Daily Briefing: India wins title but left without cup

Rollercoaster: By contrast, the finale was cleaner, but no less dramatic. India needed 10 off seven balls when Shivam Dube departed after a spirited partnership with the blazing Tilak Verma. Then came Rinku Singh to face his first and only ball of the tournament. With a crisp four, he sealed the deal. India won its ninth Asia Cup title. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, harking back to Operation Sindoor — India’s military retaliation against Pakistan-based terrorists in the aftermath of the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack — said that even on the game’s field, the “outcome is the same: India won”.

A twist: Then came the post-script. The Indian team refused to accept the trophy from Asian Cricket Council chairman Mohsin Naqvi, who is also Pakistan’s Interior Minister, and whose recent social media barbs had already raised temperatures. Naqvi refused to relent, and in a bizarre turn of events, the players celebrated without the cup. BCCI has claimed that Naqvi walked away with the trophy and the individual medals. The board has demanded the silverware’s return, vowing to protest his actions at the ICC conference in November.

On that note, let’s get to the rest of today’s edition. 👇

🚨 Big Story

On September 27, tragedy struck Tamil Nadu’s Karur, as a stampede at Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK) founder Vijay’s rally left 40 people dead and several injured. Film star-turned-politician Vijay and TVK have remained absent from ground zero, though other parties have joined relief efforts, fueling anger in the historic town. The DMK-led Tamil Nadu government, meanwhile, is taking extreme caution in its next steps.

How it unfolded: Sources state that Vijay’s Namakkal rally ended at 3.30 pm, and hundreds of followers started chasing the convoy to the next venue. A window of the campaign vehicle was kept shut, which likely caused more people to follow the superstar to catch a glimpse of his face. In Karur, a dozen people sat on a tree branch, which collapsed on the crowd below, worsening the situation. People climbed atop each other, screaming for help, and many suffocated.

Added factors: Congress MP Jothimani, in an interview with The Indian Express, listed several factors that magnified the tragedy. On Saturdays, Karur usually sees movement of goods. It was also payday, which means more people were out on the street. “Karur is not big enough to handle large gatherings,” Jothimani asserts.

Also read: What leads to stampedes, why India sees so many of them

What next: Will Vijay be arrested? Many have sought an answer to this question, though the DMK has been measured in its response. The FIR in the matter has named second- and third-tier TVK functionaries, and not Vijay himself. As my colleague Arun Janardhanan reports, the restraint is rooted in political calculations, as immediate action against the film star may spark a wave of sympathy for Vijay and fuel the narrative that the DMK is targeting a political rival. The government will await the findings of the Aruna Jagadeesan commission, which is investigating the matter, before determining its next steps.

🎧 We have more on the Karur stampede in today’s ‘3 Things’ podcast episode.

⚡Only in Express

Days after a protest demanding statehood for Ladakh turned violent, Dorje Lakruk, chief of Ladakh Buddhist Association (LBA) and co-chairman of Leh Apex Body, joined us for an interview. He answers some burning questions:

• Why did the protest turn violent? Who was responsible?
• You always wanted a UT. Why protest now?

Read the full interview here.

Ladakh’s modern political history is deeply intertwined with the LBA, which had long supported the idea of a Union Territory (UT) status for the region. So what gave rise to the statehood demand? Basharat Masood reports.

📰 From the Front Page

No go: The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has opposed an application by Ketan Parekh, the former stock market operator behind the 2000-2001 securities scam, to travel to multiple countries for four months. The regulator has cited his “history of misusing” foreign travel permissions to engage in fraudulent trades through WhatsApp groups.

Pollution check: India’s key vehicle emissions rules, called the corporate average fuel efficiency (CAFE) norms, are due for a complete overhaul in their third iteration. The new rules may address a long-standing demand from carmakers to relax emission norms for smaller cars and give credits to electric vehicle sellers.

📌 Must Read

Is the Election Commission facing a trust deficit? Have the Opposition’s allegations dented the poll body’s credibility? Former Chief Election Commissioner SY Quraishi, one of India’s most authoritative voices on democracy and electoral processes, joined us for the latest Idea Exchange session to discuss some of these burning questions.

⏳ And Finally…

In 2023, the Internet ‘shipped’ Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Giorgia Meloni (Italy). Their camaraderie was captured in the hashtag ‘Melodi’. The leaders leaned into the intrigue surrounding their ties, posing for selfies and doling out praise for each other. Now, Meloni’s autobiography is set for its Indian release with a foreword from PM Modi. Here’s what he wrote.

That’s all for today, folks! Until tomorrow,
Sonal Gupta

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