rawan239, Author at Arunachal Pradesh PCS Free Notes

Arunachal Pradesh Agriculture part -2

June 6, 2017September 14, 2024 by rawan239

Arunachal Pradesh has rural base of economy as over seventy percent of population still live in about 3863 villages. Statistical Abstract of Arunachal Pradesh, 2008, shows that about 58.44 percent of population belongs to the category of cultivators, 3.85 percent agricultural labourers, 0.86 percent workers in household industries, and 36.85 percent other types of workers. Their main occupations are agriculture and animal husbandry. Tribal communities of the state follow both the shifting cultivation and sedentary agriculture.

Shifting Cultivation

In this form of agriculture practice first a forest land is selected. Then it is cleared and dried twigs are burnt on spot and thus land is prepared for sowing. After doing cultivation on such a plot for a few years it is left to regain fertility and the community moves to another plot. They return to the old plot after three years. In this way they shift from one plot to another. In the olden days when land was sufficiently available and there was no population pressure this system was practical to the tribal communities considering their life patterns and little advancement of modern scientific method of farming. At that time the cycle of one shifting was also between 10 and 20 years so there was no adverse effect of this practice on environment. The left over areas regained fertility and there was sufficient growth of vegetation on them in the meantime. So, ecological balance was maintained. Main crops cultivated in jhum lands include food grains, vegetables, root crops and fruit species.

Major Crops are

Rice

Rice is staple food of the people of this region as a whole. In Arunachal Pradesh production of rice is highest among all food crops. Five major districts in relation to rice production are Changlang , West Siang , East Siang , Lohit and Papum Pare . Whereas in terms of production of all food crops during the same period five major districts were Changlang, West Siang, East Siang, Lohit, and Lower Dibang Valley.

Commercial Crops

Among the commercial crops oil seeds, potato, ginger and chilies are produced in all the districts of state in varying quantities.

Oilseeds

Lohit district produced the highest quantity of oil seeds followed by Lower Dibang Valley , East Siang , Changlang and West Siang .

Potato

During the same period the production of potato was highest in Lohit followed by East Siang , Lower Subansiri , Tawang , and Lower Dibang Valley .

Ginger

Production of ginger was highest in Lower Dibang Valley , followed by Lohit , East Siang , Changlang and Upper Subansiri .

Chilli

Production of chili was highest in Changlang , followed by Upper Subansiri , Lower Subansiri , Anjaw , and West Siang .

Among other commercial crops sugarcane was produced highest in East Siang (7280MT), followed by Changlang (4899MT), Papum Pare (2888MT), West Siang (2663MT), and Lower Subansiri (1450MT).

Turmeric was produced in highest quantity in Lower Dibang Valley (616MT), Lohit (387MT), East Siang (369MT), West Siang (234MT) and Papum Pare (116MT).

Horticulture Crops

Apart from food and commercial crops, horticultural crops are equally important. They are the backbone of rural economy of Arunachal Pradesh, as pointed out by the Federation of Industry and Commerce of North East Region (FINER). A good agro-climatic condition and topography of the state is most suitable for cultivation of various tropical, sub-tropical and temperate fruits like apple, orange, pineapple, vegetables, mushrooms, spices, aromatic and medicinal plants.

Apple

Arunachal Pradesh is emerging as a major apple-growing state in the north-east. It grows apple in 8,400 ha and produces 9,500 tonnes apples. Its productivity is 1.1 tonnes/ha, which is extremely low, and the major constraints are low-density plantation of inferior varieties, lack of pollination management, inadequate and imbalanced use of plant protection, irrigation and nutrient management practices and poor canopy.

Mandarin
It is a leading state for production of mandarin, but plantations continue to suffer due to die-back and low productivity. Low productivity is due to old orchards seedling stock, poor management of nutrients and water coupled with incidences of insect pests and diseases. Low pH of soil also attributes to low productivity.

Department of Agriculture

The Department of Agriculture, Govt of Arunachal Pradesh is initiating to step up production and productivity of crops with the following schemes under State Plan Program under 3 (Three) major Heads of development:

Crop Husbandry
ii. Agriculture Research & Education
iii. Agriculture Marketing & Quality Control

Crops Husbandry
Following programmes are covered under Crop Husbandry to enhance the food production and cash crops in the State:-

State Food Security Programme
II. Integrated Nutrient Management (INM)
III. Integrated Pest Management (IPM).
IV. Seed Production Programme through Govt. Agriculture Farms
V. Chief Minister’s Agricultural Mechanization Programme
VI. Strengthening of HRD Institution & Agriculture Programme
VII. Cash Crops Development Programme
VIII. Major repairs and renovation of assets (Buildings)
IX. Promotion of Agriculture
X. Agriculture Employment Generation Programme
XI. Up gradation of10 (Ten) Nos. Laboratories
XII. Organizing Sustainable Mountain Development Summit- IV

Agricultural Research & Education
The Department seeks to provide adequate stress on research by reorganizing the existing structure and pooling the existing manpower to deal effectively aiming at generating research output for the extension functionaries. Efforts are also intended to take up Research Programme on improving the productivity and generating data that suggest steps required to minimize the ill effect of Jhumming. A documentary film on Paddy-cum-Fish-Culture is also proposed for wide publicity and brings awareness to the farmers in other Districts.

