TUESDAY JAPANESE AUTO GIANTS HONDA AND NISSAN TO BEGIN MERGER TALKS 24 Honda and Nissan have announced plans to join forces that could result in the creation of the world’s third-largest automobile company DECEMBER, 2024 epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard US MOST ON DEATH ROW GET LIFE President Joe Biden announced on Monday he is commuting the sentences of 37 of 40 people on death row, converting their punishments to life term. PAGE 9 $50 BN WOULD BE THE MARKET CAPITALISATION OF THE MERGED ENTITY AIM IS TO ACHIEVE ECONOMIES OF SCALE A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS  NEW DELHI  J8.00  PAGES 12 Joining forces would help the companies achieve economies of scale to compete with Toyota, Volkswagen and Chinese automakers like BYD. Also, Japanese companies, especially Honda, have lagged behind rivals in electric vehicles (EVs) and are now trying to catch up. Nissan has years of experience building batteries and EVs that could help Honda in developing its own EVs Now, Dhaka note verbale for Hasina’s extradition Ministry of External Affairs confirms receiving it, offers no comment B A L A C H A U H A N @ Bengaluru BANGLADESH’S interim government said on Monday it had sent a note verbale to India seeking extradition of deposed former prime minister and Awami League head Sheikh Hasina. Hasina, 77, has been living in exile in India after she fled on August 5 following massive student protests over a controversial job quota. Foreign affairs adviser Touhid Hossain told media persons that they had sent the note verbale asking to send Hasina back for judicial process. It came after Bangladesh’s home advisor Jahangir Alam said his office had sent a letter to the foreign ministry to facilitate Hasina’s extradition, quoting a prisoner exchange agreement with India “under which it (her extradition) will be carried out”. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) confirmed they have received the diplomatic note from Dhaka. “We confirm that we have received a Note Verbale from the Bangladesh High Commission today in connection with an extradition re- 3 Khalistanis who attacked Punjab cops, killed in UP N A M I TA B A J PA I A N D H A R P R E E T B A J W A @ Lucknow/Chandigarh THREE suspected Khalistani terrorists allegedly involved in the grenade attack in Gurdaspur were killed in an encounter with police in Uttar Pradesh’s Pilibhit early on Monday. Two AK-series assault rifles and two Glock pistols were recovered from their possession, Pilibhit SP Avinash Pandey said. Punjab DGP Gaurav Yadav called the encounter a major breakthrough against a Pakistan-sponsored terror module. The gunfight between members of the Khalistan Zindabad Force (KZF) and a joint team of UP and Punjab police took place in Puranpur area of Pilibhit after three module members opened fire at the police party . DGP Yadav said the three have been identified as Varinder Singh alias Ravi (23), Gurvinder Singh (25) and Jashanpreet Singh a l i a s Pa r t ap Singh (18). They are residents of Kalanaur police station and are accused of hurling a hand grenade at Bakshiwala police post in Kalanaur in Gurdaspur on December 18. The KZF used social media platform to claim the responsibility for this act of terror. Amitabh Yash, ADG (law and order), UP said, “The three sus, tained serious injuries in the encounter and were immediately rushed to CHC Puranpur for treatment. They died of their injuries later.” The DGP said preliminary investigation has revealed that the terror module is controlled by Pakistan-based Ranjeet Singh Nita, the chief of KZF, and operated by Greece-based Jaswinder Singh Mannu, from Agwan village in Kalanaur. Accused Ravi, who was leading the module, also belongs to Agwan village. He was being further controlled and masterminded by UK-based Jagjeet Singh, DGP Yadav said. File picture of Sheikh Hasina | PTI PROBE INTO ALLEGED $5 BN N-POWER SCAM The interim government has also initiated probe into an alleged $5 billion Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant project scam involving Sheikh Hasina, her son Sajeeb Ahmed Wazed (Joy) and niece Tulip Siddiq | P9 quest. At this time, we have no comment to offer on this matter,” said MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal. Speaking to this newspaper, former high commissioners to Bangladesh Veena Sikri (200306) and Pinak Ranjan Chakravarty (2007-09) said a “note ver- bale is not an instrument on which extradition can be sought. Extradition is a very long, detailed process involving the judiciary. Request for extradition comes at the end of the process,” they said. “The requesting country has to complete the judicial process of proving the charges against the fugitive leader and convicting her,” said Sikri. She added that the UNHRC (United Nations Human Rights Council) was invited to investigate the charges against Hasina. “The UNHRC team visited Bangladesh twice since August but they were not provided any evidence on the charges of murder, forced disappearance and human rights violations against Hasina,” added Sikri. “I’m told that Dhaka has sought Hasina’s extradition under a prisoner exchange agreement with India. Hasina is not a prisoner in India. She came here of her own will,” the former diplomat pointed out. India’s Extradition Act prescribes separate procedures for handling extradition requests from different countries. Govt schools can now fail students of classes 5 and 8 K A V I TA B E J E L I D AT T @ New Delhi THE Centre has scrapped the ‘no-detention policy’ for classes 