NEW DELHI 14 JUNE 2026 SUNDAY `12 PAGES 24  facebook/TheMorningStandard  X.com/TheMornStandard WHAT IS THE ZERO PRICE OF A LIFE IN INDIA? https://epaper.morningstandard.in Joy in the World PLUS: 12 PAGES MAGAZINE Rasputin and the Russia of Myth Anand Neelakantan Prabhu Chawla Ravi Shankar Shankkar Aiyar Utkarsh Amitabh Madhavan Narayanan Dr Alka Pande The Crown and the Closet EXCLUSIVE VOICES Coming Soon Synthetic Intelligence Deal today: Pak Not Sunday: Iran Mural of the Story 46% shortfall of Sanskrit teachers in govt schools I F R A H M U F T I @ New Delhi AS the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) deliberates on making Sanskrit mandatory from Class V I , D e l h i g ove r n m e n t schools are struggling with a severe shortage of teachers. Data accessed by this newspaper shows that nearly eight lakh students studying in Classes VI to X are currently served by just 2,583 regular Sanskrit teachers, translating to roughly one teacher for every 310 stud e n t s. T h e s a n c t i o n e d strength of Sanskrit teachers is 4,818, leaving a vacancy of nearly 46%. The shortage is particularly acute at the level of postg raduate teachers. Against 695 sanctioned posts for postgraduate teachers (PGT) in Sanskrit, only 374 are filled, while 321 remain vacant. At the trained graduate teacher (TGT) level, 2,209 regular teachers and 1,879 guest teachers are in place against 4,123 sanctioned posts, with 35 positions still lying vacant. A Sanskrit teacher from Sarvodaya Kanya Vidyalaya, Surajmal Vihar, said the problem has persisted for years despite repeated talks about promoting the language. “The government should understand the importance of Sanskrit. If it is making the language mandatory, it must also ensure adequate staffing. To implement any such plan, schools will require a large number of additional Sanskrit teachers,” the teacher said. CONTINUED ON P3 THE United States and Iran could put to bed an agreement to end the months-long West Asia war within as little as 24 hours, mediator Pakistan said Saturday, after both sides expressed optimism about concluding the deal. The apparent momentum came in spite of new skirmishes in the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday which has been at the , centre of the war that has roiled the global economy . Weeks of negotiations on a long-term peace agreement following an April 8 truce have so far been fruitless, with US President Donald Trump repeatedly insisting a deal was near only for the wrangling to drag on. “We are closer to a peace deal than ever before,” said Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on X. “With finalisation likely expected in the next 24 hours, Pakistan is preparing for the electronic signing of the peace deal immediately after, followed by technical talks next week.” However, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei was not exactly on the same page. He said the signing With finalisation expected in 24 hours, Pakistan is preparing for the electronic signing of the peace deal Shehbaz Sharif, Pakistan PM Khamenei funeral Funeral rituals for Khamenei will will take place between July 4 and 9 at the holy Imam Reza Shrine, Iran state TV said | P9 of the MoU with the US cannot be ruled out but “will not be tomorrow (Sunday)”. He added that caution was needed regarding any comment on the signing date due to hesitation of the other side. Both sides released conflicting information about the contents of the deal, as each seeks to show it emerged from the war with an upper hand. Among other things, Tehran has insisted on its right to enrich uranium and maintain control over the Strait of Hormuz, both of which appear to be sharply at odds with Washington’s red lines. The US has responded with its own blockade of Iranian ports in an attempt to choke off the country’s energy exports. Earlier on Saturday the US said , it downed multiple Iranian drones over the strait. The US alleged that Iran had “launched multiple one-way attack drones in an attempt to strike commercial ships transiting the Strait”. It added that “US forces have downed all of them in recent hours”. Meanwhile, Lebanon reported Israeli strikes in its south on Saturday , as the Israeli army issued evacuation warnings. Modi-Trump bilateral on G7 Summit’s sidelines on June 17 J AYA N T H J A C O B @ New Delhi PRIME Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump are set to hold a bilateral meeting on June 17 on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in France, with discussions expected to focus on economic growth, supply-chain resilience, artificial intelligence, investment partnerships and global security challenges. “This is the 8th consecutive G7 Summit to which India has been invited. At the G7, India will not only speak for itself, but it will also give voice to the aspirations of the Global South,” Modi said in a statement ahead of his visit. The meeting with Trump, confirmed by the