DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE FRIDAY, JANUARY 3, 2025, LUCKNOW, LATE CITY, 16 PAGES BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY WILL LOOK AT PITCH AND DECIDE (ON ROHIT): GAMBHIR AHEAD OF FINAL TEST Melbourne effect: First time, captain to sit out, Bumrah steps into Rohit’s shoes What after the tough call: Rohit, Virat and question of captaincy Head coach: Had ‘honest words’ with players, team ‘lacked fight’ this series SPORT SANDIP G The Indian Express first reported on the dressing down in the dressing room on January 1 EXPRESSINAUSTRALIA Manmohan memorial: Ekta Sthal, Vijay Ghat, Rashtriya Smriti Sthal on Govt shortlist Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh SRIRAM VEERA SYDNEY, JANUARY 2 THE EARLY hint of India captain Rohit Sharma sitting out of the final Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at Sydney came from head coach Gautam Gambhir. “We shall look at the pitch and take a call tomorrow,” he said at the pre-match press conference here on Thursday. It’s rare for the inclusion of a teamcaptainbeingsubjecttothe nature of the pitch. Later, Rohit had a light net session, facing a few casual throwdowns. There was no official announcement, but by evening the word was out — Rohit, who has been struggling for runs, had “opted to rest” while vice-captain Jasprit Bumrah would lead the side. The team seemed to take the change at the top in its stride. Afterthepressconference,Rohit, BumrahandGambhirwereseen sitting in the bucket-seats outside their dressing room — chatting,back-slappingandlaughing. Afterthisshortmeeting,Rohit walked towards the team bus, to be greeted by a roar from a small crowd lined up outside. “Rohit, Rohit,” they chanted, and the “rested” captain gave a big smile as he sauntered into the bus. It was an unusual day. The pre-match press conference, slated to start at 1.10 pm, began nearly half-an-hour late; word CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 NEW DELHI, JANUARY 2 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 EXPLAINED AVIATION HOW IN-FLIGHT INTERNET WORKS PAGE 9 PAGE 1 ANCHOR A YEAR of transition and transformations awaits Indian cricket in the longest format. The ongoingseriesisstill alive. India could win in Sydney, retain the BGT, and are not yet out of the World Test Championship final race. But there are clear signs that the selectors, head coach Gautam Gambhir and team managementare thinking ahead and plan● ning to leap into the future of Indian cricket. In the process, they would take tough and important calls. Like the form and future of Captain Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, two struggling stalwarts; or who will be the captain when Rohit retires; or the immediate future of Rishabh Pant. India’s next big Test series is six months away.Theytravelforafive-match E Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah at the nets in Sydney on Thursday, ahead of the final Test. Sriram Veera PAGE15 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Omar: PM assured statehood for J&K, so let’s give Centre first opportunity NAVEED IQBAL SRINAGAR, JANUARY 2 IN HIS first media interaction here Thursday, two-and-a-half months after taking over as Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah stressed on restoration of statehood to J&K but added that his government was willing to wait for the Centre to do so rather than taking recourse to courts. While acknowledging that dual power centres were a problem in running the government, Omar also emphasised that he was under no pressure from the Centre, Raj Bhavan or the BJP to “change our thinking or our language or our agenda”. “From the first day, the PM and the HM (Home Minister) havetoldmethat‘Youhavebeen given the mandate and weare in the Opposition. There will be no effort to destabilise this government. The support that we extended to the Lieutenant Governor will be extended to you. We will respect the mandate of the people of J&K’. These are the words of the PM and HM,” Omar said. Pointing out that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had himself committed to restoration of statehood to J&K, Omar saidhewantedtogivetheCentre “the first opportunity” to do so. “Every government or every individual has recourse to courts. Iran minister in Delhi for talks to boost ties, trade via Chabahar MAHENDER SINGH MANRAL TOPOFFICIALSfromtheMinistry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and