Daily News Simplified - DNS

07 01 20 Notes

SL. NO. TOPICS

THE HINDU PAGE NO.

1 Cattle festivals turn jallikattu events in Kuppam 08

2 State can regulate minority institutions: SC 09

3 New satellites will help Gaganyaan crew 09

4 Plea against DigiLocker rules: Centre told to reply 04

5 A case for including Tulu in the Eight Schedule – Article 11

Dated: 07-Jan-2020 DNS Notes Title 1. Cattle festivals turn jallikattu events in Kuppam (The Hindu – Pg. 08)

Syllabus Prelims: Polity & Governance Mains: GS Paper II - Polity & Governance

Theme Jallikattu and associated issues

Highlights Context: The practice of Jallikattu was banned by the Supreme Court in the year 2014. However, state of Tamil Nadu passed a law which allowed for the practice of Jallikattu. Tamil Nadu’s Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Tamil Nadu Amendment) Act of 2017 and Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Conduct of Jallikattu) Rules of 2017 has allowed the bull taming sport Jallikattu in the State of Tamil Nadu despite a ban by Supreme Court in the year 2014. Two Judge Bench while hearing the petition filed by People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has referred the matter to a Constitution Bench. Jallikattu means an event involving bulls conducted with a view to follow tradition and culture on such days from the months of January to May of a calendar year and in such places, as may be notified by the State Government, and includes “manjuviratu”, “vadamadu” and “erudhuvidumvizha”. Petition filed by PETA in SC

• Division Bench of Supreme Court while hearing a matter to quash the new Jallikattu law passed by Tamil Nadu Assembly which brought bulls back within the fold of ‘performing animals’ has referred the matter to Constitution Bench.

• The Two Judge Bench was hearing the petition filed by People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) under Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 (Principal Act).

PETA’s Claim

• Petition filed by PETA claimed that State Laws including Act and Rules pertaining to Jallikattu and bull cart racing violated five internationally recognised freedoms of animals,

ü Freedom from hunger, malnutrition and thrust;

ü Freedom from fear and distress

ü Freedom from physical and thermal discomfort

ü Freedom from pain injury and disease

ü Freedom to express normal pattern of behaviour

Jallikattu Law passed by Tamil Nadu

• Tamil Nadu’s Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Tamil Nadu Amendment) Act of 2017 and Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Conduct of Jallikattu) Rules of 2017 has allowed the bull taming sport Jallikattu in the State of Tamil Nadu despite a ban by Supreme Court in the year 2014.

Object of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Tamil Nadu Amendment) Act of 2017:

• An Act to amend the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 so as to preserve the cultural heritage of the State of Tamil Nadu and to ensure the survival and wellbeing

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of the native breeds of bulls.

• The Amendment Act has added Section 2 (dd) to the Permanent Act which defines Jallikattu, conduct of Jallikattu subject to such rules or regulations as framed by State Government.

Supreme Court while hearing the matter said that it will look into the following issue with respect to Jallikattu in the state:

ü Can a State of India claim constitutional protection under Article 29 (1) to preserve its cultural heritage (jallikattu)

Article 29 (1) says that any section of citizens residing in the territory of India or any part thereof having a distinct language, script or culture of its own, shall have the right to conserve the same.

ü Whether the state laws which permit jallikattu and other bull cart races subserve the

objective of ‘prevention’ of cruelty to animals under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960.

ü Whether the state of Tamil Nadu or Maharashtra is legally competent to legislate on the matter amending the Principal Act.

ü Whether the state laws on bull cart racing are in synch with the basic objectives of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

ü Does the Tamil Nadu Amendment Act go contrary to Articles 51A (g) and 51A (h), and can be said to be unreasonable and violative of Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution of India?

Article 51A – Fundamental Duties 51A. It shall be the duty of every citizen of India— (g) to protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers and wild life, and to have compassion for living creatures; (h) to develop the scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform; CONFLICT BETWEEN FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT & PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS Fundamental Right for preservation of Culture

• Article 29 (1) comes under Part III of the Indian Constitution and is a part of Fundamental Right. Article 29 (1) says that any section of citizens residing in the territory of India or any part thereof having a distinct language, script or culture of its own, shall have the right to conserve the same.

Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 Let us understand aims, objective and few basic provisions of the Act so as to understand the complexity of the conflict posed in the case.

