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

Civilsdaily

Login

GS Paper: GS2

  • Education as a tool of innovation for the climate change generation.

    Education

    Click and get your FREE Copy of CURRENT AFFAIRS Micro Notes

    Context

    • Instead of mirroring a broken development paradigm predicated on an extractive relationship with nature, India can lead with an approach that’s better for both people and the planet. A climate-resilient education system will be essential to realising this opportunity.

    Background

    • India’s LiFE mass movement: At COP27, India released its Long-Term Low Emissions and Development Strategies (LT-LEDS). This outlines priorities for carbon-intensive sectors like electricity and industry and transport, and emphasizes the role of a Lifestyle for Environment (LiFE) as a mass movement towards sustainable consumption and production.
    • Education is vital: From behavioral shifts of individuals to the re-shaping of markets, education has a vital role in the LiFE movement.
    • Potential of demand side actions: According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), this could make a significant dent in reducing planet-warming gases, demand-side actions have the potential to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 40-70 per cent in 2050.

    Education

    What are the challenges facing the education sector and children at present?

    • School closures during the Covid pandemic affect productivity: school closures during the pandemic have led to a learning deficit that’s getting reflected in reduced test scores. This will likely impact productivity and per capita income levels in the long term. One year of school closures could reduce GDP levels by anywhere from 1.1 to 4.7 per cent by mid-century, according to a paper by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
    • Hinderance to the economic mobility: The lasting impacts of Covid-19 could hinder economic mobility for a generation of Indians and alter the arithmetic for public finance.
    • Climate change impacts children more: Climate impacts are already disrupting children’s learning and well-being globally. For instance, extreme heat reduces students’ learning levels and causes physiological harm. Schools are temporarily shut down and children’s health is affected due to persistently poor air quality in cities like Delhi.
    • Disasters and displacing families affecting children: Debilitating deluges are permanently displacing families, often leading to children (and disproportionately girls) dropping out of schools and being trafficked or subject to child labour due to distressed household incomes. As these disasters grow more frequent and intense, we must prepare the infrastructure, content, and delivery of the public education system to protect the most vulnerable citizens, many of whom will be climate refugees.
    • Anxiety about the future: The lived experiences of climate-induced disasters and anxiety about the future are causing despair and dread among young people. This is compounded by digital platforms and news cycles that don’t linger long enough to make sense of challenges or build a widespread understanding of breakthroughs like the significant reductions in the costs of renewable energy.

    Education

    How can the climate education system be used to both prevent crisis and create opportunity?

    • Creating a strong and inclusive climate-resilient education system at national level: At a national level, a strong enabling framework for a climate-resilient education system shall cover matters from curricula to nutrition to school building codes in a climate-changed world. With its scale and reach, the public school system is not only a source of learning but also shelter, clothing, food, and community for millions.
    • Programs in states shall be implemented according to the local demands: Design and implementation in states and districts should be shaped by existing local needs and anticipated climate risks. This could involve infrastructure investments so school buildings can double up as emergency shelters in cyclone-prone areas and capacity additions so government schools in mega-cities that are destinations for climate migrants can integrate and empower children
    • Emphasize should be on social and emotional learning: Students’ mental health needs should be served through an empathic expansion and an emphasis on social and emotional learning. Across the board, children should be able to access clean water and nutritious food.
    • Technical curriculum with indigenous knowledge shall be applied: Curricula can be infused with scientific and technical know-how alongside indigenous and local knowledge. In pockets, there are already innovative initiatives under-way where non-government organisations are adding tremendous value through contextualisation and close work with communities.
    • Integrating biodiversity conservation learning process: Students should be taught about the potential of integrating biodiversity conservation with regenerative agriculture. Youth must be empowered and encourages to take civic and climate actions from waste management to recycle, to lake restorations and to make their city more liveable.
    • Fostering critical thinking: The cross-cutting imperative should be to foster critical thinking instead of rote learning so that the next generation can embrace complexity and make informed choices.

    Education

    Way ahead

    • There is a need for climate education across society rather than simply at the primary and secondary levels.
    • There is need to retrain workers in industries that have a future in a green economy.
    • So is the need to priorities technical training in colleges and universities so we can rapidly accelerate our decarbonization pathway.

    Conclusion

    • We can’t afford to be narrowly focusing on technical training for the innovation, research, and development of climate technologies. Rather, we should develop strong analytical capabilities and holistic thinking about societal transformations and how new technologies will be embedded in communities. As Elizabeth Kolbert, the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist put it, “the ‘invisible hand’ always grasps for more”.

    Mains question

    Q. Climate change is rapidly altering the environment and economy, especially affecting children. In this light, Climate resilient education systems can be used to prevent crises and create opportunities. Discuss.

    (Click) FREE1-to-1 on-call Mentorship by IAS-IPS officers | Discuss doubts, strategy, sources, and more

  • Doubling court strength won’t end pendency: Supreme Court

    pendency

    Judiciary is overburdened because of the system, says Chief Justice of India Chandrachud; he points out that it is already difficult to find good lawyers to fill judicial vacancies in High Courts.

    What is the news?

    • The Supreme Court has said that increasing the number of judges will not demolish the perennial problem of pendency.
    • It noted that it is already difficult finding good lawyers to accept the call to the Bench in High Courts.

    Indian Judiciary: A Backgrounder

    • Our Judicial system has been the nation’s moral conscience keeper.
    • It speaks truth to political power, upholds the rights of citizens, mediates between Centre-state conflicts, provides justice to the rich and poor alike, and on several momentous occasions, saved democracy itself.
    • Despite its achievements, a gap between the ideal and reality has been becoming clear over the years.
    • The justice delivery is slow, the appointment of judges is mired in controversy, disciplinary mechanisms scarcely work, hierarchy rather than merit is preferred, women are severely under-represented, and constitutional matters often languish in the Supreme Court for years.

    Why there is huge pendency?

    There are various reasons for delay of disposal of cases. Some of the important reasons as well as some suggestion and recommendations are as follows:

    • Low judge strength and appointment: In High courts of India, there are 1079 approved strength of judges out of which 680 is the working strength. There are 399 vacancies as per the approved strength.
    • Process of law: There are lot of hearings in a case, number of adjournments in a case, victims become frustrated of fighting for justice. The accused are misusing the process of law for their benefit.
    • Absenteeism of Judges: Judges need vacations to spent time with their family and society. The judiciary is providing them vacations to spent time in the society but some judges need more holidays to enjoy their life.
    • Number of appeals available in a case: Appeal provisions are made to satisfy the party or to check justice but litigants made it a means to earn more money from the parties. They make an appeal in every case decided by the lower court.
    • Lack of infrastructure: Courts lack of basic facilities like proper washroom facilities, canteen facilities, parking, and library for advocates, sitting facilities for advocates and drinking water facilities.
    • Misuse of process of law: There are so many cases which are running for more than 30 years and accused are contesting election and doing the corruption. The delay is often rewarding for the accused.
    • Legal education system: Legal education is not capable to produce efficient law professionals. Advocates are not capable do trial efficiently and fast, they need time to prepare for the case that results in slow trial of the case.

    Other challenges to the judicial system

    • Lack of infrastructure of courts
    • High vacancy of judges in the district judiciary
    • Pendency of Cases
    • Ineffective planning in the functioning of the courts
    • Delay in the delivery of judgements
    • Lack of transparency in appointments and transfers.
    • Corruption
    • Undertrials serving Jail
    • Outdated laws ex. Section 124A IPC

    What led to the underperformance of the Indian Judiciary?

    The primary factors contributing to docket explosion and arrears as highlighted by the Justice Malimath Committee report are as follows:

    • Population explosion
    • Litigation explosion
    • Hasty and imperfect drafting of legislation
    • Plurality and accumulation of appeals (Multiple appeals for the same issue)
    • Inadequacy of judge strength
    • Failure to provide adequate forums of appeal against quasi-judicial orders
    • Lack of priority for disposal of old cases (due to the improper constitution of benches)

    Recent developments:

    Proposal for the creation of National Judicial Infrastructure Corporation (NJIC)

    • The CJI has pitched to set up a National Judicial Infrastructure Corporation (NJIC) to develop judicial infrastructure in trial courts.
    • He indicated a substantial gap in infrastructure and availability of basic amenities in the lower judiciary.
    • There is a dearth of court halls, residential accommodation, and waiting rooms for litigants in trial courts, especially in smaller towns and rural areas.
    • Experience shows that budgetary allocation for state judiciary often lapses since there is no independent body to supervise and execute such works.
    • NJIC is expected to fill this vacuum and overcome problems related to infrastructure.

    Way forward

    • Creating NJIC: It will bring a revolutionary change in the judicial functioning provided the proposed body is given financial and executive powers to operate independently of the Union and the State governments.
    • Appointment reforms: There are many experts who advocate the need to appoint more judges with unquestionable transparency in such appointments.
    • Creating All Indian Judiciary Services: It would be a landmark move to create a pan-India Service that would result in a wide pool of qualified and committed judges entering the system.
    • Technology infusion: The ethical and responsible use of AI and ML for the advancement of efficiency-enhancing can be increasingly embedded in legal and judicial processes. Ex. SUPACE.
    • Legal education: This should be in alignment with the evolving dynamics of the law and must be propagated in trial and constitutional courts. This will improve the competence of the judicial system.
    • Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR): ADR mechanisms should be promoted for out-of-court settlements. Primary courts of appeal should be set up.

     

    Click and get your FREE Copy of CURRENT AFFAIRS Micro Notes

    (Click) FREE1-to-1 on-call Mentorship by IAS-IPS officers | Discuss doubts, strategy, sources, and more

  • Jallikattu Case: What right do you want to protect, Supreme Court asks petitioners

    jallikattu

    The Supreme Court has asked activists what they found wrong in Tamil Nadu’s Jallikattu law when it protects animals from “unnecessary pain” and sought to preserve the “culture and traditions” of the people in the State.

    What is the news?

    • The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (TN Amendment) Act of 2017 and the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Conduct of Jallikattu) Rules of 2017 has recognised the culture and traditions of the people as a fundamental right.
    • The petitioners, said that a mere activity does not give a fundamental right status because of an assertion.
    • It referred to how practices like Sati, dowry, widow re-marriage, child marriage, etc. were once recognised as fundamental to our culture and stopped through legislation.

    What is Jallikattu?

    • It is a bull-taming sport and a disputed traditional event in which a bull such is released into a crowd of people.
    • Multiple human participants attempt to grab the large hump on the bull’s back with both arms and hang on to it while the bull attempts to escape.
    • Participants hold the hump for as long as possible, attempting to bring the bull to a stop. In some cases, participants must ride long enough to remove flags on the bull’s horns.
    • It is typically practised in the state of Tamil Nadu as a part of Pongal (harvest) celebrations in January.

    Issue with the sport

    An investigation by the Animal Welfare Board of India concluded that “Jallikattu is inherently cruel to animals”.

    • Human deaths: The event has caused several human deaths and injuries and there are several instances of fatalities to the bulls.
    • Manhandling of animals: Animal welfare concerns are related to the handling of the bulls before they are released and also during the competitor’s attempts to subdue the bull.
    • Cruelty to animal: Practices, before the bull is released, include prodding the bull with sharp sticks or scythes, extreme bending of the tail which can fracture the vertebrae, and biting of the bull’s tail.
    • Animal intoxication:  There are also reports of the bulls being forced to drink alcohol to disorient them, or chilli peppers being rubbed in their eyes to aggravate the bull.

    Arguments in favour

    • Native breed conservation: According to its protagonists, it is not a leisure sport available but a way to promote and preserve the native livestock.
    • Cultural significance: Jallikattu has been known to be practiced during the Tamil classical period (400-100 BCE) and finds mention in Sangam texts.
    • Man-animal relationship: Some believe that the sport also symbolizes a cordial man-animal relationship.

     

     

    Click and get your FREE Copy of CURRENT AFFAIRS Micro Notes

    (Click) FREE1-to-1 on-call Mentorship by IAS-IPS officers | Discuss doubts, strategy, sources, and more

  • What are in-camera proceedings, when are they conducted?

    The Supreme Court has rejected a plea by a rape case accused for an in-camera hearing.

    What are in-camera proceedings?

    • In-camera proceedings are private, unlike open court proceedings.
    • It is conducted as per the court’s discretion in sensitive matters to ensure protection and privacy of the parties involved.
    • The proceedings are usually held through video conferencing or in closed chambers, from which the public and press are excluded.
    • In an open court or open justice system, which is the usual course of proceedings, the press is allowed to report on the matter being heard.

