eye THE SUNDAY EXPRESS MAGAZINE A Time to Sow & a Time to Reap NEWDELHI,LATECITY As the country celebrates regional new years, a look at how the kinship of food ties communities and languages FOUR-PAGE PULLOUT APRIL14,2024 16+4PAGES,`7.00 (`8 BIHAR & RAIPUR, ` 12 SRINAGAR) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA THE CITY PLAN SHELVED EARLIER DUE TO FINANCIAL CONSTRAINTS L-G SAYS DELHI GOVT SCHEMES FOR POOR WILL CONTINUE 72 Div, planned as part of 17 MSC, set to be raised under Northern Command THE WORLD 6 KILLED IN SYDNEY MALL STABBING; ATTACKER SHOT DEAD PAGE 8 AMRITA NAYAK DUTTA NEW DELHI, APRIL 13 A LONG-PENDING plan to raise a newArmy divisionfor possible deploymentineasternLadakhis likely to be implemented this yearaspartof aseriesof changes for Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) and the Ladakh region, The Indian Express has learnt. According to sources, the Army is considering raising the 72 Division — which was to originally function under the 17 Mountain Strike Corps (MSC) basedinPanagarh(WestBengal) — for possible deployment in eastern Ladakh under the Northern Command. A division has approximately 14,000 to 15,000 troops. However,insteadofrecruitingadditional manpower, the Army is likely to reorganise existing personnelfordeploymentinthenew division from other formations. A strike corps is responsible foroffensivetrans-borderaction. Currently, the Army has four strike corps — the Mathurabased 1 Corps, Ambala-based 2 Corps, Bhopal-based 21 Corps, and 17 MSC in Panagarh. However, till 2021, only the E E X P L A I NE D PAGE 4 EyeoneasternLadakh,newArmy divisionlikelytoberaisedthisyear ● 17 MSC — which was partially raised then — was focused on China. The other three were focussed on Pakistan. Butinthebackdropofthemilitary standoff with China which beganin2020,arestructuringwas carriedoutin2021tokeeptwoof thestrikecorpsforthemountains facing China. The 1 Corps and 17 Corps were restructured to focus on the northern and eastern borders to tackle Chinese threats. The role of the 1 Corps was reorientedtofocusonthenorthernborderswithChinawithtwo infantry divisions. The 17 Corps 2-pronged strategy THE DECISION is part of overall redeployment changes being planned in the Northern Command, with a two-pronged strategy focused on eastern Ladakh amid the standoff along the LAC with China, and on ensuring no gap in training of strike corps elements. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 NEW DELHI, APRIL 13 IRANIAN COMMANDOS Saturday seized an Israeli-affiliated container ship carrying 17 Indian crew members, the latest escalationinWestAsia’sspiralling tensions in which New Delhi has now found itself caught up. Membersof theparamilitary Revolutionary Guard rappelled down from a helicopter onto the Portuguese-flagged MSC Aries neartheStraitofHormuzand,according to state-run IRNA news agency,weretakingtheshipinto Iranian territorial waters. The seizure followed a suspected Israeli strike this month on an Iranian consular building in Syria’s Damascus that killed 12 people, including a senior Guard General. Iran had vowed to avenge the strike. The ship is associated with London-based Zodiac Maritime. Zodiac Maritime is part of Israeli billionaire Eyal Ofer’s Zodiac 3 months before Kejriwal arrest, ED no to approver’s visit abroad: ‘May not return to support case’ Court allowed Reddy to go; ED said his absence will seriously affect probe Per sia nG ulf NEW DELHI, APRIL 13 P Sarath Chandra Reddy; Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal KAUNAIN SHERIFF M KEY TO the Enforcement Directorate’s case that Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is the “kingpin” in the excise scam is the statement of non-executive director of Hyderabadbased Aurobindo Pharma, P Sarath Chandra Reddy, recorded on April 25, 2023, about his alleged meeting with Kejriwal whopurportedlytoldhimabout a “win-win” arrangement. Reddy was arrested in the case on November 10, 2022, and on May 29, 2023, a special court IRAN BandarAbbas Dubai Bahrain Qatar SAUDIARABIA Tracker shows path of the seized MSC Aries in Strait of Hormuz. Reuters CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 in Delhi, then presided over by Special Judge M K Nagpal, allowed Reddy to turn approver and granted him pardon. On March 19 this year, Nagpal was transferred and, a daylater,thecasewastakenover by Special Judge Kaveri Baweja. Court records show that as recently as January this year, six monthsafterheturnedapprover and three months before Kejriwal’s arrest, the ED questionedtheapprover’sintentions. The agency expressed “apprehensions” that Reddy would not return to “support” its case if he was allowed to travel overseas. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 THE SUPREME Court is scheduled to hear Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s plea against the High Court's decision to uphold his arrest in the excise policy case, on April 15. The matter has been listed before a twojudge bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Gupta. Earlierthisweek,theDelhiHC had dismissed Kejriwal's plea challenging his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), sayingtheagencywasin“possessionofenoughmaterial”toarrest him. Arrested on March 21, Kejriwal is in judicial custody till April15andislodgedinTiharJail. Appealing against the HC's April 9 ruling, Kejriwal questioned the timing of his “illegal” arrest under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), saying it was “in the middle of CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 ‘Gangrapes at TMC office’: NHRC submits report on Sandeshkhali AbuDhabi UAE Group. Geneva-based MSC later acknowledged the seizure and said a total of 25 crew members wereaboardthevessel.IRNAsaid aspecialforcesunitoftheGuard’s navy carried out the attack. Sources in New Delhi said there are 17 Indian nationals on board, and that officials were in touch with Tehran for the security, welfare and early release of the Indians. One source said: “We are aware that a cargo ship SC to hear CM plea against HC order on arrest tomorrow EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, APRIL 13 Iran seizes cargo ship linked to Israel, 17 Indians in crew EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE SARATH REDDY STATEMENT IN EXCISE POLICY CASE Police told victims to compromise with perpetrators: Report RAVIK BHATTACHARYA KOLKATA, APRIL 13 Reuters Revolutionary Guard commandos rappel down from a helicopter onto the ship on Saturday. WOMEN ALLEGEDLY gangraped ataTrinamoolCongress(TMC)office,victimstoldbypolicetoreach acompromisewithperpetrators, younggirlssentawayfromthevillage to keep them safe — the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has made graveallegationsinitsinquiryreportontheSandeshkhaliincident. The report was prepared by the rights body after it took suo motu cognisance of the allegations,andisbasedonavisittothe West Bengal village and conversationswithallegedvictims.Ithas been submitted to the Chief SecretaryandDGPofWestBengal tosubmitanaction-takenreport, withacopymarkedtotheCentral Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The TMC called the NHRC a "frontal organisation" of the BJP andsaidthereporthasbeenprepared at the party office. The report lists Shibu Prasad Hazra, Uttam Sardar and Amir Ali Gazi, close associates of suspended TMC strongman Sheikh Shahjahan, as the main accused. The three, as well as Shahjahan, are currently under arrest. Shahjahan first made headlines in the beginning of January whenanEnforcementDirectorate (ED)team,whichhadgonetoconduct searches at his residence, cameunderattackbyhissupporters. He went on the run, and a month later, protests erupted in CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Days before polling, Migrant labour, Jharkhand dhaba, Agnipath turns business cold in two killed in fresh Ukraine war tell a 2024 TN story Nagaur, heats up poll campaign violence in Manipur With demand down, Tamil Nadu’s Kongu region faces Opp targets recruitment scheme; BJP tries to dodge ALONG ERODE-TIRUPPUR HIGHWAY ARMY COACHING GROUND ZERO IN RAJASTHAN labour shortage — and sees businessmen talk of change question, Rajnath suggests changes in policy possible P VAIDYANATHAN IYER PARUL KULSHRESTHA ERODE, TIRUPPUR, COIMBATORE, APRIL 13 EN ROUTE to Tiruppur in Tamil Naduthataccountsformorethan half of India’s garments exports, on the ErodeTiruppur highway, Mohamed Sadiq Khan’s dhaba stands out for its DECISION name: Jharkhand2024 UP Dhaba. He has beenhereforseven years, and employs four others from his home state Jharkhand. Sadiq Khan has seen “trains NAGAUR Vote shares in % KUCHAMAN (RAJASTHAN), APRIL 13 P Vaidyanathan Iyer The Jharkhand-UP dhaba on the Erode-Tiruppur highway full of migrants” getting down at Tiruppur to work in looms and garment factories, hotels and restaurants, and even in agricul- ture, of late. “Labour ko koi problem nahi hai yahan,” he says, emphasising they do not face any CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 THE HOARDINGS put up by academies promising to help you get into the Armed Forces beginfrom5kmawayasoneapproaches Kuchaman city in Nagaur district. The city’s entrance gate has a welcome sign: ‘Shiksha ki Nagri Kuchaman (Education City Kuchaman)’. Past those gates though, Kuchaman is almost a ghost town,itsdesertedcoachinginstitutes and hostels a reflection of thedwindlingcharmsofanArmy BJPally RLTP* 54.79% Cong 39.74% 2019 One of the last defence academies in Kuchaman city. Parul Kulshrestha Others5.47% BJP Cong 41.25% 33.77% 2014 job after the Agnipath scheme. Located in west