THIRUVANANTHAPURAM l sunday l november 09, 2025 l `12.00 l PAGES 26 l LATE city 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 on speed track EkM-B’luru Vande Bharat flagged off Kerala’s first interstate Vande Bharat was flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi via video conferencing on Saturday. The train that will run from Ernakulam Jn to KSR Bengaluru will begin its full-fledged service from Tuesday (Nov 11) | P5 WITH THIS ISSUE Malevolent Marauder PLUS 12 P AGES 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.  Continued on: P8 Blessed moment Cardinal Oswald Gracias unveiling the statue of Blessed Mother Eliswa in the presence of papal delegate Cardinal Sebastian Francis and Apostolic Nuncio to India Archbishop Leopoldo Girelli during the beatification ceremony in Kochi on Saturday | T P Sooraj | P2 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 P r eet h a N a i r @ New Delhi The proposed legislative agenda includes Govt of UTs (Amend) Bill, the J&K Reorganisation (Amend) Bill, and the Constitution (130th Amend) Bill 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 in malappuram UDF cosies up to Jama’at; Muslim groups raise concern E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Kozhikode/Malappuram The UDF is going ahead with its seat-sharing deal with the Welfare Party of India (WPI) in Malappuram for the local body election even as some Muslim organisations are trying to convince the front’s leadership about the “danger of joining hands with the political wing of the Jama’at-e-Islami”. Under the arrangement, the UDF will allocate seats to the WPI in all local bodies where the latter already has a foothold. In return, the WPI will extend its full backing to the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) and other UDF candidates across Malappuram. Seat division has already been finalised in several key panchayats, including Angadippuram, Koottilangadi, Mampad, Tirurangadi, Tirur, and Kondotty. In Angadipuram and Mampad, the WPI has already announced its candidates. “In Malappuram, the UDF — particularly the Muslim League — remains the most powerful force. To strengthen our political presence, we have chosen to cooperate with the League and the UDF locally This, however, . does not imply a state-level alliance,” said a senior WPI leader. IUML general secretary P M A Salam confirmed the development to TNIE, stating that the understanding with WPI was part of the League’s broader electoral strategy  ● More on P5 . EXPRESS READ Political parties flag timing of electoral roll revision PM: Accessibility to justice foundation of social justice India for faster emission cuts by developed nations T’Puram: Major political parties, except BJP, expressed concerns over the timing of Special Intensive Revision of electoral roll in Kerala. In a meeting convened by CEO, party representatives said it coincides with preparations for LSG polls and may affect both processes. P5 New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday that when justice is made available to all regardless of their social or financial backgrounds and delivered in a timely manner, it truly becomes the foundation of social justice. P7 India has reiterated its firm stand on climate justice and equitable global action at the COP30 Leaders’ Summit in Belem, Brazil. In a plenary statement, India urged developed nations to accelerate emission reductions and reach net-zero targets ahead of schedule.P7 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.” 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 West’, produced 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 British intelligence , provided Ottawa with a sensitive file in July 2023. The intercepted calls were reportedly between individuals believed to be working for Indian government and referred to three “targets” — Nijjar, activist Avtar Singh Khanda, and Gurpatwant Singh Pannun — followed by discussions suggesting Nijjar’s “elimination.”  pti