22 February 2024

MAINS DAILY QUESTIONS & MODEL ANSWERS

Q1. With the advent of the Delhi Sultanate, a significant amount of Islamic architecture utilising Central Asian traditions was brought to India. Over time, these designs incorporated some elements of earlier subcontinental Indian architecture. Analyze.

GS I – Indian Culture

Introduction:

• The Delhi Sultanate was founded as a result of the Muslim incursions into India and it was active from the year A.D. 1206 through 1526. The Delhi Sultanate was ruled by five distinct dynasties: the Slave, Khalji, Tughlaq, Sayyids, and Lodis. India saw the introduction of new architectural forms and styles during the Middle Ages. Indo-Islamic or Indo-Saracenic architecture is the result of the fusion of Islamic and Indian architectural elements.
• Under the Delhi sultans, religious and secular constructions were both part of the Indo-Islamic architectural style.
• The Indo-Islamic architectural style, which combines elements of Arabic, Central Asian, Persian, Indian, and Ottoman Turkish architecture, is evident in both secular and religious structures.

Places of worship:

• The Quwat-ul-Islam mosques constructed by Qutub-ud-din Aibak are the first examples of construction activity by a Sultan of Delhi.
• An further example of this era’s architecture are the mosques in Ajmer called the Arhai Din ka Jhonpra.
• Iltutmish also built the Atarkin ka Darwaza in Nagpur, the Jami Masjid at Badaun, Shamsi-idgah, and Hauz-i-Shamshi. These are a few other noteworthy imperial structures.
• Alauddin Khilji constructed the Alai Darwaza at the Qutub Minar and the Jamait Khan Mosque at the shrine of Nizam ud-din Auliya.
• Notable examples of Sayyid and Lodhi architecture are the tombs of Muhammad Shah and Mubarak Shah from the Sayyid Dynasty and Sikandar Lodhi from the Lodhi Dynasty.

Non-Religious Structures:

• The Qutub Minar was the most amazing architectural structure of this era. Qutub-ud-din Aibak began work on the Qutub Minar in Delhi, but he was unable to finish it in his lifetime. Iltutmish finished it off.
• The city of Siri was established by Alauddin Khilji, who also constructed a thousand-pillar palace there.
• Alauddin Khilji also built the stunning Hauz-i-Khas tank, which is located close to the city of Siri.
• Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq’s creation of the city of Tughlaqabaad is a noteworthy example of Tughlaq rule.
• The fort of Adilabaad, several other structures in Daulatabaad, and the new city of Jahanpanah, which is located close to the old Delhi city, were all built by Muhammad bin Tughlaq.
• During the reign of Firoz Shah Tughlaq, significant imperial works included the city of Firozabaad and the Firoz Shah Kotla fort-palace.

The Sultanate rulers implemented new structural adjustments:

• The Turks added the Arabic script embellishments, the arche and dome method, the slab and beam method, and tall towers or minarets. They employed the Indian stone cutters’ expertise.
• The use of lime-mortarin in home and building construction changed the methods used in construction.
• They also used marbles and red and yellow sandstones to bring colour to their constructions.
• indigenous motif synthesis, such as the lotus and ball pattern.
• Initially, they turned destroyed temples and other buildings into mosques. For instance, the materials used to construct the Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque in Delhi, which is close to Qutub Minar, were taken from the demolition of numerous Hindu and Jain temples.
• They later started building more buildings. Founded by Aibek and finished by Iltutmish, the Qutub Minar is the most spectacular structure of the 13th century.
• The arch and dome started to appear with accuracy and perfection after West Asian artists arrived. Local craftspeople gradually picked up the ability as well. The first true arch was found on the tomb of Balban, and the first true dome may be found on the Alai Darwaza, which Alaud-din Khalji constructed as the entrance of the Quwwatul-Islam Mosque.

Tughlaqs advocated for the addition of novel elements to architecture, including:

• “batter” or walls that slope
• utilising stone debris as the main building material
• a brand-new arch design known as the four-centered arch
• the pointed dome’s appearance
• the adoption of an octagonal design for tomb construction.
• Subsequently, the Mughals increased the prominence of jali work and pietra dura art. They also constructed majestic towns, palaces, and forts. The Delhi Sultanate had introduced gardens, and the Mughals also enjoyed creating gardens with flowing water. The Delhi Sultanate cleared the path for the extensive construction of Indo-Islamic architectural structures.

Q2. In India, prison reforms are a hotly contested topic that have been discussed by numerous committees constituted by the Indian government. But even with all of the recommendations that have been made time and time again, the actual state of prison reform is still dire and unchanging. Analyse the different issues facing Indian prisons and make recommendations for improvements.

GS II – Government Policies and Interventions

Introduction:

• India’s prison system, which dates back more than a century, is in terrible need of repair. The management of prisons in India is a state matter governed by item 4 of the State List in the Seventh Schedule of the Indian Constitution. However, they have typically been neglected and mismaintained.
• During the Supreme Court-organized Constitution Day celebrations in November 2022, President Droupadi Murmu gave an audience a glimpse into her life story. She thought back on her travels to jails throughout India and the conditions faced by the prisoners. She emphasised that these people frequently lacked knowledge of their basic rights and had spent protracted lengths of time behind bars for very minor infractions, with their families unable to afford to release them from prison.

Important conclusions from 2020 prison statistics:

• According to 2020 prison data, over 70% of these undertrial inmates belong to marginalised societal groups, including gender, caste, religion, and class.
• According to the report, in 2020 “the release of undertrials has declined by 19.6 per cent and the release of convicts has declined by 41.2 per cent” in comparison to 2019.
• In 2020, there were 11.7% more undertrial prisoners than there were in 2019 and 11.4% more detainees than there were in 2019.
• 2020 has seen a 7.0% increase in the rate of custody deaths as prisons implemented a lockdown on public accountability. The number of “unnatural” deaths—which include murders in jail, suicides, and accidents—rose by 18.1%.

Reforms in prisons are necessary:

• To guarantee that inmates’ human rights are upheld and their chances of social reintegration are enhanced, prison reform is required.
• Prison health is public health since prisons are not closed off from society. It is crucial to have sufficient medical facilities.
• Overcrowding: A humanitarian crisis occurred in overcrowded prisons during the pandemic as a result of the mass detention of undertrial defendants. While thousands of prisoners fell ill and several died, prison officials battled to stop widespread infection among staff and inmates.
• Experts claim that the widespread detention of inmates awaiting trial is the primary cause of “overcrowding” in our jails. Decriminalisation has not been the main emphasis of state penal policy.
• Rather, it has led to a startling rise in the number of undertrial prisoners’ incarceration of 31.8 percent and an increase in detainees’ incarceration of 40.1% between 2015 and 2020 (as of December 31, 2020).
• Severe human rights breaches include jail overcrowding, wrongful convictions, and violent treatment of inmates.
• In overcrowded prisons with inadequate diet, poor sanitation, and frequent lack of access to fresh air and exercise, inmates’ health conditions deteriorate.
• Most of the diseases that prisoners are susceptible to also affect prison workers.
• 2% of inmates suffer from mental illness, and the NCRB reports that they are denied their right to good health, mistreated, and discriminated against.
• There have been flagrant violations of the UN’s Bangkok Rules, which provide that “non-custodial means should be preferred for pregnant women during the pre-trial phase.”
• The committees rejected public interest petitions to adopt a gender-sensitive and public health-sensitive classification in order to decongest the nation’s most overcrowded prisons.
• Poverty: A large number of inmates are unable to fulfil surety or bail obligations.
• There is little opportunity for fundamental rights to be violated in prisoners due to public monitoring.
• In jails, the majority of the installed CCTV cameras are inoperable.

The next step:

• The issue of mass imprisonment of detainees awaiting trial is approached by governments and courts with consideration for gender equality and public health.
• It is imperative to reinstate the involvement of prison watchdogs in enforcing accountability in these shadowy detention facilities.
• It is necessary to identify the rise in deaths occurring in custody and the drop in the incidence of undertrial prison releases as humanitarian crises.
• It is necessary to reevaluate the HPCs’ bureaucratic methodology.
• The experiences of inmates in “lockdown” institutions must be given priority by the courts, not empty words about reform.
• To offer care to prisoners, qualified medical specialists who are not part of the jail administration are necessary.
• The Prison and Jail Overcrowding Commission ought to convene on a regular basis to discuss matters pertaining to prisons.
• Ensuring Police Accountability: Via an Independent Investigation Agency, any crime, including custodial violence, must be investigated quickly and within a set time frame.
• It’s time to abolish the legal requirement that detainees awaiting trial endure brutal, inhumane, or humiliating punishment. It is imperative to end the widespread detention of inmates awaiting trial. Any society must find it repugnant when there is institutionalised indifference to the harsh and inhumane circumstances of detention.