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  • Inscription on Krishnadevaraya’s death discovered

    The first-ever epigraphical reference to the date of death of Vijayanagara king Krishnadevaraya has been discovered in the Tumakuru district of Karnataka.

    Try this question from CS Mains 2016:

    Q.Krishnadevaraya, the King of Vijayanagara was not only an accomplished scholar himself, but was also a great patron of learning and literature. Discuss.

    Who was Krishnadevaraya?

    • Krishna Devaraya was the emperor of the Vijayanagara Empire during 1509–1529. He was the third ruler of the Tuluva Dynasty and is considered to be its greatest ruler.
    • He possessed the largest empire in India after the decline of the Delhi Sultanate.
    • Krishnadevaraya earned the titles Kannada Rajya Rama Ramana (lit, “Lord of the Kannada empire”), Andhra Bhoja (lit, “Andhra Bhoja(Scholar) King”) and Mooru Rayara Ganda (lit, “King of Three Kings”).
    • He became the dominant ruler of the peninsula of India by defeating the Sultans of Bijapur, Golconda, the Bahmani Sultanate and the Gajapatis of Odisha, and was one of the most powerful Hindu rulers in India.
    • Indeed, when the Mughal Emperor Babur was taking stock of the potentates of north India, Krishnadevaraya was rated the most powerful and had the most extensive empire in the subcontinent.
    • Portuguese travellers Domingo Paes and Fernao Nuniz also visited the Vijayanagara Empire during his reign.

    His literary work

    • The rule of Krishnadevaraya was an age of prolific literature in many languages, although it is also known as a golden age of Telugu literature.
    • He was fluent in many languages like Kannada, Marathi, Sanskrit, Telugu and Tamil.
    • Eight Telugu poets were regarded as eight pillars of his literary assembly and known as Ashtadiggajas. He himself composed an epic Telugu poem Amuktamalyada.
    • He took the title of Abhinava-Bhoja and Sakala-Kala-Bhoja (“Bhoja of all the arts”) in honour of Parmara emperor Bhoja who was a polymath, a master of 64 arts and a military genius.

    What does the inscription say?

    • As per the inscription, Krishnadevaraya died on October 17, 1529, Sunday.
    • Incidentally, this day was marked by a lunar eclipse.
    • The inscription also registers the gift of village Honnenahalli in Tumakuru for conducting worship to the god Veeraprasanna Hanumantha of Tumakuru.
    • The Kalahasti inscription refers to the date of Achyutaraya’s (his successor) coronation as October 21, 1529 AD.

  • [pib] Who was Mannathu Padmanabhan (1878-1970)?

    The Prime Minister has tweeted tributes to Sri Mannathu Padmanabhan on his death anniversary.

    UPSC is digging deeper in the regional freedom movements to get such questions beyond our knowledge base.Try this question from CSP 2020

    Q.The Vital Vidhvansak, the first monthly journal to have the untouchable people as its target audience was published by:

    (a) Gopal Babu Walangkar

    (b) Jyotiba Phule

    (c) Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi

    (d) Bhimarao Ramji Ambedkar

    Here, we know something about options b, c and d. So it is less dicey to pull the odd man out.

    Mannathu Padmanabhan

    • Padmanabhan was an Indian social reformer and freedom fighter from the south-western state of Kerala.
    • He is recognised as the founder of the Nair Service Society (NSS), which claims to represent the Nair community that constitutes 12.10% (From KMS 2011) of the population of the state.
    • He fought for social equality, the first phase being the Vaikom Satyagraha, demanding the public roads near the temple at Vaikom be opened to low caste Hindus.
    • He took part in the Vaikom (1924) and Guruvayoor (1931) temple-entry Satyagrahas; the anti-untouchability agitations. He opened his family temple for everyone, irrespective of caste distinction.
    • He became a member of the Indian National Congress in 1946 and took part in the agitation against Sir C. P. Ramaswamy Iyer’s administration in Travancore.
    • As the first president of the Travancore Devaswom Board, he revitalised many temples which had almost ceased to function.

