23 February 2025

• Culture: PM witnessed Jhumoir Binandini 2025 in Guwahati: world's largest Jhumur performance. 8,600 dancers. 200-year celebration of Assam's tea industry.
• History: February 23 observed as Pagri Sambhal Diwas, honouring Ajit Singh's 1907 agrarian agitation against British colonial laws.
• Governance: Western Zonal Council held its 27th meeting in Pune. Home Minister chairs all five Zonal Councils.
• Environment: Blue-Cheeked Bee-eater's first breeding site in peninsular India discovered in Tamil Nadu.

GS area: Art and Culture

PM Modi witnessed the Jhumoir Binandini 2025 grand performance in Guwahati on February 23:

• Event: 8,600 dancers performing simultaneously, making it the world's largest Jhumur performance. 60 foreign diplomats attended. The event celebrated 200 years of the Assam tea industry.
• Jhumur dance:
  • Originates in the Chotanagpur Plateau region (Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal).
  • Belongs to the Sadan ethnolinguistic group's cultural tradition.
  • Women lead singing and dancing while men play traditional drums (madal) and other percussion instruments.
  • Performed in Nagpuri, Khortha and Kurmali languages.
• Tea garden context: Tribal workers from the Chotanagpur region (Santhal, Munda, Kurukh, Oraon tribes) were brought to Assam's tea gardens under colonial-era contract labour (the "indentured labour" system). Their cultural forms, including Jhumur, migrated with them.
• Distinction from Jhumoir (Assam): "Jhumoir" is the Assamese name for the same dance tradition. "Jhumur" is the Chotanagpur original form. Both refer to the same family of folk dance.
• Recognition: Performed at the Hornbill Festival (Nagaland) and other northeastern cultural events.

Static linkage: Art and Culture (tribal cultural heritage, performing arts, northeastern India).

GS area: History (Modern India, freedom struggle)

February 23 is observed as Pagri Sambhal Diwas in honour of Ajit Singh:

• Ajit Singh (1881-1947): Born on 23 February 1881 in Khatkar Kalan, Punjab. Bhagat Singh's paternal uncle.
• Pagri Sambhal Jatta Movement (1907): A farmer agitation in Punjab against three oppressive British colonial laws:
  • Punjab Land Alienation Act 1900: Restricted transfer of land to non-agricultural communities. Though it had a protective intent, it was also used to control agricultural populations.
  • Land Colonisation Act 1906: Imposed harsh conditions on peasants settled in the canal colonies of central Punjab.
  • Doab Bari Act 1907: Increased water rates for irrigation.
• "Pagri Sambhal Jatta": A Punjabi phrase meaning "Hold on to your turban, Jat." The turban (pagri) symbolises honour and dignity in Punjabi culture. The slogan called on peasants to resist humiliation.
• Fate: Ajit Singh was exiled to Burma (Myanmar) by British authorities for his agitation. He also spent years in South America and Europe.
• Return and death: He returned to India in March 1947. On 15 August 1947, the day of Indian independence, Ajit Singh died in Dalhousie, Himachal Pradesh. His death on independence day has been noted as a poignant coincidence.

Static linkage: History (freedom struggle, agrarian movements, Punjab).

GS area: Polity (inter-state relations, governance)

The 27th Western Zonal Council meeting was held in Pune under Home Minister Amit Shah:

• Established: By the States Reorganisation Act 1956. Operational since 1957.
• Number: Five Zonal Councils. Northern, Southern, Eastern, Western and Central.
• Composition of each council:
  • Chair: Union Home Minister (chairs all five).
  • Vice-Chair: Chief Ministers of member states rotate.
  • Members: Chief Ministers and up to two other ministers from each member state.
• Western Zonal Council members: Goa, Gujarat, Maharashtra and (Union Territories of Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli).
• Functions: Advisory and deliberative. Discusses matters of common interest such as border disputes, inter-state water sharing, economic planning, social and cultural issues.
• North-East: Northeastern states are not part of the five Zonal Councils. They coordinate through the North Eastern Council (NEC), established by the North-Eastern Council Act 1971.
• Secretariat: Ministry of Home Affairs.

