15 APRIL 2023

Topic 1: The Mahad Satyagraha 

Context: As a grateful nation celebrates the 132nd birth anniversary of the father of India’s Constitution, here is a recall of the Mahad Satyagraha, one of the earlier and among the most significant of milestones in a great life.

Context of the Satyagraha

• The events that led to the Mahad Satyagraha began to unfold in August 1923.
• The Bombay Legislative Council passed a resolution moved by the social reformer Rao Bahadur S K Bole.
  • It endorsed that the Untouchable classes be allowed to use all public water sources, wells and dharmashalas as well as public schools, courts, offices and dispensaries.

• Ambedkar at the time was helping Dalits fight against the social evil of untouchability through the Bahishkrit Hitkarini Sabha, the institution that he had founded in 1924.
• But it was failed to implement because of the protest from the savarna Hindus.

The Satyagraha

• Mahad Satyagraha or Chavdar Tale Satyagraha was led by B. R. Ambedkar on 20 March 1927 to allow untouchables to use water in a public tank in Mahad (currently in Raigad district), Maharashtra.
• The day is observed as Social Empowerment day in India.
• Mahad was selected for the event because it had a nucleus of support from ‘caste hindus’.
• On 25 December, Shastrabuddhe under the guidance of Ambedkar, burnt Manusmriti, a Hindu law book, as a protest.
• In December 1937, the Bombay High Court ruled that untouchables have the right to use water from the tank.
• On 19 March 1940, Dr. Ambedkar arranged a rally and public conference in Mahad to recollect 14th Mahad Satyagraha Day as “Empowerment Day“.
• This movement was although withdrawn but gave confidence to the untouchables to fight against social disability.

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Topic 2: Model schools in Gujarat

Context: Various associations of school management, teachers and principals have come together to oppose the scheme of four new types of schools under PPP mode.

Key details:

• These schools are:
  • Gyan Setu Day schools,
  • Gyan Shakti Residential Schools,
  • Gyan Shakti Tribal Residential Schools and
  • Raksha Shakti Residential Schools.
• These schools will start operating from the 2023-24 academic session, for Class 6 onwards.

Key features of the schools:

• These model schools will be run on the principle of janbhagidaari.
• While these schools will offer free of cost education to students, the state government will re-imburse Rs 20,000 to Rs 60,000 per student annual cost plus yearly hike of 7 per cent for recurring costs to private entities.
• The private bodies are allowed to use their existing infrastructure or set up additional as per the minimum criteria.

Concerns:

• Declining enrolment in govt schools:
  • The foremost issue has been the decline in enrollment in government and grant-in-aid schools.
  • This has led to teachers and principals being declared ‘surplus’ and relieved.
• Promotion of privatization:
  • The associations have alleged that the government wants to withdraw its support from district panchayat and corporation run schools and promote privatisation of education.
    • As an alternative, the associations have suggested that these ‘model’ schools be started within government schools where infrastructure is already available.

• Double expenditure:
  • The new schools are being called as a “double expenditure” for the state government as it is already giving grants to grant-in-aid schools.
  • The funding being given to the ‘model’ schools can instead be given to the government and grant-in-aid schools to improve the infrastructure and learning levels of students, the associations say.
• Entrance exam:
  • The entrance exam for admission to the ‘model’ schools is also said to be in violation of the Right to Education (RTE) Act.
  • While these schools are for bright students who will be selected through an entrance exam, weaker students will be left behind.

Way forward:

• Due to the result based grant policy of the state government the grant-in-aid schools are closing down slowly as the government is not appointing teachers regularly and thus results are declining leading to grant cuts faced by these schools.
• This majorly affects rural, poor and interior and needy students.
• Furthermore, pay protection for appointments after 2009 and non-implementation of dearness allowance announced by the central government in July 2022 and January 2023 are some of the leading causes of teacher dissatisfaction.
• These issues should be solved along with the implementation of the model schools through an overarching government policy.

