GS PAPER-1 (History, Art & Culture, Social Issues & Geography)
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1 2 GS PAPER-1 (History, Art & Culture, Social Issues & Geography) Kharg: Iran's largest warship (Topic- GS Paper I –Geography, Source- Indian Express) Why in the news? • Recently, Kharg the largest warship in the Iranian navy caught fire and later sank in the Gulf of Oman under unclear circumstances. About the Gulf of Oman 3 • The Gulf of Oman or Sea of Oman is a gulf that connects the Arabian Sea with the Strait of Hormuz, which then runs to the Persian Gulf. • It borders Iran and Pakistan on the north, Oman on the south, and the United Arab Emirates on the west. • The Gulf of Oman offers the only entrance from the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean into the Persian Gulf. • The world’s major oil exporters and importers have a joint interest in its security. Indian Ocean Dipole monsoon (Topic- GS Paper I –Geography, Source- The Hindu) Why in the news? • Recently the India Meteorological Department has said that monsoon rains will likely be 101% of the Long Period Average (LPA) of 88 cm. Reasons for this LPA • It is due the ‘negative’ IOD (Indian Ocean Dipole) conditions over the Indian Ocean during the monsoon season along with the another climate factors are, as of now, unlikely to have a significant influence over the prevailing monsoon. • In 2020, it was 109% of the LPA and in 2019, 110%. More on the news • The forecast 101% LPA is short of the rainfall received in these years and still within the range of what the IMD considers ‘normal’ rainfall, it is positive news because the current forecast is ‘above normal’ rainfall in the core agricultural zone. Phenomenon influence the Indian Ocean The important phenomena which influence the Indian Ocean are the a. El Nino and Southern Oscillation (popularly known as ENSO) and La Nina b. Indian Ocean Dipole El Nino can further be classified into two types a. Traditional El Nino which is characterized by strong anomalous warming in the eastern equatorial Pacific b. The El Nino Modoki that is associated with strong anomalous warming in the central tropical Pacific and cooling in the eastern and western tropical Pacific. About the Indian Ocean Dipole • It is an atmosphere-ocean coupled phenomenon in the Indian Ocean, characterised by a difference in sea-surface temperatures. 4 • It is the difference between the temperature of eastern (Bay of Bengal) and the western Indian Ocean (Arabian Sea). Characteristics Temperature difference • It occurs because of temperature difference. • This temperature difference results into pressure difference which results in flowing of winds between eastern and western parts of Indian Ocean. Development • It develops in the equatorial region of Indian Ocean from April to May, peaking in October. Phases The IOD has three phases such as Neutral, Positive and Negative IOD. 1. Neutral Phase of IOD • During this phase water flows from the Pacific between Indonesia’s islands, keeping seas warm to the northwest of Australia. • Air rises above this area and falls across the western half of the Indian Ocean basin, blowing westerly winds along the equator. 2. Positive Phase of IOD o During this phase the Westerly winds weaken along the equator, allowing warm water to move to Africa. Changes in the winds also allow a rise of cool water from the deep ocean in the east. o This creates a temperature difference across the tropical Indian Ocean with cooler than normal water in the east and warmer than normal water in the west. 5 o This event has been found to be beneficial for the monsoon. 3. Negative Phase of IOD o During this phase westerly winds intensify along the equator, allowing the concentration of warmer waters near Australia. o This creates a temperature difference across the tropical Indian Ocean, with warmer than normal water in the east and cooler than normal water in the west. o This event obstructs the progression of monsoon over India. Impact of IOD on the southwest monsoon Increased rainfall due to positive IOD • There is no established correlation between Indian summer monsoon rainfall and IOD. • But, studies have shown that a positive IOD year sees more than normal rainfall over central India. • It was demonstrated that a positive IOD index often negated the effect of El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO), resulting in increased Monsoon rains in several ENSO years. Droughts Due to negative IOD • A negative IOD, on the other hand, complements El NiNo leading to severe drought. Cyclones • At the same time, positive IOD results in more cyclones than usual in Arabian Sea. • Negative IOD results in stronger than usual cyclogenesis (Formation of Tropical Cyclones) in the Bay of Bengal. Thus, an IOD can either aggravate or weaken the impact of El Nino on Indian monsoon. • If there is a positive IOD, it can bring good rains to India despite an El Nino year. 6 • For example, positive IOD had facilitated normal or excess rainfall over India in 1983, 1994 and 1997 despite an El Nino in those years. • Similarly, during years such as 1992, a negative IOD and El Nino had cooperatively produced deficient rainfall. Related Information About Long Period Average (LPA) • It is the average rainfall recorded during the months from June to September, calculated during the 50-year period, and is kept as a benchmark while forecasting the quantitative rainfall for the monsoon season every year. • IMD maintains an independent LPA for every homogeneous region of the country, which ranges from 71.6 cm to 143.83 cm. IMD maintains five rainfall distribution categories on an all-India scale. These are: a. Normal or Near Normal: When per cent departure of actual rainfall is +/-10% of LPA, that is, between 96-104% of LPA. b. Below Normal: When departure of actual rainfall is less than 10% of LPA that is 90- 96% of LPA. c. Above Normal: When actual rainfall is 104-110% of LPA. d. Deficient: When departure of actual rainfall is less than 90% of LPA. e. Excess: When departure of actual rainfall is more than 110% of LPA. Small Island Developing States (Topic- GS Paper I –Geography, Source- The Hindu) Why in the news? • Recently, the election of Maldives Foreign Minister as the President of the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly is a major boost for the island-nation’s international profile. • Maldives also sees it as a win for the 52-member Small Island Developing States (SIDS), which are battling climate change vulnerability and other developmental challenges. Related Information About the Small Island Developing States 7 • Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are islands of the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans. • The SIDS was recognized as a distinct group of developing countries in June 1992, at the UN Conference on Environment and Development. • SIDS’ unique and particular vulnerabilities are highlighted in “The Future We Want”, adopted at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (also known as Rio+20) that took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in June 2012 Sardar Sarovar Dam (Topic- GS Paper I –Geography, Source- The Hindu) Why in the news • The Sardar Sarovar Narmada Dam is a terminal dam built on the Narmada River at Kevadia in Gujarat’s Narmada district has usually no water for irrigation during summers. • However, for the first time in the history of the dam, this year in the ongoing summer the dam released about 1.3 Million Acre Feet (MAF) water for irrigation between April 1 and May 31 in its command area of 21.29 lakh hectares. 8 About Sardar Sarovar Dam • It is called the ‘lifeline of Gujarat’ which is built on Narmada River. • River Narmada is a classic case of Integrated River Basin Planning, Development, and Management. • The water storage available in all major, medium, and minor dams on the main river and its tributaries, shared amongst four party states – Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra — in the ratio stipulated by the 1979 award of the Narmada Water Dispute Tribunal. Tulu Language (Topic- GS Paper I –Art and Culture, Source- Indian Express) Why in the news? • Recently various organisations initiated a Twitter campaign demanding official language status to Tulu in Karnataka and Kerala and received an overwhelming response. About Tulu • Tulu is a textbook example of linguistic discrimination. • Tulu is a Dravidian language whose speakers are concentrated in two coastal districts of Karnataka and in Kasaragod district of Kerala. • The present-day Tulu linguistic majority area is confined to the region of Tulu Nadu, which comprises the districts of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi in Karnataka and the northern part of Kasaragod district of Kerala up to the river Payaswani, or Chandragiri. • The cities of Mangaluru, Udupi and Kasaragod are the epicentres of Tulu culture. • The Tulu-speaking people are larger in number than speakers of Manipuri and Sanskrit, which have the Eighth Schedule status. 9 Census • As per the 2011 Census report, there are 18,46,427 Tulu-speaking people in India Tulu in Education • The Karnataka government introduced Tulu as a language in schools a few years ago. According to the state education department, in the year 2020, a total of 956 children from Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts wrote Tulu as the third optional language in SSLC (Class 10) examination. • In 2014-15, 18 students chose the language as the third optional when it was introduced. • Last year, ‘Jai Tulunad’ conducted an online campaign demanding to include Tulu in the new National Education Policy (NEP). Demands of languages for inclusion in the Eighth Schedule • At present, there are demands for inclusion of 38 more languages in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution.