THE SOCIAL ISSUES AND SOCIAL JUSTICE

1. ADIVASIS, DALITS, MUSLIMS HAVE LOWER LIFE EXPECTANCY THAN HIGHER-CASTE HINDUS, STUDY REVEALS

THE CONTEXT: The study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS), in March 2022, is authored by experts affiliated with the Research Institute for Compassionate Economics, a non-profit organisation focused on health and well-being in India.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE REPORT:

• The report highlighted the impact of discrimination and social exclusion on health disparities. Adivasis have a life-expectancy over four years lower, Dalits more than three years lower and Muslims almost a year lower than that of upper-caste Hindus, according to the study.
• The relatively smaller gap between life expectancy of Muslims and higher-caste Hindus is largely due to lower exposure to open defecation among Muslim children, lower rates of cervical cancers among Muslim women, lower consumption of alcohol and fewer suicide.
• The difference in life expectancy of Dalits and Adivasis in comparison to higher-caste Hindus is “comparable to the Black-White gap in the US in absolute magnitude”.
• The study assessed data from India’s Annual Health Survey, 2010-2011, focusing on nine states — Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand — representing 48.5 per cent of India’s population.
• The impact of social exclusion as a result of one’s religion, caste or indigenous group on health and access to healthcare is an under explored topic in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC).
• Also, the report noted, “Patterns of disparities may be distinct in LMICs because population health is poorer, social safety nets are less robust, health care is less accessible and mortality risk-factors differ”. Thus, bridging the gap is essential.
• Life expectancy of upper-caste Hindus in the nine states was higher than the all-India life expectancy in 2010. Moreover, the same indicator for Adivasis and Dalits “are lower than those observed for all of India in 1996-2000, more than ten years before the survey.”
• The study also found a marginal difference in life expectancy based on sex. Life expectancy of Adivasi men was five years lower and of Adivasi women four years lower than higher-caste Hindus, the data showed. There was no difference in life expectancy between Dalit women and men.
• Among the nine states, Assam recorded the highest life expectancy for the Adivasi population, while Madhya Pradesh recorded the lowest, said the report. “The Dalit population recorded the highest life expectancy in Jharkhand and the lowest in Uttar Pradesh. For the Muslim population,  life expectancy was the highest in Rajasthan and lowest in Uttar Pradesh.

THE ENVIRONMENT, ECOLOGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

2. NEW SHRIMP SPECIES DISCOVERED OFF LAKSHADWEEP

THE CONTEXT: Scientists from the ICAR-National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources (NBFGR), focused on documentation of aquatic genetic resources with special attention on fish and shell fish resources, have discovered a new species of shrimp, which has been named Actinimeneskoyas.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The species was collected at a depth of 1.0–2.0 m from the coral atoll of Agatti Island.
• This new species has been named ‘Koyas’ to honour the local community on the Lakshadweep islands as Koyas form an important ethnic community on the islands, who have made a significant contribution to the development and preservation of the heritage of the society.
• The newly discovered species is closely related to some other shrimp species in morphological traits. The new species is easily distinguished from the other species by the structural variation in the fourth sternal plate with a median notch.
• NBFGR has been conducting many exploratory surveys off the Lakshadweep islands with special focus on fish and shrimp species. The studies have revealed great diversity of symbiotic communities, which mostly comprise colourful and undescribed shrimp species.

Recent Findings:

• Recently, NBFGR scientists had discovered new shrimp species – Periclimenellaagattii (2019) named after the Agatti island and Arabianensis (2020) named after the Arabian Sea.
• NBFGR sources said reef-associated living fauna in these regions were important components of the marine biodiversity, which is home to a great variety of underwater habitats.

Value Addition:

• Lakshadweep is a tropical archipelago of 36 atolls and coral reefs in the Laccadive Sea, 280 km to 480 km off the coast of Kerala. 11 are inhabited.
• But currently, there are 35 islands, as the Parali 1 island submerged in water due to sea erosion.
• Lakshadweep means “one lakh islands” in Malayalam, the official as well as the widely spoken native language in the territory. Fishing is the most important industry.
• The islands form the smallest union territory of India and their total surface area is just 32 km square.
• Kavaratti serves as the capital of the Union Territory and the region comes under the jurisdiction of Kerala High Court. It is a uni-district Union Territory.

THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS

3.WHOLESALE PRICE INFLATION ACCELERATED TO 14.55% IN MARCH 2022

THE CONTEXT: According to the government data, the India’s annual wholesale price-based inflation accelerated to a record 14.55% in March from the previous month’s 13.11% in the wake of higher fuel prices.

THE EXPLANATION:

• According to data released by the Commerce Ministry, the country’s inflation based on the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) accelerated to 13.11% in February as compared to the 12.96% increase in January 2022. WPI was 4.83% in February 2021. High WPI inflation is seen as a precursor to higher consumer prices as producers pass on rising costs to their customers.
• According to the Office of the Economic Adviser, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, the high inflation this March was attributed ‘primarily to rise in prices of crude petroleum and natural gas, mineral oils, basic metals, etc. owing to disruption in global supply chain caused by Russia-Ukraine conflict’.
• Manufactured products inflation moved up from 9.84% to 10.71%. However, the month-on-month change in the index for manufactured goods was sharper at 2.31%.

About Wholesale Price Index (WPI):

• Measures inflation at the first stage of the transaction, i.e. wholesale prices.
• Compiled by the Office of Economic Advisor, Ministry of Commerce & Industry.
• The Wholesale Price Index measures inflation on a year-on-year basis.
• It consists of 3 major groups as below:

4. RBI ‘STATE OF THE ECONOMY’ REPORT

THE CONTEXT: According to the RBI’s monthly ‘State of the Economy’ report, war in Ukraine continues to vex the global supply chain and inflate prices of goods and commodities, the Indian economy is not expected to remain immune from the negative global conditions

THE EXPLANATION:

• India is facing high inflation, widening trade deficit and foreign portfolio investment outflow, the central bank added. These conditions are expected to hamper growth and lead to ‘rocketing inflation’.
• “Emerging market economies are bracing up to contend with swift shifts in risk sentiments and tightening of global financial conditions that could produce real economy consequences which may thwart incipient recoveries or even precipitate rocketing inflation and economic downturns.
• Prices of crude oil prices rocketed to a 14-year high of $133 per barrel in the first week of March 2022, prices of base metals such as nickel, palladium and aluminium, for which Russia is a key exporter, have surged and prices of food items such as edible oil and cereals have also been pinched hard in last two months, following the war. The impact has been felt across the board impacting countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, Brazil, India and Russia.
• The RBI said global growth outlook has also been cut due to ongoing conflict in Eastern Europe. Even if the war ends, the imposed sanctions on Russia and the supply chain disruptions will last through this year (2022). This has resulted in organizations like the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development to cut global GDP by 1 per cent.
• It also noted that “India faces these challenges with improving fundamentals and strong buffers. Going forward, spurring private investment remains a key thrust area for sustaining growth on a durable basis.

THE INTERNAL SECURITY

5. MEGHALAYA TRIBAL COUNCIL OPPOSES BORDER DEAL WITH ASSAM

THE CONTEXT: A tribal council in Meghalaya has joined the list of individuals and organisations in opposing the State government’s deal with Assam to resolve a 50-year-old boundary dispute.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The Assam and Meghalaya governments had on March 29, 2022, finalized the pact to divide 36.79 sq. km of disputed areas. The two governments had taken up six of 12 disputed sectors in the first phase of discussions.
• The Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC) claimed that the dispute areas belong to private parties and the Meghalaya government has neither the authority nor the right to hand them over to Assam.
• The KHADC is one of three tribal councils in Meghalaya created under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution. Each of them functions as a government within a specified territory.
• Apart from the KHADC, some traditional institutions such as Hima (a Khasi state) and villagers not keen on being tagged with Assam have threatened to go to court if the Meghalaya government cannot review the boundary deal.
• The Meghalaya government has said agreement, based on a list of disputed sectors submitted to Assam in 2011, cannot be revisited. The deal remains to be ratified by Parliament and the Assemblies of the two States concerned before the boundary is redrawn.
• The residents of two border villages –Malchapara and Salbari– have said they will not give up without a fight. They fear they will lose the tribal rights if they are separated from Meghalaya.

