#WHAT is it with national institutes and this hindi imposition : | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

margdarsanme · 4 years

Text

NCERT Class 12 Political Science (India) Chapter 6 The Crisis of Democratic Order

NCERT Class 12 Political Science Solutions (India Since Independence)

Chapter 6 The Crisis of Democratic Order

TEXTBOOK QUESTIONS SOLVED : Q l. State whether the following statements regarding the Emergency are correct or incorrect. (a) It was declared in 1975 by Indira Gandhi. (b) It led to the suspension of all fundamental rights. (c) It was proclaimed due to the deteriorating economic conditions. (d) Many Opposition leaders were arrested during the emergency. (e) CPI supported the proclamation of the Emergency.

Answer: (a) Correct, (b) Correct, (c) Wrong, (d) Correct, (e) Correct. Q 2. Find the odd one out in the context of proclamation of Emergency. (a) The call for ‘Total Revolution’. (b) The Railway Strike of 1974 (c) The Naxalite Movement (d) The Allahabad High Court verdict (e) The findings of the Shah Commission Report

Answer: (c) The Naxalite Movement Q 3. Match the following:

Answer: (a)-(iii), (b)-(i), (c)-(ii), (d)-(iv). Q 4. What were the reasons which led to the mid-term elections in 1980?

Answer: 1. Janata party lacked direction, leadership and a common programme. 2. Janata party government could not bring a fundamental change in policies pursued by Congress. 3. There was a split in Janata Party and the government led by Morarji Desai which lost its majority in less than 18 months. 4. Charan Singh government was formed due to support of Congress party which later decided to withdraw its support resulting resignation of Charan Singh government within four months. 5. All the above mentioned reasons led midterm elections of 1980, which defeated Janata Party and again Congress led by Indira Gandhi came back to power by winning 353 seats. Q 5. The Shah Commission was appointed in 1977 by the Janata Party Government. Why was it appointed and what were its findings?

Answer: The Shah commission was appointed in May 1977 by Janata Party government which was headed by J.C. Shah, retired chief justice of Supreme Court of India to look into the matters of: 1. Allegations of abuse of authority, excesses and malpractices as well as actions taken in the name of emergency proclaimed on 25 June 1975. 2. The Commission performed to examine various evidences to give testimonies even including Indira Gandhi to appear before Commission, but she refused to answer any questions. Findings of Shah Commission: (a) It found many ‘excesses’ committed during Emergency. (b) Under preventive detention laws nearly one lakh eleven thousand people were arrested. (c) Press censorship took place without any proper legal sanctions. (d) Even general manager of Delhi Power Supply Corporation received verbal orders from the officers of the Lt. Governor of Delhi to cut electricity to all newspapers press at 2 a.m. on 26 June 1975. Q 6. What reasons did the Government give for declaring a National Emergency in 1975?

Answer: Emergency was proclaimed in response to petition filed by Raj Narain to declare Indira Gandhi’s election invalid. (i) On June 25, 1975, the government declared the threat of internal disturbances to invoke Article 352 of constitution. (ii) Article 352 can declare emergency on ground of either internal or external disturbances. (iii) The government decided a grave crisis to be arisen to proclaim emergency to bring law and order, restore efficiency and implement pro-poor welfare programmes. (iv) The President Fakhruddin Adi Ahmad proclaimed emergency which became the most controversial episode in Indian Politics. Q 7. The 1977 elections for the first time saw the Opposition coming into power at the Centre. What would you consider as the reasons for this development?

Answer: The 1977 elections were evolved as a shock to everyone as Congress party was defeated for the very first time and opposition party came into power: 1. The opposition adopted the slogan ‘Save democracy’ against imposition of emergency earlier. 2. The opposition campaigned non- democratic character of rule which provided various excesses. 3. The opposition party highlighted the preventive detention and press censorship to favour public opinion. 4. Janata Party also ensured not to divide non-Congress votes. 5. Middle section of north India was moving away from Congress for whom Janata Party became a platform. 6. Hence, elections of 1977 emerged many other factors instead about emergency only. Q 8. Discuss the effects of Emergency on the following aspects of our polity.

(a) Effects on civil liberties for citizens. (b) Impact on relationship between the Executive and Judiciary. (c) Functioning of Mass Media. (d) Working of Police and Bureaucracy.

Answer:

(a) Effects on Civil Liberties for Citizens: 1. The government made large scale arrests under preventive detention. 2. Arrested political persons could not challenge arrest even under Habeas Corpus petition. 3. Despite of filing many petitions government claimed it not to be necessary to be informed on grounds to arrested persons. 4. In April 1976, finally it was proved that the government could take away citizen’s right to life and liberty by overruling of high courts under supreme court and accept government’s plea.

(b) Impact on Relationship between the Executive and Judiciary: 1. The Parliament brought in many new changes in Constitution which made an amendment declaring that elections of Prime Minister, President and Vice¬President could not be challenged in the court. 2. The forty-second amendment (42nd) was also passed to bring a series of changes in constitution like duration of legislatures, elections can be postponed by one year during an emergency.

(c) Functioning of Mass Media: 1. Press censorship took place which banned freedom of press and newspapers w7ere supposed to prior approval before they publish any material i.e. RSS and Janata Island were banned. 2. Protests, strikes and public agitations were also banned. 3. Various fundamental rights were also suspended including even Right to move to court for restoration of Fundamental Rights. 4. Kannada writer Shivarama Karanth awarded with Padma Bhushan and Hindi writer Fanishwarnath Tlenu with Padmashri returned their awards in protest against suspension of democracy.

5. Newspapers mainly Indian Express, and the statesman protested against censorship by leaving blank spaces where news items were censored.

(d) Working of Police and Bureaucracy: Refer Part (a) + (b) of the same question. Q 9. In what way did the imposition of Emergency affect the party system in India? Elaborate your answer with examples.

Answer: 1. Due to absolute majority to party in power, leadership even dared to suspend democratic process. 2. The constitution makers presumed to be abide by laws and democratic orders, hence, wide and open ended powers were given to the government during emergency. 3. A tension and differences arose between institution based democracy and democracy based on spontaneous popular participation. 4. It was attributed to incapability of party system to incorporate aspirations of the people. 5. For the first time, opposition parties came together to form a new party ‘Janata Party’ not to divide the non-Congress votes. 6. 1977 elections brought an end to one party dominance and created coalition government. Q 10. Read the passage and answer the questions below:

“Indian democracy was never so close to a two-party system as it was during the 1977 elections. However, the next few years saw a complete change. Soon after its defeat, the Indian National Congress split into two groups The Janata Party also went through major convulsions David Butler, Ashok Lahiri and Prannoy Roy. —Partha Chatterjee (a) What made the party system in India look like a two-party system in 1977? (b) Many more than two parties existed in 1977. Why then are the authors describing this period as close to a two-party system? (c) What caused splits in Congress and the Janata Party?

Answer: (a) The imposition of emergency in 1977 and political crisis made the party system in India look like a two-party system. (b) Two parties existed in 1977 were Congress and non-Congress parties to be described as close to two party system because it ended the one party dominance and emerged Janata Party, umbrella of non¬Congress parties. (c) Split in Congress: Congress splitted on the issues of presidential elections in 1969. Split in Janata Party: On tensions among three leaders Morarji Desai, Charan Singh and Jagjivan Ram for leadership in 1979.

Very Short Answer Type Questions [1 Mark]

Q 1. Mention the main reason for the defeat of Congress party in the elections 1977.

Answer: The opposition party adopted the slogan ‘Save democracy’ against the imposition of emergency. Q 2. In which year fifth general elections to Lok Sabha held?

Answer: 1971. Q 3. Name the political party which came to power at centre in 1977.

Answer: Janata Party Q 4. In January 1974, Students of Gujarat started an agitation against which two major problems?

Answer: 1. Rising prices of food grains, cooking oil and other essential commodities. 2. Corruption in high places. Q 5. Who was Charu Majumdar?

Answer: Charu Majumdar was a communist revolutionary and the leader of Naxalbari uprising. He founded the Communist Party of India (Marxist Leninist). Q 6. Name the president who proclaimed emergency in 1975 in India.

Answer. President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmad at midnight on 25 June 1975. Q 7. Who introduced Twenty Point Programme and Why?

Answer: Congress government led by Indira Gandhi introduced ‘Twenty Point Programme’ to maintain law and order and to restored efficiency including land reforms, eradication of bonded labour, land redistribution, workers participation in management etc. Q 8. Who became the symbol of restoration of democracy?

Answer: Jayaprakash Narayan, leader of Janata Party. Q 9. Mention the Historic decision given by the court in famous Kesavananda Bharati Case.

Answer: That there are some basic features of constitution not to be amended by parliament at all. It led to a crisis between the government and judiciary. Q 10. What was the controversy regarding the appointment of the chief justice A.N. Ray in 1973?

Answer: It became political controversial because in this appointment the government set aside the seniority of three judges who had given ruling against the stand of government. Q 11. Why did Congress win in Southern states?

Answer: 1. The impact of emergency was not felt equally in all the states. 2. The forced relocation and dis¬placements, the forced sterilisations were mostly concentrated in the northern states. Q 12. What do you mean by Preventive Detention?

Answer: In Preventive Detention Act, people are arrested and detained on the apprehension to commit any offence in future and government made large scale arrests under this during emergency.

Very Short Answer Type Questions [2 Marks]

Q 1. What factors led to crisis of democratic order in Indian Politics?

Answer: 1. Emergence of Indira Gandhi with a lot of popularity. 2. Party competitions had been created. 3. Relation between the government and judiciary had become tense. Q 2. Mention the factors which led Naxalite movement in backward states.

