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GS Paper: GS2

  • What are Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)?

    The Weapons of Mass Destruction and their Delivery Systems (Prohibition of Unlawful Activities) Amendment Bill, 2022 has been unanimously passed in Lok Sabha.

    WMD Bill

    • The Bill seeks to amend The Weapons of Mass Destruction and their Delivery Systems (Prohibition of Unlawful Activities) Act, 2005.
    • It aims to provide against the financing of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems in line with India’s international obligations.
    • The 2005 Act prohibited the manufacturing, transport, and transfer of weapons of mass destruction, and their means of delivery.

    Need for the Bill

    • In recent times, regulations relating to proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems by international organisations have expanded.
    • The UNSCs targeted financial sanctions and the recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force have mandated against financing of proliferation of WMD and their their delivery systems.

    Weapons of Mass Destruction

    • The expression “weapon of mass destruction” (WMD) is usually considered to have been used first by the leader of the Church of England, the Archbishop of Canterbury, in 1937.
    • They usually refer to the aerial bombing of civilians in the Basque town of Guernica by German and Italian fascists in support of General Franco during the Spanish Civil War.
    • The expression WMD entered the vocabularies of people and countries around the world in the early 2000s after the US under President George W Bush and the UK under PM Tony Blair justified the invasion of Iraq.
    • They invaded Iraq on the grounds that the government of Saddam Hussain was hiding these weapons in the country. However, no WMDs were ever found.

    What are NBC weapons?

    • While there is no single, authoritative definition of a WMD in international law, the expression is usually understood to cover nuclear, biological, and chemical (NBC) weapons.
    • WMD can be any nuclear, radiological, chemical, biological, or other device that is intended to harm a large number of people.

    India’s 2005 WMD Act defines-

    1. “Biological Weapons” as “microbial or other biological agents, or toxins…of types and in quantities that have no justification for prophylactic, protective or other peaceful purposes; and weapons, equipment or delivery systems specially designed to use such agents or toxins for hostile purposes or in armed conflict”; and
    2. “Chemical Weapons” as “toxic chemicals and their precursors” except where used for peaceful, protective, and certain specified military and law enforcement purposes; “munitions and devices specifically designed to cause death or other harm through the toxic properties of those toxic chemicals”; and any equipment specifically designed for use in connection with the employment of these munitions and devices.

    Control over use of WMDs

    • The use of chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons is regulated by a number of international treaties and agreements.
    • Among them are the Geneva Protocol, 1925, that banned the use of chemical and biological weapons; and the Biological Weapons Convention, 1972, and Chemical Weapons Convention, 1992, which put comprehensive bans on the biological and chemical weapons respectively.
    • India has signed and ratified both the 1972 and 1992 treaties.
    • There are very few non-signatory countries to these treaties, even though several countries have been accused of non-compliance.
    • The use and proliferation of nuclear weapons is regulated by treaties such as Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT).

    Back2Basics:

    Nuclear Security Contact Group

    • The NSCG was established in 2016.
    • The NSCG or “Contact Group” has been established with the aim of facilitating cooperation and sustaining engagement on nuclear security after the conclusion of the Nuclear Security Summit process.
    • The Contact Group is tasked with:
    1. Convening annually on the margins of the General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and, as may be useful, in connection with other related meetings
    2. Discussing a broad range of nuclear security-related issues, including identifying emerging trends that may require more focused attention

    Nuclear Suppliers Group

    • NSG is a group of nuclear supplier countries that seeks to contribute to the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons through the implementation of guidelines for nuclear exports and nuclear-related exports.
    • The NSG was set up as a response to India’s nuclear tests conducted in 1974.
    • The aim of the NSG is to ensure that nuclear trade for peaceful purposes does not contribute to the proliferation of nuclear weapons.

    Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty

    • CTBT was negotiated at the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva and adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1996.
    • The Treaty intends to ban all nuclear explosions – everywhere, by everyone.
    • It was opened for signature in 1996 and since then 182 countries have signed the Treaty, most recently Ghana has ratified the treaty in 2011.

