Manthan 2.0 January 2024 Week 1 PDF

MANTHAN 2.O JANUARY 2024 : WEEK-1 Page 1 Manthan 2.O | January 2024 : Week-1 Contents 1. What are VVPATs, and why has Jairam Ramesh written to EC about them?.......................................... 3 2. Why has the...

MANTHAN 2.O JANUARY 2024 : WEEK-1 Page 1 Manthan 2.O | January 2024 : Week-1 Contents 1. What are VVPATs, and why has Jairam Ramesh written to EC about them?.......................................... 3 2. Why has the Indian Science Congress been postponed?.................................................................................. 6 3. Why a Bangladesh court has sentenced Nobel prize winner Muhammad Yunus to jail................ 10 4. Remembering independent India’s ‘Jallianwala Bagh’: The Kharsawan massacre of 1948......... 14 5. ISRO launches XPoSat: What is the mission and its significance?............................................................. 18 6. Uttarakhand CM forms panel to examine 2022 land law committee report: What is the issue — and what did the report say....................................................................................................................... 22 7. Navy unveils new epaulettes for Admirals: What are the changes, what do they signify?.......... 24 8. ULFA peace accord: history of its 44-year-long insurgency, peace talks............................................... 27 9. Warming up to climate change: Is Earth becoming warmer?..................................................................... 29 10. Justice Gavai nominated as SC Legal Services Committee chairman: What law says on free legal aid in India................................................................................................................................................................ 31 Page 2 Manthan 2.O | January 2024 : Week-1 1. What are VVPATs, and why has Jairam Ramesh written to EC about them?  Congress leader Jairam Ramesh wrote to Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, requesting that a team of INDIA group leaders be provided an opportunity to meet him and his colleagues to put forward their point of view on VVPATs.  In his letter to Rajiv Kumar, Jairam Ramesh said that INDIA front leaders had requested an appointment with the ECI to “discuss and provide suggestions on the use of VVPATs” based on a resolution passed at a meeting of leaders of the bloc the previous day.  The resolution had called for 100% verification of VVPAT slips. What are VVPATs?  When a vote is cast, the Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machine, which is attached to the ballot unit (BU) of the Electronic Voting  Machine (EVM), prints out a slip of paper with the voter’s choice indicated on it.  Though it remains behind glass, the printed slip is visible for seven seconds so the voter can see that the vote has been recorded correctly, before it falls into a box underneath.  The idea of the VVPAT machine first emerged in 2010, when the EC held a meeting with political parties to discuss the EVM and ways to make the polling process more transparent.  After discussing the idea, the EC referred the matter to its Technical Expert Committee.  A prototype was prepared by the two PSUs that manufacture EVMs – Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and Electronics Corporation of India (ECIL). Subsequently, field trials were held in Ladakh, Thiruvananthapuram, Cherrapunjee, East Delhi and Jaisalmer in July 2011.  Finally, after fine-tuning the design, holding more trials and taking feedback from political parties, the expert committee approved the design of the VVPAT in February 2013.  The Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961 were amended in 2013 to allow for a printer with a drop box to be attached to the EVM.  The VVPAT was used for the first time in all 21 polling stations of the Noksen Assembly constituency of Nagaland in 2013, after which the EC decided to introduce VVPATs in a phased manner.  From June 2017, 100% of VVPATs began to be used in polls, and the 2019 Lok Sabha elections became the first general election to have 100% of EVMs being attached to VVPATs. What percentage of VVPAT slips are counted as of now?  When it came time to decide what percentage of the VVPAT slips should actually be counted to verify the accuracy, the EC asked the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) in 2018 to come up with a “mathematically sound, statistically robust and practically cogent sample size for the internal audit of the VVPAT slips with electronic result of EVMs”, the EC affidavit said.  The EC also met political parties to discuss the issue, where demands for 10% to 100% counting emerged.  In February 2018, the EC mandated the counting of VVPAT slips of one randomly selected polling station per Assembly constituency. Page 3 Manthan 2.O | January 2024 : Week-1   This was increased to five polling stations per Assembly seat, following a Supreme Court judgment in April 2019 on a petition filed by TDP leader Chandrababu Naidu.  Meanwhile, the ISI report to the EC in March 2019 recommended that a random sample of 479 EVMs be selected for counting of VVPAT slips.  “If for each of the selected machines, the EVM count matches with the VVPAT count, then it can be concluded with an extremely high statistical confidence (more than 99.993665752% confidence) that the proportion of defective EVMs is less than 2%,” the ISI report said. Why does the INDIA alliance want 100% counting of VVPAT slips?  In its resolution passed the INDIA alliance stated: “Instead of the VVPAT slip falling in the box, it should be handed over to the voter who shall then place it in a separate ballot box after having verified his or her choice. 100% counting of VVPAT slips should then be done.  This will restore full confidence of the people in free and fair elections”. What has the EC said?  Last year, the EC told the Supreme Court that verification of VVPATs of five randomly selected polling stations per Assembly seat, with more than 4,000 total Assembly seats in India, translated to 20,600 EVM-VVPAT systems – well above the ISI’s recommendation of 479.  In Lok Sabha and Assembly elections so far, the EC said, 38,156 VVPATs have been checked randomly.  “Not a single case of transfer of vote meant for candidate ‘A’ to candidate ‘B’ has been detected,” the EC said.  But, the EC did admit that “differences in count, if any, have always been traceable to human errors like non-deletion of mock poll votes” from the control unit of the EVM or the VVPAT.  Since the introduction of VVPATs in 2017, the EC said it had received 25 complaints (including 17 during the 2019 Lok Sabha polls) out of the 118 crore voters who have cast their votes. It said all these complaints were found to be false.  The EC said the VVPAT was “essentially an audit trail” so the voter could verify the vote at that instant, but following Supreme Court orders, the slips were being tallied on a “statistically robust basis”.  The EC said pressing for 100% verification was a “regressive thought and tantamount to going back to the days of manual voting using ballot system”. It said manual counting of all VVPAT slips would take time and introduce the potential of human error.  This is a revised and updated version of an earlier explainer that was published on September 12, 2022. Election Commission of India  The Election Commission of India (ECI) is a constitutional body. It was established by the Constitution of India to conduct and regulate elections in the country.  Article 324 of the Constitution provides that the power of superintendence, direction, and control of elections to parliament, state legislatures, the office of the president of India, and the office of vice- president of India shall be vested in the election commission.  Thus, the Election Commission is an all-India body in the sense that it is common to both the Central government and the state governments.  The body administers elections to the Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, State Legislative Assemblies, State Legislative Councils and the offices of the President and Vice President of the country.  The Election Commission operates under the authority of Constitution per Article 324, and subsequently enacted Representation of the People Act. Page 4 Manthan 2.O | January 2024 : Week-1   The commission has the powers under the Constitution, to act in an appropriate manner when the enacted laws make insufficient provisions to deal with a given situation in the conduct of an election.  It is a permanent constitutional body. Structure  The commission was established in 1950 and originally only had one Chief Election Commissioner.  Two additional Commissioners were appointed to the commission for the first time on 16 October 1989 (on the eve of the 1989 General Election), but they had a very short tenure, ending on 1 January 1990.  “The Election Commissioner Amendment Act, 1989” was adopted on 1 January 1990 which turned the commission into a multi-member body: a 3-member Commission has been in operation since then and the decisions by the commission are made by a majority vote.  The commission is served by its secretariat located in New Delhi.  The Election Commissioners are assisted by Deputy Election Commissioners, who are generally IAS officers. They are further assisted by Directors General, Principal Secretaries, and Secretaries and Under Secretaries.  At the state level, Election Commission is assisted by the Chief Electoral Officer of the State, who is an IAS officer of Principal Secretary rank.  At the district and constituency levels, the District Magistrates (in their capacity as District Election Officers), Electoral Registration Officers and Returning Officers perform election work. Tenure  The tenure of election commissioners is not prescribed by Indian Constitution.  However, according to the 1991 Election Commission Act, the Chief Election Commissioner or an Election Commissioner shall hold office for a term of six years, or up to the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier, from the date on which he/she assumes his/her office. Removal from office  The Chief Election Commissioner of India can be represented removed from their office in a manner similar to the removal of a judge of the Supreme Court of India which requires a resolution passed by the Parliament of India a two-thirds majority in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha on the grounds of proved misbehaviour or incapacity.  Other Election Commissioners can be removed by the President of India on the recommendation of the Chief Election Commissioner.  A Chief Election Commissioner has never been impeached in India.  In 2009, just before the 2009 Lok Sabha Elections, Chief Election Commissioner N. Gopalaswami sent a recommendation to President Prathibha Patil to remove Election Commissioner Navin Chawla, who was soon to take office as the chief election commissioner and to subsequently supervise the Lok Sabha general election, a potential conflict of interest considering his partisan political party behavior.  The President opined that such a recommendation is not binding on the president, and hence rejected it.  