rawan239, Author at Arunachal Pradesh PCS Free Notes

Food Security & Public Distribution System(PDS)

March 23, 2016October 3, 2024 by rawan239

WHO Defines Food security to exists when all people, at all times, have physical, social and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food which meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life.
Food security has three interlinked contents such as :-

Availability of food,
Access to food and
absorption of food.

Food security is a multidimensional concept covering even the micro level household food security,energy intakes and indicators of malnutrition.

Major components of food security are:-

Production and Procurement
Storage
Distribution

Indian Agriculture is rightly called as a gamble with Monsoon, variability in food production and rising population creates food insecurity in the nation and worst effected are the downtrodden section of the society.

While India has seen impressive economic growth in recent years, the country still struggles with widespread poverty and hunger. India’s poor population amounts to more than 300 million people, with almost 30 percent of India’s rural population living in poverty. The good news is, poverty has been on the decline in recent years. According to official government of India estimates, poverty declined from 37.2% in 2004-05 to 29.8% in 2009-10.

Need for Self-Sufficiency:

India suffered two very severe droughts in 1965 and 1966. Food Aid to India was restricted to a monthly basis by USA under the P.L. 480 programme. The Green Revolution made a significant change in the scene. India achieved self-sufficiency in food grains by the year 1976 through the implementation of the seed- water-fertilizer policy adopted by the Government of India.

Food grain production increased four-fold during 1950-51 and 2001-2002 from 51 million tons to 212 million tones. The country is no longer exposed to real famines. But the regional variation in the success of Green Revolution which was chiefly limited to northern- Western states has lead to the divide in the nation. Evergreen revoloution and Bringing green revolution to eastern India is the need of the hour.

Green revolution was focused on wheat and rice and thus the production of pulses was stagnant.

National Food Security Mission comprising rice, wheat and pulses to increase the production of rice by 10 million tons, wheat by 8 million tons and pulses by 2 million tons by the end of the Eleventh Plan (2011-12). The Mission is being continued during 12th Five Year Plan with new targets of additional production of food grains of 25 million tons of food grains comprising of 10 million tons rice, 8 million tons of wheat, 4 million tons of pulses and 3 million tons of coarse cereals by the end of 12th Five Year Plan.
The National Food Security Mission (NFSM) during the 12th Five Year Plan will have five components

(i) NFSM- Rice;

(ii) NFSM-Wheat;

(iii) NFSM-Pulses,

(iv) NFSM-Coarse cereals and

(v) NFSM-Commercial Crops.

Government through Public Distribution System has tried to counter the problem of food insecurity by providing the food grains through fair price shops.

The central Government through Food Corporation of India has assumed the responsibilities of procurement,storage,transfer and bulk allocation of food grains to state governments.

pds The public distribution system (PDS) has played an important role in attaining higher levels of the household food security and completely eliminating the threats of famines from the face of the country, it will be in the fitness of things that its evolution, working and efficacy are examined in some details.

PDS was initiated as a deliberate social policy of the government with the objectives of:

i) Providing foodgrains and other essential items to vulnerable sections of the society at resonable (subsidised) prices;

ii) to have a moderating influence on the open market prices of cereals, the distribution of which constitutes a fairly big share of the total marketable surplus; and

iii) to attempt socialisation in the matter of distribution of essential commodities.

The focus of the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) is on “poor in all areas” and TPDS involves issue of 35 Kg of food grains per family per month for the population Below Poverty Line (BPL) at specially subsidized prices. The TPDS requires the states to Formulate and implement :-

foolproof arrangements for identification of poor,
Effective delivery of food grains to Fair Price Shops (FPSs)
Its distribution in a transparent and accountable manner at the FPS level.

World War I and Indian Nationalism-

March 16, 2016October 3, 2024 by rawan239

Increasing number of Indians from Punjab were emigrating to North America.
The British government thought that these emigrants would be affected by the idea of liberty. Hence, they tried to restrict emigration.
Tarak Nath Das, an Indian student in Canada, started a paper called Free Hindustan.
The Hindi Association was setup in Portland in May 1913.
Under the leadership of Lala Har Dayal, a weekly paper, The Ghadar was started and a headquarters called Yugantar Ashram was set up in San Fransisco.
On November 1, 1913, the first issue of Ghadar was published in Urdu and on December 9, the Gurumukhi edition.
In 1914, three events influenced the course of the Ghadar movement:
- The arrest and escape of Har Dayal
- The Komagata Maru incident
- Outbreak of the first world war

Gharadites came to India and made several attempts to instill the Indian population to revolt. However, this was of no avail.
The Ghadar movement was very secular in nature.
Ghadar militants were distinguished by their secular, egalitarian, democratic and non-chauvinistic internationalist outlook.
The major weakness of the Ghadar leaders was that they completely under-estimated the extent and amount of preparation at every level – organizational, ideological, strategic, tactical, financial – that was necessary before an attempt at an armed revolt could be organized.
It also failed to generate an effective and sustained leadership that was capable of integrating the various aspects of the movement.
Another weakness was its almost non-existent organizational structure.
Some important leaders: Baba Gurmukh Singh, Kartar Singh Saraba, Sohan Singh Bhakna, Rahmat Ali Shah, Bhai Parmanand and Mohammad Barkatullah.
Inspired by the Ghadar Party, 700 soldiers at Singapore revolted under the leadership of Jamadar Chisti Khan and Subedar Dundey Khan. The rebellion was crushed.
Other revolutionaries: Jatin Mukharjee, Rash Bihari Bose, Raja Mahendra Pratab, Lala Hardayal, Abdul Rahim, Maulana Obaidullah Sindhi, Champakaraman Pillai, Sardar Singh Rana and Madame Cama

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Arunachal Pradesh Soils part-2

June 6, 2017October 3, 2024 by rawan239

Arunachal Pradesh, the largest mountainous state of India, is situated in the northeastern part of the Himalayan region and characterized by high annual rainfall, forest vegetation and diversity in soils. Information on the soils of the state is essential for scientific land use planning and sustainable production. Physiographically, Arunachal Pradesh can be divided into four distinct zones:

snow-capped mountains (5500 m amsl);
lower Himalayan ranges (3500 m amsl);
the sub-Himalayan Siwalik hills (700 m amsl); and
the eastern Assam plains.