Answer: 1. Forced labour 2. Exploitation by moneylenders 3. Exploitation of resources by outsiders. Q 3. What was Shah Commission of inquiry? How did government react to it? “

Answer: The Shah commission was appointed in May 1977 by Janata Party government headed by S.C. Shah, retired chief justice of Supreme Court of India to look into the matter of: 1. Allegations of abuse of authority. 2. Excesses and malpractices. 3. Actions taken in the name of emergency proclaimed on 25 June 1975. The government appeared before commission against various evidences but she refused to answer any question. Q 4. Describe any two outcomes of Naxalite Movement.

Answer: The ‘Naxalites’ were the Marxist and Leninist Agricultural workers of Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar and adjoining areas who organised massive agitations against economic injustice and inequality and demanded redistribution of land to cultivators. Q 5. Mention circumstances to be characterised for imposition of emergency?

Answer: 1. Emergence of Indira Gandhi. 2. Power Politics became personalised and governmental authority was converted into personalization. 3. Bitter party competition. 4. Tense relations between the government and judiciary. Q 6. Who organised the first nationwide Satyagraha and Why?

Answer: It was organised by Jayaprakash Narayan for Indira Gandhi’s resignation, he appealed to people not to obey illegal and immoral orders by a massive demonstration on 25 June 1975. All these changed the political mood of the country against Congress.

Short Answer Type Questions [4 Marks]

Q 1. Explain the reasons for students movement of 1974 in Bihar and the role played by Jayaprakash Narayan in this movement.

Answer: Reasons for Student’s Movement of 1974: Students organised movement against: 1. Rising prices of food grains, cooking oil and other essential commodities. 2. Corruption in high places. Assess Role played by Jai Prakash Narayan: Satyagraha was organised by Jayaprakash Narayan for Indira Gandhi’s resignation, he appealed to people not to obey illegal and immoral orders by a massive demonstration on 25 June 1975. All these changed the political mood of the country against Congress. Q 2. Evaluate the consequences of declaration of emergency in 1975?

Answer: 1. It effected civil liberties of peoples i.e. in April11976 it was proved that the government could take away citizens’ right to life and liberty by overruling of high courts under supreme courts and accepted government’s plea. 2. The forth-second Amendment was also passed to bring a series of changes in constitution. 3. It affected the functioning of mass media also as press censorship took place which banned freedom of press and newspapers, which were supposed to prior approval before they publish any material. 4. Despite of filing many petitions government claimed it not to be necessary to be informed the grounds to arrested persons. Q 3. Explain any two lessons learnt from emergency imposed in 1975.

Answer: The emergency brought out weaknesses and strengths both to India’s democracy: 1. First lesson was felt that it was extremely difficult to do away with democracy in India. 2. Secondly, it amended that internal emergency could be proclaimed only on the grounds of armed rebellion, on the advice to the president to proclaim emergency must be given in writing by council of ministers. 3. Thirdly, emergency made everyone more aware of civil liberties as well as courts also took an active role in protecting civil liberties of individuals. Q 4. Examine the legacy of emergency of 1975 in India.

Answer: The legacy of emergency was felt in every sphere of people’s life and politics: 1. Between the elections of 1977 and 1980, Congress identified itself with particular ideology, claiming to be only socialist and pro-poor party. 2. The concept of non-Congression was created among oppositions parties. 3. The issues of welfare of backward classes began to dominate politics i. e. northern states elected non¬Congress leaders of backward class since 1977. 4. This period of emergency saw the period of constitutional crisis to loose its origin in constitutional battle over jurisdiction of parliament and judiciary. 5. This period created political crisis also as the party in power enjoyed absolute majority, still decided to suspend the democratic process. 6. The emergency tensed between institution based democracy and democracy based on spontaneous popular participation for which party system was to be blamed. Q 5. Why is emergency and period around it known as the period of constitutional crisis? Explain.

Answer: 1. The Parliament brought in many new changes in constitution which made an amendment declaring that elections of Prime Minister, President and Vice President could not be challenged in the court. 2. The forty second amendment was also passed to bring a series of changes in constitution like duration of legislatures, elections can be postponed by one year during emergency. Q 6. How far do you agree that the government had misused its emergency powers during 1975-77? Explain.

Answer: No, the government hence misused its ‘Emergency Powers’. But it said that it wanted to use the emergency: 1. To bring law and order into society. 2. To restore efficiency into administra¬tion and system. 3. To implement the pro-poor welfare programmes. Q 7. How did emergency of 1975 benefit the Indian democratic set up?

Answer: 1. Between the elections of 1977 and 1980, Congress identified itself with particulars ideology, claiming to be only socialist and pro-poor party. 2. The concept of non-Congressism was created among opposition parties. 3. The issues of welfare of backward class began to dominate politics i. e. Northern states elected non- Congress leaders of backward class since 1977. 4. The emergency tensed between institution based democracy and democracy based on spontaneous popular participation for which party system was to be blamed. Q 8. Describe any four circumstances for proclamation of emergency in 1975.

Answer:1. Emergence of Indira Gandhi. 2. Power politics became personalised and governmental authority was converted into personalization. 3. Bitter party competition. 4. Tensed relations between the government and judiciary. Q 9. Discuss the role of Jayaprakash Narayan in Bihar movement and national politics.

Answer: 1. Loknayak Jayaprakash Narayan from Janata Party was a Marxist of youth, who became a Gandhian and involved himself in a Bhoodan movement. 2. He led Bihar movement and opposed the emergency. 3. Bihar students invited him and he accepted on the condition of movement to be non-violent and not to limit only to Bihar territory. Hence, Bihar movement assumed a political character and national appeal. 4. This movement demanded dismissal of Congress government in Bihar and called for total revolution in social, economic and political aspects to establish a total democracy. 5. Bandhs, gheraos, strikes were organised in protest. Even employees of railways organised a strike which threatened to paralyse the country. 6. In 1975, Janata Party led people’s march to parliament to be one of the largest political rallies ever held in capital. 7. Janata was supported by non¬Congress parties like BJS, socialist parties etc., which projected JP as an alternative to Indira Gandhi. Q 10. ‘Emergency was a Blackmark in Indian History’. Comment.

Answer: 1. Emergency was declared on the ground of internal disturbances on 25 June 1975 to invoke Article 352 of constitution. 2. Prime Minister Indira Gandhi recommended to impose emergency to president Fakhruddin Ali Ahmad. 3. Emergency was one of the most controversial episode which possessed different virus regarding to impose emergency. 4. Emergency practically suspended the democratic functioning. 5. ‘Shah Commission’ exposed many excesses committed during emergency. 6. Emergency highlighted some hidden matters over constitutional battle between the parliament and judiciary. 7. Tensions or conflicts had been arisen between institution based democracy and popular participation of people.

Passage Based Questions [5 Marks]

1. Read the passage given below carefully and answer the questions: Once an emergency is proclaimed, the federal distribution of powers remains practically suspended and al 1 t be powc itc the hands of the union government. Secondly, the government also gets the power to curtail or restrict all or any of the Fundamental Rights during the emergency. From the wording of the provisions of the Constitution, it is clear that an Emergency is seen as an extra-iordinary condition in which normal democratic politics cannot function. Therefore, special powers are granted to the government.

Questions 1. When was emergency imposed? 2. Who recommended emergency to be imposed and to whom? 3. Mention the implications of emergency.

Answer: 1. 25 June 1975. 2. Prime Minister Indira Gandhi recommended to impose emergency to the president Fakhruddin Ali Ahmad. 3. (i) The federal distribution of powers remains practically suspended. (ii) All the powers are concentrated in the hands of Union government. (iii) The government also gets power to restrict all or any of Fundamental Rights during emergency. 2. Read the passage given below carefully and answer the questions: There were many acts of dissent and resistance to the Emergency. Many political workers who were not arrested in the first wave, went ‘underground’ and organised protests against the government. Newspapers like the Indian Express and the Statesman protested against censorship by leaving blank spaces where news items had been censored. Magazines like the Seminar and the Mainstream chose to close down rather than submit to censorship. Many journalists were arrested for writing against the Emergency. Many underground newsletters and leaflets were published to bypass censorship. Kannada writer Shivarama Karanth, awarded with Padma Bhushan, and Hindi writer Fanishwarnath Renu, awarded with Padma Shri, returned their awards in protest against the suspension of democracy. By and large, though, such open acts of defiance and resistance were rare.

Questions 1. Why did people began to protest against government? 2. How did newspapers protest against censorship? 3. How did writers protest against the emergency? 4. Which magazines protested against censorship?

Answer: 1. Against imposition of emergency. 2. Newspaper like Indian Express and the Statesman protested against censorship by leaving blank spaces where news items had been censored. 3. Kannada writer Shivarama Karanth awarded with Padma Bhushan and Hindi writer Fanishwarnath Renu awarded with Padma Shri returned their awards in protest against suspension of democracy. 4. Magazines like ‘Seminar’ and ‘Mainstream’ chose to close down rather than submit to censorship.

Long Answer Type Questions [6 Marks]

Q 1. Analyse any three lessons learnt from the emergency of 1975.

Answer:

(i) The emergency of 1975 at once brought out both the weaknesses’ and the strengths of India’s democracy. Though there are many observers who think that India ceased to be democratic during the emergency, it is noteworthy that normal democratic functioning resumed within a short span of time. Thus, one lesson of Emergency is that it is extremely difficult to do away with democracy in India.

(ii) It brought out some ambiguities regarding the emergency provision in the constitution that have been rectified since. Now ‘internal’ emergency can be proclaimed only on the grounds of ‘armed rebellion’ and it is necessary that the advice to the President to proclaim emergency must be given in writing by the Council of Ministers.

(iii) The Emergency made everyone aware of the value of civil liberties. The courts, too, have taken an active role after the emergency in protecting the civil liberties of the individuals. This is in response to the inability of the judiciary to protect civil liberties effectively during the emergency. Many civil liberties organizations came up after this experience. Q 2. Examine the three consequences of emergency imposed in 1975.

