22/5/2020 : The Hindu editorials Notes  (Arora IAS)

22/5/2020 : The Hindu editorials Notes  

Q- The present India-China border has created many conflicts. Justify?

Context

• India-China border incidents occurred between troops, resulting in injuries to several soldiers on both side.

India-China border categorization:

It has broadly divided into three parts namely

• The western sector falls in the union territory of Ladakh and is 1597 km long,
• The middle sector of 545 km length falls in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, and
• The eastern sector falls in the states of Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh totally 1346 km long.
• Western sector and eastern sectors (emerging disputes) are most disputed areas and middle sector is least disputed area.

History:

• since 2015 mostly transgressions have taken place in the western sector of the LAC, which falls in Ladakh.
• Now eastern sector witnessed almost one-fifth of the Chinese transgressions.
• According to official data 2019 has recorded highest aerial transgressions by China (108 instances; 78/2018), overall, 663 recorded Chinese transgressions in 2019 that included a 75 per cent spike in the western sector and a 55 per cent rise in the eastern sector.

Concern about china’s interference:

• It indicates chine’s soldiers are appearing often near to border, observed by Indian soldier.
• China’s alertness,
• But there is no such major accident reveals border system working both sides.

Major Problem:

• The total 3448 km long border in which western border is un-demarcated that leads to face-off severally.
• The objection by China for India’s construction activity like road in Ladhak.

Indian upgradation of infrastructure:

• At Muguthang, the road on the Chinese side are more developed and motorable, but Indian side, it is a remote area, because of this, China can bring large number of troops if needed.
• But in 2019, India has constructed Darbuk-Shyok-Daulet Beg Oldi (DSDBO) road that connects Leh to the Karakoram Pass. India also maintains a key landing strip at DBO at 16,000 feet.
• The border issue is very dynamic with LAC and tensious. Now India upgrading construction activities whereas china has already taken advantages due to early infrastructure. Now china opposing Indian construction activities.
• India is well within its rights to carry out construction work. Delhi needs to remind Beijing that a fundamental principle that underpins all previous agreements is recognising the right to mutual and equal security of the two sides.

Main stand off point:

• The Galwan River Valley is located in north-eastern Ladakh, east of the Aksai Chin plateau illegally occupied by China.

Basic Framework To resolve the issues:

• 1993’s “Agreement on the Maintenance of Peace and Tranquility along the Line of Actual Control in the India-China Border Areas”.
• The two sides agreed to “peaceful and friendly consultations” to resolve the boundary dispute and disclaimed the threat of force as a legitimate bargaining tool, for further dignity of LAC should be maintain.
• Any “contingencies or other problems arising in the areas” were to be dealt with “through meetings and friendly consultations between border personnel of the two countries.”
• An informal summit took place in Wuhan between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2018, the year after the Doklam stand-off. Both countries declared they “respect each other’s sensitivities, concerns and aspirations” and reiterated their commitment to the terms of the 1993 Agreement.

Way ahead

• The use of existed agreements should be prior responsibility of both the nations.
• Flag meetings between brigade commanders hasn’t fixed to resolve the ties. The LAC situation is renewing stress.

• • Focus should also be on military-to-military communication, that allow two side clarity with respective directives.
• India and China should have to think about present LAC condition as opportunity to resolve the matter but China has resisted this as a distraction to the boundary negotiations. Common understanding is need of the time.
• Clarifying the LAC may even provide a fresh impetus to the stalled boundary talks between the Special Representatives.
• Beyond the posturing, both sides know a final settlement will ultimately have to use the LAC as a basis, with only minor adjustments.

 

Conclusion

The settlement of mutual understanding will end the shadow boxing on the LAC. With both countries in the midst of an unprecedented global pandemic, the time to push for a settlement to a distracting, protracted dispute is now.

Extra Information:

• In 2017, the Indian Army executed “Operation Juniper” and positioned armed troops in the Doklam area of Bhutan.

 

Short summary:

India- china border is again raising concerns, year 2019  has recorded highest incidents on border by china, where the border has categorised western, middle and eastern sector. In which middle sector/border  is least disputed area where western side is highest and eastern sector is emerging as new concern for India.

India’s construction activities like road infrastructure etc. China has started to oppose where has already taken advantages by its construction activities and all one of the result is loss of 1962 war.

Illegal occupation of west and east side of Indian land by china is still arising, all pre-existed agreements and high level dialogue’s need of the time. The dignity of LAC should be matter of priority for both the nations, all the past’s basic frameworks have to be make effective.

India’s pre-planning, strong standing as an independent nation, are need of time, although India is doing well but as compare to other India have more scope to develop effective strategy.

 

Topic -Amphan Cyclone (A double disaster: On a cyclone amid the coronavirus)

Q- The usual occurrence of cyclone is due to environmental degradation. State your point of views?

Context:

Amphan is a Super Tropical Cyclone originated from the Bay of Bengal.

Data:

• The cyclone considered the first super cyclonic storm in the Bay of Bengal since the 1999 Odisha cyclone.

