UPSC Daily Current Affairs- September 10, 2022 | Current Affairs & Hindu Analysis: Daily, Weekly & Monthly PDF Download

GS-I

Context

Warangal, Nilambur, and Thrissur have joined the UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities (GNLC).

What does UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities mean?

• An international policy-oriented network, the UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities is a network of inspiration, know-how and best practices.
• It is coordinated by the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL).
• The Network has member cities that it supports in aspects like promoting policy dialogue and peer learning, documenting effective strategies and best practices; building partnerships; capacity development; and more.

What is a learning city?

• According to UNESCO, a learning city is one that
  • effectively mobilizes its resources in every sector to promote inclusive learning from basic to higher education
  • revitalizes learning in families and communities
  • facilitates learning for and in the workplace
  • extends the use of modern learning technologies
  • enhances quality and excellence in learning
  • fosters a culture of learning throughout life
• In doing so, the city enhances individual empowerment and social inclusion, economic development and cultural prosperity, and sustainable development

Inclusion of Indian cities

• The Indian cities, Nilambur and Thrissur in Kerala, and Warangal in Telangana became the nation’s first entrants in the UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities.
• As per UNESCO, 77 cities from 44 countries across the globe have joined the UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities.
• The group of global cities also includes cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Hamburg, Athens, Incheon, Bristol, and Dublin.
• The inclusion will foster sharing of ideas with other cities, provide already applied solutions to issues and much more.

About the cities

• Thrissur – the cultural capital of Kerala
  • Popularly known as the cultural capital of Kerala, Thrissur is home to academic and research institutions.
  • It is also known for its jewellery industry, especially gold.
  • As a member of the UNESCOI GNLC, Thrissur hopes to contribute to the intellectual and peer learning processes, focusing on equitable access to learning for all, digital learning ecosystems and skills for sustainability.
  • Thrissur ticked UNESCO’s check boxes in aspects of good practices, equity and inclusion among other factors.
  • For e.g., the presence of a MSME-Development Institute of India regional centre in Thrissur offers institutional support in promoting decent work and entrepreneurship through upskilling.
• Nilambur, Kerala’s eco-tourism destination
  • Nilambur is an eco-tourism destination in the Kerala.
  • It is a city with various socio-economic patterns marked by an urban and rural mix.
  • The majority of the population depends on agriculture and allied industries.
  • The city offers free healthcare facilities to all citizens and utilizes health volunteers to provide door-to-door treatment for bedded patients.
  • It also promotes first-aid training for students and young citizens.
  • Nilambur aims to promote sustainable development, gender equality, inclusivity and democracy through community ownership.
  • Nilambur also aspires to become a women-friendly city by ensuring equal opportunities in all sectors, promoting capacity-building and reducing harassment.
  • As a learning city, Nilambur aims to work to innovate in agriculture and handicrafts, promote eco-tourism and improve water management.
• Warangal, the tourism spot
  • Warangal has a rich cultural heritage. The city is a major tourism venue, welcoming 3.2 million tourists every year.
  • Warangal’s economy is primarily composed of agricultural, industrial and service sectors.
  • The city promotes equity and inclusion, for which it has implemented several strategies, including Women and Child Welfare policy, Urban Policy etc.
  • Further, it also provides free training to the transgender community which helps in employment opportunities.

Context

The Vice President has released the Arabic Version of “Majma Ul-Bahrain” of Mughal Prince Dara Shikoh.

Who was Dara Shikoh?

• Dara Shikoh, who was Mughal emperor Shah Jahan’s son and expected heir, was killed on the orders of his brother Aurangzeb in 1659 after losing the war of succession.
• He was the eldest son and heir-apparent of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan.
• Dara was designated with the title Padshahzada-i-Buzurg Martaba (Prince of High Rank) and was favored as a successor by his father and his older sister, Princess Jahanara Begum.
• In the war of succession which ensued after Shah Jahan’s illness in 1657, Dara was defeated by his younger brother Prince Muhiuddin (Aurangzeb).
• He was executed in 1659 on Aurangzeb’s orders in a bitter struggle for the imperial throne.

His legacy

• Dara was a liberal-minded unorthodox Muslim as opposed to the orthodox Aurangzeb.
• He authored the work Majma Ul-Bahrain (The Confluence of the Two Seas), which argues for the harmony of Sufi philosophy in Islam and Vedanta philosophy in Hinduism.
• It was Dara Shikoh who was responsible for making the Upanishads available to the West as he had them translated.
• He had commissioned a translation of Yoga Vasistha.
• A great patron of the arts, he was also more inclined towards philosophy and mysticism rather than military pursuits.
• He translated the Upanishads and other important works from Sanskrit to Persian. He was convinced that the Upanishads are what the Qur’an calls ‘Al-Kitab Al-Maknoun’ (The Hidden book).

SC takes up pleas against Places of Worship Act

Context

The Supreme Court has set the ball rolling on a series of petitions challenging the validity of the Places of Worship Act of 1991, a parliamentary law that protects the identity and character of religious places as on August 15, 1947.

What are the petitions about?

• A slew of petitions has been filed against the Act.
• The Act has fixed a retrospective cut-off date illegally barring Hindus, Jains, Buddhists and Sikhs from approaching courts to re-claim their places of worship which were invaded and encroached.
• The main objective of these petitions is to set right a historical wrong committed by barbaric invaders.

Places of Worship Act, 1991

• It was passed in 1991 by the P V Narasimha Rao-led government.
• The law seeks to maintain the “religious character” of places of worship as it was in 1947 — except in the case of the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute, which was already in court.
• The law was brought in at the peak of the Ram Mandir movement, exactly a year before the demolition of the Babri Masjid.
• Introducing the law, then Home Minister S B Chavan said in Parliament that it was adopted to curb communal tension.

What are its provisions?

• Anti-conversion: Section 3 of the Act bars the conversion, in full or part, of a place of worship of any religious denomination into a place of worship of a different religious denomination — or even a different segment of the same religious denomination.
• Holiness of a place: Section 4(1) declares that the religious character of a place of worship “shall continue to be the same as it existed” on August 15, 1947.
• Litigation: Section 4(2) says any suit or legal proceeding with respect to the conversion of the religious character of any place existing on August 15, 1947, pending before any court, shall abate — and no fresh suit or legal proceedings shall be instituted.
• Exception for Ayodhya: Section 5 stipulates that the Act shall not apply to the Ramjanmabhoomi-Babri Masjid case, and to any suit, appeal or proceeding relating to it.

Why is the law under challenge?

• The cut-off date of August 15, 1947, is “arbitrary, irrational and retrospective” and prohibits Hindus, Jains, Buddhists, and Sikhs from approaching courts to “reclaim” their places of worship.
• Such places, he argued, were “invaded” and “encroached” upon by “fundamentalist barbaric invaders”.
• The right-wing politicians have opposed the law even when it was introduced, arguing that the Centre has no power to legislate on “pilgrimages” or “burial grounds” which is under the state list.
• Another criticism against the law is that the cut-off is the date of Independence, which means that the status quo determined by a colonial power is considered final.

Uttarakhand panel seeks inputs on UCC

Context

The expert committee formed by the Uttarakhand government to examine ways for the implementation of a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) has launched a website, seeking public opinion on the plan.

What is a Uniform Civil Code?

• A Uniform Civil Code (UCC) is one that would provide for one personal civil law for the entire country.
• This would be applicable to all religious communities in their personal matters such as marriage, divorce, inheritance, adoption etc.

Basis for Uniform Civil Code

• Article 44, one of the Directive Principles of the Constitution lays down that the state shall endeavour to secure a UCC for the citizens throughout the territory of India.
• These, as defined in Article 37, are not justiciable (not enforceable by any court) but the principles laid down therein are fundamental in governance.

UCC vs. Right to Freedom of Religion

• Article 25 lays down an individual’s fundamental right to religion
• Article 26(b) upholds the right of each religious denomination or any section thereof to “manage its own affairs in matters of religion”
• Article 29 defines the right to conserve distinctive culture

Reasonable restrictions on the Freedom of Religion

• An individual’s freedom of religion under Article 25 is subject to “public order, health, morality” and other provisions relating to FRs, but a group’s freedom under Article 26 has not been subjected to other FRs.
• In the Constituent Assembly, there was division on the issue of putting UCC in the fundamental rights chapter. The matter was settled by a vote.
• By a 5:4 majority, the fundamental rights sub-committee headed by Sardar Patel held that the provision was outside the scope of FRs and therefore the UCC was made less important.

Minority Opinion in the Constituent Assembly

• Some members sought to immunize Muslim Personal Law from state regulation.
• Mohammed Ismail, who thrice tried unsuccessfully to get Muslim Personal Law exempted from Article 44, said a secular state should not interfere with the personal law of people.
• B Pocker Saheb said he had received representations against a common civil code from various organisations, including Hindu organisations.
• Hussain Imam questioned whether there could ever be uniformity of personal laws in a diverse country like India.
• B R Ambedkar said “no government can use its provisions in a way that would force the Muslims to revolt”.
• Alladi Krishnaswami, who was in favour of a UCC, conceded that it would be unwise to enact UCC ignoring strong opposition from any community.
• Gender justice was never discussed in these debates.

What are more important — fundamental rights or directive principles?

• There is no doubt that fundamental rights are more important.
• The Supreme Court held in Minerva Mills (1980): Indian Constitution is founded on the bed-rock of the balance between Parts III (Fundamental Rights) and IV (Directive Principles).
• To give absolute primacy to one over the other is to disturb the harmony of the Constitution.
• Article 31C inserted by the 42nd Amendment in 1976, however, lays down that if a law is made to implement any directive principle, it cannot be challenged on the ground of being violative of the FRs under Articles 14 and 19.

What about Personal Laws?

• Citizens belonging to different religions and denominations follow different property and matrimonial laws which are an affront to the nation’s unity.
• If the framers of the Constitution had intended to have a UCC, they would have given exclusive jurisdiction to Parliament in respect of personal laws, by including this subject in the Union List.
• “Personal Laws” are mentioned in the Concurrent List.

Hurdles to UCC implementation

• There are practical difficulties due to religious and cultural diversity in India.
• The UCC is often perceived by minorities as an encroachment of religious freedom.
• It is often regarded as interference of the state in personal matters of the minorities.
• Experts often argue that the time is not ripe for Indian society to embrace such UCC.

These questions need to be addressed which are being completely ignored in the present din around UCC.

• Firstly, how can uniformity in personal laws are brought without disturbing the distinct essence of each and every component of the society.
• Secondly, what makes us believe that practices of one community are backward and unjust?
• Thirdly, has other uniformities been able to eradicate inequalities that diminish the status of our society as a whole?

GS-II

Context

Recently, the United States and Indonesian militaries had conducted annual joint combat exercises on Indonesia’s Sumatra Island.

• For the first time, participants from other partner nations have also joined amid growing maritime activity by China in the Indo-Pacific region.

What do we need to know about the Joint Military Drill?

• More than 5,000 soldiers from the U.S., Indonesia, Australia, Japan and Singapore participated in this 2022’s exercises.
• The exercises were designed to strengthen interoperability, capability, trust and cooperation in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific.
• The exercises lasted till 14^th August 2022, encompassing army, navy, air force and marine drills.

Which are India’s Exercises with US & Indonesia?

• US
  • Exercise Yudh Abhyas: It is the largest running joint military training and defence cooperation endeavor between India and the US.
  • Exercise Tiger Triumph (Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief exercise): It aims to develop interoperability for conducting HADR operations.
  • Exercise Vajra Prahar (Special Forces’ Exercise): The joint exercise by the Special Forces of both the countries is conducted alternatively between India and the United States.
• Indonesia
  • Exercise Samudra Shakti (Maritime): In pursuance of India’s Act East Policy, Exercise ‘Samudra Shakti’ was conceived in 2018 as a bilateral IN-IDN exercise.
  • The exercise aims to strengthen the bilateral relationship, and enhance mutual understanding and interoperability in maritime operations between the two navies.
  • IND-INDO CORPAT (Maritime Exercise): India-Indonesia Coordinated Patrol build up understanding and interoperability between navies and facilitate institution of measures to prevent and suppress Illegal Unreported Unregulated (IUU) fishing, drug trafficking, maritime terrorism, armed robbery and piracy.

Context

Recently, the Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference which was held in New York ended without adopting a substantive outcome due to Russia’s objection.

What is the Nuclear Proliferation Treaty?

• About
  • The NPT is an international treaty whose objective is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, to foster the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, and to further the goal of disarmament.
  • The treaty was signed in 1968 and entered into force in 1970. Presently, it has 191 member states.
    • India is not a member.
  • It requires countries to give up any present or future plans to build nuclear weapons in return for access to peaceful uses of nuclear energy.
  • It represents the only binding commitment in a multilateral treaty to the goal of disarmament by the nuclear-weapon States.
  • Nuclear-weapon states parties under the NPT are defined as those that manufactured and exploded a nuclear weapon or other nuclear explosive devices before 1^st January, 1967.
• India’s Stand
  • India is one of the only five countries that either did not sign the NPT or signed but withdrew later, thus becoming part of a list that includes Pakistan, Israel, North Korea, and South Sudan.
  • India always considered the NPT as discriminatory and had refused to sign it.
  • India has opposed the international treaties aimed at non-proliferation since they were selectively applicable to the non-nuclear powers and legitimised the monopoly of the five nuclear weapons powers.

What are the Concerns Arising Out of Russia’s Disagreement?

• The occupation of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in southeastern Ukraine as well as the takeover of the Chernobyl nuclear plant, scene of the world's worst nuclear disaster in 1986, renewed global fears of another nuclear emergency.
• The threat of nuclear weapons use today is higher than at any time since the heights of the Cold War and the deteriorated international security environment.
• This NPT conference represents a missed opportunity to strengthen the treaty and global security by agreeing to a specific action plan with benchmarks and timeframes to effectively address the growing dangers of nuclear arms racing and nuclear weapons use.

What are the Other Treaties and Agreements related to Nuclear Weapon?

• The Treaty Banning Nuclear Weapon Tests in the Atmosphere, In Outer Space and Under Water, also known as the Partial Test Ban Treaty (PTBT).
• Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT): India has not signed the CTBT as India is a strong advocate for a time-bound disarmament commitment from nuclear weapon states (NWS) and may use the lack of a commitment as a reason to refrain from signing the CTBT.
• The Treaty on the Prohibition of nuclear weapons (TPNW): It entered into force on 22 January 2021 and India is not a member of this treaty.
• Nuclear Suppliers Group(NSG): India is not a member of the NSG.
• The Missile Technology Control Regime.
• Hague Code of Conduct against Ballistic Missile Proliferation.
• The Wassenaar Arrangement.

GS-III

Context

Japanese scientists have devised a system that can create cyborg cockroaches that are part insect and part machine.

About Cyborg cockroaches

• Cyborg cockroaches’ movements are controlled by tiny integrated circuits.
• They will be able to conduct surveillance in procedures like urban search and rescue, environmental monitoring and inspection of areas dangerous to humans.
• By equipping the cockroaches with small wireless control modules, handlers will be able to control the insect’s legs remotely for long periods of time.
• The team used Madagascar cockroaches, which are not only the largest species of cockroaches, reaching an estimated 6 cm, but are also known for making hissing sounds when disturbed, which they make by expelling air from the openings on their back.

How is it powered?

• The researchers also designed the system to be rechargeable, by powering it with a super thin 0.004 mm solar cell module that is installed on the dorsal side of the cockroach’s abdomen.
• This was done to ensure that the battery remains charged and the cockroach can be controlled for long periods of time, while simultaneously ensuring that the movement remains unhindered.

Context

Indian Railways had successfully completed trials of the second generation Vande Bharat train that will come with enhanced passenger comfort and safety features. 

About Vande Bharat Express

• The Vande Bharat Express is a semi-high-speed train designed, developed, and built by the Integral Coach Factory (ICF).
• Presently there are only two Vande Bharat trains that are running — Delhi to Varanasi and Delhi to Katra.

Key Features

• The current Vande Bharat trains have seating only in two classes — chair car and executive chair car. But Railways is planning to upgrade it.
• The trains have fully sealed gangways for a dust-free environment, modular bio-vacuum toilets, rotating seats in Executive Class, personalized reading lights, automatic entry/exit doors with sliding footsteps, diffused LED lighting, mini pantry, and sensor-based interconnecting doors in each coach.
• They are self-propelled trains that do not require an engine. This feature is called a distributed traction power system.

Benefits of Vande Bharat Trains

• Cuts Travel Time Drastically
• Energy Efficient
• Reduce Turnaround Time
• Faster Acceleration and Deceleration among others