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Topic 3: MAHARISHI Initiative

Context: G20 meeting in Varanasi to feature the MAHARISHI Initiative.

Key details:

• Theme of the meeting: Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems for Healthy People and Planet.
• In this theme, there are four priority areas:
  • Food Security and Nutrition – the role of frontiers in science and technology;
  • Building resilience and sustainable agriculture through approaches of climate resilient agriculture and One Health,
  • Digitalization for Agricultural Transformation, and
  • Public-Private Partnerships for Research and Development.
• About the initiative:
  • The meeting will feature the MAHARISHI Initiative i.e., Millets And Other Ancient Grains International Research Initiative.
  • This International Initiative will focus on Research and Awareness of agro-biodiversity, food security, and nutrition aligning with the International Year of Millets 2023.
  • In these areas, options will be explored of G20 countries coming together to help sharing science-based technological and innovative solutions.

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Topic 4: Bringing home Naga ancestral human remains from a UK museum

Context: The Naga community of Northeast India has initiated an overseas repatriation effort to bring their ancestral human remains home from a museum in Britain.

Key details:

• The step is in line with a larger effort by museums around the world to “decolonise” their collections.
• This is the first such effort to repatriate the ancestral human remains of an indigenous community in India, possibly South Asia.
• About the initiative:
  • In 2020, the Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford, England, announced that it would take its collection of human remains and other insensitive exhibits off display.
  • The museum has a rich collection of 500,000 items from almost all periods of human existence across the world.
  • The Forum for Naga Reconciliation (FNR) — a Nagaland-based collective which, since 2008, has been a key facilitator in the Naga peace process is the main mover of the initiative.

• The Naga objects in the Pitt Rivers Museum
  • The museum is home to the largest Naga collection in the world: approximately 6,500 objects, 898 of which are on display.
  • The collection includes objects of everyday Naga life including:
    • clothing items,
    • agricultural tools,
    • figures,
    • basketry,
    • ceramics,
    • musical instruments
    • human remains
  • Most of these objects were sourced by colonial administrators James Philip Mills and John Henry Hutton in the 1800s.
• Human remains:
  • The largest number of remains are attributed to the Konyak Naga, followed by Angami Naga and Sumi Naga.

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Topic 5: Jivhala loan scheme

Context: Jivhala loan scheme offers aid for life term inmates of Yerwada jail.

About the scheme:

• The credit scheme, called Jivhala means ‘affection’ in Marathi.
• It has been launched primarily for convicted inmates who are undergoing a prison sentence of more than three years.
• Need:
  • Majority of the inmates are sole breadwinners, and their incarceration has left their families without a source of income.
• How it will be issued?
  • While the loan will be disbursed in the name of the inmate, it will be issued to designated family members.
• How much loan will be provided?
  • In the initial phase, a loan of Rs 50,000 will be given at a 7 per cent interest rate.
  • Of the interest the bank earns, one per cent will be given back to the system as a contribution to the Prisoners’ Welfare Fund.
  • The loan will be provided without any requirement of mortgage or guarantor.

• Where the loan amount can be used?
  • Inmates will be able to use the loans for education of their children, medical treatment of family members, legal fees, or any other expenses.
  • Over 75 per cent of the applications were for agricultural purposes.
• How will the inmates repay the loans?
  • On entering the prison system, an inmate is categorised as skilled, semi-skilled or un-skilled and assigned work in various industrial and manufacturing units inside the prison.
  • For this work, they are paid anywhere between Rs 50 to 70 as daily wages.
  • The money, deposited in their accounts, can be used to buy essentials from the jail canteen and/or can be sent home.
  • The inmates get their earnings from the jail upon their release.
  • Once an inmate takes a loan, the Equated Monthly Installment calculated will be directly deducted from their prison accounts.
• Significance:
  • The scheme will soon be expanded to other prisons in the state, including central prisons, open prisons and district prisons.
  • Other than being a crucial financial aid to inmates’ families, the credit scheme will also help preserve delicate relations between inmates and their family members, and also be used to build a foundation for their life after their sentence is served.

