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Type: Prelims Only

  • Modern Indian History-Events and Personalities

    Puri Heritage Corridor Project

    19 November 2021 | 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: Jagannath Temple and its architecture

    Mains level: Temple architecture of India

    Odisha CM will lay the foundation stone of the much-awaited Puri Heritage Corridor.

    Puri Heritage Corridor Project

    • Conceived in 2016, the Puri Heritage Corridor Project was unveiled in December 2019 to transform the holy town of Puri into an international place of heritage.
    • The project includes redeveloping major portions of the holy town and in the vicinity of the temple for visitors and tourists.

    About Jagannath Temple

    • The Jagannath Temple is an important Vaishnavite temple dedicated to Jagannath, a form of Sri Krishna in Puri in Odisha.
    • The present temple was rebuilt from the 10th century onwards, on the site of an earlier temple, and begun by Anantavarman Chodaganga Deva, the first king of the Eastern Ganga dynasty.
    • The Puri temple is famous for its annual Ratha Yatra, or chariot festival, in which the three principal deities are pulled on huge and elaborately decorated temple cars.

    Its architecture

    • With its sculptural richness and fluidity of the Oriya style of temple architecture, it is one of the most magnificent monuments of India.
    • The huge temple complex covers an area of over 400,000 square feet and is surrounded by a high fortified wall.
    • This 20 feet high wall is known as Meghanada Pacheri.
    • Another wall known as kurma bedha surrounds the main temple.

    The temple has four distinct sectional structures, namely:

    1. Deula, Vimana or Garba griha (Sanctum sanctorum) where the triad deities are lodged on the ratnavedi (Throne of Pearls). In Rekha Deula style;
    2. Mukhashala (Frontal porch);
    3. Nata mandir/Natamandapa, which is also known as the Jagamohan (Audience Hall/Dancing Hall), and
    4. Bhoga Mandapa (Offerings Hall)

     

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

    Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF)

    18 November 2021 | 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: Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF)

    Mains level: Not Much

    The Union Cabinet has approved the provisioning of mobile services in over 7,000 uncovered villages through the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF).

    What do you mean by Universal Service?

    • In the modern world, universal service refers to having a phone and affordable phone service in every home.
    • It means, providing telecommunication service with access to a defined minimum service of specified quality to all users everywhere at an affordable price.
    • In 1837, the concept was rolled on by Rowland Hill, a British educator and tax reformer, which included uniform rates across the UK and prepayment by sender via postage stamps.

    What is USOF?

    • The Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) was formed by an Act of Parliament, was established in April 2002 under the Indian Telegraph (Amendment) Act 2003.
    • It aims to provide financial support for the provision of telecom services in commercially unviable rural and remote areas of the country.
    • It is an attached office of the Department of Telecom, and is headed by the administrator, who is appointed by the central government.

    Scope of the USOF

    • Initially, the USOF was established with the fundamental objective of providing access to ā€˜basicā€™ telecom services to people in rural and remote areas at affordable and reasonable prices.
    • Subsequently, the scope was widened.
    • Now it aims to provide subsidy support for enabling access to all types of telecom services, including mobile services, broadband connectivity and the creation of infrastructure in rural and remote areas.

    Funding of the USOF

    • The resources for the implementation of USO are raised by way of collecting a Universal Service Levy (USL), which is 5 percent of the Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) of Telecom Service Providers.

    Nature of the fund

    • USOF is a non-lapsable Fund.
    • The Levy amount is credited to the Consolidated Fund of India.
    • The fund is made available to USOF after due appropriation by the Parliament.

     

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  • Renewable Energy – Wind, Tidal, Geothermal, etc.

    Langtang Project: Nepalā€™s first hydropower from a glacial lake

    18 November 2021 | Prelims Only | Trivia
    Mains GS3: GS3-13.Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways etc:

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Langtang Microhydro Electricity Project

    Mains level: NA

     

    Langtang Microhydro Electricity Project, Nepalā€™s first hydropower from a glacial lake has become functional recently.

    Langtang Microhydro Electricity Project

    • The Project was built three years after the 2015 earthquake-avalanche that devastated the valley, with help from the Hong Kong-based Kadoorie Charitable Foundation.
    • It has a weir and spillway at the moraine, and the water is taken through a fibre glass-insulated penstock pipe to a powerhouse that generates 100kW of electricity.
    • It seeks to provide 24 hours of electricity to 120 households and tourist lodges in Kyanjin and Langtang.

