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Delegates at the COP-27 climate summit in Egypt agreed after late-night talks to put the delicate issue of whether rich nations should compensate poor countries most vulnerable to climate change on the formal agenda for the first time.
For over a decade, wealthy nations have rejected talks on what is referred to as loss and damage, or funds they give to help poor countries cope with the consequences of global warming.
At COP26 last year in Glasgow, high-income nations blocked a proposal for a loss and damage financing body, instead supporting a three-year dialogue for funding discussions.
Royal black: Pink City’s indelible kali syahi has written reams of history, is a flowing tradition (Page no. 1)
(GS Paper 1, Culture)
Keeping alive a tradition dating back to the reign of the Kachhwaha rulers, a family in the Walled City of Jaipur makes an indelible black ink, or kali syahi , used 250 years ago for writing royal firmans (decrees) and ledgers. The fourth generation of the family now produces the ink every Deepavali.
While the erstwhile royal family used the ink for its official transactions, the businessmen of the princely State used it to write their accounts.
Even universities established after Independence awarded degrees written with this ink. The ink, with its promise of permanence, was even believed to ward off evil and bring prosperity to its users.
The manufacturers of the ink lived in the nearby Sanganer town, but were invited to the Walled City by the Jaipur royals 255 years ago and given a shop in the Tripolia Bazaar at a nominal price.
The modest shop, which has now been divided within the family, still exists with a descriptive name, Kali Syahi Ki Dukaan.
The great-grandson of Hari Narayan Bomb of Sanganer who received the patronage of the royals is Lokesh Bomb, a jeweller now settled in Idar-Oberstein in Germany.
However, he still makes it a point to be in Jaipur on Deepavali and makes the ink at his ancestral shop. Mr. Bomb then sells the ink to Marwari businessmen who follow the practice of starting their accounts with the sacred ink after Lakshmi Puja.The black ink is prepared on a no-moon night with the chanting of mantras.
It is made of kaajal (homemade mascara), gondh (edible gum) and a few other locally sourced herbal ingredients,” he said. The youngest of three brothers, Mr. Bomb learned the ink-making process from his mother.
The ink has medicinal properties, as some of its ingredients were earlier used in the traditional Ayurvedic system for the treatment and healing of wounds.
Some prominent Vaidyas and Hakims (traditional healers) in Jaipur have been using the ink for treating skin disorders such as eczema.
For several years, Padma Shri awardee and revered saint Narayan Das Maharaj of Triveni Dham near Jaipur visited the Kali Syahi shop on Deepavali to consecrate the ink before its release for sale. Following the Maharaj’s death in 2018, one of his disciples comes to the shop and performs the ritual.
States
Indian black honeybee is a Western Ghats discovery (Page no. 5)
(GS Paper 3, Environment)
A new species of endemic honeybee has been discovered in the Western Ghats. The new species has been named Apis karinjodian and given the common name Indian black honeybee.
The finding has been published in the September issue of the journal Entomon, a peer-reviewed journal brought out by the Association for Advancement of Entomology.
The research team behind the discovery comprised Shanas S. from Kerala Agricultural University’s Integrated Farming Systems Research Station, Karamana, here; Anju Krishnan G., a PhD research scholar from the Zoology department of SN College, Cherthala (affiliated to the University of Kerala); and Mashhoor K. from the EMEA College of Arts and Science, Malappuram.
A new species of honeybee has been spotted from the Western Ghats after a gap of more than 200 years. The last honeybee described from India was Apis indica in 1798 by Fabricius.
Although Fabricius named the Indian bee Apis indica, it was not considered a valid species till now. The research team restored the status of Apis indica based on a new measure for species discrimination in honeybees termed ‘Radio-Medial Index (RMI).’
They obtained high resolution photographs of the type specimen from the Natural History Museum, Copenhagen, Denmark, to prove the distinct identity of Apis indica, which led to the discovery of the Apis karinjodian.
Apis karinjodian has evolved from Apis cerana morphotypes that got acclimatised to the hot and humid environment of the Western Ghats.
Molecular analysis of mitochondrial DNA was also carried out and molecular sequence data available in the public open database NCBI-GenBank also helped confirm the species status of the new honeybee.
The research work took more than three years.
The distribution of Apis karinjodian ranges from the central Western Ghats and Nilgiris to the southern Western Ghats, covering the States of Goa, Karnataka, Kerala and parts of Tamil Nadu. The species has been classified as near threatened (NT) in the State based on the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria.
Till date, only a single species, Apis cerana was noted across the plains of central and southern India and Sri Lanka as a ‘fairly uniform population’ in the Indian subcontinent.
Editorial
An electoral pivot that restores Brazil’s democracy (Page no. 6)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
In the presidential election in Brazil, on October 30 (the second round), the two-time former President, and leader of the leftist Worker’s Party (PT), Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva — universally known as Lula — defeated the far-right incumbent president, Jair Bolsonaro.
The election could not have been more pivotal or more consequential; nothing less than a referendum on democracy itself. Mr. Lula’s win brings to an end the reign of a right-wing populist who has relentlessly attacked democratic institutions, revelled in misogyny and homophobia, celebrated the gun culture, demonised Brazil’s slum dwellers as criminals and drug traffickers, and accelerated the burning of the Amazon.
There is little doubt that a second-term Bolsonaro would have accentuated the authoritarian turn, with a deepening reliance on the military to run the government, the ongoing politicisation of Brazil’s once robust federal bureaucracy, the packing of the Supreme Court, and the erosion of civil liberties at the hands of a federal police force beholden to Mr. Bolsonaro.
The electoral pivot brings back a centre-left party that presided over an era of dramatic poverty-reduction and expanded social rights from 2003-2014.
It brings back a coalition of Brazil’s large and disproportionately black class of the labouring poor (the social class that gave Mr. Lula the most support), women who supported Mr. Lula overwhelmingly in what is still a deeply patriarchal society and progressive elements of the middle class.
It promises to usher back in policies that favour moderate redistribution and a commitment to deepening social rights and environmental protection, including slowing the world-catastrophic destruction of the Amazon.
But maybe, most decisively, Mr. Lula’s return brings back a leader and a party that played a historic role in consolidating Brazil’s democracy, and that when in power, have pioneered some of the boldest and most effective efforts to promote participatory democracy anywhere in the democratic world.
Mr. Lula’s victory margin was narrow, 51.9% to Bolsonaro’s 48.1%, the narrowest in Brazil’s presidential history. Given Mr. Bolsonaro’s disastrous management of the COVID-19 crisis, his constant attacks on democratic institutions and basic science, his habit of appointing unqualified sycophants (often military generals) as Ministers, and an almost continuous stream of scandals, polls and pundits alike had just a few months ago predicted a runaway Lula victory.
The first round of the election, which took place October 2, revealed a deep reservoir of conservatism in Brazil as well as a very effective reactionary coalition.
Not only did Mr. Bolsonaro do better than predicted, but his right-wing allies in congressional and gubernatorial elections outperformed all other parties.
The conservatism is rooted in Mr. Bolsonaro’s alliance with Evangelical churches, a rapidly growing demographic that now accounts for a third of Brazil and favours traditional family values which include opposing gay marriage and abortion.
Opinion
The continuing stalemate in Myanmar (Page no. 7)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
Twenty-one months after a military coup, which derailed a decade-old experiment with limited democracy, Myanmar is struggling to cope with the consequences.
People are suffering, authorities and opposition forces are locked in a cycle of violent clashes, the economy is deteriorating, and ASEAN’s mission to produce a solution has failed.
When the Tatmadaw (military), unhappy with the victory of the Aung San Suu Kyi-led National League for Democracy in the November 2020 elections, chose to violate the constitution, it acted in the belief that the people would accept its diktat, as they had done in previous decades.
Clearly, it underestimated public anger and their commitment to freedom and democracy. Even after killing over 2,300 people and imprisoning thousands, including Ms. Suu Kyi, the military still faces a rebellion. Its plan to hold an election next year stands jeopardised.
With two key dimensions, the opposition has prevented the military from having its way. First, the parallel National Unity Government (NUG) may not be recognised by any state, but it continues to receive political and financial support from abroad. It has effectively channelled popular indignation against military rule, while still being vulnerable due to the paucity of resources and the absence of a visible leader.
Second, the about 20 ethnic armed organisations (EAOs), located in the east, north and west of Myanmar’s periphery, have divergent approaches towards the post-coup conflict.
Many view it as an intra-Bamar contestation, an issue of limited concern to them. Some like the Karens and Kachins support the NUG, while others, especially those controlled or supported by China, remain aloof.
Those operating in the Chin and Rakhine states are engaged in a fierce armed conflict with the military and have enfeebled it. But overall, due to their divergences and relative weaknesses, the EAOs are unlikely to defeat the military.
Thus, while the opposition has performed well, it is unable to turn the tide in its favour, without a nationwide front against the Tatmadaw.
National reconciliation between the military and civilian forces, and ethnic reconciliation between the majority Bamars and ethnic minorities, have been put on hold. Ms. Suu Kyi, 77, the most popular leader, has been sentenced to 26 years of imprisonment in multiple cases on apparently trumped-up charges.
Besides, 1.1 million Rohingya, driven by military oppression to seek shelter in Bangladesh in 2017, continue to languish there. Dhaka’s efforts to arrange their safe return have failed.
Armed clashes between the military and their ethnic opponents in the border region are having a spillover effect in Bangladesh. Dhaka continues to show restraint and a preference for diplomacy to manage the situation.
The UN has been forthright in criticising the coup. It has expressed concern over continuing violence, support for a ‘democratic transition’, a release of all political prisoners and dialogue among the parties concerned.
However, the UN Secretary General’s special envoy has had little success in promoting peace. The UN’s failure lies in the sharp divisions within the international community on how to deal with this vexed issue.
Explained
The Uniform Civil Code (Page no. 8)
(GS Paper 2, Governance)
Ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections, Gujarat on October 29 joined the list of BJP-ruled States that have called for implementing the Uniform Civil Code (UCC).
Gujarat Home Minister Harsh Sanghavi along with Union Minister Parshottam Rupala announced that the State will constitute a committee headed by a retired High Court judge to evaluate all aspects for implementing the UCC.
Article 44 contained in part IV of the Constitution says that the state “shall endeavour to secure for the citizens a uniform civil code throughout the territory of India”.
While there is no draft or model document yet for the UCC, the framers of the Constitution envisioned that it would be a uniform set of laws that would replace the distinct personal laws of each religion with regard to matters like marriage, divorce, adoption, and inheritance.
Part IV of the Constitution outlines the Directive Principles of State Policy, which, while not enforceable or justiciable in a court of law, are fundamental to the country’s governance.
The clause on UCC generated substantial debate in the Constituent Assembly about whether it should be included as a fundamental right or a directive principle.
The matter had to be settled by vote; with a majority of 5:4, wherein the sub-committee on fundamental rights headed by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel decided that securing a UCC was not within the scope of fundamental rights.
Members of the Assembly took starkly contrasting stances on the UCC. Some also felt that India was too diverse a country for the UCC. Member Naziruddin Ahmad from Bengal argued that certain civil laws in all communities were “inseparably connected with religious beliefs and practices”.
He felt the UCC would come in the way of Article 19 of the draft Constitution (now Article 25) which guarantees the right to freedom of religion subject to public order, morality, and health.
While he was not against the idea of a uniform civil law, he argued that the time for that had not yet come, adding that the process had to be gradual and not without the consent of the concerned communities.
Member K.M. Munshi however, rejected the notion that a UCC would be against the freedom of religion as the Constitution allowed the government to make laws covering secular activities related to religious practices if they were intended for social reform.
He advocated for the UCC, stating benefits such as promoting the unity of the nation and equality for women. He said that if personal laws of inheritance, succession and so on were seen as a part of religion, then many discriminatory practices of the Hindu personal law against women could not be eliminated.
Text &Context
The Falcon Heavy launch: the most powerful operational rocket in the world (Page no. 9)
(GS Paper 3, Science and Tech)
On November 1, Elon Musk-owned SpaceX launched the Falcon Heavy rocket into a geosynchronous Earth orbit from the Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, U.S.
This is considered as a National Security Space Launch for the U.S. military. The company hails this as the most powerful operational rocket in the world. This is the fourth launch of the giant rocket system, and the first one in nearly three years since its last launch in 2019.
The rocket is carrying satellites to space for the U.S. military in a mission named as U.S. Space Force (USSF)-44. The mission deployed two spacecraft payloads, one of which is the TETRA 1 microsatellite created for various prototype missions in and around the geosynchronous earth orbit.
The other payload is for national defence purposes. It will place the satellites for the Space Systems Command’s Innovation and Prototyping.
Space Systems Command (SSC) is the oldest military space organisation in the United States Armed Forces. It is responsible for developing, acquiring, equipping, fielding and sustaining lethal and resilient space capabilities.
SSC mission capability areas include launch acquisition and operations, communications and positioning, navigation and timing, space sensing, battle management command, control, and communications, and space domain awareness and combat power.
The Falcon Heavy uses three boosters for added thrust and lift capacity. The centre booster plunged into the ocean as planned and the two side boosters landed on ground pads at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
These two boosters will be refurbished for a subsequent U.S. Space Force mission later this year, according to a press release by the Space Systems Command. The boosters are reused on other missions to cut down on mission costs.
SpaceX claims Falcon Heavy to be the most powerful rocket in the world today by a factor of two. With a lifting capacity of around 64 metric tonnes into orbit, Falcon Heavy can lift more than twice the payload of the next closest operational vehicle, the Delta IV Heavy.
The rocket has a height of 70 m, a width of 12.2 m and a mass of 1,420,788 kg. Falcon Heavy has 27 Merlin engines which together generate more than five million pounds of thrust at lift-off, equalling around eighteen 747 aircraft at full power.
This makes it the most capable rocket flying. The rocket can lift the equivalent of a fully loaded 737 jetliner, complete with passengers, luggage and fuel, to orbit, SpaceX said.
Merlin is a family of rocket engines developed by SpaceX for use on its Falcon 1, Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launch vehicles. Merlin engines use RP-1 and liquid oxygen as rocket propellants in a gas-generator power cycle. These engines were designed for recovery and reuse, according to SpaceX.
SpaceX last launched its Falcon Heavy rocket in June 2019 from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. It carried 24 satellites as part of the Department of Defense’s Space Test Program-2.
News
Bring back old pension scheme, govt. employees write to Cabinet Secretary (Page no. 10)
(GS Paper 2, Governance)
Demanding that the old pension scheme (OPS) be restored, a federation of Central government employees’ unions has written to the Cabinet Secretary, stating that the current National Pension System (NPS) was a disaster for retiring employees in their old age.
The federation, in a letter, said a defence establishment official who recently retired after more than 13 years of service received only 15% of the assured pension he would have otherwise got under the OPS.
Under the NPS, the official with a basic pay of Rs. 30,500 received Rs. 2,417 as monthly pension as against the Rs. 15,250 he would have received under the OPS.
Another official with a basic pay of Rs. 34,300 received Rs. 2,506 as monthly pension after more than 15 years of service, whereas under the OPS, he would have been entitled to Rs. 17,150 as pension.
The letter signed by the Joint Consultative Machinery (JCM), an apex body of various government unions comprising Group B and Group C officials, read: “It is amply clear that the NPS employees despite their contribution of 10% of their wages every month for their entire service are getting only a very meagre pension and are worse off vis-à-vis the OPS.
The pension under NPS remain static and there is no dearness relief to compensate the price rise/inflation as available in the OPS.
It said that all Central government employees, including paramilitary personnel, were opposing the “no guaranteed NPS” and were demanding that the government scrap the NPS.
The Cabinet Secretary is the chair of the JCM. “It is now 18 years after the implementation of NPS. Employees who were recruited on or after 01/01/2004 have now started retiring from service.
From the paltry amount they are now getting as pension from NPS it is proved that it is a disaster for the retiring employees in their old age and not a win-win situation,” the letter, signed by Shiva Gopal Mishra, Secretary, National Council (Staff Side.
Mr. Mishra told The Hindu that the NPS was “an atrocity committed on government employees” and the federation was contemplating serious measures to draw the government’s attention. “It is a do-or-die situation. The fight will be taken to the national level.
We are in touch with bank and insurance [employees’] associations. We are aware of the country’s economic situation and are seeking a practical solution, but how can a retired government employee run their household with a pension of Rs. 1,800.
He added that he had had several rounds of meetings with the Cabinet Secretary, Department of Personnel and Training, and Department of Expenditure, and had been told that it was a policy issue beyond the remit of bureaucracy.
The OPS, or the Defined Pension Benefit Scheme, assured life-long income post-retirement, usually equivalent to 50% of the last drawn salary. The government bore the expenditure incurred on the pension. The Atal Bihari Vajpayee government in 2003 decided to discontinue the OPS and introduced the NPS.
AnSI builds tribal hut replicas to help preserve, promote unique heritage (Page no. 12)
(GS Paper 1, Culture)
From a distinctive beehive-shaped hut of the Jarawa tribe to a Shompen hut crafted with leaves of junglee supari with a cage for wild pigs built beneath it, and a Nicobarese hut made using the thin stems of local cane covered by thick dry grasses — each offers a peek into the lives of tribal communities that most Indians will never see.
In a first-of-its-kind bid to showcase the heritage of tribal communities, especially those of Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs), the Anthropological Survey of India (AnSI) has recreated the huts of several communities at its different regional centres.
The effort has drawn praise from several quarters, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
These huts have come up outside five regional centres of the AnSI in consultation with the local communities, adding that researchers and scientists have worked on constructing them during the entire month of October.
Mr. Sasikumar said that the huts are not only authentic in design, and built using the same materials used by the tribal people, but also contains artefacts which they use, thus offering a rare glimpse into the lives of these communities who reside in locations which are not easily accessible to others.
For instance, the traditional Jarawa hut, called a chadda, has traditional baskets, bows and arrows, and other artefacts used by the community.
The zonal anthropological museums of AnSI are important tourist destinations and the construction of these tribal huts and a monolith within the premises will help increase interest of visitors.
Camera traps give hope for snow leopard in Kashmir (Page no. 12)
(GS Paper 3, Environment)
The first-ever recording of the snow leopard from the Baltal-Zojila region has renewed hopes for the elusive predator in the higher altitudes of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
Camera trapping exercises by researchers from Nature Conservation Foundation (India), partnering with J&K’s Department of Wildlife Protection, also raised hopes for other important and rare species such as the Asiatic ibex, brown bear and Kashmir musk deer in the upper reaches of the northernmost part of India.
“It is the first record of snow leopard from the Baltal-Zojila area. In fact, we have very limited records of the presence of snow leopards across J&K,” Munib Khanyari, programme manager at NCF (India).But not much is known about the number of snow leopards in J&K and Ladakh.
The Snow Leopard Population Assessment of India (SPAI) has been concluded so far in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. The estimated population of the great cat is 50 and 100, respectively, in these two States.
Various teams have been conducting surveys across the nearly 12,000 sq. km potential snow leopard territory of J&K for a few years now covering Gurez, Thajwas, Baltal-Zojila, Warwan, and Kishtwar. The surveys have often focused on the neighbouring areas of Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
World
COP-27 puts climate compensation on agenda for first time (Page no. 14)
(GS Paper 3, Environment)
Delegates at the COP-27 climate summit in Egypt agreed after late-night talks to put the delicate issue of whether rich nations should compensate poor countries most vulnerable to climate change on the formal agenda for the first time.
For more than a decade, wealthy nations have rejected official discussions on what is referred to as loss and damage, or funds they provide to help poor countries cope with the consequences of global warming.
COP-27 President Sameh Shoukry told the plenary that opens this year’s two-week United Nations conference attended by more than 190 countries the decision created “an institutionally stable space” for discussion of “the pressing issue of funding arrangements”.
At COP-26 last year in Glasgow, high-income nations blocked a proposal for a loss and damage financing body, instead supporting a three-year dialogue for funding discussions.
The loss and damage discussions now on the COP-27 agenda will not guarantee compensation or necessarily acknowledge liability, but are intended to lead to a conclusive decision “no later than 2024”.
The issue could generate even more tension than at previous conferences this year as the Ukraine war, a surge in energy prices and the risk of economic recession have at once added to governments’ reluctance to promise funds and poor nations’ need for them.
Negotiations on Saturday night before the agenda’s adoption “were extremely challenging, head of global political strategy at the non-profit Climate Action Network International, said. “Rich countries in the first place never wanted loss and damage to be on the agenda.”
Some criticised the dismissive language on liability, but although weaker than hoped, getting the issue formally on the agenda will oblige wealthier nations to engage on the topic.
They rightly expect more solidarity from the rich countries, and Germany is ready for this, both in climate financing and in dealing with damage and losses.
Germany wants to launch a “protective shield against climate risks” at the conference, an initiative it has been working on with vulnerable states such as Bangladesh and Ghana.
Bangladeshi-based environmental research body, the International Centre for Climate Change and Development said it was “good news” loss and damage was officially on the agenda.Now the real work begins to make finance a reality.