kozhikode l monday l september 14, 2026 l `10.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION Ladakh groups open to dropping statehood demand, with rider The Kargil Democratic Alliance and Leh Apex Body are closely looking at MHA’s UT-level elected body to meet aspirations of the people Elected body with legislative powers new arrangement only for ladakh The proposed UT-level body would be elected and will have legislative powers with respect to land, culture and language, forest, environment, natural resources, and any other subject reserved under Article 240. “We have agreed to discuss in principle this model of governance. If it is satisfactory, we will accept it,” said Sajjad Kargili, co-chairman of KDA ■ ■ The UT-level elected body under Article 371 was conceptualised in a meeting in Delhi on September 9, and will only apply to Ladakh The two groups — KDA and LAB — have now climbed down from their earlier demands and have dropped their Sixth Schedule demand for constitutional safeguards under Article 371 | P8 A15 lakh Each being given by l-g to THE kin of 4 PERSONS DIED in 2025 violence 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 Don’t weaponise minerals, tech: PM Modi says BRICS must strengthen the ability to anticipate and deal with crises; calls for inclusivity in new tech adoption J AYA N T H J A C O B @ New Delhi PRIME Minister Narendra Modi on the concluding day of the BRICS summit warned that the “weaponisation of technology and critical minerals” could hinder shared global progress, while calling for greater inclusivity in the adoption of new technologies and stronger cooperation with the Global South. Addressing the BRICS session on Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability Modi said on Sunday India’s , presidency had focused on translating these four pillars into practical cooperation, particularly as conflicts, pandemics, climate disasters and supply-chain disruptions increasingly affect economies and ordinary people across borders. “The weaponisation of technology and critical minerals can hinder our shared progress. Therefore, we have emphasised inclusivity in the adoption of technology Modi said. ,” His remarks come as critical minerals assume growing strategic importance for clean-energy systems, advanced manufacturing and emerging technologies, making access to reliable and diversified supplies an increasingly important element of economic and geopolitical resilience. He said the interconnected nature of the world requires BRICS members to strengthen on p7 their ability to anticipate and respond to crises, pointing to initiatives including an integrated early-warning system for infectious diseases, disaster-management data guidelines and a logistics supplychain cooperation framework. On innovation, he highlighted the BRICS Incubator Network, the proposed BRICS Startup Innovation Fund and the BRICS Network on Digital Agriculture, which aims to connect artificial intelligence, geospatial technology and digital public infrastructure with the needs of farmers. Modi stressed that BRICS cooperation should extend beyond governments and involve entrepreneurs, farmers, researchers, women, youth and ordinary citizens. “Our endeavour has been to ensure that BRICS cooperation does not remain limited to governments alone,” he said, citing initiatives aimed at skills development, women’s workforce participation, social security capacity building and sup, port for small businesses. On the subject of sustainability Modi said development and , environmental protection should not be viewed as competing priorities. “In Indian civilisation, nature has been accorded the status of a mother,” he said, adding that India had long believed that development and the environment were “not alternatives to each other, but are complementary .” INDIA’S BILATERAL OUTREACH ACROSS GLOBAL SOUTH Xi urges member countries to defend rules-based international order, proposes five-point agenda for greater BRICS cooperation ‘Might makes right’ logic does not hold, says Xi J ayanth J acob @ New Delhi Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives at the Bharat Mandapam during the BRICS Summit on Sunday; Chinese President Xi Jinping waves before boarding his aircraft upon concluding his India visit | PTI Pandemics, climate disasters, and supply-chain disruptions have shown that in today’s interconnected world, no crisis remains confined to a single region A world without rules is like a crossroads without traffic lights... Fairness and justice is a universal aspiration, and international rules must be written by all countries — Narendra Modi, Prime Minister India, Vietnam step up defence, industrial ties — Xi Jinping, Chinese President Malaysian prime minister sings at brics gala dinner Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Sunday that “the logic of ‘might makes right’ does not hold, and should have been discarded long ago,” urging the BRICS countries to defend a rules-based international order and strengthen the voice of the Global South. Addressing the concluding session of the BRICS Summit in New Delhi, Xi said the world was undergoing “changes unseen in a century” as the collective rise of the Global South accelerated the shift towards a multipolar order. He urged BRICS to “seize the historical initiative” and become “an active, stabilising and positive force in international affairs”. He called on developing countries to uphold sovereign equality, non-interference in internal affairs and the peaceful settlement of disputes, while strengthening the authority of the United Nations and pushing for reforms that ensure greater participation of developing countries in global institutions. Xi called for reform of the international financial architecture to increase the representation and voice of developing economies, and urged BRICS to support reform of the World Trade Organization and the continued development of New Development Bank. He said BRICS should use its ties with emerging markets and developing countries to safeguard industrial and supply chains and build a large integrated market. He proposed a five-point agenda covering AI, trade and investment, digital industries, intelligent manufacturing, and science and technology talent. BJP to make summit success a political asset for state polls Shah sure UCC will be rolled out in all NDA states by 2029 s u d hi r s u r ya w an s hi @ Mumbai UNION Home Minister Amit Shah said on Sunday that he was confident the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) would be implemented in all 21 NDA-ruled states and Union territors before the next Lok Sabha elections in 2029. Shah was in Mumbai to launch the 30-day Seva Sankalp Abhiyan, aimed at encouraging public participation in the government’s vision of a developed India by 2047. He said the Centre had already introduced UCC in several states and expressed confidence that all NDA-led states would follow suit before 2029. Uttarakhand became the first state to pass a UCC law, in Feb- Home Minister Amit Shah at a press conference in Mumbai on Sunday | PTI ruary 2024, and has fully enforced it since January 2025. Gujarat followed last year, and Assam became the first northeastern state to pass the UCC Bill, in May 2026. Madhya Pradesh is the latest to come on board, with its cabinet unanimously approving the code at a Kozhikode: Malaysian PM Anwar Ibrahim met Indian Grand Mufti Kanthapuram A P Aboobacker Musliyar in Kozhikode on Sunday. The two discussed educational and cultural cooperation between Markaz and Malaysian higher education institutions | P5 Induction date for second Tejas batch set New Delhi: The defence ministry’s annual report has set out the induction timeline for the Indian Air Force’s second tranche of indigenous Tejas fighters, with deliveries of 97 LCA Mk1A aircraft scheduled between September 2027 and September 2033 | P7 Continental glory Smriti Mandhana scored a 38-ball 59 as India posted a formidable 183/5 against Sri Lanka in the Women’s Asia Cup final in Dubai on Sunday. Smriti’s opening partner Shafali Verma made 68 off just 39 balls as the duo added 129 runs for the first wicket. Defending champions Sri Lanka were 63/3 after 10 overs | bcci e x p r e s s n e w s s e r v ic e @ Bengaluru India players sing Vande Mataram at the Arun Jaitley Stadium | sayantan ghosh series (the other two matches will also be held in the national capital). This is in line with a new directive issued by the Union Home Ministry from earlier A worrying cocktail of soaring temperatures, high humidity and acute 27% rainfall deficit has drastically disrupted Keralam’s ecological calendar, forcing venomous snakes out of hiding months before than expected and triggering a wave of snakebite deaths. The state has recorded 18 snakebite fatalities in 2026-27, matching the toll of the entire last fiscal in barely six months. Last week alone saw two deaths. The spike interrupts a downward trend in snakebite deaths from a high of 123 in 2018-19 to 34 in 2024-25 and 18, the lowest, in 2025-26. For the state, reaching 18 deaths before the end of the second quarter marks a public health emergency . Rescue volunteers with SARPA (Snake Awareness, Rescue and Protection App) network are handling over 2,000 distress calls a month, up from a nonpeak average of 1,500. The number is expected to surge as weather anomalies persist. Historically health and wild, life officials expect snakebite incidents to surge in October and November with the onset of Northeast Monsoon. However, environmental anomalies have shattered this pattern and triggered an unseasonal wave of human-reptile conflicts. Meteorologists attributed the anomaly to an erratic Southwest Monsoon season, where prolonged rain breaks and El Nino-induced dry spells have led to summer-like heat condi● More on P4 tions in the state.  