[WpProQuiz 1009]
[WpProQuiz_toplist 1009]
UPSC 2022 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)
Search results for: “”
-
Imp: Prelims 2022 || Must Read Locations for Prelims 2022 Part-I
Talk to our mentors for a Roadmap to 2023 Attempt. Click Here
- Assam-Meghalaya border dispute partially resolved:
With the signing of a “historic agreement”, Assam and Meghalaya have partially resolved a 50-yearold border dispute in six of the 12 sectors along
their 885-km boundary.
About the Dispute
• Meghalaya was carved out of Assam as a separate state in 1972 but the new state had challenged the Assam Reorganisation Act, 1971, leading to dispute in 12 locations in the border areas.
• These include the areas of Upper Tarabari, Gazang reserve forest, Hahim, Langpih, Borduar, Boklapara, Nongwah, Matamur, Khanapara-Pilangkata, Deshdemoreah Block I and Block II, Khanduli and Retacherra.
• A major point of contention between Assam and Meghalaya is the district of Langpih in West Garo Hills bordering the Kamrup district of Assam.
• Langpih was part of the Kamrup district of Assam during the British colonial period but after India’s Independence in 1947; it became part of the Garo Hills and Meghalaya.
• Another point of contention is the Mikir Hills, which Assam considers to be its part.
• Meghalaya has questioned Blocks I and II of the Mikir Hills, now Karbi Anglong region, being part of Assam.2. India’s 1st E-waste Park to be in Delhi: The Delhi government will build India’s first electronic waste eco-park in the national capital.
• The e-waste eco-park will consist of an authorized refurbishing market as a secondary product sale market for batteries, electronic goods, laptops, chargers, mobiles and PCs.
• This facility will consist of dismantling, refurbishing, segregation, plastic recycling, material wise storage, and testing, and precious metal extraction facilities, from Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs) through high-end technologies.
• There will be end-to-end processing of e-waste and zero landfill will be ensured.
• It will provide integrated and environmentally-safe disposal of e-waste, using innovative technologies.3. Konark is going to be the first model town in Odisha: Konark is going to be the first model town in Odisha to shift from grid dependency to green energy. The Odisha government has planned to run the Sun Temple completely on solar energy.
About Konark Sun Temple
•The Sun Temple built in the thirteenth century was conceived as a gigantic chariot of Sun God, with twelve pairs of exquisitely ornamented wheels pulled by seven pairs of horses at Konark on the coastline of Odisha, India.
•“Konarka” , the place bears a name composed of two World elements: Kona meaning corner and ARKA meaning the Sun.
•The Sun god worshiped in Ark Kshetra is also called Konark.
•The temple is attributed to king Narasimhadeva I of the Eastern Ganga Dynasty about 1250 CE.
•It is dedicated to the Hindu Sun God Surya.
•This temple was called the “Black Pagoda” in European sailor accounts.
•It forms part of the golden triangle of Odisha, along with Puri and
Bhubaneswar, and attracts tourists, pilgrims, and history and art lovers.
• The Sun Temple, Konârak is protected under the National Framework of India by the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (AMASR) Act (1958) and its Rules (1959).4. Seagrass protection project underway along AP coast: The Centre has initiated a project across the states of Andhra Pradesh,
Maharashtra, and Odisha on enhancing climate resilience of India’s
coastal communities by protecting and restoring India’s natural
ecosystems such as mangroves and seagrasses.About the Programme
• The project had been undertaken at a total cost of US $130.269
million (around Rs 1,000 crore) which includes a grant of US
$43.419 million by Global Climate Fund (GCF) covering 24
ecosystems in these selected states.
• It aims to strengthen the climate resilience of coastal communities by
protecting and restoring India’s natural ecosystems such as
mangroves and seagrasses.
• Under the programme, study of seagrasses along the coastlines is
prominent.
• Andhra Pradesh coast is an area of major study in the programme.5. Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh becomes 100th ‘Har
Ghar Jal’ District: Jal Jeevan Mission has achieved the significant milestone of
providing tap water to every home of 100 districts across the country.About Jal Jeevan Mission
•Jal Jeevan Mission is a central government initiative under the Ministry of Jal Shakti.
•It aims to ensure access to piped water for every household in India.
•The mission’s goal is to provide to all households in rural India safe and adequate water through individual household tap connections by 2024.6. Himachal Pradesh gets 1st Biodiversity Park at
Mandi: Recently, Himachal Pradesh got the first biodiversity park to make its contribution towards the conservation of endangered Himalayan herbs.What are Biodiversity parks?
