kollam l tuesday l November 10, 2026 l `10.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION Milestone unlocked: Shrivatri becomes India’s 100th GM The 22-year-old earned his third and final GM norm by winning the 7th ASEAN Plus Individual Open, becoming the 100th GM from the country first gm to come from Madhya Pradesh Anuj Shrivatri, who had earned the title of an International Master just before the Covid pandemic, has taken a circuitous route to becoming GM. A self-taught player, he had opportunities to go abroad for work but had eschewed that in favour of completing his GM norms. On Sunday, he achieved that while also becoming the first from Madhya Pradesh to do so ■ 15 From Anand to Anuj: India’s journey ■ When Viswanathan Anand became the country’s first GM in 1988, it was held as a dream for many chess players India’s GM growth curve was turbocharged around the time of the pandemic. The country has produced an average of five grandmasters per year in the last six years | P11 grandmasters India have produced since 2025 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 UCC should be pan-India, no reason to restrict its rollout: Law minister Arjun Ram Meghwal says it has a constitutional basis; cites SC observations on the matter Shah: NDA-ruled states to implement it by 2029 R a j es h K u m a r T h a k u r @ New Delhi Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Law and Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Arjun Ram Meghwal has said the government is committed to implementing the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) across the country and asserted that its “constitutional basis” makes it difficult to justify restricting the legislation to a few states. Asked whether the Uniform Civil Code would remain confined to BJP-ruled states or eventually be implemented across the country, Meghwal said: “The Uniform Civil Code was discussed in the Constituent Assembly, and the makers of the Constitution incorporat- Union Home Minister Amit Shah had earlier described a common civil law for every citizen as a commitment of the BJP “since its inception”. He has also expressed confidence that the UCC would be implemented in all 21 BJP- and NDA-ruled states before 2029 ed a provision for it under Article 44. The Supreme Court has also made observations on the subject on several occasions. It is encouraging that some states have come forward to implement the UCC. Goa has had a common civil code for a long time, even when the BJP was not in power there,” he said in an exclusive interview with The New Indian Express. He added: “We believe that the UCC should be implemented across the country, and our government is committed to this objective. It has a constitutional basis, and there is no reason why its implementation should remain restricted to a few states. The issue is also increasingly finding a place in the election manifestos of political parties.” Uttarakhand became the first state to enact a UCC law in February 2024 and remains the only state to have fully implemented the legislation. Gujarat subsequently passed it while Assam became the first northeastern state to pass such legislation in May 2026. Madhya Pradesh has also moved towards adopting the code, approving it unanimously at a special Cabinet meeting in Bhopal in August. The UCC remains one of the BJP’s longstanding ideological objectives, alongside the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya and the abrogation of Article 370, both of which have Q&A: P7 been achieved.  Amid UP seat wrangling, Samajwadi Party surveys Gandhi family fiefdom N a m i ta B a j pa i @ Lucknow Civil supplies department officials collect petrol sample from a fuel outlet at Kowdiar in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday | B P Deepu Ethanol scare: Keralam puts petrol to test E x p r ess Ne w s S e r v i c e AMID seat-sharing talks between INDIA bloc partners, Samajwadi Party and Congress, Akhilesh Yadav’s party has commissioned surveys in constitutiencies traditionally associated with the Nehru-Gandhi family. Informed sources said the SP is trying to gauge voter sentiment and assess Congress strength in these seats, including in Amethi and Rae Bareli, before finalising seat-sharing for the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections. Despite assertions by both parties that they are committed to fighting the ruling BJP together, there has been little progress in talks. SP insiders indicated the party is seeking micro feedback from voters in Congress bastions, particular- File pic ly, in the Rae Bareli-Amethi belt and adjoining constituencies, including those in Sultanpur. Notably Akhilesh launched , his ‘PDA Rath Yatra’ from Rahul Gandhi’s Rae Bareli seat in September. The objective of the surveys is two-fold — first, to estimate the Congress’s ability to independently garner votes, and second, to deter mine whether conceding a large number of seats to the grand