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GS Paper: GS1

  • Long road ahead: Towards women empowerment

    Context

    • Gender parity is not recovering, according to the Global Gender Gap Report 2022. It will take another 132 years to close the global gender gap.
    • As crises are compounding, women’s workforce outcomes are suffering and the risk of global gender parity backsliding further intensifies.

    Why in news?

    • India has one of the world’s lowest female labour force participation rates (LFPR).
    • This means the productive potential of half of the population goes unutilized.

    What is women’s empowerment all about?

    • Women’s empowerment can be defined to promoting women’s sense of self-worth, their ability to determine their own choices, and their right to influence social change for themselves and others.

    Why it is needed?

    • Human resource: Empowerment of women is a necessity for the very development of a society, since it enhances both the quality and the quantity of human resources available for development.
    • Sustainable development: Women’s empowerment and achieving gender equality is essential for our society to ensure the sustainable development of the country.

    Constraints in women empowerment

    • Illiteracy: Illiteracy has been found as major constraints for the attainment of women Empowerment in the nation. It is the rate of literacy which governs the reservation, takeover and competition among women for their right in country. Female child are less privileged for attaining schools.
    • Discriminatory nature of male towards female: In India, since the olden days, the men have been in control of politics, social, economical as well as cultural and traditional spheres of life.
    • Religious and cultural beliefs: This is another important constraint of women’s empowerment in India which tightens up the female population. It is because of unknowing believes and following superstitions.
    • Less participation of women in political field: In particular, women them self involves less in the political filed. Their participation is very insignificant in political issues and right as compared to male population.

    What happens if we don’t act?

    • Economical losses: Evidence shows that economic disempowerment of women can result in losses of 10% of GDP in industrialized economies and over 30% in South Asia and in the Middle East and North Africa.
    • Work opportunities: India’s GDP could grow by nearly ₹3 trillion if women were brought into the labour market and given access to formal, ‘decent’ work opportunities.

    Case study

    Mahila Sanatkar a craftswomen cooperative located in Hyderabad.

    Economic and social  effects: It  is  noticeable  some  social  results  such  as  skill building, self-confidence  enhancement,  the  mobility acquired  by the  women.

    What is needed to improve women’s welfare?

    • Community sensitization: Persistent effort must be directed toward community sensitization to root out patriarchal social norms.
    • Directional efforts: In addition to enforcing existing regulations like minimum wages, there must be supportive ancillary policies including childcare; secure transport; lighting; safety at work; and quotas in hiring, corporate boards, and politics to foster more  women  in  leadership.
    • Universal social mobilization: Identification and inclusion of the poor remains a challenge. There is need to develop community resource persons for participatory identification of poor.
    • Training, Capacity Building & Skill Upgradation: There is lack of appropriate training plans, quality training and availability of expert training institutions.
    • Universal Financial Inclusion: Lack of uniform financial management systems at all tiers of SHGs has impacted the growth in bank accounts, improvement in financial literacy, and absorption capacity of community members.
    • Multiple & Diversified Livelihoods: There is lack of progressive leadership for inclusiveness of small-sized enterprises at the federal level. Market/ forward linkages, is largely missing.

    Conclusion

    • If we improve women’s labour force participation, not only do we harness the massive productive potential of half of the population, but their earnings will yield enormous dividends for the future of the country and economy.

    Mains question

    Q. What do you consider as true women empowerment? Assess the constraints for the same and give directional efforts needed to overcome it.  

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  • What is causing Arctic Amplification?

    Finnish researchers have found that the Arctic is heating four times faster than the rest of the planet.

    Arctic is warming faster

    • The warming is concentrated in the Eurasian part of the Arctic, where the Barents Sea north of Russia and Norway is warming at an alarming rate — seven times faster than the global average.
    • Other studies indicate that the Arctic amplification is four times the global rate.

    What is Arctic Amplification?

    • Global warming has hastened due to anthropogenic forces or human activities since pre-industrial times and has increased the planet’s average temperature by 1.1 degrees Celsius.
    • While changes are witnessed across the planet, any change in the surface air temperature and the net radiation balance tend to produce larger changes at the north and south poles.
    • This phenomenon is known as polar amplification; these changes are more pronounced at the northern latitudes and are known as the Arctic amplification.

    What causes amplification?

