Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Biorock Technique, Coral Bleaching
Mains level: Coral restoration measures
The Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), with help from Gujarat’s forest department, is attempting for the first time a process to restore coral reefs using biorock or mineral accretion technology.
What is Biorock Technique?
- Biorock is the name given to the substance formed by electro accumulation of minerals dissolved in seawater on steel structures that are lowered onto the sea bed and are connected to a power source, in this case solar panels that float on the surface.
- The technology works by passing a small amount of electrical current through electrodes in the water.
- When a positively charged anode and negatively charged cathode are placed on the sea floor, with an electric current flowing between them, calcium ions combine with carbonate ions and adhere to the structure (cathode).
- This results in calcium carbonate formation. Coral larvae adhere to the CaCO3 and grow quickly.
- Fragments of broken corals are also tied to the biorock structure, where they are able to grow at least four to six times faster than their actual growth as they need not spend their energy in building their own calcium carbonate skeletons.
Significance of the move
- The technology helps corals, including the highly sensitive branching corals, to counter the threats posed by global warming.
- In 2015, the same group of ZSI scientists had successfully restored branching coral species (staghorn corals) belonging to the family Acroporidae (Acropora formosa, Acropora humilis, Montipora digitata) that had gone extinct about 10,000 years ago to the Gulf of Kachchh.
Back2Basics
Coral Bleaching
- The stunning colours in corals come from a marine algae called zooxanthellae, which live inside their tissues.
- This algae provides the corals with an easy food supply thanks to photosynthesis, which gives the corals energy, allowing them to grow and reproduce.
- When corals get stressed, from things such as heat or pollution, they react by expelling this algae, leaving a ghostly, transparent skeleton behind.
- This is known as ‘coral bleaching’. Some corals can feed themselves, but without the zooxanthellae most corals starve.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: GTCI 2020
Mains level: Unemployment in India
What is the news: The Global Talent Competitiveness Index (GTCI) was recently published.
Performance Analysis
- India has climbed eight places to 72nd rank in the GTCI which was topped by Switzerland, the US and Singapore.
- Sweden (4th), Denmark (5th), the Netherlands (6th), Finland (7th), Luxembourg (8th), Norway (9th) and Australia (10th) complete the top 10 league table.
- In the BRICS grouping, China was ranked 42nd, Russia (48th), South Africa (70th) and Brazil at 80th position.
- This year’s GTCI report explores how the development of AI is not only changing the nature of work but also forcing a re-evaluation of workplace practices, corporate structures and innovation ecosystems.
About the GTCI report
- It was started in 2013 and is an annual benchmarking report that measures the ability of countries to compete for talent, their ability to grow, attract and retain talent.
- Theme for 2020 was ‘Global Talent in the Age of Artificial Intelligence’. It explores how the development of artificial intelligence (AI) is not only changing the nature of work but also forcing a re-evaluation of workplace practices, corporate structures and innovation ecosystems.
- Inequality: The report noted that the gap between high income, talent-rich nations and the rest of the world is widening. More than half of the population in the developing world lack basic digital skills.
- About GTCI Report: It is launched by INSEAD, a partner and sponsor of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Davos, Switzerland recently.
- INSEAD is one of the world’s leading and largest graduate business schools with locations all over the world and alliances with top institutions.
- The report, which measures countries based on six pillars:
- enable
- attract
- grow
- retain talent
- vocation and technical skills
- global knowledge skills
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Vakataka Dynasty and important rulers
Mains level: Life and society during Vakataka period
- Recent archaeological excavations at Nagardhan near Nagpur have provided concrete evidence on the life, religious affiliations and trade practices of the Vakataka dynasty that ruled parts of Central and South India between the third and fifth centuries.
- After a 1,500 year-old sealing was excavated for the first time, a new study in Numismatic Digest has tried to understand the Vakataka rule under Queen Prabhavatigupta.
Nagardhan
- Nagardhan is a large village in Nagpur district, about 6 km south of Ramtek taluka headquarters.
- Archaeological remains were found on a surface spread over a 1 km × 1.5 km area. The researchers excavated the site during 2015-2018.
- The existing village sits on top of the ancient habitation. The Nagardhan Fort stands south of present-day Nagardhan village.
- This was constructed during the Gond Raja period and later renovated and re-used by the Bhosales of Nagpur during the late 18th and 19th centuries.
Importance of the excavation
- Very little was known about the Vakatakas, the Shaivite rulers of Central India between the third and fifth centuries.
- All that was known about the dynasty, believed to hail from the Vidarbha region, was largely through some literature and copperplates.
- There were assumptions that the excavated site of Nagardhan is the same as Nandhivardhan, the capital city of the eastern branch of the Vakatakas.
- It was after archaeological evidence from here that Nagardhan was understood to have served as a capital of the Vakataka kingdom.
The seals so found
- It is the first time clay sealings have been excavated from Nagardhan.
- The oval-shaped sealing belongs to the period when Prabhavatigupta was the queen of the Vakataka dynasty.
- It bears her name in the Brahmi script along with the depiction of a conch.
- The presence of the conch, scholars say, is a sign of the Vaishnava affiliation that the Guptas held.
- The sealing was traced on top of a mega wall that researchers now think could have been part of a royal structure at the capital city of the kingdom.
Who was Queen Prabhavatigupta?
- The copperplate issued by Queen Prabhavatigupta starts with a genealogy of the Guptas, mentioning the Queen’s grandfather Samudragupta and her father Chandragupta II.
- These are strong indicators of Vaishnava signatures on the royal seals of the Vakatakas reiterate that Queen Prabhavatigupta was indeed a powerful woman ruler.
- Since the Vakataka people traded with Iran and beyond through the Mediterranean Sea, scholars suggest that these sealings could have been used as official royal permission issued from the capital city.
- Besides, these were used on documents that sought mandatory royal permissions.
Why are the findings on Queen Prabhavatigupta significant?
- Scholars say Queen Prabhavatigupta was among a handful of women rulers in India to have reigned over any kingdom during ancient times.
- The Vakataka rulers were known to have forged several matrimonial alliances with other dynasties of their times.
- One of the key alliances was with Prabhavatigupta of the mighty Gupta dynasty, which was then ruling north India. The Guptas were way more powerful than the Vakatakas.
- After marrying Vakataka king Rudrasena II, Prabhavatigupta enjoyed the position of Chief Queen.
