DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE SATURDAY, JULY 27, 2024, AHMEDABAD, LATE CITY, 20 PAGES 25TH ANNIVERSARY OF VICTORY IN KARGIL Falsehoodbeingspread, Agnipathmeanttokeep forceyoung,ready:PM BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY Mamata at NITI meeting today, says did not hear from INDIA MANOJ C G NEW DELHI, JULY 26 ON THE eve of NITI Aayog’s Governing Council meeting, which is being boycotted by several Opposition leaders, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said Friday that there was no “coordination” among parties of the INDIA bloc on boycottingthemeeting,butasserted that she would be the Opposition’svoiceatthemeeting. Shealsosaidthatthegovernment’s apex think tank was “powerless”, and pitched for the Planning Commission’s revival. In New Delhi to attend the meeting — the first after the Lok Sabhaelectionsandformationof Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s third government — Banerjee saidshelearntaboutthedecision of some INDIA bloc CMs to boycottthemeetingfromthemedia. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Smoke in the colours of the French flag billows in Paris during the opening ceremony of the Olympics, Friday. AP PAGES19,20 The world parties on the Seine as the Games begin, Paris puts behind a scare EXPRESSAT OLYMPICS MIHIR VASAVDA PARIS, JULY 26 AFTER THE arson attacks, bomb threats, the locked down city centre and bouts of anxiety came plumes of blue, white and redsmokewithasplashof water — the ‘water curtains’ — on Pont d’Austerlitz. And in that instant, shortly after 7.30 pm local time, the whole of Paris heaved a col- SecurityandpassengersatGaredeBordeauxSaint-Jeanstation afterthreatsagainstthehigh-speedTGVnetwork. Reuters lective sigh of relief. What followed was a party never seen before on the Seine. There was Lady Gaga singing in French, little children taking the Olympic flame from Zinedine Zidane on a broken down metro (and then re-emergingontheparadealong theriver)andcabaretalongwith a celebration of love, music andsport—allinconstant,heavy rain. Thiswasarareeveningwhen even the French didn’t mind a laugh at their own expense, playing on the stereotypes and, like the creators had promised, “not being like everyone else”. The first Olympics opening ceremony to be held outside a stadium began with a montage reminding just that — people running with the flame into an CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Chomsky’s criticism of RAIN CONTINUES PM in a PhD proposal: Over 3,000 evacuated in south Gujarat, SAU notice to student, Purna river flows above danger mark Lankan scholar resigns KAMAAL SAIYED SURAT, JULY 26 VIDHEESHA KUNTAMALLA NEW DELHI, JULY 26 A DOCTORAL research proposal on Kashmir’s ethnography and politics, which cites American linguist Noam Chomsky’s criticism of the NDA government, has led to a show-cause notice being issued to a PhD scholar andadisciplinaryinquiryagainst hissupervisorattheSouthAsian University (SAU) in New Delhi, The Indian Express has learned. Incidentally, after the disciplinary inquiry was initiated against the supervisor, Sasanka Perera, who teaches sociology and is a founding member of the SociologydepartmentatSAU,resigned from the university. Meanwhile, the PhD scholar has tendered an apology to the university administration for hurting sentiments. Perera declined to comment on the disciplinary inquiry and his subsequent resignation. A The SAU in New Delhi. File culturalanthropologist,heholds a Master’s and PhD degree from the University of California, Santa Barbara. He has been the Chairman of the Department of Sociology (2011-2014), the Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences (2011-2018), and the Vice President of SAU (2016-2019). Prior to that, he was with the Department of Sociology at the Universityof Colombo,SriLanka, for 20 years. Perera was also the Founding Chairman of the MORE THAN 3,000 people were shifted out of their homes, as several villages were inundated due to heavy rain in south Gujarat. While around 2,800 people were relocated from villages and low-lying areas in Navsari after Purna river crossed the danger mark, around 500 peoplewereevacuatedinneighbouring Tapi district following heavy rain in 24 hours. "PurnaRiverpassingthrough Navsaridistricthasbeenflowing at 30 feet, well above the danger markof 23feet,duetoheavyrain in the district and its upstream basin in 24 hours," Navsari BIG PICTURE PAGE 15 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 THE WORLD HARRIS PUSHES NETANYAHU TO REACH A TRUCE DEAL IN GAZA PAGE 18 PAGE 1 ANCHOR `6.00 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 KOTA MULTIPLIED The recent NEET results underlined the dominance of the coaching industry — from Sikar in Rajasthan to Kottayam in Kerala Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Kargil War Memorial in Drass on Friday. PTI Pays tribute at war memorial in Drass, says forces more effective, self-reliant now NAVEED IQBAL SRINAGAR, JULY 26 IN HIS strongest defence of the Agnipath scheme, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Friday said its “aim is to keep the force young and to keep them ready for war at all times”, but “some people” have turned it into a “matter of politics”. The scheme — under which around45,000to50,000soldiers are supposed to be recruited annually, and most will leave the service in four years — has been frequently criticised by the Opposition. In fact, in the run-up totheLokSabhapolls,Opposition leaders led by Congress’s Rahul Gandhihadtriedtotapintowhat they felt was anger over the scheme.TheCongressmaintains theschemeis“againsttheinterest of youth of the country”. Speaking at the Kargil War Memorial at Drass after paying tributetothesoldiersonthe25th anniversary of the Kargil Vijay CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Rescue operation in progress at Navsari on Friday. Express Collector Kshipra Agre said. "Asmanyas2,200peopleliving in Navsari town and other surrounding areas have been shifted to shelter houses, where 15 medical teams were deployed... Besides, 664 people from 9 villages in the district have been relocated,” Agre said, CONTINUEDONPAGE2 Banks to