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  • Parliament – Sessions, Procedures, Motions, Committees etc

    A proposal for Indian Environmental Service

    | Enviro & Biodiversity | Mains Paper 3: Conservation, Environmental Pollution & Degradation, Eia

    The Supreme Court has asked the Government if it will create an Indian Environmental Service (IES) as recommended by a committee headed by former Cabinet secretary T.S.R Subramanian in 2014.

    Why is the IES debate back in the news?

    • The Supreme Court was responding to a petition whose counsel pointed out that the matters of environment required special expertise.
    • Currently, matters of environmental regulation rest on scientists of the Ministry of Environment and Forests as well as bureaucrats from the Indian Administrative Services (IAS).
    • The apex court expressed reluctance at getting into administrative matters of the Government but nevertheless asked the Centre if it expects to go about constituting such a mechanism.

    TSR Subramanian Committee Report on Environment

    • The Subramanian committee was set up in August 2014 to review the country’s green laws and the procedures followed by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC).
    • It suggested several amendments to align with the Government’s economic development agenda.
    • The report had suggested amendments to almost all green laws, including those relating to the environment, forest, wildlife and coastal zone clearances.
    • The committee suggested that another committee, with more expertise and time, be constituted to review the environmental laws.

    Key recommendations

    (a) Establishment of Environment Management Authorities

    • The report proposed an ‘Environmental Laws (Management) Act’ (ELMA), that envisioned full-time expert bodies to be constituted at the Central and State levels respectively:
    1. National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA)
    2. State Environmental Management Authority (SEMA)

    (b) Project clearances

    • These authorities evaluate project clearance (using technology and expertise), in a time bound manner, providing for single-window clearance.
    • It suggested a “fast track” procedure for “linear” projects (roads, railways and transmission lines), power and mining projects and for “projects of national importance.”
    • It also suggested an appellate mechanism against the decisions of NEMA/SEMA or MoEF&CC, in respect of project clearance, prescribing a three-month deadline to dispose appeals.

    (c) Expanding Environment Protection Act

    • The Air Act and the Water Act is to be subsumed within the EP Act.
    • The existing Central Pollution Control Board and the State PCBs, which monitor and regulate the conditions imposed on the industries to safeguard environment be integrated into NEMA and SEMA.

    (d) Evaluating Environmental Reconstruction Cost (ERC)

    • The report also recommends that an “ERC” should be assessed for each project on the basis of the damage caused by it to the environment and this should be added into the cost of the project.
    • This cost has to be recovered as a cess or duty from the project proponent during the life of the project.

    (e) Research and Development

    • It proposed the establishment of a National Environment Research institute “on the lines of the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education”.
    • It would bring in the application of high-end technology in environment governance.

    (f) Establishment of Indian Environment Service (IES)

    • Finally, an Indian Environment Service should be established to recruit qualified and skilled human resource in the environment sector.

    How were the recommendations received?

    • The Centre never formally accepted this report and neither constituted a new committee as recommended by the Parliamentary Standing Committee.
    • The Parliamentary rejected the report on the grounds that it ended up diluting key aspects of environmental legislation designed to protect the environment.
    • However, many of these recommendations are implicitly making their way into the process of environmental regulation.

    Back2Basics: All Indi Services

    • The All India Services (AIS) comprises three civil services: the Indian Administrative Service, the Indian Police Service and the Indian Forest Service.
    • A unique feature of the AIS is that the members of these services are recruited by the centre (Union government in federal polity), but their services are placed under various State cadres.
    • They have the liability to serve both under the State and under the centre.
    • Officers of these three services comply to the All India Services Rules relating to pay, conduct, leave, various allowances etc.
    • The All India Services Act, 1951, provides for the creation of two more All India Services, namely, the Indian Engineering Service and the Indian Medical Service.

     

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  • Modern Indian History-Events and Personalities

    Netaji’s relationship with Nehru, Gandhi and the Congress

    | | Mains Paper 1: Modern Indian History

    In public discourse, the popular imagination of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose is increasing all across the length and breadth of our country these days.