Subsequently, after Gopalswami’s retirement the next month, Chawla became the chief election commissioner and supervised the 2009 Lok Sabha general elections. QUESTIONS Fill in the Blank: 1. According to the 1991 Election Commission Act, the Chief Election Commissioner or an Election Commissioner shall hold office for a term of ______________, or up to the age of 65 years. Page 5 Manthan 2.O | January 2024 : Week-1  2. The idea of the VVPAT machine first emerged in ______________, when the EC held a meeting with political parties to discuss the EVM and ways to make the polling process more transparent. 3. The election commission was established in ______________ and originally only had one ______________. 4. When a vote is cast, the ______________ (VVPAT) machine, which is attached to the ballot unit (BU) of the Electronic Voting (EVM), prints out a slip of paper with the voter’s choice indicated on it. 5. The Election Commission of India (ECI) is a ______________ body. 6. ______________ of the Constitution provides that the power of superintendence, direction, and control of elections to parliament, state legislatures, the office of the president of India, and the office of vice-president of India shall be vested in the election commission. 7. The Election Commission is an ______________ body in the sense that it is common to both the ______________ government and the ______________ governments. 8. ______________ was established by the Constitution of India to conduct and regulate elections in the country. 9. The Election Commission operates under the authority of Constitution per ______________, and subsequently enacted ______________. 10. The Election commission is served by its secretariat located in ______________. 2. Why has the Indian Science Congress been postponed?  The Indian Science Congress, the largest gathering of scientists and students of science in the country and a permanent annual fixture in the calendar of the participant group for more than a century, has been postponed.  The five-day event will not begin on its customary date, January 3.  There is no firm word on when — and whether — the congress will meet this year. Is the postponement of the Indian Science Congress a big deal? Why?  The postponement is unprecedented. With the exception of the two years following the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic— 2021 and 2022 — the Indian Science Congress has been held every year since 1914.  The 108th edition of the Congress was held in Nagpur from January 3-7, 2023.  The congress is inaugurated by the Prime Minister. It is a permanent fixture on the PM’s calendar, and is usually his/her first public engagement of the new year.  Prime Minister Narendra Modi had addressed the Science Congress by video link last year, and had called for harnessing scientific knowledge for societal needs and to make India self-reliant. He had inaugurated all previous congresses during his tenure in person.  The Science Congress is a one-of-its-kind event, which brings together scientists and researchers from not just the country’s premier institutions and laboratories, but also teachers of science from colleges Page 6 Manthan 2.O | January 2024 : Week-1  and universities, and offers them a platform to interact with students and the general public on matters relating to science.  The congress has had a glorious past, with the who’s who of Indian science participating and serving as the event’s organisers. So why then has the Science Congress been postponed this year?  The crisis is the fallout of an unresolved disagreement between the Indian Science Congress Association (ISCA), a registered society that organises the event, and the Department of Science and Technology (DST) in the Union Ministry of Science and Technology, the main funder of the congress.  In September 2023, the DST pulled funding support to the congress, alleging “financial irregularities”. The ISCA denied the accusation, and challenged the DST’s directive that government funds should not be spent on anything related to the Science Congress, in court. This only deepened the rift. The lawsuit remains pending.  The DST’s contribution (which was raised to Rs 5 crore in 2023 from Rs 3 crore earlier) pays for most of the event’s expenses. The ISCA also receives some funding from a few other government bodies, and raises some more from its members and by renting out space for exhibitions etc. during the event.  The ISCA had decided to move this year’s congress from the original venue, Lucknow University, to the private Lovely Professional University (LPU) in Jalandhar in the hope of receiving some funding.  While LPU had also hosted the 106th Science Congress in 2019, the DST was said to be unhappy with the ISCA’s choice for this year.  The ISCA, however, argued that its executive committee does not need the DST’s clearance for the venue, and that a DST representative was in any case present when LPU was chosen.  Amid this tussle, LPU last month withdrew its offer to host the event. Was this crisis for the Science Congress not foreseen by the organisers?  The Science Congress has in fact, been in steady decline over the past several years.  The glory days of the gathering are clearly over, and it has of late been in the news more for the controversies that it has generated than for any serious scientific discussion or useful outcomes.  Random speakers have used the platform to make outlandish claims and promote pseudoscience, which have drawn ridicule.  The papers that are presented or the talks that are delivered, hardly reflect the latest advancements in science.  Most of India’s credible scientists now avoid the event.  Leading scientific institutions and laboratories have only a token presence, if at all. Most attendees are from colleges and universities with limited scientific credentials.  Several top scientists have, in fact, said that the event should be discontinued, or the government should withdraw support to it. There has been talk of reforms for the past couple of decades, but nothing much has changed. But what exactly is the government’s dilemma here?  The ISCA is an independent body, and the government has no role to play in the selection of the panelists or speakers, the papers to be presented, or the subjects to be discussed at the Science Congress.  But at the same time, the ISCA runs with DST support. Besides the annual grant for the Science Congress, the government also pays the salaries of the ISCA’s permanent staff. Page 7 Manthan 2.O | January 2024 : Week-1   And because the congress is inaugurated by the PM and attended by other ministers and senior officials, it is perceived as being closely associated with the government.  As such, every time the event lands in controversy the government is blamed.  Also, while the event is presented as a showcase scientific forum in India, its proceedings often convey an unflattering and frequently embarrassing picture of Indian science internationally. And what has the government done about this situation?  There has in fact been a strong sentiment within the government in favour of reviewing its association with the Science Congress.  This feeling predates the current government — back in 2008, then Science Minister Kapil Sibal was said to be so upset with the goings-on at the congress that he had explored the possibility of discontinuing government support until some reforms were introduced.  However, governments have been reluctant to actually go ahead on this path.  They have been wary of opening themselves up to accusations of being “anti-science”.  They have also been mindful that the event attracts a large number of students from across the country, and this is their only opportunity to interact with some well known scientists, and be exposed to new developments in science.  The government has been scaling down its involvement in the Science Congress.  The PM no longer presents the awards at the inaugural plenary — some past awardees were subsequently found to have dubious credentials — and the number of people who share the stage with the PM at the inauguration has been significantly reduced. Is this year’s postponement a signal that the Science Congress could be approaching the end of the road?  ISCA general secretary Ranjit Kumar Verma has said that while the postponement is unfortunate, it does not mean the end of Science Congress.  We will hopefully be able to organise the Science Congress before March 31 and we are hopeful that the Prime Minister will attend the event,” he said.  “There was a disagreement over the funding for this year’s event, but this does not mean that there would be no support for all future events.  Discussions for collaboration will continue for the Science Congress scheduled for 2025,” he said.  Scientists have said that one way to reform the Science Congress could be to develop an alternative forum where top Indian and global scientists could be invited to talk about the latest developments in the scientific world and their impacts on our lives.  Such events are organised in many countries, and are extremely popular. They also serve as platforms to get younger citizens and the general public excited about science, and help in the cultivation of scientific temper, which is one of the main purposes of the Science Congress as well.  Such an alternative forum could also help to make Indian science more competitive, and could lead to an increase in collaborative research with leading scientific groups and institutions. Indian Science Congress Association  Indian Science Congress Association (ISCA) is a premier scientific organisation of India with headquarters at Kolkata, West Bengal.  The association started in the year 1914 in Kolkata and it meets annually in the first week of January. Page 8 Manthan 2.O | January 2024 : Week-1   It has a membership of more than 30,000 scientists.  The first Indian Science Congress was held in 1914 at the Asiatic Society in Calcutta.  After attracting various speech-related controversies in recent years, the association established a policy that requires speakers at future conferences to be vetted and scrutinizes the content of their talks.  Several prominent Indian and foreign scientists, including Nobel laureates, attend and speak in the congress. Objectives The Association was formed with the following objectives :  To advance and promote the cause of science in India;  To hold an annual congress at a suitable place in India;  To publish such proceedings, journals, transactions and other publications as may be considered desirable;  To secure and manage funds and endowments for the promotion of Science including the rights of disposing of or selling all or any portion of the properties of the Association;  To do and perform any or all other acts, matters and things as are conductive to, or incidental to, or necessary for, the above objects. Indian Science Congress sessions First Congress  The first meeting of the congress was held from 15 to 17 January 1914 at the premises of the Asiatic Society, Calcutta.  Ashutosh Mukherjee, the then Vice Chancellor of the University of Calcutta presided over the Congress.  