    Uniqueness of the project

    • The project is the first-of-its-kind in Nepal to power a village and holds promise for other remote Himalayan valleys where the risk posed by expanding glacial lakes can be mitigated.
    • At the same time, it provides electricity to tourism-dependent families.

     

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  • Blockchain Technology: Prospects and Challenges

    Taproot upgrade in Bitcoins

    17 November 2021 | Prelims Only | Economics
    Mains GS3: Indian Economy

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Taproot upgrade in Bitcoins

    Mains level: Cryptocurrencies regulation in India

    Bitcoin went through a major upgrade that enables its blockchain to execute more complex transactions, potentially widening the virtual currency’s use cases and making it a little more competitive with Ethereum for processing smart contracts.

    What is the new upgrade?

    • The enhancement, called Taproot, is the most significant change to the bitcoin protocol since the SegWit (Segregated Witness) block capacity change in 2017.
    • SegWit effectively increased the number of transactions that could fit into a block by pulling data on signatures from bitcoin transactions.
    • Smart contracts are self-executing transactions whose results depend on pre-programmed inputs.

    What is Taproot?

    • The Taproot upgrade consists of three separate upgrade proposals.
    • However, at its core, the upgrade introduces a new digital signature scheme called “Schnorr” that will help bitcoin transactions become more efficient and more private.
    • Schnorr can also be leveraged to let bitcoin users execute more complex smart contracts.

    When was Taproot officially activated?

    • Taproot was officially activated on block 709,632.
    • Blockchains settle transactions in batches or blocks.
    • Each block can contain only a certain number of transactions.

    What is its impact on Bitcoin?

    • The biggest impact would be the bitcoin network’s ability to process more smart contracts, similar to what Ethereum does.
    • Bitcoin has historically been much more limited in processing smart contracts compared with Ethereum.
    • Taproot increases privacy by obscuring what type of transaction is being executed.

    What are the other enhancements?

    • The Schnorr signatures can make more complex transactions on the bitcoin protocol, such as those from wallets that require multiple signatures, look like just any other transaction.
    • This makes transactions more private and more secure.
    • Bitcoin transactions will also become more data-efficient, optimizing block capacity and leading to lower transaction fees.

    What does Taproot mean for investors?

    • Large-scale upgrades have paved the way for the next phase of innovation in the bitcoin network.
    • The last major upgrade in 2017 helped launch the Lightning Network, which facilitated much faster and cheaper bitcoin payments than before.
    • Taproot to lead to a similar wave of innovation in bitcoin centered around smart contracts.

    Also read:

    Cryptocurrency

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  • Modern Indian History-Events and Personalities

    Pochampally makes it to list of best tourism villages in the world

    17 November 2021 | 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: Best Tourism Villages Initiative

    Mains level: Bhoodan Movement

    Pochampally village in Telangana is set to be named as one of the best Tourism Villages by the United Nations World Tourism Organisation.

    Best Tourism Villages Initiative

    • The Best Tourism Villages by UNWTO Pilot initiative aims to award those villages which are outstanding examples of rural destinations and showcase good practices in line with its specified nine evaluation areas.
    • It also aims to support villages to enhance their rural tourism potential through training and access to opportunities for improvement.

    Key objectives

    • Reduce regional inequalities in income and development
    • Fight rural depopulation
    • Progress gender equality and womenā€™s and youth empowerment
    • Enhance education and skills development

    About Pochampally

    • Pochampally, 50 Kms from Hyderabad, is a town in Nalgonda district of Telangana.
    • It is often referred to as the Silk City of India for the exquisite sarees that are woven through a unique style called Ikat.
    • It is also known as Bhoodan Pochampally to commemorate the Bhoodan Movement that was launched by Acharya Vinobha Bhave from this village on April 18th, 1951.
    • Currently, a two-room Vinobha Bhave Mandir exists within the village which was earlier the place where Vinobha Bhave resided during his visit to the village.

    What is Pochampally Ikat?

    • Ikat is a Malaysian, Indonesian word that means ā€œTie and Dyeā€.
    • For this style, Pochampally Ikat, received a Geographical Indicator (GI Status) in 2004.
    • Ikat involves the process of wrapping (or tying) and dyeing sections of bundled yarn to a predetermined colour pattern before they are woven.
    • The dye penetrates into exposed sections while the wrapped section remains undyed.
    • This pattern formed by the yarn in this process is woven into fabric.

    Back2Basics: Bhoodan Movement

    • The Bhoodan movement (Land Gift movement), also known as the Bloodless Revolution, was a voluntary land reform movement.
    • It was initiated by Vinoba Bhave, a staunch Gandhian in 1951 at Pochampally village, which is now in Telangana, and known as Bhoodan Pochampally.
    • The movement attempted to persuade wealthy landowners to voluntarily give a percentage of their land to landless people.
    • Philosophically, Bhave was influenced by Mahatma Gandhi’s Sarvodaya movement and Gram Swarajya.
    • Landless laborers were given small plots that they could settle and grow their crops on.
    • Bhoodan Acts were passed that stated that the beneficiary had no right to sell the land or use it for non-agricultural purposes or for forestry.

     

    Try this PYQ:

    Q. With reference to land reforms in independent India, which one of the following statements is correct?

    (a) The ceiling laws were aimed at family holdings and not individual holdings

    (b) The major aim of land reforms was providing agricultural land to all the landless

    (c) It resulted in cultivation of cash crops as a predominant form of cultivation

    (d) Land reforms permitted no exemptions to the ceiling limits

     

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  • Nuclear Diplomacy and Disarmament

    Iran invites UN nuclear body chief to Tehran for talks

    16 November 2021 | IOCRPrelims Only | International Relations
    Mains GS2: GS2-20.Important International institutions, agencies and fora- their structure, mandate.

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), IAEA

    Mains level: Nuclear disarmament

    Iran has invited the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for talks after the UN official expressed concern over a lack of contact with Iranian authorities.

    What is IAEA?

    • The IAEA is an international organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons.
    • As the preeminent nuclear watchdog under the UN, the IAEA is entrusted with the task of upholding the principles of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) of 1970.
    • It was established as an autonomous organization on July 29, 1957, at the height of the Cold War between the U.S. and the Soviet Union.
    • Though established independently of the UN through its own international treaty, the agency reports to both the UN General Assembly and the UNSC.

    IAEA Missions

    The IAEA is generally described as having three main missions:

    • Peaceful uses: Promoting the peaceful uses of nuclear energy by its member states,
    • Safeguards: Implementing safeguards to verify that nuclear energy is not used for military purposes, and
    • Nuclear safety: Promoting high standards for nuclear safety

    What are its safeguards?

    • Safeguards are activities by which the IAEA can verify that a State is living up to its international commitments not to use nuclear programs for nuclear weapons purposes.
    • Safeguards are based on assessments of the correctness and completeness of a Stateā€™s declared nuclear material and nuclear-related activities.
    • Verification measures include on-site inspections, visits, and ongoing monitoring and evaluation.

    Basically, two sets of measures are carried out in accordance with the type of safeguards agreements in force with a State.

    1. Verifying state reports of declared nuclear material and activities.
    2. Verifying the non-diversion of declared nuclear material and providing assurances as to the absence of undeclared nuclear material and activities in a State.

    Try this question from CSP 2020:

    Q.In India, why are some nuclear reactors kept under ā€œIAEA Safeguardsā€ while others are not?

    (a) Some use Uranium and others use thorium.

    (b) Some use imported uranium and others use domestic supplies.

    (c) Some are operated by foreign enterprises and others are operated by domestic enterprises.

    (d) Some are State- owned and others are privately-owned.

     

    [wpdiscuz-feedback id=”u1f17yedvj” question=”Please leave a feedback on this” opened=”1″]Post your answers here.[/wpdiscuz-feedback]

     

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    Back2Basics: Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)

    • The NPT is a landmark international treaty whose objective is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, to promote cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy.
    • The Treaty represents the only binding commitment in a multilateral treaty to the goal of disarmament by the nuclear-weapon States.
    • Opened for signature in 1968, the Treaty entered into force in 1970.
    • India is one of the only five countries that either did not sign the NPT or signed but withdrew, thus becoming part of a list that includes Pakistan, Israel, North Korea, and South Sudan.
    • India always considered the NPT as discriminatory and had refused to sign it.

     

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  • Foreign Policy Watch: India-Pakistan

    Reopening of the Kartarpur Corridor Project

    16 November 2021 | Prelims Only | International Relations
    Mains GS2: India & Its Neighborhood – Relations

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Kartarpur Corridor, R Ravi

    Mains level: Pilgrim tourism and diplomacy

    The government is considering reopening the Kartarpur Sahib Gurudwara corridor to Pakistan this week for Gurpurab or Prakash Parv.

    Kartarpur Corridor

    • The Kartarpur corridor connects the Darbar Sahib Gurdwara in Narowal district of Pakistan with the Dera Baba Nanak shrine in Gurdaspur district in Indiaā€™s Punjab province.
    • The name Kartarpur means ā€œPlace of Godā€.
    • The first guru of Sikhism, Guru Nanak, founded Kartarpur in 1504 AD on the right bank of the Ravi River.

