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2021-11-16 18:35:59 ##KALPATHY FESTIVAL
##CSE PRELIMS-2022

#The culmination of the Kalpathy festival, known by various names as chariot festival, car festival, or car race, take place on 17 Nov.

#Kalpathy, the traditional Tamil Brahmin settlement in Kerala, which has been accorded heritage village status by the Government is lined with decades-old houses, all exuding an old-world charm.

#The whole village gets draped in a festive splendour as the Ratholsavam is held at the Sree Viswanatha Swamy Temple at Kalpathy in Palakkad.

# All the rituals in the temple are conducted according to the Tamil customs and traditions.

# The festival which is believed to date back to over 300 years, is dedicated to the presiding deity of the temple, Viswanathaswamy.

#The festival is marked by another resplendent ritual called the Ancham Thirunal on the fifth day. Technically, the festival starts at Kalpathy in the last week of the Tamil month of Aippasi and ends in the second week of Vaikasi in the village of Thirunellai. The customs and rituals adhere to the Vedic tradition. Open / Comment

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2021-11-12 08:15:54 ###Kra Canal 
CSE MAINS

GS3 #Economy #Infrastructure #International #GS1 #Geography 

In the middle of August, Thai transport minister Saksayam Chidchob said that Thailand was considering a road and railway link across the narrow tract of land in the south of the country, which has been the proposed site for building the Kra canal. 

In its aftermath, Indian media reports said that plans for the Kra canal had been called off and that it was a step back for the Chinese. Most of these reports linked the “retraction” of the proposal to build the canal to India’s border tensions with China, erroneously implying a connection between the two. 
What is ‘Kra Canal’? 
The Isthmus of Kra, the region in question, is the narrowest strip of land in the Malay peninsula. For nearly two and a half centuries, attempts have been made to build a canal connecting the Indian and the Pacific Oceans. 

Historically, this canal was pushed by the French and as colonial expansion took shape, the Siamese (modern day Thailand) rulers ensured two important outcomes—first, Thailand remained independent from colonial rule and second, Britain’s focus on retaining the primacy of Singapore as the most important trading centre triumphed over the efforts to build the canal.  

Kra canal also known as Thai canal or Kra isthmus canal is a proposed canal to connect Gulf of Thailand (formerly known as Gulf of Siam) with Andaman Sea. 

Exiting the Kra Canal westwards, traffic would enter the Andaman Sea, transit past India’s Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and then head south towards the Chinese-owned port at Hambantota, in Sri Lanka. 

The question of the Kra canal has been discussed almost since 1993. Much of its relevance has to do with increased shipping movement in the Straits of Malacca. Strait of Malacca is the world’s busiest maritime lane, through which an estimated 84,000 ships carrying around 30 per cent of global trade transit each year. 

The reason behind the proposed canal was to reduce the dependence on the Straits by connecting the Indian and the Pacific Oceans through an alternative route. 

Additionally, this would also reduce the travel time and eliminate the necessity of going around the Malay peninsula, a distance of nearly 1,200 kilometres. 
What is the new proposal by Thailand? 
The statement by the transport minister referred to the possibility of building two ports in Chumphon and Ranong and connecting them through a network of overland linkages. 

This was in no way a reiteration of the end of the canal; it was more likely an addition to the canal, which has issues of sovereignty and environmental hazards linked to it. 

A deeper look at the geopolitics in the region and the political situation in Thailand currently will clearly reveal that the proposal is not “dead and gone”, but like several of the earlier efforts, is still in limbo. 
Geopolitical questions  
At first glance, the question of Kra seems simple enough—just an alternate route—but within the deepening geopolitical environment in the Indo-Pacific region, the canal will significantly contribute to the existing stresses among the major powers and within groupings like the ASEAN itself. 

Both China and India are rising economic powers, notwithstanding the current downturn globally as a result of the pandemic. As such, these countries are dependent on energy resources from West Asia, which necessitates an uninterrupted supply. Geopolitically, as Chinese assertions in the Indian and Pacific Ocean regions have increased, there is also greater vulnerability for the country, especially in terms of its overwhelming dependence on the Straits of Malacca. 

