QUESTIONS
Who among the following founded the bi-weekly English newspaper “Native Opinion”?
Vishvanath Narayan Mandlik
M K Gandhi
Bal Gangadhar Tilak
Aurbindo Gosh
2) Which of the following pair (s) is/are correctly matched?
Organization : Founder
1. Dharma Sabha : Raja Radhakant Deb
2. Tattvabodhini Sabha : Rabindranath Tagore
3. Brahmo Samaj of India : Rammohan Roy
Select the correct answer using the codes given below:
1 only
1 and 2 only
2 and 3 only
1, 2 and 3
3) Consider the following statements regarding the “Faraizi Movement”:
1. Movement was founded by Haji Shariatullah.
2. It was aimed at the eradication of social innovations or un-Islamic practices current among the Muslims.
Which of the statements given above is/are NOT correct?
1 only
2 only
Both 1 and 2
Neither 1 nor 2
Vishvanath Narayan Mandlik, C.S.I. (8 March 1833 – 9 May 1899) was an eminent Bombay citizen, lawyer, author and a legal expert on Hindu law. Although a conservative when dealing in several cases involving Hindu traditions (where he opposed state intervention), he supported some reforms such as education for women. He also translated several English classics and law books into Marathi. He also wrote several works on Hindu Law in English, including translations of Yajnyawalkya’s Smriti, the Manu Smriti and Nilakantha’s Vywahara-mayukha.
The Faraizi movement was started and led by Haji Shariatullah in 1819. The movement extolled Muslims of Bengal to give up un-Islamic practices and act upon their duties as Muslims.
PRELIMS SPECIFIC NEWS ITEMS
According to a study, the Sixth Mass Extinction is underway. And this time, it is entirely caused by human activities.
What is Mass Extinction?
A mass extinction event is when species vanish much faster than they are replaced. This is usually defined as about 75% of the world’s species being lost in a ‘short’ amount of geological time – less than 2.8 million years.
Earth has so far undergone five mass extinctions caused by natural phenomena, either due to natural climate shifts or asteroid impacts. After each of these extinctions, it took millions of years to regain species comparable to those that existed before the event.
Now the sixth mass extinction is underway. This extinction is entirely caused by human activities. Researchers have described it as the “most serious environmental problem” since the loss of species will be permanent.
What does the study say about the sixth mass extinction?
The study has said that the sixth mass extinction has been going on since at least the 16th century.
Earth was once home to two million known species. But since 1500 CE, as many as 7.5%-13% of them may have been lost, meaning from 150,000 to 260,000 different species.
The study also said that some people deny this sixth mass extinction. But this denial was due to a biased view that focuses only on mammals and birds, ignoring the die-off rate of invertebrates.
Note: An Invertebrate is any animal that lacks a vertebral column, or backbone. More than 90% of all living animal species are invertebrates. They include animals as diverse as sea stars, sea urchins, earthworms, sponges, jellyfish, lobsters, crabs, insects, spiders, snails, clams, and squid.
2) What is the National Technical Textiles Mission?
Aim: To position the country as a global leader in Technical Textiles and improve the penetration level of technical textiles in the country.
Implementation Period: FY 2020-21 to 2023-24.
Components of the mission: The mission has four components:
– Research, Innovation and Development: Focus on research, innovation and indigenous development of speciality fibres from Carbon, Nylon-66, Glass, Aramid and other high technology polymers; increase the application of geotextiles, agro-textiles, medical textiles, protective textiles and other segments of technical textiles in various application areas.
– Promotion and Market Development: Promote awareness amongst users, bring in large scale investments and encourage high-end technical textiles products.
– Export Promotion: Enhance India’s exports of technical textiles by 2024 through focused attention on the highest traded products.
– Education, Training, Skill Development: Create robust human resources in the country both through specialised higher education and skill development of technical manpower of the country.