In vast varied terrain with numerous rivers it is difficult to provide any generalization about the type of soils. However, considering the sand stone rocks the granite and geneiss formation interspersed with calcareous limestone and slate and other minerals tempered largely by swift flowing hilly rivers the broad group could possibly be

(i) Soils of the hills,

(2) Soils in the valleys and mid hills and

(3) soils in the foot –hills.

(4) Podzols

(5) Forest Soil

Soils of the hills

This soil type is found in high altitude meadows found near the snowline in all parts of the higher and trans Himalayas. Negligible rainfall occurs in these areas and the main form of precipitation is snow. The soil found here is very thin and fragile. Since the texture of the soil is very coarse with high gravel content, they are prone to displacement due to slides and avalanches. These soils are dark in colour and have a high content of humus.

Soils in the valleys and mid hills

It is a collective name given to a number of soil types occurring at very high altitude areas under sub-tropical and temperate conditions under a wide variety of forests. These soils have been termed as dabar soils in some parts of Garhwal-Kumaon. Mountain and hill soils are very thin, fertile and may be less than a centimeter deep on steep slopes. These may occur at elevations above 2750 m in the western Himalayas, over 2500 m in Nepal and over 2400 m in the eastern Himalayas. These soils are mixed with pebbles and gravel in many regions. The texture varies from sandy to sandy loam. The soil reaction varies from acidic to neutral and the organic matter content of these soils ranges from 1 to 5 percent.

Soils in the foot-hills

This type of soil is found in the sub-mountain and foothill tracts of the Himalayas ranging from the western regions in Jammu and Kashmir to the eastern most stretches in Arunachal Pradesh. This soil has a high content of organic matter and nitrogenous compounds, but lacks phosphate compounds. The soil is also found in the foothills of Darjeeling, where it has been transported by hilly rivers and streams at altitudes as high as 1500 m. Here, this soil is acidic and poor in plant nutrients and is made up of sandy material and raw humus.

Podzols

They are a class of infertile acidic soils that develop under coniferous forests in humid temperate conditions, where the rate of precipitation exceeds the rate of evaporation. A continuous percolation of water causes leaching of minerals like iron and alumina from upper layers, resulting in the formation of a grey bleached zone on the upper surface. This makes the layer look like ash, giving the underlying soil its name: podzol (pod=under, zola=ash in Russian). The lack of nutrients and acidic nature of podzols make them poor agricultural soils. The percolated minerals often form an impermeable layer at the lower end of the soil profile, which restricts water drainage. These soils occur in high altitude areas near snowline areas.

Forest soil

This soil type is formed either under conditions of high acidic content (where there is acidic humus) or under mildly acidic conditions. The top soil of the soil profile is very rich in humic matter formed by twigs, bark, leaves and needles. An important variety of forest soil is brown forest soil, which occurs under dense deciduous forests. Organic debris from the dense canopy contributes to the topsoil in the form of a thick layer of humus. This soil can be classified into mildly acidic with high base content and acidic with low base content.

FUNCTIONAL CLASSIFICATION OF TOWN AND PROBLEM OF HUMAN SETTLEMENT

June 5, 2017October 3, 2024 by rawan239

FUNCTIONAL CLASSIFICATION OF TOWN AND PROBLEM OF HUMAN SETTLEMENT

The definition of function varies across the disciplines. In political science it refers to duties, in mathematics it means the relationship between two variables and in geography it is synonymous to occupation.

Geographers have classified towns on the basis of their site, situation, size, rank, location and relative elevation. Functional classification of towns attempts to categorize towns and cities according to their economic functions, thereby identifying their roles within urban systems. Most classifications use employment and occupational data. In the functional classification approach, towns are classified on the basis of their dominant function. The functional classification of towns has been illustrated in the following paras:

1.)Administrative town

The main function of administrative cities and towns is to administer the country/state or a specific territory.It includes not only the capital cities of countries, but all the centres of provinces, states, districts and other administrative divisions of the country.

2.Defensive Towns:

During the medieval period, most of the towns and cities used to be developed on the defensive sites.Forts and garrisons used to be constructed at strategic places. The defensive towns have barracks, cantonments, and training facilities for the armed forces, airfields, and harbours for warships.Visakhapatnam, MHOW and Khadakwasla (India);

In many garrison and defensive towns, there is a clear division of land use between the civil and military authorities, so that the military installations are often at a little distance from the town or are grouped together in one part of the town. This is necessary to maintain security, though often many town people are employed by the military.

3.Cultural Centres:

There are numerous towns and cities in the world, almost in each of the countries, which perform cultural functions.The cities of Oxford and Cambridge in England are the most suitable examples of educational towns. In these towns, one may find colleges, libraries, hostels, churches, playgrounds, parks and shopping centres. The environmental pollution in these towns is almost insignificant.

4.) Collection Centres:

The mining towns, fishing ports and lumbering centres fall under the category of collection centres/towns. There are numerous metallic, non-metallics, precious stones and energy resources which are obtained from mines.The towns which serve these mines may be small settlements serving a particular mine such as Zawar near Udaipur (Rajasthan), Bjiladela (Madhya Pradesh) and Digboi (Assam).They may be large in size such as Raniganj, Hazaribagh (Bihar), Ipoh in the tin rich Kinta valley of Malaysia, or Kuwait and Abadan in the oil producing regions of Kuwait and Tehran, respectively.Such towns may have some industries related to the mineral mines, such as smelters and refineries. The shops in such towns sell mining equipments and special clothes needed for miners.

5.) Production Centres:

Urban places, town and cities in which some kind of manufacturing industry is the major function is known as a production centre. The size and appearance of the town are affected by the type of industry located there.

For example, Jamshedpur, Rourkela, Bhilai, Durgapur, Dhanbad and Bhadravati in India, Pittsburgh in USA, Magnitogorsk in Russia and Birmingham in UK are dominated by large steel plants. Such iron and steel producing towns are generally located near the coal fields.
For the manufacturing towns, as collecting centres, transportation is very important for the transport of raw materials and the finished goods. These days such towns are generally set up on lines of communication.

In manufacturing towns, there is a segregation of houses and establishments; the officer’s quarters may be grouped at one place and that of the labourers at the other.

6.) Towns of Diversified Functions:

As stated at the outset, towns are classified according to their major functions. So, all those towns (such as Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, etc.) can be put into a definite category in which a large number of activities are conducted. Such towns are referred as diversified in functions.

Over space and time, the functions of towns change. For example, defensive sites often become restrictive when the town expands.Thus, many towns have restricted centres which were once confined within the town walls and more extensive suburbs which grew up outside the walls or after the walls were demolished.

Shahjahanabad (old Delhi), Padova (Italy), Lahore and Rawalpindi (Pakistan), Baghdad (Iraq) and Baku (Azerbaijan) are some of the examples of such towns.

7.)Residential Towns:

In some towns, the chief function is simply to house a concentration of population. In such areas, most of the land is devoted to houses, parks and hospitals. These towns are very- well-connected with the major cities, which enables the commuters to get to work each day.

8. Resorts:

The urban places which cater to the recreation needs of people are known as resorts or recreation towns.These urban places may be based on health-giving water (hot springs), seaside recreation, mountain climbing, cultural attractions, historical monuments, sports facilities, national parks and attractive scenery.Resorts and recreational towns have many hotels to accommodate visitors, and also provide sporting facilities such as golf courses, swimming pools, trekking and skiing. Moreover, they have numerous entertainment facilities, such as theatres, cinemas, and night clubs and children parks.

9. Transfer and Distribution Centres:

The main functions performed at transfer centres are the trade, commerce and services. Towns which are concerned with the transfer and distribution of goods, however, have trade as their major function.

They include several types of towns. For example, market towns, sea ports and financial towns.Market towns are characterized by markets, a wide range of shops, stores, warehouses, godowns, cold storages and wholesale .markets.Market towns also have banks, insurance companies and other financial organizations. Kanpur, Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Indore, Bhopal, Patna, Lucknow, Ludhiana and Hapur in India, Norwich in England, Alexandria in Egypt, and Kumasi in Ghana are some of the examples of such towns.

Problem of Human settlement:

Some of the major problems of urbanisation in India are

Urban Sprawl

Urban sprawl or real expansion of the cities, both in population and geographical area, of rapidly growing cities is the root cause of urban problems. In most cities the economic base is incapable of dealing with the problems created by their excessive size

Overcrowding

Overcrowding is a situation in which too many people live in too little space. Overcrowding is a logical consequence of over-population in urban areas. It is naturally expected that cities having a large size of population squeezed in a small space must suffer from overcrowding. This is well exhibited by almost all the big cities of India.

3.Slums and Squatter Settlements:

The natural sequel of unchecked, unplanned and haphazard growth of urban areas is the growth and spread of slums and squatter settlements which present a striking feature in the ecological structure of Indian cities, especially of metropolitan centres.

4.)Overcrowding

Overcrowding leads to a chronic problem of shortage of houses in urban areas. This problem is specifically more acute in those urban areas where there is large influx of unemployed or underemployed immigrants who have no place to live in when they enter cities/towns from the surrounding areas.

5.)Seweage problem

Urban areas in India are almost invariably plagued with insufficient and inefficient sewage facilities. Not a single city in India is fully sewered. Resource crunch faced by the municipalities and unauthorised growth of the cities are two major causes of this pathetic state of affairs.

The Supreme Court

June 5, 2017October 3, 2024 by rawan239

The Supreme Court is the highest court of The Indian Republic. Judiciary, the third organ of the government, has an important role to play in the governance. It settles the disputes, interprets laws, protects fundamental rights and acts as guardian of the Constitution. India has a single unified and integrated judicial system and that the Supreme Court is the highest court in India.

The promulgation of Regulating Act of 1773 by the King of England paved the way for establishment of the Supreme Court of Judicature at Calcutta. The Letters of Patent was issued on 26 March 1774 to establish the Supreme Court of Judicature at Calcutta, as a Court of Record, with full power & authority to hear and determine all complaints for any crimes and also to entertain, hear and determine any suits or actions against any of His Majesty’s subjects in Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. The Supreme Courts at Madras and Bombay was established by King George – III on 26 December 1800 and on 8 December 1823 respectively.

Federal Court of India was established under the Government of India Act 1935. The Federal Court had jurisdiction to solve disputes between provinces and federal states and hear appeal against Judgements from High Courts.

