The Ideas Page: AAP leaders have won a reprieve, but the system is beset with a creeping unfairness 11 TUESDAY, MARCH 3, 2026 JOURNALISM of COURAGE NEW DELHI, LATE CITY, 20 PAGES ₹7.00 (₹8 RAIPUR, ₹15 SRINAGAR) 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 , LU 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 Happening today lONE OF THE wORLD’S MOST prestigious badminton tournaments, the All England Championships, begins at the Utilita Arena in Birmingham. lA 12-DAY TRIBES ART FEST organised by FICCI and the National Gallery of Modern Art in Delhi opens to the public. It looks to bring together more than 75 artists and over 1,000 artworks representing more than 30 tribal art traditions across the country. TRACK THESE AND MORE ON www.INDIANExPrESS.cOM ‘THIS wAS OUR LAST BEST CHANCE TO STRIkE... AND ELIMINATE THE INTOLERABLE THREATS’ Trump on Iran: Big wave soon... boots on ground, if necessary Iran ops likely to last 4-5 weeks, but prepared to go far longer than that: US President business as Usual By EP UNNY Pacts with Canada on uranium, critical minerals; PM says new energy in ties 49 Iranian leaders killed, says President Trump. REUTERS Trevor Hunnicutt & Steve Holland Washington, March 2 EPFOtrustees for8.25%rate, itsinvestment panelhad suggested8.1% Aanchal Magazine New Delhi, March 2 THE CENTRAL Board of Trustees of the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), headed by Labour and Employment Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, on Monday recommended an interest rate of8.25%toitsover7.8crorecontributing subscribers for the third straight year in 2025-26. The 8.25% recommendation by the board came despite EPFO’s own investment subcommittee and the Ministry of Finance suggesting that the interest rate be cut to 8.10% for 2025-26. By recommending the interest rate at 8.25%, the retirement fund body is estimated to face a loss of Rs 944.06 crore, according to discussions during the CBT meeting, two members said. An 8.10% interest rate, as suggested by the EPFO’s investment sub-committee would have resulted in a surplus of Rs 1,675.82 crore. In 2024-25,basedon the actualincome and expenditure details shared in the meeting, the surplus was Rs 5,480.34 crore. “On the basis of this year’s »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 l EPFestimates EPFO INTEREST RATE 8.10% 8.15% 8.20% 8.25% SURPLUS/ DEFICIT* 1,675 802 -70 -944 * IN RS CRORE AS THE US-Israel military conflict with Iran intensified on Monday, US President Donald Trump sharply upped the ante saying“thebigwave”iscoming soon and that he did not rule out putting American boots on the ground in Iran. Speaking at an event in the White House East Room, Trump also said thatoperationsagainstIranare likely to last four to five weeks, but he is prepared “to go far longer than that.” “Wehaven'tevenstartedhitting them hard. The big wave hasn’t even happened. The big one is coming soon,” Trump told CNN, adding that it was unclear who was now leading IranfollowingthedeathofAyatollah Ali Khamenei. “We don’t »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 EDITOrIAl PAGE GOvT’S SILENCE ON IRANLEADER’SkILLING IS NOT NEUTRAL, IT IS AbDICATION By SONIA GANDHI PAGE 10 Israeli security forces inspect a road damaged in an Iranian missile strike, in Jerusalem. AP Israel hits Hezbollah as Gulf nations warn Iran; Turkey backs Tehran Bahrain and Saudi struck by Iran, Modi speaks to rulers, condemns attacks Jon Gambrell, Melanie Lidman & Samy Magdy New Delhi, March 2 l INDIANkIllEDIN THEWARinWestAsiaspiraled furtheronMondayasIsraeland the US pounded Iran, with the latter hitting back forcefully, gettingitsproxies involved and opening new fronts. Tehran and its allies struck neighboringGulfstatesandtargets critical to the world’s energyproduction.Safehavens A DAY after he spoke to UAE President and Abu Dhabi ruler Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Prime Minister NarendraModiheldphoneconversations Monday with the rulers of Bahrain and Saudi Arabia and,withoutnamingIran,condemned the attacks on their countries and thanked them for looking after the Indian Dubai: An Indian national was killed on Monday when an explosive-laden drone boat struck an oil tanker off the coast of Muscat. The remaining crew members, including 16 Indians, were rescued. The tanker, flagged to the Republic of the Marshall Islands, was carrying around 59,463 metric tons of cargo. PTI Shubhajit Roy Dubai, March 2 »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 DELHI ExCISE POLICY CASE Court held a mini-trial, disregarded plot: CBI to HC on Kejriwal discharge Sohini Ghosh Workers evacuate the area after a strike on Saudi Aramco’s Ras Tanura oil refinery. REUTERS »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and 21 others were discharged by a trial court on Feb 27. FILE — the CBI has sought that the February 27 order by Special (CBI)JudgeJitendraSinghofthe RouseAvenueCourtbesetaside. In its plea, the CBI said the »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 ATTAckONTANkEr Six months after Gen Z protests, half-a-dozen former PMs loom large over Nepal elections E. ExPlAINED Yubaraj Ghimire Kathmandu, March 2 New Delhi, March 2 CHALLENGING A Delhi trial court’s order discharging AAP leaders Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia along with 21 others in the Delhi excise policy case,theCBIhascalledtheorder “illegalonthefaceofit”,andsaid the court conducted a “minitrial”, read the evidence “piecemeal” and disregarded the conspiracy“dulyestablished”bythe probe agency. In a revision petition before the Delhi High Court — it is expected to be heard March 9 by Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma MORE REPORTS, PAGES 8, 13, 14, 15 ON A visit to Nepal in 2018 when she was the prime minister of Myanmar, Aung San Suu Kyi remarked how excited she was to see several ex-PMs of the country together at a reception. “That is the beauty of democracy,” she said at a meeting the next day. However, as Nepal votes on