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Type: Prelims Only

  • Festivals, Dances, Theatre, Literature, Art in News

    How Republic Day tableaux are designed and selected

    18 January 2022 | Prelims Only | Governance
    Mains GS2: Ministries & Departments Of The Government

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Republic Day celebration

    Mains level: Not Much

    Recently, West Bengal’s tableau for the Republic Day parade was rejected without assigning any reasons or justifications.

    Who manages the R-Day Parade?

    • The Defence Ministry is the responsible authority for the Republic Day parade and the celebrations.
    • Around September, it invites all the states, the UTs, Central Government departments, and a few constitutional authorities to participate in the parade through tableaux.

    Managing Tableaux

    • The Defence Ministry shares the basic guidelines about what all the tableaux can or should include.
    • The tableaux of two different states/ UTs cannot be too similar, as the tableaux, together, should showcase the diversity of the country.
    • The tableaux cannot have any writing or use of logos, except for the name of the state/ UT/ department, which should be written in Hindi on the front, English on the back, and a regional language on the sides.
    • The Ministry also asks the participants to use eco-friendly material for the tableaux, and avoid the use of plastic or plastic-based products.

    How are the tableaux selected?

    • The selection process is elaborate and time-consuming.
    • The Defence Ministry constitutes an expert committee of distinguished persons from fields like art, culture, painting, sculpture, music, architecture, choreography, etc.

    Process of selection

    (1) Submission of sketches

    • First, the submitted sketches or designs of the proposals are scrutinised by this committee, which can make suggestions for any modifications in the sketch or design.
    • The sketch should be simple, colourful, easy to comprehend and should avoid unnecessary detail.
    • It should be self-explanatory, and should not need any written elaboration.

    (2) Music and Visuals

    • If there is a traditional dance involved with the tableau, it should be a folk dance, and the costumes and musical instruments should be traditional and authentic.
    • The proposal should include a video clipping of the dance.

    (3) 3D Models

    • Once approved, the next stage is for the participants to come up with three-dimensional models for their proposals.
    • These are again examined by the expert committee for final selection, taking in view several criteria.
    • In making the final selection the committee looks at a combination of factors, looking at the visual appeal, impact on the masses, idea/ theme of the tableaux, degree of detail involved.

    Do they have to be of a particular size?

    The Defence Ministry provides each participant with one tractor and one trailer, and the tableau should fit on that.

    • The ministry prohibits use of any additional tractor or trailer, or even any other vehicle to be part of it.
    • However, the participant can replace their ministry-provided tractor or trailer with other vehicles, but the total number should not be more than two vehicles.
    • The tractor has to be camouflaged in harmony with the tableau’s theme, and the ministry stipulates a distance of around six feet between the tractor and the trailer for turning and manoeuvering.
    • The dimensions of the trailer on which the tableau will be placed is 24 feet, 8 inches long; eight feet wide; four feet two inches high; with a load-bearing capacity of 10 tonnes.
    • The tableaux should not be more than 45 feet long, 14 feet wide and 16 feet high from the ground.

    (Republic Day celebrations from this year will start on January 23 instead of January 24 to include the birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.)

     

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  • Festivals, Dances, Theatre, Literature, Art in News

    Art-form in news: Kathak

    18 January 2022 | Prelims Only | History
    Mains GS1: GS1-01.Indian Culture- Salient aspects of Art Forms, Literature and Architecture from ancient to modern times.

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Kathak

    Mains level: NA

    Kathak legend Pandit Birju Maharaj has recently passed away.

    About Kathak

    • Kathak is one of the eight major forms of Indian classical dance.
    • The origin of Kathak is traditionally attributed to the traveling bards in of ancient northern India known as Kathakars or storytellers.
    • The term Kathak is derived from the Vedic Sanskrit word Katha which means “story”, and Kathakar which means “the one who tells a story”, or “to do with stories”.
    • Wandering Kathakars communicated stories from the great epics and ancient mythology through dance, songs and music.

    Its origin

    • Kathak dancers tell various stories through their hand movements and extensive footwork, their body movements and flexibility but most importantly through their facial expressions.
    • It evolved during the Bhakti movement, particularly by incorporating the childhood and stories of the Hindu god Krishna, as well as independently in the courts of north Indian kingdoms.
    • Kathak is unique in having both Hindu and Muslim gharanas and cultural elements of these gharanas.
    • Kathak performances include Urdu Ghazals and commonly used instruments brought during the Mughal period.

