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  • Foreign Policy Watch: India-Middle East

    UAE’s new 5-year visa scheme

    | International Relations | Mains Paper 2: Indian Diaspora

    The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has announced a five-year multiple-entry visa scheme for all nationalities, in a move that is geared towards promoting tourism in the country.

    What is UAE’s new visa scheme?

    • According to the Dubai-based Gulf News, prior to this, tourists could get single or multiple-entry visas for a duration of 30 or 90 days.
    • In the new five-year multiple-entry system, visa holders may be allowed to stay for six months at a stretch.
    • The details of the scheme are yet to be announced. The country’s Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship will be implementing the decision.
    • Travellers from Africa, some South American countries, Arab states outside the Gulf, and European states from outside the European Union and the former Soviet Union previously needed visas.
    • The UAE currently receives more 2.1 crore tourists annually, and has recently increased its pace of rolling out policies to boost its trade and tourism sectors.

    Other reforms

    • In July 2019, the UAE allowed women employed in the country to sponsor work permits for their husbands, fathers, and adult children, and reduced the fees for obtaining work permits by 50 per cent to 94 per cent for 145 services and transactions.
    • In the same month, the Emirate of Dubai said it would accept the Indian rupee (INR) for transactions at duty-free stores.

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  • [pib] Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment (SASE)

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

    Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment (SASE) has issued an Avalanche warning to Leh in Ladakh region.

    SASE

    • SASE is a laboratory of the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO)
    • It is located near Manali, Himachal Pradesh.
    • Its primary function is research in the field of snow and avalanches to provide avalanche control measures and forecasting support to Armed forces.
    • Leh is important as it has two passes namely Chang La and Khardung La with world’s highest motorable roads through them with several avalanche-prone zones.
    • Its utility is also meant for the soldiers in the worlds highest battle filed Siachen, in the region.

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  • Wildlife Conservation Efforts

    Species in news: Great Indian Bustard

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

    Since June last year, nine GIB eggs collected from the Desert National Park in Jaisalmer where a conservation centre has been set up, have hatched, and the chicks are reported to be doing well.

    Great Indian Bustard

    • The Great Indian Bustard, one of the heaviest flying birds, can weigh up to 15 kg and grow up to one metre in height.
    • It is considered the flagship grassland species, representing the health of the grassland ecology.
    • For long, conservationists have been demanding to secure this population, warning that the bird might get extinct in the coming decades.
    • It would become the first mega species to disappear from India after Cheetah in recent times.
    • Till 1980s, about 1,500-2,000 Great Indian Bustards were spread throughout the western half of India, spanning eleven states.
    • However, with rampant hunting and declining grasslands, their population dwindled.
    • In July 2011, the bird was categorised as “critically endangered” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

    Various threats to GIBs

    I. General threats to GIB

    • Habitat loss & fragmentation, change of land use pattern, desertification, ill-thought plantation of exotic & invasive species in grassland ecosystems are some of the generic causes.
    • Neglect of state institutions due to classification of ‘grasslands’ as ‘wastelands’, conversion of grasslands to agriculture lands due to increasing irrigation potential and decline of nature/GIB-friendly agrarian practices, are all commonly and correctly blamed for the steady decline in India’s GIB population.

    II. Role of Noise Pollution

    • Noise pollution affects the mating and courtship practices of the GIB.
    • The male GIB inflates his ‘gular’ pouch (near the neck) which almost touches the ground, in order to produce a large booming sound which reverberates across the grassland.
    • The male GIB does this to attract GIB females and to inform them of his exact location in the vast expanse of the grassland.
    • Thus, the sound of the male GIB should be loud enough to transcend the walls of the sanctuary and be audible to female GIBs in the fields nearby.
    • The noise generated by human activities, whether be it by vehicles, tractors, music during processions, firecrackers, may interfere with the GIB’s mating call and drown it out.

    III. Other threats

    • The rate of reproduction amongst GIBs is very low; the female GIB lays only one egg per year.
    • This solitary egg is under threat from natural predators of the grasslands such as jackals, hyenas or foxes or invasive species such as crows or feral dogs.
    • In such a scenario, every opportunity the GIBs lose to mate pushes the species closer to extinction.

    Protection Measures

    • Birdlife International uplisted this species from Endangered to Critically Endangered (2011)
    • Protection under CITES Appendix I
    • Protection under Schedule I Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Act 2002
    • Project Great Indian Bustard (Rajasthan):  aims at identifying and fencing off bustard breeding grounds in existing protected areas as well as provide secure breeding enclosures in areas outside protected areas.

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  • Forest Fires

    Blaze down under

    op-ed snap | Enviro & Biodiversity | Mains Paper 1: Important Geophysical Phenomena

    Context

    In Australia, forest fires, among the worst in the country’s history, have been raging since September and show no signs of abating.

     Unabated fire in Australia

    • The fire, worst in Australia’s history, has been raging since September and shows no signs of abating.
    • At least 24 people lost their lives, 500 million animal have perished, and more than 12bn acres of land has turned to cinders.
    • New South Wales, the country’s worst-affected state, declared an emergency last week in its southeastern region.

    Climate change and the fire

    • Australians have vented their anger at Prime Minister for playing down the blaze’s association with climate change.
    • Bushfires are actually a part of Australia’s ecosystem. Many plants depend on them to cycle nutrients and clear vegetation.
    • Eucalyptus trees in Australia depend on fire to release their seeds.
    • The prolonged blaze this year has coincided with Australia’s harshest summer.
    • Parts of the country recorded their highest recorded temperature in December.
    • Much of Australia is facing a drought that is a result of three consecutive summers with very little precipitation.
    • This, according to climate scientists, is unprecedented.
    • Australian Bureau of Meteorology’s 2018 State of the Climate report had given a hint of the change.
    • It said “Australia’s climate has warmed by just over 1 degree Celsius since 1910, leading to an increase in the frequency of extreme heat events.’’
    • This has led to more rainfall in northern Australia but created drought-like conditions in the more densely populated southeast.

    Damage caused to the flora and fauna of Australia

    • Australia is home to nearly 250 animal species.
    • Some of them like the koalas and kangaroos are not found elsewhere.
    • The region also has the highest rate of native animals going extinct over the past 200 years.
    • Experts, for example, reckon that more than a quarter of the koala habitat has been consumed by the blaze.
    • The fires have also caused a drop in the bird, rodent and insect populations.

    Conclusion

    • These creatures perished are the building blocks of the ecosystem and the fall in their population is bound to have long-term impacts. In Australia’s bushfires lies a warning about the complex ways in which climate variables interact.

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  • The Crisis In The Middle East

    [op-ed snap]The U.S. is weakened by Soleimani’s killing

    op-ed snap | International Relations | Mains Paper 2: Effect Of Policies & Politics Of World On India’S Interests

    Context

    Targeted killing of powerful Iranian Major-General could have done more bad than good for the U.S.

    Series of events after the assassination

    • The Iraqi parliament voted to expel the U.S. troops stationed in Iraq and deny them access to its airspace, land or water.
    • Pro-Iranian groups could attack across the region where thousands of U.S. troops and official personnel are stationed.
    • Soleimani’s assassination has awakened the deep strain of Iranian patriotism.
    • And Iran is not alone.
    • In Beirut, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah called Soleimani the “glue that held the Resistance Axis together”.
    • The U.S threat of striking “52 Iranian sites” did not win the U.S. any support on the international stage.
    • Even the Europeans, otherwise steadfast with the U.S. in these sorts of adventures, hesitated.
    • Arab League’s Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit expressed concern over the situation and asked for calm.
    • This is the same man who had, only a few weeks ago, accused Iran of sowing chaos in the region.
    • It is likely that China and Russia will table a resolution at the UN that calls for calm as well as criticises the U.S.
    • This will certainly be vetoed by the U.S.

    Desperate and irrational policy

    • Till now the U.S. has not been able to extricate itself from its illegal war against Iraq.
    • That war provided a massive advantage to Iran not only in Iraq but also across the region.
    • This is what terrified two of the U.S.’s allies, Israel and Saudi Arabia, both of whom pressured Washington to increase its threats against Iran.
    • S. create the conditions for the rise of the worst kind of violence in Iraq, and later Syria
    • It also weakened the strategic position of its allies.
    • No attempt by the U.S. to regain its authority has worked.
    • The U.S. policy against Iran and Iraq appear desperate and irrational.

    Conclusion

    • The U.S recklessness has isolated it further and deepened anxieties amongst its increasingly isolated regional allies, Israel and Saudi Arabia.

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  • Languages and Eighth Schedule

    [op-ed snap]A case for inclusion of Tulu language in the Eighth Schedule.

    op-ed snap | Polity | : Federalism

    Context

    With numerous languages in the country, placing all deserving languages on an equal footing will promote social inclusion and national solidarity.

    Figures and facts

    • According to the 2001 Census, India has 30 languages that are spoken by more than a million people each.
    • It also has 122 languages that are spoken by at least 10,000 people each.
    • It also has 1,599 languages, most of which are dialects.
    • These are restricted to specific regions and many of them are on the verge of extinction.
    • Article 29 provides every citizens of India with a distinct culture, language, and script, the right to conserve the same.
    • It is the responsibility of both the state and the citizens of this distinct language, script or culture to preserve the same.

