THE POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. WHAT IS THE SEDITION LAW?

THE CONTEXT: The Supreme Court ON 11^th May directed the Centre and states to keep in abeyance all pending trials, appeals, and proceedings with respect to the charge framed under Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which deals with the offence of sedition, till the central government completes the promised exercise to reconsider and re-examine the provision.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The central government had initially defended the colonial provision, but later told the apex court it was reviewing it.

What is the sedition law?

• Section 124A defines sedition as: “Whoever, by words, either spoken or written, or by signs, or by visible representation, or otherwise, brings or attempts to bring into hatred or contempt, or excites or attempts to excite disaffection towards, the Government established by law shall be punished with im­prisonment for life, to which fine may be added…”
• The provision also contains three explanations: 1- The expression “disaffection” includes disloyalty and all feelings of enmity; 2- Comments expressing disapprobation of the meas­ures of the Government with a view to obtain their alteration by lawful means, without exciting or attempting to excite hatred, contempt or disaffection, do not constitute an offence under this section; 3- Comments expressing disapprobation of the admin­istrative or other action of the Government without exciting or attempting to excite hatred, contempt or disaffection, do not constitute an offence under this section.

What are the origins of the sedition law?

• Although Thomas Macaulay, who drafted the Indian Penal Code, had included the law on sedition, it was not added in the code enacted in 1860. Legal experts believe this omission was accidental. In 1890, sedition was included as an offence under section 124A IPC through the Special Act XVII.
• The punishment prescribed then, transportation “beyond the seas for the term of his or her natural life”, was amended to life imprisonment in 1955.
• The provision was extensively used to curb political dissent during the Independence movement. Several pre-independence cases involving Section 124A of the IPC are against celebrated freedom fighters, including Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Annie Besant, Shaukat and Mohammad Ali, Maulana Azad and Mahatma Gandhi. It is during this time that the most notable trial on sedition — Queen Empress v. Bal Gangadhar Tilak — took place in 1898.
• The Constituent Assembly debated including sedition as an exception to the fundamental right to freedom of speech and expression, guaranteed in the Constitution, but several members vehemently disagreed and the word is not included in the document.

VALUE ADDITION Sedition laws in other countries In the United Kingdom, the sedition law was officially repealed under Section 73 of the Coroners and Justice Act, 2009, citing a chilling effect on freedom of speech and expression. The common law on sedition, which is traced to the Statute of Westminster, 1275, when the King was considered the holder of Divine right, was termed “arcane” and “from a bygone era when freedom of expression wasn’t seen as the right it is today.” In the United States, sedition is a federal felony under the Federal Criminal Code, Section 2384, and is now being used against rioters involved in the January 6 attack on the Capitol. Despite the First Amendment that forbids any restrictions on free speech, “conspiracy to interfere directly with the operation of the government” and not just speech is considered sedition.

THE ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

2. SHALLOW AND DEEP ECOLOGISM

THE CONTEXT: Heat waves are known to have been a reality for hundreds of years. But the long-term effects of climate change have exacerbated them, making the waves more extreme, frequent and prolonged. As India continues to grapple with the unrelenting waves, it becomes pertinent to unpack two strands of environmental philosophy that reinvent the relationship between nature and humans — shallow and deep ecologism.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The concepts emerged in the 1970s, when Norwegian philosopher Arne Naess sought to look beyond the popular pollution and conservation movements of his milieu to address environmental degradation.
• In his study of ecological concerns, Naess is more preoccupied with the role of the individual in nature. He believes that owing to increased anthropocentrism, humans have cut themselves off from nature, viewing nature and themselves as competing entities and establishing a master-slave dynamic.
• By placing humans at the heart of the environmental crisis, Naess outlines the difference between the two styles of ecologism. He terms the powerful and fashionable fight against pollution and resource depletion as shallow ecologism or environmentalism.
• Exponents of this philosophy believe in continuing our present lifestyle, but with specific tweaks aimed at minimizing the damage to the environment. Also referred to as weak ecologism, it may include the use of vehicles that cause less pollution or air conditioners that do not release chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs).
• This branch of ecologism primarily serves to maintain the lifestyle of those dwelling in developed countries.
• Deep ecologism believes that humans should radically change their relationship with nature. Its proponents reject shallow ecologism for prioritising humans above other forms of life, and subsequently preserving the environmentally destructive way of life in modern societies.
• Deep ecologism maintains that by sustaining this lifestyle, shallow ecologism further widens the inequalities between countries.
• A narrow focus on pollution and conservation movements is counterproductive. A holistic perspective to environmental crisis is one that acknowledges regional differences and the disparities between under and over-developed nations.

