NEW DELHI 14 DECEMBER 2025 SUNDAY `12 PAGES 24  facebook/TheMorningStandard  X.com/TheMornStandard https://epaper.morningstandard.in Say It with Serums PLUS: 12 PAGES MAGAZINE The Art and Architecture of Unease Anand Neelakantan Prabhu Chawla Ravi Shankar Shankkar Aiyar Preeti Shenoy Anuradha Goyal Utkarsh Amitabh A Cup of Coffee for the Spiritual Self EXCLUSIVE VOICES The Wars Behind the War The Archaeology of Tomorrow Dudran’s Chilled Heart ‘I am Not Dumb’ SWAMI SUKHABODHANANDA SPEAKS Witnessing the Cosmic Consciousness Resolution in US House against 50% tariff on India J AYA N T H J A C O B @ New Delhi LEFT: Fans turned violent after Leo Messi suddenly left the Salt Lake Stadium due to security reasons; and (R) Telangana CM Revanth Reddy, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi with Messi in Hyderabad | PTI/VINAY MADAPPU Blast accused a proclaimed offender, says Srinagar court F AYA Z W A N I @ Srinagar A National Investigation Agency (NIA) court in Srinagar has declared absconding Dr Muzaffar Ahmad Rather, a resident of J&K’s Kulgam and an accused in “white-collar” Jaish terror network involved in November 10 Red Fort blast as “proclaimed offender”. The proclamation notice was issued by a special judge designated under the NIA Act on December 6. It was pasted on the house of Dr Muzaffar at Qazigund in south Kashmir on Saturday . The court has directed Dr Muzaffar to present himself before it on January 28. “It was found out that Dr Muzaffar alongwith another accused Dr Muzamil Ganaie and main accused Dr Umar Nabi had visited Turkiye in 2022. Dr Muzaffar had travelled to Dubai in August. He is now in Afghanistan and may have transited through Pakistan,” sources said. Dr Nabi was driving the i20 car that exploded on November 10 killing 13 people and injuring many others. MESS IN BENGAL, GRACE IN HYD Harrowing time for paying fans post Messi sudden exit in a car, accompanied by his Inter Miami teammates Rodrigo de Paul and Luis Suárez, things ALL for a glimpse of Messi. For started getting out of hand. a Messi fan, it’s all that matters. Fans were delirious. As soon as I reached the gates However, the scenes turned of the Salt Lake Stadium at 8.30 chaotic after guests in the coram, fatigue from overnight doned-off VVIP area crowded journey just disappeared. The around Messi, blocking his stadium was draped in Argen- view. The event organiser was tina colours, with people in jer- heard repeatedly urging them seys with Messi written to step aside. All of a on their backs. There sudden the situation were giant cutouts and went out of control and paintings of him as Messi and his entouI am deeply well. Fans from across rage were escorted out disturbed & the country were there. of the stadium. We in My ticket allowed me to shocked by the the crowd did not know one part of the stands. mismanagement what was happening. today. I More than 60,000 fans Word spread that Messi apologise to would have gathered in- Messi, as well as had left. This sparked side by 10.30 am. There anger. Bottles were to all sports was a cultural prohurled onto the field, lovers & fans gramme highlighting banners were violently India and Argentina, Mamata Banerjee torn down, and the situfollowed by a friendly ation deteriorated. Fans football match between Dia- began breaking chairs and mond Harbour Club and Mo- throwing them in the stadium. hun Bagan. Fans were kept en- Several people breached barrigaged, but as soon as the cades and entered the ground. announcer hollered in stadium Makeshift tents were overPA system that Messi would be turned, chairs smashed.Even entering, at around 11.30 am, the goalpost was damaged. excitement quickly turned into Eventually, exhausted and a frenzy Fans began climbing disillusioned, fans began leav. the barriers placed in front of ing the stadium. Shah Rukh the stands to catch a glimpse of Khan and Sourav Ganguly who the World Cup winner. were part of the event cancelled As Messi entered the stadium their appearances. A S H U T O S H A C H A R YA A N I L S @ T’puram UDF workers celebrating the bloc’s victory in Kochi | TP SOORAJ to be on a comeback path. However, what will go down in history as the biggest takeaway of the 2025 local body polls is the saffron front clinching the prestigious Thiruvanathapuram city corporation—a victory that has the potential to fuel the BJP’s growth in Kerala in the coming years. Egged on by the BJP national leader- ship’s long-standing desire to win the city corporation in the state capital, the BJP-led NDA wrested the civic body from the LDF, winning 50 out of 100 wards. The NDA which was struggling to find a foothold in state politics, has