MAINS QUESTIONS
Q1. The Congress faced a sizable task, especially in light of the public’s expectations of the Congress. Analyze the ministries of the Congress on the scale of effectiveness. (250 words)
Paper & Topic: GS I – Modern Indian History
Introduction:
- The 28-month congress rule, which was based on the requirements of the 1935 Government of India Act, was significant. In July 1937, Ministries were established in Madras, Bombay, the Central Provinces, Orissa, Bihar, and the U.P. Later, Congress Ministries were established in Assam and the North-West Frontier Province.
Body:
Within their authority, Congress ministries tried a lot of reforms. The reforms that were put into place, along with their merits and flaws, are as follows:
- Civil liberties have advanced thanks to the repeal of laws governing emergency powers.
- Bans on books and newspapers, restrictions on illegal organisations, and press restrictions were all lifted.
- In Congress provinces, police authority was reduced, and CID agents were no longer permitted to observe political workers or cover public speeches.
- Limitations: Many revolutionaries involved in the kakori and other conspiracies, as well as Yusuf Meherally and S.S. Batliwala, were detained for making inflammatory and seditious speeches. K.M. Munshi used CID to combat communists and leftists.
- Successes of agrarian reform A number of legislation have been passed regarding debt relief, forest grazing fees, rent arrears, and land tenure sect.
- The terms of the tenancy bill were agreed upon by Congress and the zamindars of Bihar.
- Kisan Sabha launched a variety of activities at the local level to remind Congress to implement the Faizpur Agrarian Program.
- The congress’s no-rent campaign allowed them to hand over confiscated estates in Bombay to their original owners.
- Limitations: Subtenants gained little in comparison to statutory and occupancy tenants, who obtained the majority of these advantages.
- As a result of their lack of organisation, agricultural labourers did not profit.
- Reforms in social welfare have advanced.
- Efforts made to ensure the wellbeing of Harijans, such as access to education and temples.
- It was encouraged for khadi and indigenous businesses to grow.
- 1938 saw the creation of a national planning committee under Congress President Subhash Chandra Bose.
- Correctional facilities, public health, sanitation, and education all underwent reform.
- monetary reforms assistance to indigenous entrepreneurs
- Create planning through the National Planning Committee, which Congress President Subhash Bose founded in 1938.
Achievements:
- It was hoped to foster goodwill between labour and capital with the aid of ministries.
- The working environment was improved, and the pay was increased.
- A programme that included paid holidays, employment insurance, a way to determine the minimum wage, and paid sick leave was approved by the labour committee, which was appointed by Congress.
- Limitations: Ministries’ attempts to mediate in Bombay were unsuccessful.
- Left-leaning critics were unsatisfied.
- The leaders were imprisoned by the ministries on the basis of section 144.
- Massive Congressional Extra-Parliamentary Activity
- large-scale literacy initiatives, the creation of panchayats and police stations inside of Congress, the submission of numerous petitions to the government through Congress Grievance Committees, and populist movements at the state level.
Conclusion:
- Several Congress ministers quit after the Second World War broke out in October 1939. Indian self-government was necessary for the confirmation of the fundamental social transformation. It refuted the idea that Native Americans weren’t suitable for governing. Even with a small budget, it delivered effective outcomes.
Q2. The salinity of ocean water is influenced by a number of ecological and geographic factors. Explain. (250 words)
Paper & Topic: GS I – Modern Indian History
Introduction:
- Salinity is the term used to describe the total amount of dissolved salts in seawater. It is calculated as the amount of salt (in gm) dissolved in 1,000 gm, or one kilogramme, of saltwater. Ocean water typically has a salinity of 35 parts per thousand at 0 degrees Celsius. This suggests that 3.5 percent of the weight of ocean water is made up of dissolved salts. Sodium chloride, also referred to as common salt, is the most common dissolved salt in the ocean.
Body:
Salinity is influenced by the following variables:
- Numerous factors that affect the salt content of different seas and oceans control oceanic salinity.
- Evaporation, precipitation, river water inflow, dominant winds, ocean currents, and sea waves are important regulating factors.
Variations in salinity:
- High salinity areas are those with horizontal variation
- The Red Sea is a landlocked body of water with a high salinity.
- In hot, arid regions with heavy evaporation, salinity levels are quite high.
- Estuaries and the Arctic have seasonal variations in salinity (fresh water coming from ice caps)
Pacific
- The main factors influencing the salinity variation in the Pacific Ocean are its shape and size.
Atlantic
- Close to the equator, one can find heavy precipitation, high relative humidity, cloudiness, and the calm doldrums air.
- The polar regions receive a substantial quantity of fresh water from ice melting, with very little evaporation. As a result, salt levels are low. Between 20° and 30° N and 20° to 60° W, the highest salinity is found. As you move north, it steadily decreases.
Indian Ocean
- The Bay of Bengal is trending toward low salinity because of the Ganga River’s intake of river water.
- The Arabian Sea, on the other hand, has a higher salinity due to significant evaporation and limited freshwater influx.
Oceanic waters
- The North Atlantic Drift brings in more salty water, which is why the North Sea has a higher salinity despite being at higher latitudes.
- The Baltic Sea has a low salinity because to the large input of river waters.
- The Mediterranean Sea has higher salinity levels as a result of extensive evaporation.
- But due to the large inflow of fresh water from rivers, the Black Sea has a very low salinity level.
- inland waterways and lakes
- Their salinity is quite high as a result of the regular inflow of salt from rivers into inland seas and lakes.
- Their water gradually gets saltier as a result of evaporation.
- For instance, the salinities of the Dead Sea, Lake Van in Turkey, and the Great Salt Lake are all very high.
- areas where warm and cold water mix
- The salinity decreases in the western parts of the northern hemisphere as a result of the entry of melted water from the Arctic region.
Below-surface salinity
- Salinity also changes with depth, but this variation is once again controlled by latitudinal variations. The drop is also impacted by warm and cold currents.
- In high latitudes, salinity increases with depth. In the middle latitudes, it climbs up to 35 metres before falling. At the equator, surface salinity is lower.
Vertical salinity distribution:
- Salinity varies with depth, but the location of the sea affects how it varies.
- Salinity at the surface can change due to freshwater input from rivers, ice loss due to evaporation, or both.
- Since salt cannot be “added” or “lost,” it is impossible to change the salinity at depth. Salinity varies significantly between the surface and deep ocean zones.
- Higher salinity water is perched on top of lower salinity water.
- In contrast to the thermocline, where salinity typically rises with depth, the halocline is a location where salinity rises sharply.
- While other factors remain constant, seawater becomes denser as its salinity increases. High-salt seawater usually sinks beneath water with a lower salt content. This leads to stratification of salinity.
Impact:
- Salinity has an impact on a variety of physical properties, including compressibility, thermal expansion, temperature, density, and absorption of solar radiation.
- The composition and motion of the sea are also influenced by water and the distribution of fish and other marine resources.
- Salinity affects seawater density, which affects ocean circulation and climate.
- Some currents actually change their direction seasonally due to the interaction between temperature, salinity, and density. One location where this occurs is the Indian Ocean. Ocean salinity directly influences weather on land because it is correlated with the movement of currents.
- The kinds of organisms that live in a body of water can be greatly influenced by the salinity of that body of water.
- The water cycle and ocean circulation are both significantly impacted by salinity.
- Since then, as a result of changes in ocean salinity over the past 50 years, the water cycle has intensified by 4%, which is twice the rate predicted by models.
- The planet’s climate is kept in balance by the stable salt content of the oceans.
Conclusion:
- Every year, three billion tonnes of salt from the land are added to the oceans. Only a very small amount of this salt is removed by humans for daily consumption.