Education is also an Integral part of developing the human resources in the field of Agriculture. In this Programme in which students are proposed to be sent for higher studies leading to B. Sc. (Agri.) etc. The expenditure on their stipend/Book grants etc. are to be borne by the Department.

Agriculture Marketing & Quality Control
Over the years there has been a significant increase in the production of crops like Potato, Ginger, Mustard, Vegetable, Sugarcane, Chilly & Maize in the State. The farmers are now facing the new challenge for disposal of these commodities and are deprived of the remunerative prices. All these commodities are considered as surplus and providing appropriate market avenues to the farmers is the real challenge at present to the Department.

Banking- Role of Commercial Banks, Issue of NPA, Financial Inclusion:-

March 22, 2016September 14, 2024 by rawan239

Table of Content:-

Role of Commercial Banks
Issue of NPA
Financial Inclusion

Role of Commercial Banks

A Commercial bank is a type of financial institution that provides services such as accepting deposits, making business loans, and offering basic investment products

There is acute shortage of capital. People lack initiative and enterprise. Means of transport are undeveloped. Industry is depressed. The commercial banks help in overcoming these obstacles and promoting economic development. The role of a commercial bank in a developing country is discussed as under.

Mobilising Saving for Capital Formation:

The commercial banks help in mobilising savings through network of branch banking. People in developing countries have low incomes but the banks induce them to save by introducing variety of deposit schemes to suit the needs of individual depositors. They also mobilise idle savings of the few rich. By mobilising savings, the banks channelize them into productive investments. Thus they help in the capital formation of a developing country.

Financing Industry:

The commercial banks finance the industrial sector in a number of ways. They provide short-term, medium-term and long-term loans to industry.

Financing Trade:

The commercial banks help in financing both internal and external trade. The banks provide loans to retailers and wholesalers to stock goods in which they deal. They also help in the movement of goods from one place to another by providing all types of facilities such as discounting and accepting bills of exchange, providing overdraft facilities, issuing drafts, etc. Moreover, they finance both exports and imports of developing countries by providing foreign exchange facilities to importers and exporters of goods.

Financing Agriculture:

The commercial banks help the large agricultural sector in developing countries in a number of ways. They provide loans to traders in agricultural commodities. They open a network of branches in rural areas to provide agricultural credit. They provide finance directly to agriculturists for the marketing of their produce, for the modernisation and mechanisation of their farms, for providing irrigation facilities, for developing land, etc.

They also provide financial assistance for animal husbandry, dairy farming, sheep breeding, poultry farming, pisciculture and horticulture. The small and marginal farmers and landless agricultural workers, artisans and petty shopkeepers in rural areas are provided financial assistance through the regional rural banks in India. These regional rural banks operate under a commercial bank. Thus the commercial banks meet the credit requirements of all types of rural people. In India agricultural loans are kept in priority sector landing.

Financing Consumer Activities:

People in underdeveloped countries being poor and having low incomes do not possess sufficient financial resources to buy durable consumer goods. The commercial banks advance loans to consumers for the purchase of such items as houses, scooters, fans, refrigerators, etc. In this way, they also help in raising the standard of living of the people in developing countries by providing loans for consumptive activities and also increase the demand in the economy.

Financing Employment Generating Activities:

The commercial banks finance employment generating activities in developing countries. They provide loans for the education of young person’s studying in engineering, medical and other vocational institutes of higher learning. They advance loans to young entrepreneurs, medical and engineering graduates, and other technically trained persons in establishing their own business. Such loan facilities are being provided by a number of commercial banks in India. Thus the banks not only help inhuman capital formation but also in increasing entrepreneurial activities in developing countries.

Help in Monetary Policy:

The commercial banks help the economic development of a country by faithfully following the monetary policy of the central bank. In fact, the central bank depends upon the commercial banks for the success of its policy of monetary management in keeping with requirements of a developing economy.

Issue of NPA

A non performing asset (NPA) is a loan or advance for which the principal or interest payment remained overdue for a period of 90 days.According to RBI, terms loans on which interest or installment of principal remain overdue for a period of more than 90 days from the end of a particular quarter is called a Non-performing Asset.

However, in terms of Agriculture / Farm Loans; the NPA is defined as under:

For short duration crop agriculture loans such as paddy, Jowar, Bajra etc. if the loan (installment / interest) is not paid for 2 crop seasons , it would be termed as a NPA.
For Long Duration Crops, the above would be 1 Crop season from the due date.

