tirupati l sunday l november 09, 2025 l `12.00 l PAGES 24 l anantapur EDITION 66th SAARC Literature Festival begins today, without pakistan The four-day festival in New Delhi will see a mix of poetry, fiction and academic papers featuring celebrated voices from South Asia ‘pak writers barred till terrorism stops’ cross-border cultural exchangES The literature festival, organised by Foundation of SAARC Writers and Literature (FOSWAL), is hosting writers and scholars from all SAARC countries except Pakistan. Punjabi writer and president of FOSWAL Ajeet Cour said Pakistan’s participation in this edition is a “political issue”, and the organisers “cannot invite Pakistani writers till terrorism stops” ■ ■ The festival will begin with an inaugural session by Sahitya Akademi president Madhav Kaushik, scholar Ashis Nandy, and diplomats of the seven countries that are participating in this year’s event Established in 1986, FOSWAL has organised cross-border cultural exchange through conferences, festivals, and youth outreach fetes Nov 12 is when the festival will come to a close 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 different strokes Casual vs diligent on roping in manjhi D ashrath Manjhi’s new house has a visitor. A surprise political visitor. Not the one you would have expected if you knew the prequel to this story . But it’s the sequel that can contain clues to the difference between India’s two national parties. Yes, the man who moved mountains in life can move politics even in death—though not as much as he would have liked. Who’s Dashrath Manjhi? For those who somehow missed out, he’s the man who cut through a mountain all on his own, with a hammer and chisel, over 22 years. His wife had died because medical care was 70 km away by road, though just over the mountain in reality He swore that such a fate should . never befall anyone again. And kept his word. Town is now just a kilometre away from his Gehlaur village. He was feted belatedly as the ‘Mountain Man’, a postage stamp was issued in his name, films were made about santwana his life—a documentary, a bhattacharya Hindi movie, even a couple Editor of Kannada films. But the destitution had not changed. When Dashrath died, in 2007, home was still a thatched-roof hut. The lot of many among his ‘Mahadalit’ community of Musahars, and millions of others in Bihar. Then came Rahul Gandhi. It was revealed a few months ago that the Congress leader had quietly — without any fanfare or publicity, without even being asked — sponsored a fiveroom pucca house for the Manjhi family Me. dia briefly hailed the Good Samaritan act, then forgot all about it. Bihar had much more compelling business to attend to. There was the SIR, Rahul’s own yatra in the run-up to a hotly contested assembly election. A sidelight there was that Rahul had come visiting Gehlaur again. Bhagirath Manjhi, Dashrath’s sixty-something son, was the one who had invited him for his first visit. That time Bhagirath had not asked for any favour. This time he did. He wanted a Congress ticket to contest the election. Rahul assured him one. It made eminent sense too. The Congress was now speaking up for Dalit rights with a new force. What better way to illustrate it than to have Dashrath’s son contesting under its flag? Come candidate selection time, Bhagirath went to Delhi, camped for four days. What came next was the usual Congress self-goal. Party apparatchiks denied him a ticket. When we visit Gehlaur, along the road that Dashrath built, this new pucca house — as we said — has a visitor. It’s an “MLA from Chhattisgarh”. Some tangible discomfort at encountering us, and a hasty exit ensued. Green light for AMNS’s 2k KM CG-AP corridor E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Vijayawada The Ministry of Steel, Government of India, has approved ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India (AMNS India) for the establishment of an iron ore slurry pipeline connecting Chhattisgarh to Andhra Pradesh via Odisha. The pipeline will transport iron ore from mines to AMNS India’s upcoming integrated steel plant at Anakapalle in Visakhapatnam district. The approval has been accorded under the Petroleum and Minerals Pipelines (Acquisition of Right of User in Land) Act,1962, which authorises a nominated authority to sanction the right of way across the states the pipeline will traverse.  P4 WITH THIS ISSUE Malevolent Marauder PLUS 12 P AGES  Continued on P8 express read DCM Pawan warns red sanders smugglers Double-engine government in Bihar should continue: Nara Lokesh Tirupati: DCM Pawan Kalyan pledged a stringent anti smuggling drive modeled on Operation Kagar. He cited 2 lakh trees felled, `8-10 k crore smuggled, identified four kingpins | P4 Vijayawada: HRD and IT Minister Nara Lokesh met prominent business leaders in Patna on Saturday as part of his election campaign for NDA candidates. Emphasising the “double engine sarkar” model, Lokesh highlighted AP’s rapid investment surge and urged Bihar voters to back the NDA for continued growth | P4 Bihar, SIR to dominate Dec 1-19 Winter Session Opposition hits out at govt over short session of Parliament Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra addressing poll rallies in Bihar on Saturday | PTI