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Home , Bargi, Battle of Khadki, Ekamra Kshetra, Govind Ballabh Pant, Jadunath Sarkar, James Grant Duff

History (PRE-Cure)

April 2020 - March 2021

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Also Available: Prelims Crash Course || Prelims Test Series T.me/SleepyClasses Table of Contents Links to the videos on YouTube ...... 1 29.Constitution day ...... 28 1. Services Day ...... 2 30.Lingayats ...... 28 2. Indian Civil Services ...... 2 31.Guru Nanak Dev Ji ...... 29 3. celebrates its 32.Annapurna Statue to come back to foundation day ...... 4 30 4. COVID-19 infection spreads to vulnerable 33.Mahaparinirvana Diwas ...... 31 tribal community in ...... 4 34.Cattle, buffalo meat residue found in 5. Tata group to construct India's new Indus Valley vessels ...... 33 parliament building...... 5 35.Tharu Tribals ...... 34 6. Onam ...... 6 36.Hampi stone chariot now gets protective 7. Kala Sanskriti Vikas Yojana (KSVY) ..6 ring ...... 35 8. Tech for Tribals ...... 7 37.Gwalior, Orchha in UNESCO world 9. Chardham Project ...... 8 heritage cities list: MP Govt ...... 36 10.Rare inscription unearthed in Andhra 38.Centre recognises yoga as a competitive Pradesh's Kadapa district ...... 9 sport ...... 37 11.Life in Miniature project ...... 9 39.60th Goa Liberation Day ...... 38 12.Kongali Bihu in ...... 11 40.Sheikh Mujibur Rehman ...... 38 13.Large 2,000-year-old cat discovered in 41.The Mamallapuram Dance Festival of Peru's Nazca lines ...... 11 2020 ...... 39 14.Commemoration of ‘77th Year of 42.The Ramanujan Prize ...... 41 Formation of Government’ 12 43.Khudi Ram Bose ...... 42 15.Rashtriya Ekta Diwas 2020 ...... 13 44.Sentinel Island ...... 44 16.The Miyas of Assam, and their char- 45.AMU ...... 45 chapori culture ...... 14 46.National Film Development Corporation 17.Maharani Jindan Kaur ...... 14 46 18.Kevadia tourism circuit ...... 15 47.Dhokra Decorative Pieces ...... 47 19.AITUC turns 100 ...... 16 48.NETAJI SUBHASH CHANDRA BOse 49 20.National Education Day ...... 17 49.1000-year-old paper-making technique 21.Sikhs in Pakistan mark frst anniversary of 51 Kartarpur Corridor ...... 18 50.‘Adopt a Heritage’ tourism scheme ....52 22.World Ayurveda Day 2020 ...... 19 51.UNDERSTANDING PANIPAT 1761 23.Birsa Munda ...... 21 THROUGH RARE PAINTINGS ...... 54 24.BRU Community ...... 22 52.Giant Rock Bee Honey added to Tribes 25.Ancient discovered in India Collection ...... 55 northwest Pakistan ...... 23 53.Sri Mannathu Padmanabhan ...... 56 26.Rani Lakshmibai birth anniversary ...24 54.Renaming of Aurangabad as 27.Lachit Diwas ...... 25 Nagar ...... 57 28.PM Pays Tribute to Sir Chotu Ram Ji on 55.New ‘Anubhava Mantapa’ at His Birth Anniversar ...... 26 Basavakalyan ...... 57 www.sleepyclasses.com Call 6280133177 T.me/SleepyClasses

56.Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2021 ...... 58 57.Konkani language academy ...... 59 58.Risa ...... 60 59.Archaeological excavations set to begin in seven more places in ...... 61 60.Thiruvalluvar Day ...... 62 61.Sulawesi island of Indonesia ...... 62 62.Jallikattu ...... 63 63.Egypt unveils ancient funerary temple in Saqqara ...... 65 64.Guru Gobind Singh Ji Jayanti ...... 65 65.Vice President launches book of poems of Sree , ‘Not Many But One’ 66 66.Khadi shirt, eri shawl and eri stole ....67 67. ...... 68 68.Bangladesh Armed Forces Contingent To Participate In Republic Day Parade ....69 69.Bharat Parv ...... 69 70.Battle of Bhima Koregaon ...... 71 71.Govind Ballabh Pant ...... 72 72.Kala Utsav 2020 ...... 74 73.Patharughat : The forgotten peasant uprising of Assam in 1894 ...... 74 74. ...... 75 75.Chauri Chaura ...... 77 76.Lingaraj Temple ...... 79 77.Dhauli-Kalinga Mahotsav ...... 80 78.‘Pattachitra' ...... 81 79.Bargis ...... 82 80.Tholpavakkoothu ...... 83 81.Assam and ...... 85 82.A Lingayat sub-sect’s quota demand 85 83.Sri Temple ...... 86 84.The Koch Rajbongshi ...... 88 85. ...... 89 86.Conservation of the Sun Temple at Konark 91 87.Declaration Of World Heritage Sites By UNESCO ...... 93 88.Sattras ...... 96 T.me/SleepyClasses Links to the videos on YouTube • Video 1 • Video 2 • Video 3 • Video 4 • Video 5 • Video 6 • Video 7 • Video 8 • Video 9 • Video 10 • Video 11 • Video 12 • Video 13 • Video 14 • Video 15 • Video 16 • Video 17 • Video 18

Available on App Store www.sleepyclasses.com 1 and Play Store Call 6280133177 T.me/SleepyClasses

1. Services Day When? • The Civil Services Day is celebrated on April 21 What? • The day celebrates all the civil servants who dedicate their lives to the cause of citizen. The day aims at renewing their commitments to public service and excellence in work. • To mark the Civil Services Day, the country rewards the Prime Minister’s Awards for Excellence in Public Administration to various offcers to celebrate their work, for implementation of Priority programme and innovation categories.

Why? • Its origin is related to the year 1947 when on 21st April Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel, frst Home Minister of independent India inaugurated the All India Services. • While addressing the probationary offcers at the All India Administrative Service Training School at Metcalfe House, Delhi (it currently houses offces of many divisions of DRDO) he delivered a powerful speech and empowered the Civil Servants to adopt the true role of national service leaving behind the past experience. In his speech he referred to civil servants as the 'steel frame of India’.

2. Indian Civil Services Cornwallis’ Role (Governor-General, 1786-93) • Cornwallis was the frst to bring into existence and organise the civil services. He tried to check corruption through—

✓raising the civil servants’ salary

✓strict enforcement of rules against private trade

✓Debarring civil servants from taking presents, bribes etc.

✓enforcing promotions through seniority • Wellesley’s Role (Governor-General, 1798-1805) ✓In 1800, Wellesley set up the Fort William College for training of new recruits.

✓In 1806 Wellesley’s college was disapproved by the Court of Directors and instead the East India College was set up at Haileybury in England to impart two years’ training to the recruits.

✓The Charter Act of 1793 had reserved all posts worth 500 pounds per annum for the covenanted servants of the Company.

✓The Indians, however, were barred from high posts from the very beginning.

The reasons for exclusion of Indians were • the belief that only the English could establish administrative services serving British interests; • the belief that the Indians were incapable, untrustworthy and insensitive to the British interests; www.sleepyclasses.com Available on App Store Call 6280133177 and Play Store 2 T.me/SleepyClasses • The fact there was high competition among the Europeans themselves for lucrative posts, so why offer them to the Indians. • The Charter Act of 1833 theoretically threw open the services to the Indians, the relevant provisions were never really implemented.

Charter Act of 1853 • The 1853 Charter Act ended the Company’s patronage, enjoining recruitment to be through an open competition henceforth. • After 1857, when the Indians claimed a share in higher services, the Proclamation of 1858 declared the British intention of including the Indians, freely and impartially, in offces under the civil service.

Indian Civil Service Act, 1861 • This Act reserved certain offces for convenanted civil servants but the examination was held in England in English language, based on classical learning of Greek and Latin. • The maximum permissible age was gradually reduced from 23 (in 1859) to 22 (in 1860) to 21 (in 1866) and to 19 (1878). • In 1863, Satyendra Nath Tagore became the frst Indian to qualify for the Indian Civil Service. Statutory Civil Service • In 1878-79, Lytton introduced the Statutory Civil Service consisting of one-sixth of covenanted posts to be flled by Indians of high families through nominations by local governments subject to approval by the secretary of State and the viceroy. But the system failed and was abolished

Lee Commission (1924) Recommendations • the secretary of state should continue to recruit the ICS, the Irrigation branch of the Service of Engineers, the Indian Forest Service, etc.; • the recruitments for the transferred felds like education and civil medical service be made by provincial governments; • direct recruitment to ICS on basis of 50:50 parity between the Europeans and the Indians be reached in 15 years; • a Public Service Commission be immediately established (as laid down in the Act, 1919)

Government of India Act, 1935 • The 1935 Act recommended the establishment of a Federal Public Service Commission and Provincial Public Service Commission under their spheres.

Evaluation of Civil Services under British Rule • Although Indians had begun to enter the coveted ranks of the Indian Civil Services (ICS) ever since 1863, entering the civil services was still extremely diffcult for the Indians. The entrance examination for the ICS was held in London in English medium only, and the subjects included classical Greek and Latin learning. Moreover, the maximum age for appearing at the examination was reduced from twenty-three in 1859 to nineteen in 1878 under Lytton.

Available on App Store www.sleepyclasses.com 3 and Play Store Call 6280133177 T.me/SleepyClasses • All key positions of power and authority and those which were well-paid were occupied by the Europeans. Though a slow process of Indianisation occurred after 1918 under nationalist pressure, important and senior positions continued to be occupied by Europeans. But gradually, the Indians came to realise that Indianisation of civil service had not, in any way, transferred effective power into Indian hands. The Indian members of the civil service continued to serve the imperialist interests of their British masters.

3. Harijan Sevak Sangh celebrates its foundation day • Harijan Sevak Sangh is a non-proft organization founded by in 1932, fast to eradicate untouchability in India. • After the Second Round Table Conference, British government agreed to give Communal Award to the depressed classes on the request of B. R. Ambedkar. Gandhi opposed the government's decision which he considered it would divide the Hindu society and subsequently went on to the indefnite fast in Yerwada Jail. • He ended his fast after signing with Ambedkar on 24 September 1932. On 30 September, Gandhi founded All India Anti Untouchability League, to remove untouchability in the society, which later renamed as Harijan Sevak Sangh ("Servants of Untouchables Society"). • Ghanshyam Das Birla was its founding president with Amritlal Takkar as its secretary. • He ended his fast after signing Poona Pact with Ambedkar on 24 September 1932. On 30 September, Gandhi founded All India Anti Untouchability League, to remove untouchability in the society, which later renamed as Harijan Sevak Sangh ("Servants of Untouchables Society"). • Ghanshyam Das Birla was its founding president with Amritlal Takkar as its secretary.

4. COVID-19 infection spreads to vulnerable tribal community in Odisha • Didayi and Bonda tribes a particularly vulnerable tribal group (PVTG) in Odisha’s Malkangiri district have tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 novel coronavirus.

www.sleepyclasses.com Available on App Store Call 6280133177 and Play Store 4 T.me/SleepyClasses • They are dependent mainly on shifting cultivation in the hills, and wetland cultivation of paddy in the plains. The Didayi also collect minor forest product like fruits, roots and mushrooms. Also, horticulture and kitchen gardening have recently caught the interest of the community and they grow seasonal vegetables, banana, papaya, tobacco, mango, jackfruit and tamarind. • Odisha is home to 62 tribal communities — the largest diverse groups of tribal population in India. Thirteen of them are PVTGs. • Particularly vulnerable tribal groups (PVTGs) are the marginalized section of the Scheduled tribes of India. They are relatively isolated, educationally and socio-economically backwards, living in a habitat far away from amenities.

✓ PVTG is not a Constitutional category, nor are these constitutionally recognized communities.

✓ It is a government of India classifcation created with the purpose of enabling improvement in the conditions of certain communities with particularly low development.

✓ A separate category of PVTGs was constituted based on the recommendations of the Dhebar Commission in 1975.

✓ PVTGs are identifed by the Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs based on the recommendations from the state governments or Union territories. • Criteria for identifying PVTGs-

✓ A pre-agriculture level of technology

✓ A stagnant or declining population

✓ Extremely low literacy

✓ A subsistence level of the economy.

5. Tata group to construct India's new parliament building. • Tata Projects to build India’s new Parliament building as a part of the government’s Central Vista redevelopment plans. • The Central Public Works Department under Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs will be the nodal agency implementing the project, estimated the cost of construction at Rs 940 crore over 21 months. • The Central Vista is an iconic 3 km stretch in the heart of that runs from the Rashtrapati Bhavan to India Gate. Flanked by large green spaces and containing signifcant structures such as Parliament, the Secretariat buildings and the National Archives. • The proposed triangular building will come up in the same premises where the current, circular Parliament building is located, and is part of the Rs 20,000 crore Central Vista redevelopment project. • Apart from the new Parliament, the project will include construction of the new prime minister’s residence, and 10 new building blocks to accommodate government offces, including Shastri Bhavan, Nirman Bhavan, Udyog Bhavan, Krishi Bhavan and Vayu Bhavan, among others. • The North and South Block will be converted into museums. • The Rashtrapati Bhawan area to the ridge will be converted into biodiversity arboretum in order to showcase India’s biological diversity Available on App Store www.sleepyclasses.com 5 and Play Store Call 6280133177 T.me/SleepyClasses Background • The shape of the present circular building was based on the Chausath Yogini temple, one of the oldest heritage sites in India. • Originally called the House of Parliament, it was designed by the British architects Sir Edwin Lutyens and Sir Herbert Baker in 1912-1913 as part of their wider mandate to construct a new administrative capital city for British India. • Construction of the Parliament House began in 1921 and it was completed in 1927. 6. Onam • Onam is the biggest festival of which is celebrated to welcome King Mahabali whose pious sole is believed to visit Kerala during the 10-day festival. • Date of Onam is based on the Hindu Panchangam and falls on the 22nd nakshatra Thiruvonam in the month Chingam of Malayalam calendar, which in Gregorian calendar overlaps with August– September. • It is a 10-day festival, conducted to celebrate the golden rule of King Mahabali, the mythical ruler of Kerala. According to the folklore, the demigods sent in the form of dwarf to defeat Mahabali. After defeating the ruler, Vishnu granted the king’s sole wish to visit his land every year for 10 days. These 10 days are celebrated as Onam every year in the state of Kerala. • Kathakali, the traditional dance form of Kerala is performed on Onam. Other major terms associated with Onam are - • Tripunithura Athachamayam - his marks the frst day of Onam which is celebrated with grandeur and zeal. The day is flled with colorful inauguration which features a street parade. This includes different Kerala art forms, musicians, dancers and carnival foats and decorated elephants which walk down the streets. • Pookalam: The Floral Decorations & Arrangement. • Pulikali: The Grand Tiger Dance. • Vallamkali: The Snake Boat Race. • Onam Sadya: The Complete Meal • Folk Dances: One of the dance forms is Kaikottikali during King Mahabali is praised. It is a type of clap dance form. Another dance form is the Thumbi Thuallal in which the women dance in circles.

7. Kala Sanskriti Vikas Yojana (KSVY) • Culture Ministry issued guidelines for holding cultural events/activities in Virtual/Online mode under various scheme components of Central Sector Scheme ‘Kala Sanskriti Vikas Yojana’ (KSVY) • Ministry of Culture (Performing Arts Bureau) implements many schemes under its Kala Sanskriti Vikas Yojana (KSVY), where the grants are sanctioned/approved for holding programs/activities which involve large audience.

www.sleepyclasses.com Available on App Store Call 6280133177 and Play Store 6 T.me/SleepyClasses • The Ministry of Culture has formulated & devised the following guidelines to help artists/ organizations who have already been sanctioned grant under various scheme components of ‘Kala Sanskriti Vikas Yojana’ (KSVY) to conduct events on virtual mode. • This will enable them to avail benefts under these schemes even if they are not able to stage programs in the physical format as before and will ensure continued fnancial assistance to tide over the present Covid crisis.

8. Tech for Tribals • TRIFED has designed the training programme ‘Tech for Tribals’ in collaboration with the Ministry of Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) under the ESDP. • Tech for Tribals is an initiative aims at the holistic development of tribals with a focus on entrepreneurship development, soft skills, IT, and business development through SHGs operating through Van Dhan Vikas Kendras (VDVKs). • It was launched by TRIFED, Ministry of Tribal Affairs in association with Chhattisgarh MFP Federation and IIT Kanpur. • Under the program trainees will undergo a 30 days training program over six weeks comprising 120 sessions. • The programme aims to tap the traditional knowledge and skills of tribals and add branding, packaging and marketing skills to optimize their income through a market-led enterprise model by setting up Van Dhan Vikas Kendras (VDVKs). • The Van Dhan tribal start-ups, a component of the same scheme are micro tribal enterprises for processing and value addition of forest produce. • The scheme is being further expanded to more locations under the ‘Vocal for Local Go Tribal’ initiative of TRIFED during the current fnancial year.

TRIFED • TRIFED was established in August 1987 under the Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act, 1984 as a National level Cooperative body.

Available on App Store www.sleepyclasses.com 7 and Play Store Call 6280133177 T.me/SleepyClasses • Under the administrative control of the then Ministry of Welfare of India, TRIFED is mandated to bringing about socio-economic development of tribals of the country by institutionalising the trade of Minor Forest Produce (MFP) & Surplus Agricultural Produce (SAP) collected/ cultivated by them. • TRIFED plays the dual role of both a market developer and a service provider, empowering them with knowledge and tools to better their operations in a systematic, scientifc manner and also assist them in developing their marketing approach. • TRIFED is involved actively in capacity building of the tribal people through sensitisation and the formation of Self-Help Groups (SHGs). • The organisation also assists them in exploring and creating opportunities to market the developed products in national and international markets on a sustainable basis. • TRIBES India is the brand under which the sourced handcrafted products from the tribal people are sold. There are 120 brick-and-mortar TRIBES India outlets across the country, making it a sustainable and reliable brand.

9. Chardham Project • The project will connect Dham, Dham, , , and part of the route leading to Kailash Mansarovar yatra. • A controversial aspect was the proposed width of the two-line highways envisaged. • The SC committee was divided over the width with one set of members saying it only be 5.5-metre- wide and another plumbing for a higher road width. • The SC ruled last month that a 5.5-metre width be enforced as it was in conformity with a 2018 recommendation by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) for mountain roads.

• The MoRTH is also the key coordinator of the Chardham project. Prior to this, the government had sanctioned a road width of 10-12 metres. www.sleepyclasses.com Available on App Store Call 6280133177 and Play Store 8 T.me/SleepyClasses • The works under Char Dham Pariyojna are being implemented on Engineering Procurement and Construction (EPC) mode of contract. • These projects are being implemented by 3 executing agencies of Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, viz, State PWD, Border Road Organization (BRO) and National Highway & Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL).

10.Rare inscription unearthed in 's Kadapa district • A rare inscription dating back to the Renati Chola era has been unearthed in a remote village of Kadapa district. • It is found engraved on a dolomite slab and shale, which are part of a fragmentary pillar which was excavated. • Going by the language and characters, the inscription was written in archaic Telugu which was readable in 25 lines - the frst side with eleven lines and the remaining on the other side. • It was assigned to the 8th Century C.E., when the region was under the rule of Chola Maharaja of Renadu. • The inscription seems to throw light on the record of a gift of six Marttus (a measuring unit) of land gifted to a person Sidyamayu, one of the serving the temple at Pidukula village.

The Renati Cholas • The Telugu Cholas of Renadu (also called as Renati Cholas) ruled over Renadu region, the present day Cuddapah district. They were originally independent, later forced to the suzerainty of the Eastern Chalukyas. • They used the Telugu language in their inscriptions belonging to the 6th and 8th centuries. • The earliest of this family was Nandivarman (500 C.E.) who claimed descent from the family of Karikala and the Kasyapa gotra. • The family seems to have had its origin in Erigal in the Tunmkur district, situated in the border between Pallava and Kadamba regions. • Dhananjaya is described as Erigal-mutturaju and as ruling Renadu. • In the frst half of the seventh century, we fnd Punyakumara, a descendant of Nandivarman, ruling over Renadu and Hiranyarashtra. He too bears the title Erikal-mutturaju

11.Life in Miniature project Miniature Painting • These are colorful handmade paintings very small in size with intricate brushwork which contributes to their unique identity. • The colors used in the paintings are derived from various natural sources like vegetables, indigo, precious stones, gold and silver.

Available on App Store www.sleepyclasses.com 9 and Play Store Call 6280133177 T.me/SleepyClasses • While artists all around the world convey their respective theme through their paintings, the most common theme used in the miniature paintings of India comprises of the Ragas or a pattern of musical notes, and religious and mythological stories.

Project • Several hundred miniature paintings from the National Museum, New Delhi can be viewed online by people around the world through “Life in Miniature” project. • It is collaboration between the National Museum, New Delhi and Google Arts & Culture, a partnership that began in 2011. • It is in line with Digital India initiative and showcases the role of technology in the preservation of India’s heritage. • The project uses technologies like machine learning, augmented reality and digitization with high- defnition robotic cameras, to showcase these special works of art in a magical new way. • On the Google Arts & Culture app, online viewers can experience the frst Augmented Reality- powered art gallery designed with traditional Indian architecture, and explore a life-size virtual space where you can walk up to a selection of miniature paintings. • The artworks showcased are presented along fve universal themes of the human relationship with nature, love, celebration, faith and power. • Another highlight of the launch is the application of Machine Learning-based algorithms to the corpus of paintings being brought online, so that users can explore these miniature marvels guided by Artifcial Intelligence. • “Magnify Miniatures” enables online users to explore multiple artworks. • With “Life in Miniature”, users will be able to see famous miniature collections of the National Museum, like the Ramayana, Royal Saga, Pahari style paintings.

About The National Museum, New Delhi • The National Museum, New Delhi, under the Ministry of Culture. The National Museum, today, has in its possession over 2,00,000 antiquities & art objects, both of Indian and Foreign origin covering more than 5,000 years of our cultural heritage. During current pandemic time, the National Museum has been engaging its visitors through digital platforms.

About Google Arts & Culture • Google Arts & Culture puts the collections of more than 2,000 museums in a single app. Schools of Indian Miniature Paintings • Pala School • Orissa School • Jain school • Mughal School • Rajasthan School www.sleepyclasses.com Available on App Store Call 6280133177 and Play Store 10 T.me/SleepyClasses • Pahari School • Deccan School 12.Kongali Bihu in Assam • Bihu are three festivals held in Assam.

✓ Bhogali or Magh Bihu is observed on January 13th or 14th - symbolises the end of the harvest season.

✓ Rongali or Bohag Bihu is observed on April 14th or 15th - Assamese New Year.

