Daily Prelims Notes 17 March 2025

March 17, 2025
Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
Category: DPN

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Daily Prelims Notes

17 March 2025

Table Of Contents

1. U.S. strikes on Yemen kill 31; Houthis hit back

Sub: IR

Sec: Places in news

Context:

The United States launched its first strikes against Yemen’s Houthi rebels since Donald Trump took office, resulting in the deaths of 31 individuals, with the U.S. President warning of severe retaliation if the Houthis continued their attacks on international shipping.
In response to the U.S. strikes, the Houthis claimed to have launched an attack on the U.S. aircraft carrier USS Harry Truman in the Red Sea.

Background:

Yemen is located at the junction of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, its coastline commanding the strategic strait of Bab al-Mandab.
Yemen has been embroiled in a devastating civil war since 2014, with the Houthi rebels controlling large portions of the country. The conflict has resulted in a severe humanitarian crisis, with widespread displacement, famine, and loss of life.

Houthis:

Ansar Allah, commonly known as the Houthis, is a Zaydi ShiaIslamist political and militant group that launched its insurgency against the Yemeni government in the early 2000s.
Over time, it expanded its influence and captured significant territory, including the capital city, Sanaa, in 2014.
This led to a full-scale civil war that began in 2015, when Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states intervened in support of Yemen’s internationally recognized government, which had been ousted by the Houthis.
Since then, Ansar Allah has functioned as a de facto government for much of Yemen, successfully maintaining control over large areas of the country.
The internationally recognized Yemeni government, which has been in exilein the southern port city of Aden, has been backed by a coalition of Saudi Arabia, UAE Emirates (UAE), and other regional powers, while the Houthis are supported by Iran and Russia.

Houthi Attacks on Shipping:

Since 2023, the Houthis have launched 174 attacks on U.S. warships and 145 attacks on commercial vessels, significantly disrupting maritime traffic in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, a key shipping route that carries 12% of global maritime traffic.

The Role of the U.S. and Iran:

The U.S. and Iran are major players in the conflict, with the S. supporting Saudi Arabia’s efforts against the Houthis and Iran backing the Houthi rebels as part of its broader influence in the Middle East.

Houthi Relations with the Axis of Resistance:

The Houthis are a central part of the axis of resistance, a coalition of Iranian-backed groups, which includes Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF)in Iraq, that oppose U.S. influence and Israel.
Iran has continued to supply the Houthis with weapons and military aid, enabling them to maintain a strong presence in the region.
Their relationship with Iran has caused tensions with Western powers, who view the Houthis as an Iranian proxy, exacerbating the conflict in Yemen and the wider Middle East.

2. Impact of Air Pollution on India’s Solar Power Generation

Sub: Env

Sec: Pollution

Why in News

A study conducted by researchers at IIT Delhi, published in Environmental Research Letters, highlights the adverse effects of air pollution and climate change on India’s solar power generation capacity.

Details:

India is the fifth-largest producer of solar power globally.
The government has set a target of generating 50% of electricity from non-fossil fuel sources by 2030.
Plans to install 500 GW of renewable energy capacity, with one-fifth expected from solar power.

China leads globally with approximately 390 GW of installed solar capacity.

Impact of Climate and Air Pollution on Solar Power:

Solar cells require bright sunlight, lower ambient temperature, and airflow for cooling.
Clouds, aerosols, particulate matter, water vapor, and ozone influence the amount of solar radiation reaching the ground.
Solar Irradiance: The amount of sunlight reaching solar panels directly influences their efficiency. Reduced sunlight due to cloud cover or atmospheric conditions diminishes performance.
Ambient Temperature: Higher temperatures can decrease the efficiency of solar cells by affecting their semiconductor properties.
Dust and Pollution: Accumulation of dust and particulate matter on solar panels obstructs sunlight, leading to reduced energy output.
NASA’s Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System (CERES) and India Meteorological Department (IMD) data were used.