Rajasthan, Kuchaman, which falls in the Others24.98% CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 SUKRITA BARUAH GUWAHATI, APRIL 13 INAviolentflare-upafteraperiod of relative peace lasting over 40 days, two persons were killed on Saturdaymorninginanareaatthe borderofMeitei-majorityImphal East district and Kuki-Zomi-majority Kangpokpi district. Kuki-Zomi organisations identified the victims as Kamminlal Lupheng (23) and Kamlengsat Lunkim (22), both residents of Kangpokpi. A senior police officer confirmedthattherewasfiringinthe area, and said two persons are suspected to have died but the bodies haven't been found yet. Purported videos of the killings — police said the videos are prima facie from Saturday — showedthebodiesbeingstamped on, disfigured and dragged. According to sources, there was heavy cross-firing between twoarmedgroupsatabout8am. The incident took place in an area under the jurisdiction of Maphoudam police station in Imphal East district, where the districts of Imphal East, Kangpokpi, and Naga-majority Ukhrul meet. The Committee of Tribal Unity, a Kuki-Zomi group based in Kangpokpi district, called for a 24-hour shutdown in the district on Sunday. Saturday's killings come less than a week before polling takes CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 India’s football map skewed, 65% of top players from just 5 states: Study PAGE 1 ANCHOR MIHIR VASAVDA MUMBAI, APRIL 13 LIKEHISpredecessors,FIFApresident Gianni Infantino was left searching for answers during a visit to India in October 2022. “It’s a country of more than 1.3 billion, so there must be enough talent in India,” he remarked. It wasn’t the first time a direct correlation was made between the country’s burgeoning population and its sporting success, or the lack of it. Seen through this prism, India’s repeated failure to find 11 worldclass footballers has mystified observers at home and abroad. However, a new study has some answers. Research conducted by Richard Hood, UEFA ‘A’ and AFC Pro licence coach and former head of player development of All India Football Federation (AIFF), has revealed that in a sprawling country of a billionplus people, over 65 per cent of the elite-level footballers hail from only five states — Manipur, Mizoram, West Bengal, Punjab and Goa — whose total population, as per the 2011 Census, was approximately 12.43 crore. These are the male players — a total of 1,112 — who have played for India in the junior and senior national teams, and the top two divisions of the domestic leagues in the last 22 years. To further extrapolate this data, Hood’s analysis showed that nearly 90 per cent of India’s footballers hailed from nine states and one city — Greater Mumbai, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Meghalaya and Sikkim in addition to the five states mentioned above — whose collective population was a little over 25 crore 4.PUNJAB 11.46% SMALL PLAYER POOL Just 5 states make up 65.51% of player pool for senior national team 1.MANIPUR 17.58% 5.GOA 9.71% 3.WEST BENGAL 13.35% 2.MIZORAM 13.41% Study by Richard Hood, former head of player development of AIFF according to the 2011 Census. In otherwords,about20percentof India’spopulationcontributesto 90percentof itsbestfootballers. The tiny states of Manipur and Mizoram have contributed most to India’s player pool, accounting for almost 31 per cent of elite-level footballers in the country,followedbyWestBengal (13.35 per cent), Punjab (11.46 percent)andGoa(9.71percent). In addition, of the 152 players who have played for India since 2002, almost 80 per cent camefromjustsixstatesandone city (Greater Mumbai), with Punjab leading the chart. So,if oneweretodrawIndia’s football map, there would be a giant hole in themiddle, indicating that the world’s most popular sport has made virtually no inroads into the densely-populated Hindi heartland. Hood underlined that the pattern in India is not different from most countries, including France, Argentina and Brazil, where a handful of pockets produce a majority of players. However, for a country that has a poor scouting system and strugglestoformateamthatcan beat a war-ravaged nation like Afghanistan,Hoodhopedtheresearch could help“identify areas that require targeted interven- tions”. “This could lead to more strategic talent identification and development efforts, tailored to leverage unique strengths and address the specific challenges of different regions,” he noted. Theprojectisaimedtoexamine the “birthplace effect” in Indianfootball.Itlooks athow“a range of environmental, social and infrastructural factors, such as access to quality coaching, facilities, and competitive opportunities, as well as socio-economicandculturalaspects”have encouraged or hindered sporting participation. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2