Answer:

(a) Effects on Civil Liberties of Citizens: 1. The government made large scale arrests under preventive detention. 2. Arrested political persons could not challenge arrest even under Habeas Corpus petition. 3. Despite filing many petitions government claimed it not to be necessary to be informed of grounds to arrested persons. 4. In April 1976, finally it was proved that the government could taken away citizen’s right to life and liberty by over ruling of high courts under supreme court and accepted government’s plea.

(b) Impact on Relationship between Parliament and Judiciary: 1. The parliament brought in many new changes in constitution which made an amendment declaring that election of Prime Minister, President and Vice¬president could not be challenged in the court. 2. The forty-second amendment (42nd) was also passed to bring a series of changes in constitution like duration of legislatures, elections can be postponed by one year during an emergency.

(c) Functioning of Mass Media: 1. Press censorship took place which banned freedom of press is newspapers were supposed to seek prior approval before they publish any material. 2. Protests, strikes and public agitations were also banned. 3. Various fundamental rights were also suspended including even Right to move to Court for Restoration of Fundamental Rights. 4. Kannada writer Shivarama Karnata awarded with Padma Bhushan and Hindi writer Fanishwarnath Renu with Padmashri returned their awards on protest against suspension of democracy. 5. Newspapers mainly Indian Express, and the Statesman protested against censorship by leaving blank editorial column. Q 3. Examine any six reasons for the imposition of emergency in India in 1975. Or Analyse any three reasons for imposing emergency on 25 June 1975. Did the government misuse its emergency powers? Give any three arguments in support of answers.

Answer: (i) Emergency was proclaimed in response to petition filed by Raj Narayan to declare Indira Gandhi’s election invalid. (ii) On June 25, 1975, the government declared the threat of internal disturbances to invoke Article 352 of constitution. (iii) Article 352 can declare emergency on ground of either internal or external disturbances. (iv) The government decided a grave crisis to be arisen to proclaim emergency to bring law and order, restore efficiency and implement pro-poor Welfare Programmes. (v) The President FakhruddinAli Ahmad proclaimed emergency which became the most controversial episode in Indian politics. (vi) Power politics became personalised and governmental authority was converted into personalization Q 4. Assess any three happenings which were responsible for the downfall of Congress Party in the 1977 elections. Or ‘The 1977 elections for the first time saw the opposition coming to power at the centre’. Examine any six reasons for this change.

Answer: The 1977 elections were evolved as a shock to everyone as Congress Party was defeated for the very first time and opposition party came into power: 1. The opposition adopted the slogan ‘save democracy’ against imposition of emergency earlier. 2. The opposition campaigned non- democratic character of rule which provided various excesses. 3. The opposition party highlighted the preventive detention and press censorship to favour public opinion. 4. Janata Party also ensured not to divide non-Congress votes. 5. Middle section of North India was moving away from Congress for whom Janata Party became a platform. 6. Hence, elections of 1977 emerged many other factors instead about emergency only. Q 5. Explain any three outcomes of Lok Sabha elections of 1977.

Answer: 1. In March 1977 elections, for the first time, Congress lost elections with winning 154 seats only. 2. Janata Party and its allies won 330 seats out of 542 seats. 3. Congress lost from the states of Bihar, U.P., Haryana, Delhi and Madhya Pradesh. 4. Janata Party was formed of coalitions under the leadership of Jayaprakash Narayana. 5. Janata Party called this election as a referendum on emergency. 6. Opposition party realised not to divide the votes to enjoy the power under one umbrella. 7. All these indicated a tough time for Congress ahead. Q 6. What is Naxalite movement? Evaluate its role in Indian politics.

Answer: The Naxalites were the Marxist and Leninist agricultural workers of Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar and adjoining areas which organised massive agilations against economic injustice and inequality and demanded redistribution of land to cultivators. Role in Indian Politics: 1. Naxalite, did not participate in the elections formally but these were actively associated with parties. 2. Naxalites ensured a better representation of demands of deprived social sections in party politics. 3. These movements retained associations or relations alongwith the political parties either as an individual or as an organisations.

Picture/Map Based Questions [5 Marks]

1. Study the picture given below and answer the questions that follow:

Questions 1. What was the slogan of Janata Party to campaign in elections? 2. Identify the person who is sitting on ground holding the slogan. 3. Against which practices Jayaprakash Narayana agitated?

Answer: 1. Save Democracy. 2. Jayaprakash Narayan. 3. Corruption, lawlessness, violence, and most important against imposition of emergency. Q 2. Study the picture given below and answer the questions that follow:

Question. 1. When did cartoon appear in the newspaper and why? 2. Identify the person behind Indira Gandhi. 3. Identify what does the ‘Political Crisis’ stand for. Explain.

Answer: 1. This cartoon appeared few days before the declaration of emergency to capture the sense of impending political crisis. 2. The then Congress president D.K. Barooah. 3. Political crisis in 1977 made the party system in India look like a two party system i.e. Congress and non¬Congress to end one party dominance and emergence of non-Congress party Janata Party as an umbrella for others. Q 3. Study the picture given below and answer the questions that follow:

Questions 1. What situation does the picture refer to? 2. Which Commission is represented into the cartoon? 3. Mention some points of this Commission’s report.

Answer: 1. Appearance of Indira Gandhi before Commission but refused to answer any question. 2. Shah Commission’s report about emergency. 3. (i) There were many excesses committed during emergency. (ii) Several restrictions were put on the press sometimes without legal sanction. (iii) Many people were arrested under preventive detention law. (iv) Even general manager of Delhi Power Supply Corporation received verbal orders from the officers of Lt. Governor of Delhi to cut electricity to all newspaper presses at 2 a.m. on 26 June 1975.

via Blogger https://ift.tt/31OhBB8

#Blogger #NCERT Class 12 Political Science

0 notes

phgq · 3 years

Text

Covid-19, typhoons ‘sharpen’ need for federalism: Puno

#PHnews: Covid-19, typhoons ‘sharpen’ need for federalism: Puno

MANILA – Retired Chief Justice Reynato Puno has renewed his call for shift to a federal system of government, stressing that the distribution of powers and resources among regions would allow better distribution of assistance in areas severely affected by typhoons and the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.

Puno, also chair of the now-defunct Consultative Committee (ConCom) tasked to draft a federal constitution, emphasized that a federal system of government would curb red tape and corruption in the bureaucracy.

“All these crises brought about by this pandemic, by these typhoons, they all sharpen the need for a federal government,” he said in a webinar organized by the Pimentel Institute for Leadership and Governance on Saturday.

He pointed out that despite the signing of Republic Act 11469 or the Bayanihan to Heal As One Act (Bayanihan 1), many low-income families failed to receive subsidies under the Social Amelioration Program (SAP) on time.

“Nakita natin na kahit na anong gawing response ng national government, masisipag naman yung mga opisyales natin, pero hindi natin magawa. ‘Yun lang distribution ng tulong doon sa mahihirap under yung Bayanihan law hindi nagawa 'yun (We saw that no amount of response carried out by the national government, even if our officials are hardworking, they can’t do it. Just the distribution of aid for the poor under the Bayanihan Law, they can’t accomplish),” he said.

Puno, however, clarified there was no specific national or local official to blame in delays in the distribution of cash assistance.

“We're not blaming a specific person but it's the unitary government. And then you know, they suffer from a lot of red tapes. Ang daming regulasyon diyan. Pag nag-violate ka ng regulasyon dadalhin ka sa Ombudsman kaya kawawa rin sila (There are too many regulations. If you violate regulations, they’ll take you to the Ombudsman),” he added.

Puno said changing the form of government from the current unitary to a “bayanihan”-type federal will break the over-concentration of power in the national government.

“In order to foster this cooperative type of federalism, you will see that the bayanihan constitution does not allow the imposition of double taxation; it has also an equalization fund which is not less than 3 percent of the annual General Appropriations Act that will be given to poor regions to enable them to achieve financial viability and economic sustainability; it also established an inter-governmental commission whose function among others is to promote friendly and cooperative relationship among the regions,” he said.

Under the draft federal constitution, regions will get their funds from five sources namely regions’ own collection of taxes and fees; a share of top revenue sources; a share from Equalization Fund; an additional funding through the General Appropriations Act; and a share of income from natural resources.

Timeline

Puno, meanwhile, said the timeline of a possible shift to federalism would depend on “the will of the people.”

“The timeline will ultimately depend on what will be the will of the people. At the very least, we should have this issue on the political table this 2022 elections. Who will be the candidates who will espouse federalism? We’re not saying that they espouse our federal bayanihan system, they can espouse other types of federalism,” he said.

For his part, Ateneo School of Government Dean Ronald Mendoza, agreed that it was necessary not to lose the momentum established for “preparatory reforms” that can be a realization of a stronger federalism in the future.

“I don’t know that people are still envisioning dramatic reforms such as changing the Constitution in the next year in a half. If so, I think it would be such a big gamble. But I do think that the momentum established by those who envisioned a better, stronger system for our democracy, our economy, our political system, I think this is a momentum that we should not lose, this is a coalition that we should keep building, and include, enlarge the circle of those who believe in this reform,” Mendoza said.

While a push for federalism under a pandemic might seem like a big gamble, he said there is still an opportunity to push for key specific areas of reform or turn them campaign issues to continue to discourse.

The now defunct ConCom submitted a copy of the draft “bayanihan” federal constitution to the Duterte on July 9, 2018.

Last August, Malacañang said Duterte has not abandoned his campaign promise to shift to a federal system of government but would prioritize the prevailing Covid-19 pandemic.

The Palace said Duterte is only looking at three options to amend the 1987 Constitution namely Constitutional Convention (Con-Con), Constituent Assembly (Con-Ass), or people’s initiative. (PNA)

***

References:

* Philippine News Agency. "Covid-19, typhoons ‘sharpen’ need for federalism: Puno." Philippine News Agency. https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1123315 (accessed November 30, 2020 at 02:03AM UTC+14).

