💥Join UPSC 2027,2028 Mentorship (August Batch) + XFactor Notes & Microthemes PDF
Talk to Mentor

Civilsdaily

Login

GS Paper: GS1

  • George Wittet, who left beautiful fingerprints across Mumbai

    The restored and refurbished Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSMVS) (erstwhile Prince of Wales Museum) will open this month as the building enters its centenary year.

    Who was George Wittet?

    • George Wittet was born in Blair Atholl, Scotland. He studied architecture in Perth, Scotland, and worked in Edinburgh and York before arriving in India in 1904.
    • In India, he became assistant to John Begg, consulting architect to the Government of Bombay.
    • Together, they pioneered the Indo-Saracenic style, using it in many government and public buildings across Bombay.
    • About a decade later, Wittet rose to be consulting architect himself and was also elected as the first president of The Indian Institute of Architects.
    • Besides the Prince of Wales Museum, Wittet also designed the Gateway of India, a fine example of Indo-Saracenic architecture and among the most identifiable landmarks of Mumbai.

    What is Indo-Saracenic style?

    • The Indo-Saracenic style was promoted by British architects starting from the late 19th century.
    • It is exemplified by the use of elements seen in architecture across India, from Mughal structures to Hindu temples.
    • The style was dominated by Indo-Islamic elements, but sometimes combined with Gothic and neo-classical elements popular in Britain at that time.
    • Major features of the style include domes and domelets, chhattris, minarets, and open pavilions.
    • Indo-Saracenic was seen as Raj’s efforts to promote “Indian” culture, so that their colonial subjects would view them more favorably, especially after the Revolt of 1857.

    Notable monuments

    Examples from other parts of India include the magnificent:

    • Victoria Memorial in Kolkata
    • Amba Vilas Palace (Mysore Palace) in Mysuru
    • Senate House (on the Madras University campus) in Chennai
    • Secretariat Building (Central Secretariat) in New Delhi

    Mumbai’s notable architecture: CSMVS

    • The dome of the CSMVS is based on the Gol Gumbaz, the mausoleum of king Mohammed Adil Shah of Bijapur.
    • Wittet had toured the historic buildings of Bijapur, which was key to his Indo-Saracenic designs.
    • CSMVS’s finial is based on that of the Taj Mahal.
    • However, even though he won the competition for the museum’s design, it wasn’t his design that was executed finally.

     

    UPSC 2022 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)

  • Back in news: Aryan Invasion Theory

    The 2022 calendar of the IIT, Kharagpur on the theme of “evidence” for “rebutting the Aryan invasion myth” has caused controversy.

    What is the Aryan Invasion Theory?

    • It has always been understood that the Aryans migration from the Steppe happened after 2000 BCE.
    • In 1953 Mortimer Wheeler proposed that the invasion of an Indo-European tribe from Central Asia, the “Aryans”, caused the decline of the Indus Civilization.
    • As evidence, he cited a group of 37 skeletons found in various parts of Mohenjo-daro, and passages in the Vedas referring to battles and forts.
    • However, scholars soon started to reject Wheeler’s theory, since the skeletons belonged to a period after the city’s abandonment and none were found near the citadel.

    Basis of this theory

    • This was first propounded when linguistic similarities between Sanskrit and the major European languages were discovered by European scholars during the colonial era.
    • This tool was used by the colonizers to legitimize their rule in India.
    • The theory hypothesizes that during 2000BC Aryans from Europe invaded or migrated into the Asian subcontinent.
    • It states these ‘invaders’ killed the original Dravidians and set up the Aryan race in the South-Asian subcontinent.
    • The Aryan Invasion Theory claimed that these ‘invaders’ were the root of modern Indian civilization, not the Harappan civilization.

    Its rebuttal

    • Recent studies have debunked the theory after DNA samples from 5000-year old Harappan remains were proven to be similar to modern Indians’ DNA as part of the Rakhigarhi Project.

    Who were the Harappans then?

    • The Harappans who created the agricultural revolution in northwestern India and then built the Harappan civilization were a mix of First Indians and Iranians who spoke a pre-Arya language.
    • The Arya were central Asian Steppe pastoralists who arrived in India between roughly 2000 BCE and 1500 BCE, and brought Indo-European languages to the subcontinent.
    • The new study says the Iranians arrived in India before agriculture or even herding had begun anywhere in the world.
    • In other words, these migrants were likely to have been hunter-gatherers, which means they did not bring a knowledge of agriculture.

