plantation.

But Vaazhai isn’t just a story about a childhood lost in duelling against the plantain heaps; it unfurls itself through the story of Kani (Kalaiyarasan), a communist who fights for the rights of the plantation workers against an exploitative boss and his lackeys. As this subplot evolves, Sivanaindhan becomes more than a boy stuck between two worlds, as he witnesses the agonising horrors of his reality.

Vaazhai is as measured a story gets to be told in modern-day mainstream cinema. From how the frames are composed to how shots are juxtaposed, it’s poetry in motion. With Theni Eswar’s frames, Mari shows us his mesmerising world with humans, birds, ponds and cattle living as one, as if to portray how man’s greed disrupts all peace on Earth. In one scene, the grunting calls of a swarm of red-naped ibis birds flying above are intercut with a dreadful turn of events as an ominous sign. Sounds and music become tools to punctuate moments, and composer Santhosh Narayanan becomes both an orchestra conductor and a soothing whisperer.

With Vaazhai, Mari Selvaraj — apart from showing you who he is — makes you smile, laugh, think, and leaves you with a lump in your throat. In the end, when you see Sivanaindhan, you will wish you could comfort him however you can. And so, it’s a reminder that Sivanaindhaan does live in our world, and one hopes that making this artwork gave him some relief.

Vaazhai is currently running in theatres

Lacks writing to complement its experimentation

SR Praveen

Barring some glorious exceptions, an utter pointlessness marks zillion vlogs that get uploaded online every day. Often documented for the viewing pleasure of the public are the mundane details from the daily lives of the vloggers. But, some of them do spring surprises for those patient enough to sit through the uneventful visuals.

In his debut directorial, film editor Saiju Sreedharan uses the found footage of a vlogger couple (Vishak Nair and Gayathri Ashok) to tell a story which if told in the conventional form might not have much of a novelty. This being the format, the film has its share of inconsequential sequences from their daily lives, but it at the same time gives one the feel of being a part of the risky adventures they embark on.

Right from the beginning, the film gives us a clue about their habit of prying on the lives of others. The couple also compulsively documents their intimate moments, quite a few of which does not have much to do with the narrative. While the first half of the film is made up of visuals from the man’s camera, the latter half takes us through the same scenarios using visuals from the woman’s camera, filling in the many gaps in her partner’s visuals. The duo, with their cameras running, follows a mysterious woman (Manju Warrier) living in their apartment complex, inevitably landing in trouble.

Saiju, who has edited some of the best known films of the past decade including Maheshinte Prathikaaram, Kumbalangi Nights and Virus, leans heavily on the experimental element to take forward the narrative, which is not helped much by the sparse screenplay and thin material. With the central characters never letting go of the camera, even when they are in danger, there are a lot of visuals which convey the immediacy of the danger they are facing.

Some of the standout sequences include a close encounter with wild elephants and those inside a rusty old boat in the middle of the forest. The intricate sound design adds to the effect of these scenes; the songs from post-rock band Aswekeepsearching makes some pointless scenes worthwhile.

Manju Warrier, who is introduced as a mysterious woman, remains so even in the end, because her character is quite under-written. She does not have a line of dialogue in the film, but we are not even sure whether she is mute or whether she chooses to communicate with handwritten notes. The revenge drama at the centre is plainly run-of-the mill, and would not have stood on its own.

With some better writing to complement its experimentation, Footage, one of the first feature films in the found footage genre in Malayalam, might have left a lasting impression.

Footage is currently running in theatres

A gut-bursting nightmare

Ayaan Paul Chowdhury

With Romulus, Fede Álvarez delivers a carnally charged, visually stunning, and unrelentingly brutal entry that pays homage to its illustrious predecessors

The Alien franchise has long thrived on the malleability of its basic premise: place unsuspecting humans in a confined space with a perfect predator, and then watch as dread, despair, and a whole lot of gore ensue. Yet, with each instalment, this simple formula has been filtered through the distinctive lenses of its directors. From Ridley Scott’s claustrophobic original, a haunting meditation on isolation and corporate indifference, to James Cameron’s bombastic, adrenaline-fueled sequel, each film has stamped its own aesthetic and thematic imprint on the franchise. Now, the modern godfather of the grotesque, Fede Álvarez, has sculpted his vision of the franchise into a psychosexual nightmare which embraces its roots with both ooze-soaked hands and yanks us into a relentless, viscerally charged cinematic experience that redefines the potential for nostalgia-fuelled franchise instalments.