old party would be beneficial for the alliance. “This exercise is intended to provide empirical backing to SP’s negotiating position,” said Prof A K Mishra, a political scientist. The Congress state leadership has also indicated it is seeking a much larger share of seats than in the past. In 2017, SP spared it just 105 seats when they contested the Assembly polls together. UP Congress incharge Rajendra Pal Gautam has said the party should contest 180 to 200 seats this time. “We have given an initial list of 175 seats to the SP he said. The ,” demand reflects the Congress’s renewed confidence following the recent Rahul-led protests and the party’s relatively improved performance in some segments in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections when the party raised its tally from one MP to six. @ T’Puram The state civil supplies department has tested petrol sold across four districts for ethanol content, a move that could trigger national attention and have significant political ramifications. Samples were collected from eight petrol pumps, two each in Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam, Kozhikode and Kannur. The exercise covered all three major oil companies operating in the state — IndianOil, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum — to obtain a cross-sectional assessment of ethanol content in petrol. The exercise was led by the district supply officer in each district, with results expected within 10 days, senior officials said. Civil Supplies Minister Anoop Jacob said stringent action would be taken if ethanol content was found to exceed the prescribed limit. “The minister directed us to leave no room for controversy . Samples were therefore collected in the presence of petrol pump staff and sales officers, following a procedure finalised at a high-level meeting in consultation with the government,” a senior civil supplies department official told TNIE. The official said testing would be extended to more districts if discrepancies were detected. According to department officials, samples were collected in aluminium bottles, each rinsed with the same petrol before use. Though each bottle has a capacity of 1.25 litres, one litre of petrol was filled into each of ● More on P4 six bottles.  Sheikh Hasina stirs the pot, seeks fresh B’desh passport J aya n t h j a c o b @ New Delhi In an apparent bid to corner the Bangladesh government amid its continued insistence on her extradition, former prime minister Sheikh Hasina has sought a fresh passport and national identity card (NID) from the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi. Hasina, 79, has been living in India since her government was ousted in a student-led uprising in August 2024. Her legal representatives at Londonbased Matrix Chambers have approached the Bangladeshi mission seeking fresh documents. “Our request is made on the basis of her Bangla‘Political deshi nationality in stunt’ accordance with any obligations arising Sheikh under the laws of Hasina’s Bangladesh as well request for a as any applicable obpassport was ligations arising un“political posturing” and der international human rights she has no instruments,” her genuine lawyers wrote to intention of Preeti Rahman, actreturning to ing High Commisthe country, sioner at the BanglaDhaka’s Chief Prosecutor Md desh mission. The request, conAminul Islam firmed by Hasina’s said Awami League party, was swiftly rejected by Dhaka. Bangladesh Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Humayun Kobir said: “Bangladesh does not issue passports to terrorists. We have asked for them (terrorists) to be handed over,” Kobir told journalists at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “She is a fugitive criminal. We have an active extradition treaty with India. We want her handed over,” he said. The Awami League said a fresh passport and national identity card are crucial towards fulfilling Hasina’s stated intention of returning to Bangladesh in December. State govt explores face-saving exit from GNA power deal S o v i V i d ya d h a r a n @T’Puram Cornered by the Opposition parties over the proposed power purchase deal with GNA Energy and apprehensive that it may not secure the State Electricity Regulatory Commission’s (SERC) approval, the UDF government appears to be exploring a face-saving exit. In what appears to be an attempt to justify backing away from the 500-MW deal, government sources have floated a purported KSEB assessment that the state would not face a power shortage in the coming months — a position that the board’s top officials have not confirmed. A KSEB top source said the board’s official demand forecast continued to project a power deficit of around 865 MW in November and a similar shortfall in December. This is at odds with media reports that the KSEB top brass had told the government that the power situation would remain manageable in the coming months and that fresh purchase deals were