The Editorial Page: On Republic Day, let’s celebrate a living project renewed by we the people 12 MONDAY, JANUARY 26, 2026 Journalism of Courage PUNE, LATE CITY, 20 PAgES ₹7.00 l www.indianexpress.com DA I LY F R O M : A H M E DA B A D , C H A N D I gA R H , D E L H I , J A I P U R , kO L k ATA , L U C k N O W , M U M B A I , N Ag P U R , PAT N A , P U N E , vA D O DA R A THE INDIAN EXPRESS WISHES ITS READERS Happy Republic day We are closed today. There will be no edition of the paper on Tuesday, January 27, 2026. Amid tariff stress, President Murmu points to self-reliance in R-Day message Divya A New Delhi, January 25 116 144 179 72 REPUBLICDAYSPECIAL An advertorial appears in today’s edition of The Indian Express. These pages contain content paid for by the advertisers.These pages should be read as an advertisement. inside pAGE 3 AMID A global tariff war and threatsofsanctionsbyUSPresident Donald Trump, President Droupadi Murmu, in her address on the eve of Republic Day,underscoredIndia’sstatus as the world’s fastest-growing major economy and said its “economic destiny” is being shaped by self-reliance. “India is the world’s fastestgrowing major economy... Despiteglobaluncertainties,India is recording continuous economic growth. We are moving towards achieving our goal of becomingtheworld’sthird-largest economy in the near »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Maritime security to terror fight: India-EU pact ready Deeptiman Tiwary & Mahender Singh Manral New Delhi, January 25 ACTORDHARMENDRASingh Deol and former Kerala Chief Minister and CPM veteran V S E. We are showing a fractured world that another way is possible, says von der Leyen New Delhi, January 25 INDIA AND the European Union have readied a pact on security and defence partnership to be signed Tuesday, the day after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Luis Santos Achuthanandan have been honoured with the Padma Vibhushanposthumously.Thenation’s second-highest civilian honourhasalsobeenconferred onformerSupremeCourtjudge KTThomas,Hindustaniclassical violinist N Rajam, and MalayalamjournalistPNarayanan. Former Jharkhand Chief »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 FULL COVERAGE, PAGE 8 explained Gaining momentum Shubhajit Roy VS and Dharmendra among five Padma Vibhushan awardees Shibu Soren in list of 13 Padma Bhushan winners MEphEdrONE LAb bUSTEd IN SATArA pOULTry fArM EU LEADERS ARE CHIEF GUESTS AT REPUBLIC DAY PARADE European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen with European Council President António Costa in New Delhi on Sunday. ANI da Costa attend the Republic Daycelebrationsaschiefguests. WhilevonderLeyenreached business as Usual By EP UNNY New Delhi Saturday, Costa arrived Sunday and they were »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 India and EU are stepping up their cooperation on security and defence at a time when the US commitment to Indo-Pacific is seen to be softening after the latest security and defence strategy by the Trump 2.0 administration. Apart from the FTA, this is going to be the major outcome of the EU visit to give political momentum to the relationship. MORE REPORTS, PAGES 9, 14 Lecturer stabbed to death in Mumbai local train; suspect arrested Manish Kumar Pathak & Pallavi Smart Mumbai, January 25 dEATh Of bIhAr NEET ASpIrANT: EvIdENcE pOINTS TO fOUL pLAy pAGE 11 THE GOVERNMENT Railway Police(GRP)onSundayarrested a 27-year-old man for allegedly stabbing a college lecturer to death“inafitofrage”afteradisputeinsideacrowdedlocaltrain at the Malad railway station in Mumbai the previous evening. Theaccused,OmkarEknath The victim, Alok Kumar Singh Shinde, a resident of Kurar villageinMalad(east),wasarrested early Sunday morning after »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 The voice that India trusted when history spoke — or fell silent Coomi Kapoor New Delhi, January 25 THE LAST time I saw Mark Tully, he was sitting on a bench in the picturesque Sunder Nursery gardens, soft-spoken and warm hearted as ever, although the iconic scribe had become hard of hearing. As a residentofnearbyNizamuddin Colony in central Delhi, like me, he was a regular walker in the park, accompanied by his faithful labrador and his partner, writer Gillian Wright. But as age took its toll, I noticed with concern that of late Tully opted mostly to sit on a bench while Gillian walked the dog. It was but appropriate that Tully, who was born in India, died { mark tully } 1935-2026 here at age 90. From his birth in Kolkata, Tully had a deep connect and »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 MORE REPORTS, PAGES 9, 12