Conclusion  
As Beijing seeks to increase its relevance through projects such as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, the emphasis on alternatives to the Straits of Malacca will lead to an increase in its efforts to leverage the countries of Southeast Asia.  Open / Comment

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2021-11-09 12:16:00 Canada’s Milne ice shelf collapsed’
The collapse of Canada’s Milne ice shelf — the country’s last one — in a corner of the country’s Ellesmere Island, has increased fears of the Arctic region being under severe stress due to global warming.
Context
The collapse of Canada’s Milne ice shelf — the country’s last one — in a corner of the country’s Ellesmere Island, has increased fears of the Arctic region being under severe stress due to global warming.
About
Located on the northwestern coast of Ellesmere Island in Nunavut, the Milne Ice Shelf is about 4,000 years old.

The Milne ice shelf lost more than 40 percent of its ice over two days end of July 2020.

The shelf's sudden collapse was a close call for scientists studying ice loss in that precarious location, said Arctic ice researcher Derek Mueller.

The Milne ice shelf lost more than 40 percent of its ice over two days end of July 2020.

This has increased concerns over the rapid melting of ice and the breaking of old ice shelfs — large floating pieces of ice that form when a glacier or ice sheet flows into the sea surface.

This also meant the last known epishelf lake — a water body dammed by the ice shelf and floating on the ocean surface — in the northern hemisphere and on the Milne ice shelf, no longer exists
What are Ice shelves?
An ice shelf is a thick, floating slab of ice that forms where a glacier or ice flows down a coastline. Ice shelves are found only in Antarctica, Greenland, and Canada. Thicknesses of floating ice shelves range from 100-1,000 meters.

Ice shelves are formed by forces of gravity from ice along the shore. Gravity constantly pressures the movement of ice from the land to the shelf. Ice shelves lose mass when chunks break off and slide into the ocean water. Shelves gain mass by snow accumulation on the upper surface.

Ice shelves can date as back as far as hundreds to thousands of years. They are thicker than long-term sea ice, but not as large as glaciers.

The world’s largest ice shelves are the Ross ice shelf and the Filchner-Ronne ice shelf in Antarctica. 
Ellesmere Island
Canadian ice shelves are attached to Ellesmere Island. The Ayles ice shelf broke up in 2005, the M’Clintock ice shelf broke from 1963 to 1966, and the Markham ice shelf broke up in 2008.

The only Canadian shelves still existing was the Milne ice shelves.

Ellesmere Island has been losing ice for more than a century.

About 100 years ago, a vast, single ice shelf extended along the island's northern coast, spanning more than 3,300 square miles (8,600 square km).

By 2000, the shelf was reduced to around 405 square miles (1,050 square km) divided among six large ice shelves — including Milne Ice Shelf — as well as a few smaller ones, Carleton University representatives said.

Since 2003, there have been five major calving events on the Ellesmere Island coast, and there's no question that climate changeis driving the drastic ice loss.
The recipe for ice shelf break up
Temperatures from May to early August in the region have been 5 degrees Celsius warmer than the 1980 to 2010 average, University of Ottawa glaciology professor Luke Copland said.

The high temperatures combined with a warming pattern that is much faster than the rest of globe are to blame for the disintegration of the ice shelves.

Above-normal air temperatures, offshore winds and open water in front of the ice shelf are all part of the recipe for ice shelf break up.
Expansion of AIS:
It has been predicted that there would be a 24% increase in the expansion of AIS boundaries by 2021 and another 24% expansion by 2026 from its 2016 positions.
Significance:
In the background of the global warming scenario, the study reveals about the advancement in the predicted ice shelf extent, the future dynamism of ocean heat fluctuation and Antarctic Amery ice shelf mass shifting-extent.

The study has also observed that the critical cooling of the Sea Surface Temperature (SST) is resulting in an advancement of the ice shelf by 88% in the past 15 years. These changes would contribute in a major way to climate variability. Open / Comment

2021-11-08 19:28:24 Important Cases Related to Article 21 of the Indian Constitution
A.K Gopalan vs. the State of Madras, 1951: The Supreme court has taken a narrow interpretation of Article 21 in this case. It held that the protection under Article 21 is available only against arbitrary executive action and not from arbitrary legislative action. This means that the state can deprive a person of the rights available in Article 21 based on a law.