    Back in 2016, when there was ruckus over de-classification of some files associated with Netaji, a question too appeared in UPSC CSE Mains:

     

    Q. Highlight the differences in the approach of Subhash Chandra Bose and Mahatma Gandhi in the struggle for freedom.

     

    We can expect a repetition again considering the scale of ongoing debate around Netaji and the vitality of his INA leading to immediate withdrawal of British rulers from India.

    Also read:

    Celebration of Parakram Diwas

    Context

    The Bose-Gandhi rivalry is frequently understood as the biggest dichotomy of the Indian nationalist movement.

    Bose: A complex character of freedom movement

    • Bose was a complex character. His complexity comes alive when one realizes his disagreement with the Congress leadership, when Bose took over the Indian National Army (INA).
    • He constituted four regiments, three of which were named after Gandhi, Nehru and Maulana Azad.
    • He had profound respect for his colleagues.
    • In 1943, while Gandhi was in jail, Bose on the former’s birthday gave a moving address over the Azad Hind Radio where he referred to Gandhi as ‘father of the nation’.
    • This was probably the first time this epithet was used for Gandhi, and soon it became ubiquitous.

    Bose and his association with INC

    • Bose was a key member and a frontline leader of the Indian National Congress.
    • He plunged into the anti-colonial movement under Gandhi’s leadership in 1921 and rose to be the president of the Congress in 1938 and 39.
    • There were certain differences of opinion with the Gandhian high command in 1939, but he remained true to the Congress ideal of freedom.

    Joining the Indian National Congress

    • On July 16, 1921, Bose had returned to Bombay from London where he had gone on his father’s insistence to prepare for the Indian Civil Services examination.
    • Despite qualifying for the services he had refused to take up the opportunity.
    • Such was Bose’s zeal to join the freedom struggle that on the very afternoon he arrived in India he went to meet Gandhi at Mani Bhawan.

    Relations with the mainstream leaders

    (A) Bose vs. Gandhi

    • Bose wanted to know how the different aspects of the movement were going to culminate in the non-payment of taxes, the last stage of the campaign.
    • Secondly, he wanted to know how the non-payment of taxes would eventually force the British to leave and thirdly how Gandhi could promise Swaraj in one year.
    • On Gandhi’s advice Bose moved to Calcutta, where he worked closely with the lawyer and Congress leader C R Das.
    • As president of the Congress, his first disagreement with Gandhi happened in December 1938 when Bose was eager to form a coalition government in Bengal along with the Krishak Praja Party.
    • The following year, Bose was hopeful for re-election as Congress president. A second term was very rare and Gandhi was pretty much against the idea of re-electing Bose.
    • Bose found support from the younger and left leaning members of the Congress and also from the literary giant Rabindranath Tagore.
    • Tagore had personally written to Gandhi requesting a second term for Bose. However, Bose was aggrieved to know that Gandhi saw this as a ‘personal defeat’.

    (B) Bose vs. Nehru

    • Both leaders were of same age, similar political leanings and often finding themselves frustrated by Gandhi’s commitment to non-violence.
    • However, while Nehru was starry-eyed in his reverence for Gandhi, Bose though immensely respectful of Gandhi, found his political strategies to be ambiguous.
    • Bose and Nehru had been in prison at that time and both expressed disappointment and anger over unilateral withdrawal of non-cooperation movement over Chauri Chaura incident.
    • Both were left-leaning radical men, unswerving in their commitment to ‘purna swaraj’ and to the forming of a socialist state in independent India.
    • When Bose sought the support of the Nazi government in Germany, he found himself ideologically at the farthest end to Nehru’s views.

