Answer: (c )
All the statements are correct.
UCC: A Timeline
• Colonial Period: Personal laws were first framed for Hindu and Muslim citizens during the British Raj.
• 1940: The idea of a UCC was proposed by the National Planning Commission, examining women’s status and recommending reforms for gender equality.
• 1947: UCC was considered as a fundamental right during the framing of the Constitution by Minoo Masani, Hansa Mehta, Amrit Kaur, and Dr. B.R. Ambedkar.
• 1948: The Constitution Assembly debated Article 44, which emphasizes the implementation of uniform civil laws as a state duty under Part IV.
• 1950: Reformist bills were passed, granting Hindu women the right to divorce and inherit property and outlawing bigamy and child marriages.
• 1951: Ambedkar resigned when his draft of the Hindu Code Bill was stalled in Parliament.
• 1985: Shah Bano case highlighted the need for a UCC and the rights of divorced Muslim women.
• 1995: Sarla Mudgal v. Union of India reiterated the urgency of a UCC for national integration and removing contradictions.
• 2000: The Supreme Court, in Lily Thomas v. Union of India, stated it could not direct the government to introduce a UCC.
• 2015: The apex court refused to mandate a decision on implementing a UCC.
• 2016: The Triple Talaq debate gained attention, leading to the ruling of its unconstitutionality in 2017.

Answer: (d)
The IMBL agreements did not resolve boundary and fishing jurisdiction issues, leading to recurring incidents involving Tamil Nadu fishermen.

• Palk Bay is a semi-enclosed shallow water body between the southeast coast of India and Sri Lanka, with a water depth maximum of 13 m
• The width of Palk Bay ranges from 57 to 107 km and the length is around 150 km.
• It has been a source of dispute for long.
• Efforts for delimitation of the Palk strait and Gulf of Mannar had started since 1921, but the agreements were finally signed in 1970 only.
• The concept of International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) for Palk strait came into being through these agreements.
• The IMBL made some former parts of India, a part of Sri Lanka.
• So even these agreements were not free from disputes and thus could not settle the issue boundary and fishing jurisdictions permanently.
• These loopholes in the pacts gave way to new problems, including the recurring incidents of Tamil Nadu fishermen crossing the IMBL and getting caught by the Sri Lankan authorities.

Answer: (b)
Article II does not include political groups or so called “cultural genocide”.
Genocide Convention 1948:
• The term ‘genocide’ is often loosely used when speaking of attacks against various communities across the world.
• It has been defined using set criteria in the UN’s Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, moved in the General Assembly in 1948.
• It says, “In the present Convention, genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such:
1. Killing members of the group;
2. Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;
3. Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;
4. Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;
5. Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.
• As per this convention the genocide is a crime whether committed during wartime or peacetime.
• India ratified the convention in 1959; there is no legislation on the subject.
• The definition contained in Article II of the Convention describes genocide as a crime committed with the intent to destroy a national, ethnic, racial or religious group, in whole or in part. It does not include political groups or so called “cultural genocide”.

Answer: (b)
Gatka originated when the 6th Sikh Guru Hargobind adopted ‘Kirpan’ for self-defense during the Mughal era. Option B is the correct statement.
A. Gatka primarily focuses on unarmed combat techniques.
• This statement is incorrect. Gatka is a martial art that emphasizes sword and stick fighting skills, not unarmed combat techniques. It incorporates the use of weapons such as wooden sticks (soti) and shields (farri).
C. Gatka originated as a form of stick fighting with sharp swords.
• This statement is partially correct. While Gatka is derived from earlier martial arts like Shastar Vidya, it is a toned-down version where sharp swords have been replaced by wooden sticks and shields for safety during practice.
D. The Gatka Federation of India (GFI) was formed in the 19th century to promote the sport.
• This statement is incorrect. The Gatka Federation of India (GFI) was formed in 2008, not in the 19th century. It was established to promote Gatka as a sport and showcase self-defense and fighting skills.

Answer: (b)
The fundamental object of the Panchayati Raj system is to ensure people participation at the local level. So statement 1 is correct
Political accountability refers to the responsibility or obligation of government officials (both politicians and civil servants) to act in the best interests of society or face consequences. So statement 2 is not correct
It aims at providing Democratic Decentralization which is the devolution of power and resources from the center to elected representatives at lower levels in order to allow individuals to participate more directly in governance. So statement 3 is correct
Financial mobilization is not the fundamental objective of PRls. Even though Panchayats have the power to collect revenue. So statement 4 is not correct