 Maneka Gandhi vs. UOI, 1978: In this case, the SC overruled its judgment of the Gopalan Case by taking a wider interpretation of Article 21. It ruled that the right to life and personal liberty of a person can be deprived by law on the condition that the procedure prescribed by that law is reasonable, fair, and just. Further, it clarified that the right to life does not merely mean animal existence. It held that all those aspects of life which go to make a man’s life meaningful, complete, and worth living will be included in this.  Open / Comment

2021-11-08 19:28:23 MUST READ TOPICS FOR CSE MAINS EXAM IMPORTANT POINT OF VIEWS

Article 21 of Constitution of India: Protection of Life and Personal Liberty

Article 21 states that “No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to a procedure established by law.” Thus, article 21 secures two rights:
1. Right to life, and
2. Right to personal liberty.

The Government of India Act, 1935 provided for the establishment of Article 21 of the Indian Constitution. It declares that no person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to the procedure established by law. Article 21 comes under the Part III of the Indian constitution and is one of the fundamental rights guaranteed to all citizens of India. In this article, we will discuss various rights and liberties that are a part of Article 21.

Article 21 of Indian constitution
Article 21 is a fundamental right and is included in Part-III of Indian Constitution. 
This right is available to all citizens as well as non-citizens alike. 
Supreme Court has described this right as the “heart of fundamental rights”

According to Justice Bhagwati, Article 21 “embodies a constitutional value of supreme importance in a democratic society.”
Article 21 secures two rights: The right to life and the Right to personal liberty.
Article 21 cannot be suspended during an emergency. 
Meaning and Scope of Article 21 of Indian Constitution

The right to life in Article 21 of Indian constitution does not mean animal existence or the mere act of breathing. It guarantees the right to a dignified life. Some of the rights that are currently included in the ambit of Article 21 includes (mentioned in Menaka Case):
Right to live with human dignity.
Right to the decent environment including pollution-free water and air and protection against hazardous industries.
Right to livelihood.
Right to privacy.
Right to shelter.
Right to health.
Right to free education up to 14 years of age.
Right to free legal aid.
Right against solitary confinement.
Right to a speedy trial.
Right against handcuffing
Right against inhuman treatment.
Right against delayed execution.
Right to travel abroad.
Right against bonded labor.
Right against custodial harassment.
Right to emergency medical aid.
Right to timely medical treatment in a government hospital.
Right not to be driven out of a state.
Right to a fair trial.
Right of prisoner to have necessities of life.
Right of women to be treated with decency and dignity
Right against public hanging.
  Right to hearing.
Right to information.
Right to reputation.
Right of appeal from a judgment of conviction
Right to social security and protection of the family
Right to social and economic justice and empowerment
Right against bar fetters
Right to appropriate life insurance policy
Right to sleep
Right to freedom from noise pollution
Right to electricity
History Judgements Related To Article 21 of Indian Constitution

Now, let us look at some of the historic judgments that widened the scope of Article 21:

Kharak Singh vs. the State of UP and Others: Right to privacy was included in Article 21 by this case.

Sunil Batra vs. Delhi Administration: In this case, Supreme Court deemed the fatal handcuffs for the convicted persons as unconstitutional as it suggests inhuman behavior towards the prisoner. The court reiterated the clause “protection to the convicted and accused person” under Article 21.

Mohini Jain vs. the State of Karnataka, 1992 SC: The SC held that the Right to life also includes the Right to education.  

Unni Krishnan vs. the State of Andhra Pradesh, 1993 SC: In this case, SC fixed the age that right to education is a fundamental right to the children for the age of 6-14 years.

Subhash Kumar vs. the State of Bihar: SC included the right to get pollution-free air in the ambit of the right to life. 

Lachma Devi vs. Attorney General of India: In this case, SC made the execution of a death sentence at a public place unconstitutional.  Open / Comment

2021-11-08 19:11:05 Ken River and Betwa River
Ken River
The Ken River is one of the major rivers of the Bundelkhand region of central India, and flows through two states, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.