- When she took over the Vakataka kingdom, after the sudden demise of Rudrasena II, her stature as a woman Vakataka ruler rose significantly.
- This is evident from the fact that the sealings were introduced and issued during her period as a ruler, that too from the capital city of Nagardhan.
Why is the sign of Vaishnava affiliation important?
- The Vakataka rulers followed the Shaiva sect of Hinduism while the Guptas were staunch Vaishnavites.
- Excavators say that many religious structures indicating affinity to the Vaishnava sect, and found in Ramtek, were built during the reign of Queen Prabhavatigupta.
- While she was married into a family that belonged to the Shaiva sect, the queen’s powers allowed her to choose a deity of worship, that is, Lord Vishnu.
What else has been excavated from Nagardhan so far?
- Earlier results from the excavations here had traced evidence in the form of ceramics, ear studs of glass, antiquities, bowls and pots, a votive shrine and tank, an iron chisel, a stone depicting a deer, and terracotta bangles.
- Some terracotta objects even depicted images of gods, animals and humans, along with amulets, scotches, wheels, skin rubbers and spindle whorls.
- An intact idol of Lord Ganesha, which had no ornaments adorned, too was found from the site.
- This confirmed that the elephant god was a commonly worshipped deity in those times.
- On the means of living of the Vakataka people, researchers found animal rearing to be one of the main occupations.
- Remains of seven species of domestic animals — cattle, goat, sheep, pig, cat, horse and fowl — were traced in an earlier study by the team.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Oslo Peace Accord, West Bank
Mains level: Palestine-Israel conflicts
Palestinian officials threatened to withdraw from key provisions of the Oslo Accords, which define relations with Israel, if U.S. President Donald Trump announces his Middle East peace plan next week.
The Oslo Peace Accord
- The Oslo Accords were a landmark moment in the pursuit of peace in the Middle East.
- Actually a set of two separate agreements signed by the government of Israel and the leadership of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)—the militant organization established in 1964 to create a Palestinian state.
- The negotiations between Israel and the PLO that ultimately led to the Oslo Accords began, in secret, in Oslo, Norway, in 1993.
- The Oslo Accords were ratified in Washington, D.C., in 1993 (Oslo I) and in Taba, Egypt, in 1995 (Oslo II).
- Sometimes called Oslo II, the interim agreement set out the scope of Palestinian autonomy in the West Bank and Gaza.
- The interim pact was only supposed to last five years while a permanent agreement was finalised but it has tacitly been rolled over for more than two decades.
A final nail in the coffin
- World powers have long agreed that Jerusalem’s fate should be settled through negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.
- The Palestinians see east Jerusalem as the capital of their future state and believe Trump’s plan buries the two-state solution that has been for decades the cornerstone of international Middle East diplomacy.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Operation Alberich
Mains level: Treaty of Versailles and WWI
The recently released ‘1917’ movie tells the story of two British soldiers during the WWI in Operation Alberich, the strategic retreat in which their troops were taken back to the Hindenburg Line in 1917.
What was Operation Alberich?
- Operation Alberich is considered among Germany’s most important operations on the Western Front in 1917, as well as one of its most extreme due to the ‘scorched earth’ policy employed.
- In World War I (1914-18), the Allied Powers — principally France, the British Empire, Russia, Italy, Japan, and the US (after 1917) — fought and defeated the Central Powers — mainly Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Turkey.
- The war caused destruction and suffering on unprecedented levels, and only led to a bigger conflict, World War II, two decades later in 1939.
- The war manoeuvre involved the systematic destruction of 1,500 square kilometres of French territory by the German army after it decided to retreat to a newly constructed defence line.
- The German army leadership had decided that the war must shift temporarily to the shorter and more easily defensible Hindenburg Line. The Operation took place in February and March 1917.
Course of action
- The shortening of the war front was drastic, and is considered the war’s biggest military construction project.
- The planning for the approximately 130-km Hindenburg Line began in September 1916, and much of it was completed in four months from October — using 5,00,000 tonnes of rocks and gravel, over 1,00,000 tonnes of cement, and 12,500 tonnes of barbed wire.
- The scorched earth policy, which laid to waste entire villages, roads, and bridges, was meant to destroy anything that the Allies could find useful.
- The Operation saw the complete evacuation of the area’s civilian population.
Aftermath
- The move is regarded as a tactical success for the Germans, as it took the Allies by surprise and delayed their advance, but is criticised for the disproportionate destruction that it caused.
- It is considered a propaganda disaster for Germany, and was presented by the Allies as an example of “Hun barbarism”.
- At the Treaty of Versailles, which was signed after the war, the Allies used Alberich to legitimize their claims for punitive reparations from Germany.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: SAARC, Sagarmatha Sambaad
Mains level: Fading relevance of SAARC
Nepal has invited the PMs of India and Pakistan along with several other heads of government and heads of state for the Sagarmatha Sambaad.
Sagarmatha Sambaad
- Sagarmatha Sambaad is a multi-stakeholder, permanent global dialogue forum initiated by the Government of Nepal.
- It is scheduled to be held biennially in Nepal.
- The Sambaad (dialogue) is named after the world’s tallest mountain Sagarmatha (Mount Everest).
- The Everest is also a symbol of friendship and is meant to promote the notions of common good and collective well-being of humanity.
- The first episode of the Sambaad is scheduled to be held from 2 to 4 April 2020 by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Nepal).
- The theme of the first Sambaad is “Climate Change, Mountains and the Future of Humanity.”
Significance
- This is the first ever multi-stakeholder dialogue and a biggest diplomatic initiative in Nepal’s recent history.
- India and Pakistan have been caught up in a cycle of hostility, which had prevented Islamabad from hosting the SAARC Summit in 2016.
- The Kathmandu event aims to draw all the SAARC leaders and provide an opportunity to break the ice.
- India had accused Pakistan of cross border terrorism while boycotting the Islamabad summit leading to its cancellation.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much.
Mains level: Paper 3- PDS and issue of excess food stock with FCI.
Context
A substantial rise in consumer food price inflation to 14.12% in December 2019, the highest ever in the past six years, has driven the retail price inflation in this country.
Discrepancies in the fiscal deficit
- Policy dilemma for the RBI: Though the CPI was at 14.12% in December but with the core inflation rate still not overshooting the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) medium-term target of 4(+/- 2)%.
