Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Indus river system, Indus Water Treaty
Mains level: Indus Water Treaty
India announced that it wants to modify the 62-year-old Indus Water Treaty (IWT) with Pakistan.
Why India issued notice to Pakistan?
- Unsolicited disputes over Indian hydel projects: India cited Pakistan’s intransigence in resolving disputes over the Kishenganga and Ratle hydropower projects, both in Jammu and Kashmir.
- Dragging arbitration: India protested Pakistan’s “unilateral” decision to approach a court of arbitration at The Hague.
- A foul cry: Pakistan’s move to push the World Bank for a Court of Arbitration ran counter to the pre-existing channel of dispute resolution through a “neutral expert” appointed by the World Bank.
- Renegotiating IWT: The decision to issue notice to Pakistan is a major step and could lead to the unravelling and renegotiation of the water sharing treaty.
Why is Pakistan objecting?
- Pakistan had first raised objections to India’s construction of the 330 MW Kishenganga hydroelectric project on the Jhelum river back in 2006.
- It then objected to plans to construct the 850 MW Ratle Hydroelectric Project on the Chenab river as well.
- Both India and Pakistan differred on whether the technical details of the hydel projects conformed with the treaty, given that the Jhelum and Chenab were part of the “western tributaries”.
What is Indus Water Treaty (IWT)?
- The Indus Waters Treaty is a water-distribution treaty between India and Pakistan, brokered by the World Bank signed in Karachi in 1960.
- According to this agreement, control over the water flowing in three “eastern” rivers of India — the Beas, the Ravi and the Sutlej was given to India
- The control over the water flowing in three “western” rivers of India — the Indus, the Chenab and the Jhelum was given to Pakistan.
Basis of the treaty
- Equitable water-sharing: Back in time, partitioning the Indus rivers system was inevitable after the Partition of India in 1947.
- Empathizing the Partition: The sharing formula devised after prolonged negotiations sliced the Indus system into two halves.
Why is India rethinking on this treaty?
- Mostly favours Pakistan: Equitable it may have seemed, but the fact remained that India conceded 80.52 percent of the aggregate water flows in the Indus system to Pakistan.
- Unnecessarily generous: It also gave Rs 83 crore in pounds sterling to Pakistan to help build replacement canals from the western rivers. Such generosity is unusual of an upper riparian.
- Reclaiming riparian rights: India conceded its upper riparian position on the western rivers for the complete rights on the eastern rivers. Water was critical for India’s development plans.
What were the rights accorded to India?
- Limited irrigation: The treaty allowed India to use western rivers water for limited irrigation use.
- Unrestricted commercial use: It gave powers for unrestricted use for power generation, domestic industrial and non-consumptive uses such as navigation, floating of property, fish culture, etc.
- Hydel projects: It lays down precise regulations to build any water or hydel projects.
- Addressing Pak’s concerns: The pact also gives the right to Pakistan to raise objections to designs of Indian hydroelectric projects on the western rivers.
Significance of the treaty
- Testimonial to peaceful coexistence: It is a treaty that is often cited as an example of the possibilities of peaceful coexistence that exist despite the troubled relationship.
- Survived many hostilities: It has survived 3 crucial wars.
- Most successful bilateral treaty: It is internationally regarded as an example of successful conflict resolution between two countries otherwise locked in a hostile relationship.
Why has the treaty survived?
- India’s generosity: It is for India’s generosity on Pakistan for sharing waters of its own rivers.
- Free flow of waters: India has refrained from weaponizing waters. Pakistan cannot survive without this treaty.
- Huge dependence Pak economy: About 80% of Pakistan’s agriculture depends on Indus and the riparian rivers waters.
- Humanitarian grounds: Floods and droughts will starve ordinary Pakistanis while their politicians would still live in luxury.
- India’s credibility: Backtracking on the treaty could affect India’s stand as global reliable partner who disrespects bilateral agreements.
Why should India rethink?
- Blow of terroristan: PM Modi’s words hold relevance that “Blood and waters cannot flow together”.
- A tit for tat: If India wants, it can either flood or drought-starve Pakistan by not obligating to this treaty.
Way forward
- The role of India, as a responsible upper riparian abiding by the provisions of the treaty, has been remarkable.
- However, India needs to rethink or re-negotiate this treaty.
- Just like water affects ordinary Pakistanis, so does terrorism affects Indians.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Poorna Swaraj Declaration
Mains level: Not Much
Since 1950, January 26, Republic Day has marked the day India’s Constitution came into effect.
However, the Constitution was prepared the way before the chosen date, adopted officially by the Constituent Assembly on November 26, 1949.
Why do we celebrate our Republic Day on January 26, then?
- The answer lies in the history of the Indian freedom struggle during which the date held significance since 1930.
- On January 26, 1930, the historic “Poorna Swaraj” declaration was officially promulgated, beginning the final phase of India’s freedom struggle where the goal would be complete independence from British rule.
Republic Day: The context of the 1920s
- The Non-Cooperation Movement ended unceremoniously in February 1922 after the Chauri Chaura incident.
- Mahatma Gandhi, at the time, felt that the country was “not yet ready” for his non-violent methods of protest.
- Thus, the 1920s did not see further mobilisation at the scale that was seen during the Non Cooperation Movement and the anti-Rowlatt Satyagraha.
Precursor to the Poorna Swaraj Demand
- 1920s saw the rise of revolutionaries like Bhagat Singh and Chandrashekhar Azad.
- It witnessed the coming of age of a new generation of Congress leaders such as Nehru, Subhash Chandra Bose, Vallabhai Patel and C Rajagopalachari,
- Hence the 1920s laid the ground for the future course of India’s freedom struggle.
- Notably, in 1927, British Authorities appointed the Simon Commission – a seven-man, all European team under Sir John Simon – to deliberate on political reforms in India.
- This sent a wave of outrage and discontentment across the country.
Nehru Report and its protagonism for Dominion Status
- For the first time since 1922, protests against the Simon Commission spread nationwide, with chants of “Simon Go Back” echoing across the country.
- In response, the INC appointed its own commission under Motilal Nehru.
- The Nehru Report demanded that India be granted dominion status within the Empire.
- In the Balfour Declaration of 1926, dominions were defined as “autonomous communities within the British Empire, equal in status, in no way subordinate one to another in any aspect of their domestic or external affairs.
- Dominions were to be united by a common allegiance to the Crown and freely associated as members of the British Commonwealth of Nations.
Do you know?
In 1926, countries like Canada, Australia and New Zealand were granted dominion status.
Internal disagreement within the Congress over Dominion Status
- Crucially, even within Congress, the (Motilal) Nehru Report did not enjoy universal support.
- Young leaders such as Bose and Jawaharlal Nehru wanted India to break all ties with the British Empire.
- They argued that under dominion status, while India would enjoy a certain level of autonomy, the British Parliament and Crown would still have the ability to meddle in Indian affairs.
- Importantly, for both Bose and Nehru, attaining dominion status would make India party to colonial exploitation elsewhere in the British Empire, mainly Africa.
- With a far more radical worldview than their predecessors, Bose and Nehru looked at anti-colonialism not only as a local political issue for India but in a more global lens.
- However, Gandhi was still very much for dominion status, arguing that it would be a welcome step in India’s anti-colonial struggle. His views would soon change.
Irwin’s retreat from the Dominion status promise
- In 1929, Viceroy Irwin had vaguely announced that India would be granted dominion status in the future.
- Known as the Irwin Declaration, it was warmly welcomed by Indians but faced massive backlash back in Britain.
- The British population was still pro-Empire and India was seen as the Empire’s Crown Jewel.
- Importantly, as the world economy went into a recession, India was arguably Britain’s most valuable colony with its vast land, resources, and population crucial for its economy.
- Thus, under pressure from back home, Irwin went back on his word.
Realizing the bluff
- In a meeting with Gandhi, Muslim League’s Jinnah and a few other leaders, he said that he could not promise India dominion status any time soon.
- This would be a turning point as the Congress grew increasingly united on the issue.
- With the British unable to follow through on even reasonable reforms, Indians supported increasingly “radical” goals – a fully independent republic being one of the first.
Declaration of Poorna Swaraj
- The Lahore Session of the INC convened in December 1929.
- On December 19, the historic “Poorna Swaraj” resolution was passed in the session.