•Biodiversity is the variety of plant and animal life in the world or in a particular habitat.
•Biodiversity is measured by two major components: species richness, and species evenness.
•Biological diversity is a precious resource intended for the continued existence of mankind, and hence, conserving biodiversity is concerned with restoring the equilibrium between humans & the atmosphere.7. Atal Tunnel makes it to World Book of Records: Recently, Atal Tunnel has officially been certified by the World Book of Records as the ‘World’s Longest Highway Tunnel above 10,000 Feet’, during a landmark ceremony in New Delhi.
8. Chauri Chaura Incident: Recently, 100 years have passed since the Chauri Chaura incident which took place on February 4, 1922 at Chauri Chaura in the Gorakhpur district of British India.
About ‘Chauri Chaura’ Incident
• The incident took place on 4 February 1922 at Chauri Chaura in the Gorakhpur district of the United Province.
• A large group of protesters participating in the Non-Cooperation Movement clashed with police who opened fire.
• In retaliation the demonstrators attacked and set fire to a police station, killing all of its occupants.
• The incident led to the death of three civilians and 22 policemen.
• Mahatma Gandhi, who was strictly against violence, halted the non-co-operation movement on the national level on 12 February 1922, as a direct result of this incident.09. Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve bags TX2 award: Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve (Erode district, Tamil Nadu) has been given the prestigious TX2 award after its tiger numbers doubled to 80 since 2010.
About STR
• Sathyamangalam Wildlife Sanctuary and Tiger Reserve is a protected area and tiger reserve along the Western Ghats in the Erode District of Tamil Nadu.
• First declared as a wildlife sanctuary in 2008 and enlarged in 2011, it covers a forest area of 1,411.6 km2 (545.0 sq mi) and is the largest wildlife sanctuary in Tamil Nadu.
• In 2013, it became the fourth tiger reserve as a part of Project Tiger in the state of Tamil Nadu.10. : Adi Shankaracharya’s birthplace to become A National Monument:
About Adi Shankaracharya
•Adi Shankaracharya was born in Kalady in Kerala in 788 C.E and disappeared in the year 820 C.E at the young age of 32.
•He was an exceptional child as Adi Shankara had become fluent in Sanskrit by the age of two. By four, he was comfortably reciting scriptures including Vedas.
•The burning quest for attaining superior knowledge from an early age pushed Adi Shankara to leave his home and set on the search for a guru.
•His quest ended with Govid Bhagvatpad at Omkareshwar (Madhya Pradesh) on the bank of Narmada river.
•Adi Shankaracharya championed the Advait branch of philosophy that declared that god and humans were not two. He then set out to spread the message of his guru. -
[Sansad TV] Perspective: Judicial Reforms
UPSC 2023 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)
Context
- Chief Ministers of States and Chief Justices of High Courts (CMCJs) participated in a joint conference in the national capital to discuss various aspects of the justice delivery system.
- Participating in the inaugural session PM Modi said that judicial reform is not merely a policy matter and Human sensitivities should be kept in the centre of all the deliberations on this issue.
Key takeaways from the CMCJ summit
- PM stressed on the importance of Mediation as an important tool for the settlement of pending cases in the courts, especially at the local level.
- CJI N V Ramanna in his remarks said a National Judicial Infrastructure Authority should be created for the standardization and improvement of judicial infrastructure which currently needs urgent attention.
- Both CJI and Prime Minister also highlighted the need to promote local languages in the courts so that people of the country feel connected with the judicial process.
The main subjects that were discussed, are as under:
- Infrastructure of Subordinate Courts
- Performance of Morning/Evening and Holiday Courts
- Conditions of Jails with particular reference to under trial prisoners
- Implementation of Information and Communication Technology
- Strengthening the Legal-Aid Programmes
- Strengthening of Juvenile Justice System
- Utilization of grants
- Review of Quality Legal Education Programmes in the States
- Post-Retirement benefits to Judges
- Model Courts and the Establishment of Commercial Courts, Commercial Division and Commercial Appellate Division High Courts
- Filling up vacancies in the High Courts
Indian Judiciary: A Backgrounder
- Our Judicial system has been the nation’s moral conscience keeper.
