WEDNESDAY 26 NOVEMBER, 2025 epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard ETHIOPIA VOLCANIC ASH CLOUD DRIFTING TOWARDS CHINA: IMD U S - R U S S I A TA L K S Ash clouds from volcanic eruption in Ethiopia reached the skies over Gujarat, Delhi-NCR, Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana on Tuesday RUSSIAN BARRAGE ON KYIV KILLS 7 Russia launched a wave of attacks on Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, overnight, with at least seven people killed in strikes that hit buildings & energy infrastructure PAGE 9 No impact on air quality or weather A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS ’83 Nellie massacre reports One blames it on poll imposition, other doesn’t  NEW DELHI  J8.00  “The ash cloud is drifting towards China and will move away from Indian skies by 7.30pm on Tuesday,” Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, Director General of Meteorology at the India Meteorological Department, said. He noted that the volcanic ash is present only in the upper troposphere and is affecting flight operations, but it has no impact on air quality or weather PAGES 12 Christian officer’s sack upheld U D AYA N K I S H O R E @ New Delhi CALLING a Christian army officer’s alleged refusal to enter his regimental temple’s sanctum sanctorum as the “grossest kind of indiscipline”, a Supreme Court bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymala Bagchi on Tuesday upheld his termination. Earlier, the Delhi High Court had sanctioned Samuel Kamalesan’s termination on grounds of ‘indiscipline’. Kamalesan was commissioned in 2017 into the 3rd Cavalry Regiment. The SC bench, on a plea by the officer against his termination, said while he may be an outstanding officer, “he is definitely a misfit for the Army Leaders have to lead by ... example. You are insulting your troops.” The bench pointed out that the officer had ignored even the advice of a local pastor, who counselled him and said entering a temple would not violate his faith. “You cannot have your private understanding of what your religion permits. That too in uniform,” it said. Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, appearing for Kamalesan, said the appellant’s fundamental right to practise a religion under Article 25 cannot be taken away “Where in the . Christian faith is entering a temple barred?” Justice Bagchi asked. “In your team, there are Sikh soldiers... (for whom) there is a gurdwara. A gurdwara is one of the most secular places. Is his tone and tenor not insulting all soldiers? We are surprised he doesn’t even follow the advice of the pastor,” CJI Surya Kant said. ARMY: HE WAS ADAMANT The Army had said the officer repeatedly refused to attend mandatory regimental parades and senior officers made “multiple attempts” to counsel him, but to no avail Capital most polluted in India, show sat images File picture of a family displaced after the Nellie violence in 1983 | X ‘AASU, AGSP responsible for violence’ The Tewary Commission, headed by retired IAS officer Tribhuvan Prasad Tewary, held the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) and Asom Gana Sangram Parishad (AGSP) “primarily responsible for launching the stir and for its consequences” ‘Politicians wanted to grab power’ Justice TU Mehta Commission put the blame on incumbent central government, Election Commission, “politicians who wanted to capture power by hook or crook”, the then Assam governor and his advisor bureaucrats at the secretariat E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Guwahati THE Assam government on Tuesday tabled the reports of two probe panels on the largescale violence during the peak of the anti-immigrant agitation, including the 1983 Nellie massacre, which successive governments chose to sit on. Over 2,000 people, most of them immigrant Bengali-speaking Muslims, were killed on February 18, 1983 in the small town of Nellie in Central Assam’s Morigaon district. The reports—one official and the other unofficial—held contradictory views on the incidents of violence amid assembly polls during President’s Rule in 1983. The Tewari Commission, officially constituted by the then CM Hiteswar Saikia of the Congress, said the violence had no “communal colour” though the fear of the Assamese people of “being overwhelmed” numerically by migrants was “not imaginary”. “In our considered view, the decision to hold the elections cannot be blamed for the outbreak of the violence of 1983,” it said. The ‘unofficial’ Mehta commission, formed by Mukti Jujaru Sanmilan and agitators of the anti-foreigners’ agitation, attributed the prime reason for the violence to the imposition of elections against the wishes of the people. It said the situation was not conducive to hold elections but the party in power at the Centre wanted the polls to grab power. The Mehta commission report further mentioned that the Election Commission could have decided against holding the polls to stop the violence but it failed to do that. Also, the report said, the polls were held without correcting the electoral rolls, much to the chagrin of people. “The evidence produced before the Commission clearly brings out that the issues of foreigners, language, etc. have been agitating the minds of the people for the last several decades, exploding into violence on several previous occasions,” the report further said. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said although the Tewary report was tabled in the assembly in 1987, only one copy was sent to the Speaker. The Mehta report was tabled in the House for the first time on Tuesday . P R A B H AT S H U K L A @ New Delhi DELHI continues to record some of the highest air pollution levels in the country with , a new nationwide satellite assessment indicating that the crisis extends far beyond the capital’s borders. According to a report released on Tuesday by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), the city has emerged as India’s most polluted state, with annual population-weighted PM2.5 levels touching 101 µg/ m³—two-and-a-half times the national standard and 20 times the World Health Organization’s guideline. All 11 of Delhi’s districts figure in the top pollution hotspots, underscoring the scale of exposure residents face throughout the year. However, the report says that Delhi’s situation is not isolated. Satellite-based analysis of PM2.5 concentrations across 749 districts shows a year-round, countrywide pollution crisis, challenging the city-centric focus of current clean-air policies. CREA found that 60% of Indian districts breach annual national limits, while none meet the WHO guideline. Districts in Assam and Delhi account for almost half of the 50 most polluted districts in India, with Haryana and Bihar 2.5 TIMES THE NATIONAL STANDARD AND 20 TIMES THE WHO’S GUIDELINE 101 µg/m3 11 dists Delhi’s annual population-weighted PM2.5 level; 2.5× India’s NAAQS and 20× WHO guideline Situation still grim Delhi began Tuesday under a haze-laden sky and an unseasonably cold morning, even as the capital’s air quality showed only marginal improvement after nearly two weeks of persistent pollution. P3 also featuring prominently . Seasonal data reveals sharp regional disparities across airsheds. The Indo-Gangetic Plains remain the most polluted airshed in every season except monsoon, while the Northeast is emerging as a new zone of concern with persistently elevated pollution. Even during the monsoon, when PM2.5 typically dips, the Northeast continues to exceed safe levels, suggesting that baseline emissions rather than seasonal weather patterns are driving the rise. feature among India’s top pollution hotspots 60% DISTRICTS (447 OF 749) EXCEED INDIA’S ANNUAL PM2.5 NORM ZERO DISTS N I T I N R A W AT @ New Delhi TWO days after a group of protesters reportedly raised “pro-Maoist” slogans during an anti-pollution demonstration at India Gate, the Delhi police on Tuesday added section 197 of the BNS to the FIR registered at the Kartavya Path police station. A total of 22 people were arrested for allegedly refusing to disperse from the C-Hexagon at India Gate, using chilli spray on police personnel, obstructing officials from performing their duties, and blocking the road. Ac- PM HOISTS SAFFRON FLAG ATOP RAM MANDIR, AYODHYA Calling the moment “unique” and “divine”, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the sacred flag is a testimony of triumph of truth. Also present were RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath | P8 Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday told the Assembly that one person had murdered music icon Zubeen Garg and others cooperated. Opposition’s demand of CBI probe was rejected outright | P8 In a 1st, paediatric kidney surgery in Safdarjung SAFDARJUNG Hospital has conducted its first paediatric kidney transplant, marking a major milestone as the first such surgery in any central government hospital, officials said on Tuesday. The procedure, performed on November 19, involved an 11-year-old boy diagnosed with end-stage renal disease caused by a rare congenital condition. According to the hospital, the child had been under treatment in the paediatric nephrology division for over a year af- meet annual WHO air-quality guidelines cording to the police, the protesters attempted to block the road near India Gate. When police personnel tried to remove the agitators, they were manhandled and chilli spray was used against some officers. Two FIRs have been registered, one at the Kartavya Path police station and another at the Parliament Street police station. The section has been added in the Kartavya Path case. Section 197 of the BNS pertains to imputations and assertions prejudicial to national integration, covering the dissemination of false information that endangers India’s sovereignty unity or security , . On Monday, a Delhi court sent 17 people accused of obstructing and assaulting police personnel to three days’ judicial custody . In a related case, the Delhi Police told the court that five protesters—arrested for allegedly using pepper spray on police—were raising slogans praising Top Maoist commander Madvi Hidma. The 51-year-old Hidma was killed, along with five others, in an encounter in Andhra Pradesh’s Alluri Sitaramaraju district on November 18. China defends action on Arunachal woman tangle, gets schooled by India J AYA N T H J A C O B @ New Delhi ‘CASE OF PLAIN AND SIMPLE MURDER’ ter being diagnosed with bilateral hypodysplastic kidneys. Doctors said he arrived at the hospital in critical condition about 18 months ago and had to be revived after suffering a cardiac arrest. Since then, he had been on regular dialysis. The transplant was led by a multidisciplinary team from urology , paediatrics and anaesthesia. The surgical team was headed by Dr Pawan Vasudeva, Director Professor and Head of Urology and Renal Transplant, along with Dr Niraj Kumar. ZERO STATES POLLUTION PROTEST: TOUGH SEC ADDED OVER ‘MAOIST LINK’ ZUBEEN GARG P R A B H AT S H U K L A @ New Delhi meet WHO guideline of 5 µg/m3 Of 50 most polluted districts – half from Assam (11) and Delhi (11); Haryana (7) and Bihar (7) follow The paediatric nephrology team was led by Dr Shobha Sharma, while the anaesthesia team was supervised by Dr Sushil under the guidance of Dr Kavita Rani Sharma, Head of Anaesthesia. Doctors noted that paediatric renal transplants pose big challenges, mainly due to the size mismatch between an adult donor kidney and a child recipient. “The donor kidney must be connected to larger blood vessels, and adequate space has to be created,” Dr Vasudeva explained. The donor in this case was the boy’s 35-year-old mother. Hospital authorities said the transplant was successful, the child’s kidney function has stabilised, and he is expected to be discharged soon. He is now off dialysis and recovering well. Dr Sandeep Bansal, Director of VMMC and Safdarjung Hospital, said the case highlights the institution’s commitment to providing free, high-quality care. Medical Superintendent Dr Charu Bamba added that the child will continue to receive essential immunosuppressive drugs free of cost. EXPRESS READ Assam anti-polygamy bill prescribes 7-year RI The Assam govt on Tuesday tabled a bill to ban polygamy in the state. The bill prescribes 7 years of RI, ban on contesting polls and deletion from list of beneficiaries of govt schemes. Lalu family served notice to vacate bungalow The NDA government on Tuesday issued a notice to Lalu Yadav and family to vacate the official bungalow. The Bihar LoP has been allotted house no. 39 on the Hardinge Road. CHINA on Tuesday rejected charges that an Indian woman from Arunachal Pradesh was harassed by immigration officials during a layover at Shanghai airport, insisting that officers acted in accordance with the law. Pema Wangjom Thongdok, a UK-based Indian citizen travelling from London to Japan on 21 November, said her threehour layover turned into an ordeal after immigration personnel declared her passport “invalid” because it listed Arunachal Pradesh as her birthplace. She said she was subsequently detained for 18 hours. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Thongdok had not been subjected to any compulsory measures, detention or harassment. “According to what we’ve learned, during the entire time, China’s border inspection authorities carried out their checks in accordance with laws and regulations,” Mao said. Asked about India’s diplomatic protest over the incident and New Delhi’s assertion that Pema Wangjom Thongdok | X Arunachal Pradesh is an integral part of India, Mao reiterated China’s claims over Arunachal Pradesh, which it refers to as Zangnan or South Tibet. India pushed back strongly against China’s claim, saying Arunachal Pradesh is an integral and inalienable part of India. “No amount of denial by the Chinese side is going to change this indisputable reality,” Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said. “The issue of the detention has been taken up strongly with the Chinese side. Chinese authorities have still not been able to explain their actions, which are in violation of several conventions governing international air travel,” he said.