Climate change??? Is it really happening??

Ok……. let’s talk about climate change. What it is? how it is happening? Is it because of humans? Does with have anything to do in this????. let’s know………

First of all…what is climate change???

Climate change is nothing but the change in climate. Ummmm…….sounds a bit odd and confusing but let’s see. “The change in climate means whatever we are seeing daily or sensing or experiencing is changing gradually”.

There maybe many reasons for this change in climatic conditions.

We started breaking CO2 records in 1950, and we haven’t stopped since. So, what maybe the reason????????

green house effect

Well Scientists say there is a 95% chance that human activity is the cause. We have been burning more and more fossil fuels like oil and coal which release CO2, to power our homes, factories, airplanes and cars. Not only this, there is a lot more of us i.e., the global population has tripled in the past 70years and we are consuming more products from animals that release another pollutant called Methane.

All these gases are released into the air, and when sunlight get’s into the Earth’s atmosphere, some of the heat gets trapped and the planet gets warmer. This is called as “Greenhouse Effect“.

The concern is not about the Earth getting warmer. It’s actually the warmest temperature on Earth since the last ice age, since 10,000years ago.

The UN says that right now our World is about 1 degree hotter than the Pre-Industrial times i.e., around 1800’s. It’s ok if the heat increases by 1.5 to 2 within a century or so. But, the problem is the “SPEED”. The change is heat is happening so fast that the temperature is increasing rapidly within 10-15 years which is not ok. And if we don’t slow down the heat/warming-this would mean CATASTROPHE within our life time and we are already experiencing it.

Some of the effects we can see because of global warming are

  • Global rise in temperature
  • Ocean warming
  • Melting of Glaciers and ice sheets.
  • Decrease on snow cover
  • Sea level rise.

So, to overcome or reduce all this, back in 2016, world leaders signed “PARIS AGREEMENT”. The big pledge they took is to cap temperatures rising by 1.5 degrees or maximum 2, before the year 2100.So, countries set their own targets on how much CO2 they should emit. But the problem is, even after the agreement, the level of CO2 is increasing rapidly.

But, one thing to be proud of is some countries like, India, Morocco, Gambia have massive renewable energy projects.

The advice is….. It’s our turn to change all the things that’s happening because of us, to change our ways and shake things up…..or else, climate change is going to do it for us

Vikram Batra-Ye Dil Mange More

                                                                     
                        

Vikram Batra belongs to a Hindu
family in Palampur, Himachal Pradesh. He was a son of a government school
principal. He joined the Air Wing of the National Cadet Corps in his college.
From his college life, he was interested in serving the nation. He cleared the
exam of NCC, get the C certificate. After participating in the Republic day
parade, he shared his thought with their parents that he wants to join the
Indian Army.

 

1n 1995, he pursuing MA at
Punjab University and start the preparation for Combined Defense Service Exam.
In 1996, he joined Indian Military Academy(IMA). In 1997, after concluding
training in IMA, he was commissioned as a lieutenant into the 13 JAK RIF. 

In 1998, after undergoing many
training and postings, he finally posted to Sopore, Baramulla District, J&K
.He had many encounters with militants over there. In one operation, Batra was
leading the platoon and had killed all the militants before the morning. In
1999, Batra completed his commando course at Belgaum, Karnataka.

 

In 1999, it was Holi time.
Vikram Batra enjoying his vacation with his fiancée Dimple Cheema. In a
conversation, Dimple said to Vikram Batra that he has to be careful about war.
Then Batra smiled and replied-“I’ll either come back after raising the
Indian flag in victory or return wrapped in it. But I’ll come back for
sure.”