Central Public Works Departmentidentifiedthreepotential sites for former Prime MinisterManmohanSingh’smemorial — Ekta Sthal, Vijay Ghat and Rashtriya Smriti Sthal — at a meetingonThursdayafternoon, The Indian Express has learnt. Anofficialannouncementon the final site is awaited. Ekta Sthal is home to former President Giani Zail Singh’s samadhi; Vijay Ghat houses the memorial of India’s second Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri; Rashtriya Smriti Sthal is a designated memorial complex for departed leaders. While Vijay Ghat is located on the main Ring Road near Rajghat(MahatmaGandhi’smemorial), Ekta Sthal lies between Shanti Van (Jawaharlal Nehru’s samadhi) and Vijay Ghat, along Rajghat, and Rashtriya Smriti Sthal is near Ekta Sthal. According to sources, Urban Development Secretary K Srinivas will inform Singh’s family about the proposed sites. Land allocation will follow the establishment of a Trust, for whichthefamilywouldbeasked to nominate members. NEW DELHI, JANUARY 2 EXPLAINED KHEL RATNA FOR MANU, GUKESH, HARMANPREET, PRAVEENKUMAR PAGE 16 `6.00 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 SHUBHAJIT ROY NEW DELHI, JANUARY 2 NEW ROLE Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh with newly appointed Governor Ajay Bhalla in Imphal on Thursday. PTI PAGE4 DAYS BEFORE Donald Trump returns to the Oval Office, Majid Takht-Ravanchi, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister, has reached New Delhi for talks Friday with External Affairs Minister S JaishankarandForeignSecretary VikramMisri.IranislookingatincreasingbilateraltradewithIndia, including via the Chabahar port. From tourism to agriculture, Tehran wants to boost ties with Delhi and bilateral talks will take place before the Trump ad- Majid TakhtRavanchi, Iran Deputy Foreign Minister ministration takes charge on January 20. Sources said Iran would also like to get a sense from Indian officials on dealing with sanctions — India has stopped buying oil from Iran due to the threat of sanctions, but has continued to buy oil from Russia despite sanctions. A top Iranian government source said while the “circumstances” of Russia and Iran are “different”, these questions merit discussions. “We don’t want to deal with the past, but want to look into the future,” the source said. For Tehran, which has suffered from the economic sanctions imposed during Trump’s first term, increasing trade with Indiais“veryimportant”.Tehran hopes to diversify to other areas, including agriculture and petrochemical products through the Chabahar port. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Did Rajaji tiger walk 500 km to Jammu? Army has a photograph; Forest dept says seems ‘photoshopped’ Poonch Kangra Himachal Pradesh JAY MAZOOMDAAR NEW DELHI, JANUARY 2 COULD A tiger “sighted” a few kilometres from the Line of Control in Jammu’s Rajouri be thebigcatthatsetoutinanorthwest direction from Uttarakhand’s Rajaji Tiger Reserve, travelling more than 500 km, over two years? Wemayneverknowbecause the “sighting” by the Army’s Road Opening Party (ROP) close to the Rajouri-Poonch highway ontheslopesof PirPanjalmountains at a height of 6,000 feet has landed the Jammu and Kashmir forestdepartment andthe Army on opposite sides. Jammu Rajouri Ropar Renuka Sanctuary (Himachal) Kalesar National Park (Haryana) Rajaji Tiger Reserve (Uttarakhand) While the Army ROP has clicked a photographof thetiger, the forest department has CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 This photograph of a tiger was taken by an Army patrol near the Rajouri-Poonch highway J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah in Srinagar on Thursday. Shuaib Masoodi But that was never going to be our first option,” he said. TheCMaddedthattheUnion governmentwasnotblindtothe “benefits” of the elections that sawenthusiasticparticipationby the people of J&K. “The biggest promisetheCentralgovernment made to J&K is restoration of statehood…WhentheSupreme Court gave its verdict… it said that statehood be restored ‘as soon as possible’. It has been a year and we believe that that’s enough.” The biggest responsibility of his own government, Omar said, was to respect “the sentiments and aspirations” of the people of J&K. On why the lack of statehood was his “biggest challenge”, he said: “J&K runs a deficit budget, therefore we are more dependent on the Government of India CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 