23 January 2024

• History: 23 January is the birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose (Parakram Diwas). The Ram Mandir opened to general public darshan from this day.
• Polity: the NHRC highlighted the Idate Commission's recommendations for Nomadic, Semi-Nomadic, and De-Notified Tribes, recommending repeal of the Habitual Offenders Act.
• Biodiversity: Kaziranga National Park recorded two new mammalian species: the binturong and the small-clawed otter.
• Geography: illegal mining was found to have destroyed 25-31 per cent of the Aravalli Range, undermining Delhi-NCR's ecological shield.

GS area: Modern Indian History

23 January is the birth anniversary of Subhas Chandra Bose (born 23 January 1897, Cuttack, Odisha). The government designates this as Parakram Diwas.

• Early life and ideology: influenced by Swami Vivekananda. Topped the Indian Civil Service examination but resigned to join the freedom movement.
• INC presidency: elected Congress president twice (1938, 1939). Resigned over differences with Gandhi after winning in 1939.
• Forward Bloc: formed the All India Forward Bloc in 1939.
• INA: founded originally by Mohan Singh (1942), taken over by Bose (1943). Built to 40,000 personnel. Famous brigades: Gandhi, Nehru, Azad, Rani of Jhansi (women's wing).
• Azad Hind Fauj's provisional government: declared on 21 October 1943 in Singapore. Declared war on Britain and the United States.
• Famous slogan: "Tum Mujhe Khoon Do, Main Tumhe Azadi Doonga."
• Probable death: 18 August 1945, reportedly in a plane crash over Taiwan. Bharat Ratna awarded posthumously.

Static linkage: modern Indian history, freedom struggle, INA.

GS area: Polity, Social Justice

The National Human Rights Commission highlighted the Idate Commission Report (2014) which examined the conditions of Nomadic Tribes (NTs), Semi-Nomadic Tribes (SNTs), and De-Notified Tribes (DNTs).

• De-Notified Tribes: communities that were classified as "criminal tribes" under the Criminal Tribes Act, 1871 by the British. The Act was repealed in 1952 but communities continued to face social stigma.
• Habitual Offenders Act, 1952: the law that partially replaced the Criminal Tribes Act. The Idate Commission recommended its repeal. Most states retain it.
• Idate Commission recommendation: establish a permanent statutory commission for NTs, SNTs, and DNTs to address their welfare needs separately from Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
• NHRC: the National Human Rights Commission is a statutory body established under the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993. It is headed by a retired Chief Justice of India.

Static linkage: social justice, human rights, tribal communities.

GS area: Biodiversity, Environment

Two new mammalian species were documented for the first time at Kaziranga National Park in Assam: the binturong and the smooth-coated otter (also reported as small-clawed otter in some sources).

• Binturong (Arctictis binturong): the largest Indian civet. IUCN status: Vulnerable. Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
• Small-clawed otter: a freshwater habitat specialist. IUCN status: Vulnerable. CITES Appendix I.
• Kaziranga: a UNESCO World Heritage Site and national park in Assam. Famous for the one-horned rhinoceros (holds 70 per cent of the global population) and Bengal tigers.

Static linkage: biodiversity, North-east India, wildlife.

GS area: Geography, Environment

Over 25-31 per cent of the Aravalli Range has been lost to illegal quarrying, according to recent surveys. The Supreme Court reinstated a complete mining ban in 2009.

• Aravalli Range: one of the world's oldest fold mountains, extending approximately 800 km through Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana, and Delhi.
• Highest peak: Guru Shikhar (Mount Abu, Rajasthan).
• Ecological role: termed the "lungs of Delhi-NCR." Acts as a wind break against Thar Desert dust storms. Recharges aquifers that supply groundwater to Delhi.
• Rivers originating: Banas, Sahibi (which reaches the Yamuna). Acts as a water divide between the Indus basin (via Luni) and the Ganga basin.

Static linkage: physical geography, rivers, environmental degradation.

GS area: Science and Technology (space)

NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) successfully sent a laser pulse to the Vikram lander's retroreflector on the Moon's south pole.

• Retroreflector: a device on the Vikram lander that reflects laser pulses back to the sender with high precision. This enables exact location determination.
• Purpose: NASA uses the retroreflector to precisely locate the Vikram lander for future lunar surface targeting by missions.
• Chandrayaan-3 significance: India became the fourth country to soft-land on the Moon and the first to land near the south pole (August 2023). The lander carried the Pragyan rover.

Static linkage: space science, ISRO, lunar missions.

• Srirangam Ranganathaswamy Temple visit: Prime Minister Modi visited the Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple at Srirangam, Tiruchirapalli, located on an island between the Cauvery and Kollidam rivers. The temple is the first and foremost of the 108 Divya Desams (Vishnu temples). It features 21 sculpted gopurams.
• Madhika language extinction: a language spoken only by the Chakaliya community in Kannur, Kerala, has only two speakers remaining. It blends Telugu, Tulu, Kannada, and Malayalam and has no script.