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Although the definition and purposes of Tourism is no longer restricted to Heritage and Pilgrimage cities- its definitely India’s USP due to its Civilizational legacy, and being the birthplace of many religions.

In this series on Themes in Tourism Industry, we’ll start by taking a trip through History and Culture of Cities of Spiritual / Religious Importance. For its promotion Government of India has launched two schemes PRASAD and Swadesh Darshan for Development of Theme-Based Tourist Circuits. 

About the PRASAD Scheme

• PRASAD means Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spirituality Augmentation Drive
• A 100% Centrally Sponsored Scheme under Tourism Ministry
  • Note that funds for any CSS is given to states in installments (20% at approval stage, 60% when 20% work done and rest 20% when 60% work is finished)
• Provisions under the scheme include
  • Tourism Promotion and Tourist Ecosystem
  • Vocational Training for Tourists and Hospitality Business
    • Hunar se Rozgar tak (HSRT) and earn while you learn programs
  • Improving Tourist Infrastructure

Provisions regarding Tourist Infrastructure in PRASAD

• ATM, foreign currency exchange counters
• Rail, road water transport
• Green energy streetlights
• Water adventure sports
• First-aid centres, Wi-Fi hotspots, Parking facilities
• Green landscaping, water fountains, walkways, furniture etc.
• Removing encroachments

PRASAD versus HRIDAY?

• HRIDAY means Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana
• While PRASAD is under Tourism ministry <note that Culture ministry is separate from Tourism ministry> while HRIDAY is under Urban Development Ministry
• PRASAD cities are handpicked because their tourism is centered around faith, spirituality and religion. On the other hand, a HRIDAY city is chosen for its heritage status that goes beyond faith to include aspects of culture such as Architecture (Eg- Cave temples of Badami, Kakatiya Temples of Warangal)
• HRIDAY is exclusively focused on Infrastructure that preserve the Heritage Character (Museums, Fairs, Festivals etc) , while PRASAD goes beyond that to include Vocational Training programmes and other things that make up Tourism Ecosystem
• Common outcomes of both are:
  • Increase in Employment, Tourist Footfalls, Cleanliness of Heritage/Pilgrimage cities
  • Decrease in Pollution, Crime rates etc
• There are 12 cities selected for both schemes, but there’s a considerable overlap in the sense that 10 cities are common to both. Only cities separate are:
  • Kamakhya in Assam and Kedarnath in Uttarakhand (PRASAD)
  • Badami in Karnataka and Warangal in Telangana
• Lets take a tour of those common 10 cities and the other 2 specific to PRASAD.

Map of PRASAD Cities

source

#1: Ajmer

source

• Surrounded by the Aravalli Mountains (meaning the “Invincible Hill”)
• Founded by Ajaipal Chauhan (who established The Chauhan Dynasty – 7th century.
• Ruled by the legendary Prithviraj Chauhan, the last Hindu king of Delhi.
• Dargah of the Great Sufi Saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti (aka Madina of India)
  • Devotees of all sects and faiths congregate
  • Annual festival of Urs (Death anniversary of a Sufi saint in South Asia, usually held at the saint’s dargah such as Chisti’s; it is celebrated rather than mourned)
  • Picture of harmony and universal brotherhood.
• Variety of styles of Architecture including lndo-Islamic, Royal Rajasthani, lndo-Saracenic and Jain styles of architecture.
  • Soniji Ki Nasiyan is a famous Digambara Jain temple from Ajmer
• Ajmer is also the base for visiting Pushkar (11 km), the abode of Lord Brahma and a sacred town of Hindus <Pushkar is far from Mahadeo Hills of MP, remember 2015 prelims question?>
• Artists of this area
  • Carving on wood and ivory,
  • Blue pottery

#2: Amaravati

• What’s in a name?
  • Translates to “The town lives forever”
  • Also referred as Amareswaram
  • Formerly known as Andhra nagari
  • Name derived from famous “Amareswara temple” dedicated to Lord Shiva

