WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM Dear Dr Ambedkar... Letters to the chief architect of the Constitution — thanking him for changes he put into motion and apprising him of what remains unchanged NEW DELHI, JANUARY 25, 2026 DOWN IN JUNGLELAND BY RANJIT LAL With bills like a pair of pincers, bee eaters can anticipate where an insect would be LATE CITY 18+4 PAGES ₹7.00 (₹8 RAIPUR, ₹15 SRINAGAR) 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 , J A I P U R , K O L K A T A , L U C K N O W , M U M B A I , N A G P U R , P A T N A , P U N E , V A D O D A R A CBC 35101/13/0086/2526 D A I L Y Happening CJI:HC primary sentinel, today must be proactive, not lPRESIDENT DROUPADI Murmu will address the nation on the eve of Republic Day. The address will be broadcast from 7 pm on Akashvani and telecast on all Doordarshan channels in Hindi, followed by the English version. lFINNISH PM Petteri Orpo will begin an official visit to China, during which he is set to meet Premier Li Qiang as well as President Xi Jinping. TRACK THESE AND MORE ON www.INDIANExPrEss.cOm wait for knock at door Omkar Gokhale Mumbai, January 24 CALLING HIGH Courts the “primary sentinels”, Chief Justice of India Surya Kant on Saturdaysaidtheirfuturedepends on their ability to act as “proactive courts” and urged them to “not only wait for the knock at the door but also... remain alert to systemic failures in the rule of law”. The CJI also underlined the CJI Surya Kant delivers the Fali Nariman Memorial Lecture in Mumbai, Saturday. AKASH PATIL “power of interim relief”, and said that “justice delayed is not »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 From Akola to Shimla gaushala, youth missing since 2018 reunites with family Ankita Deshkar Nagpur, January 24 THREE MONTHS ago, a teenage boy walked into a gaushala in Rampur Bushahr (also known as Rampur), a small town tucked into the hills of Shimla district. He was in search of work, something that Jayesh, 19, with his father Sudhakar Bodade. AKOLA POLICE wouldgivehimfoodandaplace to sleep. The gaushala offered him both, along with a monthly salary of Rs 6,000, and Jayesh Bodade, 19, became a caretaker at the cow shelter. The pradhan (chief ) of the gaushala, Puranchand Sharma, »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 EUROPEAN COMMISSION PRESIDENT URSULA VON DER LEYEN, JAISHANKAR MEET TODAY EU leaders begin visit, PM flags trade & mobility pacts There’spath totakeoff25% Russianoil tariffs:Bessent Modi: Pacts will bring new opportunities for India’s youth Ravi Dutta Mishra Shubhajit Roy & Damini Nath New Delhi, January 24 AS INDIA and the European Union (EU) aim to conclude their trade negotiations during the visit of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council PresidentAntonioCosta,Prime MinisterNarendraModionSaturday underlined that trade andmobilityagreementsbeing signed with many countries would bring “new opportunities” for India's youth. WhilevonderLeyenlanded in New Delhi on Saturday, »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 New Delhi, January 24 European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen with Union MoS Jitin Prasada after she arrived in New Delhi on Saturday. PTI US unveils new roadmap: Dialing down on China, homeland is priority Shubhajit Roy New Delhi, January 24 TAKINGAsofterviewonChina and not referring to its perennial flashpoint Taiwan, the National Defence Strategy (NDS), released by the Trump administrationFridayflagged,asakey priority, its dominance in the Western hemisphere. The NDS 2026, coming a month after the National »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Partnering for an Aatmanirbhar Bharat We are proud to be a part of India’s thriving aerospace and defence industry. With sourcing over $1.25 billion annually, we’re fostering economic growth and advancing India’s vision for self-reliance. boeing.co.in AS EUROPEAN Union leaders land in Delhi and India and the European Union look set to announce the conclusion of negotiations for a trade deal, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said there is a path to take offthe25percenttariffsthatthe USimposedonIndia’spurchase of Russian oil. In an interview to Politico, Bessent said, “We put 25 per cent tariffs on India for buying Russian oil, and the Indian »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 TRUMP THREATENS CANADA WITH 100% TARIFFS , PAGE 14 It’sofficial: Bangladesh outofT20WC, Scotlandin Govt to take call on Pak playing: PCB DevendraPandey Mumbai, January 24 THEINTERNATIONALCricket Council (ICC) has informed the BangladeshCricketBoard(BCB) that they will be replaced by Scotland for the coming T20 World Cup to be co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka. The ICC’s decision came after the Bangladesh government reiterated that its players would not play in India, and asked for their matches to be shifted to Sri Lanka. The world body has asked Scotland to prepare their team to replace »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 POlITIcs page 8 Bengal yet to re-puBlish census 2027 notification