The Hindu Newspaper Analysis 5 August 2023

The Hindu Newspaper Analysis for UPSC

The Hindu Newspaper Analysis 4 August 2023

• The Supreme Court on Friday stayed the conviction of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in a criminal defamation case for his ‘Modi’ surname remark allegedly made at a political rally in Karnataka in 2019.
• A three-judge Bench headed by Justice B.R. Gavai said the Surat Chief Judicial Magistrate, other than severely admonishing Mr. Gandhi for his alleged remark, failed to give even a single reason for serving the Congress leader with the maximum sentence of two years’ imprisonment.
• The court said the Magistrate had insisted on handing the severest punishment when the penal code allowed a choice between imprisonment and fine or both.

 The Hindu Editorial Today

• The Representation of the People Act, 1951: It provides that a person will be disqualified if convicted and sentenced to imprisonment for two years or more.
• The person is disqualified for the period of imprisonment and a further six years.
• exception for sitting members
• they have been provided a period of three months from the date of conviction to appeal
• The disqualification will not be applicable until the appeal is decided.
• Lily Thomas vs Union of India(2013):
• It stated that Article 102 empowers Parliament to make law regarding disqualification of a person “for being chosen as, and for being, a member of either House of Parliament”.
• The judgment cited Article 101: A MP was disqualified under Article 102, “his seat shall thereupon become vacant”.
• The disqualification was automatic and had immediate effect if the conditions of Article 102 were met.

• Kalbeliya dances are an expression of the Kalbelia community’s traditional way of life.
• It is associated with a Rajasthani tribe of the same name.
• It was included in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organizations (UNESCO) list of Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) in 2010.
• UNESCO’s List of Intangible Cultural Heritage is made up of those intangible heritage elements that help demonstrate diversity of cultural heritage and raise awareness about its importance.
• It was established in 2008 when the Convention for Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage came into effect.
• Kalbeliya Tribe:
• Kalbeliya tribe people were once professional snake handlers, today they evoke their former occupation in music and dance that is evolving in new and creative ways.
• They live a nomadic life and belong to the scheduled tribes.
• The largest number of the population of Kalbeliyas is in Pali district, then Ajmer, Chittorgarh and Udaipur district (Rajasthan).

• While the All India Tiger Estimation 2022 published in July has indicated that western Assam’s Manas National Park and Tiger Reserve is moving from a low to high-tiger-density area, the bad news for the national park, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site along with the more popular Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve, is that it is almost 63% short of staff.

• Manas National Park:
• Manas national park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, a Project Tiger reserve, an elephant reserve and a biosphere reserve.
• It is located in the Himalayan foothills in Assam. It is contiguous with the Royal Manas National Park in Bhutan.
• The name of the park is originated from the Manas River.
• Significance: The Park is known for its rare and endangered endemic wildlife such as the Assam roofed turtle, hispid hare, golden langur and pygmy hog. It is also famous for its population of wild water buffalo.
• River: The Manas River flows through the west of the park. Manas is a major tributary of Brahmaputra river.

• The White House has had tepid relations with leaders of both countries, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman.
• While the U.S., Saudi Arabia and Israel may converge at the proposed reconciliation, their respective motives differ. First, the Biden administration, deeply concerned with the growing ingress by China and Russia in the ‘Middle East’, wants to re-entrench the Pax Americana over the region by bringing two traditionally pro-west regional players together.
• By reconciling with Israel, it takes away the first movers’ advantage that the United Arab Emirates has had for the past three years as a member of the “Abraham Accords”.

• Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991, which froze the status of all places of worship as on August 15, 1947.
• Exemption:
• The disputed site at Ayodhya was exempted from the Act. Due to this exemption, the trial in the Ayodhya case proceeded even after the enforcement of this law.
• Besides the Ayodhya dispute, the Act also exempted:
• Any place of worship which is an ancient and historical monument, or an archaeological site covered by the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958.
• A suit that has been finally settled or disposed of.
• Any dispute that has been settled by the parties or conversion of any place that took place by acquiescence before the Act commenced.
• Archaeological Survey of India (ASI)
• ASI is the premier organization for the archaeological research, scientific analysis, excavation of archaeological sites, conservation and preservation of protected monuments.
• It is an attached office under the Department of Culture (Ministry of Culture).
• ASI was founded in 1861 by Alexander Cunningham who became its first Director-General.

• The rethink on the Council’s move to impose a 28% GST on the face value of bets placed by participants was ostensibly triggered by an outcry from industry and a nudge from the Electronics and IT Ministry that is steering the e-gaming policy.
• Online gaming players had termed it a death knell for the sunrise sector with billions of dollars in investments and thousands of jobs at stake, and stressed the levy is not in sync with global norms that tax the gross gaming revenue (i.e., their platform fees).
• Sikkim and Goa’s pleas for the casino tax to be also levied in the same manner did not find favour with the Centre and most States, so the Council decided to stick to its stance with one minor, but not trivial concession.

• The Novorossiysk port hosts a naval base, shipbuilding yards and an oil terminal and is key for exports; it lies about 110 kilometres east of Crimea, where Russia’s Defence Ministry said it thwarted another attack overnight
• The strike on Novorossiysk — which halted maritime traffic for a few hours — marks the first time a commercial Russian port has been targeted in the nearly 18-month-old conflict.
• The Black Sea port — which hosts a naval base, shipbuilding yards and an oil terminal and is key for exports — lies about 110 kilometres east of Crimea, where Russia’s Defence Ministry said it thwarted another attack overnight.

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