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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