• The Act prevents the infliction of unnecessary pain or suffering on animals.

• The Act defines "captive animal" as any animal (not being a domestic animal) which is in capacity or confinement, whether permanent or temporary, or which is subjected to any appliance of contrivance for the purpose of hindering or preventing its escape from captivity or confinement or which is pinioned or which is or appears

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to be maimed.

• If any person treats animals cruelly, then they shall be punishable with fine or imprisonment.

• The Act restricts exhibition and training of performing animals unless specifically registered for such exhibition or training.

The Conflict • The Supreme Court while hearing the case referred to Article 29(1) and said that

state of Tamil Nadu comes within the territory of India and its citizens have equal right to preserve their local culture within the provisions of Article 29(1).

• However, the conflict which remains is how far in the name of preservation of culture, cruelty to animals can be justified. The Constitution Bench as constituted by the Supreme Court will soon decide the issue.

Personal Notes

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Dated: 07-Jan-2020 DNS Notes Title 2. State can regulate minority institutions: SC (The Hindu Pg. No. 09) Syllabus Prelims: Polity & Governance

Mains: GS Paper II - Polity & Governance Theme State Regulating Minority Educational Institutions under Article 30 Highlights

Context: Supreme Court has upheld the West Bengal Madrasah Service Commission Act, 2008, clearing the way for appointment of teachers in Madrasah in the state. The Court also upheld the appointment of teachers made by commission constituted under the Act. This judgment becomes significant as the Act was declared unconstitutional by the Calcutta High Court stating that the Act violated Article 30 of the Indian Constitution. The Supreme Court has held that the State is well within its rights to introduce a regulatory regime in the “national interest” to provide minority educational institutions with well-qualified teachers in order for them to “achieve excellence in education.” Article 30 - Right of minorities to establish and administer educational institutions

• All minorities, whether based on religion or language, shall have the right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice.

• The State shall not, in granting aid to educational institutions, discriminate against any educational institution on the ground that it is under the management of a minority, whether based on religion or language.

Purpose of West Bengal Madrasah Service Commission Act, 2008

• The Act was enacted for the purpose of recruitment of Teachers including Headmasters/Headmistresses of recognized non-Government aided Junior High/High/Higher Secondary and Senior Madrasahs in West Bengal.

• Later, through an amendment, the act was empowered to recruit non-teaching staff including Librarians.

As mentioned in news

• The article is with respect to the above mentioned judgment. It mentions that as per Supreme Court, State is well within its rights to introduce a regulatory regime in the “national interest” to provide minority educational institutions with well-qualified teachers in order for them to “achieve excellence in education.”

• This statement must be seen in the context of power of state of West Bengal to appoint Madrasah teachers under West Bengal Madrasah Service Commission Act, 2008.

• And the management of minority institutions cannot deny being regulated by constitutional powers of state government by saying that it is their fundamental right under Article 30 of the Constitution to establish and administer their educational institutions according to their choice.

• In this regard, the Supreme Court has mentioned that the regulatory law should however balance the dual objectives of ensuring standard of excellence as well as preserving the right of the minorities to establish and administer their educational institutions.

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• So, regulations by any state for minority educational institutions must embrace and reconcile the two objectives as mentioned above.

Personal Notes

Dated: 07-Jan-2020 DNS Notes Title 3. New satellites will help Gaganyaan crew (Page number 01) Syllabus Prelims: General Science

Mains: GS III – Science & Technology Theme Indian Data Relay Satellite System to be launched by ISRO Highlights Context: ISRO is set launch a new satellite series called Indian Data Relay Satellite System

that tracks various Indian satellites in the low earth orbit at all times. In focus: Indian Data Relay Satellite System

• The data relay satellite system is primarily meant for providing continuous/real time communication of Low-Earth-Orbit satellites including human space mission to the ground station.

• Under IDRSS, 2 satellites will be launched in geostationary orbit spaced 180 degrees apart to provide continuous contact for any spacecraft in LEO.

Need Faster data transfer

• Currently the satellites in the low earth orbits communicate with ground stations directly.

• However the limitation with direct communication with ground station is that the satellites in LEO orbit the earth once in 90 minutes.

• Thus these satellites are in the line of sight (above the horizon) only for 45 minutes giving very little time for data transfers.

• Besides the new satellites like HySiS (Hyper-spectral Imaging satellite) which provides high-precision images in multiple spectra, requires high data transfer at faster speeds.

