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  • Veer Baal Diwas to be observed on December 26

    Prime Minister has declared that December 26 shall henceforth be marked as Veer Baal Diwas to pay homage to the courage of the Sahibzades, four sons of Guru Gobind Singh, the last Sikh guru.

    What is the legend of Sahibzades?

    • The word “Sahibzada” means “son” in Punjabi and is a term commonly used to refer to the 4 sons of Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Sikh Guru.
    • The week of 21 to 27 December is celebrated as the Sacrificial Week in memory of the four Sahibzadas who made sacrifices for the protection of Sikhism and Hinduism.
    • Sahibzada Ajit Singh, Jujhar Singh, Zorawar Singh and Fateh Singh got martyrdom while saving their religious faiths against forceful conversion.

    Their martyrdom: A backgrounder story

    • After the establishment of the Khalsa Panth, Guru Gobind Singh left the fort of Sri Anandpur Sahib with his family on 20-21 December 1704 to fight the invasion by Aurgangzeb.
    • The elder sahibzade Ajit Singh, Jujhar Singh stayed with Guru ji, while the younger sons Zorawar Singh and Fateh Singh were with Mata Gujri ji.
    • Subedar Wazir Khan of Sirhind arrested the two Sahibzades subsequently and lured them for religious conversion.
    • In the end, it was announced to get them elected in the living walls.
    • The rest two sahibzades got assassinated in the battle of Chamkaur (1705).

    Implications of their martyrdom

    • When the news of this reached Guruji, he wrote a zafarnama (letter of victory) to Aurangzeb, in which he warned Aurangzeb that the Khalsa Panth was ready to destroy your empire.
    • Baba Banda Singh Bahadur took revenge for the martyrdom of Guruji’s Sahibzadas.
    • He punished Wazir Khan for his deeds in Sirhind and established Sikh hegemony over the entire area.
    • The result of this sacrifice was that later a large Sikh empire emerged under the leadership of Maharaja Ranjit Singh.

    A historic event in Indian History

    • This event is an important part of Indian history and the occasion of their martyrdom is remembered and commemorated both with great vigor and sorrow.
    • The names of Sahibzades are reverently preserved and are recalled every time Ardas (prayer) of supplication is recited at a congregation or privately by an individual.

     

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  • 10th January 2022 | Prelims Daily with Previous Year Questions

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  • 8th January 2022 | Prelims Daily with Previous Year Questions

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  • 7th January 2022 | Prelims Daily with Previous Year Questions

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  • 6th January 2022 | Prelims Daily with Previous Year Questions

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  • Zebrafish study reveals how the brain makes its connections

    Recent work by researchers at the National Centre of Biological Sciences, Bengaluru, has thrown light on what stimulates the synapses (connection of nerve cells) to form.

    What are Synapses?

    • Neurons, or nerve cells, in the brain connect by means of junctions known as synapses through which they transmit signals.
    • There are two types of synapses – chemical and electrical:

    (1) Chemical Synapse

    • In this, there is a space of about 20 nanometres between two neurons, and the way they communicate is this: One neuron converts electrical signal into chemical signals.
    • This chemical is released into the synaptic space and the receiving neuron converts the chemical signal back into an electrical signal.

    (2) Electrical synapse

    • In these synapses, the two neurons have a physical connection and the conversion of electrical to chemical need not occur, and they communicate directly.
    • Electrical synapses are like a physical wire, communication is faster but they are also fewer in number.

    Observing these synapses

    • Researchers from TIFR-National Centre of Biological Sciences, Bengaluru, have chosen Zebrafish as a model organism to study this process.
    • Zebrafish are transparent and neuron development in larval zebrafish can be observed from day to day by injecting a dye or by engineering the fish to express fluorescent proteins.
    • It was observed that electrical synapses are formed before chemical synapses, they are like a blueprint in which neurons make a handshake. This results in the making of chemical synapses.
    • Research on organisms such as leeches showed that if you remove electrical synapses, the chemical synapses do not form.
    • However, the mechanism of how it happens in higher organisms such as vertebrates was not known.

    What induces these synapses?

    • The group observed that knocking out a particular protein known as the gap junction delta 2b (gjd2b) in the cerebellum of zebrafish affected levels of the enzyme CaMKII.
    • Levels of CaMKII were seen to increase in the Purkinje neurons in the cerebellum.
    • These neurons and the cerebellum itself control coordination of movements in the organism.

    Why study this?

