Uttaramerur inscription

• The Uttaramerur inscription, dated around 920 A.D. in the reign of Parantaka Chola [907-955 A.D.], testifies to the historical fact that nearly 1,100 years ago, a village had an elaborate and highly refined electoral system and even a written constitution prescribing the mode of elections. The details of this system of elective village democracy are inscribed on the walls of the village assembly (grama sabha mandapa), a rectangular structure made of granite slabs.
• The inscription gives astonishing details about the constitution of wards, the qualification of candidates standing for elections, the disqualification norms, the mode of election, the constitution of committees with elected members, the functions of those committees, the power to remove the wrongdoer, etc.
• The villagers even had the right to recall the elected representatives if they failed in their duty. In fact, inscriptions on temple walls in several parts of Tamil Nadu refer to village assemblies. But it is at Uttaramerur on the walls of the village assembly (mandapa) itself that we have the earliest inscriptions with complete information about how the elected village assembly functioned.
• Uttaramerur, which has a 1,250-year history, is situated in Kancheepuram district, about 90 km from Chennai. The Pallava king Nandivarman II established it around 750 A.D.

The Mahad Tank Satyagraha - Babasaheb Dr. Bhima Rao Ambedkar132 Birth Anniversary 2023 

As a grateful nation celebrates the 132nd birth anniversary of the father of India’s Constitution, here is a recall of the Mahad Satyagraha, one of the earlier and among the most significant of milestones in a great life. 

Context of the Satyagraha

• The events that led to the Mahad Satyagraha began to unfold in August 1923.
• The Bombay Legislative Councilpassed a resolution moved by the social reformer Rao Bahadur S K Bole.
  • It endorsed that the Untouchable classes be allowedto use all public water sources, wells and dharmashalas as well as public schools, courts, offices and dispensaries.
• Ambedkar at the time was helping Dalitsfight against the social evil of untouchability through the Bahishkrit Hitkarini Sabha, the institution that he had founded in 1924.
• But it was failed to implementbecause of the protest from the savarna Hindus. 

The Satyagraha

• Mahad Satyagraha or Chavdar Tale Satyagrahawas led by B. R. Ambedkar on 20 March 1927 to allow untouchables to use water in a public tank in Mahad (currently in Raigad district), Maharashtra.
• The day is observed as Social Empowerment day in India.
• Mahad was selected for the event because it had a nucleus of support from ''caste hindus''.
• On 25 December, Shastrabuddheunder the guidance of Ambedkar, burnt Manusmriti, a Hindu law book, as a protest.
• In December 1937, the Bombay High Court ruledthat untouchables have the right to use water from the tank.
• On 19 March 1940, Dr. Ambedkar arranged a rally and public conference in Mahad to recollect 14th Mahad Satyagraha Dayas "Empowerment Day".
• This movement was although withdrawnbut gave confidence to the untouchables to fight against social disability.

Bringing home Naga ancestral human remains from a UK museum

The Naga community of Northeast India has initiated an overseas repatriation effort to bring their ancestral human remains home from a museum in Britain. 

• The step is in line with a larger effort by museums around the world to “decolonise” their collections.
• This is the first such effortto repatriate the ancestral human remains of an indigenous community in India, possibly South Asia.
• About the initiative:
  • In 2020, the Pitt Rivers Museumin Oxford, England, announced that it would take its collection of human remains and other insensitive exhibits off display.
  • The museum has a rich collectionof 500,000 items from almost all periods of human existence across the world.
  • The Forum for Naga Reconciliation(FNR) — a Nagaland-based collective which, since 2008, has been a key facilitator in the Naga peace process is the main mover of the initiative.
• The Naga objects in the Pitt Rivers Museum
  • The museum is home to the largest Naga collection in the world: approximately 6,500 objects, 898 of which are on display.
  • The collection includes objects of everyday Naga lifeincluding:
    • clothing items,
    • agricultural tools,
    • figures,
    • basketry,
    • ceramics,
    • musical instruments
    • human remains
  • Most of these objects were sourced by colonial administrators James Philip Millsand John Henry Hutton in the 1800s.
• Human remains:
  • The largest number of remains are attributed to the Konyak Naga, followed by Angami Nagaand Sumi Naga.