    In-camera trial in rape cases

    • Section 327 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) has detailed the types of cases that should be recorded on camera, including inquiry into and trial in rape case.
    • The said section states that if the presiding judge or a magistrate thinks fit, she can order at any stage of the proceedings that the public generally, or any particular person, shall not remain present in the courtroom or the court building.
    • The said provision says that the inquiry into and trial be held in camera for various offences punishable under section 376 (rape) of the IPC.
    • The law also prescribes that in such cases, the trial be conducted as far as possible by a woman judge or a magistrate.

    Other cases where in-camera proceedings are held

    • In-camera proceedings are usually conducted at family courts in cases of matrimonial disputes, including judicial separation, divorce proceedings, impotence, and more.
    • In-camera proceedings are also conducted during the deposition of witnesses of terrorist activities as per the court’s discretion, so as to protect them and maintain national security.

    What about publishing of such a hearing?

    • Section 327 of the CrPC states that it shall not be lawful to publish any matter in relation to in-camera proceedings except with the previous permission of the court.
    • It adds that the ban on publishing of trial proceedings for offence of rape may be lifted subject to maintaining confidentiality of name and address of the parties.

     

     

    Click and get your FREE Copy of CURRENT AFFAIRS Micro Notes

    (Click) FREE1-to-1 on-call Mentorship by IAS-IPS officers | Discuss doubts, strategy, sources, and more

  • Domestic violence: Why women choose to remain silent?

    Domestic violence

    Click and get your FREE Copy of CURRENT AFFAIRS Micro Notes

    Context

    • Just ahead of the International Day for Elimination of All Forms of Violence against Women (November 25), the brutal murder and mutilation of a young woman by her partner has drawn attention to intimate partner violence, also recognized under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005 (PWDVA) as a kind of domestic violence.

    Background

    • Due to prevalence of patriarchy women have been discriminated not only in India but in most parts of the world.
    • According to The United Nations, one out of every three women experience domestic violence. The same UN report suggests that the most dangerous place for women is their home.
    • Gender equality and women’s empowerment are essential for the development and well-being of families, communities and nations.

    Domestic Violence

    • Domestic violence is any pattern of behavior that is used to gain or maintain power and control over an intimate partner. It encompasses all physical, sexual, emotional, economic and psychological actions or threats of actions that influence another person.

    Domestic violence can include the following

    • Physical violence: Use of Physical force or hurting or trying to hurt a partner .it also includes denying medical care.
    • Sexual violence: Forcing a partner to take part in a sex act when the partner does not consent.
    • Psychological violence: Psychological violence involves causing fear, threatening physical harm or forcing isolation from friends, family, school or work.
    • Economic violence: Making or attempting to make a person financially dependent by maintaining total control over financial resources.
    • Emotional violence: Undermining a person’s sense of self-worth through constant criticism; belittling one’s abilities; verbal abuse. 

    Domestic violence

    Analysis of Domestic violence cases and protection of women in India

    • Punishable offence: Domestic violence is a punishable offence under Indian law. It is a violation of human rights.
    • According to NFHS-5: yet, National Family Health Survey-5 (2019-21) reveals that we live in a society where violence against women persists to such an extent that 32% of ever-married women aged 18-49 years have ever experienced emotional, physical, or sexual violence committed by their husband, with more rural than urban women reporting experiences of domestic violence.
    • Protection of women from domestic violence Act 2005: Over 17 years ago the PWDVA, a progressive legislation, was passed, promising a joined-up approach, involving civil and criminal protections, to support and protect women from violence within the household, not just from husbands.
    • Unable to access the law: Despite the law existing on paper, women are still largely unable to access the law in practice. Its promise and provisions are unevenly implemented, unavailable and out of reach for most Indian women.
    • Very less percentage of women who seek help: The most disheartening reality is that despite almost a third of women being subject to domestic violence, the National Family Health Survey-5 (2019-21) reports that only 14% of women who have experienced domestic violence have ever sought help; and this number is much lower in the rural areas.
    • Despite of multiple laws, most women choose not to seek help: In a country where domestic violence is a crime, where there are multiple laws explicitly designed to protect women against violence, most women survivors of domestic violence never seek help.

    Domestic violence

    An interesting first-hand case study on “why women choose to remain silent”?

    • Subject: Research in Maharashtra, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu aims to better understand ‘help seeking’ and the everyday realities, obstacles, prejudices and fears that women experience around sharing and reporting experiences of violence.
    • Questions: Simple and well-meaning questions, “Why didn’t you leave earlier?” “Why didn’t you tell someone about the violence earlier?”
    • Thoughts and Response:
    1. Women were hopeful that things would change, that they could change their husband’s behaviour, that he would listen to them.
    2. Crucially women did not want to be a ‘burden’ on others, in particular their families. ‘My mother has a lot of worries, she has her own life so I didn’t want to add to her own worries, with mine.’
    3. By naming the violence they experienced, women believed that they would become ‘a problem’ or a source of ‘tension’ for their families, in bringing them shame and dishonor, irrespective of the survivor’s level of education, caste, or class.
    4. For migrant women, transpeople or those with several sisters, or ill, older or deceased parents, it was felt even more acutely that the perpetrator’s violence was their individual responsibility to manage.

    Domestic violence

    Findings of the case study on seeking help

    • Majority of parents asks to accommodate: The first group of women mainly turned to their parents who, in a majority of cases, insisted on their daughter preserving the family environment which they should do by ‘adjusting’ to, or accommodating their husband’s (and his family’s) needs better.
    • Minority cases where daughters’ welfare is prioritized: In a minority of cases, the daughter’s welfare was prioritized over the well-being of the ‘the family’ and steps were taken to help mediate or exit the relationship, and much more infrequently approach the police and lawyers.
    • Accepted as patriarchal norm mostly by women themselves: So ingrained are social norms about gender inequality that NFHS-5 data reports that women are more likely than men to justify a scenario in which it is acceptable for a husband to beat or hit his wife.
    • Sharing experience gives relief: For instance, one interviewee explained, ‘the way we are conditioned, it was hard to complain about any suffering’. Though survivors who did (finally) confide in relatives and friends about domestic violence described feeling a ‘sense of a relief’ and that a ‘burden had been lifted’, giving them new ‘hope’ that things might change.
    • Confession is powerful step, seek for help comes with mixed emotions: Whilst sharing experiences of violence was an incredibly powerful step for women, actually transforming their violent domestic experiences and accessing services and support provided by the state and non-state actors proved to be an arduous roller coaster of emotions, promises, uncertainty, fear and disappointment.
    • Financial dependence stops women form accessing legal justice: With few safe houses across India, the simple reality was that many women have nowhere else to go, and access to legal justice through the courts was a material possibility only for women with independent wealth and connections or those supported by specialist non-governmental organizations. So, for many survivors, transforming their situation depended on securing their economic self-sufficiency by pursuing new skills and livelihood opportunities.

