Connect to Current -Daily Current Capsules - 15th April 2019
Indian National Movement 100 years of Jallianwala Bagh Massacre
Relevance IN – Prelims ( about Jallianwala bagh massacre) + Mains ( GS I Indian
national movement)
What’s the NEWS
The Year 2019 marks 100 years of the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre, also known
as the Amritsar Massacre that occurred on April 13, 1919.
On the fateful afternoon of April 13, 1919, the troops of the British Indian Army
under the command of Colonel Reginald Dyer fired ruthlessly into a crowd of
Indian civilians gathered at Jallianwala Bagh, Amritsar, Punjab. The
massacre is remembered as one of the deadliest attacks in Indian history.
Know! all about the massacre
The Jallianwala Bagh Massacre was the result of the Anarchical and
Revolutionary Crimes Act of 1919, famously known as the Rowlatt Act.
The Act came into force a month before the massacre. It shocked most Indians
who had expected to be rewarded, not punished, for willingly fighting alongside
the British in the First World War.
The Act allowed political cases to be tried without jury, and imprisonment of
suspects without trial. The Act resulted in furious protests throughout the country.
Gandhi started a campaign against Rowlatt Act. There were violent protests that
resulted in the burning of the Town Hall and Railway station, disruption of
telegraphs and communication system.
As part of these protests, thousands of people gathered at Jallianwala Bagh in
Amritsar, Punjab on April 13, 1919. The civilians assembled for a peaceful
protest to condemn the arrest and deportation of two national leaders, Satya
Pal and Saifuddin Kitchlew.
That was also the day of Sikh festival Baisakhi and many villagers had
also gathered in the Bagh.
Under the command of Colonel Reginald Dyer, over 50 troops of the British
Indian Army began firing rifles into the crowd.
The narrow exits from the bagh were blocked; no one could escape the ill-fated
incidence. Over 1200 got injured and more than 350 people died. Some of them
jumped into the well in the bagh to escape dying by the bullets.
As per the records of the British Government, the massacre killed 379 and
caused 1200 injuries. However, as per the Indian Nation Congress, around 1000
died and 1500 got injured.
Following the massacre, the Hunter Commission was appointed to investigate
into the matter. The Commission in 1920 held Dyer guilty for his actions. He
was relieved of his command and prematurely retired from the army.
Udham Singh, a Punjabi revolutionary, killed Michael O’ Dwyer, former
Lieutenant Governor of Punjab, on March 13, 1940 in London in revenge for the
Jallianwalla Bagh Massacre. He was subsequently convicted and hanged in July
1940.
Bengali poet and Nobel laureate, Rabindranath Tagore renounced the
knighthood he had received in 1915.
The massacre marked the start of a new rebellion and liberation struggle under
Mahatma Gandhi to free India from the British rule.
State Specific
UN award for 2 Bengal projects
Utkarsh Bangla’ and ‘Sabooj Sathi’
Relevance IN – Prelims ( about the scheme)
What’s the NEWS
The Bengal government has won the UN's World Summit on Information
Society (WSIS) award for Utkarsh Bangla and Sabooj Sathi projects.
Know! more about the schemes
The Utkarsh Bangla and Sabooj Sathi projects are for youngsters — skill
development training for increasing employment opportunities for 6 lakh
youth every year under Utkarsh Bangla and environment-friendly
bicycles to school students of Classes IX to XII under Sabooj Sathi.
The Bengal government has distributed nearly 1 crore bicycles since the
inception of this project.
Utkarsh Bangla got the topmost award and emerged as a winner in the
Capacity Building category and the Sabooj Sathi was ranked in the first
five as a champion project under ICT application: E-Government
category.
Utkarsh Bangla
Utkarsh Bangla Scheme is aimed at providing vocational training to
school dropouts. The beneficiaries of the scheme will be trained in
driving, tailoring, repairing television and other electronic equipment’s,
beautician courses etc.
Sabooj Sathi
Sabooj Sathi is a scheme of West Bengal government for distribution of
bicycles to the students of class IX to XII studying in Govt. run and Govt.
aided Schools and Madrashas.The scheme was launched in September
2015.
World Summit on the Information Society Awards
World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Awards were
instituted as per requests from the WSIS stakeholders to create an
effective mechanism to evaluate and recognize individuals, governments,
civil society, local, regional and international agencies, research
institutions and private-sector companies for outstanding success in
implementing development oriented strategies that leverage the power of
ICTs as an enabler of the development.
WSIS is a global multi-stakeholder platform facilitating the
implementation of the WSIS Action Lines for advancing sustainable
development.
The summit is co-organized by ITU, UNESCO, UNDP and UNCTAD, in
close collaboration with other UN organizations.
Bamboo rice
Four decades later, bamboo rice shows up in Odisha
The rare variety, which was last harvested in Chandaka-Dampara
Wildlife Sanctuary in 1979, grows twice or thrice in a century
Relevance In – Prelims( about the bomboo rice)
Know! more about bamboo rice
The bamboo rice, which grows only twice or thrice in a century is being
harvested now.
The gates of Chandaka-Dampara Wildlife Sanctuary in Cuttack
district have been opened for forest dwellers to come and collect the rice,
because otherwise it will be attacked by rats.
The rare rice grows out of a dying bamboo shoot. “Whenever bamboo
blossoms, the rat population increases.
To prevent rats from running the rice, we allow local villagers and forest
dwellers to collect bamboo rice. Also, the rice then becomes a major
source of income and food for villagers living near the forest
The variety looks like paddy rice and tastes more like wheat. It is
believed to have low glycaemic index compared to other varieties and it
is good for
Environment Conservation The Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) and the
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) agreement on wetland
protection
Relevance IN – Prelims ( about the agreement ) + Mains ( GS III environment
conservation)
What’s the NEWS
The Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) and the Indian
Space Research Organisation (ISRO) have signed an MoU to map,
validate and protect smaller wetlands in the coastal region and restore
them through coastal livelihood programmes.
Smaller wetlands (which were smaller than 2.25 hectares) cover an area
of more than 5 lakh hectares across the country, with Kerala alone having
as many as 2,592 such wetlands.
Know! more about the MoU
As per the MoU, a mobile app and a centralised web portal with a
complete database of wetlands in the country which were smaller than
2.25 hectares will be developed.
The two institutes will identify and demarcate the wetlands and
restore the degraded ones through suitable livelihood options such as
coastal aquaculture.
A mobile app will be used for real-time monitoring of the wetlands and
giving advisories to the stakeholders and the coastal people.
The collaboration is part of the national framework for fisheries and
wetlands recently developed under the National Innovations in Climate
Resilient Agriculture (NICRA).
As per the agreement, National Wetland Atlas which has been already
developed by the Space Applications Centre of ISRO will be updated
with real-time data of physical, chemical and biological parameters of the
wetlands to be provided by the CMFRI.
The collaboration will aid in developing a comprehensive wetland
information system which could facilitate the village-level wetland
advisories to the local people by scientific communities.
The National Innovations in Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA)
is aimed at finding ways and means to mitigate the impact of climate
change on marine fisheries and coastal region
Prelims Practise Questions
Consider the following statements regarding Jallianwala Bagh Massacre
1. The Jallianwala Bagh Massacre was the result of the Anarchical and
Revolutionary Crimes Act of 1919, famously known as the Rowlatt Act.
2. The Act allowed political cases to be tried without jury, and imprisonment of
suspects without trial.
3. Following the massacre, the Hunter Commission was appointed to investigate
into the matter. The Commission in 1920 acquitted Dyer.
4. Bengali poet and Nobel laureate, Rabindranath Tagore renounced the
knighthood he had received in 1915.
Find the correct statement from the option given below
a. 1 2 and 4
b. 3 and 4
c. 1 2 3 and 4
d. None
Consider the following statements regarding Bamboo rice
1. The rare variety of Bamboo rice which was last harvested in Chandaka-
Dampara Wildlife Sanctuary in 1979, grows twice or thrice in a century
2. This Chandaka-Dampara Wildlife Sanctuary is located in West Bengal
Find the correct statement from the option given below
a. 1 only
b. 2 only
c. None
d. Both
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