Category Social Sciences

What is PURA?

The idea of this programme is to create economic opportunities in rural areas by supplying urban infrastructure and services. It is a Rural Development Programme suggested by Dr. Kalam in ‘Target 3 Billion’ to develop India.

The origins of PURA can be traced in the work done by Nimbkar Agricultural Research Institute in the early 1990s on energy self-sufficiency at the taluka level.

First Dr. Kalam insists on building good roads in rural areas for physical connectivity. Then, electronic connectivity by way of communication networks. Finally, he recommends knowledge connectivity through setting up professional and technical institutions.

Picture Credit : Google 

Some unheard stories of freedom fighters

As we celebrate 75 years of independence, here are some unheard stories of our freedom fighters.

Golden girl kanaklata  

The 16 years old kanaklata was determined to participate in the hoisting of the flag on Gohpur police station close to her house.

It was a period of turmoil in the country and talk of freedom was in the air. Like many other youngsters of her time, Kanaklata Barua felt a passionate desire to help free her motherland. She had lost her parents, one after the other by the time she was 14 and was brought up by her grandparents.

Call to hoist the tricolour on police stations

On September 18, 1942, a few weeks after the ‘Quit India’ resolution had been passed, a leader from Tejpur, Assam, gave instructions to hoist the tricolour on all police stations and government buildings in the district. The 16-year-old Kanaklata was determined to participate in the hoisting of the flag on Gohpur Police Station close to her house. The people had been asked to gather at a place some distance away from the police station on the morning of September 20. Kanaklata finished her household chores. Then she said to her younger sister, “Let us have breakfast together. God alone knows whether we shall meet again.” Kanaklata led one of the groups that advanced towards the police station shouting slogans like ‘Glory to Mother India’ and ‘Mahatma Gandhi ki Jai’.

The officer in charge of the police station warned them not to advance but Kanaklata pressed forward saying, “Don’t try to stop us! We shall leave only after putting the flag up!”

Felled by police bullets

The police opened fire. Some people from the group turned and fled, but Kanaklata continued to press fonward. The police fired again and Kanaklata was hit in the chest. Others around her were also felled by the bullets but now they were very close to the police station and one member of the group, Ram Pati Rajkhoa snatched the flag from the dying Kanaklata, climbed to the top of the police station and planted the flag there.

Her sister and her grandparents broke down when her comrades brought her body home. But Kanaklata would not have wanted it any other way. If she had had another life to give, she would have perhaps gladly given away that too for her beloved country.

Robin Hood of the Godavari

From the jungles of the Rampa region in the East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh emerged a young hero who galvanised the local Adivasi tribals to rise against the British Raj in the 1920s. His name was Alluri Sitarama Raju. The Madras Forest Act had severely affected the tribal way of life. It prevented the tribals from engaging in the traditional method of shifting cultivation and collecting forest produce. They ended up being exploited for cheap or free labour by the British.

Raju channelled the tribal discontent into an anti-British force. He realised that mere bows and arrows were not enough. So he conducted lightning strikes on police stations, raiding their arsenal of guns and ammunition. He would announce the date and time of attack and even enter the details of the loot in the station diary!

For two years from 1922-1924, Raju and his guerrilla fighters terrorised the British. A bounty of Rs 10,000 was placed on his head and special forces were drafted to combat his men. No amount of persuasion could sway the local people from being loyal to Raju. They called him ‘Manyam Veerudu (Hero of the Jungle). It was only after Raju was caught and shot dead on May 7, 1924 that the British heaved a sigh of relief.

Young braveheart

In 1938, Dhenkanal (in Odisha) was up in arms against the repressive measures of the local kings who were British loyalists. The British force was hot on the trail of Veer Baishnav Pattanayak, a revolutionary who was stirring up villagers against them. They arrived at the village of Bhuban on October 10, 1938 to nab him, but he escaped. A troop of British soldiers chased him, but they were stopped in their tracks by an ordinary boy of extraordinary courage. Baji Raut was a 13-year-old boatman of Nilakanthapur village who was standing guard at a ghat on River Brahmi. When the British platoon arrived and demanded to be ferried across, Baji Raut refused. A furious soldier attacked the boy with the butt of his rifle, fracturing his skull. The boy was fatally injured, yet he managed to raise an alarm, alerting the villagers. A soldier bayoneted him, while another shot him. Enraged villagers rushed to the riverbank. The platoon panicked and hastily retreated in Baji Raut’s boat while firing away at the mob, killing four more.

Baishnav Pattanayak took the bodies of Baji Raut and the four villagers to Cuttack to give them a hero’s farewell. In 1943, Sachidananda Routray, the father of modern Odia poetry, immortalised the boy’s sacrifice in his poem, Baji Raut.

Picture Credit : Google 

WHAT IS HAPPENING TO THE ALPS GLACIERS?