Its basin lies between north latitudes 23°20' and 25°20' and east longitudes of 78°30' and 80°32'.

The river originates near the Village Ahirgawan in Jabalpur District of M.P. at an altitude of 550m above mean sea level and joins the Yamuna River, near Chilla Village in U.P., at an elevation of about 95 m.

It forms the common boundary between Panna and Chhattarpur Districts of M.P. and state boundary between Chhattarpur District (M.P.) and Banda District (U.P.). The river has a total length of 427 km, out of which 292 km lies in M.P., 84 km in U.P, and 51 km forms the common boundary. The total catchment area of the Ken River basin is 28,058 sq. km, out of which 24,472 sq. km lies in Madhya Pradesh and the balance 3,586 sq. km in Uttar Pradesh.
 
Tributaries of Ken River: The important tributaries of the Ken River are Sonar, Bearma, Kopra, Bewas, Urmil, Mirhasan, Kutni, Kail, Gurne, Patan, Siameri, Chandrawal, Banne, etc., among others. The longest tributary is Sonar which is 227 km in length and lies wholly in M.P. In terms of catchment area also, Sonar is the largest tributary with a catchment area of 12,620 sq. km.
 
The Sonar sub-basin is located fully in Madhya Pradesh between north latitudes of 23°20' and 23°50' and east longitudes of 78°30' and 79°15'. It is a leaf shaped elongated catchment, with an average width of about 40 km. The Sonar basin is bounded by Bearma basin (a sub-basin of the Ken River) on the east side, by Dhasan basin (a sub-basin of Betwa River) on the west side and the Vindhyan ranges on the south. Sagar and Damoh are the major districts falling in this sub-basin and parts of Panna, Chattarpur and Raisen Districts also fall in the basin. The total catchment area of the Sonar basin is 6,550 sq. km. The major tributaries of Sonar are Bewas, Dehar, Kaith and Baink on the left bank and Kopra and Bearma on the right bank.
 
The Raneh Falls on the Ken river and Ken Ghariyal Sanctuary are tourist attractions. The rocks formed here present a spectacular view of different hues made of Granite, Dolomite and Quartz. Gangau Dam has been constructed at the confluence of the Ken and Simri rivers. The Ken River passes through Panna National Park.
 
Betwa or Betravati River
The Betwa or Betravati is a river in Northern India, and a tributary of the Yamuna. Also known as the Vetravati, the Betwa rises in the Vindhya Range just north of Hoshangabad in Madhya Pradesh and flows north-east through Madhya Pradesh and Orchha to Uttar Pradesh. Nearly half of its course, which is not navigable, runs over the Malwa Plateau.

Its basin extends from longitude 77° to 81° E and latitude 23°8' to 26°0' N. The Betwa River originates at an elevation of 470m in the Bhopal District in Madhya Pradesh. After traversing a distance of 590 km, the river joins the Yamuna River near Hamirpur at an elevation of 106.68 m. The total catchment area of the Betwa River is 46,580 sq. km of which 31,971 sq. km (68.64%) lies in Madhya Pradesh and 14,609 sq. km (31.36%) lies in Uttar Pradesh. The basin is saucer shaped with sandstone hills around the perimeter. The river has 14 principal tributaries out of which 11 are completely in Madhya Pradesh and 3 lie partly in Madhya Pradesh and Partly in Uttar Pradesh. The Halali and Dhasan Rivers are the important tributaries of the Betwa River. The Halali is the largest tributary having a length of 180.32 km. In the entire basin the rainfall varies from 100 cm to 140 cm in upper reaches and from 80 cm to 100 cm in lower reaches. The average annual rainfall in the Betwa basin is 110 cm.
 
The Betwa River is being linked with the Ken River as a part of the river linking project in Madhya Pradesh. Another noteworthy project on the Betwa River is the construction of the Matatila Dam, an undertaking between the states of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. The region is important for migratory water birds. Open / Comment

2021-11-08 18:29:23 160+ infographics on Environment, Bio diversity & Climate Change

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2021-11-07 12:32:34 Reservation on quota
Why did the Madras High Court invalidate the separate reservation of 10.5% for the Vanniyar community? Open / Comment