 

He returned to his troop from
his hometown. After few days,13 JAK RIF reached Dras on  6 June 1999. The 18 Grenadiers failed to
capture the peak of Tololing. But 2 RAJ RIF 
captured the peak on June 13, 1999. After the success of that mission, Vikaram
Batra and his platoon were ordered to march from Dras to Tooling. Another
mission was planned to capture point 5140, which was assigned to the 13 JAK
RIF. Under the command of Lt. Col. Yogesh Kumar Joshi,13 JAK RIF found that the
enemy covered some major areas from top to bottom of point 5140. Joshi decided
to attack from the east and south sides by two teams, lead by Lt. Sanjeev Singh
Jamwal, and Lt. Vikram Batra. Both choose their winning signal, Jamwal chooses
“Oh! Yeah, yeah, yeah!” and Batra chooses “Ye Dil Mange
More!”.

 

Artillery fire was used for
covering support of these two assault companies while climbing point 5140. Both
the companies reached their destination on 20 June. Jamwals company had first
captured their objective. It was difficult for Batra to covered the enemy from
the rear side of the hill, but Batra did that impossible task with his 5 team
members and killed 3 enemies single-handedly in close combat. He was injured
but never stopped there, rather lead his troops and captured their objective by
sharing his slogan”Ye Dil Mange More!”.

 

He was promoted as Captain
after capturing point 5140. After the great success of 13 JAK RIF, the troop
moved to Mushkoh Valley under the command of 79 Mountain Bridge. The next task
was to captured point 4875 in the Mushkoh Valley. It was the dangerous mission
ever for 13 JAK RIF till now. They had to protect around 30-40km of the
National Highway from Dras to Malayan. The Pakistani soldiers easily observed
the moment and position of our soldiers, saw the gun positions, army camps from
that peak.  

 

On 4 July, the war began. The A
and C Coys started their operation of capturing point 4875. But in the
meanwhile, Batra was suffered from fatigue and fever.  Although its day time, these two troops were
consolidated their hold on point 4875 after heavy bombarding and machine-gun
attacks, and artillery fire. On 5 July, Pakistani enemies attacked with heavy
fire and accuracy from their position in north point 4875. Area Flat was
captured by 13 JAK RIF on 5 July, that was the key objective of that mission,
without that point Indian Army never succeed in their mission. Unfortunately
within a few hours Pakistani enemies counter-attacked our soldiers and climbed
faster to capture the peak. Captain N.A.Nagappa was lead a troop to fight
against those enemies to acquire the peak. But suddenly he was badly injured.
Pakistani soldiers were climbing faster as Nagappa was injured.

 

Batra observing all those
things lying on the bed went to Mr.Joshi and insisted to let him go. As the
team of Nagappa needed reinforcement, Vikram Batra and his team were ready to
capture the peak 4875 and determined for this in any situation and
circumstances. All the members of 13 JAK RIF wanted to join Batra for the honor
of their battalion despite the orders of their seniors.

 

Batra began to climb with 25
members of D Coy at night. When the troop neared the top, they had to climb
vertically, where the visibility was almost zero due to heavy fog. Batra found
a machine gun of Pakistani soldiers and destroyed it with a grenade. Batra
finally located the machine gun post of enemies, but unfortunately, no option
was left without a direct frontal assault in daylight. Under heavy fire from
enemies’ machine guns and grenade launchers, Batra killed 5 Pakistani soldiers
with his AK-47. Batra saw one of his men was shot in this process. With heavy
firing, Batra said his teammate Sub. Raghunath Singh evacuates that injured
soldier. He also said to Singh, “You have a family and children to go back
to, I am not even married”.Batra had continuously given his maximum effort
to drag the soldier to a safe place, suddenly a bullet hit his chest from a
very close distance, and after few seconds another on his head from an RPG.
Batra lies down on that battleground.

 

He was aware of the great
danger of his mission, but instead of all those things, he was never afraid of
death. Vikram Batra was awarded Indian’s highest military honor, the Param Vir
Chakra. His supreme sacrifices for his country will always be memorable.

Theories of Evolution – Darwinism

Charles Robert Darwin (1809-1882) was a British biologist, born on 12th February 1809 in Shrewberg, England. 

