WWW.iNdiaNeXPReSS.Com Power of a Shared Joke Laughter as a social emotion, the evolution of satire, and what makes for a healthy democracy new delhi, augusT 16, 2026 screen As Dil Chahta Hai completes 25 years, Farhan Akhtar recalls the instinct and experimentation that went into it laTe CiTy 14+4 PageS ₹7.00 (₹8 RaiPuR, ₹15 SRiNagaR) d a i l y f R o m : a h m e d a B a d , happening today lThe BJP government in West Bengal will complete its first 100 days in office. The administration and the party have planned a series of events to mark the occasion. lVice PresidenT C P Radhakrishnan will begin a two-day visit to Tamil Nadu to participate in a series of events. Track These and more on www.indianexpress.com C h a N d i g a R h , Amaal sheikh New Delhi, August 15 FACING CRITICISM over his now-withdrawn directive, Bar CouncilofIndia(BCI)chairman MananKumarMishraissuedan apology to law students on Saturday,sayingthat“peacefuldisagreement, questioning and protestareimportantfeaturesof a constitutional democracy” and “students must always remainfreetoexpresstheirviews”. OnThursday,Mishrahadissued a directive barring the 2026 graduating batch of NALSARUniversityofLaw,Hyderabad, from enrolling with state Bar councils and seeking an inquiry to identify students behind a campaign against inviting Chief Justice of India Surya Kant for the university's convocation. The directive was rolled back within hours. In a letter on Saturday, Mishrasaid:“Thedevelopments of the last few days have caused concern and anguish among a section of the student community. Whenever students feel hurtoraggrieved,theirconcerns deserve to be heard with patience,sensitivityandrespect.If anything connected with the present controversy, any of my words,orletter,hashurtthefeelings of our law students, I sincerely regret and apologise for the same. There should be no hesitation in saying so. An expressionofregretisnotamatter of prestige or ego. It is simply an »cOnTinUed On PAGe 2 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 , JAnTAr MAnTAr echO AT red FOrT: 80Th indePendence dAY Address Youth will power our journey to Viksit Bharat 2047, says PM Modi underlines reform push along seven streams, manufacturing to soft power; free online exam coaching, AI training for 1 crore, talent hunt for 2036 Olympics Manoj c G New Delhi, August 15 Underfireforhis blackballorder, Barcouncil chiefsayssorry tolawstudents d e l h i , MARKING THE 80th Independence Day in the shadow of the Jantar Mantar protests by the youth—whichsawtheresignationofaUnionMinisterandthe promise of exam reform — Prime Minister Narendra Modi Saturday underlined “yuva shakti” (youth power) assuring themthattheGovernmentwas committed to fulfilling their dreams. Calling them the biggestbeneficiaries(labharthi)of India’s development journey, he urged the youth to step up and become agents of change. Addressing the nation on Independence Day, Modi announced free online coaching for those preparing for competitive exams, training for 1 crore youth in AI skills and a concerted action plan to expand and nurture sporting tal- New Delhi, August 15 When I speak of taking the country forward at a rapid pace, who is the greatest beneficiary of all these efforts? Who is the greatest force driving these efforts? If there is one, it is the youth of my country.” PRIME MINISTER Narendra Modi’s call Saturday to identify and isolate “dimagi Naxals” (those with a Maoist mindset) who were “looking for ways of violence and anarchy”, drew sharp criticism from the Oppositionparties,whichaccused himofusinglabelstotargetdissent and suppress his political rivals that, they said, will pave the way for “a one-party rule and eventually dictatorship”. In his Independence Day speechfromtherampartsofthe Red Fort, his 13th consecutive address,Modisaidwhilearmed Naxalismwasnearingitsendin ent for the 2036 Olympics. As their duty, he called upon the young to take part in the national Census and help their family digitize their household data which, he said, was key to policy-making. Towards the end of his »cOnTinUed On PAGe 2 the world row erupts As kerAlA skips VAnde mAtArAm the jungles, their ideological sympathisers were seeking opportunities to create unrest in the country. He said while Maoists, who had killed more than 3,500 security personnel and left the land soaked in blood, are breathing their