  • Same-sex marriages cannot be recognized: Centre

    The Centre has opposed any changes to the existing laws on marriage to recognise same-sex marriages, saying such interference would cause “complete havoc with the delicate balance of personal laws in the country”.

    What is the case?

    • A petition had sought to recognize same-sex marriage.
    • Despite the decriminalization of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the petitioners cannot claim a fundamental right for same-sex marriage being recognised under the laws of the country”.

    What did the Centre say?

    • Living together as partners and having a sexual relationship with same-sex individuals is not comparable with the Indian family unit concept.
    • The Indian concept of family constitutes a husband, a wife and children which necessarily presuppose a biological man as a ‘husband’, a biological woman as a ‘wife’ and the children born out.
    • It said the 2018 landmark judgment of the Supreme Court decriminalizing consensual homosexual sex in India was “neither intended to nor did it in fact, legitimize the human conduct in question”.

    Why such a move by the Centre?

    • The registration of marriage of same-sex persons also results in a violation of existing personal as well as codified law provisions — such as ‘degrees of prohibited relationship’; ‘conditions of marriage’; ‘ceremonial and ritual requirements’ under the personal laws governing the individuals”.
    • Any other interpretation except treating ‘husband’ as a biological man and ‘wife’ as a biological woman will make all statutory provisions unworkable, the government cautioned.
    • In a same-sex marriage, it is neither possible nor feasible to term one as ‘husband’ and the other as ‘wife’ in the context of the legislative scheme of various personal laws.

    Back2Basics: Article 377 of IPC

    • Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) is an act that criminalizes homosexuality and was introduced in the ear 1861 during the British rule of India.
    • Referred to ‘unnatural offences’ and says whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal, shall be punished with imprisonment for life.
    • However, in a historic verdict, the Supreme Court of India on September 6, 2018, decriminalized Section 377 of the IPC and allowed gay sex among consenting adults in private.
    • The SC ruled that consensual adult sex is not a crime saying sexual orientation is natural and people have no control over it.
    • It also said that Section 377 remains in force relating to sex with minors, non-consensual sexual acts, and bestiality.

  • [pib] City Innovation Exchange (CiX)

    The City Innovation Exchange (CiX) platform was launched by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.

    City Innovation Exchange (CiX)

    • The CiX will connect cities to innovators across the national ecosystem to design innovative solutions for their pressing challenges.
    • The platform will ease the discovery, design & validation of solutions through a robust, transparent and user-centric process that will reduce barriers for innovators and cities to discover fitting solutions.
    • Built on the concept of ‘open innovation’, the platform will help in the flow of ideas ‘outside in and inside out, enhancing the skills and capacity required to deliver smart urban governance.
    • Through interaction with Academia and Businesses/Startups, the platform will benefit cities in the transfer of ideas from ‘labs’ to the real environment.
    • Similarly, by helping urban governments interact with citizens, the platform will ensure the adoption of tested solutions that will be impactful and sustainable.

    Benefits of CiX

    • The CiX platform will be a significant addition to the growing innovation ecosystem of India and focuses on fostering innovative practices in cities.
    • CiX, through an ‘open innovation’ process, engages with innovators to design-test-deliver on solutions to pressing urban challenges.
    • This initiative is among the ongoing efforts to realize PM’s vision of New and AtmaNirbhar Bharat, by making cities more self-reliant and enabled to meet the needs of and provide services to their citizens.
    • The platform in due time will help our cities in adopting solutions that will enhance the quality of life for their residents and significantly improve the Ease of Doing Business.

    Try this PYQ:

    Q.The Constitution (Seventy-Third Amendment) Act, 1992, which aims at promoting the Panchayati Raj Institutions in the country, provides for which of the following?

    1. Constitution of District Planning Committees.
    2. State Election Commissions to conduct all panchayat elections.
    3. Establishment of State Finance Commissions.

    Select the correct answer using the codes given below:

    (a) Only 1

    (b) 1 and 2 only

    (c) 2 and 3 only

    (d) 1, 2 and 3

  • Pagri Sambhaal Movement of 1907

    As a part of the ongoing farmers’ protest, groups across the country have celebrated February 23 as ‘Pagri Sambhal Diwas’.

    Try this PYQ:

    Q.What was the immediate cause for the launch of the Swadeshi movement?

    (a) The partition of Bengal done by Lord Curzon.

    (b) A sentence of 18 months rigorous imprisonment imposed on Lokmanya Tilak.

    (c) The arrest and deportation of Lala Lajpat Rai and Ajit Singh; and passing of the Punjab Colonization Bill.

    (d) Death sentence pronounced on the Chapekar brothers.

    Pagri Sambhaal Movement

    • Pagrhi Sambhaal Jatta was a successful farm agitation that forced the British government to repeal three laws related to agriculture back in 1907.
    • Bhagat Singh’s uncle Ajit Singh was the force behind this agitation, and he wanted to channel people’s anger over the farm laws to topple the colonial government.

    What were the ‘three laws’?

    • The three farm-related acts at the centre of the storm in 1907 were the Punjab Land Alienation Act 1900, the Punjab Land Colonization Act 1906 and the Doab Bari Act.
    • These acts would reduce farmers from owners to contractors of land, and gave the British government the right to take back the allotted land if the farmer even touched a tree in his field without permission.
    • Amid resentment against the laws, Bhagat Singh’s father Kishan Singh and uncle Ajit Singh, with their revolutionary friend Ghasita Ram, formed the Bharat Mata Society.
    • It worked to mobilise this unrest into a revolt against the British government.

    Repeal of the laws

    • Ajit Singh persuaded Congress leader Lala Lajpat Rai to come on the stage during a rally in Lyallpur on March 3, 1907, to protest against the laws.
    • On sensing the popular resentment, the British made a minor amendment to the laws.
    • The agitation couldn’t remain non-violent. Ajit Singh was booked for sedition after his speech at a public meeting in Rawalpindi on April 21, 1921.
    • Violence erupted soon afterwards and the British government repealed the three controversial laws in May 1907.

  • Places in news: Lake Chad

    One of Africa’s largest freshwater bodies, Lake Chad, has shrunk by 90 per cent.

    Try this PYQ from CSP 2018:

    Q.Which of the following has/have shrunk immensely/dried up in the recent past due to human activities?

    1. Aral Sea
    2. Black Sea
    3. Lake Baikal

    Select the correct answer using the code given below:

    (a) 1 only

    (b) 2 and 3

    (c) 2 only

    (d) 1 and 3

    Lake Chad

    • Lake Chad in the Sahel spans the countries of Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon and is home to 17.4 million people.
    • It is blessed with rich aquatic and terrestrial biodiversity.
    • The Chari River, fed by its tributary the Logone, provides over 90% of the lake’s water, with a small amount coming from the Yobe River in Nigeria/Niger.
    • Despite high levels of evaporation, the lake is freshwater.
    • The Lake Chad basin comprises biosphere reserves, World Heritage and Ramsar sites as well as wetlands of international conservation importance.

    Why it is significant?

    • For years, the lake has been supporting drinking water, irrigation, fishing, livestock and economic activity for over 30 million people in the region.
    • It is vital for indigenous, pastoral and farming communities in one of the world’s poorest countries.
    • However, climate change has fuelled a massive environmental and humanitarian crisis.
    • The United Nations has termed the Lake Chad crisis as “one of the worst in the world”.

    A looming peril

    • The lake has shrunk 90 per cent over the last 60 years since the chronic droughts surged at the beginning of the 1970s.
    • The surface area of the lake was 26,000 square kilometres in 1963; it has now reduced to less than 1,500 square kilometres.
    • Its population is exploding and the region has been ripped apart from conflict at an unprecedented scale.

    Behind all crises

    • The ever-changing climate has dramatically worsened the situation, amplifying food and nutritional insecurity in the region.
    • Temperature is rising one-and-a-half times faster than the global average. The seasonal and inter-rainfall patterns have been drastically changing each year.
    • This has triggered food insecurity, ultimately pushing communities into the arms of terrorist groups.
    • Boko Haram is one of the top insurgent groups with a strong foothold in the region.

  • Carbon Watch: India’s first app to assess one’s carbon footprint

    Chandigarh became the first state or UT in India to launch Carbon Watch, a mobile application to assess the carbon footprint of an individual.

    Carbon Footprint

    • A carbon footprint is the total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions caused by an individual, event, organization, service, or product, expressed as carbon dioxide equivalent.
    • It corresponds to the whole amount of greenhouse gases (GHG) produced to, directly and indirectly; support a person’s lifestyle and activities.
    • Carbon footprints are usually measured in equivalent tons of CO2, during the period of a year, and they can be associated with an individual, an organization, a product or an event, among others.
    • The GHGs whose sum results in a carbon footprint can come from the production and consumption of fossil fuels, food, manufactured goods, materials, roads or transportation.

    Note: An ecological footprint, as explained earlier compares the total resources people consume with the land and water area that is needed to replace those resources. A carbon footprint also deals with resource usage but focuses strictly on the greenhouse gases released due to burning of fossil fuels.

    How does the app Carbon Watch work?

    • As a person downloads the application, they will need to fill details in four parts — Water, Energy, Waste Generation and Transport (Vehicular movement).
    • In the category of Water, the person will be required to inform about the consumption of water.
    • In the Energy category, the details regarding the electricity units consumed every month at the house, monthly bill etc and usage of solar energy will have to be furnished.
    • In the Waste category, the individual will need to inform about the waste generated on their part and their family.
    • In the transport section, the individual will have to inform about the mode of transport used by four-wheeler, two-wheeler or bicycle.

    Try this PYQ:

    As a result of their annual survey, the National Geographic Society and an international polling firm GlobeScan gave India top rank in Greendex 2009 score. What is this score?

    (a) It is a measure of efforts made by different countries in adopting technologies for reducing the carbon footprint

    (b) It is a measure of environmentally sustainable consumer behavior in different countries

    (c) It is an assessment of programs/schemes undertaken by different countries for improving the conservation of natural resources

    (d) It is an index showing the volume of carbon credits sold by different countries

  • What is Laschamp Excursion?

    This newscard is an excerpt from the original article published in DownToEarth.

    The world experienced a few centuries of apocalyptic conditions 42,000 years ago, triggered by a reversal of the Earth’s magnetic poles combined with changes in the Sun’s behaviour. This event is called as Laschamps Excursion.

    Try this PYQ from CSP 2018:

    Q.The term “sixth mass extinction/sixth extinction” is often mentioned in the news in the context of the discussion of

    (a) Widespread monoculture Practices agriculture and large-scale commercial farming with indiscriminate use of chemicals in many parts of the world that may result in the loss of good native ecosystems.

    (b) Fears of a possible collision of a meteorite with the Earth in the near future in the manner it happened 65million years ago that caused the mass extinction of many species including those of dinosaurs.

    (c) Large scale cultivation of genetically modified crops in many parts of the world and promoting their cultivationin other Parts of the world which may cause the disappearance of good native crop plants and the loss offood biodiversity.

    (d) Mankind’s over-exploitation/misuse of natural resources, fragmentation/loss, natural habitats, destructionof ecosystems, pollution and global climate change.

    Laschamp Excursion

    • The Laschamp event was a geomagnetic excursion (a short reversal of the Earth’s magnetic field). It occurred 41,400 years ago, during the end of the Last Glacial Period.
    • This event is named after the village where it was discovered in the French Massif Central.
    • It led to series of catastrophic events like the ozone layer was destroyed, electrical storms raged across the tropics, solar winds generated spectacular light shows (auroras), Arctic air poured across North America, ice sheets and glaciers surged and weather patterns shifted violently.
    • During these events, life on earth was exposed to intense ultraviolet light, Neanderthals and giant animals known as megafauna went extinct, while modern humans sought protection in caves.

    The Adams Event

    • This last major geomagnetic reversal triggered a series of dramatic events that have far-reaching consequences for our planet.
    • Because of the coincidence of seemingly random cosmic events and the extreme environmental changes found around the world 42,000 years ago, researchers have called this period the “Adams Event”.

  • Mawsynram: Wettest place on Earth sees a decreasing trend in rainfall

    A recent study that looked at the rainfall pattern in the past 119 years found a decreasing trend at Cherrapunji and nearby areas.

    Try this PYQ:

    Q.“Climate is extreme, rainfall is scanty and the people used to be nomadic herders.” The above statement best describes which of the following regions?

    (a) African Savannah

    (b) Central Asian Steppe

    (c) North American Prairie

    (d) Siberian Tundra

    Mawsynram

    • Mawsynram is a town in the East Khasi Hills district of Meghalaya state in northeastern India, 60.9 kilometres from Shillong.
    • Mawsynram receives the highest rainfall in India.
    • It is reportedly the wettest place on Earth, with an average annual rainfall of 11,872mm but that claim is disputed.
    • According to the Guinness Book of World Records, Mawsynram received 26,000 millimetres (1,000 in) of rainfall in 1985.

    Why it rain highest in Mawsynram?

    • Because of the uneven relief of India due to the presence of a number of hill ranges, the monsoon is not able to shed its moisture evenly over India.
    • Windward sides receive more rainfall and leeward sides receive less rainfall.
    • Mawsynram lies in the funnel-shaped depression caused by the Khasi range in Meghalaya.
    • The Bay of Bengal branch of monsoons is trapped in it and causes heavy rainfall.

    Decreasing rainfall trends

    • The research analysed daily rain gauge measurements during 1901–2019 and noted that the changes in the Indian Ocean temperature have a huge effect on the rainfall in the region.
    • There was a reduction in the vegetation area in northeast India in the past two decades, implying that human influence also plays an important role in the changing rainfall patterns.
    • The traditional way of cultivation known as Jhum cultivation or shifting cultivation is now decreased and being replaced by other methods.
    • Also, previous studies have noted there is sizable deforestation in the region.

  • [pib] Who was Sant Ravidas?

    The President of India recently addressed the ‘Shri Guru Ravidas Vishva Mahapeeth Rashtriya Adhiveshan-2021’ in New Delhi.

    Try this PYQ from CSP 2019:

    Q.Consider the following statements:

    1.Saint Nimbarka was a contemporary of Akbar.

    2.Saint Kabir was greatly influenced by Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi.

    Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

    (a) 1 only

    (b) 2 only

    (c) Both 1 and 2

    (d) Neither 1 nor 2

    Who was Sant Ravidas?

    • Ravidas was an Indian mystic poet-saint of the Bhakti movement and founder of the Ravidassia religion during the 15th to 16th century CE.
    • Venerated as a guru (teacher) in the region of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and mainly Punjab and Haryana. He was a poet-saint, social reformer and spiritual figure.
    • The life details of Ravidas are uncertain and contested. Scholars believe he was born in 1450 CE, in the cobbler caste.
    • Ravidas’s devotional Verses were included in the Sikh scriptures known as Guru Granth Sahib.
    • The Panch Vani text of the Dadupanthi tradition within Hinduism also includes numerous poems of Ravidas.
    • He taught the removal of social divisions of caste and gender and promoted unity in the pursuit of personal spiritual freedoms.

    Why his preaching is important?

    • Philosophy and values of Sant Ravidas like social justice, equality and fraternity have been imbued in our constitutional values.
    • He had envisaged a society that is based on equality and free from any kind of discrimination.
    • He gave it the name ‘Be-gampura’ (a city near Lahore) where there is no place for any kind of grief or fear.
    • Such an ideal city would be bereft of fear, vulnerability or scarcity. Rule of law based on the right ideas like equality and welfare of all would be the principle for governance.