    Try this PYQ:

    Q With reference to the difference between the culture of Rigvedic Aryans and Indus Valley people, which of the following statements correct?

    1. Rigvedic Aryans used the coat of mail and helmet in warfare whereas the people of Indus Valley Civilization did not leave any evidence of using them.
    2. Rigvedic Aryans knew gold, silver and copper whereas Indus Valley people knew only copper and iron.
    3. Rigvedic Aryans had domesticated the horse whereas there is no evidence of Indus Valley people having been aware of this animal.

    Select the correct answer using the code given below:

    (a) Only 1

    (c) 1 and 3 only

    (b) 2 and 3 only

    (d) 1, 2 and 3

     

    [wpdiscuz-feedback id=”piz6vf17w7″ question=”Please leave a feedback on this” opened=”1″]Post your answers here.[/wpdiscuz-feedback]

     

     

    UPSC 2022 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)

  • Places in news: Konark Sun Temple

    The Archaeological Survey of India is working on a preliminary roadmap to safely remove sand from the interiors of Odisha’s Sun Temple, which was filled up by the British 118 years ago to prevent it from collapsing.

    Konark Sun Temple

    • Konark Sun Temple is a 13th-century CE Sun temple at Konark about 36 kilometres northeast from Puri on the coastline of Odisha, India.
    • The temple is attributed to king Narasinga Deva I of the Eastern Ganga Dynasty about 1250 CE.
    • Declared a UNESCO world heritage site in 1984 it remains a major pilgrimage site for Hindus, who gather here every year for the Chandrabhaga Mela around the month of February.

    Its architecture

    • Dedicated to the Hindu Sun God Surya, what remains of the temple complex has the appearance of a 100-foot (30 m) high chariot with immense wheels and horses, all carved from stone.
    • Its architecture has all the defining elements of the Kalinga architecture – it includes Shikhara (crown), Jagmohana (audience hall), Natmandir (dance hall), and Vimana (tower).
    • Also called the Surya Devalaya, it is a classic illustration of the Odisha style of Architecture or Kalinga Architecture.
    • Once over 200 feet (61 m) high, much of the temple is now in ruins, in particular the large shikara tower over the sanctuary; at one time this rose much higher than the mandapa that remains.
    • The structures and elements that have survived are famed for their intricate artwork, iconography, and themes, including erotic kama and mithuna scenes.
    • The Jagamohan is the only structure that is fully intact now.

    Earlier restoration efforts

    • It had been filled with sand and sealed by the British authorities in 1903 in order to stabilize the structure, a/c to ASI.
    • The sand filled in over 100 years ago had settled, leading to a gap of about 17 feet.
    • However, the structure was found to be stable.

     

    UPSC 2022 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)

  • Supreme Court clarifies on abuse linked to Dowry Deaths  

    Dowry death can be presumed if the wife was harassed, mentally and physically close before her death in the marital home, the Supreme Court has held.

    Section 304B, IPC

    • A Bench led by Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana was interpreting Section 304B of the Indian Penal Code (dowry death).
    • The provision mandates that the death of a married woman could be linked to the crime if she had been harassed for dowry “soon before her death”.

    What is the recent judgment?

    Ans. Bridges the gap between extreme Harassment and Death

    • The cruelty has to be proved during the close proximity of time of death. It should be continuous.
    • Such continuous harassment, physical or mental, by the accused should make life of the deceased miserable which may force her to commit suicide, ruled Justice Hima Kohli.
    • The court said the expression “soon before her death” would normally imply that the interval should not be much between the cruelty or harassment concerned and the death in question.
    • In other words, there exists a proximate and live link between the effect of cruelty based on dowry demand and the death concerned.

    Other takeaways

    • Frequent incidents of cruelty disturb the mental equilibrium of the women concerned, ruled the court.
    • However, the presumption of dowry death was also rebuttable, observed the court.

    Dowry System : A Backgrounder

    • The dowry system in India incorporates payments in the form of capital, durable goods, real estate among others, made to the bridegroom from the family of the bride as a condition for marriage.
    • The abuse for the demand for dowry can be in the form of verbal and the most serious can take the shape of death of the victim or dowry death.

    Dowry Deaths in India

    • Dowry deaths are deaths of married women who are murdered or driven to suicide by continuous harassment and torture by their husbands and in-laws.
    • This is mainly over the demand of dowry, making the women’s homes the most dangerous place for them to be.

    What numbers reveal?

