Daily Prelims Notes 17 January 2022

January 17, 2022
Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
Category: DPN

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Daily Prelims Notes

17 January 2022

Table Of Contents

1. Jizya

Subject – History

Context – need to revisit Shivaji’s idea of Hindu culture

Concept –

Jizyah, also spelled jizya, historically, a tax (the term is often incorrectly translated as a “head tax” or “poll tax”) paid by non-Muslim populations to their Muslim rulers.
The Quran and hadiths mention jizya without specifying its rate or amount, and the application of jizya varied in the course of Islamic history.
In India, Qutb-ud-din Aibak imposed jizya on non-Muslims for the first time.
Jizya was abolished by the Mughal ruler Akbar in 16th century but was re-introduced by Aurangzeb in the 17th century.
Together with kharāj, a term that was sometimes used interchangeably with jizya, taxes levied on non-Muslim subjects were among the main sources of revenues collected by some Islamic polities, such as the Ottoman Empire and Indian Muslim Sultanates.
Jizya rate was usually a fixed annual amount depending on the financial capability of the payer.
Muslim jurists required adult, free, sane males among the dhimma community to pay the jizya, while exempting women, children, elders, handicapped, the ill, the insane, monks, hermits, slaves, and musta’mins—non-Muslim foreigners who only temporarily reside in Muslim lands.
Dhimmis who chose to join military service were also exempted from payment, as were those who could not afford to pay.

Chhatrapati Shivaji

ShivajiBhonsale I also referred to as Chhatrapati Shivaji, was an Indian ruler and a member of the Bhonsle Maratha clan.
Shivaji 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 the Chhatrapati of his realm at Raigad.
Over the course of his life, Shivaji engaged in both alliances and hostilities with the Mughal Empire, the Sultanate of Golkonda, Sultanate of Bijapur and the European colonial powers.
Shivaji’s military forces expanded the Maratha sphere of influence, capturing and building forts, and forming a Maratha navy.
Shivaji established a competent and progressive civil rule with well-structured administrative organisations.
He revived ancient Hindu political traditions, court conventions and promoted the usage of the Marathi and Sanskrit languages, replacing Persian in court and administration.
Shivaji offered his assistance to Aurangzeb who then, was the Mughal viceroy of the Deccan and son of the Mughal emperor, in conquering Bijapur in return for formal recognition of his right to the Bijapuri forts and villages under his possession.
- Dissatisfied with the Mughal response, and receiving a better offer from Bijapur, he launched a raid into the Mughal Deccan.

Aurangzeb

He assumed the title Alamgir, World Conqueror.
He was the sixth Mughal emperor, who ruled over almost the entire Indian subcontinent for a period of 49 years.
- Aurangzeb stretched his territory from Kashmir (in the north) to Jinji (in the south), and from the Hindukush (in the west) to Chittagong (in the east).
Widely considered to be the last effective ruler of the Mughal Empire, Aurangzeb compiled the Fatawa-e-Alamgiri, and was among the few monarchs to have fully established Sharia law and Islamic economics throughout the Indian subcontinent.
He was an accomplished military leader whose rule has been the subject of praise, though he has also been described as the most controversial ruler in Indian history
Under his reign, India surpassed Qing China to become the world’s largest economy and biggest manufacturing power, worth nearly a quarter of global GDP and more than the entirety of Western Europe, and its largest and wealthiest subdivision, the Bengal Subah, signaled proto-industrialization.

2. Fiscal Discipline

Subject – Economy

Context – Fiscal discipline, digital economy must be the policy focus: Ruchir Sharma

Concept –

Fiscal Discipline refers to a state of an ideal balance between revenues and expenditure of government, in an economy. If the fiscal discipline is not maintained, then the government expenditure exceeds government receipts.
- Under this condition, the government would have to borrow funds or incurred with deficit financing from the central bank. This may depreciate the currency and create inflation in an economy.
It is the ability of a government to sustain smooth monetary operation and long-standing fiscal condition.
It is a benchmark for tax devolution. It was used since 11th Finance Commission to provide an incentive to states handling their finances deliberately.

Debt

Debt is an obligation that requires one party, the debtor, to pay money or other agreed-upon value to another party, the creditor. Debt is a deferred payment, or series of payments, which differentiates it from an immediate purchase.
The debt may be owed by sovereign state or country, local government, company, or an individual.
Loans, bonds, notes, and mortgages are all types of debt.
In financial accounting, debt is a type of financial transaction, as distinct from equity.

Debt-to-GDP ratio is the ratio between a country’s debt and its gross domestic product. It is a reliable indicator on how capable a country is in paying its debts.

3. Rare Earth Elements

Subject – Science and Tech

Context – The world is in search of alternative supply chains of rare earth elements. India with its rich reserves must leverage this

Concept –

To know about Rare Earth Elements, please refer June 2021 DPN.

India’s Current Policy on Rare Earth elements –

Exploration in India has been conducted by the Bureau of Mines and the Department of Atomic Energy. Mining and processing has been performed by some minor private players in the past, but is today concentrated in the hands of IREL (India) Limited (formerly Indian Rare Earths Limited), a Public Sector Undertaking under the Department of Atomic Energy.
India has granted government corporations such as IREL a monopoly over the primary mineral that contains REEs: monazite beach sand, found in many coastal states.
IREL produces rare earth oxides (low-cost, low-reward “upstream processes”), selling these to foreign firms that extract the metals and manufacture end products (high-cost, high-reward “downstream processes”) elsewhere.
IREL’s focus is to provide thorium — extracted from monazite — to the Department of Atomic Energy.

4. National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA)

Subject – Art and Culture

Context – On Republic Day, work by 500 artists to celebrate heroes of freedom struggle

Concept –

On January 26, as India celebrates its 73rd Republic Day, the festivities will also include a tribute to its freedom fighters. In an open gallery at Rajpath, the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA) will showcase gigantic scrolls, each over 750 metres long, painted by over 500 artists from across India.
Largely painted during art camps held over the last month, apart from portraits and figurative narratives, the scrolls also reflect traditional art genres such as Pattachitra, TalapatraChitra, Manjusha, Madhubani, and Patua.

About National Gallery of Modern Art

The National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA) is the premier art gallery under Ministry of Culture, Government of India.
The main museum at Jaipur House in New Delhi was established on 29 March 1954 by the Government of India, with subsequent branches at Mumbai and Bangalore.
Its collection of more than 1700 works by 2000 plus artists includes artists such as Thomas Daniell, Raja Ravi Verma, Abanindranath Tagore, Rabindranath Tagore, Gaganendranath Tagore, Nandalal Bose, Jamini Roy, Amrita Sher-Gil as well as foreign artists.
Some of the oldest works preserved here date back to 1857.
With 12,000 square meters of exhibition space, the Delhi branch is one of the world’s largest modern art museums.
The scrolls also refer to the artwork in the Constitution of India, with margins on the panels inspired by the artwork of Nandalal Bose and his associates, who illustrated the handcrafted document.

Pattachitra

To know about Pattachitra, please refer July 2021 DPN.

The paintings of Odisha can be divided into three categories from the point of view of medium, i.e. paintings on cloth or ‘PattaChitra’, paintings on walls or ‘BhittiChitra’ and palm leaf engravings or “Tala PatraChitra’ or “PothiChitra’.
The style of all these remains more or less the same at a specific time.

Manjusha

Manjusha Art is folk art of Ang region which is based on Folklore of Bihula-Bishari. Ang region in modern era known as Bhagalpur. It is one of the popular art form of Bihar.
The name Manjusa is also associated with an elaborate story, a goddess and also a festival celebrated in Bhagalpur.
The Sanskrit word “Manjusa”means a box and Manjusas are temple shaped boxes, made of bamboo, Jute-Straw and Paper inside which the devotees keep their ceremonial materials.
These boxes are however illustrated with paintings that tell a tale. The tale is that of Bihula who saved her husband from the deity’s wrath and a snake-bite and also of Bishahari or Mansa, the snake goddess known for her anger when displeased but also her fierce protectiveness when propitiated.
In Manjusha Art borders are very important, every painting must contains one or more border in it.
Manjusha art is very vibrant and eye catching design & Colours.