    (C) Bose vs. Patel

    • In response to Bose’s re-election, several members of the Congress Working Committee resigned including Vallabhbhai Patel and Rajendra Prasad.
    • Patel had an old rivalry with Bose, which was both personal and political.
    • Their relationship had deteriorated rapidly with the death of Patel’s elder brother Vithalbhai in 1933.
    • Bose had been very close to Vithalbhai and had nursed him during his last days.
    • In his will, Vithalbhai had left a substantial portion of his property to Bose.
    • Vallabhbhai had cast aspersions on the authenticity of the will and a long legal battle had followed culminating in the victory of Patel.

    As Congress president

    • In February 1938 Bose had taken over as president of the Congress and the next two years would be defining in creating his political profile as a Congressman and in drawing the rift with Gandhi and Nehru.
    • At the Haripura session of the Congress, Bose made his presidential address, which is known to be the lengthiest and most important speech he ever made to the party.
    • He made it clear that he stood for unqualified Swaraj.
    • However, it needs to be noted that nowhere in the speech did Bose suggest any criticism or deviation from Gandhi’s methods.

    Resignation from INC

    • On April 29, 1939 Bose resigned from his post as president of the Congress Party.
    • In a statement to the press, he mentioned the efforts he had made to find a common ground with Gandhi.
    • These having failed, he felt his presidency may be a sort of obstacle or handicap in the path of the Congress as it sought to reconcile its two wings.

    Life after leaving Congress

    (A) World War II

    • In September 1939 German tanks invaded Poland, marking the beginning of the Second World War.
    • The war was to have a most significant impact in the history of modern India.
    • Bose was a special invitee in the three-day meeting of the Congress Working Committee from September 9 to decide India’s position on the war.
    • For Bose, the war served as a golden opportunity for India to launch a civil disobedience movement in order to win independence.
    • For Bose the stance taken by the resolution to support British was completely unacceptable.
    • Nehru had nothing but hatred towards Fascism and Nazism and sought for some concessions from the British government to fight Mussolini and Hitler.

    (B) Escape to Germany

    • Bose organized mass protests in Calcutta for the removal of the Holwell monument that stood in Dalhousie Square as a memorial to those who died in the Black Hole of Calcutta.
    • He was arrested by the British government for the protests, but was released soon after he went into a seven-day hunger strike.
    • Bose’s arrest and the subsequent release set the scene for him to escape to Germany via Afghanistan and the Soviet Union.

    After Netaji’s demise ( rather disappearance)

    • It is also worth noting that at the end of the Second World War, Nehru put on his barrister’s gown and joined the defense team for the INA prisoners at the time of the Red Fort trials.
    • In the several speeches of Nehru after Bose’s death, the former referred to Netaji in the most affectionate way.
    • In August 1947, in his first speech from the ramparts of the Red Fort, Nehru mentioned only two people by name and were Gandhi and Bose. It was quite a warm reference.

     

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  • Parliament – Sessions, Procedures, Motions, Committees etc

    Suspension of MLAs

    | Polity | Mains Paper 2: Parliament & State Legislatures

    • Some legislators were suspended for one year by the Maharashtra Assembly for alleged disorderly conduct.
    • The unusually long period of suspension has been questioned by the Supreme Court, which is hearing a challenge to the Assembly’s action.

    A case in apex court

    • The court has reserved its judgment after hearing elaborate arguments.
    • The main question before the court is whether suspension for a whole year is valid.

    Suspending MLAs: A fact check

    • Each state has their individual rules for the conduct of assembly. These rules provides for the suspension of MLAs.
    • Under Rule 53 of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Rules, 1960, only the Speaker has the power to suspend MLAs indulging in unruly behavior.
    • Therefore, the motion to suspend cannot be put to vote as this would allow the Government to suspend as many Members of Opposition as it sees fit.

    Constitutional ground behind this suspension

    • The Court referred to Article 190 (4) of the Constitution which says that if for a period of 60 days, a member of a House, without its permission, is absent; the House may declare his or her seat vacant.
    • Suspension of MLAs beyond this period would lead to their disqualification.

    What did the Supreme Court observe?