Set between the events of Scott’s Alien and Cameron’s Aliens, what Romulus brings to the table is not reinvention, but refinement. The seasoned Uruguayan purveyor of horror behind Evil Dead and Don’t Breathe, embraces the franchise’s legacy with fangirl enthusiasm, and helps Romulus find its footing by sidestepping the pitfalls of reinvention. Instead, Álvarez opts for a return to form, an homage to the franchise’s gritty origins that injects it with a potent dose of contemporary sensibility.

The plot is a straightforward, almost spartan affair — a group of young colonists on a mining planet, desperate to escape their bleak existence, hatch a plan to hijack a seemingly abandoned spaceship. What they discover, of course, is that this twin-ship, dubbed Romulus and Remus, is far from empty.

The brilliance of Romulus lies in its atmosphere. Álvarez, co-writing with longtime collaborator Rodo Sayagués, understands that beyond the series’biomechanical monstrosities, is its oppressive ambience of impending doom. The film’s primary setting — a sunless, decaying Weyland-Yutani Corp mining colony — features some breathtaking production design, where rusted metal, toxic fog, and the dim glow of industrial lights create a grunge dystopia. This third-world outpost feels lived-in, worn down by the relentless grind of corporate exploitation, where hope goes to die. It’s a setting that echoes the claustrophobic tension of Scott’s original, yet makes it feel even more suffocating, more inescapable, and grounds the carnage to follow in a grim reality through some fantastic world-building.

The young cast, led by Cailee Spaeny as Rain, is a departure from the world-weary crew of the original films. Spaeny brings a raw, unpolished tenacity to the role, a stark contrast to the steely resilience of Sigourney Weaver’s Ripley or the cool pragmatism of Michael Biehn’s Hicks. Rain’s vulnerability, however, does not diminish her strength. Instead, it transforms her into an intelligent, adaptable survivor grappling with the weight of survival in a universe that has no use for the weak. David Jonsson, as the android Andy, delivers a performance that feels both tender and unsettling, as he oscillates between an innocence that draws you in and a detachment that leaves you wary.

For all its blood-drenched spectacle, Romulus also manages to slip a heart beneath its chest plate of terror. The relationship between Rain and her android “brother” Andy, injects a dose of pathos into the otherwise relentless carnage. Their dynamic touches on the perennial Alien theme: the quest for humanity in a world that often feels designed to strip it away.

Yet, of course, the H.R. Giger’s iconic creations are undeniably the true stars of Romulus. As a horror auteur with a tendency of leaving a trail of viscera in his wake, Álvarez does not shy away from capturing them in all their horrifying glory. The film’s set pieces are masterclasses in tension, with Álvarez orchestrating gut-wrenching scenes that will likely leave you squirming uncomfortably. The gore is plentiful, the violence unflinchingly graphic, but it never feels gratuitous. Every spattering of flesh, every torn membrane serves a purpose — to remind us of the fragility of the human body and the unrelenting, unforgiving primality of the xenomorphs.

The film’s most unsettling scenes don’t just focus on the creature’s merciless hunt, rather, the perverse intimacy of those encounters. Álvarez lingers on the invasiveness of these moments, with every phallic creature’s lethal embrace birthing even more horrifying entities. As was the case in his Evil Dead, the body, in Álvarez’s vision, isn’t just a vessel to be destroyed in increasingly imaginative ways, but a site of a twisted, bestial violation which culminates in a scandalising final act.

The sound design, led by Lee Gilmore, is some of the most outstanding this year. The theatre-rattling takeoff into space, the hiss of acidcutting through steel and flesh alike, the sickening squelch of bodies being torn apart and chest’s being burst agape — it’s all rendered as a jarring sensory experience that’s disturbingly immersive. Benjamin Wallfisch’s slick synth-laden motifs and cleverly-hidden callbacks to prior films complements the sense of dread that permeates every frame.