• Ancient Rulers of Amaravati
  • Capital of Satavahanas who ruled from 2nd century BCE to 3rd century CE <most important period for Amaravati>
  • Andhra Ikshvakus
  • Pallava kings
  • Eastern Chalukyas
  • Telugu Cholas
  • Kakatiyas in 11th century CE

• Medieval Rulers of Amaravati
  • Delhi Sultanate
  • Bahmani Sultanate
  • Vijayanagara Empire,
  • Munsuri Nayaks
  • Sultanate of Golconda

• Mentions of Amaravati found in:
  • Skanda Purana gives a picture of the place
  • Puranic literature such as Aitreya Brahamana mentions about “Andhra-jati” ruling area we now know as Amaravati

• The Amaravati Stupa
  • Buddhist stupa (Dhyana) was built during the Reign of Ashoka in 200 BCE
    • Carved with panels that tells the story of Buddha
  • During the period of the Decline of Buddhism, this stupa was also neglected and it was buried
  • Stupa is related to the “Vajrayana” (Tibetan) teachings of Kalchakra (a festival held in 2006, Dalai Lama inaugurated)
  • NOTE: Hiuen Tsang (Xuanzang) also visited Amaravati Stupa in 640 CE

source

• Ancient Art (Sculpture) from Amaravati
  • Amaravati art as one of the three major styles or schools of ancient Indian Sculpture
    • Other two being the Gandhara style and the Mathura style.
  • Use of White marble (to Potrays a Greco-Roman influence)
  • Physical beauty with elegance
  • Narrative rather than individualistic (not deities but Humans)
  • Depiction of Kings and Princes
  • Direct result of the close trade and diplomatic contacts between south india and the ancient roma
  • Amaravati has itself yielded a few Roman coins
  • World’s finest examples of Narrative sculpture.

source

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Published with inputs from Amar 

1. Morley Minto Reform, 1909

1. 1st name i.e Morley, Secretary of state, 2nd i.e Minto, Viceroy
2. Prelude – Shimla Deputation led by Agha Khan demanded separate electorate in 1906
3. Muslim League was founded in 1906 and it intended to preach loyalty to the empire <when was all India Hindu Mahasabha formed and it’s founders?>
4. Reforms– separate electorate for muslims
5. Elected members increased in legislative councils but elected non official still in minority
6. Indirect election <elections for the 1st time>
7. One Indian to the viceroy’s executive council

• Discuss- 1st Indian to the viceroy’s executive council
• Discuss – Progress of separate electorate in subsequent reforms  upto Poona Pact

2. Montagu Chelmsford Reform

1. Two lists, central and provincial , in provincial, reserved and transferred
2. Dyarchy at Provinces i.e. reserve list by the governor, Transferred list by ministers
3. Elected majority in provincial legislature <contrast this with reform of 1909>
4. Bicameral legislature at Centre
5. Secretary of state would now be paid out of British Exchequer <home charges reduced>

• Discuss – Home charges and economic critique by nationalists
• Discuss – Dual system/ government or Dyarchy of Clive and it’s end
• Discuss– Transferred and reserve list

 

3. Nehru Report <Motilal>

Prelude – Challenge by Lord Birkenhead to Indians to produce an agreed constitution accepted by all in the wake of Anti Simon Agitation <No Indian In 7 member Simon commission>

Recommendations

1. Dominion Status <when did British 1st concede demand of dominion status>
2. Joint electorate with reserved seat for minorities at centre and in provinces in which they were in minority
3. Linguistic Provinces
4. 19 Fundamental rights <congress resolution on fundamental rights, which session?>

Jinnah Made 14 demands

1. Provincial autonomy and residuary power to provinces
2. Separate electorate
3. ⅓ Muslim representation in central legislature and all cabinets

Unhappy with Nehru Report J.L.Nehru Subhash Bose set up Independence for India League

Discuss – 1st linguistic state in post independence India

4. Three Round Table Conferences

Proposed by Lord Irwin to discuss Simon Commission Report

1st RTC <nov 1930 to jan 1931>

1. Civil Disobedience Movement had already been started as Gandhi’s 11 demands not accepted by Viceroy
2. Congress boycotted
3. Muslim League, Hindu Mahasabha, Liberals, Princes participated <when was liberal party formed and why did it secede from Congress?>
4. Failure as constitutional advance could not be discussed without congress participation