After India attained independence in 1947, the Constitution of India came into being on 26 January 1950. The Supreme Court of India also came into existence and its first sitting was held on 28 January 1950.

The Chief Justice and other judges of the Supreme Court are appointed by the President of India. While appointing the Chief Justice, the President is constitutionally required to consult such other judges of the Supreme Court as he deems proper, but outgoing Chief Justice is always consulted. Normally, the senior most judge of the Supreme Court is appointed as the Chief Justice of India, although there is no constitutional requirement to do so. While appointing other judges, the President is bound to consult the Chief Justice and other senior judges, if he deems proper.

The original Constitution of 1950 envisaged a Supreme Court with a Chief Justice and 7 puisne Judges – leaving it to Parliament to increase this number.

According to the Constitution of India, the role of the Supreme Court is that of a federal court, guardian of the Constitution and the highest court of appeal. Articles 124 to 147 of the Constitution of India lay down the composition and jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of India. Primarily, it is an appellate court which takes up appeals against judgments of the High Courts of the states and territories.

The Supreme Court is a Court of Record. It has two implications. All its decisions and judgments are cited as precedents in all courts of the country. They have the force of law and are binding on all lower Courts, and indeed the High Courts. As a Court of Record, the Supreme Court can even send a person to jail who may have committed contempt of the court.

As a Federal Court: Supreme Court is the Federal Court of India, India being a federation; powers are divided between the Union and State governments. The Supreme Court of India is the final authority to see to it that the division of powers as specified in the constitution is obeyed by both the Union and the State governments. So, Article 131 of the Indian Constitution vests the Supreme Court with original and exclusive jurisdiction to determine the justiciable disputes between the Union and the States or between the States.

Interpreter of the Constitution and Law: The responsibility of interpreting the constitution rests on the Supreme Court. The interpretation of the constitution which the Supreme Court shall make must be accepted by all. It interprets the constitution and preserves it. Where a case involves a substantial question of law as to the interpretation of the constitution either certified by the High Court or being satisfied by the Supreme Court itself, an appeal shall lie to the Supreme Court for interpretation of the question of law raised.

As a Court of Appeal: The Supreme Court is the highest court of appeal from all courts in the territory of India. Appeal lies to the Supreme Court of the cases involving interpretation of the constitution. Appeals in respect of civil and criminal cases also lie to the Supreme Court irrespective of any constitutional question.

Advisory Role: The Supreme Court has an advisory jurisdiction in offering its opinion an any question of law or fact of public importance as may be referred to it for consideration by the President.

Guardian of the Constitution: The Supreme Court of India is the guardian of the constitution. There are two points of significance of the Supreme Court’s rule as the protector and guardian of the constitution.

First, as the highest Federal Court, it is within the power and authority of the Supreme Court to settle any dispute regarding division of powers between the Union and the States.
Secondly, it is in the Supreme Court’s authority to safeguard the fundamental rights of the citizens.

In order to discharge these two functions it is sometimes necessary for the Supreme Court to examine or review the legality of the laws enacted by both the Union and the State Governments. This is known as the power of Judicial Review. Indian Supreme Court enjoys limited power of Judicial Review.

Writ Jurisdictions: Under Article 32 of the constitution of Supreme Court can issue Writs for the enforcement of fundamental rights. These writs are in the nature of Habeas Corpus, Mandamas, Prohibition, and Quo-warranto Certiorari.

Power of Judicial Review and Supreme Court: The power of the Judiciary to examine the validity of such law is called Judicial Review. The Supreme Court of India enjoys limited power of Judicial Review. Judicial Review empowers the courts to invalidate laws passed by the legislature. Supreme Court of India also enjoys the power of Judicial Review. If it occurs to the Supreme Court that any law enacted by Parliament or by a State Legislature curbs or threatens to curb the citizen’s fundamental rights, the Supreme Court may declare that law as unlawful or unconstitutional.

Union and State Executive

October 25, 2015October 3, 2024 by rawan239

Governor

Same person can be appointed the governor of two or more states
Appointed by the President
May resign by writing to the President
Qualification
- Citizen of India
- 35 years of age
Art 161: Pardon for any offence against a law relating to a matter to which the executive power of the state extends
Constitution does not state the procedure or the grounds for the removal of the Governor

Council of Ministers

The advice tendered by the CoM cannot be enquired in a court
Number of ministers in the CoM (including the PM) cannot exceed 15 pc of the total number of members of LS (91^st amendment, 2003)
If a person is disqualified under the 10^th schedule (defection), he cannot become a minister
Art 75(3): Collective responsibility

Attorney General

Article 76
Should be qualified to be appointed as a judge of the SC
Right of audience in all courts in the territory of India
Has the right to take part in the proceedings of either houses, without the right to vote.

Parliament

Consists of the President, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha
Six months should not intervene between consecutive sessions
The president shall address a joint sitting of both the houses at the first session of every year and at the first session after the general elections
The Chairman and Speaker can vote only in case of equality of votes
Quorum: One-tenth of the total number of members of the House
MPs resign by addressing their resignation to the Speaker of the Chairman
If a member is continuously absent for 60 days without permission for all the meetings of the House, his seat is declared vacant
Article 102: grounds for disqualification.
- 5 grounds
Decision on questions as to disqualification of members shall be referred to the President and his decision shall be final. The President, in giving his decision, shall act in accordance with the advice of the Election Commission
Joint sitting: If passed by one house and rejected by the other, disagreement between houses on the amendments to the bill, more than six months has passed and the other house has not passed the bill
Joint sitting does not apply to Money Bills

