- Indian Heritage
- Culture
Bhagwan Birsa Munda on his birth anniversary
Also conveys best wishes to all on ‘Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas’
n the late 19th century, colonial India witnessed a massive upsurge in resistance movements led by Adivasi (indigenous people) in the eastern part of the country called Chota Nagpur.
These movements, including that led by the young tribal freedom fighter Birsa Munda, happened against the backdrop of a history of exploitation, and land alienation. Although these issues predated the advent of the British Empire, they were augmented by the arrival of the colonial officials.
With the coming of British administration, the existing system of feudal-landlordism, which was generative of apathy for the ‘original settlers’ in the area, was further entrenched by the legal-political edifice established by the empire. These laws brought about massive changes to the existing system of land governance.
The new laws followed an imperial legal framework that worked on individual ownership, and rights. The changes were not just laid down in law, they also impacted the traditional system that had survived through collective ownership and oral history. Moreover, the legal-political changes penetrated the country’s social folds and disrupted the harmony that had been sustained for generations.
It was against this background of systemic violence witnessed by the Munda adivasi that Birsa Munda mobilised the tribal community and rose against the British, missionaries and the zamindars (landlords). He rallied people by employing a method of religiosity – where he declared himself as the prophet commissioned by the gods to retrieve the lost ‘Munda Raj’.
His methods are critically studied by the millenarian/messianic movement which often considers that the core of such movement lack a substantial agenda, and is led by the force of misguided liberation. However; recent scholarship has contested these views pointing out that such a notion fails to address the political consciousness of the community, and Birsa Munda in particular.
Birsa Munda was a visionary whose own experiences allowed him to understand what the people from his community were suffering. He did not only attempt to wage protests and lead anti-colonial movements, but envisioned a radical rupture in the historical continuity of oppression, dominance and exploitation. His rebellion was a representation of lived experiences of a Munda as a convert Christian, who was raised in a colonial state under a belief system that belittled his own. This was also at a time when tribal people were losing their history and culture.
He cannot, and must not, be seen only as a figure who shook the plinths of the British Empire and the missionaries, but also the internal colonialists – the zamindars (landlords). In fact, his rebellion left such an impression on the colonial state that officials were forced to introduce new legislation – the Chota Nagpur Tenancy Act – that ensured the protection of the Munda’s land rights.
Unlike other rebellions that are documented in historical texts, Birsa Munda’s achievements have received little recognition. This is not to deny the works that do continue to tell of his struggles, but this story of the young tribal revolutionary certainly needs to be told more often.
Even though the movement he led faded after his death on 9 June 1900 at the age of 25, Birsa Munda’s struggle continues in different forms and in a different time. This is especially important when we see how the historic legislation that came out of fight against oppression has been diluted.
- Modern Indian history
- The Freedom Struggle
- Post-independence
- Indian Society
A. population and associated issues
B. poverty and developmental issues
C.urbanization
7. Geographical features
8.Indian Constitution
9. Polity
Odisha readies draft of PESA Act rules, seeks suggestions
Close to 27 years after the enactment of the Panchayat (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996, Odisha has come up with the draft of the Odisha Gram Panchayats Extension to Scheduled Areas Rules, 2023, to bring clarity in its implementation.
The State Panchayati Raj and Drinking Water Department says affected persons can submit their suggestions and objections in the next two months.
The rules dwell upon the issues of gram sabhas’ role and power in respect to acquisition of land, minor minerals and grant of prospecting licence or mining lease, control over intoxicants and prevention of alienation of land in the scheduled areas and control over the markets.
As per the Ministry of Panchayati Raj, though Odisha has made good progress in respect of compliance of State subject laws, it had not framed PESA Rules. “Since PESA Act is a central Act, the rules should have been framed by the Union government,” said A.B. Ota, a prominent researcher on tribes.
Parliamentary panel on criminal law Bill leaves decision on death penalty to Centre
The proposed Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Bill, 2023, which seeks to replace the Britishera Indian Penal Code (IPC), has increased the number of crimes which can attract the death penalty from 11 to 15, says a parliamentary panel report published last week.
The report adds that the domain experts consulted by the committee “deliberated at great length about the need to abolish death penalty”.
India has in the past voted against a United Nations General Assembly’s draft resolution on the abolition of the death penalty.
