dharmapuri l wednesday l april 23, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION Maharashtra rolls back its diktat on Hindi as 3rd language Maharashtra has stayed its order to make Hindi mandatory as a third language for Classes 1 to 5 in Marathi and English-medium schools decision comes after stiff opposition The decision taken last week met with stiff resistance from different quarters, including some opposition parties, and comes days after the Maharashtra government’s language consultation committee urged CM Devendra Fadnavis to revoke the decision. School Education Minister Dada Bhuse said the Centre did not pressure them to “impose” Hindi ■ 3 learning hindi will be made voluntary ■ A senior minister of Maharashtra government said a new order will be issued making it voluntary to learn Hindi in these classes Rahul Rekhawar, Director of the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT), said efforts will be taken to ensure students do not feel any pressure of learning a third language language formula is part of the new curriculum under NEP 43604/8 CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI Illustration: Mandar Pardikar Lidder river Pahalgam Baisaran Valley Amarnath Yatra Base Camp Tourists enjoying a balmy afternoon at Baisaran meadow, a non-motorable spot about 5-10 km from Pahalgam Terrorists in combat uniform emerge from the dense forest around the site, ask tourists about their identity Terrorists open fire selectively on Hindus; 28 killed, including two foreigners and a couple of locals Video grab of security personnel taking scared tourists to safety at the massacre site in J&K’s Pahalgam 28 massacred in J&K E x p r e s s N e w s S e r v i c e @ New Delhi In one of the biggest attacks on tourists coinciding with the visit of US Vice President J D Vance to India, terrorists on Tuesday massacred 28 people, most of them tourists, in J&K’s Pahalgam area and injuring many others. Among the victims were two foreigners from UAE and Nepal and a couple of locals. Prime Minister Narendra Modi cut short his visit to Saudi Arabia and returned home after the business part of his trip was over. Official sources said twothree terrorists emerged from the dense forest around the Baisaran meadow, a scenic but non-motorable spot about 5-10 km from Pahalgam around 2.30 pm. They were heavily armed and in combat Prime Minister Narenda Modi will depart for India from Saudi Arabia tonight, cutting short his visit in view of the terrorist attack in Kashmir. Earlier in the day, he reached out to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, directing him to take immediate charge of the situation. Following his instructions, Shah held a high-level meeting with senior officials through video conferencing soon after the attack and landed in Srinagar by 9 pm. Condemning the incident in the strongest terms, Modi said those responsible would face the full force of the law. Lt Governor Manoj Sinha, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, senior Army officials, and the Director Generals of the CRPF and J&K Police joined the emergency video conference called by Shah. Later in Srinagar, the home minister chaired a detailed security meeting. According to sources, the Cabinet Committee on Security will meet to assess the situation and consider additional measures to tighten the security grid. F aya z W a n i @ Srinagar uniform. The terrorists separated the Hindu tourists from the rest after checking their identity and fired on them indiscriminately sources said. , Waseem Khan, a security guard, said he heard the firing but initially thought it was due to firecrackers. “The firing continued for 10 minutes. As there were cries, we rushed to the spot and saw bodies lying on the ground. Some of them were dead and some injured,” he said. Baisaran, which is known as mini Switzerland for its lush green meadows, can be reached only through foot or on horses. “You cannot go to the area in the vehicles because there is no motorable road,” he said. In a viral video, a woman tourist, whose husband was shot at by militants, said, “We were enjoying belpuri and my husband was sitting by my side, when an individual came and shot at him. He thought he is not a Muslim and fired. “Please save my husband,” she pleaded. One of the victims was Manjunath Rao, a businessman from Shivamogga district of Karnataka. The victims included Prasant Kumar Satpathy from Odisha, Manish Ranjan from Hyderabad and another from Kochi. A tourist from Maw Nagar, Gujarat, said he was travelling on horse back when the terrorists fired. “I was hit in the right arm,” he said. He is under treatment in Anantnag. The Resistance Front, a shadow group of Lashkar-eToiba, claimed responsibility for the attack. Tasmac’s revenue up by `2,483.30 crore Chennai: Tasmac’s revenue through excise duty and VAT increased to `48,344 crore in 2024-25, from `45,855.70 crore in 2023-24, according to policy note tabled in Assembly by Minister Senthil Balaji on Tuesday | P4 Prime Minister Narendra Modi looks at the fighter jets of Royal Saudi Air Force escorting his aircraft as it arrives in Jeddah on Tuesday | PTI PM’s Saudi trip to push trade ties j aya n t h j a c o b @ New Delhi 3.5K% levy plan US wants to slap up to a whopping 3,500% tariff on solar panels from Southeast Asia to address dumping V-P J D Vance urges India to drop non-tariff barriers, give greater access to its markets, buy more US energy and military products | P8 “Those behind this heinous act will be brought to justice... they will not be spared! Their evil agenda will never succeed. Our resolve to fight terrorism is unshakable and it will get even stronger,” PM Modi said The perpetrators are animals, inhuman: CM “This attack on our visitors is an abomination. The perpetrators of this attack are animals — inhuman and worthy of contempt. No words of condemnation are enough,” CM Omar Abdullah said Those involved will not be spared, says Shah “Those involved in this dastardly act of terror will not be spared. We will come down heavily on the perpetrators with the harshest consequences.” Union home minister Amit Shah said state must establish a university, be it state-run or private, through a sepThe Tamil Nadu government has arate Act or proper amendment to notified The TN Private Universities the existing TN State Private Univer(Amendment) Act, 