    Eighth schedule and Tulu language

    • Sanskrit has 24,821 speakers and it is in the Eighth Schedule according to the 2011 Census.
    • However, many languages with sizeable speakers are not in the schedule.
    • Bhili/Bhilodi has 1,04,13,637 speakers. Garo has 11,45,323 speakers, Ho has 14,31,344 speakers.
    • Tulu is a Dravidian language whose speakers are concentrated in two coastal districts of Karnataka and in Kasaragod district of Kerala.
    • The Tulu language speakers are larger in numbers than Sanskrit and Manipuri which included in the Eighth Schedule.
    • The cities of Mangaluru, Udupi, and Kasaragod are the epicenter of Tulu culture.

    What are the benefits of being on the Eighth Schedule

    • Tulu would get recognition from Sahitya Academy.
    • The book in Tulu would get translated into other recognised Indian languages.
    • The MP’s and MLA’s could speak in Tulu in the Parliament and Assemblies.
    • Candidates could write all-India competitive examination like the Civil Services exam in Tulu.

    Yuelu Proclamation

    • It was made by UNESCO at Changsha, The People’s Republic of China, in 2018.
    • It says the protection and promotion of linguistic diversity help to improve social inclusion and partnerships.
    • It helps reduce the gender and social inequality between different native speakers.
    • It guarantee the rights for native speakers of endangered, minority, indigenous languages, as well as non-official languages and dialects to receive education, enhance the social inclusion level and social decision-making ability by encouraging them to participate in a series of actions to promote cultural diversity, endangered language protection, and the protection of intangible cultural heritage.

    Conclusion

    • Tulu, along with other deserving languages, should be included in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution in order to substantially materialise the promise of equality of status and opportunity mentioned in the Preamble.

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  • Minority Issues – SC, ST, Dalits, OBC, Reservations, etc.

    State can regulate minority institutions, says Supreme Court

    | Polity | Mains Paper 2: Indian Constitution – historical underpinnings, evolution, features, amendments, significant provisions and basic structure

    The Supreme Court has held that the state is well within its rights to introduce a regulatory regime in the “national interest” to provide minority educational institutions with well-qualified teachers in order for them to “achieve excellence in education.”

    Article 30 is not absolute

    • The verdict said that Article 30(1) (right of minorities to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice) was neither absolute nor above the law.
    • The regulatory law should however balance the dual objectives of ensuring standard of excellence as well as preserving the right of the minorities to establish and administer their educational institutions.
    • Regulations that embrace and reconcile the two objectives should be reasonable.
    • The managements of minority institutions cannot ignore such a legal regime by saying that it is their fundamental right under Article 30.

    Serving the national interest

    • A regulation framed in the national interest must necessarily apply to all institutions regardless whether they are run by majority or minority as the essence of Article 30(1) is to ensure equal treatment between the majority and minority institutions.
    • An objection can certainly be raised if an unfavorable treatment is meted out to an educational institution established and administered by minority.
    • But if ensuring of excellence in educational institutions is the underlying principle behind a regulatory regime and the mechanism of selection of teachers is so designed to achieve excellence in institutions, the matter may stand on a completely different footing.

    Striking a balance

    • The court explains how to strike a “balance” between the two objectives of excellence in education and the preservation of the minorities’ right to run their educational institutions.
    • For this, the court broadly divides education into two categories – secular education and education “directly aimed at or dealing with preservation and protection of the heritage, culture, script and special characteristics of a religious or a linguistic minority.”
    • When it comes to the latter, the court advocated “maximum latitude” to be given to the management to appoint teachers.
    • The court reasons that only “teachers who believe in the religious ideology or in the special characteristics of the concerned minority would alone be able to imbibe in the students admitted in such educational institutions, what the minorities would like to preserve, profess and propagate.”
    • However, minority institutions where the curriculum was “purely secular”, the intent must be to impart education availing the best possible teachers.

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  • ISRO Missions and Discoveries

    Indian Data Relay Satellite System (IDRSS)

    | Science Tech | Mains Paper 3: Awareness in various sc and tech fields

    India plans to ring in its own era of space-to-space tracking and communication of its space assets this year by putting up a new satellite series called the Indian Data Relay Satellite System.

    Indian Data Relay Satellite System (IDRSS)

    • The IDRSS is planned to track and be constantly in touch with Indian satellites, in particular those in low-earth orbits which have limited coverage of earth.
    • In the coming years, it will be vital to ISRO whose roadmap is dotted with advanced LEO missions such as space docking, space station, as well as distant expeditions to moon, Mars and Venus.
    • It will also be useful in monitoring launches.
    • The first beneficiary would be the prospective crew members of the Gaganyaan mission of 2022 who can be fully and continuously in touch with mission control throughout their travel.
    • IDRSS satellites of the 2,000 kg class would be launched on the GSLV launcher to geostationary orbits around 36,000 km away.

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  • Foreign Policy Watch: India-Iran

    What is Jus Cogens?

    | International Relations | Mains Paper 2: Bilateral, Regional and Global Groupings and agreements involving India

    The US has threatened to target few historical sites if Iran retaliates to attack US in revenge. This is a breach of JUS COGENS as targeting cultural sites amounts to a a war crime.

    Jus Cogens

    • The jus cogens rules have been sanctioned by the Vienna Conventions on the Law of Treaties of 1969 and 1986. According to both Conventions, a treaty is void if it breaches jus cogens rules.
    • Jus Cogens or ius cogens, meaning “compelling law” in Latin, are rules in international law that are peremptory or authoritative, and from which states cannot deviate.
    • These norms cannot be offset by a separate treaty between parties intending to do so, since they hold fundamental values.
    • Today, most states and international organisations accept the principle of jus cogens, which dates back to Roman times.

    What does the convention say?

    • Article 53 of the 1969 Convention says: “A treaty is void if, at the time of its conclusion, it conflicts with a peremptory norm of general international law.
    • For the purposes of the present Convention, a peremptory norm of general international law is a norm accepted and recognized by the international community of States as a whole as a norm.
    • From this no derogation is permitted and which can be modified only by a subsequent norm of general international law having the same character.
    • Article 64 says- If a new peremptory norm of general international law emerges, any existing treaty which is in conflict with that norm becomes void and terminates.
    • Besides treaties, unilateral declarations also have to abide by these norms.

    What is included in jus cogens?

    • So far, an exhaustive list of jus cogens rules does not exist.
    • However, the prohibition of slavery, genocide, racial discrimination, torture, and the right to self-determination are recognised norms.
    • The prohibition against apartheid is also recognised as a jus cogens rule, from which no derogation is allowed, since apartheid is against the basic principles of the UN.

    What is the problem with targeting cultural heritage?

    • Following the unparalleled destruction of cultural heritage in World War II, the nations of the world adopted at The Hague in 1954, The Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict.
    • It was the first international treaty focussed exclusively on the protection of cultural heritage during war and armed conflict.
    • The Convention defined cultural property as “movable or immovable property of great importance to the cultural heritage of every people, such as monuments of architecture, art or history, whether religious or secular; archaeological sites….”, etc.
    • There are currently 133 signatories to Convention, including countries that have acceded to and ratified the treaty.
    • Both the United States and Iran (as well as India) signed the Convention on May 14, 1954, and it entered into force on August 7, 1956.
    • The Rome Statute of 1998, the founding treaty of the International Criminal Court, describes as a “war crime” any intentional attack against a historical monument, or a building dedicated to religion, education, art, or science.

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  • A case for including Tulu in the Eighth Schedule

    | Polity | Mains Paper 2: Indian Constitution – historical underpinnings, evolution, features, amendments, significant provisions and basic structure

    According to the 2001 Census, India has 30 languages that are spoken by more than a million people each. Additionally, it has 122 languages that are spoken by at least 10,000 people each. It also has 1,599 languages, most of which are dialects. Tulu is one such language with considerable number of speakers.

    Speakers of Tulu

    • Tulu is a Dravidian language whose speakers are concentrated in two coastal districts of Karnataka and in Kasaragod district of Kerala.
    • Kasaragod district is called ‘Sapta bhasha Samgama Bhumi (the confluence of seven languages)’, and Tulu is among the seven.
    • The Census reports 18,46,427 native speakers of Tulu in India.
    • The Tulu-speaking people are larger in number than speakers of Manipuri and Sanskrit, which have the Eighth Schedule status.

    Schedule VIII languages

    • Among the legion of languages in India, the Constitution has 22 languages. They are protected in Schedule VIII of the Constitution.
    • But many languages that are kept out of this favoured position are in some ways more deserving to be included in the Eighth Schedule.
    • For example, Sanskrit, an Eighth Schedule language, has only 24,821 speakers (2011 Census).
    • Manipuri, another scheduled language, has only 17,61,079 speakers. However, many unscheduled languages have a sizeable number of speakers.

    Why does Tulu deserve a place in the Schedule?

    • At present, Tulu is not an official language in India or any other country. Efforts are being made to include Tulu in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.
    • If included in the Eighth Schedule, Tulu would get recognition from the Sahitya Akademi. Tulu books would be translated into other recognised Indian languages.
    • The Yuelu Proclamation, made by the UNESCO at Changsha, The People’s Republic of China, in 2018 calls for protection and promotion of linguistic diversity.

    Conclusion 

    • India must accommodate this plethora of languages in its cultural discourse and administrative apparatus.
    • Article 29 of the Constitution provides that a section of citizens having a distinct language, script or culture have the right to conserve the same.
    • Placing of all the deserving languages on equal footing will promote social inclusion and national solidarity. It will reduce the inequalities within the country to a great extent.

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