3) Meiji Restoration in Japan
In Japanese history, the political revolution in 1868 that brought about the final demise of the Tokugawa shogunate (military government)—thus ending the Edo (Tokugawa) period (1603–1867)—and, at least nominally, returned control of the country to direct imperial rule under Mutsuhito (the emperor Meiji).
In a wider context, however, the Meiji Restoration of 1868 came to be identified with the subsequent era of major political, economic, and social change—the Meiji period (1868–1912)—that brought about the modernization and Westernization of the country.
4) Global Hunger Index 2021
India has slipped to 101st position in the Global Hunger Index (GHI) 2021 of 116 countries, from its 2020 position of 94th.
About the Global Hunger Index:
Annual Report: Jointly published by Concern Worldwide and Welthungerhilfe.
It was first produced in 2006. It is published every October. The 2021 edition marks the 16th edition of the GHI
Calculation: It is calculated on the basis of four indicators:
Undernourishment: Share of the population with insufficient caloric intake.
Child Wasting: Share of children under age five who have low weight for their height, reflecting acute undernutrition.
Child Stunting: Share of children under age five who have low height for their age, reflecting chronic undernutrition.
Child Mortality: The mortality rate of children under the age of five.
5) Process of Tableaux Selection :-
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.
6) The hospitality industry is a broad category of fields within the service industry that includes lodging, food and drink service, event planning, theme parks, travel and tourism. It includes hotels, tourism agencies, restaurants and bars.
7) A.P. govt. bans 100-year-old ‘Chintamani Padya Natakam’:- The Andhra Pradesh government has brought the curtains down on the popular ‘Chintamani Padya Natakam’, which has enthralled people for almost 100 years.
The government’s decision on Monday to ban the staging of the play was in response to the representation submitted by the members of a particular community objecting to certain dialogues and portrayal of a character in the noted Telugu play.
Authored by playwright Kallakuri Narayana Rao in 1920.
8) Rising sea levels prompt Indonesia to relocate capital :- Indonesia’s parliament on Tuesday passed a law approving the relocation of its capital from slowly sinking Jakarta to a site 2,000 kilometres away on the jungleclad
Borneo island that will be named “Nusantara”.
Editorial of the Day
The SilverLine project is anti-development
Author says that the Kerala Railway Project with the name ‘SilverLine’ is anti-development and anti social.
What are the Problems associated:
- M. Shreedharan ( the metroman of India ) and Professor Gadgil, have all pitched that this project is a recipe for ecological disaster.
- The Project cost is too high and the state of Kerala which is already under so much public debt can’t afford such project.
- There are many other issues which are necessary for Kerala i.e Clean Drinking water, infrastructure problems, Health projects, etc. So these should have been the first priority.
- Against the democratic ethos : Since the Public opinion is against the Project thus the government should have heard the advice of the Public.
Editorial 02 :- Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide of 1948, which India has signed and ratified.
Raphael Lemkin is credited with the use of the term ‘genocide’ and campaigned relentlessly for it to become an international treaty.
In 1946, Cuba, India and Panama cosponsored General Assembly Resolution 96(I), which affirmed genocide as a ‘crime under international law’.
As a result of this resolution, a convention on the prohibition of genocide was drafted, which was passed by the General Assembly in 1948 and came into effect in 1951, with more than 150 states party to the convention presently. The Genocide Convention has as its objective the prevention of genocide as well as the punishment of the crime. Legal obligations on states that are party to the convention include the obligation not to commit genocide, to prevent genocide, and to punish genocide(Article I), to enact legislation to give effect to the provisions of the convention (Article V); to provide for effective penalties for those found guilty of criminal conduct (Article VI); and the obligation to try those charged with genocide in a competent tribunal (Article VII).
It is no small irony that India was an early and key sponsor of the General Assembly resolution condemning genocide and confirming its status as an international crime. However, since signing the Genocide
Convention and ratifying it, to date India has not enacted any legislation in accordance with Article VI of the Genocide Convention.
At the outset, India is in violation of its international obligation to criminalise genocide within its domestic law per Articles V, VI and VII, and to take all means to ensure the prevention of genocide.
