Dear Express Explained Reader, The big political story of this week was the denouement of the long-running Congress soap opera in Punjab, which ended with the dramatic resignation of Capt Amarinder Singh and the installation in power of Charanjit Singh Channi, the first Dalit Chief Minister of the state. Channi’s elevation was described as a smart step by commentators in that it sent positive political signals to a very large and important group of voters months ahead of Assembly elections, while making it impossible for Jat Sikh claimants to the prize to articulate their disappointment publicly. As per the 2011 Census, Scheduled Castes are a massive 32 per cent of Punjab’s population, and every third individual in this group is a Dalit Sikh. Sanjay Kumar, co-director of Lokniti, a research programme at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies in Delhi, presented election data to show how Dalits have voted in the state over the years — an analysis that contains significant pointers to how the coming polls may turn out. Manraj Grewal Sharma, editor of our Chandigarh edition, wrote a series of very informative, snackable explainers as the drama unfolded — on Amarinder and the reasons why he had to go, on Sunil Jakhar, one of the central characters in the crisis who for a while looked set to inherit the raja’s throne, and on Channi, his political stomping ground Chamkaur Sahib, and how he emerged as the dark horse that outraced the rest of the field. The other story that was top of mind this week was the economy. Sandeep Singh and George Mathew unpacked the statement from the US Federal Reserve that it would maintain an ‘accommodative stance’ until targets for inflation and employment had been met, and explained what it meant for India, where the Sensex has just gone past the milestone of 60,000 points. Anil Sasi wrote about the crisis at the Chinese real estate giant Evergrande, which for a while figured prominently in discussions on the risks it posed in markets well beyond the shores of China. (Those concerns seem to have waned for now.) There are two other explainers that I would like to flag to you this week, both by Deeptiman Tiwary, who covers internal security for The Indian Express. First, the fascinating story of the so-called Havana Syndrome, a set of physical symptoms that can be both acute and chronic, that have been reported by US intelligence and diplomatic staff posted overseas including, this week, in India. Second, Deeptiman wrote, with Esha Roy, on the still-in-the-works Naga Peace Accord which, with the resignation of the once high-profile chief interlocutor R N Ravi, now looks more complicated than ever. What has been achieved so far, and where is the promise of a peace agreement headed? Stay safe and stay aware. Keep reading The Indian Express Explained. 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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