    • In 2020, reported dowry death cases in India amounted to nearly seven thousand.
    • This was a gradual decrease from the 2014, in which this number was approximately 8.5 thousand.

    Why is dowry so much prevalent?

    • Bride pricing: There exists a system of “bride price”, whereby the family of the groom had to give some gifts to the family of the women before marriage.
    • Property inheritance: Until its amendment in 2005, the Hindu Succession Act of 1956 was biased towards the male next of kin when it came to property inheritance.  The amendment stated that women had the right to their parents’ property irrespective of being married.
    • Financial dependency: In practice, the inheritance of the woman is socially imparted to her as dowry in marriage leading to financial dependence on the husband or the in-laws.

    Factors contributing to its continuance

    • Traditions and historicity: It has been a preconceived notion of the people that the dowry system has been existing since centuries back and it is quintessential to be followed by the two families.
    • Social status associated with Dowry: It is a belief among people that dowry giving or receiving gives a lot of merit in reputation and honor within the society.
    • Illiteracy: Although dowry is something that is even practiced by the literates of our society, it becomes a lot difficult to make them understand the laws.
    • Bridegroom coercion: The demand for the well-earned bridegroom in prestigious workplaces often encourages brides families to pay hefty dowries leading to the continuance of such evil customs.

    Legal measures against dowry

    • Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973: Dowry death is a non-bailable offence and the person cannot be acquitted without court’s order.
    • Dowry Prohibition Act of 1961: It was passed by the government which prohibits the giving or taking of dowry in India.

    Dysfunctions created by the Dowry system

    • Defamation: There have been many instances where these laws have been used to defame or slander one’s name.
    • Fights for property inheritance: This go ugly when the girl involves into interfaith marriage. This often leads to honor killing.

    Way forward

    • The dignity, modesty and safety of women must be prioritized by all. Abusing them just for dowry or any other financial favour is a shameful act in itself.
    • To prevent such heinous crimes stringent provisions and measures need to be undertaken by the government.

     

    UPSC 2022 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)

  • Places in news: Carmichael Mine in Australia

    The Adani Group will begin exporting high quality, low sulphur coal from its Carmichael mine in Australia as early as this week, tapping a new multi-decade source to meet energy needs.

    Carmichael Mine

    • The Carmichael mine is located in the North Galilee Basin, more than 300 kilometers from the Queensland coastline and approximately 160 km north-west of Clermont in regional Queensland.
    • The Carmichael project, proposed in 2010, had provoked a sustained campaign by climate activists in Australia and other places globally, forcing banks and insurers not to work with the Adani group.
    • The conglomerate run by India’s second-richest man Gautam Adani has planned an initial production of 10 million tonnes a year from the mines in the Galilee Basin.
    • The Coal mined here has low sulfur content and high calorific value.

     

    UPSC 2022 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)

  • Who was Archbishop Desmond Tutu?

    Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Nobel Peace Prize laureate and veteran of South Africa’s struggle against white minority rule has died on December 26 at the age of 90.

    Try this question from CS Mains 2016:

     

    Q. The anti-colonial struggles in West Africa were led by the new elite of Western-educated Africans. Examine.

    Desmond Tutu (1931- 2021)

    • Tutu was a South African Anglican cleric who in 1984 received the Nobel Prize for Peace for his role in the opposition to apartheid in South Africa.
    • A decade later, he witnessed the ends of that regime and he chaired a Truth and Reconciliation Commission, set up to unearth atrocities committed during those dark days.
    • He was considered the nation’s conscience by both, the black majority and the white minority, an enduring testament to his faith and spirit of reconciliation in a divided nation.

    His notable works

    • During South Africa’s moves toward democracy in the early 1990s, Tutu propagated the idea of South Africa as “the Rainbow Nation”.
    • The term was intended to encapsulate the unity of multi-culturalism and the coming together of people of many different nations, in a country once identified with the strict division of white and black under the Apartheid regime.
    • In 1995 South African Pres. Nelson Mandela appointed Tutu head of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which investigated allegations of human rights abuses during the apartheid era.

     

    UPSC 2022 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)

  • In news: Tai Khamti Rebellion

    The Arunachal Pradesh Deputy CM urged the Centre to recognize the Tai Khamti-British war as India’s first for independence.

    Tai Khamti Rebellion

    • The Tai Khamti Rebellion is the first such war took place in 1839 between the Tai Khamti people and the British.
    • The theatre of this war was some 2,400 km east of Meerut in Uttar Pradesh where the mutiny began.
    • Tai Khamtis resisted colonization by the British. Some 80 British soldiers, including Col. Adam White, were killed in the resultant conflict.

    Who are the Tai Khamti people?

    • The Tai Khamti people, who follow Theravada Buddhism, number a little more than 1,00,000 today and live in areas straddling Arunachal Pradesh and Assam.

    Other revolts in Arunachal

    • Arunachal Deputy CM also batted for recognition of battles between other communities of Arunachal Pradesh and the British.
    • They include a series of Anglo-Abor wars from 1858 to 1911 and the Wancho-British war in Tirap district’s Ninu in 1875.
    • The Abors, now called Adis, inhabit central Arunachal Pradesh, while the Wanchos live in the southern part of the State.

     

    UPSC 2022 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)

  • Who was P.N. Panicker?

    The President of India has recently unveiled the statue of Shri P.N. Panicker at Poojappura, Thiruvananthapuram.

    P.N. Panicker (1909-1995)

    • Puthuvayil Narayana Panicker is known as the Father of the Library Movement of Kerala.
    • June 19, his death anniversary, has been observed in Kerala as Vayanadinam (Reading Day) since 1996.
    • In 2017, PM has declared June 19, Kerala’s Reading Day, as National Reading Day in India.
    • The following month is also observed as National Reading Month in India

    Contributions

    • Panicker led the formation of Thiruvithaamkoor Granthasala Sangham (Travancore Library Association) in 1945 with 47 rural libraries.
    • The slogan of the organization was ‘Read and Grow’.
    • Later on, with the formation of Kerala State in 1956, it became Kerala Granthasala Sangham (KGS).
    • He traveled to the villages of Kerala proclaiming the value of reading.
    • Grandhasala Sangham won the ‘Krupsakaya Award’ from UNESCO in 1975.
    • It became the Kerala State Library Council, with an in-built democratic structure and funding.

     

    UPSC 2022 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)

  • Karnataka’s Anti-Conversion Legislation

    Amid opposition, the Karnataka Protection of Right to Freedom of Religion Bill, 2021, was introduced in the Assembly.

    What is the Bill about?

    • The Bill envisages stringent provisions for forced or induced conversions.
    • The government wants to prohibit conversion by:
    1. Misrepresentation
    2. Force
    3. Allurement
    4. Fraudulent means
    5. Marriage
    6. Coercion and undue influence

    Key features of the Bill

    (1) Filing of Complaints

    • Complaints of conversions can be filed by family members of a person who is getting converted, or any other person who is related to the person who is getting converted, or any person associated with the person getting converted.

    (2) Punishment and fines

    • The offense of conversion is cognisable and non-bailable and will attract a jail term of three to five years and a fine of ₹25,000 for people found violating the law.
    • There is a jail term of three to 10 years, and a fine of ₹50,000 for people converting minors, women and persons from the SC and ST communities.
    • The Bill also envisages a compensation of ₹5 lakh to victims of forced conversions.

    Do you know?

    Odisha was the first State to enact anti-conversion legislation, the Orissa Freedom of Religion Act, 1967. Madhya Pradesh enacted the same the following year.

    What about willful conversion?

    • Prior information: After the law comes into force, any person intending to convert to another religion will have to inform the district magistrate at least thirty days in advance.
    • Due inquiry of purpose: The person executing the conversion must also give a notice one month in advance, following which an inquiry will be conducted by the district magistrate through the police to establish the real intent of conversion.
    • Defying the conversion: Not informing the district magistrate will lead to the conversion being declared null and void.

    Impact of non-conformance

    • Not informing authorities will carry a prison term of six months to three years for persons who are converted and one year to five years for the persons carrying out the conversions.
    • After getting converted, the person has to again inform the district magistrate within 30 days after conversion and must appear before the district magistrate to confirm his/her identity.

    What happens once the Conversion is held valid?

    • Post conversion, the district magistrate has to inform revenue authorities, the social welfare, minority, backward classes and other departments of the conversion.
    • These authorities will, in turn, take steps with respect to the entitlements of the person in terms of reservations and other benefits.

    How many states have enacted the legislation?

    • Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand have laws restricting religious conversion.
    • Penalties for breaching the laws can range from monetary fines to imprisonment, with punishments ranging from one to three years of imprisonment and fines from ₹5,000 to ₹50,000.
    • Some of the laws provide for stiffer penalties if women, children, or members of Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes (SC/ST) are being converted.
    • Some other States, including Manipur, are reportedly “considering similar laws.”

