McS/204/2020-22 rnI no. MAheng 2002/21899 www.IndIAneXpreSS.coM The Chutney Chronicles How a little chutney on the plate holds stories of region, season, thrift and memory MuMBaI, SePTeMBer 20, 2026 BOOkS With The Actor,, journalist and The Indian Express columnist Tavleen Singh turns to fiction to chart the journey of a nation lATe cITy 12 + 4 pAgeS ₹6.00 d A I l y F r o M : A h M e d A b A d , c h A n d I g A r h , d e l h I , J A I p u r , K o l K A T A , l u c K n o w , M u M b A I , n A g p u r , p A T n A , p u n e , v A d o d A r A LIndSEY O GRAHAm SAnCTIOnInG RUSSIA And IRAn ACT 2026 103 131 162 78 Of27lakhdeleted inBengalSIR adjudication,22 lakhhavefiled appeals:ECtoSC damini nath New Delhi, September 19 For The first time, the election Commission (eC) has informedtheSupremeCourtthat of the over 38 lakh appeals filed against inclusions and exclusions from the West Bengal electoral rolls during the adjudication process of the Special Intensive revision (SIr), over 22 lakh appeals were filed by voters who had been deleted. This means that about 82%ofthe27.16lakhvoterswho were deleted through an unprecedented adjudication process in the state have appealed against their exclusion. In a reply to an application filed by Trinamool Congress MP derek o’ Brien, the eC told the court on Friday that of the total38.31lakhappealsfiledbefore the appellate tribunals, 22.21 lakh were filed by deleted voters seeking inclusion, while »COnTInUEd On pAGE 2 Trump signs Russia sanction bill giving him power to levy 100% tariffs on India Not feasible to replace Russian oil given West Asia chokehold due to Iran war, India expected to push for waivers, say experts pratyush deep, Ravi dutta mishra & Sukalp Sharma New Delhi, September 19 USPreSIdenTdonaldTrump FridaysignedintolawtheLindsey o. Graham Sanctioning russiaandIranActof2026,giving himself the authority to impose tariffs of up to 100% on countries, including India and China, that continue buying russian oil and gas. The law “authorizes and expands statutory sanctions, tariffs, and prohibitions on russia and extends existing sanctions lIndia’soilimportsfromRussiathisyear month January February March April May June July August Oil imports from Total oil imports Share of Russia (mn Bpd) (mn Bpd) Russian oil (%) 1.21 5.19 23.3 1.08 5.25 20.6 2.08 4.44 46.8 1.72 4.56 37.7 2.08 4.92 42.3 2.71 5.06 53.6 2.82 5.04 56 2.08 4.62 45 on Iran,” the White house said in a statement. The Act is named to honour a veteran re- Source: Kpler publican Senator and a russia hawk who died in July. »COnTInUEd On pAGE 2 View in Delhi: Another tool of leverage, double standards on uranium pratyush deep & Ravi dutta mishra New Delhi, September 19 The neW US law that empowers President donald Trump to impose tariffs of up to 100% on buyers of russian oil and gas is being seen in new delhi asanotherinstrumentof leverage in Washington's arsenal even as the two countriesnegotiateatradedeal. The Lindsey o. Graham Sanctioning russia and Iran Act of 2026 puts major buyers of russian crude, including India and China, at risk. The timing is delicate. India-US bilateral trade agreement talks are in their final leg, the ongoing war has severely disrupted energy markets, and Chinese President Xi Jinping’sfirstWhitehousevisit E. »COnTInUEd On pAGE 2 EXPRESS investigation Part II Day after IIT-B student What BJP and Congress ignored in dies by suicide, parents allege caste bias; FIR filed Karnataka: ‘Bribes, withholding marks, leaking papers’ for government jobs pallavi Smart, purnima Sah & Apoorva Agashe Jay mazoomdaar Mumbai, September 19 A dAy after Sahil Wakode (20), a Second year reserved category student at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)Bombay, died by suicide, his parents have alleged that he was subjected to caste-based »COnTInUEd On pAGE 2 Bengaluru, September 19 Sahil Wakode was a Second Year student relaTed rePorT, P 3 MArkS WIThheLd and top scorers targeted for bribes; interview panels manipulated; tabulation records altered; answer sheets tampered with; and question papers leaked to select candidates. These were some of the al- The Express report dated Sept 19 on irregularities in KPSC under Shivashankarappa Sahukar leged irregularities flagged by job aspirants and, most significantly, officials within the karnatakaPublicServiceCommission (kPSC) in internal notes and complaints alleging serious manipulation in the recruitment process going back at least five years. These warnings were buried, first under a »COnTInUEd On pAGE 2 After troubled build-up, Japan welcomes Asia with tradition and tech EXPRESS AT AsiAn GAmes mihir Vasavda Nagoya, September 19 The nAGoyA Castle began to float. Slowly at first, the goldenroofed castle emerged above the stage, suspended in midair. Then nakamura kankuro, a Japanese actor, appeared alongside it, before the music exploded and he launched into renjishi, the traditional Manu Bhaker, Pawan Sehrawat lead the India contingent in Nagoya, Saturday. pTI kabuki dance. For a city that has spent »COnTInUEd On pAGE 2