The Vice President has released the Arabic Version of “Majma Ul-Bahrain” of Mughal Prince Dara Shikoh.
The course of the history of the Indian subcontinent, had Dara Shikoh prevailed over Aurangzeb, has been a matter of some conjecture among historians. Critically analyse.
Who was Dara Shikoh?
Dara Shikoh, who was Mughal emperor Shah Jahan’s son and expected heir, was killed on the orders of his brother Aurangzeb in 1659 after losing the war of succession.
He was the eldest son and heir-apparent of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan.
Dara was designated with the title Padshahzada-i-Buzurg Martaba (Prince of High Rank) and was favored as a successor by his father and his older sister, Princess Jahanara Begum.
In the war of succession which ensued after Shah Jahan’s illness in 1657, Dara was defeated by his younger brother Prince Muhiuddin (Aurangzeb).
He was executed in 1659 on Aurangzeb’s orders in a bitter struggle for the imperial throne.
His legacy
Dara was a liberal-minded unorthodox Muslim as opposed to the orthodox Aurangzeb.
He authored the work Majma Ul-Bahrain (The Confluence of the Two Seas), which argues for the harmony of Sufi philosophy in Islam and Vedanta philosophy in Hinduism.
It was Dara Shikoh who was responsible for making the Upanishads available to the West as he had them translated.
He had commissioned a translation of Yoga Vasistha.
A great patron of the arts, he was also more inclined towards philosophy and mysticism rather than military pursuits.
He translated the Upanishads and other important works from Sanskrit to Persian. He was convinced that the Upanishads are what the Qur’an calls ‘Al-Kitab Al-Maknoun’ (The Hidden book).
Try this PYQ:
Q.Who among the following Mughal Emperors shifted emphasis from illustrated manuscripts to album and individual portrait?
(a) Humayun
(b) Akbar
(c) Jahangir
(d) Shah Jahan
[wpdiscuz-feedback id=”jb3lwwrul0″ question=”Please leave a feedback on this” opened=”1″]Post your answers here.[/wpdiscuz-feedback]
Indian Railways had successfully completed trials of the second generation Vande Bharat train that will come with enhanced passenger comfort and safety features.
What is Vande Bharat Express?
The Vande Bharat Express is a semi-high-speed train designed, developed, and built by the Integral Coach Factory (ICF).
Presently there are only two Vande Bharat trains that are running — Delhi to Varanasi and Delhi to Katra.
Key Features
The current Vande Bharat trains have seating only in two classes — chair car and executive chair car. But Railways is planning to upgrade it.
The trains have fully sealed gangways for a dust-free environment, modular bio-vacuum toilets, rotating seats in Executive Class, personalized reading lights, automatic entry/exit doors with sliding footsteps, diffused LED lighting, mini pantry, and sensor-based interconnecting doors in each coach.
They are self-propelled trains that do not require an engine. This feature is called a distributed traction power system.
Benefits of Vande Bharat Trains
Cuts Travel Time Drastically
Energy Efficient
Reduce Turnaround Time
Faster Acceleration and Deceleration among others.
Warangal, Nilambur, and Thrissur have joined the UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities (GNLC).
What does UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities mean?
An international policy-oriented network, the UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities is a network of inspiration, know-how and best practices.
It is coordinated by the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL).
The Network has member cities that it supports in aspects like promoting policy dialogue and peer learning, documenting effective strategies and best practices; building partnerships; capacity development; and more.
What is a learning city?
According to UNESCO, a learning city is one that
effectively mobilizes its resources in every sector to promote inclusive learning from basic to higher education
revitalizes learning in families and communities
facilitates learning for and in the workplace
extends the use of modern learning technologies
enhances quality and excellence in learning
fosters a culture of learning throughout life
In doing so, the city enhances individual empowerment and social inclusion, economic development and cultural prosperity, and sustainable development
Inclusion of Indian cities
The Indian cities, Nilambur and Thrissur in Kerala, and Warangal in Telangana became the nation’s first entrants in the UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities.
As per UNESCO, 77 cities from 44 countries across the globe have joined the UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities.
