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19.01.18 Arunachal Pradesh(APPSC) Current Affairs

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NORTH-EASTERN STATES

 

  • New moth species discovered in Arunachal Pradesh

 

  • Researchers have discovered a new species of moth from the Talle Wildlife Sanctuary in Arunachal Pradesh.

 

  • The new species, scientifically named Elcysma Ziroensis, be commonly called Apatani Glory, named after a local tribe called Apatani.

 

  • This species has only been seen during autumn, notably in the month of September, indicating that it is a univoltine species, meaning it has one brood of young in a year.

 

 

 

INTERNATIONAL

 

  • Romania to have first female prime minister, Viorica Dancila

 

  • Viorica Dancila has been named as Romania’s first female PM following the sudden resignation of Mihai Tudose.

 

  • Ms Dancila, a member of the European Parliament, is regarded as an ally of the governing Social Democratic Party (PSD) leader Liviu Dragnea.

 

  • Ms Dancila, 54, is Romania’s third prime minister in seven months.

 

·        Google awarded 72 lakh for finding bugs in Pixel phone

 

  • Google awarded nearly 72 lakh to researcher Guang Gong for finding bugs in its Pixel devices.
  • The exploit chain consisted of two bugs which together could inject arbitrary code into system server by accessing a malicious URL in Chrome.
  • Around 67 lakh of the reward was given from Google’s Android Security Rewards program, the highest in the program’s history.

 

 

NATIONAL

 

·        India Ratings Projects Economic Growth at 7.1 Next Fiscal

 

  • India Ratings and Research have projected the country’s economic growth to improve to 1 percentin 2018-19 from 6.5 percent in 2017-18, buoyed by robust consumer demand and low commodity prices.
  • In its outlook for 2018-19, according to the agency, there will be a gradual pickup in growth momentum owing to structural reforms like GST and Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code in place.
  • The projection is a tad lower than 7.4 percent growth estimated by Asian Development Bank and International Monetary Fund for next fiscal.

 

  • Government to set up $350 million fund to finance solar projects

 

  • Government will set up a $350 million fund to finance solar projects, as the country steps up efforts to achieve its ambitious target of adding 175 gigawatts (GW) in renewable energy by 2022.

 

  • India will need at least $125 billion to fund a plan to increase the share of renewable power supply in the country’s grid by 2022.

 

  • The country, which receives twice as much sunshine as European nations, wants to make solar central to its renewable expansion.

 

  • Installed renewable power capacity is currently about 60 GW

·        HDFC Bank Becomes 1st Indian Bank to Cross Rs5 trillion Market Capitalisation

 

  • India’s most-valued lender HDFC Bank Limitedcrossed Rs5 trillion capitalization action for the first time, making it only the third Indian company to achieve this milestone.
  • In intraday trade, the stock touched a fresh record high of Rs1,53.75 on the BSE, up 3.31% from its previous close.
  • Tata Consultancy Services Ltd (TCS) and Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) are the other two companies which crossed market capitalisation of Rs5 trillion.

 

·        NPPA fixes retail price of 30 drug formulations

 

  • Drug price regulator National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA)fixed retail price for 30 drug formulations, including those used for the treatment of Diabetics, bacterial infections, and high blood pressure.
  • NPPA is an independent body under Department of Pharmaceuticals, Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers. It was set up in 1997.
  • Its mandate is to fix/review.
  • Essential medicines are those that satisfy the priority health care needs of the country’s population.

 

·        Maharashtra becomes first state to unveil Public Cloud Policy

 

  • Maharashtra became the first state in the country to unveil Public Cloud Policy that virtually mandates state government departments to shift their data storage.
  • The State Government had formed a four-member committee to draft policy framework on cloud usage.
  • The policy will result in additional private sector investments worth the US $2 billion for cloud industry as the government is one of biggest creators.

 

·        Virat Kohli named as Captain of ICCs Test and ODI Teams of the Year

  • Virat Kohli was named the captain of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Test and One-Day International (ODI) teams of the year that included four other Indians as well.
  • Kohli scored 2,023 runs at 77.80, including eight centuries and three half-centuries in 18 matches during the qualification period.
  • He surprisingly pipped Australian skipper Steve Smith for the ICC’s Test team captaincy.
  • The Test team also comprises Cheteshwar Pujara and Ravichandran Ashwin.

Comptroller and Auditor General of India

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The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) promotes accountability, transparency and good governance through high quality auditing and accounting.The Comptroller and auditor general (CAG) of India is empower to audit all expenses from the combine Fund of the union or state governments, whether incurred within India or outside. The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) is the Head of the Indian Audit and Accounts Department (IA&AD) and derives his constitutional standing as the Auditor of the Union and State Governments from Articles 149 to 151 of the Constitution.

Duties of the CAG

• Receipts and expenditure of the Union and the State Governments accounted for in the respective Consolidated Funds.
• Transactions relating to emergency Funds (created for use in circumstances) and the Public Accounts (used mainly for loans, deposits and remittances).
• Trading, manufacturing, profit and loss accounts and balance sheets and other subsidiary accounts kept in any Government Department.
• Accounts of Government organisations, Government companies and Government corporations whose statutes provide for audit by the CAG.
• Authorities and bodies substantially financed from the Consolidated Funds of the Union and the States.
• Any body or authority even though not substantially financed from the Consolidated Fund at the request of the President or the Governor.
• Accounts of bodies and authorities receiving loans and grants from the Government for specific purposes.

The duties of Comptroller and Auditor General includes audit of: ? all expenditure from the Consolidated Fund of India of Union, of each State and of each Union Territory having a Legislative Assembly with the objective to ascertain whether the moneys shown in the accounts as having been disbursed were legally available for and applicable to the service or purpose to which they have been applied or charged and whether the expenditure conforms to the authority which governs it; ? all transactions of the Union and of the States/Union Territory having a Legislature relating to Contingency Funds and Public Accounts; ? all trading, manufacturing, profit and loss accounts and balance-sheets and other subsidiary accounts kept in any department of the Union or of a State and in each case, to report on the expenditure, transactions or accounts so audited by him; ? receipts and expenditure of bodies or authorities substantially financed from Union or State revenues; ? grants or loans given to other authorities or bodies; ? revenue of the Union and of the State Governments; ? accounts of stores and stock; ? Government Companies and Corporations under the Company’s Act 1956 read with CAG’s (DPC) Act, 1971 ; and ? accounts of other authorities or bodies as per their statute or upon request by the Governor of a State or the Administrator of a Union Territory having a Legislative Assembly.