The Securitization and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest (SARFAESI) Act has provisions for the banks to take legal recourse to recover their dues. When a borrower makes any default in repayment and his account is classified as NPA; the secured creditor has to issue notice to the borrower giving him 60 days to pay his dues. If the dues are not paid, the bank can take possession of the assets and can also give it on lease or sell it; as per provisions of the SAFAESI Act.

Reselling of NPAs :- If a bad loan remains NPA for at least two years, the bank can also resale the same to the Asset Reconstruction Companies such as Asset Reconstruction Company (India) (ARCIL). These sales are only on Cash Basis and the purchasing bank/ company would have to keep the accounts for at least 15 months before it sells to other bank. They purchase such loans on low amounts and try to recover as much as possible from the defaulters. Their revenue is difference between the purchased amount and recovered amount.

Financial Inclusion

Financial inclusion or inclusive financing is the delivery of financial services at affordable costs to sections of disadvantaged and low-income segments of society, in contrast to financial exclusion where those services are not available or affordable. Financial-inclusion

Government of India has launched an innovative scheme of Jan Dhan Yojna for Financial Inclusion to provide the financial services to millions out of the regulated banking sector.

Various program’s for financial inclusion are:-

Swabhimaan Scheme: under the Swabhimaan campaign, the Banks were advised to provide appropriate banking facilities to habitations having a population in excess of 2000 (as per 2001 census) by March 2012.
Extention of the banking network in unbanked areas,
Expansion of Business Correspondent Agent (BCA) Network
Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) and Direct Benefit Transfer for LPG (DBTL)
RuPay, a new card payment scheme has been conceived by NPCI to offer a domestic, open-loop, multilateral card payment system which will allow all Indian banks and financial Institutions in India to participate in electronic payments.
Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) was formally launched on 28th August, 2014. The Yojana envisages universal access to banking facilities with at least one basic banking account for every household, financial literacy, access to credit, insurance and pension. The beneficiaries would get a RuPay Debit Card having inbuilt accident insurance cover of Rs.1.00 lakh. In addition there is a life insurance cover of Rs.30000/- to those people who opened their bank accounts for the first time between 15.08.2014 to 26.01.2015 and meet other eligibility conditions of the Yojana.

Lok Adalats and Legal Awareness Campaign

July 13, 2017September 14, 2024 by rawan239

LOK ADALATS

Lok stands for People and the word Adalat means Court. Lok Adalat is a special kind of people’s court in which disputes solved by direct talks between the litigants. The members of legal profession, college students, social organisations, charitable and philanthropic institutions and other similar organisations may be associated with Lok Adalat. Salient features of this dispute resolutions are participation,accomadation,fairness,expectations,voluntariness,neighbourliness,transparency and lack of animosity.Lok Adalat after studying the case, try to solve the simple differences which otherwise are likely to leave for reaching consequences through mutual understanding and compromise. The concept of Lok Adalat is an innovative Indian contribution to the world jurisprudence.

Ancient concept of settlement of dispute through mediation, negotiation or through arbitral process known as ‘People’s court verdict’ or decision of ‘Nyaya-Panch’ is conceptualised instutionalised in the philosophy of Lok Adalat. The concept of Lok Adalat was pushed back into oblivion in last few centuries before independence and particularly during British regime. Now this concept has been rejuvenated and became more popular amongst litigants. Camps of Lok Adalat were initially started in Gujarat in March 1982, and now it has been extended throughout the country. The evolution of this movement was a part of the strategy to relieve heavy burden on the Courts with pending cases and to give relief to the litigants who were in the queue to get justice. And the Legal Services Authorities Act 1987 gave a statutory status to Lok Adalats pursuant to the Constitutional mandate in Art. 39-A of the Constitution of India, contains various provisions for settlements of dispute through Lok Adalat.

Levels of lok adalats

State Authority Level – The Member Secretary of the State Legal Services Authority organizing the Lok Adalat would constitute benches of the Lok Adalat, each bench comprising of a sitting or retired judge of the High Court or a sitting or retired judicial officer and any one or both of- a member from the legal profession; a social worker engaged in the upliftment of the weaker sections and interested in the implementation of legal services schemes or programmes.

High Court Level: The Secretary of the High Court Legal Services Committee would constitute benches of the Lok Adalat, each bench comprising of a sitting or retired judge of the High Court and any one or both of- a member from the legal profession; a social worker engaged in the upliftment of the weaker sections and interested in the implementation of legal services schemes or programmes.

District Level: The Secretary of the District Legal Services Authority organizing the Lok Adalat would constitute benches of the Lok Adalat, each bench comprising of a sitting or retired judicial officer and any one or both of either a member from the legal profession; and/or a social worker engaged in the upliftment of the weaker sections and interested in the implementation of legal services schemes or programmes or a person engaged in para-legal activities of the area, preferably a woman.

