www.indianeXpress.com Wind in her Hair KolKAtA, SEptEMBEr 27, 2026 Women in India are riding further, faster and in greater numbers. What holds them together is the sense of community, not choosing just a destination but a direction (₹12 in northeast states, ₹20 in andaman) screen At his centenary celebrations, unpacking Uttam Kumar’s appeal late city 14+4 pages ₹7.00 d a i l y F r o m : a h m e d a B a d , c h a n d i g a r h , d e l h i , J a i p U r , K o l K a t a , l U c K n o w , m U m B a i , n a g p U r , amiD row oVer objections by election commissioners to sir-relateD Decisions anD gaPs in Processes Disquiet within, all three Election Commissioners meet, take first steps Unmapped voters need not attend hearings, ECINet to get a review Damini nath New Delhi, September 26 in iTs first meeting since The IndianExpressreported on the deepdividewithintheelection Commission over the past 10 months, the poll panel on saturdaysoughttoaddressseveral concernsraisedbyitstwocommissioners sukhbir singh sandhu and Vivek Joshi. electors who were issued notices for “logical discrepancies” and for being “unmapped”intheongoingspecial intensiverevision(sir)ofelectoralrollswillnotberequiredto attend hearings to establish their eligibility, a statement issued by the eCi said. This exemption from inperson hearings will be a relief to lakhs of electors who were issued notices in the ongoing sir. The decision comes as hearings are being held across states on the basis of systemgenerated notices. “Unmapped” voters are those whose names did not figure in the rolls of the previous intensive revision, and who were unable to provide the names of their parents or grandparents too during that revision. “logical discrepancies” refers to certain discrepancies flagged by the eCi’s centralised software based on which voters are issued notices following which they need to submit additional documentary proof to stay in the rolls. “in case of any person to whom notice has been issued during the ongoing sir, for being unmapped and logical discrepancies, BlOs will visit the homes of such persons for collection of documents and thereafter upload them on the inside ‘wishy-washy’ noTe is damage conTrol, says congress Bjp rallies Behind ec: ‘rahul should explain why he lied’ CEC Gyanesh Kumar with ECs Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi in New Delhi, Saturday. X/@ecisVeep l keydecisionsbycommission concerns on ecinet: ‘centralisation of electoral rolls’; officers backed by law not getting proper access to eronet by it, but then included by judicial officers in the sir. Ý eci: a committee headed by sr deputy election commissioner and including an independent expert will review the ecinet Ý eci: Blos will visit homes to collect documents from those issued notices during ongoing sir for being unmapped and for logical discrepancies, and upload them on ecinet for decision by ero concern on ‘logical DiscrePancies’: eci filing appeals against voters who were first flagged for ‘logical discrepancies’ concern on ‘aDDition to Form 6’: additions to Form 6 linking new voter registration to sir is ‘illegal, unauthorised’. cannot be made unless govt amends rules. Ý eci: For non-sir period, the forms applicable as per rules (the registration of electors rules, 1960) will be used concerns on issues such as conduct of meetings, permissions, directions by commission Ý eci: agenda will be circulated in advance and minutes will be issued for all commission meetings; all directions issued by the commissioners to officers shall be complied with Maharashtra declares drought in 75% of state amid rainfall deficit & Harish Damodaran A farmer in Mukhed, Nanded district. haFizKhan pathan Bharat–Guarantee for rozgar and ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB–G raM G) norms. financial assistance for crop losses The rainfall over Maharashtrathismonsoonseasonhas not been drastically different from other states so far. it has a rainfall deficit of 18%, while the country as a whole has a 13% deficit. Many other states – includingassamandBihar,which have also experienced floods E. »continueD on Page 2 l Rainfalldeficit (up to september 25) solapUr Beed hingoli Jalna dharashiV ahmednagar amraVati aKola parBhani nandUrBar -57% -49% -48% -46% -45% -44% -42% -41% -38% -37% soUrce: imd In 48 hours, a sharp turn: Steps map two ECs’ concerns but key silences remain No word on appeals in West Bengal that the ECs had flagged or on Form 6 and chain of command in ECINet ritika chopra Mumbai, September 26 Three DaYs ago, the election Commission of india had a straightforward answer to The Indian Express investigation into how thethree-memberbody