He presented his theory of evolution in the book On the Origin of Species by means of natural selection in 1859. Darwin argued that new species had evolved from older species, and he described the mechanism behind the transformation process. Darwin’s theory of evolution is based on the following five principles: 

  1. Organisms produce more offspring than can possibly survive.
  2. Organisms face a constant struggle to survive.
  3. Organisms within a species vary.
  4. Organisms best suited to their environment survive.
  5. Those organisms which survive will reproduce and pass on their genes to the next generation.

  • Over-production: All species have a tendency to produce more and more offspring in order to increase the population. For example, a salmon produces 28,000,000 eggs in a single season; a single spawning of an Oyster may yield as many as 114,000,000 eggs; a common roundworm lays about 70,000,000 eggs in a day. This huge production is to ensure the survival of the species. Even though species are produced in larger numbers, the population of a particular organism remains more or less constant.

  • Struggle for Existence: Darwin claimed that there was a continual ‘struggle for existence in nature, in which only the fittest would survive. As a result of overproduction, there is a struggle for existence among organisms. Since the number of is persons is large, there is competition for food, shelter, mates etc.

 struggle for existence may be of different types as follows: 

a. Intra-specific (Intra-species) struggle: The members of the same species struggle among themselves for food, shelter and mates. 

b. Inter-specific (Inter-species) struggle: The members of different species may go on fighting for survival. A member from one species may hunt other members of other species for food. 

c. Environmental struggle: Organisms of different species struggle against the environmental hazards like earthquake, flood, drought etc. Only those species with better adjustment with the environment will survive.

  • Variations: Variation is the tendency of an organism to deviate from the parental generation. These variations play a very important role for adaptations in the environment. Some variations are considered as favourable and others are unfavourable. Organisms with unfavourable variations easily get defeated in the struggle for survival. Variations that are useful to adapt to the pressures of the environment survive long. The new trait of advantageous characteristics is passed on to the future generations. 
  • Survival of the Fittest: The struggle for existence leads to the survival of the fittest. When there are too many of an organism in an area, they compete for resources such as food and perhaps shelter, for example trees and caves.The surviving species will reproduce more offspring than those who are less adaptive.
  • Natural Selection: The surviving individuals will give rise to the next generation. The successful variations are transmitted to the succeeding generations. The accumulation of advantageous traits in future generations gradually brings changes in species. Successive generations in this way tend to become better adapted to their environment. Eventually, a new species may evolve. 

Furthermore, certain members of a population with one group of variations may become adapted to the environment in one way, while others, with a different set of variations, become adapted in a different way or become adapted to different environments. In this way, two or more species may arise from a single ancestral stock. 

Examples of Natural Selection 

1. The finches of Galapagos : Some species of finches have short thick beaks. They are used to eating seeds, fruits and buds. Some others have long straight beaks. They subsist primarily on nectar from flowers. If environmental condition suddenly changes some characteristics may be more favoured than others. 

2. Industrial melanism in moth : Before Industrialisation, the tree trunks were lighter and light coloured moths were predominant. Dark coloured moths were also present but they were limited in number. As a result of industrialisation, the pollution resulted in the darkening of tree trunks. So the light coloured moths become more visible to birds and were therefore eaten by their predators. As a result of this at the end of 19th century the common light coloured moths were almost completely replaced by the black variety.

The theory of origin of species by natural selection is regarded as a major advancement in evolutionary thought. Darwin contributed to the modern understanding of biological evolution by documenting the variation of living forms and identifying the key process of natural selection.

 Like most 19th century scientists, however, he did not understand heredity or how specific traits are passed from one generation to the next. His theory lacked the knowledge of modern genetics. However, mutation theory explained the causes of variations among organisms.