Madhubani

To know about Madhubani paintings, please refer October 2021 DPN.

Patua

The Patua are an artisan community found in the state of West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand and Odisha in India and parts of Bangladesh. Some Patuas are Hindus, while others are Muslims.
Hindu Patuas are active in the Kalighat and Kumartuli regions of Calcutta, along with some other parts of West Bengal.
The paintings tradition of Patuas was started as a village tradition as painters of scrolls or pats telling the popular mangal stories of the gods and goddesses.
The Patua painters or scroll painters have gone from village to village with their scrolls or pat singing stories in return for money or food.
These pats or scrolls are made of sheets of paper of equal or different sizes which are sown together and painted with ordinary poster paints.

5. Oxfam Report 2021

Subject – Governance

Context – Oxfam report: In 2021, income of 84% households fell, but number of billionaires grew

Concept –

Report is released by Oxfam International.
The income of 84 per cent of households in the country declined in 2021, but at the same time the number of Indian billionaires grew from 102 to 142, an Oxfam report has said, pointing to a stark income divide worsened by the Covid pandemic.
India has the third highest number of billionaires in the world, just behind China and the United States, says the report, with more billionaires than France, Sweden and Switzerland combined — a 39 per cent increase in the number of billionaires in India in 2021.

6. Tsunamis

Subject – Disaster Management

Context – Tsunami threat recedes after undersea volcanic eruption in Pacific

Concept –

The word “tsunami” comprises the Japanese words ”tsu” (meaning harbour) and “nami” (meaning wave). A tsunami is a series of enormous waves created by an underwater disturbance usually associated with earthquakes occurring below or near the ocean.
Volcanic eruptions, submarine landslides, and coastal rock falls can also generate a tsunami, as can a large asteroid impacting the ocean. They originate from a vertical movement of the sea floor with the consequent displacement of water mass.
Tsunami waves often look like walls of water and can attack the shoreline and be dangerous for hours, with waves coming every 5 to 60 minutes.
The first wave may not be the largest, and often it is the 2nd, 3rd, 4th or even later waves that are the biggest.

Causes of Tsunami

Earthquakes

It can be generated by movements along fault zones associated with plate boundaries. The region where two plates come in contact is a plate boundary, and the way in which one plate moves relative to another determines the type of boundary:
- spreading, where two plates move away from each other;
- subduction, where two plates move towards each other and one slides beneath the other;
- transform where two plates slide horizontally past each other.
Most strong earthquakes occur in subduction zones where an ocean plate slides under a continental plate or another younger ocean plate.
All earthquakes do not cause tsunamis. There are four conditions necessary for an earthquake to cause a tsunami:
- The earthquake must occur beneath the ocean or cause the material to slide into the ocean.
- The earthquake must be strong, at least magnitude6.5 on the Richter Scale
- The earthquake must rupture the Earth’s surface and it must occur at shallow depth – less than 70km below the surface of the Earth.
- The earthquake must cause vertical movement of the seafloor (up to several meters).

Landslides
- A landslide that occurs along the coast can force large amounts of water into the sea, disturbing the water and generate a tsunami. Underwater landslides can also result in tsunamis when the material loosened by the landslide moves violently, pushing the water in front of it.
Volcanic Eruption

Although relatively infrequent, violent volcanic eruptions represent also impulsive disturbances, which can displace a great volume of water and generate extremely destructive tsunami waves in the immediate source area.
According to this mechanism, waves may be generated by the sudden displacement of water caused by a volcanic explosion, by a volcanos slope failure, or more likely by a phreatomagmatic explosion and collapse/engulfment of the volcanic magmatic chambers.
One of the largest and most destructive tsunamis ever recorded was generated in August 26, 1883 after the explosion and collapse of the volcano of Krakatoa (Krakatau), in Indonesia.

Extra-terrestrial Collision
- Tsunamis caused by extra-terrestrial collision (i.e. asteroids, meteors) are an extremely rare occurrence. Although no meteor/asteroid induced tsunami has been recorded in recent history, scientists realize that if these celestial bodies should strike the ocean, a large volume of water would undoubtedly be displaced to cause a tsunami.
- Scientists have calculated that if a moderately large asteroid, 5-6 km in diameter, should strike the middle of the large ocean basin such as the Atlantic Ocean, it would produce a tsunami that would travel all the way to the Appalachian Mountains in the upper two-thirds of the United States.