    • Among the many global warming-driven causes for this amplification, the ice-albedo feedback, lapse rate feedback, water vapour feedback and ocean heat transport are the primary causes.
    • Sea ice and snow have high albedo (measure of reflectivity of the surface), implying that they are capable of reflecting most of the solar radiation as opposed to water and land.
    • In the Arctic’s case, global warming is resulting in diminishing sea ice.
    • As the sea ice melts, the Arctic Ocean will be more capable of absorbing solar radiation, thereby driving the amplification.
    • The rate at which the temperature drops with elevation i.e. lapse rate decreases with warming.
    • Studies show that the ice-albedo feedback and the lapse rate feedback are responsible for 40% and 15% of polar amplification respectively.

    What do the previous studies say?

    • The extent of Arctic amplification is debated, as studies show various rates of amplification against the global rate.
    • Studies have shown that the Arctic was warming at twice the global rate prior to the beginning of the 21st century.
    • Already the Arctic surface air temperature has likely increased by more than double the global average over the last two decades.

    What are the consequences of Arctic warming?

    • The causes and consequences of Arctic amplification are cyclical — what might be a cause can be a consequence too.
    • The Greenland ice sheet is melting at an alarming rate, and the rate of accumulation of sea ice has been remarkably low since 2000.
    • This is also marked by young and thinner ice replacing the old and thicker ice sheets.
    • Greenlandic ice sheet holds the second largest amount of ice, after Antarctica, and therefore it is crucial for maintaining the sea level.
    • In 2019, this was the single biggest cause for the rise in the sea level, about 1.5 metres.

    Visible impacts

    • If the sheet melts completely, the sea level would rise by seven metres, capable of subsuming island countries and major coastal cities.
    • The warming of the Arctic Ocean and the seas in the region, the acidification of water, changes in the salinity levels, are impacting the biodiversity, including the marine species and the dependent species.
    • The warming is also increasing the incidence of rainfall which is affecting the availability and accessibility of lichens to the reindeer.
    • The Arctic amplification is causing widespread starvation and death among the Arctic fauna.
    • The permafrost in the Arctic is thawing and in turn releasing carbon and methane which are among the major greenhouse gases responsible for global warming.
    • Experts fear that the thaw and the melt will also release the long-dormant bacteria and viruses that were trapped in the permafrost and can potentially give rise to diseases.

    What is the impact on India?

    • In recent years, scientists have pondered over the impact the changing Arctic can have on the monsoons in the subcontinent.
    • The link between the two is growing in importance due to the extreme weather events the country faces, and the heavy reliance on rainfall for water and food security.
    • A study says that reduced sea ice in the Barents-Kara sea region can lead to extreme rainfall events in the latter half of the monsoons — in September and October.
    • The changes in the atmospheric circulation due to diminishing sea ice combined with the warm temperatures in the Arabian Sea contribute to enhanced moisture and drive extreme rainfall events.

    Steps taken by India

    • In 2014, India deployed IndARC, India’s first moored-underwater observatory in the Kongsfjorden fjord, Svalbard.
    • It aims to monitor the impact of the changes in the Arctic Ocean on tropical processes such as the monsoons.

     

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  • Practice of talaq-e-hasan not so improper: Supreme Court

    The Supreme Court has prima facie observed that the Muslim personal law practice of talaq-e-hasan is “not so improper”.

    What is Talaq-e-hasan?

    • Talaq-e-hasan is a form of divorce by which a Muslim man can divorce his wife by pronouncing talaq once every month over a three-month period.

    Why did the apex court say this?

    • The SC Bench said a Muslim woman has the option to divorce by the process of khula by returning the dower (mahr) or something else that she received from her husband or without returning anything.
    • This can be as per agreed by the spouses or Qadi’s (court) decree depending on the circumstances.

    Petitioner’s contention

    • The petitioner argued that talaq-e-hasan and other forms of unilateral extra-judicial divorce is an evil plague similar to sati.
    • Talaq-e-hasan is arbitrary, irrational and contrary to Articles 14, 15, 21 and 25 and international conventions on civil rights and human rights, the petition submitted.
    • There should be a gender neutral, religion neutral, uniform grounds of divorce and uniform procedure of divorce for all citizens, it read.
    • The petitioner argued that the practice in question was “neither harmonious with the modern principles of human rights and gender equality nor an integral part of Islamic faith”.
    • The practice discriminates against Muslim women as they cannot resort to it against their husbands.