INDIAN HERITAGE, CULTURE, HISTORY, AND GEOGRAPHY OF THE WORLD AND SOCIETY

India is a land of rich heritage, culture, history, and geography. Indian culture is a heritage of social norms, ethical values, traditional customs and belief systems, artifacts, political systems, and technologies that originated in the Indian subcontinent. India is a part of Asia and forms a peninsula which means it is surrounded by 3 water bodies that are ‘The Arabian Sea’, ‘ bay of Bengal’, and ‘Indian Ocean ’. Over the years, numerous styles of art, architecture, painting, music, dance, festivals and customs have developed in India and this wide variety has made the Indian culture unparalleled to which the entire world still looks up to. The cultural heritage of India still flourishes maintaining its original features together along with changes ,a key indicator of its strength.

Salient Aspects of Indian art forms, literature, and architecture from ancient to modern times

There are 3 types of Indian Arts. ‘Performing Arts’ include different types of classical dances that are ‘kathak’, ‘Bharatnatyam’, ‘Manipuri’, etc., music, theatre, and puppets. ‘Visual arts’ include ‘historical architecture’, ‘sculpture’, and ‘paintings’. Literary Arts have a mission to engage readers, support writers, and inspire the next generation with great literature.

In ancient times, art was produced to promote religious activity. From the 2nd century BC, the Ajanta caves in the Aurangabad district of Maharashtra are the ancient and magnificent caves where we can find the arts of Buddha and other gods and goddesses. Mughal paintings and Rajputana paintings and arts from the 14-16th century are the most beautiful works done by Indian artists.

Literature engages people with writings in different languages of India like Tamil, Sanskrit, Hindi, etc., expressing shared tradition, cultural experiences, and Indian heritage.

Indian architecture is the greatest artistic glory. Indus valley civilization is the oldest Indian architectural civilization.

 Modern Indian history from about the middle of the eighteenth century until the present

After the death of the most popular Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb in 1707, the Mughal authority weakened. They were unable to rule India as other emperors ruled. The last emperor of the Mughal Empire, Bahadur Shah Zafar (Emperor from 1837-57) was known to be the weakest. He was the son of Akbar shah II.

The history of modern India begins in the middle of the eighteenth century with the beginning of the freedom struggle, which finally concluded in the form of an independent India.

BAHADUR SHAH ZAFAR
[1837-1847]

REVOLT OF 1857

The revolt of 1857 was the conscious beginning of the Independence struggle against the colonial tyranny of the British. There are various names for the revolt of 1857 – India’s First War of Independence, Sepoy Mutiny, etc. The revolt began on May 10, 1857, at Meerut as a sepoy mutiny. It was initiated by sepoys in the Bengal Presidency against the British officers. This war of Independence marked the end of rule by the British East India company. Post this, India was directly ruled by the British government through representatives known as Governor-General. Rani Lakshmi Bai of Jhansi, Sepoy Mangal Pandey and many other fighters fought for the India’s first freedom movement.

Formation of Indian National Congress
‘Indian National Congress’, byname ‘Congress Party, broadly based political party of India. Formed in 1885, the Indian National Congress dominated the Indian movement for independence from Great Britain.

Formation of Indian National Army
‘Indian National Army’ was formed by Netaji Subhash Bose in 1942.

The Freedom Struggle — its various stages and important contributors/contributions from different parts of the country.

PARTITION OF BENGAL [1905]

Indian nationalism was gaining in strength and Bengal was the nerve centre of Indian nationalism in the early 1900s. Lord Curzon, the Viceroy (1899-1905), attempted to ‘dethrone Calcutta’ from its position as the centre from which the Congress Party manipulated throughout Bengal, and indeed, the whole of India. The decision to partition Bengal into two was in the air from December 1903.

Congress party – from 1903 to mid-1905 – tried moderate techniques of petitions, memoranda, speeches, public meetings and press campaigns. The objective was to turn to public opinion in India and England against the partition.

However, Viceroy Curzon 1905 formally announced the British Government’s decision for the partition of Bengal on 19 July 1905. The partition took effect on 16 October 1905.

THE SWADESHI MOVEMENT [1905-1908]

The movement popularised the use and consumption of indigenous products. Indians started ditching British goods for Indian products.