- This declaration of Independence was officially promulgated on January 26, 1930.
- The Congress urged Indians to come out and celebrate “independence” on that day.
- The Indian tricolour was hoisted across the country by Congress party workers and patriotic songs were sung as the country reconfigured its strategy for Independence.
- It is with this declaration that India’s national movement “shifted from the language of charity to the language of justice.”
Republic Day in post-Independence India
- From 1930 till India finally won its independence in 1947, January 26 was celebrated as “Independence Day” or “Poorna Swaraj Day” with Indians reaffirming their commitment towards sovereignty on that day.
- However, India won independence from the British on August 15, exactly two years after the Japanese surrendered to the Allies to end World War II.
- When leaders had to decide on a day to promulgate India’s new constitution, January 26 was thought to be ideal.
- Not only did this date already hold nationalist significance, the Constitution in many ways reflected the “Poorna Swaraj” declaration of two decades back.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Immune Imprinting
Mains level: NA
A slew of recent studies has shown that a phenomenon in our bodies, called immune imprinting, might be making new boosters vaccines far less effective than expected for coronavirus infection.
What is Immune Imprinting?
- Immune imprinting is a tendency of the body to repeat its immune response based on the first variant it encountered.
- Our body does this through infection or vaccination — when it comes across a newer or slightly different variant of the same pathogen.
- The phenomenon was first observed in 1947, when scientists noted that “people who had previously had flu, and were then vaccinated against the current circulating strain, produced antibodies against the first strain.
- At the time, it was termed the ‘original antigenic sin’ but today, it’s commonly known as imprinting.
How imprinting works for immune system?
- Imprinting acts as a database for the immune system, helping it put up a better response to repeat infections.
- After our body is exposed to a virus for the first time, it produces memory B cells that circulate in the bloodstream and quickly produce antibodies whenever the same strain of the virus infects again.
- The problem occurs when a similar, not identical, variant of the virus is encountered by the body.
- In such cases, the immune system, rather than generating new B cells, activates memory B cells.
- This in turn produce antibodies that bind to features found in both the old and new strains, known as cross-reactive antibodies.
Are the booster doses completely useless?
- These cross-reactive antibodies do offer some protection against the new strain,.
- However they are not as effective as the ones produced by the B cells when the body first came across the original virus.
How to circumvent immune imprinting?
- Currently, several ongoing studies are trying to find a way to deal with imprinting.
- Some scientists have said nasal vaccines might be better at preventing infections than injected ones.
- They believe the mucous membranes would create stronger protection, despite carrying some imprint of past exposure.
- Researchers are also trying to find if spacing out coronavirus vaccine shots on an annual basis, could help with the problem of imprinting.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Ramchatrimanas, Tulsidas
Mains level: Bhakti Movement
Tulsidas has come into controversy due to some of its verses (Chaupai) mentioned in the Ramcharitmanas.
Who was Tulsidas?
- Tulsidas, a Brahmin whose original name was Ram Bola Dubey, is believed to have been born in Rajapur by the Yamuna in today’s Banda district.
- He composed the Ramcharitmanas on the bank of the Ganga in Varanasi — he is said to have begun writing on Ram Navami day in 1574, and completed the poem over the next few years.
- Tulsidas lived in the time of Emperor Akbar, and some believe that he was in touch with Abdurrahim Khan-e-Khanan, the son of Akbar’s commander Bairam Khan.
The Ramcharitmanas
- The poem was written in the 16th century in the Awadhi dialect that is mainly spoken in the areas that are today’s Lucknow, Prayagraj, and Ayodhya districts.
- It was written in the Avdhi dialect. The sacred chant ‘Hanuman Chalisa’ is a part of it.
- It is divided into seven chapters (Kand) that tell the story of Lord Ram from birth to his becoming King of Ayodhya.
Why is Ramcharitmanas so famous?
- The Ramcharitmanas is based on the Ramayana, sage Valmiki’s great epic.
- It is the holiest book of the Indo-Gangetic region, and among the world’s most read holy books — by one estimate, Geeta Press (Gorakhpur) has sold almost 7 crore copies.
- Across the Hindi heartland, a reference to “Ramayan” often actually means Ramcharitmanas.