The group of global cities also includes cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Hamburg, Athens, Incheon, Bristol, and Dublin.
The inclusion will foster sharing of ideas with other cities, provide already applied solutions to issues and much more.
About the cities
(1) Thrissur – the cultural capital of Kerala
Popularly known as the cultural capital of Kerala, Thrissur is home to academic and research institutions.
It is also known for its jewellery industry, especially gold.
As a member of the UNESCOI GNLC, Thrissur hopes to contribute to the intellectual and peer learning processes, focusing on equitable access to learning for all, digital learning ecosystems and skills for sustainability.
Thrissur ticked UNESCO’s check boxes in aspects of good practices, equity and inclusion among other factors.
For e.g., the presence of a MSME-Development Institute of India regional centre in Thrissur offers institutional support in promoting decent work and entrepreneurship through upskilling.
(2) Nilambur, Kerala’s eco-tourism destination
Nilambur is an eco-tourism destination in the Kerala.
It is a city with various socio-economic patterns marked by an urban and rural mix.
The majority of the population depends on agriculture and allied industries.
The city offers free healthcare facilities to all citizens and utilizes health volunteers to provide door-to-door treatment for bedded patients.
It also promotes first-aid training for students and young citizens.
Nilambur aims to promote sustainable development, gender equality, inclusivity and democracy through community ownership.
Nilambur also aspires to become a women-friendly city by ensuring equal opportunities in all sectors, promoting capacity-building and reducing harassment.
As a learning city, Nilambur aims to work to innovate in agriculture and handicrafts, promote eco-tourism and improve water management.
(3) Warangal, the tourism spot
Warangal has a rich cultural heritage. The city is a major tourism venue, welcoming 3.2 million tourists every year.
Warangal’s economy is primarily composed of agricultural, industrial and service sectors.
The city promotes equity and inclusion, for which it has implemented several strategies, including Women and Child Welfare policy, Urban Policy etc.
Further, it also provides free training to the transgender community which helps in employment opportunities.
People’s participation in the ‘TB-Mukt India’ campaign can help eliminate the disease by 2025.
What is TB?
A potentially serious infectious bacterial disease that mainly affects the lungs.
How TB is caused?
Tuberculosis (TB) is caused by a type of bacterium called Mycobacterium tuberculosis. It’s spread when a person with active TB disease in their lungs coughs or sneezes and someone else inhales the expelled droplets, which contain TB bacteria.
What does TB do to humans?
It mainly affects the lungs, but it can affect any part of the body, including the tummy (abdomen), glands, bones and nervous system.
How long has the TB infected us?
TB is as old as humanity itself, infecting us for at least 5,000 years. The infecting agent, a bacterium, was identified way back in 1882, by Robert Koch, signalling one of the landmark discoveries which laid the foundation of modern medicine
Is TB painful?
If TB affects your joints, you may develop pain that feels like arthritis. If TB affects your bladder, it may hurt to go to the bathroom and there may be blood in your urine. TB of the spine can cause back pain and leg paralysis. TB of the brain can cause headaches and nausea.
Can we get TB if vaccinated?
BCG is a vaccine for TB. This vaccine is not widely used in the United States, but it is often given to infants and small children in other countries where TB is common. The BCG vaccine is not very good at protecting adults against TB. We can still get TB infection or TB disease even if you were vaccinated with BCG.
When do TB symptoms start?
TB disease usually develops slowly, and it may take several weeks before you notice you’re unwell. Your symptoms might not begin until months or even years after you were initially infected. Sometimes the infection does not cause any symptoms. This is known as latent TB.
Is TB curable permanently?
TB can usually be completely cured by the person with TB taking a combination of TB drugs. The only time that TB may not be curable is when the person has drug resistant TB.
Drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) is a form of antimicrobial resistance that is difficult and costly to treat. It is caused by TB bacteria that are resistant to at least one of the first-line existing TB medications, resulting in fewer treatment options and increasing mortality rates.
Risk factors for TB include
Poverty
HIV infection.
Being in jail or prison (where close contact can spread infection)
Substance abuse.
Taking medication that weakens the immune system.