Council of States

Elected members: 238 from state and union territories
- Allocation of seats given in the 4^th schedule
Nominated members: 12
- From field of Literature, science, art and social service
Elected members of the states to be elected by respective Legislative Assembly by proportional representation by means of single transferrable vote
Representatives of UTs to be chosen as Parliament may by law prescribe
1/3 members retire every 2 years
At least 30 years of age
Deputy Chairman can resign by addressing to the Chairman

Most RS seats: UP>Maharashtra>TN=AP>Bihar=WB>Karnataka

States with only one RS seat: Arunachal, Goa, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura

States with least RS seats: Above 8<HP=Uttaranchal<J&K<Haryana=CG

UTs: Delhi-3, Puducherry-1, Rest-zero

House of People

530 members from states by direct elections
20 from UTs chosen in a manner prescribed by the Parliament
2 nominated by the President from the Anglo-Indian community if it is not represented
Ratio of LS seats allocated to a state and its population should be same across states
- This may not be followed if the population of the state is less than 6 million
Population kept as frozen till the census taken after 2026
- For LS constituency allotment to states: 1971 census data used
- For defining boundaries of constituencies: 2001 census data used
At least 25 years of age
Speaker can resign by addressing to the Dy Speaker. The latter can resign by addressing to the Speaker
When LS is dissolved, the Speaker shall not vacate his office until immediately before the first meeting of the LS after its dissolution
Whenever the Deputy Speaker is appointed as a member of a parliamentary committee, he automatically becomes its chairman

Most LS seats: UP>Maharashtra>AP=WB>Bihar>TN

States with one LS seat: Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim

Least LS seats: Above 3<Manipur=Meghalaya=Goa=AP=Tripura<HP<Uttaranchal<J&K

UTs: Delhi(7), Puducherry(2), Rest -1

Reserved for SC: UP – 17, WB – 10

Reserved for ST: MP – 6, Jharkhand, Orissa – 5, CG, Gujarat, Maharashtra – 4

The Home Rule Movement

October 22, 2015October 3, 2024 by rawan239

After being released in 1914, Tilak sought re-entry into Congress. Annie Besant and Gokhale supported. But finally Pherozshah Mehta won and Tilak was not admitted.
Tilak and Besant decided to start the home rule movement on their own.
In early 1915, Annie Besant (and S Subramaniya Iyer) launched a campaign through her two newspapers, New India and Commonweal, and organized public meetings and conferences to demand that India be granted self-government on the lines of the White colonies after the War. From April 1915, her tone became more peremptory and her stance more aggressive.
At the annual session of the Congress in December 1915 it was decided that the extremists be allowed to rejoin the Congress. The opposition from the Bombay group has been greatly weakened by the death of Pherozshah Mehta.
Tilak and Annie Besant set up two different home rule leagues.
Tilak’s league was to work in Maharashtra (excluding Bombay city), Karnataka, the central provinces and Berar and Annie Besant’s league was given the charged of the rest of India.
Tilak was totally secular in nature. There was no trace of religious appeal. The demand for Home Rule was made on a wholly secular basis.
- “Home rule is my birthright, and I will have it”
The British were aliens not because they belonged to another religion but because they did not act in the Indian interest
Tilak’s league was organized into six branches, one each in Central Maharashtrra, Bombay city, Karnataka, and Central Provinces, and two in Berar.
On 23^rd July 1916, on Tilak’s sixtieth birthday the government sent a notice asking him to show cause why he should not be bound over for good behavior for a period of one year and demanding securities of Rs 60000
Tilak was defended by a team of lawyers led by Mohammad Ali Jinnah. He won. Tilak used the opportunity to further the Home Rule movement.
In Besant’s league, the main thrust of activity was directed towards building up an agitation around the demand for Home Rule. This was to be achieved by promoting political education and discussion.
Lucknow Pact: 1916 in the Congress Session at Lucknow. Also known as Congress League Pact. Extremists were accepted back in congress. An agreement was reached between Muslim League and Congress.
The turning point in the movement came with the arrest of Annie Besant in June 1917
There was wide agitation and many leaders joined the league.
The government agreed to grant self rule but the timing for such a change was to be decided by the government alone.
After the great advance in 1917, the movement gradually dissolved.
- The moderates were pacified by the government’s assurance of reforms after Besant’s release.
- The publication of scheme of government reforms in July 1918 further created divisions. Many rejected it while others were for giving it a trial.
- Later, Tilak went to England to fight a case. With Besant unable to give a firm lead, and Tilak away in England, the movement was left leaderless.
Achievements of the movement
- The achievement of the Home Rule movement was that it created a generation of ardent nationalists who formed the backbone of the national movement in the coming years.
- The Home rule leagues also created organizational links between town and country which were to prove invaluable in later years.
- By popularizing the idea of self-government, it generated a widespread pro-nationalist atmosphere in the country.
- The movement set the right mood for the entry of Mahatma Gandhi and take the leadership.

