The editorial Page: seven years after august 5 — delaying J&K statehood undermines gains 14 WEDNEsDAY, AUGUst 5, 2026 Journalism of Courage KoLKAtA, LAtE CIty, 20 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 Lop heLD Over remarks DireCteD at aCtOr LinkeD tO Cm vijay Udhayanidhi arrest sparks row, TN House meets today Tamil Nadu Leader of Opposition Udhayanidhi Stalin after being questioned by police in Tamil Nadu’s Thanjavur district, Tuesday. PtI HC orders release; DMK leader says row a bid to divert attention from Cauvery dispute arun janardhanan Chennai, August 4 tHE arrESt of DMK leader UdhayanidhiStalin,theLeader of the opposition (LoP) in the tamil nadu assembly, on tuesday over his alleged sexually coloured remarks at a public meeting on the ties between Chief Minister C Joseph vijay and a tamil actor escalatedintoashowdownbetween the tvK-led government and the DMK in the state. the row triggered a war of words between the vijay-led tvK and the DMK on the eve of theassembly’sBudgetSession, setting off statewide protests and a legal battle in the Madras High Court. Hours after the police took Udhayanidhi to thanjavur, he was questioned at the Sengipattipolicestationbeforebeing released on bail as per the High Court’s order. »COntinueD On paGe 2 eXPRess special Gen Z loud and clear on the street but invisible in parliament, assemblies Only 6 MPs & 20 MLAs from GenZ, given eligibility age is 25 for candidates, but population share is nearly 26% anjishnu Das New Delhi, August 4 on tHE streets, gen Z’s voice rings loud and clear, but in Parliament and the state legislatures, it remains a faint echo. the reason: gen Z accounts for over a quarter of the country's population, yet its Happening today lOppOsitiOn pDp will hold protests in J&K to mark the seventh anniversary of the abrogation of Article 370. inside representation in politics is restricted to just 26 legislators across the country — six Lok Sabha MPs and 20 MLas, a low number even though the minimum age to contest elections is 25, which rules out a chunk of this demographic. Defined as those born »COntinueD On paGe 2 l Party-wiseGenZMPsandMLAs AIADMK: 1 inC BJP Total Gen Z legislators 7 5 DMK: 1 HSPDP: 1 Independent: 1 JanaSena Party: 1 TVK 3 26 SP: 2 NPP: 1 NCP(SP): 1 LJP(RV): 1 JD(U): 1 SoURCE: LoK SAbHA, StAtE ASSEMbLIES, ADR twO years after Ouster ‘India can reach AI frontier in one year with $10-billion push’ business as usual By EP UNNY paGEs 3, 10 Exiled leader who faces death sentence set to announce return Co-presented by Sarvam AI’s Pratyush Kumar and tech investor Rajan Anandan hasInashouldbE allowEdtorEturnto banGladEsh:taslIma IndIan vEssEl hIt, sInks off yEmEn, all crEw safE paGE 10 Celebration Partner Experience Partner ens economic Bureau Mumbai, August 4 inDiaCancatchupwithfrontier artificial intelligence models developed in the West withinayear,withthecountry’s ai ecosystem currently only a $10-billion investment away from competing with global players, according to Pratyush Kumar, co-founder and CEo of »COntinueD On paGe 2 Delhi distances itself from Hasina event today, Dhaka warns its media not to air thE bIG pIcturE IndIa to japan, vIa north East paGE 11 Kolkata shubhajit roy Wednesday marks two years of the fall of Hasina government Moving to address concerns in Dhaka, Delhi made it clear tuesday it was neither involvedinnorwasitgoingtoendorse any view aired during ousted Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s public interaction scheduled Wednesday in the Capital. She is New Delhi, August 4 »COntinueD On paGe 2