unnecessary KSEB of. ficials declined to comment on the reports. However, officials pointed out that GNA proposal could face serious regulatory hurdles as the purchase was being pursued without a competitive tender. The regulatory commission was unlikely to approve such a deal in the absence of a tender, they said, adding that existing rules did not provide for procurement in this manner. Citing an earlier power purchase case, sources said the commission was unlikely to overlook procedural concerns in a deal of this scale. “The alternative proposal from Himachal Pradesh, routed through PTC India, could have also faced questions over the absence of a tender. However, its government-to-government nature might offer a pos● More on P4 sible justification,” the source said.  IOA chief Usha loses internal polls I n d r a n ee l d a s @ Chennai stones n’ rituals Participants hurl stones at each other during the traditional Dhami Stone Fair (Dhami Goli Mela), held a day after Diwali and marked by pelting of stones between two groups of villagers, in Dhami village of Shimla district, Himachal Pradesh, on Monday. The centuries-old ritual draws a large number of spectators every year | PTI Finally, amid allegations of interference and manipulation, the Sportspersons of Outstanding Merit (SOMs) election was over with current Indian Olympic Association president PT Usha losing. The result would have been shocking but after the last date of withdrawals, there were enough hints that pointed at change. This means that she will no longer be the president, at least, as of now. On Saturday, as reported by this daily four male candidates , were elected unopposed – Olympic medallists Gagan Narang, Yogeshwar Dutt and Vijender Singh along with former TT champion Kamlesh Mehta. However, in the female category, despite hectic parley, Usha finished fifth behind Saina Nehwal who polled 43 against Usha’s 40. Anju Bobby George managed to secure the highest number of 53 followed by Rani Rampal, Dola Banerjee and Nehwal. There were concerns about Saina and it is understood that a lot of negotiations were on to secure her victory . With the way things panned out since Saturday, there were enough indications of her not making it. Yet, as an IOA president, her team was expecting to finish in the top four. With this, the focus would be on Gagan, who shifted his base from Hyderabad to Ahmedabad recently Gagan is considered to be a . front-runner in the IOA election to be held on December 5. Usha is technically out but can be proposed by NSFs. Since she is not a member, it needs to be seen how. o v e r z e a l o u s a c ti v i s t s Political parties beat retreat as cyber warriors take their ‘battle’ too far M P P r a s h a n t h @ Kozhikode Congress leaders in Keralam were bewildered when they came across a post on the state unit’s official X account early last month criticising the Chief Justice of India. Red-faced party bosses immediately asked the social-media wing to delete the comment on the chief justice of India (CJI). While referring to protests demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commis- sion Gyanesh Kumar, the CJI had earlier observed that law and order does not fall within his domain. The KPCC leadership tendered an unconditional apology before the Supreme Court, which initiated contempt proceedings against the party and took action against its person in charge of social media. It was just one of several incidents where overzealous cyber troopers based in Keralam have become an embarrass- ment for political parties and organisations. They are the selfless (sometimes faceless) members who spend their time and energy almost 24 hours to defend their organisations and mount attacks on their rivals through online channels. All political parties have utilised the services of cyber warriors at one point or the other. And this places parties at risk of occasional reckless interventions. Senior CPM leaders, including former chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan and state secretary M V Govindan, were forced to intervene to rein in party sympathisers who targeted actor Mammootty . On October 28, leaders of the party’s youth fronts, the DYFI and the SFI, called on the actor and released photos and videos of the visit on Facebook. ProCPM cyber handles were unhappy with the DYFI leadership for posing for pictures with someone who, according to them, insulted the party’s Wayanad district secretary K Rafeeq. They recalled how Mammootty ‘offended’ Rafeeq during the former’s visit to houses constructed for Wayand landslide victims in March 2026. The cyber attacks subsided after the CPM leader himself clarified that the issue with Mammootty had been resolved the same day and that the controversy was unnecessary . On Sunday the actor was tar, geted again following a visit to the residence of B Gopalakrishnan in connection with the marriage of BJP state vice ● president’s daughter.  More on P4