managed to proved itself a formidable contender to both fronts, with its comprehensive win in a municipal corporation, a first for the saffron party in the state. In an election that was supposed to be a referendum on a decade of CPM-led rule under Pinarayi Vijayan, the LDF was banking mainly on the recent hike in social welfare pensions to win the people’s mandate, while its cyber team focused on the Mankootathil issue. The voters, however, were in no mood to take the bait, and chose to hand the Left a resounding defeat. On the other hand, the UDF and the NDA based their campaign on the Sabarimala gold theft, which seems to have made an impact on the faithful as well as the discerning public. joined by Luis Suárez and Rodrigo De Paul, with Revanth alongside them, a tableau that HYDERABAD put its best foot blurred lines between sport, forward on Saturday by ensur- spectacle and dream. For the ing that the visit of Lionel Mes- record, Revanth found the net si to India was a resounding once and Messi twice. success. While the football was After the exhibition game limited to an exhibition match ended, Messi made a slow lap of between Team Revanth Reddy the ground, turning the moSingareni and Apar na All ment into something personal. Stars, playing for MesA gentle kick sent the si, the atmosphere was ball sailing into the electric at the Rajiv stands, triggering a Gandhi International scramble of joy At the . It’s been great to football clinics, young Stadium, Uppal. be part of the The stadium and its players shared the pitch tour. I am very vicinity turned into a with the legend, exhappy to be in roaring cauldron of changing crisp tiki-taka Hyderabad in the song, colour and belief midst of the love passes. The loudest apon a night Hyderabad plause came when a and affection came to salute football shown by you all child joined Messi on royalty. First, Chief the grass, the two sharLionel Messi Minister A Revanth ing a brief, unguarded Reddy stepped onto the moment that drew pitch with his team, drawing smiles across the stadium. loud cheers. Addressing the crowd in A while later, Messi appeared, Spanish, Messi kept it simple. first watching quietly from the “I feel very happy and grateful sidelines, smiling at the noise to see so many people, and I am he had summoned without very happy to be in Hyderatouching the ball. When he fi- bad,” he said. Suárez and Guinally walked onto the field, the do Rodríguez echoed the sentistadium erupted. Phones went ment, speaking of their delight up, voices cracked, and the sta- at being part of The GOAT Indium shook. Messi waved, took dia Tour. The evening closed in the scene, and soon offered with a brief felicitation on the flashes of the touch that has de- field by Revanth and Congress fined a generation. He was MP Rahul Gandhi. EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Salt Lake Stadium stands Strong UDF show in Kerala local polls, BJP takes capital LOCAL body polls often signal the changing course of Kerala politics. On Saturday, political Kerala witnessed one of the biggest comebacks of recent times, with the Congress-led UDF scripting an authoritative victory in the two-phase local body elections held on December 9 and 11, and the ruling LDF nearly washed out. Riding on an anti-incumbency wave, the UDF garnered a stupendous victory, winning four out of six municipal corporations, seven district panchayats, 54 municipalities, 79 block panchayats and around 505 grama panchayats. The LDF lost four sitting municipal corporations, as many district panchayats, more than 100 grama panchayats, half of the block panchayats and around 20 municipalities. The election results, widely perceived as a precursor to the assembly polls just a few months away and the writing on the wall is clear: despite all its inherent weaknesses, the Congress front appears Atmosphere electric as city salutes soccer royalty @ Hyderabad 70-foot Leo Messi statue was unveiled by the legend | SRI LOGANATHAN VELMURUGAN Bengal CM orders high level probe Rahul joins the fun Stating that she was shocked and deeply disturbed by mismanagement at the Leo Messi event, CM Mamata Banerjee announced the constitution of a high-level panel to probe incident. “I am constituting an enquiry panel under the chairmanship of Justice (Rtd) Ashim Kumar” Rahul Gandhi joined Messi and CM Revanth Reddy at the felicitation towards the end of the event, posing for photos in front of the sponsorship hoardings. Earlier, Messi took a tour of the stadium. He will reach Mumbai on Sunday for his third leg of the GOAT Tour 2025 THREE Democratic lawmakers in the US House of Representatives have introduced a