A study conducted by the National Law University, Delhi — the Annual Statistics Report 2022, published by Project 39A — shows that till December 31, 2022, as many as 539 prisoners had been on death row in India, the highest since at least 2016.
The parliamentary panel, headed by BJP member Brij Lal, recommended that the matter be left to the Union government to consider. “The committee, after considering the submissions regarding the death penalty, has understood that the reason for a passionate argument against death penalty is that the judicial system can be fallible and to prevent an innocent person from being wrongly sentenced to death,” it said.
Dissent notes
Three Opposition members — P. Chidambaram and Digvijaya Singh of the Congress and Derek O’Brien of the Trinamool Congress — submitted dissent notes against the provision. Mr. Singh said while the government had hailed the Bills as a move towards shedding the colonial nature of criminal laws, the Bills still retained the colonial spirit of the current laws and punishments for some offences had been made harsher and the death penalty had been added for at least four new crimes such as mob lynching, organised crime, terrorism and rape of a minor.
Mr. Chidambaram, former Union Home Minister, submitted: “According to the data, the Supreme Court has affirmed the death penalty in only seven cases in the last six years. While the imposition of the penalty itself causes distress and trauma, the wait before the sentence is set aside or confirmed causes distress many times more. It has been established that death penalty is no deterrent to serious crime.”
Mr. O’Brien, the Trinamool leader, said that based on national statistics, it can be observed that 74.1% of individuals on death row in India come from economically disadvantaged backgrounds.
The domain experts submitted before the committee that the “rarest of rare case” doctrine should be defined in more objective terms, if the death penalty has to be retained.
On the lines of ‘Sentencing Councils’ in the United Kingdom, the experts opined that the quasijudicial boards should be made to exercise probation, commutation and remission to provide greater scope for victims to have a say; and timelines should be indicated for mercy petitions to be heard and disposed of.
10. Governance
A. institutions
B. regulatory
C. Government policies
D. role of NGOs
E. measures
11. Social Justice
A. Welfare schemes
Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY)
The Central Government, in order to remove the financial burden of the poor beneficiaries and to ensure nationwide uniformity and effective implementation of the National Food Security Act (2013), is providing food grains free of cost to Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) households and Priority Households (PHH) beneficiaries under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY), for a period of one year beginning from 1st January 2023.
The decision was taken to strengthen the provisions of National Food Security Act, 2013 (NFSA) in terms of accessibility, affordability and availability of entitled foodgrains for the poor and ensure effective and uniform implementation of National Food Security Act 2013 (ONE NATION- ONE PRICE -ONE RATION).
The Central Government fully bears the Food Subsidy for procuring, allocating, transporting and delivering the foodgrains till the designated depot in the States with the help of the two food subsidy schemes, namely, Food Subsidy to FCI and Food Subsidy to Decentralized Procurement (DCP) States. These two food subsidy schemes have been subsumed as Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) for effective and uniform implementation of National Food Security Act, 2013 as also to strengthen the Food Security network in the country. Under this scheme, free foodgrains are being distributed through Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) from 1st January 2023. The additional cost of making foodgrains free of cost to the NFSA beneficiaries is being borne by Government of India.
The National Food Security Act, 2013 provides for coverage of upto 75% of the rural population and upto 50% of the urban population, which as per Census 2011 comes to 81.35 crore persons. The Coverage under the Act is substantially high to ensure that all the vulnerable and needy sections of the society get its benefit. At present, against the intended coverage of 81.35 crore, 80.48 crore beneficiaries are identified by the States/UTs under the Act for distribution of free foodgrains under the PMGKAY
The Bihar caste survey and the social justice agenda
he government of Bihar has taken two historic steps that move it ahead of all other States in the country as well as the central government on the long road to social justice. It has conducted what amounts to a caste census (despite the legal nomenclature of a survey) and made public the population numbers associated with different caste groups. Even more important, it has now revealed, at least partially, the additional data that tell us something about the broad socioeconomic status of castes.
However, the Rashtriya Janata DalJanata Dal (United) combine may squander its wellearned lead if it falters in the crucial third step — of using the caste survey data to rejuvenate the social justice agenda. Going by the measures announced so far – expansion of reservations to 65% — Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar seems intent on pouring new wine into old bottles.
The new context that frames the social justice agenda in the third decade of the 21st century demands a response that goes beyond the strategies of the 20th century. This new context has four main dimensions.
TProviding ‘decent work’
First, there is the global economic situation, where neoliberal policies have repositioned States as marketenablers while severely constraining their social welfare capabilities. The hard fact is that despite — or because of? — four decades of marketfriendly policies, the formal sector of the Indian economy offers less than 8% of all jobs. While reservation remains relevant as a mode of providing representation to marginalised groups, it is hopelessly inadequate as a means for reducing caste inequalities. The challenge — and it is a formidable one — is to imagine new ways of providing on a mass scale what the International Labour Organization (ILO) calls “decent work”.
Second, like many other countries in the world, India today is ruled by an authoritarian regime built around a personality cult focused on a single leader. The important point is that the hegemonic power of this regime is being used to alter the shape of the Indian state like never before in the history of our republic. Core constitutional norms such as the system of checks and balances between different organs of state; or the distinction between government, party and is currently the M.N. Srinivas Chair Professor at the Institute for Social and Economic Change, Bengaluru individual leader; or the basic federal structure of the Indian union are being undermined in ways that are already hard to reverse and may soon become irreversible.
An ideological hegemony
Unlike the first two dimensions of the current context, the last two are explicitly related to caste. The third and most visible aspect of our society and polity today is the arrival of an overt and aggressive northIndian Hindu uppercaste hegemony in the guise of the ideology called Hindutva. This hegemony itself is not new. Indeed, it has been a permanent feature since Independence, with a brief interruption during the 1990s. But while the earlier uppercaste dominance of the Nehruera wore the garb of secularism and socialism and was neither overt nor aggressive, the Modiera version is the opposite in each of these respects. Today, we have a violently antisecular, unabashedly cronycapitalist form of dominance that insists not only on one nation, one leader and one religion but also on there being one and only one way of being Hindu, or even of being Indian. The caste hierarchies of Hinduism are attempted to be folded into a larger Hindu identity shaped by the upper castes, and defined by a visceral hatred towards Muslims and, to a lesser extent, towards Christians.
The fourth dimension — the most challenging from the point of view of social justice — has to do with the internal differentiations that are now an undeniable aspect of every major caste group. In other words, not only is there more than one class in every caste group but also the interests of these different classes cannot be easily harmonised in a onedimensional caste politics. The indications are that caste politics will have to become more and more coalitional and address similar classfractions across multiple castes if it is to remain electorally viable. This may also precipitate a class polarisation within castes with unpredictable consequences. There are intriguing asymmetries here that need to be considered: it is easier for upper caste politics to deal with the problem of poor upper castes than it is for lower caste politics to deal with the problem of rich lower castes. The former goes with the grain of democratic politics in general, while the latter is against the grain.
The ruling coalition in Bihar stands at a historic crossroads. It has the opportunity to inaugurate a new kind of caste politics that takes account of the various dimensions of our present. To do this, the habits of the past will have to be broken, while maintaining continuity with the core of the social justice agenda. The crucial point, obscured in the past but highlighted by the current conjuncture, is that caste politics can no longer be automatically equated with the politics of social justice. If this equation was taken for granted in the past, it was largely because of a misrecognition — itself prompted by the dominant upper caste ideology — that “caste politics” effectively meant lower caste politics. While the immediate effect of this misrecognition was to make upper caste politics invisible, it also shielded lower caste politics from critical scrutiny.
Effective counterassertion of State rights
On the other hand, the politics of the lower castes, even when it is not fighting for social justice but for the interests of a particular community, can still be an effective counter to the politics of Hindutva, which is the current avatar of the politics of the upper caste neoelites. Bihar has already been playing this role to some extent by halting the triumphant march of Hindutva politics across north India. Along with Karnataka, Kerala and Rajasthan in recent times, Bihar has also led the resistance against the erosion of Indian federalism. The very act of conducting a caste count was an assertion of the rights of States to fashion locallyrelevant policies.
The survey itself raises questions that will profoundly affect our collective future as a nation. A census is ultimately about aggregated numbers, and as such, it privileges larger numbers — in other words, it carries the seed of majoritarianism. In the context of a majorityrule electoral system, the counting of identities like castes seems to juxtapose the “portrait” model of representation against a “proxy” model. Should our political representatives be judged by how well they resemble us (like a portrait), or by how well they act on our behalf (like proxies)? Bihar has the opportunity to show us that even if sharing the same identity is a necessary condition for representation today, it must not be accepted as sufficient.
