DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2021, NEW DELHI, LATE CITY, 18 PAGES FIRST PHASE: TROOPS BACK AT LOCATIONS BEFORE STANDOFF BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY China pulls troops east of Finger 8, Indians vacate heights in Chushul; spotlight on Hot Springs, Gogra, Depsang KRISHN KAUSHIK & DEEPTIMAN TIWARY DepsangPlains NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 19 MAKINGSIGNIFICANTheadway in attempts to resolve the ninemonth military standoff along the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh, Chinese and Indian troops have completed the first phase of disengagement on the north and south banks of Pangong Tso, and their senior commanderswillmeetSaturday Ladakh Daulat Hot BegOldie Springs Galwan J&K Leh Srinagar Pangong Tso morning to discuss the pullback of troops from the other friction points in the region. Official sources said the dis- engagement of artillery, tanks and troops from heights was completed Wednesday, but the two sides had to verify it on the ground and this was done Thursday. “Everything that was agreed upon at the ninth round of talks (on January 24) has been achieved. At Pangong Tso, we have achieved status quo ante. On the north bank, China has pulled its troops east of Finger 8 (whichIndiasaysmarkstheLAC) CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 China’s admission: Officer, 3 soldiers died in Galwan KRISHN KAUSHIK NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 19 IN A rare acknowledgment of its troopcasualties,theChinesePLA announced Friday thatfourof its personnel, including a battalion commander, died in clashes withIndiantroopsintheGalwan Valley in Ladakh last year. It also said that another officer, of the rank of a Colonel, was “seriously injured in the skirmish”. PM: Highly educated FROM EARTH, ON MARS among those who are spreading terror... think nation first EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE KOLKATA, FEBRUARY 19 POINTINGOUTthatamongthose spreading terror and violence across the world are several highly educated people, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Friday calledonthestudentcommunity toadopta“nation-firstapproach” tofindsolutionsinsteadof being a part of the problem. Addressing the annual convocation of Visva-Bharati University in West Bengal through videoconference, the Prime Minister also said that the newNationalEducationPolicyis a major step towards an AtmaNirbhar Bharat (SelfReliantIndia)asit“givesstrength to research and innovation”. He invoked the “world view” of the university's founder, Rabindranath Tagore, whose vision was not about “a typical educationalinstitutionbutonethat will help Indian culture realise its full potential globally”. Stressing that “knowledge and power both come with responsibility”, Modi said: “Jo duniya mein aatank phaila rahe hein, jo duniya mein hinsa phaila rahe hein, unmein bhi kayee highly skilled, highly learned, highly educated log hai. Doosri taraf aise bhi log hai jo Corona jaise vaiswik mahaamari se duniyakomuktidilanekeliyedinraat apni jaan ki baazi laga dete hai. Aspatalon mein datey rehte hein, prayogshalaaon mein jutey rehte hain.” (“Among those who are spreading terror in the world, those who are spreading violence in the world, there are also several highly educated, highly learned, highly skilled people. On the other side, there are also those who risk their lives day and night to free the world of a pandemiclikeCoronavirus.They stay firm in hospitals, keep working in labs.”) CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Police must not prejudice probe, media should exercise restraint: HC SOFI AHSAN & ANAND MOHAN J CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 THUNBERG TWEETS FOR DISHA “Freedomofspeechand therighttopeaceful protestandassemblyare non-negotiablehuman rights.Thesemustbea fundamentalpartofany democracy. #StandWithDishaRavi” GRETA THUNBERG IT WILL collect rock samples containing possible signs of bygone microscopic life. TWO OTHER spacecraft (UAE, China) swung into Mars orbit around last week. All three missions lifted off in July. The first image after NASA's Perseverance rover landed on Mars on Thursday. NASA TV/ Reuters ORDER SEEKING MANDATORY PRIOR CLEARANCE 2 top academies to Govt: new webinar rules could halt all scientific discussion Indian Academy of Sciences, Indian National Academy of Sciences write to Pokhriyal INDIA’S TWO largest and oldest science academies have written to the Ministry of Education — and thethird isconsidering joining in — to say that its recent order mandating institutions to seek Government clearance for all webinars could “lead to a complete halt of all topical scientific discussions” and “im- THE EDITORIAL PAGE Disha Ravi in New Delhi on Friday. Praveen Khanna became the ninth spacecraft to successfully land on Mars. REPORT,PAGE14 Nation needs to be protected but imposing prior approval, (not) defining India’s ‘internal matters’ constrains progress of science” AMITABH SINHA BETWEENCHINA ANDCALIFORNIA BY PRATAP BHANU MEHTA PAGE 10 INSIDE 10 LAKH CASES OVER CAA, LOCKDOWN VIOLATIONS TO BE DROPPED IN TN PAGE 6 INDIA 2ND FASTEST TO ADMINISTER 1 CR VACCINATIONS: GOVT PAGE 8 PARTHA MAJUMDER, PRESIDENT, INDIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES pede” the interest of science among the young. The Indian Academy of Sciences, the Indian National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Sciences, India, together include more than 2,500 of India’s top scientists. The first two have sent separate letters to Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal seeking withdrawal of these “blanket restrictions.” Sources saidthethird is consideringsupporting this petition. The order, issued on January 15 — in the wake of new procedure notified by the Ministry of External Affairs last November — asks all government entities, including publicly funded educational institutions and universities, to “seek approval” of the CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Unnao deaths: 28-yr-old held, police say poisoned girls on being ‘rejected’ ASAD REHMAN LUCKNOW, FEBRUARY 19 THE UTTAR Pradesh Police claimed Friday to have solved thesuspectedpoisoningof three Dalit girls in Unnao district with the arrest of a 28-year-old man, Vinay, and the detentionof a minor, 15. They said Vinay had confessed to mixing insecticide in water to target the eldest girl, 17, after she spurned his advances. All the three girls, who were The accused in custody. PTI cousins, reportedly drank the water inadvertently. While the younger cousins, In Australia PM call to Modi, news Bill to rein in Big Tech firms NASA’S PERSEVERANCE www.indianexpress.com NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 19 HEARING A plea from climate activist Disha Ravi, who was arrested in connection with a toolkit on the farmers' protest thatwastweetedbySwedishactivist Greta Thunberg, the Delhi High Court Friday directed police to abide by Home Ministry guidelines and not “rush to the press with half-baked, speculativeorunconfirmedinformation about ongoing investigations”. It also directed editors of mediahousestoexercise“propereditorialcontrol”overnewscontent toensurethatinvestigationinthe caseisnothamperedinanymannerandthatthecontentisnot“offensive” and “scandalising”. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 WhyPerseverancemarksanew chapterinMarsExploration:NASA scientistDrAmitabhaGhoshexplains. PUNE, FEBRUARY 19 DISHA RAVI PLEA This is the first admission by China that it suffered casualties in the June 15, 2020 clashes in Galwan Valley where 20 Indian Army personnel, including a Colonel, lost their lives. The PLA madenomentionof thenumber of personnel injured in the clashes. It made the announcement on the eve of the tenth round of talks between the two armies. On Twitter, Chinese handles, 13, and 16, had been found dead on Wednesday evening, the 17year-old is admitted in hospital. The three had gone to the family fields to collect fodder, as per their relatives. ThepolicesaidVinaydecided to poison the 17-year-old after she refused to give him her mobilenumber.Vinay,whobelongs to a village near the cousins',had reportedly got friendly with them during the lockdown, and they met up in the fields. The CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 PM Narendra Modi, Australian PM Scott Morrison. Twitter/ MEA SHUBHAJIT ROY & PRANAV MUKUL NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 19 AUSTRALIA HAS reached out to Indiaamongseveralcountries,including Canada, France and the UK, in a move to stitch a global coalition against tech giants GoogleandFacebookamidafaceoff over compensation for sharing news content from media companies on their platforms. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison called up Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday,andlatersaidthatthey “discussed the progress” on Australia’s “News Media and Digital Platforms Mandatory Bargaining Code Bill 2020”. Under the proposed law — News Media and Digital PlatformsMandatoryBargaining E X P L A I NE D PAGE 14 CHINA BIDEN URGES ALLIES TO PUSH BACK AGAINST CHINA Pangong disengagement over, other friction points to be discussed today PAKISTAN WORLD PAGE 1 ANCHOR `6.00 (`8 BIHAR & RAIPUR, `12 SRINAGAR) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 E ● Global impact CURRENTLY, NEWS publishers get only a portion of ad revenues generated from their content on big tech platforms. If Australia clears the Bill mandating compensation for use of such content, it could trigger similar laws across the world. EXPLAINED PAGE 13 Code Bill 2020 — Australia seeks to mandate a bargaining code that aims to force Google and CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 2 policemen shot dead in Srinagar; three held for attack at restaurant NAVEED IQBAL SRINAGAR, FEBRUARY 19 TWO POLICEMEN were shot in the Barzulla area of Srinagar on Friday,inthesecondattackinthe cityinthepastthreedays.Intwo other incidents in the Valley, a Special Police Officer was killed and a Constable injured in Budgam of Central Kashmir, whilethreemilitantswerekilled in an encounter in Shopian, South Kashmir. Director General, J&K Police, Dilbag Singh told The Indian Express that while there appeared to have been only one attacker in the Srinagar incident, they were looking at the possibility of a back-up, "to ensure his escape". The policemen killed in the EXPRESS NETWORK AFTER VISIT, EU CALLS FOR‘EARLY ASSEMBLY POLLS’ PAGE 7 Srinagar attack were identified asConstableMohammadYousuf from Zurhama, Kupwara, and Constable Suhail Ahmad from Logripora, Aishmuqam. In Budgam, SPO Mohammad Altaf was killed and Constable Manzoor Ahmad was injured even as the militants managed to escape. At a press conference held Friday, Kashmir IG Vijay Kumar said the three bike-borne assailants behind the February 17 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 How a football pipeline from Shillong feeds top Indian clubs MIHIR VASAVDA NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 19 IN 2009, Shillong Lajong became the first club from the Northeast to qualify for the country’s premier football competition, the ILeague. A little more than a decadelater,theyareabsentfrom thetoptwotiersofIndianfootball. Yet, their presence is unmistakable—becauseclubsacrossIndia continue to reap the benefits of the talent Shillong Lajong have churned out over all these years. From Mumbai City’s Bipin Singh, one of the standout performers in the ongoing Indian Super League (ISL) season, to Bengaluru FC youngster Wungngayam Muirang, the first Tangkhul Naga player to feature in the competition, and Goa’s Redeem Tlang, over 20 Shillong Lajong alumni have been snapped up by 10 out of the 11 teams in the top division. Graduates from academies set up by Tata, All India Football Federation and Minerva, too, are sprinkled across different teams and leagues in the country. But what sets Shillong Lajong apart is they are a community club feeding other clubs pan-India with finished products. In the process, and at a time whenmostIndianclubsarefinding it tough to sustain operations, they have generated revenues in the eight-figure range. In 2017, for instance, the club earned Rs 1.47 crore in fees on contracts for itsplayersat the ISL draft. In 2015, they purchased a 20-acre parcel of land, where their academy is being set up. Curiously, being the country’s feeder centre was never Lajong’s plan. Their goal was just to become self-sufficient. “We didn’t strategically plan to be a feeder team. Since 2009, our objective has been sustenance and digging deeper in youth development,” says the club's owner Mumbai City’s Bipin Singh, a Shillong Lajong product, has been a standout performer in the ongoing ISL season. ISL Larsing Ming, who is also the AIFF vice-president. “Northeast means lesser revenue opportunities in terms of sponsorships. But with the kind of talent available, we found it prudent to invest in the grassroots.” After they got promoted to theI-League,Mingandtheclub’s then coach Pradhyum Reddy came up with a five-year plan, ‘Goal 2014’. The objective was to scout raw talent from across the Northeast and prepare a supply chain for the club that had limited financial resources. “We knew players would leave us for bigger clubs who offered them salaries which we could not match,” Reddy, who ledthemtopromotiontothetop division,says.“Wecouldn’tcompete with the market so, out of compulsion,westarteddeveloping young players for our team.” Two things helped Lajong.At the time, in the rest of the Northeast, there weren’t many clubs or opportunities for the young players to showcase their talent. It gave Shillong Lajong a first-mover advantage, according to Reddy. “So we would take our first team to tournaments in Manipur, Mizoram, Sikkim...and simultaneously conduct camps, which would attract hundreds of local kids,” Reddy says. “If you are an under-15 kid in Manipur or Mizoram, what do you do? There was no league there. At Lajong,wewouldtrainthem,get them a place to stay and find a level for them to compete.” They trained them in the ‘Lajong Way’, with focus on preparing technically strong players who were comfortable in possession. This became an asset since most of the players were naturally gifted with pace. In 2014, when the club had established itself in India’s top tier, Ming chose to invest in the ISL franchise NorthEast United. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2