✓ Kongali or Kati Bihu is observed in October. ( In the month of kartik)- celebrates the harvest season. • This Bihu is celebrated during the time of relocation of the sapling - Kati means "cut". • Kati Bihu is also called Kongali ("Poor") as the granaries are usually empty and there is not much to eat at this time of the year. • This means Kati Bihu is not as famboyant a festival as the other Bihus and the festivities are more sombre in nature. • This Bihu is celebrated by the lighting of lamps or saaki (candles) in different parts of the house. The main lamp is lit in the courtyard near the sacred Tulsi plant. • For Kati Bihu, the plant is cleaned and is placed on an earthen platform called a "Tulsi Bheti". Offerings and prayers are made to the Goddess Tulsi for the wellbeing of the family and for a good harvest. This formal procedure continues for the whole month of Kati. • In the paddy felds, farmers light a special type of lamp, called 'Akaxh Banti' (Sky candle). These mustard oil lamps are placed high on the tips of tall bamboo poles. It is believed these lamps are lit to guide ancestors to heaven, though they serve a practical purpose by drawing insects to the fame and their doom, which helps keep the crops healthy. • The instruments used in Bihu are Dhol, Taal, Toka, Pepa, Xutuli, Gogona and Baanhi (Flute). 13.Large 2,000-year-old cat discovered in Peru's Nazca lines • The Peruvian archaeologists have uncovered a 37 meter resting long cat on the famous Nazca lines of Peru.

What are the Nazca Lines? • The Nazca Lines are a group of geoglyphs, or large designs made on the ground by creators using elements of the landscape such as stones, gravel, dirt or lumber. • These are believed to be the greatest known archaeological enigma, owing to their size, continuity, nature and quality. • The images on the ground are so big in size that the best way to get a full view of them is overfying them. • Drawn more than 2 millennia ago on the surface of southern Peru’s arid Pampa Colorado (“Red Plain” in Spanish), the geoglyphs feature different subjects, but mainly plants and animals. Available on App Store www.sleepyclasses.com 11 and Play Store Call 6280133177 T.me/SleepyClasses • The fgures include pelicans (the largest ones sized around 935 feet long), Andean Condors (443 feet), monkeys (360 feet), hummingbirds (165 feet), and spiders (150 feet). • There are also geometric shapes, such as triangles, trapezoids and spirals, and some have been associated with astronomical functions. • The Lines were frst discovered in 1927, and were declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1994. The site is around 450 km away from capital Lima southwards along the South Pan-American Highway. • A geoglyph is a large design or motif (generally longer than 4 metres) produced on the ground and typically formed by clastic rocks or similarly durable elements of the landscape, such as stones, stone fragments, gravel, or earth.

14.Commemoration of ‘77th Year of Formation of Azad Hind Government’ • On July 8, 1945, Netaji laid the foundation stone of the INA War Memorial to commemorate the ‘Unknown Warrior’ of the (INA). • The Azad Hind Government, founded on 21st October, 1943 was inspired by Neta ji Subhash Chandra Bose • He was the leader of Azad Hind Government and also the Head of State of this Provisional Indian Government-in-exile.

• It was a part of the freedom movement, originating in 1940s outside India with a purpose of allying with Axis powers to free India from British rule. • The existence of the Azad Hind Government gave a greater legitimacy to the independence struggle against the British. • Pertinently, the role of Azad Hind Fauj or the Indian National Army (INA) had been crucial in bequeathing a much needed impetus to India’s struggle for Independence.

www.sleepyclasses.com Available on App Store Call 6280133177 and Play Store 12 T.me/SleepyClasses 15.Rashtriya Ekta Diwas 2020 When is Rashtriya Ekta Diwas celebrated? • National Unity Day or Rashtriya Ekta Diwas is observed on October 31 every year • The day was introduced in 2014 by the Government to mark the birth anniversary of Iron Man of India – Sardar . • In memory of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the Government of India has constructed a huge statue of the Iron Man of India near the Narmada River in .

Signifcance of National Unity Day • In 2014 the Home Ministry in the offcial statement stated that National Unity Day "will provide an opportunity to re-affrm the inherent strength and resilience of our nation to withstand the actual and potential threats to the unity, integrity and security of our country.

Sardar Patel • He united 562 princely states to build the Republic of India. • From 1917 to 1924 Patel served as the frst Indian municipal commissioner of Ahmadabad and was its elected municipal president from 1924 to 1928. • Patel frst made his mark in 1918, when he planned mass campaigns of peasants, farmers, and landowners of Kaira, Gujarat, against the decision of the Bombay government to collect the full annual revenue taxes despite crop failures caused by heavy rains. • In 1928 Patel successfully led the landowners of Bardoli in their resistance against increased taxes. • His effcient leadership of the Bardoli campaign earned him the title sardar (“leader”), and henceforth he was acknowledged as a nationalist leader throughout India. • In the crucial debate over the objectives of the during the years 1928 to 1931, Patel believed that the goal of the Indian National Congress should be dominion status within the British Commonwealth—not independence. • Patel was the second candidate after Gandhi to the presidency of the 1929 Lahore session of the Indian National Congress. • During the 1930 Salt (prayer and fasting movement), Patel served three months’ imprisonment. • In March 1931 Patel presided over the Karachi session of the Indian National Congress. Available on App Store www.sleepyclasses.com 13 and Play Store Call 6280133177 T.me/SleepyClasses • He was imprisoned in January 1932. • Released in July 1934, he marshaled the organization of the Congress Party in the 1937 elections and was the main contender for the 1937–38 Congress presidency. • Again, because of Gandhi’s pressure, Patel withdrew and was elected. • Along with other Congress leaders, Patel was imprisoned in October 1940, released in August 1941, and imprisoned once more from August 1942 until June 1945.

16.The Miyas of Assam, and their char-chapori culture • Context: Miya museum refecting the “culture and heritage of the people living in char-chaporis” has stirred up a controversy in Assam.

Who are the Miyas? • The ‘Miya’ community comprises descendants of Muslim migrants from East (now Bangladesh) to Assam. • They came to be referred to as ‘Miyas’, often in a derogatory manner. • The community migrated in several waves — starting with the British annexation of Assam in 1826, and continuing into Partition and the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War — and have resulted in changes in demographic composition of the region. • Years of discontent among the indigenous people led to the six-year-long (1979-85) anti-foreigner Assam Agitation to weed out the “illegal immigrant”, who was perceived as trying to take over jobs, language and culture of the indigenous population.

What are char-chaporis? • A char is a foating island while chaporis are low-lying food-prone riverbanks. • They are used interchangeably a char can become a chapori, or vice versa, depending on the push and pull of the Brahmaputra. • Prone to foods and erosion, these areas are marked by low development indices. • 80% of the Char population lives below poverty line. • A UNDP Assam Human Development report from 2014 describes the char areas as suffering from “communication defcits, lack of adequate schooling facilities beyond primary, girl child marriage, poverty and illiteracy”. • While Bengali-origin Muslims primarily occupy these islands, other communities such as Misings, Deoris, Kocharis, also live here. • In popular imagination, however, chars have become synonymous to the Bengali-speaking Muslims of dubious nationality.

17.Maharani Jindan Kaur • Context: Maharani Jindan Kaur, the last wife of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, is in news for the auction of some of her jewellery at Bonhams Islamic and Indian Art sale in London. www.sleepyclasses.com Available on App Store Call 6280133177 and Play Store 14 T.me/SleepyClasses Who was Rani Jindan? • She was the youngest wife of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, founder of the , whose boundaries stretched from Kabul to Kashmir and the borders of Delhi. • She was also the mother of Maharaja Duleep Singh, the last ruler of the empire, who was raised by the British. • Born at Chachar in Gujranwala in 1817. • She gave birth to Duleep Singh in 1838, a year before the death of the maharaja. When did she become the regent? • Duleep Singh was fve years old when he was placed on the throne in 1843 after the death of two heirs to Maharaja Ranjit Singh. • Since he was just a child, Maharani Jindan was made the regent. • Not a rubber stamp, she took an active interest in running the kingdom, introducing changes in the revenue system.

When did the British imprison and exile her? • The British declared war on the Sikh empire in December 1845. • After their victory in the frst Anglo-Sikh war, they retained Duleep Singh as the ruler but imprisoned Jind Kaur. • Maharani Jind Kaur arrived at on April 29, 1849, where she was given asylum by Jung Bahadur, the prime minister. • She was given a house on the banks of river Bhagmati. • She stayed in till 1860, where she continued to reach out to rebels in Punjab and Jammu- Kashmir. • The long exile took a heavy toll on Maharani Jindan’s health. • She passed away in her sleep on August 1, 1863, two years after she walked into the Kensington Gardens in 1861.

18.Kevadia tourism circuit • Context: Prime Minister inaugurated 17 tourism projects around the Statue of Unity, now called the ‘Kevadia Tourism Circuit’:

✓ Since the SoU was inaugurated in October 2018, the state government has worked to bring Kevadia on the world map of tourism with a cluster of theme-based projects.

✓ The government projects the SoU to have an economic impact of Rs 9,000 crore by 2022, which will translate into the socio-economic uplift of the region up to a radius of about 100 km around the statue.

What is the Kevadia Tourism Circuit? • Kevadia, a village in the tribal Narmada district, is home to the Sardar Sarovar Dam reservoir on the Narmada River. Available on App Store www.sleepyclasses.com 15 and Play Store Call 6280133177 T.me/SleepyClasses • The circuit covers 35 tourist spots, out of which the Valley of Flowers, Vishwa Van, Jungle Safari, Cactus Garden, Butterfy Garden, Ekta Nursery, Tent City, Khalvani Eco-tourism, Zarwani Eco- tourism, NaukaVihar and River Rafting, located around the periphery of the statue and the Narmada Dam.

Some of the major attractions of the Circuit • Sardar Patel Zoological Park and Jungle Safari. • Children’s Nutrition Park - The park is billed as the “world’s frst technology driven Nutrition Park”. • The Mirror Maze - It has a 5D virtual reality (VR) theatre and augmented reality (AR) games to enhance nutritional awareness through entertainment. • Carnival look- The 8.5 km stretch of road from Ekta Dwar to the Sardar Sarovar Dam is decorated with colourful motifs and lights that lend the area a festive, carnival appearance after sunset. • Riverfront cycling tour • The Gardens • The cruises • Dynamic lighting on Sardar Sarovar Dam 19.AITUC turns 100 • ’s frst national trade union, All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC), has turned 100. Origin of Trade Unions Act in India • 1918 – 1st Registered Organized Trade Union – Madras Labour Union led by B P Wadia and V. Kalyanasundaram Mudaliar, in 1918. The strike was called by the workers of Buckingham and Carnatic Mills in Madras, against the managing company, Binny and Co. • 1919 – ILO (International Labour Organisation) got established. • 1920 – 1st Trade Union Federation – All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) – 1920. Founding Presidents were Lala Lajpat Rai, N M Joshi and Joseph Baptista. • AITUC was formed to secure a nominating body for representing Indian Labour at International Labour Conference. • 1920 – Ahmedabad Textile Labour Association founded by Anasuya Sarabhai who was a pioneer of the women’s labour movement in India and Shankerlal Banker. • 1922 – Central Labour Board, Bombay • 1922 – Bengal Trade Union Federation • 1922 – All India Railwaymen’s Federation ( AIRF) • 1923 – First ever May Day/ Labour Day in India on May 1, 1923. Singaravelu [Chettiar], Madras launched the Labour-Kisan Party of Hindustan as a distinct political party of labour and for labour, with a ‘politico-economic policy for labour, free from mere reformism or opportunism.

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• Known by various names like Kamgar Din (), Kamgar Divas (Marathi) and Uzhaipalar Dinam (Tamil), the ‘Antarrashtriya Shramik Diwas’. • 1925 – The frst Provident Fund Act passed in 1925 for regulating the provident funds of some private concerns was limited in scope. • 1926 – Indian Trade Unions Act was formed by N M Joshi (Father of Indian Trade union movement). • 1928 – Fawcett Committee

✓ A big strike of textile workers at Bombay took place from April to October 1928 due to which government of Bombay appointed Fawcett Committee to look into the standardized scheme against which the strike happened. • 1928 – All India Workers and Peasants Party was formed • 1929 – Split of AITUC, at the 10th Session of AITUC, • 1930 – ITUF (Indian Trade Union Federation) was formed from the split • 1931 – RTUC (Red Trade Union Congress) was formed from split • Note – As on 1931, there were 3 central federations (AITUC, ITUF and RTUC) • The frst Central Trade Union Organisation was formed in India on 31 October 1920 by the Indian National Congress (INC). • The INC, the central organ of the Independence movement, formed the AITUC to give India representation at the International Labour Organisation (ILO) of the League of Nations. • It was in 1942, more than two decades after 64 unions came together to form the AITUC in 1920 at , that the union organised the working class in textile mills of Bengaluru, mines in Hutti and Kolar, besides beedi and tiles industries.

20.National Education Day • Azad in 1912 began publishing a weekly -language newspaper in Calcutta, Al-Hilal (“The Crescent”). • The paper quickly became highly infuential in the Muslim community for its anti-British stance, notably for its criticism of Indian Muslims who were loyal to the British. • Al-Hilal was soon banned by British authorities, as was a second weekly newspaper that he had started. Available on App Store www.sleepyclasses.com 17 and Play Store Call 6280133177 T.me/SleepyClasses • By 1916 he had been banished to Ranchi, where he remained until the beginning of 1920. • Back in Calcutta, he joined the Indian National Congress and galvanized India’s Muslim community through an appeal to pan-Islamic ideals. • He was particularly active in the short-lived (1920–24), which defended the Ottomansultan as the caliph (the head of the worldwide Muslim community) and even briefy enlisted the support of Gandhiji. • Azad became the youngest person to serve as the President of the Indian National Congress at the age of 35. • Azad and Gandhi became close, and Azad was involved in Gandhi’s various civil-disobedience (satyagraha) campaigns, including the Salt March (1930). • He was imprisoned several times between 1920 and 1945, including for his participation in the anti- British Quit India campaign during World War II. • Azad was president of the Congress Party in 1923 and again in 1940–46—though the party was largely inactive during much of his second term, since nearly all of its leadership was in prison. • After the war Azad was one of the Indian leaders who negotiated for Indian independence with the British. He tirelessly advocated for a single India that would embrace both and Muslims while strongly opposing the partition of British India into independent India and Pakistan. • He later blamed both Congress Party leaders and Mohammed Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, for the ultimate division of the subcontinent. • After the two separate countries were established, he served as minister of education in the Indian government of Jawaharlal Nehru from 1947 until his death. • His autobiography, India Wins Freedom, was published posthumously in 1959. • In 1992, Azad was awarded the , India’s highest civilian award. 21.Sikhs in Pakistan mark frst anniversary of Kartarpur Corridor • Context: Sikhs in Pakistan held rituals at GurdwaraDarbar Sahib to mark the frst anniversary of the inauguration of the historic Kartarpur Corridor. • On the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev Ji, Kartarpur Corridor will be opened to visit Kartarpur Sahib Gurudwara. • On 24 October 2019 India has signed the agreement with Pakistan on the modalities of the operationalization of the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor at Zero Point, the International Boundary, Dera Baba Nanak. • On 22 November 2018, the Union Cabinet passed a resolution to celebrate the historic occasion of the 550th Birth Anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev Ji across the globe. www.sleepyclasses.com Available on App Store Call 6280133177 and Play Store 18 T.me/SleepyClasses About Kartarpur Sahib Gurudwara • Kartarpur Sahib was established by Guru Nanak Dev Ji, the Sikh Guru in 1522. • On 22 September 1539 Gurunanak Dev Ji took the last breath in this gurudwara and spent around 18 years of his life. • The Gurudwara was washed away by foods of the river Ravi (Rabi) and the present Gurudwara was established by Maharaja Ranjit Singh. • Kartarpur Sahib is located in Narowal district of Pakistan. • It is three to four kilometres away from Dera Baba Nanak in Gurdaspur district of Punjab, India and about 120 km from Lahore. • The langar was frst started in Kartarpur Sahib Gurudwara by Guru Nanak Dev Ji. • The Langar tradition is also known as ‘Guru kaLangar’, the Gurus Kitchen. • Whoever came here, Guru Nanak Dev Ji did not allow him to go without eating. • At the time of the -Pakistan, gurudwara moved to Pakistan, so citizens of India need a visa to visit Kartarpur Sahib. • Those who are not able to go to Pakistan, they see with the help of binoculars in the Gurudwara Shaheed Baba SidhSaun Randhawa located at Dera Baba Nanak at the Indian border. • Kartarpur Sahib Gurudwara is visible from the border towards India. • In Pakistan, the government takes care that the grass does not accumulate around this gurudwara, so it keeps cutting and pruning around it so that it can be seen well from India and there is no problem for the devotees.

22.World Ayurveda Day 2020 • World Ayurveda Day 2020: Theme. • This year India will celebrate Ayurveda Day under the theme of 'Ayurveda for Covid-19'. World Ayurveda Day 2020: History • The practice to observe the Ayurveda Day, which falls on Dhanwantri Jayanti, was started by the Union Ministry of Ayush (Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Sidda, and Homoeopathy) in 2016. • Dhanvantari Jayanti was preferred for the celebration of Ayurveda Day to nationalise this system of medicine and to make it global.

World Ayurveda Day 2020: Celebration • The Ministry of Ayush has decided to organise various activities marking the ffth ‘Ayurveda Day’, with a special focus on concerns related to the present pandemic. • A webinar on the theme of ‘Ayurveda for Covid-19 pandemic will be organised on ‘Ayurveda Day.’ About Dhanwantari Jayanti • Dhanwantari Jayanti, the birthday of Lord Dhanwantari is celebrated on the 13th lunar day in Aswini Month.

Available on App Store www.sleepyclasses.com 19 and Play Store Call 6280133177 T.me/SleepyClasses • It is believed that on this day, Lord Dhanwantari emerged with Amurutha Kalasam. • Lord Dhanvantari is an of Lord Vishnu. • He appears in the Vedas and Puranas as the physician of the gods and the god of Ayurvedic medicine. AYUSH Ministry approved manufacturing of Ayurvedic COVID-19 drug • Ministry of Ayush approved the manufacturing of Ayurvedic drug called “Aastha-15”. • The drug was developed by Dalmia Centre for Research and Development. • The Aastha-15 is to be made available in frst phase through prescriptions for m i l d a n d m o d e r a t e COVID-19 cases. • T h e c l i n i c a l t r i a l s f o r Aastha-15 began in May 2020. • These Ayurvedic drugs also have to undergo three phases of clinical trials just like the Allopathic drugs.

International Conference on Standardisation of AYUSH Terminologies

www.sleepyclasses.com Available on App Store Call 6280133177 and Play Store 20 T.me/SleepyClasses • The ICoSDiTAUS 2020 was held in New Delhi in February 2020. • It was the biggest international event that focuses on standardisation of traditional medicines. • Around 16 countries came together at the conference.

✓ They were India, Iran, Switzerland, Japan, Jamaica, Uzbekistan, , Ghana, Qatar, Equatorial Guinea, Myanmar, Cuba, Curacao, Serbia, Mauritius and Sri .

23.Birsa Munda • Context: National Tribal Festival 'Aadi Mahotsav’ (16th – 30th November) was inaugurated, commemorating the birth anniversary of Birsa Munda. • 'Aadi Mahotsav’ is a platform for tribals to showcase their handicrafts, culture, traditions and food in front of the world. • He was a young freedom fghter and a tribal leader, who protested British rule in India. • Born and raised in the tribal belt around and Jharkhand, Birsa Munda’s achievements came at the young age of 25. • In recognition of his impact on the national’s movement, the state of Jharkhand was created on his birth anniversary in 2000. • Born on November 15, 1875, Birsa spent much of his childhood moving from one village to another with his parents. • He belonged to the Munda tribe in the Chhotanagpur Plateau area. • He received his early education at Salga under the guidance of his teacher Jaipal Nag. • On the recommendation of Jaipal Nag, Birsa converted to Christianity in order to join the German Mission school. • He, however, opted out of the school after a few years. • The impact of Christianity was felt in the way he came to relate to religion later. • Having gained awareness of the British colonial ruler and the efforts of the missionaries to convert tribals to Christianity, Birsa started the faith of ‘Birsait’. • Soon members of the Munda and Oraon community started joining the Birsait sect and it turned into a challenge to British conversion activities. • During the period, 1886 to 1890, Birsa Munda spent a large amount of time in Chaibasa which was close to the centre of the Sardars agitation. • The activities of the Sardars had a strong impact on the mind of the young Birsa, who soon became a part of the anti-missionary and anti-government program. Available on App Store www.sleepyclasses.com 21 and Play Store Call 6280133177 T.me/SleepyClasses • By the time he left Chaibasa in 1890, Birsa was strongly entrenched in the movement against the British oppression of the tribal communities. • On March 3, 1900, Birsa Munda was arrested by the British police while he was sleeping with his tribal guerilla army at Jamkopai forest in Chakradharpur. • He died in Ranchi jail on June 9, 1900 at a young age of 25. • Though he lived a short span of life and the fact that the movement died out soon after his death, Birsa Munda is known to have mobilised the tribal community against the British and had also forced the colonial offcials to introduce laws protecting the land rights of the tribals.

24.BRU Community • Context: Protests against Bru resettlement in Tripura Who are the Brus? • Reang (Bru) are one of the 21 scheduled tribes of the Indian state of Tripura. The Bru can be found all over the Tripura state in India. However, they may also be found in Mizoram and Assam. • In Tripura, they are recognised as a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG). • In Mizoram, they have been targeted by groups that do not consider them indigenous to the state. In 1997, following ethnic clashes, nearly 37,000 Brus fed Mamit, Kolasib and Lunglei districts of Mizoram and were accommodated in relief camps in Tripura. • Since then, 5,000 have returned to Mizoram in eight phases of repatriation, while 32,000 still live in six relief camps in North Tripura. • In June 2018, community leaders from the Bru camps signed an agreement with the Centre and the two state governments, providing for repatriation in Mizoram. But most camp residents rejected the terms of the agreement. • The camp residents say that the agreement doesn't guarantee their safety in Mizoram. • Dance is an integral part of their life. The most attractive form of dance is Hozagiri with melodious tune of fute. • Ethnically Reangs are divided into two major clans namely Meska and Molsoi. • They speak "Kaubru" language which has a tonal effect of Kuki language and broadly it is Kok-Borok dialect. • For their livelihood they pursue Hilltop Jhum Cultivation, several activities of food gathering including collection of jungle fruits, leaf, plants, fshing in stagnant water in hill slopes, hunting of wild animals and birds, etc. • They are nomadic tribes. • It is said that they are polytheists and believe in multiple Gods and Goddesses. • They pray different like Mwtaikotorma, Tuibuma, Mailoma, Ganga etc. • They also believe in spirits and existence of soul. • Like other Tripuri tribes of Tripura, the marriage system is similar. www.sleepyclasses.com Available on App Store Call 6280133177 and Play Store 22 T.me/SleepyClasses • There is no dowry system. • They are endogamous and don’t marry outside their community. • The village council chief is “RAI” who permits Divorce and Widow Marriage. • They cremate their dead bedside of the river or chara after observing series of rites and rituals and funeral procession.

