GS-I: Indus Valley settlers had a distinct genetic lineage

News

Throwing fresh light on the Indus Valley Civilisation, a study of DNA from Skeletal remains excavated from the Harappan cemetery at Rakhigarhi.

Background

The history of India begins with the birth of the Indus Valley Civilization (IVC), also known as Harappan Civilization.

It flourished around 2,500 BC, in the western part of South Asia, in contemporary Pakistan and Western India.

The Indus Valley was home to the largest of the four ancient urban civilizations of Egypt, Mesopotamia, India and China.

In 1920s, the Archaeological Department of India carried out excavations in the Indus valley wherein the ruins of the two old cities, viz. Mohenjodaro and Harappa were unearthed.

In 1924, John Marshall, Director-General of the ASI, announced the discovery of a new civilisation in the Indus valley to the world.

Town Planning and Structures

The Harappan culture was distinguished by its system of town planning.

Harappa and Mohenjodaro each had its own citadel or acropolis, which was possibly occupied by members of the ruling class.

Below the citadel in each city lay a lower town containing brick houses, which were inhabited by the common people.

The remarkable thing about the arrangement of the houses in the cities is that they followed the grid system.

Granaries constituted an important part of the Harappan cities.

The use of burnt bricks in the Harappan cities is remarkable, because in the contemporary buildings of Egypt mainly dried bricks were used.

The drainage system of Mohenjodaro was very impressive.

In almost all cities every big or small house had its own courtyard and bathroom.

Origins of farming

In Europe,ancient-DNA studoes have shown that agriculture tended to spread through an influx of people with ancestary in Anatolia. New study shows a similar dynamic in Iran and Turan where the researchers found that Anatolian-related ancestary and farming arrived around the same time.

Researchers had successfully sequenced the first genome of an individual from Harappa and combining it with archaeological data, found that hunter-gatherers of South Asia had an independent origin, and authored the settled way of life in this part of the world.

They do not contain genome from either the Steppe region or ancient Iranian farmers.

The genetic continuity from hunter gatherer to modern times is visible in the DNA results.”

The same hunter gatherer communities developed into agricultural communities and formed the Harappan civilization.

The researchers also suggest that there was a movement of people from east to west as the Harapan People’s presense is evident at sites like Gonur in Turkmenistan and Sahr-i-Sokhta in Iran.

GS-III: Prepare a plan for the protection of the Great Indian bustard

News

Noting the high mortality rate of the Great Indian Bustard.the NGT has directed the centre to prepare a time-bound action plan within two months for the protection of the birds.

Great Indian Bustard

• The Great Indian Bustard, one of the heaviest flying birds, can weigh up to 15 kg and grow up to one metre in height.
• It is considered the flagship grassland species, representing the health of the grassland ecology.
• For a long, conservationists have been demanding to secure this population, warning that the bird might get extinct in the coming decades.
• It would become the first mega species to disappear from India after Cheetah in recent times.
• Till the 1980s, about 1,500-2,000 Great Indian Bustards were spread throughout the western half of India, spanning eleven states.
• However, with rampant hunting and declining grasslands, their population dwindled.
• In July 2011, the bird was categorised as “critically endangered” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Protection Measures:

Birdlife International uplisted this species from Endangered to Critically Endangered (2011)

Protection under CITES Appendix I

Protection under Schedule I Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Act 2002

Project Great Indian Bustard (Rajasthan): aims at identifying and fencing off bustard breeding grounds in existing protected areas as well as providing secure breeding enclosures in areas outside protected areas.

GS-IV: It’s time officers renewed their commitment to the nation, not the government of the day

News

We often hear questions on the integrity of civil services, organisations such as the Enforcement Directorate and the CBI and the intentions of taxmen when they do some tasks as part of their job.

Background

There is a belief that the country’s “rusted steel frame” poses a challenge. But not many concrete measures to offer that can strengthen and refurbish it.

Civil services training

• The training academies in Mussoorie, Hyderabad, Nagpur, Baroda, Shimla, etc. are state-of-the-art and well-equipped to enhance the skills of trainees.
• These institutes impart training in subjects specific to the job profile of each service.
• But what about the spirit of the civil services? What about “the impartiality and incorruptibility of administration”, that Sardar Patel expected?
• The backbone to withstand the pressures of expediency, politicians, media, and mobs is withering.

Role models who fought alone

• A commissioner of police who, when asked not to oppose the bail of a film star who was the son of a Mumbai politician, refused to comply, politely but firmly.
• A young IAS officer refused to write the interview marks of candidates in pencil — so the politicians on the board could “manipulate” them later.
• A tax officer refused to open a closed file to “teach a lesson to an unfriendly” business house.

Challenges

These actions are known only to a few.

There are awards for innovation and achieving targets, but none for awarding an officer for standing by the principles she is supposed to be true to.

Case studies have been developed for performance, but none exist for those who abide by their commitment to a just and equitable society and dare to differ with “orders from the top”.

Civil Services for the common man

• The common man still sees a lot of hope in the civil services.
• His dream is to have his child join them for the prestige and power that the services seem to carry.
• To him, the services represent a very important tool to establish an equitable society through which he hopes to better his life and the future of his children.
• He does not think of “using” the services for his selfish ends but for the common good.

What civil servants have to do

• Spread the culture of performance and accountability and punish the corrupt.
• Resist undue pressures from different players, and concentrate on the delivery of services to the poor.

Justice Khanna – a case study

• Justice H R Khanna remains the most remembered for his principled stand against Emergency.
• Very few have heard of the other four judges.

Conclusion

We need the likes of Justice Khanna to motivate the civil services to take a principled stand.