eye MCS/204/2020-22RNINO.MAHENG2002/21899 THE SUNDAY EXPRESS MAGAZINE ‘Once you’ve had an unsafe childhood, you can’t trust safety’ MUMBAI,LATECITY AUGUST31,2025 16+4PAGES,`6.00 ARUNDHATI ROY DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PATNA, PUNE, VADODARA WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM 40-MINUTE SLOT FOR TALKS ON SCO SUMMIT SIDELINES 31/08/2025 77 105 128 72 ISRAELI AIRSTRIKE KILLS HOUTHI REBEL PRIME MINISTER IN SANAA THREE DEAD DURING ANTI-GOVT PROTESTS IN INDONESIA; TEST OF SUBIANTO RULE PAGE 12 ModiandXimeettodayasIndia,China movetorestoreties,onestepatatime Hopefulof fruitful meeting,says Chinesediplomat; DelhiviewsChina militaryremarks asapositivesignal FOUR-PAGE PULLOUT DAY 2: PROTESTS OVER MARATHA QUOTA Declare Marathas from Marathwada region as Kunbis, Jarange tells govt as talks hit a deadlock EXPRESSATSCO SHUBHAJIT ROY Was MLA in Rajasthan between 1993 & 1998 ANKITA UPADHYAY & PARUL KULSHRESTHA NEW DELHI, JAIPUR, AUGUST 30 FORMER VICE-PRESIDENT JagdeepDhankharissettomove to a private accommodation in South Delhi’s Chattarpur Enclave, The Indian Express has learnt. He has also re-applied for pension as a former MLA of the Rajasthan Assembly. The vice-presidential elections are scheduled for September9,andDhankhar(74) has to vacate the V-P’s official residence on Church Road, near the Parliament House Complex, before that. He had stepped down from his post on July 21, citing health reasons. Dhankhar had moved into the V-P’s official residence in April last year. According to sources, until he gets government accommodation, he will remain at Chattarpur Enclave. As per the rules, former Presidents, Vice-Presidents, and Prime Ministers are allotted a Type-8 bungalow. The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (Directorateof Estates)isresponsible for arranging the accommodation. Accordingtosources,officials from the ministry had visited Dhankhar, but the topic of his next accommodation was not discussed. Dhankhar’s office has submitted a formal requisition for housing in line with the rules. “Oncetherequisitionisreceived, available options are presented to the former Vice-President. Following the selection, the CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 TIANJIN, AUGUST 30 AS THEIR countries move to repair ties after a five-yearmilitary standoff along the Line of Actual ControlineasternLadakh,Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping around noon local time Sunday, before the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation in Tianjin, 120 km away from Beijing. The meeting of the two leaders within 10 months — Modi and Xi last met in the Russian city of Kazan in October 2024 on the sidelines of the BRICS summit — is a signal that the two sides are going to give a special thrust to bilateral ties, and Delhi will be keen to push for a “stepby-step” stabilisation of the relationship. A time slot of about 40 minutes has been scheduled for the talks. A senior Chinese diplomat toldTheIndianExpressthathewas “hopeful of a fruitful meeting”. Thetwoleadersareexpected to give their stamp of approval on a calendar of activities to be organised to mark the 75th anniversary of bilateral relations — last-minute diplomatic talks CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 BEHIND INVESTMENT BY JAPAN, MESSAGE TO TRUMP PAGE 8 Former judge Justice Sandeep Shinde talks to Manoj Jarange Patil at Azad Maidan in Mumbai on Saturday. Ganesh Shirsekar Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives in Tianjin, China, for the SCO summit on Saturday. PMOIndia Legal challenges cloud Zelenskyy speaks to Trump’s powers as PM, says India ready to India faces 50% tariff deliver signal to Russia AHEAD OF MODI’S TALKS WITH PUTIN RAVI DUTTA MISHRA NEW DELHI, AUGUST 30 DIVYA A NEW DELHI, AUGUST 30 AS PRIME Minister Narendra Modi reached Tianjin for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit where he will be meeting, among other leaders, RussianPresidentVladimirPutin, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke to Modi and said “the end of this (Ukraine) war must begin with an immediate ceasefire” and “India is ready to make the necessary effortsandtodelivertheappropriate signal to Russia and other leaders” at the summit. Modi, in a post on X, thanked Informed (Modi) about talks with President Trump in Washington: Zelenskyy Zelenskyy for the phone call. “Weexchangedviewsontheongoing conflict, its humanitarian aspect, and efforts to restore CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 DAYS AFTER the steep 50 per centUStariffsonIndiacameinto effect, a US appeals court on Fridayruledthatamajorityof US President Donald Trump’stariffs derived from powers under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) is illegal. The tariffs will, however, continue to remain in place untilOctober14,thecourtsaid,giving the Trump administration a window to appeal in the US Supreme Court. Reacting to the court order, Trump posted on social media platform Truth Social all tariffs CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 E EXPLAINED Dhankhar to move to pvt house, applies for pension as former MLA Imperative totalk, ● negotiate FOR INDIA, the ruling offers a sliver of hope, but it is crucial to remain engaged with the Trump administration to wrap up a trade deal. Given that it’s not just a trade deal, but a larger strategic relationship that needs to be protected, New Delhi will likely pick the gauntlet and aim to get Washington back on table. NYT: TRUMP MAY NOT VISIT INDIA PAGE 8 VALLABH OZARKAR MUMBAI, AUGUST 30 DEMANDING THAT the Maharashtra government immediately issue a government resolution (GR) declaring all Marathas in Marathwada as Kunbis, activist Manoj Jarange Patil on Saturday outrightly rejected Justice Sandeep Shinde committee’s request for more time to resolve the complex reservation issue. With Jarange Patil digging in hisheelsontheseconddayof his indefinite hungerstrike at Azad Maidan in Mumbai, talks between the state government and theMarathaactivisttoresolvethe vexed issue has hit a stalemate. “Marathas in Marathwada region must be declared as Kunbis and given reservation. The Hyderabad and Satara gazettes must be made into law forthis,”JarangePatilsaid,adding that the Aundh and Bombay gazettes to declare Marathas as Kunbis can follow later. On the second day of his hungerstrike, the Justice Shinde committee delegation met JarangePatilatAzadMaidan,but the Maratha activist expressed displeasure with the government’sapproachtotheiragitation and demands. He also warned that if the demands are not met, the agitation would intensify. “You won’t see a single Maratha in their homes next Saturday, Sunday,” Patil warned. “IssueaGRstatingthatMarathas and Kunbis are one and the same.Implementitimmediately and distribute certificates from tomorrow. I will not back down until this happens,” he said. Maharashtra’s Kunbi communityisassociatedwithagriculture-related occupations and is grouped under the Other BackwardClasses(OBC)category. The Justice Shinde committee delegation was deputed by BJP minister Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil, who heads a 12membercabinetsub-committee formed by the Devendra Fadnavis-led government to hold discussions with Jarange Patil, to hold talks with the Maratha activist. CONTINUEDONPAGE4 FULL COVERAGE PAGE 4 ABSOLUTE PANIC: OFFICIALS PLAYERS CONSULTED: FIDE DEPUTY PRESIDENT VISWANATHAN ANAND 8 months after Carlsen row, FIDE breaks In Bengal border districts, rush with tradition, allows players to wear jeans for birth certificates ahead of SIR AMIT KAMATH MUMBAI, AUGUST 30 IN A change from tradition, FIDE, the 101-year-old global governing body for chess, has eased its dress code and allowed players to wear “appropriate jeans” at the upcoming Grand Swiss and Women’s Grand Swiss tournaments. FIDE’s move comes eight months after Magnus Carlsen’s ‘jeans wear’ controversy, which saw the world’s greatest chess player of the current generation quit the FIDE World Rapid Championship mid-way after being fined for wearing jeans. Carlsen, who said he quit the event as a “matter of principle”, latersoldthatparticularjeansfor Rs 31 lakh ($36,100) in an online auction on eBay. Carlsen is unlikely to play in theGrandSwissevent,tobeheld from September 3 to 16 in Samarkand,Uzbekistan,evenafter the change in dress code, but therevisedFIDErulesmeanother players will be allowed to wear “non-distressed jeans” in three colours: blue, black, and grey. X/@MagnusCarlsen Last year, Carlsen was fined for wearing jeans at the FIDE World Rapid Championship “Appropriate jeans are now permitted as part of the official dress code. This change offers players more comfort and freedom of choice, while ensuring that the overall appearance of the event remains professional andrespectful,”aFIDEstatement issued Friday said. FIDE deputy president and five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand told The Indian Express on Saturday that the chess body took the decision toallowjeansafterconsultations with multiple players. He said CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 RAVIK BHATTACHARYA MURSHIDABAD, MALDA, AUGUST 30 IN A letter to the West Bengal Chief Secretary and District Election Officers, the Election Commission set the ball rolling on Wednesday for the revision of electoral rolls in the state that is bound for polls next year. In Bengal’s Murshidabad and Malda districts bordering Bangladesh, dominated by the Muslim community, the preparations have been on — for a CONTINUEDONPAGE2 People line up at the Berhampore Municipality in West Bengal’s Murshidabad district. Express Study shows how fireflies mark a forest’s health, why darkness matters PAGE 1 ANCHOR ARUN JANARDHANAN CHENNAI, AUGUST 30 ON HUMID summer nights in Tamil Nadu’s Anamalai Tiger Reserve (ATR), the forest canopy begins to pulse. First one flicker, then hundreds, then thousands — until entire trees appear to breathe with light. To stand in thatdarknessistowatchtheforest write its own rhythm: a synchronous dance of fireflies, signalling across the night sky in bursts of yellow and green. Fordecades,villagersandvis- itors have been surprised at thesecongregations.Butonlyrecently have scientists begun to systematically catalogue the species that compose this living constellation, and to understand what their presence means for a forest under pressure from human activity. A study by the Tamil Nadu Forest Department, with a year-long survey documentedinastate-sanctionedreport,revealsboththediversityof fireflies in the reserve and the fragilityof theconditionsthatallow them to thrive. The Advanced Institute for Wildlife Conservation (AIWC), based in Vandalur, carried out a meticuloussurveybetweenApril 2024 and March 2025. Researchers K Ragavendran and and his team scoured 10 locations — from the forest hamlets ofKozhikamuthiandVaragalayar to the agro-ecosystems of Saralapathi — collecting larvae and adult flies under the guidance of scientists M Gabriel Paulraj, S Siva Ranjani, and S Selvakumar. In the end, eight distinct species were identified: Absconditaperplexa,Abscondita terminalis, Asymmetricata humeralis, three species of Curtos, Lamprigera sp., and Pyrocoelia sp. DNA barcoding confirmed the taxonomy, and accession numbers were depositedinglobaldatabases.Each site yielded its own ecological Sriram Murali The survey was originally inspired by photographic work by Coimbatore-based Sriram Murali fingerprint. Saralapathi, with its calmnightsandcultivatedfields, produced the highest count, dominated by A. terminalis. Manthirimattam and Varagalayar were strongholds of A. perplexa, their males and females carefully tallied along transect lines. The study also measured environmental variables — temperature, humidity, light intensity, wind speed — capturing the atmospheric stage on which these beetles play out their nocturnal drama. When asked about the study methods used in a dangerous forest region, especially in the dark, A Udhayan, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Director of AIWC, told The Indian Express that their team spent evenings and nights across different parts of the reserve, looking not only at the flashing displays but also at the forest floor, where larvae develop before emerging as adults. “Fireflies are not active throughout the year — during and after the rains they perform, while the rest of the time they remain in the soil, growing until they become full-fledged insects. We carried out extensive DNA studies and larval collections to understand these life stages,” he said. The Anamalai Tiger Reserve is best known for its elephants, CONTINUED ON PAGE 2