wasfunctioning.Twoof its members had recorded objections at least 14 timestodecisionstouchingthe core of the Commission’s man- date: who gets registered as a voter, who gets deleted and restored, who appeals against those restorations, and who controls the systems through which the electoral roll is maintained. The Commission called those notes “suggestions” and “inputs”,partofnormaldeliberation. The important decisionsofthepastyear,itinsisted, E. »continueD on Page 2 The Indian Express report published on September 23 Happening today lPublic sector banks and regional rural banks will remain open today, ahead of a strike by bank unions. nagaleaders agreetoopenkey Flags ‘weaponisation of everything’, from manipurhighway chokepoints to market access hurdles aftertalkswith Divya a centreinassam New Delhi, September 26 Sawan Barwal (second from left) clocked 2:11:37 to win silver in Nagoya, Japan, Saturday. reUters Marathwada worst-hit, Havildar from Himachal ends India’s cloud over Rabi season 44-year wait for a medal in marathon amitabh sinha New Delhi, September 26 »continueD on Page 2 V a d o d a r a new normal? Jaishankar hits back at Pak PM: Serial terror practitioner’s bid for immunity won’t stand Mumbai, September 26 »continueD on Page 2 eCinet, for decision by the erO. such persons need not be calledforhearingtoerO/aerO office. Only in exceptional circumstances, as decided by the erO, the hearing will be held preferably online. any adult member of the family can be authorised by the elector to attendthehearingontheirbehalf, ifrequired,”theeCannounced. The Commission, comprising Chief election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, and eCs sandhu and Joshi, held a meeting at 3pm on saturday, theeCstatementsaid.itunderlined that the press note had the “approval of the full Commission” and released a photo of the three-member eC at the meeting. p U n e , at un general assembly session alok Deshpande & shubhangi Khapre WiTh MaharashTra recording a rainfall deficit of 18% this year, the state government on saturday declared drought in 265 of the state’s 358 tehsils—aboutthree-fourthsof Maharashtra. The declaration, under the Drought Management Code, 2016, will trigger crop-loss surveys and a package of immediate concessions, including waiveroflandrevenue,restructuring of crop loans, a stay on recovery of agriculture-related loans and relaxation of Viksit page 6 p a t n a , eXPRess at AsiAn GAmes mihir Vasavda Nagoya, September 26 saWan BarWal woke up at 3.30am,ateabananaand,afew hours later, made indian athletics history. On the damp streets of nagoya, Barwal won silver in the asianGamesmarathon,ending india’s 44-year wait for a medal in the event — and becoming thefirsttowinoneoutsidehome soil.Thecountry’slastmarathon medalintheasiadwasabronze, won by hosur Kukkappa seetharan in new Delhi in 1982. The 28-year-old clocked 2:11:37, lowering his own national record, but there was no catching Japan’s ichitaka Yamashita, who pulled away to win gold in 2:10:49. “This feels special,” said Barwal. “To win a medal, and set a national rec- ord doing it and ending a long wait for a marathon medal… this was my target.” for Barwal, competing in only his second marathon, the silverwastheculminationofan extraordinary transformation — and not bad for someone who had taken up marathon running just a year ago. Moreover, there were 11 athletes in the 20-man field who had run amarathonfasterthanhimbut the timings of his competitors didn’t overwhelm him. »continueD on Page 2 a DaY after Pakistan Prime Minister shehbaz sharif raked uptheissueofKashmiranddescribed india’s suspension of the indus Waters Treaty as an “act of war”, external affairs MinistersJaishankar,referring to Pakistan as “a serial practitioner of terrorism”, told the United nations General assembly saturday that attempts to “normalise terrorism and claim immunity from its consequences” will not stand and india will exercise its right to defend itself. he also called out “weaponisation of everything” in a world roiled by conflicts — from chokepoints to constricting market access — and flagged the “mindset of extreme competition” that is “undermining institutions”. inastrongrebuttaltosharif’s remarks from the UnGa podium,Jaishankar,withoutnaminghim,said,“Yesterday,aserial practitionerofterrorismmisrepresentedfactsbeforethisassem- Deeptiman tiwary New Delhi, September 26 External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar with Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in New York. pti inside pages 8, 11 india warns pak afTer sharif’s ‘acT of war’ ThreaT Trump rejecTs iran proposal To end war, open hormuz bly.argumentswereinvokedto