resolution seeking to terminate tariffs of up to 50% imposed by President Donald Trump on imports from India, calling the measures illegal and harmful to the US economy and bilateral relations. Representatives Deborah Ross, Marc Veasey and Raja Krishnamoorthi tabled the resolution on Friday If at all . the resolution is adopted, it would end the national emergency declared on August 6, 2025, under which the tariffs were imposed, and roll back the additional duties levied on Indian goods. The tariffs were invoked under the Inter national Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). They began with a 25% levy in August and were later supplemented with “secondary” duties, pushing effective rates to as high as 50% on several categories of Indian imports. The lawmakers said the tariffs have disrupted supply chains and increased costs for American consumers and businesses, while under mining long-ter m US-India relations. Veasey said India is an important cultural, economic and strategic partner of t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s, a n d described the duties as a tax on American consumers. Krishnamoorthi, an Indian-American lawmaker, said the tariff strategy was c o u n t e r p r o d u c t ive a n d failed to advance US economic or security interests. He argued that ending the duties would help strengthen cooperation between Washington and New Delhi across economic and strategic domains. The resolution is part of a broader push by congressional Democrats to reassert Congress’s constitutional authority over trade policy and curb the use of emergency powers to impose tariffs. AQI in ‘severe’ band, capital moves from GRAP II to IV within hours SIR FORM LANDS WANTED CRIMINAL IN SPOT Coming back to his home city Indore to fill up his SIR enumeration form has landed an inter-state criminal in the police net. The man is accused in 100 criminal cases | P8 E X P R E SS N E WS S E R V I C E @ New Delhi DELHI’S air quality deteriorated sharply on Saturday record, ing an AQI value at 448 at 7 pm. It prompted the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) to invoke Stage IV measures of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP). Few hours earlier, the CAQM had invoked GRAP III after noting the 24-hour AQI average at 431, which puts the index in the “severe” category This was the . worst recorded figure in the city this year till it was breached Hybrid mode Delhi Directorate of Education directed all schools to conduct classes for students up to Class IX and Class XI in a hybrid mode in light of the deteriorating air quality in the national capital. later in the day The CAQM held . two meeting within a span of few hours and moved the restriction category from Stage III to Stage IV . According to data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Delhi recorded an AQI of 401 at 10 am, 431 at 4 pm, 436 at 5 pm, 441 at 6 pm, and 448 at 7 pm. Tthe CAQM has banned the entry of BS-IV trucks in its municipal limits. Commercial vehicles registered outside are already banned from entering the city . In NCR, Delhi’s average daily AQI of 431 was the third worst, after Noida at 455 and Greater Noida at 442, reflecting severe pollution across the region. Delhi’s pollution load was led by the transport sector, which contributed 14.2%, followed by peripheral industries at 6.8%. Chaos as question papers for 35 courses reach late I F R A H M U F T I @ New Delhi THE commencement of Delhi University’s semester examinations was marked by confusion and delays as question papers for several courses failed to reach centres on time. Examinations of some papers began as late as 1 pm instead of scheduled 9:30 am on Saturday . Question papers for more than 35 courses were not delivered to many colleges, causing disruptions, especially because same classrooms were meant to be used for the evening shift exams scheduled at 2.30 pm. Professor VS Dixit of the Computer Science Department said that two papers, including Digital Image Processing and Compil- er Design, were not received until 12.30 pm. “Students were made to sit inside exam halls for hours. In such situations, the exam should ideally be cancelled,” he said. The semester examinations for both regular students and those enrolled with the School of Open Learning (SOL) began on December 10. However, dis- ruptions were reported from the very first day, with faculty members pointing out that exams for the outgoing semester overlapped with the new semester classes. Teachers attributed the chaos to a sharp increase in the number of exams under the National Education Policy (NEP)-driven Four-Year Undergraduate Programme (FYUP).