* Philippine News Agency. "Covid-19, typhoons ‘sharpen’ need for federalism: Puno." Archive Today. https://archive.ph/?run=1&url=https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1123315 (archived).

#Philippines #News #Filipino #Pinoy #Tourism #Politics #Culture #Editorial #Environment #Society #History

0 notes

krishnaprasad-blog · 4 years

Text

The communalisation of the #Coronavirus pandemic in the media, just when the humanitarian crisis sparked by Narendra Modi‘s imposition of the 21-day “lockdown” with a 4-hour notice on March 25 was taking shape, is much too much of a coincidence.

As the sight and plight of thousands of migrants walking back home from the big cities (once again) showcased the inept planning that preceded such a major announcement a la demonetisation, #CoronaJihad became the “trending” hashtag from around March 28.

***

# On brain-dead TV “news” channels, “shows” titled Corona Jihad se desh bachao (save India from Corona jihad), and Dharm ke naam per jan leva adharm (threatening life in the name of religion, above), appeared with predictable venom.

# On April 3, Time magazine quoted a report by a digital human rights group that since March 28, tweets with the hashtag #CoronaJihad had appeared nearly 300,000 times and had potentially been seen by 165 million people on Twitter.

Overnight, the script for distracting attention from the migration crisis by communalising the pandemic seemed to have been magically readied.

Tablighi Jamaat, a religious missionary group, had held its annual meeting in Nizamuddin in Delhi from March 8-10. It was attended by delegates from across India and South East Asia. Some of them, it turned out, were carrying Coronavirus.

By imputation, many attendees carried the virus back home, spreading it to many more.

By inference, the Islamic event was the principal cause for the disease to spread in India.

“Almost 60 per cent of new Coronavirus cases linked to Tablighi Jamaat event,” was the headline of a sad, revealing graphic in India Today (above), with a tell-tale skull cap around the head of a mask-wearing figure.

Short hand for, Muslims did it.

But as an analysis by Shoaib Daniyal on the website Scroll showed, the higher discovery of Tabhlighi-related cases was only because of greater testing of Tabhlighi meeting attendees.

Then, again, the Jamaat meet was from March 8-10. Who can forget that historic PTI tweet of March 13, quoting an unnamed official, that there was no threat to India from #Coronavirus?

***

Whilst the role of television media and social media in mainstreaming such Islamophobia in the time of a pandemic is painfully obvious, how did newspapers fare in perpetuating it for posterity?

The Hindi daily Dainik Jagran, once the world’s largest read daily, with close ties to the sangh parivar, ran an incredible 171 stories and pieces with the words “Tabhlighi Jamaat’, ‘Jamaat’, ‘Jamaati’, ‘Markaz’, and ‘Nizamuddin’ in its headline over a 15-day period.

More than 10 reminders a day, on average, of the six key words.

A purely quantitative analysis of the headlines of the 171 stories and pieces in the Delhi edition of the newspaper from March 28 to April 11, shows those six key words appearing and re-appearing with remarkable regularity.

Broadly, this is the break up of the news stories.

49 single-column items

51 double-column stories

19 three-column stories

16 four-column stories

8 five-column stories

8 six-column stories

5 seven-column stories

In addition, in the same 15-day period, Dainik Jagran ran eight editorials on the Tabhlighi Jamaat topic, five editorial cartoons, and two opinion pieces. On one day, a whole page was devoted to the issue (in picture, below) with the headline ‘Virus ki jamaat’.

Many of the Jagran headlines are for, for sure, legitimate news stories which also appear in other newspapers, about the hunt for attendees, the number of patients and such. But some of the paper’s headlines, with the benefit of hindsight, are plain dog-whistling.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

The snide, insinuatory tone of some of the Jagran headlines (loosely translated) do not leave much for the imagination:

# Women who attended the meeting can spread the pandemic

# SIM cards purchased by Jamaat attendees in the name of Hindus

# “Call for Jamaat patients to be housed in jails”

# Jamaatis distributed sweets on bus

# Jamaatis demand medicines, biryani, and fruits

# Tabhligi Jamaat had made Varanasi its “base camp”

# Nine foreigners hiding with 11 Jamaatis in mosques

# R&AW to help in tracing Tabhligis who went to Gujarat

# Pakistan too troubled by Tabhligi Jamaatis

# Support for Tabhligi Jamaat in JNU poster

***

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

The headlines for the Jagran editorials range from Badi laparvahi (big negligence), to Gambhir laparvahi (serious negligence), to Deshghaati laparvahi (anti-national negligence).

***

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

The Jagran editorial cartoons appearing on the editorial page and clearly dictated by in-house editorial demand, unabashedly confuses the requirements of legitimate journalism with the needs of ideological propaganda.

***

Not surprisingly, the sangh parivar’s relief efforts get prominent display. There are two stories on one page on a single day (above).

Among other sangh-friendly headlines is of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad demanding restrictions on Jamaat; another is of RSS leader Manmohan Vaidya warning of a high death toll and contamination by Tabhligi Jamaat attendees.

***

In the welter of words about the Tablighi Jamaat incident, there is nearly no effort made by Dainik Jagran that even remotely suggests that the newspaper knows anything called the other side of the story.

The four Muslim intellectuals it rounds up on the issue are unanimous in their condemnation of the Jamaat, facts notwithstanding.

***

Obviously, newspapers are enterprises run by human beings. Mistakes are made in the speed of things, especially at times like these, and a post-facto analysis of even the most thoughtful newspapers will reveal gaping holes and errors of judgement.

Equally, Dainik Jagran can make the claim that it was doing only what any good newspaper will do which is to “flood the zone”, as in cover all bases and leave no stone unturned, when an issue like Tabhlighi Jamaat crops up.

It can also say this is what its esteemed readers want.

But is it too much to expect anything that approximates to responsible coverage from an influential newspaper at whose 75th anniversary prime minister Narendra Modi was the chief guest (above)?

Is it too much to expect balanced journalism from a newspaper with wide circulation in the communal tinderbox, Uttar Pradesh? Whose former editor Narendra Mohan Gupta was a BJP MP? Whose current editor and managing director Sanjay Gupta was nominated director of Indian Institute of Management in Amritsar by the Modi regime?

***

Even if none of Dainik Jagran‘s 171 stories and pieces fail to explain its motivation, just one cartoon published on the paper’s edit page should convey whose cause the newspaper was espousing in l’affaire Tabhlighi.

***

Also read: Why Indian journalists need to read up on Article 51 (a) (h)

How Hindi newspapers lent legitimacy to Narendra Modi’s #9pm9minutes

How language newspaper owners “advised” Narendra Modi COVID

156 stories, eight editorials, and five cartoons over 15 days: how ‘Dainik Jagran’ kept up the constant Islamophobic dog-whistling on ‘Tabhlighi Jamaat’, as if India would be free from #Coronavirus if only… The communalisation of the #Coronavirus pandemic in the media, just when the humanitarian crisis sparked by

#Churumuri #Coronavirus #Dainik Jagran #IJR #India Today #Indian Journalism Review #Narendra Modi #Sanjay Gupta #Sans Serif #Scroll #Shoaib Daniyal #Tabhlighi Jamaat #Time

0 notes

jerome-blog1 · 4 years

Text

India – Tamil Nadu – Chennai – Streetlife With Cycle Rickshaw – 24

Chennai Listeni/ˈtʃɛnnaɪ/ (formerly known as Madras Listeni/məˈdrɑːs/ or /-ˈdræs/) is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal, it is the biggest cultural, economic and educational centre in South India. Chennai is known as the "Detroit of South Asia" for its automobile industry. It is the fourth-largest city and fourth-most populous metropolitan area in India and 36th-largest urban area in the world. Chennai is one of the Indian cities most visited by foreign tourists, and is the 38th most visited city in the world. The Quality of Living Survey rated Chennai as the safest city in India. Chennai attracts 45 percent of health tourists visiting India, and 30 to 40 percent of domestic health tourists. As such, it is termed "India’s health capital".

After Mumbai and Delhi, Chennai has the third-largest expatriate population in India at 35,000 in 2009 and 82,790 in 2011. Tourism guide publisher Lonely Planet named Chennai as one of the top ten cities in the world to visit in 2015. Chennai is ranked as a beta-level city in the Global Cities Index and was ranked the best city in India by India Today in the 2014 annual Indian city survey. In 2015 Chennai was named the "hottest" city (worth visiting, and worth living in for long term) by the BBC, citing the mixture of both modern and traditional values. National Geographic ranked Chennai’s food as second best in the world; it was the only Indian city to feature in the list. Chennai was also named the ninth-best cosmopolitan city in the world by Lonely Planet.

In January 2015 the Chennai Metropolitan Area was ranked as the fourth-largest economy in India, with the third-highest GDP per capita. Chennai has been selected as one of the 20 Indian cities to be developed as a smart city under PM Narendra Modi’s flagship Smart Cities Mission.

ETYMOLOGY There are two different theories for the origin of the name Chennai. The first theory is that it was derived from the name of Damarla Chennappa Nayagar, father of Damarla Venkatapathy Nayak, a Nayak ruler who served as a general under Venkata III of the Vijayanagar Empire from whom the British acquired the town in 1639. The first official use of the name Chennai is said to be in a sale deed, dated 8 August 1639, to Francis Day of the East India Company. The second theory states that it was named after the Chenna Kesava Perumal Temple; the word Chenni in Tamil means face, with the temple regarded as the face of the city.

