PIB Summary- 21th February, 2022 | PIB (Press Information Bureau) Summary - UPSC PDF Download

Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj

Why in News?

PM bowed to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj on his Jayanti. 

About Chhatrapati Shivaji 

• Born on February 19, 1630, at Shivneri Fort in Pune.
• He was born to Shahaji Bhonsle, a Maratha general who held the jagirs of Pune and Supe under the Bijapur Sultanate.
• Shivaji’s mother was Jijabai, a pious woman whose religious qualities had a profound influence on him.
• Shivaji was not named after Lord Shiva.
  (i) His name was derived from the name of a regional deity – Goddess Shivai.
• He carved out an enclave from the declining Adilshahi sultanate of Bijapur that formed the genesis of the Maratha Empire.
• In 1674, he was formally crowned as the Chhatrapati (Monarch) of his realm at Raigad.
• The kingdom’s security was based on religious toleration and the functional integration of the Brahmans, Marathas, and Prabhus.
• He established a competent and progressive civil rule with the help of disciplined military and well-structured administrative organisations.
• He had a council of ministers (Asht Pradhan) to advise him on the matters of the state but he was not bound by it. He could appoint or dismiss them.
• He innovated military tactics, pioneering non-conventional methods(guerrilla warfare) and leveraged strategic factors like geography, speed, and surprise.
• He focused on pinpoint attacks to defeat his larger and more powerful enemies.
• The brave warrior died in 1680 but is still known for his courage and intelligence.

International Mother Language Day

Why in News?

The Vice President celebrated the International Mother Language Day and said that linguistic diversity has always been one of the foundational pillars of our civilization.

International Mother Language Day

• International Mother Language Day is a worldwide annual observance held on 21 February to promote awareness of linguistic and cultural diversity and to promote multilingualism.
• The theme of 2022 is: “Using technology for multilingual learning: Challenges and opportunities”, it focuses on potential role of technology to advance multilingual education and support the development of quality teaching and learning for all.

History of how the International Mother Language day came to be:

• The declaration came up in tribute to the Language Movement done by the Bangladeshis (then the East Pakistanis).
• When Pakistan was created in 1947, it had two geographically separate parts: East Pakistan (currently known as Bangladesh) and West Pakistan (currently known as Pakistan).
• In 1948, the then Government of Pakistan declared Urdu to be the sole national language of Pakistan, even though Bengali or Bangla was spoken by the majority of people combining East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) and West Pakistan (now Pakistan).
• The East Pakistan people protested, since the majority of the population was from East Pakistan and their mother language was Bangla.
• These protests led to bloodshed and since then, Bangladeshis celebrate the International Mother Language Day as one of their tragic days, and this day is a national holiday in Bangladesh.
• In 1999, the General Assembly of UNESCO unanimously resolved that “21st February be proclaimed International Mother Language Day throughout the world to commemorate the martyrs who sacrificed their lives on this very day in 1952.”

Constitutional provisions related to languages

• There is no national language as declared by the Constitution of India.
• Under the Article 343, the Constitution lists Hindi written in Devanagari script as well as English as the official language to be used for official purposes such as parliamentary proceedings, judiciary, communications between the Central Government and a State Government.
• States within India have the liberty and powers to specify their own official language(s) through legislation.
• The Eighth Schedule to the Indian Constitution contains a list of 22 scheduled languages. The Government of India is under an obligation to take measures for the development of these languages.
• Article 351 states: “It shall be the duty of the Union to promote the spread of the Hindi language, to develop it so that it may serve as a medium of expression for all the elements of the composite culture of India and to secure its enrichment by assimilating without interfering with its genius, the forms, style and expressions used in Hindustani and in the other languages of India specified in the Eighth Schedule, and by drawing, wherever necessary or desirable, for its vocabulary, primarily on Sanskrit and secondarily on other languages.”
• Article 350 states: “It shall be the endeavour of every State and of every local authority within the State to provide adequate facilities for instruction in the mother tongue at the primary stage of education to children belonging to linguistic minority groups; and the President may issue such directions to any State as he considers necessary or proper for securing the provision of such facilities.”

Purple Revolution

Why in News?

Lavender Cultivation’ under CSIR-IIIM’s Aroma Mission to be started in Ramban as a part of Purple Revolution

What is Purple Revolution (Under Aroma Mission)?

• Under the Aroma mission – First-time farmers were given free lavender saplings and those who have cultivated lavender before were charged a nominal amount.
• The Aroma mission aims to support domestic aromatic crop based agro economy by moving from imported aromatic oils to homegrown varieties.
• Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine, Jammu (IIIM Jammu), the two bodies are mainly responsible for making purple revolution under the Aroma Mission a success.
• Apart from being in sync with government policy of doubling farm incomes by 2022, lavender cultivation also provided employment to the district’s women farmers thus gave impetus to inclusive growth.

More about Aroma Mission

• The CSIR Aroma Mission is envisaged to bring transformative change in the aroma sector through desired interventions in the areas of agriculture, processing and product development for fuelling the growth of aroma industry and rural employment.
• The nodal laboratory is CSIR-Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (CSIR-CIMAP), Lucknow. The participating laboratories are CSIR-Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology (CSIR-IHBT), Palampur; CSIR-Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine (CSIR-IIIM), Jammu etc.
• The mission will promote the cultivation of aromatic crops for essential oils that are in great demand by the aroma industry.
• It is expected to enable Indian farmers and aroma industry to become global leaders in the production and export of some other essential oils on the pattern of menthol mint.
• It aims to provide substantial benefits to the farmers in achieving higher profits, utilization of waste lands and protection of their crops from wild and grazing animals.
• The scientific interventions made under the Aroma mission project would provide assured benefits to the growers of Vidarbha, Bundelkhand, Gujarat, Marathwada, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and other states where farmers are exposed to frequent episodes of weather extremes and account for maximum suicides.

Uses and Products of Lavender

• Main product is Lavender oil which sells for at least Rs. 10,000 per litre.
• Lavender water, which separates from lavender oil, is used to make incense sticks.
• Hydrosol, which is formed after distillation from the flowers, is used to make soaps and room fresheners.