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Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose

Context: PM pays tributes to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose on his Jayanti.

Who was Subhash Chandra Bose?

• Subhas Chandra Bose was one of the most eminent freedom fighters of India.
• Born in Cuttack, in the province of Bengal to an affluent family. He was educated in Calcutta acquiring a degree in philosophy. Subhas Chandra Bose was Selected for the Indian Civil Services (ICS) but refused to take up service since he did not want to serve the British government.
• Bose joined the Indian National Congress (Formed on December 28, 1885) in 1921. He also started a newspaper called ‘Swaraj’.
• He was the President of the All India Youth Congress and also the Secretary of the Bengal State Congress. In 1924, he became the CEO of the Calcutta Municipal Corporation. In 1930, he became the Mayor of Calcutta.
• Bose authored the book ‘The Indian Struggle’ which covers the Indian independence movement from 1920 to 1942. The book was banned by the British government.
• He coined the term ‘Jai Hind’. His charisma and powerful personality inspired many people into the freedom struggle and continues to inspire Indians. He was called Netaji.

Subhash Chandra Bose’s Role in Indian Independence Struggle

• Bose was sent to prison in Mandalay for nationalist activities in 1925. He was released in 1927 and became the INC’s general secretary.
• He worked with Jawaharlal Nehru (Born on November 14 – 1889) and the two became the Congress Party’s young leaders gaining popularity among the people.
• He advocated complete Swaraj and was in favour of the use of force to gain it.
• He had differences with Gandhi and he wasn’t keen on non-violence as a tool for independence.
• Bose stood for and was elected the party’s president in 1939 but was forced to resign due to differences with Gandhi’s supporters.
• Bose’s ideology tilted towards socialism and leftist authoritarianism. He formed the All India Forward Bloc in 1939 as a faction within the Congress.
• At the start of the Second World War, Bose protested against the government for not consulting Indians before dragging them into the war. He was arrested when he organised protests in Calcutta for the removal of the monument memorialising the Black Hole of Calcutta.
• He was released after a few days but was kept under surveillance. He then made his escape from the country in 1941 to Germany via Afghanistan and the Soviet Union. He had previously travelled to Europe and met with Indian students and European political leaders.
• In Germany, he met with the Nazi leaders and hoped to stage an armed struggle against the British to gain independence. He hoped to befriend the Axis powers since they were against his ‘enemy’, the British.
• He founded the Indian Legion out of about 4500 Indian soldiers who were in the British army and had been taken prisoners by the Germans from North Africa.
• In 1943, he left Germany for Japan disillusioned with the lukewarm German support for Azad Hind.
• Bose’s arrival in Japan revived the Indian National Army (Azad Hind Fauj) which had been formed earlier with Japanese help.
• Azad Hind or the Provisional Government of Free India was established as a government-in-exile with Bose as the head. Its headquarters was in Singapore. The INA was its military.
• Bose motivated the troops with his fiery speeches. His famous quote is, “Give me blood, and I shall give you freedom!”
• The INA supported the Japanese army in its invasion of northeast India and also took control of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. However, they were forced to retreat by the British forces following the Battles of Kohima and Imphal in 1944.

Death of Subhash Chandra Bose

• Bose died of third-degree burns which he suffered in a plane crash in Taiwan on 18 August 1945.
• However, many in India refused to believe that he had died.
• Many enquiry committees were tasked with finding out what happened on that day. 
• The Figgess Report (1946) and the Shah Nawaz Committee (1956) concluded that Bose died in the plane crash in Taiwan.
• The Khosla Commission (1970) also concurred with the previous reports.
• But the Mukherjee Commission (2005) said that Bose’s death could not be proved. This report was rejected by the government.

Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar 2021

Context: Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar 2021 announced.

About the Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar

• In order to recognise the excellent work done by individuals and institutions in India in the field of disaster management, the Government of India has instituted an annual award known as Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar.
• The award is announced every year on 23rd January, the birth anniversary of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose.
• Up to three awards are given under this. Both institutions and individuals are eligible for these awards.
• If the awardee is an institution, it shall receive a certificate and a cash prize of Rs. 51 lakhs. The Institution shall utilize this cash prize for Disaster Management related activities only.
• If the awardee is an individual, the winner shall receive a certificate and a cash prize of Rs. 5.00 lakhs.
• Only Indian nationals and Indian institutions can apply for the award.
• For institutional awards, voluntary organizations, corporate entities, academic/research institutions, response/uniformed forces or any other institution may apply for the award.

Aqua Rejuvenation Plant (ARP)

Context: CSIR-CMERI unveils ‘Aqua Rejuvenation Plant’ which facilitates an Organic Farming Model through treated Waste Water. 

Details

• CSIR-Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute, Durgapur unveiled the first-ever Wastewater Treatment Technology Model which purifies Waste Water for Irrigation/Farming purposes.

About Aqua Rejuvenation Plant

• Aqua Rejuvenation Plant (ARP) is an Integrated Waste Water Rejuvenation Model which has six-stage purification profile for comprehensive treatment of Waste Water, based upon diverse purification parameters.
• The approx. 24,000 litres of water that can be rejuvenated using ARP will be sufficient for almost 4 acres of Agricultural Land (barring seasonal variations in water requirements).
• The used filtration media have been specially developed to handle Indian sewage water parameters and based upon geographical variations they may be modified.
• The filter media is also locally source-able, so as to ensure that there would not be any stress in the supply chain for scaled-up manufacturing of ARP.
• The treated water which is now being used for irrigation can be used even for drinking purpose also when little more time is given for settling.
• The system has a dual benefit as while the treated water is being used for irrigation purpose, the filtered sludge generated is also utilized as manure/fertilizer.
• The biochar prepared from dry leaves falling in autumn season is also used for mixing in the soil as it reduces the water requirement for irrigation thus saving precious water.

New ant species discovered from Kerala

What’s in News?

• Two new species of a rare ant genus have been discovered in India.
• The species of the ant genus Ooceraea found in Kerala, and Tamil Nadu adds to the diversity of this rare genus.
• They differ from others of the same genus on the basis of the number of antennal segments.
• One of them, found in the Periyar Tiger Reserve of Kerala, has been named Ooceraea joshii, after a distinguished evolutionary biologist from Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR).

About ant genus Ooceraea

• The genus is currently represented by 14 species of which eight possess nine-segmented antennae, while five possess eleven- segmented antennae and one species has recently been reported with eight-segmented antennae.
• In India, the genus was so far represented by two species with nine- and eleven-segmented antennae respectively.