    Why in news?

    • The apex court, while striking down triple talaq in the Shayara Bano case, did not address the issue of talaq-e-hasan.
    • The unilateral practice of divorce was is definitely defies morality.

     

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  • Five years after SC verdict, talaq petitioners living as ‘half-divorcees’

    Five years after the Supreme Court’s five-judge Bench under then CJI J.S. Khehar invalidated instant triple talaq in August 2017, the women petitioners continue to live a life of half-divorcees.

    What is triple talaq?

    • ‘Triple Talaq’ is a procedure of divorce under the Sharia Law which is a body of the Islamic law.
    • Under this, a husband can divorce his wife by pronouncing ‘Talaq’ thrice.
    • The Supreme Court invalidated instant triple talaq in the Shayara Bano versus the Union of India case while refraining from commenting on the state of their marriages directly.

    What was the issue all about?

    • The case dates back to 2016 when the Supreme Court had sought assistance from the then Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi on pleas challenging the constitutional validity of “triple talaq”.
    • The hearing also included cases of “nikah halala” and “polygamy”, to assess whether Muslim women face gender discrimination in cases of divorce.
    • The issue gained political momentum on March 2017 when the Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) told the Supreme Court that the issue of triple talaq falls outside the judiciary’s realm.
    • However, on August 22, the Supreme Court set aside the decade-old practice of instant triple talaq saying it was violative of Article 14 and 21 of the Indian Constitution.

    Why was triple talaq abolished?

    • In spite of protests by Muslim women and activists world-wide the procedure was most prevalent throughout the country.
    • There are several instances where ‘triple talaq’ has enabled husbands to divorce arbitrarily, devoid of any substantiation.
    • Oral talaq or ‘triple talaq’ delivered through social media platforms like Skype, text messages, email and WhatsApp have become an increasing cause of worry for the community.
    • The ‘triple talaq’ has been abolished in 21 countries including Pakistan, but is still prevalent in India.
    • The Centre reasons that these practices are against constitutional principles such as gender equality, secularism, international laws etc.
    • When these practices are banned in Islamic theocratic countries, the practices could have absolutely no base in religion and are only prevalent to permit the dominance of men over women.

    Why in news now?

    • Half-divorce: Technically still married, practically divorced, they enjoy no conjugal rights nor receive any regular maintenance from the estranged husbands.
    • Cannot remarry: Practically abandoned, the women cannot remarry in the absence of a legally valid divorce.
    • No legal action: After the verdict, none of the men were visited by law enforcement bodies and told to take back their wives.
    • No legal implementation: Further, no arrests could be made for giving instant triple as the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act, 2019 came into force long after the pronouncement of instant talaq.

     

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  • Who was Kakasaheb Gadgil?

    The Gadgil Wada of Pune was recently lighted into tricolour for the 75th anniversary of Independence.

    Gadgil Wada was where plans for the reconstitution of the socialist Rashtra Seva Dal took place in early 1940s, with socialists like S.M. Joshi, N.G. Gore, Shirubhau Limaye and Kakasaheb in the lead.

    Kakasaheb Gadgil

    • Gadgil was an Indian freedom fighter and politician from Maharashtra, India.
    • He was also a writer. He wrote in both Marathi and English.
    • Gadgil graduated from Fergusson College in Pune in 1918, and obtained a degree in Law in 1920.
    • In India’s pre-independence days, freedom fighters Lokmanya Tilak, Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, and Vallabhbhai Patel influenced Gadgil.
    • He joined the Indian National Congress in 1920, immediately after obtaining his law degree and started his active participation in the national freedom movement.
    • He suffered imprisonment from the ruling British government eight times for the participation.

    Notable work during freedom struggle

    • In India’s pre-independence days, Gadgil served as the secretary of Poona District Congress Committee (1921–25), the president of Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (1937–45).
    • He was elected to the central Legislative Assembly in 1934.
    • Gadgil was a pioneer in social reform movements in Maharashtra in the 1930s.
    • During the Civil Disobedience Movement, which began in 1930, Gadgil was listed as a leader for the Maharashtra Civil Disobedience Committee and the Pune War Council.
    • He was associated with several public associations and institutions, including Sarvajanik Sabha, Pune; Young Men’s Association, Pune; Maharashtra Youth League, Bombay; Pune Central Cooperative Bank; and Pune Municipality.