7. Measles Mumps Rubella Vaccine

Subject – Governance

Context – 3 infants die after MMR vaccination in Karnataka

Concept –

The MMR vaccine is a vaccine against measles, mumps, and rubella (German measles).
After two doses, 97% of people are protected against measles, 88% against mumps, and at least 97% against rubella.
The vaccine is also recommended for those who do not have evidence of immunity, those with well-controlled HIV/AIDS, and within 72 hours of exposure to measles among those who are incompletely immunized.
It is given by injection.

Measles

It is a highly contagious viral disease and is a cause of death among young children globally.
It is particularly dangerous for children from the economically weaker background, as it attacks malnourished children and those with reduced immunity.
It can cause serious complications, including blindness, encephalitis, severe diarrhoea, ear infection and pneumonia.

Rubella

It is also called German Measles.
Rubella is a contagious, generally mild viral infection that occurs most often in children and young adults.
Rubella infection in pregnant women may cause death or congenital defects known as Congenital Rubella Syndrome (CRS) which causes irreversible birth defects.

Mumps

Mumps is a contagious disease caused by a Paramyxovirus. This infectious disease primarily affects the salivary glands, located below the ears. It is also called as the parotid glands, which are mainly responsible for the production of saliva.
Mumps disease is usually transmitted through the infected saliva, nasal secretions or respiratory droplets, and close contact with the infected person.
This viral infection is commonly seen in children and is minor but in adults it can be complicated.
Vaccination is the only way to prevent mumps.

8. Narayana Guru

Subject – History

Context – Decision to drop Narayana Guru’s tableau at Republic Day parade slammed

Concept –

Shree Narayana Guru (1856–1928), also known as Shree Narayana Guru Swami, was a saint & social reformer of India.
The Guru was born into an Ezhava family, in an era when people from backward communities like the Ezhavas faced social injustice in the caste-ridden Kerala society.
Gurudevan, as he was known among his followers, led Reform movement in Kerala, revolted against caste system and worked on propagating new values of freedom in spirituality and social equality which transformed the Kerala society.
He also gave the universal message, “One caste, one religion, one God.”
Aravipuram Movement was launched by Sri Narayana Guru on Shivaratri day of 1888. On that day, Sri Narayana Guru defied the religious restrictions traditionally placed on the Ezhava community, and consecrated an idol of Shiva at Aravipuram. This drew the famous poet KumaranAsan as a disciple of Narayana Guru.
In 1913, he founded the Advaita Ashram at Aluva. This was an important event in his spiritual quest. This Ashram was dedicated to a great principle – OmSahodaryamSarvatra (all men are equal in the eyes of God).

9. Predatory Pricing

Subject – Economy

Context – Predatory pricing is prising Indian livelihoods apart

Concept –

Predatory pricing is the illegal act of setting prices low to attempt to eliminate the competition.
Predatory pricing violates antitrust laws, as it makes markets more vulnerable to a monopoly.
Consumers may benefit from lower prices in the short term, but they suffer if the scheme succeeds in eliminating competition, as this would trigger a rise in prices and a decline in choice.
Prosecutions for predatory pricing have been complicated by the short-term consumer benefits and the difficulty of proving the intent to create a market monopoly.
The difference between predatory pricing and competitive pricing is during the recouping phase of lost profits by the dominant firm charging higher prices.
Under the Indian jurisprudence, Predatory pricing is described as ‘unfair or discriminatory’ pricing, and is forbidden by law under Section 4 of the Competition Act, 2002 (hereinafter referred to as “the Act”), which refers to the “Abuse of a Dominant Position”.

10. Sec 375 of IPC

Subject – Polity

Context – ‘Govt. talk on marital rape a delaying tactic’

Concept –

To know about marital rape and Sec 375 of IPC, please refer September 2021 DPN.