Bihu

• It is the state festivalof Assam.
• The word Bihu is taken from the Sanskrit word Bishumeaning “to ask blessings and prosperity from the Gods" during harvesting season.
• According to the history of Assam, the first-ever Bihu dancewas performed in 1694.
• Types of Bihu
  • Bohaag Baisakh (mid of April)
    • The Bohaag Bihumarks a new year at the beginning of seeding time. Also called Rongaali Bihu.
  • Maagh- in mid of January
    • The Magh Bihumarks the end of the harvesting period. Also known as Bhogaali Bihu, the festival of foods.
  • Kaati- Kartik (mid of October)
    • The Kaati Bihumarks the completion of sowing and transplanting of paddies. Also called Kongaali Bihu or the festival of the poor.

Bihu dance

• The Bihu dance is a folk dancefrom the Assam state performed on the Bihu festival.
• It began with the tribes ofMoran, Sonowal, Deories, Borahis, Kacharis.
• Young women and men come together and dance to the music from the dhol, buffalo Horn-Pipes, Taal, Toka, Xutuli, Gogona, Baanhi andFlutes.
• The dancers are dressed in the traditional attiresof Assam with the dhotis and gamochas for the men and the Mekhela Chador with blouses for the women.
• Global Significance:
  • It was a proud moment for the state when professional Bihu dancers performed at the London Olympics in 2012.

NISAR satellite to map Himalayas'' seismic zones

• NISAR will map the most earthquake-prone regions in the Himalayas with unprecedented regularity.
• It will use two frequency bands: the L-band and S-band to image the seismically active Himalayan region that will, every 12 days, create a “deformation map”.
• The data that will be generated can potentially give advance warning of land subsidence, as recently observed in Joshimath, Uttarakhand as well as point to places that are at greatest risk from earthquakes. However, what can’t be deduced however is the timing.
• Moreover, the geoscience community can also use this data to determine how strain is building up in various parts of the Himalayas.
• Note: Strain refers to the deformation that occurs in rocks when it is under pressure from other rocks, usually due to movements of continental plates that are sliding, colliding, or subducting against each other.
• – The Indian Plate, for instance, collided with the Eurasian Plate forming the Himalayas and continuing to incrementally push it upwards.
• In 2021, a large landslide of rock and ice triggered a flash flood in Chamoli, Uttarakhand that claimed close to 200 lives and destroyed two hydropower projects. It was satellite imagery that helped scientists decipher the cause of the flash floods.

NISAR Satellite – Mission

• NISAR is a joint Earth-observing mission by NASA and ISRO. The mission aims at co-developing a dual-frequency synthetic aperture radar on an Earth observation satellite.
• The NASA-ISRO SAR mission will observe Earth and measure its changing ecosystem and masses globally. It is the world’s most expensive imaging-satellite and the two space agencies intend to launch the satellite by 2022.

Synthetic Aperture Radar

• Synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) is a form of radar that is used to create two-dimensional images or three-dimensional reconstructions of objects, such as landscapes.
• SAR uses the motion of the radar antenna over a target region to provide finer spatial resolution than conventional stationary beam-scanning radars. SAR is typically mounted on a moving platform, such as an aircraft or spacecraft, and has its origins in an advanced form of side looking airborne radar (SLAR).
• The distance the SAR device travels over a target during the period when the target scene is illuminated creates the large synthetic antenna aperture (the size of the antenna). Typically, the larger the aperture, the higher the image resolution will be, regardless of whether the aperture is physical (a large antenna) or synthetic (a moving antenna) – this allows SAR to create high-resolution images with comparatively small physical antennas.
• For a fixed antenna size and orientation, objects which are further away remain illuminated longer – therefore SAR has the property of creating larger synthetic apertures for more distant objects, which results in a consistent spatial resolution over a range of viewing distances.
• To create a SAR image, successive pulses of radio waves are transmitted to “illuminate” a target scene, and the echo of each pulse is received and recorded. The pulses are transmitted and the echoes received using a single beam-forming antenna, with wavelengths of a meter down to several millimeters. As the SAR device on board the aircraft or spacecraft moves, the antenna location relative to the target changes with time.

NISAR Mission - Overview

NISAR is the world’s most expensive Earth-imaging satellite. Being a combined US-India satellite, the mission becomes even more important as it is scheduled to launch from Indian soil.

The key factors and characteristics of the mission are given below:

• It is a dual-frequency Radar imaging satellite and is using both L-Brand and S-Brand Radar frequencies. The S-Brand Radar is being built by ISRO and the L-Brand Radar is being built by NASA
• The satellite is likely to be launched from Indian soil. The launch site is Satish Dhawan Space Center or Sriharikota Range, Andhra Pradesh
• The main objective of this research is to make global measurements of the causes and consequences of land surface changes. This includes:

• Imbalance in the Ecosystem

• Natural Hazards

• Ice Sheet Collapse

• Agricultural and Forest Biomass

• Soil Moisture Estimation

• The mission is also expected to open up paths for the future joint mission between the two Space Agencies

Conclusively, the mission is expected to study the Earth from space in terms of the future global environmental aspect. 

Societal Significance of NISAR Mission

• Life and Civilisation: NISAR will provide maps of surface soil moisture globally every 6 to 12 days at the spatial scale of individual farm fields. This offers unprecedented detail and is vital for monitoring the habitats of plants, animals, and humans
• Damage Mapping: The NISAR satellite mission can provide maps and images of any disturbance which may lead to a natural disaster. Within hours to days of natural disasters like major earthquakes, hurricanes, tsunamis, and landslides, the NISAR satellite will present its observations which will rapidly provide information for rescue operations, economic loss estimates, and the health of the critical infrastructure.
• Protecting water and Oil Spills: Every year emergency responders work to prevent hundreds of oil and chemical spills from harming people and the environment. Rapid identification of spilled oil in the vast open waters of the oceans and gulf is key to minimizing damage, and radar remote sensing can provide the necessary information.
• Glaciers and Ice Sheet: Observations of the flow of Earth’s ice sheets and glaciers are critical to understanding current and future rates of sea-level rise. Synthetic aperture radar can serve as a ‘radar speed gun’ to provide global maps of ice flow in support of sea-level rise impact assessments
• Marine Hazards: NISAR will provide information used to monitor ocean wind, waves, and sea-ice extent that can aid weather forecasting and warn of marine hazards. Its coverage of coastal oceans benefits sea transportation and coastal communities.
• Flood Forecasting: Flood forecasting informs downstream communities if a flood is coming and how much flooding to expect. Like a virtual stream gauge, synthetic aperture radar is able to measure changing water levels in standing vegetation as floodwaters from heavy upriver rains head downstream.
• Protecting Forest Resources: NISAR is designed to monitor global forest extent and quality and to provide accurate and timely information on forest volume and products for sustainable development and management of ecosystem goods and services.

This mission will prove to be a boon for both ISRO and NASA in terms of their space mission and a boon to humanity and livelihood as the SAR will be able to notify any hazardous disturbance in the Earth’s surface days prior to a disaster or calamity.

Mission Arikompan

• Mission Arikompan is likely to be delayed as Kerala Forest department is yet to get a satellite radio collar.
• The forest department has initiated ‘Mission Arikompan’, an operation to capture the rogue tusker by the name of Arikompan. 
• The forest department has come up with a plan to capture it with tranquilizer shots and train it to be a ‘kumki’, a captive elephant used for operations against rogue elephants.

Parambikulam Tiger Reserve

• Parambikulam Tiger Reserve is located in Palakkad district and Thrissur district of Kerala.
• It is in the Sungam range of hills between the Anaimalai Hills and Nelliyampathy Hills.
• The Western Ghats, Anaimalai Sub-Cluster, including all of Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary, has been declared by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee as a World Heritage Site
• The Tiger Reserve is the home of four different tribes of indigenous peoples including the Kadar, Malasar, Muduvar and Mala Malasar.
• This sanctuary is referred to as the "state capital for the massive gaur" by wildlife experts. 

Indian knowledge System

• The University Grants Commission (UGC) has released the draft ‘Guidelines for Incorporating Indian Knowledge in Higher Education Curricula’.
• These guidelines aim to help colleges and universities develop courses for introducing students to the Indian Knowledge System (IKS).

Indian Knowledge System (IKS)

• Established in October 2020, Indian Knowledge System (IKS) is an innovative cell under Ministry of Education (MoE) at AICTE, New Delhi.
• As a concept, IKS was introduced through the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
• Objectives –
• To promote interdisciplinary research on all aspects of IKS,
• Preserve and disseminate IKS for further research and societal applications,
• Actively engage for spreading the rich heritage of our country and traditional knowledge in the field of Arts and literature, Agriculture, Basic Sciences, Engineering & Technology, Architecture, Management, Economics, etc.

Functions of IKS Division:

• Facilitate and coordinate IKS based/related inter and trans disciplinary work done by various institutions in India and abroad including universities, institutions of national importance, R&D laboratories and different ministries and inspire private sector organizations to engage with it.
• Establish, guide and monitor subject-wise interdisciplinary research groups comprising of researchers from institutes, centers and individuals.
• Create and promote popularization schemes.
• Facilitate funding of various projects and develop mechanisms to undertake research.
• Make Policy recommendations wherever required for the promotion of IKS.

Activities under IKS Division:

• Considering the need to establish IKS centers in traditional schools and STEM educational institutes, the Division will provide a funding support to the institute that establishes the IKS center and conducts related activities.
• Under the IKS Internship Programme, selected students will be paired with IKS experts to work on short research projects, activities/workshops, etc. and earn a stipend (of about Rs. 25,000) for the duration of two months as per AICTE norms.
• To further formalize IKS education, the technical education regulator has commissioned a textbook titled ‘Introduction to Indian Knowledge System, Concepts and Applications’ by B Mahadevan.
• The IITs also have a keen interest in IKS.
• IIT Guwahati has started a PhD programme and short duration course on ‘Spoken Sanskrit’ and ‘Spoken Assamese’ since its inception in November 2021.
• At IIT Gandhinagar, however, the IKS elective course dates to 2016, long before NEP 2020 gained prominence.
• Eventually, every discipline of IKS should find a home in the regular disciplines.
• For instance, the history of Indian Mathematics could easily be integrated in regular Maths programmes; the same with Architecture or Philosophy or Ayurveda.
• This is also part of the NEP’s desired outcome, but it will need to be done gradually as we cannot reverse decades of neglect in a few years.

UGC’s Draft Guidelines:

• The University Grants Commission (UGC) has released draft guidelines for the incorporation of the Indian knowledge systems (IKS) in higher education for undergraduate (UG) and postgraduate (PG) courses.
• The UGC has also directed higher educational institutions to share a few suggestions on the draft guidelines by April 30.
• As per the directive, all UGC-recognized universities and institutions are to include subjects related to the Indian knowledge system as part of the National Education Policy 2020.
• The UGC argues that integrating IKS within the existing educational framework will aid in preserving and disseminating Indian Knowledge Systems for further research and societal application.
• Furthermore, the UGC has recommended that every student in UG and PG courses be encouraged to take credit courses in the Indian knowledge systems.
• Specifically, students enrolled in UG programmes in medicine will be required to study the Indian system of medicine, including Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Homeopathy, and Siddha, in their first year.
• In other courses, the role of ithihas and puranas will be incorporated to better understand the Vedas in UG and PG programs.
• The six vedangas - Sikha, Chhanda, Vyakrana, Nirukta, Jyotisha and Kalpa will also be integrated into the courses.
• Mathematics in Vedas and Sulba Sutras will also be integrated into the courses. Apart from Dharmasastra and Arthasastra, students will also learn about Indian astronomy.

