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Daily News Simplified - DNS

16 04 20Notes

SL. NO. TOPICS

THE HINDUPAGE NO.

1 Outdated census data deprives over 10 crore of PDS: economists 08

2A. Trump under fire for attacking WHOB. Disastrous DecisionC. India stays clear of WHO row

(WHO and World Health Assembly)06/14/08

3 Of the places you will go(Pahari Painting Style) 12

4 How pandemics changed the world(Spanish flu, Black Death, Justinian Plague) 14

5 Thissur 05

Dated: 16-April-2020 DNS Notes

Pooram Festival

Title 1. Outdated census data deprives over 10 crore of PDS: economists (The Hindu – Pg. 08)

Syllabus Indian EconomyTheme PDS systemHighlights

Context - Economists Jean Dreze and Reetika Khera have highlighted that over 10 crore people have been excluded from the Public Distribution System because outdated 2011 census data is being used to calculate State-wise National Food Security Act coverage.

During the lockdown, when people have lost their livelihoods, PDS support has become critical for survival.

Coverage under National Food Security Act

PDS is supposed to cover 75% of the population in rural areas and 50% of the population in urban areas.

This which works out to 67% of the total population, using the rural-urban population ratio in 2011.

India’s population was about 121 crore in 2011 and so PDS covered approximately 80 crore people.

Projected population is 137 crore for 2020, PDS coverage today, taking 67% ratio, should be around 92 crore.

According to the economists, even taking into account growing urbanisation, the shortfall in coverage would be around 10 crore people.

The biggest gaps are in poor states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

The numbers have been frozen

The numbers should have been updated using projected population figures, allowing State governments to issue new ration cards over time. Instead, the Centre’s calculation of the actual number of people to be covered in each State has remained “frozen.” This has resulted in the exclusion errors in the PDS.For example, there are about seven lakh pending applications for ration cards in Jharkhand, because the State government stopped issuing new ration cards several years ago to avoid exceeding the numbers provided for by the Central government.

Exclusion will be continued in near futureWith the 2021 census process being delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, any proposed revision of PDS coverage using that data could now take several years.

Value addition for exam The most basic provisions on the right to food is in Article 25(1) of the UDHR, which

states: "Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food."

The Supreme Court of India has observed, in the Right to Food Case, that ‘right to food’ forms an integral part of the right to life, guaranteed under the Article 21. Right to Food is inherent to a life with dignity. Article 21 of the should be read with Articles 39(a) and article 47.

Article 39(a) requires the State to direct its policies towards securing that all its citizens have the right to an adequate means of livelihood.

Article 47: Duty of the State to raise the level of nutrition and the standard of living and to improve public health.

In the 2019 Global Hunger Index, India ranks 102nd out of 117 qualifying countries

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Title A. Trump under fire for attacking WHOB. Disastrous DecisionC. India stays clear of WHO row

(WHO and World Health Assembly) (The Hindu – Pg. 06/14/08)Syllabus International OrganisationsTheme (WHO and World Health AssemblyHighlights

Context:US President Mr. Donad Trump has announced that the U.S. will suspend WHO funding. That could leave another global initiative under China’s influence.

For 70 years, U.S. leadership in international organizations has helped it shape the world.

Over the past week President Trump has repeatedly rebuked the World Health Organization, arguing that “they missed the call” on the novel coronavirus pandemic. On Tuesday, Trump announced the U.S. would halt funding for the global health organization, pending a review of WHO’s pandemic response.

International organizations like the WHO are not a sideshow to power politics — they are a crucial arena of struggle. The United States has already experienced costs from backing away from the United Nations, where China and other powers have happily stepped into the void. Now the United States may isolate itself from the preeminent institution of global health governance. Here are the implications.

The United States shaped world politics by shaping how countries cooperate

Global health coordination is one form of an international public good — something that benefits all countries, when it works well, and from which no country can be excluded.

1. Does the World Health Organization have the freedom to do what it needs to do about covid-19?After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the United States, along with its allies, was the only truly global source of not just public goods, but also club and private ones such as credible security guarantees.

For example, the United States, along with its allies and the multilateral institutions they dominated, controlled most of the supply of development assistance and set the rules for world trade. With combined GDPs totalling more than 70 percent of the global economy, the United States and its allies could exercise enormous market and regulatory power to influence international and domestic policies in other countries.

The provision of these international goods isn’t just something that leading powers do, it’s one of the main ways that they make and enforce the norms, rules and arrangements that guide the international order.

2. Trump has pulled back from U.S. global leadership

The patronage monopoly the United States enjoyed was unlikely to last forever. But the Trump presidency — sceptical of multilateral alliances and hostile to international organizations like the United Nations — has accelerated its decline.

The coronavirus pandemic is no exception. Rather than coordinate and underwrite


international responses to a global health emergency as the disease covid-19 spread, the United States has instead competed for goods, at times undercutting its own allies. Reports of the United States seizing medical shipments to other countries exemplify this move toward zero-sum power politics.

Will China fill the international void?

In contrast, China has attempted to demonstrate its own international leadership. Experts are of the opinion that Chinese leader Xi Jinping “understands that providing global goods can burnish a rising power’s leadership credentials.”

Beijing is overwriting early covid-19 failures — marked by heavy-handed attempts to conceal the scope of the crisis from both its people and the international community — with a narrative that emphasizes China’s apparent success in containing the virus and the new role as provider of medical supplies to countries such as Italy, Serbia and Spain.Is China ready for this major global health challenge?

The U.S. attacks on the WHO also further open the door to increased Chinese influence in the global health arena. In recent years, China has increasingly viewed international institutions as a key space to shape the international order. In 2017, Beijing successfully supported the election of current WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus over a U.S.-backed rival.

In institutions like the U.N. Human Rights Council, Beijing has taken on a new role in fashioning human rights norms. By promoting preferential bilateral partnerships through its Belt and Road Initiative and building its own institutions, such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, Beijing has also made it more difficult for regional institutions like the European Union to act collectively.

While Western commentators often portray these moves as sinister, China is just using available tools to advance its own interests. And these techniques are not new. What we’re seeing now is only shocking to many U.S. observers, who have grown accustomed to a world where the United States makes the rules.

China already leads 4 of the 15 U.N. specialized agencies — and is aiming for a 5th

The U.S. can still lead — but only if it wants to

Just because there is more room for China to influence world politics doesn’t mean the sky is falling for the United States.

To the extent that Washington and Beijing compete, China isn’t guaranteed to prevail in even a majority of influence contests. Indeed, for Beijing, covid-19 presents both opportunities and risks. Beijing’s early failures remain a serious challenge to its global standing and the appeal of Chinese-style authoritarianism, while reports that masks and test kits were of poor quality undermined the public relations benefit of China’s overseas medical assistance.

Moreover, the United States still has cards to play. It still enjoys a dominant position, at least in principle, in the established infrastructure of international order and global governance. When its continued presence makes the institution indispensable for global cooperation, as with the Universal Postal Union, the U.S. can use leverage to demand more favorable terms from Beijing.

But making use of those advantages — and protecting the U.S. power base — means remaining in the game, not outside. Trump has consistently criticized multilateral institutions and has emphasized government-to-government deals that are short-term, zero-sum and transactional.

The U.S. threats to withdraw from or defund institutions like the WHO aren’t a new development, but rather just the latest in a series of moves that may leave Washington even more isolated from key instruments of power as other countries continue to seek increased influence in existing institutions, or construct alternatives in their place.

What is World Health Organization?

Specialized agency of the UN responsible for international public health Main objective is "ensuring the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level


of health. Established in 7 April 1948, which is commemorated as World Health Day Its work began in earnest in 1951 following a significant infusion of financial and

technical resources Its flagship publication, the World Health Report, provides expert assessments of

global health topics and health statistics on all nations. The WHO also serves as a forum for summits and discussions on health issues. The agency is part of the United Nations Sustainable Development Group.

What is World Health Assembly?

Forum through which the WHO is governed by its 194 member states. world's highest health policy setting body and is composed of health ministers from

member states The WHA generally meet every year in May in Geneva at the Palace of Nations, (WHO

Headquarters). The main tasks (a) to decide major policy questions, (b) to approve the WHO work

programme and (c) budget and (d) elect its Director-General. The original membership of the WHA, at the first assembly held in 1948, numbered

55 member states

Personal Notes


Title 3. Of the places you will go (Pahari Painting Style) (Page number 12)Syllabus Mains: GS Paper I – Art & CultureTheme Indian PaintingHighlights UPSC has asked many questions related to regional schools of paintings. A case in

point is this question asked in 2018 prelims:

The well-known painting "Bani Thani" belongs to the (2018)a) Bundi schoolb) Jaipur schoolc) Kangra schoold) Kishangarh school

So it becomes important to cover other regional paintings as well.

Pahari painting (literally meaning a painting from the mountainous regions: pahar means a mountain in Hindi) is an umbrella term used for a form of Indian painting, done mostly in miniature forms, originating from Himalayan hill kingdoms of North India, during 17th-19th century, notably Basohli, Mankot, Nurpur, Chamba, Kangra, Guler, Mandi, and Garhwal.

Nainsukh was a famous master of the mid-18th century, followed by his family workshop for another two generations.

What Pahari region means with respect to Indian Miniature painting?

The Pahari region comprises the present State of Himachal Pradesh, some adjoining areas of the Punjab, the area of Union Territory of Jammu in the Jammu and Kashmir State and Garhwal in Uttar Pradesh.

The whole of this area was divided into small States ruled by the Rajput princes and were often engaged in welfare. These States were centres of great artistic activity from the latter half of the 17th to nearly the middle of the 19th century.

One thing should be kept in mind is that these are miniature paintings which are paintings made on a very small scale especially for books or albums. Here is a demonstration.


So it means that there should be many kinds of Pahari Paintings?

Yes and we will discuss about them succinctly:

Basholi - The earliest centre of painting in the Pahari region was Basohli where under the patronage of Raja Kripal Pal, an artist named Devidasa executed miniatures in the form of the Rasamanjari illustrations in 1694 A.D.

Themes: Ras manjari, Gita Govind

GULER - The last phase of the Basohli style was closely followed by the Union Territory of Jammu group of paintings mainly consisting of portraits of Raja Balwant Singh of Jasrota (a small place near Union Territory of Jammu) by Nainsukh, an artist who originally belonged to Guler but had settled at Jasrota. He worked both at Jasrota and at Guler.

The style appears to have been inspired by the naturalistic style of the Mughal painting of the Muhammad Shah period.

Themes: BHagvat Gita, Gita Govind, The Baramasa, The Ragmala

KANGRA - The Guler style was followed by another style of painting termed as the "Kangra style", representing the third phase of the Pahari painting in the last quarter of the 18th century.The Kangra style developed out of the Guler style.Themes: local ruler portraits.

Kullu Mandi

Along with the naturalistic Kangra style in the Pahari region, there also flourished a folk style of painting in the Kulu-Mandi area, mainly inspired by the local tradition.

Themes: Bhagvat Gita, local rulersPersonal Notes


Title 4. How pandemics changed the world (Spanish flu, Black Death, Justinian Plague) (The Hindu Pg 14)

Syllabus Mains; GS Paper I – World HistoryTheme Pandemics that have changed the worldHighlights

How pandemics have changed the world

Abstract

Pandemics across history have changed the course of life in different realms including social, political, economic etc. This article is a list of most important pandemics in history and their impact on human societies.

In focus: Pandemics and their impact

1. Justinian Plague

Also called Bubonic Plague caused by bacteria which affects the lymphatic nodes

Transmission: Rats and Fleas Originated in Egypt and reached the Europe in 541 AD in ships

carrying grains Severely hit the capital of Byzantine Empire, Constantinople, during

the reign of Justanine and hence the name Justinian Plague

Impact Killed more than 25 Million across Mediterranean Lasted till 750 AD weakening the Byzantine Empire due to famines

2. Black Death

Originated in Asia, reached Europe mainly on trading ships in 14 th

century (1347 AD) which became the epicenter Transmission: Also caused by Bubonic bacteria and transmitted by

Fleas and Rats


Social distancing was followed to avoid the spread of the disease particularly quarantining the travelers

Impact

Killed more than 75 million nearly 1/5th of the world’s population Black Death invigorated debates around relation between man and

god thereby sowing the seed for reformation movement of 17th

century. Consequently the authority of Church as a political institution declined

Besides it is also called as a great leveler as it reduced inequality due to reduced population and increased proportion of private property (read land). In addition the wages of serfs improved

3. Spanish Flu

Also called as the ‘influenza flu of 1918’ as it was caused by H1N1 influenza virus.

Alleged to have originated from China, it hit Europe the hardest. It is called Spanish flu though it affected the whole Europe equally for

the reason that Spanish media was the only one to report the cases as Spain remained neutral in the World War 1. The media of other countries such as Germany, the United Kingdom, France, and the United State did not report the cases due to the presence of censorship during the world war.

Impact Infected about 500 million and killed up to 50 million people. Major factor for fall of Germany in the war

4. COVID-19

The impact of COVID 19 Pandemic on the world order and Globalisation has been covered in the DNS Analysis of 10 and 13th April presented by Vaibhav and Mangal respectively.

Personal Notes


Title 5. Thrissur Pooram Festival (The Hindu – Pg. 05)Syllabus Prelims: Art & CultureTheme Indian FestivalHighlights

Why is Thrissur Pooram in news?

Thrissur Pooram, a famous festival of Kerala which was scheduled for early May has been cancelled because of fear of spread of corona virus.

In view of the extended lockdown, the organising committee met at Thrissur and decided to drop this year's Pooram.

The meeting was also attended by government’s representatives including State Agriculture Minister and Local Self Government Minister of Kerala.

Is there any history associated with Thrissur Pooram festival?

The festival in Kerala is referred as Mother of all Festivals. It dates back to late 18th century and was started by Sakthan Thampuran, the Maharaja of the erstwhile Kochi state.

The Maharaja organised the festival with the participation of 10 temples (Paramekkavu, Thiruvambadi Kanimangalam, Karamucku, Laloor, Choorakottukara, Panamukkampally, Ayyanthole, Chembukkavu, Neythilakavu).

When is the Festival celebrated?

Thrissur Pooram is an annual festival of Kerala and is held at the Vadakkunnathan Temple in Thrissur every year in the Malayalam month of Medam (April-May),

The festival related events take place at the Vadakkumnathan temple situated in the heart of Thrissur town and the adjoining Thekkinkadu ground.

The festivities on the main day commence with the arrival of poorams from eight temples in the morning.

How the festival is celebrated and what are the related events?

The festival sports an enthralling line-up of vibrantly decked up elephants and is marked by the kudamattom ceremony which involves swift and rhythmic changing of brightly coloured and decorated parasols and it is one among the highlights and is a keenly watched event.

The Pooram festival mainly happens between two groups representing the geographic divisions of Paramekkavu and Thiruvambadi.


In kudamattom the two groups mainly compete in their respective presentations of richly caparisoned elephants, traditional orchestra called panchavadyam, the swift and rhythmic changing of brightly coloured and sequined parasols called kudamattom.

Another important part of festival is ilanjithara melam which is a performance of traditional instruments.

Around 250 odd artistes participate in this traditional orchestra led by chenda artistes and includes other traditional instruments of Kerala such as kurumkuzhal, kombu and elathalam.

The finale is marked by a grand fireworks show in the early morning.

Personal Notes

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