Indian National Congress

October 22, 2015October 2, 2024 by rawan239

Rise of Indian National Congress

Predecessors of INC

East India Association
- By Dadabhai Naoroji in 1866 in London
- To discuss the Indian question and to influence the British public men to discuss Indian welfare
- Branches of the association in prominent Indian cities
Indian Association
- Surendranath Banerjee and Ananda Mohan Bose in 1876, Calcutta
- The aim of creating strong public opinion in the country on political questions and the unification of the Indian people on a common political programme
Poona Sarvajanik Sabha
- Justice Ranade, 1870
Madras Mahajan Sabha
- Viraraghavachari, Anand Charloo, G Subramanian Aiyer, 1884
Bombay Presidency Association
- Pherozshah Mehta, K T Telang, Badruddin Tyabji, 1885
These organizations were narrow in their scope and functioning. They dealt mostly with local questions and their membership were confined to a few people belonging to a single city or province

Indian National Congress

Indian National Congress was founded on 28 December 1885 by 72 political workers. A O Hume was the first secretary and was instrumental in establishing the Congress
First session in Bombay. President: W C Bonnerjee
With the formation of INC, the Indian National Movement was launched in a small but organized manner
The Congress itself was to serve not as a party but as a movement
Congress was democratic. The delegates to INC were elected by different local organizations and groups
Sovereignty of the people
In 1890, Kadambini Ganguli, the first woman graduate of Calcutta University addressed the Congress session
Safety Valve Theory
- The INC was started under the official direction, guidance and advice of Lord Dufferin, the Viceroy, to provide a safe, mild, peaceful and constitutional outlet or safety valve for the rising discontent among the masses, which was inevitably leading towards a popular and violent revolution.

Does the safety valve theory explain the formation of Congress?

The safety valve theory is inadequate and misleading
INC represented the urge of the Indian educated class to set up a national organization to work for their political and economic development
A number of organizations, as mentioned above, had already been started by the Indians towards that end
Hume’s presence in Congress was used to allay official suspicions

Why was there a need for an All-India organization?

Vernacular Press Act, 1878
Ilbert Bill (1883) which would allow Indian judges to try Europeans was opposed by the European community and was finally enacted in a highly compromised state in 1884.
The Indians realized that they could not get the Ilbert bill passed because they were not united on all India level. Hence need for INC was felt.
In order to give birth to the national movement
- Creation of national leadership was important
- Collective identification was created

Aims of INC

Promotion of friendly relations between nationalist political workers from different parts of the country
Development and consolidation of the feeling of national unity irrespective of caste, religion or province
Formulation of popular demands and their presentation before the government
Training and organization of public opinion in the country

The first major objective of the Indian national movement was to promote weld Indians into a nation, to create an Indian identity
Fuller development and consolidation of sentiments of national unity
- Efforts for unity: In an effort to reach all regions, it was decided to rotate the congress session among different parts of the country. The President was to belong to a region other than where the congress session was being held.
- To reach out to the followers of all religions and to remove the fears of the minorities, a rule was made at the 1888 session that no resolution was to be passed to which an overwhelming majority of Hindu or Muslim delegates objected.
- In 1889, a minority clause was adopted in the resolution demanding reform of legislative councils. According to the clause, wherever Parsis, Christians, Muslims or Hindus were a minority their number elected to the councils would not be less than their proportion in the population.
- To build a secular nation, the congress itself had to be intensely secular
The second major objective of the early congress was to create a common political platform or programme around which political workers in different parts of the country could gather and conduct their political activities.
- Due to its focus solely on political issues congress did not take up the question of social reform.
Since this form of political participation was new to India, the arousal, training, organization and consolidation of public opinion was seen as a major task by the congress leaders.
- Going beyond the redressal of immediate grievances and organize sustained political activity.

economy

June 29, 2013October 2, 2024 by rawan239

here are the books, articles and notes for following topics

Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization of resources, growth,
development and employment.
Inclusive growth and issues arising from it.
Government Budgeting.
Effects of liberalization on the economy,changes in industrial policy and their effects
on industrial growth.
Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads,Airports, Railways etc.
Investment models.

https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B_FR6Jkv0z2cMFVIcEJCNGJkcnM&usp=sharing

India in the Eighteenth Century

March 16, 2016October 2, 2024 by rawan239

Bahadur Shah 1 (1707-12)

Muzam succeeded Aurungzeb after latter’s death in 1707
He acquired the title of Bahadur Shah.
Though he was quite old (65) and his rule quite short there are many significant achievements he made
He reversed the narrow minded and antagonistic policies of Aurungzeb
Made agreements with Rajput states
Granted sardeshmukhi to Marathas but not Chauth
Released Shahuji (son of Sambhaji) from prison (who later fought with Tarabai)
Tried to make peace with Guru Gobind Sahib by giving him a high Mansab. After Guru’s death, Sikhs again revolted under the leadership of Banda Bahadur. This led to a prolonged war with the Sikhs.
Made peace with Chhatarsal, the Bundela chief and Churaman, the Jat chief.
State finances deteriorated

Jahandar Shah (1712-13)

Death of Bahadur Shah plunged the empire into a civil war
A noted feature of this time was the prominence of the nobles
Jahandar Shah, son of Bahadur Shah, ascended the throne in 1712 with help from Zulfikar Khan
Was a weak ruler devoted only to pleasures
Zulfikar Khan, his wazir, was virtually the head of the administration
ZK abolished jizyah
Peace with Rajputs: Jai Singh of Amber was made the Governor of Malwa. Ajit Singh of Marwar was made the Governor of Gujarat.
Chauth and Sardeshmukh granted to Marathas. However, Mughals were to collect it and then hand it over to the Marathas.