    Major gharanas

    • Kathak is found in three distinct forms, called “gharanas”, named after the cities where the Kathak dance tradition evolved – Jaipur, Banaras and Lucknow.
    • While the Jaipur gharana focuses more on the foot movements, the Banaras and Lucknow gharanas focus more on facial expressions and graceful hand movements.

    Performance details

    • It involves both Nritta (pure dance) and Nritya (expressive dance).
    • Stylistically, the Kathak dance form emphasizes rhythmic foot movements, adorned with small bells (Ghungroo) and the movement harmonized to the music.
    • The legs and torso are generally straight, and the story is told through a developed vocabulary based on the gestures of arms and upper body movement, facial expressions, neck movements, eyes and eyebrow movement, stage movements, bends and turns.
    • The main focus of the dance becomes the eyes and the foot movements.
    • The eyes work as a medium of communication of the story the dancer is trying to communicate. With the eyebrows the dancer gives various facial expressions.
    • A Kathak performance can be solo, duo or team. In a technical performance, the speed and energy the dancers exchange with the audience increases in multiples, that is the tempo doubles or quadruples.

     

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  • Blockchain Technology: Prospects and Challenges

    Web 3.0: A vision for the future

    17 January 2022 | Prelims Only | Science and Technology
    Mains GS3: GS3-17.Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, Robotics, Nano-technology, Bio-technology and issues relating to Intellectual Property Rights.

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Web3

    Mains level: Web and Blockchain technology

    The concept of Web3, also called Web 3.0, used to describe a potential next phase of the internet, created quite a buzz in 2021.

    What is Web3?

    • The model, a decentralized internet to be run on blockchain technology, would be different from the versions in use, Web 1.0 and Web 2.0.
    • In web3, users will have ownership stakes in platforms and applications unlike now where tech giants control the platforms.

    Previous versions of Web

    To understand web3, we should start with Web 1.0 and Web 2.0.

    [1] Web 1

    • Web 1.0 is the world wide web or the internet that was invented in 1989. It became popular from 1993.
    • The internet in the Web 1.0 days was mostly static web pages where users would go to a website and then read and interact with the static information.
    • Even though there were e-commerce websites in the initial days it was still a closed environment and the users themselves could not create any content or post reviews on the internet.
    • Web 1.0 lasted until 1999.

    [2] Web 2

    • Web 2.0 started in some form in the late 1990s itself though 2004 was when most of its features were fully available. It is still the age of Web 2.0 now.
    • The differentiating characteristic of Web 2.0 compared to Web 1.0 is that users can create content.
    • They can interact and contribute in the form of comments, registering likes, sharing and uploading their photos or videos and perform other such activities.
    • Primarily, a social media kind of interaction is the differentiating trait of Web 2.0.

    What are some of the concerns?

    • In Web 2.0, most of the data in the internet and the internet traffic are owned or handled by very few behemoth companies ex. Google.
    • This has created issues related to data privacy, data security and abuse of such data.
    • There is a sense of disappointment that the original purpose of the internet has been distorted.
    • It is in this context that the buzz around Web3 is significant.

    Dawn of Web3

    • Gavin Wood, founder of Ethereum, a block chain technology company, used the term Web3 first in 2014 and in the past few years many others have added to the idea of Web3.
    • In 2021, owing to the popularity of crypto-currency, more discussions happened on Web3.

    How will Web3 address the problems of data monopoly?

    Web3 will deliver decentralized and fair internet where users control their own data.

    • Currently if a seller has to make a business to the buyer, both the buyer and seller need to be registered on a “shop” or “platform” like Amazon or Ebay or any such e-commerce portal.
    • What this “platform” currently does is that it authenticates that the buyer and seller are genuine parties for the transaction.
    • Web3 would try to remove the role of the “platform”.
    • For the buyer to be authenticated, the usual proofs aided by block chain technology will be used. The same goes for the seller.

    How is blockchain technology used here?