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Topic 6: Bihu

Context: Prime Minister of India grooves to Bihu beats in Assam.

About Bihu:

• It is the state festival of Assam.
• The word Bihu is taken from the Sanskrit word Bishu meaning “to ask blessings and prosperity from the Gods” during harvesting season.
• According to the history of Assam, the first-ever Bihu dance was performed in 1694.
• Types of Bihu
  • Bohaag Baisakh (mid of April)
    • The Bohaag Bihu marks a new year at the beginning of seeding time. Also called Rongaali Bihu.
  • Maagh – in mid of January
    • The Magh Bihu marks the end of the harvesting period. Also known as Bhogaali Bihu, the festival of foods.
  • Kaati– Kartik (mid of October)
    • The Kaati Bihu marks the completion of sowing and transplanting of paddies. Also called Kongaali Bihu or the festival of the poor.

Bihu dance

• The Bihu dance is a folk dance from the Assam state performed on the Bihu festival.
• It began with the tribes of Moran, Sonowal, Deories, Borahis, Kacharis.
• Young women and men come together and dance to the music from the dhol, buffalo Horn-Pipes, Taal, Toka, Xutuli, Gogona, Baanhi and Flutes.
• The dancers are dressed in the traditional attires of Assam with the dhotis and gamochas for the men and the Mekhela Chador with blouses for the women.
• Global Significance:
  • It was a proud moment for the state when professional Bihu dancers performed at the London Olympics in 2012.

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Topic 7: NISAR satellite

Context: A forthcoming satellite, NISAR, jointly developed the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of the U.S. will map the most earthquake-prone regions in the Himalayas with unprecedented regularity.

Key details:

• What is it?
  • NASA and ISRO are jointly working on the all-weather, earth-observing mission.
  • It is called NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) satellite
    • ‘SAR’ is a type of remote-sensing technology that uses radars instead of optical sensors to create high-resolution images of the earth’s surface.
    • It can penetrate clouds and vegetation to generate accurate data.
• Cost:
  • The NISAR satellite, expected to cost approximately $900 million (with ISRO contributing about one-tenth).
• How will it work?
  • It will use two frequency bands:
    • L-band (1-2 GHz, commonly used for satellite communication and remote sensing) and
    • S-band (2-4 GHz, commonly used for satellite communication and weather monitoring).
  • NASA requires the L-band radar for its global science operations for at least three years.
  • Meanwhile, ISRO will utilise the S-band radar for a minimum of five years.
  • It will image the seismically active Himalayan region that will, every 12 days, create a deformation map.
  • It can be used to determine the how strain is building up in various parts of the Himalayas
• Applications:
  • Disaster mapping:
    • A collection of pre-disaster images will be used to better understand disasters and inform official policy on the best courses of action in future.
  • Satellite observations will also be uninterrupted by weather, thus providing quick and reliable information for rescue operations and loss estimates.
  • Changes in permafrost:
    • NISAR will be programmed to observe global changes in permafrost at regular intervals, updating scientists about its degradation, with implications for global water resources, aquatic ecosystems, coastal water levels, etc.
  • Forests:
    • NISAR will monitor global forest resources, their extent, and quality and provide information for their sustainable development and management.
  • Agriculture and food security:
    • SAR imaging of crop rotation, growth, and harvest can be used to streamline planned agricultural output and monitor the health of crops.
• Date of launch:
  • NISAR is expected to be launched in January 2024 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre into a near-polar orbit.
  • The satellite will operate for a minimum of three years.

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Topic 8: Mission Arikompan

Context: The Forest department continued with the preparations for darting a wild tusker locally known as Arikompan at Chinnakkanal in Idukki.

What is the mission?

