Daily Briefing: A town at the epicenter of Manipur violence, KK Shailaja at Idea Exchange, and more

🔴 Meanwhile, the Manipur government appointed Vineet Joshi, a 1992-batch state cadre IAS officer, as the new Chief Secretary of the violence-hit state. This happened a day after the Appointments Committee of the Union Cabinet approved the Manipur government’s request to repatriate him to his parent cadre.

Only In Express

In the latest edition of Idea Exchange, Kerala’s former health minister KK Shailaja talks about how she handled two major virus outbreaks — the Nipah virus in 2018 and the subsequent Covid-19 pandemic that destabilised the world.

From the Front Page

Stepping up his attack on the Congress during the last leg of campaigning for the Karnataka Assembly elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi accused the Gandhi family of calling for the secession of the state from India, and “taking the lead in working against the interests” of the country. 

An Indian shipping company, Gatik Ship Management, with an ageing fleet of oil tankers has suddenly emerged as a centerpiece in Russia’s oil trade with India and other countries, in just over a year since Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Read more about the obscure firm here

National Security Advisor Ajit Doval met his counterparts from the US, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates on Sunday. On the agenda were discussions on an ambitious proposal being pushed by the White House to link West Asian countries through rail — using Indian expertise — and connect the region to South Asia via sea lanes.

Must Read

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot Sunday claimed that former CM Vasundhara Raje had helped save his government in 2020 by opposing the BJP’s attempts to bribe MLAs. Hours later, Raje dismissed the chief minister’s statement as a lie and conspiracy against her.

The year 2023 is truly India’s multilateral moment. India is host to the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit, and is also host to the subsequent G20 summit, No host country of previous SCO and G-20 summits has convened as many meetings as India has, and whatever be the motivation, it cannot be denied that India playing host to these conventions has boosted its regional and international profile, expanded its diplomatic space, and created opportunities to advance its interests in a congested and contested geopolitical space. But there are risks. An inordinate focus on the optics and preoccupation with event management may well impinge on India’s capacity to manage both substance and spectacle. 

A warrior sect known to be aggressive in its defence of faith, Nihangs are prescribed a disciplined way of life (rehat), resulting in many of them leading traditional, austere lives. And yet, a growing number of them are finding their own ways to express themselves — on social media and in their professional lives — while staying true to their faith.

And Finally…

The most celebrated event in Naples is the Blood Miracle that happens thrice a year. Thousands gather outside the stately-white Cattedrale di San Gennaro to witness the liquefaction of two small vials of dried blood of the much-revered saint San Gennaro. The superstitious locals believe that if the blood doesn’t liquify, a tragedy would strike, as it did in 1980 when an earthquake devastated Naples. It supposedly did not in 1991 as well, when Diego Maradona was forced to leave the club after testing positive for drugs.

Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav was in Berlin for the two-day Petersberg Climate Dialogue last week. After attending back-to-back meetings and presenting India’s case on a number of issues related to climate change, Yadav managed to spare some time to explore Berlin’s historical sites. The minister visited three museums, including the Wall Museum, and the holocaust memorial. Don’t miss today’s Delhi Confidential for more!

In the latest edition of the 3 things podcast, we discuss Operation Kaveri and how India managed to evacuate more than 3000 people from conflict-ridden Sudan,  how much money has been transferred through electoral bonds since they came into effect in 2018, and the caste-based survey in Bihar.

Until next time, 

Ayesha Jain and Arushi Bhaskar