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Heavily armed Russian mercenaries withdrew from the southern Russian city of Rostov overnight under a deal that defused an unprecedented challenge to the authority of President Vladimir Putin and halted their rapid advance on Moscow.
Fighters of the Wagner group returned to their bases in return for guarantees for their safety and the leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, will move to Belarus, as per the agreement mediated by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
The aborted mutiny raises questions about Mr. Putin’s grip on a country he has ruled with an iron hand for over two decades.
Modi, Sisi ink deal on strategic partnership (Page no. 1)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
India and Egypt signed an agreement on a strategic partnership as Prime Minister Narendra Modi held bilateral talks with President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi in Cairo.
The Government of Egypt bestowed the highest honour of the land — the Order of the Nile — on the visiting Indian leader and Mr. Modi described his first state visit to Egypt as “historic”.
The four agreements that were signed during the visit (June 24-25) of the honourable Prime Minister — first, the most important, and a landmark development in the history of bilateral relationship was the signature on the strategic partnership between India and Egypt. It was signed by the Honourable Prime Minister Modi and the Honourable President El-Sisi of Egypt.
He said green and renewable collaboration will be an important part of future partnership with Egypt because of the importance the two sides attach to clean energy.
Editorial
Manipur — this is not a time for finger-pointing (Page no. 8)
(GS Paper 3, Internal Security)
Manipur’s unfolding and extended tragedy, in which two of the State’s major communities, the Kukis and Meiteis, have been on a bloody communal clash since May 3, is proving how utterly meaningless all the contests to score debating points on the media are; equally, it shows how empty all political posturing and vaunts can be in matters of resolving deadly conflicts.
After nearly two months, the State remains tense, with over 120 lives lost. While this cannot be reversed, there are also another estimated 45,000 displaced people in several temporary community-run relief camps on both sides of the divide.
For their sake, first and foremost, all posturing must end so that all stakeholders in this conflict theatre — not just the Kukis and Meiteis — can sit down together to evolve a way forward, with consensus, including structural administrative changes agreeable to all, and for the benefit of all.
The emphasis on consensus is important. The truth is what one community does impacts other communities even if they live separately.
The integral geography of hills and valleys, and rivers and lakes predestines this, and any move to disrupt this integrity can be an affront on the sense of security of another.
We are seeing this in Russia’s response to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s overtures in Ukraine, and indeed in India’s own response to the Chinese incursion in the Bhutanese territory of Doklam, in 2017.
Outreach to diaspora and statesmanship (Page no. 8)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
In a speech while addressing the Tamil diaspora in Tokyo in the course of his overseas tour in May 2023, to Singapore and Japan, to attract investments to the State, the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, M.K. Stalin, had said that the Government of Tamil Nadu would protect the Tamil diaspora that has spread far and wide in search of education, business, and employment.
He added that protecting the Tamil language meant protecting the Tamil community. He held forth the promise that his government and the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) would extend all support to the Tamil community.
Among the Indian diaspora, Tamils constitute a substantial number. They form the overwhelming majority of the Indian population in Malaysia, Singapore, and Sri Lanka, are in good numbers in Myanmar, Mauritius, South Africa, the Seychelles, the Re-Union Islands, Fiji, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Suriname, Australia, New Zealand, the Gulf countries, the United States and Canada, Britain and the European countries.
These dynamic groups have three identities — first, the Tamil identity; second, the Indian identity, and third, the identity of the countries in which they have settled.
Equally interesting is the phenomenon of the diaspora of the diaspora. From Fiji, Malaysia, and Singapore, the Indian diaspora is migrating to greener pastures such as Australia, Canada, and the U.S.
It would be simplistic and naïve to assume that the hopes that they entertain and the problems that they face are identical. It is closely related to the nature of their migration, their numerical numbers, their educational and professional attainments, their economic clout, and, above all, the majority-minority syndrome in the host countries.
The Tamil diaspora has excelled in politics, economics, literature, the fine arts, sports, and science. A few names that shine include Dr. Chandrasekhar, Monty Naicker, Sambandan, Janaki Thevar, T.S. Maniam, Saumiyamoorthy Thondaman, S.R. Nathan, Muthiah Muralitharan, Nagamattoo, Indira Nooyi, Sundar Pichai, Raghuram Rajan and Kamala Harris.
Opinion
The united states of India (Page no. 9)
(GS Paper 2, Polity and Constitution)
The scholars argued that what distinguishes the south from the north politically is its language of politics, its regional parties and their demand for more power to the States, its multiple languages and cultures, its countercultures built through various anti-caste, anti-Brahmin and rationalist movements, its higher economic status and its investment in education, modern institutions, industrial infrastructure, etc. while the north lagged in most of these aspects.
On similar lines, in 1956, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar argued that the north was conservative, superstitious and educationally backward, whereas the south was progressive, rational and educationally forward.
He criticised Jawaharlal Nehru for practising Brahminical rituals. He did not spare President Rajendra Prasad for worshipping the Brahmins in Banaras, washing their toes, and drinking that water.
Thus, Ambedkar wondered how, under such leadership, the south would tolerate “the rule of the north.” Even today, his observation seems pertinent considering how the north has nurtured hard-liner Hindutva politics, while the south has barred the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from entering its political landscape. Thus, the perplexing question is: what makes the south such a formidable fortress where the BJP has no presence now?
To understand that, we must look at the most important historical factor that distinguishes the two regions: the linguistic nationality movements, which imagined India as a federation of nationalities.
While the north imagined India as a homogenous nation that resonates with the Hindi-Hindu-Hindustan slogan, the south aspired to build India as a federation of nationalities.
The print and publishing culture led to the formation of distinct linguistic public spheres in the south, which were further consolidated by cinema, mainly through the mediation of film stars such as M.G. Ramachandran (Tamil), N.T. Rama Rao (Telugu) and Rajkumar (Kannada).
By the early 20th century, different linguistic communities in the south began to claim nationality status for themselves. The leaders were inspired by the political developments in Europe where, in the aftermath of major revolutions, new nations were founded based on linguistic identity with the political objective of achieving ‘popular sovereignty.’
Explainer
The India-U.S. deal for 31 MQ-9B drones (Page no. 10)
(GS Paper 3, Defence)
U.S President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed India’s plans to procure General Atomics MQ-9B High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) Unmanned Aerial vehicles (UAV), the joint statement issued last week after talks between the two leaders said.
This sets the stage for the acquisition of 31 of these armed UAVs, 15 SeaGuardians for the Indian Navy and 16 SkyGuardians — eight each for the Indian Army and Air Force.
Giving more details on the nature of purchase, the joint statement said that the MQ-9Bs, which will be assembled in India, will enhance the Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities of India’s armed forces across domains.
As part of this plan, General Atomics will also establish a Comprehensive Global Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility in India in support of India’s long-term goals to boost indigenous defence capabilities.
The procurement process has commenced with the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh according the Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) on June 15, the first step in the process.
The deal will be executed through the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) route of the U.S. government and is expected to take a few months to be concluded.
On this a Ministry of Defence (MoD) statement said the AoN noted the estimated cost of $3,072 million provided by the U.S. government.
However, price will be negotiated once policy approval of the US Government is received. The MoD will compare the acquisition cost with the best price offered by General Atomics (GA) to other countries.
The procurement is in progress and would be completed as per the laid down procedure.” The price and other terms and conditions of the purchase are yet to be finalised and are subject to negotiations, the MoD statement noted.
Text
The Titan tragedy: how did the Titanic tourist submersible operate? (Page no. 11)
(GS Paper 3, Science and Technology)
On June 18, a submersible named Titan went missing. On board the missing vehicle were one pilot and four crew members travelling to see the wreckage of the RMS Titanic, which is nearly four thousand metres under water in the frigid North Atlantic Ocean. One hour and forty-five minutes into the journey, contact with Titan was lost.
The U.S., Canadian, and French authorities started using airplanes and boats as well as remotely operated vehicles to locate the sub.
On June 22, authorities informed that all five passengers on Titan died in a ‘catastrophic implosion’. Titan’s pilot was Stockton Rush, CEO of OceanGate Inc., the company that runs these tours to the sunken ship.
Titan is a submersible, or an underwater vehicle. It is operated by the privately owned U.S. company OceanGate that organises underwater expeditions for both research and tourism.
The company claims that Titan, which it said was built with “off-the-shelf” components, is lighter and more cost-efficient than other deep diving submersibles.
The 6.7-metre-long manned submersible is intended for “site survey and inspection, research and data collection, film and media production, and deep sea testing of hardware and software,” according to the OceanGate website.
The company said its expeditions were meant to document the Titanic and its rate of decay on the ocean floor, and that all expeditions were in line with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Guidelines for Research, Exploration and Salvage of RMS Titanic, as well as the UNESCO guidelines for the preservation of underwater world heritage sites.
It is important to remember that the wreckage of the Titanic is a grave site where victims experienced unimaginable horror and suffering in their final hours.
For this reason, international guidelines are in place to protect the now rust-covered wreckage which is scattered across the ocean bed, as well as the visitors who wish to see it.
The UNESCO guidelines stress on the long-term preservation of “underwater cultural heritage” and the need to protect the surrounding waters by ensuring “responsible non-intrusive access.”
News
Vikram, Pragyan to return for another tryst with the moon (Page no. 14)
(GS Paper 3, Science and Technology)
India’s third moon exploration mission, slated for a mid-July launch, will share the names associated with the 2019 Chandrayaan-2 lunar adventure.
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) plans to retain the names of the Chandrayaan-2 lander and rover for their Chandrayaan-3 equivalents as well, ISRO Chairman S. Somanath told.
This means, the Chandrayaan-3 lander will bear the name Vikram (after Vikram Sarabhai, the father of the Indian space programme) and the rover, Pragyan.
Much to its disappointment, the ISRO had lost the Chandrayaan-2 lander-rover configuration and the payloads aboard after Vikram crashed on the lunar surface while attempting a soft landing.
Earlier this month, Mr. Somanath announced ISRO’s plans to launch the third moon mission in mid-July aboard the LVM3 (formerly GSLV Mk-III) rocket from Sriharikota.
A propulsion module will carry the lander-rover configuration to a 100-km lunar orbit. Once the Vikram lander module makes it safely to the moon, it will deploy Pragyan, which will carry out in-situ chemical analysis of the lunar surface during the course of its mobility.
The lander, rover and the propulsion module will have payloads for performing experiments designed to give scientists new insights into the characteristics of earth’s lone natural satellite.
The lander will have four payloads — Radio Anatomy of Moon Bound Hypersensitive Ionosphere and Atmosphere (RAMBHA), Chandra’s Surface Thermo physical Experiment (ChaSTE), Instrument for Lunar Seismic Activity (ILSA) and the LASER Retroreflector Array (LRA).
The six-wheeled rover will have two payloads — the Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer (APXS) and the LASER Induced Breakdown Spectroscope (LIBS).
In addition to these, there will be one payload on the propulsion module, the Spectro-polarimetry of HAbitable Planet Earth (SHAPE).