    Role of the police

    • Police were the part of problem than the solution: Women who reported experiences of violence to the police were cynical about the outcome. Though a small minority had positive experiences, for the majority of those we interviewed, the police were part of the problem rather than a solution to violence.
    • Police more likely to send women back to reconcile: Across the States, that the police were more likely to send women back to violent households to reconcile with the perpetrator or use violence against perpetrators as a deterrent instead of filing an official complaint or connecting women to protection officers and other service providers, as the PWDVA outlines they should.
    • Absence and under resourced Protection officers: Several States are yet to implement Protection officers. And where they are in post, they are under resourced, under-skilled and overworked, making their remit impossible.

    Domestic violence

    Conclusion

    • Even whilst its legislature recognizes that domestic violence is a crime, and civil remedies exist through protection orders, managing the fallout of domestic violence is still being subcontracted to survivors and the family. That is the biggest crime being committed against women today. Women empowerment without social justice is a futile exercise, State must take appropriate social empowerment steps in this direction.

    Mains question

    Q. What is the status of women facing domestic violence in India? Despite many laws and a country where domestic violence is a crime, most women prefer to remain silent and do not seek help. Discuss.

    (Click) FREE1-to-1 on-call Mentorship by IAS-IPS officers | Discuss doubts, strategy, sources, and more

  • Russia postpones with US under New START nuclear treaty

    Russia postponed nuclear weapons talks with the United States under the New START Treaty with neither side giving a reason for the postponement.

    New START Treaty

    • The New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) pact limits the number of deployed nuclear warheads, missiles and bombers and is due to expire in 2021 unless renewed.
    • The treaty limits the US and Russia to a maximum of 1,550 deployed nuclear warheads and 700 deployed missiles and bombers, well below Cold War caps.
    • It was signed in 2010 by former US President Barack Obama and then-Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.
    • It is one of the key controls on the superpower deployment of nuclear weapons.

    Background of US-Russia Nuclear Relations

    • The US formally QUIT the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF)
    • The agreement obliged the two countries to eliminate all ground-based missiles of ranges between 500 and 5,500 km.

    When did nuclear disarmament begin?

    • In 1985, the two countries entered into arms control negotiations on three tracks.
    • The first dealt with strategic weapons with ranges of over 5,500 km, leading to the START agreement in 1991.
    • It limited both sides to 1,600 strategic delivery vehicles and 6,000 warheads.
    • A second track dealt with intermediate-range missiles and this led to the INF Treaty in 1987.
    • A third track, Nuclear, and Space Talks was intended to address Soviet concerns regarding the U.S.’s Strategic Defence Initiative (SDI) but this did not yield any outcome.

    Success of INF

    • The INF Treaty was hailed as a great disarmament pact even though no nuclear warheads were dismantled.
    • As it is a bilateral agreement, it did not restrict other countries.
    • By 1991, the INF was implemented. USSR destroyed 1,846 and the US destroyed 846 Pershing and cruise missiles. 
    • Associated production facilities were also closed down.
    • INF Treaty was the first pact to include intensive verification measures, including on-site inspections.

    How has the nuclear behavior been?

    • With the end of the Cold War and the break-up of the USSR in end-1991, former Soviet allies were joining NATO and becoming EU members.
    • The U.S. was investing in missile defense and conventional global precision strike capabilities to expand its technological lead.
    • In 2001, the U.S. announced its unilateral withdrawal from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty (ABM Treaty).
    • The US also blamed Russia for not complying with the ‘zero-yield’ standard imposed by the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). This may indicate the beginning of a new nuclear arms race.

    Implications of the New Start

    • The 2011 New START lapsed in 2021. It may meet the fate of the INF Treaty.
    • The 2018 NPR envisaged the development of new nuclear weapons, including low-yield weapons.
    • China is preparing to operate its test site year-round with its goals for its nuclear force.
    • CTBT requires ratification by U.S., China, and Iran, Israel and Egypt and adherence by India, Pakistan and North Korea. It is unlikely to ever enter into force.

    Conclusion

    • A new nuclear arms race could just be the beginning. It may be more complicated because of multiple countries being involved.
    • Technological changes are bringing cyber and space domains into contention. It raises the risks of escalation.

     

    Click and get your FREE Copy of CURRENT AFFAIRS Micro Notes

    (Click) FREE1-to-1 on-call Mentorship by IAS-IPS officers | Discuss doubts, strategy, sources, and more

  • Understanding the “China’s BRICS” game

    BRICS

    Context

    • At the 14thLeaders’ Meeting of the BRICS, held virtually in June 2022, China dwelt on the issue of expanding the group beyond its five existing members to include more emerging economies. At a time when China-India relations are at a low point, the proposal has raised concerns in New Delhi. As India deliberates its stance on this contentious issue, it is important to understand China’s approach towards BRICS.

    Click and get your FREE Copy of CURRENT AFFAIRS Micro Notes

    BRICS

    All you need to know about BRICS

    • BRICS is an acronym for the grouping of the world’s leading emerging economies, namely Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
    • Jim O’Neill, a British economist, coined the term ‘BRIC’ to describe the four emerging economies of Brazil, Russia, India, and China. He made a case for BRIC on the basis of econometric analyses projecting that the four economies would individually and collectively occupy far greater economic space and become among the world’s largest economies.
    • The importance of BRICS is self-evident: It represents 42% of the world’s population, 30% of the land area, 24% of global GDP and 16% of international trade.
    • The five BRICS countries are also members of G-20.