    Fissile material cut-off treaty

    • FMCT is a proposed international agreement that would prohibit the production of the two main components of nuclear weapons: highly-enriched uranium (HEU) and plutonium.
    • Discussions on this subject have taken place at the UN Conference on Disarmament (CD), a body of 65 member nations established as the sole multilateral negotiating forum on disarmament.
    • The CD operates by consensus and is often stagnant, impeding progress on an FMCT.
    • Those nations that joined the nuclear NPT as non-weapon states are already prohibited from producing or acquiring fissile material for weapons.
    • An FMCT would provide new restrictions for the five recognized nuclear weapon states (NWS—United States, Russia, United Kingdom, France, and China), and for the four nations that are not NPT members (Israel, India, Pakistan, and North Korea).

     

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  • Centre extends relief to Tibetan Committee by 5 years

    The Union government has extended the scheme to provide ₹40 crore grants-in-aid to the Dalai Lama’s Central Tibetan Relief Committee (CTRC) for another five years, up to fiscal year 2025-26.

    Do you think that India’s support for the Tibetan cause is the root cause of all irritants in India-China relations?

    What is CTRC?

    • The Dalai Lama’s Central Tibetan Relief Committee (CTRC) was formed and registered as Charitable Society under Indian Societies Registration Act XXI of 1860.
    • It effectively acts as the Relief and Development Wing of Home Department, Central Tibetan Administration.
    • All the CTRC activities are carried out with consent and support from Board of Directors and approval from TPiE (Tibetan Parliament in Exile).

    Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile (TPiE)

    • The Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile (TPiE) has its headquarters in Dharamsala, in the Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh.
    • According to the Green Book of the Tibetan government-in-exile, over 1 lakh Tibetans are settled across India.
    • The remaining are settled in United States, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Costa Rica, France, Mexico, Mongolia, Germany, United Kingdom, Switzerland and various other countries.

    Working of the TPiE

    • The Speaker and a Deputy Speaker head the Tibetan Parliament-in-exile.
    • It includes two members from each of the four schools of Tibetan Buddhism and the pre-Buddhist Bon religion.
    • Other representatives are from the Tibetan Communities in North America and Europe; and from Australasia and Asia (excluding India, Nepal and Bhutan).
    • Till 2006, it used to be called as Assembly of Tibetan People’s Deputies (ATPDs) with the chairman as its head and a vice-chairman.

    Tibetan Constitution

    • The Central Tibetan Administration exists and functions on the basis of the Constitution of the Tibetan government called the ‘The Charter of the Tibetans in Exile’.
    • In 1991, The Constitution Redrafting Committee instituted by the Dalai Lama prepared the Charter for Tibetans in exile. The Dalai Lama approved it on June 28, 1991.
    • In 2001, fundamental changes happened with the amendment of the Charter that facilitated the direct election of the Kalon Tripa by the Tibetans in exile.
    • The Kalon Tripa is called Sikyong or president of the Central Tibetan Administration.

    The Kashag (Cabinet)

    • The Kashag (Cabinet) is the Central Tibetan Administration’s highest executive office and comprise seven members.
    • It is headed by the Sikyong (political leader) who is directly elected by the exiled Tibetan population.
    • Sikyong subsequently nominates his seven Kalons (ministers) and seeks the parliament’s approval. The Kashag’s term is for five years.

    A backgrounder: Democracy for Tibet

    • The Dalai Lama began democratization soon after he came to India during the 1959 Tibetan National Uprising.
    • He reportedly asked Tibetans in exile to choose their representatives through universal adult suffrage, following which polls were held for electing Tibetan Parliamentarians in 1960.
    • Democracy for the Tibetans, thus, began in exile.
    • The Dalai Lama, however, continued to remain the supreme political leader. On March 14, 2011, he relinquished his political responsibilities, ending a 369-year-old practice.

    Is TPiE officially recognized by any country?