Women, students, and a large section of the urban and rural population of Bengal and other parts of India became actively involved in politics for the first time with Swadeshi Movement.

The message of Swadeshi and the boycott of foreign goods soon spread to the rest of the country.

The militant nationalists led by Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Bipin Chandra Pal, Lajpat Rai and Aurobindo Ghosh were in favour of extending the movement to the rest of India and carrying it beyond the programme of just Swadeshi and boycott to a full-fledged political mass struggle. For them, the aim was Swaraj.

In 1906, the Indian National Congress at its Calcutta Session presided over by Dadabhai Naoroji, declared that the goal of the Indian National Congress was ‘self-government or Swaraj like that of the United Kingdom or the Colonies.

There were differences in the ideologies with the congressmen who were popularly known by the names Moderates and the Extremists. They had differences of opinion regarding the pace of the movement and the techniques of struggle to be adopted. This came to a head in the 1907 Surat session of the Congress where the party split (the two factions re-joined later).

This period also saw a breakthrough in Indian art, literature, music, science and industry.

It was, perhaps, in the cultural sphere that the impact of the Swadeshi Movement was most marked. The songs composed at that time by Rabindranath Tagore, Rajani Kanta Sen etc became the moving spirit for nationalists of all hues.

In art, this was the period when Abanindranath Tagore broke the domination of Victorian naturalism over Indian art and sought inspiration from the rich indigenous traditions of Mughal, Rajput and Ajanta paintings.

In science, Jagdish Chandra Bose, Prafulla Chandra Ray, and others pioneered original research that was praised the world over.

The Swadeshi period also saw the creative use of traditional popular festivals and melas as a means of reaching out to the masses. The Ganapati and Shivaji festivals, popularized by Tilak, became a medium for Swadeshi propaganda not only in Western India but also in Bengal.

Another important aspect of the Swadeshi Movement was the great emphasis given to self-reliance or ‘Atmasakti’in various fields meant the re-asserting of national dignity, honour and confidence.

Self-reliance also meant an effort to set up Swadeshi or indigenous enterprises. The period saw a mushrooming of Swadeshi textile mills, soap and match factories etc.

One of the major features of the programme of self-reliance was Swadeshi or National Education. In 1906, the National Council of Education was established. The vernacular medium was given stress from primary to university level.

Corps of volunteers (or samitis as they were called) were another major form of mass mobilization widely used by the Swadeshi Movement. The Swadesh Bandhab Samiti set up by Ashwini Kumar Dutt was the most well-known volunteer organization of them all.

SPLIT IN CONGRESS [1907]

The main public leaders of the two wings, Tilak (of the Extremists) and Gokhale (of the Moderates) were aware of the dangers of disunity in the nationalist ranks.

A split was avoided in 1906 by choosing Dadabhai Naoroji as presidentship of INC in the Calcutta session. Also, four compromise resolutions on the Swadeshi, Boycott, National Education, and Self-Government demands were passed. However, the hope of a united Congress was short-lived.

The Extremists wanted to extend the Swadeshi and the Boycott Movement from Bengal to the rest of the country but Moderators opposed.

The Extremists were fumed by the rumours that the Moderates wanted to scuttle the four Calcutta resolutions. This created friction among them which led to the split at the Congress session was held on 26 December 1907 at Surat, on the banks of the river Tapti.
The Indian National Congress split in December 1907. By 1907, the Moderate nationalists had exhausted their historical role. They failed to meet the demands of the new stage of the national movement, even failed to attract the younger generation.

Post-independence consolidation and reorganization within the country.

When the British decided to quit India, the Indian National Congress (INC) and the Muslim League did not come to any conclusion and was unable to make a united front for independence.

For creating a consensus, Britain sent the Cabinet Mission to India. Muslim League did not agree on the proposals of Cabinet Mission, and Jinnah proclaimed “Direct Action Day” on 16th August 1946.

Violence erupted on both sides of the borders.  To stop the violence and to avoid a civil war situation, Congress accepted the partition plan. On 14th August 1947, India got divided into the dominions of India and Pakistan. Later, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan was further divided, and a new dominion of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh was created in 1975.