    BRICS for China

    • Strategy of multiple engagements: For China, it is the grand strategy that is the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) that threads its many engagements: BRICS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) where it is not directly a member, the Eurasian Economic Union, and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).
    • Projecting the connection between BRICS and BRI: BRICS as an entity, has not signed any memorandum of cooperation with the BRI, In Chinese strategic thinking, the BRI and BRICS are deeply connected.
    • Repeated assertion by Xi Jinping: President Xi Jinping himself has harped on this notion in his speeches on multiple occasions, such as the 9th BRICS Business Forum in September 2017 and the 11th BRICS Leaders’ Meeting in November 2019. In his speech he stated that China would cooperate with other multilateral development institutions such as the BRICS New Development Bank to support BRI and jointly formulate guidelines to finance development projects. 

    BRICS

    China’s Approach towards BRICS: The Link with BRI

    • Policy of Five connectivities: Chinese scholars are of the opinion that the “five connectivities” in policy, infrastructure, trade, finance, and people-to-people constitute the common way forward for both the BRI and BRICS.
    • Economic development strategy: China has been working towards strengthening the interconnection of economic development strategies of different states along the BRI, particularly the BRICS nations, aligning and integrating BRI and BRICS infrastructure projects, ensuring unimpeded trade, pursuing multiple forms of cooperation.
    • China’s Silk Road Economic Belt and EEU: The most significant progress made so far by China in this regard has been the official docking between China’s Silk Road Economic Belt (the land part of the BRI) and the EEU (where Russia is the dominant player) in May 2015.
    • Infrastructure models that China is emphasising: A high-speed railway project from Moscow to Kazan is being constructed under this strategic cooperation, funded by the BRICS New Development Bank. This is the model that China wants to replicate with other BRICS nations as well. In December 2015, South Africa and China signed a memorandum of understanding on jointly promoting the construction of the “Silk Road Economic Belt” and the “21st Century Maritime Silk Road.”

    Why China needs BRICS to promote the BRI?

    • To avoid direct conflicts: Chinese policymakers believe that although China is the main proponent of the BRI, it needs to avoid both strategic overdraft and direct conflicts with the pillars of the present international order while implementing the strategy.
    • To use resources effectively: To improve efficiency in the use of funds and other resources, China, it is argued, should shift from individually leading specific projects to constructing and leading various international institutions and exerting itself through institutional norms.
    • Strategic alignment and ambition to lead: President Xi emphasised this as well at the ‘Belt and Road’ International Cooperation Summit Forum in May 2017, saying that the BRI “is not about starting from scratch and reinventing the wheel, but realising strategic alignment and (reaping) complementary advantages (of various existing or new mechanisms).”
    • Dominating the financial mechanism through BRI partnership: Chinese scholars point out that all the BRICS countries have already been made part of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), one of China’s key financing mechanisms for the BRI. Further, given China’s clear dominance in the New Development Bank (NDB), Contingency Reserve Fund (CRA), the AIIB, as well as Silk Road Fund, it is only imperative for it to use these institutions to incentivise more BRICS countries to participate in the BRI, and to lay the foundation of a global financial system for the Chinese currency (RMB) trade settlement.
    • Creating an acceptable front: China is aware that the BRI has provoked extensive discussion around the world. It has been interpreted differently by different countries and has even drawn suspicion and caution in certain quarters. China is aware that to implement the BRI smoothly, it needs an additional front that is less controversial and more acceptable to the international community at large, and in particular, to developing countries.

    BRICS

    What are the concerns for India?

    • Promoting priorities in contrast: China prioritises the ‘BRICS + Asia’ cooperation mechanism – ‘BRICS + ASEAN’ on the one hand, and ‘BRICS + Bay of Bengal’ on the other, thereby integrating BRICS more closely with the Southeast Asian countries as well as with the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar Economic Corridor (BCIM-EC) and Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) nations.
    • Aligning with BIMSTEC to counter India’s resistance to BRI: The aligning with BIMSTEC is particularly aimed at countering India’s reticence to endorse the BRI, while seeking its cooperation through either coercion (i.e., using other member states of the said groupings as bargaining chips to pressure India to cooperate) or deception (i.e., temporarily ignoring the BRI banner).
    • Using BRICS at its advantage: China wants to use the BRICS platform to establish links and influence policies of these key regional organisations, including the African Union in Africa, the Arab League in West Asia, the SCO in Central Asia, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) in South Asia, and ASEAN in Southeast Asia.
    • Ambition to formulate the world order in its own way: It wants BRICS, especially the BRICS New Development Bank, to strengthen cooperation with the IMF, the World Bank, and the World Trade Organization. This will enable China, through BRICS, to strengthen its international leadership, play a bigger role in the formulation of international rules, and influence the overall global governance mechanism.

    Conclusion

    • As China-US rivalry intensifies and the BRI faces a plethora of challenges, BRICS is increasingly gaining significance for China. Within the grouping, China sees itself as the ‘core’ of BRICS, while India as its weakest link.
    • India needs to accurately grasp the geopolitical shifts taking place within BRICS and deftly navigate the complex dynamics between the member states to safeguard its own interests within the grouping and avoid being drawn passively into China’s Great Game.

    Mains Question

    Q. China has focused on expanding the BRICS group to achieve its own ambitions. Discuss the significance of BRICS for China and India’s concerns.

    (Click) FREE1-to-1 on-call Mentorship by IAS-IPS officers | Discuss doubts, strategy, sources, and more

  • Notable women in the making of Constitution of India

    women

    PM highlighted the contribution of women in the Constituent Assembly which drafted the Constitution was hardly discussed and efforts should be made to educate future generations about their work.

    These are the 15 invisible architects of the Indian republic cited by the PM-

    Note: This newscard has some invincible set of facts that no one can remember in one go. However, we advise you to take some notes and have it on your desk. Be it sticky notes or something. Revise them for some days.

    (1) Ammu Swaminathan

    • She was born into an upper-caste Nair family in the Palghat district of Kerala.
    • She was a social worker and politician who along with Annie Besant, Margaret Cousins, Malathi Patwardhan, Mrs. Dadabhoy, and Mrs. Ambujammal, formed the Women’s India Association in 1917 in Madras.
    • One of the first associations to demand adult franchise and constitutional rights for women.
    • She strongly opposed discriminatory caste practices although, she belonged to an upper-caste and strongly advocated equal status, adult franchise, and the removal of untouchability.
    • Ammu became a part of the Constituent Assembly in 1946 from the Madras constituency.
    • She felt that the Constitution was too long and that it had gone into unnecessary detail and wanted a constitution that could fit easily into a pocket or purse.