    Service after India’s independence

    • Between 1947 and 1952 Gadgil served as a minister in the first central cabinet of independent India.
    • He held the portfolios of Public Works, and Mines and Power.
    • In his first year in the central Cabinet, he initiated the project of building a military-caliber road from Pathankot to Srinagar via Jammu in Kashmir as a part of India’s activities in the 1947 Indo-Pakistan War.
    • As a cabinet minister, he also initiated the important development projects pertaining to Bhakra, Koyna, and Hirakund dams.
    • He was a member of the Congress Working Committee from 1952 to 1955.
    • His son Vitthalrao Gadgil was a veteran congressman and MP from Pune Lok Sabha constituency, and his grandson Anant Gadgil is currently spokesman for Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee.

    Authorship

    • Gadgil wrote several books and articles on politics, economics, law, and history.
    • The following are some of Gadgil’s books:
    1. Pathik (autobiography)
    2. Rajya Shastra Wichar
    3. Shubha Shastra
    4. Waktrutwa Shastra
    5. Gyanbache Arthashastra
    6. Government from Inside
    7. Shikhancha Itihaas (history of Sikhs)

     

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  • Women heroes of India’s freedom struggle, mentioned by PM in his I-Day speech

    In his Independence Day address to the nation the Prime Minister paid tributes to women freedom fighters for showing the world the true meaning of India’s “nari shakti”. A look at the women he named in his speech:

    Rani Laxmibai

    • The queen of the princely state of Jhansi, Rani Laxmibai is known for her role in the First War of India’s Independence in 1857.
    • Born Manikarnika Tambe in 1835, she married the king of Jhansi.
    • The couple adopted a son before the king’s death, which the British East India Company refused to accept as the legal heir and decided to annex Jhansi.
    • Refusing to cede her territory, the queen decided to rule on behalf of the heir, and later joined the uprising against the British in 1857.
    • Cornered by the British, she escaped from Jhansi fort. She was wounded in combat near Gwalior’s Phool Bagh, where she later died.
    • Sir Hugh Rose, who was commanding the British army, is known to have described her as “personable, clever…and one of the most dangerous Indian leaders”.

    Jhalkari Bai

    • A soldier in Rani Laxmibai’s women’s army, Durga Dal, she rose to become one of the queen’s most trusted advisers.
    • She is known for putting her own life at risk to keep the queen out of harm’s way.
    • Till date, the story of her valour is recalled by the people of Bundelkhand, and she is often presented as a representative of Bundeli identity.
    • According to Ministry of Culture’s Amrit Mahotsav website, “Many Dalit communities of the region look up to her as an incarnation of God and also celebrate Jhalkaribai Jayanti every year in her honour.”

    Durga Bhabhi

    • Durgawati Devi, who was popularly known as Durga Bhabhi, was a revolutionary who joined the armed struggle against colonial rule.
    • A member of the Naujawan Bharat Sabha, she helped Bhagat Singh escape in disguise from Lahore after the 1928 killing of British police officer John P Saunders.
    • During the train journey that followed, Durgawati and Bhagat Singh posed as a couple, and Rajguru as their servant.
    • Later, as revenge for the hanging of Bhagat Singh, Rajguru, and Sukhdev, she made an unsuccessful attempt to kill the former Punjab Governor, Lord Hailey.
    • Born in Allahabad in 1907 and married to Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA) member Bhagwati Charan Vohra, Durgawati, along with other revolutionaries, also ran a bomb factory in Delhi.

    Rani Gaidinliu

    • Born in 1915 in present-day Manipur, Rani Gaidinliu was a Naga spiritual and political leader who fought the British.
    • She joined the Heraka religious movement which later became a movement to drive out the British. She rebelled against the Empire, and refused to pay taxes, asking people to do the same.
    • The British launched a manhunt, but she evaded arrest, moving from village to village.
    • Gaidinliu was finally arrested in 1932 when she was just 16, and later sentenced for life. She was released in 1947.
    • Then PM Nehru described Gaidinliu as the “daughter of the hills”, and gave her the title of ‘Rani’ for her courage.

