www.INdIANeXPReSS.com Where every square has two answers Nothing brings the mind to its knees as a good crossword. Meet those behind the toughest clues kolkaTa, augusT 30, 2026 lATe cITy 12+4 PAGeS ₹7.00 books In Regime Change, American journalists Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan look at what has shaped Trump’s second term (₹12 IN NoRTheAST STATeS, ₹20 IN ANdAmAN) 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 , modI’s 4-dAY trIp to centrAl AsIA Prime minister narendra modi shares a car ride with uzbekistan President shavkat mirziyoyev in Tashkent, saturday. ANI Modi flags ‘shared vision’ in Tashkent: Trade and culture to energy, defence Bilateral meeting with President Mirziyoyev today shubhajit roy New Delhi, August 29 PRiME MiniSTER narendra Modi’s four-day trip to Central Asia began Saturday with a dinner meeting with uzbekistan’s President Shavkat Mirziyoyev in Tashkent as the two sides pledged to deepen cooperation in a sweeping range of areas—fromtradeandtourism to health, energy and defence — as part of a “shared vision”. Modi, who left delhi Saturday morning, is on a two-day state visit to uzbekistan after which he will be in Bishkek for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) leaders’ summit August 31-September 1. He was received at the air- happening today port by President Mirziyoyev. After landing, Modi said on X, “LandedinTashkenttoawarm welcome by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev. grateful to him for the special gesture. This is my fourth visit to uzbekistan, reflecting the depth and growing momentum of our bilateral relations.” Modi later visited the Yangi uzbekistan Monument in Tashkent along with Mirziyoyev,andlaidawreathatthe monument. in his departure statement, Modihadsaid:“inrecentyears, india-uzbekistan Strategic Partnership has seen significant advancement. i look forward to my discussions with President Mirziyoyev on further deepening our cooperation in trade and investment, digital connectivity, defence, energy, and on advancing our shared visions of Viksit Bharat and Yangi uzbekistan.” »contInued on pAGe 2 politics page 7 Track This and more on www.indianexpress.com 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 , 275 Indians still missing in Nepal, toll climbs to 675 MeA: 108 Indians rescued so far, 598 who were stranded on China side cross into Nepal, another 900 safe there SASHidHAR JAgdiSHAn will step down as Managing directorandCEOofHdFCBank,the country’s largest private sector lender in October, bringing to anendasix-yeartenurethatincluded the institution’s transformational merger with mortgage giant HdFC Ltd. The decision comes at a critical junctureforHdFCBank,which sashidhar Jagdishan’s term ends on october 26, 2026 is now preparing for a leadership transition even as questionsaroundcorporategovern- P U N e , v A d o d A R A dAlIts dIscrImInAted AGAInst: lop Kharge ‘purification’ row: Rahul calls for FIR, Dhami pushes back, says no BJP link CM: Congress devoid of issues, no one in Uttarakhand knows Khargeji’s caste; group was clearing litter, says Mos Tamta shubhajit roy & divya A AS SEARCH and rescue operations continued in nepal for the fourth day on Saturday, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA)said275indiannationals and another 128 people of indian origin — mostly Kailash Mansarovar Yatra pilgrims — remained missing. On Friday, the MEA had said at least 320 indians and over 100 people of indian origin were missing. The total death toll climbed to 675, with more bodies being recovered even as nearly 2,400 people were reported to be still missing after the devastating flash floods that wiped out parts of several districts in nepal on Wednesday morning. Accordingtoastatementby the nepal Police, 675 bodies have been recovered so far, from across the eight districts that were affected. Over 4,400 people have been evacuated so far as rescue teams led by the national disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (ndRRMA) raced against time amid on-and-off rainfall in the flood-affected regions. MEAspokespersonRandhir »contInued on pAGe 2 sonali Belosay (left), who was among the kailash mansarovar Yatra pilgrims stranded in Tibet, kisses her daughter seeya after returning to mumbai on saturday. SANKhAdeeP BANeRjee Houses buried in mud, fields, orchards destroyed: ‘We have nothing left now’ DevANsH TAsHI MITTAl ToBGyAl express in Nepal Nuwakot, August 29 unTiL WEdnESdAY morning, ‘1 number Pul’ was a quiet, idyllic hamlet located in the valley area of nepal's nuwakot district, on the banks of the Bhotekoshi river. Today, the