- It speaks truth to political power, upholds the rights of citizens, mediates between Centre-state conflicts, provides justice to the rich and poor alike, and on several momentous occasions, saved democracy itself.
- Despite its achievements, a gap between the ideal and reality has been becoming clear over the years.
- The justice delivery is slow, the appointment of judges is mired in controversy, disciplinary mechanisms scarcely work, hierarchy rather than merit is preferred, women are severely under-represented, and constitutional matters often languish in the Supreme Court for years.
- As Justice Chelameswar said in his dissent in the NJAC judgment, the courts must reform, so that they can preserve.
Challenges to the judicial system
- Lack of infrastructure of courts
- High vacancy of judges in the district judiciary
- Pendency of Cases
- Ineffective planning in the functioning of the courts
- Delay in the delivery of judgements
- Lack of transparency in appointment and transfers.
- Corruption
- Undertrials serving Jail
- Outdated laws ex. Section 124A IPC
What led to under-performance of Indian Judiciary?
The primary factors contributing to docket explosion and arrears as highlighted by Justice Malimath Committee report are as follows:
- Population explosion
- Litigation explosion
- Hasty and imperfect drafting of legislation
- Plurality and accumulation of appeals (Multiple appeals for the same issue)
- Inadequacy of judge strength
- Failure to provide adequate forums of appeal against quasi-judicial orders
- Lack of priority for disposal of old cases (due to the improper constitution of benches)
Recent developments:
Proposal for the creation of National Judicial Infrastructure Corporation (NJIC)
- The CJI has pitched to set up a National Judicial Infrastructure Corporation (NJIC) to develop judicial infrastructure in trial courts.
- He indicated a substantial gap in infrastructure and availability of basic amenities in the lower judiciary.
- There is a dearth of court halls, residential accommodation, and waiting room for litigants in trial courts, especially in smaller towns and rural areas.
- Experience shows that budgetary allocation for state judiciary often lapses since there is no independent body to supervise and execute such works.
- NJIC is expected to fill this vacuum and overcome problems related to infrastructure.
Way forward
- Creating NJIC: It will bring a revolutionary change in the judicial functioning provided the proposed body is given financial and executive powers to operate independently of the Union and the State governments.
- Appointment reforms: There are many experts who advocate the need to appoint more judges with unquestionable transparency in such appointments.
- Creating All Indian Judiciary Services: It would be a landmark move to create a pan-India Service that would result in a wide pool of qualified and committed judges entering the system.
- Technology infusion: The ethical and responsible use of AI and ML for the advancement of efficiency-enhancing can be increasingly embedded in legal and judicial processes. Ex. SUPACE.
- Legal education: This should be in alignment with the evolving dynamics of the law must be propagated in trial and constitutional courts. This will improve the competence of the judicial system.
- Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR): ADR mechanisms should be promoted for out-of-court settlements. Primary courts of appeal should be set up.
-
Public health engineering
Context
As we confront the public health challenges emerging out of environmental concerns, expanding the scope of public health/environmental engineering science becomes pivotal.
Why does India need a specialised cadre of public health engineers
- Achieving SDGs and growing demand for water consumption: For India to achieve its sustainable development goals of clean water and sanitation and to address the growing demands for water consumption and preservation of both surface water bodies and groundwater resources, it is essential to find and implement innovative ways of treating wastewater.
- It is in this context why the specialised cadre of public health engineers, also known as sanitation engineers or environmental engineers, is best suited to provide the growing urban and rural water supply and to manage solid waste and wastewater.
- Limited capacity: The availability of systemic information and programmes focusing on teaching, training, and capacity building for this specialty cadre is currently limited.
- Currently in India, civil engineering incorporates a course or two on environmental engineering for students to learn about wastewater management as a part of their pre-service and in-service training.
- However, the nexus between wastewater and solid waste management and public health issues is not brought out clearly.
- India aims to supply 55 litres of water per person per day by 2024 under its Jal Jeevan Mission to install functional household tap connections.
- The goal of reaching every rural household with functional tap water can be achieved in a sustainable and resilient manner only if the cadre of public health engineers is expanded and strengthened.
- Different from the international trend: In India, public health engineering is executed by the Public Works Department or by health officials. This differs from international trends.
Way forward
- Introducing public health engineering as a two-year structured master’s degree programme or through diploma programmes for professionals working in this field must be considered to meet the need of increased human resource in this field.
- Interdisciplinary field: Furthermore, public health engineering should be developed as an interdisciplinary field.