With Romulus, the Alien franchise storied lineage has found fresh, fertile ground for its horrors, spinning a tale of isolation, corporate insouciance, and the grotesque beauty of life’s most primal fears. It is a film that revels in its venereal gore and its unrelenting tension and is quite simply, one of the most entertaining genre films this year. Whether you’re a die-hard fan or a newcomer to the franchise, Alien Romulus is a ride worth taking, though you may want to bring along a strong stomach for the journey.

Alien: Romulus is currently running in theatres

A weird, disconcerting trip

Mini Anthikad Chhibber

Blink Twice, Zoë Kravitz’ directorial debut is so assured that you feel like you are watching an auteur with several films under her belt. Put Blink Twice beside Ishana Night Shyamalan’s The Watchers, and the contrast is felt even more sharply.

The other striking thing about Blink Twice is a reminder of how often tech billionaires are cast as the villains of the millennium — is that jealousy or what? Blink Twice is visually arresting — the frames, with a preponderance of primary colours including luscious red, blinding white and fiery yellow, make you wish to consume the picture whole, reminding one of early Tarsem Singh. There is this feeling of a sensory overload.

Written by Kravitz and ET Feigenbaum, Blink Twice tells the story of a cocktail waitress, Frida (Naomi Ackie), who catches the eye of tech moghul Slater King (Channing Tatum) at a fundraiser. King has done some bad things in the past but has publicly apologised for his wickedness and is now a good boy thanks to his therapist Rich (Kyle MacLachlan).

The opening scene where Frida and her friend Jess (Alia Shawkat) prepare for the gala is reminiscent of the party preparation scene in Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo+Juliet. Frida and Jess are invited to join King and his friends on a tropical island. It seems like a dream getaway, with gourmet food, wine, sunshine and surf and a seemingly endless supply of psychotropic substances.

King’s friends include his righthand man Vic(Christian Slater), who is missing a finger, fine dining enthusiast Cody (Simon Rex), straight-as-an-arrow Tom(Haley Joel Osment) and his overburdened assistant Stacy (Geena Davis). Sarah (Adria Arjona) one of the party girls, is initially hostile to Frida and there is also a maid (María Elena Olivares) who mumbles “red rabbit” whenever she sees Frida.

Frida slowly realises all is definitely not right in this paradise and the more she digs the more horror she uncovers. The movie starts off slowly with scenes that do not necessarily segue smoothly. There is also a problem with things happening rather arbitrarily — maybe it is to give that psychedelic sense of events and conversations fading in and out without following a chronological order. It was distracting though, as it took you out of the film to wonder, how did that happen or how did she get there, and why is the drug and antidote kept in the same place.

The acting is superb and the dream-like visuals are captivating. The music takes you back to campus and questions of life, the universe and everything including memory and forgetting which is one of the themes of the film. On top of everything else, the censoring was intrusive especially considering the blurred vape was a crucial plot point. With tighter editing, Blink Twicewould have been a great film, instead of an unsettling curiosity.And where was that trigger warning?

Blink Twice is currently running in theatres

Table of Contents

The Hindu

National

At 6.7%, growth slid to five-quarter low in Q1

Senior ICAR scientists hired laterally without reservation

Golden moment

Cyclone Asna forms over Kutch; heavy rain batters Gujarat

India yet to take a decision on Pak. invite to SCO meet

Doval meets prominent Presidential aspirants ahead of Sri Lanka election

Protests continue to rock Kolkata; Mamata writes to PM Modi again

Ceasefires have become licences for criminal activities, says Nagaland MLA

UCC a small measure of justice for women, says Vice-President

Era of uninterrupted dialogue with Pak. is over, says Jaishankar

Ahead of Assembly elections, Congress expels two MLAs from Maharashtra

NIA chargesheets 10 accused in Mizoram arms seizure case

Joint panel meeting on Waqf Bill witnesses heated debate

Imprint of Bharat Jodo Yatra visible as Congress appoints new secretaries

Students stage protest after worker sexually harasses girl at NIT-T hostel

Union Education Ministry asks State to sign PM-SHRI MoU to get Samagra Shiksha funds

Jharkhand former CM Champai Soren, son Babulal join BJP

‘J&K voters have to choose between terror, development’