- Speculations hover as to whether the RBI monetary policy committee will go for another rate cut in the coming month.
- This is a policy dilemma for the central bank
- Why is the dilemma? The dilemma is because the moot issues regarding the government’s key economic estimates, such as the fiscal deficit, largely remain unresolved.
- Discrepancies flagged by the CAG: The CAG has stated that the current figures on deficit have been kept at a 1.5% to 2% low by not including the government’s off-budget borrowings from public accounts, such as the National Small Savings Fund (NSSF).
- According to media reports, such off-budget expenditure of the current government stands at ₹1.5 lakh crore in 2019–20.
- The major portion of off budged expenditure on food subsidy: About three-fourths of the incremental off-budget expenditure is on account of under-recoveries in food subsidies of the Food Corporation of India (FCI).
- Low allocation but high expenditure on food subsidy: For instance, the 2019–20 Union Budget had provisioned food subsidy at₹1.84 lakh crore.
- While the overdue of the FCI is already at₹1.86 lakh crore.
- For these burgeoning overdue, FCI’s off-budget borrowings from the NSSF have been on the rise.
Excessive stock by the government and rising inflation
- Issue of supply management: The issues of agricultural supply management are relegated to the background by the standard causality argument of “crop damages” caused by excessive rains and that the inflation will ease out once the new harvest comes in.
- This argument can hold some water for horticulture crops like onions that saw an almost 200% rise in price in November and December.
- Unable to explain inflation in wheat and other cereals: This argument may not find traction in explaining the price inflation of wheat and other cereals.
- holding the excessive cereal stock: With the government currently stocking much higher quantities of cereals at the FCI than the buffer norms.
- 45.8 million tonnes of wheat as against the buffer norm of 27.5 million tonnes and nearly double the amount of rice vis-à-vis the buffer norm of 13.5 million tonnes.
- India is now a cereal surplus economy.
- Why then the inflation in cereal prices? Is this artificially created by the government through its irrational stocking practice?
- Some fundamental concerns are triggered at this juncture.
- Concerns with excess stocks
- First-Higher stock means higher subsidy bill-With the economic costs of the FCI being 12 times or more than the allocation cost of the grains through the public distribution system-higher stocks would imply higher subsidy bills.
- Second–No benefit of the stock: In tandem with the first, ad hoc releasing of the stocks will not bring about any major changes in the situation.
- Third–Hiding fiscal deficit from the public: In this context, off-budget borrowing can serve various politically expedient purposes.
- It has enabled the government to showcase a consistently low share (below 1%) of subsidies in national income.
- Thereby diverted the public attention from two critical facts: the FCI’s tipping financials and the country’s (grossly) underestimated fiscal deficit.
Conclusion
The government must recall that the “illusion” of this acceptable limit of inflation potentially rests upon the savings of the common consumers, which is being unduly misemployed by the government.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much.
Mains level: Paper 3- Face recognition technique, its uses and related issue.
Context
Facial recognition technology is set to become an integral part of the law enforcement toolkit, but we should regulate this technology before it pervades our public spaces.
What are the issues with the use of facial recognition?
- Enormous possibilities for law enforcement agencies:
- Detectives have been using facial recognition to solve crimes for almost as long as the camera has been in existence.
- Use of AI for facial recognition: It is but a logical extension of the modern crime solver’s toolkit to use artificial intelligence (AI) on the most identifiable physical feature of people, their face.
- Screening faces within hours: An image captured at the scene of a crime can now be screened against photographs of entire populations for a match within a matter of hours.
- Uneasiness with being watched: The idea of being watched by devices linked to vast databases far out of sight makes liberal societies uneasy.
- Invasion of privacy: The intrusion that is causing alarm, however, has nothing to do with the technology itself, and everything to do with the all-pervasive surveillance it enables.
Should there be no rules governing it?
- Issue of accuracy: How accurately faces are identified by machines is a major point of concern. Deployed in law enforcement, false matches could possibly result in a miscarriage of justice.
- Judicial scrutiny: Even a low rate of error could mean evidence faces judicial rejection. It is in the judiciary’s interest, all the same, to let technology aid police-work.
- Racial bias: First up for addressal is the criticism that facial recognition is still not smart enough to read emotions or work equally well for all racial groups.
- With iterative use, it will improve.
- Mala fide use: Since such tools can be put to mala fide use as-rogue drones equipped with the technology, for example, should never be in a position to carry out an assassination.
- Nor should an unauthorized agent be able to spy on or stalk anyone.
- Caution in the developed countries: Apart from California, the European Union has also decided to exercise some caution before exposing people to it.
- Privacy as fundamental rights in India: India, which has recently accepted privacy as a fundamental right, would do well to tilt the Western way on this.
Conclusion
- We need regulations that restrict the use of facial recognition to the minimum required to serve justice and ease commercial operations. For the latter, customer consent should be mandatory.
- There will be some overlaps. Its use at an aerobridge to board an aircraft, for example, could serve the interests of both state security and the airline, but data-sharing could risk leakage.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much.
Mains level: Paper 2- India-US ties, what are the issues that introduces friction in the ties between the two.
Context
Persistent in their efforts to remake their countries and their engagement with the world, Mr Modi and Mr Trump are shaking up the bilateral ties between the two countries, and the resultant flux could outlive their tenures.
The emergence of both the leaders on similar promises
- Improvements over the legacy of their predecessors: Both leaders continuously reiterate that their predecessors were incapable of protecting national interest.
- The compulsion to reframe the national interest: Such premises commits them both to reframe the national interest, and both have articulated it with clarity and force.
- For instance, Mr Modi, in Houston in September 2019 and Mr Trump in Davos this week, went great lengths to lay out figures that presented their respective regimes as the most effective guardians.
- Both have cultural and economic agenda: Both dispensations believe that “the people” had been given a raw deal by earlier regimes.
- Both have a cultural and economic agenda.
- National awakening: They are now leading a national reawakening, and working hard for the hard-working people.
- Both believe that cultural nationalism is a force for the good.
- Securing borders and entry barriers: Both believe that national borders need to be strengthened by stricter monitoring and setting new bars for entry.
- Renegotiating the treaties: Both leaders try to renegotiate the contract between the union and the States, and between citizens and the state within their respective countries.
- The supremacy of executive: They assert the supremacy of the executive over the legislature and the judiciary.