- Tulsidas made the story of Lord Ram popular among the masses because he wrote in the regional dialect that most people understood.
Tulisdas and political controversies
- While in the Ramcharitmanas, Lord Ram is maryada purushottam, the epitome of righteousness, his conduct has been criticised by leaders of anti-Brahmin movements like E V Ramasamy Periyar.
- One of the 22 pledges that Dr B R Ambedkar administered to his followers while embracing Buddhism in October 1956 was: “I shall have no faith in Rama and Krishna, who are believed to be incarnation of God, nor shall I worship them.”
- Non-upper caste assertion in politics has sometimes been manifested in criticism of the Ramcharitmanas.
- Critics have used these parts of the poem to accuse Tulsidas of being against the non-upper castes and women, and a flagbearer of the idea of Brahminical superiority.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Particulars of Republic day parade
Mains level: Women in combat, advantages and challenges
Context
- Watching women lead many of the contingents in the 74th Republic Day parade in New Delhi was encouraging. Their presence was heartening and something for future generations of girls to emulate. While much was made about the induction of women fighter pilots, we need to see how many more have been inducted since then.
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- Nari shakti dominated the parade: Nari Shakti dominated the 74th Republic Day parade as women officers led the marching contingents of the armed forces, CRPF, Akash missile system and Army’s Daredevil team
- first ever women armed police battalion: In a first, the marching contingent of the CRPF, which has the distinction of raising the first-ever women-armed police battalion in the world, had all women personnel this time.
- BSF women on the borders: Also, for the first time, BSF women soldiers in colorful uniforms who have been deployed along the desert border with Pakistan joined the parade as part of the camel contingent.
Light on whether induction of women is mere tokenism?
- Opening up of opportunities for women: Among the best developments of recent times is the opening of opportunities for girls and young women in Sainik schools and the National Defence Academy.
- As more women on the field, less logistical issues: Once they don the uniform and there are many more women on the field, then the logistical issues will become less relevant.
- Promotion for the rank of colonel: The recent news about women being considered in the promotion board for the rank of colonel and subsequently, to command units is tremendously empowering.
- Military remains an excellent example: The military is an excellent place for women to work in and it is the military’s responsibility to not break that faith.
Women in commands: Significance
- Leadership opportunity: Despite working at the grassroots level as junior officers, women officers hitherto did not get an opportunity to prove their leadership skills as they were not eligible to command a unit.
- Gender parity: Most importantly, it grants women officer’s parity with their male counterparts.
- Higher ranks: Earlier promotions were staff appointments which are more administrative in nature and not purely command appointments in which an officer commands troops on ground.
- Benefits after permanent commission: With a longer career in the Army, women officers will be considered for promotions, including to the rank of Colonel and beyond.
How are women still discriminated?
- Women are still not eligible in core combat arms such as Infantry, Mechanised Infantry and Armoured Corps.
- Indian Army is not open to women fighting wars at the borders as foot soldiers.
- Much of this resistance stems from past instances of male soldiers being taken as prisoners of war and tortured by the enemy.
- However, the Army has recently decided to open the Corps of Artillery, a combat support arm, to women.
What more needs to be done?
- Promoting gender equality at the Parade: It is a great idea to have women’s contingents, with the theme of Nari Shakti, at the parade. However, we must refrain from describing this as an opportunity that has been given to them.
- Challenges in achieving gender equality in frontline forces: The slow and steady induction of women in ranks below the officer level in a paramilitary force like the Assam Rifles is a far cry from enabling women to be part of the frontline force, as part of the Kumaon Regiment, for example. The regiment’s war cry may be Kalika mata ki jai, but it stops there.
Way ahead
- The military, just like any other institution, is but a reflection of society and, like the other institutions, it is also subject to reform and change for the advancement of society as a whole.
- We must push for this alongside cheering for Captain Shikha Sharma, the first woman in the Daredevil squad, who so effortlessly displayed her skills at the parade.
Conclusion
- Republic Day parade did well to celebrate Nari Shakti. But the day after R-Day, much more needs to be done on inclusion of women in the force.
Mains question
Q. Nari shakti said to be dominated the India’s 74th republic day parade. In this context highlight the Significance Women in commands and discuss the challenges.
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