Kidney disease and diabetes.
TB statistic for mains
We are home to 1 in 4 of the world’s TB patients.
Over 2.5 million Indians are infected.
Government initiatives
Nikshay Poshan Yojana: in which TB patients receive Rs 500 every month while on treatment was launched. Nikshay Poshan Yojana ensure that the patients have economic support and nutrition during the required period.
TB Harega Desh Jeetega Campaign: was launched to accelerate the efforts to end TB by 2025. The campaign aims to initiate preventive and promotive health approaches.
Community-led approach: By applying “multi-sectoral and community-led” approach, the government is building a national movement to end TB by 2025.
Ni-kshay Mitra: Any individual or organisation can register as Ni-kshay Mitra on the Ni-kshay 2.0 portal to support people affected by the disease. The initiative intends to provide essential nutritional and social support to people with TB and root out stigma and discrimination against them.
Some positive suggestions to eliminate TB
Sincere efforts need to be made to make our health systems more accessible and reliable.
It also required to ensure that those seeking care trust the healthcare system and get the appropriate care for completing treatment.
There is a need to create more labs, point of care tests, an assured drug pipeline, access to new drugs.
The government should also ensure counselling and support for those affected.
Every patient who is diagnosed late and does not receive timely treatment continues to infect others.
To break this cycle, government machinery at the field level should work with communities and provide free diagnosis and treatment to every affected individual.
Conclusion
We have ignored TB for too long. It’s time we acknowledge the magnitude of the disease, and work harder at offering individuals equitable healthcare access and resources that the disease warrants.
Mains question
Q. Do you think we can eliminate TB by 2025? Discuss the roadmap and give some affirmative actions to be taken by government.
A horrific car accident killed Cyrus Mistry and Jehangir Pandole. This tragedy got plenty of people thinking about road safety measures. Sadly, neither Mistry nor Pandole was wearing their rear-seat safety belts this highlights importance of following road safety norms.
What’s the meaning of road safety?
Road safety means methods and measures aimed at reducing the likelihood or the risk of persons using the road network getting involved in a collision or an incident that may cause property damages, serious injuries and/or death.
What is road safety education?
The aim of education, training and encouragement in Road Safety is to educate all road users in the proper and safe use of roads in order to change user attitudes and behaviour and to stimulate an awareness of the need for improvement in road safety.
What affects road safety?
Several factors most notably speed, traffic density, flow, congestion, demographics (namely age gender and deprivation), driving behaviour (involving alcohol consumption, helmet or seat belt usage) and land use, such as residential or economic zones, were found to have mixed effects on road safety.
What are examples of road safety?
Pedestrian crossing warning;
Left turn driver assistance; and
Approaching emergency vehicle warning.
Road Accidents in India A lookover
In spite of several years of policymaking to improve road safety, India remains among the worst-performing countries in this area.
Total 1,47,913 lives lost to road traffic accidents in 2017 as per Ministry of Road Transport and Highways statistics.
The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) figure for the same year is 1,50,093 road accident deaths.
Do you know?
The ‘golden hour’ has been defined as ‘the time period lasting one hour following a traumatic injury during which there is the highest likelihood of preventing death by providing prompt medical care.
Causes of Road Accidents in India
Sub-standard roads: The life of roads is not good due to the substandard raw materials and potholes accidents caused.
Traffic: The increasing traffic on roads and conditions of roads are not proportionate to each other.
Use of mobile phone: Most of the people are on call while driving thus they drive recklessly and accidents happen as most of the Indians now have mobile phones.
Drunk Driving: Drinking makes people lose the ability to focus and function properly. This makes it dangerous for the driver to operate the vehicle.
Dis-obedience for traffic rules: Indian drivers are quick to learn to drive but they don’t learn traffic rules and the purpose of such rules.
Malpractices: Malpractices such as over-speeding, triple riding, underage driving, etc are reducing the safety of road users.
Implementation drawbacks: Police are supposed to execute the rules but, it may be a lack of workforce or lack of intention, they also fail to execute.
Corrupt practices: Mostly police use the rules to mint money either officially by Chalan or in person.