Bru-Reang Agreement • The Bru-Reang agreement is signed between the Government of India, Presided by the Home Minister, Governments of Tripura and Mizoram and Bru-Reang representative. • In the agreement, it is mentioned that: • After the agreement about 34,000 Bru refugees will be settled in Tripura. • Centre will provide help to these tribes for their all-round development and for this around Rs 600 crores were sanctioned. • These tribes would get all the rights that normal residents of the State get and would be able to enjoy the benefts of social welfare schemes for Centre and State governments. • According to the Home Minister, each displaced family would be given 40X30 sq. ft. residential plots. • For 2 years, they will be given the aid of Rs 5000 per month. • Free ration for 2 years. • About Rs 1.5 lakh aid to build their house. • Under this agreement, the Tripura Government would provide the land. What is the Bru-Refugee crisis? • During 1997-98, about 5000 Bru-Reang families i.e. around 30,000 Bru-Reang tribals were displaced from Mizoram to Tripura because of ethnic violence in Mizoram. • In the North Tripura, these people were living in temporary camps. • To permanently rehabilitate these refugees, the Government of India, since 2010 has been making sustained efforts. • Till 2014, around 1622 Bru-Reang families returned to Mizoram in different batches. • Further, an agreement was also signed on 3 July, 2018 between the Union Government, the two-State Governments and representatives of Bru-Reang refugees decided to increase the aid that were given to the families. • Around 328 families comprising 1369 individuals returned to Mizoram. 25.Ancient Hindu temple discovered in northwest Pakistan • A Hindu temple, believed to have been constructed 1,300 years ago, has been discovered by Pakistani and Italian archaeological experts at a mountain in northwest Pakistan’s Swat district. • The discovery was made during an excavation at Barikot Ghundai.

Available on App Store www.sleepyclasses.com 23 and Play Store Call 6280133177 T.me/SleepyClasses • The temple discovered is of Lord Vishnu. • It was built by the Hindus 1,300 years ago during the Hindu Shahi period. • The Hindu Shahis or Kabul Shahis (850-1026 CE) was a Hindu dynasty that ruled the Kabul Valley (eastern Afghanistan), Gandhara (modern-day Pakistan), and present-day north-western India. • During their excavation, the archaeologists also found traces of cantonment and watchtowers near the temple site. • The experts also found a water tank near the temple site which they believe was used by the Hindus for bathing before worship. • The traces of the Hindu Shahi period have been found for the frst time in the area. • Swat district is among the top 20 sites in Pakistan which is home to every kind of tourism such as natural beauty, religious tourism, cultural tourism and archaeological sites. • Several places of worship of are also situated in Swat district. 26.Rani Lakshmibai birth anniversary • The Queen of Jhansi, Rani Lakshmibai, was famously known as . • She was born into a Maratha Brahman family and was named Manikarnika. • She was nicknamed Manu from Manikarnika. • November 19, the birth anniversary of Rani Lakshmibai, is celebrated as Martyr's Day in Jhansi to honour the lives lost in the Rebellion of 1857. • The exact date of birth of Lakshmibai is still a topic of debate. It is believed that Rani Lakshmibai, was born as Manikarnika Tambe on November 19, 1828. • She was more independent than other girls of her age and was raised in a manner more usually associated with sons at that time. • Manikarnika lost her mother at the age of four and was raised in an unconventional way by her father who worked as an advisor in the court of . Her father supported her in learning horsemanship, archery, self-defence, and shooting.

Doctrine of Lapse • It was a formula devised by Lord Dalhousie, governor-general of India (1848–56), to deal with questions of succession to Hindu Indian states. • According to Hindu law, an individual or a ruler without natural heirs could adopt a person who would then have all the personal and political rights of a son. • Dalhousie asserted the paramount power’s right of approving such adoptions and of acting at discretion in their absence in the case of dependent states. • In practice this meant the rejection of last-minute adoptions and British annexation of states without a direct natural or adopted heir, because Dalhousie believed that Western rule was preferable to Eastern www.sleepyclasses.com Available on App Store Call 6280133177 and Play Store 24 T.me/SleepyClasses • Annexation in the absence of a natural or adopted heir was enforced in the cases of Satara (1848), Jaitpur and Sambalpur (1849), Baghat (1850), Chota Udaipur (1852), Jhansi (1853), and Nagpur (1854). • Though the scope of the doctrine was limited to dependent Hindu states, these annexations aroused much alarm and resentment among the Indian princes and the old aristocracy who served them.

27.Lachit Diwas • Context: PM paid tribute to Lachit Borphukan on Lachit Diwas. • Lachit Barphukan, was the great Ahom general who inficted humiliating defeat on the mighty Mughal army in the Battle of in 1671, bringing the curtain down on the last major attempt by the Mughals to take Assam. • The right-angled triangle of the Brahmaputra (Itakhuli-Kamakhya-Aswakranta) became a complicated tangle of boats and men battling to save themselves from drowning. • The Assamese spanned the Brahmaputra by an improvised bridge of boats placed side by side. • They also resorted to a wily trick, combining a frontal charge with a surprise attack from behind, that proved decisive. • The Barphukan pretended to attack the Moghul feet from the front with some men on a few ships and lure it forward and then stabbed it from behind with the main army and feet. • The Moguls advanced forward only to be killed by a gunshot from behind. • The suddenness of the event threw the entire Moghul feet out of gear and it retreated. • The panic-stricken Moghul army could not be recalled to order. • His death marked the end of the battle.For the Moghuls, who suffered heavy casualties, with three top- ranking amirs and 4,000 dead and wounded, it was not merely a defeat but a disaster.

The Tribute

Available on App Store www.sleepyclasses.com 25 and Play Store Call 6280133177 T.me/SleepyClasses • The Barphukan’s victory is recorded in a stone inscription in . • The best cadet offcer of every batch graduating from the National Defence Academy gets the Lachit Barphukan Gold Medal. • A bust of the Barphukan stands at the entrance to the NDA. The Hurt • The Assamese remain upset that Lachit Barphukan, the Hero of Saraighat, has never received the kind of national recognition that other symbols of resistance to Mughal imperial domination, such as Chhattrapati and , have. • Following repeated demands, however, NCERT has recently included a chapter on him in the CBSE curriculum.

28.PM Pays Tribute to Sir Chotu Ram Ji on His Birth Anniversar • Chaudhary Chhotu Ram was born in village Sampla in Jhajjar district of Haryana on 24 November 1881 a one-horse town far away from the capital of Punjab, Lahore. • Punjab Province at the time extended from Rawalpindi in the north of India to the borders of Rajasthan, a distance of over 500 miles. • He passed the intermediate examination in 1903 from the Christian Mission School in Delhi. The same year he joined St Stephen’s College, graduating in 1905. • He chose as one of his subjects. He obtained his LLB degree from Agra College in 1910, becoming an advocate in 1912, the year Jawaharlal Nehru returned to India after spending seven years in England. • He joined the Congress party in 1916. • He was president of the Rohtak District Congress Committee till 1920. • In 1915 he launched his newspaper, Jat Gazette. • Between 1937 and January 1945, Sir Chhotu Ram changed the face of rural Punjab, by enacting revolutionary reforms. • As a member of the pre-Partition Punjab Legislative Council, his frst major achievement was the passage of the Punjab Land Revenue (Amendment) Act, 1929, which remains a landmark social legislation till date. • The exploitation of the peasantry by moneylenders was brought to an end with a series of measures, starting with the Punjab Regulation of Accounts Act, 1930. • It was followed by the Punjab Debtors Protection Act of 1936 and the Punjab Relief of Indebtedness Act, 1943.

www.sleepyclasses.com Available on App Store Call 6280133177 and Play Store 26 T.me/SleepyClasses • It became mandatory for moneylenders to register themselves, without which they could not advance loans or prosecute farmers. • All land attached and sold after June 8, 1901, and mortgaged for 37 years, was restored to its owners. Farmers were required only to give an application on plain paper to the district collector. • If any moneylender had recovered twice the loan amount, the farmer was given his land back. • Reconciliation boards were set up; confscation of milch cattle, oxen, camels and carts or means of earning was barred. • The Punjab Agricultural Produce Markets Act was passed in 1939, popularly called the Mandi Act which provided for the constitution of market committees in notifed areas, and helped free the farmer from exploitation. • A consolidation of land holdings was undertaken after passing the Consolidations Holding Act, 1936, amended in 1945. • Not only were all these laws passed, Chhotu Ram also ensured their implementation. • He was awarded the title of ‘Rao Bahadur’ and was accorded knighthood in 1937. • He popularly came to be known as DeenBandhu. • The Muslim Jats called him Rehbar-i-Azam—a protector of the poor. • Chaudhary Chhotu Ram left the Congress because he came to the conclusion that Mahatma Gandhi’s non-co-operation movement neglected the farmers. • Along with Sir Fazle-Hussein and Sir Sikandar Hayat Khan, he launched the Zamindaran Party, which later became the Unionist Party, which had the support of Hindu and Muslim Jats, Sikh Jats and a vast majority of zamindars of all communities. • In the 1937 provincial elections in Punjab, out of 175 seats, the Unionist Party won 99 seats, the Congress and the Muslim League between them managed 19, the Khalsa Nationalists 13 and the Hindu Mahasabha 12. • The new ministry was sworn in on 1.4.1937, with Sir Sikandar Hayat Khan as Premier, Chhotu Ram was appointed Revenue Minister. • He held the post till his death on 9 January 1945, aged 63. • It was Chhotu Ram who conceived the idea of building the Bhakra Dam. • He had the Punjab government sign an agreement with the Raja of Bilaspur, who had the right to the waters of the river Sutlej. The agreement was signed a few months before he died. • M.A. Jinnah asked Premier Khizer Hayat to alter the name of the Unionist Government of the Punjab to the Muslim League Government. This was vigorously opposed by Sir Chhotu Ram. He had his way. • The two Hayats, Chhotu Ram and other leaders of the Unionist Party ensured that the party remained secular and no community took precedence over the others. • A commutative stamp was issued on 9 January 1995 to honour his memory.

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29.Constitution day

30.Lingayats • Context: The government has set in motion the process to set up the Karnataka Veerashaiva-Lingayat Corporation (KVLC) with a fund of Rs 500 crore

Who are the Lingayats? • The Lingayat sect is believed to have stemmed from the principles of the 12th century social reformer and Kannada poet Basava. • Many scholars believe he furthered an established sect. • Inspired by the ‘Bhakti’ movement, Basava rejected temple worship and Brahmin rituals and envisaged a religion free of gender and religious discrimination. • Several people from backward castes opted to be Lingayats over the centuries to escape the rigid Hindu caste system.

Are Lingayats and Veerashaivas the same? • No. • While both Veerashaivas and Lingayats pray to the Hindu god , the two sects are not synonymous • Like the Brahmins believe they were born from the ear of Brahma, the Veerashaivas believe themselves to be born of Shiva’s lingam or phallus.

www.sleepyclasses.com Available on App Store Call 6280133177 and Play Store 28 T.me/SleepyClasses • The major difference between the Lingayats and the Veerashaivas is that while the former reject the Vedas and the caste system, the latter don’t. • The Lingayats worship Shiva as a formless entity (ishtalinga), while Veerashaivas worship the Vedic idol of Shiva with a snake around his neck. • These are the reasons why, since the framing of the Constitution, the Lingayats have been seeking recognition as a religion independent of .

Why the confusion? • The 12-century vachanas or sayings of Basava were lost or dispersed among different southern states, following which many texts clubbed Veerashaivas and Lingayats under one umbrella. • It is only recent research that has helped differentiate Veerashaivas, Lingayats, and Hindus. 31.Guru Nanak Dev Ji • Guru Nanak Ji, the founder of Sikhism and the frst of the ten Sikh Gurus died 476 years ago on September 22, 1539 at the age of 70. • He was known for his political, social and spiritual beliefs which were based on love, equality, fraternity and virtue. • He travelled to far off places and he spread the message of 'one God', that God constitutes the eternal truth and he resides in his creations.

Background • He was born on April 15, 1469. His birth anniversary is celebrated on Kartik Puranmashi, the full moon day in the month of October or November • He was born to Hindu parents though he believed that he was neither Hindu nor Muslim • He started going to school at the age of seven. • It was believed that he surprised his teacher by explaining him the symbolism of the frst letter of the alphabet, which is a straight stroke in Persian or Arabic. It resembled the mathematical one and it symbolized as God being one and united • At the age of 18, Guru Nanak married Mata Sulakkhani on September 24, 1487. He had two sons, Sri Chand and Lakshmi Chand • Guru Nanak's son Sri Chand became the founder of Udasi religion • At the age of 30, Guru Nanak had a vision. One day Guru Nanak failed to return from his bath and his clothes were found on the bank of the stream. The locals thought that he died. After three days he returned back and he stayed silent. Later he said that he had been taken to God's court and there he was offered a cup full of amrit and he was blessed. Available on App Store www.sleepyclasses.com 29 and Play Store Call 6280133177 T.me/SleepyClasses • Guru Nanak said, ''There is neither Hindu nor Muslim so whose path shall I follow? I shall follow God's path. God is neither Hindu nor Muslim and the path which I follow is God's." • Guru Nanak founded the Sikh sacred scripture, Guru Granth Sahib • His teaching majorly involved three things; 'Vand Chakko', 'Kirat Karo' and 'Naam Japna'.

✓ Vand Chakko involves sharing with others and helping the ones in need.

✓ Kirat Karo involves making a living honestly with exploiting anyone and without any fraud;

✓ And 'Naam Japna' involves meditating on the name of God and controlling our evils. • Guru Nanak travelled the World with an objective to spread the holy message. He travelled to Mecca, Tibet, Kashmir, Bengal, Manipur, Rome etc. on foot with his Muslim companion (and friend) Bhai Mardana • Guru Nanak died at the age of 70. He appointed Bhai Lena as his successor and renamed him as Guru Angad.

32.Annapurna Statue to come back to India • Context: The statuette of Goddess Annapurna, which was stolen over a century ago and transported to Canada, will soon be making its way back to India, to its original home in Varanasi. • It is believed that this 18th century idol was acquired by lawyer Norman McKenzie in the early 20th century. www.sleepyclasses.com Available on App Store Call 6280133177 and Play Store 30 T.me/SleepyClasses • After it was stolen, the statue became part of MacKenzie Art Gallery at the University of Regina in Canada. • The idol is expected to be returned by mid-December. • After its arrival, verifcation and documentation will be done, following which it will be decided where it will be placed in Varanasi. • The announcement regarding the bringing back of the idol was made by Prime Minister during Dev Deepawali Mahotsav in Varanasi. • Prior to this, interim president and vice-chancellor of the University of Regina, had handed over the statue to India’s high commissioner to Ottawa, in a virtual repatriation ceremony. • Annapurna, also called ‘Annapoorna’ is known as the goddess of food and nourishment. • She is also known as the manifestation of the goddess Parvati, partner to Lord Shiva. • The 18-century idol built following the Benaras style of art had so long been an exhibit at the MacKenzie Art Gallery, an art museum in Canada that showcases the private collection of the Regina University.

Other repatriated objects from the West • Union Culture Minister recently handed over the custody of a bronze idol of Lord Rama, Lakshman and Goddess Sita to the Tamil Nadu government after bringing it back frm the UK. • He has also put the onus of their safe custody to the respective state’s government to avoid any future situation of theft. • In the last six years, the government was able to trace back 40 antiquities from various countries that were stolen in between 1977 and 2014. • According to ASI records, 13 of them were brought back to India. Legal Provisions in India • Antiquities And Art Treasures Act 1972. • Indian Treasure Trove Act 1949. • National Mission on Monuments and Antiquities– it creates a National Register on Artifacts that are unprotected. • National Manuscript Mission for Documenting Heritage. • Bilateral agreements to recover smuggled artifacts. 33.Mahaparinirvana Diwas • Context: December 6, 2020, marks the 64th death anniversary of DrBhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, the chief architect of the Indian Constitution. BR Ambedkar breathed his last on December 6, 1956, in his sleep and people pay their tributes to him on this day every year which is observed as the Mahaparinirvana Diwas.

Available on App Store www.sleepyclasses.com 31 and Play Store Call 6280133177 T.me/SleepyClasses • Parinirvana, regarded as one of the major principles as well as goals of Buddhism, is a Sanskrit term which means release or freedom after death. • As per the Buddhist text Mahaparinibbana Sutta, the death of Lord Buddha at the age of 80 is considered as the original Mahaparinirvana. • Owing to his status as a Buddhist leader, Ambedkar’s death anniversary is referred to as Mahaparinirvana Diwas. • Ambedkar, who belonged to the Mahar caste which was considered untouchable in Hinduism, converted to Buddhism after studying the religion for years on October 14, 1956, in Nagpur along with 500,000 supporters. • He died just a few days after completing his last work, The Buddha and His Dhamma, a treatise on Buddha’s life and Buddhism. • Ambedkar believed that can never get their rights within Hinduism. • Baba Saheb, as he is fondly called by his supporters, was born on April 14, 1891, in Madhya Pradesh’s Mhow. • Because of his caste, Ambedkar witnessed economic and social discrimination since childhood. • In 1912, Bhimrao graduated in political science and economics from Bombay University after which he got a job in Baroda but decided to move to the United States in 1913 for further studies. • In 1916, he received a doctorate degree from Columbia University, becoming the frst Indian to do so. • According to Ambedkar, Columbia University was the frst place where he “experienced social equality.” • When he returned from the United States, the Maharaja of Baroda appointed Ambedkar as his political secretary. • Bhimrao moved to Bombay in 1917 and established a fortnightly newspaper “Mooknayak” in 1920 which laid the foundations of an assertive and organised politics. • Ambedkar was appointed by the Committee to work in the in 1925. • In 1926, Ambedkar successfully defended three non-Brahmin leaders who had accused the Brahmin community of ruining India and were then subsequently sued for libel. • This made Ambedkar popular in the country after which he led the Mahad Satyagraha in 1927 to allow untouchables to use water in a public tank in Mahad, . • The Kalaram Temple Movement of 1930 formed a pivotal role in the Dalit movement in India in which Ambedkar led a protest outside the Kalaram temple which did not allow Dalits to enter the temple premises. • In 1932, Ambedkar was invited to attend the Second Round Table Conference in London where he demanded separate electorates for Dalits. • Mahatma Gandhi was against separate electorates for untouchables and protested by fasting in Yerwada jail. www.sleepyclasses.com Available on App Store Call 6280133177 and Play Store 32 T.me/SleepyClasses • Ultimately, Ambedkar agreed with Gandhi and signed the Poona Pact, whereby a number of seats were reserved for the untouchables, which gave the Dalits a place in the general electoral list. • On August 29, 1947, he was appointed as the chairman of the Constitution Drafting Committee for the constitution of independent India. After Independence, he was appointed as the law minister of India.

34.Cattle, buffalo meat residue found in Indus Valley vessels • A new study has found the presence of animal products, including cattle and buffalo meat, in ceramic vessels dating back about 4,600 years at seven Indus Valley Civilization sites in present-day Haryana and . • The studywas conducted as a part of the Two Rains project of the University of Cambridge and , analyzed the lipid residue in pottery found at the ancient sites. • About 50-60% of domestic animal bones found at Indus Valley sites come from cattle/buffalo. • The high proportions of cattle bones may suggest a cultural preference for beef consumption across Indus populations, supplemented by the consumption of mutton/lamb. • The study of lipid residues in Indus pottery shows a dominance of animal products in vessels, such as the meat of non-ruminant animals like pigs, ruminant animals like cattle or buffalo and sheep or goat, as well as dairy products.

Available on App Store www.sleepyclasses.com 33 and Play Store Call 6280133177 T.me/SleepyClasses • The analysis of lipid residues involved extraction and identifcation of the fats and oils that were absorbed in the vessels. • The study was the frst to look into the absorbed lipid residues in pottery from multiple sites, including Rakhigarhi, Farmana and Masudpur. • While cattle bones have been found in large numbers at Indus Valley sites, the study found little evidence of dairy products. • However, there could be regional differences as a recent study of vessels in Gujarat had found evidence of dairy products.

35.Tharu Tribals • Context: The Uttar Pradesh government has recently embarked upon a scheme to take the unique culture of its ethnic Tharu tribe across the world. The intention is to put Tharu villages on the tourism map, and to create jobs and bring economic independence to the tribal population.

What is this scheme about? • The state government is working to connect Tharu villages in the districts of Balrampur, Bahraich, Lakhimpur and Pilibhit bordering Nepal, with the home-stay scheme of the U.P. Forest Department. • The idea is to offer tourists an experience of living in the natural Tharu habitat, in traditional huts made of grass collected mainly from the forests. • The Uttar Pradesh Forest Corporation will train the Tharu people to communicate effectively with visitors and encourage villagers to acquaint them with aspects of safety and cleanliness, and with the rules of the forest. • Tharu homeowners will be able to charge tourists directly for the accommodation and home-cooked meals. • The UP government expects both domestic and international tourists to avail of the opportunity to obtain a taste of the special Tharu culture by staying with them, observing their lifestyle, food habits, and attire. • The Tharus live in both India and Nepal. In the Indian , they live mostly in Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar.

Who exactly are the Tharu people? • The community belongs to the Terai lowlands, amid the Shivaliks or lower . • Most of them are forest dwellers, and some practice agriculture. • The word tharu is believed to be derived from sthavir, meaning followers of Buddhism. • Members of the tribe survive on wheat, corn and vegetables grown close to their homes. • In the Indian terai, they live mostly in Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar. • According to the 2011 census, the Scheduled Tribe population in Uttar Pradesh was more than 11 lakh; this number is estimated to have crossed 20 lakh now.

What is unusual about the Tharu language, food, and culture? www.sleepyclasses.com Available on App Store Call 6280133177 and Play Store 34 T.me/SleepyClasses • They speak various dialects of Tharu, a language of the Indo-Aryan subgroup, and variants of Hindi, Urdu, and Awadhi • In central Nepal, they speak a variant of Bhojpuri, while in eastern Nepal, they speak a variant of Maithili. • Tharus worship Lord Shiva as Mahadev, and call their supreme being “Narayan”, who they believe is the provider of sunshine, rain, and harvests. • Tharu women have stronger property rights than is allowed to women in mainstream North Indian Hindu custom. • Most Tharutribals consume alcoholic beverages, and some eat beef. • Standard items on the Tharu plate are bagiya or dhikri – which is a steamed dish of rice four that is eaten with chutney or curry – and ghonghi, an edible snail that is cooked in a curry made of coriander, chili, garlic, and onion.

36.Hampi stone chariot now gets protective ring • Context: The Vijaya Vittala Temple in the UNESCO World Heritage site of Hampi, has been cordoned off by a protective ring by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). • ASI put up the barrier aimed at preventing people from touching or climbing the monument, causing damage in any way. • The stone chariot is one of the most visited monuments in Hampi and needs extra protection. • Every tourist visiting the site photographs the sensitive monument and touches it. • Some even climb it to take their photos with the monument. The protected monument is facing the risk of being damaged by such objectionable behavior of some of the tourists. • Tourists can, henceforth, see and photograph the monument from a distance. • The Chariot is actually a shrine dedicated to Garuda, which you see inside the complex of Vijaya Vittala temple. There used to be a massive sculpture of Garuda seated atop the chariot but now, it is a ruin. • The Stone Chariot of Hampi is recognized among the three famous chariots in India; One in Konark and another one in Mahabalipuram.

