Current Affair 1:

Temples in News

 

In exercise of the powers conferred under Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958 read with Rule (22) of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (Framing of Heritage Bye- laws and Other Functions of the Competent Authority) Rule, 2011, the following draft Heritage Bye-laws for the Centrally Protected Monument:

“Colossal Statue of Shri Hanuman, Brahma Temple, Vamana Temple, Javari Temple, Ghautai Temple, Adinatha Temple, Parsvanath Temple, Santinatha Temple, Khajuraho District Chhatarpur (Madhya Pradesh)” prepared by the Competent Authority.

Look at these temples in brief:

The Heritage Bye-Laws are intended to guide physical, social and economic interventions within 300m in all directions of the Centrally Protected Monuments.

Current Affair 2:

Constitutional and Legal Provisions Safeguarding Regional Languages

 

Article 29 (Protection of interests of minorities) gives all citizens right to conserve their language and prohibits discrimination on the basis of language.

Article 120 (Language to be used in Parliament) provides for use of Hindi or English for transactions of Parliament but gives the right to members of Parliament to express themselves in their mother tongue.

Part XVII of the Indian Constitution deals with the official languages in Articles 343 to 351.

Article 350A (Facilities for instruction in mother-tongue at primary stage) provides that it shall be the endeavour of every State and of every local authority within the State to provide adequate facilities for instruction in the mother-tongue at the primary stage of education to children belonging to linguistic minority groups.

Article 350B (Special Officer for linguistic minorities): The President should appoint a special officer for linguistic minorities to investigate all matters relating to the constitutional safeguards for linguistic minorities and to report to him. The President should place all such reports before the Parliament and send to the state government concerned.

Article 351 (Directive for development of the Hindi language) provides that it shall be the duty of the Union to promote the spread of the Hindi language.

The Eighth Schedule recognizes following 22 languages: Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Oriya, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, Bodo, Santhali, Maithili and Dogri.

Right to Education (RTE) Act, 2009 says that the medium of instruction shall, as far as practicable, be in a child’s mother tongue.

Current Affair 3:

Monoculture in Agriculture

 

A very basic knowledge.

Monoculture farming means that on a given agricultural land is grown only one species of a crop at a time. If two or more species are sown in the field together (for example beans and corn), it is not a monoculture but a polyculture system.

It is important to know that we still call it monoculture even if this single crop species is replaced by a different crop in the next growing season.

In many parts of the world, biodiverse agricultural landscapes have been, or are being, replaced by large areas of monoculture, farmed using large quantities of external inputs such as pesticides, mineral fertilizers and fossil fuels.

Why monoculture is advantageous?

1. By cultivating the same species, farmers can optimize their operations given that growing requirements, planting, maintenance (including pest control) and harvesting will be the same across the farmed land. This allows for planning ahead, taking time off and being prepared for each growing season when it’s needed.
2. Specialization also enables farmers to develop in-depth knowledge and direct experience about their specific crops or livestock. This is a great advantage in preventing significant losses before they happen, as farmers may recognize warning signs of a disease right at the beginning or know how to mitigate damage caused by unexpected weather.

Why monoculture is a problem?

Continuous monoculture, or “monocropping” where the same species is grown year after year, can lead to unsustainable environments such as building up disease pressure and reducing particular nutrients in the soil.

If a single variety is widely grown, a pest or disease to which it lacks resistance can lead to a dramatic fall in production. If livelihoods are heavily dependent on the species in question, the effects can be disastrous. Examples:

1. The 1840 potato blight famine in Ireland
2. The 20th century losses in cereals in the United States
3. Losses of taro production in Samoa in the 1990s

So, we need to diversify: Why?

Diversifying crop cultivation, reduces risk of economic shocks: “Integrating intercrops, hedgerows or cover crops, particularly legumes, into a system can reduce drought stress by helping to conserve water in the soil profile and help to replenish depleted soil fertility.”

Also, “crop diversification, including rotation and intercropping and the use of diverse forage plants in pastureland, can reduce pest damage and weed invasions.”

Current Affair 4:

Does A High Court's Order Staying A Central Law Or Rule Apply Throughout The Country?

 

The normal rule is that an order or a judgment of the High Court will operate only within its territorial jurisdiction. Article 226(1) of the Constitution says that a High Court shall have powers "throughout the territories in relation to which it exercises jurisdiction".

However, when it comes to a High Court's judgment against a Central law or a rule, the situation might be different.

In 2004, the Supreme Court in Kusum Ingots and Alloys Ltd. v. Union of India held that an order passed on a writ petition questioning the constitutionality of a Parliamentary Act, whether interim or final, will affect the territory of India subject to the applicability of the Act.

It is relevant to note that Article 226A inserted in the Constitution by the 42nd amendment provided that a High Court cannot consider the constitutional validity of a Central legislation. However, Article 226A was repealed shortly thereafter by the Forty-Third Amendment a year later.   That the High Courts can consider constitutional challenges against Central legislations has been clarified by the Supreme Court in many instances.

 

Few examples:

The Madras High Court in Textile Technical Tradesmen Association v. Union of India (2011), held that a judgment of the Andhra Pradesh High Court which declared Section 17-A of the Industrial Disputes Act as unconstitutional, will have effect throughout the territory of India. The Madras High Court expressly referred to the observations in Kusum Ingot case.

Likewise, in Shiv Kumar v. Union of India (2014), the Karnataka High Court held that a judgment of the Kerala High Court which read down Section 10A(1) of the Indian Divorce Act will apply throughout India.

Just remember: It shall apply across the whole country.

 

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