- Engineers can significantly contribute to public health in defining what is possible, identifying limitations, and shaping workable solutions with a problem-solving approach.
- Public health engineering’s combination of engineering and public health skills can also enable contextualised decision-making regarding water management in India.
Conclusion
Diseases cannot be contained unless we provide good quality and adequate quantity of water. Most of the world’s diseases can be prevented by considering this. Training our young minds towards creating sustainable water management systems would be the first step.
UPSC 2023 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)
-
For a better South Asian neighbourhood
Context
Recent developments — in Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Pakistan — underline the geographic imperative that binds India to its neighbours in the Subcontinent.
Need for intensive regional cooperation for managing the new dangers
- Working with the logic of geography has become an unavoidable necessity amidst the deepening regional and global crises accentuated by Russia’s war in Ukraine.
- As higher oil and food prices trigger inflation and popular unrest across the region, more intensive regional cooperation is one of the tools for managing the new dangers.
Hope for transcending internal divide between India and Sri Lanka
- India’s relations with Sri Lanka underline the importance of continuous tending of political geography.
- Tradition of hosting political exile: India has had a long tradition of hosting political exiles from the region.
- Whether it was the Dalai Lama from Tibet or Prachanda from Nepal, Delhi has welcomed leaders from the neighbourhood taking shelter in India.
- Negative consequences: There is a dangerous flip side to this positive tradition in the Subcontinent.
- India has paid a high price for the decision in the early 1980s to train and arm Sri Lankan Tamil rebels.
- Hope for transcending internal divide: The current crisis in Sri Lanka raised hopes for transcending the internal ethnic divide in the island nation and rebuilding political confidence between Colombo and Delhi.
- Material and financial support to Sri Lanka: Delhi’s unstinting support — both material and financial — for Colombo during this unprecedented economic and political crisis has generated much goodwill in Sri Lanka.
Relations with Nepal and role of cultural ties
- Possibilities in cultural geography: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit to Lumbini, the birthplace of Lord Buddha in Nepal, highlights the immense possibilities of cultural geography in reshaping the Subcontinent’s regional relations.
- The idea of a “Buddhist circuit” connecting the various pilgrimage sites across the India-Nepal border has been around for a long time.
- India and Nepal have come together in developing the Buddhist circuit.
- Religion and culture are deeply interconnected in South Asia.
- Developing all religious pilgrimage sites across the region, and improving the transborder access to them could not only improve tourist revenues of all the South Asian nations, but could also have a calming effect on the troubled political relations
- That China has built a new airport near Lumbini and Modi is avoiding it points to the turbulent triangular dynamic between Delhi, Kathmandu, and Beijing.
- Revitalising the shared cultural geography inevitably involves better management of economic geography.
- Infrastructure development on Indian side: The last few years have seen the Indian government step up on infrastructure development on the Indian side and accelerate transborder transport and energy connectivity in the eastern subcontinent.
Recent trends in India-Pakistan relations
- Cultural ties: Despite their frozen bilateral political relationship, Delhi and Islamabad had agreed to open the Kartarpur corridor at the end of 2019 across their militarised Punjab border.
- There is much more to be done on reconnecting the Subcontinent’s sacred geographies — including the Ramayana trail and Sufi shrines.
- While parts of the region are aligning their policies with the geographic imperative, Pakistan would seem to be an exception.
- Ignoring the geographic imperative: Given the depth of its macro economic crisis and massive inflation, one might have thought Pakistan would want to expand trade ties with India in its own economic interest.
- But Pakistan’s politics are hard-wired against the logic of geography.
- Delhi had little reason to believe that Pakistan’s new government can alter its self-defeating policy towards India.
- But it must continue to bet that the geographic imperative will eventually prevail over Islamabad’s policies.
Conclusion
Realists might want to argue that current trends in the Subcontinent point to India’s growing agency in shaping its neighbourhood and that Pakistan will not forever remain an exception. For Delhi, the policy question is whether India can do something to hasten the inevitable change in Pakistan.
UPSC 2023 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)
-
[Burning Issue] Wheat Exports Ban
Context
- India has banned exports of wheat effective immediately, citing a risk to food security.
- This is partly due to the war in Ukraine and as a scorching heatwave curtailed output and domestic prices hit a record high.
- The price which was already high in the wake of Russia’s invasion of major wheat exporter Ukraine — jumped to 435 euros ($453) per tonne as the European market opened.
