The editorial Page: opposition cannot only oppose, what it needs to propose 8 SATUrdAY, AUgUST 1, 2026 JournalIsm of Courage kolkAtA, lAtE cIty, 18 PAgES ₹6.00 (₹12 in North East states, ₹20 in Andaman) 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 Happening today lPM NareNdra Modi will inaugurate the Alluri Sitarama Raju International Airport in Andhra Pradesh’s Vizianagaram district. He is also expected to lay the foundation and dedicate projects worth Rs 18,000 crore. Track This and more on www.indianexpress.com THE BIG PICTURE aTTaCK oN briCK KilN worKerS iN KUlGaM; l-G, PoliTiCal ParTieS CoNdeMN Terror targets migrant workers in Valley, one killed, another critical Pak crackdown on PoK protests kills 40, India flags ‘ruthless’ use of force Second attack in July, comes after months of a lull since Pahalgam divya a New Delhi, July 31 Naveed iqbal Srinagar, July 31 TWo Men from Chhattisgarh working in a brick kiln in South Kashmir were shot from pointblank range Friday, the second terror attack in the Valley in July.oneofthemdiedintheattack, while the other is critical. according to J&K Police inspector general V K Birdi, the security personnel conduct search operations after the attack in j&k’s kulgam, Friday. PtI attack took place in the village of Kilam in Kulgam district. The deceased, Deepak, and the injured man, Bhupender, both THe ongoing crackdown by the Pakistani establishment in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir has resulted in the death of 40 civilians and injuries to many, india said Friday, calling upon the international community toscrutiniseislamabad’s“ruthless”useofforceagainstpeaceful protesters and hold it accountable for the “atrocities” being committed there. respondingtoaquestionon the situation in PoK during a media briefing, randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson for the Ministryofexternalaffairs,said,“as youhaveyourselfwitnessed,the Pakistani establishment continues to unleash ruthless force against peaceful civilians in PoJK. This crackdown has resultedinthetragicdeathofover 40civiliansandseriousinjuries to many.” He called the rigged electionstherearejectionofthe E. explained Why anger in Pok Protesters say Islamabad has disproportionate control over the PoK Assembly. The ruling party in Pakistan usually wins the PoK elections — Pakistan People’s Party in 2011, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz in 2016 and Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf in 2021. 2020 NorTHeaST delHi rioTS Former AAP leader awarded life sentence PM:Iforgivechildren Taslima Nasreen returns to Kolkata after 19 yrs over IB man’s killing whoabusedme,let’s showthemtheway CHEnnaI’s CHEss maTEs: InsIdE ClUBs THaT sHaPE Gms P 12 »CoNTiNUed oN PaGe 2 Sweety Kumari Kolkata, July 31 Children are ours... instead of punishing them, dragging them through courts, society should guide them, says Modi Jatin anand & alok Singh New Delhi, July 31 aMiDPoLiCenoticesandFirs over derogatory social media postsabouthimduringthestudent protests in Delhi, Prime Minister narendra Modi said Friday he wanted to forgive all thosechildrenwhohadabused not only him but also his late mother. in a video message late at night, Modi said punishing them or making them “run aroundcourts”wasnotgoingto change the circumstances. “i want to forgive them, and society too should accept this.” He sought to reassure the nation’s youth that he believed in them in spite of the abuses hurled at him and said “mistakes happen in childhood”, but these mistakes also lay the foundation for learning. “Someshararati(mischievous) children gave vulgar abuses and used words that do inside Pm narendra modi put out a video message late Friday notbehoveanycivilisedsociety. not just me, my departed mother was also abused. one doesnotknowtheextentofthis. Butiwanttosaytodaythatmistakes happen in childhood but it (childhood) also provides the opportunity for change. This is what childhood is about.” He said he can understand the “aakrosh” (outcry) in society. “it is a cultural shock. How can our daughters speak like this?” He, however, said it was time to embrace these children »CoNTiNUed oN PaGe 2 Wearing a traditional Bengali lal paar shada saree (white saree with red borders), a smiling Taslima nasreen stepped outofKolkataairportontoahot and humid Friday afternoon to the sound of conch shells and a cheering crowd. For the Bangladeshi author who has been living in exile for decades, it marked an emotional return