The Editorial Page: Trump’s Ukraine peace plan is audacious. India has a stake in its success 12 WEDNESDAY, NOvEMBER 26, 2025 JournalISm of Courage AHMeDABAD, lATe CITy, 24 PAgeS ₹5.00 l www.indianexpress.com DA I ly f r o M : A H M e DA B A D , C H A N D I gA r H , D e l H I , j A I P U r , Ko l K ATA , l U C K N o w , M U M B A I , N Ag P U r , PAT N A , P U N e , vA D o DA r A AT AyodhyA Temple flAG-hoisTinG CeRemony noTe senT To leAdeRs on nov 22 Day before rollback of Chandigarh Bill, Punjab BJP was sent points in its favour Wounds of centuries healing, says PM, links ram to nation In feedback, party leaders warned of law and order situation, flagged ‘suspicion, distrust’ after farm laws manoj C G wouldnotbeabletoexplainthe decision and convince the people of Punjab, given their THETIMINgof,andthereason “sentimentalattachment”with behind,theCentre’sdecisionto Chandigarh and the fact that bring a Constitution amend- there is already a “sense of susment Bill that would have picion and distrust” among a allowedittodirectlygovernthe large section of the Sikh comUnion Territory of Chandigarh munitytowardstheCentreafter remains unknown but the gov- the attempt to push through ernment, before aborting the threecontroversialfarmlawsin plan for the time 2020-21. beinginthefaceof TheCentrewas ExPRESS political backlash told that the raand resistance tionale behind even from within such a decision, the Punjab BJP, evenifitwasgenudid try to reason it out — the ine, would be lost on the Punmain argument being that jabi-speaking population as it while the status of Chandigarh would be seen as the Centre tinwould remain unchanged, kering with Chandigarh. The bringing it under article 240 of majorityviewinthestatehasalthe Constitution would help ways been that Chandigarh frame laws tailored for the UT’s should be given to Punjab. The unique needs. feedback was that the law and Sources said an informal order situation in the border note explaining in detail the state could turn volatile as the reasons for bringing such a Bill move would be seen as unnecand its benefits was circulated essaryprovocation,sourcessaid. toseniorPunjabBJPleaderson The note, sources said, Saturdayitself,butthefeedback explained that although from them was that the party »ConTinued on pAGe 2 New Delhi, November 25 exclusive CM asks chief secy to check with EC if non-teaching staff can chip in as BLOs for SIR express news service Gandhinagar, November 25 Prime Minister narendra Modi, Rss chief Mohan Bhagwat, uttar Pradesh governor anandiben Patel and Chief Minister yogi adityanath during the dhwajarohan ceremony at the Ram temple in ayodhya on tuesday. PTI Democracy in our DNA, country needs to get rid of slavery mindset: Modi maulshree seth Ayodhya, November 25 PaRTICIPaTINg IN the flaghoisting ceremony at the Ram temple in ayodhya, 22 months after he joined rituals for the consecration of the idol of Ram Lalla in the sanctum sanctorum, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Tuesday that “centuries-old wounds are being Happening 1983 Nellie massacre: today 2 reports, one blames l pResidenT dRoupAdi Murmu will lead Constitution Day celebrations at Central Hall in the old Parliament building. l pRime minisTeR Narendra Modi will virtually attend an event in Karamsad of Anand district where a national level Unity March will be flagged off by CM Bhupendra Patel. TRACk These And moRe on www.indiAnexpRess.Com Business as usual By EP UNNY POLITICS healed, centuries of pain are findingrespite,andacenturiesold resolve is attaining fulfillment today”. The Prime Minister, RSS Sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister yogi adityanath described the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Mandir Dhwajarohan ceremony, symbolising completion of the construction of the temple, as the moment of “fulfilment” and “satisfaction” for all devotees. addressing the gathering, ModilinkedLordRamto“rashtra” and gave a call for creating anIndiainspiredbyRamRajya. “AajsampoornBharatsampoorn Vishwa Ram-may hai. HarRambhaktkehridaymein aaj adwitya santosh hai, asim kritagyata hai, apar alokik anand hai. Sadiyon ke ghav bhar rahe hain, sadiyon ki vednaaajviramparahihai,sadiyon ka sankalp aaj siddhi ko prapt ho raha hai.” (Today, all