Delhi court orders framing of charges against Jagdish Tytler

Confirm if all FIRs pertain to one interview in YouTuber case, says SC

Mehbooba targets Omar over remarks against banned JeI

T.V. Somanathan takes charge as Cabinet Secretary

HC seeks Centre’s stand on petition against Patanjali

Modi apologises for collapse of Shivaji statue in Maharashtra

Fertilizers source of many ailments, switch to organic farming, says Shah

14268

Migrant worker beaten to death, another injured by cow vigilantes in Haryana

LGBTQIA+ couples can open joint bank accounts: Centre

Easy form of worship

Assam House abolishes break for Friday namaz

CBFC withholding clearance for my film, claims Kangana

‘Clause 7(2) of U.P. digital media policy draconian’

Sukesh Chandrashekhar gets bail in AIADMK symbol case

Regional

Kerala CPI(M) sidesteps question on Mukesh’s resignation as MLA

H.P. marriage law: ‘Party unit was unaware of Bill before it was introduced in House’

No need for CBI probe into Kallakurichi hooch tragedy, Tamil Nadu govt. tells HC

Top court to set up five-judge Bench to hear Kerala’s plea on ceiling on net borrowing

It’s either him or us, says NCP over Sena Minister remarking he doesn’t get along with them

Akal Takht declares SAD chief guilty of religious misconduct

‘BJP’s attachment to Ayodhya only for land-related greed’

Cong. protest against M.P. govt. over unemployment, price rise

J&K Cong. leader to appeal against U.P. court sentence over 2012 election code violation

Pastoralists versus policy

Exotic fruits, exceptional returns

A citizen in waiting

Edit

The collapse of categories and post-individualism

A game plan for India’s success as 2036 Olympic host

Hateful, baleful

Growth matrix

letters to the editor

The human cost of factory explosions

Business

Core sectors grew 6.1% in July

IPO bull run may continue as filings pick up momentum

Chipset shortage to hit festival season white goods supply

‘Shriram Properties eyes ₹5,000-cr. sales’

Chemfab Alkalis puts off caustic soda plan

NCLT okays ₹3,330-cr. Dickey-Adani Coastal Energen resolution

‘ULI, OCEN to help reset credit access’

Vistara to merge with Air India from Nov. 12

Tata Motors introduces slew of urban mobility vehicles

Adani Ports to buy $185 mn stake in OSV firm Astro

‘BPCL mulls ₹1.70-lakh cr. capex under Project Aspire’

Fintech to enhance ease of living in the world: Modi

Mahindra, Israel’s Sentrycs to develop anti-drone solutions

Zydus Life’s Jarod injectables unit gets U.S. FDA warning

Foreign

Members at Pacific Islands Forum back joint police plan, maintain ties with Taiwan

Harris defends her drift from liberal stance, says ‘values have not changed’

‘Powerless’ Venezuelans

Pakistan conducts military strike in Balochistan, kills 5

Taliban refuses to cooperate after UN slams morality law

‘Pakistan relaxed rules to award road contract to China’

Israeli strike kills three Palestinians on the third day of West Bank raid

Russian strikes on Ukraine's Kharkiv kill six, including child

Turkiye arrests 100 suspected IS members in latest mass detention

Germany deports first Afghans since Taliban regime took control

Hasina’s leave from Bangladesh,leaving room for new power dynamics to emerge.

China pushes rivals’ limits in regional disputes to expand its control

Egyptian swirl

Zelenskyy loses his shine in war-fatigued east Ukraine

Brazilian SC freezes Starlink assets amid row with Elon Musk

Far-left rebel seeking peace with Putin stirs Germany

Sports

Resilient Avani fires India to a golden start

Alcaraz loses the battle against an ice-cool van de Zandschulp; Osaka falls to Muchova

Golden points rule the day as U Mumba, Delhi win

Goldies

I focused on the thought process and not the result: Avani

Sri Lanka collapses after Atkinson registers maiden century

Preethi thrilled at being India’s first-ever track medallist

Manish honours late elder brother with Parisian success

Important results

Respect in retrospect: assessing Dhawan’s standing among India’s openers

STACKING UP

Ingebrigtsen continues finding answers after losing the 1,500m plot in Paris

Not a tightrope

Weekend

Stole the show

Rings a bell?

A meticulously-crafted vision

Mari Selvaraj’s profound, deeply aching bio-drama is a masterpiece

Lacks writing to complement its experimentation

A gut-bursting nightmare

A weird, disconcerting trip