Static linkage: Polity (inter-state relations, constitutional bodies).

GS area: Economy (mining, minerals)

The Ministry of Mines reclassified four minerals from minor to major status under the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act 1957 (MMDR Act):

• Minerals reclassified: Barytes, Feldspar, Mica and Quartz.
• Impact of reclassification:
  • Mining leases for major minerals extend to 50 years (against shorter terms for minor minerals).
  • Central government retains regulatory oversight for major minerals; minor minerals are state subjects.
  • Enables application of the National Mineral Exploration Trust (NMET) funding for exploration.
• Why these minerals?
  • Barytes: Used in oil well drilling fluids and for producing barium chemicals.
  • Feldspar: Raw material for glass and ceramics. Also contains lithium and rubidium traces.
  • Mica: Used in electrical insulation and as a source of beryllium and tantalum.
  • Quartz: Used in semiconductors, optical fibres, silicon production.
  • All four are linked to critical mineral value chains (lithium, beryllium, tantalum) relevant to the National Critical Mineral Mission.
• MMDR Act 1957: The primary legislation governing mining in India. Amended significantly in 2015 and 2021 to introduce auction-based allocation and composite licences.

Static linkage: Economy (mining, natural resources, critical minerals).

GS area: Environment (biodiversity, wildlife)

Scientists discovered the first breeding site of the Blue-Cheeked Bee-eater in peninsular India:

• Location: Saltpans of Aandivilai near Manakudy Mangroves, Kanniyakumari district, Tamil Nadu.
• Scientific name: Merops persicus. Family: Meropidae (bee-eaters).
• Earlier status in India: A migrant and winter visitor. It breeds in the Middle East and Central Asia (Iran, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan). This is the first confirmed breeding record in peninsular India.
• Identification: Bright green plumage with a turquoise-blue face (cheeks), black mask, yellow throat and brown crown. Distinctive long central tail feathers.
• Habitat: Sandy cliffs, riverbanks, coastal dunes. Nests in burrows dug in sandy soil.
• Diet: Flying insects, particularly bees and dragonflies.
• Significance: A breeding record suggests potential range expansion southward, possibly linked to climate-driven habitat shifts.

Static linkage: Biodiversity (environment and ecology, migratory birds, Tamil Nadu).

GS area: Polity (Parliament)

The detention of MP Amritpal Singh raised constitutional questions about parliamentary seat vacancies:

• Article 101(4): If a member of Parliament is absent from all sittings of the House for a period of 60 days without the permission of the House, the House may declare the seat vacant.
• Application: The 60-day count must be of consecutive sittings, not calendar days. The House must grant the member an opportunity to explain.
• Historical record: No seat has historically been vacated under Article 101(4), making Amritpal Singh's case a potential first.
• Amritpal Singh context: Elected from Khadoor Sahib, Punjab, in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections while under the National Security Act (NSA) detention. NSA allows detention without trial for up to 12 months.
• NSA 1980: Authorises preventive detention. Detainee must be informed of grounds within 5 days (10 days in exceptional circumstances). Advisory Board reviews cases within 3 weeks (extendable to 7 weeks).
• Parliament privilege: A detained member cannot exercise parliamentary duties. The intersection of preventive detention law and parliamentary representation is unresolved in constitutional practice.

Static linkage: Polity (Parliament, fundamental rights, preventive detention).

• Banking liquidity deficit: The Indian banking system's liquidity deficit peaked at 3.15 lakh crore rupees on January 23, 2025, the worst in over a decade. RBI's $10 billion USD/INR buy-sell swap (covered February 22) was one measure to inject rupee liquidity.
• Subsidies at six-year low: Central government subsidies in 2025-26 Budget are set at 4.26 lakh crore rupees, the lowest in absolute terms since 2019-20 (about 1.19 per cent of GDP). Reasons: free foodgrain distribution under PMGKAY wound down; fertilizer subsidies lower after Ukraine-conflict price spike eased.