Hindu Notes from General Studies-01

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Idols of Raja Raja Chola, consort recovered from Gujarat.

News

• The Idol Wing of the State police recovered two ancient bronze idols of emperor Raja Raja Chola I and his royal consort Lokamadevi believed to be worth over ₹150 crore from the Calico Museum and Sarabhai Foundation galleries in Ahmedabad.

Beyond News

• These two idols were taken away 60 years ago and sold for several crores of rupees through Rao Bahadur Srinivasa Gopalachery, a native of Sarukkai village near Kapisthalam, to Gowtham Sarabhai.
• The Idol Wing began investigation into theft and misappropriation of rare idols from the Big Temple last March. Deputy Superintendent of Police formally filed a complaint with the Thanjavur West police station.
• The police team recorded the evidence of octogenarians, who had seen the rare idols 60 years ago, before proceeding to recover the idols kept at the Calico Museum and the Sarabhai Foundation galleries in Ahmedabad. The police officials reached the museum in Gujarat and informed them that they were the property of Big Temple. Now they are bringing it back to Tamil Nadu.
• According to inscriptions, Raja Raja Chola donated 66 idols to the Big Temple. Notable among them were Kolgai Devar and Shetra Balar, made of gold, and four silver idols of Vasudevar.
• These two were among the 13 idols donated by one of the lieutenants of Raja Raja Chola. The other 11 are missing, the police said. Mummidi Chola Brammarayan, another lieutenant, donated a huge panchalohaidol of Arthanariswarar to the temple.

Hindu Notes from General Studies-02

India,Indonesia elevate ties

News:

• India and Indonesia elevated their bilateral ties to Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

Beyond News:

• The two countries condemned terrorism in all its forms, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi held “productive discussions” with President Joko Widodo.
• The two countries also signed 15 agreements, including one to boost defence cooperation, and called for freedom of navigation in the strategic Indo-Pacific region.
• The two leaders discussed areas of strategic cooperation and ways to ensure better economic ties and closer cultural relations, besides regional and global issues of mutual interest.
• Modi announced a free 30-day visa for Indonesian citizens and invited the diaspora to travel to their country of origin to experience the ‘New India.’

‘People of Assam will be consulted on Bill’

News:

• Home Minister Rajnath Singh conveyed to Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal that the people of Assam should not be apprehensive about the proposed Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2016 and any future step would be taken only after consultations with all stakeholders.

Beyond News:

• Amid mounting pressures from various citizen groups in the State regarding the implications of the Bill, Mr. Sonowal met Mr. Singh for over an hour-and-a-half in the North Block.
• Sonowal stayed put in Mr. Singh’s office even after the latter left for the day, till the Home Ministry put out a statement stating the assurance.
• Assam has been witnessing protests against the Centre’s move to enact the Bill that seeks to grant citizenship to non-Muslims from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan who came to India due to religious persecution in those countries.
• Organisations spearheading the protests said that the Bill, if passed, would pave the way for giving citizenship to illegal immigrants from Bangladesh in Assam.
• Assam Chief Minister requested Home Minister to set up a committee to make recommendations for implementation of Clause 6 of the Assam Accord which provides for constitutional, legislative and administrative safeguards to protect, preserve and promote the culture, social, linguistic identity and heritage of Assamese people.
• They also discussed various administrative and security arrangements related to the updating of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) as per the orders of the Supreme Court.

Plea in SC to curb misuse of religion

News:

• A petition has been filed in the Supreme Court to order the government to take appropriate steps to restrict the misuse of religion for electoral gain in line with the recommendations of the Election Commission of India, and debar the candidates from contesting election and de-register the political parties which do so.

Beyond News:

• The petition, filed by Supreme Court advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, contended that religious statements have been made to support particular political parties and candidates, which is against the basic dictum of democracy.
• The petition cited the 1990 report of the Goswami Committee on Electoral Reforms, which recommended clothing the Commission with powers to initiate probe, to prosecute or even appoint a Special Court for offences under the Representation of the People Act (RPA).
• It said an Amendment Bill was introduced in 1990 in the Rajya Sabha, particularly, to restrict the misuse of religion in the election. However, the government of the day withdrew this Bill three years later.
• The Home Affairs Ministry had also referred to the Justice Liberhan Commission report to the Election Commission for action against the parties, which misuse religious sentiments.
• Upadhyay pointed out that Section 123(3) of the RPA mandates that an appeal on the grounds of religion, race, caste and promotions of feelings of enmity among different classes constitute a “corrupt practice,” though it can be questioned with an election petition.

CG teams of India, Bangladesh hold talks

News

• Bangladesh Coast Guard delegation called on Additional Director General KR Nautiyal, Coast Guard Commander (Eastern Seaboard) and Dy Inspector General Navdeep Raj, Commander Coast Guard District Headquarters No. 6, (Andhra Pradesh).

Beyond News

• This was the first interaction of a foreign Coast Guard delegation to this newly established headquarters of the Coast Guard which is responsible for entire eastern seaboard of India comprising West Bengal, Orissa, A.P. and Tamil Nadu.
• An MoU between ICG (Indian Coast Guard) and BCG was signed on June 6, 2015, during the visit of Minister to Bangladesh for the establishment of collaborative relationship to combat transitional illegal activities at sea and develop regional cooperation between the two Coast Guards.
• The BCG delegation discussed the requirement for training and other areas of cooperation.

Hindu Notes from General Studies-03

3D-printed corneas for the blind

News

• In a first, scientists have created 3D printed human corneas that could solve the shortage of available eye donors and help millions of blind people gain sight again.

Beyond News

• As the outermost layer of the human eye, the cornea has an important role in focusing vision.
• Yet there is a significant shortage of corneas available to transplant, with 10 million people worldwide requiring surgery to prevent corneal blindness as a result of diseases such as trachoma, an infectious eye disorder.
• In addition, almost 5 million people suffer total blindness due to corneal scarring caused by burns, lacerations, abrasion or disease.
• The proof-of-concept research, shows how stem cells from a healthy donor cornea were mixed together with alginate and collagen to create a solution that could be printed, a ‘bio-ink’.

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