The nativity of ‘Madras’ of being Tamil origin and ‘Chennai’ of being Telugu origin, has been clearly proven and documented after various researches done by renowned scholars and historians. The name Madras originated even before the British presence was established in India. Madras was allegedly derived from Madraspattinam, a fishing-village north of Fort St George. However, it is uncertain whether the name was in use before the arrival of European influence. The British military mapmakers believed Madras was originally Mundir-raj or Mundiraj. Madras might have also been derived from the word Madhuras (Sanskrit: मधुरस) meaning "juice of honey" or "sugarcane" in Sanskrit. A Vijayanagar-era inscription dated to the year 1367 that mentions the port of Maadarasanpattanam, along with other small ports on the east coast was discovered in 2015 and it was theorised that the aforementioned port is the fishing port of Royapuram.

In 1996, the Government of Tamil Nadu officially changed the name from Madras to Chennai. At that time many Indian cities underwent a change of name. However, the name Madras continues in occasional use for the city, as well as for places named after the city such as University of Madras, IIT Madras, Madras Institute of Technology, Madras Medical College, Madras Christian College.

HISTORY Stone age implements have been found near Pallavaram in Chennai. According to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Pallavaram was a megalithic cultural establishment, and pre-historic communities resided in the settlement.

The region around Chennai has served as an important administrative, military, and economic centre for many centuries. During 1st century CE, a poet and weaver named Thiruvalluvar lived in the town of Mylapore (a neighbourhood of present Chennai). From the 1st–12th century the region of present Tamil Nadu and parts of South India was ruled by the Cholas.

The Pallavas of Kanchi built the areas of Mahabalipuram and Pallavaram during the reign of Mahendravarman I. They also defeated several kingdoms including the Cheras, Cholas and Pandyas who ruled over the area before their arrival. Sculpted caves and paintings have been identified from that period. Ancient coins dating to around 500 BC have also been unearthed from the city and its surrounding areas. A portion of these findings belonged to the Vijayanagara Empire, which ruled the region during the medieval period.

The Portuguese first arrived in 1522 and built a port called São Tomé after the Christian apostle, St. Thomas, who is believed to have preached in the area between 52 and 70 CE. In 1612, the Dutch established themselves near Pulicat, north of Chennai.

On 22 August 1639, which is referred to as Madras Day, the English East India Company under Francis Day bought a small strip of land stretching 3 miles on the Coromandel Coast. They got a license to build a fort and a castle in the contracted region. The ruler Damarla Chennappa Nayakudu, the Nayaka of Chandragiri, granted the English permission to build a factory and warehouse for their trading enterprises. The region was then primarily a fishing village known as "Madraspatnam". A year later, the English built Fort St. George, the first major English settlement in India, which became the nucleus of the growing colonial city and urban Chennai, grew around this Fort. Post independence the fort housed the Tamil Nadu Assembly until the new Secretariat building was opened in 2010, but shortly afterwards it was again moved back to Fort St. George, due to a change in the Government.

In 1746, Fort St. George and Madras were captured by the French under General La Bourdonnais, the Governor of Mauritius, who plundered the town and its outlying villages. The British regained control in 1749 through the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle and strengthened the town’s fortress wall to withstand further attacks from the French and Hyder Ali, the Sultan of Mysore. They resisted a French siege attempt in 1759 under the leadership of Eyre Coote. In 1769 the city was threatened by Mysore and the British were defeated by Hyder Ali, after which the Treaty of Madras ended the war. By the 18th century, the British had conquered most of the region around Tamil Nadu and the northern modern–day states of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, establishing the Madras Presidency with Madras as the capital.

Gradually, the city grew into a major naval base and became the central administrative centre for the British in South India.[54] With the advent of railways in India in the 19th century, the thriving urban centre was connected to other important cities such as Bombay and Calcutta, promoting increased communication and trade with the hinterland. Sir Arthur Lawley was Governor of Madras from 1906 to 1911 and promoted modern agriculture, industry, railways, education, the arts and more democratic governance. The Governor lived in Government House, Fort St George, and had a country home at Guindy, with access to a golf course, hockey pitches, riding stables and the Guindy Horse Racing Track. In the First World War as Red Cross Commissioner in Mesopotamia, he looked after the welfare of Indian soldiers. Madras was the only Indian city to be attacked by the Central Powers during World War I, when an oil depot was shelled by the German light cruiser SMS Emden on 22 September 1914, as it raided shipping lanes in the Indian Ocean, causing disruption to shipping.

After India gained its independence in 1947, the city became the capital of Madras State, which was renamed as Tamil Nadu in 1969. The violent agitations of 1965 against the compulsory imposition of Hindi and in support of English in India in the state marked a major shift in the political dynamics of the city and eventually it had a big impact on the whole state. Because of Madras and its people, English now exists in India, otherwise Hindi might have been made the sole official language in India. On 17 July 1996, the city known as Madras was officially renamed Chennai, in line with what was then a nationwide trend to using less Anglicised names. On 26 December 2004, an Indian Ocean tsunami lashed the shores of Chennai, killing 206 people in Chennai and permanently altering the coastline. The 2015 Chennai Floods submerged major portions of the city, killing 269 people and resulting in damages of ₹86.4 billion (US$1 billion).

ENVIRONMENT GEOGRAPHY Chennai, sometimes referred to as the "Gateway to South India," is located on the south–eastern coast of India in the north–eastern part of Tamil Nadu on a flat coastal plain known as the Eastern Coastal Plains. Its average elevation is around 6.7 metres, and its highest point is 60 m. Two major rivers flow through Chennai, the Cooum River (or Koovam) through the centre and the Adyar River to the south. A third river, the Kortalaiyar, travels through the northern fringes of the city before draining into the Bay of Bengal, at Ennore. The estuary of this river is heavily polluted with effluents released by the industries in the region. Adyar and Cooum rivers are heavily polluted with effluents and waste from domestic and commercial sources, the Coumm being so heavily polluted it is regarded as the city’s eyesore. A protected estuary on the Adyar forms a natural habitat for several species of birds and animals. The Buckingham Canal, 4 km inland, runs parallel to the coast, linking the two rivers. The Otteri Nullah, an east–west stream, runs through north Chennai and meets the Buckingham Canal at Basin Bridge. Several lakes of varying size are located on the western fringes of the city. Some areas of the city have the problem of excess iron content in groundwater.

Chennai’s soil is mostly clay, shale and sandstone. Clay underlies most of the city, chiefly Manali, Kolathur, Maduravoyal, K. K. Nagar, Tambaram, Mudichur, Pallavaram Semmencherry, Alapakkam, Vyasarpadi and Anna Nagar. Sandy areas are found along the river banks and coasts, and include areas such as Tiruvottiyur, George Town, Madhavaram, New Washermanpet, Chepauk, Mylapore, Porur, Adyar, Besant Nagar and Uthandi. In these areas, rainwater runoff percolates quickly through the soil. Areas having hard rock surface include Guindy, Nanganallur, Pallikaranai, Alandur, Jaladampet, Velachery, Adambakkam and a part of Saidapet and Perungudi. The ground water table in Chennai is at 4-5 m below ground in most of the areas, which was considerably improved and maintained through the mandatory rain water harvesting system.

GEOLOGY Chennai is classified as being in Seismic Zone III, indicating a moderate risk of damage from earthquakes. Owing to the geotectonic zone the city falls in, the city is considered a potential geothermal energy site. The crust has granite rocks indicating volcanic activities in the past. It is expected that temperatures of around 200 to 300 C° will be available if the ground were drilled 4 to 5 km deep. The region has the oldest rocks in the country dating back to nearly a billion years.

FLORA AND FAUNA The southern stretch of Chennai’s coast from Tiruvanmiyur to Neelangarai are favoured by the endangered Olive Ridley sea turtles to lay eggs every winter. A large number of cattle egrets, pond herons and other waterbirds can be seen in the rivers of Cooum and Adyar. About 75,000 birds migrate to Chennai every year. Marshy wetlands such as Pallikaranai also play host to a number of migratory birds during the monsoon and winter. Over 300 species of birds have been recorded in the city and its neighbourhood by members of Madras Naturalists’ Society since its inception in 1978.

Guindy National Park is a protected area within the city limits. Wildlife conservation and research activities take place at Arignar Anna Zoological Park including Olive ridley sea turtle conservation. Madras Crocodile Bank Trust is a herpetology research station, located 40 kilometres south of Chennai. It is India’s leading institution for herpeto faunal conservation and the first crocodile breeding centre in Asia.

ENVIRONMENT CONSERVATION Chennai has three rivers and many lakes spread across the city. Urbanization has led to shrinkage of water bodies and wetlands. The quantity of wetlands in the city has decreased from 650 to only 27 currently. The Chennai River Restoration trust set up by the government is working on the restoration of Adyar river. Environmentalist Foundation of India is a volunteering group working towards wildlife conservation and habitat restoration.

CLIMATE Chennai has a tropical wet and dry climate (Köppen: Aw). The city lies on the thermal equator and is also on the coast, which prevents extreme variation in seasonal temperature. The hottest part of the year is late May to early June, known regionally as Agni Nakshatram ("fire star") or as Kathiri Veyyil, with maximum temperatures around 35–40 °C. The coolest part of the year is January, with minimum temperatures around 19–25 °C). The lowest recorded temperature was 13.9 °C on 11 December 1895 and 29 January 1905. The highest recorded temperature was 45 °C on 31 May 2003. The average annual rainfall is about 140 cm.

The city gets most of its seasonal rainfall from the north–east monsoon winds, from mid–October to mid–December. Cyclones in the Bay of Bengal sometimes hit the city. The highest annual rainfall recorded is 257 cm in 2005. Prevailing winds in Chennai are usually southwesterly between April and October and north-easterly during the rest of the year. Historically, Chennai has relied on the annual rains of the monsoon season to replenish water reservoirs, as no major rivers flow through the area. Chennai has a water table at 2 metres for 60 percent of the year.