    • In humans for example, excess abuse of alcohol leads to damage of these cells, which results in lack of coordination in movement.
    • The cerebellum shows an evolutionary continuity in all vertebrates, so, too, the Purkinje neurons.
    • Even though fish and humans diverged from a common ancestor about 500 million years ago, the cerebellum has been evolutionarily conserved.
    • While zebrafish have about 300-400 Purkinje neurons, humans have thousands of these.

     

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  • Places in news: Orang National Park

    The Assam government has recently issued a preliminary notification for adding 200.32 sq. km to the 78.82 sq. km Orang National Park, the State’s oldest reserve, about 110 km northeast of Guwahati.

    The government had in September 21 dropped the ‘Rajiv Gandhi’ prefix to Orang given by the government in 1992.

    Orang National Park

    • Orang NP is located on the northern bank of the Brahmaputra River in the Darrang and Sonitpur districts of Assam.
    • It was established as a sanctuary in 1985 and declared a national park in 1999.
    • It has a rich flora and fauna, including great Indian rhinoceros, pygmy hog, Asian elephant, wild water buffalo and Bengal tiger.
    • Orang, on the northern bank of the river, is strategic to the Kaziranga Orang Riverine Landscape.
    • Tigers and rhinos are known to use the islands in this riverine landscape, about 180 km long, to hop between Orang and Kaziranga.

    Why in news?

    • The Assam government is pursuing a policy for the reintroduction of the gharial that became locally extinct more than six decades ago.
    • With better protection, the stretch of the Kaziranga-Orang landscape is ideal for sustaining the gharials.

    Back2Basics: National Park

    • Even before the Indian independence, sanctuaries had been created in the form of shooting blocks, game reserves or hunting reserves by the provisional governments or by the native rulers in their respective areas.
    • In 1936, the first National Park in India was created and named as the Hailey National Park, now called the Corbett National Park, in Uttaranchal.
    • The Wildlife Protection Act 1972 provides for the declaration of five types of protected areas viz. National Parks, Wildlife Sanctuaries, Community Reserves, Conservation Reserves and Tiger Reserves.
    • A National Park is defined by state government via notification under the WPA.
    • The state government can fix and alter boundaries of the National Parks with prior consultation and approval with National Board of Wildlife.
    • There is no need to pass an act for alternation of boundaries of National Parks.
    • No human activities are permitted in a National Park.

     

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  • Free Live Session Today @ 7PM|| CSAT for Non-Maths Aspirants|| Shortcuts to Get Correct Answers in Quantitative Aptitude & Logical Reasioning|| Free Live Session with Civilsdaily Mentor Ravi Sir|| Limited Slots Available, Register Now

    Free Live Session Today @ 7PM|| CSAT for Non-Maths Aspirants|| Shortcuts to Get Correct Answers in Quantitative Aptitude & Logical Reasioning|| Free Live Session with Civilsdaily Mentor Ravi Sir|| Limited Slots Available, Register Now

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    Most of the aspirants don’t think about CSAT preparation until the fag end of UPSC Prelims only because it’s a qualifying paper. You have to get 33% of total marks i.e 66 marks to be clear Prelims. Failure to do so, will prevent you from writing Mains even if you have scored above 100+ marks in the GS Paper.

    Since the last two years, the English Comprehension passages are getting lengthier and the Mathematical questions trickier. Let’s take a look at the 2012 CSAT Paper and compare it with the 2021 CSAT paper.

    2014 CSAT Paper

    Here the questions are asked chapter by chapter and are basic-to-moderate. Questions are direct and straightforward without much combination numerals.

    2021 CSAT Paper

    There is no particular order of questions asked. Immediately after LR questions, we have a question on time and distance. Also the questions are moderate-to-advanced. One cannot find out the answer in first glance itself. There is no one-size fits for all approach or a uniform formula by which you can crack the sequential questions.

    Free Open to All CSAT Session by Civilsdaily Mentor Ravi Sir

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    If you have to clear the paper, then you have to attempt atleast 50 questions out of 80. Out of these 50 questions, 27 need to be right. There is also negative marking of 1.5 marks for every wrong answer. Hence, for aspirants from a non-mathematics background the challenge lies in practising for CSAT without reducing time for GS Preparation.

    Do you want to know how you can complete both the lengthy comprehension passages and tricky mathematical questions within the stipulated time? Then it’s time you attended Civilsdaily Mentor Ravi sir’s webinar on Sunday.