- Shared values: The notion of shared values of India and the U.S. has acquired a whole new meaning under Mr Trump and Mr Modi.
Politics and governance
- Hopes of status-quo in bilateral relations shattered: It was hoped that the stronger U.S.-India ties- that have autonomous drivers of convergence-would not be impacted by the nationalist politics of these two leaders.
- But both leaders have been remarkably true to their politics in their governance.
- Current tumult in the India-US ties: Shared values notwithstanding, national interests as perceived by these leaders have several points of divergence and therein lies in the current tumult in India-U.S. ties.
- Opposition to the “world order”: Mr Trump has been outspokenly confrontational with the “world order” that he says has worked against American interests.
- Dismantling the treaties: America under Mr Trump has wrecked treaties such as the Paris climate agreement and institutions such as the World Trade Organization and the United Nations, disrupting the “rule-based order”.
- India’s relations with Bangladesh: India’s spirited outreach in the neighbourhood is still playing out. India’s historically warm ties with Bangladesh have been frayed after CAA.
- India’s ambitions on the global level
- The seat at the UNSC: India under continues to push for more space for itself in global affairs by seeking a permanent seat in the UN Security Council and membership.
- NSG membership: India is also pushing for the membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group.
- The US actions at global levels
- Expansion of the principle of the pre-emptive strike: America expanded the principle of pre-emptive strike to include the assassination of a senior official of Iran.
- Renegotiating the treaties: After dismantling the North American Free Trade Agreement, Mr Trump forced Mexico and Canada to accede to his demands in a new trade deal.
- The India-US relations and impact of U.S. relations with other countries
- Impact on India-US ties: India’s ties with the U.S. are impacted by America’s ties with India’s adversaries and neighbours, China and Pakistan.
- Hopes of alignment in the Indo-US ties: Mr Trump’s bluster against both had lit hope that there would finally be a near-complete alignment between India and the U.S. on strategy.
- US-Iran conflict: Despite Mr Trump’s avowed opposition to America’s endless wars in West Asia, the US is going against Iran headlong, which is not in India’s interest.
- Relations with Gulf Countries: Trump and Mr Modi share a strong bonding with the Gulf Cooperation Council kings, but their courses in the region are diverging.
- US-Pakistan coming closer once again: The American President’s impatience to get out of Afghanistan has already pushed his administration closer to Pakistan, which is now further necessitated by his adventurist Iran policy.
- The US disregard for China’s expansionist policies: Mr Trump has been singularly focused on one question-trade. He cares little about China’s expansionism and at any rate that is not a factor in his ties with other Asian countries.
India-US ties- Points of fission
- On the trade front: Mr Trump has bracketed India and China as two countries that have duped his predecessors to gain undue advantage. Which is far from seeing India as deserving special concessions to counterbalance China as old wisdom demanded.
- Ending GSP: The US ended India’s status under the World Trade Organization’s Generalized System of Preferences and took other punitive measures.
- India trying to decrease the trade surplus: By increasing hydrocarbon imports from the U.S., the government is trying to reduce India’s trade surplus.
- Restrictions on H1-B visa: The US has tightened the restrictions on the H1-B visa which is used by the Indian companies.
- Decreasing bipartisan support in the US: The mobilisation of Indian diaspora in America by the government has resulted in the inevitable blowback.
- Diaspora divided and bipartisan support waning: The diaspora has been divided, and the bipartisan support for India is now squandered. Progressive sections on the Democratic side and religious libertarians and evangelicals on the Trump side are both concerned over India’s actions back home.
Conclusion
Partnership with America is critical to India. India must take the steps to align the interest but whenever it diverges India must take measures to minimise its impact on India while furthering its interests.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: India's Forex reserves, SDR, Reserve tranche
Mains level: Forex Reserves and its significance
India’s foreign exchange reserves rose by $943 million to touch a lifetime high of $462.16 billion according to the latest data from the RBI.
Forex reserves of India
- They are holdings of cash, bank deposits, bonds, and other financial assets denominated in currencies other than Indian rupee.
- The reserves are managed by the Reserve Bank of India for the Indian government and the main component is foreign currency assets.
- They act as the first line of defense for India in case of economic slowdown, but acquisition of reserves has its own costs.
- They facilitate external trade and payment and promote orderly development and maintenance of foreign exchange market in India.
- They act as a cushion against rupee volatility once global interest rates start rising.
Composition of Forex
- Reserve Bank of India Act and the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 set the legal provisions for governing the foreign exchange reserves.
- RBI accumulates foreign currency reserves by purchasing from authorized dealers in open market operations.
- The Forex reserves of India consist of below four categories:
- Foreign Currency Assets
- Gold
- Special Drawing Rights (SDRs)
- Reserve Tranche Position
What is Reserve tranche?
- Reserve tranche is a portion of the required quota of currency each member country must provide to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that can be utilized for its own purposes.
What are Special Drawing Rights?
- The SDR is an international reserve asset, created by the IMF in 1969 to supplement its member countries’ official reserves
- The SDR is neither a currency nor a claim on the IMF.
- Initially SDR was defined as equivalent to 0.888671 grams of fine gold, which at the time, was also equivalent to one U.S. dollar.
- After the collapse of the Bretton Woods system, the SDR was redefined as a basket of currencies.
- This basket Includes five currencies—the U.S. dollar, the euro, the Chinese renminbi, the Japanese yen, and the British pound sterling.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Shola Forests
Mains level: Western Ghats and its biodiversity richness
Shola Forests
- The Shola forests of South India derive their name from the Tamil word solai, which means a ‘tropical rain forest’.
- Classified as ‘Southern Montane Wet Temperate Forest’ the Sholas are found in the upper reaches of the Nilgiris, Anamalais, Palni hills, Kalakadu, Mundanthurai and Kanyakumari in the states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
- These forests are found sheltered in valleys with sufficient moisture and proper drainage, at an altitude of more than 1,500 metres.
Vegetation
- The upper reaches are covered with grasslands, known as Shola grasslands.
- The vegetation that grows in Shola forests is evergreen. The trees are stunted and have many branches. Their rounded and dense canopies appear in different colours.
- Generally, the leaves are small in size and leathery. Red-coloured young leaves turning into different colours on maturity is a prominent characteristic of the Shola forests.
- Epiphytes like lichens, ferns and bryophytes usually grow on the trees.
- The occurrence of Himalayan plants like rhododendron in these Shola forests is a mystery.
Significance of Sholas
- Sholas thus act as ‘overhead water tanks’. They play a major role in conserving water supply of the Nilgiris’ streams.
- The trees are slow-growing varieties which produce timber of little or no value and probably take at least a century to mature.
- The rolling grasslands found on top of the Western Ghats, enhance the beauty of the region. Usually, Shola forests and grasslands are found in a ratio of 1:5.
- The rain received from the Southwest and Northeast monsoons is harvested by the Shola forest-grassland ecosystem, leading to the formation of the Bhavani river that finally drains into the Cauvery.
- Thus, the Shola forest-grassland ecosystem of the Nilgiris, also supports the prosperity of Cauvery delta farmers.
- As tree species of the montane, evergreen forests are flammable, regeneration of any Shola tree species is completely prevented except for Rhododendron nilagiricum, the only Shola tree that can tolerate fire.
Threats to Sholas
- Unfortunately, the Sholas have begun to gradually shrink due to the introduction of alien plant species and annual fire occurrences.
- Alien species like Sticky Snakeroot, Gorse and Scotch Broom introduced during British rule, have encroached upon the grasslands.
- During 1840, tree species such as Acacia and Eucalyptus were introduced from Australia.
- Afterwards, between 1886 and 1891, Pine and Cypress were introduced, again from Australia. As the alien species grew, the forests and grasslands gradually became degraded and shrank.
- In addition, unscientific agricultural practices like growing tea on the slopes, cattle grazing and fuel wood collection have become serious causes for degradation.
- Unregulated tourism has created concrete jungles, traffic congestion and caused the generation of garbage.
Wrath of Eucalyptus
- During 1849, the extent of Shola forests was 8,600 hectares (ha), grasslands 29,875 ha and agriculture was 10,875 ha.
- No wattle or eucalyptus was planted in the area at that time.
- The comparison of the results of the 1849 and 1992 studies shows that cultivation of tea, wattle and eucalyptus has reduced the Shola forest-grassland ecosystem to a great extent.
Protective measures
- After realizing the seriousness of the situation, the government banned the planting of wattle and eucalyptus completely in 1987.
- Ecological restoration and biodiversity conservation were given importance.
- Under the Hill Area Development Programme since the mid-1980s, seedlings have been planted in degraded patches and protected with chain-link fences to restore the forests.
- Special Shola forest protection committees were formed involving teachers, nature lovers, ecologists, environmentalists, students and villagers in the Nilgiris.
- They were motivated to remove plastic garbage from the nearby forests, protect Shola trees, remove alien species and learn about the importance of the Sholas.
- Presently, the Tamil Nadu forest department is now focusing on eradicating wattle, providing fencing and planting shola seedlings in degraded shola forests.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: ICDS and its components
Mains level: Forms of malnutrition in urban areas and their preventive measures
Centre seeks to revamp the ICDS scheme in urban areas. For this NITI Aayog will develop draft policy, which will be circulated to the Ministries for consultations.
Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS)
- The ICDS is a government programme in India which provides food, preschool education, primary healthcare, immunization, health check-up and referral services to children under 6 years of age and their mothers.
- The scheme was launched in 1975, discontinued in 1978 by the government of Morarji Desai, and then relaunched by the Tenth Five Year Plan.
- Tenth FYP also linked ICDS to Anganwadi centres established mainly in rural areas and staffed with frontline workers.
- The ICDS provide for anganwadis or day-care centres which deliver a package of six services including:
- Immunization
- Supplementary nutrition
- Health checkup
- Referral services
- Pre-school education(Non-Formal)
- Nutrition and Health information
Implementation
- For nutritional purposes ICDS provides 500 kilocalories (with 12-15 grams of protein) every day to every child below 6 years of age.
- For adolescent girls it is up to 500 kilo calories with up to 25 grams of protein every day.
- The services of Immunisation, Health Check-up and Referral Services delivered through Public Health Infrastructure under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
Revamp for Urban Areas
- Health and ICDS models that work in rural areas may not work in urban areas because of higher population density, transportation challenges and migration.
- Children in urban areas were overweight and obese as indicated by subscapular skinfold thickness (SSFT) for their age.
- The first-ever pan-India survey on the nutrition status of children, highlighted that malnutrition among children in urban India.
- It found a higher prevalence of obesity because of relative prosperity and lifestyle patterns, along with iron and Vitamin D deficiency.
- According to government data from 2018, of the 14 lakh anganwadis across the country there are only 1.38 lakh anganwadis in urban areas.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Association for Democratic Reforms
Mains level: De-criminalization of politics in India
The Supreme Court has agreed to examine a proposition made by the Election Commission (EC) to ask political parties to not give a ticket to those with criminal antecedents.
Cleansing of Political Parties
- The judgment had urged Parliament to bring a “strong law” to cleanse political parties of leaders facing trial for serious crimes.
- The ruling concluded that rapid criminalisation of politics cannot be arrested by merely disqualifying tainted legislators but should begin by “cleansing” the political parties.
- The court had suggested that Parliament frame a law that makes it obligatory for political parties to remove leaders charged with “heinous and grievous” crimes like rape, murder and kidnapping, only to a name a few, and refuse ticket to offenders in both parliamentary and Assembly polls.
- It had also issued guidelines, including that both the candidate and the political party should declare the criminal antecedents of the former in widely-circulated newspapers.
Why such move?
- 46% of Members of Parliament have criminal records.
- A move to steer politics away from the denizens of the criminal world would definitely serve national and public interest.
- The EC had tried several measures to curb criminalisation of politics but failed.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NAVIC, IRNSS
Mains level: Utility of NAVIC
Qualcomm Technologies has released chipsets, supporting India’s own GPS system ‘Navigation with Indian Constellation’ (NavIC).
New androids to be equipped with NavIC
- The Qualcomm chipsets now supports up to 7 satellite constellations at the same time, including the use of all of NavIC’s operating satellites.
- These enhancements will enable select mobile, automotive and IoT platforms to better serve key industries and technology ecosystems in the region.
- It will help improve user experience for location-based applications especially in dense urban environments where geolocation accuracy tends to degrade, said the company earlier.
About NavIC
- The name NavIC was given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi after successful launch of the seventh navigation satellite, in April, 2016.
- To date, ISRO has built a total of nine satellites in the IRNSS series, of which eight are currently in orbit.