One hundred and five scientists from different parts of India and abroad attended it.  Altogether 35 papers under 6 different sections, namely Botany, Chemistry, Ethnography, Geology, Physics and Zoology were presented. Silver Jubilee  The Silver Jubilee Session of the Science Congress was held at Calcutta in 1938 under the presidency of Ernest Rutherford but due to his sudden death, James Jeans took the chair.  It was at this Jubilee Session that the participation of foreign scientists in session of the Indian Science Congress was first initiated. QUESTIONS Fill in the Blank: 1. The Secretariat of DOS and ISRO Headquarters are located at Antariksh Bhavan in _________. 2. The ISCA is an _________ body. 3. _________ hosted the 106th Science Congress in 2019. 4. The Silver Jubilee Session of the Science Congress was held under the presidency of _________ but due to his sudden death, James Jeans took the chair. 5. The Silver Jubilee Session of the Science Congress was held at _________ in 1938. 6. The first meeting of the congress was held at the premises of the _________. 7. The 108th edition of the Congress was held in _________ from January 3-7, 2023. Page 9 Manthan 2.O | January 2024 : Week-1  8. Indian Science Congress Association (ISCA) is a premier scientific organisation of India with headquarters at _________. 9. The Indian Science Congress Association started in the year 1914 in _________ and it meets annually in the first week of _________. 10. Altogether 35 papers under 6 different sections, namely Botany, Chemistry, Ethnography, Geology, Physics and _________ were presented. 3. Why a Bangladesh court has sentenced Nobel prize winner Muhammad Yunus to jail  Nobel prize winner Muhammad Yunus was sentenced to six months in jail by a court in Bangladesh for violating the country’s labour laws.  The 83-year-old, credited with pioneering the system of micro-finance loans to help impoverished people, was granted bail pending appeal.  While Yunus called the judgement “contrary to all legal precedent and logic”, his supporters said the case was politically motivated.  The professor shares a frosty relationship with Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who once accused him of “sucking blood” from the poor.  Currently, Yunus is facing a wide array of other charges involving alleged corruption and fund embezzlement. Who is Muhammad Yunus?  Born in 1940 in Chittagong, Yunus received his PhD in economics from Vanderbilt University in Tennessee, USA, in 1969 and subsequently, became an assistant professor at Middle Tennessee State University.  After Bangladesh was formed in 1972, he returned to his homeland and was appointed head of the economics department at Chittagong University.  As Bangladesh struggled to stabilise its economy and tackle poverty in the post-independence years, Yunus came up with a unique idea to help the impoverished.  He decided to provide small loans to entrepreneurs who wouldn’t normally qualify for bank loans, on terms suitable to them.  “Following the success of an initial local experiment, Professor Yunus became confident that the model could work on a broader scale and went to set up microcredit projects in other parts of the country.  Within seven years, the initiative took formal shape as the Grameen Bank in 1983,” says an African Development Bank Group profile of him.  Grameen Bank is credited with lifting millions from poverty — it has disbursed collateral-free loans of $34.01 billion among 9.55 million people since its inception.  The recovery rate is 97.22%, the report added. Page 10 Manthan 2.O | January 2024 : Week-1   Owing to the grand success of Grameen Bank, banks based on this model operate in more than 100 countries today.  In 2006, Yunus and Grameen Bank jointly received the Nobel Prize in Peace “for their efforts to create economic and social development from below.” The professor came to be known as the “Banker to the Poor”. Why does Yunus share a tumultuous relationship with Sheikh Hasina?  Soon after winning the Nobel Prize, Yunus began to flirt with the idea of forming his own political party. This didn’t sit well with Hasina, who was in jail at the time under the charges of extortion.  In the following months, Yunus abandoned his plans, saying there wasn’t enough support for his new political movement. Nonetheless, once Hasina returned to power in 2009, her government opened a host of investigations into Yunus’ activities. The prime minister accused him of using force and other means to recover loans from poor rural women as the head of Grameen Bank. Why has Yunus been sentenced to jail?  The Third Court of Dhaka found Yunus’ company, Grameen Telecom, which he founded as a non- profit, guilty of violating labour laws. According to the judgement, 67 of the company employees were supposed to be made permanent, which they were not, and the employees’ participation and welfare funds were not created. Moreover, as per company policy, 5% of the company’s dividends were supposed to be distributed to staff, which was not done.  The court convicted Yunus, as chairman of Grameen Telecom, and three other company directors, sentencing each to six months in jail. Grameen Telecom owns 34% of Bangladesh’s largest mobile phone company, Grameenphone, a subsidiary of Norway’s telecom giant Telenor. What are the other cases against Yunus?  Yunus is said to be facing more than 150 cases. In 2015, he was summoned by Bangladesh’s revenue authorities over non-payment of taxes amounting to $1.51 million. Two years before that, he was put on trial for allegedly receiving money without government permission, including his Nobel Prize award and royalties from a book.  In 2011, Yunus was removed as managing director of Grameen Bank for allegedly violating government retirement regulations.  The mounting litany of cases against Yunus has garnered concern globally. In August last year, 160 international figures, including former US President Barack Obama and ex-UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, signed a joint letter denouncing the “continuous judicial harassment” of Yunus.  The signatories, including more than 100 of his fellow Nobel laureates, said they feared for “his safety and freedom”. Bangladesh  Bangladesh officially the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia.  It is the eighth-most populous country in the world and is among the most densely populated countries with a population of nearly 174 million in an area of 148,460 square kilometres (57,320 sq mi).  Bangladesh shares land borders with India to the west, north, and east, and Myanmar to the southeast; to the south, it has a coastline along the Bay of Bengal.  It is narrowly separated from Bhutan and Nepal by the Siliguri Corridor and from China by the Indian state of Sikkim in the north. Dhaka, the capital and largest city, is the nation’s political, financial, and cultural centre.  Chittagong, the second-largest city, is the busiest port on the Bay of Bengal. The official language is Bengali. Page 11 Manthan 2.O | January 2024 : Week-1   Bangladesh forms the sovereign part of the historic and ethnolinguistic region of Bengal, which was divided during the Partition of India in 1947.  The country has a Bengali Muslim majority. Ancient Bengal was known as Gangaridai and was a bastion of pre-Islamic kingdoms.  Muslim conquests after 1204 heralded the sultanate and Mughal periods, during which an independent Bengal Sultanate and a wealthy Mughal Bengal transformed the region into an important centre of regional affairs, trade, and diplomacy.  After 1757, Bengal’s administrative jurisdiction reached its greatest extent under the Bengal Presidency of the British Empire.  The creation of Eastern Bengal and Assam in 1905 set a precedent for the emergence of Bangladesh. In 1940, the first Prime Minister of Bengal, A. K. Fazlul Huq, supported the Lahore Resolution. Before the partition of Bengal, a Bengali sovereign state was first proposed by premier H. S. Suhrawardy.  A referendum and the announcement of the Radcliffe Line established the present-day territorial boundary.  In 1947, East Bengal became the most populous province in the Dominion of Pakistan.  It was renamed as East Pakistan, with Dhaka becoming the country’s legislative capital.  The Bengali Language Movement in 1952; the East Bengali legislative election, 1954; the 1958 Pakistani coup d’état; the six point movement of 1966; and the 1970 Pakistani general election resulted in the rise of Bengali nationalism and pro-democracy movements.  The refusal of the Pakistani military junta to transfer power to the Awami League, led by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, led to the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971.  The Mukti Bahini, aided by India, waged a successful armed revolution. The conflict saw the Bangladesh genocide and the massacre of pro-independence Bengali civilians, including intellectuals.  The new state of Bangladesh became the first constitutionally secular state in South Asia in 1972.  Islam was declared the state religion in 1988.  In 2010, the Bangladesh Supreme Court reaffirmed secular principles in the constitution.  A middle power in the Indo-Pacific, Bangladesh is home to the sixth-most spoken language in the world, the third-largest Muslim-majority population in the world, and the second-largest economy in South Asia. It maintains the third-largest military in the region and is the largest contributor of personnel to UN peacekeeping operations.  Bangladesh is a unitary Parliamentary republic based on the Westminster system. Bengalis make up 99% of the total population.  The country consists of eight divisions, 64 districts and 495 subdistricts, as well as the world’s largest mangrove forest.  It hosts one of the largest refugee populations in the world due to the Rohingya genocide.  Bangladesh faces many challenges, particularly corruption, political instability, overpopulation and effects of climate change.  Bangladesh has been a leader within the Climate Vulnerable Forum.  It hosts the headquarters of BIMSTEC.  It is a founding member of the SAARC, as well as a member of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the Commonwealth of Nations. Page 12 Manthan 2.O | January 2024 : Week-1 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences  Although not one of the five Nobel Prizes established by Alfred Nobel’s will in 1895, it is commonly referred to as the Nobel Prize in Economics, and is administered and referred to along with the Nobel Prizes by the Nobel Foundation.  Winners of the Prize in Economic Sciences are chosen in a similar manner as and announced alongside the Nobel Prize recipients, and receive the Prize in Economic Sciences at the Nobel Prize Award Ceremony.  That the prize is not an original Nobel Prize has been a subject of controversy, with four of Nobel’s relatives having formally distanced themselves from the Prize in Economic Sciences.  The award was established in 1968 by an endowment “in perpetuity” from Sweden’s central bank, Sveriges Riksbank, to commemorate the bank’s 300th anniversary.  Laureates in the Prize in Economic Sciences are selected by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.  