Important Battles

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1744-48 First Anglo-French Carinatic war. Madras returned to British by the treaty of Aix-la-
  Chappalle. In battle of St. Thome, a small French Army defeated Nawab Anwar-ud-
  din’s large one.
1748-54 Second Anglo French Carinatic war. The French sided with Muzaffar Jang (grandson of
  Asaf Jah) & Chanda Sahib (in Carinatic) while the Enlish supported the claims of Nasir
  Jang (son of late Nizam, Asaf Jah) & Anwar-ud-din (Carinatic) Initially the French
  under Dupleix had success (& stationed officer Bussy at Hyderabad) but later the
  English got hold. Treaty of Pondicherry signed.
1757-63 Third Anglo French Carinatic war. French captured Fort St. David. Lally did the
  mistake of recalling Bussy from Hyderabad. Later the French were badly routed at
  Wandiwash by the British under Sir Eyre Coote.
1757 Battle of Plassey. British under clive & treacher Mir Jaffar routed Siraj-ud-daula. Mir
  Jafar was made Bengal but later replaced by his son-in-law Mir Kasim. He revolted &
  was again replaced by Mir Jafar.
1760 Battle of Wandiwash. French decisively defeated
1761 Third Battle of Panipat. Marathas defeated by Ahmad Shah Abdali
1764 Battle of Buxar. Mir Kasim, Shuja-ud-daula & Shah Alam II defeated by Major Munro.
  Treaty of Allahabad signed which gave the diwani of Bengal, Bihar, Orissa & Bihar to
  the Enlish & trading rights in Awadh. Shah Alam on pension of 26 laksh/annum.
1767-69 I Anglo Mysore war. Both the British & Haider Ali returned each others territories The
  britisheres committed to help Haider against a third party invasion
1775-82 First Anglo Maratha war. The British army was defeated. The humiliating convention
  of Wadgaon was concluded in which the company was required to give up all the
  advantages of Treaty of Purandhar. Peace was at last restored by treaty of Salbai signed
  between Warren Hastings & Mahdji Scindia whereby salsette & Bassein were given to
  the British.
1780-84 II Anglo Mysore War. In 1782 Haider Ali passed away due to illness leaving the
  struggle to Tipu. War concluded by treaty of Mangalore
1790-92 III Anglo Mysore war. Tipu signed the treaty of Seringapattam
1799 IV Anglo Mysore war. When the subsidiary alliance was offered to Tipu Sultan he
  flatly refused & hence the war happened in which the Marathas & the Nizam helped the
  Britishers. Tipu died fighting the war.
1803-1805 Second Anglo Maratha war. Marathas defeated.
1814-16 Anglo Nepal war. War came to an end by treaty of Sagauli
1817-19 Third Anglo Maratha war. Marathas decisively defeated
1823-26 First Anglo Burmese war. Buremese defeated & conducted Treaty of Yandahboo
1839-42 First Anglo Afghan war. The Britishers were defeated.
1845-46 First Anglo-Sikh war. Sikhs defeated & Treaty of Lahore conducted
1848-49 Second Anglo Sikh war. Sikhs defeated & Punjab annexed to British. Maharaja Dalip
  Singh given an annual pension of 50,000 pounds & sent to England for higher studies
  & later converted to Christianity. The Kohinoor was gifted to Queen Victoria.
1852 Second Anglo Burmese war. English successful
1878-80 Second Anglo Afghan war. English suffered losses.
1885-87 Third Anglo Burmese war. English annexed Burma
1919-21 Third Anglo Afghan war. English though victorious did not benefit from the war.

 

 

 

 

Climate Change

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  • It is the long term change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods of time
  • Though it has been happening naturally for millions of years, in recent years it has accelerated due to anthropogenic causes and has been causing global warming.
  • UNFCCC defines climate change as – “a change of climate which is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity that alters the composition of the global atmosphere and which is in addition to natural climate variability observed over comparable time periods”

ESTUARY ECOSYSTEM

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  • located where river meets the sea.
  • the most productive water bodies in the world
  • The complete salinity range from 0-35 ppt is seen from the head (river end) to the mouth (sea end) of an estuary
  • Coastal lakes which have their connection with the sea through small openings are better known as lagoons or backwaters acting as a natural water filter

 

Estuary Formation:

grouped into four geomorphic categories based on the physical processes responsible for their formation:

1) rising sea level; (2) movement of sand and sandbars; (3) glacial processes; and (4) tectonic processes.