normalise terrorism and claim immunity from its consequences. That will not stand.” »continueD on Page 2 The UniTeD naga Council (UnC) on saturday agreed to temporarily lift its more than three-month economic blockadeofManipur’shighwaysafter a high-level tripartite meeting with the Centre and the Manipur government in assam, marking a significant breakthrough in efforts to ease the state's prolonged supply crisis. “We had a lengthy deliberation in connection with the economic blockade. We have come to an agreement that the governmentwilladdressthedemands of the UnC, and we will temporarily end the blockade. Ourdemandsaretherevocation ofthesoO(suspensionofOperations agreement with Kuki armed groups), the removal of Deputy Chief Minister nemcha Kipgen and justice for the six naga men,” UnC president ng. lorho told TheIndianExpress. »continueD on Page 2 l HE wAS 15 wHEN HE Got oN HIS FAVourItE rIDE — tHE trAIN — tHAt tooK HIM FAr AwAY FroM HoME Train to nowhere, Facebook reel and road home: 21-yr search for a Bihar man ends santosh singh heshpura village, this is a place close to his heart. Only 400 metres from his village, the station is where he spent hours fOrMOsT,there’snothingun- daydreaming about trains and usual about the Mahrail rail- waitingforachancetorideone, way station in Bihar’s Madhu- even if only to the next station. bani district. a it is also where he, as a 15-yearblink-and-you-miss station on old, boarded a random train that took him 1,000the sakri-JhanjharPage 1 odd km away to pur-laukaha Bazar Madhya Pradesh’s line under the eastGwalior — an act ern Central railway Zone, it’s exactly how you that separated him from his would expect one in rural india family for 21 years. now 36, shanker reunited tobe—quiet,nondescriptand, save for two stationary tempo withhisfamilyonseptember7, trucks, a cow and a few after a facebook video posted by Gwalior Deputy superinstragglers, nearly empty. But for ram shanker Kush- tendentofPolice(DsP)santosh waha from Madhubani’s Ma- Patel. The video, made after Maheshpura (Madhubani), September 26 anchor Patel visited the state-run ashram swarg sadan, where shanker had been living for eight years, featured a man in a muretha — a traditional headgear worn by many north indian farmers — introducing himselfas“shankerKushwaha from anand nagar, Bihar”. “i was drawn to his smile and mentioned it in the post that ultimately helped find him. i’m thrilled that my post eventuallyreunitedamanwith his family,” DsP santosh Patel tells The Indian Express. it was on september 4, 2026 — Janmashtami — that shanker’s oldest brother lalit shastri spotted the facebook post. “With trembling hands, i Shanker Kushwaha (centre) with his parents at his home in Maheshpura in Bihar’s Madhubani district. rahUl sharma dialled the number listed on DsP santosh Patel’s post,” says lalit, a priest who also runs a bike spare-parts business. shanker’s fascination with trainsbeganearly.accordingto his father rajendra, he would frequently hop on a local train and return an hour or two later. On December 6, 2005, shankerundertookatrainjourneythatwoulddividehimfrom hisfamilyforovertwodecades. it was Vivah Panchami, and Maheshpura was abuzz with festivities marking the celestial wedding of ram and sita — an event that drew sadhus and ascetics from across the country. “a sadhu from ayodhya asked if i wanted to go with him. i asked how he was travelling, and he said, ‘by train’,” shanker says. Without bothering to pack a spare set of clothes, shanker set offtoayodhya.Whathappened Kolkata next is still hazy, blurred between train journeys. But both thepoliceandthefamilybelieve he drifted from place to place, unable to tell where he was or where he was meant to go. “he kept confusing ‘Jhanjharpur’ and ‘Jharkhand’, unaware that while the former was a block in Madhubani, the latter was an entire state to the south of Bihar,” says lalit. in 2018, Gwalior’s state-run ashram swarg sadan found shanker at the city railway station.“ihavenoclearmemoryof how or when i reached Gwalior,”saysshanker.“iremember living around the Gwalior railway station for years, sleeping on platforms or outdoors. i did- n'tlikebegging,soisurvivedon food given by passersby or shopkeepers, and did odd jobs at roadside dhabas.” adds Pawan suryavanshi, the shelter in-charge: “We kept him under medical care until he recovered. he also spoke of a brother living in Delhi. authorities later found out this was his brother lallan Kushwaha.” The return Back in Maheshpura, at the Kushwahas’ modest singleroofed mud house, lalit was hopeful after watching the video: Could this be their lost brother who left home all those years ago? »continueD on Page 2