Key data for value addition
Despite being home to only 1% of the world’s vehicles, India shoulders 11% of the global road crash fatality burden.
Road Safety: In the area of road safety, the Act proposes to increase penalties to act as deterrent against traffic violations. Stricter provisions are being proposed in respect of offences like juvenile driving, drunken driving, driving without licence, dangerous driving, over-speeding, overloading etc. Stricter provisions for helmets have been introduced along with provisions for electronic detection of violations.
Vehicle Fitness: Automated fitness testing for vehicles has been made mandatory. This would reduce corruption in the transport department while improving the road worthiness of the vehicle. Penalty has been provided for deliberate violation of safety/environmental regulations as well as for body builders and spare part suppliers.
Recall of Vehicles: The Act allows the central government to order for recall of motor vehicles if a defect in the vehicle may cause damage to the environment, or the driver, or other road users.
Road Safety Board: A National Road Safety Board, to be created by the central government through a notification to advise the central and state governments on all aspects of road safety and traffic management. This would include standards of motor vehicles, registration and licensing of vehicles, standards for road safety, and promotion of new vehicle technology.
Protection of Good Samaritan: The Act lays down the guidelines and provides rules to prevent harassment of Good Samaritan to encourage people to help road accident victims.
Cashless Treatment during Golden Hour: The Act provides for a scheme for cashless treatment of road accident victims during golden hour.
Value addition for good marks
The 4 ‘E’ Approach
The Government of India put forth Engineering, Economy, Enforcement and Education as the fundamental areas to focus on in order to ensure road safety.
Way forward
Road safety education from the primary level: Those already using our roads and driving or riding on it could have formed bad habits that are difficult to change or undo. So it’s important that we catch them young and start educating children on road safety and correct behaviour on the road.
Better first aid and paramedic care: In most cases, the public and police are the first ones to reach the site of an accident. But sadly, neither has any first aid training and the police don’t even have even simple things like a first aid box or stretcher. This initial trauma care has to improve.
Stricter criteria for driving licenses: Fortunately, the government has recognized the need for this, and getting a driving license is no longer as easy as before. Lots of the process has been digitalized and made more stringent. But it’s still far from perfect and lots more needs to be done
Better road design, maintenance, and signage: Many of our roads are poorly designed with badly placed junctions, acute corners, uneven gradients, sudden speed-breakers, etc. And this is made worse by poor road maintenance and many accidents occur because a driver suddenly swerves to avoid a pothole.
Heavy crackdown against non-compliance: This is one of the leading causes of road accidents in India and while we do have strict laws, the enforcement, particularly on our highways is quite lax. Consumption of drugs by truck drivers while driving is rampant, and this needs to stop completely.
Stricter enforcement of traffic rules: The Amended Motor Vehicles Act has higher penalties and punishment to deter people from committing traffic offenses and driving rashly. It’s high time we enforced our traffic rules and imposed discipline while driving and using the road.
Encouraging better road behaviour: The people should motivate themselves to behave in a better manner on the road. The campaigns such as “Be the Better Guy”, need to be applauded, encouraged and expanded.
Mains question
Q. In spite of several years of policymaking to improve road safety, India remains among the worst-performing countries in this area. Critically analyse.
India and China have announced that their Armies have begun to disengage from Patrolling Point-15 in the Gogra-Hot springs area at LAC.
What is LAC- the Line of Actual Control?
The LAC is the demarcation that separates Indian-controlled territory from Chinese-controlled territory.
India considers the LAC to be 3,488 km long, while the Chinese consider it to be only around 2,000 km.
It is divided into three sectors: the eastern sector which spans Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim, the middle sector in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, and the western sector in Ladakh.
The LAC is only a concept – it is not agreed upon by the two countries, neither delineated on a map nor demarcated on the ground.
What is the disagreement?
The alignment of the LAC in the eastern sector is along the 1914 McMahon Line, and there are minor disputes about the positions on the ground as per the principle of the high Himalayan watershed.
The major disagreements are in the western sector where the LAC emerged from two letters written by Chinese Prime Minister Zhou Enlai to PM Jawaharlal Nehru in 1959, after he had first mentioned such a ‘line’ in 1956.