A nil S @Kozhikode National song sung at int’l match for first time IN a first, India’s national song as well as the national anthem were played before the start of an international cricket match. After both Vande Mataram and Jana Gana Mana reverberated around the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Afghanistan’s national anthem was played. Curiously enough, even though the national song was played, for the purposes of record-keeping, Afghanistan will be the home team for the entirety of the three-match T20I Unni k r i s hnan S @T’Puram CPM targets League, admits failure to counter ‘BJP deal’ poll narrative v a n de ma t aram EXPRESS READ Malaysian PM Ibrahim meets Kanthapuram special meeting in July. The UCC laws in Gujarat, Assam and Madhya Pradesh are awaiting Presidential assent. Maharashtra, West Bengal and Chhattisgarh, meanwhile, have set up drafting committees. Asked whether 1951 would be used as the baseline year for implementing the National Register of Citizens in Manipur, Shah said the matter was still under discussion. “We are discussing these issues with our allies and also with the political parties of Manipur. Whatever decision is taken, we will inform you,” he said. On the BJP government’s achievements, Shah pointed to the abolition of triple talaq, which he said had given Muslim women equal rights. Soaring temps, humidity drive up snakebites; toll 18 since Apr this year to celebrate the 150th year of the song. “It is not possible to give an exhaustive list of occasions on which the singing (as distinct from playing) of official version of the national song can be permitted,” the order had said. “But there is no objection to the singing of the national song accompanied by mass singing so long as it done with due respect as a salutation to the motherland and proper decorum is maintained.” Interestingly, this is not the first instance of the national song preceeding the national anthem at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. It’s understood that Delhi and District Cricket Association officials had this arrangement in place for all Delhi Premier League games this year. The leadership’s apparent failure to effectively counter CPMBJP deal allegations, coupled with the Muslim League’s doorto-door campaigning with communal undertones contributed to the Left’s defeat in the 2026 assembly elections, observed the draft report presented at the CPM’s extended state committee meet in Kozhikode on Sunday . It also said the Ayyappa Sangamam created an impression of the party indulging in soft Hindutva, which alienated minorities further. Sources said a mention about the Enforcement Directorate (ED) also made it into the report at the final stage. It said the ED attack against Pinarayi Vijayan was intended as an anti-party move to weaken the leadership. The report highlighted a slew of lapses, including the failure to retain the party’s mass base comprising the working class, farmers and the downtrodden, and said this clearly showed that the party was drifting away from the masses. It suggested different measures to win back people’s trust. The report, it is learnt, contains a scathing attack on the League, accusing it of playing the communal card, and even going to the extent of terming it an organisation akin to the Jamaat-e-Islami. The CPM observed that the party could not move forward without effectively resisting the League’s campaign. The report CPM general secretary M A Baby takes the dais with Leader of Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan at CPM extended state committee meeting in Kozhikode on Sunday | Vincent Pulickal Listen, introspect & correct, says M A Bby Kozhikode: Urging its leaders and cadres to listen to well-meaning criticism and rectify errors, CPM general secretary M A Baby set the tone for the three-day CPM extended state committee meet that began here on Sunday | P4 squarely blamed the League’s door-to-door campaigning as reason for the erosion of minority votes, compared to the 2021 elections. The report also said the Congress’ campaign of an alleged CPM-BJP deal was followed up by the IUML and Jamaat-e-Islami. A few deliberate campaigns added credence to such insinuations, it said, while also highlighting the failure to effectively counter the ● More on P4 narrative.