Do you know?
India is the second-largest producer of wheat in the world, with China being the top producer and Russia the third-largest — Ukraine is the world’s eighth-largest producer of wheat.
India’s Wheat Exports
- Modi’s goal of India becoming a major wheat exporter hinged on the opportunity presented by the war.
- While India has been the world’s second-largest producer of the commodity, most of it was used domestically.
- Its share in the global wheat exports has been only around 1%.
- It hoped to considerably plug the deficit created by Russia, which accounts for 30% of the global wheat exports.
- To some extent, Indian wheat exports did rise. Countries like Egypt and Turkey, besides others in Asia, tapped India following the onset of the war.
Top wheat exporters globally (in million metric tons):
Top wheat exporters globally (in million metric tons):
Why did India ban the export of wheat?
- Harvest reduction due to heatwaves: Heatwaves in the latter part of March, especially in northwest India, impacted production of foodgrains.
- High inflation: Record retail inflation has punctured India’s export hopes.
- Food security: While wheat prices are up nearly 20%, prices of essential food items such as flour have risen nearly 15% last year.
China’s factor in the export ban
There is also China factor behind the sudden decision to ban the export of wheat.
- China is using this opportunity to hoard wheat. It is importing wheat on a large scale to store it to disrupt the global market soon.
- China can store the wheat for a short time and divert it to its allies in the coming days or sell it at a higher price.
- By hoarding it, China can effectively control the market prices of wheat globally.
- With its huge foreign exchange reserves, China can purchase the wheat stocks at a higher price, only to control the wheat market in the coming days.
- This will hinder smaller and vulnerable developing countries from buying the necessary wheat.
Inherent challenges to India’s wheat exports
- Logistics challenges: Logistical challenges such as congestion at ports and unavailability of train rakes are major infrastructural bottlenecks for wheat exports from India.
- Cost efficiency: Unless seamless infrastructural facilities and timely and cheaper modes of transport are available in the coming days, India may find it difficult to make significant inroads into the wheat export market.
- MSP factor: India’s export competitiveness is influenced by the Centre’s MSP. Due to high MSP, India has remained a rather small player in the export market, even when thousands of tonnes of grains rot in the FCI warehouses.
- High procurement costs: The inefficiency associated with open-ended procurement of wheat in quantities far in excess of our normal requirement is well known. The policymakers justify it on the ground that it ensures farmers get remunerative prices.
- Government interventions: Wheat, being an essential commodity, is prone to frequent government interventions in terms of export bans and imposition of higher import duty. This creates market distortions.
- Climate change: Many challenges confront Indian wheat export, not the least of which is global warming and climate change. Whether deliberate or out of ignorance, many experts overlook the well-recognised fact that Indian wheat is at the limit of heat tolerance.
- Low acreage under wheat crop: At about 33 million hectares, the area under wheat cultivation is perhaps reaching a saturation point. There is a case for shifting a part of the wheat area in Punjab and Haryana to other crops such as oilseeds and pulses.
What about government procurement?
- Dip in procurement: This year the government’s wheat purchase has seen a dip owing to several reasons from lower yield to higher market prices being offered by private traders.
- Costlier than MSP: A large quantity of wheat was being bought by traders at a higher rate than the minimum support price (MSP).
- Stock hoarding: Farmers and traders are holding on to some quantity of wheat, expecting higher prices for their produce in the near future.
Is India staring at a food shortage?
- No. India’s grain stocks are well above the buffer levels and the decision to regulate wheat exports was taken largely to check prices and curb hoarding.
- The public distribution system PDS would be run smoothly in the country.
- However, the government has replaced wheat with rice in the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana scheme for 2022-23.
- The effort clearly is a response to the reduced availability of wheat.
What has been the global reaction to the ban?
- Global wheat prices rose nearly 50% since the start of this year as supplies from Russia, the number one wheat exporter, and Ukraine, number six, were hit.
- Agriculture ministers from G7 condemned India’s decision to withhold wheat exports amid a global grain shortage.
- India was expected to fill the gap created because of the Ukraine war.
How will the ban affect India’s neighbors?
- This ban has widely deemed a failure for India’s soft-power, geopolitical standpoint.
- Even with the ban, there is a window open for neighbouring countries.
- The export will be allowed to other countries “based on the request of their governments”.