When did India accept the LAC?
The LAC was discussed during Chinese Premier Li Peng’s 1991 visit to India, where PM P V Narasimha Rao and Li reached an understanding to maintain peace and tranquillity at the LAC.
India formally accepted the concept of the LAC when Rao paid a return visit to Beijing in 1993 and the two sides signed the Agreement to Maintain Peace and Tranquillity at the LAC.
The reference to the LAC was unqualified to make it clear that it was not referring to the LAC of 1959 or 1962 but to the ‘LAC’ at the time when the agreement was signed.
To reconcile the differences about some areas, the two countries agreed that the Joint Working Group on the border issue would take up the task of clarifying the alignment of the LAC.
How was the disengagement carried on?
As per the understanding reached earlier on disengagement, a buffer zone is to be created at the friction points.
Once troops are withdrawn by both sides, new patrolling norms are to be worked out after complete disengagement and de-escalation.
However, neither side has, so far, confirmed if the two leaders would hold bilateral talks on the sidelines of the summit.
The leaders have not spoken to each other since a November 2019 meeting during the BRICS Summit in Brasilia and the beginning of the stand-off in April 2020.
Significance of the disengagement
Since the stand-off began in May 2020, the two sides have so far held 16 rounds of talks.
Earlier, disengagement was undertaken from both sides of Pangong Tso in February 2021, and from PP-17 in the Gogra-Hot springs area in August, in addition to Galwan in 2020 after the violent clash.
The friction points that remain now are Demchok and Depsang, which China has constantly refused to accept, maintaining that they are not a part of the current stand-off.
What was the dispute over LAC?
In what was the worst clash between the two countries in over 40 years, the Galwan incident reverberated around the world.
The casualties in the clash were the first in the disputed Sino-Indian border since 1975.
The Galwan episode led to a rapid build-up of forces on both sides of the Line of Actual Control.
This incident is being seen as major punctuation in the bilateral relations between India and China and what does the future hold for both neighbors.
Why did India change its stance on the Line of Actual Control?
Indian and Chinese patrols were coming in more frequent contact during the mid-1980s.
This was after the government formed a China Study Group in 1976 which revised the patrolling limits, rules of engagement and pattern of Indian presence along the border.
Is the LAC also the claim line for both countries?
Not for India. India’s claim line is the line seen in the official boundary marked on the maps as released by the Survey of India, including both Aksai Chin and Gilgit-Baltistan.
In China’s case, it corresponds mostly to its claim line, but in the eastern sector, it claims entire Arunachal Pradesh as South Tibet.
However, the claim lines come into question when a discussion on the final international boundaries takes place, and not when the conversation is about a working border, say the LAC.
Why are these claim lines controversial in Ladakh?
When the Shimla Agreement on the McMahon Line was signed by British India, Aksai Chin in Ladakh province of the princely state of J&K was not part of British India, although it was a part of the British Empire.
Thus, the eastern boundary was well defined in 1914 but in the west in Ladakh, it was not.
India, in July 1948, had two maps: one had no boundary shown in the western sector, only a partial colour wash; the second one extended the colour wash in yellow to the entire state of J&K, but mentioned “boundary undefined”.
Way forward
The impasse in India-China relations CANNOT be overcome by more talks through diplomatic and military channels, and possibly require the intervention of the top leadership of both countries.
Therefore, as Dr. Jaishankar put it, the management of the fissures within Asia will require adherence to established laws, norms, and rules.
India ranks 132 out of 191 countries in the Human Development Index (HDI) 2021, after registering a decline in its score over two consecutive years for the first time in three decades.
What is Human Development Index (HDI)?
The HDI combines indicators of life expectancy, education or access to knowledge and income or standard of living, and captures the level and changes to the quality of life.
The index initially launched as an alternative measure to the gross domestic product, is the making of two acclaimed economists from Pakistan and India, namely Mahbub ul Haq and Amartya Sen.
It stresses the centrality of human development in the growth process and was first rolled out by the United Nations Development Programme in 1990.
