Daily Briefing: Sonam Wangchuk signals talks; terror returns as cop shot dead in Anantnag

With that, let’s move on to the top stories from today’s edition:

• Sonam Wangchuk opens window for talks
• Candidates miss exams in Jharkhand
• India’s road to 2027 World Cup series

🚨 Big Story

Even as the government stepped up efforts to defuse the situation arising out of student protests, a window opened on Wednesday when activist Sonam Wangchuk said he would end his fast and ask the students to “halt the movement for now and enter into a dialogue with the government” if it fulfils its assurances to him and does not press for legal action against the protesters. In a letter to the Union Ministers JP Nadda and Jitendra Singh, Wangchuk said they had assured him that the government would consider providing “adequate compensation for the families of the students who had committed suicide following the examination paper leak” and “a meaningful discussion in Parliament to ensure accountability including consideration of the resignation” of Dharmendra Pradhan.

25-year-old Irshad Shaikh was among the protesters who had joined the Cockroach Janta Party’s (CJP) Sansad Chalo march on July 20 when he was hit by “multiple pellets” fired by an “RAF man”. The RAF (Rapid Action Force) was on duty that day, along with the Delhi Police, to control the massive crowd of protesters who were part of the Parliament march. The faceoff quickly spiralled into clashes with the security personnel wielding lathis and tear gas. Later that day, Union Health Minister J P Nadda visited him. “He assured me, ‘Do not worry. You will be taken care of. We are here for you’,” Irshad said. The following day, Delhi Police denied they used pellets.

Unmet demands: The Opposition parties on Wednesday remained firm on their demand for the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan even as the Centre said it was ready to hold an elaborate discussion in the House on the paper leak issue. Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi outlined the Congress’s demands — Pradhan’s resignation, action against police personnel who allegedly used excessive force against the protesters on Monday, and an apology from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the students.

Court hearings: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday declined to accept the Delhi Police argument that aggrieved protesters must individually pursue action against alleged brutalities and excessive use of force during the ‘Chalo Sansad’ march. It also agreed to hear two public interest litigations on the issue. The court directed the police to file responses within four weeks and to preserve video footage and other records. Earlier in the day, the Supreme Court declined to entertain a lawyer seeking its intervention in the ongoing protests. “Don’t waste our time and your time. Your time is more valuable than ours,” Chief Justice of India Surya Kant told the lawyer who said he had a collection of videos that he would show if the bench permitted.

⚡ Only in Express

Systemic failure? Nearly 75 per cent of the applicants of the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission’s (JSSC) Field Worker Recruitment Examination missed the test this year, raising complaints regarding the distance to exam centres and the alleged delay in the email intimation regarding admit cards. The examination was conducted on July 19 for 510 Field Worker posts advertised by the JSSC in 2024. Of the 3,22,867 candidates who registered for the exam, only 86,444, or around 26%, appeared for it. Speaking to The Indian Express, JSSC Secretary Sudhir Gupta said that all examination-related information, including the city intimation slip, admit cards and relevant links, had been uploaded on the commission’s website before the examination, several candidates from Jharkhand and Bihar claimed that they either did not receive any email intimation regarding this or received the email only on or after the day of the examination.

📰 From the Front Page

Since Pahalgam: In the first militant attack in Kashmir since the killing of tourists in Pahalgam in 2025, head constable Ashiq Hussain Qureshi was shot dead in Anantnag on Wednesday. Qureshi, posted with the Indian Reserve Police and attached with the Special Operations Group, was on Amarnath Yatra duty. The Jammu and Kashmir Police detained hundreds of “suspects” and alleged overground workers as a “preventive and pro-active security measure”, and to identify networks aiding terrorist organisations. A search operation to trace the attackers has also been launched across the Valley, with police and paramilitary reinforcements sent to the Anantnag area.

An IndiGo cabin crew member boarded her office cab to reach the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Shamshabad, and start her shift. Instead of taking her to the airport, the 23-year-old cab driver, Errapogu Prashanth Kumar, allegedly took her to an isolated place and raped her. The Hyderabad Police have arrested the driver, with a local court remanding him to judicial custody. Expressing solidarity with the colleague, IndiGo said in a statement it was “aware of the matter and understands that it is currently under investigation by the relevant law enforcement agencies”.

📌 Must Read

Devastation: Throughout Sunday and Monday, the Upper Assam districts of Sivasagar, Charaideo, Jorhat and Golaghat grappled with unprecedented flooding – spreading to new areas of the region every day. The Brahmaputra’s tributaries running through these districts, such as the Dikhow, Disang and Janji, swelled up and inundated large swathes of the region. The situation has claimed 27 lives so far. According to estimates by the Assam State Disaster Management Authority, the number of people affected by the floods rose from 3.6 lakh on Monday to 5.6 lakh on Tuesday, signalling the rapid deterioration of the situation. “I have never in my life seen this kind of flooding here,” said 53-year-old Nasimuddin Ahmen, who works in a government office in the Sivanagar town, where water rose up to waist level.

Review: In an attempt to restore the confidence of seers from Ayodhya and elsewhere in the wake of the controversy over alleged theft of donations, the Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust on Wednesday constituted a nine-member Dharmik Committee of seers. The committee would be responsible for overseeing all religious affairs at the shrine. The Trust also announced it would review its tie-up with the State Bank of India which has been tasked with the counting of offerings. Additionally, the Trust appointed an official spokesperson to “strengthen communication with the media and the public.”

In our Opinion columns today, Shashi Tharoor calls the brutal police crackdown on the student protesters during the ‘Sansad Chalo March’ a “deeply troubling demonstration of democratic atrophy.” Calling the scenes inside the Parliament a “systemic failure of legislative duty,” Tharoor writes: “Accountability is essential for wrongdoing both here and in the conduct of examinations: The government must unconditionally engage with representatives of the protesting students rather than relying on police containment. And the Speaker and the Treasury benches must allow uninhibited discussion on the public’s grievances on the floor of the House. That is what Parliament is for, and it must reclaim its pride of place as the deliberative sanctuary of the republic.”

⏳ And Finally…

Road to World Cup: With the 2027 ODI World Cup over a year away, India face an uncomfortable question: how ready are they for a tournament they haven’t won since 2011? The recent series in England exposed a side of the Indian team that’s still short on balance, and further still from identifying the core group that it’d carry into South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia. While few players in the current set-up are certain of their spot or their role, a core danger is that a muddle like this rarely stays confined to the XI. While selectors have already told Rohit Sharma he isn’t part of their plans. Yet at Lord’s, he showed he still has performances left in him. Virat Kohli’s situation is murkier: his presence lifts the team, but he too remains unsure of his place in it. With two of the biggest names still uncertain, the unease at the top has set the tone for those below them.

🎧 Lastly, don’t forget to tune in to today’s episode of our 3 Things podcast, where we discuss the Centre’s plans to introduce the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971, in the Monsoon session of the Parliament; what government officials have to say on Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation; and more.

That’s all for today. Have a wonderful day!

Until next time,
Ariba

Business As Usual by E P Unny