• What a IRDSS satellite will do is communicate with all these satellites in LEO and downlink the data directly to one single ground station.

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Continuous monitoring of Gaganyaan • As it is well know ISRO is planning its 1st human spaceflight by 2022 which will

launch astronauts in a 400-km orbit. • This requires continuous monitoring of spaceflight.

Real-time communication with IRNSS system • The Indian Remote Sensing Satellite System which monitors agriculture, water

resources, urban development, mineral prospecting, environment, forestry, drought and flood forecasting etc requires real-time continuous communication.

• This requires a number of ground-based stations in order to keep communication intact at all times.

• A data relay satellite instead in the geo stationary orbit can overcome the need for large number of ground based stations.

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Personal Notes

Dated: 07-Jan-2020 DNS Notes Title 4. Plea against DigiLocker rules: Centre told to reply (The Hindu Page 04)

Syllabus Prelims: General Science GS III: Science & Technology

Theme DigiLocker

Highlights Context: • Recently, a petition was filed before the Delhi High Court against the rules pertaining

to the operation of DigiLocker. The petitioner has argued that the rules do not allow a user to nominate a successor or heir to operate the facility on his/her death and hence such rules are "arbitrary" and "unconstitutional".

• The petitioner also argued that in case of user's death, all the documents uploaded on DigiLocker would not be accessible by his or her kin and would automatically get passed on to the Government.

• The Delhi High Court has now sought the response of the Central Government on this petition.

About DigiLocker • DigiLocker is a platform for issuance and verification of documents & certificates in a

digital way, thus eliminating the use of physical documents. • Indian citizens who sign up for a DigiLocker account get a dedicated cloud storage

space that is linked to their Aadhaar (UIDAI) number. • Organizations that are registered with Digital Locker can issue electronic copies of

documents and certificates (e.g. driving license, Voter ID, School certificates) directly into citizen’s lockers.

• Citizens can also upload scanned copies of their legacy documents in their accounts. These legacy documents can be electronically signed using the Design facility.

The platform has the following benefits:

1. Citizens can access their digital documents anytime, anywhere and share it online. This is convenient and time saving.

2. It reduces the administrative overhead of Government departments by minimizing the use of paper.

3. Digital Locker makes it easier to validate the authenticity of documents as they are

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issued directly by the registered issuers. 4. Self-uploaded documents can be digitally signed using the eSign facility (which is

similar to the process of self-attestation). Some important initiatives under Digital India: The Government has launched Digital India Campaign to transform India into digital empowered society and knowledge economy. Some of the key initiatives under the Digital India include:

ü e-Hastakshar: e-Sign service facilitates instant signing of documents online by citizens in a legally acceptable form. The services are being leveraged by various applications, such as, Digital Locker, Financial Sector, various Government agencies etc.

ü GI Cloud (MeghRaj): MeghRaj initiative is intended to deliver ICT services over cloud to all the departments/Ministries at the Centre and States/UTs. The vision of this initiative is to accelerate delivery of e-Services in the country, while optimizing ICT spending of the Government.

ü National Knowledge Network (NKN): The objective of the National Knowledge Network (NKN) is to interconnect all institutions of higher learning and research with a high-speed data communication network to facilitate knowledge sharing and collaborative research.

ü Vikaspedia Project: The Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) has implemented Vikaspedia project for providing e-knowledge and using ICT-based applications for empowerment of poor (rural and urban). It seeks to maximise utility of ongoing Government programmes through provision of universally accessible digital information resources in Indian languages.

ü Unified Mobile Application for New-Age Governance (UMANG): UMANG has been developed as a single mobile platform to deliver major Government services.

ü Electronic Transaction Aggregation and Analysis Layer (eTaal): It acts as an electronic dashboard for providing a real time aggregated view of eservices being delivered across different States and levels of Government.

ü Jeevan Pramaan: Using Jeevan Pramaan platform, a pensioner can now digitally provide proof of his existence to the authorities for continuity of pension every year instead of requiring to present himself physically or through a Life Certificate issued by specified authorities.

ü PRAGATI (Pro-Active Governance And Timely Implementation): It is a multi-purpose and multi-modal platform that is aimed at addressing common man’s grievances, and simultaneously monitoring and reviewing important programmes and projects of the Government of India as well as projects flagged by State Governments.