Dimensions of the Human Development Index – HDI
The idea that progress should be conceived as a process of enlarging people’s choices and enhancing their capabilities is the central premise of the HDI.
Since its launch, the HDI has been an important marker of attempts to broaden measures of progress.
The HDI considers three main dimensions to evaluate the development of a country:
Long and healthy life
Education
Standard of living
Limitations of HDI
HDR has been always disputable and has caught the public-eye, whenever it was published. It has many reasons.
One of them is that the concept of human development is much deeper and richer than what can be caught in any index or set of indicators. Another argument is that its concept has not changed since 1990 when it was also defined in the first.
(1) An incomplete indicator
Human development is incomplete without human freedom and that while the need for qualities judgement is clear; there is no simple quantitative measure available yet to capture the many aspects of human freedom.
HDI also does not specifically reflect quality of life factors, such as empowerment movements or overall feelings of security or happiness.
(2) Limited idea of development
The HDI is not reflecting the human development idea accurately.
It is an index restricted to the socio-economic sphere of life; the political and civil spheres are in the most part kept separate.
Hence there is a sub-estimation of inequality among countries, which means that this dimension is not being taken into consideration appropriately.
(3) A vague concept
Concerning data quality and the exact construction of the index HDI is conceptually weak and empirically unsound.
This strong critic comes from the idea that both components of HDI are problematic. The GNP in developing countries suffers from incomplete coverage, measurement errors and biases.
The definition and measurement of literacy are different among countries and also, this data has not been available since 1970 in a significant number of countries.
(4) Data quality issues
The HDI, as a combination of only four relatively simple indicators, doesn’t only raise a questions what other indicators should be included, but also how to ensure quality and comparable input data.
It is logical that the UNDP try to collect their data from international organizations concentrating in collecting data in specific fields.
Quality and trustworthiness of those data is disputable, especially when we get the information from UN non-democratic members, as for example Cuba or China.
(5) A tool for mere comparison
The concept of HDI was set up mainly for relative comparison of countries in one particular time.
HDI is much better when distinguishing between countries with low and middle human development, instead of countries at the top of the ranking.
Therefore, the original notion was not to set up an absolute ranking, but let’s quite free hands in comparison of the results.
(6) Development has to be greener
The human development approach has not adequately incorporated environmental conditions which may threaten long-term achievements on human development. The most pervasive failure was on environmental sustainability.
However, for the first time in 2020, the UNDP introduced a new metric to reflect the impact caused by each country’s per-capita carbon emissions and its material footprint.
This is Planetary Pressures-adjusted HDI or PHDI. It measured the amount of fossil fuels, metals and other resources used to make the goods and services it consumes.
(7) Wealth can never equate welfare
Higher national wealth does not indicate welfare. GNI may not necessarily increase economic welfare; it depends on how it is spent.
For example, if a country spends more on military spending – this is reflected in higher GNI, but welfare could actually be lower.
Significance of HDI
It is one of the few multidimensional indices as it includes indicators such as literacy rate, enrollment ratio, life expectancy rate, infant mortality rate, etc.
It acts as a true yardstick to measure development in real sense.
Unlike per capital income, which only indicates that a rise in per capital income implies economic development; HDI considers many other vital social indicators and helps in measuring a nation’s well-being.
It helps as a differentiating factor to distinguish and classify different nations on the basis of their HDI ranks.
Way forward
Both sustainable development and poverty eradication are both long-term and urgent endeavours, requiring not only the gradual and substantial redirection of country policies but a rapid response to pressing problems.
Ideally, sustainable development could provide an overarching framework within which all sub-goals (eg poverty eradication, social equality, ecosystem maintenance, climate compatibility) are framed.
It is not a subset of development; it is development (in a modern world of resource limits).
Environmental issues are not one factor among many but the meta-context within which poverty and other goals are sought.
Investing more in public research could lead to technological solutions to poverty and sustainability problems becoming more rapidly and openly available.
Over the years, there has been a raging debate over the need for children to have their mother tongue as the medium of instruction in schools.