    How has Parliament handled anti-conversion bills?

    After independence, Parliament introduced a number of anti-conversion bills which were not enacted for want of majority approval.

    • In post-Independent India, the first Indian Conversion (Regulation and Registration) Bill, 1954, which sought to enforce “licensing of missionaries and the registration of conversion.”
    • This was followed by the introduction of the Backward Communities (Religious Protection) Bill, 1960, “which aimed at checking conversion of Hindus to ‘non-Indian religions’ .
    • Non-India religions included Islam, Christianity, Judaism and Zoroastrianism,.
    • The Freedom of Religion Bill in 1979, which sought “official curbs on inter-religious conversion.”

    Religious conversion: A Constitutionality check

    • Indian Constitution aspires toward tolerance of all religions and guaranteed that each person was “equally entitled to freedom of conscience and the right to freely profess, practice and propagate religion” (Article 25).
    • This formulation did not come without dispute; the word “propagate” was one of the most contested in the whole of Indian Constitution.

    Core issue: Prevalence of Inter-faith Marriage

    • India has the Special Marriage Act, 1954, which can be used by inter-faith/inter-community couples to get married.
    • The Act, however, requires an advance notice of 30 days to the magistrate before a couple is able to register their marriage.
    • When the parties are from different faiths, communities or castes, such a public notice can be, and has been, a great source of danger and harm from their family/community members.
    • Consequently, the only option exercised by the inter-faith couples is for one of them to convert to the religion of the other and get married.

    Issues with such laws

    The anti-conversion laws have been challenged on the ground that innocent persons were being booked under these Acts.

    • Patriarchal dominance: It is widely presumed that such conversions involve ‘coercion’ or ‘deceit’, and hence, Hindu women ought to be ‘protected’ from the danger of conversion.
    • Targeting minorities: These laws target Muslims and quoted instances of such inter-faith couples having been harassed by militant activists and state government authorities.
    • Freedom of Conscience: Women, it is clear, are being treated in a paternalistic way which assumes that they need protection at the cost of their right to make reasoned decisions about changing faith or choosing a friend or life partner.

    What about Incentivised Conversions?

    • There are many cases of incentivized conversions for the poor sections of society in exchange for a dignified social life.

    For them, the solution lies in addressing the root issues:

    1. Ending discrimination
    2. Providing high quality and free education to the poor and disenfranchised
    3. Improving access and quality of free health facilities and medicines
    4. Improving nourishment and
    5. Providing adequate employment opportunities to all

    Conclusion

    • Clearly, anti-conversion laws amount to discrimination and a violation of the right to equality.
    • However, inter-faith marriages should not be pre-conditioned with religious conversion. This certainly raises concerns for the majority of society.
    • Instead of pursuing this disastrous course, the government could work towards removing impediments to inter-faith marriages and eradicating the social stigma attached to such marriages.
    • The couples who wish to enter into an inter-faith alliance are enabled and protected.

     

    UPSC 2022 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)

  • ‘Chillai Kalan’ begins in Kashmir

    Kashmir is in a deep freeze as the 40-day harshest spell of winter, locally called ‘chillai kalan’ has started with the minimum temperature already sub-zero in the entire Valley.

    Chillai Kalan

    • Chillai Kalan is the coldest 40-day period of harsh winter of winter in the Jammu and Kashmir region.
    • It is traditionally defined as a seasonal period of harsh winter accompanied by a change in increase in both frequency and quantity of precipitation usually snow.
    • It begins from December 21 and ends on January 31 next year.
    • It is followed by a 20-day long Chillai-Khurd (small cold) that occurs between January 31 and February 19 and a 10-day long Chillai-Bachha (baby cold).
    • According to Persian tradition, the night of 21st December is celebrated as Shab-e Yalda-“Night of Birth”, or Shab-e Chelleh “Night of Forty”.

    Its’ celebration

    • In the Persian tradition, the night of December 21, the longest of the year, is celebrated as Shab-e-Yalda (night of birth) or Shab-e-Chelleh.
    • Dozens of netizens from Kashmir named it the ‘Pheran Day’, after the long woollen gown worn during the winters in Kashmir.
    • Use of a traditional firing pot called Kangri increases.
    • Tap water pipelines partially freeze during this period. The Dal Lake also freezes.
    • The famous tourist resort of Gulmarg receives heavy snow which attracts skier’s from every part of the world.

     

    UPSC 2022 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)