www.IndIaneXPreSS.com For the Love oF Sport Himani Mor is a tennis champion in her own right. But there’s more to it kolkaTa, July 12, 2026 sCreen laTe cITy 12+4 PaGeS ₹7.00 Parvathy Thiruvothu on being a realist (₹12 In norTheaST STaTeS, ₹20 In andaman) d a I l y 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 express special ChanGe done without aMendMent or notifiCation as required ec changes Form 6 for new voters, inserts section asking them about parents in sir E. explained Mandate to amend a ‘declaration form’ inserted between part ‘J’ and ‘k’ of Form 6 on the election commission’s ecineT portal damini nath New Delhi, July 11 foRTHefirsttime,theelection Commission’sonlineversionof the electors’ registration form, knownasform6,hasanewsection that seeks the status of the applicant’s parents vis-a vis the last Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, even though the statutory form itself has not been amended, The Indian Express has learnt. This comes when over 5.58 crore names have been deleted Even as EC has introduced the SIR declaration in its online Form 6 portal, Section 28 of Representation of the People Act, 1950 says it is the Centre that can amend the rules. These include any change to the forms as well — a process that has not been followed. from electoral rolls in 10 states and three UTs in the eC’s SIR »Continued on PaGe 2 PM fLaGs BLuePrint for trust, teCh, taLent India and NZ pledge strategic partnership, to build on trade deal Pacts signed on counter-terrorism, defence, sports, Antarctic research shubhajit roy »Continued on PaGe 2 In Punjab villages, crowds at Satluj shows, a chorus: ‘Those Direct land purchase dark days should never return’ policy in Bengal: Don’t OTT ‘ban’ driving more to watch film as AAP, SGPC, Akali Dal hold screenings raakhi Jagga Jangpur (Ludhiana), July 11 AT 8.30 pm on Thursday, a vacant plot next to the Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib Gurdwara in Jangpur village of Ludhiana is packed.Womenandmensiton mats, their heads covered, including with handkerchiefs, just like at a gurdwara. The elderly occupy plastic chairs, whiletheyoungareperchedon the ground’s boundary walls. Theireyesaregluedontoan 85-inch screen playing Satluj. The contested film on human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra that saw a brief oTT release before being blocked in India, has found a new life in Punjab, in similar mass screeningsbeingheldacrossthestate. Also seeing a new life are memories of “the aukha (dark, difficult) time” in Punjab, which those gathered at the Jangpurgroundandelsewhere stress, “should not return”. While gurdwaras and the SGPC were the first to »Continued on PaGe 2 Govt panel raises UAPA spectre, ‘misuse’ by Pak apurva Vishwanath New Delhi, July 11 IN ITS order recommending the film “Satluj” remain blockedfrompublicaccess,the government panel has raised the spectre of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act by observing that “Khalistan-related propaganda, foreign-based separatist mobilisation, and hostile information operations are continuing concerns, with »Continued on PaGe 2 Happening today New Delhi, July 11 INdIA ANd New Zealand pledgedSaturdaytoelevatetheir bilateral relationship to a “strategic partnership” with Prime MinisterNarendraModiandhis counterpart,ChristopherLuxon, endorsing its framework and “roadmap to 2030.” Both signed a range of pacts thatincludeddefenceandmaritime security, a target to double trade volume, a joint counterterrorism panel to address proKhalistanconcernsandasports cooperation roadmap. After the bilateral talks in Auckland, Modi, the first Indian Prime Minister to visit the A screening of the film Satluj at Jangpur village of ludhiana on Thursday night. raaKhI JaGGa lChief JustiCe of india Pm narendra modi with new Zealand Pm christopher luxon at an indian community event in auckland, saturday. anI A century later, Dhyan Chand tour still unites two countries Mihir Vasavda Mumbai, July 11 WATCHING THe Prime MinistersofIndiaandNewZealand reminisce about his father, hockey legend dhyan Chand, on Saturday, Ashok Kumar’s heart swelled with pride. “I feel proud that a team of Armymen,andahumblesoldier in that team, did something so remarkable that even after 100 years, the Prime Ministers are talking about it, and it still connectspeoplefrombothnations,” he told TheIndianExpress. Long before he became the ‘Wizard of Hockey’, dhyan »Continued on PaGe 2 Surya Kant will inaugurate the ‘Tower of Justice’ in Gurgaon. Touted as north India’s largest judicial complex, it has 55 courtrooms with modern facilities. Track This and more on www.indianexpress.com nation Legendary pLayback singer s Janaki dies at 88 page 6 15 Indians die after boat Will seek extradition of capsizes in Vietnam Lawrence Bishnoi: US divya a & nikhila henry Justice Dept confirms New Delhi, Hyderabad, July 11 divya a fIfTeeN INdIAN tourists lost their lives after their boat capsized near Vietnam’s Phu Quoc Island on Saturday. The dead include 10 from Tamil Nadu, three from Andhra Pradesh and two from Kerala, the Indian embassy in Hanoi said. According to Vietnamese »Continued on PaGe 2 New Delhi, July 11 a video grab of the incident, off Vietnam’s hon may rut ngoai dAyS AfTeR indicting gangster Lawrence Bishnoi in a series of crimes including the killingofCanada-basedKhalistan separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar,theUnitedStatesdepartment of Justice has confirmed that it will seek his extradition. Arrested in 2014, Bishnoi is now lodged in a jail in Gujarat. Responding to queries from TheIndianExpress,CiaranMcevoy,PublicAffairsofficer,USAttorney’s office, Central district of California, said, “Bishnoi remainsincarceratedinIndia.We intend to seek his extradition to United States. (extradition is lengthy legal process and takes years to complete.)” »Continued on PaGe 2 l sarVesh kushare Broke 8-year-old naTional record lasT monTh wiTh a JumP oF 2.31 meTres 31-yr-old high jumper scripts a first for India: top 3 in Diamond League debut Pritish raj GianmarcoTamberiandMutaz Barshim. This year’s world leader, oleh doroshchuk of SARVeSH ANIL Kushare, 31, a Ukraine (2.32m), finished first, father of a two-year-old while Britain’s Jack Kimani daughter, has become the first (2.30m) was second. Kushare,whoheldhisnerve Indian high jumper to finish in in a high-pressure the top three on his competition, joined diamond League page 1 an elite list of Indian debut.AtMonacoon athletes who have friday night, he was finished in the top even provisionally joint first for a while, before fin- three at a diamond League meet—javelinstarNeerajChoishing third with 2.26 metres. Kushare beat stars like pra, long jumper Sreeshankar »Continued on PaGe 2 Tokyo olympic champions New Delhi, July 11 anchor sarvesh kushare, 31, is now the oldest active indian athlete to hold a national record. afI Kolkata want another Singur, Nandigram, says CM atri Mitra Kolkata, July 11 “WedonotwantanotherNandigram or Singur,” Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said on Saturday as he announced the government’s decision to rely on direct purchase of land, rather than acquisition, for industrialneeds.Healsosaidthat his government would introduce a single-window clearance mechanism for investment proposals of Rs 100 crore »Continued on PaGe 2 cm suvendu adhikari & Bengal BJP chief samik Bhattacharya in hooghly on saturday. PTI