It was first awarded in 1969 to Dutch economist Jan Tinbergen and Norwegian economist Ragnar Frisch “for having developed and applied dynamic models for the analysis of economic processes”. Award nomination and selection process  The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences “administers a researcher exchange with academies in other countries and publishes six scientific journals.  Every year the Academy awards the Nobel Prizes in Physics and in Chemistry, the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, the Crafoord Prize and a number of other large prizes”.  Each September the Academy’s Economics Prize Committee, which consists of five elected members, “sends invitations to thousands of scientists, members of academies and university professors in numerous countries, asking them to nominate candidates for the Prize in Economics for the coming year.  Members of the Academy and former laureates are also authorised to nominate candidates.”  All proposals and their supporting evidence must be received before February 1.  The proposals are reviewed by the Prize Committee and specially appointed experts.  Before the end of September, the committee chooses potential laureates. If there is a tie, the chairman of the committee casts the deciding vote.  Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences vote in mid-October to determine the next laureate or laureates of the Prize in Economics.  As with the Nobel Prizes, no more than three people can share the prize for a given year; they must still be living at the time of the Prize announcement in October; and information about Prize nominations cannot be disclosed publicly for 50 years.  Like the Nobel laureates in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, and literature, each laureate in Economics receives a diploma, gold medal, and monetary grant award document from the King of Sweden at the annual Nobel Prize Award Ceremony in Stockholm, on the anniversary of Nobel’s death (December 10). Laureates  The first prize in economics was awarded in 1969 to Ragnar Frisch and Jan Tinbergen “for having developed and applied dynamic models for the analysis of economic processes”.  Three women have received the prize: Elinor Ostrom, who won in 2009, Esther Duflo, who won in 2019, and Claudia Goldin, who won in 2023. Goldin was the first woman to win the award solo. Awards to non-economists  In February 1995, following acrimony within the selection committee pertaining to the awarding of the 1994 Prize in Economics to John Forbes Nash, the Prize in Economics was redefined as a prize in social sciences. Page 13 Manthan 2.O | January 2024 : Week-1   This made it available to researchers in such topics as political science, psychology, and sociology.  Moreover, the composition of the Economics Prize Committee changed to include two non-economists.  This has not been confirmed by the Economics Prize Committee.  The members of the 2007 Economics Prize Committee are still dominated by economists, as the secretary and four of the five members are professors of economics.  In 1978, Herbert A. Simon, whose PhD was in political science, became the first non-economist to win the prize, for his work in the fields of economics and organizational decision making.  Similarly, Daniel Kahneman, a professor of psychology and public affairs at Princeton University, won the prize for work in the field of behavioral economics. QUESTIONS Fill in the Blank: 1. Nobel prize winner _________ was sentenced to six months in jail by a court in Bangladesh for violating the country’s labour laws. 2. _________ is credited with lifting millions from poverty _________ it has disbursed collateral-free loans of $34.01 billion among 9.55 million people since its inception. 3. The first prize in economics was awarded in 1969 to _________ and Jan Tinbergen “for having developed and applied dynamic models for the analysis of economic processes”. 4. In 1978, _________, whose PhD was in political science, became the first non-economist to win the prize, for his work in the fields of economics and organizational decision making. 5. In February 1995, following acrimony within the selection committee pertaining to the awarding of the 1994 Prize in Economics to _________, the Prize in Economics was redefined as a prize in social sciences. 6. As with the Nobel Prizes, no more than _________ people can share the prize for a given year; they must still be living at the time of the Prize announcement in October; and information about Prize nominations cannot be disclosed publicly for _________ years. 7. Although not one of the five Nobel Prizes established by Alfred Nobel’s will in 1895, it is commonly referred to as the _________. 8. Every year the Academy awards the Nobel Prizes in Physics and in Chemistry, the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, the _________ and a number of other large prizes”. 9. The Nobel Prize in Economics was established in _________. 10. Laureates in the Prize in Economic Sciences are selected by the _________. 4. Remembering independent India’s ‘Jallianwala Bagh’: The Kharsawan massacre of 1948  On January 1, 1948, the town of Kharsawan in present-day Jharkhand witnessed a massacre reminiscent of what happened in Jallianwala Bagh in 1919. Page 14 Manthan 2.O | January 2024 : Week-1   Police opened fire at a crowd gathered for a protest and the weekly haat (market), killing hundreds, or by some accounts, thousands of Adivasis. Struggle for an Adivasi state  In 1912, the Bengal Presidency was partitioned to create the Bihar and Orissa Province.  However, within this new province, there existed a large Adivasi population with its distinct culture, and many grievances with both the British and non-tribal populations.  Thus, in 1912 itself, the demand for a separate tribal state was articulated for the first time at St Columba’s College, Hazaribagh.  Over the next few years, this demand would gain momentum. The Simon Commission, mandated to report on constitutional reforms in India, gave it official credence in 1930.  It observed: “The province of Bihar and Orissa… is the most artificial unit of all the Indian provinces.  It was formed by bringing under a single administration three areas which differ markedly, not only in physical features, but in many social, linguistic and cultural characteristics.”  While Orissa was carved out in 1936, Adivasis’ demands remained unheard. In 1938 the Adivasi Mahasabha was formed to continue the struggle, with Jaipal Singh Munda (1903-70), former captain of the Indian hockey team, emerging as its tallest leader.  The problem of Kharsawan’s merger with Orissa  Kharsawan was a small princely state, less than 400 sq km in area, lying to the west of Jamshedpur. At the time of Independence, Kharsawan, alongside 24 other princely states in eastern India, decided to accede to the Union of India and join the state of Orissa. After all, Kharsawan and neighbouring Saraikela (form the Seraikela Kharsawan district in Jharkhand), had more Odia speakers than Hindi speakers.  But most Adivasis did not support this merger. They also did not want to join Bihar — the alternative option. What they wanted was a separate Adivasi state. In protest, a huge meeting was called at Kharsawan on January 1, 1948, the day when the merger was to take place. This was also the day of the weekly haat in the town. Jaipal Munda himself was supposed to be present and address the crowd.  “It was on his [Munda’s] call that more than 50 thousand tribals gathered in Kharsawan,” veteran journalist Anuj Kumar Sinha wrote in Unsung Heroes of Jharkhand Movement (2017). The crowd comprised young and old, men and women, those from nearby villages and those living hundreds of kilometres away. While the merger of Kharsawan was a major issue, many had come to simply catch a glimpse of Jaipal Munda. Echoes of Jallianwala Bagh  The sheer size and enthusiasm of the crowd spooked the Orissa military police, which had taken charge of law and order in the town.  Keep in mind, this was the time when princely states from across the country were being integrated with the Union of India — some peacefully, while others with force.  This created a situation where the smallest spark could trigger something horrendous. That is exactly what happened on January 1, 1948.  On the day of the massacre, Kharsawan resembled a “police camp”, Sinha wrote. Amidst this, the 50,000-strong crowd gathered, raised their demands, and waited eagerly for Jaipal Munda to show up.  Moreover, many more were shopping at the nearby haat. Kharsawan, which had a population of less than 7,000 in 2001, was full to the brim.  However, due to some reason, Munda could not show up. Many believe that his mere presence could have averted the tragedy that followed. Page 15 Manthan 2.O | January 2024 : Week-1   The crowd was restive and pretty much surrounded by the police. Suddenly, the cops opened fire with their Sten guns.  “People were constantly getting shot at… By the time the firing stopped, the entire ground was littered with dead bodies,” Sinha wrote.  There was a well near the spot where the massacre took place and the police started disposing of dead bodies in it.  After the well was filled with bodies, the rest were taken to the jungle and dumped there.  Yet, those injured probably had it even worse.  “It was the winter season. A few unconscious people kept lying there in the cold, shivering,” Sinha wrote.  As hunger and thirst crept in, many were denied treatment until the next day. Aftermath  To date, there is no consensus regarding just how many lives were lost in the massacre.  However, actual numbers are likely to have been far higher.  In Memoir of a Bygone Era (2000), PK Deo, a former Lok Sabha MP and the last ruler of Kalahandi, stated that at least 2,000 Adivasis were killed, and many more were likely injured.  As to who was responsible for ordering the massacre, there is also no clarity. “Several committees were made, investigations carried out, but no report came out.  The world knows about the villain of the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre, but the Reginald Dyer behind the Kharsawan massacre hasn’t been unmasked.  A memorial stands at the marketplace in Kharsawan, which some have described as a “political pilgrimage” site in the state.  State leaders such as Arjun Munda, Raghubar Das, and Hemant Soren have visited the memorial on New Year’s Day through the years. Jallianwala Bagh massacre  The Jallianwala (also spelled Jallianwalla) Bagh massacre, also known as the Amritsar massacre, took place on 13 April 1919.  A large, peaceful crowd had gathered at the Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar, Punjab, British India, during annual Baishakhi fair, to protest against the Rowlatt Act and the arrest of pro-independence activists Saifuddin Kitchlew and Satyapal.  In response to the public gathering, the temporary brigadier general Dyer, surrounded the people with his Gurkha and Sikh infantry regiments of the British Indian Army.  