    • Not exactly, it is not recognised officially by any country, including India.
    • But, a number of countries including the USA and European nations deal directly with the Sikyong and other Tibetan leaders through various forums.
    • The TPiE claims its democratically-elected character helps it manage Tibetan affairs and raise the Tibetan issue across the world.
    • The incumbent Sikyong, Lobsang Sangay, was among the guests who attended the oath-taking ceremony of our PM in 2014, probably a first.

     

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  • Strengthen secularism

    Context

    The High Court of Karnataka has not been able to settle the hijab issue. The petition has been filed in the apex court by a Muslim student against the high court judgement.

    Political and Constitutional dimensions of the issue

    • The issue of the hijab is political as well as constitutional.
    • The top court will examine the constitutional aspect and its judgment will hopefully settle the issue.
    • But the political dimension of the hijab issue will continue to trouble Indian society for a long time.
    • The Indian Constitution provides for freedom of religion and conscience on the one hand and secularism for the governance of the country on the other.

    Understanding the freedom of religion under Indian Constitution

    • Under the Indian Constitution, there is a separation of religion from the state as in Europe.
    • The essence of India’s secularism is that the state has no religion.
    • This is clear from Articles 27 and 28 of the Constitution.
    • Article 27 says that no tax can be levied for promoting any particular religion.
    • In other words, no public revenue is permitted to be spent in favour of any particular religion. 
    • Article 28 says that no religious instruction shall be given in any educational institutions wholly maintained out of state funds.
    • The same Article says that no educational institution recognised or aided by the state shall compel any person to attend religious classes or worship therein.
    • Article 25(2)(a) empowers the state to regulate secular activities associated with religious practice.
    • Article 15 prohibits any kind of discrimination on the ground of religion.
    • Freedom of religion is subject to other fundamental rights: Above all, freedom of religion is made subject to other fundamental rights, apart from the reasonable restrictions on the grounds of public order, morality and health.
    • Thus, the freedom of religion under the Constitution does not enjoy the same status as other secular rights such as equality before law, non-discrimination, right to life and liberty, etc.

    Why India needs to be secular

    • Theocracy will ensure the disintegration of the country.
    • 1] India is a multi-religious country where the largest minority is around 200 million.
    • The Government of India had notified as many as six minority religions in the country.
    • So, a theocratic state with the majority religion as the state religion is an unworkable proposition.
    • 2] Complex structure: Another crucial factor which makes a theocratic state impossible in India is the complex, inegalitarian, hierarchical and oppressive social structure of the majority religion.
    • 3] There would be no equality: Since a theocratic state based on the religious texts, in the Indian context, would mean a state which would deny equality before law and equal protection of law to the subaltern class and discriminate against them on the basis of caste, it will be inherently unstable.
    • This may lead to perennial conflicts and the eventual disintegration of society.
    • Therefore, we reach the inevitable conclusion that India, as a nation, can survive only as a secular state where the state has no religion and does not promote any religion.

    Conclusion

    Secularism was chosen as the foundational principle of the republic to keep the nation united. Enlightened citizens should realise that if secularism is jettisoned, the hard-won national unity will be in peril. It is the patriotic duty of every citizen to strengthen secularism and thus save the republic.

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  • Who are Denotified Tribes (DNTs)?

    A standing committee of Parliament, tabled last week, has criticised the functioning of the development programme for de-notified, nomadic and semi-nomadic tribes.

    Who are de-notified, nomadic and semi-nomadic tribes?

    • These are communities who are the most vulnerable and deprived.
    • Denotified tribes (DNTs) are communities that were ‘notified’ as being ‘born criminal’ during the British regime under a series of laws starting with the Criminal Tribes Act of 1871.
    • They mostly belong to the medieval period Banjaras.
    • Nomadic and semi-nomadic communities are defined as those who move from one place to another rather than living at one place all the time.

    What is the history of deprivation faced by these communities?