Hampi stone chariot

• The iconic chariot was built by the Great King of Vijayanagara, Shri Deva Raya during the 16th century. Available on App Store www.sleepyclasses.com 35 and Play Store Call 6280133177 T.me/SleepyClasses • It is said in the history that the king got fascinated with the chariot while fghting a battle in Odissa and wanted one of that kind in his empire. • There is an interesting talk among the locales that the world would come to a halt when the chariot moves from its space. • Also, villagers believe that the idol inside the chariot was stolen by Britishers and it is still there, somewhere in Britain. • The architecture is inspired by the Dravidian art and it is a pure colossal structure mirroring the skills of the early craftsmen and architects. • One amazing fact about Stone chariot is its construction. It looks like one single piece of a solid structure. However, it was built by slabs of granite whose linkages are smartly hidden with artistic designs. • The base of the chariot depicts the mythical battle scenes in its fnest details. • The chariot has elephants seated but you can clearly observe the hind legs and tails of the horses behind the elephants. A smaller ladder is observed in between the two elephants as a way to enter the inner sanctum of the shrine. • Stone Chariot of Hampi is designated as one of India’s most known archaeological destinations. Also, the Government of India printed the chariot in 50 Rupee Note. • The chariot is located in the complex of Vijaya Vittala temple where one can see the stone musical pillars.

37.Gwalior, Orchha in UNESCO world heritage cities list: MP Govt • Context: The historical fort cities of Gwalior and Orchha in Madhya Pradesh have been included in the list of UNESCO's world heritage cities under its urban landscape city programme, according to the state government. • After getting included in the heritage city list, the face of Gwalior and Orchha will totally change and UNESCO along with the state tourism department will make a master plan for the beautifcation of the two places. • A UNESCO team will visit the state next year and after having a look at the heritage properties will prepare a master plan for their development and conservation. • Under the plan, UNESCO will suggest best measures and resources for the development of these places under the Historic Urban Landscape recommendations. • Gwalior was established in 9th century and ruled by Gurjar-PratiharRajvansh, Tomar, and . • Gwalior is known for its palaces and temples, including the intricately carved Sas Bahu Ka Mandir. • The Gwalior Fort occupies a sandstone plateau overlooking the city and is accessed via a winding road lined with sacred Jain statues. • Within the forts high walls is the 15th-century Gujari Mahal Palace, now an archaeological museum.

www.sleepyclasses.com Available on App Store Call 6280133177 and Play Store 36 T.me/SleepyClasses

38.Centre recognises yoga as a competitive sport • Context: Yogasana will be a competitive sport in the country, Ministries of AYUSH and Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports have declared • The National Board of Promotion and Development of Yoga and Naturopathy in 2019 had recommended that yogasana be recognised as a competitive sport. • A document containing rules, regulations and syllabus for yogasana competitions had been prepared, and the technical committee had also made a list of the asanas (compulsory and optional) after research from traditional books on Yoga. • Work for automation of the scoring system to introduce objectivity in marking has been initiated and district/ State/ national/ world championships in yogasana are proposed in 2021. • A pilot championship of traditional yogasana by the name of ‘National Individual Yogasana Sports Championship’ (virtual mode) is proposed to be organized in February 2021. • The work is currently on to develop a patented electronic scoring system for yogasana championships in India and globally, along with courses/ certifcation of coaches, referees, judges and directors for competitions, coaching camps for players, and broadcast-friendly packaging of the sports into leagues, shows and competitions. • Yogasana as a sports discipline is likely to have 51 medals in four events and seven categories.

Available on App Store www.sleepyclasses.com 37 and Play Store Call 6280133177 T.me/SleepyClasses • The proposed events for both men and women include ‘Traditional Yogasana’, ‘Artistic Yogasana (Single)’, ‘Artistic Yogasana (Pair)’, ‘Rhythmic Yogasana (Pair)’, ‘Free Flow/Group Yogasana’, ‘Individual All Round - Championship’ and ‘Team Championship’. • The ultimate objective is to have yogasana included in the Olympic Games. 39.60th Goa Liberation Day • Context: Dec 18, 1961, the Indian government put into action Operation Vijay — the process to annex Goa into the Indian Republic. A 36-hour battle saw Goa liberated from the yoke of a 450-year-long colonial rule. On Dec 19, Portuguese forces surrendered unconditionally. • On the occasion of the 60th anniversary of Liberation of Goa, a wreath-laying ceremony was organised at the naval base, INS Gomantak, at Vasco in South Goa. • A Ceremonial Guard was paraded in honour of the brave soldiers who laid down their lives during the operation. • President visited Goa on the state’s Liberation Day and inaugurated a cultural event to mark the beginning of Goa’s 60th year of liberation from 451 years of colonial Portuguese. • The Sugam Sangeet is one of the cultural programs held on Goa Liberation Day. • This is a form of classical vocal music that incorporates words with a different rhythm or style. • This Indian musical genre is a poetic expression and a wonderful part of liberation celebrations for the Goan people. • Goa has a rich and diverse history, dating back to prehistoric times. • Prehistoric engravings at Usgalimal were discovered in the early 1990s and studied by the Institute of Oceanography in Goa. • There is even evidence of a pre-historic Goan shamanic practice. (Shamanism is a religious practice that involves a practitioner, a master shaman, who is believed to interact with a spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance) • After various dynasties ruled Goa, the era of Portuguese autocratic rule began in 1510 after Vasco da Gama’s feet landed in Calicut, with Goa becoming the center of Portuguese control in India • The state was under the rule of the Kadambas for 300 years and it has various monuments that were built in that era, the most famous among them Tambdi Surla.

40.Sheikh Mujibur Rehman • Year 2020 marks the 100th Birth Anniversary of ‘Jatir Pita’ Bangabandhu, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman • Mujibur Rahman was born on 17th March 1920 in Tungipara, India (now in Bangladesh) and passed away on 15th August 1975 in , Bangladesh. • He was a Bengali leader who became the frst prime minister of Bangladesh (1972–75) and later became the president of the same in 1975. • He played a crucial role in advocating political autonomy for East Pakistan, the detached eastern part of Pakistan (now Bangladesh). www.sleepyclasses.com Available on App Store Call 6280133177 and Play Store 38 T.me/SleepyClasses • The UNESCO has decided to launch an international prize in the feld of ‘creative economy’ in the name of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. • Starting November 2021, the $ 50,000 award will be given away once in two years for global economic initiatives of the youth. • According to UNESCO, the international award will create a knowledge-sharing mechanism by capturing, celebrating and communicating best practice in the development of creative entrepreneurship. • UNESCO has declared 2021 as ‘International Year of Creative Economy for Sustainable Development’. • Currently, there are 23 UNESCO International Awards in the name of international celebrities and organisations.

41.The Mamallapuram Dance Festival of 2020 • Mamallapuram also called as Mahabalipuram is a small town situated at a distance of 57 Km from Chennai in the state of Tamil Nadu. • Mamallapuram dance festival is one of the remarkable festivals in India, completely dedicated to the traditional fne arts of the country. • This festival is organized for about twenty days in the town of Mahabalipuram. • The breathtaking dances are performed in ornamented stage with the historic stone sculptures range “The Penance” as the backdrop. • Every year Mamallapuram dance festival is commemorated by the Tourism Department of the Government of Tamil Nadu. • Now the department has announced the commencement and conclusion of the festival for 2020. This year the event begins from 21st December to 19th January.

Historical importance of Mamallapuram • The monuments seen today in Mamallapuram were built by the Pallava Kings who ruled this region between the 5th and 8th centuries. • Hence Mamallapuram monuments are the one of the oldest structural monuments of India built before 1700 years. • Originally, Mamallapuram complex had more than 400 monuments. Only about 50 of them have survived till date. • The UNESCO has declared Mamallapuram a World Heritage Site especially highlighting the three monuments namely Descent of the Ganges, Pancha and Shore Temple • The word Mahabalipuram was initially spelled as Mamallapuram which means “Great Wrestler” to praise the King Narasimha Varman I. • Over the period the word turned down into Mahabalipuram. Sea Shore Temple

Available on App Store www.sleepyclasses.com 39 and Play Store Call 6280133177 T.me/SleepyClasses • The sea shore temple is also named as ‘Seven Pagodas’ by its pyramidal structure. • This temple is entirely carved from black stone and it is the frst temple. The shore temples consist two temples which is surrounded by small rocks as compound. A big Linga statue is positioned ahead of sea. • The Shore temple catches the frst rays of the Sun. There is an open space auditorium which was used for dancing and daily prayers in ancient period. • 100 Nandhi (bull) Statues around the shore temples can be seen. Every Nandhi statue made from a single rock. Shore Temple was built using the granite stones.

Pancha rathas • They are carved in the shape of chariots. They are entirely made out of single stone. The Pancha Rathas or Pandava Rathas are the most well-known out of all the Temples. • They are actually dedicated to deities and concepts of the Shaivi (Shiva), Vaishnavi (Vishnu) and (Durga) traditions of Hinduism. • Near to the Pancha Rathas an elephant and Rogue lion can be seen which is positioned in opposite directions.

The Descent of the Ganges or Arjuna’s Penance • Arjuna’s Penance is a rock where the pictured creations are made from a rock. This is a single rock which is of 300 ft. length and 30 ft. in height. 150 statues have been designed on the rock itself. The statues are scuplted into gods, animals, humans. • This place also praises Lord Shiva at north portion. At the bottom of the rock it praises Lord Vishnu statue. • This rock also have six pillars which seems like a bone. The entire pillar is made by a single rock.

Krishna’s Butter Ball • Krishna’s Butter Ball is a massive single rock which stands without any base. • The total height this ball is about 5 meters and weight about 250 tons (Equal to weight of medium-sized Airplane). Apart from all it is estimated that the stones stands in the place for about an impressive 1200 years.

Krishna Mandapam • In Krishna Mandapam we can identify a status which seems like Krishna saving the Ayarpadi people from Rain by using the as an umbrella.

www.sleepyclasses.com Available on App Store Call 6280133177 and Play Store 40 T.me/SleepyClasses • Statue of Gopalar people calmly staying inside of that Govardhanagiri Hill is amazingly created. The Krishna Mandapam also has a statue of a cow feeding milk to its calf.

Ganesh Ratha Temple • The Ratha Temple is fully created by rocks. The temple was structured by the King Narasimhavarman I. This temple praises Lord Shiva. • The temple also have plenty of inscriptions of the period of Narasimhavarman I’s grandson, Parmeshvara-Varman I.

Varaha Cave Temple • This Varaha Cave is positioned in the south side and inside the Varaha avatharam statue. This cave contains plenty of that explainations of the history of varaha avatharam (the boar avatar of Vishnu). • Varaha cave also has a statue of Perumal sleeping peacefully over a 5 headed snakes in the sea.

Tiger Cave • Tiger Cave is located 3 km in the north from Mahabalipuram. On center of the cave a stage is created. The stage had been used by the various artist to expose their talents. • The tiger cave is completely sculpted with the statues of tigers hence the name Tiger cave.

42.The Ramanujan Prize • The Ramanujan Prize for young mathematicians from developing countries has been awarded annually since 2005. • It was originally instituted by ICTP, the Niels Henrik Abel Memorial Fund, and the International Mathematical Union (IMU) • The participation of the Abel Fund ended in 2012; the Department of Science and Technology of the Government of India (DST) has now agreed to fund the Prize for a 5 year period, starting with the 2014 Prize. • The Prize is awarded annually to a researcher from a developing country who is less than 45 years of age on 31 December of the year of the award, and who has conducted outstanding research in a developing country. • Researchers working in any branch of the mathematical sciences are eligible. • The Prize carries a $15,000 cash award. • The Prize is usually awarded to one person but may be shared equally among recipients who have contributed to the same body of work. • The Selection Committee takes into account not only the scientifc quality of the research but also the background of the candidate and the environment in which the work was carried out Available on App Store www.sleepyclasses.com 41 and Play Store Call 6280133177 T.me/SleepyClasses • The Committee in particular favours candidates who have overcome adversity to achieve distinction in mathematics. • The year 2020 Ramanujan Prize for Young Mathematicians was awarded to Dr. Carolina Araujo, Mathematician from the Institute for Pure and Applied Mathematics (IMPA), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in a virtual ceremony on 9th December 2020. • Dr. Araujo, is Vice President of the Committee for Women in Mathematics at the International Mathematical Union, is the frst non-Indian women mathematician to receive this prize and will be a role model for all women around the world. • Srinivasa Ramanujan was a self-taught mathematician who contributed to the theory of numbers. Born in Erode, Tamil Nadu, in 1887 • He died on April 26, 1920, with this year marking his 100th death anniversary • Ramanujan had obtained a scholarship for the , but he ended up losing it because he neglected his studies in other subjects in favour of mathematics. • Ramanujan published his frst paper in the Journal of Indian Mathematical Society in 1911. • In 1913, Ramanujan started communicating with Godfrey H Hardy, a British mathematician. This led him to obtaining a scholarship from University of Madras and a grant from Trinity College in Cambridge, after which he travelled to England and started to work on some research with Hardy. • After his advances, especially in the feld of partition of numbers, and the publication of his papers in several English as well as European journals, he was elected to the Royal Society of London in 1918. • After contracting tuberculosis, the mathematician recovered enough in 1919 to return to India, but died the following year, without much recognition. However, the mathematics community recognized him as a genius without peer. • The Man Who Knew Infnity: A Life of the Genius Ramanujan is a biography of Ramanujan, written in 1991 by Robert Kanigel and published by Washington Square Press.

43.Khudi Ram Bose • Context: The Union Home Minister paid homage to revolutionary in his village in Paschim recently. • Khudiram was born on December 3, 1889, in the small village of Habibpur situated in the Midnapore district of West Bengal. • He was possessed by the spirit of the freedom movement when he heard a series of public lectures held in Medinipur, by and . (She was an Irish teacher, author, social activist, school founder and a disciple of Swami Vivekananda) • He became a volunteer when he was just 15 and courted his frst arrest for distributing pamphlets against the British rule in India. • Just a year later, he was taking part in full-blown revolutionary activities, planting bombs near police stations and targeting government offcials. • Khudiram was part of the , propounding revolutionary violence as a means to drive the British out of India. www.sleepyclasses.com Available on App Store Call 6280133177 and Play Store 42 T.me/SleepyClasses • During this period, the Chief Presidency Magistrate of Calcutta was Douglas H Kingsford. • Infamous for handing out strong and harsh punishments to freedom fghters, he was a target of the revolutionaries. He was particularly vindictive towards anti-partition and Swadeshi activists. • A 15-year-old youngster, Sushil Sen, had opposed the cruelty of cops beating revolutionaries assembled before the court, and Kingsford ordered 15 lashes for the boy. • With every lash, Sen shouted ‘Vande Mataram’. • This news was widely published in the press, and when the revolutionaries read this news, they boiled with anger and decided that revenge was the best medicine for Kingsford. • However, the British Government caught wind of the plan, and transferred Kingsford to Muzaffarpur, hoping that the anger of the revolutionaries in Calcutta would subside. • The revolutionaries heard about this and prepared to kill Kingsford at Muzaffarpur. • Prafulla Kumar Chaki and Khudiram Bose were appointed for the mission. • They reached Muzaffarpur in the third week of August 1908 and adopted the aliases ‘Haren Sarkar’ and ‘Dinesh Roy’. • They decided to carry out spy missions, trying to learn about Kingsford’s routine, attempting to fnd a loophole when the attack could be carried out. • It was decided that a bomb would be used. • Khudiram attacked Kingsford’s carriage when it was leaving the club. As the horse carriage approached, Khudiram hurled a bomb at it. • An explosion followed, and the carriage blew up and burst into fames. Prafulla and Khudiram, believing they had succeeded, melted into the darkness. • Khudiram and Prafulla had thrown a bomb at a carriage, but sadly, it wasn’t Kingsford’s carriage. • It was occupied by Mrs Kennedy, the wife of Pringle Kennedy, a leading pleader of the Muzaffarpur Bar, and her daughter. Both women lost their lives in the attack, within hours of each other. • Unaware of Prafulla’s suicide (Prafulla committed suicide when he was about to be arrested by the Police), Khudiram Bose assumed full responsibility of the Muzaffarpur bombings in front of the . • He was then put on trial. • The trial started on 21st May 1908, and Bose, along with two others, faced the panel. • On 23rd May, Khudiram resubmitted his statement to the magistrate, denying any responsibility for the attack. • When the verdict was read out, Khudiram Bose smiled, prompting the judge to ask him whether he understood the full extent of his punishment. Bose replied that not only had he understood the verdict, he was also ready to teach the judge bomb-making if given the time. • The British judges announced the fnal verdict on July 13th, 1908.

Available on App Store www.sleepyclasses.com 43 and Play Store Call 6280133177 T.me/SleepyClasses • One of the youngest revolutionaries of the Indian freedom struggle, he was hung on August 11, 1908, when he was just 18 years old.

44.Sentinel Island • Context: “Any exploitation of the North Sentinel Island of the Andamans for commercial and strategic gain would spell the death knell for its occupants, the Sentinelese, a most secluded, particularly vulnerable tribal group (PVTG) who reside in complete isolation on the island” – A report by the Anthropological Survey of India (AnSI).

Key Findings • It is a policy document, which has come almost two years after an American national was allegedly killed by the Sentinelese on the Island. The AnSI says the “right of the people to the island is non- negotiable.” • These rights are unassailable, non-negotiable and uninfringeable. • The prime duty of the state is to protect these rights as eternal and sacrosanct. • Therefore, their island should not be eyed for any commercial or strategic gain, for if it were to happen, it surely would be a death knell for its occupants. • Sentinelese, with a population of about 50 to 100 on the North Sentinel Island, are not only among the most isolated of nearly 70 PVTGs across the country, but also among the fve in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands which include Great Andamanese, Onge, Jarawa, and Shompens. • Along with maintaining the territorial integrity of the North Sentinel Island, the document also calls for building a knowledge bank on the Sentinelese. • Since ‘on-the-spot study’ is not possible for the tribal community, anthropologists suggest the ‘study of a culture from distance’. • Anthropologists who have circumnavigated and conducted an aeriel survey of the North Sentinel Island as late as 2015, said this is frst detailed policy draft for the Sentinelese island, prepared at the request of the Andaman and Nicobar Administration. • The anthropologists said that till 1990s, there were goodwill missions whose contact was limited to standing in shallow waters around the island at a distance and offering gifts to the members of the tribe. • The policy document suggests that members of the goodwill missions should be interviewed for what they remember seeing during their circumnavigations as also fshermen from Wandoor, Manglutun, Chidiatapu, and others, about their visits to this island and any meeting with the tribal community. • The policy document also talks about the Great Andamanese, a tribe that has had signifcant exposure to outside world • Though both Sentinelese and Great Andamanese are classifed as PVTG, the tribes live in two completely different contact situation. • While in the case of the Sentinelese their contact to the outside world is almost nil, the Great Andamanese had decades of exposure to the world outside their Island www.sleepyclasses.com Available on App Store Call 6280133177 and Play Store 44 T.me/SleepyClasses • Tracing the history of confict of the Great Andamanese with the British in the 19th century and the outbreak of disease which brought down the number of members of the tribe from nearly 5,000 in 1858 to 30 in 1951, the document states that in 1969, the members of the tribe were settled at Strait Island having an area of about fve sq. km. • The document highlights that changes have taken place since then, including the fact that the Great Andamanese are no longer a foraging community. • They are now a semi-acculturated and biogenetically not as pure as the Sentinelese or the Jarawa • The policy for Great Andamanese calls for bringing out the population from the “State's development dependency” and make them a self-sustaining group. • Along with steps for preservation of Great Andamanese language and teaching it as third language to the members of the tribe, the policy document seeks protection by prohibiting the entry of unauthorized person to Strait Island, protecting natural resources like fshing around the island and also safeguarding women and children from any kind of exploitation “ranging from voyeurism to sexual exploitation from outsiders.

AnSI • The Anthropological Survey of India was established in 1945. • It conducts bio-cultural investigation/ research on Indian population, collects and preserves documents of scientifc interest about the people of India. • The Anthropological Survey of India is a premier research organisation under the Ministry of Culture. • It has headquarters at and branches in Port Blair, Shillong, Dehra Dun, Udaipur, Nagpur, and Mysore in addition to two feld stations at Jagdalpur and Ranchi.

45.AMU • Context: Prime Minister addressed the centenary celebrations of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) via video conferencing. • On September 14, Aligarh Muslim University completed 100 years as a university. • This makes it one of the oldest surviving universities in India • As part of the centenary celebrations, the offcials of AMU are thinking of digging out the time capsule buried in the premises 143 years ago on the foundation day of the Muhammadan-Anglo Oriental (MAO) College, which eventually became AMU in 1920. • No one is aware of the exact contents of the capsule, but it is likely to reveal records of the rich history of the college at the time of its inception in 19th century. • The India of the 19th century was characterised by a tectonic shift in the religious and social structure of the country, as reformers like Raja , Dayanand Saraswati, Sir and others endeavored to overhaul the extant unjust systems. • Among Hindus, this led to the Hindu Renaissance. • And among Muslims, this produced the Aligarh Movement, which sought to reform the Muslim community and bring about changes in the educational, social and political aspects of their lives.

Available on App Store www.sleepyclasses.com 45 and Play Store Call 6280133177 T.me/SleepyClasses • The forerunner of the Aligarh Movement was Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, the founder of MAO College. • After the British decided to reduce the usage of Persian in the functions of the state, Sir Syed felt that the salvation of the Muslims lay in the adoption of English and Western education. • In one of his speeches in 1863, he stated: “The reason why we are so backward is that whilst we have learned in and have beneftted by the philosophy, science and arts of the antiquity, we are almost entirely ignorant of those of modern times.” • Sir Syed himself was a product of the Mughal aristocracy, but his time in British service had made him cognizant of the importance of looking beyond traditional Islamic education. • He began his quest by founding schools at Moradabad (1858) and Ghazipur (1863). • A Scientifc Society was established in 1864 to translate Western knowledge into local languages and to instill a scientifc temper among the people. • Sir Syed also established the Muhammedan Civil Service Fund Association to sponsor travel of Muslims to London to take the ICS exam. • He dreamed of creating an educational institution along the lines of Oxford and Cambridge universities. • Vehement opposition from the orthodox elements was a major obstacle for which the clergy issues fve fatwas against him. • Despite the obstacles the MAO college was established in 1877. • Eventually, it became the Aligarh Muslim University after the AMU Act was passed in 1920. 46.National Film Development Corporation • Context: The Union Cabinet approved the merger of four government flm media units with the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC). • Ministry of Information and Broadcasting announced that the Films Division, the Directorate of Film Festivals, the National Film Archives of India and the Children’s Film Society, India, will be merged with the NFDC. • The decision is taken with an aim of converging activities and resources and better coordination to ensure synergy and effciency in achieving the mandate of the bodies. • The Films Division, a subordinate offce of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, was established in 1948, primarily to produce documentaries and news magazines for the publicity of government programmes and cinematic record of Indian history. • The Children’s Film Society, an autonomous organisation, was founded in 1955 under the Societies Act with the specifc objective of providing children and young people value-based entertainment through the medium of flms. • The National Film Archives of India, a subordinate offce of the information and broadcasting ministry, was established as a media unit in 1964 with the primary objective of acquiring and preserving Indian cinematic heritage.

www.sleepyclasses.com Available on App Store Call 6280133177 and Play Store 46 T.me/SleepyClasses • The Directorate of Film Festivals, as an attached offce of the information and broadcasting ministry, was set up in 1973 to promote Indian flms and cultural exchange.