B Health
C. Education
Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra
On the occasion of the Janjatiya Gaurav Divas, marking the birth anniversary of tribal icon Birsa Munda, Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra from Khunti, Jharkhand. 5 specially designed IEC (Information, Education and Communication) Vans carrying messages of Government’s flagship welfare programmes moved to various Gram Panchayats with significant tribal population located in Khunti district and nearby areas.
Similar IEC vans were flagged off by important dignitaries like Governors, Chief Ministers, Union Ministers, Ministers of State from 68 districts across the country with significant tribal population.
In Jammu & Kashmir the Sankalp Yatra was flagged off from Budhal and Gurez areas of Rajouri and Bandipora districts respectively. Braving cold winds at 8,000 feet above mean sea level, locals, youth, Panchayat Raj institutions and government officials attended the launch function. Lt. Governor Manoj Sinha participated in the event via video conferencing.
Governor of Arunachal Pradesh Lt Gen K T Patnaik (Retd) flagged off the IEC vans at Ziro in Lower Subansiri district. The beneficiaries of PM SVANidhi, PM Awas Yojana attended the ceremonial launch function. The IEC vans will travel in Lower Subansiri, Tawang and East Kameng districts spreading public awareness about government’s welfare schemes at the grass root level. In Nagaland, the campaign was launched at Indisen village of Dimapur district. In adjoining Assam the Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra was launched at Baksa, Kokrajhar and Karbi Anglong.
The Governor of Maharashtra Shri Ramesh Bains and Chief Minister Shri Eknath Shinde attended the launch event in the tribal district of Nandurbar. Union Minister Shri Purshottam Rupala attended the event in Dahod, Gujarat while the state Chief Minister Shri Bhupendra Patel flagged off the vans at Ambaji. Union Minister Bishweshwar Tudu flagged off the Viksit Bharat campaign vans from the Mayurbhanj district of Odisha.
In Andhra Pradesh the Yatra was flagged off by Governor S Abdul Nazeer from Alluri Seetaram Raju district. while in Tamilnadu Minister of State for Information & Broadcasting, Animal Husbandry & Fisheries Dr L Murugan launched the campaign in the Nilgiri district. Kerala Governor Shri Arif Mohammed Khan launched the campaign at Attapadi in Palakkad district. The campaign was also launched at the Karavatti island of the Union Territory of Lakshadweep.
D. Human Resources
E. poverty and hunger
12. International relations
A. India and its neighbourhood
B. groupings and agreements
Ministerial meeting of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF)
PEF will strengthen our ties in this critical region to define the coming decades for technological innovation and the global economy
Framework will create a stronger, fairer, more resilient economy for families, workers, and businesses in the United States and in the Indo-Pacific region
Today in Tokyo, Japan, President Biden launched the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) with a dozen initial partners: Australia, Brunei, India, Indonesia, Japan, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. Together, we represent 40% of world GDP.
Connected Economy: On trade, we will engage comprehensively with our partners on a wide range of issues. We will pursue high-standard rules of the road in the digital economy, including standards on cross-border data flows and data localization. We will work with our partners to seize opportunities and address concerns in the digital economy, in order to ensure small and medium sized enterprises can benefit from the region’s rapidly growing e-commerce sector, while addressing issues is such as online privacy and discriminatory and unethical use of Artificial Intelligence. We will also seek strong labor and environment standards and corporate accountability provisions that promote a race to the top for workers through trade.
- Resilient Economy: We will seek first-of-their-kind supply chain commitments that better anticipate and prevent disruptions in supply chains to create a more resilient economy and guard against price spikes that increase costs for American families. We intend to do this by establishing an early warning system, mapping critical mineral supply chains, improving traceability in key sectors, and coordinating on diversification efforts.
- Clean Economy: We will seek first-of-their-kind commitments on clean energy, decarbonization, and infrastructure that promote good-paying jobs. We will pursue concrete, high-ambition targets that will accelerate efforts to tackle the climate crisis, including in the areas of renewable energy, carbon removal, energy efficiency standards, and new measures to combat methane emissions.
- Fair Economy: We will seek commitments to enact and enforce effective tax, anti-money laundering, and anti-bribery regimes that are in line with our existing multilateral obligations to promote a fair economy. These will include provisions on the exchange of tax information, criminalization of bribery in accordance with UN standards, and effective implementation of beneficial ownership recommendations to strengthen our efforts to crack down on corruption.