- The constellation is designed to provide accurate position information service to users in India as well as the region extending up to 1,500 km from its boundary, which is its primary service area.
- It is designed to provide two types of services – Standard Positioning Service (SPS), which is provided to all users and Restricted Service (RS), which is an encrypted service provided only to the authorised users.
- The system is expected to provide a position accuracy of better than 20 m in the primary service area.
For more readings about NAVIC, navigate to the page:
NAVIC (Navigation in Indian Constellation)
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Natrialba Swarupiae, Sambhar Lake
Mains level: Not Much
- Scientists at the National Centre for Microbial Resource — National Centre for Cell Science (NCMR-NCCS) in Pune have reported a new archaeon (a kind of microorganism), which they discovered in Sambhar Salt Lake in Rajasthan.
- The new archaeon has been named Natrialba swarupiae, after Dr Renu Swarup, secretary, Department of Biotechnology, for her initiative in supporting microbial diversity studies in the country.
Archaea
- Archaea (singular archaeon) are a primitive group of microorganisms that thrive in extreme habitats such as hot springs, cold deserts and hypersaline lakes.
- These slow-growing organisms are also present in the human gut, and have a potential relationship with human health.
- They are known for producing antimicrobial molecules, and for anti-oxidant activity with applications in eco-friendly waste-water treatment.
- Archaea are extremely difficult to culture due to challenges in providing natural conditions in a laboratory setting.
- As archaea are relatively poorly studied, very little is known about how archaea behave in the human body.
- The organism has potential gene clusters that helps maintain the metabolism of the archaea to survive in extreme harsh conditions.
Search and discovery
- Sambhar Lake has been poorly studied for microbial ecology studies.
- With a salt production of 0.2 million tonnes per annum, it is also a hypersaline ecosystem which provides an opportunity for microbial ecologists to understand organisms that thrive in such concentrations.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Various chairs named after eminent Women
Mains level: Women empowerment
On the occasion of National Girl Child Day, the Ministry of Women and Child Development has set up 10 Chairs in different fields with an aim to carry out research activities to encourage women.
Chairs named after eminent Women
- The initiative is called “the Establishment of Chairs in the Universities in the name of eminent women administrators, artists, scientists and social reformers”.
- It is being launched with the assistance of University Grants Commission (UGC).
- The main objective is to inspire women to pursue higher education and to achieve excellence in their area of work.
- The financial implications of the proposal is Rs. 50 lakh per Chair per year and the total expenditure for establishing ten Chairs will be approximately Rs. Rs. 5 crore per annum.
- The Chairs are to be established for a period of 5 years initially as per the guidelines.
The chairs proposed by UGC and approved by the Ministry are as under:
| S. No. |
Subject |
Proposed name of chair |
| 1. |
Administration |
Devi Ahilyabai Holkar |
| 2. |
Literature |
Mahadevi Varma |
| 3. |
Freedom Fighter (North East) |
Rani Gaidinliu |
| 4. |
Medicine & Health |
Anandibai Gopalrao Joshi |
| 5. |
Performing Art |
Madurai Shanmukhavadivu Subbulakshmi |
| 6. |
Forest/Wildlife Conservation |
Amrita Devi (Beniwal) |
| 7. |
Mathematics |
Lilavati |
| 8. |
Science |
Kamala Sohonie |
| 9. |
Poetry & Mysticism |
Lal Ded |
| 10. |
Educational Reforms |
Hansa Mehta |
Functions of these chairs
- Academic functions of the Chairs will be to engage in research and, in turn, contribute to the advancement of knowledge in the area of the study, strengthen the role of university/academics in public policy making etc.
- The University will review the progress of the Chair annually and submit a final report on the activities and outcome of the Chair to the UGC after five years.
- However, the UGC may undertake the exercise of reviewing the Chair for its continuance, at any stage.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Skybot F-850: Robot sent by Russia to dock with the International Space Station.
Mains level: Paper 3-Vyommitra, India's human spaceflight in 2022.
Context
The first gaganaut-Vyomamitra- to head for space in an Indian craft will not be human, but humanoid.
What Vyomamitra would do on spaceflight?
- Test the technological environment: Vyomamitra unveiled by ISRO will fly two missions to test the technological environment which human gaganauts will inhabit on India’s first demonstration of human spaceflight in 2022.
- She will test the systems and instruments that they would use.
- Vyomamitra cannot test the cabin ecosystem, as she would not be able to breathe the air.
- Other functions: Vyomamitra is perfectly capable of issuing commands, activating switches and, obviously, communicating with earth.
- Give company to human travellers: Her prototype has already chatted with people at the Isro event where she was introduced to the public, and future iterations will be able to give company to human travellers at the loneliest frontier.
A shift from sending animals to humanoids
- Performing roles previously performed by animals: Vyomamitra will be executing the pioneering role which has traditionally been given to animals – testing systems for survivability.
- Fruit flies and monkeys were the first beings to lift off, riding V2 rockets with devices monitoring their vital signs.
- Why using humanoid is more useful: Using a humanoid robot is more useful because it can be used to replicate the behavioural and operational responses of a human.
- Indeed, robots need not remain pioneers testing survivability, or assistants to the human crew, but are expected to crew missions that are too prolonged or too dangerous for a human pilot.
Opportunities and the future of AI-powered humanoid
- Russian robot in space: As India prepared for human flight, in August 2019, the Russian space agency Roscosmos sent up the anthropomorphic robot Skybot F-850 to dock with the International Space Station.
- The mission has been halted because of technical issues.
- Goals beyond survivability testing: If the nation which pioneered human spaceflight with Yuri Gagarin’s mission in 1961 is sending humanoid robots into space, survivability testing is not the only legitimate goal of missions powered by artificial intelligence and robotics.
- Opportunity to develop new technologies: Humanoid in space also provide opportunities to test and develop these technologies under circumstances that do not prevail on earth.
- The inputs, goals and skills learned are different and while AI on earth specifically focuses on creating systems which do not think like humans,
- Human-like AI system need of industry: The space industry would value systems that are human-like, to stand in for crew.
Conclusion
Vyomamitra represents the very first iteration of AI in space, and later generations could prove to be as essential for spaceflight as cryogenic engines.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much.
Mains level: Paper 2- BRICS- challenges and areas of cooperation.
Context
India has invited the Brazilian President to be a guest of honour for Republic Day 2020. It is also a good opportunity for focusing on intra-BRICS partnership and trade.