What Is NFDC And What New Role Has It Acquired? • The NFDC is a Central Public Sector Undertaking (CPSU), incorporated in 1975 with the primary objective of planning and promoting an organized, effcient and integrated development of the Indian flm industry. • As an umbrella organization, the NFDC, after the merger of the flm media units, will be uniquely placed with regard to promotion, production and preservation of flm content - all under one management. • The vision of the new entity will be to ensure a balanced and focused development of Indian cinema in all its genres - feature flms, including flms and content for over-the-top (OTT) platforms, children’s content, animation, short flms and documentaries . • The Cabinet has also approved the appointment of a “transaction advisor” and a “legal advisor” to advise on the transfer of assets and employees and oversee all aspects of the operationalization of the merger. • This will lead to reduction in duplication of activities and direct savings to the exchequer. 47.Dhokra Decorative Pieces • Context: Dhokra products from different tribes of India were among the main items added in its 7th edition of “From Our Home to your Home” campaign on Tribes India. • It focusses on sourcing new, natural, attractive as well as immunity-boosting tribal products and bringing them to the customer. • 35 new products were included in the Tribes India catalogue. • Key among them are the dhokra style metal work. • Dhokra is a non-ferrous metal casting style which uses the lost-wax technique. • This style of metal casting has been in vogue in all parts of India for centuries. • The dhokra products refect the simplicity and motifs of tribal and folk life and make for excellent gifting options. • Hence, they are popular both in India and abroad. • Among the dhokra products being introduced on Tribes India are attractive statues of fsh, elephants and hangers in the boat jail design from the Lohra tribes of Jharkhand. • From the Sadeibarainitribals from Odisha, Ganesha statues, including a dancing Ganesha, a mask of Goddess Durga and Lord Jagannath, a Buddha Jaali and beautiful diyas in different shapes have been sourced. • Other products include products from the Kattunayakan tribes of Tamil Nadu. These include different variants of pure, unadulterated honey, pickles such as amla, vadu mango, ragiand types of rice. • From the tribes of Assam, pure ghee, organic poha, pickles, raw honey have been sourced.

Available on App Store www.sleepyclasses.com 47 and Play Store Call 6280133177 T.me/SleepyClasses

• All the new products introduced are available in 125 Tribes India outlets, Tribes India mobile vans and also on online platforms such as the Tribes India E-marketplace (tribesindia.com) and e-tailers. • Many new products (immunity boosting products, produce in the Forest Fresh and Organics range and tribal arts and handicrafts) have been included in the past two months. • The recently launched Tribes India e-marketplace, India’s largest handicraft and organic products marketplace which will connect 5 lakh tribal enterprises to national and international markets, showcases tribal produce and handicrafts, making them accessible to customers across the country.

www.sleepyclasses.com Available on App Store Call 6280133177 and Play Store 48 T.me/SleepyClasses 48.Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose

• Context: PM remembered Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose on 75th Anniversary of tricolor hoisting at Port Blair • 30th December 1943 Subhas Bose unfurled the Tricolour at Port Blair • On December 29, 1943, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose arrived in Port Blair, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, for a three-day visit. • The Islands were under Japanese occupation during World War II for three years (1942-45) and were formally handed over to Bose’s Azad Hind government on this day, although effective control remained with Japan. • The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are strategically located in the Indian Ocean between the Indian mainland, Myanmar, and Indonesia, and are close to important maritime routes. • The islands were first controlled by the Dutch, then by the British, and were taken over by the advancing Japanese military during World War II. • Bose, who had allied with the Japanese during the War, declared at a public meeting in August 1943 that the Azad Hind Fauj would be on Indian soil before the end of that year. • On October 24, Bose reiterated his promise before a gathering of 50,000 Indians in Singapore, where he said he would be “on the holy soil of India before the end of this year”. • The Azad Hind government was able to obtain de jure control of the islands from the Japanese by the end of 1943, and Bose arrived in Port Blair on December 29. • Bose redeemed his promise of setting foot on Indian soil before the year’s end by arriving in Port Blair on December 29 for a three-day visit to these islands. • His visit was steeped in symbolism. • The British had imprisoned some of India’s greatest revolutionaries in the notorious on Andaman Island, where many had spent harsh life sentences and not a few had been sent to the gallows. • Netaji paid tribute to the revolutionaries who had suffered there and likened the opening of the gates of Cellular Jail to the liberation of the Bastille. • He hoisted the Indian Tricolour at the Gymkhana grounds in Port Blair while a chorus sang the national anthem. • Before his departure, he renamed Andaman as Shaheed (“Martyrs”) Island, and Nicobar as (“Freedom”) Island. • Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose was born on January 23, 1897. • He is considered as the most revered freedom fghter of India who built the frst Indian armed force named the Azad Hind Fauj. • His famous slogan, “Tum mujhe khoon do, main tumhe aazdi dunga” sparked patriotism in the hearts of many Indians during the fght for independence.

Available on App Store www.sleepyclasses.com 49 and Play Store Call 6280133177 T.me/SleepyClasses • Born in Odisha in the year 1897, Bose was exceptionally brilliant and secured top ranks throughout his study in school and university. He completed his BA in Philosophy with a frst-class score in 1918. • He cleared the Indian Civil Service examination in 1920 in England. • Later, he resigned from his civil service job on April 23, 1921 after hearing about India's struggle for freedom. • Earlier, Bose had been a leader of the younger, radical, wing of the Indian National Congress in the late 1920s and 1930s, rising to become Congress President in 1938 and 1939. • He was expelled from Congress leadership positions in 1939, following differences with Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi and the Congress high command, after openly attacking the Congress' foreign and internal policies. • Although Subhash Chandra was opposed to Gandhi Ji’s philosophies, he still used to call him ‘Patriot of Patriots’. This honour was commendable as Bose was fully devoted to India’s Independence. There was no sacrifce that he did not make for his nation. • During the period of 1921-1941, he was imprisoned eleven times in various jails due to his stand for complete independence. • Bose believed that Gandhi's tactics of non-violence would never be suffcient to secure independence and advocated violent resistance. • At the outset of the Second World War, he had travelled to a number of countries, including Soviet Union, Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan, so as to seek alliance with each and to attack the British government in India. • Later, he re-organised with Imperial Japanese assistance and led the Azad Hind Fauj or Indian National Army (INA), formed with Indian prisoners- of-war and plantation workers from British Malaya, Singapore and other parts of Southeast Asia, against the British forces. • With Japanese monetary, political, diplomatic and military assistance, he formed the Azad Hind Government in exile, and regrouped and led the Indian National Army. • Along with the Japanese army they brought independence to Andaman and Nicobar Islands and came all the way to Manipur in India. • He established the Azad Hind Radio station in Germany and led the Indian nationalist movement in East Asia. www.sleepyclasses.com Available on App Store Call 6280133177 and Play Store 50 T.me/SleepyClasses 49.1000-Year-Old Paper-Making Technique • In the forests of Mukto, a village perched at an altitude of 10,800 feet in Tawang district, grows the shugu sheng shrub (Daphne papyracea), the bark of which has been traditionally processed into ‘mon shugu’ by the Monpa tribe. • For centuries, the paper has made its way to the many Buddhist monasteries not just locally, but in Tibet, Bhutan, China and Japan too, where it serves as a medium for religious scriptures, manuscripts, prayer fags, and sometimes as part of fag poles and prayer wheels. • At one point of time almost every household had a paper-making unit. • But it was not easy to do — it was hard work, took all day, and had very little return • Sometimes, raw materials were not easy to source, even if you got it, there was the long process of boiling, beating, drying, cutting (of paper) — all by hand. So many people began to look for alternative sources of income. • KVIC team studied the craft, in partnership with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), in the mid-1990s. • Subsequently, a project was launched by the KVIC to modernise it.

• A common facility centre at Mukto was made, machines were brought in to speed up the work in 2003, and a group of artisans were sent to Jaipur for a training program by the Kumarappa National Handmade Paper Institute, under the KVIC • Almost two decades ago, samples of the shugu sheng bark were sent to Jaipur and Germany for testing. • The results were outstanding. Not only does the paper have huge tensile strength but is durable and made without a single chemical additive. • So it is not just that the process is unique, but the product is as special, it is for this reason that the paper serves as a good material for religious scriptures. • The bark from the shrub has to be extricated, dried, boiled with a solution of ash, made into pulp and then cut into sheets of paper

Available on App Store www.sleepyclasses.com 51 and Play Store Call 6280133177 T.me/SleepyClasses • Many communities here have local laws such as not allowing their forest produce to be taken outside the villages. So it may be diffcult to get an unlimited supply of shugu sheng, which grows only in certain areas. • So the efforts will focus on doubling up domestic plantations of the shrub and fnding a suitable commercial market. • There are artisans to be convinced, many of whom have moved away from the craft altogether.

50.‘Adopt A Heritage’ Tourism Scheme • Context: The Union Minister of Tourism headed the review meeting to take stock of the scheme’s progress and its future plans. • Various historical monuments which have been incorporated as part of the project are Delhi’s , Qutub Minar, Safdarjung Tomb, Jantar Mantar and many others. • The ‘Adopt a Heritage: Apni Dharohar, Apni Pehchaan’ scheme is an initiative of the Ministry of Tourism, in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture and the Archaeological Survey of India. • It was launched in September 2017 on World Tourism Day • Under it, the government invites entities, including public sector companies, private sector frms as well as individuals, to develop selected monuments and heritage and tourist sites across India. • Development of these tourist sites calls for providing and maintaining basic amenities, including drinking water, ease of access for the differently abled and senior citizens, standardised signage, cleanliness, public conveniences and illumination, along with advanced amenities such as surveillance systems, night-viewing facilities and tourism facilitation centres. • The sites/monument are selected on the basis of tourist footfall and visibility and can be adopted by private and public sector companies and individuals — known as Monument Mitras — for an initial period of fve years. • The Monument Mitras are selected by the ‘oversight and vision committee,’ co-chaired by the Tourism Secretary and the Culture Secretary, on the basis of the bidder’s ‘vision’ for development of all amenities at the heritage site. • There is no fnancial bid involved. www.sleepyclasses.com Available on App Store Call 6280133177 and Play Store 52 T.me/SleepyClasses • The corporate sector is expected to use corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds for the upkeep of the site.

• The Monument Mitras, in turn, will get limited visibility on the site premises and on the Incredible India website.

• The oversight committee also has the power to terminate a memorandum of understanding in case of non-compliance or non-performance.

• According to the release issued by the Ministry of Tourism, the government has clinched a total of 27 Memorandum of Understandings (MoU) with a total of 12 public/private entities for a total of 25 major heritage sites in the country.

• The government also informed that a total of 2 MoUs have also been signed to facilitate technological interventions at a couple of heritage sites under the project.

• The major monuments which have been handed over to the “Monument Mitras” include the historic Red Fort which has been allotted to the Dalmia Bharat Ltd, Qutub Minar (allotted to Yatra.Com), Safdarjung Tomb(allotted to Travel Corporation of India), and Jantar Mantar(allotted to SBI Foundation) among others.

• This is not the frst time the government has tried to rope in the corporate sector to help maintain tourist sites and monuments.

• In one such attempt, the government in 2011 formed a National Culture Fund.

• Since then, 34 projects have been completed under it through public-private partnerships.

• Another similar scheme was ‘Campaign Clean India’, in which the government had identifed 120 monuments/destinations.

• Under this scheme, the India Tourism Development Corporation had adopted Qutab Minar as a pilot project in 2012, while ONGC adopted six monuments — Ellora Caves, Elephanta Caves, Golkonda Fort, Mamallapuram , Red Fort and — as part of its CSR.

Available on App Store www.sleepyclasses.com 53 and Play Store Call 6280133177 T.me/SleepyClasses

51.Understanding Panipat 1761 Through Rare Paintings • Context: Manoj Dani, an independent U.S.-based researcher of art history, has painstakingly assimilated rare paintings pertaining to the battle and its key players in a work titled Battle of Panipat: In Light of Rediscovered Paintings. • Before Waterloo 1815, there was Panipat 1761 – where the led by Sadashivrao Bhau was defeated by the forces of the Afghan invader Ahmad Shah Durrani. • While the battle and its complicated run-up has been analysed in works such as ’s History of the Mahrattas (1826), the second volume of Jadunath Sarkar’s opus Fall of the (1934) and in T. S. Shejwalkar’s classic monograph Panipat 1761 (1946), this critical event in modern Indian history has lacked serious visual appreciation in form of contemporary paintings till date. www.sleepyclasses.com Available on App Store Call 6280133177 and Play Store 54 T.me/SleepyClasses • The book casts a fresh light on the fateful day of battle on January 14, 1761 and the politics of the Deccan and North India through rare paintings, several of which are published in book-form for the frst time. • The book contains rare paintings from the Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF), the British Library, the National Museum in Delhi, Bonhams of U.K. and the -based Bharat Itihas Sanshodak Mandal (BISM). • While the paintings depict key players such as Ahmad Shah Abdali, Sadashivrao Bhau, Najib Khan Rohilla, Dattaji Shinde, Vishwas Rao, Suraj Mal Jat and other Maratha, Afghan, Rohilla and Jat chiefs, the book deftly weaves analysis from original archival sources, casting a revealing light on the shifting alliances of 18th century Indian politics. • The book contains rare contemporary paintings of the Maratha chieftain Dattaji Shinde in battle and that of Khanderrao (the only son of the astute ), who was killed in the Battle of Kumher in Suraj Mal Jat’s territory. • There is also a painting of the Dilli Darwaza (Delhi Gate) of the – the seat of the in Pune before it was burnt by a mysterious fre in 1827. • One can see how the Dilli Darwaza looked like in the twilight of the Peshwai era in the 1820s. • There is also a picture depicting Vishwas Rao, the son of Nanasaheb Peshwa who was renowned for his good looks and was killed along with Sadashivrao Bhau in Panipat • Sadashiv Rao’s letters to his agents in the north stressing the need to win Shuja-ud-Daulah of Awadh to the Maratha side was one of the frst enunciations of the Indian ‘Nation State’. • Here, Bhau makes a distinction between Ahmad Shah Abdali as a foreign invader and Shuja-ud- Daulah, though an Islamic ruler, an Indian one.

52.Giant Rock Bee Honey added to Tribes India Collection • Context: Giant Rock Bee Honey, a unique variant of honey, sourced from Malayali Tribes of Tamil Nadu, got added to Tribes India Collection • More than 35 new, attractive, immunity-boosting tribal products have found a new home in Tribes India outlets and website in the 8th edition of 'From Our Home to your Home' campaign. • "The campaign had been launched by Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED) under Ministry of Tribal Affairs in order to source as many effective, natural, and attractive products from diverse indigenous tribes across the country so that these can reach a wide variety of audience. • Key among the products this week are the natural, fresh, organic produce • From the Malayali tribes of Tamil Nadu, such as Giant Rock Bee Honey, honey, variants of millet rice, tamarind and black pepper. • Malayali is a tribal group from the Eastern Ghats in North Tamil Nadu. • With a population of around 3,58,000 people they are the largest Scheduled tribes in that region. • The tribals are usually hill farmers and they cultivate different types of millet.

Available on App Store www.sleepyclasses.com 55 and Play Store Call 6280133177 T.me/SleepyClasses • Among the other products sourced include vibrant and eye-catching micro-beaded jewellery (mainly neckpieces) from the Patelia tribe from Madhya Pradesh. • While agriculture is their mainstay, their handiwork is exceptional too as can be gauged from the beautiful, colourful pieces made by the artisans of Jhabua. • Other products include organic varieties of dals and spices locally sourced from the Vasava tribes of Gujarat • An assortment of produce - such as honey, jams and two unique variants of rice from the Kharwar and Oraon tribes of Jharkhand and some interesting wooden products (chakla and belan) and attractive metal jalis from the Adim Janjatit ribes and Lohra tribes of Jharkhand. • All new products introduced over the past weeks are available in 125 Tribes India outlets, Tribes India mobile vans and on online platforms such as the Tribes India E-marketplace and e-tailers. • The recently launched Tribes India e-marketplace, India's largest handicraft and organic products marketplace which aims to connect 5 lakh tribal enterprises to national and international markets; showcases tribal produce and handicrafts, making them accessible to customers across the country

53.Sri Mannathu Padmanabhan • Context: PM pays tribute to Sri Mannathu Padmanabhan on his Jayanti • He was born in Perunna, on 02 January 1878 CE, a small village in Kottayam district of Kerala. • Mannathu Padmanabhan started as a teacher in 1893 in Kanjirapally Government Primary School at the age of 16. • In 1905, he started practicing law in Magistrates Courts and soon became a leading member of the Bar. • Sri Mannathu Padmanabhan, a revolutionary thinker in his own right, along with thirteen of his close associates formed the Nair Service Society which has its headquarters in Perunna, Changanacherry. • In 1914 "Nair Bhruthya Janasangham" was formed to organise and bring social reformation to the Nair community. • In 1915 he gave up his lucrative practice and became full-time secretary of the Nair Service Society [Nair Bhruthya Janasangham] that had been started at his initiative. • In 1924 he took part in the Vaikkom Sathyagraha [30-03-1924] and led the famous "Savarna Jadha" on 01-10-1924, an anti-untouchability agitation. • On 1st of November 1929, he participated in the famous "Guruvayoor Sathyagraham".

www.sleepyclasses.com Available on App Store Call 6280133177 and Play Store 56 T.me/SleepyClasses • Mannam became a member of the Indian National Congress in 1947 and took part in the Travancore State Congress agitation against Sir C.P Ramaswamy Iyers administration in general and his policy for an independent Travancore in particular. • In 1949 Padmanabhan became a member of the Travancore Legislative Assembly. • He became president of the Travancore Devaswom Board in 1950. • He along with Sri R.Sankar, General Secretary of SNDP, initiated the Hindu Maha Mandalam. • On 11-02-1950 Sri Mannam gave up his surname, stating that name should not be an indicator of caste. • On 09-08-1959, the people of Kerala honoured him with the title "Bharatha Kesari" [Lion of India] for his outstanding and selfess social activities. • He was also awarded the "Padmabhushan" in 26-01-1966, by the Government of India. • Mannam Passed away on 25th February 1970. • Mannam wrote many books, , and a travelogue, 'Our Trip to the Federal Malay States' [FMS]. • ‘Reminiscences of my life’ is the English translation of the autobiography of Mannathu Padmanabhan. 54.Renaming of Aurangabad as Sambhaji Nagar • Context: A long standing demand for renaming Aurangabad city in Maharashtra as Sambahji Nagar has resurfaced over the last few days. • Aurangabad was built in the 15th century by of the Nizamshahi dynasty. • When , the son of took over the Mughal Empire, he made the city his capital and renamed it after his name. • He tortured and later killed Sambahji Maharaj, son of Maratha warrior Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in Aurangabad where he lived until his death. • In 1995, the Aurangabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) passed a resolution to rename Aurangabad as Sambhaji Nagar.

55.New ‘Anubhava Mantapa’ at Basavakalyan • Context: Karnataka Chief Minister laid the foundation stone for the ‘New Anubhava Mantapa’ in Basavakalyan. • It is the place where 12th century poet-philosopher Basaveshwara lived for most of his life. • The ₹500-crore project is expected to be completed within two years • The project to highlight the teachings of Basaveshwara (an icon of Veerashaiva-Lingayat community) was frst proposed back in 2016 • Grand structure • The New Anubhava Mantapa, as envisaged now, will be a six-foor structure in the midst of the 7.5- acre plot and represent various principles of Basaveshwara’s philosophy. Available on App Store www.sleepyclasses.com 57 and Play Store Call 6280133177 T.me/SleepyClasses • It will showcase the 12th Century Anubhava Mantapa (often referred to as the “frst Parliament of the world”) established by him in Basavakalyan where philosophers and social reformers held debates. • The building will adopt the Kalyana Chalukya style of architecture. • The grand structure supported by 770 pillars will have an auditorium with a seating capacity of 770 people. • It is believed that 770 Sharanas (followers of Basaveshwara) led the Vachana reformist movement in the 12th Century. • The basement is designed for a Dasoha Bhavana (dining hall) where around 1,500 people eat together. • On its top, the structure would have a Linga placed on a large pedestal. • The project also envisages state-of-the-art robotic system, open-air theatre, modern water conservation system, terrace garden, library, research centre, prayer hall, yoga centre etc.

56.Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2021 • Context: The 16th edition of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) Convention was held virtually on 9th January 2021. The Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Awards were conferred by the President at the PBD Convention in the valedictory session of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas celebrations. • The Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award (PBSA) is the highest honour conferred on overseas Indians. • PBSA is conferred by the Hon’ble as part of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Convention on Non-Resident Indians, Persons of Indian Origin or an organization/institution established and run by the Non-Resident Indians or Persons of Indian Origin in recognition of their outstanding achievements both in India and abroad. • Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) is observed on January 9th every year to mark the contribution of the Overseas Indian community in the development of India. • On this day in 1915, Mahatma Gandhi, the greatest Pravasi, returned to India from South Africa, which led India's freedom struggle and changed the lives of Indians forever. • In order to connect India with vast overseas diaspora and bring their knowledge, expertise and skills on a common platform, the PBD Convention - the fagship event of MOIA is organized from January 7th-9th every year since 2003. • Its format was revised in 2015 to celebrate the PBD once every two years and also to hold theme- based PBD Conferences during the interim period with participation from overseas diaspora experts, policymakers and stakeholders. • These conventions serve as a platform for the overseas Indian community to engage with the government and people of their ancestral land for mutually benefcial activities. • These conventions are a means of networking for the overseas Indian community residing in various parts of the world for allowing them to share their experiences in various felds. • This year, the theme of Pravasi Bharatiya Divas is "Contributing to Aatmanirbhar Bharat".

www.sleepyclasses.com Available on App Store Call 6280133177 and Play Store 58 T.me/SleepyClasses 57.Konkani language academy • Context: Delhi Cabinet has approved the setting up of a Konkani language academy in the capital. • Currently, there are eight functional language academies in Delhi covering Urdu, Sanskrit, Punjabi, Hindi, Maithili-Bhojpuri, Garhwali-Kumaoni-Jaunsari, Sindhi and Tamil. • Tamil was notifed recently. • The constitution, in its eighth schedule, lists 22 languages as the offcial languages in the country. • Konkani has close to 7.5 million native speakers spread across the western coast of the country in the states of Goa, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala, and the Union territories of Daman & Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli. • A number of Konkani scholars claim that the older version of the language was in fact Prakrit. • According to the legends, Parashurama, the sixth avtar of Lord Vishnu, shot an arrow in the Sea and instructed the Sea Lord to retreat to the level where the arrow was placed. • The new land that came into being was called ‘Konkan’ – corner of the earth. • The language of this land was called Konkani. • With Goa being a thriving commercial center in the ancient times, a number of Turks and A r a b s v i s i t e d t h e p l a c e frequently. • As a result, multiple Persian and Arabic words came into the Konkani language. • Some of them include dusman (enemy) and karz (debt). Konkani is written in multiple scripts, viz. Devanagari, Roman, Kannada, Malayalam and Perso-Arabic. • Marathis have always been very critical of Konkani. • Their common view is, “It a branch of Marathi; it has neither script nor literature; it is not a language.” • When the Portuguese invaded Goa, they tried to force their language and culture on the local people. • All the Konkani literature was burnt in 1548 and the use of the local language was banned. • To safeguard their language, a number of locals fed to nearby states and provinces. • As a result, the language developed different forms. • The Konkani Wikipedia project took off in 2006 and the site has close to 100 articles now.

Available on App Store www.sleepyclasses.com 59 and Play Store Call 6280133177 T.me/SleepyClasses

58.Risa History • In the ancient days, they used to judge a woman’s intelligence in these communities by her woven Rignai and Risa designs. • Though the history is contested, Maharaj Trilochana, aka Subhrai Raja — one of the early Manikya kings — is said to have invented nearly 250 designs of Rignai during his time for his 250 wives. • Hundreds of years down the line, the fabric is undergoing rapid changes now, especially due to the ferce competition with power-loom manufactured products available at cheaper rates in the market. • Risa comes in vivid, multi-coloured designs and the skill is handed down through generations as visual lessons. • However, most of the designs were lost with the passage of time and only a few remain now. Risa for a modern world • The Tripura government is now eyeing to promote Risa as the signature textile of Tripura nationally. • As part of the effort, CM appealed everyone to wear Risa on occasion of Kokborok Day and share your pics on social media. • This is in line with Prime Minister’s ‘Vocal for Local’ slogan. • Kokborok Day is a state-sponsored event to celebrate the Tripuri tribal language. Why is Tripura stressing on promoting traditional weavers now? • The government is trying to weave the Risa into its policy for self-employment. • As of 2018, Tripura had 1,37,177 handloom weavers, according to the National Handloom Census, with 60 handloom clusters. However, only a handful of them exclusively work on traditional tribal handloom. • The handloom and handicrafts directorate has already extended support to several artisans to market their products in expo and industry fairs at Agartala, among whom some represented Tripura elsewhere like Delhi and Guwahati.

What is a Risa, and why is it important? • Risa is one of the three parts of a customary Tripuri female attire, the other two being the Rignai and Rikutu. • The Risa, which is essentially a customary handwoven cloth, is used as a head gear, stole, female upper cloth or presented to honor a distinguished recipient. • The Rignai is primarily used to cover lower part of the body and literally translates into ‘to wear’. • The Rituku covers the upper half of the body, wrapping it all around. • However, it is also used like a ‘chunri’ or a ‘pallu’ of the Indian saree. • It is also used to cover the head of newly married Tripuri women. • Apart from its beautiful designs, the Risa plays a host of crucial social utilities. www.sleepyclasses.com Available on App Store Call 6280133177 and Play Store 60 T.me/SleepyClasses • Adolescent Tripuri girls are frst given risa to wear when she reaches 12-14 years in an event called Risa Sormani. • The event involves prayers to a Lampra god, where her elder women pray for her wellbeing throughout her life. • Risa is primarily used as a breastcloth and is woven in different colourful designs. • However, it is also used in religious festivals like the Garia Puja, a customary festival of the tribal communities, or as a head turban by male folks during weddings and festivals, as a cummerbund over dhoti, head scarf by young girls and boys, muffer during winters. • The cloth is even used as a makeshift baby carrier on the mother’s back.

59.Archaeological excavations set to bEgin In Seven More Places In Tamil Nadu • Context: Encouraged by the archaeological fndings in Keeladi that testifed to the existence of an ancient urban Tamil civilisation, the Department of Archaeology has decided to launch excavations at seven more sites and feld studies in two places. • The Central Advisory Board for Archaeology (CABA) has granted permission for the projects • Excavations would be carried out in Keeladi and surrounding areas in Sivaganga district, Adichanallur and surrounding areas, Sivakalai and surrounding areas and Korkai and surrounding areas in Thoothukudi district, Kodumanal in Erode district, Mayiladumparai in Krishnagiri district as well as Gangaikondacholapuram and Maligaimedu in Ariyalur district. • One feld study will be conducted to fnd new Stone Age sites in Krishngiri, Vellore, Dharmapuri, Tiruvannamalai and Salem districts. • Another feld study will be done in Tirunelveli and Thoothukudi districts to fnd the Thamiraparani river civilisation. • The excavations and feld studies are a milestone in the efforts to restore the ancient cultural greatness of Tamil through scientifc methods

Available on App Store www.sleepyclasses.com 61 and Play Store Call 6280133177 T.me/SleepyClasses • Besides the excavations and studies, proposals for excavations by universities, departments and agencies, have also been sent to CABA.

60.Thiruvalluvar Day • Thiruvalluvar Day was frst celebrated on May 17 and 18 in 1935. • In the present time, it is usually observed either on January 15 or 16 in Tamil Nadu and is a part of Pongal celebrations. • In 2020, Thiruvalluvar Day was celebrated on January 16. • Thiruvalluvar, a poet and philosopher, is regarded as a cultural icon by Tamils. • His most popular work is Thirukkuṛaḷ, a collection of couplets on ethics, politics, economy and love.

Who is Thiruvalluvar? • While not much is known about Thiruvalluvar’s life, speculations about it have been largely deduced from his work Thirukkural and other Tamil texts. Earliest references of the poet are found in the text Tiruvalluva Maalai. • Thiruvalluvar’s primary work Thirukkural contains 1330 couplets (kurals) that are divided into 133 sections of 10 couplets each. • The text is divided into three parts with teachings on dharma, artha, and kama (virtue, wealth and love).

Social signifcance of Thiravalluvar • In the early 16th century, a temple dedicated to Thiruvalluvar was built within the Ekambareswarar Temple complex in Mylapore. • Locals believe that this was where he was born, underneath a tree within the temple complex. • In 1976, a temple-memorial called Valluvar Kotam was built in Chennai and houses one of the largest auditoriums in Asia. • A 133-feet tall statue of Thiruvalluvar stands at Kanyakumari as well. • A statue of Valluvar was also erected outside the School of Oriental and African Studies in Russell Square, London.

61.Sulawesi island of Indonesia • Context: A team of archaeologists has discovered what may be the world’s oldest known cave painting dating back to more than 45,000 years. • The cave painting depicts a endemic to the Sulawesi island of Indonesia, where the painting was found. • The central Indonesian island, which occupies an area of over 174,000 sq. km, is situated between Asia and Australia and has a long history of human occupation www.sleepyclasses.com Available on App Store Call 6280133177 and Play Store 62 T.me/SleepyClasses Signifcance of the cave painting • The archaeologists note that the dated painting of the Sulawesi warty pig seems to be the world’s oldest surviving representational image of an animal. • The team came across this painting in the limestone cave of Leang Tedongnge while conducting feld research. • The painting was made using red ochre pigment and depicts a pig with a short crest of upright hairs and a pair of horn-like facial warts in front of the eyes, who is likely observing a social interaction or fght between two other warty pigs. • These pigs have been hunted by humans for tens of thousands of years and are the most depicted animal in the ice age rock art of the island.

62.Jallikattu • Context: Seen as the baiting of bulls and a ferocious display of cruelty by animal rights activists but venerated by others as a symbol of martial tradition and Tamil heritage, Jallikattu or Eru Thazhuvuthal (literally, embrace the bull) evokes polarised reactions from different sections of society. • Jallikattu has been practised for thousands of years in Tamil Nadu and fnds mention in Sangam literature, which dates back to as early as 200 BCE. • Historical references indicate that the sport was popular among warriors during the Tamil classical period. • The term ‘jallikattu’, comes from Tamil terms ‘salli kaasu‘ (coins) and ‘kattu‘ (a package), referring to the tying of prize money to the horns of a bull. • Later, in the colonial period, the name was changed to ‘jallikattu.’ • A well-preserved seal found at Mohenjodaro in the 1930s is available at the Delhi Museum, which depicts the bull fghting practice prevalent during the Indus Valley Civilization. • Several rock paintings, more than 3,500 years old, at the remote Karikkiyur village in Tamil Nadu also show men chasing bulls with big humps and long, straight horns. • According to local folklore, during the rule of the Nayak kings, an arena – usually the biggest open space in the village – would be designated for the sport to be played. • A makeshift entrance, or Vaadi Vaasal, would then be marked out for both competing bulls, which were decorated and garlanded, and for their owners, who would stand in line with them.

Available on App Store www.sleepyclasses.com 63 and Play Store Call 6280133177 T.me/SleepyClasses • Gold coins, wrapped in a piece of cloth, were tied to the horns and the bulls were then released, one by one, onto the feld. • Excited by the gestures of those who trying to catch him, the bullock would then lower his head and charge wildly into the midst of the crowd, who would nimbly run off on either side to make way for him. • Willing young men would then grapple with the bull to untie the knot and get at the prize — they either successfully managed to hang on for dear life, or were simply tossed around like rag dolls, bouncing off the bulls’ muscular body. • Winners were greatly admired as the sport required quick refexes and a feet foot to tame the recalcitrant bull, which would try to get away, shake off the fghter and, at times, stamp or wound fallen participants. • Traditionally, Jallikattu was played to judge a man’s virility; it was seen as a way to win a woman’s hand in marriage. • The men who held on to the bulls, usually reared by the object of their affections, were declared winners. • Kalithogai, a classic Tamil poetic work of Sangam literature, speaks of how the bulls were women’s best friends, in that they selected the right partners for them. • The text also talks elaborately about how to identify the right kind of bull and train it. • Modern day Jallikattu is played by farming communities in Tamil Nadu to handpick the strongest bulls as studs for their cows so that, in turn, they may sire high-quality calves. • The earliest evidence of the sport comes from Kalithogai, an anthology of 150 poems, which is part of the corpus of Tamil Sangam poetry. • Dating to the early centuries of the common era, Kalithogai poems are found in the section on ‘Mullai’ — poems set in pastoral land — and provide the earliest descriptions of an ancient sport called eru thazhuvuthal (literally, ‘embracing the bull’). • Attributed to poet Nalluruthiran, the fve poems, totalling some 350 lines, conjure up the thrill, tumult and breathless pace of jallikattu. • In the 14th century, the phenomenally erudite Nachinarkiniyar, praised as ‘star commentator among scholars’, provided glossary and elucidation — testimony that jallikattu was a continuing tradition.

www.sleepyclasses.com Available on App Store Call 6280133177 and Play Store 64 T.me/SleepyClasses 63.Egypt unveils ancient funerary temple in Saqqara • Context: Archaeologists unearthed the temple of Queen Neit, wife of King Teti, the frst king of the Sixth Dynasty that ruled Egypt from 2323 B.C.E. till 2150 B.C.E. • Archaeologists also found a 4-meter (13-foot) long papyrus that includes texts of the Book of the Dead, which is a collection of spells aimed at directing the dead through the underworld in ancient Egypt • They also unearthed burial wells, coffns and mummies dating back to the New Kingdom that ruled Egypt between about 1570 B.C. and 1069 B.C. • They unveiled at least 22 burial shafts up to 12 meters (40 feet) deep, with more than 50 wooden coffns dating back to the New Kingdom. • The Saqqara site is part of the necropolis at Egypt’s ancient capital of Memphis that includes the famed Giza pyramids as well as smaller pyramids at Abu Sir, Dahshur and Abu Ruwaysh. • The ruins of Memphis were designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1970s. • In recent years, Egypt has heavily promoted new archaeological fnds to international media and diplomats in the hope of attracting more tourists to the country. • The vital tourism sector suffered from years of political turmoil and violence that followed a 2011 uprising that toppled autocrat Hosni Mubarak.

64.Guru Gobind Singh Ji Jayanti • Guru Gobind Singh Ji was born on December 22 according to the Georgian calendar, but his birth anniversary is calculated in accordance with the lunar calendar, and this year, it was observed on January 20. • The day is observed in honour and remembrance of the great warrior, poet, philosopher and spiritual master. This year marks the 354th birth anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh Ji.

History • Guru Gobind Singh Ji was the only son of Guru Tegh Bahadur, the ninth Sikh guru and Mata Gujri. • His birth name was Gobind Rai and he was born in Patna, Bihar to a Sodhi Khatri family. • When he was merely nine years of age, his father, Guru Tegh Bahadur was killed by Aurangzeb for refusing to convert to Islam.

Available on App Store www.sleepyclasses.com 65 and Play Store Call 6280133177 T.me/SleepyClasses • Following his father’s death, Guru Gobind Ji took over as the leader and protector of the Sikhs and continued to fght against the injustices done against his community at the hands of the Mughals. • Guru Gobind led the Sikhs through his own example; his teachings and philosophy soon gained historical importance in the Sikh way of life. • He was responsible for institutionalising the Khalsa, who played a signifcant role in the protection of the Sikhs after his death, amidst the invasions of Punjab. • In 1699, Guru Gobind Singh Ji initiated the Five K’s tradition of the Khalsa, Kesh – uncut hair; Kangha – a wooden comb; Kara – an iron or steel bracelet worn on the wrist; Kirpan – a sword or dagger; and Kacchera – short breeches. • In 1708, before his death, Guru Gobind Singh Ji declared Sikhism’s holy scripture, the Guru Granth Sahib as the fnal Sikh guru.

65.Vice President launches book of poems of Sree Narayana Guru, ‘Not Many But One’ • Context: The Vice President,suggested that the Indian worldview of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ can show the way for the contemporary problems facing humanity. • Sri Narayana Guru, was a social reformer and saint. While he immersed himself in meditative practices for spiritual upliftment, he also worked for the empowerment of people in Kerala who were downtrodden due to caste prejudices. • Sree Narayana Guru was born in a time when the caste system was rampant in Kerala society. • Born in the Ezhava caste, which was thought to be a lower caste, he had experienced frsthand the discrimination brought upon them by the upper caste section of society. • His most famous saying in Malayalam translates as ‘'One caste, one religion, one god for all’'. • Narayana Guru consecrated more than 40 temples across the state as an act of protest to permit so called lower caste people to enter temples. • The famous ‘'Vaikom Satyagraha’' protest movement against caste discrimination and untouchability, which centered around the Sri Mahadeva Temple at Vaikom, was triggered by an upper-caste person blocking Narayana Guru from walking on the road leading to the famous temple. • This led to all such restrictions being fnally abolished and everyone, irrespective of caste, being given the freedom to walk on public roads that led to the temple. • The Sivagiri pilgrimage was approved with his blessings in 1924 and initiated by three of his disciples and continues till this day. • Under the Guru’s tutelage, the pilgrimage is undertaken to promote the virtues of cleanliness, education, devotion, agriculture, handicrafts, and trade. www.sleepyclasses.com Available on App Store Call 6280133177 and Play Store 66 T.me/SleepyClasses • While translating three major sacred texts, he also published more than 40 works of his own in Malayalam, Tamil, and Sanskrit. • Sree Narayana Guru embodied and propagated communal harmony and universal brotherhood following in the footsteps of Adi Sankara. • The development of Kerala into a more humane and egalitarian society began in the wake of these footsteps.

66.Khadi shirt, eri shawl and eri stole • Context: Assam government will provide khadi shirt, eri shawl and eri stole to Grade IV employees in a phased manner, in a move to pay tributes to Mahatma Gandhi and his movement for Khadi.

Eri Silk • Eri silk comes from the caterpillar of Samia ricini, found in northeast India and some parts of China, Japan • It was imported to Thailand in 1974. • The name "eri" is derived from the Assamese word "era", which means "castor", as the silkworm feeds on castor plants. • Another type of eri silk is "Ailanthus silk moth", refers to the host plant, Borkesseu, Ailanthus excelsa, practiced in China. • Eri silk is also known as endi or errandi in India. • Eri silk is processed without killing the silkworm. • Commonly silk cocoons are boiled with the worm inside to maintain one continuous flament, which results in a smooth and shiny fabric. • But the Eri silkworm spins short segments of a flament and creates a cocoon that is open at one end – enabling the moth to emerge. • This peace silk is, therefore, a very popular fbre among vegans and Buddhists. • The woolly white silk is often referred to as the fabric of peace as it is processed without killing the silkworm. • This process results in a silk called Ahimsa silk. Moths leave the cocoon and then the cocoons are harvested to be spun. • The eri silkworm is the only completely domesticated silkworm other than Bombyx mori. • The humid climate of Northeast India is very favourable for the eri culture. • Rural and tribal women traditionally carry out the processing, spinning and weaving as part of their daily life. • In some areas, the silkworm is considered a delicacy and is also eaten. • The empty cocoons are degummed by boiling in water, made into small cakes resembling cotton pads and then thrown against the mud houses for drying.

Available on App Store www.sleepyclasses.com 67 and Play Store Call 6280133177 T.me/SleepyClasses • Once the cakes are dry, they are used for spinning which is done similarly to spinning wool. • Eri silk is funnily enough also known as the silk of the poor. • Eri silk has excellent qualities: it is very strong, combining the elegance of silk with the comfort of cotton and warmth of wool. • The more it is worn, the softer it gets and it is a great textile to be worn all year round. Khadi • Khadi (also known as khaddar) is a hand-spun fabric. • It is a natural fber cloth spun by hand in India, Bangladesh and Pakistan • Khadi is usually manufactured from cotton and is also made from silk and woolen yarn (called khadi silk and khadi wool respectively). • Hand-spinning and hand-weaving have been known to Indians for thousands of years. • Archaeological evidence, such as terracotta spindles (for spinning), bone tools (for weaving) and fgurines wearing woven fabrics indicates that Indus Valley Civilization had a well-developed and fourishing tradition of textiles. • When Alexander the Great invaded India, his soldiers wore cotton clothes that were comfortable in the heat than their traditional woolens • The paintings in the Ajanta Caves in Maharashtra depict the process of separating cotton fbers from seeds (called ginning) and women spinning cotton yarn. • Khadi was then introduced in 1920 by INC at Nagpur session as a political weapon for giving concrete expression to the Swadeshi Spirit to boycott the foreign goods. • During India’s freedom struggle, Gandhi encouraged handloom weaving, spinned with Charkha and promoted khadi and also used it as a medium to spread the wave of nationalism at grass root level. • The frst Khadi Production Centre was established at Katiawad, Gujarat. • In the early 20s and 30s, various Boards and Associaions were set up for Khadi. • In 1948, Govt. of India recognized the role of Rural Cottage Industries in the Industrial Policy Resolution and soon included it in the DPSP of the Constitution in Article 43. • In 1953, All India Khadi and Village Industries Board (AIKVIB) were set up which later became a statutory body - Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC). • Indian Government has declared 7th August as the National Handloom Day. 67.Swami Vivekananda • National Youth Day is celebrated on 12 January every year on the birthday of Swami Vivekananda. • Swami Vivekananda's pre-monastic name was Narendra Nath Datta. • Before being initiated as a monk, Narendranath had sought divine infuence from many sectors. • He met Debendranath Tagore, founder of the Brahmo Samaj and father of Rabindranath Tagore, in 1880. www.sleepyclasses.com Available on App Store Call 6280133177 and Play Store 68 T.me/SleepyClasses • When he asked Tagore if he had seen God, Tagore replied, " My boy, you have the Yogi's eyes" • No one could help Narendranath with his question about God, Until he met Ramakrishna Paramahansa in 1881. • When he asked the same question to Ramakrishna, the latter replied, " Yes, I see Him as I see you, only in an infnitely intense sense." • Vivekananda is known to have introduced Hindu philosophies of yoga and vedanta to the western world. • His best-known presence in the West is his speech at the Parliament of the World’s Religions in 1893 in Chicago where he introduced the basic concepts of Hinduism to an international audience. • After this session, Vivekananda toured around several parts of USA and UK, spreading philosophies on religion. • The aspect of Hinduism that Vivekananda represented is known as 'neo-Vedanta' which is an interpretation of Hinduism through a Western esoteric lens.

68.Bangladesh Armed Forces Contingent To Participate In Republic Day Parade • Context: For the frst time, a 122-member strong contingent of the Bangladesh Armed Forces participated at the Republic Day celebrations. • The contingent comprises soldiers of the Bangladesh Army, sailors of the Bangladesh Navy and air warriors of the Bangladesh Air Force. • The majority of the soldiers in this contingent hail from the most distinguished units of the Bangladesh Army. • These units have the distinct honour of fghting and winning the 1971 Liberation War. • This Bangladesh contingent carries with them the legacy of legendary "Muktijoddhas" of Bangladesh, their forefathers who fought against oppression, mass atrocities by tyrannical forces and for the freedom of Bangladesh. • Operation Jackpot and Kilo Flight of the Bangladesh Navy and Air Force, respectively, were demonstration of their resolve, courage and determination to fght against oppression • This year India and Bangladesh celebrate 50 years of the establishment of their ties and Bangladesh celebrates 50 years of its independence. • Both sides have agreed to hold commemorative events and also jointly organize events throughout the year. • It is these fraternal ties that exist between the two countries that make the relations transcend even a strategic partnership.

69.Bharat Parv • Bharat Parv 2021, a festival to celebrate the spirit of India, was organised on a virtual platform till 31st of January.

Available on App Store www.sleepyclasses.com 69 and Play Store Call 6280133177 T.me/SleepyClasses • The mega event envisages generating patriotic fervour and showcases the rich and varied cultural diversity of the country. • Ministry of Tourism organizes Bharat Parv every year since 2016 in front of the ramparts of the Red Fort on the occasion of Republic Day Celebrations. • Themed pavilions of multiple States and Union Territories have showcased their tourism destinations, cuisine, handicraft and other features. • The glimpses of Republic Day Parade and recorded performances of Armed forces music bands will also be available on this virtual platform. • Various Central Ministries and other organizations including Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Ayush, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Ministry of Railways, Archaeological Survey of India, National Museum, National Gallery of Modern Arts, Khadi and Village Industries Commission and others are displaying handicrafts, handlooms, music, dance, paintings, literary material and other features from all over the country.

www.sleepyclasses.com Available on App Store Call 6280133177 and Play Store 70 T.me/SleepyClasses • Prasar Bharati has set up its virtual stall which will showcase its efforts towards promoting Ek Bharat- Shrestha Bharat. • Another media unit of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Bureau of Outreach and Communication focuses on 150th Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi by exhibiting photos, videos, animation related to Swachch Bharat, Sashakt Bharat, Bapu Ke Sapno Ka Bharat’. • Celebrating the diversity and spirit of India, Publication Division’s virtual pavilion is exhibiting a rich display of books on art and culture, history and biographies of builders of modern India.

