Dear Express Explained reader, At the United Nations Climate Summit, officially the 26th Conference of Parties or COP26, Prime Minister Narendra Modi committed India to a net-zero target of 2070, and brought forward to 2030 the deadlines for reducing emissions intensity (which is emissions per unit of GDP) and increasing the share of renewables in electricity generation. Amitabh Sinha who is in Glasgow to cover the summit, parsed the Prime Minister's announcements for doability, and concluded that given the road that India has already taken, none of its commitments to the world should be too difficult to keep. Do read all of Amitabh's news and explanatory reporting on COP, including how the organisers are coping with the extraordinary challenges that hosting the world in the time of the pandemic poses. Upon returning to India, Modi travelled almost immediately to Kedarnath, where he unveiled a giant statue depicting the Adi Shankaracharya, a remarkable figure who is believed to have lived some 1,200 years ago, and whose interpretation of the Advaita Vedanta constitutes one of the fundamental bases of the philosophy of ancient India. Amrith Lal, my colleague in the flagship Opinion section of The Express, wrote a wonderful piece on the life, work and legend of the sage-philosopher. The change of guard at the top of the Pakistani spy agency ISI provoked Nirupama Subramanian to write a short commentary this week on the complicated ways in which the military-intelligence complex works in that country, and the political signals that are emanating from the current situation involving Prime Minister Imran Khan and Army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa. Finally, I'd like to point you to two short but interesting explainers from the country's south and northeast. Arun Janardhanan wrote about the Tamil Nadu government's attempt to create a special quota for the most backward Vanniyar caste that was struck down by the High Court. Who are the Vanniyars, and why do both the major parties in the state feel it is important to cultivate them? And Tora Agarwala explained how a proposed new law could potentially upend the centuries-old way in which property has been passed down the generations in Meghalaya's matrilineal Khasi society. Stay safe and stay aware. The smog and pollution are back with a vengeance in North India, and we at The Express will be thinking about those of you who suffer the most in this terrible season. 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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