Value Addition:

Border Disputes among states

Assam-Mizoram:

• Mizoram borders Assam’s Barak Valley, and both border Bangladesh. The boundary between the two states, which runs 165 km today, has a history dating back to the time when Mizoram was a district of Assam and known as Lushai Hills. Boundary demarcations in 1875 and 1933, particularly the second one, are at the heart of the dispute.
• The 1875 demarcation, notified on August 20 that year, derived from the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation (BEFR) Act, 1873. It differentiated Lushai Hills from the plains of Cacharin Assam’s Barak Valley. This was done in consultation with Mizo chiefs, and it became the basis for the Inner Line Reserve Forest demarcation in the Gazette.

Assam-Arunachal Pradesh

• The boundary issue between Assam and Arunachal is as ancient as the reign of the Ahom Kings who ruled Assam till the British annexed Assam in 1826. Encroachments by residents across the 804-km border that Assam shares with Arunachal Pradesh have led to rising tensions occasionally. A suit has been pending in Supreme Court since 1989 on the issue. Border Roads Organisation has marked Kim in Arunachal Pradesh as part of Assam by mistake.

Assam-Nagaland

• Assam and Nagaland share a 434-km border and the disputes relate to 66000 Sq Km of land mostly along the Sivasagar district of Assam. The two states have been disputing their shared border ever since Nagaland was carved out of Assam’s Naga Hills district. While Assam wants the status quo and sticks to the border decision taken on December 1, 1963, Nagaland demands all Naga territories be transferred to the state. Claiming that all Naga territories belong to them, Nagaland wants restoration of land-based on a 16-point agreement of 1960, which led to the creation of the state.

Assam-Meghalaya

• Meghalaya shares its internal border only with Assam and there are disputes along the 733 km border at 12 places. The border row between both States started with the formation of states under the North-Eastern Areas (Reorganisation) Act, 1971. As per the Act, Blocks I and II of the Mikir Hills—presently, the Karbi Anglong district—were granted to Assam. Meghalaya claims that both these blocks were part of the erstwhile United Khasi and Jaintia Hills when it was created in 1835.

THE PRELIMS PERSPECTIVE

6. THE NUBIAN CIVILIZATION

THE CONTEXT: Recently, archaeologist excavated a circular mounds of rocks dot the desert landscape at the archaeological site of Tombos in northern Sudan. They reveal tumuli – the underground burial tombs used at least as far back as 2500 B.C. by ancient inhabitants who called this region Kush or Nubia.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The remains of the ancient inhabitants of Tombos reveal information about their physical activity, as well as infection and nutrition. Conditions such as heart disease, cancer and the effects of hard labor all leave marks on the human body that provide insights into the epidemiology of disease in the past.

Value Addition:

• Nubia is a region along the Nile River located in the northern Sudan and southern Egypt. It was one of the earliest civilizations of ancient Northeastern Africa, with a history that can be traced from at least 2000 BCE and was home to one of the African empires.
• Before the 4th century, and throughout classical antiquity, Nubia was known as Kush, or, in Classical Greek usage, included under the name Ethiopia (Aithiopia). With the disintegration of the New Kingdom around 1070 BCE, Kush became an independent kingdom centered at Napata in modern central Sudan.

THE PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTIONS

QUESTION OF THE DAY

Q. The Char Chinari Island is sometimes recently seen in the news?

1. The iconic island Char Chinari in the middle of the Wular Lake.
2. It is a large, deciduous tree known for its longevity and spreading crown.
3. It is a coral island found in Lakshadweep.
4. It is a disputed island between India and Bangladesh.