    Inception of the project

    • The Kartarpur Corridor was first proposed in early 1999 by then PMs Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Nawaz Sharif as part of the Delhiā€“Lahore Bus diplomacy.
    • The project is now compared to the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, as it could help in easing tensions between the two countries.

    Conditions for the pilgrimage (from Indian side)

    • Only Indians resident or overseas citizens can travel by corridor, Pakistanis cannot.
    • Children or aged persons of all ages can register to apply.
    • After 15 days of travel by corridor another registration can be done for second visit.
    • Registration can only be done online at a mentioned website of Indian Government

    About Guru Nanak

    • Guru Nanak Dev (1469-1539) also referred to as Baba Nanak was the founder of Sikhism and is the first of the ten Sikh Gurus.
    • He advocated the ā€˜Nirgunaā€™ form of Bhakti. He rejected sacrifices, ritual baths, image worship, austerities and the scriptures of both Hindus and Muslims.
    • He appointed one of his disciples, Angad, to succeed him as the preceptor (guru), and this practice was followed for nearly 200 years.
    • The fifth preceptor, Guru Arjan, compiled his hymns along with those of his four successors and also other religious poets, like Baba Farid, Ravidas, and Kabir, in the Adi Granth Sahib.

     

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  • RBI Notifications

    What is the Retail Direct Scheme for investors in G-Secs?

    15 November 2021 | Prelims Only | Economics
    Mains GS3: Indian Economy

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Integrated Ombudsman Scheme, RBI Retail Direct Scheme

    Mains level: Not Much

    The RBI has announced proposals for the Retail Direct Scheme for investors in government securities and the Integrated Ombudsman Scheme.

    What is the Retail Direct Scheme?

    • Under the scheme, small investors can buy or sell government securities (G-Secs), or bonds, directly without an intermediary like a mutual fund.
    • It is similar to placing funds in debt instruments such as fixed deposits in banks.
    • However, the same tax rules apply to income from G-Secs.

    Benefits of RDS

    • With the government being the borrower, there is a sovereign guarantee for the funds and hence zero risk of default.
    • Also, government securities may offer better interest rates than bank fixed deposits, depending on prevailing interest rate trends.
    • For example, the latest yield on the benchmark 10-year government securities is 6.366%.

    How can individuals access G-Sec offerings?

    • Investors wishing to open a Retail Direct Gilt account directly with the RBI can do so through an online portal set up for the purpose of the scheme.
    • Once the account is activated with the aid of a password sent to the userā€™s mobile phone, investors will be permitted to buy securities either in the primary market or in the secondary market.
    • The minimum amount for a bid is ā‚¹10,000 and in multiples of ā‚¹10,000 thereafter. Payments may be made through Net banking or the UPI platform.

    Why was it necessary to introduce this scheme?

    • Broader investor base: The scheme would help broaden the investor base and provide retail investors with enhanced access to the government securities market ā€” both primary and secondary.
    • Institutional investment: Accessing retail investors could free up room for companies to bring funds from institutional investors which may otherwise have been cornered by the government.
    • Diverse borrowing for government: This scheme would facilitate smooth completion of the Government borrowing programme in 2021-22.
    • Structural reform: It is a major structural reform placing India among select few countries which have similar facilities.

    Why is the RBI setting up an Integrated Ombudsman?

    • Prior to the introduction of this scheme, the RBI had three different ombudsman schemes to aid dispute resolution with respect to banks, NBFCs, and non-bank pre-paid payment issuers (PPIs).
    • They were operated by the RBI through 22 ombudsman offices.
    • The RBI would now appoint the Ombudsman and a Deputy Ombudsman for three years.
    • Complaints may be made either physically to the Centralised Receipt and Processing Centre or the RBIā€™s offices; or electronically through the regulatorā€™s complaint management system.

    Back2Basics: Government Securities

    • These are debt instruments issued by the government to borrow money.
    • The two key categories are:
    1. Treasury bills (T-Bills) ā€“ short-term instruments which mature in 91 days, 182 days, or 364 days, and
    2. Dated securities ā€“ long-term instruments, which mature anywhere between 5 years and 40 years
    • T-Bills are issued only by the central government, and the interest on them is determined by market forces.

     

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  • Gravitational Wave Observations

    Was it really a black hole that the EHT imaged in 2019?

