Why is it in the News?

The rules for the Citizenship (Amendment) Act of 2019 are ready with the central government and will be notified "much before" the announcement of the Lok Sabha elections.

What is the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) 2019?

• The Citizenship (Amendment) Act of 2019 proposes amendments to the definition of illegal immigrants, specifically benefiting Hindu, Sikh, Parsi, Buddhist, Jain, and Christian immigrants (excluding Muslims) from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh.
• These individuals, residing in India without documentation, are eligible for expedited Indian citizenship within 5 years (reduced from 11 years).

Key Provisions:

• Cancellation of OCI Registration: The Act empowers the cancellation of Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) registration if the holder violates Citizenship Act provisions or other applicable laws.

Eligibility Criteria:

• Forced Migration: The CAA 2019 applies to those compelled to seek refuge in India due to religious persecution.
• Cut-off Date: Applicants must have entered India on or before December 31, 2014.
• Exceptions: The Act excludes areas under the Constitution's sixth schedule (autonomous tribal regions in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, and Mizoram) and states with an inner-line permit regime (Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, and Mizoram).
• Implementation Status: Despite lacking notified rules, leading to non-implementation, the government has repeatedly sought extensions for rule formulation.

Rules for the the CAA:

• The authorities have finalized the rules, and the online portal is operational.
• Upon issuing the rules, the authorities can implement the law, granting Indian citizenship to eligible individuals.
• The entire application process will be conducted online, allowing applicants to apply, even using their mobile phones.
• Applicants must declare the year of their entry into India without travel documents, with no requirement for additional documents.
• Requests from applicants who applied after 2014 will be processed according to the new rules.

Factors Contributing to the Delay in CAA Implementation:

• The CAA has encountered robust opposition, particularly in states like Assam and Tripura, leading to significant delays in its implementation.
• Demographic Concerns in Assam: In Assam, concerns have arisen over the perceived demographic impact of the CAA, with fears that it might contradict the 1985 Assam Accord's provisions.
• Assam Accord Violation Perception: The CAA is viewed in Assam as a potential breach of the 1985 Assam Accord, which permits citizenship for migrants arriving between January 1, 1966, and March 25, 1971.
• Nationwide Protest: Protests initially concentrated in the northeast expanded nationwide, contributing to a complex socio-political environment surrounding the CAA.
• Legal Challenges: The Supreme Court is handling petitions, including one from the Indian Union Muslim League, challenging the constitutional validity of the CAA.
• Allegations of Selectivity: Critics argue that the law is discriminatory, excluding persecuted communities like Rohingya, Tibetan Buddhists, and Sri Lankan Tamils, raising concerns about its arbitrary nature.

Counterarguments Responding to CAA Petitions:

• Basis of Classification: The government asserts that the CAA's classification is not based on religion but on addressing "religious discrimination" faced by minorities in neighbouring countries with a state religion.
• Parliamentary Deliberation: Emphasizing over seven decades of deliberation, the government highlights that the Parliament has considered issues related to minorities and enacted the CAA as a targeted amendment.
• Specific Problem Resolution: The CAA is portrayed as a focused amendment designed to address a specific issue prevalent in identified countries, rather than serving as a comprehensive solution for global challenges.
• Limited Legislative Scope: It is clarified that the legislation has a delimited scope, addressing the specific concerns of minorities in certain nations.
  • The Indian Parliament is not obligated to address potential persecutions worldwide.

Why is it in the News?

The Indian government’s recent approval to join the SKA project, accompanied by a financial commitment of Rs 1,250 crore, marks the initial step towards this ratification.

What is the Square Kilometre Array Observatory (SKAO)?

• SKAO is an intergovernmental organisation dedicated to radio astronomy and is headquartered in the UK.
• At the moment, organisations from ten countries are a part of the SKAO.
  • These include Australia, Canada, China, India, Italy, New Zealand, South Africa, Sweden, the Netherlands and the UK.

What is significant about the SKA telescope?

• The telescope, proposed to be the largest radio telescope in the world, will be located in Africa and Australia whose operation, maintenance and construction will be overseen by SKAO.
• The completion is expected to take nearly a decade at a cost of over £1.8 billion.
• Some of the questions that scientists hope to address using this telescope include:
  • Beginning of the universe
  • How and when the first stars were born
  • The life cycle of a galaxy
  • Exploring the possibility of detecting technologically-active civilisations elsewhere in our galaxy and
  • Understanding where gravitational waves come from.
• As per NASA, the telescope will accomplish its scientific goals by measuring neutral hydrogen over cosmic time, accurately timing the signals from pulsars in the Milky Way, and detecting millions of galaxies out to high redshifts.
• Significantly, the development of SKA will use the results of various surveys undertaken using another powerful telescope called the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP), which is developed and operated by the country’s science agency CSIRO.
• This telescope, which has been fully operational since February 2019 mapped over three million galaxies in a record 300 hours during its first all-sky survey.
  • ASKAP surveys are designed to map the structure and evolution of the Universe, which it does by observing galaxies and the hydrogen gas that they contain.

What are radio telescopes?

• Unlike optical telescopes, radio telescopes can detect invisible gas and, therefore, they can reveal areas of space that may be obscured by cosmic dust.
• Significantly, since the first radio signals were detected by physicist Karl Jansky in the 1930s, astronomers have used radio telescopes to detect radio waves emitted by different objects in the universe and explore them.
  • According to NASA, the field of radio astronomy evolved after World War II and became one of the most important tools for making astronomical observations.
• The Arecibo telescope in Puerto Rico, which was the second-largest single-dish radio telescope in the world, collapsed in December 2020.
• The telescope was built in 1963 and because of its powerful radar, scientists employed it to observe planets, asteroids and the ionosphere, making several discoveries over the decades, including finding prebiotic molecules in distant galaxies, the first exoplanets, and the first millisecond pulsar.

Why is it in the News?

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi paid tributes to Savitribai Phule and Rani Velu Nachiyar on their Jayanti.

Who is Savitribai Phule?

• Recognized as India's first woman teacher, Savitribai Phule was a pioneer who defied prevailing societal conventions to advance women's education, equality, and justice.
• She was a Dalit lady from the Mali community and was born on January 3, 1831, in Satara District's Naigaon (Maharashtra).
• Despite prevailing norms that limited education to affluent men, the Phules established India's first girls' school in Bhidewada, Pune, in 1848.
• Savitribai's commitment to social reform led to the establishment of Mahila Seva Mandal in 1852, advocating for women's rights.
• In 1860, she initiated a strike against shaving the hair of widowed women.
• Savitribai actively promoted inter-caste marriages, and widow remarriage, and fought against social issues like child marriage, sati, and dowry.
  • In collaboration with Jyotirao, she founded the Balhatya Pratibandhak Griha, offering support to pregnant widows.
  • The couple further established the Satyashodhak Samaj in 1873, aimed at dismantling caste, religion, and class hierarchies.
• Her literary contributions include "Kavya Phule" (1854), her first collection of poems, and "Bavan Kashi Subodh Ratnakar" (1892).
• Savitribai Phule's enduring legacy lies in her unwavering commitment to education and social reform, making her a pioneering figure in Indian history.

About Rani Velu Nachiyar:

• Rani Velu Nachiyar, born on January 3, 1730, in Ramanathapuram, Tamil Nadu, India, holds the distinction of being the first queen to actively resist British rule, predating the Sepoy Mutiny.
• Revered as Veeramangai among Tamils, she was extensively trained in martial arts, including Valari, Silambam, horse riding, archery, and various languages such as French, English, and Urdu.
• Married to King Muthuvaduganathaperiya Udaiyathevar of Sivagangai, Rani Velu Nachiyar entered the battlefield when her husband fell victim to British soldiers.
• Collaborating with Hyder Ali and Gopala Nayaker, she waged a successful war against the British, displaying exceptional military prowess.
• In 1780, she delegated authority to the Marudu brothers for the administration of the country.
• Rani Velu Nachiyar's courageous stand against colonial rule and her strategic alliances in the face of adversity mark her as an iconic figure in India's history of resistance and resilience.

Why is it in the News?

The All India Motor Transport Association (AIMTC) decided to end the nationwide truck drivers protests against the new hit-and-run law, after a meeting with Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla. 

What is the New Hit-and-run Law?

The recently enacted Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita introduces stringent penalties for hit-and-run incidents in India.

• The law specifies that an accused individual causing a fatal crash and fleeing the scene without reporting to authorities could face imprisonment for up to 10 years along with a fine of Rs 7 lakh.
  • Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita has established two distinct categories under the umbrella of "causing death by negligence."
• The first category addresses causing death through any rash or negligent act that does not amount to culpable homicide.
  • Offenders in this category may face imprisonment for up to five years and a fine.
• The second category deals with causing death through rash and negligent driving, not amounting to culpable homicide.
  • If the individual escapes without promptly reporting the incident to a police officer or magistrate, they could be subjected to up to 10 years of imprisonment and a fine.

What was the Hit-and-run Law Before?

• The old, British-era Indian Penal Code (IPC) did not have a specific provision for hit-and-run cases.
• Actions in such cases were taken under Section 304 A of the IPC.
  • According to that section, a person causing the death of another due to a rash or negligent act could invite a jail term of a maximum of 2 years or be fined.
• "Whoever causes the death of any person by doing any rash or negligent act not amounting to culpable homicide, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to 2 years, or with fine, or with both," the section stated.
• All cases of hit-and-run along with other forms of activities that came under the ambit of causing death by a "rash and negligent act" were lodged under Section 304 A of the IPC.

Why is it in the News?

Amid international criticism of Israel for its continued bombing of Gaza, South Africa recently moved the International Court of Justice (ICJ), for an urgent order declaring that Israel was in breach of its obligations under the 1948 Genocide Convention.

About the International Court of Justice (ICJ):

• The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations (UN).
• It was established in June 1945 by the Charter of the United Nations and began work in April 1946.
• The seat of the Court is at the Peace Palace in The Hague (Netherlands).
• Of the six principal organs of the United Nations, it is the only one not located in New York (United States of America).
• The Court’s role is to settle, in accordance with international law, legal disputes submitted to it by States and to give advisory opinions on legal questions referred to it by authorized United Nations organs and specialized agencies.
• Its official languages are English and French.
• Powers and Functions: The ICJ handles two types of cases—contentious cases, involving legal disputes between States, and advisory proceedings, responding to legal questions referred by UN organs and specialized agencies.
  • Contentious cases involve only UN member States or other States that have accepted the Court's jurisdiction.
  • While the Court's judgments in contentious cases are final and binding, advisory opinions are not binding.
• Deciding disputes in line with international law, the ICJ relies on conventions, international custom, general principles, judicial decisions, and expert writings.
• Composition: The Court is composed of 15 judges, who are elected for terms of office of nine years by the United Nations General Assembly and the Security Council.
• It is assisted by a Registry, its administrative organ.
  • To be elected, a candidate must secure an absolute majority in both UNGA and UNSC.
  • The Court sees one-third of its composition renewed every three years, and judges are eligible for re-election.
  • Once elected, judges declare their commitment to the impartial and conscientious exercise of their powers.
  • They act independently, detached from any governmental influence.
• This comprehensive structure ensures the ICJ's role as a pivotal entity in the international legal landscape, providing judgments on contentious matters and advisory opinions on significant legal questions.

About the Genocide Convention 1948:

• The term 'genocide,' often casually employed in reference to attacks on various communities globally, finds its precise definition in the UN's Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, presented to the General Assembly in 1948.
• According to this Convention, genocide entails any of the following acts carried out with the intent to wholly or partially destroy a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group:
  • Killing members of the group.
  • Causing serious bodily or mental harm to group members.
  • Deliberately inflicting conditions of life to bring about the group's physical destruction.
  • Imposing measures to prevent births within the group.
  • Forcibly transferring children of one group to another.
• This Convention categorizes genocide as a crime, applicable irrespective of whether it occurs during wartime or peacetime. India ratified the convention in 1959, although no specific legislation addressing genocide has been enacted to date.