DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA ● REG.NO. MCS/067/2018 - 20 RNI REGN. NO. 1543/57 JOURNALISM OF COURAGE TUESDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2024, MUMBAI, LATE CITY, 18 PAGES `5.00 ● WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 PRESIDENT DISSANAYAKE’S VISIT TO INDIA ZAKIR HUSSAIN ● 1951 - 2024 A beat goes missing In the hands of tabla’s greatest player, music became magic, Indian classical resonated with the universal SUANSHU KHURANA NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 16 President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Monday. Anil Sharma Lanka: Won’t allow use of our land against India Signal to China: ‘Free, safe Indian Ocean Region’ in statement SHUBHAJIT ROY NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 16 SRI LANKAN President Anura Kumara Dissanayake on Monday assured New Delhi that Colombo will not permit the is- land nation’s territory to be used “in a manner that is detrimental to the interest of India”. The recently elected Sri Lankan President is on his first bilateral visit to India. “I have given an assurance to the Prime Minister of India that we will not have our land... be used in a manner that is detrimental to the interest of India in any way,” Dissanayake said after bilateral talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Hyderabad House. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 After NC, TMC questions EVM talk: ‘Show video’ 17/12/2024 88 ASAD REHMAN NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 16 116 142 86 AFTER JAMMU and Kashmir Chief Minister and National Conference (NC) leader Omar Abdullah’s dismissal of objections raised by Congress leaders against EVMs, INDIA bloc ally Trinamool Congress (TMC) said Monday that there was nothing substantial in the allegations of EVM manipulation. TMC MP and party general secretaryAbhishekBanerjeetold reportersthathis“personalopinion was that those raising questions on EVMs should show a CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 IT ISN’T often that a percussionist finds life in the intricacies of punctuation. Its pauses mostly remain the preserve of literature. Tabla virtuoso Ustad Zakir Hussain (73), whose tenacity went beyond the cadence, tone, tempo and inflection; whose eloquence in putting apostrophes, ellipses and exclamations in the mathematically labyrinthine stories, lifted the tabla and hoisted it as India’s flag for over half a century, died in San Francisco early on Monday. His family said in a statement that he was suffering from idiopathic pulmonaryfibrosis, a lung disease. He had been hospitalised over a fortnight back. Hussainissurvivedbywife and Kathak dancer Antonia Minnecola, daughters Isabella Qureshi,AnisaQureshi,brothersandtablaplayersFazaland Taufiq Qureshi, and sister Khursheed Aulia. “His prolific work as a teacher, mentor and educator has left an indelible mark on countless musicians. He leaves behind an unparalleled legacy,” his family said. Condolinghisdeath,Prime MinisterNarendraModisaidin apostonX:“Deeplysaddened bythepassingofthelegendary tabla maestro, Ustad Zakir Hussain Ji. He will be rememberedasatruegeniuswhorevolutionizedtheworldofIndian classical music.” Cultural ambassadors and Discontent in Mahayuti after cabinet expansion Reward for standing up for OBCs: Bhujbal ALOK DESHPANDE & VALLABH OZARKAR Archive BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY MORE REPORTS PAGES 8, 10 & 13 musicianssuchasHussainare not easy to come by. It takes hard work, interest, talent, innovationandsomethingmagical to make audacious trailblazers who are also repositories of age-old philosophy and knowledge. Which is why listening to Hussain’s music, be it at the uptown ticketedconcertsortheothers where entry was free and the aisles were brimming with rasiks—massesandmusicians who heard him together — or through his global collaboration that was Shakti and his extensive work with legends like George Harrison, John McLaughlin and Grateful Dead’s Mickey Hart, the CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 NAGPUR, DECEMBER 16 ADAYaftertheCabinetexpansion in Maharashtra, senior ministers from the previous government and several MLAs from all the three ruling allies — BJP, NCP and Shiv Sena — who were not in- ducted have openly expressed their discontent. Senior NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal said that the denial of Cabinet berth could be the “reward” he got for standing up for the OBC community. He left NagpurforhishometownNashik on the first day of the Winter SessionoftheAssembly,Monday. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 MAHARASHTRA MINISTER FACES 38 FIRS At least one serious offence against one-third in cabinet MOHAMED THAVER MUMBAI, DECEMBER 16 THE 39 ministers sworn in as part of the cabinet expansion of the Maharashtra government ahead of the winter session of the Assembly in Nagpur on Sunday included BJP’s Nitesh Rane, an MLA who has 38 FIRs against him that includes 66 serious sections — the highest among the list of 288 MLAs that were voted to power in the recentlyconcludedassemblyelections. Serious sections are those CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Investing feels too complicated? Building wealth with Mutual Funds is SIPlified. Advantages of SIP Freedom from timing the market Flexibility to choose investment amount SIP - Systematic Investment Plan. Contact your MFD/RIA to know more. 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