• It made landfall between Digha, some 180 km south of Kolkata in West Bengal, and Hatiya islands in Bangladesh on May 20.
• Amphan intensified from a maximum wind speed of around 140 kilometre per hour to more than 200 kmph That means rapid intensificarion because of the high sea surface temperatures of 32-34 degrees celsius in the Bay of Bengal..

Origin of the name:

• Amphan that pronounced as ‘Um-pun’, means sky and was given by Thailand in 2004.
• India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Pakistan, Maldives, Oman, Sri Lanka and Thailand decide names of cyclones in the region.
• The countries submit a list of cyclone names from time to time to choose the names from the pool while selecting the name, countries first analyse them to see if the word is easily understood by people in the region, hence the names are generally familiar words

The Destruction of first super cyclone in Bay of Bengal in 1999:

• Odisha was ravaged by a super cyclone, around 10,000 people dead
• damaged lakhs of houses, killed about two lakh livestock and affected about 2.5 to 3 million people, leaving large tracts of agricultural land unfit for cultivation for a long time due to salinity.

Tropical cyclones

• Cyclones are low-pressure systems that form over warm tropical waters, with gale force winds near the centre.
• Due to vast quantities of water, they often produce torrential rains and flooding resulting in major loss of life and property damage.

Tropical cyclone’s grading:

• At the lower end are depressions that generate wind speeds of 30 to 60 km per hour followed by,
• Cyclonic Storms (61 To 88 kph),

• Severe Cyclonic Storms (89 to 117 kph) and
• Very Severe Cyclonic Storms (118 to 166 kph).
• At the top are extremely Severe Cyclonic Storms (167 to 221 kph) and Super Cyclones (222 kph or higher).

Storm surge:

• The term refers to rising seas whipped up by a storm, creating a wall of water several metres higher than the normal tide level and can extend for dozens of kilometres inland, overwhelming homes and making roads impassable.
• It is shaped by different factors such as storm intensity, forward speed, the size of a storm and the angle of approach to the coast.
• The underlying features of the land at the coast, including bays and estuaries, are also at play.

Bay of Bengal

• According to the World Meteorological Organisation the tropical cyclone season in the Bay of Bengal and neighbouring Arabian Sea has two peaks around May and November,
• The cyclones can form in the western Pacific Ocean and travel in a northwest direction before arriving in the Bay of Bengal. Some reach the southeastern coast of India but others divert northeast and move up to West Bengal and Odisha states.
• The Bay of Bengal has conditions favourable to the development of cyclones, including high sea surface temperatures.

Government’s steps:

• Evacuations, arranging for backup power, warning people to stay far from the coasts,
• designating strong buildings as cyclone shelters, and providing for at least a week’s supply of cooked food with medical supplies.
• Pre-alert for fishermer into North Bay of Bengal along and off North Odisha, West Bengal and adjoining Bangladesh coasts.

The expected destruction in Odisha and Bengal:

• Extensive damage is expected to all types of kutcha houses and some damage to old badly managed pucca structures.
• Potential threat from flying objects.
• communication and power poles losses
• Extensive damage to standing crops, plantations, orchards and blowing down of palm and coconut trees, uprooting of large bushy trees are expected.
• Ingress of saline water into the fields and homes in the Sundarbans, that will it soil quality and impact productivity, and force people to migrate in search of livelihood.

Challenge of COVID-19

• Due to existing COVID-19 pandemic all states are suffering eastern coast states are already prone to cyclone all these leads to additional challenge, and greater threat,
• Adhering to hygienic practices, monitoring those requiring medical assistance and testing for the virus is a high priority.

Ocean warming

• Cyclone Amphan is also a reminder of worse environment by human greed and development.
• The cyclones are increased by 32% in the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal by IMD data.

Solutions:

• Tackling the sources of global warming, and investing in and upgrading climate resilience and adaptation techniques are complex processes and expensive.

• It also needs tremendous political will and people’s support and participation to ensure that development is sustainable..

Conclusion

• The states now need to carry out a detailed assessment of what Amphan has done.
• They have to start rebuilding infrastructure and reaching out to people with food, clean water and medical help.

Fodder Points:

• The centre government has a role to play by financial help,
• More strategic and effective steps with pre-planning can increase
• Research and development should increased,
• Focus should be on no death-less destruction policy

 

Short summary:

• The recently hit cyclone in eastern coast specially Odisha has greatly affected to the people and economic losses, due to the raising environmental problems the Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea’s cyclone appearance has increased by 32% according to IMD.
• The growing concerns of cyclone leads to more worse condition due to the vast spread of COVID-19. With existing data about cyclones Indian government still working on  better management strategies with pre-planning.
• The prevailed cyclones are reminder of negative environmental conditions, now respective state governments have to take the agenda of assessment that will lead to final destination, Cyclones will always occur as a natural calamity but due to this many lives, homes, professions, animals lost many thing even nature also lost its natural beauty eg. Saline water mixes in soil lead to less productive saline soil.
• All is a about proper and pre planning with effective assessment.