While educationists have emphasised the importance of learning in the mother tongue to enhance a child’s learning and overcome glaring inequities, there has been an equally steady demand for English-medium schools in several States.
Historic context to this debate
Orientalist: Orientalists were the group of people who wanted to give education to Indian people in the Indian language. The emphasis was on the knowledge of the East. They wanted Indians to learn about Indian philosophy, science, and literature. In the Initial stage, company officials favoured oriental learning.
Anglicist: Anglicists were those people who supported the teaching of modern western education to Indian people in the English language. People who favoured Anglicists were Thomas Babington, Macaulay, James’s mill, Charles wood, Charles Trevelyan, and Elphinstone. The Anglicists were supported by the most advanced Indians like Raja Ram Mohan Roy.
Why mother tongue is important?
Suitability to child: There is an almost-complete consensus among educationists, linguistic experts and psychologists that the mother tongue, or the language of the region where the child lives, is the only appropriate language of learning for the child.
Incomprehension: A child can be taught any number of languages, particularly later in life, but the medium of learning should be the mother tongue. As a number of classrooms today are stalked by the curse of incomprehension.
Pressure of English language: There are a growing number of schools, mostly private, that teach in English. Government schools too in States like Tamil Nadu, unable to bear the pressure from parents and to stop students from migrating to private schools, are switching to English medium.
Development in every way: The mother tongue, home language or the first language educationally means the language which the child is using to connect to the world, to people, to nature, to the environment, and to make sense of everything that’s going on. This is the language which helps the child to build, grow and develop in every way.
Inability to learn: English medium education is a profound tragedy in Indian education today. Millions are languishing because of their inability to learn in English not English as a language but as a medium through which they acquire any knowledge of any subject.
Why English Should Be the Medium of Instruction in Schools, Colleges?
Connectivity with The Rest of the World: To communicate and be on par with the world, the first language that stands common is English. With English, a student can remain on par with what is happening across the globe. Lack of English knowledge or alone mother tongue does not allow children to progress with the rest of the world.
Technologies Can Be Used Only With English Instruction: Most of the modern technologies are invented, reinvented and modernized in foreign shores. The inventors keep the English language for the instruction manual of the technological gadget so that the gadget can be used worldwide.
Higher Education Emphasizes on The English language: The main focus of teaching medium in higher secondary as well as in graduation and post-graduation colleges in India. There is no doubt that lecturers also teach in Hindi or other regional languages. However, question design comes in both English and regional language. But most of the classes are taught in English.
How multilingual approach helps
Firstly, multilingualism gives equal status to all languages and there’s enough work, history and research on this.
Second, children come from different backgrounds, and in some cases, they are first-generation learners with not much support at home.
The multilingual approach thus, is much more flexible, closer to the child, and inclusive. It is democratic, and it accepts that the teacher is not coming from a place of authority and is only correcting spellings and pronunciations.
Conclusion
This myth must be broken that our education system is class and caste neutral. A powerful political movement will have to take place to make the language of learning a choice that is made democratically.
Mains question
Q. Should the mother tongue or English be the medium of instruction? Critically explain.
The outline of an essential global pandemic treaty.
Purpose of the treaty
A pandemic treaty under the umbrella of the World Health Organization would build coherence and avoid fragmentation of response.
Severity of this pandemic demands such treaty
COVID-19 would count as being among some of the most severe pandemics the world has seen in the last 100 years. An estimated 18 million people may have died from COVID-19, according various credible estimates, a scale of loss not seen since the Second World War.
Further, with over 120 million people pushed into extreme poverty, and a massive global recession, no single government or institution has been able to address this emergency singlehandedly.
This has given us a larger perspective of how nobody is safe until everybody is safe.
Catchy line for value addition
Nobody is safe until everybody is safe
There is widespread inequity in healthcare
Gross inequity in distribution: Health-care systems have been stretched beyond their capacity and gross health inequity has been observed in the distribution of vaccines, diagnostics, and therapeutics across the world.
Irreversible consequences: While high-income economies are still recovering from the aftereffects, the socioeconomic consequences of the novel coronavirus pandemic are irreversible in low and low middle-income countries.