70.Battle of Bhima Koregaon • Context: OCHCR has called for release of Bhima Koregaon activists. • The story of the Battle of Bhima Koregaon on January 1, 1818 has come to be mediated by competing narratives of Dalit assertion against Brahminical oppression, and Indian ‘nationalism’ standing up to the colonial army of the . • Dr B R Ambedkar visited the Jaystambh repeatedly, and said in a speech in Sinnar in 1941 that the Mahars had defeated the Peshwas at Koregaon. • Despite British claims of having achieved “one of its proudest triumphs”, the outcome of the battle remains contested, and some Maratha histories have claimed it was the Peshwa army that was, in fact, victorious. • One of the earliest accounts of the battle was published in 1885 in The Poona District Gazetteer, edited by James M Campbell, ICS, as part of the series of Gazetteers of the Bombay Presidency. • The battle took place at the village of Koregaon (population 960) 16 miles northeast of Pune, where 800 British troops faced 30,000 Marathas on January 1, 1818. • Six months earlier, on June 13, 1817, Peshwa Bajirao II had been forced to cede large swathes of territory to the Company, offcially ending the Maratha Confederacy. • In November, the Peshwa’s army revolted against the British Resident at Pune, but was defeated in the Battle of . • Pune was placed under Colonel Charles Barton Burr. • At the end of December, Burr received intelligence that Bajirao intended to attack Poona, and requested help. • The second battalion of the frst regiment Bombay Native Infantry of 500 rank and fle under Captain Francis Staunton, accompanied by 300 irregular horse and two six-pounder guns, left Sirur for Poona on December 31, 1817. • After marching 25 miles, about 10 the following morning, they came across the Bhima river the Peshwa’s army of 25,000 Maratha horse. • The Gazette does not mention the caste of Indian soldiers in Staunton’s army, but later accounts say a sizeable number were Mahars. • The Marathas recalled a body of 5,000 infantry that had proceeded some distance ahead, the Gazette records.

Available on App Store www.sleepyclasses.com 71 and Play Store Call 6280133177 T.me/SleepyClasses • Cut off from water and food, and after losing one of their artillery guns, some British troops were keen to surrender. • Fierce fghting followed and, “as night fell”, the Gazette records, “the attack lightened and they (the British) got water.” • Of the 834 British troops, 275 were killed, wounded, or missing. • The Marathas lost between 500 and 600 killed and wounded. • Subsequently, as Maratha strongholds started falling, Bajirao II went on the run, fnally surrendering in 1823. • The British kept him in Bithur until his death in 1851. • His successor, Nanasaheb Peshwa, was the last of the titular heads of the Peshwai system. About OHCHR • The Offce of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (UN Human Rights) is the leading UN entity on human rights. • It is mandated to, inter alia, protect and promote all human rights and to conduct necessary advocacy in that regard, established pursuant to the United Nations General Assembly resolution 48/141. • It also has to promote adherence to international human rights law and, with this purpose in mind, to support domestic courts, with their constitutional or judicial function, in ensuring the implementation of international legal obligations. • This is the basis for seeking intervention. 71.Govind Ballabh Pant • Context: The statue of Govind Ballabh Pant as part of construction of new Parliament building has been relocated. • The Statue of Pandit Pant was installed in New Delhi in 1966 by the then President of India Dr S Radhakrishnan. • The Gobind Ballabh Pant Memorial Society was formed to organise memorial functions across the country. • Over the years it has been headed by past Presidents and Prime Ministers. • Pandit Govind Ballabh Pant was a renowned Indian freedom fghter and one of the makers of modern India. • He served as the Union Home Minister in Jawaharlal Nehru’s cabinet and tackled the critical issues plaguing the newly independent nation with great elan. • Govind Ballabh Pant began his career as a lawyer. • After India’s independence, he became the frst Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. www.sleepyclasses.com Available on App Store Call 6280133177 and Play Store 72 T.me/SleepyClasses • He made his mark by abolishing the zamindari system and stablising the economic condition of the state. • After his nearly fve year long stint as the chief minister, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru inducted him in his cabinet as Union Home Minister. • As Home Minister, he played a key role in the re-organisation of States along linguistic lines and in establishing Hindi as the offcial language of India. • For his services towards the nation, he was honored with the India's highest civilian award, the Bharat Ratna. • Pandit Govind Ballabh Pant was born on 10 September 1887, in a village called Khoont near . • He was born in a Maharashtrian Brahmin family that had migrated long back. • His father was a government offcer and had to move from one place to another frequently. • In the initial years as a lawyer in Kashipur, Pandit Pant actively campaigned against the . • In 1914, he helped a village council to effectively challenge a law that required locals, known as ‘coolie beggars’, to carry the luggage of travelling British offcers for free. • Having gained popularity as a lawyer, in 1921, he entered politics and was elected to the Legislative Assembly of the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh. • Together with Pandit Badri Durr Pande, he started a weekly paper called ‘Shakti’, highlighting the problems and campaigning for the cause of the Kumaon region. • In 1930, he was imprisoned for several weeks for arranging a Salt March inspired by Mahatama Gandhi. • In 1933, he was arrested again for attending a session of the then outlawed provincial Congress. • In 1935, the ban was withdrawn and he was elected to the Central Legislative Assembly. • He won the respect of the leaders of the Congress with his political skills. Soon, he became deputy leader of the Congress party in the Assembly. • In the 1937 election, he was elected unchallenged as the leader of the Congress Party in the United Provinces (present day Uttar Pradesh) and became the frst Chief Minister of the United Provinces under the Government of India Act, 1935. • In 1939, India was pulled into the Second World War. • The Congress ministers, including Pandit Pant, resigned as a mark of protest. • He acted as a tiebreaker between Gandhi’s and Bose's conficting approaches to the war. • In 1940, he took part in Gandhi’s Satyagraha Movement as a result of which he was imprisoned. • In 1942, he was arrested for signing the Quit India resolution. • In March 1945, he was let free after Jawaharlal Nehru pleaded his release on grounds of deteriorating health. • After the war was over in 1945, the British Labour government held elections to the Provisional legislatures, and he emerged as the leader of the Party in United Provinces once again. Available on App Store www.sleepyclasses.com 73 and Play Store Call 6280133177 T.me/SleepyClasses • He became the Chief Minister of the state for the second time continuing even after India’s independence in 1947. • He became the frst Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh and was in the offce from 26 January 1950 to 27 December 1954. • In 1955, he was inducted into Jawaharlal Nehru’s cabinet and was made the Union Home Minister. • He served in this position till his death in 1961 • He abolished the zamindari system, made monogamy compulsory for Hindu men and conferred Hindu women the rights to divorce and inherit ancestral property. • In 1957, he was awarded India’s highest civilian honor, the Bharat Ratna, for his selfess service to the nation.

72.Kala Utsav 2020 • Context: Union Education Minister addressed the Valedictory Function of Kala Utsav 2020. • Kala Utsav gives the right direction and shape to the spirit of ‘Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat’. • Indigenous Toys and Games segment has been introduced in Kala Utsav 2020 and emphasized that this promotes ‘Vocal for Local’. • Kala Utsav 2020 has also incorporated the recommendations of the National Education Policy 2020. • Students, when indulging in any form of art, use their imagination and try to realise it and give it life thus turning it into reality. • Kala Utsav gives an opportunity to this process. Such opportunities enhance the students' reasoning, comprehensibility, problem solving, cognitive and decisive abilities, which are helpful in the all-round development of the student.

About Kala Utsav 2020 • Kala Utsav 2020 was launched online on 10 January 2021 through a digital platform. • A total of 35 teams have participated in Kala Utsav 2020, from different states, union territories, Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan and Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti schools where 576 students demonstrated their talent. • In the competitions of Kala Utsav 2020 organised from 11 to 22 January 2021, a total of nine art forms, namely— 1. Classical singing 2. Traditional folk song 3. Classical instruments 4. Traditional/folk instruments 5. Classical dance 6. Folk dance 7. Visual Arts (Two-dimensional) 8.Visual Arts (Three-dimensional) 9. Local games-toys are included. • Earlier there were only four art forms in Kala Utsav, now another fve art forms have been added in it. 73.Patharughat : The forgotten peasant uprising of Assam in 1894 • Twenty fve years before the Jallianwallah Bagh massacre, more than a hundred peasants fell to the bullets of the British on January 28, 1894 in Assam. • The unarmed peasants were protesting against the increase in land revenue levied by the colonial administration, when the military opened fre. www.sleepyclasses.com Available on App Store Call 6280133177 and Play Store 74 T.me/SleepyClasses • Today a “martyrs column” stands where the incident took place — Patharughat, a small village in Assam’s Darrang district, 60km northeast of Guwahati.

What led to the Patharughat uprising? • After the British annexation of Assam in 1826, surveys of the vast lands of the state began. • On the basis of such surveys, the British began to impose land taxes, much to the resentment of the farmers. • In 1893, the British government decided to increase agricultural land tax reportedly by 70- 80 per cent. • Up until then the peasants would pay taxes in kind or provide a service in lieu of cash • Across Assam, peasants began protesting the move by organising Raij Mels, or peaceful peoples’ conventions. • Despite these gatherings being democratic, the British perceived them as “breeding grounds for sedition”. So whenever there was a Raij Mel, the British used to come down on it with a heavy hand to disperse them. • That is what happened on January 28, 1894. • Offcial records, as mentioned in the Darrang District Gazette, 1905, placed the casualties in the Patharughat incident as 15 killed and 37 wounded. However, unoffcial sources claim it was a much higher number.

Why was the incident signifcant? • For the larger Assamese community, Patharughat comes second only to the , when the Ahoms defeated the Mughals in 1671. • It is extremely inspirational for the Assamese community, like a national awakening • While many often refer to the episode as the “Patharughat Ron” or the “Battle of Patharughat” it is a “misnomer.” • It was a peaceful protest and a precursor to the Civil Disobedience movement, which was later propagated by Mahatma Gandhi.”

What about the site today? • A martyrs column was erected at the site on 28 January, 2001 by the Army and unveiled by former Governor of Assam. • Every year on January 28, the government and local people pay respects to the martyrs of the incident (Krishak Swahid Diwas) in an offcial function. • On January 29, the Indian Army pays its respects in military style. • On January 28, 2021, Assam CM inaugurated an Integrated Training and Skill Development Centre for the farmers near the site. The centre will be equipped to teach farmers new skills and technology.

74.Lala Lajpat Rai • Context: Prime Minister paid tribute to freedom fghter Lala Lajpat Rai on his birth anniversary. Available on App Store www.sleepyclasses.com 75 and Play Store Call 6280133177 T.me/SleepyClasses • Lala Lajpat Rai, also known as the 'Punjab Kesari' (the lion of Punjab) was born on 28 January 1865. • He got the opportunity to know Swami Dayanand Saraswati, the founder of . Inspired by his teachings, Lala Lajpat Rai also joined the Arya Samaj. • He started practising Law at Hisar (in Punjab at that time) when his family moved to the same place in 1886. • Later he served as the founding member of the Bar Council Of India in Hisar with Babu Churamani. • He, along with Babu Churamani, later went to establish a branch of Indian National Congress in Hisar. • They also established a branch of Arya Samaj in the same district. • He received the opportunity of being one of the four delegates participating in the annual session of Congress in 1888 and 1889. Both the sessions were held in • In 1892, he went to practice law at the Lahore High Court. • During this time, he also practised journalism and use to write regularly for 'The Tribune' newspaper. • Lala Lajpat Rai played a signifcant role in the birth of Punjab National Bank. • Under his guidance, the Dayanand Anglo Vedic School managing committee was established. • In May 1907, when he was deported to Mandalay, Burma for being a part of a political agitation that took place in Punjab. • During the Calcutta Special Session held in 1920, Lala Lajpat Rai became the president of the Indian National Congress (INC). • The Servants of the People Society which is a non-proft welfare organisation was founded by Lala Lajpat Rai in 1921. The then headquarter was at Lahore, which was shifted to Delhi after partition. • When Simon Commission came to India on 30 October 1928, it was opposed by every political party. • It was then, Lala Lajpat Rai organised a non-violence protest named 'Simon go back'. • In 1927, he established the Gulab Devi Chest Hospital in the loving memory of his mother who died after suffering from Tuberculosis. • It is said that the hospital is situated at the same place in Pakistan where his mother died. • It was inaugurated on 17 July 1934. • The hospital is dedicated and run by women only. www.sleepyclasses.com Available on App Store Call 6280133177 and Play Store 76 T.me/SleepyClasses • A group of philanthropists who belong to Punjab opened the Lala Lajpat Rai Trust in 1959. It was founded on the eve of his Centenary Birth Anniversary. • In the year 2010, the Lala Lajpat Rai University of Veterinary & Animal Sciences was established by the Government of Haryana.

75.Chauri Chaura • Context: Prime Minister inaugurated 'Chauri Chaura' Centenary Celebrations at Chauri Chaura, Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh and released a postal stamp dedicated to the event on 4 February 2021. The incident • On February 4, 1922, a large crowd of peasants set on fre the police station in Chauri Chaura, killing 22 policemen. • On August 1, 1920, Gandhiji had launched the Non-Cooperation (Asahayog) Movement against the government, which involved a boycott of foreign goods, especially machine- made cloth, and legal, educational and administrative institutions, “refusing to assist a ruler who misrules”. • As the movement gathered momentum over the next year and a half, large numbers of volunteers became active across the country. • In the winter of 1921-22, volunteers of the Congress and the Khilafat movement were organised into a national volunteer corps. • In mid-January 1922, after a meeting addressed by a functionary of the Gorakhpur Congress and Khilafat Committees, peasant “offcers” were appointed to fll out pledges of non-cooperation, collect subscriptions, and lead the picketing of shops selling foreign items. • A few days before the February 4 incident, police cracked down on volunteers who were trying to stop trade in foreign cloth, and enforce a just price for meat and fsh, and severely beat up one demobilised soldier from the British Indian Army. • On February 4, volunteers congregated in the town, and after a meeting, proceeded in a procession to the local police station, and to picket the nearby Mundera bazaar. • They ignored warning shots fred in the air by police • The police fred into the crowd, killing three people and injuring many others. • A volcano of anger then erupted, there was heavy brick-batting, and the policemen were forced to fee inside the thana. • The crowd proceeded to douse the building with kerosene and to set it on fre.

Available on App Store www.sleepyclasses.com 77 and Play Store Call 6280133177 T.me/SleepyClasses • Some of the policemen who tried to escape were caught and battered to death, some others managed to escape by throwing away their conspicuous red turbans, which the angry crowd tore to shreds. • A lot of police property, including weapons, was destroyed. • The volunteers saw the “abolition of the thana” as a sign of the arrival of “Gandhi raj”.

The fallout • The severely rattled establishment of the Raj prosecuted the accused aggressively. • Raids and repression followed immediately, lists of volunteers were compiled, and large numbers of suspects were rounded up. • A sessions court quickly sentenced as many as 172 of the 225 accused to death. • Ultimately, 19 of those convicted were sent to the gallows. • Gandhi, who was deeply disturbed by the incident, condemned the “crime” of the policemen’s killing. • The volunteer groups in the nearby villages were disbanded, and a Chauri Chaura Support Fund was set up to demonstrate “genuine sympathy” and seek prayashchit (atonement). • Gandhi decided to stop the Non-Cooperation Movement, which he saw as having been tainted by unforgivable violence. • British authorities dedicated a memorial to the dead policemen in 1923. • 'Jai Hind' and the verse 'Shaheedon ki chitaaon par lagenge har baras mele' by revolutionary poet were added to the memorial post-independence. • In 1971, an association named 'Chauri Chaura Shaheed Smarak Samiti' was formed by the people of the district. • In the year 1973, a 12.2 metres high triangular minaret was constructed by the association near the lake at Chauri Chaua. • Government of India built a Shaheed Smarak to honour the people hanged by the British authorities. • The named of those who were executed are engraved upon it. • Chauri Chaura Express, which runs from Gorakhpur to Kanpur, is to honour those executed after the incident.

www.sleepyclasses.com Available on App Store Call 6280133177 and Play Store 78 T.me/SleepyClasses 76.Lingaraj Temple • Context: Archaeological Survey of I n d i a ( A S I ) e n g a g e d i n a preservation and excavation exercise near Shree Lingaraj Temple have stumbled upon an ancient stone structure — possibly a platform on which one among the oldest shrines in Odisha once stood. • The structure could be older than the 11th century Shree Lingaraj Temple • The sructure was found while the ASI was carrying out scientifc cleaning of a piece of land near the Suka-Sari Temple complex, close to the Shree Lingaraj Temple. • The ASI looks after 28 temples in the Ekamra Kshetra. • Odisha government undertook a beautifcation project in the area around the Shree Lingaraj Temple in 2019. • After ASI began cleaning up the rubble to look for damaged structures that may have been of historical value. That was when the ancient structure, which is believed to be from the Somavamshi period, was discovered. • The temple complex may have been built on the Panchayatana model, in which four smaller temples surround the main temple. • Suka-Sari temple complex and Lord Lingaraj Temple in are protected by the ASI under the Ancient Monuments and Archeological Sites and Remains Act. • The Lingaraj temple in Bhubaneswar is considered to be the most ancient and the most popular temple out all the numerous temples in the city of Bhubaneswar. • The temple is not open for the non-Hindus but there’s a platform that offers a broad view of the exteriors of the towers in the temple. • This was originally made for Lord Curzon when he was the Viceroy of the place. • The temple was built in the 11th century by the king of Jajpur, Jajati Keshari of the Somavamsi Dynasty. • When the king shifted his military base from Jajpur to Bhubaneswar, he decided to complete this half- built temple. • The temple’s main tower is about 180 meters high • The temple fnds its mention in one of the most ancient Hindu scriptures like the Bramha Puranas and the Odisha’s very own Ekamra Purana.

Available on App Store www.sleepyclasses.com 79 and Play Store Call 6280133177 T.me/SleepyClasses • Researchers have found evidence that suggests some parts of the temple were built in the 6th century by the Lalat Indu Keshari and was actually taken over as a full-fedged accelerated project completion by Jajati Keshari only after the shift of the capital. • It is believed that while the temple was on the verge of getting completed the Jagannath cult was gaining popularity in the region as the followers of the Ganga dynasty were ardent followers of Lord Vishnu and hence built the Jagannath temple, the Vaishnav & Shaiva devotees were facing ferce rivalry from each other. • The temple had both Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu carved out on its walls so as to establish a peaceful co-existence that has managed to survive to date. • The temple has been created in the traditional “Deula” style of the Kalinga architecture, which means that the temple is divided into four parts like most of the other temple in the state of Odisha, namely vimana (structure containing the sanctum), jagamohana (assembly hall), natamandira (festival hall) and bhoga-mandapa (hall of offerings), each increasing in the height to its predecessor • The linga inside the “Garbha-graha” or the sanctum is called The Swayambhu, which means “self- originated”.

77.Dhauli-Kalinga Mahotsav • The three-day Dhauli-Kalinga Mahotsav is all set to be organised at the foothills of Dhauli from February 6 to February 8 2021 • The annual festival, which features the best of Odisha’s classical dance and martial art forms, is being organised by Odisha Tourism and Odisha Dance Academy (ODA) in collaboration with Art Vision, Bhubaneswar, and in compliance with COVID-19 norms. • Usually, around two thousand seats are reserved for the entertainment of the audience. • Odissi will be performed by the dancers from the Orissa Dance Academy and Art Vision in Bhubaneswar and Nrutya Nilaya, in Angul on different days. • Kathak will be performed by the Upasana Centre of Dance in Kolkata, Bharatnatyam by Bharatanjali in Chennai and Kuchipudi by Shambhavi School of Dance in Bengaluru. • Martial art forms like Mayurbhanj Chhau will be presented by Aangika, Bhubaneswar; Purulia Chhau by Kalipada Chhau Nritya Samity, Purulia; and Sareikala Chhau by Acharya Chhau Nrutya Bichitra, New Delhi. • All the three forms of Chhau have different techniques and presentation styles. www.sleepyclasses.com Available on App Store Call 6280133177 and Play Store 80 T.me/SleepyClasses • The Seraikella Chhau developed in S e r a i ke l a , t h e p r e s e n t - d a y administrative headquarters of the Seraikela Kharsawan district of Jharkhand, the Purulia Chhau in Purulia district of West Bengal and t h e M a y u r b h a n j C h h a u i n Mayurbhanj district of Odisha. • The most prominent difference among the three subgenres is regarding the use of masks. • While the Purulia form is colourful and gorgeous, the Sareikela Chhau i s m o r e l y r i c a l , p o e t i c a n d controlled. • The Mayurbhanj one focuses on body movements 78.‘Pattachitra' • Context: PM praises Odisha 'pattachitra' artist in Mann Ki Baat • Pattachitra is a traditional painting of Orissa, India. • These Paintings are based on Hindu Mythology and specially inspired by Jagannath and Vaishnava cult. • All colours used in the Paintings are natural and paintings are made in a fully traditional way by Chitrakaras that is Oriya Painter. • Pattachitra style of painting is one of the oldest and most popular art forms of Orissa. • The name Pattachitra has evolved from the Sanskrit words patta, meaning canvas, and chitra, meaning picture. • Pattachitra is thus a painting done on canvas, and is manifested by rich colourful application, creative motifs and designs, and portrayal of simple themes, mostly mythological in depiction. • The traditions of pattachitra paintings are more than thousand years old. • The history of patachitra painting is linked inextricably with the history of the Jagannath cult. • The patachitra "" (painters) are temple functionaries who live in and around the temple town of . • Ahead of the annual Rath Yatra, when Lord Jagannath is isolated for 14 days, no idol worship is done during that time. • Instead, the painted version of the god ‘Pattachitra’ is used for worship. • The tradition is known to have begun in Raghurajpur, a heritage cloth crafts village in Puri.

Available on App Store www.sleepyclasses.com 81 and Play Store Call 6280133177 T.me/SleepyClasses • The traditional Pattachitra fabric, is made by applying tamarind paste on top of cotton fabric, is painted with natural colours created from grinding rocks.

Theme & style • The theme of Oriya painting centres round the Jagannath and the Vaishnava cult. • Themes are chiefy on Lord Jagannath and -Krishna, different "Vesas" of Shri Jagannath, Balabhadra and , temple activities, the ten incarnations of Vishnu basing on the 'Gita ' of Jayadev, Kama Kujara Navagunjara, Ramayana, .

• The individual paintings of gods and goddesses are also being painted. • The Pattachitra style are mix of both folk and classical elements but leanings more towards folk forms. • The dress style has Mughal infuences. • All of the poses have been confned to a few well-defned postures. • These are not free from monotonous repetitions, though at times this is necessary to accentuate the narrative character of the style. • The lines are bold and clean and angular and sharp. 79.Bargis • Context: The word is being extensively used in election rallies of West Bengal. • The term is a reference to the several Maratha invasions of West Bengal between 1741 and 1751, which resulted in looting, plundering and massacres in what was then Mughal territory. • The happenings of this specifc period have affected Bengal’s consciousness to the extent that they have an established presence in Bengali folklore and literature, and the term ‘bargis’ is used as a casual reference to troublesome outsider forces. www.sleepyclasses.com Available on App Store Call 6280133177 and Play Store 82 T.me/SleepyClasses Who were the bargis? • The word bargi referred to cavalrymen in Maratha and Mughal armies. • The word comes from the Persian “bargir”, literally meaning “burden taker” • But in the two imperial armies, the term signifed “a soldier who rode a horse furnished by his employer. • In the Maratha cavalry, any able-bodied person could enlist as a bargir, unless he had the means to buy a horse and military outft– in which case he could join as a silhedar, who had much better prospects of advancement. • Both the bargirs and silhedars were under the overall control of the Sarnobat (Persian for “Sar-i- Naubat”, or Commander in Chief).

Why did the Marathas raid Bengal? • Maratha incursions into the Mughal province of Bengal (which included the regions of Bihar, Bengal and Orissa) between 1741 and 1751 came at a time of intense political uncertainty in both the Maratha and the Mughal courts. • At the Maratha capital in Satara, Chhatrapati Shahu was trying in vain to resolve the differences between his two top power centres– the Peshwa dynasty of Pune and Raghoji I Bhonsale of Nagpur.

• As the Mughal Empire was crumbling by the 18th century, the two Maratha chieftains were scrambling to secure taxation rights in its far-fung regions, and violently disagreed over their spheres of infuence. • In Bengal, Nawab Subahdar Sarfaraz Khan had been overthrown by his deputy . • After Khan’s inauguration, the provincial governor of Orissa, Zafar Khan Rustam Jung, more commonly known as Murshid Quli II, rebelled against the usurper. • The revolt failed, and Jung enlisted Raghoji’s help to oust Khan. • Raghoji was also motivated by internal politics within the Maratha camp, fearful as he was of Peshwa , also known as , trying to establish his claim over Bengal frst at this time of political disturbance in the province. • Ten years of Maratha invasions had crippled Bengal’s economy. • The Dutch believed that 400,000 people had been killed. • Losses of weavers, silk winders and those who cultivated mulberry were particularly high • The 18th century Bengali text ‘Maharashtra Purana’ provided grim details of the deep impact that the invasions had left on the traditions of the Bengali people.

80.Tholpavakkoothu • Context: A shadow leather puppet in Kerala’s famous temple art Tholpavakkoothu is being animated by a robot. • For the frst time, the famous shadow leather puppets will tell stories of the epic Ramayana with the help of robots.

Available on App Store www.sleepyclasses.com 83 and Play Store Call 6280133177 T.me/SleepyClasses • The frst robotic leather puppet was installed at the Palakkad District Heritage Museum, which was inaugurated by Minister of Culture recently. • Tholpavakoothu means the dance of the dolls. • The most diffcult part of Tholpavakkoothu is the limb movements of the puppets. These are now being controlled through robotics. • Tholpavakkoothu is a traditional temple art in Kerala having its roots in Palakkad and neighbouring regions. • It is also known as Nizhalkkoothu and Olakkoothu. • This art is confned largely to Pulavar families from Shoranur region of Palakkad district. • They have been struggling to preserve this precious art form. • Traditionally, the religious art form was performed in temples, in koothumadams or 40ft tall permanent stages.

Mythological Story • According to mythology, Bhadrakali or goddess Kali, after killing Darikan the demon, asked Shiva if he had watched her defeating the asura. • He replied that he was instead watching the victory of Rama over Ravana, the great war of good over evil. • Goddess Kali then insisted that she wanted to watch the war too. And for her, temples in Palakkad, Thrissur and Malappuram districts re-enacted the epic Ramayana . • Shadow puppetry is said to have originated in India and China, and followed the spread of Buddhism to countries like Thailand and Germany. • Tholpavakoothu Sangam, the last surviving troupe of the 30-odd families previously, performs in around 108 temples across Kerala. • The puppets, which were earlier made of deerskin, are now made of goatskin, with sticks controlling individual limbs. • More than 3,000 shlokas in Tamil, Sanskrit and Malayalam are recited in the background. • The recitation is accompanied by musical instruments such as chenda, maddalam or ezhupara (types of percussion instruments), shankha (conch), cherukuzhal (double reed wind music instrument) and ilathalam (cymbals).

www.sleepyclasses.com Available on App Store Call 6280133177 and Play Store 84 T.me/SleepyClasses 81.Assam and Quit India Movement • Context: PM visited two towns of historical importance in poll bound Assam. • PM was at the historic “martyr” town of Dhekiajuli, associated with the Quit India Movement of 1942, to lay the foundation stone for two medical colleges and launch a road and highway project. • Dhekiajuli was home to possibly the youngest martyr of the Indian freedom struggle. • On September 20, 1942, as part of the Quit India movement, processions of freedom fghters marched to various police stations across several towns in Assam. • These squads, which were known as ‘Mrityu Bahini’, or death squads, had wide participation — including women and children — and set out to unfurl the tricolour atop police stations, seen as symbols of colonial power. • The British administration came down heavily on them. • In Dhekiajuli, at least 15 people were shot dead, three of them women, including the 12-year-old Tileswari Barua. • Tileswari was the youngest martyr of India’s freedom struggle. • The town comprised primarily farmers and tea plantation workers. • September 20 has for long been observed as Martyrs’ Day in Dhekiajuli town. • A martyr’s memorial was erected in 1975, and two recent books have been written. • Recently, the Dhekiajuli police station was accorded heritage status and restored by the Assam government.

82.A Lingayat sub-sect’s quota demand • Context: There is a demand of inclusion of a large Lingayat sub-sect in an OBC quota category that provides 15% reservation in government jobs and education in the state.

Who are the Lingayats? • The Lingayats are a dominant community who make up nearly 17% of Karnataka’s six crore population • The tradition of Lingayatism is known to have been founded by social reformer and philosopher Basavanna in 12th century Karnataka. • Basavanna’s religious movement is located in political setup of medieval Karnataka, particularly under the reign of King Bijala II. • This period in Karnataka was characterised by the dominance of Brahmanical Hindu values, a social system based on caste restrictions and a feudal economy. • The religious, political and social order did not just blend into each other, but also supported and benefted from each other. • Further, the religious framework in medieval Karnataka was dominated by Shaivite traditions.

Available on App Store www.sleepyclasses.com 85 and Play Store Call 6280133177 T.me/SleepyClasses • Therefore, while the Lingayats were and still remain staunch worshippers of the Hindu God Shiva, they strongly protest against Hindu social practices such as caste discrimination and wearing of the sacred thread. • Basavanna’s vision of a societal order was one based on human freedom, equality, rationality, and brotherhood. He and his followers spread their ideas through vachanas (prose-lyrics) and their prime target was the caste hierarchy which they rejected with full force. • In one of his vachanas, Basavanna asserts that “the birth-less has no caste distinctions, no ritual pollution.” • He rejected the Hindu Brahmanical ritualism and its adherence to sacred texts like the Vedas. • In contemporary times, followers of Basavanna’s vision are one of the most infuential groups in Karnataka.

83.Sri Jagannath Temple • Context: The Sri Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) wrote to National Monument Authority (NMA) under Ministry of Culture requesting it to withdraw the draft notifcation of heritage bylaws framed by it for the Sri Jagannath temple, to protect the interests of the Holy Trinity, servitors and devotees. • The draft bylaws propose restrictions on construction activities within 100 metres of the 12th century shrine. • Another 200 metres in all directions would be declared regulated area where construction is not prohibited but must be approved by the NMA. • Stating that Lord Jagannath is the ‘Aradhya Devata’ of Odias and millions of Hindus across India and the world, Chief Administrator of SJTA wrote that a large number of Sahis (habitations) which are more than a millennium old exist around the temple. • These Sahis are mostly habitations of Sevayat families who have been rendering service to the Lords since time immemorial. • This is also important as any adverse impact on sevayats have a direct bearing on continuity of Niti- Kanti (rituals) of Sri Jagannath. • Recently the state government had acquired lands and properties for strengthening safety and security of the centuries-old shrine for the project of Shree Jagannath Heritage Corridor (SJHC) • The project will provide amenities to devotees like drinking water, toilets, cloak rooms and queue management system. • To manage the temple, affairs of sevaks (priests) and properties of the Lord, Shree Jagannath Temple Management Committee (SJTMC) has been constituted as a statutory body under ‘Shree Jagannath Temple Act, 1955 (Assented to by the President on October 15, 1955). www.sleepyclasses.com Available on App Store Call 6280133177 and Play Store 86 T.me/SleepyClasses • SJTMC entered into agreement with the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) on August 22, 1979 for the conservation of the ancient built structures.

The temple • It was built by the Ganga dynasty king Anantavarman Chodaganga in the 12th century. • Later, King Ananga Bhima Deva II (1170–1198) did much to continue the work of Chodaganga Deva, building the walls around the temple and many of the other shrines on the temple grounds. • He is thus often considered one of the builders of the temple. • He also did much to establish the regulations around the service to the . • The temple of Lord Shri Jagannatha at Puri is also thus said to have been built by emperor Anangabhimadeva, as it is described in , the temple chronicle of Puri that Anangabhima contemplated to construct a temple of Srivatsa khandasala type with 100 cubits in height. • But on the advice of the ministers and royal priests, the height was reduced to 90 cubits. • Accordingly the temple was built, as it stands today. • The temple consists of four structures called ✓the Vimana or Bada Deula (sanctum sanctorum)

✓the Jagamohan or Mukhasala (the porch),

✓the Natamandir (the audience hall) and

✓the Bhogamandap (the hall for residuary offerings) built in a row in an axial alignment in east-west direction. • The temple faces the east. • The Vimana is constructed in Pancharatha (temple containing fve Pagas or segments) Rekha order. • Rekha is the name given to a type of temple with a curvilinear spire. • Out of the fve Pagas or segments, the middle one is known as Raha, the two feanking pagas as Anuraha, and the two corners as Kanika. • Like a full-fedged Orissan temple, it has four-fold vertical divisions, i.e. the Pitha (pedestal), the Bada (wall), the Gandi (trunk) and the Mastaka (the head). • The temple stands on a high pedestal though a major portion of it is buried in the ground. • The visible portion shows three mouldings, which are richly carved. • Similarly, the Bada is Panchanga type i.e. consisting of fve elements known respectively as Pabhaga (foot), lower Jangha (shin), Bandhana(bond), upper Jangha and Baranda. • The Pabhaga consists of fve usual mouldings and these mouldings are connected with vertical bands in each Paga of the Bada. • These fve mouldings are known in the architectural texts as Khura, Kumbha, Pata, Kani and Basanta in ascending order.

Available on App Store www.sleepyclasses.com 87 and Play Store Call 6280133177 T.me/SleepyClasses • The idols of the god inside the Puri temple are of a particular type. It is not made out of any metal or stone, rather neem wood is used to carve the idols beautifully. • The idols of Lord Jagannath depicts the Lord embodying features of a large, square-shaped head, big eyes and unfnished limbs. • There are several legends related to the origin of how the lord came to reside at the Puri temple in Bhubaneswar.

84.The Koch Rajbongshi • Context: Union Home Minister addressed the community. Who are the Koch Rajbangshis? • They are a community that traces its roots to the Kamata kingdom, which comprised parts of Assam, West Bengal and adjoining territories. • In the medieval period, the community was dominant and ruled their territory of Kamatapur, which comprised a large part of Bangladesh, West Bengal, Bihar and India’s north-east, • After Independence, the princely state of Cooch Behar became part of West Bengal. • Today, Koch Rajbongshis are found in Assam, Meghalaya, West Bengal and Bihar, and in Bangladesh, Nepal and some parts of Bhutan. • Several organisations representing the community, mostly based in West Bengal, have been demanding a separate Kamatapur state consisting of North Bengal and parts of lower Assam. www.sleepyclasses.com Available on App Store Call 6280133177 and Play Store 88 T.me/SleepyClasses • There is also a militant outft, Kamatapur Liberation Organisation • In 2012, the state government set up the Cooch Behar Panchanan Barma University, named after a 19th century Rajbongshi leader and reformist. • The Koch Rajbongshis have long demanded a ‘Narayani Regiment’ in the Indian Army. • The Centre recently awarded the Padma Shri to Dharma Narayan Barma, a retired teacher from the community. • In Assam, the government last year formed the Kamatapur Autonomous Council comprising predominantly Koch Rajbongshi villages in some lower Assam districts. • Grant of ST status to Koch Rajbongshis (among six communities in Assam) remains in the pipeline.

85.Salt March • Context: To commemorate the 75th year of India’s Independence, Prime Minister will fag off a ‘padyatra’ (foot march) similar to the ‘Dandi March’ or ‘Salt Satyagrah’ carried out by Mahatama Gandhi in 1930 from Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad. • PM will inaugurate the curtain-raiser activities of ‘Azadi Ka Amrut Mahotsav’ - This Mahotsav will comprise a series of cultural events organised by the Government of India. • The 'padyatra' will be undertaken by 81 marchers from Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad to Dandi in Navsari, and this 241-mile- long journey will end on 5th April. • A memorial called the 'National Salt Satyagraha Memorial' was inaugurated in 2019 in Dandi, Gujarat to honour the activists and participants of the Salt Satyagraha and their struggle for India’s independence. • The Sanskrit origin word satyagraha comes from 2 words 'satya' meaning ‘truth’ and ‘agraha’ meaning ‘insistence’ • Gandhi loosely translated the word into English as ‘truth-force'. • For the march, Gandhi wanted strict adherence to the principles of satyagraha and ahimsa. • For this reason, he recruited the marchers, not from any political party, but from the residents of his own ashram, who were thoroughly trained in the principles of ‘satya’ and ‘ahimsa’. • The salt march became a globally talked about event as it demonstrated the effective use of non- violent means to fght social and political injustices - Gandhiji and the Dandi march had a deep impact on leaders and activists Martin Luther King Jr. • Gandhi’s decision to use salt or salt tax for organising this protest was a very unique one, as salt being a daily use item, resonated with more people irrespective of caste, gender, or religion.

Why did Gandhi call for the Dandi March? • The 1882 Salt Act gave the British a monopoly in the manufacture and sale of salt. Even though salt was freely available on the coasts of India, Indians were forced to buy it from the colonisers. • Gandhi decided that if there was any one product through which the civil disobedience could be inaugurated, then it was salt. Available on App Store www.sleepyclasses.com 89 and Play Store Call 6280133177 T.me/SleepyClasses • “Next to air and water, salt is perhaps the greatest necessity of life,” he said, explaining his choice, even though many in the working committee of the Congress were not too sure about it. • The British government, including the Viceroy Lord Irwin too did not take the prospect of a campaign against the salt tax too seriously. Addressing a massive gathering in Ahmedabad on March 8, Gandhi declared his decision to break the salt laws.

What happened during the march? • He gathered his walking mates, a group of 78 men, who were bona fde ashramites. • These included Manilal Gandhi from South Africa and several others from all across India. • There were thirty-one marchers from Gujarat, thirteen from Maharashtra, lesser numbers from the United Provinces, Kerala, Punjab and Sindh, with Tamilnadu, Andhra, Karnataka, Bengal, Bihar and Orissa sending one man apiece. • The diversity was social as well as geographical, for among the chosen marchers were many students and khadi workers, several ‘untouchables’, a few Muslims and one Christian • Even though women too wanted to be part of the march, Gandhi preferred to keep it restricted to men alone. • Gandhi reached Dandi on April 5. • The following day, early morning he proceeded along with the other marchers to the sea, where he picked up lumps of natural salt lying in a small pit. • The act was symbolic, but was hugely covered by the press, and was the beginning of several other acts of civil disobedience in other parts of India. • “With this, I am shaking the foundations of the British Empire,” said Gandhi while picking up the salt in his hand. • “Now that the technical or ceremonial breach of the Salt Law has been committed it is open to any one who would take the risk of prosecution under the Salt Law to manufacture salt wherever he wishes and wherever it is convenient. My advice is that the workers should everywhere manufacture salt to make use of it and to instruct the villagers to do so,” he told a representative of the Free Press.

What was the signifcance of the Dandi march? • The popularity gained by the march shook up the British government. It responded by arresting more than 95,000 people by March 31. • The following month Gandhi proceeded to Dharasana salt works from where he was arrested and taken to the Central Jail. • As Gandhi broke the salt laws in Dandi, similar acts of civil disobedience took place in other parts of India. In Bengal, for instance, volunteers led by Satish Chandra Dasgupta walked from Sodepur Ashram to the village of Mahisbathan to make salt.

www.sleepyclasses.com Available on App Store Call 6280133177 and Play Store 90 T.me/SleepyClasses • K.F Nariman in Bombay led another group of marchers to Haji Ali Point where they prepared salt at a nearby park. • The illegal manufacture and sale of salt was accompanied by the boycott of foreign cloth and liquor. • What started as salt satyagraha soon grew into mass satyagraha. • Forest laws were fouted in Maharashtra, Karnataka and the Central Provinces. Peasants in Gujarat and Bengal refused to pay land and chowkidari taxes. • Acts of violence too broke out in Calcutta, Karachi and Gujarat, but unlike what happened during the non-cooperation movement, Gandhi refused to suspend the civil disobedience movement this time. • The Congress Working Committee decided to end the Satyagraha only in 1934. • Even though it did not immediately lead to self rule or dominion status, the Salt Satyagraha did have some long term effects.

86.Conservation of the Sun Temple at Konark • Several steps have been taken by Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to mitigate the impact of saline action, water logging, erosion and vegetative intrusions such as cleaning of the surface by paper pulp method, consolidation and strengthening of stones wherever needed, plantation of trees in surrounding area to prevent mechanical erosion by wind action, removal of water by installing pumping sets, and periodic biocidal treatment for control of vegetative intrusion. • Conservation work of monuments, including Sun Temple, Konark is a continuous process and the said monument, also a World Heritage Site, is in a good state of preservation due to regular care by ASI. • All conservation work is carried out as per ASI’s conservation policy, 2014 - Annual Conservation Plan is regularly drawn by ASI every year, for review of the requirements at the monument for its appropriate preservation.

Konark Sun Temple • The Konark Sun Temple is a 13th-century Hindu temple dedicated to the Sun God. • It was built by King Narasimhadeva I, the great ruler of Ganga dynasty. • The temple was included in UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984 for its architectural greatness and also for the sophistication and abundance of sculptural work. • The temple is a perfect blend of Kalinga architecture, heritage, exotic beach and salient natural beauty.

Available on App Store www.sleepyclasses.com 91 and Play Store Call 6280133177 T.me/SleepyClasses • It is protected under the National Framework of India by the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (AMASR) Act (1958) and its Rules (1959). • The Konark is the third link of Odisha’s Golden Triangle. The frst link is Jagannath Puri and the second link is • Bhubaneswar (Capital city of Odisha). • This temple was also known as ‘BLACK PAGODA’ due to its dark color and used as a navigational landmark by ancient sailors to Odisha. Similarly, the Jagannath Temple in Puri was called the “White Pagoda”. • It remains a major pilgrimage site for Hindus, who gather here every year for the Chandrabhaga Mela around the month of February. • The wheel of chariot of Konark Sun Temple was made and established in such a way that it can tell you the time. • There are total 8 spokes in the wheel. • Each spoke represents a pahar (3 hours). Eight spokes represents 24 hours. • Shadow of the spokes tells the time when sun rays falls on it. • This is the method used to calculate time before watches were introduced. • Some experts can even tell time accurate to minutes by watching this wheel only. • The stones used for making this temple were brought from outside India. • Most probably the sea route was used for bringing the stones from other countries. • This shows that the India used to trade with other countries even at that time. • Konark Sun Temple was made by using three types of stones namely chlorite, laterite and, khondalite. • There are total twelve pair of wheels in the chariot. • These twelve pairs defne twelve months of Hindu Calendar. month. • The two wheels of pair defnes Shukla Paksha and Krishna Paksha of a • Konark Sun Temple is among those few temples of India whose construction and planning records have been preserved. • These records were written in the Sanskrit language in Odiya Script. And has been preserved in the form of palm-leaf manuscripts. • These records were discovered in a village in 1960’s and then were translated after some time. • Name of the seven horses of chariot are Gayatri, Brihati, Ushnih, Jagati, Trishtubha, Anushtubha, and Pankti. • These horses are named after the seven meters of Sanskrit prosodyacts

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87.Declaration Of World Heritage Sites By UNESCO • Context: ‘Dholavira: A Harappan City’ has been submitted for nomination of World Heritage Site in 2019-2020. • At present, India has 42 sites listed under Tentative List which is a pre- requisite condition for inscription as World Heritage Site. • Nomination dossiers of ‘Santiniketan, India’ and ‘Sacred Ensemble of Hoysalas’ have been submitted to UNESCO for the year 2021-22 cycle. • Augmentation of sites on the World Heritage List/Tentative List is a continuous process and sites are selected on the basis of their potential for fulflling criteria under Operational Guidelines and demonstration of Outstanding Universal Value. • At present, India has 38 World Heritage Properties. • All the sites under the Ministry are conserved as per ASI’s Conservation Policy and are in good shape. World Heritage Sites In India (38) Cultural Sites Under Protection of Archaeology Survey of India (22)

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Under Protection of Ministry of railway (2)

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Under Protection of Jaipur Municipal Corporation (1)

Mixed Site (1)

• A World Heritage site is classifed as a natural or man-made area or a structure that is of international importance, and a space which requires special protection.

• These sites are offcially recognised by the UN and the United Nations Educational Scientifc and Cultural Organisation, also known as UNESCO. • UNESCO believes that the sites classifed as World Heritage are important for humanity, and they hold cultural and physical signifcance • The list is maintained by the international World Heritage Programme administered by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, composed of 21 UNESCO member states which are elected by the General Assembly. • Each World Heritage Site remains part of the legal territory of the state wherein the site is located and UNESCO considers it in the interest of the international community to preserve each site. • To be selected, a World Heritage Site must be an already classifed landmark, unique in some respect as a geographically and historically identifable place having special cultural or physical signifcance.

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88.Sattras • Context: In news due to Assam Assembly elections. • The Bartadrava Than/Sattra (monastery) in Nagaon, is the birthplace of renowned Vaishnavite saint- reformer Srimanta Sankardeva. • Sattras are monastic institutions created as part of the 16th century Neo- Vaishnavite reformist movement started by Vaishnavite saint-reformer Srimanta Sankaradeva (1449-1596). • As the saint travelled across Assam, spreading his teachings and propagating an egalitarian society, these Sattras/Thans were established as centres of religious, social and cultural reforms in the 16th century. • Today, Sattras are spread across the state, promulgating Sankardeva’s unique “worship through art” approach with music (borgeet), dance (xattriya) and theatre (bhauna). • Each Sattra has a naamghar (worship hall) as its nucleus and is headed by an infuential “Sattradhikar”. • Monks, known as bhakats, are inducted into Sattras at a young age. are inducted into. • They may or may not be celibate, depending on the kind of Sattra they • There are about 900 Sattras across Assam, but the main centres are Bordowa (Nagaon), Majuli and Barpeta www.sleepyclasses.com Available on App Store Call 6280133177 and Play Store 96 T.me/SleepyClasses • These institutions are of paramount importance and lie at the heart of Assamese culture.” What is Sankardeva’s philosophy? • Sankardeva propagated a form of Bhakti called eka-sharana-naam- dhrama, and espoused a society based on equality and fraternity, free from caste differences, orthodox Brahmanical rituals and sacrifces. • His teaching focused on prayer and chanting (naam) instead of idol worship. • His dharma was based on the four components of deva (god), naam (prayers), bhakats (devotees), and guru (teacher). • Scholars, however, argue that post the demise of Sankardeva, the nature of the Vaishnavite movement has changed signifcantly. • After his demise, due to ideological differences among his disciples, the Sattras got divided into four independent sectarian • As a result, the institution also deviated from its basic goal, and lost the original reformative thrust. What is the relationship between the Sattra and the State? • During the Ahom reign, the Sattras received a lot of donations in the form of land or money from the kings. • Despite that, during the time, Sattras were kept out of political control. • Unlike temples, Sattras did not require patronage because they were self-suffcient, grew their own food and could sustain themselves • So they never sought patronage, it was given to them. However, today, it is different. Annual grants from the state and central government are doled out to Sattras, in the hope for political support.”

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