Taluk Level: The Secretary of the Taluk Legal Services Committee organizing the Lok Adalat would constitute benches of the Lok Adalat, each bench comprising of a sitting or retired judicial officer and any one or both of either a member from the legal profession; and/or a social worker engaged in the upliftment of the weaker sections and interested in the implementation of legal services schemes or programmes or a person engaged in para-legal activities of the area, preferably a woman.

National Lok Adalat: National Level Lok Adalats are held for at regular intervals where on a single day Lok Adalats are held throughout the country, in all the courts right from the Supreme Court till the Taluk Levels wherein cases are disposed off in huge numbers. From February 2015, National Lok Adalats are being held on a specific subject matter every month.

Permanent Lok Adalat: The other type of Lok Adalat is the Permanent Lok Adalat, organized under Section 22-B of The Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987. Permanent Lok Adalats have been set up as permanent bodies with a Chairman and two members for providing compulsory pre-litigative mechanism for conciliation and settlement of cases relating to Public Utility Services like transport, postal, telegraph etc. Here, even if the parties fail to reach to a settlement, the Permanent Lok Adalat gets jurisdiction to decide the dispute, provided, the dispute does not relate to any offence. Further, the Award of the Permanent Lok Adalat is final and binding on all the parties. The jurisdiction of the Permanent Lok Adalats is upto Rs. Ten Lakhs. Here if the parties fail to reach to a settlement, the Permanent Lok Adalat has the jurisdiction to decide the case. The award of the Permanent Lok Adalat is final and binding upon the parties. The Lok Adalat may conduct the proceedings in such a manner as it considers appropriate, taking into account the circumstances of the case, wishes of the parties like requests to hear oral statements, speedy settlement of dispute etc.

Mobile lok adalat: Mobile lok adalat is new concept in which justice is delivered through van. The van consists of facilities like court compartments with basic amenities as well as microphone, computer, printer, seating arrangement for lawyers and the team, cabinet for the presiding officer, projector, internal and external address system, and generator among others.

Benefits of lok adalats

There is no court fee and even if the case is already filed in the regular court, the fee paid will be refunded if the dispute is settled at the Lok Adalat.
There is no strict application of the procedural laws and the Evidence Act while assessing the merits of the claim by the Lok Adalat. The parties to the disputes though represented by their Advocate can interact with the Lok Adalat judge directly and explain their stands in the dispute and the reasons therefore, which is not possible in a regular court of law.
Disputes can be brought before the Lok Adalat directly instead of going to a regular court first and then to the Lok Adalat.
The decision of Lok Adalat is binding on the parties to the dispute and its order is capable of execution through legal process. No appeal lies against the order of the Lok Adalat whereas in regular courts of law there is always a scope to appeal to the higher forum on the decision of the trial court, which cause delay in the settlement of dispute finally. The reason being that in a regular court, decision is that of the court but in Lok Adalat it is mutual settlement and hence no case for appeal will arise. In every respect the scheme of Lok Adalat is a boon to the litigant public, where they can get their disputes settled fast and free of cost.

Legal awareness campaign

The growing number of issues, problems, unabated corruption and indecisiveness prevailed in our society that has given rise to demand support from the people of the country. Be it the legal, poverty, literacy, health, environment and many other issues – each cause is clamoring for public attention. Effort to get such attention, the governments and organizations has come together to devote to a particular cause so that awareness may be raised for the welfare of the society.

Understanding of the legal literacy and legal awareness is the need of the hour to deal with these uncertain problems existing and rising in the society. What it is, why it is important, and how we can promote it. Majority people of India are legal illiterate and not aware of the basic rights conferred upon them by law. Substantial population of the country living in the cities, towns and villages do not know what are their rights and entitlements under the law. Even the literate people are helpless and confused when there is a violation or infringement of a right enforceable in law.

Lack of knowledge about the basic legal and civil liberties, human rights, constitutional directives, and principles and other guidelines that protect the people’s dignity, liberty and freedom manifests itself in the society in the form of problems such as child labour, human trafficking, domestic violence, child marriage, dowry etc. that threatens the safety of all. Therefore, the absence of the legal awareness in the society is mainly responsible for the deception, exploitation and deprivation of rights and benefits, from which the people suffer in the hands of state apparatus. The miserable condition in which the people find themselves can be alleviated to some extent by creating legal literate and legal awareness amongst the people. At this backdrop, legal literacy and legal awareness assume critical significance.

Constitutional and legal provisions for legal awareness

In 1987, the Legal Services Authorities Act (LSAA) was enacted by the Parliament which came into force on 9th November, 1995 with an object to establish a nationwide uniform network for providing free and competent legal services to the weaker sections of the society on the basis of equal opportunity. The National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) has been constituted under the LSAA, 1987 to monitor and evaluate implementation of legal services available under the Act. This Act was passed with the affirmed objective of fulfilling one of the Directive Principles of State Policy enunciated in Article 39A of the Constitution of India. Under it, the Constitution of India provides for equal justice and free legal aid – The State shall secure that the operation of the legal system promotes justice, on a basis of equal opportunity, and shall, in particular, provide free legal aid, by suitable legislation or schemes or in any other way, to ensure that opportunities for securing justice are not denied to any citizen by reason of economic or other disabilities.

Under the Articles 14 and 22(1) also provide that it’s the obligatory for the State to ensure equality before law and a legal system which promotes justice on the basis of equal opportunity to all. Legal aid strives to ensure that constitutional pledge is fulfilled in its letter and spirit and equal justice is made available to the poor, downtrodden and weaker sections of the society. In every State, State Legal Services Authority has been constituted to give effect to the policies and directions of the NALSA and to give free legal services to the people and conduct Lok Adalats in the State. The State Legal Services Authority is headed by Hon’ble the Chief Justice of the respective High Court who is the Patron-in-Chief of the State Legal Services Authority. And in every District, District Legal Services Authority has been constituted to implement Legal Services Programmes in the District.

Role of NALSA in legal awareness and legal aid

Legal Aid Counsel Scheme to provide meaningful legal assistance to under trial prisoners, who feel handicapped in their defense on account of lack of resources or other disabilities and cannot engage a counsel to defend them.
Counseling and Conciliation Scheme to encourage the settlement of disputes by way of negotiations and conciliation.
Supreme Court Middle Income Group Scheme to provide legal services to the middle income class citizens, i.e., citizens whose annual income does not exceed Rs. 2 lakh.
The NALSA organizes Judicial colloquium to create a forum for ongoing regional cooperation among Judges focusing on Human Rights and Access to Justice.
Victims Assistance Program (VAP) has been prepared by the NALSA target the most disadvantaged, distraught vulnerable and victimized population.

WET LAND ECOSYSTEM

December 21, 2016September 14, 2024 by rawan239

Areas of marsh, fen, peatland/water, whether natural (or) artificial, permanent (or) temporary with water that is static (or) flowing, fresh, brackish (or) salt, including areas of marine

water the depth of which at low tide does not exceed 6 mtrs.

Wetlands Classification-

Inland wetland-

a)Natural- Lakes / Ponds, Ox-bow Lakes, Waterlogged, Swamp/marsh

b) Manmade- Reservoirs Tank, Ash pond
Costal Wetland-
A) Natural- Coral reef, Tidal flat, Mangroves, Salt marsh, Estuary, Lagoon, Creek,

Backwater, Bay

b)-manmade -• Salt pans, Aquculture

Functions of Wetlands-

Habitat to aquatic flora and fauna, birds
Filtration of sediments and nutrients from surface water,
Nutrients recycling, Water purification Floods mitigation,
Ground water recharging, Buffer shorelines against erosion,
Genetic reservoir for various species of plants(rice)
the National Lake Conservation Programme (NLCP) considers lakes as standing water
bodies which have a minimum water depth of 3 m, generally cover a water spread of more than ten hectares, and have no or very little aquatic vegetation.
Wetlands (generally less than 3 m deep over most of their area) are usually rich in nutrients (derived from surroundings and their sediments) and have .abundant growth of aquatic macrophytes

India’s Wetland

Wetlands occupy 18.4% of the country’s area of which 70% are under paddy cultivation.

Inland wetlands >Costal Wetlands

National Wetlands Conservation Programme (NWCP)

NWCP was implemented in the year 1985-86.
Under the programme, 115 wetlands have been identified by the Ministry which require urgent conservation and management interventions.

Aim

Conservation of wetlands to prevent their further degradation and ensuring their wise
use for the benefit of local communities and overall conservation of biodiversity.

Objectives

to lay down policy guidelines for conservation and management of wetlands in the country.
to provide financial assistance for undertaking intensive conservation measures in the identified wetlands
The Central Government is responsible for overall coordination of wetland
conservation programmes and initiatives at the international and national levels. It also provides guidelines, financial & technical assistance to state govt.
State Governments/UT Administration are responsible for management of wetlands and implementation of the NWCP for ensuring their wise-use

Criteria for Identification of Wetlands of National Importance

Criteria for identification of wetlands of national importance under NWCP are same as those prescribed under the ‘Ramsar Convention on Wetlands’ and are as given below:

Sites containing representative, rare or unique wetland types

example of a natural or near-natural wetland type’ found within the appropriate biogeographic region.

Criteria based on species and ecological communities

If it supports vulnerable, endangered, or critically endangered species; or
threatened ecological communities.
If it supports populations of plant and/or animal species important for maintaining the biological diversity of a particular biogeographic region.
If it supports plant and/or animal species at a critical stage in their life cycles, or provides refuge during adverse conditions.

Specific criteria based on water birds

If it regularly supports 20,000 or more water birds.
If it regularly supports 1% of the individuals in a population of one species or subspecies of waterbirds.

Specific criteria based on fish

If it supports a significant proportion of indigenous fish subspecies, species or families, life-history stages, species interactions and/or populations that are representative of wetland benefits and/or values and thereby contributes to global biological diversity.
If it is an important source of food for fishes, spawning ground, nursery and/or migration path on which fish stocks, either within the wetland or elsewhere, depend.

Specific criteria based on water/life and culture

If it is an important source of food and water resource, increased possibilities for recreation and eco-tourism, improved scenic values, educational opportunities, conservation of cultural heritage (historic or religious sites)

Political Parties and Pressure Groups

July 14, 2017September 13, 2024 by rawan239

Political Parties and Elections Political parties are an established part of modern mass democracy, and the conduct of elections in India is largely dependent on the behaviour of political parties. Although many candidates for Indian elections are independent, the winning candidates for Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections usually stand as members of political parties, and opinion polls suggest that people tend to vote for a party rather than a particular candidate.

Political parties are an established part of modern mass democracy, and the conduct of elections in India is largely dependent on the behaviour of political parties. Although many candidates for Indian elections are independent, the winning candidates for Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections usually stand as members of political parties, and opinion polls suggest that people tend to vote for a party rather than a particular candidate. Parties offer candidates organisational support, and by offering a broader election campaign, looking at the record of government and putting forward alternative proposals for government, help voters make a choice about how the government is run.

Political parties have to be registered with the Election Commission. The Commission determines whether the party is structured and committed to principles of democracy, secularism and socialism in accordance with the Indian Constitution and would uphold the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India. Parties are expected to hold organisational elections and have a written constitution.

According to certain criteria, set by the Election Commission regarding the length of political activity and success in elections, parties are categorised by the Commission as National or State parties, or simply declared registered-unrecognised parties. How a party is classified determines a party’s right to certain privileges, such as access to electoral rolls and provision of time for political broadcasts on the state-owned television and radio stations – All India Radio and Doordarshan – and also the important question of the allocation of the party symbol. Party symbols enable illiterate voters to identify the candidate of the party they wish to vote for. National parties are given a symbol that is for their use only, throughout the country. State parties have the sole use of a symbol in the state in which they are recognised as such Registered-unrecognised parties can choose a symbol from a selection of ‘free’ symbols.

Pressure groups are those informal organisations that come into existence for the protection of special interests and influence the activities of the government by different methods.

Pressure groups are not primarily political in nature. For example, although Rashtriya Swayamak Sangh (RSS) supports the Bharatiya Janata Party, it is, by and large, a cultural organization. The political parties are basically political. Pressure groups do not seek direct power; they only influence those who are in power for moulding decisions in their favour. The political parties seek power to form the government. Pressure groups do not contest elections; they only support political parties of their choice. Political parties nominate candidates, contest elections, and participate in election campaigns. Pressure groups do not necessarily have political ideologies. Political parties are always wedded to their ideologies. For example, the Congress party is wedded to the ideologies of socialism, secularism and democracy; the Communists advocate the interests of workers, peasants and other weaker sections. The interests of the pressure groups are usually specific and particular, whereas the political parties have policies and programmes with national and international ramifications.

Morley-Minto Reforms, 1909 and Growth of Communalism

October 22, 2015September 13, 2024 by rawan239

Morley-Minto Reforms, 1909

Increased the number of elected members in the Imperial Legislative Council and the provincial council
However, most of the elected members were elected indirectly
The reformed councils still enjoyed no real power, being merely advisory bodies.
Introduced separate electorates under which all Muslims were grouped in separate constituencies from which Muslims alone could be elected. This was aimed at dividing the Hindus and Muslims. It was based on the notion that the political and economic interests of Hindus and Muslims were separate.
- This later became a potent factor in the growth of communalism
- It isolated the Muslims from the Nationalist Movement and encouraged separatist tendencies
The real purpose of the reforms was to confuse the moderate nationalists, to divide nationalist ranks and to check the growth of unity among Indians
Response of Moderates
- They realized that the reforms had not granted much
- However, they decided to cooperate with the government in working the reforms
- This led to their loss of respect among the nationalists and masses

Growth of Communalism

Definition
- Communalism is the belief that because a group of people follow a particular religion they have, as a result, common secular, that is, social, political and economic interests.
- Second stage: Secular interests of followers of one religion are dissimilar and divergent from the interests of the followers of another religion
- Third stage: The interests of the followers of different religions or of different religious communities are seen to be mutually incompatible, antagonistic and hostile.
Communalism is not a remnant of the medieval period. It has its roots in the modern colonial socio-economic political structure.
Divide and Rule
- After 1857, British initially suppressed Indian muslims. However, after the publishing of Hunter’s book ‘The Indian Mussalman’ they actively followed the policy of divide and rule and hence started supporting the Muslims.
- They promoted provincialism by talking of Bengal domination
- Tired to use the caste structure to turn the non-brahmins against Brahmins and the lower caste against the higher castes.
- It readily accepted communal leaders as authentic representatives of all their co-religionists.
Reasons for growth of communal tendencies in Muslims
- Relative backwardness: educationally and economically

Harsha-Vardhan : The last great Hindu ruler of Northern India; cultural achievements during his period.

June 6, 2017September 13, 2024 by rawan239

Emperor Harshavardhana, better known as Harsha, lived from 590 to 647 CE and was the third ruler of the Vardhana Empire, the last great empire in ancient India before the Islamic Invasion. He ruled from 606 CE to 647 CE. After Harshavardhana’s death, however, the Vardhana dynasty came to an end and its empire dissolved.

India, the land beyond the Indus river, has seen many rulers who dreamt of conquering the vast country and rule from the Himalayas in the north to Deccan in south, from the mountains of Kandhar in the west to Assam in the east, yet very few have been able to subdue history according to their will. Harshavardhana was one such ruler. His empire may not be as large as the great Mauryan’s, yet he deserves special mention. After the fall of great Gupta Empire in the middle of the 6th century CE, under whom India saw its own golden age, it was Harshavardhana who unified most of northern India and ruled for four decades from his capital Kannauj.

RISE TO POWER & MILITARY CAMPAIGNS

The Vardhana dynasty was started by Prabhakarana Vardhana who ruled the kingdom of Thaneshwar, modern-day Haryana. Prabhakarana’s queen Yasovati gave birth to two sons Rajyavardhana and Harshawardhana and a daughter named Rajyashri who was later married to king Grahvarmana of Kanyakubja, modern-day Kannauj. This was a period of tension as India had to frequently deal with the invasion of the Huns of Central Asia. Once, emperor Skandagupta of the Gupta Empire laid a crushing defeat on these barbaric tribes, yet these constant fights were so costly that they weakened the empire to the core, and this eventually led to the downfall of the Gupta Empire. As the western frontiers of India and areas adjoining the Indus river were under the occupation of Huns, skirmishes between Huns and Thaneshwar were regular. While Harsha and his brother were busy dealing with the Huns in the west, king Prabhakarana died in Thaneshwar. He was succeeded by his elder son, Rajyavardhana.

AFTER HIS BROTHER’S DEATH, AT THE AGE OF 16, HARSHAVARDHANA BECAME THE UNDISPUTED RULER OF THANESHWAR AND DECLARED WAR ON SASAKA TO AVENGE HIS BROTHER AND EMBARKED UPON A CAMPAIGN OF DIGVIJAY, I.E. TO CONQUER THE WORLD.

Meanwhile, in the east far greater events were happening which altered the course of history. Sasaka, king of Gauda, modern-day Bengal, marched and killed king Grahvarmana, Rajyashri’s husband, and then kidnapped her. The kidnapping of his sister forced the elder Vardhana brother to march east and confront Sasaka. Sasaka then invited Rajyavardhana for a meeting and treacherously killed him. After his brother’s death, at the age of 16, Harshavardhana became the undisputed ruler of Thaneshwar and declared war on Sasaka to avenge his brother and embarked upon a campaign of Digvijay, i.e. to conquer the world (which in this context means conquering whole India). Yet, his foremost enemy was now Sasaka who had to face an angry brother’s wrath. Harsha issued a proclamation to all kings known to either declare allegiance to him or face him on the battlefield. As Sasaka’s enemies responded to Harsha’s call, he marched on to Kannuaj.

Although there is no evidence, a story in Harshacharitra claims that Rajyashri, when released from prison, took refuge in the forest of Vindhyas. Hearing this, Harsha hurriedly went into the forest to save her and found her just when she was about to commit suicide by throwing herself in a fire. Rescuing his sister, he rejoined his army at the bank of Ganges. After this, Harsha easily conquered Kannauj as Sasaka went back to Bengal, and thus began a long enmity. It was only after Sasaka’s death that Harsha was able to control entire eastern India including Magadha, Bengal and Kalinga.

Harsha’s Digvijay, or the conquest of the world had now begun. After Kannauj, he turned his attention towards Gujarat. He defeated the local Valabhi kingdom and expanded his empire. Yet, this rapid expansion led to tensions between him and the Chalukya king Pulakesin II. It was now that the most powerful kingdoms of northern and southern India came face-to-face on the battlefield on the banks of river Narmada. In the end, the southerners under the able leadership of Pulakesin II prevailed leaving the ambitious northern ruler, Harsha, defeated. They say Harsha lost his cheer when he saw his elephants dying in the battle.

Harsha entered a peace treaty with the Chalukya king, which established Narmada river as the southern boundary of his empire and after that he never advanced south again. Yet, this did not halt his conquest of the north. He took the title of sakal uttara patha natha (lord of northern India). Hieun Tsang tells us that:

He waged incessant warfare, until in six years he had fought thr five Indians(referring to five largest kingdoms). Then, having enlarges his territory, he increased his army, bringing the elephant corps upto 60,000 and the cavalry upto 100,000, and reigned in peace for thirty years without raising a weapon (Majumdar, 252).