2nd RTC <Dec 1931>

1. After Gandhi Irwin pact (Delhi Pact) led to suspension of CDM
2. Congress (Gandhi) participated
3. Failure as session got deadlocked on the question of minorities < separate electorate for Muslims, depressed classes (SC), christians, anglo Indians>

Result- Two Muslim majority provinces – Sindh and NWFP<No. Of provinces now?> , CDM resumed

3rd RTC < Nov. 1932>

1. Congress wasn’t even invited
2. Labour Party <Britain> refused to attend it
3. In this conference Chaudhary Rahmat Ali, a student, 1st proposed the name Pakistan

Outcome – White Paper on the basis of this paper, the Government of India Act 1935 was to be passed.

• Discuss – Significance of round table in RTC
• Discuss – two demands of Gandhi which were rejected by Irwin in Gandhi- Irwin Pact
• Discuss – What was agreed with regard to political prisoners, fines and land confiscated in Gandhi- Irwin Pact

5. Govt of India Act, 1935

1. All India Federation  and Bicameral legislature at center <what was there in 1919 act?>
2. Odd that election to the council of states <upper house> was direct while indirect to the federal assembly
3. Three lists, federal, provincial and concurrent <v/s 2 list in 1919> <who had residuary powers?>
4. federal lists into reserved and transferred <in 1919 provincial list was into reserved and transferred>
5. Provincial autonomy <dyarchy in 1919>
6. All members of provincial legislature directly elected <contrast this with 1909 and 1919>
7. Abolished the council of India created by the act of 1858

Discuss – Following institutions were set up under which acts-

RBI, central Public service commission, Federal Public Service Commission , office of secretary of state, office of high commissioner for India, Federal court, Supreme Court, Board of Control

what r the implications of india signing the HCoC?

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To write the tests, click on this link – Prelims Mocks

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Hello Everyone,

We had promised you that it shall be our endeavour to provide you with quality MCQs in the form of a test series. Beginning Monday, we shall set down to fulfil our promise. And as we get down to the task, here are some ground rules/instructions, by whatever name you may call them:

#1. There shall be 25 questions each in sectional tests from Test 1 to Test 10.

#2. Liberty has been taking in framing few questions from sources which were not explicitly mentioned in the schedule but nonetheless constitute the standard text we read.

#3. We fill fix a time for releasing the test series and the same shall be followed throughout (save the exigencies) so you can set yourself a time to attempt the test in exam-like conditions.

#4. The main purpose of these tests is not to judge you in anyway but to let you identify your weaknesses and strengths. So be active and place your answers in the comment sections because that is the way it shall trigger discussions from others who might have different answers. Such lively discussions are among the best ways to remember things.

#5. There might be instances where we may differ in our answer choices owing to the reference we may take or the different interpretations we may have. In such cases we shall point our reference and settle down on the answers and interpretations.

#6. On Sundays, solutions shall be appended at the end of the tests with references.

#7. The master blaster Dr. V has already enumerated the various ‘saam daam dand bhed’ ways in which you can zero in on the right answers in MCQs. Read the blog several times over and make sure you have mastered the ‘art of answering MCQs’.

Best Wishes!

1. Nobel prize 2015

1. Physics -Takaaki Kajita and Arthur B. McDonald for the discovery of neutrino oscillations, which shows that neutrinos have mass
2. Chemistry– Tomas Lindahl, Paul Modrich and Aziz Sancar for mechanistic studies of DNA repair
3. Physiology or Medicine– William C. Campbell and Satoshi Omura for a novel therapy against infections caused by roundworm parasites and to Tu Youyou for a novel therapy against Malaria
4. Literature-Svetlana Alexievich for her polyphonic writings, a monument to suffering and courage in our time.
5. Peace Prize– National Dialogue Quartet for its decisive contribution to the building of a pluralistic democracy in Tunisia in the wake of the Jasmine Revolution of 2011
6. Economics– Angus Deaton for his work on consumption, poverty and welfare that helped governments improve their policies through household surveys and tax changes.