Continued the policy of suppression towards Banda Bahadur and Sikhs
Ijarah: (revenue farming) the government began to contract with revenue farmers and middlemen to pay the government a fixed amount of money while they were left free to collect whatever they could from the peasants
Jahandhar Shah defeated in January 1713 by his nephew Farrukh Siyar at Agra

Farrukh Siyar (1713-19)

Owed his victory to Saiyid Brothers: Hussain Ali Khan Barahow and Abdullah Khan
Abdullah Khan: Wazir, Hussain Ali: Mir Bakshi
FS was an incapable ruler. Saiyid brothers were the real rulers.
Saiyid Brothers
- Known the Indian History as King Makers
- adopted the policy of religious tolerance. Abolished jizyah (again?). Pilgrim tax was abolished from a number of places
- Marathas: Granted Shahuji swarajya and the right to collect chauth and sardeshmukhi of the six provinces of the Deccan
- They failed in their effort to contain rebellion because they were faced with constant political rivalry, quarrels and conspiracies at the court.
- Nobles headed by Nizam-ul-Mulk and Muhammad Amin Khan began to conspire against them
- In 1719, the Saiyid Brothers killed and overthrew FS.
- This was followed by placing, in quick succession, of two young princes who died of consumption
- Murder of the emperor created a wave of revulsion against the SB. They were looked down as ‘namak haram’
Now, they placed 18 year old Muhammad Shah as the emperor of India
In 1720, the nobles assassinated Hussain Ali Khan, the younger of the SB. Abdullah Khan was also defeated at Agra

Muhammad Shah ‘Rangeela’ (1719-1748)

Weak-minded, frivolous and over-fond of a life of ease
Neglected the affairs of the state
Intrigued against his own ministers
Naizam ul Mulk Qin Qulich Khan, the wazir, relinquished his office and founded the state of Hyderabad in 1724
- “His departure was symbolic of the flight of loyalty and virtue from the Empire”
Heriditary nawabs arose in Bengal, Hyderabad, Awadh and Punjab
Marathas conquered Malwa, Gujarat and Bundelkhand
1738: Invasion of Nadir Shah

Nadir Shah’s Invasion (1738)

Attracted to India by its fabulous wealth. Continual campaigns had made Persia bankrupt
Also, the Mughal empire was weak.
Didn’t meet any resistance as the defense of the north-west frontier had been neglected for years
The two armies met at Karnal on 13^th Feb 1739. Mughal army was summarily defeated. MS taken prisoner
Massacre in Delhi in response to the killing of some of his soldiers
Plunder of about 70 crore rupees. Carried away the Peacock throne and Koh-i-noor
MS ceded to him all the provinces of the Empire west of the river Indus
Significance: Nadir Shah’s invasion exposed the hidden weakness of the empire to the Maratha sardars and the foreign trading companies

Ahmed Shah Abdali

One of the generals of Nadir Shah
Repeatedly invaded and plundered India right down to Delhi and Mathura between 1748 and 1761. He invaded India five times.
1761: Third battle of Panipat. Defeat of Marathas.
As a result of invasions of Nadir Shah and Ahmed Shah, the Mughal empire ceased to be an all-India empire. By 1761 it was reduced merely to the Kingdom of Delhi

Shah Alam II (1759-

Ahmed Bahadur (1748-54) succeeded Muhammad Shah
Ahmed Bahadur was succeeded by Alamgir II (1754-59)
- 1756: Abdali plundered Mathura
Alamgir II was succeeded by Shah Jahan III
Shah Jahan III succeeded by Shah Alam II in 1759
Shah Alam spent initial years wandering for he lived under the fear of his wazir
In 1764, he joined forces with Mir Qasim of Bengal and Shuja-ud-Daula of Awadh in declaring a war upon the British East India company. This resulted in the Battle of Buxar
Pensioned at Allahabad
Returned to Delhi in 1772 under the protection of Marathas

Decline of the Mughal Empire

After 1759, Mughal empire ceased to be a military power.
It continued from 1759 till 1857 only due to the powerful hold that the Mughal dynasty had on the minds of the people of India as a symbol of the political unity of the country
In 1803, the British occupied Delhi
From 1803 to 1857, the Mughal emperors merely served as a political front of the British.
The most important consequence of the fall of the Mughal empire was that it paved way for the British to conquer India as there was no other Indian power strong enough to unite and hold India.

Succession States

These states arose as a result of the assertion of autonomy by governors of Mughal provinces with the decay of the central power
Bengal, Awadh, Hyderabad

Hyderabad and the Carnatic

Founded by Nizam-ul-Mulk Asaf Jah in 1724
Tolerant policy towards Hindus
- A Hindu, Puran Chand, was his Dewan.
Established an orderly administration in Deccan on the basis of the jagirdari system on the Mughal pattern
He died in 1748
Nawab of Carnatic freed himself of the control of the Viceroy of the Deccan and made his office hereditary
- Saadutullah Khan of Carnatic made his nephew Dost Ali his successor

Bengal

1700: Murshid Quli Khan made the Dewan of Bengal
Freed himself of the central control
Freed Bengal of major uprisings
- Three major uprisings during his time: Sitaram Ray, Udai Narayan and Ghulam Muhammad, and then by Shujat Khan, and finally by Najat Khan
Carried out fresh revenue settlement. Introduced the system of revenue-farming.
Revenue farming led to the increased distress of the farmers
Laid the foundations of the new landed aristocracy in Bengal
MQK died in 1727. Succeeded by Shuja-ud-din.
1739: Alivardi Khan killed and deposed Shuja-ud-din’s son, Sarfaraz Khan, and made himself the Nawab
All three Nawabs encouraged merchants, both Indian and foreign.
Safety of roads and rivers. Thanas and Chowkies at regular intervals.
Maintained strict control over the foreign trading companies
They, however, did not firmly put down the increasing tendency of the English East India Company to use military force, or to threaten its use, to get its demands accepted.
They also neglected to build a strong army

Awadh

1722: Saadat Khan Burhan-ul-Mulk
Suppressed rebellions and disciplined the Zamindars
Fresh revenue settlement in 1723
Did not discriminate between Hindus and Muslims. The highest post in his government was held by a Hindu, Maharaja Nawab Rai
Died in 1739. Succeeded by Safdar Jung.
SJ’s reign was an era of peace
made an alliance with the Maratha sardars
Carried out warfare against Rohelas and Bangash Pathans
Organized an equitable system of justice
Distinct culture of Lucknow developed during his period