5 and 8 in schools governed by it, which means students will be failed if they do not clear the year-end examinations. However, no child shall be expelled from any school till completion of elementary education, education ministry officials said. According to a gazette notification, if a student fails to fulfill the promotion criteria, as notified from time to time, he or she shall be given additional instructions and an opportunity for re-examination within two months from the date of declaration of results. “If the child appearing in the re-examination fails to fulfill the promotion criteria again, he shall be held back in fifth class or eighth class, as the case may be. During the holding back of the child, the class teacher shall guide the child as well as the parents of the child, if necessary, and provide spe- 18 STATES, UTS Following the amendment to the Right to Education Act (RTE) in 2019, at least 18 states and Union Territories have done away with the ‘no-detention policy’ NO EXPULSION The government has clarified no student shall be expelled from any school till the completion of elementary education cialised inputs after identifying the learning gaps at various stages of assessment,” the notification said. It will apply to over 3,000 schools run by the Central government, including Kendriya Vidyalayas, Navaodyala Vidyalayas and Sainik Schools. “Since school education is a state subject, states can make their decision in this regard. Already 16 states and 2 UTs including Delhi have done away with the nodetention policy for these two classes,” the officials said. EXPRESS READ Ramasubramanian new NHRC chairman Former Supreme Court judge V Ramasubramanian has been appointed the new chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission, the rights body said on Monday. The post had been lying since June 1. L-G nod to suspend 2 fire safety officers Months after three students died at Rau’s Coaching Centre at Old Rajender Nagar, L-G VK Saxena approved the suspension of fire safety dept’s divisional officer Ved Pal and assistant divisional officer Udai Vir Singh. P4 Chief guest and Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan (4th from left in second row), TNIE Group Editorial Director Prabhu Chawla (7th from left in second row) and Editor Santwana Bhattacharya (2nd from the left in first row) with awardees on Monday. Seventeen women were recognised for their achievements in their fields | PARVEEN NEGI | P3 Devis can ignite millions through dedication: Guv EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE Capital honours trailblazing achievements of its women @ New Delhi PA R A M I TA G H O S H @ New Delhi KERALA Governor Arif Mohammed Khan, chief guest on Monday at the 30th edition of Devi Awards, hoped “the winners will go forward with their creative work and will continue to inspire younger women”. He said the awards recognise and honour exceptional women who display dynamism and innovation in their chosen fields across various sectors. The New Indian Express Group has so far organised 29 events of Devi Awards and has honoured 310 winners, who, Khan said, “continue to inspire, influence and ignite millions through their dedication”. The awards “celebrate not merely these extraordinary women, but it celebrates their dynamism, innovation and resilience”. He said: “Our cultural tradition attaches great significance to the celebration of excellence. When excellence is celebrated, the energy of everybody participating in the celebration is appended to it and we feel great.” On the theme of the awards, he said: “It is eminently appropriate that the organisers have chosen Contribution of Women in the Making of Great Bharat as the discussion topic.” IT was an all-women show without any pink bows. The 30th edition of the Devi Awards instituted by The New Indian Express group, and the sixth in Delhi on December 23, was marked by nothing girly, no tears, no speeches, but the showcasing of solid and sustained body of work by women in the arts, economics, public service, and governance. Seventeen women leaders, Devis, came on stage during a dazzling evening that unfolded at ITC Maurya to be honoured by an award given by the Sunday Standard of TNIE Group, in a city, that as Lakshmi Menon, CEO, TNIE Group, put it, was “no stranger to powerful women”. The programme was moderated by senior journalist Kaveree Bamzai. This was followed by the lighting of the lamp by the chief guest of the evening Governor of Kerala Arif Mohammed Khan, Prabhu Chawla, Editorial Director, TNIE, Editor Santwana Bhattacharya, and Menon. In his speech, Kerala governor raised the point about how “India’s rise to preeminence in the modern era” is owed in no small part to the ef- fort and “trailblazing achieve- nity Medicine, Jamia Hamdard, one of India’s first transgender ments of its women”. A highlight of the evening Doctors who worked at the forewas the conversation between front of the COVID-19 pandemic Prabhu Chawla and the Kerala response to conservation archiGovernor on a range of top- tect Gurmeet Sangha Rai who ics—from the reaction of Rajiv headed CRCI India, a premier Gandhi to his speech in Parlia- organisation for heritage conment on the Shah Bano case, servation and management to arts entrepreneur Shalini Passi Khan’s resignation because of differences with Gandhi on who single-handedly scotched this issue, the lack of nation- any chance of Bollywood wives level Muslim leaders, his clash- being the last word in glamour in today’s India, to es with the Left-ruled