• Discuss – Properties of Neutrino which make them useful for humankind
• Discuss– Indian Neutrino Observatory (INO)
• Discuss – Particular drugs discovered by Medicine Nobel laureates

2. Swadesh Darshan, PRASAD and HRIDAY

1. Swadesh Darshan for Integrated Development of Tourist Circuits around Specific Themes
2. PRASAD- National Mission on Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Augmentation Drive (PRASAD) to beautify and improve the amenities and infrastructure at pilgrimage centres of all faiths
3. Under PRASAD twelve cities have been identified – Ajmer, Amritsar, Amravati, Dwarka, Gaya, Kedarnath, Kamakhaya, Kanchipuram, Mathura, Puri, Varanasi and Velankanni <please try to recognize their names>
4. HRIDAY– National Heritage Development and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY) seeks to preserve and rejuvenate the rich cultural heritage of the country

• Discuss – Circuits of Sawdesh Darshan
• Discuss– Cities common to both HRIDAY and PRASAD
• Discuss – Nodal Ministries for all three schemes

3. Important Military Exercises 

1. Naval – Malabar with USA, Varuna with France, Indra with Russia, Slinex with SL, Konkan with Britain, Naseem al Bahar with Oman
2. Coast Guard – Sahyog-Kaijin with Japan
3. Air force – Indra Dhanush with UK, Garuda with France
4. Army – Hand in Hand with China, Mithra Shati with SL, Youdh Abhyas with USA, Shakti with Frnace

• Discuss – Indian Ocean Naval Symposium
• Discuss- Malabar Exercise and japan
• Discuss– International Fleet Review 2016

4. Random Govt. Initiatives

1. e – Sahayog Launched by ministry of finance to facilitate taxpayers
2. Mahila E Haat is an online platform for women for Showcasing products made/manufactured/sold by women entrepreneur
3. Vikalp It aims to provide confirmed accommodation to waitlisted passengers in alternate trains

Discuss – Other such inititives

5. Mission Indradahnush

1. Against 7 vaccine preventable diseases
2. For reform of Public Sector Banks
3. Four new vaccines added to national immunization programme – Injectable Polio, Rubella, Rotavirus, Adult vaccine aganist Japanese Encephalitis

• Discuss – Seven diseases which Indradhnush seek to protect against
• Discuss– switch over day (polio)
• Discuss – Difference b/w Oral polio and Injectable Polio Vaccine
• Discuss – theme of world Health Day

In previous blog of this series we learnt that our heritage under Colonial possession qualifies as an “illegal acquisition” as per international conventions. 

So technically, countries like UK are indeed liable to return antiquities and heritage properties under their private or public possession. But politics aside, there are some other reasons due to which there has been little progress on restitution of Peacock Throne, or everyone’s favourite- the Koh-i-Noor diamond.

International Conventions on returning colonial possessions

1. UNESCO’s Convention on the Means of prohibiting and preventing the illicit import, export and transfer of ownership of cultural property (1970)
   • Newly independent states after World wars, were trying to recover important cultural objects that are mostly found in the museums of their former colonizing state.
   • Three main pillars: Protection against theft (Preventive Measure), Restitution Measures through Diplomatic channels, and International cooperation.
   • But the issue with this convention is that its mandate is not retroactive and most of the illegal acquisitions were made before 1970 before the fall of Colonialism.
   • Contemporary relevance: Monuments are being destroyed locally (IS in Syria or the Taliban in Afghanistan) can be taken out and protected for the sake of the whole world by a capable country under this convention. It can later be returned to the “source” countries when the conflict ends.
2. UN General Assembly resolutions
   • UNGA has made successive resolutions on this matter
   • Deplored “the wholesale removal of Cultural Heritage, virtually without payment” as a result of colonial or Foreign Occupation
   • Unlike UNESCO’s convention- their mandates has been retroactive
   • Covered cultural property lost either as a consequence of
     1. Foreign or colonial occupation, or
     2. Through illicit traffic “prior” to the adoption of the 1970 Convention
   • Then why no success?
     • Covers cultural properties that are currently in safe places and open to the public, like museums, archives and libraries. Thus, it does not cover the equally important Private Sphere
     • CAG’s findings that Indian artifacts have reached foreign auction houses like Sotheby’s and Christie’s
     • Eg- Bonhams, the london private auctioneer, recently auctioned Tipu Sultan’s property against all efforts by India to claim its ownership over it.
     • Most of the personal wealth and possessions of the 18th century Mysore ruler including that of Tipu Sultan, is in the illegal private possession of families, descendants of British and Scottish soldiers <which particular soldier/general could we be referring to?>
   • Why no repatriation from Public Museums?
     • Cultural institutions like Public Museums have yet to acknowledge the full negative legacy of the colonial rulers.
     • While many of these museums are autonomous, when such demands are made on an International level, local governments do intervene and matter turns diplomatic and political.

Why Repatriation of possessions is a just demand?

1. Repatriation is already happening: Restitution of Jewish Artifacts by Nazis
   • Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD) adopted a series of protocols to ensure that any work of art proven to be taken forcibly from a Jewish family during the Nazi regime should be returned to the rightful heirs
   • Between 1998 and 2006, 26 works in American museums were identified as being looted by the Nazis and were, in each case, restituted to the heirs
2. Non-governmental actors succeeding on many levels— students resident in the U.K. — getting into the discussion around national cultural patrimony
   • Nigerian students demanding the return of the Benin bronzes looted from Nigeria at the time of the British imperial siege of the country in the late 19th century
   • Pressure generated so far has led for Cambridge University to remove the articles from Public display. It goes a long way into acknowledging the mistakes, if not outrightly returning the possessions.
   • Furthermore, few descendants of British Soldiers have shown the way by returning Nigerian Artifacts to their rightful owners, that was otherwise looted by their grandfathers in 19th century.

Why are ex-Colonialists against repatriation?      

1. They say that Encyclopedic museums of Europe and the U.S. are repositories of world art under one roof.
   • That they take care (by acting as protectors) of our global heritage, as art knows no boundaries
   • In this way they claim to be promoting international understanding of art.
   • Counter: This argument reeks of old European big-brother attitude that claims to be a superior civilization taking upon itself the task of correcting other civilizations.
2. Objects were taken from countries such as Egypt, China, or India because none of these countries had the resources or the inclination to protect their own treasures
   • It was British officials who discovered, excavated or restored great sites such as Sanchi or Ajanta while there was no indigenous interest in preserving them at the time.
   • Counter: By this logic, they should return these artifacts to us, because now capable and resourceful enough to preserve the

What are the “real” consequences of Repatriation on ex-Colonial countries?

• Former colonizers would have to acknowledge various wrongs perpetrated by them on the colonies they ruled. This would result in a domino effect and not just restricted to repatriation of heritage objects, and could cause an International debacle and domestic shame.
• Many of the biggest museums, especially the Louvre, the British Museum, and even some major American museums would get hollowed out of their collections

So how do we resolve this issue?

1. Museums of the Euro-American world could create a Long-term Loan programme
   • National Museum in New Delhi were to receive a long-term loan of Egyptian objects or 19th century American landscape paintings so that the National Museum too could begin to resemble an encyclopaedic museum of the West
2. Seriously think about returning the ownership of objects back to the source countries
   • This could only happen if Western museums actually acknowledged the colonial past.
   • And simply recognising their role as “protectors” of, and not “owners” of global heritage.

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Published with inputs from Amar 

whether i read whole
“IGNOU:MPA-018 Disaster Management” or Selected Chapter’s ??
or any better option then “IGNOU:MPA-018 Disaster Management” ??