Mysore

Haidar Ali, in 1761, overthrew Nanjaraj and established his own authority over Mysore
1755: Established a modern arsenal at Dindigal with the help of French experts
Conquered Bidnur, Sunda, Sera, Canara and Malabar
He conquered Malabar because he wanted access to the Indian Ocean
First and Second Anglo-Mysore War
1782: Succeeded by Tipu Sultan
TS was an innovator. Introduced a new calendar, a new system of coinage and new scales of weights and measures.
Keen interest in French Revolution
- Planted a ‘tree of liberty’ at Srirangapatnam and became a member of the Jacobin Club
Made efforts to build a modern navy
Mysore flourished economically under Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan
Sent missions to France, Turkey, Iran and Pegu Myanmar to develop foreign trade
Some historians say that Tipu was a religious fanatic. But facts don’t support this assertion.

Kerala

Divided into large number of feudal chiefs in the 18^th century
Four important states
- Calicut (under Zamorin), Chirakkal, Cochin and Travancore
In 1729, Travancore rose to prominence under King Martanda Varma
Conquered Quilon and Elayadam, and defeated the Dutch
From 1766 Haidar Ali invaded Kerala and annexed northern Kerala up to Cochin
Revival of Malyalam literature
- Trivandram became a famous centre of Sanskrit scholarship

Rajput States

Rajputana states continued to be divided as before
Raja Sawai Jai Singh of Amber was the most outstanding ruler of the era
- Founded the city of Jaipur
- Made Jaipur a great seat of science and art
- Astronomer. Erected observatories at Jaipur, Ujjain, Varanasi, and Mathura
- Drew up a set of tables, entitled Zij Muhammadshahi, to enable people to make astronomical observations
- Translated Euclid’s “Elements of Geometry” into Sanskrit
- Social reformers. Reduce lavish marriage expenditures.

Jats

Jat peasants revolted in 1669 and 1688
Jat state of Bharatpur set up by Churaman and Badan Singh
Reached its highest glory under Suraj Mal, who ruled from 1756 to 1763

Sikhs

Sikhsim transformed into a militant religion during Guru Hargobind (1606-45), the sixth guru.
Guru Gobind Singh waged constant war against the armies of Aurangzeb and the hill rajas
After Guru Gobind Singh’s death (1708), leadership passed to Banda Singh (Banda Bahadur)
- He struggled with the Mughal army for 8 years
- Put to death in 1715
Banda Bahadur failed because
- Mughal centre was still strong
- Upper classes and castes of Punjab joined forces against him
- He could not integrate all the anti-Mughal forces because of his religious bigotry
After the withdrawal of Abdali from Punjab, Sikhs were again resurgent
Between 1765 and 1800 they brought the Punjab and Jammu under their control
They were organized into 12 misls
Ranjit Singh
- Chief of the Sukerchakia Misl
- Captured Lahore (1799) and Amritsar (1802)
- Conquered Kashmir, Peshawar and Multan
- Possessed the second best army in Asia
- Tolerant and liberal
- Fakir Azizuddin and Dewan Dina Nath were his important ministers
- “known to step down from his throne to wipe the dust off the feet of Muslim mendicants with his long grey beard”
- Negative point: He did not remove the threat of British. He only left it over to his successors. And so, after his death, when his kingdom was torn by intense internal struggle, English conquered it.

Marathas

Maratha Families
- Peshwa – Pune
- Gaekwad – Baroda
- Bhosle – Nagpur
- Holkar – Indore
- Scindia – Gwalior
The most powerful of the succession states
Could not fill the political vacuum because
- Maratha Sardars lacked unity
- Lacked the outlook and programme which were necessary for founding an all-India empire
Shahuji
- Son of Sambhaji
- Imprisoned by Aurungzeb
- Released in 1707
- Civil war between Shahu and his aunt Tarabai who ruled in the name of her infant son Shivaji II
- The conflict gave rise to a new era of Maratha leadership, the era of Peshwa leadership
Balaji Vishwnath
- 1713: Peshwa of King Shahu
- Induced Zulfikar Khan to grant the chauth and sardeshmukhi of the Deccan
- Helped the Saiyid brothers in overthrowing Farukh Siyar
- Maratha sardars were becoming individually strong but collectively weak
- Died in 1720. Succeeded by his son Baji Rao I
Baji Rao I
- the greatest extent of guerrilla tactics after Shivaji
- Vast areas ceded by the Mughals
- Marathas won control over Malwa, Gujarat and parts of Bundelkhand
- Rivalry with Nizam ul Mulk
- Compelled the Nizam to grant chauth and sardeshmukhi of the Deccan provinces
- 1733: Campaign against Sidis of Janjira and the Portuguese (Salsette and Bassein)
- Died in 1740
- Captured territories but failed to lay the foundations of an empire
- Succeeded by Balaji Baji Rao (Nana Saheb)
Balaji Baji Rao (1740-61)
- Shahu died in 1749. Peshwas became the de facto rulers
- Shifted the capital to Poona
- Captured Orissa
- Mysore forced to pay tributes
- In 1752, helped Imad-ul-Mulk to become the wazir
- Brought Punjab under their control and expelled the agent of Ahmad Shah Abdali
  - This led AS Abdali to come to India to settle accounts with Marathas in the Third Battle of Panipat
- Third Battle of Panipat
  - ASA formed an alliance with Najib-ud-daulah of Rohilkhand and Shuja-ud-daulah of Awadh.