Solar Efficiency Projection:

By mid-century, India’s solar panel efficiency is expected to decline by 2.3%.
Weaker pollution control, would lead to an even greater efficiency loss.
Estimated power loss: At least 840 gigawatt-hours annually.
Rising temperatures further reduce efficiency, as solar panels can heat up beyond the ambient air temperature.
Northeastern India and Kerala may see an increase in solar power potential due to a projected decrease in cloud cover.

NASA’s CERES (Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System):

CERES aims to measure the Earth’s radiation budget and understand the role of clouds and aerosols in climate change.
Since 1997, six CERES instruments have been launched on various satellites, contributing to long-term climate data records.

3. SC had favoured ‘linguistic secularism’ in 2014 order, said evolution of language was ‘organic’

Sub : Polity

Sec: Federalism

Supreme Court’s View on Linguistic Secularism

In U.P. Hindi Sahittya Sammelan vs State of U.P. (September 2014), the Supreme Court emphasized that the evolution of both law and language in India is organic.
The court noted that Indian language laws are not rigid but accommodative, aimed at ensuring linguistic secularism.

National Education Policy and Language Debate

Tamil Nadu CM M.K. Stalin accused the Centre of imposing Hindi through the National Education Policy, alleging it would negatively impact Tamil Nadu’s education progress.
The Union government remains committed to implementing the National Education Policy, despite concerns over linguistic imposition.

Law Commission’s View on Hindi as a Compulsory Language

The 216th Law Commission Report on Non-feasibility of Introduction of Hindi as a Compulsory Language in the Supreme Court highlighted the emotional sensitivity of language issues.
Justice A.R. Lakshmanan cautioned that forcing a language upon people could be counterproductive rather than unifying.

Historical Perspective: Constituent Assembly Debate

Citing Constitutional expert H.M. Seervai, the Supreme Court referenced the 1949 Constituent Assembly debate on Hindi as the national language.
The Munshi-Ayyangar formula resulted in Article 343, which designated Hindi as the official language rather than the national language.
The court recognized that regional languages such as Bengali, Tamil, Marathi, and Gujarati were more developed than Hindi at the time.

Views of Justice Krishna Iyer

Justice Krishna Iyer, in his remarks to the Law Commission, stated:
- He personally preferred Hindi but opposed compulsion.
- He warned that linguistic militancy could divide the country, while federal pluralism promotes democratic sensitivity.

Constitutional Provisions on Language

Article 351:
- Imposes a duty on the Union government to promote the spread of Hindi.
Article 29(1):
- Recognizes the fundamental right of every linguistic group, including both majority and minority communities, to preserve their language, script, and culture.

Right to Choose Medium of Instruction

State of Karnataka vs Associated Management of Primary & Secondary Schools:
- The Supreme Court ruled that Article 19 (freedom of speech and expression) includes the right to choose the medium of instruction at the primary school level.
- The state cannot impose a particular language on students.
Reference to U.S. Supreme Court Case (Pierce v. Society of Sisters, 1924):
- Held that a child is not a mere creature of the State, and parents have the right and duty to guide their child’s education.

Conclusion

The Supreme Court’s judgments emphasize linguistic secularism, ensuring that language policies remain flexible, democratic, and accommodative.
The right to language choice is a constitutional guarantee, and no language should be imposed forcibly in a diverse country like India.

4. MENHIR

Sub: History

Sec: Art and Culture

Context: The Mudumal megalithic menhirs in Telangana’s Narayanpet district are set to become the second UNESCO World Heritage Site in the state. They are among six Indian sites expected to be added to the tentative UNESCO list in 2025.

What are Menhirs?

A menhir is a large, upright stone, often tapered at the top, sculpted and placed by humans. The largest known menhir, the Grand Menhir Brisé in Brittany, France, originally stood 20.6 meters tall. The term “menhir” comes from Brittonic words meaning “long stone.” They have been known in popular culture due to the character Obelix in the Asterix comic series.