    15 November 2021 | 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: Event Horizon Telescope (EHT), Black Hole

    Mains level: Not Much

    A new research says that M87* which was imaged by the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) is not necessarily a black hole but could even be a naked singularity with a gravitomagnetic monopole.

    About M-87*

    • In 2019, astronomers of the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) captured the first ever image of a supermassive black hole (M87*) which was located at the centre of a galaxy Messier 87.
    • This black hole was calculated to be 6.5 billion times the Sunā€™s mass and is 55 million light years away from the Earth.
    • The discovery set the world of astronomy on fire and also found a mention in the ā€œpopular informationā€ section of the announcement of the Nobel Prize in physics for 2020.
    • Andrea Ghez and Rheinhard Genzel were awarded half the share of the prize for their study of the black hole at the centre of the Milky Way galaxy, Sagittarius A*.

    A black hole has two parts:

    1. Singularity at its coreā€“ a point that is infinitely dense, as all the remnant mass of the star is compressed into this point.
    2. Event horizon ā€“ an imaginary surface surrounding the singularity, and the gravity of the object is such that once anything enters this surface, it is trapped forever.
    • Not even light can escape the pull of the singularity once it crosses the event horizon.
    • That is why, we cannot see the singularity at the heart of a black hole but only see points outside the event horizon.
    • Hence, all the physics happening within the black holeā€™s event horizon is indeed blocked from the view of the observer.

    What is the recent explanation of M87*?

    Ans. Naked Singularity

    • When stars much more massive than the Sun reach the end of their lives, they collapse under their own gravity, and the product of this collapse is a black hole.
    • In many scenarios of stellar collapse, the event horizon does not form, and the singularity is exposed to the outside, without any event horizon shielding it.
    • This is called naked singularity.

    Monopoles and gravity

    • In the nineteenth century, James Clerk Maxwell unified electricity and magnetism as one combined phenomenon, showing that light is an electromagnetic wave.
    • But there is an asymmetry between electricity and magnetism.
    • While positive and negative electric charges can be found to exist independently, the poles of a magnet are always found in pairs, north and south bound together.
    • There is an analogy between gravitational force and electromagnetism to say that mass is like electric charge and can exist independently, thus it can be called a ā€œgravito-electric chargeā€.

    But then, what is the gravito-magnetic charge?

    • In 1963, Newman, Tamburino and Unti (NUT) proposed a theoretical concept called a ā€œgravito-magnetic chargeā€ also called a gravitomagnetic monopole.
    • The new research has shown that M87* could be a black hole (with or without gravitomagnetic monopole) or a naked singularity (with or without gravitomagnetic monopole).

    Try this PYQ:

    Q. ā€œEvent Horizonā€ is related to:

    (a) Telescope

    (b) Black hole

    (c) Solar glares

    (d) None of the above

     

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    Back2Basics: Event Horizon Telescope (EHT)

    • The EHT project is an international partnership formed in 2012.
    • It is a network of 10 radio telescopes on four continents that collectively operate like a single instrument nearly the size of the Earth.
    • Its main objective is to directly observe the immediate environment of a black hole.

     

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  • Modern Indian History-Events and Personalities

    Mosques to honour 1921 Malabar Rebellion martyrs

    13 November 2021 | Prelims Only |
    Mains GS1: GS1-02.Modern Indian History- Mid-18th century – Present (significant events, personalities, issues);

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Malabar Rebellion

    Mains level: Not Much

    Granite plaquettes featuring the names of Variamkunnathu Kunjahamad Haji, Ali Musliyar, and other martyrs of the 1921 Malabar Rebellion will be put up at the precincts of a few mosques in Ernakulam.

    Malabar Rebellion

    • The Malabar Rebellion in 1921 started as resistance against the British colonial rule and the feudal system in southern Malabar but ended in communal violence between Hindus and Muslims.
    • There were a series of clashes between Mappila peasantry and their landlords, supported by the British, throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries.
    • It began as a reaction against a heavy-handed crackdown on the Khilafat Movement, a campaign in defence of the Ottoman Caliphate by the British authorities in the Eranad and Valluvanad taluks of Malabar.
    • The Mappilas attacked and took control of police stations, British government offices, courts and government treasuries.

    Who was Variyankunna Kunjahammed Haji?

    • He was one of the leaders of the Malabar Rebellion of 1921.
    • He raised 75000 natives, seized control of large territory from the British rule and set up a parallel government.
    • In January 1922, under the guise of a treaty, the British betrayed Haji through his close friend Unyan Musaliyar, arresting him from his hideout and producing him before a British judge.
    • He was sentenced to death along with his compatriots.

     

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