ANSWER FOR 18TH APRIL 2022

Answer: B

Explanation:

1. Palamau Tiger reserve – Jharkhand
2. Valmiki Tiger Reserve – Bihar
3. Satkoshi Tiger Reserve – Odisha

1. Affection, Disaffection READ MORE
2. Recognise the Divine Within READ MORE
3. Why fight with life, learn to flow with it READ MORE
4. Doing Ethnography in Conflict Zones: Ethics and Empathy READ MORE

1. A normal monsoon is crucial this year READ MORE
2. Climate Change Is Bad – But It Doesn’t Deserve All the Blame READ MORE
3. Why is the number of heatwave days rising in India? Scientists blame climate change READ MORE

1. Adivasis, Dalits, Muslims have lower life expectancy than higher-caste Hindus, study reveals READ MORE
2. Why fight with life, learn to flow with it READ MORE

1. Pendency begins here: Centre defies the prescribed timelines for judges’ appointments, SC collegium also falters READ MORE
2. How the IAS has fared well in service to the nation READ MORE
3. On bail, the Supreme Court sets a precedent READ MORE
4. Law to identify criminals needs safeguards READ MORE
5. Bulldozing the Idea of Democracy READ MORE

(Newspapers, PIB and other important sources)

Prelim and Main

1. Meghalaya tribal council opposes border deal with Assam, says govt. needs its consent for handover READ MORE
2. Wholesale price inflation accelerated to 14.55% in March READ MORE
3. Archaeological Find Along the Nile Opens Window to the Nubian Civilisation READ MORE
4. Adivasis, Dalits, Muslims have lower life expectancy than higher-caste Hindus, study reveals READ MORE
5. Exemption for ‘strategic’ highways, mining extensions: How govt’s reshaping environmental clearance READ MORE
6. New shrimp species discovered off Lakshadweep READ MORE
7. War to cut global growth, boosts financing target: World Bank READ MORE

Main Exam

GS Paper- 1

1. A normal monsoon is crucial this year READ MORE
2. Adivasis, Dalits, Muslims have lower life expectancy than higher-caste Hindus, study reveals READ MORE

GS Paper- 2

POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. Pendency begins here: Centre defies the prescribed timelines for judges’ appointments, SC collegium also falters READ MORE
2. How the IAS has fared well in service to the nation READ MORE
3. On bail, the Supreme Court sets a precedent READ MORE
4. Law to identify criminals needs safeguards READ MORE
5. Bulldozing the Idea of Democracy READ MORE

SOCIAL JUSTICE

1. Does increasing female representation in school management improve school quality? READ MORE
2. Delivering comprehensive primary healthcare READ MORE

INTERNATIONAL ISSUES

1. A new shine to old ties READ MORE
2. The true strength of Asean lies in regional cooperation READ MORE

GS Paper- 3

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

1. Sri Lankan lessons for India: India must step up domestic production from oilseeds to renewable energy and defence equipment READ MORE
2. Global call to ensure food security READ MORE
3. Structural changes: GST system needs careful interventions READ MORE

ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY 

1. Climate Change Is Bad – But It Doesn’t Deserve All the Blame READ MORE
2. Why is the number of heatwave days rising in India? Scientists blame climate change READ MORE

GS Paper- 4

ETHICS EXAMPLES AND CASE STUDY

1. Affection, Disaffection READ MORE
2. Recognise the Divine Within READ MORE
3. Why fight with life, learn to flow with it READ MORE
4. Doing Ethnography in Conflict Zones: Ethics and Empathy READ MORE

Questions for the MAIN exam

1. Discuss the causes of the Sri Lankan economic crisis. What can India learn from this crisis?
2. ‘The relationship between India and Britain needs a new paradigm in the present situation’. In the light of the statement, discuss the factors for helping to enrich India- Britain relations.