Chhaya Sharma, Spetate government, to cial Commissioner of his reference of DrauPolice (Training), to padi, the woman Upasana Taku, Execwhose steel and asutive Director, Cosertion was key to Founder, CFO—Mobringing about the biKwik Group to Kurukshetra war, but inclusive educator Dr who was humane enough not to ask for DEVI AWARDS Jyoti Anand founder, Anand Organization more blood to be spilt in retribution when her hus- for Social Development—no earband Arjuna offers to behead ly starters or bloomers were among the awardees. the man who killed her sons. This rousing example set the The 17 women were lauded stage for the roll of honour of for being anti-status quoists, of the 17 women who have done having “subverted the game”, Delhi proud—women who have of having built identities and nurtured and saved Delhi; built not just empires, busted ceiland developed Delhi; or who ings, and opened doors. No have taught Delhi, or managed small feat in India where womthe difficult task of creating net- en are still extolled for their works that encouraged bursts of ‘femininity’ in keeping a good creative energies. From Dr Aqsa house when they are actually Shaikh, Professor of Commu- being made to slave for it. Pioneer of Parallel Cinema KARTIK BHARDWAJ D 14 DEC 1934 - 23 DEC 2024 I wonder what I would have become if he hadn’t had faith in me when no one else did. He and Nira (his wife) were a huge support in my difficult days. He did whatever he could with his life till the end. Not many people can claim to have done that Naseeruddin Shah, actor AYS after celebrating his 90th birthday, Shyam Benegal, a towering figure in Indian cinema and a pioneer of the Parallel Cinema movement, passed away in Mumbai on Monday evening. Benegal, whose body of work straddled the worlds of mainstream and alternative cinema with remarkable dexterity, leaves behind a legacy of nuanced storytelling and sharp social critique. Born on December 14, 1934, into a Chitrapur Saraswat Brahmin family in Hyderabad, Shyam Sunder Benegal exhibited an early fascination with filmmaking. At the tender age of 12, he created his first short film with a camera gifted by his photographer father, Sridhar B Benegal. Despite this early foray his jour, ney to becoming one of India’s most influential filmmakers was a gradual one, as he began his professional career as a copywriter in a Mumbai-based advertising agency . Benegal’s groundbreaking debut feature, Ankur (The Seedling) (1973), not only introduced Shabana Azmi to Indian cinema but also marked the arrival of a filmmaker unafraid to tackle caste discrimination and other entrenched societal issues. His subsequent films, like Nishant (1976), examined complex human emotions and power dynamics, such as a powerless school teacher’s (Girish Karnad) harrowing struggle with his masculinity and morality DRESS CODE Women lawyers can’t appear with face veil, says J&K HC F AYA Z W A N I @ Srinagar THE Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court has held that women advocates cannot appear before the court with their face covered. Justice Moksha Khajuria Kazmi cited provisions under the Bar Council of India (BCI) while making the observations in the order dated December 13. The order is related to an in- cident on November 27 when a woman identifying herself as an advocate named Syed Ainain Qadri refused to remove her veil when Justice Rahul Bharti, who was hearing the case then, asked her to do so. The woman claimed it was her right to appear with face covered, adding the court can’t force her to remove the veil. Following this, Justice Bharti didn’t entertain her appearance as counsel saying the court was unable to confirm her identity . The bench warned the petitioners their case could be dismissed if proper representation was not ensured. The court, then, proceeded to adjourn the case to another date and also sought a report from the Registrar General on the rules on dress code for lady ad- It’s nowhere stated in the rules such attire is permissible before this court Justice Moksha Khajuria Kazmi vocates. The Registrar submitted the report on December 5. After examining the Registrar’s report, the court held that the rules prescribed by the Bar Council of India do not men- tion any such right. However, the court did not go further into the matter as the lawyer chose not to appear again. Later, another lawyer stepped in to represent the petitioners, whom Justice Kazmi heard before reserving the case for judgment on December 6. The petition was dismissed on December 13 after the court found that there was an alternative remedy available. when his wife is abducted. The condition of women in Indian society remained a recurring theme in Benegal’s work. Bhumika (The Role) (1977), featuring a career-defining performance by Smita Patil. Mandi (1983) offered a trenchant exploration of the lives of sex workers within the confines of a brothel. His mastery over the medium also found expression in documentaries on towering figures like Jawaharlal Nehru and Satyajit Ray. His television series Bharat Ek Khoj (1988), based on Nehru’s The Discovery of India, remains a landmark in Indian historical storytelling. At 89, he delivered his final film, Mujib: The Making of a Nation, a biopic on the founding father of Bangladesh. TRUMP THREATENS TO TAKE BACK PANAMA CANAL Donald Trump slammed what he called unfair fees for US ships passing through the Panama Canal, threatened to demand control of the waterway be returned to Washington and hinted at China’s influence around the canal. | P9