Future of the BRICS
- To move towards multi-polarity: This was set up as a move towards greater multi-polarity; hence the spread across three continents and both hemispheres.
- Infirmities in the group: The BRICS combination accounts for about one-third of global output, but a glance at the GDP t and growth rates will show the infirmities of the group.
- Differences in GDP: In terms of GDP, China occupies the second position; India the fifth; Brazil the ninth; Russia the 11th; and South Africa the 35th.
- Differences in growth rate: In terms of growth rates, China grew at 6%; India at 4.5%, Russia 1.7%, Brazil 1.2% and South Africa 0.1%.
- Both politically and economically, Brazil and South Africa have been the laggards in recent years. But there are certain similarities as well.
- Similarities in the group: Each country has different economic and political leverage and its own burden of domestic and external issues.
- Decision-making structure: They all share the benefits of autonomous decision making.
- Non-affiliation: The members of the group have non-affiliation with any binding alliances.
- Informal structure: The group’s informal structure is an advantage for coordination among the most influential non-Western countries.
- Challenges to the survival of the group: The BRICS group can survive only if its members maximise their congruencies to the extent possible. Following are the challenges to the existence of the group-
- The growing intensity of Sino-Russian ties.
- The pro-American leanings in Brazil.
- The socio-economic difficulties of South Africa after nine years under the controversial Jacob Zuma.
- India’s many difficulties with China, including its abstention from the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.
Achievement of the grouping
- New Development Bank: The main achievement of BRICS is the New Development Bank, with each country contributing equally to its equity.
- The bank has so far financed over 40 projects at a cost of $12 billion.
- The BRICS countries are also developing a joint payments mechanism to reduce foreign trade settlements in U.S. dollars.
- BASICS: An offshoot of the group, dealing with climate change, is BASIC (BRICS without Russia).
- BASICS met at the Spain conference last month and reiterated its support to the Paris Agreement.
- India’s lead role: India is taking the lead role in-
- Digital health, Digital forensics
- Film technology.
- Traditional medicine.
- Sustainable water management,
- Internships and fellowships.
Brazil-India relation
- Visa waiver for Indians: Brazil declared the decision to waive visa requirements for Indian citizens.
- Potential for investments: There is potential for Brazilian investments in the sectors of space and defence, agricultural equipment, animal husbandry, post-harvest technologies, and bio-fuels.
- Low two-way trade: The total two-way trade is at a paltry $8 billion, and the prospect of closer economic ties, however desirable, would require considerable optimism.
Conclusion
Both India and Brazil need to further deepen the ties and increase cooperation in various areas of cooperation. BRICS, despite the various challenges, need to focus on congruencies between them and work towards greater cooperation.
.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 3- Suggestions for revival of the Indian economy, unemployment in rural and urban areas and ways to increase it by investing in various sectors.
Context
With the unemployment rate at 6.1 (2017-18), not just the future of the economy, the future of the country’s youth depends on the Budget.
Unemployment and other indicators of the economy
- Unemployment in urban youth: The unemployment rate for urban youth in the 15-29 years category is alarmingly high at 22.5%.
- These figures, however, are just one of the many problems, as pointed out by the Periodic Labour Force Survey.
- The decline in labour force participation: The Labour Force Participation Rate has come down to 46.5% for the ‘15 years and above’ age category.
- It is down to 37.7% for the urban youth. Even among those employed, a large fraction gets low wages and are stuck with ‘employment poverty’.
- The decline in investment: The aggregate investment stands at less than 30% of the GDP, a rate much lower than the 15-year average of 35%.
- The decline in capacity utilisation: The capacity utilisation in the private sector is down to 70%-75%.
Where the Budget should focus to reduce rural employment?
- Revive demand: The Budget should also focus on reviving demand to promote growth and employment.
- PM-KISAN and MGNREGA: Schemes like PM-KISAN and Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) are good instruments to boost rural demand.
- Unutilised fund: a significant proportion of the budgetary allocation for PM-KISAN will go unutilised.
- Why income transfers through such schemes matter?
- Spend most of their income: Farmers and landless labourers spend most of their income. This means that income transfers to such groups will immediately increase demand.
- Consumes a wide range of goods: Further, rural India consumes a wide range of goods and services; so, if allocation and disbursement are raised significantly, most sectors of the economy will benefit.
- Immediate result: And such transfer will have the immediate payoff.
- Allocate to irrigation and infrastructure projects
- How allocation could matter: Rural unemployment can be reduced by raising budgetary allocation for irrigation projects and rural infrastructures like roads, cold storage and logistical chains.
- These facilities, along with a comprehensive crop insurance scheme, can drastically increase agricultural productivity and farmers’ income.
- The decrease in wastage and reduction in inflation shocks: Moreover, by integrating farms with mandis, such investments will reduce wastage of fruits and vegetables, thereby leading to a decrease in the frequency of inflationary shocks and their impact.
Where the Budget should focus to reduce urban unemployment?
- Focus on construction and related activities: In urban areas, construction and related activities are a source of employment for more than five crore people.
- Second only to agriculture: Across the country, the sector’s employment figures are second only to those of the agriculture sector.
- Construction as the backbone of other sectors: These projects, along with infrastructure, support 200-odd sectors, including core sectors like cement and steel.
- Problems with the construction sector:
- Construction sector at a halt due to legal disputes: Due to the crisis in the real estate and infrastructure sectors, construction activities have come to a grinding halt.
- At present, many real-estate projects are caught up in legal disputes-between home-buyers and developers; between lenders and developers; and between developers and law enforcement agencies like the Enforcement Directorate.
- Unsold inventories: The sector has an unsold inventory of homes, worth several lakh crores.
- Multiple authority as regulator and problem in liquidation: Multiple authorities -the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA); the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT); and the many consumer courts -have jurisdiction over disputes.
- Consequently, restructuring and liquidation of bad projects are very difficult, and in turn, is the main source of the problem of NPA faced by the NBFCs.
- What should be done to increase the demand in the construction sector?
- Raise the tax exemption limit: To revive demand for housing, the Budget can raise the limit for availing tax exemption on home loans.
- Use the bailout fund: The ₹25,000-crore fund set up by the centre to bailout 1,600 housing projects should be put to use immediately.
- The funds should be used to salvage all projects that are 80% complete and not under the liquidation process under the NCLT.