The Alps glaciers in Switzerland are on track for their highest mass losses in at least 60 years of record keeping, data shared exclusively with Reuters shows. By looking at the difference in how much snow fell in winter, and how much ice melts in the summer, scientists can measure how much a glacier has shrunk in any given year. Since last winter, which brought relatively little snowfall, the Alps have sweltered through two big early summer heatwaves.

During this heatwave, the elevation at which water froze was measured at a record high of 17,000 feet – at an altitude higher than Mont Blanc’s compared with the normal summer level of between 9,800-11,500 feet.

“It’s really obvious that this is an extreme season,” Swiss glaciologist Andreas Linsbauer said, shouting over the roar of rushing meltwater as he checked the height of a measuring pole jutting out of the ice on the massive Morteratsch Glacier in Switzerland. The measuring poles he uses to track changes in the depth of the pack are at risk of dislodging entirely as the ice melts away and he needs to drill new holes.

Vanishing glaciers are already endangering lives and livelihoods. Further, Swiss residents worry that the glacier losses will hurt their economy. Some area ski resorts of the Alps, which rely on these glaciers, now cover them with white sheets to reflect sunlight and reduce melting.

Mountain meltdown

Most of the world’s mountain glaciers-remnants of the last ice age-are retreating due to climate change. But those in the European Alps are especially vulnerable because they are smaller with relatively little ice cover. Meanwhile, temperatures in the Alps are warming at around 0.3C per decade-around twice as fast as the global average

If greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise, the Alps glaciers are expected to lose more than 80% of their current mass by 2100. Many will disappear regardless of whatever emissions action is taken now, thanks to global warming baked in by past emissions, according to a 2019 report by the UN Intergovemmental Panel on Climate Change

The dire situation this year raises concern that the Alps glaciers might vanish sooner than expected. With more years like 2022, that could happen, said Matthias Huss who leads Glacier Monitoring Switzerland (GLAMOS). “We are seeing model results expected a few decades in the future are happening now.” Huss said. “I not expect to see such an extreme year so early in the century.”

ALPS FACTS

• Located within the continent of Europe, the Alps mountain range is more than 1,000 km long.

• Though it spans several countries from France to Albania, it is Switzerland and Austria that are considered to be the Alpine heartland.

• The Alps is crucial for the livelihood of Europe as it provides water for drinking, irrigation, and hydroelectric power.

• Given its vastness and varied mountain elevation, the Alps has a huge impact on the weather patterns and the natural environment of the continent. In short, when the Alps is affected, it will have a bearing on several parts of the continent.

Himalayan thaw

Himalayan glaciers are also on track for a record ice loss year. When the summer monsoon season arrived in the Kashmir region, for example, many glaciers had already shrunk drastically, with their Snowlines starting high up the mountain, after a March-May heatwave marked by temperatures above 48C in northern India. An early June expedition in India’s Himachal Pradesh found that the Chhota Shigri Glacier had lost much of its snow cover. “The highest temperature in over a century in March through May clearly had its impacts,” said glaciologist Mohd Farooq Azam at the Indian Institute of Technology Indore.

Picture Credit : Google 

WHAT WAS ELLIS ISLAND FAMOUS FOR?

For over 60 years, Ellis Island was the entry point for immigrants to the U.S.

From 1892 to 1954, Ellis Island, located in Upper New York Bay at the mouth of the Hudson River, was the entry point for immigrants to the United States. It is estimated that by the time it was closed, over 12 million people had been processed and sent on to the mainland by the U.S. Immigration Bureau.

Ellis Island was once part of tidal flats known for their oyster beds. It was taken over by the federal government in 1808 and used as an arsenal and military post for nearly 80 years till the new immigration centre was opened to replace the Castle Garden facility in Manhattan. The island’s area was increased by landfills. However, in 1897, five years after it opened, the centre was burned down in a fire.

New buildings were constructed, including a dining hall to seat 1,000 people and a large hospital, and Ellis Island reopened to immigrants in 1900. The arrivals peaked between 1907 and 1914, when officials handled 5,000 immigrants a day, mostly from Europe.

In 1917, passing a literacy test became mandatory. In 1924, quotas were instituted and overseas embassies were allowed to process immigrants. This reduced the flood to a trickle.

The Ellis Island Immigration Museum opened in 1990.

Island of hope, island of tears

Would you like to know about some of the stories of the 12 million people who came to Ellis Island to gain entry to America? A video series has been developed for students by the US goverment on the island’s past. You can view it at bit.ly/libertymonument Not all who came were able to settle in the US. Many were deported. The Statue of Liberty Museum and the Ellis Island National Museum of Immigration explores the difficult history of this landmark.

Picture Credit : Google 

WHAT IS MEANT BY WORD TSUNAMI?