    Ravi sir has cleared UPSC Prelims six times and attended the Interview round thrice. As a mentor, Ravi sir is a lifelong UPSC aspirant because he daily reads, checks and evaluates the right study materials for his students. On Monday, he will conduct a session on CSAT which is free for every aspirant to attend. All you have to do is register yourself for the session.

    Key Takeaways in the CSAT Session Conducted by Ravi Sir

    1. Topic-wise live demonstration on how to solve problems.

    2. Examples of easy, moderate and advanced questions to solve.

    3. Variety of questions under each topic.

    4. Previous year question paper analysis from 2013 onwards. How to be ready for the new paper pattern.

    5. Books one can refer for CSAT test series practice and to understand the concepts.

    6. How to practice CSAT without compromising on GS paper studies.

    7. Topic-wise weightage in Quantitative Aptitude.

    8. Ravi sir will solve your doubts in a Q&A discussion towards the end of the session.

    Webinar Details

    If you want to know the secrets of finishing the CSAT paper in 2 hours, then this webinar is for you! We hope this webinar will help all 2022 aspirants implement the suggestions of Ravi sir

    Date: 10 January 2022 (Monday)

    Time: 7 P.M.

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  • The Mediation Bill, 2021

    Context

    The Mediation Bill, 2021 was introduced in Parliament in December 2021. It seeks to ‘promote mediation (including online), and provide for enforcement of settlement agreements resulting from mediation’.

    Need to popularise mediation

    • The Chief Justice of India (CJI), N.V. Ramana, had said that mediation should be made mandatory as a first step in dispute resolution and that a law should be framed in this regard.
    • He emphasised the point that a movement needs to be launched to popularise mediation as it was a cheaper and faster dispute resolution mechanism.
    • He said that courts should be the last resort for dispute resolution; therefore, one should explore the options of alternate dispute resolution.
    • The Tamil Nadu Mediation and Conciliation Centre, an initiative of the Madras High Court and India’s first court-annexed facility with a mediation centre in every district, has significantly reduced the pendency of referred cases.

    Which laws in India allow mediation?

    • Mediation finds legitimacy in some specific laws such as:
    • The Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996,
    • The Companies Act, 2013,
    • The Commercial Courts Act, 2015,
    • The Consumer Protection Act, 2019,
    • However, there is no standalone legislation as yet.

    How the provisions of Mediation Bill 2021 will help in improving the law and order situation

    • The bill seeks to promote mediation (including online), and provide for enforcement of settlement agreements resulting from mediation’.
    • In case of civil or commercial disputes, a person must try to settle the dispute by mediation before approaching a court or tribunal.
    • Improving the law and order situation: There are certain provisions in the Bill which may help in improving the law and order situation in a locality and/or encourage compounding of criminal offences.
    • First, Section 7 of the Bill says that courts will be competent to refer any dispute to mediation relating to compoundable offences or matrimonial offences connected with or arising out of civil proceedings between the parties.
    • Second, Section 44 of the Bill provides for ‘any dispute likely to affect peace, harmony and tranquillity amongst the residents or families of any area or locality, to be settled through community mediation.
    •  Third, the provisions of the Act shall not have the overriding effect, inter alia, on the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizen Act, 2007 and the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013.
    • Promote friendliness: Section 320 in the Code Of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) provides for the compounding of certain criminal offences which shall have the effect of acquittal of the accused.
    • Here, the policy of the law is to promote friendliness between the parties so that peace between them is restored.
    • Relieving the pressure on the police: Many criminal offences are a result of the fact that civil or commercial disputes could not be resolved amicably and in time.
    • The police at times take minor cases lightly or reduce the seriousness of crime by converting a cognisable offence into a non-cognisable one.
    • Therefore, the proposed law of mediation, that has the mechanism of not only preventing the breakdown of law and order through community intervention but also the competence to smoothen the route to compounding of certain criminal offences, may ultimately relieve some of the pressure on the police also.

    Some laws are left out of the scope of Mediation Bill 2021

    • Law to prevent sexual harassment of women at workplace: The law to prevent the sexual harassment of women at the workplace has probably been kept out of its scope so that an internal or local complaint committee is able to take up conciliation and close the case locally without involving a third party and detailed procedure.
    • Law on welfare of parents and senior citizens: The law on the maintenance and the welfare of parents and senior citizens has also been kept out of its scope as offences under it are cognisable offences.