    • This has a long history, first during colonial rule, and then in independent India.
    • These communities are largely politically ‘quiet’ — they do not place their demands concretely before the government for they lack vocal leadership and also lack the patronage of a national leader.
    • Many commissions and committees constituted since Independence have referred to the problems of these communities. These include the:
    1. Criminal Tribes Inquiry Committee, 1947 constituted in the United Provinces (now Uttar Pradesh)
    2. Ananthasayanam Ayyangar Committee in 1949 (it was based on the report of this committee the Criminal Tribes Act was repealed)
    3. Kaka Kalelkar Commission (also called first OBC Commission) constituted in 1953
    4. In 1965, an Advisory Committee constituted for revision of the SC and ST list under the chairmanship of B N Lokur referred to denotified tribes
    5. The B P Mandal Commission constituted in 1980 also made some recommendations on the issue

    Policy measures for DNTs

    • A National Commission for De-notified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Tribes (NCDNT) was constituted in 2006 by the then government.
    • It was headed by Balkrishna Sidram Renke and submitted its report in June 2008.
    • It said that it is an irony that these tribes somehow escaped the attention of our Constitution makers and thus got deprived of the Constitutional support unlike SCs and STs.
    • The Renke commission estimated their population at around 10.74 crore based on Census 2001.
    • A new Commission constituted in February 2014 to prepare a state-wise list, which submitted its report on January 8, 2018, identified 1,262 communities as de-notified, nomadic and semi-nomadic.
    • Much recently, the Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment launched the Scheme for Economic Empowerment of De-notified, Nomadic, and Semi Nomadic Communities (SEED).

    Why in news now?

    • While a number of these tribes are categorised under SC, ST and OBC, many are not.
    • The standing committee report in Parliament has cited a statement by the Secretary, Department of Social Justice and Empowerment, that 269 DNT communities are not covered under any reserved categories.
    • These communities are frequently left out because they are less visible and difficult to reach.

    What is DWBDNC, and what is its role?

    • The DWBDNC stands for the Scheme for welfare of Denotified, Nomadic and Semi Nomadic communities (DWBDNC).
    • The commission report submitted in 2018 had recommended the setting of up a permanent commission for these communities.
    • But since most DNTs are covered under SC, ST or OBC, the government felt setting up a permanent commission, which would deal with redress of grievances.
    • The government therefore set up the DWBDNCs under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 under the aegis of Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.

    The Idate Commission

    • The DWBDNC was constituted on February 21, 2019 under the chairmanship of Bhiku Ramji Idate.
    • Also, a committee has been set up by the NITI Aayog to complete the process of identification of the de-notified, nomadic and semi-nomadic communities (DNCs).
    • Ethnographic studies of DNCs are being conducted by the Anthropological Survey of India, with a budget of Rs 2.26 crore sanctioned.
    • On March 30, 2022 the DoPT issued an advertisement for the recruitment of consultants in the DWBDNC.

     

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  • SC to hear plea against Electoral Bonds Scheme

    The CJI N will soon take up a long-pending challenge against the government’s electoral bonds scheme.

    What are Electoral Bonds?

    • Electoral bonds are banking instruments that can be purchased by any citizen or company to make donations to political parties, without the donor’s identity being disclosed.
    • It is like a promissory note that can be bought by any Indian citizen or company incorporated in India from select branches of State Bank of India.
    • The citizen or corporate can then donate the same to any eligible political party of his/her choice.
    • An individual or party will be allowed to purchase these bonds digitally or through cheque.

    About the scheme

    • A citizen of India or a body incorporated in India will be eligible to purchase the bond
    • Such bonds can be purchased for any value in multiples of ₹1,000, ₹10,000, ₹10 lakh, and ₹1 crore from any of the specified branches of the State Bank of India
    • The purchaser will be allowed to buy electoral bonds only on due fulfillment of all the extant KYC norms and by making payment from a bank account
    • The bonds will have a life of 15 days (15 days time has been prescribed for the bonds to ensure that they do not become a parallel currency).
    • Donors who contribute less than ₹20,000 to political parties through purchase of electoral bonds need not provide their identity details, such as Permanent Account Number (PAN).