March 5 in its first elections since the September 2025 Gen Z protests that toppled the government, its long list of living former PMs is one of the concerns haunting it. While the protests were tar- Second polls post Gen Z protests The Nepal protests had followed an agitation led by the youth in mid-2024 in Bangladesh, resulting in the ouster of the Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League government. In polls held last month, the BNP came to power. geted at the existing political system, six months later, at least half-a-dozen former PMs continue to play a prominent role in their parties and the nation’s politics. The most prominent among them is five-time former PM and Nepali Congress chairman Sher Bahadur Deuba. In the September protests, the 79-year-old Deuba and his wife Arzu Rana Deuba — the then foreign minister — hadbeenattackedandseverely injured, with their house burnt to the ground. InJanuary,arebelfactionof the Nepali Congress led by GaganThapa,50,seizedcontrol of the party via a “special convention”, with Deuba’s request Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney at Hyderabad House in New Delhi, Monday. ANIL SHARMA India-Canada CEPA by year-end, defence dialogue established Shubhajit Roy New Delhi, March 2 MOVING TO transform ties to a “next level partnership” and put behind a bitter recent past, India and Canada signed a “landmark deal for long-term uranium supply” after Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Mark Carney held talks in New Delhi Monday. The two sides also signed pacts on critical minerals, decided to establish the India-Canada Defence Dialogue, and agreed to conclude a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement by the end of the year,andsetaUSD50billionbilateral trade target by 2030. In all, they signed eight government-to-governmentpacts, and 24 MoUs or partnerships among universities and institutions in areas such as AI, healthcare, agriculture, and innovation. Thisisahugeturnaroundin bilateral ties which took a severe hit after Carney’s predecessor Justin Trudeau, in September 2023, alleged that Indian government agents were involved in the killing of Khalistan separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar — a charge India rejectedas“absurd”and“politically motivated”. Following bilateral talks »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 POlITIcS ShAh: PARIvARTAN mEANS NO mORE INfILTRATORS IN WEST bENGAL PAGE 6 »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 l 20-YEAR-OLD, WHOSE HOLD ON HIS NATIVE LANGUAGE HAS GIVEN WAY TO MALAYALAM, RECONNECTS WITH FAMILY BACK IN JHARKHAND’S CHAIBASA Separated from parents, ending up in Kerala — now journey home after 14 years Shaju Philip & Shubham Tigga tokicksomeballsattheground,” he tells TheIndianExpress. Thalassery, Chaibasa, Last month, the unexpected March 2 happened. Raja Gope, now 20 and a footballer who has played EVER SINCE he left home in for Kerala Blasters FC U-17, re2012 and came to Kerala, he’s connected with his family back been known as “Raja, Chai- inHadiMara.Thedevelopment basa”.Hismemoriesofhome— cameafterauthoritiesataKerala Jharkhand’s Hadi Mara village care home, an NGO in JharkinChaibasa—arehazyanddis- hand and a YouTuber came tojointed: a hill, a gether in a last-ditch PAGE 1 school and a cycle effort to track down shop. His hold on his his family. native Ho language “Normally,wetry has given way to Malayalam. to track down families of such It’s little wonder, then, that children before they turn 21, he has held on to what he re- since they are rehabilitated membersmostfromhisoldlife: then,” Muhammed Asharaf, football. “My love for football superintendent at a governbeganatmyvillage,whereIused ment children’s home in Tha- anchor lassery who helped Raja track down his family, says. “I told Rajathatifwecouldnotfindhis parents, we would find a local couple who would take care of him under family-based alternativecare.Ihadalreadyidentified two couples and had informed Raja about it. He had also agreed.” Now reconnected with his family, Raja must make the difficultchoicebetweenstayingin hisadoptedhomelandorheading back home. “When I saw my mother over a video call, I couldn’t speak.Shehadaged,”hesaysin Malayalam — the language he speaks best. “I couldn’t understand her, and spoke to her in Raja Gope has played for Kerala Blasters FC SHAjU PHILIP; (above) his mother and sister at their home in Chaibasa, Jharkhand. SHUBHAM TIGGA the little Hindi I knew. She asked me when I would come home but I didn’t have a clear answer. I just said I would.” Train to Kerala Raja was with his parents at a brick kiln in West Bengal when he got separated. Having just arrived there, Raja yearned to return home and began walking along railway tracks, reachedtheneareststationand boarded the first train he saw. That train took him to the Ernakulam railway station. “At Ernakulam, I realised the train wasn’tmoving,soIgotoff.Iwas scared, but the police took me to their room. I knew only my nameandthatmyhomewasin Chaibasa but nothing else. At the children’s home, my address was Raja, Chaibasa.” Of home, too, he remembersverylittle.“Myhouse was atop a hill, and there was a school at the bottom of it and a cycle shop. I attended the school for a few days,” he says. In Kerala, Raja went to different care homes — first in Kochi and then in Thrissur — and studied in government New Delhi schools. It was in Thrissur, where he was transferred in 2016,thatRajareceivedfootball coaching, after one of the coaches spotted his talent and urged him to try for Kerala BlastersFCU-17.Thetrialswere successful, and Raja played midfield. Despite this, he always hoped he would return home. “I used to ask my counsellors to help find my parents. As I lay down to sleep, I would think about my family,” he says. On February 3, Raja moved to a government-run rehabilitation home for abandoned and orphaned boys in Thalassery. The move, prompted by »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2