History, Art & Culture: December 2022 UPSC Current Affairs | Current Affairs & Hindu Analysis: Daily, Weekly & Monthly PDF Download

Dr. Rajendra Prasad

Why in News?

The President of India paid floral tributes to Dr. Rajendra Prasad, the First President of India, on his birth anniversary at Rashtrapati Bhavan on 3^rd December 2022.

Who was Dr. Rajendra Prasad?

• Birth:
  • Son of Mahadev Sahai, he was born in Zeradei, Siwan, Bihar on 3^rd December 1884.
• Education:
  • He joined the famed Calcutta Presidency College in 1902.
  • In 1915, Prasad appeared in the examination of master's in law from the Department of Law, University of Calcutta, passed the examination and won a gold medal.
  • In 1916, he commenced his legal career in the Patna High Court. He completed his Doctorate in Law from Allahabad University in 1937.

Role in Fight for Freedom

• Association with Gandhiji:
  • While Gandhiji was on a fact-finding mission in Chamaparan district of Bihar to address grievances of local peasants, he called on Dr. Rajendra Prasad to come to Champaran with volunteers.
  • Gandhiji’s influence greatly altered many of his views, most importantly on caste and untouchability.
  • The Champaran Satyagraha not only brought him closer to Mahatma Gandhi, but also changed the entire course of his life.
  • The Rowlatt Act of 1918 and the Jallianwala Bagh massacre of 1919 pushed Rajendra Prasad closer to Gandhiji.
• Call for Non-cooperation:
  • Dr. Prasad called for non-cooperation in Bihar as part of Gandhiji’s non-cooperation movement.
• National College:
  • He gave up his law practice and started a National College near Patna, 1921.
• Salt Satyagraha:
  • In March 1930, Gandhiji launched the Salt Satyagraha. Under the guidance of Dr. Prasad, a salt Satyagraha was launched in Nakhas Pond, Bihar.
  • Batch after batch of volunteers courted arrest while making salt. He called for more volunteers.
  • Public opinion forced the Government to withdraw the police and allow the volunteers to make salt.
  • He then sold the manufactured salt to raise funds. He was sentenced to six months imprisonment.
• Dr. Prasad & Indian National Congress:
  • He officially joined the Indian National Congress in 1911, during its annual session held in Calcutta.
  • He presided over the Bombay session of the Indian National Congress in October 1934.
  • Following the resignation of Subhash Chandra Bose as the President of the Congress in April 1939, He was elected President for the second time.
  • In 1946, he joined the Interim Government of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru as the Minister of Food & Agriculture and gave the slogan of “Grow More Food”.
• Dr. Prasad & Constituent Assembly:
  • In July 1946, when the Constituent Assembly was established to frame the Constitution of India, he was elected its President.
• Committees of Constituent Assembly under the chairmanship of Dr. Prasad includes:
  • Ad hoc Committee on the National flag
  • Committee on the Rules of Procedure
  • Finance and Staff Committee
  • Steering Committee
  • Two and a half years after independence, on 26^th January 1950, the Constitution of independent India was ratified and he was elected India's First President.
• Awards & Recognition:
  • In 1962, after 12 years as President, Dr. Prasad retired, and was subsequently awarded the Bharat Ratna, the nation’s highest civilian award.
  • Dr. Prasad recorded his life and the decades before independence in manycbooks, which includes:
  • Satyagraha at Champaran
  • India Divided
  • His autobiography “Atmakatha”
  • Mahatma Gandhi and Bihar, Some Reminisences
  • Bapu ke Kadmon Mein
• Death:
  • Dr. Rajendra Prasad spent the last few months of his life in retirement at the Sadaqat Ashram in Patna.
  • He died on 28^th February 1963.

Sri Aurobindo: Prophet of Indian Nationalism

Why in News?

• Recently, the Indian Prime Minister has participated in a programme commemorating Sri Aurobindo’s 150^th birth anniversary in Puducherry, under the aegis of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav.
• The PM has released a commemorative coin and postal stamp in honor of Sri Aurobindo.

Who Was Sri Aurobindo?