The monopolies: Held by pharma majors such as Pfizer, BioNTech, and Moderna created at least nine new billionaires since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and made over $1,000 a second in profits, even as fewer of their vaccines reached people in low-income countries.
Skewed distribution: As of March 2022, only 3% of people in low-income countries had been vaccinated with at least one dose, compared to 60.18% in high-income countries. The international target to vaccinate 70% of the world’s population against COVID-19 by mid-2022 was missed because poorer countries were at the “back of the queue” when vaccines were rolled out.
India’s lead role
Dynamic response: India’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and reinstating global equity by leveraging its own potential has set an example to legislators worldwide.
Vaccine diplomacy: India produces nearly 60% of the world’s vaccines and is said to account for 60%-80% of the United Nations’ annual vaccine procurement “vaccine diplomacy” or “vaccine maitri” with a commitment against health inequity.
We lead by example: India was unfettered in its resolve to continue the shipment of vaccines and other diagnostics even when it was experiencing a vaccine shortage for domestic use. There was only a brief period of weeks during the peak of the second wave in India when the vaccine mission was halted.
A classic example of global cooperation: As of 2021, India shipped 594.35 lakh doses of ‘Made-in-India’ COVID-19 vaccines to 72 countries a classic example of global cooperation. Among these, 81.25 lakh doses were gifts, 339.67 lakh doses were commercially distributed and 173.43 lakh doses were delivered via the Covax programme under the aegis of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.
Why the treaty is needed for?
Data sharing: A treaty should cover crucial aspects such as data sharing and genome sequencing of emerging viruses.
Rapid response mechanism: It should formally commit governments and parliaments to implement an early warning system and a properly funded rapid response mechanism.
Health investments: Further, it should mobilise nation states to agree on a set of common metrics that are related to health investments and a return on those investments. These investments should aim to reduce the public-private sector gap.
Conclusion
A global pandemic treaty will not only reduce socioeconomic inequalities across nation states but also enhance a global pandemic preparedness for future health emergencies. India must take the lead in this.
Mains question
Q. Nobody is safe until everybody is safe. What do you understand by this? Why there is need of global pandemic treaty?.
India believes in ‘positive secularism’ based on tolerance of all religious faiths and not ‘negative secularism’ followed in countries like France which holds that display of religion in public is offensive, said a student from Karnataka who has challenged the ban on wearing hijab to school.
What is Positive Secularism?
Secularism is most commonly defined as the separation of religion from civic affairs and the state.
It may be broadened to a similar position seeking to remove or to minimize the role of religion in any public sphere.
Positive secularism is where the state plays an enabler role in the exercise of fundamental rights and the religious freedoms of all communities.
What did the petitioner argue?
The petitioner replied that the Constitution itself says that all religions have to be treated with equal respect.
It said that the Supreme Court has also held in the Aruna Roy Judgment that there should be no discrimination on the ground of any religion.
It went on to say that the State should show ‘reasonable accommodation’ of Muslim students’ right to wear hijab to school as a part of her right to expression, religion and dignity.
Circumstances where hijab can be prohibited in school
The State can only restrict her right in three circumstances, the petition highlighted.
One, to protect public order, morality and health.
Two, to protect another fundamental right.
Three, if such a restriction is authorised by a law made to regulate or restrict any economic, financial, political or secular activity which may be associated with religious practice or to provide for social welfare and reform.
What was the judgment announced by Karnataka HC?
The HC held that wearing hijab is not an essential religious practice in Islam and is not, therefore, protected under by the right to freedom of religion guaranteed by Article 25 of the Constitution.
The court said it was a reasonable restriction that was constitutionally permissible.
The Bench also upheld the legality of the order prescribing guidelines for uniforms in schools and pre-university colleges under the provisions of the Karnataka Education Act, 1983.
The court said that school uniform will cease to be a uniform if hijab is also allowed.
Context 
How long has the TB infected us?
Context 
What are examples of road safety?
Various Policy Initiatives by government
Context 
Historic context to this debate 
Why mother tongue is important? 
Context 
There is widespread inequity in healthcare 
India’s lead role