last afteryearsofsecurityoperations against them, “we must not underestimate this challenge”. “We need to be even more file,andwhetherhewasalsoinvolved in wildlife trafficking. “After both key accused, who were on the payroll of Wildlife SOS, named Kartick Satyanarayan, he has been asked to appear before the Investigating Officer. We are coordinating with the WCCB (Wildlife Crime Control Bureau)…wewilldoeverything it takes to secure our forests," Madhya Pradesh chief wildlife warden Sameeta Rajoura told The Indian Express. Satyanarayan did not respond to an email, messages and phone calls; Wildlife SOS co-founderandsecretaryGeeta Seshamaniwasalsounavailable »cOnTinUed On PAGe 2 »cOnTinUed On PAGe 2 Prime minister narendra modi unfurls the Tricolour at the red Fort in delhi on saturday. TaShi ToBgyal ritu sarin New Delhi, August 15 bangladesh Pm Tarique rahman with indian envoy dinesh Trivedi in dhaka on august 10. file pAge 10 47 killed As quAke of 7.7 mAgnitude rocks indonesiA Accept high oil prices, trump tells u.s. As irAn defiAnt on strAit shubhajit roy »cOnTinUed On PAGe 2 one of the leg-hold traps seized by madhya Pradesh sTTF pAge 6 Request can’t be decoupled from current diplomatic exchanges: Top Govt official INTENSENEGOTIATIONSare on between Delhi and Dhaka over ousted Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s continued presence in India, her recentstatementsandtheirpotential to adversely affect bilateral ties including a visit by leopard skins seized, top delhi wildlife ngo accused of nexus with poachers INVESTIGATORSHAVEfound thataseasonedwildlife-contraband trader and his associate, arrested by the Madhya Pradesh State Tiger Task Force (STTF)earlierthisweekoveran alleged big-cat poaching operation, were on the payroll of a prominentDelhi-basedwildlife conservation NGO, TheIndian Express has learnt. Incustody,thetrader,Bhagwan Singh alias Salim, and his accomplice Wasim are said to have told investigators they were acting on the instructions ofWildlifeSOSCEOKartickSatyanarayan. The STTF has since served Satyanarayan a notice to appear before the Investigating Officer in Shivpuri on August 17. Investigators say they have gathered “substantial digital evidence”tyinghimtoanoperation they believe was run “for personalgains.”Theyareexamining whether Satyanarayan “organised poaching and stagedseizures”tobuildhisand the NGO's anti-poaching pro- Hasina’s extradition core issue for Dhaka, energy shortage, bilateral ties open window Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, The Indian Express has learnt. Rahman’s visit was scheduledforAugust21andisnowan issue on the diplomatic table. Indian and Bangladeshi diplomats and security officials are workingtowardsnavigatingthe turbulence in the relationship, express exclusive New Delhi, August 15 Question mark on Rahman visit as India courts will decide extradition Delhi, Dhaka push to dial down chill of Hasina, talks on to change course New Delhi, August 15 v a d o d a R a Jay Mazoomdaar PM nArendrA MOdi inside P u N e , NGO ‘staged’ seizure to take credit: Officials; 2 staff held for poaching name CEO Kartick Satyanarayan who gets notice to join probe PM red-flags ‘dimagi Naxal’, Opp says bid to curb dissent, tar rivals Manoj c G P a T N a , AS THE Tarique Rahman government reiterates its request for the extradition of Bangladesh’s ousted Prime Minister SheikhHasina,topgovernment officials in India said such requests have to come before the Indianjudiciaryandbedecided byit,butaddedthatintensediscussionswereonwithDhakato move away from such a maximalist position. “The decision to extradite will be finally taken by our courts, it will not be a political or diplomatic decision. And what has to be established duringthecourtprocessiswhether »cOnTinUed On PAGe 2 E. explained A tightrope walk The extradition question will not arise if Sheikh Hasina decides to return to Bangladesh in December as she has said. Even otherwise, while the Indian judiciary will take a call on her extradition, Delhi will be keen to resolve the issue diplomatically, and impress upon Dhaka not to take this maximalist position. For small taxpayers, Govt opens window to declare foreign income, assets Aanchal Magazine New Delhi, August 15 THE GOVERNMENT has introduced a scheme for taxpayers to voluntarily disclose foreign income up to Rs 1 crore and assets located