    Objective of the scheme

    • Transparency in political funding: To ensure that the funds being collected by the political parties is accounted money or clean money.

    Who can redeem such bonds?

    • The Electoral Bonds shall be encashed by an eligible Political Party only through a Bank account with the Authorized Bank.
    • Only the Political Parties registered under Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 (43 of 1951) and which secured not less than one per cent of the votes polled in the last General Election to the Lok Sabha or the State Legislative Assembly, shall be eligible to receive the Electoral Bonds.

    Restrictions that are done away

    • Earlier, no foreign company could donate to any political party under the Companies Act
    • A firm could donate a maximum of 7.5 per cent of its average three year net profit as political donations according to Section 182 of the Companies Act.
    • As per the same section of the Act, companies had to disclose details of their political donations in their annual statement of accounts.
    • The government moved an amendment in the Finance Bill to ensure that this proviso would not be applicable to companies in case of electoral bonds.
    • Thus, Indian, foreign and even shell companies can now donate to political parties without having to inform anyone of the contribution.

    Issues with the Scheme

    • Opaque funding: While the identity of the donor is captured, it is not revealed to the party or public. So transparency is not enhanced for the voter.
    • No IT break: Also income tax breaks may not be available for donations through electoral bonds. This pushes the donor to choose between remaining anonymous and saving on taxes.
    • No anonymity for donors: The privacy of the donor is compromised as the bank will know their identity.
    • Differential benefits: These bonds will help any party that is in power because the government can know who donated what money and to whom.
    • Unlimited donations: The electoral bonds scheme and amendments in the Finance Act of 2017 allows for “unlimited donations from individuals and foreign companies to political parties without any record of the sources of funding”.

    Way ahead

    • The worries over the electoral bond scheme, however, go beyond its patent unconstitutionality.
    • The concern about the possibility of misuse of funds is very pertinent.
    • The EC has been demanding that a law be passed to make political parties liable to get their accounts audited by an auditor from a panel suggested by the CAG or EC. This should get prominence.
    • Another feasible option is to establish a National Election Fund to which all donations could be directed.
    • This would take care of the imaginary fear of political reprisal of the donors.

     

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  • India condemns atrocities in Bucha, Ukraine

    India condemned the killing of civilians in Bucha, Ukraine, at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) calling for an independent UN inquiry. (However India abstained from blaming Russia for the civilian deaths.)

    Note: Such events are of least GS importance. However, one must recognize the severity of such massacres and the imprint that it left on entire humanity. Yes, it is not India’s war, but it is no mean activity for a military superpower to march and annexe a small neighbour.  This topic holds much importance for personality test.

    Bucha massacre

    • The grimmest discoveries have been made in a Kyiv suburb called Bucha, a town located about 25 km to the northwest of the capital.
    • More than 300 bodies have been found in the town, some with their hands bound, flesh burned, and shot in the back of the head.
    • Satellite images now available show streets strewn with corpses, and many of the bodies seen by journalists in the past couple of days appear to have lain in the open for weeks.
    • The reports and pictures of corpses wearing civilian clothes, some clutching shopping bags, suggest that ordinary citizens were murdered without provocation, as they went about their daily business.

    A no lesser holocaust event

    • The discoveries have drawn comparisons with the killings of civilians in this area during World War II.
    • It reminds of the First Battle of Kyiv (part of Hitler’s Operation Barbarossa against the Soviet Union that began in June 1941) and the Second Battle of Kyiv (November-December 1943).
    • The Red (Soviet) Army started to push back the Germans from Ukraine, the area around the Ukrainian capital, including Bucha.
    • It saw the “Holocaust by bullets” during which an estimated 1.5 million people, mostly Jews, were shot dead at close range.

    A genocide or war crimes?