    • Suspension of the MLAs would amount to punishing the constituencies as a whole.
    • Each constituency has equal amount of right to be represented in the House, observed the court.
    • The apex court observed that any state cannot create a constitutional void, a hiatus situation for any constituency.
    • It said the House cannot suspend a member beyond 59 days.

    What does the State government say?

    • Counsel for the State government has argued that there is no limitation on the power of the legislature to punish for breach of privilege or disorderly conduct in the course of its proceedings.
    • Once the power to punish a member for disorderly conduct is recognized, there can be no judicial review of the manner in which it is exercised.
    • Further, during suspension, a member continues to hold office, but only loses their voice in the legislature.

     

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  • Wildlife Conservation Efforts

    Kerala gets its first-ever Scientific Bird Atlas

    Prelims Only | Enviro & Biodiversity | Mains Paper 3: Conservation, Environmental Pollution & Degradation, Eia

    The Kerala Bird Atlas (KBA), the first-of-its-kind State-level bird atlas in India, has created solid baseline data about the distribution and abundance of bird species across all major habitats, giving an impetus to futuristic studies.

    Kerala Bird Atlas (KBA)

    • The KBA has been prepared based on systematic surveys held twice over 60 days a year during the wet (July to September) and dry (January to March) seasons between 2015 and 2020.
    • It was conducted as a citizen science-driven exercise with the participation of over 1,000 volunteers of the birdwatching community.
    • The KBA accounts for nearly three lakh records of 361 species, including 94 very rare species, 103 rare species, 110 common species, 44 very common species, and 10 most abundant species.
    • It was found that the species count was higher during the dry season than in the wet season while species richness and evenness were higher in the northern and central districts than in the southern districts.

    Significance of KBA

    • The KBA offers authentic, consistent and comparable data through random sampling from the geographical terrain split.
    • It is arguably Asia’s largest bird atlas in terms of geographical extent, sampling effort and species coverage derived from the aggregation of 25,000 checklists.
    • The KBA is considered to be a valuable resource for testing various ecological hypotheses and suggesting science-backed conservation measures.

     

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  • Festivals, Dances, Theatre, Literature, Art in News

    UNESCO tag sought for Living Root Bridges of Meghalaya

    Prelims Only | History | Mains Paper 1: Arts & Culture

    The Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) has underlined some green rules for the living root bridges of Meghalaya to get the UNESCO World Heritage Site tag.

    Living Root Bridges

    • A living root bridge is a type of simple suspension bridge formed of living plant roots by tree shaping.
    • They are common in the southern part of the Northeast Indian state of Meghalaya. Such a bridge is locally called jingkieng jri.
    • They are handmade from the aerial roots of rubber fig trees (Ficus elastic) by the Khasi and Jaintia peoples of the mountainous terrain along the southern part of the Shillong Plateau.
    • Most of the bridges grow on steep slopes of subtropical moist broadleaf forest between 50m and 1150m above sea level.

    Why is it so unique?

    • As long as the tree from which it is formed remains healthy, the roots in the bridge can naturally grow thick and strengthen.
    • New roots can grow throughout the tree’s life and must be pruned or manipulated to strengthen the bridge.
    • Once mature some bridges can have as many as 50 or more people crossing, and have a lifespan of up to 150 years.

     

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  • Modern Indian History-Events and Personalities

    Who was Sri Ramanuja?

    Prelims Only | History | Mains Paper 1: Arts & Culture

    Work is going apace on the 216-ft tall ‘Statue of Equality’ of the 11th century reformer and Vaishnavite saint, Sri Ramanuja, to be unveiled by PM Modi next month in Hyderabad.

    Statue of Equality

    • The ‘Statue of Equality’, as it is called, is being installed to mark the 1,000th birth anniversary of Sri Ramanuja.
    • It was built of panchaloha, a combination of gold, silver, copper, brass and zinc, by the Aerospun Corporation in China and shipped to India.
    • It is the second largest in the world in sitting position of the saint.
    • The monument will be surrounded by 108 “Divya Desams” of Sri Vaishnavite tradition (model temples) like Tirumala, Srirangam, Kanchi, Ahobhilam, Badrinath, Muktinath, Ayodhya, Brindavan, Kumbakonam and others.
    • The idols of deities and structures were constructed in the shape at the existing temples.

    Who was Sri Ramanuja?

    Ramanuja or Ramanujacharya (1017–1137 CE) was a philosopher, Hindu theologian, social reformer, and one of the most important exponents of Sri Vaishnavism tradition within Hinduism.

    • His philosophical foundations for devotionalism were influential to the Bhakti movement.

    His works

    • Ramanuja’s philosophical foundation was qualified monism and is called Vishishtadvaita in the Hindu tradition.
    • His ideas are one of three subschools in Vedanta, the other two are known as Adi Shankara’s Advaita (absolute monism) and Madhvacharya’s Dvaita (dualism)
    • Important writings include:
    1. Vedarthasangraha (literally, “Summary of the Vedas meaning”),
    2. Sri Bhashya (a review and commentary on the Brahma Sutras),
    3. Bhagavad Gita Bhashya (a review and commentary on the Bhagavad Gita), and
    • The minor works titled Vedantapida, Vedantasara, Gadya Trayam (which is a compilation of three texts called the Saranagati Gadyam, Sriranga Gadyam and the Srivaikunta Gadyam), and Nitya Grantham.

     

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  • Internal Security Trends and Incidents

    Why India needs a single agency to guard its borders

    op-ed snap | Security Issues | Mains Paper 3: Various Security Forces, Agencies & Their Mandates

    Context

    Recent developments warrant a comprehensive review of border management to ensure the all-weather security of our borders.

    What makes India’s border management difficult?

    • India shares land borders with Pakistan, China, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Myanmar, which stretch approximately 15,106 km.
    • In addition, we have an approximately 3,323 km-long LoC with Pakistan, which further extends to the rechristened 110 km stretch of “Actual Ground Position Line” (AGPL) dividing the Siachen glacier region.
    • Further east, we have the 3,488 km LAC with China.
    • We share maritime boundaries with Sri Lanka, Maldives, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Myanmar and Indonesia; we have a 7,683 km coastline and an approximately 2 million sq km exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
    • This makes India’s task more complex than most other countries.

    Multiple agencies securing borders

    • Complexity is accentuated by the fact that along with the army, we have multiple other security agencies — the Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) and the Paramilitary Forces (PMF) — sharing the responsibility.
    • While the army is deployed along the LoC and AGPL, the Border Security Force (BSF) looks after the international border with Pakistan and Bangladesh.
    • Guarding the LAC has been assigned to the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and Assam Rifles.
    • The Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) is responsible for guarding the borders with Nepal and Bhutan.
    • The Assam Rifles looks after our border with Myanmar.
    • In a nutshell, in addition to the army, we have four agencies guarding borders with six neighbours.
    • Conversely, maritime borders are guarded by a single agency — the Coast Guard.

    Need for review of the border management

    • There is a lack of a coherent policy on training, planning and the conduct of guarding operations among various outfits.
    • Overall coordination is also affected.
    • Our adversary on the western border has often escalated violations by resorting to the prolonged use of military resources.
    • Chinese provocations along the LAC are military operations.
    • Clearly, the peace-time scenario is now by and large militarised.

    Way forward

    • Single security agency: In this scenario, India needs a single security agency adequately equipped, suitably armed and trained in advanced military drills and sub-unit tactics to guard our borders.
    • Manpower from Army: Further, to augment the battle efficiency, a fixed percentage of manpower, including the officer cadre, should be drawn on deputation from the army.
    • Paramilitary force under Ministry of Defence: To ensure the desired training and operational standards, this single security agency should be designated as a paramilitary force under the Ministry of Defence and operate under the army.
    • Mergers: The ITBP and the SSB should be fully merged into the new outfit; the BSF and CRPF still have important internal security duties and can be partially merged.
    • The reorganised Assam Rifles too should retain its role of conducting counter-insurgency operations and act as a reserve for the army for conventional operations.
    • Most countries have raised specialised and dedicated armed bodies for border security.
    •  Iran has the Border Guard Command, Italy has the Border Police Service, Russia has created a Border Guard Service, whereas in the US, it is under Homeland Security.
    • Most of these countries, based on threat perception and for better combat cohesion, have placed these organisations under the command of the armed forces.

    Conclusion

    India should adopt a single agency with adequate resources and training to deal with the evolving challenges.

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  • Anti Defection Law

    How to fix the anti-defection loophole

    | Polity | Mains Paper 2: Parliament & State Legislatures

    Context

    It is time that we took a fresh look at the Tenth Schedule to our Constitution.

    Shortcomings of the anti-defection law

    • Partisan nature of Speaker: Paragraph 3 of the Tenth Schedule was omitted by the Constitution (91st Amendment) Act, 2003, which came into effect on January 1, 2004.
    • Paragraph 3, as it existed prior to the amendment, protected defectors as long as one-third of the members of a political party formed a separate group. 
    • In the context of small assemblies, one-third of the members could easily be cobbled together.
    • Often, the speaker of the assembly was seen to be collaborating with the political party in power to protect the defectors under the one-third rule.
    • Such partisan conduct of the speakers is at the heart of a non-functional Tenth Schedule.
    • The seeming political bias of the speakers acting as tribunals is apparent from how disqualification petitions are dealt with.
    • We have seen this happen in Manipur, Goa, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand and other jurisdictions.
    • Allowing two-third members to merge with another party: After the omission of paragraph 3, paragraph 4 allowed for the protection of defecting members provided two-thirds of the members of the legislative party merged with another political party.
    • This provision has invariably been misused.
    • Constitutional flaw in provisions of paragraph 4: Third, there is a constitutional flaw in the manner in which the provisions of paragraph 4 have been enacted.
    • Paragraph 4(1) stipulates that a member of the house will not be disqualified from his membership where his original political party merges with another political party and he claims that he and other members have become members of the other political party or a new political party is being formed by such merger.
    • However, paragraph 4(2) provides that such a merger would be deemed to have taken place only if not less than two-thirds of the members of the legislative party agreed to such a merger.
    • This allows for clandestine corruption where two-thirds of the members of the legislative party are bought over, by means fair or foul, to either topple governments or to strengthen a razor-thin majority of the party in power.
    • This makes the entire provision unworkable and unconstitutional.
    • Prolonging the proceedings: We have witnessed situations where, even though the provisions of paragraph 4 are not ex-facie attracted, the speaker of the assembly makes sure that the proceedings are interminably prolonged so that the term of the assembly comes to an end before the proceedings under the Tenth Schedule against those ex-facie defectors have been concluded.

    Need for urgent attention to Article 164(1B)

    • This allows for the toppling of governments by inducements of various kinds.
    • The motivation is that a fresh election allows the disqualified member to be re-elected.
    • He then becomes a member of the assembly once again, as its term is not over and can also be appointed a minister.
    • Under Article 164(1B), such a defection has no real consequences.

    Way forward

    • 1] Ensure impartiality of Speaker: Speakers, when elected must resign from the party to which they belong.
    • At the end of their term, there should be a cooling-off period before they can become members of any political party.
    • 2] Omit Paragraph 4 through Amendment: Paragraph 4 of the Tenth Schedule should be omitted by moving a constitutional amendment.
    • 3] Make disqualification for 5 years: All those disqualified under paragraph 2 of the Tenth Schedule should neither be entitled to contest elections nor hold public office for five years from the date of their disqualification.
    • Article 164(1B) should be omitted by moving a constitutional amendment.
    • Set time limit to decide petition for disqualification: All petitions for disqualification of members under paragraph 2 of the Tenth Schedule should be decided, by adopting a summary procedure, within a period of three months.