India Estuarine Ecosystem

The Country has 14 major, 44 medium and 162 minor rivers drains into the sea through various estuaries.

Major estuaries occur in the Bay of Bengal.

Most of the India’s major estuaries occur on the east coast. In contrast, the estuaries on the west coast are smaller.

History of Nagaland : from vedic age to gupta period

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History of Nagaland:from vedic age to gupta period

The Nagas have various theories of migration and settlement, which are recorded mostly by foreign writers. Claudius Ptolemy made the earliest reference to the Nagas in his popular work, ‘Geographia’, written in 150 A.D. Referring to the Naga territory in its present position, he called it as ‘the realm of the naked.’16 Sir G.A. Grierson traced the origin of the Nagas to that of the Tibeto-Burmans on the basis of language.17 Huang Tsang, the Chinese pilgrim who visited Assam in 645 A.D. made mention of the tribes east of Assam.18 Ahom Buranjees have records that when the Ahoms came to Assam in the 13th Century, the Nagas were already settled in the Naga Hills.19 Written sources do not provide the exact date of the Nagas’ arrival into the Naga Hills, the exact place of origin, or why they migrated. However it is very probable that the Nagas have entered the Naga Hills before the Christian era.

According to Dr. S.K. Chatterjee, the Nagas are none other than the Kiratas (Indo- Mongoloids) mentioned in the old Sanskrit literature in 1000 B.C.20 The Vedas mentions about the Kirata at various occasions. The Yajurveda makes the earliest.

reference to this by mentioning a mountainous wild man. This is followed by the Atharvaveda, which mentioned a Kirata girl searching for medicinal herbs from the mountains. In the Mahabharata, the Kiratas are the hill men living in the eastern Himalayas. According to legend, Ulupi, the Naga princess fell in love with Arjuna, the great hero of Mahabharata, the handsome Pandava Prince, who came to eastern India. Ulupi took Arjuna to ‘Naga lok’ (the land of the Nagas) where they lived happily for sometime until Arjuna moved on to Manipur. In the great war of Mahabharata, the Nagas also are shown to have fought on the side of the Kauravas.

Different scholars have come up with the theory that the Nagas have links with Tibet, China, and Southeast Asian countries like Indonesia, Malaysia and Myanmar. This theory is based on Naga art, material culture, language and practices. Interestingly Southeast Asia has been connected with China and India for much of its history. The earliest settlers in Southeast Asia were Palaeolithic or pre-Palaeolithic food gatherers, hunters, fishers and folks.21 The units of this organisation, like the hunting group or the clan or tribe were small. They were nomadic and generally moved in a defined hunting territory.

With the passage of time, some of the tribes created new living space for themselves. Keeping in view the nature of the primitive agrarian structure, as population increased, the pressure necessitated more area of land, causing some of these groups to migrate. This is taken as one factor that led to migration within Asia. The migrants were directed by the barriers of mountains and jungles southwards along the seaways of the Malayan world.

The origin of the word ‘Naga’ is much debated by different scholars. The two largely accepted viewpoints are taken from the etymology of the word ‘Naga’, and its varying connotations in the Burmese and the Assamese languages.

In Burma, the Naga tribe is called ‘Na-ka’, which in Burmese means ‘people with pierced ear-lobes’. Piercing of the ear lobes is a widespread practice among the Naga tribes. Traditionally, it is an important step for young boys who are about to enter manhood. The Burmese used the name ‘Naka’ or ‘Naga’ for the tribes, and it was from the Burmese that the British first came to know about the Nagas during the Anglo-Burmese Wars (1795-1826).

The Naga tribes had something in common that has made them recognisable as a people, since at least the time of Ptolemy, who used the words ‘Naga log’ to mean the realm of the naked people during the 2nd Century A.D. Interestingly, the location which Ptolemy described about the naked people has been the exact place in which the present Nagas are living now.