The Jallianwala Bagh could only be exited on one side, as its other three sides were enclosed by buildings. After blocking the exit with his troops, he ordered them to shoot at the crowd, continuing to fire even as the protestors tried to flee.  The troops kept on firing until their ammunition was exhausted.  Estimates of those killed vary from 379 to 1,500 or more people and over 1,200 other people were injured of whom 192 were seriously injured.  Britain has never formally apologised for the massacre but expressed “deep regret” in 2019.  The massacre caused a re-evaluation by the British Army of its military role against civilians to “minimal force whenever possible”, although later British actions during the Mau Mau rebellion in the Kenya Colony have led historian Huw Bennett to comment that the new policy could sometimes be put aside.  The army was retrained and developed less violent tactics for crowd control. Page 16 Manthan 2.O | January 2024 : Week-1   The level of casual brutality, and lack of any accountability, stunned the entire nation, resulting in a wrenching loss of faith of the general Indian public in the intentions of the United Kingdom.  The attack was condemned by the Secretary of State for War, Winston Churchill, as “unutterably monstrous”, and in the UK House of Commons debate on 8 July 1920 Members of Parliament voted 247 to 37 against Dyer.  The ineffective inquiry, together with the initial accolades for Dyer, fuelled great widespread anger against the British among the Indian populace, leading to the non-cooperation movement of 1920–22.  Some historians consider the episode a decisive step towards the end of British rule in India. Defence of India Act  During World War I, British India contributed to the British war effort by providing men and resources.  Millions of Indian soldiers and labourers served in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, while both the Indian administration and the princes sent large supplies of food, money, and ammunition.  Bengal and Punjab remained sources of anti-colonial activities.  Revolutionary attacks in Bengal, associated increasingly with disturbances in Punjab, were enough to nearly paralyse the regional administration.  Of these, a pan-Indian mutiny in the British Indian Army planned for February 1915 was the most prominent amongst a number of plots formulated between 1914 and 1917 by Indian nationalists in India, the United States and Germany.  The planned February mutiny was ultimately thwarted when British intelligence infiltrated the Ghadar Movement, arresting key figures.  Mutinies in smaller units and garrisons within India were also crushed. In the context of the British war effort and the threat from the separatist movement in India, the Defence of India Act 1915 was passed, limiting civil and political liberties. Michael O’Dwyer, then the Lieutenant Governor of Punjab, was one of the strongest proponents of the act, in no small part due to the Ghadarite threat in the province. The Rowlatt Act  The costs of the protracted war in money and manpower were great.  High casualty rates in the war, increasing inflation after the end, compounded by heavy taxation, the deadly 1918 flu pandemic, and the disruption of trade during the war escalated human suffering in India.  The pre-war Indian nationalist sentiment was revived as moderate and extremist groups of the Indian National Congress ended their differences to unify.  In 1916, the Congress was successful in establishing the Lucknow Pact, a temporary alliance with the All-India Muslim League.  British political concessions and Whitehall’s India Policy after World War I began to change, with the passage of Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms, which initiated the first round of political reform in the Indian subcontinent in 1917.  However, this was deemed insufficient in reforms by the Indian political movement. Mahatma Gandhi, recently returned to India, began emerging as an increasingly charismatic leader under whose leadership civil disobedience movements grew rapidly as an expression of political unrest.  The recently crushed Ghadar conspiracy, the presence of Raja Mahendra Pratap’s Kabul mission in Afghanistan (with possible links to Bolshevik Russia), and a still-active revolutionary movement especially in Punjab and Bengal (as well as worsening civil unrest throughout India) led to the appointment of a sedition committee in 1918 chaired by Sidney Rowlatt, an Anglo-Egyptian judge.  It was tasked to evaluate German and Bolshevik links to the militant movement in India, especially in Punjab and Bengal. Page 17 Manthan 2.O | January 2024 : Week-1   On the recommendations of the committee, the Rowlatt Act, an extension of the Defence of India Act 1915 to limit civil liberties, was enacted.  The passage of the Rowlatt Act in 1919 precipitated large-scale political unrest throughout India.  Ominously, in 1919, the Third Anglo-Afghan War began in the wake of Amir Habibullah’s assassination and institution of Amanullah in a system strongly influenced by the political figures courted by the Kabul mission during the world war.  As a reaction to the Rowlatt Act, Muhammad Ali Jinnah resigned from his Bombay seat, writing in a letter to the Viceroy, “I, therefore, as a protest against the passing of the Bill and the manner in which it was passed tender my resignation... a Government that passes or sanctions such a law in times of peace forfeits its claim to be called a civilised government”.  Gandhi’s call for protest against the Rowlatt Act achieved an unprecedented response of furious unrest and protests. QUESTIONS Fill in the Blank: 1. In _________ the Adivasi Mahasabha was formed to continue the struggle, with _________ former captain of the Indian hockey team, emerging as its tallest leader. 2. In 1912, the Bengal Presidency was partitioned to create the Bihar and _________ Province. 3. The passage of the _________ precipitated large-scale political unrest throughout India. 4. In response to the public gathering, the temporary brigadier general _________, surrounded the people with his Gurkha and Sikh infantry regiments of the British Indian Army. 5. On January 1, 1948, the town of Kharsawan in present-day _________ witnessed a massacre reminiscent of what happened in Jallianwala Bagh in 1919. 6. The Jallianwala (also spelled Jallianwalla) Bagh massacre, also known as the Amritsar massacre, took place on _________. 7. British political concessions and Whitehall’s India Policy after _________ began to change, with the passage of Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms, which initiated the first round of political reform in the Indian subcontinent in 1917. 8. In 1916, the Congress was successful in establishing the _________, a temporary alliance with the All-India Muslim League. 9. On the recommendations of the committee, the Rowlatt Act, an extension of the _________ to limit civil liberties, was enacted. 10. High casualty rates in the war, increasing inflation after the end, compounded by heavy taxation, the deadly _________ flu pandemic, and the disruption of trade during the war escalated human suffering in India. 5. ISRO launches XPoSat: What is the mission and its significance?  Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) put its first polarimetry mission X-ray Polarimeter Satellite (XPoSat) in a precise circular orbit of 650 km after a 21-minute flight. Page 18 Manthan 2.O | January 2024 : Week-1   XPoSat is the world’s second satellite-based mission dedicated to making X-ray polarimetry measurements. What is XPoSat?  X-ray Polarimeter Satellite (XPoSat) is India’s maiden mission dedicated to analysing the polarisation of X-rays emanating from bright celestial sources in the medium frequency band.  XPoSat comprises two payloads, including Indian X-ray Polarimeter (POLIX) and X-ray Spectroscopy and Timing (XSPECT).  They have been built by Raman Research Institute and UR Rao Satellite Centre, both located in Bengaluru.  The spacecraft is designated for observation from low earth orbit (~ 650 km, low inclination of ~ 6 degree).  It has an estimated mission life of about five years during which XPoSat will observe sources that emit polarised X-rays.  The observations will be done when the magnetars or neutron stars (they are highly magnetic and display a wide array of X-ray activity) are in transit through the Earth’s shadow, for instance, during the eclipse period. What are the two scientific payloads onboard XPoSat?  POLIX: It is the world’s first instrument designed to operate in the medium X-ray of 8 to 30 kilo electron Volt (keV) energy band.  It comprises a collimator, which is the key component to filter light originating from bright sources in the field of view.  Moreover, there is a scatterer consisting of four X-ray proportional counter detectors (that prevent the trapped light from escaping).  It will observe a few tens of astronomical sources. It was conceived, designed, and built at RRI.  XSPECT: It is designed to conduct fast timing and high spectroscopic resolution in a soft X-ray energy band (0.8-15 keV).  It will observe a variety of sources like X-ray pulsars, black hole binaries, low-magnetic field neutron stars, active galactic nuclei or AGNs (a compact region at the centre of a galaxy that emits a significant amount of energy across the electromagnetic spectrum) and magnetars. Why is the XPoSat mission significant?  Till now, astronomers have largely used and depended on spectroscopic, imaging and timing–based data obtained from either ground-based telescopes or satellite-based missions from the optical to the radio frequency band of the electromagnetic spectrum. Polarisation of celestial sources was done either in the optical or radio bands.  XPoSat, however, will be a game-changer and facilitate X-ray polarisation measurements possible from bright sources, that too, in the medium energy band (8-30 keV) energy range – which has never been attempted ever before.  The XPoSat team has identified several tens of sources radiating X-rays.  XPoSat will observe two kinds of sources — persistent sources (targeted and known sources) and transient sources (pulsars, active galactic nuclei, magnetars).  Out in space, X-rays get polarised due to multiple causes.  For example, X-rays when subject to strong magnetic fields or due to the interactions with material present around black holes. Page 19 Manthan 2.O | January 2024 : Week-1   So, by studying the polarised X-rays emanating from excellent sources like magnetars, black holes and their surrounding environments, and neutron stars, scientists can probe the nature of the radiations and the multitudes of processes involved in the generation of these radiations.  POLIX will undertake important measurements like the degree and angle of polarisation of X-ray photons from the environment surrounding black holes, neutron stars, and other such cosmic entities.  These two additional parameters, along with the spectrographic, timing and imaging data, will aid researchers to overall improve the present understanding of the celestial bodies and ultimately unravel some of the unknown mysteries of the Universe. What is the polarisation of X-rays and why study it?  