• About:
  • Aurobindo Ghose was born in Calcutta on 15^th August 1872. He was a yogi, seer, philosopher, poet, and Indian nationalist who propounded a philosophy of divine life on earth through spiritual evolution.
  • Aurobindo’s pragmatic strategies to get rid of British rule marked him as “the Prophet of Indian Nationalism”.
• Education:
  • His education began in a Christian convent school in Darjeeling.
  • He entered the University of Cambridge, where he became proficient in two classical and several modern European languages.
  • In 1892, he held various administrative posts in Baroda (Vadodara) and Calcutta (Kolkata).
  • He began the study of Yoga and Indian languages, including classical Sanskrit.
• Indian Revolutionary Movement:
  • From 1902 to 1910 he partook in the struggle to free India from the British.
  • The partition of Bengal in 1905 provoked Aurobindo to leave his job in Baroda and plunge into the nationalist movement. He edited the patriotic journal Bande Mataram to propagate radical methods and revolutionary tactics instead of supplication.
  • He was arrested thrice by the British — twice for sedition and once for conspiring to “wage war”.
  • He was imprisoned in 1908 (Alipore Bomb case).
  • Two years later he fled British India and found refuge in the French colony of Pondichéry (Puducherry), gave up overt political activities and embraced spiritual pursuits, soon to emerge as one of the most original thinkers, philosophers and spiritual masters.
  • He met Mirra Alfassa in Pondicherry, and their spiritual collaboration led to “Integral Yoga”.
  • Integral Yoga, is a yoga of Earth transformation. The aim of this yoga is not an escape from life or a shunning of worldly existence, but a radical change in our life even while living amidst it.
• Aurobindo’s Ideas on Second World War:
  • Several Indians saw the Second World War as an opportune moment to get rid of colonial occupation; Aurobindo asked his compatriots to support the Allies and ensure Hitler’s defeat.
• Spirituality:
  • In Pondichéry he founded a community of spiritual seekers, which took shape as the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in 1926.
  • He believed that the basic principles of matter, life, and mind would be succeeded through terrestrial evolution by the principle of supermind as an intermediate power between the two spheres of the infinite and the finite.
• Literary Works:
  • An English newspaper called Bande Mataram (in 1905)
  • Bases of Yoga
  • Bhagavad Gita and Its Message
  • The Future Evolution of Man
  • Rebirth and Karma
  • Savitri: A Legend and a Symbol
  • Hour of God
  • Death: He died on 5th December 1950 in Pondicherry.

Swar Dharohar Festival

Why in News?

• Recently, the Ministry of Culture, Government of India in collaboration with “Swar Dharohar Foundation,” inaugurated a three day “Swar Dharohar Festival” under Kalanjali.
• Under Kalanjali, cultural programmes are being organised at Central Vista every week.

What is the Swar Dharohar Festival?

• It is a Music, Art & Literature Festival to showcase the iconic art and culture of India and the rich literary Art & Heritage of Indian States.
• In this program, the upcoming local Artists will perform with Legend Artist on the same platform to showcase their talents.
• The National as well as Local Poets will exhibit their artistry through Kavi Sammelan.

J C Bose: A Satyagrahi Scientist

Why in News?

• Recently, the Ministry of Culture has organized an international conference on the contributions of J C Bose: A Satyagrahi Scientist” on his 164^th birth anniversary.

Who was Jagdish Chandra Bose?

• About:
  • Born on 30^th November, 1858 to Bama Sundari Bose and Bhagawan Chandra, Bengal.
  • He was a Plant Physiologist and physicist who invented the crescograph, a device for measuring the growth of plants. He for the first time demonstrated that plants have feelings.
• Education:
  • He earned a BSc from University College London, which was connected with the University of London in 1883, and a BA (Natural Sciences Tripos) from the University of Cambridge in 1884.
• Scientific Contribution:
  • Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose was a biologist, physicist, botanist and an early writer of science fiction.
  • Bose discovered wireless communication and was named the Father of Radio Science by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineering.
  • He was responsible for the expansion of experimental science in India.
  • Bose is considered the father of Bengali science fiction. A crater on the moon has been named in his honour.
  • He founded Bose Institute, a premier research institute of India and also one of its oldest. Established in 1917, the Institute was the first interdisciplinary research centre in Asia. He served as the Director of Bose Institute from its inception until his death.
  • To facilitate his research, he constructed automatic recorders capable of registering extremely slight movements, these instruments produced some striking results, such as quivering of injured plants, which Bose interpreted as a power of feeling in plants.
• Books:
  • His books include Response in the Living and Non-Living (1902) and The Nervous Mechanism of Plants (1926).
• Death:
  • He died on 23^th November 1937 in Giridih, Bihar.

Mahaparinirvan Diwas

Why in News?

Recently, the Prime Minister paid homage to Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar on Mahaparinirvan Diwas and recalled his exemplary service to our nation.

What is Mahaparinirvan Diwas?

• Parinirvana, regarded as one of the major principles as well as goals of Buddhism, is a Sanskrit term which means release or freedom after death.
• As per the Buddhist text Mahaparinibbana Sutta, the death of Lord Buddha at the age of 80 is considered as the original Mahaparinirvan.
• 6^th December is observed to commemorate the unfathomable contribution to society given by Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar and his achievements. Owing to Ambedkar’s status as a Buddhist leader, his death anniversary is referred to as Mahaparinirvan Diwas.

Who was Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar?

• About:
  • Babasaheb Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar was a social reformer, jurist, economist, author, polyglot (knowing or using several languages) orator, a scholar, and thinker of comparative religions.
• Birth:
  • He was born in 1891 in Mhow, Central Province (now Madhya Pradesh).
• Brief Profile:
  • He is known as the Father of the Indian Constitution and was India's first Law Minister.
  • He was the Chairman of the Drafting Committee for the new Constitution.
  • He was a well-known statesman who fought for the rights of the Dalits and other socially backward classes.
• Contributions:
  • He led the Mahad Satyagraha in March 1927 against Hindus who were opposing the decision of the Municipal Board.
  • In 1926, the Municipal Board of Mahad (Maharashtra) passed an order to throw open the tank to all communities. Earlier, the untouchables were not allowed to use water from the Mahad tank.
  • He participated in all three Round Table Conferences.
  • In 1932, Dr. Ambedkar signed the Poona pact with Mahatma Gandhi, which abandoned the idea of separate electorates for the depressed classes (Communal Award).
  • However, the seats reserved for the depressed classes were increased from 71 to 147 in provincial legislatures and to 18% of the total in the Central Legislature.
  • His ideas before the Hilton Young Commission served as the foundation of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
• Election and Designation:
  • In 1937, he was elected to the Bombay Legislative Assembly as a legislator (MLA).
  • He was appointed to the Executive Council of Viceroy as a Labour member in 1942.
  • In 1947, Dr. Ambedkar accepted PM Nehru's invitation to become Minister of Law in the first Cabinet of independent India.
• Shift to Buddhism:
  • He resigned from the cabinet in 1951, over differences on the Hindu Code Bill.
  • He converted to Buddhism in 1956.
  • He was awarded India’s highest civilian honour the Bharat Ratna in 1990.

Important Works:

• Journals:
  • Mooknayak (1920)
  • Bahishkrit Bharat (1927)
  • Samatha (1929)
  • Janata (1930)
• Books:
  • Annihilation of Caste
  • Buddha or Karl Marx
  • The Untouchable: Who are They and Why They Have Become Untouchables
  • Buddha and His Dhamma
  • The Rise and Fall of Hindu Women
• Organisations:
  • Bahishkrit Hitkarini Sabha (1923)
  • Independent Labor Party (1936)
  • Scheduled Castes Federation (1942)
• Death:
  • He died on 6^th December 1956.
  • Chaitya Bhoomi is a memorial to B R Ambedkar, located in Mumbai.
• Relevance of Ambedkar in Present Times:
  • Caste-based inequality in India still persists. While Dalits have acquired a political identity through reservation and forming their own political parties, they lack behind in social dimensions (health and education) and economic dimension.
  • There has been a rise of communal polarization and communalization of politics. It is necessary that Ambedkar's vision of constitutional morality must supersede religious morality to avoid permanent damage to the Indian Constitution.