    • War crimes are defined as “grave breaches” of the Geneva Conventions, agreements signed after World War II that laid down international humanitarian laws during war time.
    • Deliberately targeting civilians amounts to a war crime.
    • The International Criminal Court (ICC) at The Hague has already opened an investigation into possible war crimes by Russia.
    • The investigation could in theory target even Putin. But it will be difficult to bring Russian defendants to trial or to prove intent.
    • Russia does not recognise the ICC and will likely not cooperate with the investigation.
    • The crimes of genocide are defined by the United Nations Genocide Convention of December 1948.
    • It includes acts “committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group”. Genocide is seen as the gravest and most serious of all crimes against humanity.

     

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  • Human Migration: Reasons & Impact

    Context

    Repeated surveys have found that the incomes of migrant households continue to be lower than pre-pandemic levels, even after returning to cities.

    Lack of policy for migrants

    • In the wake of a nationwide lockdown, India was left shocked by the plight of migrant workers walking hundreds of kilometres.
    • They became the focus of large-scale relief efforts by governments and civil society alike.
    • The Government ramped up the One Nation One Ration Card (ONORC) project, announced the Affordable Rental Housing Complexes (ARHC) scheme, set up the e-Shram portal and began to draft a migration policy.
    •  Despite this, a cohesive migration policy guidance remains elusive.
    • Contribution of migrant workers: Today, a third of the nation’s workforce is mobile.
    • Migrants fuel critical sectors such as manufacturing, construction, hospitality, logistics and commercial agriculture.
    • Despite clear economic and humanitarian reasoning to bring migrants back into the policy discourse, the current policy scenario is at best fragmented and at worst waning.

    Structural constraints

    1] Politicisation of issue and fragmented policy response

    •  Migration is a highly politicised phenomenon in India.
    • ‘Destination States’ experience a tension between economic needs, which require migrant labour, and political needs, which promote nativist policies that impose domicile restrictions on employment and social security.
    • On the flip side, the ‘sending States’ are highly motivated to serve their “own people” because they vote in their source villages.
    • This fragmented policy response to internal migration follows from State-specific calculations.
    • Development policy in India has bet big on rural development as an antidote to migration.
    • This widespread ‘sedentary bias’ continues to influence policy even though migration is an important pathway for impoverished marginalised rural households to find economic security (and social emancipation).

    2] Categorisation challenge

    • Migrants are a perennially fuzzy category in policy discourse, located inside two larger categories: the unorganised worker and the urban poor.
    • Even the e-Shram portal, which has made impressive progress in registering unorganised workers, has been unable to accurately distinguish and target migrants.
    • Policy interventions in major urban destinations continue to conflate the urban poor with low-income migrants.
    • Hence, slum development continues as the primary medium for alleviating migrant concerns, while in reality, most migrants live on worksites that are entirely out of the policy gaze.

    3] Gaps in the data

    • Migration policy discourse is seemingly paralysed by the now well-acknowledged failure of official datasets to capture the actual scale and the frequency of internal migration in India.
    •  Data systems designed to periodically record only one spatial location have posed great challenges to welfare delivery for up to 500 million people who are part of multi-locational migrant households.
    • The novel coronavirus pandemic has placed a sharp focus on problems such as educating and vaccinating those children who accompany their migrant parents, or ensuring that migrant women avail maternity benefits at multiple locations.

    Way forward: Strategic policy guidance by Centre and a platform for inter-State coordination

    • Policy in India often emerges from the ground up, taking decades to cement into national law and standard practice.
    • We have seen this in education and food security.
    • State’s initiatives: In migration too, many States have initiated data projects that can track migrants and generate dynamic real-time data that aid welfare delivery.
    • Maharashtra’s Migration Tracking System (MTS), Chhattisgarh’s State Migrant Workers Policy is premised on registering migrant workers at source and tracking them through phone-based outreach systems.
    • Multisectoral approach: There is further need for multisectoral approaches underpinned by a strategic convergence across government departments and initiatives.
    • Odisha’s Planning and Convergence Department, which offers an institutional mechanism for inter-departmental coordination, is one possible model.
    • Important role of the Centre:  State-level political economy constraints make the Centre’s role particularly crucial in addressing issues of inter-State migrant workers at ‘destination States’.
    • The NITI Aayog’s Draft Policy on Migrant Workers is a positive step forward.