    Consider the question “Has anti-defection law succeeded in curbing the defections and ensuring the stability of the elected governments? Give reasons in support of your argument.”

    Conclusion

    If our polity wants to get rid of open corruption, it needs to take urgent steps to plug existing loopholes that have made the Tenth Schedule unworkable.

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    Back2Basics: Article 164(1B)

    • A member of the Legislative Assembly of a State or either House of the Legislature of a State having Legislative Council belonging to any political party who is disqualified for being a member of that House under paragraph 2 of the Tenth Schedule shall also be disqualified to be appointed as a Minister under clause (1) for duration of the period commencing from the date of his disqualification till the date on which the term of his office as such member would expire or where he contests any election to the Legislative Assembly of a State or either House of the Legislature of a State having Legislative Council, as the case may be, before the expiry of such period, till the date on which he is declared elected, whichever is earlier.

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  • Modern Indian History-Events and Personalities

    Amar Jawan Jyoti and its Relocation

    | History | Mains Paper 1: Arts & Culture

    The iconic Amar Jawan Jyoti (AJJ) at India Gate was extinguished as a part of its merger with the flame at the National War Memorial (NWM). This has sparked a political controversy.

    What is the Amar Jawan Jyoti?

    • The eternal flame at the AJJ underneath India Gate in central Delhi was an iconic symbol of the nation’s tributes to the soldiers who have died for the country in various wars and conflicts since Independence.
    • Established in 1972, it was to mark India’s victory over Pakistan in the 1971 War, which resulted in the creation of Bangladesh.
    • The then PM Indira Gandhi had inaugurated it on Republic Day 1972, after India defeated Pakistan in December 1971.

    Description of the bust

    • The key elements of the Amar Jawan Jyoti included a black marble plinth, a cenotaph, which acted as a tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
    • The plinth had an inverted L1A1 self-loading rifle with a bayonet, on top of which was a soldier’s war helmet.

    How the eternal flame was kept burning?

    • For 50 years the eternal flame had been burning underneath India Gate, without being extinguished.
    • But on Friday, the flame was finally put off, as it was merged with another eternal flame at the National War Memorial.
    • Since 1972, when it was inaugurated, it used to be kept alive with the help of cylinders of liquefied petroleum gas, or LPG.
    • One cylinder could keep one burner alive for a day and a half.
    • In 2006 that was changed. Though a project that cost around Rs 6 lakh the fuel for the flames was changed from LPG to piped natural gas, or PNG.
    • It is through this piped gas that the flame marking the tribute to Indian soldiers had been kept alive eternally.

    Why was it placed at India Gate?

    • The India Gate, All India War Memorial, as it was known earlier, was built by the British in 1931.
    • It was erected as a memorial to around 90,000 Indian soldiers of the British Indian Army, who had died in several wars and campaigns till then.
    • Names of more than 13,000 dead soldiers are mentioned on the memorial commemorating them.
    • As it was a memorial for the Indian soldiers killed in wars, the Amar Jawan Jyoti was established underneath it by the government in 1972.

    Reasons for its relocation

    • The correct perspective is that the flame will not be extinguished, but just moved to be merged with the one at the National War Memorial.
    • The flame which paid homage to the soldiers killed in the 1971 War, does not even mention their name, and the India Gate is a “symbol of our colonial past”.
    • The names of all Indian martyrs from all the wars, including 1971 and wars before and after it are housed at the National War Memorial.
    • Hence it is a true tribute to have the flame paying tribute to martyrs there.
    • Further, it can also be seen as part of the government’s redevelopment of the entire Central Vista, of which India Gate, the AJJ and the National War Memorial are parts of.

    What else is planned with the extinguish?

    • The canopy next to the India Gate will get a statue of the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose.
    • The new statue will be 28 feet high.
    • Till the statue is completed, a hologram statue of Bose will be placed under the canopy, which he will unveil on January 23.
    • The canopy used to have a statue of Kind George V, which was removed in 1968.

    Why Netaji?

    • January 23 this year marks his 125th birth anniversary.
    • From this year onwards, Republic Day celebrations will start on January 23, as opposed to the usual practice of starting it on January 24, to mark the birth anniversary of Bose.
    • It will end on January 30, the day Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated.
    • The government had earlier announced that Bose’s birth anniversary would be celebrated as Parakram Divas.

    What is the National War Memorial and when was it made?

    • The National War Memorial, which is around 400 meters from India Gate was inaugurated in February 2019, in an area of around 40 acres.
    • It was built to commemorate all the soldiers who have laid down their lives in the various battles, wars, operations and conflicts of Independent India.
    • There are many independent memorials for such soldiers, but no memorial existed commemorating them all at the national level.
    • Discussions to build such a memorial had been ongoing since 1961, but it did not come up.

    Its architecture

    • The architecture of the memorial is based on four concentric circles.
    • Largest is the Raksha Chakra or the Circle of Protection which is marked by a row of trees, each of which represent soldiers, who protect the country.
    • The Tyag Chakra, the Circle of Sacrifice, has circular concentric walls of honour based on the Chakravyuh.
    • The walls have independent granite tablets for each of the soldiers who have died for the country since Independence.
    • As of today, there are 26,466 names of such soldiers on these granite tablets etched in golden letters.
    • A tablet is added every time a soldier is killed in the line of duty.
    • The final is the Amar Chakra, the Circle of Immortality, which has an obelisk, and the Eternal Flame.
    • Busts of the 21 soldiers who have been conferred with the highest gallantry award of the country, Param Vir Chakra, are also installed at the memorial.

     

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  • Forest Conservation Efforts – NFP, Western Ghats, etc.

    Declaration on Forests and Land Use

    Prelims Only | Enviro & Biodiversity | Mains Paper 3: Conservation, Environmental Pollution & Degradation, Eia

    At COP-26 in Glasgow, countries got together to sign the Declaration on Forests and Land Use (or the Deforestation Declaration). However, India was among the few countries that did not sign the declaration.

    What is this Deforestation Declaration?

    • It was signed by 142 countries, which represented over 90 percent of forests across the world.
    • The declaration commits to halt and reverse forest loss and land degradation by 2030 while delivering sustainable development and promoting an inclusive rural transformation.
    • The signatories committed $19 billion in private and public funds to this end.

    Why did India abstain from joining?

    • India had concerns about the linkage the declaration makes between deforestation, infrastructure development and trade.
    • Any commitment to the environment and climate change should not involve any reference to trade, cited India.
    • Analysts in India have linked the decision to a proposed amendment to the Forest Conservation Act 1980 that would ease the clearances presently required for acquiring forest land for new infrastructure projects.

    India abstained from many things

    • A look at India’s positions on some other recent critical pledges and decisions related to climate change reveals a clear pattern of objections or absence.
    • At CoP26, India was not part of the dialogue on Forests, Agriculture and Commodity Trade (FACT).
    • FACT, which is supported by 28 countries seeks to encourage “sustainable development and trade of agricultural commodities while protecting and managing sustainably forests and other critical ecosystems”.
    • India also voted against a recent draft resolution to allow for discussions related to climate change and its impact on international peace and security to be taken up at the UNSC.

    Why should India join this declaration?

    • Broadly speaking, all of India’s objections are based on procedural issues at multilateral fora.
    • Although justifiable on paper, these objections seem blind to the diverse ways in which climate change is linked to global trade, deforestation, agriculture, and international peace, among other issues.
    • For context, consider India’s palm oil trade. India is the largest importer of crude palm oil in the world.
    • Palm oil cultivation, covering roughly 16 million acres of land in Indonesia and Malaysia, has been the biggest driver of deforestation in the two countries.

     

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