    • With block chain, the time and place of the transaction are recorded permanently.
    • Thus, Web3 enables peer to peer (seller to buyer) transaction by eliminating the role of the intermediary. This concept can be extended to other transactions also.
    • Consider a social media application where you want to share pictures with your followers.
    • It could be a broadcast operation from you aided by blockchain and you don’t need social media accounts for all the participants to be able to perform this.

    Another key feature: Decentralized Autonomous Organization

    • The key concepts in Web3 seen so far are peer to peer transaction and block chain.
    • The spirit of Web3 is Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO).
    • DAO is all about the business rules and governing rules in any transaction are transparently available for anyone to see and software will be written conforming to these rules.
    • Crypto-currency and block chain are technologies that follow the DAO principle.
    • With DAO, there is no need for a central authority to authenticate or validate.

    Will it take off?

    • We don’t know yet if Web3 will become the dominant mode of handling the internet but the questions it raises are relevant.
    • Web3 is in its very initial days and there is no consensus if it will take off like Web 1.0 or Web 2.0 did.
    • There is much skepticism from top tech brains in the industry and the academic community that Web3 does not solve the problems it purports to solve.

     

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  • Wildlife Conservation Efforts

    Species in news: Asiatic Lions in Kuno National Park

    17 January 2022 | Prelims Only | Environment
    Mains GS3: GS3-18.Conservation, Environmental Pollution and Degradation, Environmental Impact Assessment.

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Asiatic Cheetah

    Mains level: Species reintroduction and related issues

    Experts have argued that the introduction of African cheetahs to Kuno National Park could endanger the Asiatic lion which has also been identified for re-introduction.

    Do you know?

    Cheetahs had a more extensive distribution than lions — there are no records of lions occurring south of the Narmada River, but Asiatic cheetahs roamed most of India until they were hunted to extinction by 1947.

    About Asiatic Cheetah

    • Cheetah, the world’s fastest land animal was declared extinct in India in 1952.
    • The Asiatic cheetah is classified as a “critically endangered” species by the IUCN Red List, and is believed to survive only in Iran.
    • It was expected to be re-introduced into the country after the Supreme Court lifted curbs for its re-introduction.
    • From 400 in the 1990s, their numbers are estimated to have reached to 50-70 today, because of poaching, hunting of their main prey (gazelles) and encroachment on their habitat.

    Why reintroduce Cheetahs?

    • Reintroductions of large carnivores have increasingly been recognized as a strategy to conserve threatened species and restore ecosystem functions.
    • The cheetah is the only large carnivore that has been extirpated, mainly by over-hunting in India in historical times.
    • India now has the economic ability to consider restoring its lost natural heritage for ethical as well as ecological reasons.

    Why was the project halted?

    • The court was worried whether the African cheetahs would find the sanctuary a favorable climate as far as the abundance of prey is concerned.
    • Those who challenged the plan argued that the habitat of cheetahs needed to support a genetically viable population.

    Issues with cheetah re-introduction

    • Since 2018, dozens of lions have died from diseases, including canine distemper, opening up a frightening possibility of loss when confined to a single location.
    • Establishing an additional free-ranging wild lion population in Kuno is of paramount importance and roadblocks, if any, must be transparently addressed.
    • Clearly, the introduction of African cheetahs cannot take precedence over translocating Asiatic lions from Gujarat to Kuno National Park as ordered by none other than the apex court in 2013.
    • However, simultaneous re-introduction can create a conflict for prey between these two wild cats.

     

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  • Blockchain Technology: Prospects and Challenges

    Carbon Footprints of Cryptocurrencies

    15 January 2022 | Prelims Only | Science and Technology
    Mains GS3: GS3-17.Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, Robotics, Nano-technology, Bio-technology and issues relating to Intellectual Property Rights.

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Cryptocurrencies

    Mains level: Carbon footprint of cryptocurrencies

    Bitcoin prices are rising these days and so will be its mining. As cryptocurrency will become mainstream, its carbon footprint cannot be ignored.

    What are Cryptocurrencies?

    Cryptocurrency

    Global crypto market

    • In 2019, the global cryptocurrency market was approximately $793 million.
    • It’s now expected to reach nearly $5.2 billion by 2026, according to a report by the market research organization Facts and Factors.
    • In just one year—between July 2020 and June 2021—the global adoption of cryptocurrency surged by more than 880 percent.

