The Ideas Page: SIr’s exclusion of citizens is made possible by complicity of institutions 9 SATURDAY, AUgUST 22, 2026 JournAlISm of CourAge kolkata, latE city, 16 PaGEs ₹6.00 (₹12 in North East states, ₹20 in andaman) 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 REd FACES AFTER CEREMoNiAl wElCoME REhEARSAl ANNoUNCEMENT Rashtrapati Bhavan announces, retracts Rahman visit statement Nothing to say right now: MEA; Dhaka too says no decision made on visit yet Happening today lBJP will hold a meeting to finalise the roadmap for programmes to be held across the country as part of the celebrations marking PM Narendra Modi’s 25 years in public life. Track This and more on www.indianexpress.com divya A & Shubhajit Roy New Delhi, August 21 theReWeReredfacesinnew delhi Friday after Rashtrapati Bhavan announced the cancellation of Saturday’s Change of guard ceremony “due to the full rehearsal for the ceremonial welcome” of Bangladesh Prime minister tarique Rahman, and then withdrew the communique an hour later. theministryofexternalAf- fairs, which usually announces the visits of heads of state and dignitaries in coordination with the governments concerned, said it had “nothing to say right now” on Rahman’s visit.dhakatoodidnotconfirm a date for the start of the visit. the announcement and its retraction by Rashtrapati Bhavan added to the uncertainty over Rahman’s visit. new delhi has invited the Bangladesh Prime minister and the two delhi wants to host the Bangladesh pm for a stand-alone bilateral visit and has also invited him to the Brics summit next month sides have been in touch to work out suitable dates. ties between the two coun- tries, severely strained following the August 2024 ouster of Prime minister Sheikh hasina whosoughtrefugeinindia,had been looking up after Rahman took charge of Bangladesh in Februarythisyear.Buthasina’s publicinteractioninnewdelhi via an audio link on August 5 — it marked two years of her ouster—angereddhakawhich has been seeking her extradition to Bangladesh where she faces a death sentence. it also cast a shadow over Rahman’s visit to india. Around 2 pm Friday, Rashtrapati Bhavan, in a press release titled ‘no change of guard ceremony this Saturday’, stated: “the Change of guard »CoNTiNUEd oN PAGE 2 ‘Tarnishes JU’s image’: Minister After Rahul’s dharna, police lodge speaks out on ABVP-SFI clashes FIR over pellet firing at 19-year-old Asad Rehman & Pragynesh Sweety Kumari New Delhi, August 21 Kolkata, August 21 Condemning the violence that broke out at the Jadavpur University campus this week, West Bengal Finance minister Swapan dasgupta said Friday that such incidents severely damage the reputation of the premier institution. AclashhadbrokenoutatJU campus late Wednesday night overaconflictbetweentwostudent groups — the RSS’s student wing, Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), and »CoNTiNUEd oN PAGE 2 delhi PoliCe registered a case Friday evening over pellet injuries suffered by a 19-yearold youth during the July 20 protest by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) after leader of oppositionRahulgandhistageda seven-hourdharnademanding an FiR. the FiR was registered against unknown persons under sections of the Bharatiya The repaired emblem of Jadavpur University — designed by freedom fighter nandalal Bose — being reinstalled, a day after it was damaged in a clash, in kolkata Friday. ExPrEss reporT, page 4 »CoNTiNUEd oN PAGE 2 congress leaders rahul gandhi and priyanka gandhi Vadra with sahil Lochab, who was hit by pellets during the July 20 protests, and his mother at parliament street police station, Friday. aNil sharMa Business as Usual By EP UNNY Most retail traders in F&O earn less than Rs 5 lakh a year, are under 30 Akash Mandal & Siddharth Upasani l 88%retailtraderslostrs91,685crin2025-26 Mumbai, New Delhi, August 21 2024-25 AS mARKet regulator Securities and exchange Board of india tightened norms to discourage speculation in equity derivatives, 2025-26 has for the first time witnessed an annual decline in the number ofretailtradersparticipatingin this segment. »CoNTiNUEd oN PAGE 2 2025-26 retail investors in F&o 98.1 lakh 78.6 lakh how many made losses 91% 88% rs 1.12 lakh crore rs 91,685 crore 44.1 lakh 32.83 lakh No. of GenZ* who lost money Na 29.07 lakh losses made by GenZ* Na rs 19,287 crore total net losses GenZ* trading in F&o NotE: GENZ arE rEtail iNvEstors uNdEr 30; sourcE: sEbi THE BIG PICTURE THE sIlvER BUllET: wHy EvERyonE lovEs a mETRo PaGE 12 express special Dip in production, stocks at 9-year low: soaring sugar prices leave bitter taste Retail prices surge by Rs 20/ kg in a month harish damodaran New Delhi, August 21 dUSSehRA iS on october 20 anddiwalionnovember8.But sugar is already tasting bitter, well before the festival season. Accordingtothedepartment ofconsumeraffairs,theall-india modal retail price, the rate at which most purchases are reported, was Rs 65 per kg on Friday. it was onlyRs45onJuly21and rose to Rs 50 by July 31. Simply put, retail prices of the sweetener — the most vital ingredient in every diwalimithaiandCadburyCelebrations, nestlé KitKat or Ferrero Rocher chocolates — have soared by Rs 20/kg in just a month. no less significant are ex-factory prices. these rates, which mills realisefromsellingsugar net of goods and sales tax, were at Rs 57-60 per kg in E. »CoNTiNUEd oN PAGE 2 govt has allowed import of raw sugar up to 10 lakh tonnes at zero duty until october 31 l 25-year-oLd was among 21 peopLe who died in Fire aT a BnB in haUz rani in JUne Degree for Shrutika: At TISS convocation, remembering student killed in Delhi fire Pallavi Smart engulfedabedandbreakfastfacility in south delhi’s hauz Rani in June. herparents,RameshPrasad A degRee will be waiting for Shrutika Baranwal at the 86th Baranwal and Babita, have convocation of the tata insti- travelled from their home in tute of Social Sciences Satur- Jaina more in Jharkhand’s Boday. A testimonial will also karo district to mumbai to receivethemaster’sdesummarise her paGe 1 gree in Water Policy achievements and andgovernancethat life on campus. But, their daughter had unlike the testimonials for her batchmates, hers earned. tiSS authorities told The Indian Express that will be issued posthumously. secured a Shrutika, 25, was among 21 Shrutika »CoNTiNUEd oN PAGE 2 people who died in a fire that Mumbai, August 21 anchor shrutika with her parents, ramesh prasad Baranwal and Babita, during their mumbai trip in april 2025 Kolkata 22 Indians on board 2 ships hijacked near Yemen and Somalia Sukalp Sharma & Vikas Pathak New Delhi, August 21 A totAl of 22 indian seafarers areonboardtwoshipsthatwere hijacked by armed pirates off thecoastofSomaliaandYemen this week, according to sources aware of the developments. Sources said that while the shipping companies related to the two vessels are working in close coordination with the government, the seafarers are learnt to be safe. the two vessels are eritreaflagged oil products tanker Sibu 1, which was hijacked in saudi arabia red sea oMaN yEMEN Gulf of aden puntland coast EthioPia soMalia the gulf of Aden off the coast of Yemen thursday, and Cameroon-flagged general cargo carrier Lutuf, which was hijackedlastmondayoffSomalia’s coast. Sibu 1 has 20 seafarers on »CoNTiNUEd oN PAGE 2