White House, will take place ahead of a working lunch involving G7 leaders, outreach partners and technology executives. A senior US administration official said: “President Trump will meet with G7 leaders to address key issues of shared importance, including economic growth and development, supply chain Rubio sticks to his guns India on Saturday raised with US killing of three Indian mariners, but Secretary of State Marco Rubio said “violations of US blockade won’t be tolerated.” | P7 resilience, illegal immigration, and Artificial Intelligence.” The engagement comes during Trump’s visit to France for the summit, where he is also expected to hold bilateral meetings with French President Emmanuel Macron, the Emir of Qatar, the UAE President and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. Trump is scheduled to arrive in France on Monday and will push an economic agenda focused on investment-led development and strategic partnerships. The Modi-Trump meeting will be their first in person meeting since India’s military operation “Operation Sindoor” against Pakistan last year, although the White House did not provide further details on the agenda of the talks. The summit itself is being held in Evian, France, on June 16–17, and will bring together G7 leaders and invited partners to address global economic uncertainty, technological transformation and geopolitical tensions. No more taking chances for neat NEET S L A L I T H A @ New Delhi AFTER facing flak over the NEET-UG question paper leak, the National Testing Agency (NTA) seems to be in mood to take any chances to ensure that the re-exam on June 21 is conducted neatly Sources say that . its officials are holding one-toone meetings with the chief secretary and DGP of every state and Union territory . A key point of these discussions is to ensure that security apparatus for the World Yoga Day which also falls on June 21, , and the NEET-UG re-exam are kept separate. “There is utmost caution being taken to ensure Home secy to take stock that a huge chunk of the security should not be deployed for the Yoga Day celebrations, as VIPs/VVIPs take part in this event in each state. Hence, we are insisting on separate security units,” a source said. The officials are also insisting on earmarking designated routes for question papers to The Union home secretary will hold a virtual meeting with the chief secretaries of all states on Monday. Extra caution is being taken to quell any rumours or attend to complaints about potential malpractices, which was not done when the exam took place. reach securely at centres in 551 cities on time. “There should be no clash with the VIP movement in states,” he said. Care is also being taken to ensure that re-test is held safely for nearly 5,000 candidates at 14 centres abroad, most of which are in West Asia. On Saturday, officials interacted with the Haryana chief minister, chief secretary and district magistrates. Meetings have already concluded with the chief secretaries of Bihar, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, J&K, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Assam, Odisha and Telangana. Meetings with Tamil Nadu and Kerala will be held next week. SWAMI SUKHABODHANANDA SPEAKS The Ecology of Conscious Living Officers among 5 IAF personnel killed in transport aircraft crash the crash site showed the aircraft split into two parts. Defence Minister Rajnath FIVE Indian Air Force (IAF) Singh and Assam Chief Minispersonnel were killed and one ter Himanta Biswa Sar ma was injured when an An-32 mourned the loss of lives. transport aircraft crashed af“Deeply anguished by the ter landing at the Air Force loss of five Air Warriors in the Station in Jorhat, Assam on An-32 accident,” Singh posted Saturday . on social media. The incident took The crash has once How it place around 10 am at again drawn attention happened Rowriah airbase in to the Soviet-era An-32 Jorhat. The aircraft fleet, which remains Sources said the had taken off from aircraft lost control one of IAF’s most imthe same base earlier portant transport asupon touchdown for a routine sortie. sets despite being in and skidded off The deceased per- the Jorhat runway. service since the sonnel are Squadron 1980s. With airframes It hurtled across Leader Prashant now exceeding 40 the parallel Singh, Flight Lieu- taxiway, snapping years of service, maintenant Shubham Ku- into two segments taining the fleet has mar, Sergeant Jitenbecome increasingly before being dra S h a r m a , engulfed in flames, challenging, sources Agniveervayu Khesaid. they added The Russia-Ukraine maram Kumawat and Agniveervayu Danish Alam. A conflict has further disrupted co-pilot survived with injuries. the supply of critical spare A court of inquiry has been or- parts, forcing the Air Force to dered to ascertain the cause of pursue indigenous alternatives the accident. and alternative sourcing ar“IAF extends its deepest con- rangements. The