Tsunami is a Japanese word with the English translation, “harbor wave.” Represented by two characters, the top character, “tsu,” means harbor, while the bottom character, “nami,” means “wave.” In the past, tsunamis were sometimes referred to as “tidal waves” by the general public, and as “seismic sea waves” by the scientific community. The term “tidal wave” is a misnomer; although a tsunami’s impact upon a coastline is dependent upon the tidal level at the time a tsunami strikes, tsunamis are unrelated to the tides. Tides result from the imbalanced, extraterrestrial, gravitational influences of the moon, sun, and planets. The term “seismic sea wave” is also misleading. “Seismic” implies an earthquake-related generation mechanism, but a tsunami can also be caused by a nonseismic event, such as a landslide or meteorite impact.

Tsunamis are formed from earthquakes. Earthquakes can occur when two plates in the earth’s crust collide. The earthquake causes the seabed to move quickly and water is displaced causing waves. The half meter waves are out at sea. They travel at extraordinary speeds of 800 km/h. the waves, at this stage are hardly noticeable on the surface of the ocean. The waves slow down to about 300 km/h as the water becomes shallower. The waves then become closer together and only seconds between them. The waves become really tall as they reach the shore and pile onto one another. They can reach amazing heights of up to 35 meters. As they hit the land they engulf everything then suck the debris back into the ocean.

On the 27th of August, 1883 Krakatoo a volcanic island in Indonesia erupted producing a tsunami 35 meters high it traveled at 550 km/h destroying coastal communities in Java and Sumatra and killing more than 30, 000 people about 90% of tsunamis occur in the Pacific ocean. Tsunamis are quiet rare in the Atlantic ocean. The most active tsunamis are along the coast of Peru and Chile. Tsunamis are said to occur there once every two years * on the 17th of July, 1998. Three tsunami waves hit the west east coast of Papua New Guinea, near the town of Aitape and wiped out entire communities along a 30 km stretch of land. It was caused by two under sea earthquakes, measuring 7. 0 on the Richter scale. By the time the waves hit the shore line they reached a height of 10 meters. The communities had no warning and nowhere to go. Over 2, 000 people were killed many of them children. The few villagers who survived had lost everything * on the 21st and 22nd of May, 1960 almost 50 earthquakes produced a series of tsunamis. Which killed 2, 500 people and caused damage in Japan, New Zealand Hawaii. The first three waves killed 1, 700 people in Chili. When the waves hit Hilo, Hawaii 61 people were killed.

It is very difficult to predict tsunamis because the earthquake that causes them may occur underwater far away and the shock waves may not be felt on the land. if you are at a beach there is a way of telling a tsunami is coming. You might not have much time but when you see the water slowly draining away into the ocean I advise you to run. The water being drained away contributes to the giant wave that’s just about to hit.

Credit : Slidetodoc

Picture Credit : Google 

WHICH PLACE HOLDS THE RECORD FOR RECEIVING THE HIGHEST RAINFALL IN INDIA?

Mawsynram is a town in the East Khasi Hills district of Meghalaya state in Northeastern India, 60.9 kilometres from Shillong, the state capital. Mawsynram receives the highest rainfall in India. It is reportedly the wettest place on Earth, with an average annual rainfall of 11,872 millimetres (467.4 in), According to the Guinness Book of World Records, Mawsynram received 26,000 millimetres (1,000 in) of rainfall in 1985. Mawsynram received 745.2 mm of rainfall on 19 August 2015, probably the highest rainfall received by the town in recent times.] On June 17th 2022, Mawsynram set a new record by receiving 1003.6 mm in a span of 24 hours which has now become its highest single day record for the month of June and for its all time single day record beating its former record of 944.7 mm on June 7th 1966.

Mawsynram is located at 25° 18? N, 91° 35? E, at an altitude of about 1,400 metres (4,600 ft), 15 km west of Cherrapunji, in the Khasi Hills in the state of Meghalaya (India). Under the Köppen climate classification, Mawsynram features a subtropical highland climate (Cwb) with an extraordinarily showery, rainy and long monsoonal season and a short dry season. Based on the data of a recent few decades, it appears to be the wettest place in the world, or the place with the highest average annual rainfall. Mawsynram receives over 10,000 millimeters of rain in an average year, and the vast majority of the rain it gets falls during the monsoon months. A comparison of rainfalls for Cherrapunji and Mawsynram for some years is given in Table 1. Mawsynram receives the highest rainfall in India. Although it is reportedly the wettest place on Earth, with an average annual rainfall of 11,872 millimetres (467.4 in), this claim is disputed by Lloró, Colombia, which reported an average yearly rainfall of 12,717 millimetres (500.7 in) between 1952 and 1989 and López de Micay, also in Colombia, which reported 12,892 mm (507.6 in) per year between 1960 and 2012. According to the records observed by the Indian Meterological Department, it was seen that while its neighbour, Cherrapunji is having a significant decreasing trend in rainfall, Mawsynram on the other hand is experiencing a slight increase in its rainfall pattern which put its average annual rainfall from 1950 to 2000 at 12393 mm and from 2000 to 2020 at 12120 mm. The precipitation table below shows the average monthly record from 1950-2000.

Credit : Wikipedia 

Picture Credit : Google