X-rays comprise electric and magnetic waves that are constantly in motion. Being sinusoidal waves, they do not follow a patterned direction of motion.  Whereas, a polarised X-ray is both organised and has two waves vibrating in the same direction.  When magnetars or black holes emit X-rays, they encounter a wide variety of materials in the Universe.  As X-rays pass through the thick cloud of materials, the electric component of the X-ray emits a photon in a changed direction, as it has now undergone scattering. In the process, the new photon has got polarised in a direction perpendicular to the plane formed between the original and scattered photon.  The polarisation measurements – angular and degree of polarisation – are believed to provide clues about the bright X-ray emitting sources the nature of these radiations and the complex process they undergo. How does XPoSat compare with X-ray experiments or missions globally?  Missions on X-ray polarisation measurements have been a handful, the world over.  Some like HX-POL and XL-Calibur have been balloon-based and short-duration experiments by NASA and collaborators.  Indian astronomers, using AstroSat – India’s first astronomy-based space missions launched in September 2015 — performed timing and broadband spectroscopy of X-ray sources but no polarisation studies were performed.  The lack of development of highly sensitive and precise instruments makes missions for polarisation measurements of X-rays extremely challenging, thus fewer missions have been attempted so far.  In 2021, NASA launched Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE).  It has been designed to operate and perform X-ray polarisation measurements within the soft X-ray band (2 to 8 keV energy band).  Besides complementing IXPE, XPoSat’s payload POLIX will offer an expanded observational energy band, as it is designated to perform X-ray polarisation in the medium X-ray band (8 to 30 keV). ISRO  The Indian Space Research Organisation is the national space agency of India.  It operates as the primary research and development arm of the Department of Space (DoS), which is directly overseen by the Prime Minister of India while the Chairman of ISRO also acts as the executive of DoS.  ISRO is primarily responsible for performing tasks related to space-based operations, space exploration, international space cooperation and the development of related technologies.  ISRO is one of the six government space agencies in the world that possesses full launch capabilities, can deploy cryogenic engines, can launch extraterrestrial missions and operate a large fleet of artificial satellites. Page 20 Manthan 2.O | January 2024 : Week-1   ISRO is one of the four government space agencies to have soft landing (uncrewed) capabilities.  ISRO was previously known as the Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR), set up under Jawaharlal Nehru on the suggestions of Dr. Vikram Sarabhai in 1962 recognising the need for space research. INCOSPAR grew and became ISRO in 1969, within the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE).  In 1972, the government of India set up a Space Commission and the DoS, bringing ISRO under it.  The establishment of ISRO thus institutionalised space research activities in India.  It has since been managed by DoS, which also governs various other institutions in India in the domain of astronomy and space technology.  ISRO built India’s first satellite, Aryabhata, which was launched by the Soviet space agency Interkosmos in 1975.  In 1980, ISRO launched satellite RS-1 onboard SLV-3, making India the seventh country to be capable of undertaking orbital launches.  SLV-3 was followed by ASLV, which was subsequently succeeded by the development of many medium-lift launch vehicles, rocket engines, satellite systems and networks enabling the agency to launch hundreds of domestic and foreign satellites and various deep space missions for space exploration.  ISRO has the world’s largest constellation of remote-sensing satellites and operates the GAGAN and IRNSS (NavIC) satellite navigation systems.  It has sent three missions to the Moon and one to Mars.  ISRO’s programmes have played a significant role in the socio-economic development of India and have supported both civilian and military domains in various aspects including disaster management, telemedicine and navigation and reconnaissance missions.  ISRO’s spin-off technologies also have founded many crucial innovations for India’s engineering and medical industries. Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer  Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer, commonly known as IXPE or SMEX-14, is a space observatory with three identical telescopes designed to measure the polarization of cosmic X-rays of black holes, neutron stars, and pulsars.  The observatory, which was launched on 9 December 2021, is an international collaboration between NASA and the Italian Space Agency (ASI).  It is part of NASA’s Explorers program, which designs low-cost spacecraft to study heliophysics and astrophysics.  The mission will study exotic astronomical objects and permit mapping of the magnetic fields of black holes, neutron stars, pulsars, supernova remnants, magnetars, quasars, and active galactic nuclei.  The high-energy X-ray radiation from these objects’ surrounding environment can be polarized – oscillating in a particular direction.  Studying the polarization of X-rays reveals the physics of these objects and can provide insights into the high-temperature environments where they are created. QUESTIONS Fill in the Blank: 1. Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) put its first polarimetry mission X-ray Polarimeter Satellite (XPoSat) in a precise circular orbit of _________ after a 21-minute flight. Page 21 Manthan 2.O | January 2024 : Week-1  2. _________ has been designed to operate and perform X-ray polarisation measurements within the soft _________ band. 3. ISRO was previously known as the Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR), set up under _________ on the suggestions of Dr. _________ in 1962. 4. ISRO built India’s first satellite, Aryabhata, which was launched by the Soviet space agency _________ in _________. 5. In 1972, the government of India set up a _________ and the DoS, bringing ISRO under it. 6. ISRO has the world’s largest constellation of remote-sensing satellites and operates the _________ and _________ satellite navigation systems. 7. Imaging X-ray _________ Explorer, commonly known as IXPE or SMEX-14, is a space observatory with three identical telescopes designed to measure the polarization of cosmic X-rays of black holes, neutron stars, and pulsars. 8. The _________ is the national space agency of India. 9. ISRO is one of the _________ government space agencies in the world that possesses full launch capabilities. 10. _________ is part of NASA’s Explorers program, which designs low-cost spacecraft to study heliophysics and astrophysics. 6. Uttarakhand CM forms panel to examine 2022 land law committee report: What is the issue — and what did the report say  Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, a few days back, formed a five-member committee for a detailed study of a 2022 draft report that gave recommendations for amending the state’s land laws.  This comes days after several social organisations announced a rally in Dehradun, demanding a stricter land law to curb the large-scale sale of land to “outsiders”.  The organisations also demanded for raising the minimum number of years required for non- Uttarakhand residents to get domicile certificates.  They have claimed that “outsiders” easily getting domicile certificates is risking the future of the children of those who fought for a separate state. The Spark  In 2003, then Chief Minister ND Tiwari (from the Congress party) introduced the first-ever limit on land purchases in the hilly areas of the state by non Uttarakhand residents.  He brought in two amendments to existing land laws that capped land purchases at 500 square metres.  The move aimed to preserve local identity, while also focusing on inviting investments from outside.  Subsequently, under the BJP-led government of BC Khanduri, this limit was reduced to 250 square metres.  Troubles, however, began in 2017, when then CM Trivendra Rawat (from the BJP) lifted these restrictions entirely after an investor’s summit. Rawat said this would stimulate investments in the hills, and help foster economic progress. Page 22 Manthan 2.O | January 2024 : Week-1   The liberalisation was more pronounced in municipal areas, where “outsiders” faced no constraints in land acquisition.  This triggered a wave of discontentment among locals.  As more land was bought by the “outsiders”, Uttarakhand residents got concerned about preserving their own culture, and demanded the reinstatement of strict regulations — a 250 square metre cap in municipal areas, and a complete ban on rural land sales.  Responding to the mounting pressure, BJP’s Pushkar Singh Dhami formed a high-level panel to examine Uttarakhand’s land laws, a month after being appointed the Chief Minister in 2021. The committee’s recommendations  The committee, headed by ex-chief secretary Subhash Kumar, submitted its report with 23 recommendations.  It recommended that, unlike the current practice, the approval for the purchase of farmland should come from the government rather than from district magistrates.  Subhash Kumar said the most important recommendation was the introduction of an ‘essentiality certificate’ just like Himachal Pradesh where it is an important requirement for non-agriculturists, or non-residents who wish to purchase land in the state.  As per the rules in Himachal Pradesh, an essentiality certificate is issued by the state government, verifying the “essentiality” or necessity of the purchase of land by a non-agriculturist or non-resident.  Authorities examine the application to ascertain if the purchase is indeed essential for the applicant.  The committee also recommended strict action against those building illegal structures or religious places on rivers, forest areas, pastures, or public land. There should be a state-wide campaign against illegal possession of lands, it said.  In its 80-page report, the committee said that at present, district magistrates allow the purchase of farmland for related purposes, but in several cases, the land is misused by the construction of resorts or personnel bungalows on it.  This is making the hill residents landless and is not creating new jobs, it added.  In August 2023, Dhami said that the government is fully prepared and committed to implementing the land law, and informed that this proposal will be put up in the cabinet meeting soon.  The recommendations, however, are yet to be implemented.  Instead, the Uttarakhand government has now formed a five-member committee for a detailed study of the report submitted by the panel. Uttarakhand  Uttarakhand is a state in northern India.  It is often referred to as the “Devbhumi” due to its religious significance and numerous Hindu temples and pilgrimage centres found throughout the state.  