Six vedangas

Six vedangas (limbs of Vedas) were evolved for the proper understanding of the Vedas.

1. Siksha (phonetics)
2. Kalpa (rituals)
3. Vyakarna (grammar)
4. Nirukta (etymology)
5. Chhanda (metrics)
6. Jyotisha (astronomy)

Vedas are Purusha¸ Chhandas His legs, Kalpa are His hands, the Jyotisha Vedanga are the eyes of the Purusha while the Nirukta are His ears, Shiksha is equivalent to the eyes of the Purusha and Vyakarna is His face says Maharishi Panini.

Using the symbology of limbs for Vedangas is meant to point out the inter-dependence and integrity or oneness of these disciplines with each other and with the Vedas as a whole.

The need for these disciplines came up when the Vedas had to be written down or documented. In earlier times documentation was not needed as it was a part of their nitya karmas (daily routine). However, later certain circumstances caused a set back to the studies and recitation of the Vedas. Hence, scholarly rishis developed the Vedangas to help commoners understand the Vedas and ensure their proper recitation and application.

1. Shiksha (Phonetics)

Its aim is the teaching of the correct pronunciation of the Vedic hymns and mantras. The oldest phonetic textbooks are the Pratishakyas (prātiśākhya), describing pronunciation, intonation of Sanskrit, as well as the Sanskrit rules of sandhi (word combination), specific to individual schools or Shakhas of the Vedas.

2. Kalpa (Ritual Canon)

It contains the sacrificial practice and systematic sutras. There are three kinds of Sutras part of Kalpa:

• Śrautasūtras, which are based on the Shruti, and teach the performance of the great sacrifices, requiring three or five sacrificial fires
• Smartasūtras,or rules based on the Smriti or tradition. The Smartasūtras have two classes viz.
• Grhyasutras, or domestic rules: They are basically treating the rites of passage, such as marriage, birth, namegiving, etc., connected with simple offerings into the domestic fire.
• Dharmasutras or customs and social duties:The Dharmasūtras are the first four texts of the Dharmasastra tradition and they focus on the idea of dharma, the principal guide by which Hindus strive to live their lives. The Dharmasūtras are written in concise prose, leaving much up to the educated reader to interpret.The most important of these texts are the sutras of Āpastamba, Gautama, Baudhāyana, and Vasiṣṭha.
• The Dharmasūtras can be called the guidebooks of dharma as they contain the rules of conduct and rites as practiced in the Vedic schools. They discuss about the duties of people at different stages of life like studenthood, householdership, retirement and renunciation. These stages are also called āśramas. They also discuss about the rites and duties of kings, judicial matters, and even personal practices like the regulations in diet, offenses and expiations, daily oblations, and funerary practice.

3. Vyakaran (Grammar)

Vyakaran includes the Aṣṭādhyāyī, of Panini. Most of the work of very early Indian grammarians ranging to 8th century BC is lost. There are 4 parts of Panini’s Grammar:

• Śivasūtra: Contains phonology (notations for phonemes specified in 14 lines)
• Aṣṭadhyāyī: Contains morphology (construction rules for complexes)
• Dhātupāṭha:Contains list of roots (classes of verbal roots)
• Gaṇapāṭha: Contains list of classes of primitive nominal stems

4. Nirukta (explanation)

It is traditionally attributed to Yāska, an ancient Sanskrit grammarian. It deals with etymology, particularly of obscure words, especially those occurring in the Veda

5. Chhanda (Vedic meter)

It measures and divides Vedic Mantras by number of padas in a verse, which is called Padas. Number of padas divides each verse, hymn, or mantra and number of syllables divides each pada. There is a distinct taxonomy on this basis. For example a Gayatri Chhanda has 3 padas of 8 syllables containing 24 syllables in each stanza. Similarly, Anuṣṭup has 4 padas of 8 syllables containing 32 syllables in each stanza. Anustup is the typical shloka of classical Sanskrit poetry

6. Jyotisha (Astrology)

It describes rules for tracking the motions of the sun and the moon and the foundation of Vedic Jyotish