The Ideas Page: In J&K’s Ranji triumph, an arc from estrangement to ownership 9 THURSDAY, MARCH 5, 2026 JournALiSm of CourAgE MUMBAI, LATE CITY, 16 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 REG.NO. MCS/067/2018 - 20 RNI REGN. NO. 1543/57 FIRST SUCH U.S. SUBMARINE ATTACK ON AN ENEMY SINCE WORLD WAR II US sinks Iran warship, returning from India, near Lanka; 87 killed Marketsroilas conflictspreads: Recrosses92, Sensexsinks below80,000 32 rescued, many unaccounted for from 180 on board, Colombo authorities say Akash Mandal & George Mathew Arun Janardhanan & Amrita Nayak Dutta Mumbai, March 4 Chennai, New Delhi, March 4 AN IRANIAN warship, which was returning from Visakhapatnam following an exercise organised by the Indian Navy last month, was torpedoed by a UnitedStatessubmarineoffthe southern coast of Sri Lanka in the early hours of Wednesday. In a Pentagon briefing, US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said the strike on the warship was the first such (US) attack on an enemy since World War II. “An American submarine sunk an Iranian warship that thought it was safe in international waters,” Hegseth said. “Instead, it was sunk by a torpedo. Quiet death.” HospitalauthoritiesintheSri Lankan port city of Galle said 87 bodies were brought in by military rescuers who responded to an early morning distress call. Another 32 were rescued and were being treated at the hospital, and about 60 people were likely unaccounted for from an estimated 180 people on board, Sri Lankan authorities said. Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath identified the »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 121 149 185 67 happening today lNEPAL WILL VOTE Thursday for the general elections, the first one to be held after a Gen Z youth led protest toppled the K P Sharma Oli-led government last year. RSP has projected Kathmandu ex-mayor Balen, 35, as its PM candidate. lFINNISH PRESIDENT ALEXANDER Stubb, who began his visit to India on Wednesday, will hold talks with PM Narendra Modi Thursday. Both sides are expected to firm up MoUs. INSIDE pAgE 5 AT38.7DEgREES, mUmBAIRECoRDS wARmESTDAy THISyEAR IRIS Dena, a Moudge-class frigate; (right) a screengrab of the explosion after it was hit by a US submarine torpedo. PTI FILE Business as Usual By EP UNNY LNG supplies set to be hit, QatarEnergy, Petronet issue force majeure notice Sukalp Sharma LATEST l KHAMENEI’S SON MOJTABA NEXT? U.S. KEEPING TRACK l US SENATE TO VOTE TODAY ON TRUMP’S WAR DECISION l IRAN: TOLL NOW 1,045 New Delhi, March 4 WITHIRANwarningvesselsnot to pass through the critical chokepoint of the Strait of Hormuzandevenhittingafew,LNG imports into India are set to be hit with its largest importer Petronet LNG issuing force majeure notices to its key supplier QatarEnergy and major customers GAIL (India), Indian Oil Corporation, and Bharat Petroleum Corporation. Iran’s actions have almost haltedtrafficthroughthewaterway through which almost 20% of the world’s gas shipments pass, and which accounts for about a third of all world oil »CONTINUEDONPAGE2 Post clean-up, Ladki Bahin outlay may be cut by 20% SURGING CRUDE oil prices and supply disruptions triggered by the conflict in West Asia have hit the financial marketshard,withtherupeesliding 68 paise below the psychologically crucial 92-mark to 92.15 against the US dollar and the BSE’sbenchmarkindexSensex plunging another 1.40 per cent for the third successive session and ending below the 80,000 level in a nervous sell-off. With gas production coming to a halt in Qatar — India majorly depends on it for LNG supplies — and crude oil movement through the crucial »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 l4%DOWNIN FIvESESSIONS NSENIFTY-50 Feb 25 25,482.50 Feb 26 25,496.55 +0.05% Feb 27 25,178.65 -1.24% March 2 24,865.70 -1.24% March 4 24,480.50 -1.55% WOrlD — pAgE 12 Long night in Patna, decks being cleared for Nitish Kumar’s exit Senior JD(U) leaders, party members meet to dissuade him; it’s like Venezuelan leader’s abduction: RJD MP Manoj Jha Santosh Singh & Liz Mathew Patna, New Delhi, March 4 GIVEN Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s failing health, thiswasonthecardsevenwhen he was sworn in as CM last Novemberafteralandslidewinfor the NDA but decks were being cleared for his exit Wednesday. In a sudden turn of events, leadersfromBJPandallyJD(U) said that Nitish is most likely to file his nomination for Rajya Sabha clearing the way for a new CM in the state, either from JD(U) or from BJP. Sources indicated there would be a BJP Chief Minister. As the Rajya Sabha term for outgoing MPs ends in April, Nitish may well take time to resign as CM. But late Wednesday night, senior leaders from the JD(U) andmembersofNitish’sfamily were at the CM’s residence trying to dissuade him from stepping down. JD(U)ministerVijayKumar Choudhary said, “There has been talks about Nitish Kumar going to Rajya Sabha. But the final call has to be taken by him only... Nishant is joining politics soon as per the wish of party rank and file.” Union Home Minister Amit Shah is likely to visit Patna Thursday to attend the nominationprocessofBJPpresident Nitin Nabin who has been announced as a Rajya Sabha candidate from Bihar. While there is no official confirmation either from BJP Mumbai, March 4 Vallabh Ozarkar How ANoNymoUS BETToRS CASHED IN oN THE IRAN STRIkE Union Home Minister Amit Shah and CM Nitish Kumar. FILE l243-mEmbErbIhArASSEmblY NDA TALLY: 202 OPPOSITION TALLY: 41 BJP 89 JD (U) 85 LJP (RV) 19 RLM 4 HAM (S) 5 orfromJD(U),sourcessaidNitish had “signed the papers” for his Rajya Sabha nomination. InlastNovember’sAssembly election,theNDAwon202ofthe 243 seats — the BJP was the largestpartywith89seatswhilethe JD(U) got 85, a jump of 42 seats from the previous election. Nitishwascreditedwiththissurge. Despite several attempts, JD(U) national working presidentSanjayKumarJhawasnot available for comment. Sources said Nitish’s deteriorating health had “forced” the party leadership to take the decision. “The CM has been »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 RJD Congress 25 6 CPI (ML-Liberation) 2 CPI 1 IIP 1 AIMIM BSP 5 1 E. ExPlAINED watershed in Bihar If Nitish exits, it will mark the end of JP-era stalwarts in Bihar, Lalu already eclipsed. As the longest-serving CM, he became synonymous with change and progress. He was once also the Opposition’s face even as he switched twice to join hands with BJP. His politics blends the governance of Srikrishna Singh and the deft social engineering of Karpoori Thakur. Congress rallies behind Pawar for RS polls, MVA reaches consensus Alok Deshpande Mumbai, March 4 THE DEVENDRA Fadnavisled Mahayuti government may likely cut the budget allocation for the Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana by up to 20 per cent in 2026-27 compared with the current financial year following a sharp fall in the number of beneficiaries after a state-wide verification exercise. Further, the promised hike in payout to Rs 2,100 a month from Rs 1,500 now may have to wait. According to government sources, the number of beneficiaries has dropped from around2.43crore,atitspeak,to approximately 1.8 crore after Aadhaar-linked e-KYC checks and cross-verification with Income Tax and other databases. The clean-up exercise followed irregularities flagged over the past year. “The verification drive has removed nearly 60 lakh beneficiaries from the rolls. The numbers have stabilised postverification and the allocation will reflect that. We are looking at whether the reduction in beneficiaries translates into savings of up to Rs 9,000 crore CM ‘SIGNS PAPERS’ FOR RAJYA SABHA FOLLOWING DAYS of deliberationsanddisagreements,Maharashtra’s Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) on Wednesday reached a consensus on its lone RajyaSabhacandidate,deciding torenominateNCP(SP)chiefSharadPawartotheUpperHouse. The MVA’s announcement came after the Congress high commandconveyeditsdecision ofbackingPawartoitsstateunit chief Harshvardhan Sapkal. NCP(SP)LokSabhaMPSupriya Sule and MLA Jitendra Awhad visitedGandhiBhavaninMumbai in the evening to meet Sapkal, Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Vijay Wadettiwar andMLCSatejPatil.Ajointpress conference was held after the meeting to formally announce Pawar’s candidature. “ItwastheCongress’swishto contest this Rajya Sabha seat. But at the same time, the Congresscaresforitsalliesandhasa policy of moving forward together.Whenthenameofasenior leader like Pawar was proposed,itwasdecidedtosupport him,” Sapkal said. »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 READY TO ‘DETAIN’, BUT NO ONE TO RUN IT Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis arrives at the Vidhan Bhavan in Mumbai on Wednesday. GANESH SHIRSEKAR INSIDE MAHARASHTRA budget 2026-2027 and whether that should be passed on in the Budget allocation,”saidasource,whodidnot wish to be identified. FinanceSecretaryOPGupta did not respond to a request for comment on plans for propos- pAgE 4 CAUTIoNARy SIgNALS By fINANCE pANEL CAST A SHADow ing cuts to the scheme following KYC checks and a drop in beneficiaries. But a senior government official told The Indian Express, “The E-KYC verification would go on till March 31, and after that the final number of beneficiaries »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Why nobody wants keys to Mumbai’s detention centre for illegal immigrants Mohamed Thaver Mumbai, March 4 AS THE ruling Mahayuti government ramps up rhetoric on cracking down on illegal Bangladeshi nationals, a detention centre built exclusively to hold such migrants before deportation has remained unused for months—acasualtyofbureaucratic deadlock over who should run it. The two-storey facility at Bhoiwada in central Mumbai hasbeen“almostready”forseveral months. It has 20 rooms, lYEAr-WISE DEPOrTATIONS YEAR DEPORTED 2025 1,058 2024 156 2023 65 2022 21 each with two bunk beds on eitherside,andcanholdupto80 persons. According to sources, the Social Justice and Special »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 The proposed detention centre in Mumbai. AKASH PATIL { H K DuA • 1938-2026 } Genial newsman who rose to the top due to his empathy, and because he won respect Coomi Kapoor UNLIKE MOST of his contemporaries, as editor of mainline major English newspapers, Hari Krishan Dua worked his way up the newspaper hierarchy in a slow and steady fashion. But his conscientious, diligent approach, integrity and sharp political insight, were eventually rewarded. He earned for himself a unique place in Indian journalism. Dua had the distinction of holding more top-level editorial posts in Indian journalism than any other scribe. He was editorial head of The Indian Express (1994-1996), the Hindustan Times (1987-1994), The Tribune (2003-2009) and The Times of India (1997-98). Becauseoftherespectandtrust in which he was held, he was appointedmediaadvisertotwo prime ministers, Atal Bihari VajpayeeandHDDeveGowda. His illustrious career included a nomination to Rajya Sabha in the distinguished persons category between 2009 and 2015. He was appointed ambassador to Denmark and awarded the Padma Bhushan, among numerous other laurels. Unlike many ivory tower editorsofhisday,Duastoodout for being mild-mannered and accessible, a hands-on veteran of news reporting who empathised with the problems of the journalists working for him. Dua began his career as a cub reporter in the UNI news agencywhenJawaharlalNehru was Prime Minister. From UNI he moved to The Indian Express as a special correspondent and eventually headed its political bureau for several years. During his long career in media, and later in government, he developed abiding friendships with many politicians, who respected his honesty and independence. The trust he enjoyed won him several exclusives. He once recounted to me jokinglyhowasaforeigncorrespondent he had an advantage that he drank very little, nursing just one drink throughout the evening. So while his competitors were often in their cups at official parties, he was still searching for leads and successfullyscoopedothercorrespondents on late developingbreaksontheMinistry of External Affairs beat. Dua sahib, as I always respectfully addressed him, was my boss twice. First as bureau chief of The Indian Express, when I first joined the newspaper’s bureau, and once again whenhewasEditor-in-Chiefof the Express and I was the Delhi Resident Editor. We had our differences, as is inevitable in the news business, but neither of us held grudges or allowed ourlong-standingfriendshipto besouredbydifferenttemperaments and viewpoints. When I joined the Express bureau, he instructed me to sit down and read all the tomes of QuestionHourpapersfromthe Rajya Sabha delivered by the peonstothebureauofficeevery evening.Itwasaconscientious, if very time consuming, duty, which he had once himself undertaken. I felt my time could be better utilised and it became a standing joke among my colleagues in the bureau that I hadn’t finished my homework for the day. When he hired me as editor, he insisted I give up my weekly Inside Track column and focus instead on edit page writing and marking the grammatical mistakes in the newspaper, the second duty I felt was not my coreareaofcompetence.Atthe same time, he generously gave me leeway to decide the front page stories, a task I relished. Once we differed sharply over putting on the front page a news story of religious hysteria gripping Delhi with crowds swarming to visit temples that day claiming that the deities were shedding tears. He disapproved of encouraging superstition, but he was largehearted enough to eventually changehismindandagreethat such a human interest story needed to be played up on the newspaper’s front page. Dua’s integrity was unimpeachable and when a newspaper owner allegedly asked himtousehispoliticalcontacts »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2