Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: UNSC
Mains level: Paper 2- India-Switzerland relations
Context
Two countries will commemorate next year the 75th anniversary of the signing in New Delhi of the 1948 Treaty of Friendship.
Cooperation between two countries in various area
- Switzerland and Indian partners are collaborating on digital transformation, sustainability, health, life sciences, medtech, infrastructure, cleantech, fintech, blockchain, AI and robotics.
- Innovation and investment continue to be the primary drivers of our bilateral relations.
- With over 330 Swiss companies, Switzerland is the 12th largest investor in India.
- About 100 Swiss companies manufacture locally and support the Make in India initiative.
- Trade talks between Switzerland (European Free Trade Association EFTA) and India are high on the priority list.
- Digitalisation is emerging as a relatively new area of engagement with enormous potential for Switzerland and India.
- Switzerland plays a leading role in researching new technologies and is home to many innovative and world-leading technology companies.
- As one of the most innovative countries of the world, Switzerland seeks to engage with India, the leader of the Industry 4.0 revolution, in areas ranging from digital governance to digital self-determination.
Switzerland in UNSC as non-permanent member
- Switzerland was elected to the United Nations Security Council as a non-permanent member for the first time this year in June.
- Convergence in priorities at Security Council: There are convergences in Swiss and Indian priorities at the UN Security Council.
- Switzerland, like India, is committed to a robust and effective multilateral system.
- In the Security Council, Switzerland will do everything possible to ensure sustainable peace.
- Many years ago, from 1971 to 1976, Switzerland represented India’s interests in Pakistan and vice versa.
- In the Security Council, Switzerland will focus on the protection of civilians and on international humanitarian law.
- Impact of climate change on security: Switzerland will also address climate change and its impact on security.
- Reforms of Security Council: Switzerland desires effective UN institutions.
- India has been advocating for a reform of the Security Council.
- Switzerland’s fourth priority in 2023 and 2024 will be to contribute to improving the United Nations Security Council’s effectiveness towards greater transparency and accountability.
Conclusion
Two countries can together contribute to global good. This engagement is a result of not only our shared priorities, but also our shared democratic values and foreign policy independence.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 2- Disruptions in legislatures
Context
The inability of Parliament to transact any business and the lack of serious deliberation must be a matter of grave concern for all.
Purpose of deliberative democracy
- In a deliberative democracy, Parliament works as a special purpose vehicle for the legislative scrutiny of bills, grievance redressal and debate on policies and related governance issues.
- Its failure to transact business is a sad commentary on three aspects — Members of Parliament, the presiding officers as well as the rules and regulations that define the functioning of both Houses.
How disruption affects Member of Parliaments
- For any parliamentarian, it is extremely disappointing to be unable to speak in the House for which he or she has — in most cases —given notice and come prepared.
- And when this happens too often, their enthusiasm decreases.
- Impact on quality of debate: In such a situation, members are often tempted to make a popular intervention than a substantive one.
- This certainly impacts the quality of debates negatively.
Challenges for presiding officer
- For the presiding officers too, preventing disruptions is a serious challenge.
- Perhaps presiding officers can emulate the courts of law.
- Use of in-camera proceedings: Like in courts, the presiding officers need to consider conducting in-camera proceedings in their chambers to insulate at least the Zero Hour and Question Hour from getting washed out.
- While the House remains force-adjourned, presiding officers can order in-camera hearing of questions of MPs and replies of ministers.
- Zero Hour submissions could also be dealt with similarly.
- Some tweaking of existing rules and regulations may facilitate this.
Issues with media coverage of Parliamentary proceedings
- In any polity, systems work effectively when wrongdoers are punished and rule-abiding people are rewarded.
- What happens currently is exactly the opposite, especially in the context of coverage of parliamentary proceedings in mainstream media.
- The space allocated for parliamentary proceedings in both, print and electronic media is shrinking fast.
- Rarely does one finds adequate coverage of Question Hour or Zero Hour compared to the past.
- Debates on bills are also subject to brief and sketchy reporting.
- Although disruptions have become common, they continue to get reported without fail and disruptors often bask in the media limelight.
- As against this, those who make a reasonably good speech — well argued and supported by statistics, examples or case studies — rarely get adequate attention.
- This too hampers the interest of parliamentarians.
- It is high time we rise above the temptations of this tendency and think seriously about systemic reforms.
Conclusion
As the Parliament of independent India enters the eighth decade of its history and prepares to enter a new, more well-equipped and modern Parliament House, it is the right time to think about how we can add value to our deliberative democracy.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Quit India Movement
Mains level: Read the attached story
On this day 80 years ago — on August 9, 1942 — the people of India launched the decisive final phase of the struggle for independence through the Quit India Movement.
Quit India Movement
- It was a mass upsurge against colonial rule on a scale not seen earlier, and it sent out the unmistakable message that the sun was about to set on the British Empire in India.
- Mahatma Gandhi, who had told the Raj to “Quit India” on the previous day (August 8) was already in jail along with the entire Congress leadership.
- So when August 9 dawned, the people were on their own — out on the street, driven by the Mahatma’s call of “Do or Die”.
- This truly people-led movement was eventually crushed violently by the British, but by then it was clear that nothing short of their final departure was acceptable to India’s masses.
The slogan ‘Quit India’
- While Gandhi gave the clarion call of Quit India, the slogan was coined by Yusuf Meherally, a socialist and trade unionist who also served as Mayor of Bombay.
- A few years ago, in 1928, it was Meherally who had coined the slogan “Simon Go Back”.
Build-up to August 1942
- Failure of Cripps Mission: While factors leading to such a movement had been building up, matters came to a head with the failure of the Cripps Mission. With WW2 raging, the beleaguered British government needed the cooperation of its colonial subjects. With this in mind, in March 1942, a mission led by Sir Stafford Cripps arrived in India to meet leaders of the Congress and the Muslim League.
- Betrayal on WW2 Promises: The idea was to secure India’s whole-hearted support in the war, and the return offer to Indians was the promise of self-governance. But things did not go that way.
- No complete freedom: Despite the promise of “the earliest possible realisation of self-government in India”, Cripps only offered dominion status, not freedom.
- Unviable partition plan: Also, there was a provision for the partition of India, which was not acceptable to the Congress.
Gandhiji’s departure from non-violent struggle
- The failure of the Cripps Mission made Gandhi realise that freedom would come only if Indians fought tooth and nail for it.
- The Congress was initially reluctant to launch a movement that could hamper Britain’s efforts to defeat the fascist forces. But it eventually decided on mass civil disobedience.
- At the Working Committee meeting in Wardha in July 1942, it was decided the time had come for the movement to move into an active phase.
Gandhi’s address: Do or Die
- On August 8, 1942, Gandhi addressed the people in the Gowalia Tank maidan in Bombay (Mumbai). “Here is a mantra, a short one that I give you.
- Imprint it on your hearts, so that in every breath you give expression to it,” he said.
- “The mantra is: ‘Do or Die’. We shall either free India or die trying; we shall not live to see the perpetuation of our slavery,” Gandhi said.
- Aruna Asaf Ali hoisted the Tricolour on the ground. The Quit India movement had been officially announced.
- The government cracked down immediately, and by August 9, Gandhi and all other senior Congress leaders had been jailed.
- Gandhi was taken to the Aga Khan Palace in Poona (Pune), and later to Yerwada jail. It was during this time that Kasturba Gandhi died at the Aga Khan Palace.
Course of events
(1) People vs. the Raj
- The arrest of their leaders failed to deter the masses.
- With no one to give directions, people took the movement into their own hands.
- In Bombay, Poona, and Ahmedabad, hundreds of thousands of ordinary Indians clashed with the police.
- The following day (August 10), protests erupted in Delhi, UP, and Bihar.
- There were strikes, demonstrations and people’s marches in defiance of prohibitory orders in Kanpur, Patna, Varanasi, and Allahabad.
- The protests spread rapidly into smaller towns and villages.
- Till mid-September, police stations, courts, post offices, and other symbols of government authority came under repeated attack.
(2) Working class involvement
- Railway tracks were blocked, students went on strike in schools and colleges across India, and distributed illegal nationalist literature.
- Mill and factory workers in Bombay, Ahmedabad, Poona, Ahmednagar, and Jamshedpur stayed away for weeks.
(3) Violent phase
- Bridges were blown up, telegraph wires were cut, and railway lines were taken apart.
Outcome: Brutal suppression
- The Quit India movement was violently suppressed by the British — people were shot and lathi-charged, villages were burnt, and backbreaking fines were imposed.
- In the five months up to December 1942, an estimated 60,000 people had been thrown into jail.
- However, though the movement was quelled, it changed the character of the Indian freedom struggle, with the masses rising up to demand with a passion and intensity like never before.
Try this PYQ:
Q. Quit India Movement was launched in response to:
(a) Cabinet Mission Plan
(b) Cripps Proposals
(c) Simon Commission Report
(d) Wavell Plan
Post your answers here.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Guardianship in India
Mains level: Not Much
A mother and father should have equal rights as guardians of their children and the Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act (HMGA), 1956 should be amended as it discriminates against women, a parliamentary panel has recommended in its report.
Why in news now?
- The said Act does NOT provide for joint guardianship.
- NOR does it recognise the mother as the guardian of the minor legitimate child unless the father is deceased or is found unfit.
- The Act gives preference to father over mother.
- Thus it goes against the right to equality and right against discrimination envisaged under Articles 14 and 15 of the Constitution.
What is Guardianship?
- A guardian is a person appointed to look after another person or his property in India, as per the personal laws of the religion into which the minor was born.
- He or she takes on the responsibility of caring for and protecting the person for whom he or she has been appointed guardian.
- On behalf of the ward’s person and property, the guardian makes all legal decisions.
Guardianship under the Hindu law
- The Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act, 1956, regulates guardianship of minor children in Hindu law (covers Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists in India).
- A minor is described as anyone under the age of eighteen, according to Section 4(a) of the Act.
- A guardian, according to Section 4(b) of the Act, is an individual who is responsible for the child’s care, property, or both.
- The various forms of guardianship in India include:
- Natural guardian: Only three people are considered natural guardians, according to Section 6 of the 1956 Act: the mother, father, and husband.
- Testamentary guardian: A testamentary guardian is a guardian appointed in a will by the natural guardian. A father has the testamentary right to appoint a guardian for his legitimate children or property or both. If the mother is alive after the father’s death, she will be the guardian of the children, and the fathers will be restored only if the mother dies without appointing a guardian.
- Guardian appointed by the court: The court can appoint a guardian to a child under the Guardians and Wards Act, 1890 who would be called a certified guardian. The powers of the certified guardian are also stated in the Act. The Act confers power to district courts.
- De facto guardian: A de facto guardian is someone who has consistently shown an interest in caring for, handling, or managing the infant, his or her property, or both. A de facto guardian is not a legal guardian, and therefore, has no legal authority over the child or the child’s property, but he has assumed responsibility for the child and the property.
- Guardians by affinity: The guardianship of a minor widow by a relative within the degree of sapinda (generation of ancestors) is known as affinity guardianship.
Guardianship under Muslim law
The law of guardianship in Muslims came from certain verses in the religious texts.
- Natural guardian: The only father is considered the natural guardian of a child under Muslim law, and the mother is not considered a natural or other guardian even after the father’s death.
- Testamentary guardian: The term wali, guardian, amin, or kaim-mukam refers to a testamentary guardian.
- Guardian appointed by the court: When natural and testamentary guardians fail, the court has the right to appoint a guardian for the child. The Guardians and Wards Act of 1890 governs the appointment of a guardian for a child from any group.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: PESA Act
Mains level: Not Much
A Political Party has declared a six-point “guarantee” for tribals in Gujarat’s Chhota Udepur district, including the “strict implementation” of The Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act (PESA Act).
What is PESA Act?
- The PESA Act was enacted in 1996 to provide for the extension of the provisions of Part IX of the Constitution relating to the Panchayats to the Scheduled Areas.
- Other than Panchayats, Part IX, comprising Articles 243-243ZT of the Constitution, contains provisions relating to Municipalities and Cooperative Societies.
- Under the PESA Act, Scheduled Areas are those referred to in Article 244(1), which says that the provisions of the Fifth Schedule shall apply to the Scheduled Areas and Scheduled Tribes in states other than Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, and Mizoram.
- The Fifth Schedule provides for a range of special provisions for these areas.
How is the PESA Act, 1996 supposed to work?
- The PESA Act was enacted to ensure self-governance through Gram Sabhas (village assemblies) for people living in the Scheduled Areas.
- It recognises the right of tribal communities to govern themselves through their own systems of self-government, and also acknowledges their traditional rights over natural resources.
- In pursuance of this objective, the Act empowers Gram Sabhas to play a key role in approving development plans and controlling all social sectors.
Special powers accorded by PESA Act includes the:
- Processes and personnel who implement policies
- Exercising control over minor (non-timber) forest resources
- Minor water bodies and minor minerals
- Managing local markets
- Preventing land alienation and
- Regulating intoxicants among other things
States and PESA Act
- State governments are expected to amend their respective Panchayati Raj Acts without making any law that would be inconsistent with the mandate of PESA.
- Ten states — Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan, and Telangana — have notified Fifth Schedule areas that cover partially or fully several districts in each of these states.
- After the PESA Act was enacted, the central Ministry of Panchayati Raj circulated model PESA Rules.
- So far, six states have notified these Rules, including Gujarat.
What is the issue in Gujarat?
- Gujarat notified the State PESA Rules in January 2017, and made them applicable in 4,503 gram sabhas under 2,584 village panchayats in 50 tribal talukas in eight districts of the state.
- The provisions of the law deem the Gram Sabhas as “most competent”.
- However, the Act has not been enforced in letter and spirit.
- The Act lays down that the state must conduct elections in such a way that the tribal representation is to be dominant in the Gram Sabha Committees.
- Yet again, there has been no attempt to proportionally increase the representation.
Try this PYQ:
Q.The Government enacted the Panchayat Extension to Scheduled Areas (PESA) Act in 1996. Which one of the following is not identified as its objective?
(a) To provide self-governance
(b) To recognize traditional rights
(c) To create autonomous regions in tribal areas
(d) To free tribal people from exploitation
Post your answers here.
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