    (2) Annie Mascarene

    • Annie Mascarene was born into a Latin Catholic family belonging to Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.
    • She was one of the first women to join the Travancore State Congress and became the first woman to be part of the Travancore State Congress Working Committee.
    • She was one of the leaders of the movements for independence and integration with the Indian nation in the Travancore State.
    • She was elected to the First Lok Sabha in the Indian general election, 1951.
    • She was the first woman MP from Kerala and one of only ten elected to Parliament in the elections.
    • Before her election to Parliament, she had served briefly as Minister in Charge of Health and Power during 1949-1950.

    (3) Begum Aizaz Rasul

    • She was born into the princely family of Malerkotla, Punjab.
    • She was the only Muslim woman in the Constituent Assembly.
    • She, together with her husband joined the Muslim League after the enactment of the GOI Act 1935.
    • In 1950, after the dissolution of the Muslim League in India, she joined Congress.
    • She was elected to the Constituent Assembly as a member of the Muslim League representing the United Provinces.
    • Although she was not a part of any committee in the Assembly, she advocated for National language, reservation and property rights, and minority rights.
    • She was against making ‘Sanskritised Hindi’ the National language, as only very few understood it and instead advocated for Hindustani.

    (4) Dakshayani Velayudhan

    • She was born into an agrestic slave caste, Pulayas, on a small island of Bolgatty on the coast of Cochin.
    • She was the only Dalit women member of the Constituent Assembly and also the youngest at 34 years.
    • She was the first Dalit woman to graduate in India, and was the only female student pursuing a course in the sciences.
    • She was inspired into politics through her family’s fight against discriminatory caste practices.
    • She was the first generation Kerala woman to be able to cover their upper-body.
    • She was nominated to the Assembly in 1945 from Madras.
    • In the Assembly, she advocated on issues of untouchability, forced labour, reservations, and against separate electorates for Dalits.
    • She believed that the best way to address untouchability was through sustained state propaganda and not through punishment.
    • In 1977 she set up a women’s rights organization Mahila Jagriti Parishad in Delhi.

    (5) Durgabai Deshmukh

    • Durgabai, from the ripe age of twelve, was a part of the Indian freedom movement.
    • She quit school to protest the imposition of English as a medium of education, part of the Non-Cooperation Movement.
    • She volunteered at a conference held by the Indian National Congress in Kakinada at the age of 14.
    • She participated in the Salt Satyagraha from Madras in May of 1930.
    • While she was in prison, she studied English and completed her master’s degree from Andhra University.
    • She then studied law at Madras University and practiced at the bar for a few years.
    • She established Andhra Mahila Sabha to coach young Telugu girls in Madras for their Matriculation examination conducted by the Banaras Hindu University in 1936.
    • She was elected to the Constituent Assembly from Madras and was part of the Committee on Rules and Procedure and the Steering Committee.
    • She also advocated for judicial-independence and human trafficking.
    • She also felt that Hindustani should be adopted as a national language instead of Sanskritised Hindi but, she later argued against adopting Hindi as the national language.

    (6) Hansa Jivraj Mehta

    • She was a writer, social reformer, social activist, and educator.
    • In 1937, she contested in the Bombay Legislative Council elections from the general category; she not only won but remained on the council till 1949.
    • She became President of the All India Women’s Conference in 1946.
    • During the presidency, she drafted the Indian Women’s Charter of Rights and Duties, which called for gender equality and civil rights for women.
    • She is 1946 also served as a member of the UN sub-committee on the status of women.
    • She along with Eleanor Roosevelt, vice-chaired the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights Committee.
    • She was part of the Advisory Committee, Sub-Committee on Fundamental Rights, Provincial Constitution Committee.
    • She strongly advocated for a uniform civil code and believed that purdah was an evil practice. She also rejected quotas, reserved seats, and separate electorates for women.

    (7) Kamla Chaudhary

    • She was a feminist, fictional writer, and political activist.
    • Her political career began in 1930 when she joined the Indian National Congress and was an active participant in the Civil Disobedience Movement.
    • At the 54th session of the All India Congress Committee, she was the vice-president.
    • She was elected to the Constituent Assembly.

    (8) Leela Roy

    • She was a great social reformer, a staunch feminist and a social and political activist, and a close associate of Subash Chandra Bose.
    • In 1923 she received her M.A from Dhaka University and was the first woman to obtain it from the University.
    • She was an advocate for women’s education and established Dipali Sangh, an association for women, in 1923.
    • She founded a school named Dipali School and twelve other free primary schools with the help of the Dipali Sangha.
    • Subsequently, in 1928, she established two other schools known as Nari Shiksa Mandir (Temple of Women’s Education) and Shiksa Bhaban (House of Education).
    • Another important contribution was made b her to Muslim women’s education by setting up one of her schools as Qamrunnessa Girl’s School in Dhaka.
    • She was the only woman to be elected from Bengal to the Constituent Assembly on 9th December 1946.
    • However, she resigned from her post a few months later to protest against the partition of India.

    (9) Malati Choudhury

    • She hailed from East Bengal (now Bangladesh).
    • At the age of 16, in 1929, she was sent to Santiniketan where she got admitted to Viswa-Bharati.
    • Along with her husband, during the Salt Satyagrah joined the Indian National Congress.
    • In 1933, she formed Utkal Congress Samajvadi Karmi Sangh along with, her husband and later came to be known as the Orissa Provincial Branch of the All India Congress Socialist Party.
    • She joined Gandhiji in his famous padayatra in Orissa in 1934.
    • For the upliftment of vulnerable communities in Odisha, she set-up several organizations such as the Bajiraut Chhatravas.

    (10) Purnima Banerjee

    • She was a part of the individual Satyagraha and Quit India movement.
    • She was a member of the Congress Socialist Party and the Indian National Congress.
    • She held the post as the Secretary of the Allahabad City Congress Committee, working towards creating rural engagement.
    • She was appointed to the Constituent Assembly from United Provinces.
    • She argued that the preventative detention clause in Draft Article 15A (Article 22 of the Constitution of India) must prescribe time limits beyond which a person cannot be detained.
    • During the discussion of the Preamble, she expressly stated that ‘sovereignty’ is derived from the people of India.
    • During the discussion around the qualifications of Rajya Sabha members, Banerjee believed that the age limit should be reduced from 35 to 30 years.