- This window is crucial for Sri Lanka because the country is facing an economic crisis.
- Wheat exports will be allowed in cases where an irrevocable letter of credit has already been issued.
- Also, Bangladesh and Nepal have traditionally relied on Indian wheat.
What is the impact on farmers and traders?
- Missed opportunity: The ban has deprived Indian wheat traders the opportunity to gain from the global grain shortage.
- No profitmaking: It may have an unfavourable impact on wheat farmers too.
Issues with the ban
- This ban has impacted the credibility of India as a reliable supplier of anything in global markets.
- It conveys that we don’t have any credible export policy as it can turn its back at the drop of a hat.
- More interestingly, it also reflects a deep-rooted consumer bias in India’s trade policies.
- It is this consumer bias that indirectly becomes anti-farmer. This ban deprives farmers from profit-making.
- It only shows the hollowness of agri-trade policies and dreams of doubling agri-exports.
- The export ban also reflects poorly on India’s image in playing its shared global responsibility amid the Russia-Ukraine war.
Way forward
- Balancing between food security and ensuring better returns to farmers through exports is a delicate act.
- India’s wheat export ban will not help tame inflation at home.
- The Government could have announced a bonus of Rs 200-250/quintal on top of MSP to augment its wheat procurement.
- The govt could have calibrated exports by putting some minimum export price (MEP).
UPSC 2023 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)
-
17th May 2022 | Prelims Daily with Previous Year Questions
[WpProQuiz 1006]
[WpProQuiz_toplist 1006]
UPSC 2022 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)
-
16th May 2022 | Prelims Daily with Previous Year Questions
[WpProQuiz 1005]
[WpProQuiz_toplist 1005]
UPSC 2022 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)
-
What is the Places of Worship Act?
The Supreme Court will hear a challenge to the order of a civil court in Varanasi directing a videographic survey of a temple- mosque complex upholding the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991.
What is the Places of Worship Act?
- The long title describes it as an Act to prohibit conversion of any place of worship and to provide for the maintenance of the religious character of any place of worship.
- It holds places of worships as it existed on the 15th day of August, 1947, and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.
When was this law passed?
- The Act was brought in 1991 by the then pseudo-secular government at a time when the Ram temple movement was at its peak.
- Then, communal tensions in India were at peak.
- Parliament determined that independence from colonial rule furnishes a constitutional basis for healing the injustices of the past.
- It sought to provide the confidence to every religious community that their places of worship will be preserved and that their character will not be altered.
What are its provisions?
- Anti-conversion: Section 3 of the Act bars the conversion, in full or part, of a place of worship of any religious denomination into a place of worship of a different religious denomination — or even a different segment of the same religious denomination.
- Holiness of a place: Section 4(1) declares that the religious character of a place of worship “shall continue to be the same as it existed” on August 15, 1947.
- Litigation: Section 4(2) says any suit or legal proceeding with respect to the conversion of the religious character of any place existing on August 15, 1947, pending before any court, shall abate — and no fresh suit or legal proceedings shall be instituted.
- Exception for Ayodhya: Section 5 stipulates that the Act shall not apply to the Ramjanmabhoomi-Babri Masjid case, and to any suit, appeal or proceeding relating to it.
Issues with the law
- The law has been challenged on the ground that it bars judicial review, which is a basic feature of the Constitution.
- It imposes an “arbitrary irrational retrospective cutoff date”, and abridges the right to religion of Hindus, Jains, Buddhists and Sikhs.
What is the recent controversy?
- The temple-mosque complex in Varanasi clearly shows that the mosque stands over a rundown temple.
- Videography shows the presence of Hindu deities inside the mosque.
- Right-wing propagandists highlight the intention of Aurangzeb behind leaving remnants of the temple to keep reminding communities of their historical fate and to remind coming generations of rulers of their past glory and power.
What did the Supreme Court say in its Ayodhya judgment?
- The constitutional validity of the 1991 Act was not under challenge, nor had it been examined before the Supreme Court Bench that heard the Ramjanmabhoomi-Babri Masjid title suit.
- The Places of Worship Act imposes a non-derogable obligation towards enforcing our commitment to secularism under the Indian Constitution.
- The law is hence a legislative instrument designed to protect the secular features of the Indian polity, which is one of the basic features of the Constitution.
- The Places of Worship Act is a legislative intervention which preserves non-retrogression as an essential feature of our secular values.
UPSC 2023 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)