1. Four Export Control Regimes

• Wassenaar Arrangement – on Export Controls for Conventional Arms and Dual Use Goods and Technologies
• Australia Group (AG) for control of chemical and biological technology that could be weaponized
• Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) for the control of rockets and other aerial vehicles capable of delivering weapons of mass destruction
• Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), for the control of nuclear related technology

Discuss – India’s membership to these regimes

Discuss – Brahmos missile and MTCR relationship

2. Nuclear Suppliers Group 

• founded in response to the Indian Nuclear Test in May 1974 <what was the name of that operation? What was the name of 1998 test operation?>
• 48 member body prevents civilian nuclear trade being used for military purposes
• Though signing of NPT is not a strict requirement for joining NSG, it has opened it’s doors to only those who have signed NPT or CTBT <notably France joined without being a signatory to NPT>

Discuss- Difference b/w NPT and CTBT

Discuss- India’s stand on NPT and CTBT

3. Scheme for women Scientists 

• KIRAN – Department of science and technology (DST) has restructured all the women specific programmes under one umbrella known as KIRAN (Knowledge Involvement in Research Advancement through Nurturing)
• KIRAN is addressing issues related with women scientists (e.g. unemployment, relocation etc.) and provide opportunities in research, technology development/demonstration, and self-employment
• CURIE – Under this name CURIE (Consolidation of University Research for Innovation and Excellence in Women Universities) KIRAN plans to develop state-of-the-art infrastructure in women universities in order to attract, train and retain promising girls students in S&T domain
• Mobility Scheme – landmark programme under KIRAN will address relocation issue of women scientists working in regular position in Government Organizations

Discuss – Similar initiatives for girl education like Digital Gender Atlas

4. Tale of two Udaans

• Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) launched the UDAAN scheme
• aimed at promoting girl education and addressing the lowering of girl enrollment rates in engineering colleges in the nation.
• It will assist the girls to prepare for IIT-JEE examinations to crack through to the best technological institutes in the country from 11^th and 12^th standard
• Udaan, the Special Industry Initiative (SII) for J&K is funded by Ministry of Home Affairs and implemented by National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC).
• special initiative to address the needs of the educated unemployed in J&K.
• Udaan program is focused on youth of Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) who are graduate, post graduate and three year diploma engineer

Discuss – STAR scheme, scheme for youth in Maoist areas

5. AMRIT and AMRUT

• Affordable Medicines and Reliable Implants for Treatment (AMRIT)
• Launched by Ministry of Health and family welfare
• aims to provide drugs for cardiovascular and cancer diseases at highly affordable prices
• 1st AMRIT outlet opened at AIIMS, New Delhi
• AMRUT – Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation

Discuss -Compare and Contrast Smart City Mission and AMRUT

Discuss – Jan Aushadhi Store scheme and this year’s budget

1. Ecotone v/s Ecocline

• Ecotone describes a variation in species prevalence and is often not strictly dependent on a major physical factor separating an ecosystem from another, with resulting habitat variability
• Ecocline is a variation of the physicochemical environment dependent of one or two physico-chemical factors of life, and thus presence/absence of certain species

2. Keystone species and Ecosystem engineer

Keystone species is a species that has a disproportionately large effect on its environment relative to its abundance <think of keystone of an arch>

Ecosystem engineer is any organism that creates, significantly modifies, maintains or destroys a habitat.

Discuss– Flagship and Foundation species

3. Indicator species 

• An indicator species is any species that defines a trait or characteristic of the environment.
• are also known as sentinel organisms, i.e. organisms which are ideal for bio monitoring
• Eg. Some species of lichens are very sensitive to air pollution. Their presence thus indicates low air pollution

4. Ecological interaction

• Mutualism is an interaction between species that is beneficial to both. <+ +> <eg. Flowering plants and pollinators>
• Commensalism is an interaction in which one species benefits and the other species is unaffected <+ 0> <eh. Epiphytes and host plants>
• Parasitism relationship is one in which one member of the association benefits while the other is harmed <+ ->
• Amensalism is the type of relationship that exists where one species is inhibited or completely obliterated and one is unaffected by the other. <- 0> <competition and antibiosis>

Discuss- What is symbiosis?

Discuss- Difference b/w competition and antibiosis

5. biodiversity hotspot 

• A biogeographic region with significant levels of  that is under threat from humans
• Norman Myers described the concept

2 Criterias –

• it must contain at least 0.5% or 1,500 species of vascular plants as endemics <species richness and endemicity>
• it has to have lost at least 70% of its primary vegetation <threat perception>

Discuss- Hotspots of India