Compilation of accounts of the State Government; ? preparation of the annual accounts of the States Governments and Union Territories having a Legislative Assembly; and ? rendering accounting information and assistance to the State Governments.

CAG presents a number of Audit Reports on the basis of audit of the Union Government and the State Governments to the Parliament and State Legislature respectively under Article 151 of the Constitution of India.  In addition, CAG certifies the Appropriation Accounts and Finance Accounts of the Union Government and of the State Governments and forwards them to the President / Governors of States for being laid on the Table of Parliament and State Legislature respectively. CAG also submits Separate Audit Reports on all statutory corporations and autonomous bodies, for which he is the sole auditor.

 

Coastal Regulation Zone

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 Act of 1991

  • To regulate development activity on India’s coastline
  • The approach adopted by the first notification was to define the ‘High Tide Line’ and ‘Coastal Regulation Zone’ and thereafter specify the activities permitted and restricted in the vicinity of the CRZ
  • This regulated zone was further divided into four categories (CRZ 1-4) as per permitted land use
  • There have been about 25 amendments in this notification between 1991 and 2009
  • Rules re-issued in 2011
    • The difference between 1991 and 2011 rule is that the ‘no development zone’ has been reduced from 200 m from the high-tide line (HTL) to 100 m only to meet the increased demands of housing of fishing and other traditional coastal communities.
    • CRZ has been expanded to include territorial waters as protected zone
    • The concept of ‘hazard line’ has been introduced
    • Concept of classification of CRZ into four zones has been continued
  • CRZ I- ecologically sensitive areas such as mangroves, coral reefs, salt marshes, turtle nesting ground and the inter-tidal zone.
  • CRZ II- areas close to the shoreline, and which have been developed.
  • CRZ III- Coastal areas that are not substantially built up, including rural coastal areas.
  • CRZ IV- water area from LTL to the limit of territorial waters of India
    • A new category called areas requiring special consideration has been created which includes
      • CRZ areas of Greater Mumbai, Kerala and Goa
      • Critically vulnerable coastal areas such as Sunderbans
    • The list of exceptions to the rule prohibiting setting up of new industries and expansion of existing industries has been expanded

 

India after Independence – Reorganization of the States within the country, Major events

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POST INDEPENDENT ERA

The era after India’s independence from colonial rule starts with its partition into two halves – India and Pakistan. Lord Mountbatten became the first Governor General of free India and M.A. Jinnah that of Pakistan. The transition was violent, with blood curling massacres all over the country, ample proof to the historic acrimony that the Indians shared within themselves.

This bitterness continues till today with India and Pakistan having fought three wars since independence. Events since independence have not quite been stable for both the countries. With both of them marred by sectarian clashes and violent terrorist attacks, which by now has claimed the lives of more than a million people throughout the sub-continent. India on its part has been successful in establishing a vibrant democracy and has ever looked forward towards positive directions. But Pakistan is still struggling to establish itself as a state and has not been able to overcome the colonial hang over. With its history marred by failed democratic experiments and successful military takeovers. People of Pakistan are struck with a Herculean task of choosing between democratic farce and autocratic misrule. It is not just Pakistan that has corrupt politicians and ambitious military. India too has its share of problems with politicians and bureaucracy but the best thing in India is that people out there know their limitations. With 1 billion people having successfully tasted democracy for the past fifty years, they have successfully reaffirmed their faith time and again in the institution. At the doorsteps of the 20th century both of them provide a contrasting picture. Both of them have their fare share of problems, but on one side India is looking forward to solving them on other side Pakistan is getting messed up with it.

ASSASSINATION OF GANDHI

Rejoicing in August 1947, the man who had been in the forefront of the freedom struggle since 1919, the man who had given the message of non-violence and love and courage to the Indian people, the man who had represented the best in Indian culture and politics, was touring the hate-torn lands of Bengal and Bihar, trying to douse the communal fire and bring comfort to people who were paying through senseless slaughter the price of freedom. In reply to a message of birthday congratulations in 1947, Gandhiji said that he no longer wished to live long and that he would invoke the aid of the all-embracing Power to take me away from this ‘vale of tears’ rather than make me a helpless witness of the butchery by man become savage, whether he dares to call himself a Muslim or a Hindu or what not.

The celebrations of independence had hardly died down when on 30th January 1948; a radical minded Hindu, Nathuram Godse, assassinated Gandhiji at Birla house, just before his evening prayers. The whole nation was shocked and stricken with grief and communal violence retreated from the minds of men and women. Expressing the nation’s sorrow, Nehru spoke over the All India Radio: ‘Friends and comrades, the light has gone out of our lives and there is darkness everywhere . . . The light has gone out, I said, and yet I was wrong. For the light that shone in this country was no ordinary light . . . that light represented something more than the immediate present; it represented the living, the eternal truths, reminding us of the right path, drawing us from error, taking this ancient country to freedom’.

REHABILITATION OF REFUGEES

The government had to stretch itself to the maximum to give relief to and resettle and rehabilitate the nearly six million refugees from Pakistan who had lost their all there and whose world had been turned upside down. The task took some time but it was accomplished. By 1951, the problem of the rehabilitation of the refugees from West Pakistan had been fully tackled. The task of rehabilitating and resettling refugees from East Bengal was made more difficult by the fact that the exodus of Hindus from East Bengal continued for years. While nearly all the Hindus and Sikhs from West Pakistan had migrated in one go in 1947, a large number of Hindus in East Bengal had stayed on there in the initial years of 1947 and 1948. However, as violence against Hindus broke out periodically in East Bengal, there was a steady stream of refugees from there year after year until 1971. Providing them with work and shelter and psychological assurance, therefore became a continuous and hence a difficult task. Unlike in Bengal, most of the refugees from West Punjab could occupy the large lands and property left by the Muslim migrants to Pakistan from Punjab, U.P. and Rajasthan and could therefore be resettled on land. This was not the case in West Bengal. In addition, because of linguistic affinity, it was easier for Punjabi and Sindhi refugees to settle in today’s Himachal Pradesh and Haryana and western U.P., Rajasthan and Delhi. The resettlement of the refugees from East Bengal could take place only in Bengal and to a lesser extent in Assam and Tripura. As a result; a very large number of people who had been engaged in agricultural occupations before their displacement were forced to seek survival in semi-urban and urban contexts as the underclass.

INTEGRATION OF PRINCELY STATES

Indian Independence Act, 1947 contains the following provision regarding Indian States: All treaties, agreements, etc between His Majesty`s Government and the rulers of the Indian States shall lapse. The words ‘Emperor of India’ shall be omitted from Royal Style and Titles. The Indian states will be free to accede to either of the new Dominion of India or Pakistan. Monarchy was abolished and hence, the princely states were to be annexed. In the National Provisional Government, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel headed the State Department. Patel and his chief aide, VP Menon appealed to the sense of patriotism of the Indian princes and persuaded them to join the Indian union. The annexations were to take place on the basis of surrender of three subjects of Defence, Foreign Affairs and Communication. Lord Mountbatten aided Patel in his mission too. As a result by 15th August, as many as 136 jurisdictional states acceded to the Indian union. Kashmir`s Maharaja Hari Singh signed the Instrument of Accession on 26th October, 1947 and the Nizam of Hyderabad in 1948. V P Menon, on the other hand, successfully negotiated instruments of accession with a number of small states of Orissa with the Province of Orissa. On 18th December, the Chattisgarh rulers merged with the Central Provinces. Between the periods of 17th to 21st January 1948, Menon acquired the agreement for scores of minor states in Kathiawar to form the Union of Kathiawar, which began to govern on February 15. This set the pattern for the subsequent accession and merger of many tiny remaining states over the next five months.

For geographical and administrative reasons, Baroda and Kolhapur were annexed to the then Bomaby Province; Gujarat states were also merged with the Bombay Province. A second form of integration of 61 states was the formation of the seven centrally administered areas. Thus the states of Himachal Pradesh, Vindhya Pradesh (present day Madhya Pradesh), Tripura, Manipur, Bhopal, Kutch and Bilaspur were formed. Apart from these the states of United States of Matsya, Union of Vindhya Pradesh, Madhya Bharat, Patiala and East Punjab States Union, Rajasthan and United states of Cochin-Travancore were also integrated to the India. However, the unification of India was still incomplete without the French and Portuguese enclaves. The French authorities were more realistic when they ceded Pondicherry (Puducherry) and Chandannagore to India on 1st November, 1954.However, the Portuguese Government maintained that since Goa was part of the metropolitan territories of Portugal, it could be in no way affected by the British and French withdrawal from India. When negotiations and persuasions did not move the Portuguese government, units of Indian army had to be mobilized and Goa, Daman and Diu were liberated and annexed to India on 19th December, 1961. Thus, after much toil Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and his aides successfully integrated the Indian states to form a unified country.

THE MAKING OF THE CONSTITUTION

The Constitution of India came into force on 26 January 1950. Since then, the day is celebrated as Republic Day. However, before 1950, 26 January was called Independence Day. Since 26 January 1930, it was the day on which thousands of people, in villages, in mohallas, in towns, in small and big groups would take the independence pledge, committing themselves to the complete independence of India from British rule. It was only fitting that the new republic should come into being on that day, marking from its very inception the continuity between the struggle for independence and the adoption of the Constitution that made India a Republic. The process of the evolution of the Constitution began many decades before 26 January 1950 and has continued unabated since. Its origins lie deeply embedded in the struggle for independence from Britain and in the movements for responsible and constitutional government in the princely states. On 19 February 1946, the British government declared that they were sending a Cabinet Mission to India to resolve the whole issue of freedom and constitution making. The Cabinet Mission, which arrived in India on 24 March 1946, held prolonged discussions with Indian leaders. On 16 May 1946, having failed to secure an agreement;  it announced a scheme of its own. It recognized that the best way of setting up constitution-making machinery would ‘be by election based on adult franchise; but any attempt to introduce such a step now would lead to a wholly unacceptable delay in the formulation of the new constitution. Therefore, it was decided that the newly-elected legislative assemblies of the provinces were to elect the members of the Constituent Assembly on the basis of one representative for roughly one million of the population. The Sikh and Muslim legislators were to elect their quota based on their population.

It was only after this process had been completed that the representatives of all the provinces and those of the princely states were to meet again to settle the Constitution of the Union. The Congress responded to the Cabinet Mission scheme by pointing out that in its view the Constituent Assembly, once it came into being, would be sovereign. It would have the right to accept or reject the Cabinet Mission’s proposals on specifics. The Constituent Assembly was to have 389 members. Of these, 296 were to be from British India and 93 from the princely Indian states. Initially, however, the Constituent Assembly comprised only of members from British India. Elections of these were held in July-August 1946. Of the 210 seats in the general category Congress won 199. It also won 3 out of the 4 Sikh seats from Punjab. The Congress also won 3 of the 78 Muslim seats and the 3 seats from Coorg, Ajmer Merwara, and Delhi. The total Congress tally was 208. The Muslim League won 73 out of the 78 Muslim seats. At 11 a.m., on 9 December 1946, the Constituent Assembly of India began its first session. For all practical purposes, the chronicle of independent India began on that historic day. Independence was now a matter of dates. The real responsibility of deciding the constitutional framework within which the government and people of India were to function had been transferred and assumed by the Indian people with the convening of the Constituent Assembly. Only a coup d’etat could now reverse this constitutional logic. 207 members attended the first session. The Muslim League, having failed to prevent the convening of the Assembly, now refused to join its deliberations. Consequently, the seventy-six Muslim members of the League stayed away and the four Congress Muslim members attended the session. On 11 December, Dr Rajendra Prasad was elected the permanent Chairman; an office later designated as President of the Assembly. The third session was held from 28 April to 2 May 1947 and the League still did not join. On 3 June, the Mountbatten Plan was announced which made it clear that India was to be partitioned. With India becoming independent on 15 August 1947; the Constituent Assembly became a sovereign body, and also doubled as the legislature for the new state. It was responsible for framing the Constitution as well as making ordinary laws. The work was organized into five stages: first, committees were asked to present reports on basic issues; second, B.N. Rau, the constitutional adviser, prepared an initial draft on the basis of the reports of the reports of these committees and his own research into the constitutions of other countries; third, the drafting committee, chaired by Dr Ambedkar presented a detailed draft constitution which was published for public discussion and comments; fourth, the draft constitution was discussed and amendments.

Salient features of the constitution

The Constitution of India lays down a set of rules to which the ordinary laws of the country must conform. It provides a framework for a democratic and parliamentary form of government. The Constitution also includes a list of Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles, the first, a guarantee against encroachments by the state and the second, a set of directives to the state to introduce reforms to make those rights effective. Though the decision to give India a parliamentary system was not taken without serious debate, yet the alternative of panchayat-based indirect elections and decentralized government did not have widespread support. Espoused by some Gandhians, notably Shriman Narayan, this alternative was discarded decisively in favour of a centralized parliamentary constitution.

Adult Suffrage

The Congress had demanded adult suffrage since the twenties. It was hardly likely to hesitate now that it had the opportunity to realize its dreams. A few voices advocated confining of adult suffrage to elections to the panchayats at the village level, and then indirect elections to higher-level bodies, but the overwhelming consensus was in favour of direct elections by adult suffrage not a small achievement in a Brahmanical, upper-caste dominated, male-oriented, elitist, largely illiterate, society!

Preamble

The basic philosophy of the Constitution, its moving spirit, is to be found in the Preamble. The Preamble itself was based on the Objectives Resolution drafted by Nehru and introduced in the Assembly in its first session on 13 December 1946 and adopted on 22 January 1947.The Preamble states that the people of India in the Constituent Assembly made a solemn resolve to secure to all citizens, Justice, social, economic and political; Liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship; Equality of status and of opportunity; and to promote among them all, Fraternity assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity of the nation.

Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles

The Fundamental Rights are divided into seven parts: the right of equality, the right of freedom, the right against exploitation, the right to freedom of religion, cultural and educational rights, the right to property and the right to constitutional remedies. These rights, which are incorporated in Articles 12 to 35 of the Constitution, primarily protect individuals and minority groups from arbitrary state action. But three of the articles protect the individual against the action of other private citizens: Article 17 abolishes untouchability, Article 15(2) says that no citizen shall suffer any disability in the use of shops, restaurants, wells, roads, and other public places on account of his religion, race, caste, sex, or place of birth; and Article 23 prohibits forced labour, which, though it was also extracted by the colonial state and the princely states, was more commonly a characteristic of the exploitation by big, semi-feudal landlords. These rights of citizens had to be protected by the state from encroachment by other citizens. Thus, the state had to not only avoid encroaching on the citizen’s liberties; it had to ensure that other citizens did not do so either. A citizen whose fundamental right has been infringed or abridged could apply to the Supreme Court or High Court for relief and this right cannot be suspended except in case of declaration of Emergency. The courts have the right to decide whether these rights have indeed been infringed and to employ effective remedies including issuing of writs of habeas corpus, mandamus, prohibition, quo warranto and certiorari.

The Directive Principles have expressly been excluded from the purview of the courts. They are really in the nature of guidelines or instructions issued to future legislatures and executives. While the Constitution clearly intended Directive Principles and Fundamental Rights to be read together and did not envisage a conflict between the two, it is a fact that serious differences of interpretation have arisen many times on this issue.

A Secular State

The constitution declares India to be a sovereign, socialist, secular and democratic republic. Even though the terms secular (and socialist) were added only by the 42nd Amendment in 1976, the spirit embodying the Constitution was secular.

RE-ORGANISATION OF STATES

The reorganization of the states based on language, a major aspect of national consolidation and integration, came to the fore almost immediately after independence. The boundaries of provinces in pre-1947 India had been drawn in a haphazard manner as the British conquest of India had proceeded for nearly a hundred years. No heed was paid to linguistic or cultural cohesion so that most of the provinces were multi-lingual and multi-cultural. The interspersed princely states had added a further element of heterogeneity. The case for linguistic states as administrative units was very strong. Language is closely related to culture and therefore to the customs of people. Besides, the massive spread of education and growth of mass literacy can only occur through the medium of the mother tongue. Nehru appointed in August 1953 the States Reorganization Commission (SRC), with Justice Fazi Ali, K.M.Panikkar and Hridaynath Kunzru as members, to examine ‘objectively and dispassionately’ the entire question of the reorganization of the states of the union. Throughout the two years of its work, the Commission was faced with meetings, demonstrations, agitations, and hunger strikes.

Different linguistic groups clashed with each other; verbally as well as sometimes physically. The SRC submitted its report in October 1955. While laying down that due consideration should be given to administrative and economic factors, it recognized for the most part the linguistic principle and recommended redrawing of state boundaries on that basis. The Commission, however, opposed the splitting of Bombay and Punjab. Despite strong reaction to the report in many parts of the country, the SRC’s recommendations were accepted, though with certain modifications, and were quickly implemented. The States Reorganization Act was passed by parliament in November 1956. It provided for fourteen states and six centrally administered territories. The Telengana area of Hyderabad state was transferred to Andhra; merging the Malabar district of the old Madras Presidency with Travancore-Cochin created Kerala. Certain Kannada speaking areas of the states of Bombay, Madras, Hyderabad and Coorg were added to the Mysore state. Merging the states of Kutch and Saurashtra and the Marathi speaking areas of Hyderabad with it enlarged Bombay state.

The strongest reaction against the SRC’s report and the States Reorganization Act came from Maharashtra where widespread rioting broke out and eighty people were killed in Bombay city in police firings in January 1956.The opposition parties supported by a wide spectrum of public opinion students, farmers, workers, artists, and businesspersons organized a powerful protest movement. Under pressure, the government decided in June 1956 to divide the Bombay state into two linguistic states of Maharashtra and Gujarat with Bombay city forming a separate, centrally administered state. This move too was strongly opposed by the Maharashtrians. Nehru now vacillated and, unhappy at having hurt the feelings of the people of Maharashtra, reverted in July to the formation of bilingual, greater Bombay. This move was, however, opposed by the people both of Maharashtra and Gujarat. The broad-based Samyukta Maharashtra Samiti and Maha Gujarat Janata Parishad led the movements in the two parts of the state. In Maharashtra, even a large section of Congressmen joined the demand for a unilingual Maharashtra with Bombay as its capital; and C.D. Deshmukh, the Finance Minister in the Central Cabinet, resigned from his office on this question. The Gujaratis felt that they would be a minority in the new state. They too would not agree to give up Bombay city to Maharashtra. Violence and arson now spread to Ahmedabad and other parts of Gujarat. Sixteen persons were killed and 200 injured in police firings. In view of the disagreement over Bombay city, the government stuck to its decision and passed the States Reorganization Act in November 1956. However, the matter could not rest there. In the 1957 elections the Bombay Congress scraped through with a slender majority. Popular agitation continued for nearly five years. As Congress president, Indira Gandhi reopened the question and was supported by the President, S. Radhakrishnan. The government finally agreed in May 1960 to bifurcate the state of Bombay into Maharashtra and Gujarat, with Bombay city being included in Maharashtra, and Ahmedabad being made the capital of Gujarat.

The other state where an exception was made to the linguistic principle was Punjab. In 1956, the states of PEPSU had been merged with Punjab, which, however, remained a trilingual state having three language speakers ‘Punjabi, Hindi and Pahari’ within its borders. In the Punjabi-speaking part of the state, there was a strong demand for carving out a separate Punjabi Suba (Punjabi-speaking state). Unfortunately, the issue assumed communal overtones. The Sikhs, led by the Akali Dal, and the Hindus, led by the Jan Sangh, used the linguistic issue to promote communal politics. While the Hindu communalists opposed the demand for a Punjabi Suba by denying that Punjabi was their mother tongue, the Sikh communalists put forward the demand as a Sikh demand for a Sikh state, claiming Punjabi written in Gurmukhi as a Sikh language. Finally, in 1966, Indira Gandhi agreed to the division of Punjab into two Punjabi- and Hindi-speaking states of Punjab and Haryana, with the Pahari-speaking district of Kangra and a part of the Hoshiarpur district being merged with Himachal Pradesh. Chandigarh, the newly built city and capital of united Punjab, was made a Union Territory and was to serve as the joint capital of Punjab and Haryana. Thus, after more than ten years of continuous strife and popular struggles linguistic reorganization of India was largely completed, making room for greater political participation by the people.

 

Climatic Regions of India

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Climatic Regions of India : Koeppen’s Classification
Climate Type Climatic Region Annual Rainfall in the Region
Amw
(Monsoon type with shorter dry winter season)		 Western coastal region, south of Mumbai over 300 cm
As
(Monsoon type with dry season in high sun period)		 Coromandel coast = Coastal Tamil Nadu and adjoining areas of Andhra Pradesh 75 – 100 cm

[wet winters, dry summers]
Aw
(Tropical Savanah type)		 Most parts of the peninsular plateau barring Coromandel and Malabar coastal strips 75 cm
BShw
(Semi-arid Steppe type)		 Some rain shadow areas of Western Ghats, large part of Rajasthan and contiguous areas of Haryana and Gujarat 12 to 25 cm
BWhw
(Hot desert type)		 Most of western Rajasthan less than 12 cm
Cwg
(Monsoon type with dry winters)		 Most parts of the Ganga Plain, eastern Rajasthan, Assam and in Malwa Plateau 100 – 200 cm
Dfc
(Cold, Humid winters type with shorter summer)		 Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh and parts of Assam ~200 cm
Et
(Tundra Type)		 Mountain areas of Uttarakhand

The average temperature varies from 0 to 10°C

 Rainfall varies from year to year.
E
(Polar Type)		 Higher areas of Jammu & Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh in which the temperature of the warmest month varies from 0° to 10°C Precipitation occurs in the form of snow

 

 

 

 

 

 

Climatic Regions of India :Trewartha’s Classification

 

Climate Type Climatic Region Other CliamaticCondtions
Am
(Tropical Rain Forest)		 Western coastal region, Sahayadris and parts of Assam 200 cm annual rainfall  &

18.2 C to 29 C temperature
Aw

(Tropical Savanna)

 Peninsular India except the semi arid zone 150 cm annual rainfall &  18 C-32 C temperature
Aw
(Tropical Savanah type)		 Most parts of the peninsular plateau barring Coromandel and Malabar coastal strips 75 cm
BS
(Semi-arid Steppe type)		 Runs southwards from central Maharashtra to Tamilnadu, Andhra Pradesh 40-75 cm annual rainfall & 20-32 C temperature
BSh
(Tropical and subtropical Steppe)		 Ranges from Punjab to Kutch Annual temperature 35 C & 30-60 cm annual rainfall
BWh
(Tropical Desert)		 Western parts of Barmer, Jaiselmer and Bikaner and parts of Kutch Annual Temperature 35 C & annual rainfall 25 cm
Caw

(Humid Subtropical Climate with dry winters)

 It ranges from Punjab to Assam Rainfall from 100-150 cm
H (Mountain Climate) Mountain areas of Himalayas including Jammu & Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh The average temperature varies from 0 to 10°C.

 

Forests – Natural Vegetation of India

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Forests – Natural Vegetation of India

 

Table of Contents

Forests – Natural Vegetation of India:Types and distribution

types

  • Climate, soil and topographyare the major factors that influence Natural Vegetation of a place.
  • The main climatic factors arerainfall and temperature. The amount of annual rainfall has a great bearing on the type of vegetation.

Annual Rainfall

Type of Vegetation
200 cm or more
Evergreen Rain Forests
100 to 200 cm
Monsoon Deciduous Forests
50 to 100 cm
Drier Deciduous or Tropical Savanna
25 to 50 cm
Dry Thorny Scrub (Semi-arid)
Below 25 cm
Desert (Arid)
  • Temperature is the major factor in Himalayas and other hilly regions with an elevation of more than 900 metres.
  • As the temperature falls with altitude in the Himalayan region the vegetal cover changes with altitude fromtropical to sub-tropical, temperate and finally alpine.
  • Soil is an equally determining factor in few regions.Mangrove forests, swamp forests are some of the examples where soil is the major factor.
  • Topography is responsible for certain minor types e.g.alpine flora, tidal forests, etc..

Classification of Natural Vegetation of India

  • Classification of Natural Vegetation of India is primarily based on spatial and annual variations in rainfall. Temperature, soil and topography are also considered.
  • India’s vegetation can be divided into 5 main types and 16 sub-types as given below.

A. Moist Tropical Forests

  • Tropical Wet Evergreen
  • Tropical Semi-Evergreen
  • Tropical Moist Deciduous
  • Littoral and Swamp

B. Dry Tropical Forests

  • Tropical Dry Evergreen
  • Tropical Dry Deciduous
  • Tropical Thorn

C. Montane Sub-tropical Forests

  • Sub-tropical broad leaved hill
  • Sub-tropical moist hill (pine)
  • Sub-tropical dry evergreen

D. Montane Temperate Forests

  • Montane Wet Temperate
  • Himalayan Moist Temperate
  • Himalayan Dry Temperate

E. Alpine Forests

  • Sub-Alpine
  • Moist Alpine scrub
  • Dry Alpine scrub

Forest Type in India

% of Total Area
Tropical Moist Deciduous 37
Tropical Dry Deciduous 28
Tropical Wet Evergreen 8
Sub-Tropical Moist Hill 6
Tropical Semi-Evergreen 4
Rest below 4 %

Moist Tropical Forests

Tropical Wet Evergreen Forests or Rain Forests

Climatic Conditions
  • Annual rainfall exceeds 250 cm
  • The annual temperature is about 25°-27°C
  • The average annual humidity exceeds 77 per cent and
  • The dry season is distinctly short.
Characteristics
  • Evergreen: Due to high heat and high humidity, the trees of these forests do not shed their leaves together.
  • Mesosphytic:Plants adopted to neither too dry nor too wet type climate.

What are mesophytes?

·         Unlike hydrophytic plants, such as water lily or pondweed, that grow in saturated soil or water, or xerophytic plants, such as cactus, that grow in extremely dry soil, mesophytes are ordinary plants that exist between the two extremes.

·         Mesophytic environments are marked by average to hot temperatures and soil that is neither too dry nor too wet.
  • Lofty: The trees often reach 45 – 60 metres in height.
  • Thick Canopy: From the air, the tropical rain forest appears like a thick canopy of foliage, broken only where it is crossed by large rivers or cleared for cultivation.
  • All plants struggle upwards (mostephiphytes) for sunlight resulting in a peculiar layer arrangement. The entire morphology looks like a green carpet when viewed from above.
  • Less undergrowth: The sun light cannot reach the ground due to thick canopy. The undergrowth is formed mainly of bamboos, ferns, climbers, orchids, etc.
Distribution
  • Western side of the Western Ghats (500 to 1370 metres above sea level).
  • Some regions in the Purvanchal hills.
  • In the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
Timber
  • Hardwood: The timber of these forests is fine-grained, hard and durable.
  • It has high commercial value but it is highly challenging to exploit dueto dense undergrowth, absence of pure stands and lack of transport facilities [Read previous posts on Climatic regions to understand how lumbering industry works in Equatorial Rainforests (hardwood) and Taiga Climatic (softwood) conditions].
  • The important species of these forests aremahogany, mesua, white cedar, jamun, canes, bamboo 

Tropical Semi-Evergreen Forests

  • They are transitional forests between tropical wet evergreen forests and tropical deciduous forests.
  • They are comparatively drier areas compared to tropical wet evergreen forests.
Climatic Conditions
  • Annual rainfall is 200-250 cm
  • Mean annual temperature varies from 24°C to 27°C
  • The relative humidity is about 75 per cent
  • The dry season is not short like in tropical evergreen forests.
Distribution
  • Western coast
  • Assam
  • Lower slopes of the Eastern Himalayas
  • Odisha and
Characteristics
  • The semi-evergreen forests are less dense.
  • They are moregregarious [living in flocks or colonies – more pure stands] than the wet evergreen forests.
  • These forests are characterized by many species.
  • Trees usually havebuttressed trunks with abundant epiphytes.

Buttressed Trunks

  • The important species are laurel, rosewood, mesua, thorny bamboo – Western Ghats, white cedar, Indian chestnut, champa, mango, etc. – Himalayan region.
Timber
  • Hardwood: Similar to that in tropical evergreen forests except that these forests are less dense withmore pure stands (timber industry here is better than in evergreen forests).

Tropical Moist Deciduous Forests

Climatic Conditions
  • Annual rainfall 100 to 200 cm.
  • Mean annual temperature of about 27°C
  • The average annual relative humidity of 60 to 75 per cent.
  • Spring (between winter and summer) and summer are dry.
Characteristics
  • The trees drop their leaves during the spring and early summer when sufficient moisture is not available.
  • The general appearance is bare in extreme summers (April-May).
  • Tropical moist deciduous forests present irregular top storey [25 to 60 m].
  • Heavily buttressed trees and fairly complete undergrowth.
  • These forests occupy a much larger area than the evergreen forests but large tracts under these forests have been cleared for cultivation.
Distribution
  • Belt running along the Western Ghats surrounding the belt of evergreen forests.
  • A strip along the Shiwalik range including terai and bhabar from 77° E to 88° E.
  • Manipur and Mizoram.
  • Hills of eastern Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.
  • Chota Nagpur Plateau.
  • Most of Odisha.
  • Parts of West Bengal and
  • Andaman and Nicobar islands.
Timber
  • These provide valuable timer like
  • The main species found in these forests are teak, sal, laurel, rosewood, amla, jamun, bamboo, etc.
  • It iscomparatively easy to exploit these forests due to their high degree of gregariousness (more pure stands).

Littoral and Swamp Forests

  • They can survive and grow both in fresh as well asbrackish water(The mixture of seawater and fresh water in estuaries is called brackish water and its salinity can range from 0.5 to 35 ppt).
  • Occur in and around the deltas, estuaries and creeks prone totidal influences (delta or tidal forests).
  • Littoral (relating to or on the shore of the sea or a lake) forests occur at several places along the coast.
  • Swamp forests are confined to the deltas of the Ganga, the Mahanadi, the Godavari, the Krishna and the Cauvery.
  • Dense mangroves occur all along the coastline in sheltered estuaries, tidal creeks, backwaters, salt marshes and mudflats. It provides useful fuel wood.
  • The most pronounced and the densest is theSunderban in the Ganga delta where the predominant species is Sundri (Heriteera).
Timber
  • It provides hard and durable timber which is used for construction, building purposes and making boats.
  • The important species found in these forests are Sundri, agar, rhizophora, screw pines, canes and palms, etc.

Dry Tropical Forests

Tropical Dry Evergreen Forests

Distribution
  • Along the coasts of Tamil Nadu.
Climatic Conditions
  • Annual rainfall of 100 cm [mostly from the north-east monsoon winds in October – December].
  • Mean annual temperature is about 28°C.
  • The mean humidity is about 75 per cent.
  • The growth of evergreen forests in areas of such low rainfall is a bit strange.
Characteristics
  • Short statured trees, up to 12 m high, with complete canopy.
  • Bamboos and grasses not conspicuous.
  • The important species are jamun, tamarind, neem, etc.
  • Most of the land under these forests has been cleared for agriculture orcasuarina plantations.

Casuarina plantation

·         It resembles feathery conifer in general appearance.

·         They are rapid-growing, carefree species for sites and climates as varied as coastal sand dunes, high mountain slopes, hot humid tropics, and semi-arid regions.

·         They have the ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen. It grows 15 to 25 metres in height on an average.

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Casuarina plantation

Distribution

·         Casuarina is the most popular farm forestry in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Odisha, Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Karnataka.

Benefits

·         Reduces damage in the event of natural calamities.

·         Line planting in the coastal areas helps in controlling the wind force.

·         It is also used for tourism promotion in view of its ornamental appearance.

·         It provides top quality firewood.

·         The wood is suitable for paper pulp and useful raw material for the manufacture of paper for writing, printing, and wrapping.

·         It is got some serious medicinal values as well.

Wasteland development

·         The characteristics which make it a suitable species for wasteland development include adaptability to wide range of habitats, fast growth, salt tolerant, drought resistant, ability to reclaim land and stabilize sand dunes.

·         Intercrops such as groundnut, cucumber, watermelons, sesamum, and pulses can also be raised along with the plantation.

Tropical Dry Deciduous Forests

Climatic Conditions
  • Annual rainfall is 100-150 cm.
Characteristics
  • These are similar to moist deciduous forests and shed their leaves in dry season.
  • The major difference is that they can grow in areas of comparatively less rainfall.
  • They represent a transitional type – moist deciduous on the wetter side and thorn forests on the drier side.
  • They have closed but uneven canopy.
  • The forests are composed of a mixture of a few species of deciduous trees rising up to a height of 20 metres.
  • Undergrowth: Enough light reaches the ground to permit the growth of grass and climbers.
Distribution
  • They occur in an irregular wide strip running from the foot of the Himalayas to Kanniyakumari except in Rajasthan, Western Ghats and West Bengal.
  • The important species are teak, axlewood, rosewood, common bamboo,red sanders, laurel, satinwood, etc.
  • Large tracts of this forest have been cleared for agricultural purposes.
  • These forests have suffer from over grazing, fire, etc.

Tropical Thorn Forests

Climatic Conditions
  • Annual rainfall less than 75 cm.
  • Humidity is less than 50 per cent.
  • Mean temperature is 25°-30°C.
Characteristics
  • The trees are low (6 to 10 metres maximum) and widely scattered.
  • Acacias and Euphorbias are very prominent.
  • The Indian wild date is common. Some grasses also grow in the rainy season.
Distribution
  • Rajasthan, south-western Punjab, western Haryana, Kachchh and neighbouring parts of Saurashtra.
  • Here they degenerate into desert type in the Thar desert.
  • Such forests also grow on the leeside of the Western Ghats covering large areas of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
  • The important species are neem, babul, cactii, etc.

Montane Sub-Tropical Forests

Sub-tropical Broad-leaved Hill Forests

Climatic conditions
  • Mean annual rainfall is 75 cm to 125 cm.
  • Average annual temperature is 18°-21°C.
  • Humidity is 80 per cent.
Distribution
  • Eastern Himalayas to the east of 88°E longitude at altitudes varying from 1000 to 2000 m.
Characteristics
  • Forests of evergreen species.
  • Commonly found species are evergreen oaks, chestnuts, ash, beech, sals and pines.
  • Climbers and epiphytes [a plant that grows non-parasitically on a tree or other plant] are common.
  • These forests are not so distinct in the southern parts of the country. They occur only in the Nilgiri and Palni hills at 1070-1525 metres above sea level.
  • It is a “stunted rain-forest” and is not so luxuriant as the true tropical evergreen.
  • The higher parts of the Western Ghats such as Mahabaleshwar, the summits of the Satpura and the Maikal Range, highlands of Bastar and Mt. Abu in the Aravali Range carry sub-types of these forests.

Sub-tropical Moist Pine Forests

Distribution
  • Western Himalayas between 73°E and 88°E longitudes at elevations between 1000 to 2000 metres above sea level.
  • Some hilly regions of Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Naga Hills and Khasi Hills.
Timber
  • Chir or Chilis the most dominant tree which forms pure stands.
  • It providesvaluable timber for furniture, boxes and buildings.
  • It is also used for producing resin and turpentine.

Sub-tropical Dry Evergreen Forests

Distribution
  • Found in the Bhabar, the Shiwaliks and the western Himalayas up to about 1000 metres above sea level.
Climatic Conditions
  • Annual rainfall is 50-100 cm (15 to 25 cm in December-March).
  • The summers are sufficiently hot and winters are very cold.
Characteristics
  • Low scrub forest with small evergreen stunted trees and shrubs.
  • Olive, acacia modesta and pistacia are the most predominant species.

Montane Temperate Forests

Montane Wet Temperate Forests

Climatic Conditions
  • Grows at a height of 1800 to 3000 m above sea level
  • Mean annual rainfall is 150 cm to 300 cm
  • Mean annual temperature is about 11°C to 14°C and the
  • Average relative humidity is over 80 per cent.
Distribution
  • Higher hills of Tamil Nadu and Kerala, in the Eastern Himalayan region.
Characteristics
  • These are closed evergreen forests. Trunks have large girth.
  • Branches are clothed with mosses, ferns and other epiphytes.
  • The trees rarely achieve a height of more than 6 metres.
  • Deodar, Chilauni, Indian chestnut, birch, plum, machilus, cinnamomum, litsea, magnolia, blue pine, oak, hemlock, etc. are important species.

Himalayan Moist Temperate Forests

Climatic Conditions
  • Annual rainfall varies from 150 cm to 250 cm
Distribution
  • Occurs in the temperate zone of the Himalayas between 1500 and 3300 metres.
  • Cover the entire length of this mountain range in Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Darjeeling and Sikkim.
Characteristics
  • Mainly composed ofconiferous species.
  • Species occur in mostly pure strands.
  • Trees are 30 to 50 m high.
  • Pines, cedars, silver firs, spruce, etc. are most important trees.
  • They form high but fairly open forest with shrubby undergrowth including oaks, rhododendrons and some bamboos.
Timber
  • It provides fine wood which is of much use for construction, timber and railway sleepers.

Himalayan Dry Temperate Forests

Climatic Conditions
  • Precipitation is below 100 cm and is mostly in the form of snow.
Characteristics
  • Coniferous forests with xerophytic shrubs in which deodar, oak, ash, olive, etc are the main trees.
Distribution
  • Such forests are found in the inner dry ranges of the Himalayas where south-west monsoon is very feeble.
  • Such areas are in Ladakh, Lahul, Chamba, Kinnaur, Garhwal and Sikkim.

Alpine Forests

  • Altitudes ranging between 2,900 to 3,500.
  • These forests can be divided into: (1) sub-alpine; (2) moist alpine scrub and (3) dry alpine scrub.
  • The sub-alpine forests occur lower alpine scrub and grasslands.
  • It is a mixture of coniferous and broad-leaved trees in which the coniferous trees attain a height of about 30 m while the broad leaved trees reach only 10 m.
  • Fir, spruce, rhododendron, etc. are important species.
  • The moist alpine scrub is a low evergreen dense growth of rhododendron, birch etc. which occurs from 3,000 metres and extends upto
  • The dry alpine scrub is the uppermost limit of scrub xerophytic, dwarf shrubs, over 3,500 metres above sea level and found in dry zone. Juniper, honeysuckle, artemesia etc. are important species.

Union Legislature : Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha: 0rganisation and Functions

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Parliament is the central institution through which the will of the people is expressed, laws are passed and government is held to account. It plays a vital role in a democracy, and endeavours to be truly representative, transparent, accessible, accountable and effective in its many functions. The Parliament has two Houses–Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha. Rajya Sabha is upper House and represents the States of India while the Lok Sabha is lower House.

Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha: 0rganisation and Functions;

The Council of States (Rajya Sabha) is the Upper House of our Parliament. It consists of not more than 250 members, out of which, 238 members represent the States and Union territories and 12 members are nominated by the President from amongst the persons having special knowledge and practical experience in respect of such matters as literature, science, art and social service. At present, the actual strength of Rajya Sabha is 245. A permanent body, Rajya Sabha is not subject to dissolution. However, one-third of its members retire biennially. A member who is elected for a full term retains his membership for six years. He is eligible for re-election. A Member elected/ nominated to a casual vacancy serves for the remainder term only. Members of Rajya Sabha are elected by the elected members of the State Legislative Assemblies in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of single transferable vote.

Lok Sabha is composed of representative of the people chosen by direct election on the basis of adult suffrage.  The maximum strength of the House envisaged by the Constitution is 552, upto 530 members to represent the States, up to 20 members to represent the Union Territories and not more than two members of the Anglo-Indian Community to be nominated by the President, if,  in his opinion, that community is not adequately represented in the House.  The total elective membership is distributed among the States in such a way that the ratio between the number of seats allotted to each State and the population of the State is, so far as practicable, the same for all States.

The cardinal functions of the Parliament is to oversee the administration, passing of budget, ventilation of public grievances, and discussing various subjects like development plans, international relations, and national policies. The Parliament can, under certain circumstances, assume legislative power with respect to a subject falling within the sphere, exclusively reserved for the states.

The Parliament is also vested with powers to impeach the President, remove judges of Supreme and High Courts, the Chief Election Commissioner, and Comptroller and Auditor General in accordance with the procedure laid down in the Constitution. All legislation requires the consent of both Houses of Parliament. In the case of Money Bills, the will of the Lok Sabha prevails. The Parliament is also vested with the power to initiate amendments in the Constitution.

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National and state minority commission

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National and state minority commission

Constitution of India doesn’t define the word ‘Minority’ but has used the word minorities considering two attributes religion or language of a person. For minorities Constitution of India has envisaged a number of rights and safeguards. To provide enough equality and to dwindled the discrimination, makers have spelt out various things in Fundamental Rights (PartIII); Directive Principles of State policy (Part IV) and also the Fundamental Duties (Part IV-A). However, with rising right and rising wedge between right and left and also the ephemeral political aspirations of various political parties have diluted the discrimination safeguards.

The Union Government set up the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) under the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992. Six religious communities, viz; Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Zoroastrians (Parsis) and Jains have been notified in Gazette of India as minority communities by the Union Government all over India . Original notification of 1993 was for Five religious communities Sikhs, Buddhists,Parsis,Christians and Muslims.

Functions and Powers

  • Evaluate the progress of the development of Minorities under the Union and States.
  • Monitor the working of the safeguards provided in the Constitution and in laws enacted by Parliament and the State Legislatures.
  • Make recommendations for the effective implementation of safeguards for the protection of the interests of Minorities by the Central Government or the State Governments.
  • Look into specific complaints regarding deprivation of rights and safeguards of the Minorities and take up such matters with the appropriate authorities.
  • Cause studies to be undertaken into problems arising out of any discrimination against Minorities and recommend measures for their removal.
  • Conduct studies, research and analysis on the issues relating to socio-economic and educational development of Minorities.
  • Suggest appropriate measures in respect of any Minority to be undertaken by the Central Government or the State Governments.
  • Make periodical or special reports to the Central Government on any matter pertaining to Minorities and in particular the difficulties confronted by them.
  • Any other matter which may be referred to it by the Central Government.

The Commission has the following powers:

  • Summoning and enforcing the attendance of any person from any part of India and examining him on oath.
  • Requiring the discovery and production of any document.
  • Receiving evidence on affidavit.
  • Requisitioning any public record or copy thereof from any court or office.
  • Issuing commissions for the examination of witnesses and documents.

State minority commission

The recognition of any community as a religious minority means that the States should have a State level Commission to ensure that the rights and privileges allowed to the minorities under law are not denied to them. In a situation of difficulty a member of the minority community can invoke the law that safeguards his interests. In pursuance of this objective, each State in the Union including Union Territories are required to set up respective Minority Commission to cater to the needs and interests of the minority communities in the concerned states. However, the Union Minister for Minorities, while replying to a question in the Parliament disclosed that twelve States, including four ruled by BJP and its allies, and six Union Territories (UTs) have not set up Minorities Commissions at their respective levels. Incidentally, Jammu and Kashmir also figures in the list of twelve States with no Minority Commission.