give home loans even to non-salaried on digital payments history HITESH VYAS, AANCHAL MAGAZINE & RAVI DUTTA MISHRA NEW DELHI, JULY 26 AFTERANEWcreditassessment model for MSMEs announced in theBudget,theFinanceMinistry is now developing a similar product to provide home loans based on the digital footprints of an individual, said Financial Services Secretary Vivek Joshi. The move would be beneficial for individuals applying for homeloanswhosecreditworthiness is not easy to determine. In Budget 2024-25, Finance MinisterNirmalaSitharamanannouncedthatpublicsectorbanks (PSBs) will build their in-house capability to assess MSMEs (Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises) for credit, instead of CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Pak trying to keep itself relevant through terror and proxy wars: Modi NAVEED IQBAL SRINAGAR, JULY 26 PAKISTAN “HAS not learnt from itshistorydespiteitsfailures”and is trying to “keep itself relevant through terrorism and proxy wars”, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Friday at an event to mark the 25th anniversary of India’s victory in the Kargil War. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Amid rise in strikes THE PM’S remarks on Pakistan’s proxy war come in the wake of a spate of terror attacks in J&K, targeting both civilians and security forces, especially in the Jammu region. Banned Jamaat wants to contest J&K polls, in talks BASHAARAT MASOOD SRINAGAR, JULY 26 THREE-AND-A-HALF DECADES after it spearheaded militancy in the Valley, the Jamaat-e-Islami Jammu and Kashmir has decided to return to electoral politics. Jamaat leaders said they are waiting for the Centre to lift the ban on the outfit, in place under the UAPA since February 2019. Sources said several rounds of talks have happened with the government. If it contests the Assembly elections, likely to happen by September-end, it would be the first big major policy change by the Jamaat since 1998, when it had dissociated itself from militancy. This had eventually led to CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Despite SC stay, UP Kanwar route shops play safe: ‘Why pick a fight?’ DHEERAJ MISHRA MUZAFFARNAGAR, JULY 26 THE SUPREME Court Friday extended its interim stay saying eateries along the Kanwar Yatra routescouldnotbeforcedtodisplay the names of their owners, staff and other details, as directed to do so by authorities in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh. At Ground Zero in Muzaffarnagar,wherethefirstof such directives came from the police, the stay has made little difference.Exceptforsomestreet vendors,almostalleaterieshave the new name plates with the detailsinplace.Somesaythatthe police,whichdeflectedquestions saying“thematterissub-judice”, havebeenbacktoensurethatthe name plates are in place. At least some eateries have Kanwariyas carry water from Ganga in Haridwar, Friday. PTI shut, choosing caution over confusion — the Uttar Pradesh government defended the directive beforetheSupremeCourtFriday on grounds of “transparency” and “religious sentiments”. Waseem Ahmad, 50, identifies with the apprehensions of the eatery owners. Till last year, he ran the bustling ‘Ganpati Tourist Dhaba’ on the bypass road to Haridwar. His co-owner was a Hindu — hence the name, he says — as were all his staff. For nine years, they faced no issue. CONTINUEDONPAGE2 ‘I believe bowlers are the smart people... make very good captains’ EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE AHMEDABAD, JULY 26 JASPRIT BUMRAH is universally acknowledged as one of the smartestfastbowlersaround,but if oneaskstheIndianpacespearhead, it’s not just with the ball that his mind is at its sharpest. Bumrahbelievesthatbowlers canmakeexcellentcaptains,and itisunfairthatsofewof themget leadership assignments. “I believe bowlers are the smart people, because they have to get the batsmen out. They are alwaysfightingtheodds,because the grounds are smaller, the bats are better,” Bumrah said at ExpressAddaheldinAhmedabad Thursday. “It’s a hard job, and I takealotofprideindoingthatjob. It takes a lot of guts, puts a lot of strainonyourbody.Bowlersfind newwaysof succeeding,fighting theoddsmakesyoualotbraver.I think leadership requires you to be brave.” Bumrah was in conversation with Anant Goenka, Executive Director, The Indian Express Group, and Sandeep Dwivedi, NationalSportsEditor,TheIndian Express. He has led India in a solitary Test match, and two T20Is, but is notshortof confidenceabouthis capability in this regard. “My favourite captain is me. I’m the greatest captain,” the 30-yearold said. Bumrah comes across as an admirer of Australia Test and one-day captain Pat Cummins, and puts his achievement forward as argument for pacers’ suitability for leadership. “We have seen Pat Cummins doing really well. He is a big example... a fast bowler who takes a lot of responsibility, who takes a lot of pride, won the World Cup, won the WTC (World Test Championship),” he said. “When I was a child, I had seen Wasim Akram, Waqar Jasprit Bumrah at Express Adda in Ahmedabad. Bhupendra Rana Younis captaining. Kapil Dev wonusaWorldCup,ImranKhan has won a World Cup for Pakistan. So, bowlers are the smart ones. It’s just that sometimes, physically it puts a strain on them,” he said. “Most important thing in cricket is captaincy, how you bowl and how you set fields. Bowlers make very good captains. They understand the sport and understand what they have to do.” In a decade-long career in which he has emerged as arguablyIndia’sgreatest-everpace bowler across formats, Bumrah has played under various captains with different leadership styles and has imbibed qualities from all of them. “Rohit (Sharma) is one of the few captains who has empathy towardsbowlers,despitebeinga batsman. He understands players’ emotions. He knows what a player is going through. Rohit is notrigid,heisopentofeedback,” he said. “M S (Dhoni) gave me a lotof securityquickly.Hehasalot of faith in his instinct, and doesn’t believe in a lot of planning.” “Virat (Kohli) is energydriven, passionate, wears his heartonhissleeve.Hepushedus in terms of fitness, changed the narrative that way,” Bumrah CONTINUEDONPAGE2 Ahmedabad