abroad up to Rs 5 crore before December 31. Called the Foreign Assets of Small Taxpayers — Disclosure Scheme (FAST-DS), finance ministry officials said, it is for taxpayers who forgot to mention their foreign assets in their Income Tax Returns. It allows them to avoid large penalties undertheBlackMoneyActdue to a small non-compliance. The FAST-DS rules notified bythegovernmentwillbeeffec- tiveAugust16,andtaxpayerscan disclose their foreign bank accounts, immovable property, jewellery, artistic work, shares, securitiesoranyotherassetorincome on payment of a specified tax or fee, until December 31. The scheme applies to two broadcategories:i)undisclosed foreign income or asset located outsideIndiauptoRs1crore;ii) asset up to Rs 5 crore located outside India, which was already offered to tax or was acquired when the assessee was a non-resident, but not declared in the relevant schedule of the income tax return. Underthefirstcategory,taxpayers have to pay 30% of fair »cOnTinUed On PAGe 2 l sarwanand koul ‘Premi’, son Virender were abducTed and killed in 1990; J&k’s sTaTe inVesTigaTion agency has reoPened The case Nearly 4 decades after his killing, kashmiri Pandit writer’s family awaits justice Aun sharma Jammu MLA Hostel under a watchful police escort. “You can well imagine our WHENKASHMIRIPanditpoet, plight,” says Premi’s now 70journalist, and Independence year-old son Rajinder. “Eight activist Sarwanand Koul people used to a palatial “Premi” was abducted and multi-storeyed house, sharing killed on the night of April 30, a single room with other 1990,alongwithhis27-year-old relatives from Kashmir, all as son Virender Koul, frightened as page 1 his family did the pigeons.” onlythingtheycould Since then, Sarthink of: move out of wanand’s older son their beloved home in Koker- Rajinder has been pursuing a nag,Anantnag.Itwasasombre longlegalbattleconnectedwith procession — his wife, eldest the killings. This week, that sonandhiswife,adaughter,his push appeared to have borne widowed daughter-in-law, and some fruit: the State Investigathree grandchildren — all set tion Agency (SIA) conducted outtoliveinasingleroomatthe searchesatninelocationsacross Jammu, August 15 anchor sarwanand koul ‘Premi’; (right) his family with a b Vajpayee and k r narayanan in delhi, where they moved after his killing J&K, marking the launch of a freshinvestigationintothecase. The raids were part of a wider move by the SIA to officially revive high-profile cold casesinvolvingthetargetedkillingsofKashmiriPanditsduring the peak of the militancy. The twootherhigh-profilecasesare the1989assassinationofretired judge Neelkanth Ganjoo and the 1990 killing of a 27-year-old nurse, Sarla Bhat. For families like the Kouls, this marks the beginning of someclosurefromthescarsthey have borne during this period. “Mymotherusedtosaythat all those politicians from J&K and Delhi, who visited my father for blessings and guidance, stopped coming to see us. The then governments at theCentreandinJ&Kmadenumerous promises of land, compensation and a CBI inquiry into the killings but nothing ever came of them,” Sarwanand’s son Rajinder, a retired government employee, says. AGandhianwhowaspartof theIndianfreedommovement, Koul was among the handful of Kashmiri Pandits whose families were left behind in the Valley during the militancy. The family had been well off, owning two houses in Anantnag. Koul had three sons and four daughters. “We had an old multistoreyed home in Anantnag andabungalow,”Rajindersays. “Withinfivedaysofthemurder, wecollectedthemortalremains and moved to Jammu.” Even before the killing, the family had already been discussing leaving. But Koul wouldn’t hear of it. “He thought it would be a betrayal to his people at a time of crisis,” Rajinder says. Thatchangedonthenightof April 29, when armed militants forced their way into the family homeanddraggedKoulandhis sonVirenderoutofbedandinto thestreets,allegedlyalsolooting thefamily’svaluables.Twodays later, their bodies were found hanging from a tree in a forest some 20 km away, allegedly bearing broken bones and marks of torture. The family knew then that it was time to leave. Without even finishingtheirfather’sfinalrites, the family — including Virender’s widow and toddler daughter — left Anantnag, securingaroomattheMLAHostel in Jammu with the help of then J&K Governor Jagmohan, »cOnTinUed On PAGe 2