3. WMO REPORT: BELOW NORMAL MERCURY IN INDIA FROM 2022 TO ’26

THE CONTEXT: In the latest Global Annual to Decadal Climate Update, the 2022 will be cooler (compared to the 1991 – 2020 average) over India, along with Alaska and Canada: WMO

THE EXPLANATION:

• In a rare trend, India could be among the few regions globally where below normal temperatures have been predicted for this year and the next four years, the decadal climate outlook report issued by the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) has stated.
• In the latest Global Annual to Decadal Climate Update, the WMO said that 2022 will be cooler (compared to the 1991 – 2020 average) over India, along with Alaska and Canada.
• One of the primary reasons for lowering of temperatures over India from next year is the possible increase in rainfall activity in this decade.
• In April this year, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) had said that the Indian monsoon will soon enter the positive epoch after remaining under a negative epoch since 1971.
• The future trend suggests that the decadal mean value will be close to near normal during 2021 to 2030. It will then turn positive, meaning that the decade 2031-2040 will be the beginning of a wet epoch.

THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

4. RUPEE FELL ON SPILLOVER EFFECTS OF STRONG DOLLAR

THE CONTEXT: The rupee’s fall to all-time lows and the decline in India’s forex reserves is not driven by capital outflows, but the spillover effects of a stronger U.S. dollar.

THE EXPLANATION: The RBI had been intervening in the forex markets since 9 May, the idea was not to hold or aim to keep the rupee at a certain level but to prevent ‘jerky’ moves, an official aware of the rationale for the interventions pointed out.

• There is no fixation about any particular value… it’s not as if there is an attempt to resist levels being breached, but they should not be jerky movements, adding that the interventions had helped the currency appreciate to 77.25 to a dollar on Wednesday, from Monday’s record low of 77.46.
• Dismissing speculation that the forex reserves had fallen below $600 billion due to such market interventions, the official said the scale of interventions were not that large and the dip was mainly attributable to valuation losses in forex holdings in non-dollar currencies as the dollar was appreciating against advanced economy currencies as well.
• There are adequate reserves to fund 18 months of imports, FDI levels are as high as last year and foreign institutional investors are making a beeline for Indian debt now.

THE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

5. NATIONAL TECHNOLOGY DAY

THE CONTEXT: Prime Minister of India on 11 May paid tribute to India’s scientists and their efforts behind the successful nuclear tests in 1998 on the occasion of National Technology Day.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The day is observed to mark the successful nuclear tests in Pokhran.
• India conducted Pokhran-II tests, a series of five nuclear explosions, in May 1998 at the Indian Army’s Pokhran Test Range in Rajasthan. National Technology Day is observed every year on May 11 as a reminder of the anniversary of the Pokhran-II tests.
• National Technology Day is celebrated with a new and different theme every year. This year’s theme is ‘Integrated Approach in Science and Technology for a Sustainable Future’.

THE MISCELLANEOUS

6. INDIA ELECTED AS CHAIR OF ASSOCIATION OF ASIAN ELECTION AUTHORITIES FOR 2022-24

THE CONTEXT: India has been unanimously elected as the new Chair of the Association of Asian Election Authorities (AAEA) for 2022-2024.

THE EXPLANATION:

• India was elected at the recently held meeting of the executive board and general assembly at Manila, the Philippines on May 7.
• Commission on Elections, Manila was the current chair of AAEA.
• The new members in the executive board now include Russia, Uzbekistan, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Taiwan and the Philippines.

THE PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTIONS

QUESTION FOR 12th MAY 2022

Q. Consider the following statements about provisions under Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Act, 2021:

1. Opinion of one Registered Medical Practitioner (RMP) for termination of pregnancy up to 24 weeks of gestation.
2. Opinion of two RMPs for termination of pregnancy of 24-28 weeks of gestation.
3. Opinion of the State-level medical board is essential for a pregnancy to be terminated after 28 weeks in case of substantial foetal abnormalities.

Which of the statements given above is/are incorrect?

a) 1 only

b) 1 and 2 only

c) 2 and 3 only

d) 1, 2 and 3

 

ANSWER FOR THE 11TH OF MAY

Answer: A

Explanation:

• African swine fever (ASF) is a highly contagious and deadly viral disease affecting both domestic and feral swine of all ages.
• It was first detected in Africa in the 1920s.
• ASF is not a threat to human health and cannot be transmitted from pigs to humans.
• It is not a food safety issue.
• ASF is found in countries around the world.
• The disease was first reported in November-December 2019 from the areas of China bordering Arunachal Pradesh.

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