DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2025, AHMEDABAD, LATE CITY, 20 PAGES SINCE 1932 `5.00 ● WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM TWO WEEKS AFTER IMPOSITION OF PRESIDENT’S RULE Manipur ethnic militia turns in huge cache of looted weapons 246 weapons surrendered by Arambai Tenggol as Governor’s deadline ends EXPLAINED E Weapons surrendered by the Arambai Tenggol militia in Imphal, Thursday. Express SUKRITA BARUAH GUWAHATI, FEBRUARY 27 ON THURSDAY, the last day of the deadline Manipur Governor AjayKumarBhallasetforsurrendering weapons looted from the state’sarmouriesduringtheconflict,Imphalsawanunusualpro- BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY cession — a stream of vehicles of the radical armed group Arambai Tenggol packed with guns of varying sizes. The group surrendered246weaponsatthe 1st MR complex in ImphalWest. This mass surrender of weaponsbythegroupcametwo days after its members met Governor Bhalla in Raj Bhawan. It is the largest such surrender of illegally held weapons so far in the strife-torn state. On February 20, the Governor appealed to people of all communities to surrender such weapons to their nearest security establishments within seven days, stating that no punitive action would be taken. NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 27 TUHIN KANTA PANDEY APPOINTED NEWSEBICHIEF P 18 INDIA-PAK MATCH Gave no notice, razed shop due to complaint, crowd: Civic chief of Malvan MOHAMED THAVER & SADAF MODAK MUMBAI, FEBRUARY 27 APART FROM demolishing the tin shed scrap shop of the father of the 15-year-old, held after police said they received a complaint that the boy raised “antinational” slogans during the India-Pakistancricketmatchlast Sunday, authorities in Sindhudurg’s Malvan also razed the nearby shop of his father’s elder brother. No notice was served before razing the shops. When contacted,MalvanMunicipalCouncil chief officer Santosh Jirage told CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 GETTING ARMED groups to surrender weapons is one among a series of measures being taken by the Centre via the Governor to restore law and order in Manipur. There are plans to crack down on militias, remove illegal checkposts and escort convoys transporting people and goods. However, he said that “strict action” would be taken for possessing such weapons after this period ends. Around 6,000 weapons have been looted from state armouries during the conflict, which began in May 2023. Twenty-one months later, there CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 India a trusted friend, looking to elevate strategic ties: EU President SHUBHAJIT ROY ECONOMY Firstof many ● measures CALLING INDIA a “trusted friend” and “a strategic ally”, EuropeanCommissionPresident Ursula von der Leyen, who reached New Delhi Thursday with the European Union’s College of Commissioners, said she will discuss with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on “how to take our strategic partnership to the next level”. Modi and von der Leyen are to meet Friday. Her visit to India is taking place at a time when the trans-Atlantic partnership between Europe and the US is navigatinguncertainty.Indiaand EU are looking to unveil a new “strategicpartnershiproadmap” as they deal with the flux in geopolitics. EuropeanCommission PresidentUrsulavonder LeyenatRajghat,Thursday. AP External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar called on von der Leyen and, in a post on X, said, “Appreciate her thoughts on reenergizing India’s engagement Mujib downsized, India’s role in liberation war cut: Dhaka rewrites textbooks RAVIK BHATTACHARYA with Europe. The wide ranging participation of Indian Ministers andEUCollegeofCommissioners duringthisvisitstandstestimony to the importance we place on deeper India-EU ties.” PresidentvonderLeyenisaccompanied by the European UnionCollegeof Commissioners — of the 27 EU Commissioners, 22 are part of the delegation — and the second ministerial meeting of the India-EU Trade and Technology Council and bilateral ministerial meetings will be held during the visit. She went to Rajghat to pay tribute to Mahatma Gandhi. “Touchdown in Delhi with my team of Commissioners. In an era of conflicts and intense competition, you need trusted friends. For Europe, India is such a friend and a strategic ally. I’ll CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 AAP MLAs barred from premises of Delhi House KOLKATA, FEBRUARY 27 GAYATHRI MANI ■ Photographs and text on former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, ousted in August 2024, dropped entirely from all school textbooks. ■ Content on Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Hasina’s father and the nation’s founding President, dropped or scaled down. ■ India’s role in the freedom movement retained, but photographs of Indira Gandhi with Mujibur Rahman dropped. ■Hasina’s message for students on the back cover of textbooks replaced with photographs of graffiti from the 2024 July upris- THE OPPOSITION Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) held a protest and wrote to President Droupadi Murmuseekinganappointment after 21 of its 22 MLAs — who were suspended Tuesday for three days — were denied entry into the Delhi Assembly premises on Thursday. Leader of Opposition Atishi, who was among the suspended AAP MLAs, in her letter to the President sought time to meet her on Friday. “Today,onFebruary27,when NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 27 Pakistan’s surrender to India in Dhaka, 1971 ing against her regime. THESE ARE among the most drastic changes made to school textbooksinBangladeshthisyear by its National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB) — alterationsthatalmostobliterate CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 How Bofors Deep Throat stuck neck out — to reveal truth, nail lie of Cong govts PAGE 1 ANCHOR COOMI KAPOOR NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 27 THE TERM, Deep Throat, has become part of our vocabulary in recognitionof thewhistleblower whoprovidedinvaluableleadsto The Washington Post reporters in the Watergateinvestigations.But despite the reams of publicity on the Bofors affair over nearly 30 years, few are aware of the identityofthelowkeyseniorSwedish Journalist and author Chitra Subramaniam with Sten Lindstrom police officerwhosurreptitiously handedoverscoresof secretdocuments to investigative journal- ist Chitra Subramaniam, which conclusivelynailedtheliesofsuccessive Congress governments that no kickbacks were involved in the Bofors field gun purchase. Subramaniam nicknamed her principal source simply as “Sting’’. His real name, Sten Lindstrom, surfaced for the first timein2012andeventhenwent largely unnoticed. The fascinating story of the whistleblower, who stuck his neckoutandprovidedaplethora of evidenceof paymentsincommissions in Swiss banks in the $1.3-billiongundealistoldindetail for the first time in Subramaniam’snewbookBofors Gate (Juggernaut). CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Ahmedabad