ü DARPAN (Dashboard for Analytical Review of Projects across Nation): It is an online tool that can be used to monitor and analyze the implementation of critical and high priority projects of the State.

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Personal Notes

Dated: 07-Jan-2020 DNS Notes Title 5. A case for including Tulu in the Eight Schedule – Article (The Hindu Page 11)

Syllabus Prelims: Polity & Governance Mains: GS Paper II - Polity & Governance

Theme Proposal to include Tulu language in Eight Schedule

Highlights Context: Placing all deserving languages on an equal footing will promote social inclusion and national solidarity. Article 29 of the Constitution provides that a section of citizens having a distinct language, script or culture have the right to conserve the same. The article argues that as per Census of 2001, India has 30 languages that are spoken by more than a million people each, additionally, it has 122 languages that are spoken by at least 10,000 people each and it also has 1,599 languages, most of which are dialects and all these needs to be protected under Article 29 of the Indian Constitution. The Constitution has 22 languages which are protected through VIIIth Schedule. 1. Assamese. 2. Bengali. 3. Bodo. 4. Dogri. 5. Gujarati. 6. Hindi. 7. Kannada. 8. Kashmiri. 9. Konkani. 10. Maithili. 11. Malayalam. 12. Manipuri. 13. Marathi. 14. Nepali.] 15. Odia. 16. Punjabi. 17. Sanskrit. 18. Santhali. 19. Sindhi. 20. Tamil. 21. Telugu. 22. Urdu. Certain Languages should be included in 8th Schedule

• But many languages that are kept out of this favoured position are in some ways more deserving to be included in the Eighth Schedule.

• For example, Sanskrit, an Eighth Schedule language, has only 24,821 speakers (2011 Census). Manipuri, another scheduled language, has only 17,61,079 speakers.

• However, many unscheduled languages have a sizeable number of speakers: Bhili/Bhilodi has 1,04,13,637 speakers; Gondi has 29,84,453 speakers; Garo has 11,45,323; Ho has 14,21,418; Khandeshi, 18,60,236; Khasi, 14,31,344; and Oraon, 19,88,350.

Case for Tulu Language to be included in 8th Schedule • Tulu is a Dravidian language whose speakers are concentrated in two coastal

districts of Karnataka and in Kasaragod district of Kerala. • Kasaragod district is called ‘Sapta bhasha Samgama Bhumi (the confluence of seven

languages)’, and Tulu is among the seven. The Census reports 18,46,427 native speakers of Tulu in India.

• The Tulu-speaking people are larger in number than speakers of Manipuri and Sanskrit, which have the Eighth Schedule status.

• Robert Caldwell (1814-1891), in his book, A Comparative Grammar of the Dravidian or South-Indian Family of Languages, called Tulu as “one of the most highly developed languages of the Dravidian family”.

• The present-day Tulu linguistic majority area is confined to the region of Tulu Nadu, which comprises the districts of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi in Karnataka and the northern part of Kasaragod district of Kerala up to the river Payaswani, or Chandragiri. The cities of Mangaluru, Udupi and Kasaragod are the epicentres of Tulu culture.

Benefits of including Tulu Language in 8th Schedule • If included in the Eighth Schedule, Tulu would get recognition from the Sahitya

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Akademi. Tulu books would be translated into other recognised Indian languages. Members of Parliament and MLAs could speak in Tulu in Parliament and State Assemblies, respectively. Candidates could write all-India competitive examinations like the Civil Services exam in Tulu.

India needs to learn from The Yuelu Proclamation • The Yuelu Proclamation, made by the UNESCO at Changsha, The People’s Republic

of China, in 2018, says: “The protection and promotion of linguistic diversity helps to improve social inclusion and partnerships, helps to reduce the gender and social inequality between different native speakers, guarantee the rights for native speakers of endangered, minority, indigenous languages, as well as non-official languages and dialects to receive education, enhance the social inclusion level and social decision-making ability by encouraging them to participate in a series of actions to promote cultural diversity, endangered language protection, and the protection of intangible cultural heritage...”

• Placing of all the deserving languages on equal footing will promote social inclusion and national solidarity. It will reduce the inequalities within the country to a great extent.

• So, Tulu, along with other deserving languages, should be included in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution in order to substantially materialise the promise of equality of status and opportunity mentioned in the Preamble.

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Personal Notes