    Rani Chennamma

    • The queen of Kittur, Rani Chennamma, was among the first rulers to lead an armed rebellion against British rule.
    • Kittur was a princely state in present-day Karnataka.
    • She fought back against the attempt to control her dominion in 1824 after the death of her young son. She had lost her husband, Raja Mallasarja, in 1816.
    • She is seen among the few rulers of the time who understood the colonial designs of the British.
    • Rani Chennamma defeated the British in her first revolt, but was captured and imprisoned during the second assault by the East India Company.

    Begum Hazrat Mahal

    • After her husband, Nawab of Awadh Wajid Ali Shah, was exiled after the 1857 revolt, Begum Hazrat Mahal, along with her supporters, took on the British and wrested control of Lucknow.
    • She was forced into a retreat after the colonial rulers recaptured the area.

    Velu Nachiyar

    • Many years before the revolt of 1857, Velu Nachiyar waged a war against the British and emerged victorious. Born in Ramanathapuram in 1780, she was married to the king of Sivagangai.
    • After her husband was killed in battle with the East India Company, she entered the conflict, and won with support of neighbouring kings.
    • She went on to produce the first human bomb as well as establish the first army of trained women soldiers in the late 1700s.
    • Her army commander Kuyili is believed to have set herself ablaze and walked into a British ammunition dump.
    • She was succeeded by her daughter in 1790, and died a few years later in 1796.

     

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  • Reaping our demographic dividend

    Context

    • India’s biggest strength is its ‘demographic dividend’ and people need to fully leverage it to fast-track the country’s progress in various sectors

    Why in news

    • The 2022 edition of the World Population Prospects (WPP) of the United Nations has projected that India may surpass China as the world’s most populous country next year.
    • The report estimates that India will have a population of 1.66 billion in 2050, ahead of China’s 1.317 billion around that time.

    What is demographic dividend?

    • Demographic dividend, as defined by the United Nations Population Fund, is “the economic growth potential that can result from shifts in a population’s age structure, mainly when the share of the working-age population is larger than the non-working-age share of the population”.

    Current status for India

    • India entered the demographic dividend opportunity window in 2005-06 and will remain there till 2055-56.
    • This is the period when the working age ratio is equal to or more than 150% and the dependency ratio is equal to or lower than 66.7%, generally taken as the cut-off for the demographic dividend window.

    How India can leverage this dividend

    (1) Investment in right direction

    • Investments in human and physical infrastructure will need to be scaled up dramatically to promote entrepreneurship and create jobs.
    • Investment in education is crucial for ensuring that working-age people are prepared for the demands of the economy.
    • Increase spending on health
    • Increase investments in Research and Development

    (2) Absorption of labour into productive employment

    • Promote entrepreneurship and job creation
    • Service sector like tourism, logistics should be promoted
    • Skill development of the working-age population so that they can turn out to be productive for the country’s economy

    Challenges in reaping this

    • Drastic quality improvement: India’s challenge is to create conditions for faster growth of productive jobs outside of agriculture, especially in the organized manufacturing and in services.
    • Severe shortages: India currently faces a severe shortage of well trained, skilled workers. Large sections of the educated workforce have little or no job skills, making them largely Unemployable.
    • Dismal health sector: A closer look implies various factors such as poor health which although obvious, play a major role in the poor performance of working population.
    • Socio economic dimensions: The status of institutions in India regarding caste discrimination, gender inequalities, widening income gap between the rich and the poor, religious differences, inefficient and slow legal system- all contribute to the poor standard of living of the masses.

    Government steps

    • National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC): incorporated on 31st July, 2008, is a first-of-its-kind Public Private Partnership (PPP) in India set up to facilitate the development and upgrading of the skills of the growing Indian workforce through skill training programs.
    • National Skill Development Agency: Currently, skill development efforts are spread across approximately20 separate ministries, 35 State Governments and Union Territories and the private sector.
    • National Skill Certification and Money Reward Scheme: encouragement is given for skill development for youth by providing monetary rewards for successful completion of approved training programs.

    Way forward

    • Strategies exist to exploit the demographic window of opportunity that India has today, but they need to be adopted and implemented.
    • The dreams of huge income flow and resultant economic growth due to demographic dividend could be realized only when we inculcate the required skills in the work force to make it as competent as its counterparts in the developed world.

    Important data for mains

    • India’s working-age population has numerically outstripped its non-working age population.
    • India’s total fertility rate (TFR) has declined from 2.2 in 2015-16 to 2.0 in 2019-21, indicating the significant progress of population control measures, revealed the report of the fifth round of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5).
    • The TFR is the average number of children born to a woman in her lifetime.

    Mains question

    Q. Do you think the right has come that India should adopt moving away policy from population control towards reaping its demographic dividends? Critically examine.

  • Need of uniform civil code

    Context

    • The Portuguese Civil Code of 1867, the so-called “common civil code” of Goa, is in the news again. A 28-member parliamentary standing committee headed by senior BJP leader and Rajya Sabha member, Sushil Kumar Modi, recently visited the state to study it in the context of the demand for a uniform civil code.
    • India Needs Uniform Civil Code; One Nation, One Law Will Restore Equality and Gender Parity

    Definition

    • The Uniform Civil Code (UCC) calls for the formulation of one law for India, which would be applicable to all religious communities in matters such as marriage, divorce, inheritance, adoption. The code comes under Article 44 of the Constitution, which lays down that the state shall endeavour to secure a Uniform Civil Code for the citizens throughout the territory of India.

    Importance of article 44

    • The objective of Article 44 of the Directive Principles in the Indian Constitution was to address the discrimination against vulnerable groups and harmonise diverse cultural groups across the country.

    Brief history of UCC

    • The origin of the UCC dates back to colonial India when the British government submitted its report in 1835 stressing the need for uniformity in the codification of Indian law relating to crimes, evidence, and contracts, specifically recommending that personal laws of Hindus and Muslims be kept outside such codification.

    Objectives of UCC:

    • Bringing simplicity in personal laws: When enacted the code will work to simplify laws that are segregated at present on the basis of religious beliefs like the Hindu code bill, Shariat law, and others.
    • Uniformity across country: The code will simplify the complex laws around marriage ceremonies, inheritance, succession, adoptions making them one for all.  The same civil law will then be applicable to all citizens irrespective of their faith.
    • National integration: The UCC aims to provide protection to vulnerable sections as envisaged by Babasaheb Ambedkar including women and religious minorities, while also promoting nationalistic fervour through unity.

    Why it is needed now

    • To counter the gender disparity produced by specific personal laws: India has a history of severely patriarchal and misogynistic traditions perpetuated by society and ancient religious norms that continue to dominate family life.
    • Plugging the loopholes in legal system: By legalising personal laws, we’ve established a parallel court system based on thousands of ancient values. By eliminating all loopholes, the universal civil code would tip the balance in favour of society.
    • Reaffirming equality to everyone: While Muslims are permitted to marry many times in India, a Hindu or a Christian will face prosecution for doing the same. Similarly, there are significant disparities between many religious-related regulations.
    • Addressing problem of vote bank politics: If all religions are subject to the same laws, there will be no room for politicising issues of discrimination, concessions, or special privileges enjoyed by a particular community on the basis of their religious personal laws.
    • Infusing secularism: At the moment, we practise selective secularism, which means that we are secular in some areas but not in others. A Uniform Civil Code requires all citizens of India to adhere to the same set of laws, regardless of whether they follow Hinduism, Islam, Christianity or Sikhism.

    SC verdict on UCC: Daniel Latifi Case

    This case demonstrates how universally applicable law should prevail over unjust religious laws. In this case, Muslim Women’s Act (MWA) was challenged for violation of Articles 14, 15 & 21 of the Constitution. The primary point of contention was the amount paid throughout the iddat period. The Supreme Court upheld the act’s constitutionality but interpreted it in accordance with Section 125 of the CrPC, holding that the amount received by a wife during the iddat period should be sufficient to support her during the iddat period as well as for the remainder of her life or until she remarries.

     

    Challenges ahead in its application

    • Less education to understand this: India is a country of a diverse culture where the beliefs of the people are too vehement but with the right communication and education to all the religious groups, the implementation can take place efficiently and effectively.
    • Apprehension of some people: Fear of the certain section of society who are subjected to the special rights, shall be addressed since such rights will have no impact or interference by enactment of the Uniform Civil Code, which shall be ensured to the society as this is one of their Fundamental Rights as under Article 15 of the Indian Constitution.