2024, in the Gov- sities Act, 2019, and not through a ernment Gazette. The Bill passed by mere notification. Hence, the amendthe Assembly in 2023 received the as- ment was necessary to safeguard the sent of Governor R N Ravi future of students studying in on April 9, one day after the these private institutions. Supreme Court held that The state government had the governor withholding tabled the bill in 2023 to estab10 state legislative bills, lish eight new private univerpassed by the TN Assembly, sities by amending the TN Priwas “illegal” and vate Universities Act. The “erroneous”. universities proposed were The Act amends the TN Dhanalakshmi Srinivasan Private Universities Act, Governor R N Ravi University in Tiruchy, Sree 2019, to include eight priAnusuya University in Villuvate universities in the schedule, in puram, Sri Venkateswaraa Univerline with the University Grants Com- sity in Thoothukudi, NMV Univermission (UGC) norms. These private sity in Virudhunagar, Takshashila universities had not received the University in Villupuram, Joy Unimandatory UGC approval as they versity in Tirunelveli, Jeppiaar Unifailed to fulfill the requirement. versity in Chennai and St Joseph According to the UGC norms, a University in Villupuram.  P5 E x p r e s s N e w s S e r v i c e @ Chennai HC to TN: Give equal pay to MRB nurses IMF says economic outlooks for US and world have worsened significantly due to trade war Resolve to fight terror unshakable: Modi After SC rap, guv okays Bill to recognise TN pvt univs express read Chennai: The Madras HC has ordered the Tamil Nadu government to give equal pay with service benefits to the nurses recruited through the Medical Recruitment Board (MRB), as per a 2018 court order | P2 PM cuts short visit, returns PRIME Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday for a two-day visit aimed at strengthening the strategic partnership between the two nations, with a special focus on defence and energy cooperation. The visit, at the invitation of Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman, comes as both countries seek to deepen collaboration in key sectors critical to regional stability and economic growth. At least six agreements are expected to be signed during the visit. Modi said India deeply values its long and historic ties with Saudi Arabia that have acquired strategic depth and momentum in recent years. “Together, we have developed a mutually beneficial and substantive partnership including in the domains of defence, trade, investment, energy and people to people ties. We have shared interest and commitment to promote regional peace, prosperity, security and stability Modi ,” said. The focus of the visit is the second meeting of the India-Saudi Strategic Partnership Council, co-chaired by Modi and the Crown Prince. “Our partnership has limitless potential,” Modi said. In 2023–2024, bilateral trade between the two natiosn reached nearly $43 billion, making Saudi Arabia India’s fifth-largest trading partner. 57 clear UPSC exam from TN, 50 backed by ‘Naan Mudhalvan’ B i n i ta J a i s w a l @ Chennai Civil Service Examination candidates from Tamil Nadu have done notably better this year as demonstrated by the 2024 results released by the Union Public Service Commission on Tuesday with at least 57 from , the state clearing the exam, compared to the 45 last year. Significantly, 50 out of the 57 availed of the state government’s scholarship under the Naan Mudhalvan scheme. Of the 50, 18—including the state topper—prepared through the government’s free residential coaching facility under the scheme. The all-India rank one (AIR 1) was secured by Shakti Dubey from Uttar AIR 1 Shakti Dubey Pradesh, one among the three women in the top five. This time, five candidates from TN placed in the top 50, with B Sivachandran securing 23rd position in the All India Ranking (AIR). Gee Gee A S secured 25th rank in the country and came second in Tamil Nadu, while Subash Karthik, R Monika and Pavitra P from the state secured 29th, 39th and 42nd AIR respectively . Last year, the state topper had secured 41st in AIR and only five from TN placed in the top 100.  P5 NSG ops during 26/11 attack inspired me, says TN topper E x p r e s s N e w s S e r v i c e @ Chennai B Sivachandran, who emerged the Tamil Nadu topper in the UPSC Civil Services Examinations (CSE 2024) with an All India Rank of 23, has on his fifth attempt kept a promise he made to himself way back in 2008. The 28-year-old qualified chartered accountant has opted for the Indian Police Service (IPS) as he was inspired by the NSG commandos tasked with rescue operations during the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack. Notably the only coaching he undertook was at the state’s , residential coaching facility, supported by a monthly allowance, both under Naan Mudhalvan scheme.  P2 ‘indefensible’ Delhi HC tears into Ramdev on ‘Sharbat jihad’ Shekhar Singh @New Delhi can hold views in head, not express them: Judge “He (Ramdev) can hold these opinions in his head, need not express them,” ruled Justice Amit Bansal of the Delhi High Court, before listing the matter for further hearing on May 1 YOGA guru and Patanjali founder Baba Ramdev on Tuesday was ordered by the Delhi High Court to take down videos in which he made communal remarks targeting food company Hamdard and its popular drink ‘Rooh Afza’. The move follows a civil lawsuit filed by Hamdard National Foundation (India) after Ramdev accused the company of funding reli- gious institutions and used the term ‘sharbat jihad’ to describe their product. Justice Amit Bansal of the Delhi High Court said the Patanjali founder’s comments in the videos were “indefensible” and “shocked the conscience of the court.” Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Hamdard, submitted, “This is a case which goes beyond disparagement. This is a case of creating communal divide, akin to hate speech. It will not have protection from law of defamation,” Rohatgi submitted. The video, posted on April 3, contained explicit references to Rooh Afza, with Ramdev alleging that buying the drink funded religious extremism. Senior Advocate Rajiv Nayar, appearing for Ramdev, said the videos are being taken down Justice Bansal directed Ramdev to file an affidavit that he would refrain from posting divisive content on social media in future.