    (11) Rajkumari Amrit Kaur

    • Inspired by Gandhi’s fight for Independence, she gave up her Sherborne and Oxford education to be his Secretary for 16 years.
    • In 1927 she along with Margaret cousins co-founded the All-India Women’s Conference.
    • She held the position of Secretary in 1930 and President in 1933.
    • She played a vital part in India’s establishment of constitutional equality of genders guaranteed under Articles 14, 15, and 16.
    • She was also played a pivotal part in the inclusion of the Uniform Civil Code as part of the Directive Principles of State Policy.
    • She was the first Health Minister of independent India and held office for ten years.
    • She was the first female and first Asian President of the world health Assembly.

    (12) Renuka Ray

    • Renuka Rai is a celebrated women’s rights and inheritance rights in parent a property activist.
    • She, like Kaur, was inspired by Gandhi’s call for the independence struggle, joined Gandhi’s Ashram accompanying him in protests.
    • In 1934 while working as a secretary of the AIWC, she authored ‘legal disability is Women in India; A Plea for A Commission of Inquiry’.
    • She worked for the prevention of women trafficking and the improvement of conditions of female labourers.
    • Ray contributed to numerous women’s rights issues, minority rights, and bicameral legislature provisions. She fought for Uniform Personal Law Code.
    • In 1949 represented India in the UN General assembly.

    (13) Sarojini Naidu

    • The first woman president of the Indian National Congress was popularly known as the Nightingale of India.
    • When in England, she had gained some experience in suffragist campaigns and was drawn to India’s Congress movement and Mahatma Gandhi’s Non-cooperation Movement.
    • Besides being a suffragette, she was also a women rights activist, and she advocated for reforms to improve the conditions of widows in the Indian National Social Conference in Madras, 1908.
    • In 1917 she headed the All-India Women’s Deputation and championed women’s suffrage before E. S. Montagu (Secretary of State for India).
    • In the same year, she together with Annie Besant, set up the Women’s India Association.
    • In 1931 she accompanied Gandhi to London for the inconclusive second session of the Round Table Conference.
    • She was appointed to the Constituent Assembly from Bihar as part of the ad-hoc committee on the national flag.

    (14) Sucheta Kriplani

    • The first elected female chief minister of an Indian state was born in Ambala.
    • A graduate from Indraprastha College for Women, Delhi University, taught Constitutional History at Banaras Hindu University until 1939.
    • She became a member of the Congress Party in 1938, served as the Secretary to the Foreign Department and Women’s Section for a year and a half.
    • Under her leadership, the women’s wing of the Congress Party was established in 1940.
    • She held an active role in India’s struggle for independence during the 1940s and was remembered especially for her role in the 1942 Quit India Movement for which she was arrested in 1944 and detained for a year.
    • She was elected to the Constituent Assembly from the United Provinces in 1946 as a member of the Flag Presentation Committee.
    • This committee presented the first Indian flag before the Constituent Assembly.
    • Kriplani served as a Secretary to the Relief and Rehabilitation Committee established by the Congress Party, playing a pivotal role in rehabilitating the Bengali refugees during the partition.
    • She had a colourful political career. She was also a part of various delegations to international organizations and countries.

    (15) Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit

    • Born, Swarup Kumari Nehru was a diplomat and politician. She changed her name after her marriage in 1921.
    • As an enthusiastic participant of the independence struggle, she was imprisoned on three different occasions.
    • After the Indian Independence, she became an eminent diplomat representing India in the United Nations between 1946- 48 and 1952-53.
    • She was an Ambassador to Moscow, Mexico, and Washington and later to England and Ireland concurrently.
    • She is the first woman to become President of the UN General Assembly.
    • She was appointed as the governor of Maharashtra after her return to India.

     

    Click and get your FREE Copy of CURRENT AFFAIRS Micro Notes

    (Click) FREE1-to-1 on-call Mentorship by IAS-IPS officers | Discuss doubts, strategy, sources, and more

  • Juvenile Delinquency in India

    Juvenile

    Click and get your FREE Copy of CURRENT AFFAIRS Micro Notes

    Context

    • The Supreme Court (SC) made an observation in its judgment of November 16 in the infamous Kathua rape-murder case that the rising rate of juvenile delinquency in India is a matter of concern and requires immediate attention.

    Present approach and implications towards Juvenile delinquency

    • The goal of reformation: There is a school of thought, that firmly believes that howsoever heinous the crime may be, be it single rape, gangrape, drug peddling or murder but if the accused is a juvenile, he should be dealt with keeping in mind only one thing i.e., the goal of reformation.
    • Continuance of crime: The school of thought, we are talking about, believes that the goal of reformation is ideal. The manner in which brutal and heinous crimes have been committed over a period of time by the juveniles and still continue to be committed, makes us wonder whether the [Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children)] Act, 2015 has subserved its object.
    • No reformation but more crime: We have started gathering an impression that the leniency with which the juveniles are dealt with in the name of goal of reformation is making them more and more emboldened in indulging in such heinous crimes.

    Juvenile

    Provisions of Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children)] Act, 2015

    • Criminal trials are not allowed: The law, contained in successive Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Acts (JJ Acts), places a blanket ban on the power of the criminal court to try and punish a person below the specified age for committing any offence.
    • Lack of clarity on maturity of person: Should a person, who has sufficient maturity of understanding to judge the nature and consequences of his/her action, get blanket immunity from the criminal process without the fear of being prosecuted, tried and punished, merely because that person is below the specified age?
    • Child friendly inquiry: Under the existing law, such a person, at best, could be subjected to a child-friendly enquiry by a Juvenile Justice Board (JJ Board) and reformation for a maximum period of three years in a correctional home.

