Dear Express Explained Reader, The biggest story of the week, one that is still ongoing, was the violent clash between Assam and Mizoram; the police of one state shooting at and killing counterparts in another state has been unheard of in recent memory. What led to this extraordinary situation? What lies at the heart of Assam’s tensions with Mizoram (and indeed with many of its other neighbours)? Debraj Deb wrote about the complex interplay of old, unresolved territorial claims and competing subnationalisms in a corner of India that does not often make big news in the so-called ‘mainland’. Caste and reservations were again in the news this week. (No surprise; as the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections approach, you should expect to read and hear more on this over the coming months.) Shyamlal Yadav wrote three very helpful pieces that summarise the background and context of the recent developments to bring you up to speed with what’s going on. Where is the long-pending caste census stuck, what kind of caste data do we have given the centrality of caste in India’s social, political, and economic life, why do politicians of all stripes demand it before every census and heartland election, and where do the major political parties officially stand on it? The other long-pending proposal is to revise the criteria of the ‘creamy layer’ in reservations for OBCs. How is the creamy layer defined, how and when has it been revised, and what is the current controversy about it? The Centre this week approved reservations for OBCs and EWS within the all-India quota for admission to state medical and dental colleges (through NEET, which is scheduled for next month). What is the ‘all-India quota’, what changes in the reservation policy, and why has this change been announced? On the Covid pandemic, Anuradha Mascarenhas reported this week on a very large study, possibly the largest in the world, on nearly 16 lakh personnel of the Indian armed forces to determine the effectiveness of the Covishield vaccine in preventing breakthrough infections and hospitalisations. The results are very encouraging, and underline strongly the benefits of vaccination and the imperative of as rapid and as comprehensive a coverage as is possible. Stay safe. And if you are yet to get your Covid-19 shot, please do not delay it any further. Sincerely, Monojit (monojit.majumdar@expressindia.com) If you received this newsletter as a forward, you can subscribe to it here | Do read our Explained articles here | .png)
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