C.Indian diaspora
13. Economic Development
A. Government Budgeting
B. industrial
E.issues
unique Geographical Indications (GIs) products exhibited in Geographical Indication (GI) Pavilion in the India International Trade Fair
The Department for Promotion of Industry & Internal Trade, Ministry of Commerce & Industry is hosting the largest Geographical Indication (GI) Pavilion in the India International Trade Fair at ITPO, Pragati Maidan from 14 to 27 November, 2023. The Pavilion was inaugurated by the Hon’ble Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, Shri Som Parkash on here today, the Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas, and laid the red carpet for public viewing.
The GI Pavilion is witnessing participation from more than 600 artisans from 28 States and Union Territories with more than 200 unique Geographical Indications (GIs) products from Agriculture to Food to Handicarfts and Handloom to cater the interests of every age group. GI products carry specific characteristics and possess qualities attributed to geographical origin.
Artisans from different tribes and women entrepreneurs have been given the centre stage for the presentation of their craft. Enthusiastic participation from artisans is making the GI Pavilion a confluence of cultural exchange and business opportunities.
Geographical Indication (GI)
What is a geographical indication?
A geographical indication (GI) is a sign used on products that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities or a reputation that are due to that origin. In order to function as a GI, a sign must identify a product as originating in a given place.
In addition, the qualities, characteristics or reputation of the product should be essentially due to the place of origin. Since the qualities depend on the geographical place of production, there is a clear link between the product and its original place of production.
What rights does a geographical indication provide?
A geographical indication right enables those who have the right to use the indication to prevent its use by a third party whose product does not conform to the applicable standards. For example, in the jurisdictions in which the Darjeeling geographical indication is protected, producers of Darjeeling tea can exclude use of the term “Darjeeling” for tea not grown in their tea gardens or not produced according to the standards set out in the code of practice for the geographical indication.
However, a protected geographical indication does not enable the holder to prevent someone from making a product using the same techniques as those set out in the standards for that indication. Protection for a geographical indication is usually obtained by acquiring a right over the sign that constitutes the indication.
For what type of products can geographical indications be used?
Geographical indications are typically used for agricultural products, foodstuffs, wine and spirit drinks, handicrafts, and industrial products.
How are geographical indications protected?
There are four main ways to protect a geographical indication:
- so-called sui generis systems (i.e. special regimes of protection);
- using collective or certification marks;
- methods focusing on business practices, including administrative product approval schemes; and
- through unfair competition laws.
These approaches involve differences with respect to important questions, such as the conditions for protection or the scope of protection. On the other hand, two of the modes of protection — namely sui generis systems and collective or certification mark systems — share some common features, such as the fact that they set up rights for collective use by those who comply with defined standards.
Broadly speaking geographical indications are protected in different countries and regional systems through a wide variety of approaches and often using a combination of two or more of the approaches outlined above. These approaches have been developed in accordance with different legal traditions and within a framework of individual historical and economic conditions.
14. Technology
9th India International Science Festival (IISF) 2023 to be held at Faridabad, Haryana from January 17th-20th, 2024
The 9th edition of the India International Science Festival (IISF) 2023 will be held at Faridabad, Haryana from January 17th-20th, 2024.
India’s mega Science Fair will be held at the Campus of Translational Health Science and Technology Institute (THSTI) and Regional Centre for Biotechnology (RCB) of Department of Biotechnology in Faridabad.
The theme of the present edition is ‘Science and Technology Public Outreach in Amrit Kaal’. IISF 2023 aims to provide a platform for inspiring public at large and individuals with diverse levels of interests like students, educators, scientists, researchers, industry professionals, entrepreneurs and science communicators.
IISF 2023 will have a total of 17 themes to showcase scientific achievements offering diverse benefits to participants and the general public.
The event holds interface among all stakeholders through various activities such as seminars by national and international experts, interactions with speakers, exhibitions, competitions, workshops, knowledge-sharing activities, technology shows, etc.
The IISF is dedicated towards fostering creativity in Science, Technology and Innovation for the advancement of prosperous India. This event was initiated under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi through collaborative efforts of the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Ministry of Earth Sciences in association with Vijnana Bharati.
15. Environment
16. Security
17. Disaster Management