of India and the whole world are steeped in Ram. In the heart of every Ram devotee today, there is unique satisfaction, infinite gratitude, and boundless divine joy. »ConTinued on pAGe 2 CHIEF MINISTER Bhupedra Patel has asked Chief Secretary M K Das to check with the Election Commission of India (ECI) if other government employees - apart from teachers can be roped in as Booth Level Officers (BLOs) for the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, senior minister Jitu Vaghani said on Tuesday. The move is aimed at ensuring that students’ education is not affected, Vaghani told mediapersons after the weekly meeting of the Cabinet of ministers chaired by CM Patel. Vaghani said, “On Tuesday, CM Bhupendra Patel the CM instructed Chief Secretary (MK Das) (to check with election authorities) to have employees other than teachers or other teachers for BLO duty at places where it is found that education is getting affected. It is the prerogative of the EC. But still, the CM has instructed the CS to hold discussion with the EC, if found necessary, to have such an arrangement.” »ConTinued on pAGe 2 ‘misfiT foR ARmy’ No SC relief to Christian officer it on polls, other differs fired for refusing to enter all-faith Official, unofficial reports on violence place of worship during Assam agitation finally tabled sukrita Baruah Guwahati, November 25 FORTy-TWO yEaRS after assamwasravagedbyviolence amidst the contentious 1983 state elections — most prominently, the Nellie massacre, whichwasoneoftheworstincidents of mass violence in postIndependence India — two inquiry reports, one official andanotherunofficial,offering differing perspectives on what unfolded, were tabled in the assam assembly on Tuesday. The two reports — the official‘CommissionofEnquiryon Ananthakrishnan G E. New Delhi, November 25 ExPLaInEd the killings The massacre in Assam’s Nellie is one of the biggest acts of mass violence in India. Officially, 1,800 people — mostly Bengali Muslims — were killed. The unofficial toll was around 3,000. No one was arrested. assam Disturbances’, led by IaS officer Tribhuvan Prasad Tewary, and the ‘Report of the »ConTinued on pAGe 2 The Big PicTure paGe 17 after poll loss, 43 runners-up of mva are now with mahayuti 2 states, 1 day — tracking the Blos paGe 18 CaLLINg IT the “grossest kind of indiscipline by an army officer”, the Supreme Court Tuesday declined to interfere with an order of the Delhi High Court which had upheld the termination of service of an army officer who, citing his monotheistic belief as a Christian, had allegedly refused to enter the regimental Sarva Dharma Sthal, symbolic of all religions and faiths. The Delhi High Court, in its May 30 order, upheld the termination of service of Samuel Kamalesan, commissioned as a Lieutenant in the army in 2017, saying that keeping religionabovealawfulcommand from a superior was “clearly an act of discipline”. OnTuesday,abenchofChief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi said the actions of Kamalesan were the“grossestkindofindiscipline by an army officer”. “Wehaveheardthecounsel »ConTinued on pAGe 2 l ‘ManjuMMel Boy’ aMong unlikely Candidates In Kerala local polls: First woman IPS, porotta maker & a movie inspiration PagE 1 anchor shaju philip Thiruvanananthapuram, November 25 FROM KERaLa’S first woman IPS officer who finished her career right at the top as DgP (fire and rescue) and a woman known for making porottas at a roadside thattukada (roadside stall)tothemanwhoseharrowing experience inspired the movie Manjummel Boys, next month’s local body elections in (Clockwise from above) Porotta-maker naisya latheef; former dgP (fire and rescue) sreelekha and subash Chandran, whose escape from the guna Caves in tamil nadu inspired the Manjummel Boys Kerala will see a diverse and colourfularrayofcandidatesin the fray. The elections from December9to11,whichwillbecontested by 72,005 candidates, are acrucialtestforboththeCPI(M)ledLeftDemocraticFront(LDF) and the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) before they face off in next year’s assembly elections. In Thiruvananthapuram, theBJPhasfieldedformerDgP (fireandrescue)Sreelekha,who was recently appointed a state vice-president of the party. The ConTinued on pAGe 2 Ahmedabad