    Case study of Goa:

    It is pertinent to note that the State of Goa is the first State to implement a uniform civil code since its liberation from the Portuguese in 1961. The Supreme Court has even hailed Goa as a shining example where the uniform civil code is applicable to all, regardless of religion except while protecting certain limited rights.

    Conclusion

    • With so much diversity, India needs something like a UCC which can work as an agent to promote uniformity and to some extent mute the sound pollution created by the religious radical forces.
    • On individual level, it is important to understand UCC is with the objective of One Nation, One Lawsided by oneness among the people rather than a mere tool to overcome oppression and discrimination against women or a target on a particular religion.

    Try this question:

     

    What is uniform civil code? Do you think that right time has arrived to implement it? Discuss challenges in its implementation with your suggestions to overcome the same.

     

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  • Aviation safety regulator opens door for transgender pilots

    In a big win for an aspiring pilot and the entire transgender community, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has for the first time framed new medical guidelines that allow transgender persons who have completed gender transition therapy or surgery to be declared fit to fly.

    What did DGCA allow?

    • The DGCA guidelines for aeromedical evaluation of transgender persons for obtaining medical clearance for all categories of pilot’s licence — private pilot’s licence, student pilot licence and commercial pilot licence.
    • An ongoing hormone therapy will also not be a ground for disqualification.
    • It says that candidates who have completed their hormone therapy and gender affirmation surgery more than five years ago will be declared medically fit.
    • They should clear screening for mental health in accordance with the World Professional Association for Transgender Health.

    Some limitations

    • However, transgender pilots “may” have some limitations imposed such as being allowed to only fly as first officers (junior pilots).
    • When they are flying as pilot-in-command their co-pilot has to have 250 hours of flying on that particular type of aircraft or the co-pilot has to be a senior captain who is a trainer.

    Why such modification?

    • An Indian citizen, is the first transgender trainee pilot with a private pilot licence from South Africa.
    • He/she was unable to complete his training in India after the DGCA in April 2020 rejected his medical clearance needed to obtain a student’s pilot licence.
    • The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment intervened and wrote to the DGCA.
    • It called the rules “discriminatory” and in violation of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act of 2019 and demanded “guidelines for licensing” for transgender persons.

    Conclusion

    • Because of the fear of backlash from society, family and friends, coming out as a transgender is itself a very challenging move for those who hide their identity.
    • Major issue lies with societal acceptance of transgender and recognition. Such steps create awareness among people with example.
    • Society should be made sensitive enough to realize it is none of the concerned person’s fault.

    Back2Basics: Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019: Key Features

    Defining Transperson

    • The act defines a transgender person as one whose gender does not match the gender assigned at birth.
    • It includes trans-men and trans-women, persons with intersex variations, gender-queers, and persons with socio-cultural identities, such as kinnar and hijra.

    Prohibition against discrimination

    • It prohibits the discrimination against a transgender person, including denial of service or unfair treatment in relation to education, employment, healthcare, access to, or enjoyment of goods, facilities, opportunities available to the public.
    • Every transgender person shall have a right to reside and be included in his household.
    • No government or private entity can discriminate against a transgender person in employment matters, including recruitment, and promotion.

    HRD measures

    • A transgender person may make an application to the District Magistrate for a certificate of identity, indicating the gender as ‘transgender’.
    • Educational institutions funded or recognised by the relevant government shall provide inclusive facilities for transgender persons, without discrimination.
    • The government must provide health facilities to transgender persons including separate HIV surveillance centres, and sex reassignment surgeries.

    Grievances redressal

    • The National Council for Transgender persons (NCT) chaired by Union Minister for Social Justice, will advise the central government as well as monitor the impact of policies with respect to transgender persons.
    • It will also redress the grievances of transgender persons.

    Legal Protection

    • The Bill imposes penalties for the offences against transgender persons like bonded labour, denial of use of public places, removal from household & village and physical, sexual, verbal, emotional or economic abuse.

     

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  • History of popular slogans raised during Freedom Struggle

    Inspiring and controversial, this article explains the history of slogans that have endured in India’s politics.

