WWW.INDIANExPRESS.COM LEADING LADIES The road to India’s historic win at the Women’s World Cup was paved with disappointments and heartbreaks but skipper Harmanpreet Kaur and vice captain Smriti Mandhana stayed the course. Here’s their story JAIPUR, NOVEMBER 9, 2025 LATE CITy 14+4 PAGES `6.00 D A I L y BOOKS With the Booker prize due tomorrow, a look at some of the shortlisted novels F R O M : A H M E D A B A D , C H A N D I G A R H , D E L H I , happening today MODI is scheduled to visit Dehradun and participate in a programme marking the silver jubilee of the formation of Uttarakhand. He will also launch a commemorative postal stamp on the occasion. ISRaEl RETURnS 15 boDIES afTER TakIng REmaInS of a HoSTagE RUSSIan STRIkES HIT aPaRTmEnT bloCk, EnERgy SITES In UkRaInE INsIDE PagE 7 WInTER SESSIon of PaRlIamEnT fRom DEC 1 To 19 K O L K A T A , Patna, November 8 AS THE Bihar election campaign enters its homestretch, the verdict in less than a week, Lalu Prasad, the ageing RJD patriarch,hasremainedlargely in the wings as son Tejashwi takes centrestage in his bid to defeat the Nitish Kumar-led NDA government. Lalu, who has been ailing, doesnotlookhisusualbuoyant self. If anything, he looks grim andrestless,ashemeetsTheIndianExpress,sittingonthesoli- Prime Minister Narendra Modi greets veteran BJP leader Lal Krishna Advani on his 98th birthday, in New Delhi, Saturday. x/@NARENDRAMODI Ease of living, and business possible only when there’s ease of justice: PM Kanchan Vasdev ACCORDING TO the BJP, Bungalow No. 50 of the Punjab government, in Chandigarh’s Sector2,isAamAadmiParty(AAP) national convenor Arvind Kejriwal’s new ‘Sheesh Mahal’. With that, another lore has been added to a residence spread over two acres, located a stone’s throw away from the N A G P U R , P A T N A , P U N E , V A D O D A R A Ananthakrishnan G New Delhi, November 8 PRIME MINISTER Narendra Modi said Saturday that ease of living and ease of business are possible only when ease of justice is ensured. Speaking at the National Conference on Strengthening Legal Aid Delivery Mechanisms,organisedbytheNational Legal Services Authority (NALSA) to mark the Legal Services Day, Modi said, “Ease of DoingBusinessandEaseofLivingaretrulypossibleonlywhen Ease of Justice is also ensured. In recent years, several steps have been taken to enhance Ease of Justice and going forward, we will accelerate efforts in this direction.” Underlining the significance of legal aid, he said the “language of justice should be that which can be understood by those receiving it”. This, he said, must be considered at the time of drafting laws. Pointing to the need for judgments and legal documents to be made available in local languages, he said that when people comprehend the law in their own language, it will lead to better compliance and reduce litigation. “When justice is accessible to all, delivered in a timely manner, and reaches every individual regardless of their social or financial background, FIR says firm’s application seeking land possession, Tehsildar’s order to Botanical Survey to vacate it ‘illegal’ Soham Shah & Alok Deshpande Pune, Mumbai, November 8 JUST FIVE months ago, the PuneCityTehsildaraskedCentral government undertaking Botanical Survey of India (BSI) to vacate 17.51 hectares or 44 acres of land in Mundhwa leased to it by the state after a firm 99% owned by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar’s son informed his office that it had purchased the land. “We received a letter a few months back asking us to vacate the land. After receiving the letter, we approached the Pune Collector. He told us verbally that we need not worry and that he would look into the matter and do the needful,” Dr A. Benniamin, a scientist and Head of BSI Pune, told The Indian Express. DECISION 2025 BIHAR REP0RTS, PagE 6 tary chair in the verandah at Patna’s 10, Circular Road, the officialresidenceofhiswife,the RJD’s Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council, and former chief minister Rabri Devi. Lalu strikes a different note Punjab Chief Minister’s residence, that has long been more thanjustanaddressinthestate, and often at the heart of its political ups and downs. The Opposition says that Kejriwal,whohasbeencoming to Punjab frequently since he losthisDelhichiefministership to the BJP, has converted the bungalow into a “palatial” base forhisvisitstoChandigarh.The »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Redeployment to tech: Army prepares for sixth winter in east Ladakh The land in Pune’s Mundhwa which is at the centre of a probe ordered by Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis; it was sold to a company co-owned by Deputy CM Ajit Pawar’s son Parth (below). PAVAN KHENGRE When contacted, Pune CollectorJitendraDudiconfirmed receipt of the BSI complaint, and said while his office was aware of the eviction notice served on BSI, it was not aware that a sale deed had already »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 FULL REPORT ON WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM RJC chief Lalu Prasad when asked what the focus of the Mahagathbandhan government would be if it came to power. “Is baar hum berozgari ko dur karenge (This time, we will rid the state of unemploy- E. Amrita Nayak Dutta New Delhi, November 8 THE ARMY’S plans for the harshwinterineasternLadakh include redeployment of troops along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) — it may involve temporary reduction of soldiers in the higher reaches isolatedbysnow—withadequate reserves in depth areas, completion of the geo-tagging of key features along the LAC and strengthening of the surveillance infrastructure. ment)… We are going to form the government – and we are going to remove Nitish Kumar.” Onthepossibilityofanother tie-up with the JD(U) in case thenumbersdon’taddup,Lalu is categorical. “Ab hum Nitish Kumar ko sweekar nahin karenge(WewillnotacceptNitish Kumar again)…We are not in contact with Nitish.” Lalu’s disclaimer notwithstanding, Bihar is abuzz with speculation that Nitish may do another“palta(U-turn)”,ifheis ExPlAINED The trust deficit Disengagement of Indian and Chinese troops in Depsang and Demchok was completed in November 2024, days after leaders of the two countries held talks in Russia’s Kazan. There was also agreement on resumption of patrols. 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ExPRESS Saurabh Sharma Mayawi Vaishnav Anant Gour l Uttara MahiLa Patrika HAS HELD A MIRROR TO THE REGION’S SOCIAL AND POLITICAL CHURN Uttarakhand turns 25, a magazine marks a milestone in its women’s many journeys Aiswarya Raj Dehradun, November 8 WHEN UTTARAKHAND was carved out of Uttar Pradesh on November 9, 2000, after a decades-long movement, an editorialinUttaraMahilaPatrika, a quarterly magazine, wondered what women — one of the most crucial segments of the agitation — would do now. “Now that the dream of a separateUttarakhandstatehas been realised, what are the women going to do? Should they quietly sit at home…or should they… form a clear vision and present it as their Supporters of the ‘Uttarakhand Separation Movement’ hold a protest in Delhi demanding a separate state. ARCHIVE manifesto?” it said. Asthestateobservesitssilver jubilee, Kamla Pant, one of Ut- tara’s editors and Uttarakhand Mahila Manch leaders, tells The IndianExpressfrom her Dehra- dun home, “We had put up a vision statement near the court complex. Not one of those aims have been fulfilled. In fact, we have added more to it.” Uttara, a Hindi magazine, was launched in the OctoberDecember quarter of 1990. Printed in Dehradun — but produced 280 km away, in Nainital — it has since then held a mirror to the region’s social and political churn. 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