• A wild elephant named of Arikompan has been causing chaos in Kerala.
• This elephant is known to raid rice shops and causing destruction in its path.
• Over the past few years, Arikompan has trampled many people to death and destroyed many houses and shops.
• There is a plan to capture Arikomban and train it to be a ‘kumki’, a captive elephant used for operations against rogue elephants.

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Topic 9: Indian knowledge System

Context: University and college students may soon be “encouraged” to study plastic surgery as described in the ancient Sanskrit text Sushruta-Samhita and Vedic astronomy.

Key details:

• The draft guidelines:
  • These proposals are part of the University Grants Commission (UGC)’s draft ‘Guidelines for Incorporating Indian Knowledge in Higher Education Curricula’.
  • It aims to help colleges and universities develop courses for introducing students to the Indian Knowledge System (IKS).
  • The draft guidelines have proposed that every student enrolled in a UG or PG programme should be encouraged to take credit courses in IKS amounting to at least five per cent of the total mandated credits, which a student is expected to earn to obtain a degree.
• When it was introduced:
  • As a concept, IKS was introduced through the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
• Definition:
  • The draft guidelines define IKS as systematized disciplines of knowledge developed to a high degree of sophistication in India from ancient times and all of the traditions and practises that the various communities of India — including tribal communities — have evolved, refined and preserved over generations.
• Significance:
  • Identity:
    • Knowing about IKS helps young Indians feel connected to their heritage.
    • This, in turn, helps strengthen our sense of identity.
  • Culture:
    • The prevailing knowledge and literary traditions play a significant role in shaping our culture.
    • If the underlying knowledge systems are abruptly withdrawn from society, the cultural practices will be rudely jolted.
  • Received Wisdom:
    • Ancient knowledge plays a valuable role in ‘received wisdom’.
    • This is the continuity of thoughts and ideas passed down by previous generations.
    • This knowledge encourages the creation of new ideas and innovation.
  • Economic value:
    • The current global economy puts greater emphasis on knowledge.
    • The economic value of knowledge is evident from the global intellectual property rights regulations and patent laws.
    • Therefore, the ancient knowledge system will be beneficial to India where we have a wealth of ancient scientific knowledge.
• Status of Incorporation of Ancient Texts in the Armed Forces
  • The Indian Army has been at the forefront in this regard and has been studying the relevance of ancient scriptures to modern warfare.
  • Indigenous strategic thoughts and art of war found in the Arthaśāstra, Mahabharata and other literature are not only organic to Indian psyche but are also relevant even in today’s context.
  • Relevance of Manusmriti which deals with statecraft, organisation and function of the army and description of forts; and firearms in the Shukraniti, authored by sage Shukracharya; and the Puranas like Agni Purana, Brahma Purana and Brahmanda Purana which deal with diplomacy and warfare are being discussed.
  • There has been a push towards “Indianisation” of the Indian military and at the Combined Commanders Conference held in Kevadia, Gujarat, in 2021, Prime Minister had stressed greater indigenisation in the national security apparatus, including in the doctrines and customs of the Armed Forces.
  • Consequently, Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff sponsored a study, “Attributes of Ancient Indian Culture and Warfare Techniques” and its incorporation in present-day strategic thinking and training.
  • The study focused on ancient Indian texts Arthaśāstra, Bhagavad Gita and Thirukkural, and it termed Kautilya’s Arthaśāstra a “treasure trove” for the Armed Forces.
  • More recently, the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) emphasised using the vast repository of ancient knowledge available, which could enhance current strategic thinking.

Conclusion

• To a large extent, India’s intellectual elite continues to promote pre-colonial India as being feudalistic, superstitious, irrational and lacking scientific temper.
• This notion has led to an entrenched prejudice against our indigenous knowledge systems in contemporary society.
• A major reason for this prevalent notion is India’s flawed education system, which has subverted the projection of ancient Indian knowledge and scientific achievements in its curricula.
• Thus, even when facts are presented, few in the west or amongst the elitist Indians, are willing to believe them, as stereotypes about India are deeply entrenched.