    Carbon footprints of Bitcoins

    • Increasing popularity of cryptocurrency has environmentalists on edge, as the digital “mining” of it creates a massive carbon footprint due to the staggering amount of energy it requires.
    • A/c to the Bitcoin Energy Consumption Index, the carbon footprint of Bitcoin is equivalent to that of New Zealand.
    • Both emit nearly 37 megatons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere every year.

    What is Mining?

    • Mining is a process in which computational puzzles are solved in order to verify transactions between users, which are then added to the blockchain.
    • In simpler terms, the works are created, or “minted,” through a process called proof-of-work (PoW), which establishes its unique identity.

    How do cryptocurrencies create such a footprint?

    • Unlike mainstream traditional currencies, bitcoin is virtual and not made from paper or plastic, or even metal.
    • Bitcoin is virtual but power-hungry as it is created using high-powered computers around the globe.
    • Bitcoin is created when high-powered computers compete against other machines to solve complex mathematical puzzles.
    • This is an energy-intensive process that often relies on fossil fuels, particularly coal, the dirtiest of them all.

    Conclusion

    • What this means is that, unlike traditional currency or gold, Bitcoin is not solely a settlement layer, not solely a store of value, and not solely a medium of exchange.
    • This makes Bitcoin’s relative energy consumption productive in comparison to comparative sectors, given its robust potential uses.
    • The promise of such an endeavor offers hope for a more sustainable cryptocurrency future.
    • Whether this will make much difference to the climate crisis in light of government and industrial inaction remains to be seen.

    Back2Basics: Bitcoin Energy Consumption Index

     

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  • Telecom and Postal Sector – Spectrum Allocation, Call Drops, Predatory Pricing, etc

    Millimeter Wave band in 5G auctions

    14 January 2022 | Prelims Only | Economics
    Mains GS3: GS3-13.Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways etc:

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: 5G technology

    Mains level: Delay in roll-out of 5g

    The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has asked for views on band plan, block size, and conditions for auction of spectrum in 5G bands, which includes Millimetre (mm) Wave band of 24.25-28.5 GHz.

    Must read:

    Status of 5G Rollout in India

    What is 5G technology?

    • 5G or fifth generation is the latest upgrade in the long-term evolution (LTE) mobile broadband networks.
    • It’s a unified platform that is much more capable than previous mobile services with more capacity, lower latency, faster data delivery rate and better utilisation of spectrum.

    5G spectrum

    5G mainly works in 3 bands, namely low, mid and high-frequency spectrum — all of which have their own uses as well as limitations.

    (1) Low band spectrum

    • It has a great promise in terms of coverage and speed of internet and data exchange but the maximum speed is limited to 100 Mbps (Megabits per second).
    • So Telcos can use and install it for commercial cell phone users who may not have specific demands for very high speed internet, the low band spectrum may not be optimal for specialized needs of the industry.

    (2) Mid-band spectrum

    • It offers higher speeds compared to the low band, but has limitations in terms of coverage area and penetration of signals.
    • This band may be used by industries and specialized factory units for building captive networks that can be moulded into the needs of that particular industry.

    (3) High-band spectrum

    • It offers the highest speed of all the three bands, but has extremely limited coverage and signal penetration strength.
    • Internet speeds in the high-band spectrum of 5G has been tested to be as high as 20 Gbps (giga bits per second), while, in most cases, the maximum internet data speed in 4G has been recorded at 1 Gbps.

    What is Millimetre (mm) Wave Band?

    • Millimetre Wave band or mmWave is a particular segment of radio frequency spectrum that range between 24 GHz and 100 GHz.
    • This spectrum, as the name suggests, has a short wavelength, and is apt to deliver greater speeds and lower latencies.
    • This in turn makes data transfer efficient and seamless as the current available networks work optimally only on lower frequency bandwidths.

    Significance of this mm band

    • 5G services can be deployed using lower frequency bands.
    • They can cover greater distances and are proven to work efficiently even in urban environments, which are prone to interference.
    • But, when it comes to data speeds, these bands fail to hit peak potential needed for a true 5G experience.
    • So, mmWave is that quintessential piece in the 5G jigsaw puzzle for mobile service providers.