Yet many historians believe his claim may be exaggerated. Still, this gives a glimpse of his military prowess.

The Vardhana Empire consisted of two distinctive types of territories: areas directly under Harsha’s rule such as Central Provinces, Gujarat, Bengal, Kalinga, Rajputana, and the states and kingdoms which had become feudatories under him including Jalandhar, Kashmir, Nepal, Sind, Kamarupa (modern-day Assam). Thus, many historians do not find the title justified as he was never able to bring the entire north under a single command. Yet, this does not mean his power was not felt beyond the limits of his direct rule. His writ ran across entire north India. Under his command, King of Jalandhar escorted the Chinese traveller Hiuen Tsang to the frontiers of India. Another time, king of Kashmir had to submit a tooth relic of Buddha to Harsha. The Chinese source suggests that the King of Kamarupa could not dare to detain a Chinese pilgrim in his capital against the wishes of Harsha.

ART & EDUCATION

Harsha was a patron of both art and education. He himself was an author and wrote three Sanskrit plays, Nagananda, Ratnavali, Priyadarshika. One-fourth of his revenue went for patronizing scholars. Hiuen Tsang gives a quite vivid description of the famous Nalanda University which was at its zenith during Harsha’s reign. He described how the regularly laid-out towers, forests of pavilions, temples seemed to “soar above the mists in the sky” so that from their cells the monks “might witness the birth of the winds and clouds”.
The pilgrim states:

An azure pool winds around the monasteries, adorned with the full-blown cups of the blue lotus; the dazzling red flowers of the lovely kanaka hang here and there, and outside groves of mango trees offer the inhabitants their dense and protective shade (Grousset,158,159).

In its heyday, Nalanda had around 10,000 students and 2,000 teachers. The admission process was very strict. Records say there was a rigorous oral examination conducted by gatekeepers, and many used to be rejected. The curriculum included Vedas, Buddhism, philosophy, logic, urban planning, medicine, law, astronomy, etc.

SOCIETY & RELIGION

Caste system was prevalent among Hindus. They were divided into four castes or varna: Brahmana, Vaishya,Kshariya and Shudra, which among them had their own subcastes. The untouchables, who came at the lowest in the hierarchy, led a miserable life. The status of women declined as compared to the liberal era of earlier times. Satipratha (widow immolation) was common, and widow remarriage was not allowed in higher castes.

Harsha was a worshiper of Shiva in the beginning but later became a Mahayana Buddhist. Yet, he was tolerant of other faiths. With a view to popularize and propagate the doctrines of Mahayana Buddhism, Harsha arranged at Kannauj a great assembly which was presided over by Hiuen Tsang. Hiuen Tsang took a lot of manuscripts to China and translated more than 600 of them from Sanskrit. Another great ceremony was held for 75 days at Prayag (Allahabad). The images of Buddha, Sun and Siva were worshiped, and gifts of valuable articles and clothing were distributed in charity. Every five years religious ceremonies were celebrated at the ancient city of Allahabad. Here, he held the ceremony of Dana, or giving, which lasted for three months. During this, most of the wealth accumulated in the last five years was exhausted. Once, he even gave his clothes and jewellery and begged his sister for an ordinary garment to wear.

DEATH & LEGACY

Harsha’s empire marked the beginning of feudalism in India. Land was granted in villages, which made the local landlords powerful. This led to the weakening of the empire and gave rise to local feuds. Harsha had to be in constant movement to keep things in order.

Harsha died in 647 AD, and the empire with him. The death of Harshavardhana is not well documented. It is said that he was married to Durgavati and had two sons named Vagyavardhana and Kalyanvardhana. The story goes that they were killed by a minister in his court, even before the death of Harsha himself. Therefore, Harsha died without any heir. As a result, Arjuna, one of the chief ministers took up the thrones. Later in 648 CE, Arjuna was captured and held prisoner in an attack by the Tibetians.

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Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)

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Notification on Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of developmental projects 1994 under the provisions of Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 making EIA mandatory for 29 categories of developmental projects. One more item was added to the list in January, 2000. environmental impact assessment statutory for 30 activities

Environment Impact Assessment Notification of 2006 has categorized the developmental projects in two categories, i.e., Category A and Category B

‘Category A’ projects are appraised at national level by expert appraisal committee

India has constituted the State Level Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) and State Level Expert Appraisal Committee (SEAC) to decentralize the environmental clearance process

The objective of EIA is to foresee and address potential environmental problems/ concerns at an early stage of project planning and design.

The EIA notification establishes four stages for obtaining Environmental Clearance.

Screening
Scoping and consideration of alternatives Baseline data collection
Impact prediction
Assessment of alternatives, delineation of mitigation measures and environmental impact statement
Public hearing
Environment Management Plan Decision making
Monitoring the clearance conditions

Screening- It is only for Categories B

Screening Criteria are based upon: