NEW DELHI 10 AUGUST 2025 SUNDAY `12 PAGES 24 facebook/TheMorningStandard  X.com/TheMornStandard https://epaper.morningstandard.in ‘History Demands that We Acknowledge Its Incoherence’ PLUS: 12 PAGES MAGAZINE EXCLUSIVE VOICES Anand Neelakantan Shampa Dhar-Kamath Sunaina Anand Ravi Shankar The Wind Beneath their Wings Seven killed in wall collapse as heavy overnight downpour batters capital E X P R E SS N E WS S E R V I C E @ New Delhi SEVEN people were killed after a wall collapsed amid heavy rain in Jaitpur area of southeast Delhi on Saturday . Incessant rain that began around midnight on Friday continued throughout Saturday inundating , several places, such as Vasant Kunj, R K Puram, Connaught Place, and Minto Bridge. Also, the national capital recorded its coldest August day in at least 14 years on Saturday with , the maximum temperature settling at 26.4 degrees Celsius, 7.8 degrees below normal, after relentless rain lashed the city . Delhi Fire Services said that it received information at 9.16 am, following which three fire tenders we r e r u s h e d t o Jatipur. The rescue operation lasted two-three hours. The police also joined the operations. Upon breaking down the wall, eight people were rescued and rushed to AIIMS and Safdarjung Hospital. Seven people— three men, two women, and two girls—died during treatment, DCP (southeast) Hemant Tiwari said. Most of the victims were migrant workers from West Bengal. An FIR has been lodged under appropriate sections of law and further investigation is underway The exact cause of the . wall collapse is yet to be ascertained. However, officials pointed to the possibility of waterlogging and soil weakening due to the overnight heavy rain. RAIN, THUNDERSTORM LIKELY TODAY | P3 2 Army soldiers killed during encounter with terrorists in J&K F AYA Z W A N I @ Srinagar TWO Army soldiers, including a Lance Naik, were killed in the ongoing encounter with armed terrorists in dense forest area of Akhal in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kulgam district, which entered ninth day on Saturday . It is one of the longest anti-terror operations by security forces in J&K in the recent past. Loud explosions and heavy gunfire could be heard several kilometres from the forest area. The deceased were identified as Lance Naik Pritpal Singh and Sepoy Harminder Singh. “Their courage and dedication will forever inspire us. Indian Army expresses deepest condolences and stand in solidarity with the bereaved families,” Srinagar-based Army’s 15 Corps posted on X. Paying tributes to the deceased, Lt-Governor Manoj Sinha said, “I salute the indomitable courage of our brave hearts L/Nk Pritpal Singh and Sep Harminder Singh, who made the supreme sacrifice in the service of the motherland. My thoughts are with the bereaved families in this hour of grief.” On July 1, the Army, police and CRPF launched a joint search operation in Akhal after receiving inputs about the presence of terrorists there. The forces are using drones, UAVs and other surveillance gadgets to track down the terrorists. TIES THAT BIND Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacts with a child during Raksha Bandhan celebrations in New Delhi on Saturday. Sisters traditionally tie an amulet on the wrist of their brothers, investing in them a share of responsibility of care | PTI Ajai Sahni Prabhu Chawla Shankkar Aiyar Anuradha Goyal Plating Yesterday Today AFTERMATH OF THE MISSILE STRIKE A gaping hole in the roof of a hanger in Bholari airbase in Pakistan after India’s missile strike. That was where a large aircraft was destroyed ROOF DAMAGE POSSIBLE STRUCTURAL DAMAGE F OR the first time in the global plastics treaty negotiations, India openly opposed the inclusion of any global list with phase-out dates under the article on plastic products — a move that puts it squarely alongside Kuwait and the Like-Minded Group (LMG) of countries that includes Saudi Arabia, Russia and Iran. Speaking at the second part of the fifth session of the Intergover nmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5.2) in Geneva, Vir Vikram Yadav, Chairman of the Central Pollution Control Board and member of India’s delegation, warned that such provisions would have “larger implications in respect of the right to development of Member States” and should be avoided. “The instrument needs to have clearly defined scope… Separate article on supply or any measures to regulate the production of primary plastic polymers has larger implications… Similarly, inclusion of any global list with phase-out dates under the article on plastic products should THE ‘March to Nabanna’ here on Saturday, called for demanding justice for the RG Kar rape victim, one year after the horrific incident, was marked by a scuffle between the participants and police in different places, leaving the girl’s mother injured. The victim’s mother said that she sustained a head injury “Why are they stopping . us by force? All we want is to reach Nabanna peacefully to seek justice for my daughter,” she said. The participants in the march were seeking the resignation of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for “failing to protect women”. The victim’s parents were not satisfied with CBI investigations into the rape and murder case that shocked the country on August 9 last year. On the anniversary of the victim’s death, her parents had called for a march to Nabanna, the administrative headquarters. However, police had refused permission for the march. Police stopped the procession at Park Street, where a scuffle ensued leading to injuries to the victim’s mother. Bholari airbase India Rajasthan Shot down at least 5 enemy fighter jets plus one surveillance plane M AYA N K S I N G H @ New Delhi THE Indian Air Force for the first time since Operation Sindoor officially put a figure on the number of aircraft of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) in killed during the four-day conflict from May 7-10. Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh on Saturday said six Pakistani planes - five fighter jets and one large surveillance plane. Attributing the success to the Indian strategic S-400 multi-layered air defence system, which struck deep inside Pakistan, he said, “...We have at least five fighters confirmed kills and one large aircraft, which could be either an ELINT (Electronic Intelligence) aircraft or an AEW&C (Airborne Early Warning and Control) aircraft, which was taken on at a distance of about 300 km. This is actually the largest-ever recorded surface-to-air kill that Very clear political will, no restrictions: Air Chief “There was very clear political will, very clear directions which were given to us, and there were no kind of restrictions... If there were any constraints, they were self-made. We, the forces, decided what will be the escalation ladder. We decided how we want to control the escalation,” the Air Chief said we can talk about.” Operation Sindoor was launched to avenge the April 22 terrorist attack in Pahalgam in which 26 civilians were killed. The IAF and Army jointly struck nine locations that had terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. “I can say that it was more of a high-tech war was fought. In 80 to 90 hours of war, we were able to achieve so much damage to the air system that it was clear to them that if they continue, they are going to pay for it more and more,” the Air Chief Marshal said while addressing 16th edition of the Air be avoided,” Yadav told the stocktake plenary . India also reiterated that all decisions should be taken by consensus and that the treaty’s scope should focus strictly on “addressing plastic pollution only” as mandated by the 5/14 resolution, without overlapping with other multilateral bodies such as the WTO or WHO. The stance aligns with Kuwait’s call, on behalf of the Arab Group, for a “party-driven process” and for avoiding irreconcilable issues, as well as with Iran’s rejection of standalone texts on scope, supply and exemptions. This bloc has resisted broaden- ing the treaty’s mandate to include production caps or health provisions and has pushed for more procedural control by member states. The negotiations, chaired by Ecuador’s Ambassador Luis Vayas Valdivieso, face a firm August 14 deadline to deliver a final text. But divisions on scope, product bans and production controls remain entrenched. The Chair has urged delegates to clear converged articles for transmission to the legal drafting group and to avoid procedural deadlock. India’s intervention marks a shift from its image as a global model for single-use plastics (SUP) bans. CONTINUED ON P4 RG KAR VICTIM’S MOM HURT DURING PROTEST K A U S H I K P R A D H A N @ Kolkata Meditation for Mind Management IAF hit a sixer against Pak during Operation Sindoor India opposes plastic phase-out list TSS in Switzerland S V KRISHNA CHAITANYA @ GENEVA SWAMI SUKHABODHANANDA SPEAKS A Look at a Colossus in the Time of Chaos an The rise of the ‘Kidult’ is transforming the toy industry. Is it merely a hobby, or does it reflect something deeper? st Break the Pattern ki TOY STORY ‘We Fell Madly in Love on the Set’ Pa  BJP workers try to cross barricades during a protest marking one year of the rape-murder of a trainee doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata on Saturday. The protesters had planned a procession to the state secretariat | PTI Chief Marshal L M Katre Memorial Lecture, at the HAL Management Academy Auditorium in Bengaluru. ACM Singh gave a detailed account of the damage on the Pakistani side, which compelled them to opt for de-escalation. “Shahbaz Jacobabad was one of the major airfields that was attacked. Here there’s an F-16 hangar. One half of the hangar is gone. And I’m sure there were some aircraft inside which got damaged. We were able to get at least two command and control centres, like Murid and Chaklala. At least six radars, some of them big, and small (were knocked out),” he said. MUMBAI AIRPORT TECH SNAG HITS FLIGHT OPS Flight operations at Mumbai airport were affected on Saturday after a technical glitch hit the data network, forcing the operator to switch to manual mode. It took an hour to fix the snag, sources said. Trump’s tariff war will push India closer to Russia, China: Ex-NSA J AYA N T H J A C O B @ New Delhi FORMER US National Security Advisor John Bolton has warned that punitive tariffs imposed on India could backfire strategically pushing New , Delhi closer to Russia and China, the very outcome decades of American diplomacy have sought to avoid. In an interview with CNN, Bolton said: “Trump’s tariffs against India are intended to hurt Russia, but they could push India closer to Russia and to China to oppose these tariffs.” He warned that Trump’s leniency towards China while taking a heavyhanded approach with India was under mining longterm US interests. “Trump’s leniency on the Chinese, and heavy-handed tariffs on India, jeopardise decades of American efforts to bring India away from Russia and China,” Bolton said. In April, Trump briefly escalated a trade war with China, only to pause further action, pending a potential deal. On July 30, he announced a 25% tariff on Indian imports — a significant hike from the previous average of 2.4%. India also faces additional tariff of 25% due to its continued pur- This is a geopolitical own goal — one that could cost the US far more than it gains economically John Bolton, Former NSA, US chases of Russian oil, which Trump argues funds the ‘war in Ukraine.’ In his op-ed for The Hill, Bolton earlier called Trump’s trade policy “an enormous mistake and entirely counterproductive for America.” He emphasised that levying tariffs on both allies and adversaries erodes long-standing diplomatic capital with India. “The US, by levying tariffs on friend and foe alike, has likely suffered a considerable loss of trust and confidence, built over decades of effort, in exchange for minimal economic gains,” he wrote. “This is a geopolitical own goal ... one that could cost US far more than it gains economically .” EXPRESS READ 4 ATTACKERS ARRESTED FADNAVIS QUESTIONS TIMING US-CANADA BORDER MOHALLA CLINICS STAFF BATS FOR UKRAINE PEACE HISTORIC MOMENT 9 B’deshis cross over into Meghalaya, attack villager Pawar claims 160 seats offered ahead of polls Indian-origin trucker held for smuggling of cocaine Give 2-mnth notice before termination, HC tells govt India hails Trump-Putin meet in Alaska on Aug 15 1st freight train reaches Valley from Punjab A Meghalaya villager was grievously injured after he was attacked by a ninemember gang of Bangladeshi nationals who had crossed over the international border. The incident occurred early Saturday at the Rongdangai village in South West Khasi Hills district. | P8 CM Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday asked why Sharad Pawar spoke up only now about two men meeting him and offering to ensure the Opposition’s victory ahead of Assembly polls. Pawar claimed two persons offered to help the Opposition win 160 seats. | P8 An Indian-origin trucker has been arrested by the Canada Border Services Agency at the US-Canada border while allegedly attempting to smuggle in 197 kg of cocaine. He has been identified as Onkar Kalsi of Ontario and sent to Royal Canadian Mounted Police custody. The Delhi HC has asked the government to give two months’ notice to Aam Aadmi Mohalla Clinics staff in case it plans to terminate their services before March 31 next year. The order came on a petition by the staff, who were hired on contract by the AAP government. | P3 India on Saturday welcomed the summit between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, scheduled to take place in Alaska on August 15, expressing hope that the meeting could help bring an end to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. | P7 In a first, a train carrying a freight of cement reached Anantnag Goods Shed in J&K from Punjab’s Rupnagar, thus connecting the Valley to the national freight network. The inaugural freight train reached Anantnag, covering a distance of 600 km in 18 hours. | P8