The Indian Independence Act 1947 made the necessary provision for the independence of India and Pakistan. India chose to become a secular country, whereas Pakistan decided to become an Islamic County. The actual geographic demarcation of the areas between India and Pakistan was entrusted upon by Sir Cyril Radcliffe.

POST-PARTITION OF INDIA AFTER 1947

After independence, the world saw one of the most abrupt and haphazard transfers of people in human history. There were brutal killings, rapes, atrocities in the name of religion on both sides of the border.

In an estimate, about 80 lakh people were forced to migrate across the border to a new place. Also, around 10 lakh people were killed during Partition in religious violence.

India created a department of rehabilitation for the resettlement of refugee in various refugee camps.

PRINCELY STATES ISSUE

The Sardar Patel assumed additional charge of the newly created states department in Jun 1947 with V.P. Menon as its Secretary.

In its first step, Patel appealed to the princes whose territories fell inside India to join the Indian Union in at least three subjects which can affect the common interests of the country, namely, defence, foreign affairs and communications.

There were 565 princely states at that time. Integration of the princely states of Hyderabad, Junagadh, Jammu & Kashmir and Manipur proved more difficult than the rest.

History of the world

INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

The Industrial Revolution was a period of major industrialization and innovation during the late 1700s and early 1800s. The Industrial Revolution began in Great Britain and quickly spread throughout the world.

The era saw new changes in chemical manufacturing, iron production, textile production, as well as across many other industries. The rapid development of steam power and water power were two of the core driving factors of the industrial revolution. It was a turning point in human history, changing how products were produced and the overall standard of living for a vast majority of the population.

WORLD WAR I AND II

World war I started in 1914 and ended in 1919. World war II started in 1939 and ended in 1945. Both wars became the major attack for humanity.

The world war II was the most deadliest war of all time. In 1945, US dropped Atom bombs on the two trading centers i.e. Hiroshima and Nagasaki of Japan. This led to the loss of lakhs of civilians and soldiers.

COLONIZATION AND DECOLONIZATION

Colonialism is a political-economic fact whereby different nations discovered, conquered, settled, and exploited large zones of the world. Decolonization is about “cultural, psychological, and economic freedom” for Indigenous people with the goal of achieving Indigenous sovereignty — the right and ability of Indigenous people to practice self-determination over their land, cultures, and political and economic systems.

Capitalism, Socialism and Communism

‘Capitalism’ is defined as a system of governance where the government has to play various roles including administrative functionalities, and the facilitator of capitalism and the private players own and control the assets for private gain based on the laws of the country. It treats labors as human capital that is free to work for income and may further invest his money to generate more capital.

Effects of capitalism on society:
1. Capitalism ensures economic growth as it empowers both manufacturers and consumers and keeps money in rotation.
2. It ensures the accessibility of goods and services on a competitive price and helps to improve the standard of living in the country.
3. Capitalism paved the wave for LPG reforms in the world and provided opportunities for the labour force to opt for global employment opportunities, which have further shrunk the global boundaries.

‘Socialism’ is a politico-economic ideology which beliefs in the public ownership of means of production and distribution based on a plan formulated by a central authority.
Effects of socialism in society
1. Helps in creating a welfare society where all the basic needs of people (food, clothes and shelter) are fulfilled by the State on very affordable prices.
2. Providing employment is the State’s responsibility. Thus, everyone gets a job based on his/her capabilities, education and skills.
3. Establishes the supremacy of the State, thus, making them arbitrary.
4. Lack of check and balance on the bureaucracy leads to increased corruption in society.

‘Communism’  can be defined as the ideology which leads to a classless society based on the equal rights for everyone, irrespective of the class they belong to (the labour or the bourgeoisie), on the means of production.
Effects of communism in society
1. The ideology of communism supports a society without rulers, but until it is achieved all the power will lie with the dictator government so formed, which will further lead to their oppression. For example, the Rule of Hitler and the event of the holocaust.
2. In communist nations, the difference between the official claims and societal realities is vast. The dictator government controls the flow of information and every sort of communication channel which cut-offs the society with the outer world.