The Greeks had heard of the Nagas during the first century A.D. during their visits to western India and South India as a wild people with the characteristic flat nose of the Mongol race. According to Captain J. Butler, the term ‘Naga’ is derived from the Bengali word ‘Nangla’ or the Hindustani word ‘Nanga’, meaning naked, crude and barbarous. According to Verrier Elwin, the most likely derivation is that ‘Naga’ is traced from the word ‘Nok’, which means people, in some Tibeto-Burman languages. According to Dr. Hutton, it is typical of Assamese dialect to change ‘a’ to ‘o’ and so ‘Nanga’ is changed to ‘Naga’ since the second ‘n’ is nasal and pronounced as ‘Noga’.

 

 

 

 

Social and Religious Reform movements in the 19th and 20th century.

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Raja Rammohan Roy:

RRM Roy was a social reformer and intellectual in the early nineteenth century Bengal. He is most widely known for founding the Brahmo Samaj and his relentless campaign against the practice of Sati and child marriage.

Debendranath Tagore:

Brahmo Samaj:

BS was founded in 1828 by Raja Ram Mohan Roy with the purpose of purifying Hinduism and to preach monotheism or belief in one God.

  • The socio-religious reforms are also referred to as the Indian renaissance
  • The socio-cultural regeneration in nineteenth century India was occasioned by the colonial presence, but not created by it.
  • Formation of the Brahmo Samaj in 1828.
  • Paramhansa Mandali, Prathna Samaj, Arya Samaj, Kayasth Sabha: UP, Sarin Sabha: Punjab, Satya Sodhak Samaj: Maharashtra, Sri Narayana Dharma Paripalana Sabha: Kerala
  • Ahmadiya and Aligarh Movements: Muslims, Singh Sabha: Sikhs, Rehnumai Mazdeyasan Sabha: Parsees
  • Their attention was focused on worldly existence.
  • The idea of otherworldliness and salvation were not a part of their agenda.
  • At that time the influence of religion and superstition was overwhelming. Position of priests strong; that of women weak.
  • Caste was another debilitating factor
  • Neither a revival of the past nor a total break with tradition was contemplated.
  • Rationalism and religious universalism influenced the reform movement.
  • Development of universalistic perspective on religion
  • Lex Loci Act propsed in 1845 and passed in 1850 provided the right to inherit ancestral property to Hindu converts to Christianity.
  • The culture faced a threat from the colonial rule.

 

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Infrastructure Debt Funds

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Infrastructure Debt Funds

  • In Sept 2011, RBI issued guidelines for permitting banks and NBFCs to set up IDFs to help meet long term financing for the sector
  • IDFs would be set up either as MFs or NBFCs
  • NBFC sponsoring IDF-MF should have a minimum net owned funds of Rs 300 crore and CAR of 15 percent
  • Besides, its NPAs should be less than 3% of net advances and the NBFCs should have been in existence for at least five years and earning profits for the last three years
  • Banks and NBFCs would be eligible to sponsor IDFs as mutual funds with prior approval of the RBI
  • SEBI has amended the Mutual Funds Regulations to provide regulatory framework for IDF-MFs
  • Banks acting as sponsors to IDF-MFs would be subject to existing prudential limits including limits on investments in financial services companies and limits on capital market exposure

Scheduled tribes of Nagaland

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Scheduled tribes of Nagaland

Angami Naga

The Angamis are a major Naga ethnic group native to the state of Nagaland in North-East India. They are listed as a Scheduled Tribe, in the 5th schedule of the Indian Constitution. They are known for the Sekrenyi celebrations every February. The Angami Nagas are settled in Kohima District and Dimapur District.

The Angami Nagas are hill people depending basically on cultivation and livestock-rearing. The Angamis are known for terraced wet-rice cultivation; because of this labor-intensive cultivation, land is the most important form of property among them. They are one of the only two groups of Nagas out of the seventeen who practice wet-rice cultivation on terraces made on the hill slopes. This allows them to cultivate the same plot year after year. They depend, to a very small extent, on slash-and-burn cultivation.

Ao Naga

The Aos are one of the major Naga tribes of Nagaland, Northeast India. They were the first Naga tribe to embrace Christianity and by virtue of this development the Aos availed themselves to Western education that came along with Christianity . In the process the Aos became the pioneering tribe among the Nagas in many fields. Christianity first entered into the Ao territory when an American Baptist missionary, Edwin W. Clark, reached an Ao village called Molungkimong in 1872. Their main territory is from Tsula (Dikhu) Valley in the east to Tsurang (Disai) Valley in the west in Mokokchung district. They are well known for multiple harvest festivals held each year.

Chang Naga

Chang is a Naga of Nagaland, India. It is one of the recognized Scheduled Tribes.  The tribe was also known as Mazung in British India. Other Naga tribes know the Changs by different names including Changhai (Khiamniungan), Changru (Yimchunger), Duenching (upper Konyak), Machungrr (Ao), Mochumi (Sema) and Mojung (Konyak).

According to oral tradition, the Changs emerged from a place called Changsangmongko, and later settled at Changsang. The word Chang is said to have been derived the word chognu (banyan tree), after a mythical banyan tree that grew at the now-abandoned Changsang.  Another theory says that the Chang migrated to present-day Nagaland from the east, and therefore call themselves Chang (“Eastern” in the local dialect). Some Changs also claim the Aos as their ancestors.[5] The Chang folklore is similar to that of the Ao.

Khiamniungan people

Khiamniungan is one of the major Naga tribes, mainly found in the Noklak district of Nagaland, India and the adjoining areas of Burma.Khiamniungan which literally translates to source of great waters.[citation needed] They were also called Kalyo-Kenyu (“slate-house dwellers”) during the British Raj.

Lotha Naga

Lotha is the name of a major Naga tribe inhabiting the Wokha district of Nagaland.

Wokha is the traditional home of the Lotha tribe. Lothas are renowned for their colorful dances and folk songs. The male members wear shawls indicating their social status. The prestigious social shawl for women is Opvuram and Longpensu for men.  Like many Nagas, the Lothas practiced headhunting in the older days. After the arrival of Christianity, they gave up this practice. Though the majority of the Lothas are Baptist, there exist a moderate amount of other forms of Christianity like the Catholics. Catholics are concentrated more in Wokha than in other parts of Nagaland.  Tokhu Emong and Pikhuchak are the main festivals celebrated amidst much pomp and splendor. Tokhu Emong is celebrated on November 7.

The Tokhü Emong is the harvest festival of the Lothas. With the harvest done and the granaries full, the people now take a respite from the toils and sweat and settle down to enjoy the fruits of one’s hard labour.

Sangtam Naga

The Sangtams are a Naga tribe living in the Tuensang and Kiphire districts of Nagaland.  Like many other tribal groups in Northeast India, they practice jhum, or shifting cultivation. Unlike other Naga tribes in Nagaland, many of the Sangtam have retained their traditional beliefs in spite of embracing Christianity at the same time. Sangtams celebrate twelve different festivals, in particular Mongmong, all of which are affiliated with their traditional culture and religion.

Sumi Naga

The ‘Sumi Naga’ is one of the major Naga peoples in Nagaland, India. The Sumis mainly inhabit Zunheboto district, although many have spread and are now living in a few more districts within Nagaland.  Sumi Naga tribe practiced kiti-do and were headhunters as every other Naga tribe.  The Sumis practised headhunting like other Naga peoples before the arrival of the Christian missionaries and their subsequent conversion to Christianity. Anthropological study of the Sumis is documented in the book The Sema Nagas by J. H. Hutton, who was a Professor of Social Anthropology in the University of Cambridge. The Sumi is one of the recognised scheduled tribes of India.

AQUATIC ECOSYSTEM

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Fresh water ecosystems- The salt content of fresh bodies is very low, always less than 5 ppt  (parts per thousand). E.g lakes, ponds, pools, springs, streams, and rivers

Marine ecosystems – the water bodies containing salt concentration equal to or above that of sea water (i.e., 35 ppt or above). E.g shallow seas and open ocean   Brackish water ecosystems- these water bodies have salt content in between 5 to 35 ppt. e.g. estuaries, salt marshes, mangrove swamps and forests.

 

AQUATIC ORGANISMS

The aquatic organisms are classified on the basis Of their one of occurrence and their ability to cross these zones. can be classified on the basis of their life form or location into five groups

  1. Neuston:

These are unattached organisms which live at the air-water interface such as floating plants, etc.

Some organisms spend most of their lives on top of the air-water interface such as water striders, while others spend most of their time just beneath the air-water interface and obtain most of their food within the water.

E.g., beetles and back-swimmers.

  1. Periphyton:

These are organisms which remain attached to stems and leaves of rooted plants or substances emerging above the bottom mud such as sessile algae and their associated group of animals.

  1. Plankton

This group includes both microscopic plants like algae (phytoplankton) and

animals like crustaceans and protozoans (zooplankton) found in all aquatic

ecosysteins, except certain swift moving waters

The locomotory power of the planktons is limited so that their distribution is

controlled, largely, by currents in the aquatic ecosystems.

  1. Nekton:

This group contains animals which are  swimmers.

The nektons are relatively large and powerful as they have to overcome the water currents.

  1. Benthos:

The benthic organisms are those found living in the bottom of the water mass.

Practically every aquatic ecosystem contains well developed benthos

Factors Limiting the Productivity of Aquatic Habitats

  1. Sunlight :

Sunlight penetration rapidly diminishes as it passes down the column of water.

The depth to which light penetrates a lake determines the extent of plant distribution.

Based on light penetration and plant distribution they are classified as photic and aphotic zones

Photic zone:

It is the upper layer of the aquatic ecosystems, up to which light penetrates and within which photosynthetic activity is confined.

The depth of this zone depends on the transparency of water.

photic (or .”euphotic”) zone is the lighted and usually well-mixed portion that extends from the lake surface down to where the light level is 1% of that at the surface.

Aphotic zone:

The lower layers of the aquatic ecosystems, where light penetration and plant growth are restricted forms the aphotic zone.

Only respiration activity takes place.(photic-both respiration and photosynthesis take place )

Aphotic zone is positioned below the littoral and photic zones to bottom of the lake where light levels are too low for photosynthesis.

This deep, unlit region is also known as the profundal zone.

Dissolved oxygen:

Oxygen enters the aquatic ecosystem through the air water interface and by the photosynthetic. average concentration of dissolved oxygen as 10 parts per million by weight.

Dissolved oxygen escapes the water body through air-water interface and through respiration of organisms (fish, decomposers, zooplanktons, etc )

The amount of dissolved oxygen retained in water is also influenced by temperature.

Other limiting factors which influence on aquatic productivity are

Transparency:

Transparency affects the extent of light penetration.

Suspended particulate matters such as clay, silt, phytoplankton, etc make the water turbidity. Consequently it limits the extent of light penetration and the photosynthetic activity in a significant way.

Temperature:

The water temperature changes less rapidly than the temperature of air because water has a considerably higher specific heat than air.

Since water temperatures are less subject to change, the aquatic organisms have narrow temperature tolerance limit.

Lucknow Pact (1916)

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Nationalists saw that their disunity was affecting their cause

  • Two important developments at the Lucknow Session of Congress
    • The two wings of the Congress were again united
    • The Congress and the Muslim League sank their old differences and put up common political demands before the government.
  • INC and ML passed the same resolutions at their sessions, put forward a joint scheme of political reforms based on separate electorates, and demanded that the British Government should make a declaration that it would confer self-government on India at an early date.
  • The pact accepted the principle of separate electorates
  • Main clauses of the pact
  • There shall be self-government in India.
  • Muslims should be given one-third representation in the central government.
  • There should be separate electorates for all the communities until a community demanded joint electorates.
  • A system of weightage should be adopted.
  • The number of the members of Central Legislative Council should be increased to 150.
  • At the provincial level, four-fifth of the members of the Legislative Councils should be elected and one-fifth should be nominated.
  • The size of provincial legislatures should not be less than 125 in the major provinces and from 50 to 75 in the minor provinces.
  • All members, except those nominated, should be elected directly on the basis of adult franchise.
  • No bill concerning a community should be passed if the bill is opposed by three-fourth of the members of that community in the Legislative Council.
  • The term of the Legislative Council should be five years.
  • Members of Legislative Council should themselves elect their president.
  • Half of the members of Imperial Legislative Council should be Indians.
  • The Indian Council must be abolished.
  • The salaries of the Secretary of State for Indian Affairs should be paid by the British government and not from Indian funds.
  • Of the two Under Secretaries, one should be Indian.
  • The Executive should be separated from the Judiciary.
  • Evaluation
    • As an immediate effect, the unity between the two factions of the congress and between INC and ML aroused great political enthusiasm in the country
    • However, it did not involve Hindu and Muslim masses  and was based on the notion of bringing together the educated Hindus and Muslims as separate political entities without secularization of their political outlook
    • The pact therefore left the way open to the future resurgence of communalism in Indian politics.

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