    (1) ‘Jai Hind’ by Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose

    • Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose popularised ‘Jai Hind’ as a salutation for soldiers of his Indian National Army (INA), which fought alongside Netaji’s ally Japan in the Second World War.
    • But according to some accounts, Netaji did not actually coin the slogan.
    • A book says the term was coined by Zain-ul Abideen Hasan, the son of a collector from Hyderabad, who had gone to Germany to study.
    • There, he met Bose and eventually left his studies to join the INA.
    • Khan was tasked by Bose to look for a military greeting or salutation for the INA’s soldiers, a slogan which was not caste or community-specific, given the all-India basis of the INA.
    • The idea for ‘Jai Hind’ came to Hasan when he was at the Konigsbruck camp in Germany.

    (2) ‘Tum mujhe khoon do, main tumhe aazadi doonga’ by Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose

    • This slogan had origins in a speech Netaji made in Myanmar, then called Burma, on July 4, 1944.
    • Underlining his core philosophy of violence being necessary to achieve independence, he said, “Friends! My comrades in the War of Liberation! Today I demand of you one thing, above all.
    • He ended the speech saying “Tum mujhe khoon do, main tumhe aazadi doonga” (Give me blood and I promise you freedom).

    (3) ‘Vande Mataram’ by Bankim Chandra Chatterji

    • The term refers to a sense of respect expressed to the motherland.
    • In 1870, Bengali novelist Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay wrote a song which would go on to assume a national stature, but would also be seen as communally divisive by some.
    • Written in Bengali, the song titled ‘Vande Mataram’ was not introduced into the public sphere until the publishing of the novel Anandamath in 1882, of which the song is a part.
    • Vande Mataram soon became the forefront of sentiments expressed during the freedom movement.
    • The novel, set in the early 1770s came against the backdrop of the Fakir-Sannyasi Rebellion against the British in Bengal.

    (4) ‘Inquilab Zindabad’ by Maulana Hasrat Mohani

    • ‘Inquilab Zindabad’ (Long live the revolution) was first used by Maulana Hasrat Mohani in 1921.
    • Hasrat was his pen name (takhallus) as a revolutionary Urdu poet, which also became his identity as a political leader.
    • Hasrat Mohani was a labour leader, scholar, poet and also one of the founders of the Communist Party of India in 1925.
    • Along with Swami Kumaranand — also involved in the Indian Communist movement — Mohani first raised the demand for complete independence or ‘Poorna Swaraj’, at the Ahmedabad session of the Congress in 1921.
    • His stress on Inquilab was inspired by his urge to fight against social and economic inequality, along with colonialism.
    • Before Mohani coined this slogan, the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia made the idea of revolution symbolic of the struggle for oppressed nationalities globally.
    • It was from the mid-1920s that this slogan became a war cry of Bhagat Singh and his Naujawan Bharat Sabha, as well as his Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA).

    (5) ‘Sarfaroshi ki Tamanna’ by Bismil Azimabadi

    • This is the first line of a poem written by Bismil Azimabadi (and NOT Ramprasad Bismil), a freedom fighter and poet from Bihar, after the Jallianwalah Bagh Massacre of 1921 in Amritsar, Punjab.
    • The lines were popularised by Ram Prasad Bismil, another revolutionary.
    • He was a part of the Kakori train robbery, a successful and ambitious operation in which a train filled with British goods and money was robbed for Indian fighters to purchase arms.

    (6) ‘Do or Die’ by Gandhi Ji

    • In 1942, the Second World War commencing and the failure of Stafford Cripps Missions – which only promised India a ‘dominion status’ where it would still have to bear allegiance to the King of England .
    • This made Gandhi Ji realise that the movement for freedom needed to be intensified.
    • On August 8, 1942, the All-India Congress Committee met in Gowalia Tank Maidan (August Kranti Maidan) in Bombay.
    • Gandhi addressed thousands after the meeting to spell out the way forward.

    (7) ‘Quit India’ by Yusuf Meherally

    • While Gandhi gave the clarion call of ‘Quit India’, the slogan was coined by Yusuf Meherally, a socialist and trade unionist who also served as Mayor of Mumbai.
    • A few years ago, in 1928, Meherally had also coined the slogan “Simon Go Back” to protest the Simon Commission – that although was meant to work on Indian constitutional reform, but lacked any Indians.
    • Meherally was a Congress Socialist Party member who was actively involved in anti-government protests.

     

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