FOLLOW US: @TheStatesmanLtd @thestatesmanltd thestatesman1875 www.thestatesman.com People’s Parliament, Always in Session India’s National Newspaper since 1818 | Pages 12 | ` 5.00 | KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | MUMBAI | BHUBANESWAR | LUCKNOW | SILIGURI | Monday, 07 September 2026 SPORTS PERSPECTIVE EDITORIAL A birth year can’t be a worldview WORLD Iran claims strike on US ship in Strait of Hormuz Reality check Page 6 Page 7 Page 9 ‘Saffron Honour March’ on 9 Sept amid campus unrest STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE Kolkata, 6 September W est Bengal Chief M i n i s t e r S u v e n d u Adhikari is expected to participate in a ‘Saffron Samman Yatra’ from Golpark to Jadavpur University on 9 September, putting the campus at the centre of another political mobilisation following a large ‘Vande Mataram’ programme held there on Rakhi Purnima. The proposed march will begin at Golpark, pass through Dhakuria and culminate at the 8B bus stand near Jadavpur University. Organisers said the programme would seek to promote nationalist thought and underline the need for greater administrative monitoring of the university campus. On Rakhi Purnima, thousands of people had gathered along the road from Jadavpur University to Jadavpur police station for a programme titled ‘Vande Mataram’ in 10,000 voices. Mr Adhikari had attended the event (photo), organised against a series of recent controversies on the campus. During that programme, Mr Adhikari had criticised both the Trinamul Congress government and the erstwhile Left regime over the political environment at the university. He alleged that during the communist rule, portraits of Rabindranath Tagore, Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay and Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar did not find a place at the institution. Mr Adhikari also alleged that a “threat culture” had developed in university hostels and claimed that a section of students was forcing others to participate in political programmes. He said that while the majority of students were “nationalist and patriotic”, a group wearing Che Guevara T-shirts was allegedly threatening ordinary students with consequences similar to those faced by a student from Ranaghat. He also referred to the controversial death of student Swapnadeep and criticised the previous Trinamul government over its handling of campus politics. Recalling an earlier protest against ragging, Mr Adhikari claimed that Maoist supporters had protested against his visit to the campus and raised “go back” slogans. He alleged that the then police minister had intervened to secure the release of two arrested Maoists. The 9 September march is expected to further intensify the political contest over Jadavpur University, with the ruling establishment seeking to project nationalism and campus security as key issues. J-K, Ladakh must be depicted as per India’s official maps: MEA Hooch claims 12 lives in MP’s Sagar district STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE New Delhi, 6 September India on Sunday said the UN General Assembly must depict the country’s territory, including the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, in accordance with its official map. “Any inaccurate or misleading depiction is unacceptable. O ur p osition on India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity is clear, consistent and non-negotiable,’’ Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal (photo) said. His statement came two days after the UNGA adopted a resolution entitled “Correct the Map: Rebalancing Global Cartographic Representation and Promoting Equitable Representation of the World’s Regions, Particularly Africa”. The spokesperson noted that the purpose of the resolution is to encourage the use of equal-area map projections that preserve the relative sizes of continental landmasses. “The resolution neither adopts nor authenticates any particular world map, nor does it address political car tography, including international boundaries, disputed territories or place names,” he said. The spokesperson said India voted in favour of the resolution and also made an explanation of its vote, stressing on the underlying principle of promoting equal - area cartographic representation. “We also highlighted that the resolution does not constitute endorsement of any specific map, projection or depiction of national boundaries. India’s sovereign territory, including the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, must be depicted in accordance with India’s official map. Any inaccurate or misleading depiction is unacceptable. O ur p osition on India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity is clear, consistent and non-negotiable,” he said. By 164 votes to one, the UNGA on Friday endorsed a resolution promoting map projections that more accurately reflect the true size of continents ~ the culmination of an African-led campaign against the 16th-century Mercator projection, still the most widely used map system in the world. The US cast the sole vote against, dismissing the initiative as part of a “radical ideological project.” Six countries ~ Estonia, Georgia, Lithuania, Moldova, Serbia and Ukraine ~ abstained. Bhopal, 6 September The Madhya Pradesh government on Sunday suspended five officials, including three state excise officials and two police officials, and transferred another senior Excise officer in connection with the deaths of at least 12 persons due to consumption of illegally manufactured poisonous liquor in Sagar district. At least 12 persons died while more than two dozen fell ill, some critically, after consuming illegally manufactured poisonous liquor in villages in Sagar district. The hooch tragedy occurred in villages in the Banda-Shahgarh area, including Baraj, Nauraj, Ghughra and others, after people consumed the spurious liquor on Saturday night. • Details: Page 5 Drug-free India by 2029; none in evil trade will be spared: Shah STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE New Delhi, 6 September Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday announced the government has prepared a roadmap for making India drug-free by 2029 and no one, including big fish, will escape the government’s drive against those involved in the drugs trade. Mr Shah was addressing a press conference in Panaji, Goa, where he gave a nationwide review of the narcotics problem and steps taken against it. The Home Minister said the three-year roadmap will be implemented in Mission Mode and have time-bound targets. The Home Minister said the roadmap is based on four pillars ~ intelligence and operations-based enforcement; control of precursor and synthetic drugs, demand and harm reduction, and capacity building and coordination. The roadmap will be made public. A target has been fixed to destroy 100 Indian and international networks and 100 absconders connected Satwik-Chirag script history with maiden China Masters title with narcotics will be brought back from abroad, he said. Border forces will be involved in vigilance. In spite of a complex Myanmar-Afghanistan network, not a gram of drugs will be allowed to enter or leave India. The current laws are sufficient to deal with the problem, he said. The Home Minister said narcotics is such an evil which can destroy coming generations. Dirty-money earned by this evil trade is used for terrorism. A narco-terror module is operating in many nations and the whole world is troubled by this problem today. Since 2019, the government took several initiatives to destroy this evil. “We have changed systems, exposed networks, broken financial chains and hand-held the rescued victims,” Mr Shah said. Before 2014, there was a fragmented fight against this problem, at the level of units and in silos. There was satisfaction at catching small fish and seizures, he said. Page 12 Three killed, several injured as five-storey building collapses in Delhi’s Satya Niketan STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE New Delhi, 6 September Three people were killed and several others injured after a five-storey building being used as a boys’ paying guest accommodation collapsed in south-west Delhi’s Satya Niketan on Sunday afternoon, officials said. Additional DCP Abhimanyu Poswal said that so far, nine children have been rescued and taken to the hospital. “Unfortunately, three of them were declared brought dead,” he told reporters. Satya Niketan is a densely populated locality near Delhi University's South Campus, where a large number of students live in hostels and rented accommodation. The incident triggered a large-scale rescue operation as emergency personnel searched through the rubble for those believed trapped beneath the collapsed structure. While eyewitnesses and local residents put the number Rescue operations under way after a building collapsed near Shiv Mandir in Satya Niketan, Moti Bagh, in New Delhi on Sunday. IANS of people possibly trapped at more than 15, authorities said the exact figure was yet to be established. A police officer at the scene said a preliminary assessment suggested that around 40 to 50 people could have been inside the building when it collapsed. The building was reportedly undergoing repair work in its basement when it gave way. Police said their preliminary local inquiry indicated that the structure was around 40 to 50 years old and comprised a basement and five floors above it. At the site, Balraj Singh, Nodal Officer for the Centralised Accident and Trauma Services. said five people had been shifted to the AIIMS Trauma Centre and that medical authorities would provide further details about their condition. He said there were reports suggesting that the incident could involve 25 to 30 casualties.