Salient features of Indian Society, Diversity of India

Indian society is a pluralistic society with a complex social order characterized by a multitude of ethnic, linguistic, religious, and caste divisions. National unity and integrity have been maintained even through sharp economic and social inequalities have obstructed the emergence of egalitarian social relations. It is this synthesis which has made India a unique mosque of cultures. Thus, India present seemingly multicultural situation within in the framework of a single integrated cultural whole.

The following are the features:
1. The multi-ethnic Indian society
A society with the co-existence of a wide variety of racial groups is a Multi-ethnic society. India is home to almost multiple racial profiles like Nordic, Dinaric, Proto-Australoid, Mongolian, etc.
2. Multilingualism- salient feature of Indian society
India is home to many native languages, and it is also common that people to speak and understand more than one language or dialect, which can entail the use of different scripts as well.
India’s 2011 census documents that 121 languages are spoken as mother tongues, which is defined as the first lan­guage a person learns and uses.
3. Multi-religious society
India is a cradle of world religions whose ancestors have preached and practiced almost all major religions of the world giving rise to worldly beliefs, practices, rites, rituals, ceremonies, and institutions. In India, hindus, muslims, sikhs and christians live.
4. Caste system in Indian society
The social division of society in India is peculiar. Unlike many other civilizations in the world where the society was divided into race, ethnicity, or clans, Indian society is broadly divided into a hierarchy of caste.


Salient features of Diversity in India

India as a nation is a classic example of it as despite having multiple geographical, religious, linguistic, cultural, and racial diversities, India has always stood up as an integrated nation.

Role of women and women’s organization, population and associated issues, poverty and developmental issues, urbanization, their problems and their remedies.

Women in India have played a major role in various spheres of life over the past many centuries, but their acceptance in these spheres has been a crucial issue. Thus, the involvement of women in social, political and economic scenarios has brought in a major change in the terms of equality.

Gender Equality:
With equal opportunities for all genders, multiple women have been an inspiration for young girls to dream and aspire to become big.
Women in political spheres:
Several women leaders have actively participated in the Indian freedom struggle, occupied important positions in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, state legislatures; women also have acquired the position of the Prime Minister and President of the country. Indira Gandhi was the first women prime minister of India.
Economic roles:
The neglect of women’s economic roles results in the exploitation of women workers, unequal wages, higher employment, etc., though are a cause of concern.
Social Issues:  
A National Commission for women (NCW) has been set up with an intention to establish an equal and just livelihood for women by making legal and constitutional amendments for women in India

Population

The current population of India is 1,342,528,871 (1.34 billion) people and it is the second most populous country in the world, while China is on the top with over 1,415,489,506 (1.41 billion) people. Out of the world’s 7 billion people, India represents almost 17.85% of the world’s population.

Poverty and development issues

Development deals with the alleviation (or the eradication) of poverty. Poverty is inter-related to other problems of underdevelopment. 
Types of poverty
1. Absolute poverty
2. Relative poverty
3. Situational Poverty
4. Generational poverty
5. Rural Poverty
6. Urban Poverty
Remedies of poverty in India
1. Population control
2. Increase in employment
3. Equal distribution of income
4. Regional poverty
5. Problem of distribution
6. Fulfillment of minimum needs of poor
7. Development of Agriculture

Urbanization

The population residing in urban areas in India, according to the 1901 census, was 11.4%, increasing to 28.53% by the 2001 census, and is now currently 34% in 2017 according to The World Bank. According to a survey by UN, in 2030 40.76% of country’s population is expected to reside in urban areas.
Remedies of urbanization

  1. Rapid Mass Transport (RMT) for better transportation system.
  2. Reform of the urban water sector.
  3. Efficient use of urban land – Scientific town planning & Sustainable development of urban planning needed.
  4. Long term strategic urban planning with the overall regional planning perspective.
  5. The environmental sustainability of urban development.
  6. Investment in new urban infrastructure assets and maintenance of assets.
  7. Need to strengthen urban governance
  8. To strengthen the ‘soft infrastructure’
  9. Improvements of urban utilities such as water and sewerage NUHM (National Urban Health Mission) for better urban public health.
  10. Need to fulfill the basic needs of the urban poor.
  11. Migration needs to be regulated
  12. Smart city concept if implemented effectively
  13. Provision of Urban Amenities to Rural Areas (PURA)
  14. Population control 
  15. Innovation needed to control pollution  and waste handling
  16. Rurbanization: Provide like urban facilities in rural areas or make rural areas smart is called rurbanization.

Effects of globalization on Indian society.

Globalization is a process of increasing interdependence, interconnectedness and integration of economies and societies to such an extent that an event in one part of the globe affects people in other parts of the world.

  • Impact of Globalization on Indian Culture
    a. Homogenization versus Glocalization of culture
    b. Revival of culture
  • Impact of Globalization on Women in India
    a. Positive impact of Globalization on women
    b. Negative impact of Globalization on women

Social empowerment, communalism, regionalism & secularism.

Social empowerment is understood as the process of developing a sense of autonomy and self-confidence. It also involves acting individually and collectively to change social relationships and the institutions and discourses that exclude poor people and leads to an increase in poverty.

Communalism is a philosophical notion and causes competition, ferocity, and tension among different communities. It manifests as an expression of the superiority of one’s community combined with intolerance of different communities.

Regionalism is a psychic phenomenon. It is built around an expression of group identity, as well as loyalty to the region. It presupposes the concept of development of one’s region without taking into consideration the interest of other regions. It prohibits people from other regions to be benefitted from a particular region.

Salient features of world’s physical geography.

  • Geomorphology (the study of the earth’s surface features)
  • Glaciology (the study of glaciers)
  • Coastal Geography (the study of the coastal regions)
  • Climatology (the study of climates and climate change)
  • Biogeography (the study of the geographic patterns of species distribution)

Distribution of key natural resources across the world; factors responsible for the location of primary, secondary, and tertiary sector industries in various parts of the world (including India).

Natural resources are material and constituent formed within environment or any matter or energy that are resulting from environment, used by living things that humans use for food, fuel, clothing, and shelter. 

Factors responsible for the location of primary, secondary, and tertiary sector industries

  1. Raw material: Availability of natural resource that can be used as raw material.
  2. Technology: To turn the resource into an asset with value.
  3. Power: To utilize the technology.
  4. Labour: Human resource in the area who can function as labor to run the processes.
  5. Transport : Road/rail connectivity.
  6. Storage and warehousing.
  7. Marketing feasibility.
  8. Characteristics of land and soil.
  9. Climate.
  10. Precipitation and water resources.
  11. Vulnerability to natural resources.

Important Geophysical phenomena 

In our natural environment, various forms of disasters occur in severe intensity. All disasters threaten the humans or societies and had their impact from one decade to another.

Disasters can be categorized as

1.Natural Disasters such as Volcano, Tsunami, Earthquake; landslides
2.Human Made Disasters
3.Human Induced Disaster
4.Natural Disasters

Earthquake
Earthquake is a vicious tremor, rolling or hasty shock on surface of earth’s crust, sending out a sequence of shock waves in all directions from its place of source which is known as epicenter.

Tsunami

Tsunami is devastating natural disaster and immensely affects the economic and living conditions of region where it hits.

Volcano

A volcano is type of vent or smokestack which transmits molten rocks called as Magma from depth to earth surface. 

Cyclones

A Cyclone is described as geophysical phenomenon on the surface of planet and atmospheric system of low barometric pressure accompanied by strong winds that revolve counter-clockwise in northern hemisphere and clockwise direction in southern hemisphere.