twin-engine dolences to the bereaved fami- transport aircraft is capable of lies and stands firmly with carrying up to 6.7 tonnes of carthem in this hour of grief,” the go or 50 paratroopers and can IAF posted on X. Footage from operate from short runways. J A V A R I A R A N A & P R A S A N TA M A Z U M D A R @ New Delhi/ Guwahati No immediate confirmation from White House or Iran regarding Sharif’s assertion on timing of the agreement A G E N C I E S @ Dubai/Islamabad Bay Watch (Above, from left to right) Sqn. Ldr. Prashant Singh, Flt. Lt. Shubham Kumar, Sgt. Jitendra Sharma, Agniveervayu Khemaram Kumawat and Agniveervayu Danish Alamy; (below) the damaged remains of the aircraft | IAF, PTI High drama at Abhishek’s house as police conduct raid in search of his secy Money trail The police probe of Sujoy Hazra, former Trinamool MLA, revealed that he had transferred a huge amount of money running into many crores of rupees to Sumit Roy’s bank account Another rebel Sources said Sudip was accompanied by party MP Satabdi Roy during the visit to Yadav’s residence. He later met home minister Amit Shah and joined the rebel group SUBHENDU MAITI AND RAJESH K U M A R T H A K U R @ Kolkata/New Delhi THERE was high drama at the residence of Abhishek Banerjee, national general secretary of the Trinamool Congress, as a large police team raided it in the wee hours of Saturday to nab his long-time trusted private secretary Sumit Roy . T he police were looking for Roy in connection with a case involving the alleged transfer of crores of rupees to his bank account by Sujoy Hazra, a former Trinamool Congress lawmaker. The police zeroed in on Abhishek’s house after tracking Roy’s mobile tower location. They arrived around 2.30 am but were not let in. They then broke the lock inside the steel gate using a gas cutter to forced their way in, which took four hours, according to sources. By then, Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee had also arrived. Roy was not found. The police suspect he fled by the time they managed to make their way in around 6.30 am. The police left around 8 am and con- tinued raids at several other places in search of Roy . Meanwhile, the Enforcement Directorate conducted raids at different places, including the residences of Trinamool MLA and strongman Madan Mitra at Kamarhati and Bhabanipur in connection with the alleged municipal service recruitment scam in the state. In Delhi, there was speculation on further Trinamool desertions after another party MP Sudip Bandyopad, hyay, met BJP’s West Bengal in-charge Bhupender Yadav. Last week, a group of 19 Trinamool Lok Sabha MPs had claimed that they represent the ‘real’ Trinamool and intend to support the NDA in the coming days. Sudip later met Union Home Minister Amit Shah and is understood to have joined the rebel g roup, taking their total strength to 20. The meeting came a day before CM Suvendu Adhikari is due to meet the rebel group led by MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar. The rebels want to function as a separate bloc in the LS, backing the NDA. EXPRESS READ Lt Gen Dhiraj Seth is next Army Chief Lt Gen Dhiraj Seth will be the next Chief of the Army Staff succeeding incumbent Gen Upendra Dwivedi, the defence ministry announced on Saturday. He will assume charge on June 30. Lt Gen Seth, widely known for his strategic planning and contributions towards modernisation of the Army, is currently serving as the Vice Chief of the force. P7 14 women cadets create history For the first time in the history, women officers joined the armed forces with permanent commission from day one through the NDA pipeline. Nine women joined the Army while five joined the Indian Air Force (IAF). Women officers have until now entered through the Short Service Commission route. P7 DREAM START FOR AMERICA Co-hosts kick off with a great victory on the field while an embarrassing theft off it affected England team. A look... Balogun leads US to their biggest World Cup victory Folarin Balogun scored twice in the US’s three-goal barrage before halftime, and the US opened their first home World Cup in 32 years with the biggest win in the event, a 4-1 victory over Paraguay. Damián Bobadilla opened the scoring while Gio Reyna scored in the injury time. In another match, co-hosts Canada salvaged a draw against Bosnia and Herzegovina TODAY'S MATCHES (IST) Group E: Germany vs Curacao (10:30 PM); Ivory Coast vs Ecuador (4:30 AM* ) Group F: Netherlands vs Japan (1:30 AM*); Sweden vs Tunisia (7:30* AM) *IST MONDAY MORNING ( LIVE ON UNITE8 SPORTS & ZEE5) England team’s items stolen from van Believe it or not, England football team’s things were stolen from a vehicle where the logistics team arrived in advance to set up the camp in Kansas City, Missouri. England team was due to arrive at training base on Saturday from Florida. Things were stolen when the van was still to be unloaded and among stolen items were footwear of players