    Conclusion

    Strategic initiatives to provide migrants safety nets regardless of location as well as bolster their ability to migrate safely and affordably must keep up the momentum toward migrant-supportive policy.

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  • No need for laws to enforce duties on citizens: AG

    Attorney-General K.K. Venugopal said that there was no need to enact specific laws to “enforce” fundamental duties on citizens.

    What is the case?

    • The Supreme Court is entertaining a public interest litigation (PIL) petition to enforce the fundamental duties of citizens, including patriotism and unity of nation, through “comprehensive, well-defined laws”.

    Precursor to AG’s remark

    • The Supreme Court has directed in the Ranganath Mishra judgment of 2003 regarding the implementation of the Justice J.S. Verma Committee’s report on the “operationalization of fundamental duties”.
    • The committee’s work was a part of a report of the National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution.
    • The report had urged the government to sensitise people to, and create general awareness of, their duties and the protection of minorities and freedom of religion.

    What are Fundamental Duties?

    • The fundamental duties of citizens were added to the constitution by the 42nd Amendment in 1976, upon the recommendations of the Swaran Singh Committee.
    • It basically imply the moral obligations of all citizens of a country and today, there are 11 fundamental duties in India, which are written in Part IV-A of the Constitution, to promote patriotism and strengthen the unity of India.
    • The FDs obligate all citizens to respect the national symbols of India, including the constitution, to cherish its heritage, preserve its composite culture and assist in its defence.
    • They also obligate all Indians to promote the spirit of common brotherhood, protect the environment and public property, develop scientific temper, abjure violence, and strive towards excellence in all spheres of life.

    Judicial interpretation of FDs

    • The Supreme Court has held that FDs are not enforceable in any Court of Law.
    • It ruled that these fundamental duties can also help the court to decide the constitutionality of a law passed by the legislature.
    • There is a reference to such duties in international instruments such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and Article 51A brings the Indian constitution into conformity with these treaties.

    Total FDs

    • Originally ten in number, the fundamental duties were increased to eleven by the 86th Amendment in 2002.

    The 10 fundamental duties are as follows:

    1. To oblige with the Indian Constitution and respect the National Anthem and Flag
    2. To cherish and follow the noble ideas that inspired the national struggle for freedom
    3. To protect the integrity, sovereignty, and unity of India
    4. To defend the country and perform national services if and when the country requires
    5. To promote the spirit of harmony and brotherhood amongst all the people of India and renounce any practices that are derogatory to women
    6. To cherish and preserve the rich national heritage of our composite culture
    7. To protect and improve the natural environment including lakes, wildlife, rivers, forests, etc.
    8. To develop scientific temper, humanism, and spirit of inquiry
    9. To safeguard all public property
    10. To strive towards excellence in all genres of individual and collective activities

    The 11th fundamental duty which was added to this list is:

    1. To provide opportunities for education to children between 6-14 years of age, and duty as parents to ensure that such opportunities are being awarded to their child. (86th Amendment, 2002)

    Try this PYQ from CSP 2017:

    Q. Which of the following is/are among the Fundamental Duties of citizens laid down in the Indian Constitution?

    1. To preserve the rich heritage of our composite culture
    2. To protect the weaker sections from social injustice
    3. To develop the scientific temper and spirit of inquiry
    4. To strive towards excellence in all spheres of individual and collective activity.

    Select the correct answer using the codes given below:

    (a) 1 and 2 only

    (b) Only 2

    (c) 1, 3 and 4 only

    (d) 1, 2, 3 and 4

     

    [wpdiscuz-feedback id=”vi1m5s5vrg” question=”Please leave a feedback on this” opened=”1″]Post your answers here.[/wpdiscuz-feedback]

     

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  • 13 new districts created in Andhra Pradesh

    Andhra Pradesh has got a new map with the creation of 13 new districts, taking the number of total districts in the state to 26.