Key bills The proposed legislative agenda includes Govt of UTs (Amend) Bill, the J&K Reorganisation (Amend) Bill, and the Constitution (130th Amend) Bill P r ee t h a N a i r @ New Delhi The outcome of Bihar’s assembly elections is expected to dominate the the Winter Session of Parliament, which will be held from December 1 to 19. The Opposition is also planning to up the ante on the nationwide Special Intensive Revision (SIR) and the alleged vote theft in Haryana and Maharashtra. Though there is no joint Opposition strategy on SIR so far, Opposition-ruled states Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Kerala have intensified their protest against the exercise. All parties will come together to oppose the SIR during the session, said an Opposition leader. Speaking to the media, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said that the Canada got intel on Nijjar’s killing from UK: Report New Delhi: A new documentary has claimed that British spy call intercepts helped Canada draw alleged links between India and the 2023 killing of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. ‘Inside the Deaths that Rocked India’s Relations with t h e We st ’, p rod u c e d by Bloomberg Originals, reports that UK spies intercepted conversations mentioning three individuals — including Nijjar, who was declared a terrorist by India in 2020. According to the documentary, BritHardeep ish intelliSingh Nijjar g e n c e provided Ottawa with a sensitive file in July 2023, hand-delivered and restricted to a few pre-approved officials. The intercepted calls were reportedly between individuals believed to be working for the Indian government and referred to three “targets” — Nijjar, British activist Avtar Singh Khanda, and USbased Gurpatwant Singh Pannun — followed by discussions suggesting Nijjar’s “eliminapti tion.”  Road to sainthood Kerala Catholic Church’s first nun beatified a nn a j o s e @ Kochi In a long-awaited moment for the sisters of the Congregation of the Teresian Carmelites and the residents of Ochanthuruth village in Kerala’s Ernakulam, thousands of faithful gathered on Saturday at the Vallarpadam Basilica to witness the beatification of Mother Eliswa, the first nun of the Catholic Church in Kerala. Cardinal Sebastian Francis, special representative of Pope Leo XIV and bishop of Penang, Malaysia, officially proclaimed Mother Eliswa as blessed. The Mother Eliswa cardinal read out the declaration issued by the pontiff in Latin. In his entreaty, the metropolitan of Verapoly archdiocese, Joseph Kalathiparambil, said, “Mother Eliswa’s holy, coura- geous, and unwavering life of faith and love will be an inspiration to many .” The bells of the church were rung as the cardinal announced the beatification. Cardinal Dr Oswald Gracias unveiled the image of Blessed Mother Eliswa. And, her relics were placed on the altar. Born on October 15, 1831, Eliswa was the first of eight children of Thomman and Thanda, of the Vyppissery Capithan family of Ochanthuruth. Mother Eliswa established the first special school for women in Kerala. Spiritual path She was the founder of the Third Order of the Discalced Carmelites, which later divided into the Congregation of Teresian Carmelites and the Congregation of the Mother of Carmel key issue will be the SIR. “The Prime Minister’s silence on Trump’s statements is a major issue. The current relationship with China is unresolved... There hasn’t been a border agreement with China. We haven’t returned to the previous situation. Negotiations are being held between the two countries based on the new normal that China has established. Besides, there are many such issues regarding the rate of economic growth, GDP unemployment. There , is no shortage of issues. We keep issuing notices again and again, but no action is ever taken on them. The government does whatever it wants,” Ramesh said. This session is set to be one of the shortest since 2014. The previous winter session ran from November 25 to December 20. Opposition parties rapped the government for ‘curtailed’ session. Ramesh said the session is “an unusually delayed and truncated one”. “It will be just 15 working days. What is the message being conveyed? Clearly, the government has no business to transact, no Bills to get passed, and no debates to be allowed.” Echoing the view, TMC leader Derek O’Brien said the government is avoiding parliamentary scrutiny . “15-day Winter Session announced. Setting dubious records.” CM lays foundation for Kuppam industrial hub E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Vijayawada Chief Minister N.Chandrababu Naidu on Saturday virtually laid the foundation stone for seven major industries in the Kuppam Assembly constituency from Amaravati. The industries, with a combined investment of `2,203 crore, are expected to generate 22,330 direct jobs and transform the region into an industrial hub. The seven companies — Hindalco, Sreeja Dairy Ace Inter, national, SVF Soya, Mother Dairy e Rayas EV and Alip , — have been allotted 241 acres of land. Hindalco will establish a `586 crore skill development and technical training centre, while Sreeja Dairy will set up a `290 crore integrated dairy and cattle feed plant to benefit local women and dairy farmers.  P4