ADMINISTRATION Chennai city is governed by the Greater Chennai Corporation (formerly "Corporation of Madras"), which was established in 1688. It is the oldest surviving municipal corporation in India and the second oldest surviving corporation in the world. In 2011, the jurisdiction of the Chennai Corporation was expanded from 174 km2 to an area of 426 km2, dividing into three regions – North, South and Central, which covers 200 wards. The corporation is headed by a mayor, an office presently occupied by Saidai Sa. Duraisamy. The Mayor and councillors of the city are elected through a popular vote by the residents. While the city limit was expanded to 426 km2 in 2011, the revised population is yet to be officially announced.

The Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) is the nodal agency responsible for planning and development of Chennai Metropolitan Area, which is spread over an area of 1,189 km2, covering the Chennai district and parts of Tiruvallur and Kanchipuram districts. The larger suburbs are governed by town municipalities, and the smaller are governed by town councils called panchayats. Under the gamut of the CMDA are 5 parliamentary and 28 assembly constituencies. The CMDA has drafted an additional Master Plan that aims to develop satellite townships around the city. The city’s contiguous satellite towns include Mahabalipuram in the south, Chengalpattu and Maraimalai Nagar in the southwest, and Sriperumpudur, Arakkonam, Kanchipuram and Tiruvallur to the west.

Chennai, as the capital of the state of Tamil Nadu, houses the state executive and legislative headquarters primarily in the Secretariat Buildings in the Fort St George campus. The Madras High Court, is the highest judicial authority in the state, whose jurisdiction extends across Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. Chennai has three parliamentary constituencies – Chennai North, Chennai Central and Chennai South – and elects 14 Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) to the state legislature.

LAW AND ORDER The Greater Chennai Police is the main law enforcement agency in the city, with a jurisdiction of over 745 sq km catering to over 85 lakh people. It consists of 121 Police stations and is headed by a commissioner of police. The Greater Chennai Police is a division of the Tamil Nadu Police, and the administrative control lies with the Tamil Nadu Home Ministry. Chennai City Traffic Police (CCTP) is responsible for the traffic management in the city. The metropolitan suburbs are policed by the Chennai Metropolitan Police, headed by the Chennai Police Commissionerate, and the outer district areas of the CMDA are policed by the Kanchipuram and Thiruvallur police departments.

As of 2011 (prior to the expansion of Chennai Corporation area), Chennai city has a sanctioned strength of 14,000 police personnel. With a population density of 26,903 persons per square kilometre, the city had 1 policeman for every 413 people. The Chennai suburban police had about 4,093 police personnel and a ratio of 1:1,222. In 2010, the crime rate in the city was 169.2 per 100,000 people, as against an average of 341.9 in the 35 major cities of India. In 2011, North Chennai zone had 30 police stations and 3 police out posts, Central Chennai zone had 28 police stations and 3 police out posts, and South Chennai zone had 30 police stations.

In 2009, Chennai Central Prison, one of the oldest prisons in India, built over 11 acres (4 ha) of land, was demolished; the prisoners were moved to Puzhal Central Prison.

POLITICS Since the 19th century, when Western scholars proposed that Dravidian languages, which dominated the southern region of India, formed a different linguistic group to that of the Indo-Aryan languages that are predominant in the north of the subcontinent, the aspects of Tamil nationalism gained prominence. This resulted in the Anti-Hindi agitations in the city and across the state. However, the post-Independence re-organisation of Indian states according to linguistic and ethnic basis has moderated Tamil nationalism, especially the demand for separation from the Indian Union. The Anti-Hindi agitations in mid-1960s made the DMK more popular and more powerful political force in the state. The agitations of the 1960s played a crucial role in the defeat of the Tamil Nadu Congress party in the 1967 elections and the continuing dominance of Dravidian parties in Tamil Nadu politics.

Being the capital of the Madras Province that covered a vast area of the Deccan region, Chennai remained the centre of politics in the southern region of India during the British colonial era. After Independence, it remained the centre of political activities of the state of Tamil Nadu. Chennai is the birthplace of the idea of the Indian National Congress, commonly known as the Congress Party. Founded by Indian and British members of the Theosophical Society movement, most notably A.O. Hume, the idea was originally conceived in a private meeting of 17 men after a Theosophical Convention held in the city in December 1884. During the first 50 years of the Indian National Congress, the city played host to its conferences seven times in 1887, 1894, 1898, 1903, 1908, 1914 and 1927, becoming one of the strong bases for the Indian independence movement. After independence, the city hosted the Congress in 1955 in its suburb of Avadi.

Chennai is also the birthplace of several regional political movements since the British era. South Indian Welfare Association, one of the earliest regional parties, was founded in 1916, which later came to be known as the Justice Party, which was the main opposition party to the Indian National Congress in the state. In 1944, the party was renamed Dravidar Kazhagam (DK) by E. V. Ramasami (popularly known as ‘Periyar’). The party was a non-political party that demanded the establishment of an independent state called Dravida Nadu. However, due to the differences between its two leaders Periyar and C. N. Annadurai, the party was split. Annadurai left the party to form the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK). The DMK decided to enter into politics in 1956.

UTILTY SERVICES The city’s water supply and sewage treatment are managed by the Chennai MetroWater Supply and Sewage Board. Water is drawn from Red Hills Lake and Chembarambakkam Lake, the primary water reservoirs of the city, and treated at water treatment plants located at Kilpauk, Puzhal, Chembarambakkam and supplied to the city through 27 water distribution stations. The city receives 530 mld of water from Krishna River through Telugu Ganga project, 180 mld of water from the Veeranam lake project and 100 mld of water from the Minjur desalination plant, the country’s largest sea water desalination plant. However, Chennai is predicted to face a huge deficit of 713 million litres per day (MLD) in 2026 as the demand is projected at 2,248 MLD and supply estimated at only 1,535 MLD. The city’s sewer system was designed in 1910, with some modifications in 1958. There are 714 public toilets in the city managed by the city corporation, and 2,000 more have been planned by the corporation. The corporation also owns 52 community halls across the city.

The Corporation of Chennai provides civic services to the city. Garbage collection in some of the wards is contracted to Ramky Enviro Engineers Limited, a private company, while the Corporation looks after the removal and processing of solid waste in the others, with a superintendent engineer managing the channels. As of 2011, 8 transfer stations exist within the city for treating the waste. Garbage is dumped in two dump-yards in the city – One in Kodungaiyur and another in Perungudi, with a major portion of the latter covering the Pallikaranai marshland. In market areas, the conservancy work is done during the night. Electricity is distributed by the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board. Fire services are handled by the Tamil Nadu Fire and Rescue Services. The city, along with the suburbs, has 33 operating fire stations.

ARCHITECTURE With the history of many neighbourhoods of the city such as Mylapore and Triplicane antedating that of the city, the architecture of Chennai ranges in a wide chronology. The oldest buildings in the city dates from the 7th and 8th centuries CE, which include the Kapaleeshwarar Temple in Mylapore and the Parthasarathy Temple in Triplicane, built in the Dravidian architecture. This architecture includes various styles, such as those of the Pallavas, the Cholas, and the Vijayanagara empires. The associated Agraharam architecture, which consists of traditional row houses surrounding a temple, can still be seen in these areas. The heritage temples at Mamallapuram at the outskirts of the city are some of the examples of the Pallava architecture. Chennai ranks second to Kolkata of Indian heritage buildings.

With the advent of the Mugals and the British, the city saw a rise in a blend of Hindu, Islamic and Gothic revival styles, resulting in the distinct Indo-Saracenic style. The architecture for several early institutions such as banking and commerce, railways, press and education, chiefly through the colonial rule, followed the earlier directions of the Neo-Classical and the Indo-Saracenic. The Chepauk Palace in the city, designed by Paul Benfield, is said to be the first Indo-Saracenic building in India. Since then, many of the colonial-era buildings in the city were designed in this style of architecture, which is most apparent around the Fort St. George built in 1640. Most of these were designed by English architects Robert Fellowes Chisholm and Henry Irwin. The best examples of this style include the Madras High Court (built in 1892), Southern Railway headquarters, Ripon Building, Government Museum, Senate House of the University of Madras, Amir Mahal, Bharat Insurance Building, Victoria Public Hall and the College of Engineering.

The Triumph of Labour, also known as the Labour statue, is a statue at the Marina Beach, Chennai, India. Erected at the northern end of the beach at the Anna Square opposite University of Madras, it is an important landmark of Chennai. The statue shows four men toiling to move a rock, depicting the hard work of the labouring class.It was sculpted by Debi Prasad Roy Chowdhry.

The construction of the National Art Gallery in Madras was completed in 1909. The new building, with a stunning façade, was built of pink sandstone brought from Sathyavedu, and formed part of the Madras Museum campus. It was opened, on 23 January 1909, by the Governor of Fort St. George, Sir Arthur Lawley, and called the Victoria Memorial Hall after the Queen-Empress Victoria. The residential architecture in the city was based on the bungalow or the continuous row house prototypes. Gothic revival style buildings include the Chennai Central and Chennai Egmore railway stations. The Santhome Church, which was originally built by the Portuguese in 1523 and is believed to house the remains of the apostle St. Thomas, was rebuilt in 1893 in neo-Gothic style.

By the early 20th century, the art deco too made its entry upon the city’s urban landscape. From the 1930s onwards, many buildings in George Town were built in this style, including the United India building (presently housing LIC) and the Burma Shell building (presently the Chennai House), both built in the 1930s, and the Dare House, built in 1940. Other examples include the Bombay Mutual building (presently housing LIC) and the South Indian Chamber of Commerce building. After Independence, the city witnessed a rise in the Modernism style of architecture. The completion of the LIC Building in 1959, the tallest building in the country at that time, marked the transition from lime-and-brick construction to concrete columns in the region. The presence of the weather radar at the Chennai Port, however, prohibited the construction of buildings taller than 60 m around a radius of 10 km. In addition, the floor-area ratio (FAR) in the central business district is also 1.5, much less than that of smaller cities of the country. This resulted in the city expanding horizontally, unlike other metropolitan cities where vertical growth is prominent. On the contrary, the peripheral regions, especially on the southern and south-western sides, are experiencing vertical growth with the construction of buildings up to 60 floors.

DEMOGRAPHICS A resident of Chennai is called a Chennaite. Chennai has a population of 7,088,000. According to 2011 based on pre-expansion limits, the city had a population of 4,681,087, with a density of 26,903 per km² and the urban agglomeration had a population of 8,653,521. The city registered a growth rate of 7.77% during the period 2001–2011. In 2001, the population density in the city was 24,682 per km², while the population density of the metropolitan area was 5,922 per km², making it one of the most densely populated cities in the world. The Chennai metropolitan area is the fourth most populated agglomeration in India. The sex ratio is 986 females for every 1,000 males, higher than the national average of 940. The average literacy rate rose from 85.33% in 2001 to 90.18% in 2011, much higher than the national average of 74.04%. However, the city has the fourth highest population of slum dwellers among major cities in India, with about 820,000 people (18.6% of the city’s population) living in slum conditions. According to 2011 census, the Chennai district has 11 lakh households, with 51% of them living in rented houses.

The majority of the population in Chennai are Tamils. Tamil is the primary language spoken in Chennai. English is spoken largely by white-collar workers, often mixed into Tamil. In 2001, out of the 2,937,000 migrants (33.8% of its population) in the city, 61.5% were from other parts of the state, 33.8% were from rest of India and 3.7% were from outside the country. As per 2001 census, the number of speakers mother tongue wise are as follows, Tamil is spoken by 3,424,107 (78.83%), followed by Telugu by 419,209 (9.65%), Urdu by 180,245 (4.1%), Malayalam by 113,828 (2.6%), Hindi by 104,084 (2.39%), and Kannada by 22,250 (0.5%).

Chennai, along with Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata, is one of the few Indian cities that are home to a diverse population of ethno-religious communities. Minorities include Telugus, Marwaris, Gujaratis , Parsis, Sindhis, Odias, Goans, Kannadigas, Anglo-Indians, Bengalis, Punjabi, and Malayalees. As per the religious census of 2011, Chennai had 80.73% Hindus, 9.45% Muslims, 7.72% Christians, 0.06% Sikhs, 0.06% Buddhists, 1.11% Jains, 0.83% following other religions and 0.04% following no religion or did not indicate any religious preference.

HOUSING In a 2013 survey titled ‘Emerging trends in real estate in Asia Pacific 2014’, Chennai emerged in the top 25 real estate destinations list in the Asia Pacific region. The city ranked 22nd in the list. There are about 1,240 slums in Chennai home to about 9 lakh people.

Per 2011 census, there are 1.1 million households in the city and the residential housing stock available is 1,150,000 – a surplus of about 50,000 houses. About 43,700 of them are kept vacant. In the suburbs of Chennai located in Tiruvallur and Kancheepuram districts, the figures of vacant houses 56,000 and 71,000, respectively. Of the existing housing stock in the city, about 200,000 houses are not in good condition, necessitating either to rebuild or build new units. About 26,000 households live in houses without any room and another 427,000 families (with an average size of five members) live in small dwelling units with only one room. An earlier estimate shows that there is a need to generate about 420,000 units for low-income groups by 2016.

As of 2012, an estimated population of 11,116 (0.16 percent) were homeless. Per Supreme Court guidelines, the city needs 65 shelters for the homeless. However, it has only 15, of which 8 are functioning and two are under renovation.

ARTS AND CULTURE MUSEUMS AND ART GALLERIES Chennai is home to many museums, galleries, and other institutions, many of which are free of admission charges and are major tourist attractions as well as playing a research role. The city also has one of the oldest Museum and Art Gallery in the country- Government Museum, Chennai and The National Art Gallery (Chennai), established in the early 18th century. The city also hosts two art festivals annually. The "Fort Museum" inside the premises of Fort St. George is an important museum having a noteworthy collection of objects of the British era in its collection. The museum is managed by the Archaeological Survey of India and has in its possession, the first Flag of India hoisted at Fort St George after the declaration of India’s Independence on 15 August 1947.

MUSIC AND PERFORMING ARTS Chennai is a major centre for music, art and culture in India. The city is known for its classical dance shows. In 1930, for the first time in India, Madras University introduced a course of music, as part of the Bachelor of Arts curriculum. The Madras Music Season, initiated by Madras Music Academy in 1927, is celebrated every year during the month of December. It features performances of traditional Carnatic music by many artists in and around the city.

An arts festival called the Chennai Sangamam, which showcases not only various arts of Tamil Nadu but also from the neighbouring states, like kalari (from Kerala), which is a major attraction, is held in January every year. The Speciality of Chennai Sangamam is that the various programmes are held near or at the various famous landmarks in the city so that everyone in the city has access to the programmes and there is no fee charged for entry for any of the programmes. Pookolam, a form of art that uses coloured flour to create patterns and designs, comes from Kerala, but can be seen in abundance at the time of Onam.

The city has a diverse theatre scene and is one of the important centres for Bharata Natyam, a classical dance form that originated in Tamil Nadu and is the oldest dance of India. An important cultural centre for Bharata Natyam is Kalakshetra, on the beach in the south of the city. In 2012, a group of five Bharatha Natyam dancers from Chennai performed at the India Campaign during the 2012 Summer Olympics. Chennai is also home to some choirs, who during the Christmas season stage various carol performances across the city in Tamil and English.

CITYSCAPE Madras is divided into four broad regions: North, Central, South and West. North Madras is primarily an industrial area. South Madras and West Madras, previously mostly residential, are fast becoming commercial, home to a growing number of information technology firms, financial companies and call centres. The city is expanding quickly along the Old Mahabalipuram Road and the Grand Southern Trunk Road (GST Road) in the south and towards Ambattur, Koyambedu and Sriperumbdur in the west. Central Madras comprises residential elements, but is primarily home to the downtown area, and surrounding areas, the most visited by travellers to the city. The financial district is also located here.

TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY With temples, beaches and centres of historical and cultural significance, including the UNESCO Heritage Site of Mahabalipuram, Chennai is one of the most visited cities in India. The city serves as the gateway to the southern part of India with tourists landing in the city and starting their trip to the rest of the region. Chennai was the most visited Indian city by foreign tourists in 2009 and issued the third highest number of visas on arrival in 2014. In 2011, Chennai was ranked 41st in global top 100 city destination ranking, with 3,174,500 tourists, a 14 percent increase from 2010. About 830,620 domestic tourists arrived in Chennai in March 2011. Top foreign nationals visiting the city include those from Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore, United Kingdom, France and United States. As of 2012, the city had 21 luxury five-star hotels with over 4,500 rooms in the inventory.

ENTERTAINMENT Chennai is the base for the Tamil film industry, known as Kollywood. Many film personalities have gone on to become politicians including C.N.Annadurai, M. Karunanidhi, M.G. Ramachandran and J. Jayalalithaa. Chennai hosts major film studios, including AVM Productions, the oldest surviving studio in India. As of 2012, there are 120 cinema screens and multiplexes. Major multiplexes include Sathyam Cinemas, Escape cinemas, Devi, Abirami complex and Mayajaal. Chennai’s expansive theatre network stages many Tamil plays of many genres: political satire, slapstick comedy, history, mythology and drama. English plays are popular in the city, along with the more common Tamil-language plays.

RECREATION Zoo, beaches, and wildlife parks form the primary recreation areas of the city. Chennai has a total coast length of more than 19 km. Marina Beach runs for 6 km, spanning along the shoreline of the city between the deltas of Cooum and Adyar, and is the second longest urban beach in the world. Elliot’s Beach lies south of the Adyar delta.

Madras Crocodile Bank Trust is a reptile zoo located 40 kilometres south of the city covering an area of 3.4 ha and had over 450,000 visitors in 2007. The centre has one of the world’s largest collections of reptiles and has bred 14 of the 23 existing species of crocodiles and alligators. The Arignar Anna Zoological Park, one of the largest zoological parks in the world, attracts nearly 20 lakh visitors per year. The city boasts two popular beaches, the Marina and Elliot’s. Guindy National Park, a protected area of Tamil Nadu, has a children’s park and a snake park, which gained statutory recognition as a medium zoo from the Central Zoo Authority of India in 1995. Chennai is one of the few cities in the world that accommodates a national park, the Guindy National Park, within its limits. The city has an estimated 4.5 percent of its area under green cover. This enables Chennai residents to go birding. The seven zones of the old corporation limits has about 260 parks, many of which suffer poor maintenance. The city has a per capita park space of 0.41 sq m, which is the least among all metros in India. The eight zones in the newly added areas of the city have about 265 locations that have been identified for development of new parks. The largest among the parks is the 358-acre Tholkappia Poonga, developed to restore the fragile ecosystem of the Adyar estuary. The horticulture department-owned Semmozhi Poonga is a 20-acre botanical garden located in the downtown.

Chennai houses several theme parks, namely MGM Dizzee World and Queens Land. The safety of several amusement parks has been questioned after several fatal accidents occurred. Wonderla is planning to open an amusement park in 2017. Other important recreation centres include Madras Boat Club, which is over 140 years old, and Gymkhana Club, which is famous for its 18-hole golf courses. Built in 1867, Madras Boat Club is the second oldest surviving Indian rowing club.

ECONOMY Industrialisation in the city dates back to the 16th century, when textile mills manufactured goods which were exported to British during its war with France. According to Forbes magazine, Chennai is one of the fastest growing cities in the world and is rated in the "Forbes-Top 10 Fastest Growing Cities in the World". It is ranked 4th in hosting the maximum number of Fortune 500 companies of India, next only to Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata. It also is home to 24 Indian companies having a net worth of more than US$1 billion. As of 2012, the city has about 34,260 identified companies in its 15 zones, of which 5,196 companies have a paid-up the capital of over ₹ 50 lakh.Chennai has a diversified economic base anchored by the automobile, software services, hardware manufacturing, health care and financial services industries. According to the Confederation of Indian Industry, Chennai is estimated to grow to a US$100–billion economy, 2.5 times its present size, by the year 2025. As of 2012, with ₹ 1 lakh crore investment in the pipeline over 5 years, the city is poised for major industrial investment. Chennai is classified as a global city by GaWC, with a ranking of Beta based on the extent of global reach and financial influence.

The city is base to around 30 percent of India’s automobile industry and 40 percent of auto components industry. A large number of automotive companies including Hyundai, Renault, Robert Bosch, Nissan Motors, Ashok Leyland, Daimler AG, Caterpillar Inc., Komatsu Limited, Ford, BMW and Mitsubishi have manufacturing plants in Chennai. The Heavy Vehicles Factory at Avadi produces military vehicles, including India’s main battle tank: Arjun MBT. The Integral Coach Factory manufactures railway coaches and other rolling stock for Indian Railways. The Ambattur–Padi industrial zone houses many textile manufacturers, and a special economic zone (SEZ) for apparel and footwear manufacturing has been set up in the southern suburbs of the city. Chennai contributes more than 50 percent of India’s leather exports.

COMMUNICATION Chennai is one of four Indian cities connected to the rest of the world by undersea fibre-optic cables, the other three being Mumbai, Kochi, and Tuticorin. The city is the landing point of major submarine telecommunication cable networks such as SMW4 (connecting India with Western Europe, Middle East and Southeast Asia), i2i (connecting India with Singapore), TIC (connecting India with Singapore), and BRICS (connecting India with Brasil, Russia, China and South Africa). The 3,175-km-long, 8-fiber-paired i2i has the world’s largest design capacity of 8.4 terabits per second.

As of 2013, eight mobile phone service companies operate seven GSM networks including Airtel, Aircel, BSNL, Vodafone, Tata Docomo GSM, Idea, Reliance GSM and three CDMA networks including MTS, Relaince CDMA, Tata Docomo CDMA in the city. 2G Mobile internet connections are provided by all the operators and 4G, 3G mobile broadband are provided by few operators in the city. There are four land line companies providing Commercial and domestic broadband Internet services. Chennai was the first Indian city to deploy Wi-Fi internet access in a widespread manner. As of 2010, there were 9.8 million mobile phone users in Chennai. In 2010, Chennai had the fourth highest number of active Internet users in India, with 2.2 million users.

WIKIPEDIA

Posted by asienman on 2016-08-05 15:53:46

Tagged: , India , Tamil Nadu , Chennai , asienman-photography

The post India – Tamil Nadu – Chennai – Streetlife With Cycle Rickshaw – 24 appeared first on Good Info.

0 notes

wionews · 7 years

Text

Gorkhaland violence result of TMC inroads in Darjeeling hills

Back in 2008 when Darjeeling hills were witnessing a fresh wave of unrest and violence after the first phase of Gorkhaland movement in 1986-88, I was asked during a TV discussion why the Indian government allowed the Nepalis to remain in Darjeeling even after so many years of independence. Obviously, the caller who asked the question had not an iota of doubt about the status of Nepalis as 'foreign nationals'.

Actually, this branding of Nepalis as foreigners goes further back. The Government of Meghalaya detected as many as 6,683 Nepalis as ‘foreigners’ and expelled some 6,481 of them from the state. As hundreds of Nepalis were hounded out of Meghalaya, Assam and a few other northeastern states, particularly in the early 1980s, many of them made their way to Darjeeling.

Although the flight of the Nepalis from several Northeastern states served as the immediate trigger, “the first recorded instance of the demand for separation of Darjeeling region from Bengal”, according to Duytis Chakrabarti of North Bengal University, “can be traced to the year 1907, barely forty years after the formation of the district of Darjeeling.” This demand for 'separation' also routinely articulated in subsequent years could hardly be understood as one for statehood whether within India or without. It was Pranta Parsihad formed in 1980 that for the first time raised the demand for separate Gorkhaland within the Indian Union. Gorkhaland movement, however, started gathering steam since 1980. The first successful mass mobilisations, however, started only since 1986 under the leadership of Subash Ghising of Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF).

The Gorkhaland movement (in its earlier two phases of 1986-1988 and 2007-2011) aptly sums up the desperation of many of the people living there who, in their own perception, have been facing the threat of being reclassified as ‘foreigners’ in what they rightly consider as their own land. While Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council was formed in 1988 and functioned for 21 years before it came to an end, Gorkha Territorial Administration came into being in 2012, ending the two phases of the movement.

The desperation, however, refuses to go and has by and large shaped the template of current Gorkhaland politics. While the Nepalis of Indian origin want to be identified as 'Gorkhas' in a bid to differentiate themselves from the 'Nepalis of Nepal', their subsequent attempt at identifying themselves as 'Tribes' was basically meant to secure 'Sixth Schedule status' for the Darjeeling hills. Getting recognised as a "Tribe" would have allowed the Gorkhas to institute an Autonomous District Council.

While the Nepalis of Darjeeling are still groping for their identity as Indian citizens, and language was never far from their imagination, the current linguistic turn of the movement is likely to add a new direction to the Gorkhaland movement. If the words of Bimal Gurung – the supremo of Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha - are to be believed, they will from now on settle for nothing short of the “single-point agenda” of Gorkhaland.

The Linguistic Turn

Only recently the Government of West Bengal declared Bengali as a mandatory subject for all students till Class X in all schools within the state, irrespective of their Board affiliations. Partha Chatterjee, the minister of education, is reported to have announced: “The students have to choose three languages from a pool of Bengali, Urdu, Hindi, Punjabi, Nepali, Santhali and English, out of which one has to be Bengali irrespective of the mother tongue of the student. The non-Bengali medium schools have to make arrangements to impart education in Bengali.” (emphasis ours). The chief minister has clarified in social media that while the three-language formula will be the means of 'giving the regional language its importance', a student will have the freedom of choosing Bengali as either first or second or even third language. Initial remarks coming from the official sources did not refer to any exemption. The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) immediately organised a rally against making Bengali compulsory in the school curriculum.

The chief minister subsequently clarified that the government had no plan of forcing students of Darjeeling within the GTA jurisdiction to read Bengali in schools, but mentioned that learning Bengali would help them secure jobs in future. GJM's students' wing described the announcement as “infringement on the Nepali language” and “forced imposition of Bengali” on their community. It is yet to be seen whether the linguistic turn sparks off yet another phase of the Gorkhaland movement.

Institutionalising Militancy

Darjeeling's Bhanu Bhawan – the headquarters of Gorkha Territorial Administration – witnessed one of the worst ever confrontations between the irate mob and the police on 8 June 2017 in which about 60 policemen were injured.

According to a section of the press, the site turned into a “fortress” with about 1000 cadres of Gorkhaland Liberation Front (GLF) and Gorkhaland Personnel (GLP) armed with stones, catapults, bottles, and other inflammable substances. GLF – a militant outfit formed in 2004 came to surface only in 2014 when intelligence agencies arrested Umesh Karmi – a driver of Bimal Gurung - with a huge cache of arms. GLP was banned by the Central Government in 2013. In a sense, the militancy of this nature is immanent in the way autonomous bodies like Gorkha Territorial Administration or its earlier avatar Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council function.

To understand this recent outburst of violence, we need to understand the recent status of Gorkha Janmukti Morcha in the hills. While the ruling Trinamool Congress is making a strong headway in the hills, dissension has gripped the ranks of GJM with a few leaders forming their own political parties in the hills. In the recent municipal elections, TMC has won the Mirik municipality out of three municipal corporations while allegations of financial malpractices pile up again GTA. Under the circumstance, the Janmukti Morcha is in need of salvaging its otherwise thinning popularity and out-competing other ethnic organisations by stepping up its militant campaign.

Interestingly, it is only now, in the 59th month of its 60-month long tenure, that the GJM leadership has come to realise that the GTA has limited power and financial resources. The realisation has come pretty late and, more importantly, crucially timed with the GTA elections coming up in the near future. But the course of events should not particularly surprise most observers of Indian politics as more often than not, militancy and formal institutional politics are closely entwined in India.

The Language of Rule

In a recent interview, Bimal Gurung declares himself as 'the chief minister' of the hills as much as Ms Mamata Banerjee is the chief minister of “Bengal”. Gurung argues that if the latter's jabardasti (forcefulness) could extend over 'Bengal', his jabardasti will extend over the hills. When jabardasti becomes the name of the game, it threatens to nullify politics of dissent – the very heart of democracy.

The situation worsened with the wildcat strike of 9 June that threw public life out of gear. The chief minister refused to leave the troubled city and personally supervised the evacuation of the tourists – a large bulk of whom happens to be Bengalis. A medium-ranking TMC leader from the foothills threatened to flood the hills with his 100,000 followers if the call ever comes from his leader. While her absolutely well-intentioned act made her immensely popular in the plains, care should be taken to stop the action from being represented in the hills. Because any such misunderstand would further harden the hills-plains divide. Besides, the chief minister has appealed to the masses to continue keeping faith in her as their "didi" (elder sister) but as Swaraj Thapa, another GJM leader, puts it, 'we were younger brothers, but we too have grown up and want to establish our separate home."

]]>

0 notes

margdarsanme · 4 years

Text

NCERT Class 12 Political Science (India) Chapter 6 The Crisis of Democratic Order

NCERT Class 12 Political Science Solutions (India Since Independence)

Chapter 6 The Crisis of Democratic Order

Answer: (c) The Naxalite Movement Q 3. Match the following: