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, 05 October 2026 SPORTS EDITORIAL The last mile WORLD NATION Neha Bora detained amid Jantar Mantar protests UAE had shared Flydubai pilots’ names, nationalities with Israel Page 6 Page 5 2027 Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas Convention to be held in Kolkata STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE New Delhi, 4 October The next Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas (PBD) Convention will be held in Kolkata. The Ministry of External Affairs announced that the 19th editionofthethree-dayconvention will be held from 7 to 9 January in Kolkata. It will be organised by the MEA in partnership with the Government of West Bengal. The convention will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while President Droupadi Murmu will confer the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Awards and preside over the valedictory session. The convention will also feature a Youth PBD segment. The event will bring together members of the Indian diaspora, young diaspora leaders, entrepreneurs, professionals, academics, innovators and other stakeholders from across the world. The PBD is celebrated to pay tribute to Mahatma Gandhi, who returned to India from South Africa on 9 January 1915. Page 12 Page 9 EAM calls for stronger ties among emerging powers External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar addresses the Munich Leaders Meeting on emerging and middle power cooperation in New Delhi on Sunday. IANS STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE New Delhi, 4 October E xternal Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar on Sunday laid out a comprehensive roadmap for cooperation among emerging and middle powers in various sectors like international security, trade, resilient supply chains, healthcare, talent mobility, connectivity, climate action and defence. “What could be the agenda for emerging and middle powers? I would share my thoughts in terms of a few ideas that occurred to me. One obviously would be international peace and security. That if conflicts are going on, if there are frictions, if there are tensions, other than the biggest countries, can other nations pool their resources, back each other, and try to do something out there,” he said, addressing the opening session of the Munich Leaders Meeting 2026. In this connection, Me Jaishankar spoke about the increasing cooperation between India and the European Union as there was a realisation on both sides that deepening economic engagement was needed in the transforming world. “Another obvious area, of course, is investment and trade itself. And a good example is what happened this year between India and the European Union, that we had almost 25 years of negotiation and that negotiation came to a head because I think there was a realisation on both sides that in the transforming world it was essential that our economic engagement was intensified and the barriers to it removed. But, there are different domains, I would argue, enough cause for middle and emerging and middle countries, middle players to come together,” he said. The minister said the reality of the world today is that demand is not where there are demographics and said that the best way to level that out is through the flow of talent and skills. He said that advanced manufacturing also requires a certain amount of mobility to remain sustainable. He stressed that emerging and middle powers can cooperate in supply chain resilience. “Supply chain resilience is one. As I said, different countries have different strengths. You don’t have to be the biggest country in the world to dominate the world of chips or to even produce the machines which are necessary today for semiconductor production. You can have areas like health. Today, health security warrants a much more diversified production of APIs and pharmaceuticals.” India were organised & made it difficult for us: Brazil Coach Ancelotti Thackeray cousins unite Maha Vikas Aghadi in anti-ECI mega march STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE Mumbai, 4 October In a major political development that has sent ripples through Maharashtra’s political landscape, estranged cousins Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray spearheaded a massive joint protest march in Mumbai on Sunday against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the controversial handling of electoral rolls. Surpassing expectations, the historic demonstration witnessed key leaders from the Congress and the NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) setting aside past differences to share a single platform with the Thackeray-led parties. Senior Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) leaders, including Congress heavyweights Balasaheb Thorat and Vijay Wadettiwar, alongside NCP (SP) State President Jayant Patil, actively participated in the march and occupied prominent seats on the dais. Demonstrating a collective political will, the participating Delhi police crime branch to probe alleged manhandling of women journalists STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE New Delhi, 4 October parties consciously sidelined party symbols, choosing instead to flood the streets with the Indian National Flag (Tricolour) to project the agitation as an apolitical crusade for public rights. Despite past ideological and regional controversies ~ particularly surrounding MNS chief Raj Thackeray's earlier political stances ~ the Congress and NCP stepped forward to back the call, signalling a powerful consolidation of anti-establishment forces in Maharashtra. Defending his presence alongside the MNS chief, senior Congress leader Balasaheb Thorat asserted that the march transcends individual party lines, framing it as a vital cry to safeguard the Constitution and rescue Indian democracy. Delhi Police have transferred a complaint by three women journalists of sexual harassment by police personnel during the protests at Jantar Mantar on Saturday to the Crime Branch, pledging an impartial inquiry. Deputy Commissioner of Police Neha Yadav said on Sunday that around 6 p.m. on Saturday, three women, who identified themselves as journalists, gave a complaint alleging manhandling by the officers of the Delhi Police, while they were detained during the protests at Jantar Mantar against the Chief Election Commissioner, Gyanesh Kumar. Accordingly, their complaint was duly registered, and their medical examinations has been conducted, with the matter referred to the crime branch for further in-depth enquiry. page 2
The Statesman is one of India's oldest English newspapers. It was founded in Kolkata in 1875 and is directly descended from The Friend of India (founded 1818). The Englishman (founded 1821) was merged with The Statesman in 1934. The Delhi edition of The Statesman began publication in 1931. The Statesman Weekly is a compendium of news and views from the Kolkata and Delhi editions. Printed on airmail paper, it is popular with readers outside India. The Statesman (average weekday circulation approximately 180,000) is a leading English newspaper in West Bengal. The Sunday Statesman has a circulation of 230,000.