Purpose and History:

Menhirs were originally linked to the Beaker culture of the late Neolithic and early Bronze Age (around 4800–3800 BP). But the oldest European menhirs are today dated to as early as 7,000 BP.
The Mudumal menhirs, dated between 3500 and 4000 BP, are the oldest known in India. They can be standalone or part of larger prehistoric megalithic sites. Their exact purpose remains debated, but they were likely used for ceremonial functions, as grave markers, or for astronomical observations.

Significance of the Mudumal Site:

UNESCO describes the Mudumal menhirs as a “megalithic astronomical observatory.” Some menhirs align with the sunrise and sunset during solstices, suggesting their role in tracking celestial events. Over time, they also became part of local folklore, with some menhirs being worshipped as deities.
Over time, the Mudumal menhirs became closely associated with local legend, with “one particular menhir being worshipped as Goddess Yellamma”.

Why Do They Deserve UNESCO Recognition?

Menhirs provide insight into the ingenuity of early humans. Their construction required advanced knowledge of physics and astronomy. The effort to build them indicates their cultural and religious significance, helping researchers understand ancient civilizations that left no written records.

Megaliths in India

Megaliths in India are dated before 3000 BC, with recent findings dated back to 5000 BC in southern India.
Megaliths are spread across the Indian subcontinent, though the bulk of them are found in peninsular India, concentrated in the states of Maharashtra (mainly in Vidarbha), Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
There is also a broad time evolution with the megaliths in central India and the upper Indus valley where the oldest megaliths are found, while those in the east are of much later date.
A large fraction of these is assumed to be associated with burial or post burial rituals, including memorials for those whose remains may or may not be available.
The case-example is that of Brahmagiri, which was excavated in 1975 and helped establish the culture sequence in south Indian prehistory.
However, there is another distinct class of megaliths that do not seem to be associated with burials.
Even today, a living megalithic culture endures among some tribes such as the Gonds of central India and the Khasis of Meghalaya.

Megalithic Culture in India

As megalithic societies were preliterate, the racial or ethnic origins of the megalithic people are thus difficult to pin down.
The discovery of a stone axe with what seemed to be inscriptions in the Harappan script from a burial chamber in Tamil Nadu did bring up the tantalizing possibility of cultural contact between Harappans and the megalithic people.
Some historians believe that Megaliths were not built for commoners. They signify the emergence of a ruling class or elite who presided over a surplus economy.
Megalithic people carried out agricultural activity in both the rabi and kharif seasons.
A large variety of grains such as rice, wheat, kodo millet, barley lentil, black gram, horse gram, common pea, pigeon pea and Indian jujube have been recovered from habitations.
The very idea of burying the dead along with burial goods indicates strong belief in life after death and possibly rebirth among megalithic people.
Banded agate beads with eye patterns have been recovered from megalithic sites.
These were generally used by them as protection against evil spirits, a belief that survives to this day in India in the form of nazar battus such as amulets or strings of limes and chillies.

Types of Megalith structures

Menhir: Menhir is the name used in Western Europe for a single upright stone erected in prehistoric times; sometimes called a “standing stone”.
Monolith: Any single standing stone erected in prehistoric times. Sometimes synonymous with “megalith” and “menhir”; for later periods, the word monolith is more likely to be used to describe single stones.
Capstone style: Single megaliths placed horizontally, often over burial chambers, without the use of support stones.
Stone circles: In most languages, stone circles are called “cromlechs” (a word in the Welch language); the word “cromlech” is sometimes used with that meaning in English.
Dolmen: A Dolmen is a megalithic form created by placing a large capstone on two or more support stones creating a chamber below, sometimes closed in on one or more sides. Often used as a tomb or burial chamber.
Cist: Cist is a small stone-built coffin-like box or ossuary used to hold the bodies of the dead. Burials are megalithic forms very similar to dolmens in structure. These types of burials were completely underground. There were single- and multiple-chambered cists.