at ‘1 number Pul’ area in nuwakot district, saturday. TAShI ToBGyAl area, like many others in the region, lies submerged in mud and debris. A grim trail downstream: 10 bodies retrieved from Gandak river in UP On AuguST 27, a Rescue and Relief Team of the Sashastra Seema Bal patrolling the gandakriverinuttarPradesh’sMaharajganj spotted something floating in the water. Theeight-memberteamled by inspector Arun Pandey took theboatcloser,onlytofindthat »contInued on pAGe 2 ance and internal practices havecomeunderscrutinyinrecent months. Jagdishanhasdecidednotto seek reappointment as Md and CEO,HdFCBanksaidinaregulatoryfilingonSaturday.Hiscurrent term ends on October 26, 2026, after which he will retire from the services of the bank. “TheBoardtooknoteofSashidharJagdishan’scommunication to not seek reappointment. »contInued on pAGe 2 loP rahul gandhi in new delhi, saturday. PRAveeN KhANNA Asad rehman, lalmani Verma and Vikas pathak New Delhi, Lucknow, August 29 lintwodistricts china nepal rasuwa Gandak river india Khadda trishuliriver Ganga Tamkuhi Raj 4 bodies found in Nichlaul maharajganj, UP lFlash floods in Rasuwa district in northeastern Nepal lFloodwaters flowed into Trishuli and Gandak river systems, affecting downstream areas. lThe Gandak forms part of the border region between Nepal, UP and Bihar. 4 bodies found in Khadda tehsil and 2 in Tamkuhi Raj tehsil in Kushinagar district Only seven houses are left standing,andthreeoftheseare »contInued on pAGe 2 inside page 6 deeptiman tiwary New Delhi, August 29 A Hindu who believes Muslims should be “driven out” of india cannot remain a Hindu, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat said at a conference in new York Saturday, arguing that the Hindu understanding of oneness of humanity leaves no room for such exclusion. rss chief mohan Bhagwat at a conference in new York on saturday. ANI LEAdER OF Opposition in the LokSabhaRahulgandhiurged Prime Minister narendra Modi to order an FiR over a “shuddhikaran hawan (purification)” ceremony held at Ramlila Maidan in Haldwani in uttarakhand, staged days after a rally there by Congress president and dalit leader Mallikarjun Kharge. Calling the act a “crime,” gandhi said, at a press conference Saturday, that it illustratedthe“untouchability” dalits face across india and exposed the “BJP-RSS mindset.” His remarks drew a sharp response from uttarakhand ChiefMinisterPushkardhami, who said the Congress was a “mudda viheen” (issue-less) party and that those who conductedthehawanwerenotBJP workers. According to dhami, the ceremony was a religious organisation’s protest against littering and against slogans raisedby“peopleofaparticular religion” at a ground used for staging Ramlila. “uttarakhand me koi nahi jaanta ki Kharge ji ki jaati kya hai (nobody in uttarakhand knows what Kharge ji’s caste is),”dhamisaid,speakingtoreporters in Haldwani. He added Kharge was a respected senior leader who had worked along side Atal Bihari Vajpayee and L K Advani. “How can uttarakhand people insult anybody? uttarakhand people have »contInued on pAGe 2 uGc, QuotA, census Saree becomeS lifeline for 21 Tn pilgrimS in flood eScape In spotlight over governance, HDFC dIVersItY decorAtIon of our InnAte unItY: rss chIef In u.s. Bank Ceo Jagdishan to step down Bhagwat: Hindu wanting Muslims George mathew out of India won’t remain a Hindu Mumbai, August 29 P A T N A , New Delhi, August 29 Lucknow, August 29 govT likely To name winner of Sardar paTel award ThiS year j A I P U R , IndIA sends tunnel rescue teAm, forensIc experts, AddItIonAl relIef mAterIAl manish sahu lAfter the recent unrest, a civil rights group in Pakistanoccupied Kashmir has called for fresh protests over alleged security restrictions affecting education, healthcare and civilian movement. d e l h I , Speaking at the Faith Leaders Conference organised by the AHEAd Forum, which broughttogetherspeakersfrom Christianity, Judaism, Hinduismandislam,Bhagwatsaid socio-religious organisations may want to influence public policy and politics, but their work has to begin with society because “politics has now »contInued on pAGe 2 Poll win on sprawling social base, BJP walks tightrope on caste Vikas pathak New Delhi, August 29 LEAdER OF the Opposition Rahul gandhi’s call for an FiR againstthe“purification”ofthe RamlilagroundinHaldwani after a rally by CongresspresidentMallikarjun Kharge comes when the BJP and its government are having to engage protesters against reservation — walking the political tightrope on emerging caste divides. The party is intent on addressingtheconcernsofitsoriginal “upper caste” voters, now that social media has amplified theirvoicetoo.Atthesametime, it is also deeply aware that its string of electoral successes have been built on support not justfromthiscorebasebutfrom multiple OBC and even dalit andtribalgroupswherereservation is sacrosanct. Even as union minister JP nadda and uP deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak cordially engaged anti-reservation agitators Harsh dubey, Ran Bahadur SinghChauhanandMrityunjay Pathak, ministers and senior leaders oftheBJPandndAfrom reservedcategoriesmadeitclear that reservation was inviolate. Any demand for its removal is divisive, said union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Ramdas Athawale. Speaking to The Indian Express, the RPi (Athawale) leader, an ndA ally of the BJP, said that he was open to each caste getting its share of E. »contInued on pAGe 2 l in wandhama, ganderBal, The rundown sTrucTures remain frozen in Time since The massacre in 1998 In village where 23 Kashmir Pandits were killed, 4 homes a reminder of dark night bashaarat masood neighbour Brij ‘Batta’ (Batta is a Kashmiri word for Pandit) from Wandhama in Kashmir’s ganderbal district. “We hugged,” says gani. On A warm summer day two weeks ago, Abdul gani met a “Time had changed us — we man who looked familiar. The had both grown old and grey. meeting was just off the Srina- But somewhere in his face, i gar-Ladakh national highway, sensed something familiar.” For gani, this reunion with at the start of the 400-metrelong road that climbs gently a face from his own childhood was a throwback to a into the village of paGe 1 different time — a Wandhama. As soon time before the as he saw him, gani dreadful events of asked the man wherehewasfrom—acustom- January 25, 1998, etched themary first question in these parts selves into the collective memwhen Kashmiri Pandits and ory of Wandhama. On August 25, Jammu & Kashmir Police’s Muslims meet. The answer stunned him — State investigation Agency gani was meeting his old opened an investigation into Wandhama (Ganderbal), August 29 anchor thatincident,whenmilitantsin Army fatigues entered the village and killed 23 Kashmiri Pandits in one of the deadliest attacks of that time. The case is the latest in a seriesofprobesthattheSiAhas opened into the killings of Kashmiri Pandits during the militancy. And although Brij had left the village for Jammu eight years before the Wandhama massacre, when many like him were having to leave the Valley as part of the larger KashmiriPanditexodus,thereunion with him brought back memories for gani. nestled among tall Chinar andwalnuttrees,Wandhamais a village in central Kashmir’s one of the four rundown brick-and-stone houses belonging to kashmiri Pandits, in wandhama, ganderbal. ShUAIB mASoodI ganderbal. On the night of January 2526, 1998, a group of militants descended on the village, assembled the Kashmiri Pandits in one place and opened indis- criminate fire. it led to the killing of 23 Kashmiri Pandits, including four children and nine women. Today, much has changed. A new highway corridor that connects Srinagar and Ladakh has come up a few hundred metresfromthevillage,andold brick-and-stonehousesaregivingwaytolargerconcreteones. And yet, in the heart of the village, four rundown brickand-stone houses belonging to the Pandits remain standing, frozen in time. Time and weatherhavetornawaymostof thestructures,anddensegreen vegetation grows out of the windows and archways. “We had seven Pandit Kolkata houses here, but now you can only see four. Locals bought three of the houses, and new houses came up in their place,” saysMohammadHaneefBaba, a 65-year-old resident. “nobody from the village has touchedtheotherfour,buthow long will they stand the weather and time?” As militancy peaked in 1990, several Kashmiri Pandits began leaving the Valley for Jammu. But the residents of thefourhouseholdsstayedput. Then came the night of January 25, 1998. Baba recalls that night and its horror. it was Ramazan, and most of the village’s male residents were at the local mosque, he says. “We heard a few shots but thought it was somewhere far away. it was January 26 (Republic day), and we thought it was a celebratory fire,” he says. Then came the wails of some women. “Whenwewentoutside(the mosque where people were praying), we heard the women pleading with us to leave for some safe place. They said there had been firing in the village,” Baba says. “Some of the young men from the gathering mustered courage and ran towards the Pandit houses. They saw bodies scattered outside.” The massacre wiped out all four families that remained. »contInued on pAGe 2