THE WORLD NEW ORLEANS ATTACKER ‘INSPIRED’ BY ISLAMIC STATE, U.S. ARMY VETERAN ONE KILLED IN TESLA TRUCK BLAST OUTSIDE TRUMP’S VEGAS HOTEL PAGE 12 Unless there is clear proof, we cannot take action: CM Naidu on Adani power contract SREENIVAS JANYALA HYDERABAD, JANUARY 2 ANDHRA PRADESH Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has said that the Solar Energy Corporation of India’s agreement to purchase power from the Adani Group was an advantage for the state government and any action on bribery charges would be taken only after a thorough examination of the records. “We will move ahead as per theprovisionsof lawafterexamining the records,” Naidu said on Wednesday at the TDP’s headquarters at Mangalagiri. On Tuesday, the CM said in Vijayawada that the state government cannot scrap the contracts unless there is adequate proof of irregularities. “We have to pay high penal- ‘Will move ahead as per provisions of law’ ties if we scrap the contracts. Unless there is clear proof, we cannot take action,” he said. The development comes more than a month after Gautam Adani’s indictment in the United States over allegations of bribing Indian government officials to secure “lucrative solar energy supply contracts”. Speaking in the Legislative Assembly on November 22, Naidu had said that his governmentwasinpossessionof theUS indictment reports, and action would be taken if irregularities CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 On road to Maha Kumbh, 84 ‘pillars of faith’: ‘It’s symbolic way to moksha’ MAULSHREE SETH LUCKNOW, JANUARY 2 WITH 10 days left for the Maha Kumbh, the Uttar Pradesh government is lining the road leading to the airport in Prayagraj with 84 red sandstone pillars — “Aastha Ke Sthambh (pillars of faith)”. The installation of the pillars will cost the government Rs 17 crore with each pillar costing about Rs 20 lakh. Each pillar will have 108 names of Lord Shiva engraved on itandakalash(pitcher)atthetop. The red sandstone for construct- ing the pillars was brought from Bansi Paharpur in Rajasthan, an official said. “When visitors will walk around these 84 pillars in a parikrama (clockwise circumambulation), they will metaphorically complete a journey through the 84 lakh yonis, symbolically traversing the entire cycle of existence and connecting with the profound teachings of Sanatan Dharma philosophy,”AmritAbhijat,principal secretary (Urban Development Department) told The Indian Express. Meenaksha Payal, an executive at the construction agency developing the pillars, said, “The 84 pillars have been divided into four parts -- from left to right -with each pillar defining 1 lakh yonis. All the 108 names of Lord Shivahavealsobeendividedinto four parts. Therefore, parikrama of the 84 pillars will be symbolic of covering the entire universe.” The pillars will be installed in a sequence of four with each having 21 pillars. Acharya Mithlesh Nandani Sharan has written the signage describingthepillars.Itsays:“Life is a huge journey going through the infinite cycles of birth and death, the soul changes its form 84 lakh times in an attempt to Made of red sandstone from Bansi Paharpur in Rajasthan, each pillar has 108 names of Lord Shiva engraved on it. Express find itself. This cycle is divided into four categories of 21 lakh each.Aftergettingahumanbody, onehastotravelthroughthefour ashrams of Brahmacharya, Grihastha, Vanaprastha and Sanyas to attain the four Purusharthas — Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha. In this inevitablegreatjourneyof thesoul, its real power is faith.” “On one hand, these 84 four pillars of faith express the four ashrams and four purusharthas. On the other hand, they assure that the soul will be taken beyond the 84 lakh yonis by the graceof Shiva.Indicatingthefour yugas and four directions of the Sanatan concept,” he added. Officials engaged in the constructionworkatthesitesaidthe pillars were “near completion” and would be ready by this week”. In a statement, the Uttar Pradesh government on Thursday said preparations for the Maha Kumbh, which is held after 12 years, are in full swing and rapid efforts are underway to ensure the event's success. This year, an estimated 40 to 45 crore devotees are expected to visit Prayagraj during the Maha Kumbh, which is set to take place from January 13 to February 26. INSIDE U.P.RETAINSTOP SLOTIN DOMESTIC TOURISM FOOTFALL FORTHREEYEARS INROW PAGE 3 Lucknow