- Single adjudication authority: Several additional measures can also help. For example, there should be a single adjudication authority.
- NIP and its significance: The ₹102-lakh-crore National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP) programme is a welcome step. If implemented successfully, it will boost the infrastructure investment over the next five years by 2%-2.5% of the GDP annually.
Problems with National Infrastructure Pipeline
- Problems of 60% investment: The problem is that more than 60% of the planned investment is expected from the private sector and the States.
- Regulatory certainty a must for the private sector: The government does not seem to realise that for private investment, regulatory certainty is as important as the cost of capital.
- Regulatory hurdles: Many infrastructure projects are languishing due to regulatory hurdles and contractual disputes between construction companies and government departments.
- The reason behind the non-availability of private capital: As a result of the regulatory hurdles infrastructure investment has come to be perceived as very risky.
- This is the major reason behind the non-availability of private capital for infrastructure.
- Role to be played by the Centre: This is a scenario, where the private sector has very little appetite for risky investments and State finances are shaky due to low GST collection.
- Responsibility of the Centre: The onus is on the Centre to ensure that the programme does not come a cropper. The budgetary support to infrastructure will have to be much more than the NIP projection at 11% of the GDP.
Way forward to revive the economy
- Focus on completing the incomplete projects:
- Bidding a lengthy process: Bidding and contracting for new roads, highways, railway tracks and urban development projects is a lengthy process.
- This is also the reason why several infrastructure-linked Ministries like those for civil aviation and roads have not been able to spend money allocated to them in the current fiscal year.
- Completing the projects a priority: Therefore, rather than earmarking budgetary support for new projects, the focus should be on projects that are currently under implementation so as to complete them as soon as possible.
- Funding should be front-loaded: That is, funding should be front-loaded. In addition to creating employment, timely completion of infrastructure projects will help increase the competitiveness of the economy.
- Address the distress in SMEs: The distress among Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) is another area of concern.
- GST anomaly and stuck money: For many products produced by these enterprises, the GST rates are higher for inputs than the final goods. Due to this anomaly, around ₹20,000 crore gets stuck with the government annually in the form of input tax credits.
- This has increased cost of doing business for SMEs, which employ over 11 crore people.
- Fill the vacancies in the Government jobs: According to some estimates, there are more than 22 lakh vacancies in various government departments.
- Focus on vocational training program: The government needs to provide affordable and good quality vocational training programmes.
- To stop the demographic dividend from becoming a national burden, there is a need to invest heavily in skilling of the youth.
- Besides, the Budget should give tax incentives to companies and industrial units to encourage them to provide internships and on-site vocational training opportunities.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: Kashmiri Pandits and the hurdles in their rehabiliation
It is 30 years since the “exodus” from the Valley of its minority Hindu Kashmiri Pandit community.
The run-up: 1980s to 1990
- Sheikh Abdullah had died in 1982, and the leadership of the National Conference passed on to his son Farooq Abdullah, who won the 1983 election.
- But within two years, the Centre broke up the NC, and installed dissident Ghulam Mohammed Shah as Chief Minister. This led to huge disaffection and political instability.
- The Jammu & Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) stepped up its activities, and the hanging of the militant leader Maqbool Bhat in 1984 added to the sense of foreboding.
- In 1986, after the Rajiv Gandhi government opened the Babri Masjid locks to enable Hindus to offer prayers there, ripples were felt in Kashmir too.
- In Anantnag, the constituency of then Congress leader Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, there was a series of attacks on Hindu temples, and shops and properties of Kashmiri Pandits, blamed on separatist and secessionists.
- Pandits had begun to be targeted. Eminent persons of the community were being shot dead.
The night of January 19, 1990
- Matters came to a head on January 19. By then, the Farooq Abdullah government had been dismissed and Governor’s Rule imposed.
- According to accounts published by many eminent Kashmiri Pandits, there were threatening slogans over loudspeakers from mosques, and on the streets.
- Speeches were made extolling Pakistan and the supremacy of Islam, and against Hinduism. Finally, the Kashmiri Pandit community decided to leave.
The Gawkadal Massacre
- On January 20, the first stream began leaving the Valley with hastily packed belongings in whatever transport they could find. A second, larger wave left in March and April, after more Pandits were killed.
- On January 21, the CRPF gunned down 160 Kashmiri Muslim protesters at the Gawkadal Bridge, which has come to be known as the worst massacre in the long history of the conflict in Kashmir.
- The two events — the flight of the Pandits and the Gawkadal massacre — took place within 48 hours.
How many Pandits left?
- According to some estimates, notably by the Kashmiri Pandit Sangharsh Samiti (KPSS), of 75,343 Kashmiri Pandit families in January 1990, more than 70,000 fled between 1990 and 1992 and continued until 2000.
- The KPSS has placed the number of Kashmiri Pandits killed by militants from 1990 to 2011 at 399, the majority during 1989-90.
- Some 800 families have remained in the Valley through these three decades.
Role of the administration
- The other contentious question about the exodus is the role played by the administration, and more specifically that of the J&K Governor, Jagmohan.
- Newly appointed, he had arrived in Srinagar on January 19.
- The Kashmiri Muslim view of the exodus is that he encouraged the Pandits to leave the Valley and thus gave a communal colour to what was until then a non-religious Kashmiri cause.
- The Kashmiri Hindu view is that this is a disingenuous interpretation.
- They believe that Kashmiri Muslims, with whom they had lived amicably for centuries, drove them out with a vengeance in a frenzy of Islamism that they could not have imagined even months earlier.
- The truth, many commentators have concluded, may have been somewhere in the middle.
The question of return
- Those who had means rebuilt their lives elsewhere in the country — Delhi, Pune, Mumbai and Ahmedabad have Pandit populations, also Jaipur and Lucknow — or went abroad.
- The fleeing Pandits did not think they would never return to the Valley. But as the situation in Kashmir spiraled into a full-blown militancy, return began to look remote if not impossible.
- The longing to return to the Valley did not diminish over the years, though it may have become more an idea than a real ambition.
- Successive governments have promised that they will help this process, but the situation on the ground in Kashmir has meant this remains only an intention.
- There is an acute realization in the community that the Valley is no longer the same that they left behind in 1990.
- In many cases, their properties were either immediately vandalised or sold quickly by the owners to Kashmiri Muslims. Many fell into disrepair.
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