11. Gokak Agitation

Subject – Governance

Context – Organisations decry ‘step motherly treatment’ meted out to Kannada

Concept –

The Gokak agitation was a successful language rights agitation in the 1980s that fought for the first-language status of the Kannada language in the South Indian state of Karnataka.
It was named after the committee headed by Vinayaka Krishna Gokak, which recommended giving primacy to Kannada in state schools.

12. Commonwealth War Graves Commission

Subject – IR

Context – In Kohima, a cemetery with a tennis court. It is one of several Second World War graves maintained by Commonwealth War Graves Commission

Concept –

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark record and maintain the graves and places of commemoration of Commonwealth of Nations military service members who died in the two World Wars.
Members are Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand, South Africa and United Kingdom.
The commission is also responsible for commemorating Commonwealth civilians who died as a result of enemy action during World War II.
The commission was founded by Sir Fabian Ware and constituted through Royal Charter in 1917 as the Imperial War Graves Commission. The change to the present name took place in 1960.
The commission, as part of its mandate, is responsible for commemorating all Commonwealth war dead individually and equally.
To this end, the war dead are commemorated by a name on a headstone, at an identified site of a burial, or on a memorial. War dead are commemorated uniformly and equally, irrespective of military or civil rank, race or creed.

13. Web3

Subject – Science and Tech

Context – Web3: A vision for the future

Concept –

The concept of Web3, also called Web 3.0, used to describe a potential next phase of the internet, created quite a buzz in 2021. The model, a decentralised internet to be run on blockchain technology, would be different from the versions in use, Web 1.0 and Web 2.0. In web3, users will have ownership stakes in platforms and applications unlike now where tech giants control the platforms.

Web 1.0 and Web 2.0

Web 1.0 is the World Wide Web or the internet that was invented in 1989. It became popular from 1993. The internet in the Web 1.0 days was mostly static web pages where users would go to a website and then read and interact with the static information. Even though there were e-commerce websites in the initial days it was still a closed environment and the users themselves could not create any content or post reviews on the internet. Web 1.0 lasted until 1999.
Web 2.0 started in some form in the late 1990s itself though 2004 was when most of its features were fully available. It is still the age of Web 2.0 now.
The differentiating characteristic of Web 2.0 compared to Web 1.0 is that users can create content. They can interact and contribute in the form of comments, registering likes, sharing and uploading their photos or videos and perform other such activities. Primarily, a social media kind of interaction is the differentiating trait of Web 2.0.

What are some of the concerns?

In Web 2.0, most of the data in the internet and the internet traffic are owned or handled by very few behemoth companies. This has created issues related to data privacy, data security and abuse of such data.
Gavin Wood, founder of Ethereum, a block chain technology company, used the term Web3 first in 2014 and in the past few years many others have added to the idea of Web3. In 2021, owing to the popularity of crypto-currency, more discussions happened on Web3.

What is Web3 and how will it address the problems of data monopoly?

As per the Web3 foundation, Web3 will deliver “decentralized and fair internet where users control their own data”. Currently if a seller has to make a business to the buyer, both the buyer and seller need to be registered on a “shop” or “platform” like Amazon or Ebay or any such e-commerce portal. What this “platform” currently does is that it authenticates that the buyer and seller are genuine parties for the transaction. Web3 tries to remove the role of the “platform”.
For the buyer to be authenticated, the usual proofs aided by block chain technology will be used. The same goes for the seller.
With block chain, the time and place of transaction are recorded permanently. Thus, Web3 enables peer to peer (seller to buyer) transaction by eliminating the role of the intermediary.
The key concepts in Web3 seen so far are peer to peer transaction and block chain. The spirit of Web3 is Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) which is that all the business rules and governing rules in any transaction are transparently available for anyone to see and software will be written conforming to these rules. Crypto-currency and block chain are technologies that follow the DAO principle. With DAO, there is no need for a central authority to authenticate or validate.
From a technology perspective, Web3 will require deviation from the current architecture where there is a front-end, middle layer and back-end. Web3’s architecture will need backend solutions for handling block chain, persisting and indexing data in block chain, peer to peer communications and so forth. Similarly, the middle layer, also called the business rules layer, will need to include handling block chain-based backend.