    Juvenile

    The issue of maturity of Juvenile offender

    • Help of experts to assess maturity: It is well settled that the assessment of whether or not an offender has attained sufficient maturity of understanding to judge the nature and consequences of his/her conduct is to be done by the court with the help of experts, and is a judicial function as exemplified by Section 83 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 and Code of Civil Procedure, 1908.
    • Judicial discretion was not allowed in JJ Act 2000: The JJ Act 2000 to the extent it deprived the criminal court of the power to try and to punish a person below the age of 18 years for committing an offence, when such a person could be assessed to have attained sufficient maturity to judge the nature and consequences of his/her conduct ,encroached upon the judicial domain and was, therefore, unconstitutional.
    • No changes on maturity in JJ act 2015: The current JJ Act, 2015, suffers from the same defect, except that the age of criminal responsibility for heinous offences has been reduced to 16 years.
    • Immature send to correctional homes: It has been overlooked that the fundamental premise of juvenile justice law is that a juvenile offender who lacks such maturity should not be sent to a criminal court to be tried for the commission of an offence, and instead, should be sent to a correctional home for reform and rehabilitation.
    • Mature juvenile must be punished: Conversely, therefore, should the offender have such maturity, he/she must be prosecuted before the criminal court, tried and, if found guilty, punished. The age of the juvenile offender alone cannot, therefore, justify a blanket immunity from the criminal process rather, the question of such immunity must be assessed on a case-by-case basis depending on the maturity of such offender.

    Juvenile

    Trying the mature juvenile as adult

    • Mature juvenile and adults are not same: Indeed, Section 23 of the JJ Act, 2015 mandates that notwithstanding anything contained in Section 223 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1973 or in any other law for the time being in force, “there shall be no joint proceedings of a child alleged to be in conflict with the law, with a person who is not a child”.
    • Separate provision for mature juveniles: Provisions already exist in the JJ Act, 2015, as to how a child who has attained the age of 16 years could be tried and punished for a heinous offence.
    • Assessing the maturity of all juvenile irrespective of age: The same provisions could be extended to all juvenile offenders, regardless of age or nature of the crime, once it is found by the competent court that any such offender had sufficient maturity of understanding to judge the nature and consequences of his/her actions.

    Conclusion

    • Government should amend JJ Act 2015. Such an amendment would go a long way in providing the requisite balance between the rationales underlying the juvenile justice system and the criminal justice system and realizing the objectives professed by both.

    Mains Question

    Q. What are the flaws with existing Juvenile Justice Act 2015 vis-e-vis maturity of juveniles? How to address the issue mature juvenile and punishment to them?

    (Click) FREE1-to-1 on-call Mentorship by IAS-IPS officers | Discuss doubts, strategy, sources, and more

  • Constitution Day: A rare, enduring document

    Constitution

    Context

    • On November 26, 1949, the Constituent Assembly of India adopted our Constitution. Hence, every year we celebrate this day as Constitution or Law Day. India’s Constitution has now endured for almost 73 years.

    Click and get your FREE Copy of CURRENT AFFAIRS Micro Notes

    Did you know?

    • The original constitution of India was handwritten by Prem Behari Narain Raizada in a flowing italic style with beautiful calligraphy.
    • 2,000 Amendments were made to the 1st draft of the Constitution before it was finalized.

    Constitution

    Circumstances during the making of the constitution

    • Era of constitutional democracies: Constitution-making itself is a relatively unexceptional endeavor. Ginsburg, Elkins and Blount note that in the period from 1789–2005, 806 national constitutions were promulgated.
    • Shadow of partition: It was written under extraordinarily difficult conditions, The partition of India which resulted in the displacement of millions of people on both sides of the border.
    • Mass death and refugee crisis: Partition was accompanied by mass deaths, devastation, violence, and brutality. Amid all this, as refugees flowed into Delhi, our dual-purpose assembly, a parliament by morning and a constituent body in the afternoon drafted our enduring founding instrument. One that would remain relevant not just for the turbulence of that present, but also would be meaningful for future generations to come.
    • A lengthy process: Of the 148 cases, which were randomly chosen from 806, on average, the constitution-making process took 16 months. India’s constitution-making project took about three years from 1946 to 1949.

    Legitimacy of the constitution

    • Constitution narrates the story of people: It’s not only the text, but also the story crafted of the birth of a constitution that is critical in the internalization of a constitutional order by a people.
    • Legitimacy of constitution makers: The drafters deployed the considerable political goodwill enjoyed by key national leaders who were members of the assembly to give legitimacy to the Constitution.
    • Egalitarian foundation for decent nation: The Constitution reflects the will of the people, and how its egalitarian foundation would create a better, more decent nation.

    Constitution

    Influence of freedom movements on the crafting of the Constitution

    • Rise of constitutionalism: The freedom movement and resistance to colonial power was also good training for constitution-crafting. Dietmar Rothmund highlights the unique evolution of Indian constitutionalism, each set of reforms introduced by the British coloniser, while being designed to fulfil certain demands, leads to inspiring new agitations.
    • Tilak’s Swaraj Bill of 1895: As the legal historian Rohit De writes, the Constitution, had its inspiration in sources like Tilak’s Swaraj Bill of 1895 (which included rights to free speech, free press, equality before law) and the Declaration of Rights of 1918 (where the Indian National Congress demanded that civil and political rights to include the right to life and liberty, freedom of press and association and for all this to be included in the Government of India Act 1919).
    • Resolution of Fundamental Rights and Economic Changes:
    • Constitutional development that drew from the Resolution of Fundamental Rights and Economic Changes at the Karachi Session of the Congress in 1931. This resolution argues that “in order to end exploitation of the masses, political freedom must include economic freedom”.
    • Along with fundamental rights, it provided for ending of bonded and child labour, free primary education, expansion of labour welfare, regime protection labour unions, women workers, providing for redistribution of resources through state control over key industries and national resources, recognizing the communal problem and laying out protection of minority rights.

    Constitution

    Consensus based approach

    • It was also the consensus-oriented method that found favor with the Constituent Assembly that has helped our Constitution endure.
    • The framers appreciated the link between consensus in adoption and the legitimacy of the Constitution. For instance, when debating the adoption of Hindi as a national language, Rajendra Prasad, president of the Constituent Assembly, said that the choice of national language would have to be “carried out by the whole country”.
    • Even if a majority of the Assembly made a choice that was not approved by a section of the people, then, implementation of the Constitution would be rendered perilous. Hence, Hindi was made “the official language of the Union”, while English was retained to be used for all “official purposes”.

    Conclusion

    • India’s drafters and the methodologies they adopted to craft their glorious product, hold lessons for contemporary politicians and law makers. Consensus, craft and vision are invaluable while making an instrument to endure.

    Mains Question

    Q. Explain the impact of colonial legacy and freedom movement on drafting of constitution? What were the extra ordinary circumstances during the partition of India?

    (Click) FREE1-to-1 on-call Mentorship by IAS-IPS officers | Discuss doubts, strategy, sources, and more