    Concerns with inclusion of mm-band

    • The mm bands have been preserved for satellite-based broadband services as per the decision taken by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).
    • Providing excess spectrum could pose a downside risk of the bands going unsold, or even worse, underutilised by terrestrial players at the expense of satellite-based service providers.
    • Offering excessive spectrum will result in Indian citizens being denied the benefits of high-demand, advanced satellite broadband services.
    • In addition to this, it will result in a massive loss to the Indian economy of up to $184.6 billion by 2030, along with the loss of foreign direct investment (FDI) and employment generation benefits.

    How could this disrupt the satellite communication industry?

    • Internet has largely been provided to users via fibre-optic based broadband connectivity or mobile network.
    • Of late, another class of Internet vendors is showing up. These are satellite-based communication service providers.
    • For example, SpaceX’s Starlink and Bharti Airtel’s OneWeb are some of the players in this market.
    • This segment uses Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites to provide broadband to both urban and rural users. Their service could also be used for weather predictions.
    • The mm band had been the subject of controversy due to out-of-band emissions into the passive satellite band used for weather satellites at 23.6-24 GHz.

    HeaWay ahead

    • The allocation of mmWave band is critical to the satellite communication industry, which needs a stronger regulatory support to ensure that 5G operations don’t interfere with their existing operations.
    • The industry body pointed to Europe’s “5G Roadmap”, which is built on the ITU’s decision to hold these bands for satellite-based broadband services.

     

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  • Telecom and Postal Sector – Spectrum Allocation, Call Drops, Predatory Pricing, etc

    BARC ratings for news channels to resume soon

    13 January 2022 | Prelims Only | Governance
    Mains GS2: Governance, Transparency & Accountability, Citizens Charters

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: TRP

    Mains level: Read the attached story

    Ratings by Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) for the news channels will resume, after the organisation revised its procedures and protocols.

    The ratings were suspended after the Mumbai police busted a racket involving a private channel’s efforts to tamper the TRPs.

    Try this question:

    Q.What do you mean by “TRP Journalism”? Discuss the loopholes in the present system of self-regulation in Indian media.

    What is TRP?

    • In simple terms, anyone who watches television for more than a minute is considered a viewer.
    • The TRP or Target Rating Point is the metric used by the marketing and advertising agencies to evaluate this viewership.
    • In India, the TRP is recorded by the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) using Bar-O-Meters that are installed in televisions in selected households.
    • As on date, the BARC has installed these meters in 44,000 households across the country. Audio watermarks are embedded in video content prior to broadcast.
    • These watermarks are not audible to the human ear, but can easily be detected and decoded using dedicated hardware and software.
    • As viewing details are recorded by the Bar-O-Meters, so are the watermarks.

    What is BARC?

    • It is an industry body jointly owned by advertisers, ad agencies, and broadcasting companies, represented by The Indian Society of Advertisers, the Indian Broadcasting Foundation and the Advertising Agencies Association of India.
    • Though it was created in 2010, the I&B Ministry notified the Policy Guidelines for Television Rating Agencies in India on January 10, 2014, and registered BARC in July 2015 under these guidelines, to carry out television ratings in India.

    How are the households selected?

    • Selection of households where Bar-O-Meters are installed is a two-stage process.
    • The first step is the Establishment Survey, a large-scale face-to-face survey of a sample of approximately 3 lakh households from the target population. This is done annually.
    • Out of these, the households which will have Bar-O-Meters or what the BARC calls the Recruitment Sample are randomly selected. The fieldwork to recruit households is not done directly by BARC.
    • The BARC on its website has said that the viewing behaviour of panel homes is reported to BARC India daily. Coincidental checks either physically or telephonically are done regularly.

    Vigilance activities by BARC

    • Certain suspicious outliers are also checked directly by BARC India.
    • BARC India also involves a separate vigilance agency to check on outliers that it considers highly suspicious.
    • And as per the guidelines of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, these households rotate every year.
    • This rotation is in such a manner that older panel homes are removed first while maintaining the representativeness of the panel.
    • The Ministry guidelines further say that the secrecy and privacy of the panel homes must be maintained, and asked the BARC to follow a voluntary code of conduct.

    What are the loopholes in the process?

    • Several doubts have been raised on many previous occasions about the working of the TRP.
    • As per several reports, about 70% of the revenue for television channels comes from advertising and only 30% from subscriptions.
    • It is claimed that households were being paid to manipulate the TRP.

     

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  • Air Pollution

    National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS)

    11 January 2022 | Prelims Only | Environment
    Mains GS3: GS3-18.Conservation, Environmental Pollution and Degradation, Environmental Impact Assessment.

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Various air pollutants

    Mains level: NAAQ standards

    Delhi and most of the other non-attainment cities under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) have shown only a marginal improvement, said a new analysis released.

    About NCAP

    • The NCAP was implemented across India in 2019 to reduce particulate matter levels in 132 cities by 20-30% in 2024.
    • Cities are declared non-attainment if they consistently fail to meet the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) over a five-year period.

    What are NAAQ standards?

    • The mandate provided to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) under the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act empowers it to set standards for the quality of air.
    • Hence the current National Ambient Air Quality Standards were notified in November 2009 by the CPCB.
    • Prior to this, India had set Air Quality standards in 1994, and this was later revised in 1998.
    • The 2009 standards further lowered the maximum permissible limits for pollutants and made the standards uniform across the nation.
    • Earlier, less stringent standards were prescribed for industrial zones as compared to residential areas.

    Pollutants covered:

    • Sulphur Dioxide (SO2)
    • Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2),
    • Particulate Matter (size less than 10 ”m) or PM 10
    • Particulate Matter (size less than 2.5 ”m) or PM2.5
    • Ozone (O3)
    • Carbon Monoxide (CO)
    • Ammonia (NH3)

    (Air Pollutants that most of us NEVER heard of:)

    • Lead
    • Benzene (C6H6)
    • Benzo(a)Pyrene (BaP)
    • Arsenic(As)
    • Nickel (Ni)

    Source: Arthpaedia

     

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  • Monsoon Updates

    What is Samba Cultivation?

    11 January 2022 | Prelims Only | Agriculture
    Mains GS3: Major Crops & Cropping Patterns

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Samba Cultivation

    Mains level: NA

    Around four lakh more acres have been brought under the Crop Insurance Scheme for the Samba Cultivation season of 2021-22 in Tamil Nadu.

    What is Samba Cultivation?

    • It is a Tamil name for paddy cultivation season.
    • Other paddy seasons in Tamil Nadu include:
    1. Kuruvai: June-July
    2. Samba: August
    3. Late Samba / Thaladi: September- October
    4. Navarai: December- January

    Back2Basics: Major crop seasons

    (1) Kharif Crop

    • Kharif crops, monsoon crops, or autumn crops are cultivated and harvested in the monsoon season.
    • The farmers sow seeds at the beginning of the monsoon season and harvest them at the end of the season. i.e., between September and October.
    • Kharif crops need a lot of water and hot weather for proper growth.
    • Examples: Rice, Maize, Millet, Soybean, Arhar, Cotton. etc.

    (2) Rabi Crop

    • Rabi means spring in Arabic. Crops grown in the winter season [October to December] and harvested in the spring season [Aril-May] are called Rabi crops.
    • These crops require a warm climate for germination and maturation of seeds and need a cold environment for their growth.
    • Rain in winter spoils the Rabi crop but is good for the Kharif crop.
    • Examples: Wheat, Gram, Barley, Peas, Oats, Chickpea, Linseed, Mustard, etc.

    (3) Zaid Crop

    • Zaid crops are grown between Kharif and Rabi Seasons, i.e., between March to June.
    • They require warm, dry weather as a vital growth period and longer day length for flowering.
    • Zaid crop is significant for farmers as it gives fast cash to the farmers and is also known as gap-filler between two chief crops, Kharif and Rabi.
    • Examples: Cucumber, Pumpkin, Bitter gourd, Watermelon, Muskmelon, Sugarcane, Groundnut, Pulses, etc.

     

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  • Modern Indian History-Events and Personalities

    Veer Baal Diwas to be observed on December 26

    10 January 2022 | Prelims Only |
    Mains GS1: GS1-01.Indian Culture- Salient aspects of Art Forms, Literature and Architecture from ancient to modern times.

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Veer Bal Divas

    Mains level: Not Much

    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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