    What are Districts?

    • India’s districts are local administrative units inherited from the British Raj.
    • They generally form the tier of local government immediately below that of India’s subnational states and territories.
    • A district is headed by a Deputy Commissioner/ Collector, who is responsible for the overall administration and the maintenance of law and order.
    • The district collector may belong to IAS (Indian Administrative Service).
    • Districts are most frequently further sub-divided into smaller administrative units, called either tehsils or talukas or mandals, depending on the region.

    How are new districts carved?

    • The power to create new districts or alter or abolish existing districts rests with the State governments.
    • This can either be done through an executive order or by passing a law in the State Assembly.
    • Many States prefer the executive route by simply issuing a notification in the official gazette.

    How does it help?

    • States argue that smaller districts lead to better administration and governance.
    • For example, in 2016, the Assam government issued a notification to upgrade the Majuli sub-division to Majuli district for “administrative expediency”.

    Does the Central government have a role to play here?

    • The Centre has no role to play in the alteration of districts or creation of new ones. States are free to decide.
    • The Home Ministry comes into the picture when a State wants to change the name of a district or a railway station.
    • The State government’s request is sent to other departments and agencies such as the Ministry of Earth Sciences, Intelligence Bureau, Department of Posts, Geographical Survey of India Sciences and the Railway Ministry seeking clearance.
    • A no-objection certificate may be issued after examining their replies.

     

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  • Delimitation of Constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir

    Members of the Jammu & Kashmir Delimitation Commission faced protests in Jammu as they embarked on a two-day visit to hold consultations with citizens, civil society groups and political parties.

    What is Delimitation and why is it needed?

    • Delimitation is the act of redrawing boundaries of an Assembly or Lok Sabha seat to represent changes in population over time.
    • This exercise is carried out by a Delimitation Commission, whose orders have the force of law and cannot be questioned before any court.
    • The objective is to redraw boundaries (based on the data of the last Census) in a way so that the population of all seats, as far as practicable, be the same throughout the State.
    • Aside from changing the limits of a constituency, the process may result in a change in the number of seats in a state.

    Delimitation in J&K

    • Assembly seats in J&K were delimited in 1963, 1973 and 1995.
    • Prior to August 5, 2019, carving out of J&K’s Assembly seats was carried out under the J&K Constitution and Jammu and Kashmir Representation of the People Act, 1957.
    • Until then, the delimitation of Lok Sabha seats in J&K was governed by the Constitution of India.
    • However, the delimitation of the state’s Assembly was governed by the J&K Constitution and J&K Representation of the People Act, 1957.
    • There was no census in the state in 1991 and hence no Delimitation Commission was set up by the state until 2001 census.

    Why is it in the news again?

    • After the abrogation of J&K’s special status in 2019, the delimitation of Lok Sabha and Assembly seats in the newly-created UT would be as per the provisions of the Indian Constitution.
    • On March 6, 2020, the government set up the Delimitation Commission, headed by retired Supreme Court judge Ranjana Prakash Desai, which was tasked with winding up delimitation in J&K in a year.
    • As per the J&K Reorganization Bill, the number of Assembly seats in J&K would increase from 107 to 114, which is expected to benefit the Jammu region.

    Factors considered during Delimitation

    • The number of districts had increased from 12 to 20 and tehsils from 52 to 207 since the last delimitation.
    • The population density ranged from 29 persons a square km in Kishtwar to 3,436 persons a square km in Srinagar.
    • The remoteness of the place, inaccessibility etc are also considered during the exercise.

    Concerns raised over Delimitation

    • Jammu vs. Kashmir: Concerns had been expressed over how the delimitation process may end up favoring the Jammu region over Kashmir in terms of the seats.
    • Under-representation of Ladakh: Arguments have been made on how Ladakh has been underrepresented, with demands for statehood/sixth schedule.
    • Non-proportionate reservations: It is argued that seats for STs should’ve been divided in both Jammu province & Kashmir province, as the ST population is almost equal.