QUOTATIONS AND CAPTIONS

• Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.
• The central bank must note that a Central Bank Digital Currency can only be a fiat currency and not crypto.
• As for India it must learn from its neighbour’s misfortunes and step-up domestic production across sectors, from oilseeds to renewable energy and defence equipment.
• Having walked out of Europe, Britain needs all the partners it can find, and a rising India is naturally among the top political and economic priorities.
• Tussling between the Supreme Court collegium and the central government seems to have become the key feature of the judicial appointment process.
• Issues related to the service’s constraints and functioning need redressal to restore its public image
• Good practices must go hand in hand with expanded biometrics collection rather than following as an afterthought.
• Wars do not settle major dilemmas of humanity. The ideas of nonalignment and peace have answers to children who want to eat and to learn, to play and to dream.

ESSAY TOPIC

• Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.

50-WORD TALK

• The fresh rise in India’s Covid infections should be watched closely but not trigger panic. The increase is attributed to behaviour changes after restrictions were lifted and rates of hospitalisation and serious illness are low. This is another reminder for masking in crowded places, 100% full vaccination and encouraging boosters.

Things to Remember:

• For prelims-related news try to understand the context of the news and relate with its concepts so that it will be easier for you to answer (or eliminate) from given options.
• Whenever any international place will be in news, you should do map work (marking those areas in maps and exploring other geographical locations nearby including mountains, rivers, etc. same applies to the national places.)
• For economy-related news (banking, agriculture, etc.) you should focus on terms and how these are related to various economic aspects, for example, if inflation has been mentioned, try to relate with prevailing price rises, shortage of essential supplies, banking rates, etc.
• For main exam-related topics, you should focus on the various dimensions of the given topic, the most important topics which occur frequently and are important from the mains point of view will be covered in ED.
• Try to use the given content in your answer. Regular use of this content will bring more enrichment to your writing.

THE CONTEXT: A new Pew Research Centre Report based on a survey has provided interesting findings on the gender attitude of Indians. This survey, named How Indians View Gender Roles in Families and Society has also been the basis of an earlier report of the same institution titled Religion in India: Tolerance and Segregation (covered already as part of ED). This article examines the survey report in detail.

WHAT IS THE REPORT?

Based on a face-to-face survey of 29,999 Indian adults fielded between late 2019 and early 2020, before the COVID-19 pandemic, the report looks at how Indians view gender roles at home and in society more generally. The survey was also the basis for a 2021 report on religion in India, was conducted by local interviewers in 17 languages, and covered nearly all of India’s states and union territories. The report captures the various aspects of the gender dynamics in India.

KEY FINDINGS FROM THE REPORT

WOMEN AS POLITICAL LEADERS:

• Indians broadly accept women as political leaders. India has a long history of women holding political power, from the 1966 election of Indira Gandhi, one of the world’s first woman prime ministers, to other well-known figures, such as Jayalalitha, Mamata Banerjee , and Sushma Swaraj.
• The survey results reflect this comfort with women in politics.
• Most adults say that women and men make equally good political leaders (55%) or that women generally make better leaders than men (14%).
• Only a quarter of Indian adults take the position that men tend to make better political leaders than women. (SEE FIGURE 1).

SUPPORT FOR TRADITIONAL GENDER ROLES:

• While most Indians say that men and women should share some family responsibilities, many still support traditional gender roles.
• For instance, 62% of adults say both men and women should be responsible for taking care of children, while roughly a third of adults (34%) feel that childcare should be handled primarily by women.
• Similarly, a slim majority (54%) say that both men and women in families should be responsible for earning money, yet many Indians (43%) see this as mainly the obligation of men.
• Nearly nine-in-ten Indians (87%) completely or mostly agree with the notion that “a wife must always obey her husband.

PREFERENCE FOR THE CHILDREN:

• An overwhelming majority of Indian adults say it is very important for families to have both sons and daughters, and a substantial share is accepting of sex-selective abortion.
• Indians are united in the view that a family needs to have at least one son (94%) and, separately, a daughter (90%). Historically, in Indian society, families have tended to place a higher value on their sons than their daughters, a custom broadly referred to as “son preference.”
• One enduring manifestation of son preference has been the illegal practice of sex-selective abortions – using ultrasound or other tests to learn the sex of a foetus and terminating the pregnancy if the foetus is female.
• The survey finds that four-in-ten Indians say it is either “completely acceptable” or “somewhat acceptable” to “get a check-up using modern methods to balance the number of girls and boys in the family,” a euphemism that connotes sex-selective abortion.
• In contrast, roughly half of adults (53%) say that this practice is either somewhat or completely unacceptable.

RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE RELIGIOUS RITES:

• Most Indians (63%) say sons should be primarily responsible for parents’ last rites or burial rituals, although attitudes differ significantly across religious groups.
• Religious funeral practices for loved ones are widely seen as very important in India, and at least according to Hindu tradition, sons must perform the last rites for a parent to ensure freedom for the soul in the afterlife.
• Most Muslims (74%), Jains (67%), and Hindus (63%) say sons should be primarily responsible for funeral rituals, but far fewer Sikhs (29%), Christians (44%), and Buddhists (46%) expect this from sons.
• Instead, Sikhs, Christians, and Buddhists are more likely to say that both sons and daughters should be responsible for their parents’ last rites. Very few Indians, regardless of religion, say daughters should be primarily responsible for funeral rituals.

SUPPORT FOR TRADITIONAL GENDER ROLES:

• Muslims are more likely than other Indians to support traditional gender roles in families, while Sikhs are often the least likely community to hold such views.
• For example, while most Indian Muslims (61%) say that men in a family should be primarily responsible for earning money, just 17% of Sikhs say this.
• And Muslims are more than twice as likely as Sikhs to assign sons the primary responsibility of caring for aging parents (43% vs. 17%).

RESPECT TO WOMEN:

• Indians favour teaching boys to respect women as a way to improve women’s safety. As described in a previous Pew Research Centre report, roughly three-quarters of Indian adults (76%) say violence against women is a “very big problem” in their country.
• About half of Indians (51%) say it is more important to teach boys to respect all women, while roughly a quarter (26%) say it is more important to teach girls to behave appropriately.

FIGURE 1: WOMEN AS POLITICAL LEADERS

FIGURE 2: PREFERENCE FOR CHILDREN

HOW INDIA’S GENDER ATTITUDES COMPARE GLOBALLY

Pew Research Centre has asked a couple of the questions on this survey in many countries around the world, allowing a glimpse of where Indians fit globally when it comes to public opinion on these issues. Across 47 countries and territories, a global median of 70% says it is very important for women to have the same rights as men, according to data from two recent waves of the Centre’s Global Attitudes survey. This is similar to the share of Indians who feel gender equality is very important (72%).
Indians are less likely than people in North America (92% median), Western Europe (90%), and Latin America (82%) to place high importance on women and men having the same rights. But they are more likely than those living in sub-Saharan Africa (48% median) and the Middle East-North Africa region (44%) to say this. Adults in Central and Eastern Europe (69% median) are roughly similar to Indians on this question. Within South Asia, Indians are somewhat more likely than Pakistanis to say it is very important for men and women to have equal rights (72% vs. 64%). Despite broadly aligning with global public opinion on equal rights for women, Indians tend to be more conservative than people in most other countries surveyed when it comes to gender dynamics in the home and the economy.

INDIA’S CHANGING GENDER NORMS: AN ANALYSIS

THE WAY FORWARD:

THE CONCLUSION: Although there may be issues related to the sample size, methodology etc, the Pew survey report provides in-depth analysis on the gender attitude of the Indian people. Designing a lasting change in gender attitudes requires meticulous planning and implementation and the PEW Research Centre survey is a wake-up call to commence that change.

QUESTIONS:

⦁ Discuss the salient features of the Pew Report on gender.

ADD TO YOUR KNOWLEDGE

ABOUT Pew RESEARCH CENTRE

About Pew Research Center Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping America and the world. It does not take policy positions. The Center conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, content analysis and other data-driven social science research. It studies U.S. politics and policy; journalism and media; internet, science and technology; religion and public life; Hispanic trends; global attitudes and trends; and U.S. social and demographic trends. All of the Center’s reports are available at www.pewresearch.org. Pew Research Center is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts, its primary funder.