Uttarakhand is known for the natural environment of the Himalayas, the Bhabar and the Terai regions.  It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China to the north; the Sudurpashchim Province of Nepal to the east; the Indian states of Uttar Pradesh to the south and Himachal Pradesh to the west and north-west.  The state is divided into two divisions, Garhwal and Kumaon, with a total of 13 districts.  The winter capital and largest city of the state is Dehradun, which is also a railhead.  On 5 March 2020, Bhararisain, a town in the Gairsain Tehsil of the Chamoli district, was declared as the summer capital of Uttarakhand.  The High Court of the state is located in Nainital, but is to be moved to Haldwani in future.  Archaeological evidence supports the existence of humans in the region since prehistoric times.  The region formed a part of the Uttarakuru Kingdom during the Vedic age of Ancient India. Page 23 Manthan 2.O | January 2024 : Week-1   Among the first major dynasties of Kumaon were the Kunindas in the second century BCE who practised an early form of Shaivism.  Ashokan edicts at Kalsi show the early presence of Buddhism in this region.  During the medieval period, the region was consolidated under the Katyuri rulers of Kumaon also known as ‘Kurmanchal Kingdom’.  After the fall of Katyuris, the region was divided into the Kumaon Kingdom and the Garhwal Kingdom.  In 1816, most of modern Uttarakhand was ceded to the British as part of the Treaty of Sugauli.  Although the erstwhile hill kingdoms of Garhwal and Kumaon were traditional rivals, the proximity of different neighbouring ethnic groups and the inseparable and complementary nature of their geography, economy, culture, language, and traditions created strong bonds between the two regions, which further strengthened during the Uttarakhand movement for statehood in the 1990s.  The natives of the state are generally called Uttarakhandi, or more specifically either Garhwali or Kumaoni by their region of origin.  According to the 2011 Census of India, Uttarakhand has a population of 10,086,292, making it the 20th most populous state in India. QUESTIONS Fill in the Blank: 1. The region formed a part of the _________ Kingdom during the Vedic age of Ancient India. 2. Ashokan edicts at _________ show the early presence of Buddhism in this region. 3. On 5 March 2020, _________, a town in the Gairsain Tehsil of the Chamoli district, was declared as the summer capital of Uttarakhand. 4. Uttarakhand Chief Minister _________, a few days back, formed a five-member committee for a detailed study of a 2022 draft report that gave recommendations for amending the state’s land laws. 5. The Present Capital of Uttarakhand is _________. 6. Uttarakhand is known for the natural environment of the Himalayas, the _________ and the _________ regions. 7. There are _________ districts in Uttarakhand at present. 8. Uttarakhand is a state in _________ India. 9. In 1816, most of modern Uttarakhand was ceded to the British as part of the _________. 10. According to the 2011 Census of India, Uttarakhand has a population of 10,086,292, making it the _________ most populous state in India. 7. Navy unveils new epaulettes for Admirals: What are the changes, what do they signify?  The Navy unveiled the new design of epaulettes that senior officers will display on their uniform as part of efforts to shed the remnants of its colonial legacies in customs and traditions. Page 24 Manthan 2.O | January 2024 : Week-1   In a post on X, the Navy said the new design is drawn from its naval ensign and inspired from the Rajmudra of Maratha ruler Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, reflecting the rich maritime heritage of the Marathas.  Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced that the new design will be introduced for the service during his Navy Day address at Sindhudurg, Maharashtra. What are the new epaulletes for?  The new epaulettes are for the ranks of Admiral, Vice Admiral, Rear Admiral, Surgeon Vice Admiral and Surgeon Rear Admiral.  Barring the medical officers, there would be around 100 officers of rank Rear Admiral and onwards, in the Navy.  The Navy has a sanctioned strength of around 12,000 officers, of which there is currently a shortage of around 1,777 officers as per official data. How are the new epaulettes different from the earlier ones?  The new epaulettes have the new golden Navy button carrying the new naval crest which was unveiled last year, a red octagon as the backing to the national emblem, and a sword and a telescope.  The ones for the medical officers have a red border as well.  The earlier epaulettes for the same ranks did have a red backing for the national emblem, but not an octagonal one.  Moreover, the button at the top of the epaulette reflected the old crest of the Navy which had a fouled anchor—a colonial era vestige.  The old epaulettes carried a baton and a sword, but new ones carry an Indian sword and a telescope.  The stars on the new epaulettes are also designed differently than the older ones. What do the new epaulettes signify?  The new Navy button reflects the new crest, sans the fouled anchor which was a colonial era vestige.  As per the Navy, the red octagon reflects the eight cardinal directions indicative of an all-round long- term vision.  It is inspired by the new naval ensign that was unveiled last year and inspired from the Rajmudra of Maratha ruler Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj who had built the massive Maratha Navy which has a rich maritime legacy.  The Navy said that the Indian sword represents being the cutting edge of national power and winning wars through dominance, defeating adversaries and overcoming every challenge, while the telescope symbolises a long-term vision, foresight, and a weather-eye in the changing world. Why the change?  The change is in line with the Indian Armed Forces’ increasing efforts in the last two years to discard their colonial-era vestiges, customs and traditions.  The Navy is learnt to be soon allowing Indian attires in their officers’ mess and wardrooms.  The Navy has also reviewed the British-inherited ranks held by sailors and is set to Indianise them soon.  There are also efforts in the Indian military to include more indigenous texts in military training with a focus on Indian war heroes, leaders and thinkers as well as restraining the use of foreign names for military exercises and call signs. Indian Navy  The Indian Navy is the maritime branch of the Indian Armed Forces.  The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. Page 25 Manthan 2.O | January 2024 : Week-1   The Chief of Naval Staff, a four-star admiral, commands the navy.  As a blue-water navy, it operates significantly in the Persian Gulf Region, the Horn of Africa, the Strait of Malacca, and routinely conducts anti-piracy operations and partners with other navies in the region.  It also conducts routine two to three month-long deployments in the South and East China seas as well as in the western Mediterranean sea simultaneously.  The primary objective of the navy is to safeguard the nation’s maritime borders, and in conjunction with other Armed Forces of the union, act to deter or defeat any threats or aggression against the territory, people or maritime interests of India, both in war and peace.  Through joint exercises, goodwill visits and humanitarian missions, including disaster relief, the Indian Navy promotes bilateral relations between nations.  As of September 2022, the operational fleet consists of 2 active aircraft carriers and 1 amphibious transport dock, 8 landing ship tanks, 12 destroyers, 12 frigates, 2 ballistic missile submarines, 16 conventionally-powered attack submarines, 18 corvettes, one mine countermeasure vessel, 4 fleet tankers and numerous other auxiliary vessels, small patrol boats and sophisticated ships. It is considered as a multi-regional power projection blue-water navy.  The Marine Commando Force (MCF), also known as MARCOS, is a special operations unit that was raised by the Indian Navy in 1987 for Amphibious warfare, Close Quarter Combat Counter-terrorism, Direct action, Special reconnaissance, Unconventional warfare, Hostage rescue, Personnel recovery, Combat search and rescue, Asymmetric warfare, Foreign internal defence, Counterproliferation, Amphibious reconnaissance including Hydrographic reconnaissance.  Since their inception MARCOS proved themselves in various operations and wars, notable of them include Operation Pawan, Operation Cactus, UNOSOM II, Kargil War and Operation Black Tornado.  They are also actively deployed on anti-piracy operations throughout the year. QUESTIONS Fill in the Blank: 1. It is inspired by the new naval ensign that was unveiled last year and inspired from the Rajmudra of Maratha ruler _________ who had built the massive Maratha Navy which has a rich maritime legacy. 2. The Chief of Naval Staff, a _________ admiral, commands the navy. 3. The new epaulettes are for the ranks of Admiral, Vice Admiral, Rear Admiral, Surgeon Vice Admiral and _________. 4. The _________ unveiled the new design of epaulettes that senior officers will display on their uniform as part of efforts to shed the remnants of its colonial legacies in customs and traditions. 5. The _________ is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. 6. As a blue-water navy, it operates significantly in the Persian Gulf Region, the Horn of Africa, the _________, and routinely conducts anti-piracy operations and partners with other navies in the region. 7. Indian Navy also conducts routine two to three month-long deployments in the South and East China seas as well as in the western _________ simultaneously. 8. The Marine Commando Force (MCF), also known as _________, is a special operations unit that was raised by the Indian Navy in _________. 9. Since their inception _________ proved themselves in various operations and wars, notable of them include Operation Pawan, Operation Cactus, UNOSOM II, Kargil War and _________. 10. Indian Navy is considered as a multi-regional power projection _________. Page 26 Manthan 2.O | January 2024 : Week-1 8. ULFA peace accord: history of its 44-year-long insurgency, peace talks  The pro-talks faction of the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) signed a historic tripartite peace deal with the Government of India and the state government of Assam. Roots in Assamese anxieties  Assamese people have their own, unique culture and language, and a strong sense of identity.  Starting in the 19th century, however, as the region’s tea, coal and oil economy attracted migrants from all over, the indigenous population started to feel insecure.  This was further exacerbated by the Partition, and the subsequent exodus of refugees into the state from the erstwhile East Pakistan.  The competition for resources skyrocketed, resulting in a six-year-long mass movement.  Eventually, the Assam Accord, seeking to “find a satisfactory solution to the problem of foreigners in Assam” was signed in 1985.  However, amidst all this, a group of more radical thinkers, led by Bhimakanta Buragohain, Arabinda Rajkhowa, Anup Chetia, Pradip Gogoi, Bhadreshwar Gohain and Paresh Baruah formed ULFA on April 7, 1979. Four decades of bloodshed  The founders of ULFA wanted to establish a sovereign Assamese nation through an armed struggle against the Indian state.  For over 44 years, this ‘struggle’ has been chequered with kidnappings and extortion, executions and bomb blasts, leading to tragic loss of life in Assam and beyond.  At the same time, the Indian state’s response has also been unsparing. In 1990, the Centre launched Operation Bajrang, leading to the arrest of 1,221 ULFA insurgents.  Assam was declared a ‘disturbed area’, President’s rule was imposed, and the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) was invoked.  The government has also allegedly supported certain factions of ULFA, which has almost always been plagued with differences of opinion. In 1992, one faction, later christened as Surrendered ULFA (SULFA), offered to surrender and engage in dialogue with the government. Later, SULFA would allegedly carry out “secret killings” of ULFA insurgents and their family members, on behalf of the state government.  Yet, the ULFA has survived, in some part due to help from outside India. It still has camps Myanmar, and previously had camps in both Bangladesh and Bhutan.  Lying deep in jungles and hilly areas, these camps act as launch pads for cross border operations, as well as shelter after the fact.  Insurgents also use them as training bases for new recruits.  ULFA has links to other insurgent outfits in the Northeast and Myanmar, as well as Islamic terror outfits like Harkat-ul-Jihad-e-Islami, and Al-Qaeda. Paresh Baruah, ULFA’s self-styled military chief, reportedly met Osama Bin Laden, the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks.  It also has links to Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), which has reportedly trained ULFA insurgents in the past.  ULFA openly supported Pakistan in its monthly newsletter Swadhinata during the Kargil War. Page 27 Manthan 2.O | January 2024 : Week-1 Towards peace  In 2005, the ULFA formed an 11-member ‘People’s Consultative Group’ (PCG) comprising noted intellectuals and Jnanpith awardee author late Indira Raisom Goswami.  The committee mediated three rounds of talks before the ULFA walked out of the discussions and unleashed a new wave of terror.  Some ULFA commanders like Arabinda Rajkhowa, 2008 onwards, would again strive for peace talks with the government.  However, Paresh Baruah was staunchly opposed to talks, and consequently “expelled” Rajkhowa from the outfit in 2012.  The Rajkhowa-led pro-talk ULFA faction also “expelled” Baruah, paving the way for the last major split in ULFA.  While Baruah floated his own ULFA (Independent), the majority of the outfit joined the peace talks under Rajkhowa.  The pro-talks faction, in 2012, submitted a 12-point charter of demands to the central government, which was finally responded to earlier this year.  This was followed by a round of discussions between Rajkhowa’s faction and the Centre in April, and the tripartite peace agreement. Assam  Assam is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys.  Assam covers an area of 78,438 km2 (30,285 sq mi).  The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur to the east; Meghalaya, Tripura, Mizoram and Bangladesh to the south; and West Bengal to the west via the Siliguri Corridor, a 22-kilometre-wide (14 mi) strip of land that connects the state to the rest of India.  Assamese and Boro are the official languages of Assam, while Bengali is an official language in the three districts of Barak Valley.  Assam is known for Assam tea and Assam silk.  The state was the first site for oil drilling in Asia.  Assam is home to the one-horned Indian rhinoceros, along with the wild water buffalo, pygmy hog, tiger and various species of Asiatic birds, and provides one of the last wild habitats for the Asian elephant.  The Assamese economy is aided by wildlife tourism to Kaziranga National Park and Manas National Park, which are World Heritage Sites.  Dibru-Saikhowa National Park is famed for its feral horses.  Sal tree forests are found in the state which, as a result of abundant rainfall, look green all year round.  Assam receives more rainfall than most parts of India; this rain feeds the Brahmaputra River, whose tributaries and oxbow lakes provide the region with a distinctive hydro-geomorphic environment.  Assam and adjoining regions have evidences of human settlement from the beginning of the Stone Age.  The hills at the height of 1,500 to 2,000 feet (460–615 m) were popular habitats probably due to availability of exposed dolerite basalt, useful for tool-making.  Ambari site in Guwahati has revealed Shunga-Kushana era artefacts including flight of stairs and a water tank which may date from 1st century BCE and may be 2,000 years old. QUESTIONS Fill in the Blank: 1. The capital of Assam is _________. 2. The Present Chief Minister of Assam is _________. Page 28 Manthan 2.O | January 2024 : Week-1  3. Assam is home to the _________ Indian rhinoceros. 4. _________ is famed for its feral horses. 5. The pro-talks faction of the _________ signed a historic tripartite peace deal with the Government of India and the state government of _________. 6. _________ state was the first site for oil drilling in Asia. 7. Assamese and _________ are the official languages of Assam. 8. Assam is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the _________ River valleys. 9. Assam is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the _________. 10. _________ in Guwahati has revealed Shunga-Kushana era artefacts including flight of stairs and a water tank which may date from 1st century BCE and may be 2,000 years 9. Warming up to climate change: Is Earth becoming warmer?  The 2023 summer was the hottest on record. Antarctic sea-ice extent reached a record low in the 45 years since satellite data was available.  Arctic sea-ice extent remained well below normal.  Extreme weather events ravaged all inhabited continents, exacerbating food insecurity, population displacement, and impacts on vulnerable people.  These are only a handful of the effects of climate change.  Although scientists unequivocally agree that climate change is real, there are still many myths and a lot of confusion around the subject.  In this series of explainers, we will try to answer some of the most fundamental questions about climate change, the science behind it, and its impact. How do we know that the Earth is warming?  One way is to look at temperature measurements that in some cases extend to the late 1880s.  Scientists use satellites to monitor surface temperature and put together, they indicate that the planet has become warmer.  The average global temperature on Earth has increased by at least 1.1 degree Celsius since 1880, according to NASA. Global Average Surface Temperature  There are also indirect methods to verify the increasing temperature of Earth.  A 1998 study that analysed tree rings, ice cores and other natural indicators, showed that temperatures remained fairly flat for centuries before turning sharply upward.  Another way is to observe the effects of rising temperatures. Oceans are getting warmer, snow and ice cover are depleting in the Northern Hemisphere, the Greenland ice sheet is shrinking, and the sea level is rising.  “These measurements are made with a variety of land-, ocean-, and space-based monitoring systems, which gives added confidence in the reality of global-scale warming of Earth’s climate,” according to ‘Climate Change: Evidence & Causes’, an analysis by the UK’s Royal Society and the US National Academy of Sciences. Page 29 Manthan 2.O | January 2024 : Week-1   One can, however, argue that Earth’s climate has always changed in its 4.5 billion-year history.  While this is true, the rapid warming taking place in recent decades can’t be attributed to natural cycles of cooling and warming.  “The kind of changes that would normally happen over hundreds of thousands of years are happening in decades,” a report by WWF said.  For instance, the majority of the warming has occurred since 1975, at a rate of roughly 0.15 to 0.20 degree Celsius per decade.  Moreover, 2022 marked the 46th consecutive year (since 1977) with global temperatures rising above the 20th-century average.  The 10-warmest years on record have all occurred since 2010, with the last nine years (2014-2022) among the 10-warmest years, a report by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said. But what is behind Earth’s soaring temperature?  Simply put, greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide.  Since the mid-19th Century, scientists have known that greenhouse gases have substantial control over Earth’s climate, despite their small amounts in the atmosphere.  They trap the Sun’s energy in the Earth’s system before it escapes to space, leading to warming.  This is known as the greenhouse effect, a process that is essential for keeping the planet at a suitable temperature for life.  The problem began when the Industrial Revolution kicked off in the 1700s. Human activities like the burning of fossil fuels like coal began to release high levels of greenhouse gases.  As the global atmospheric concentrations of these gases went up, more and more heat got trapped and the Earth’s temperature started to increase. Annual Greenhouse Gas Index  According to a March 2023 Synthesis Report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), “human activities, principally through greenhouse gas emissions, have unequivocally caused global warming.  The main drivers of these emissions are energy use, land use, and the consumption and production of goods.” Greenhouse Gas  Greenhouse gases are the gases in the atmosphere that raise the surface temperature of planets such as the Earth.  What distinguishes them from other gases is that they absorb the wavelengths of radiation that a planet emits, resulting in the greenhouse effect.  The Earth is warmed by sunlight, causing its surface to radiate heat, which is then mostly absorbed by water vapor (H2O), carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), and ozone (O3).  Without greenhouse gases, the average temperature of Earth’s surface would be about −18 °C (0 °F), rather than the present average of 15 °C (59 °F).  The extent to which particular greenhouse gases are causing climate change, along with other factors.  Human activities since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution (around 1750) have increased atmospheric methane concentrations by over 150% and carbon dioxide by over 50%, up to a level not seen in over 3 million years.  Carbon dioxide is causing about three quarters of global warming and can take thousands of years to be fully absorbed by the carbon cycle. Page 30 Manthan 2.O | January 2024 : Week-1   Methane causes most of the remaining warming and lasts in the atmosphere for an average of 12 years.  The vast majority of carbon dioxide emissions by humans come from the combustion of fossil fuels, principally coal, petroleum (including oil) and natural gas.  Additional contributions come from cement manufacturing, fertilizer production, and changes in land use like deforestation.  Methane emi