    Way forward

    • The Supreme Court’s view: The Supreme Court of India has held that if there is a composition of an offence during investigation, the parties can either approach the court or the police.
    • Increasing the compoundable offences: The number of offences that can be compounded may also be increased — particularly property offences.
    • Keeping in view the recommendations of the Law Commission in its 243rd report, Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code, relating to cruelty by the husband or his relatives, can also be made compoundable.
    • It may have far-reaching consequences in resolving matrimonial disputes.

    Consider the question “What are the provisions of the Mediation Bill 2021 that could help relieve some of the pressure on law enforcement agencies?”

    Conclusion

    Though the proposed law primarily intends to resolve civil and commercial disputes through mediation, it has ample scope to relieve some of the pressure on law enforcement agencies.

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    Back2Basics: What is a Compoundable and Non Compoundable offence in India

    • Compoundable offences are those offences where, the complainant (one who has filed the case, i.e. the victim), enter into a compromise, and agrees to have the charges dropped against the accused.
    • However, such a compromise should be a “Bonafide,” and not for any consideration to which the complainant is not entitled to.
    • Compoundable offences are less serious criminal offences and are of two different types mentioned in tables in Section 320 of the Criminal Procedure Code, as follows:
    • Court permission is not required: These are the offences, compounding of which do not require prior permission of the court.
    •  Court permission is required: These are the offences, compounding of which require prior permission of the court.

  • Confrontation between the Governors and the State governments

    Context

    Recent media reports about the confrontation between the Governors and the State governments, in Maharashtra and Kerala, have turned the spotlight on the rather delicate relationship between the constitutional head of the State and the elected government.

    Recent incidents of confrontation

    •  In Maharashtra, the Governor refused to accept the date of election of the Speaker recommended by the State government.
    • The Constitution has not assigned any role to the Governor in the election of the Speaker under Article 178, which is exclusively the job of the House.
    • The Governor’s refusal to accept the date of election of the Speaker goes against the principles of constitutional government. 
    • In Kerala, the State Governor having reappointed the Vice Chancellor of Kannur University in accordance with the law, made an allegation that he was under pressure from the Government to reappoint the Vice Chancellor.
    • In fact, he or she can accept suggestions from any person including the Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly.
    • However, the Governor as Chancellor is not required to act on the advice of the Council of Ministers in the matter of appointment of Vice Chancellor and others in the university.
    • He can act absolutely independently.
    • Non-acceptance of the advice of the Council of Ministers too has been witnessed in Rajasthan as well as Maharashtra again.
    • The Kerala High Court has clarified this legal point in Gopalakrishnan vs Chancellor, University of Kerala.

    What explains the confrontational relationship between Governor and State Government?

    • Historical background: It has something to do with the whole idea of the office of the Governor and its past history.
    • In the colonial era, the Governor was the absolute ruler of the province.
    • While making the Constitution,  there were divergent views on the powers to be given to the Governor in the Constituent Assembly.
    • There were members in the Assembly who wanted the Governor to be as powerful as the colonial-era Governors.
    • Discretionary powers: Though B.R. Ambedkar was clear that the Governor should only be a constitutional head and the executive power should vest entirely in the elected government.
    • He promoted the idea of vesting certain discretionary powers in the Governor.
    • Why discretionary powers? In this respect he was guided by the thinking that the State governments are in subordination to the Union government and, therefore, the Governor should be given discretionary powers to ensure that they act so.
    • So, ultimately, the Governor is given certain discretionary powers prescribed by or under the Constitution unlike the President of India who has not been given any such powers.
    • Vagueness about actual powers: Further, Article 163 became a ‘blind reproduction of Section 50 of the Government of India Act 1935’ (H.V. Kamath).
    • This exact reproduction of the provision in the Act of 1935 has, to a great extent, introduced a vagueness about the actual powers of the Governor vis-à-vis the elected government.
    • This vagueness was corrected only with the Supreme Court of India stating the law in unambiguous terms in Shamsher Singh (1974).
    • From Shamsher Singh to Nabam Rebia (2016) the Supreme Court declared that the Governor can, in the exercise of executive power of the state, act only on the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers “…save in a few well-known exceptional situations”.

    Consider the question “The relationship between the Governor and Chief Minister has, even at the best of times, not been absolutely simple and tension free. What are the factors responsible for confrontation? Suggest the way forward.”

    Conclusion

    The Governor is a high constitutional authority. He needs to function within the four walls of the Constitution and be a friend, philosopher and guide to his government.

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