to a city that is her secondhome,oneshehadbeen forced to flee almost overnight nearly two decades ago. greet- Mahender Singh Manral New Delhi, July 31 in WHaT is likely to raise a political storm in West Bengal, theCentralBureauofinvestigation (CBi) has arrested two BJP workers, who were earlier with theTrinamoolCongress,inconnection with the murder of Chief Minister Suvendu adhikari’s aide Chandranath rath. CBisourcessaidtheinvesti- New Delhi, July 31 exiled Bangladesh author Taslima nasreen arrives in kolkata, Friday, her first visit to the city after nearly two decades. PARtHA PAul gationhasrevealedthatthetwo accused arrested now had allegedly hired the shooters who killed rath. rath was shot dead in Madhyamgram near Kolkata on May 6, shortly after the BJP swept the assembly polls in Bengal, defeating the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress,whichhadbeeninpower in Bengal since 2011. »CoNTiNUed oN PaGe 2 Hotels are replacing Udaipur hills, policy framed by pvt agencies: HC Jaipur, July 31 jaIsHankaR To aRaGHCHI: don’T aTTaCk mERCHanT vEssEls PaGE 4 »CoNTiNUed oN PaGe 2 Nirbhay Thakur Suvendu aide murder: CBI arrests 2 BJP men, TMC past under lens Hamza Khan FamIlIEs oF CoPs InjUREd In CjP PRoTEsTs sEEk day In CoURT PaGE 7 ing the crowd, which had been waiting patiently for her and welcomed her with flowers, a beaming nasreen said, “it feels extremely good to be back.” Leading the welcome party was BJP MLa Sourav Sikdar. “Her arrival is a perfect example of ‘bhoy out, bharosa in (fear out, confidence in)’,” said the legislator from Dum Dum north. “Kolkata is her favourite city and she has time and again said this. She could comebecauseofChiefMinister Suvenduadhikari.Hadshenot been given that security and »CoNTiNUed oN PaGe 2 WHiLe SLaMMing the rajasthan government over the extent of the construction in the aravalli Hills surrounding Udaipur, the rajasthan High Court has said that its 2018 Hill Policy seemed to be authored by “certain private agencies”. expressing alarm over the hillsbeingpushedto“theverge of extinction”, the High Court sought names of authors of the Glaringly evident that hills and mountains have been brutally cut, says bench. FIlE state’s Hill Policy of 2018 and 2024, as well as the names and designations of the top officers who had granted permissions for construction and commercial activities. The court ironically was hearing the petition by a hotelier, Basant Hotels Private Ltd, thatithadalreadyattaineddue permissions under the 2018 policy, and that the provisions of the Hill Policy 2024 should not be applied to it. a Bench of Justice Sameer Jain said last week — the order »CoNTiNUed oN PaGe 2 l Tirkey, a Former india caPTain, wriTes To execuTive Board on jersey colour chanGe Who took the call and why, asks Hockey India chief as jersey blue turns saffron Business as Usual By EP UNNY Mihir Vasavda jersey colour. in the emails, Tirkey, a former india captain, said the a ForTnigHT before the FiH decisionhadbeenimplemented Hockey World Cup gets under- withoutbeingplacedbeforethe wayinBelgiumandthenether- executive Board or brought to lands, a row is brewing in india hisnotice,anddirectedofficials to provide a detailed over the decision to accountofhowitwas change the national page 1 approved. team’s traditional Thedevelopment bluejerseytosaffron. comesadayafterThe on Friday, Hockey india president Dilip IndianExpressreportedthatthe Tirkey shot off two separate jersey change had been made emails to senior office-bearers without consulting the players, andexecutiveBoardmembers, with several members of the inseeking an explanation over dian team learning about the the decision to change the newdesignonlyafteritwaspresMumbai, July 31 anchor HockEyINdIA hockey india president and former india captain dilip Tirkey ented to them earlier this week. in the first email, sent »CoNTiNUed oN PaGe 2 Kolkata SenTenCing ForMer aam aadmi Party (aaP) councillor Tahir Hussain and four others to life imprisonment for the murder of intelligence Bureau (iB)stafferankitSharmaduring the 2020 northeast Delhi riots, a Delhi court said Sharma’s “body was dragged like an animal” and the crime “was committed with utmost brutality”. Thecourt,however,rejected the police plea seeking the death penalty for the convicts, saying it was a “last resort”. Former aaP councillor Tahir hussain at delhi’s karkardooma court on Friday. ANI additional Sessions Judge (aSJ) Praveen Singh of KarkardoomaCourtstatedintheorder, »CoNTiNUed oN PaGe 2