Panglossian
- Recently RBI governor gave an ‘India Panglossian', when talking about the Indian economy.
- He said that RBI is not maintaining a Panglossian countenance and smile away every difficulty of the Indian economy.
- ‘Pangloss’ is a fictional character in Voltaire's novel ‘Candide’.
- Pangloss means “a person who views a situation with unwarranted optimism”.
- The term "Panglossianism" describes baseless optimism of the sort exemplified by Pangloss's beliefs.
- A Panglossian way of life is convinced whatever happens is for the best, and hence make no effort to change it.
- The Indian economy is losing steam has been confirmed by numbers from all key sectors and the governor acknowledged all these bottlenecks
- He said, RBI is closely monitoring and a revival in growth is now the top priority for every policymaker.
XDR TB – A deadly disease
- Worldwide, TB has surpassed HIV-AIDS as the leading cause of death due to infectious diseases.
- In 2017, over 13 lakh people died of the disease.
- XDR TB is known as the extensively drug-resistant strain.
- Recently the US-FDA approved a three-drug regimen against the most lethal form of multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis.
- It has approved ‘Pretomanid’ Tablets in combination with ‘Bedaquiline’ and ‘Linezolid’ for the treatment.
- A trial in the US, which enrolled 109 patients with the XDR strain, was able to cure 90% of them.
- Out of 10,800 cases worldwide, India accounted for 2,650 cases or almost one-fourth.
- As per WHO, two-thirds of cases of the XDR-strain are in China, India and Russia.
- WHO explains that XDR can be contracted in two ways.
- It may develop in a patient who is already receiving treatment for TB and misuses the anti-TB drugs, or
- It can be contracted from a person who already has the disease.
- Often, XDR TB may go undiagnosed since lower-middle-income countries lack the infrastructure to detect it.
- Ending the TB epidemic by 2030 is among the health targets of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).
Sikkim - From Chogyal rule to Indian state
- Last week in Sikkim, 10 MLAs from the Opposition SDF defected to the BJP, adding to the political uncertainty..
- The current instability follows a unique event, the voting out of a government in power for the first time in Sikkim’s history.
- Since joining India in 1975, Sikkim has seen its government changed only twice.
- Sikkim became part of the Indian union in 1975 as its 22nd state.
- For 333 years before 1975, Sikkim was ruled by the ‘Chogyals’ (kings) of the ‘Namgyal dynasty’ of Tibetan descent.
- According to one account, the first ruler, Penchu Namgyal, was installed as king by Tibetan lamas in 1642.
- The Sikkim kingdom included the Chumbi valley and Darjeeling.
- Chumbi Valley is part of China now. After 1706, there were a series of conflicts between the powers of the region.
- It includes Sikkim, Nepal, Bhutan, and Tibet, resulting in a shrinking of Sikkim’s territorial boundaries.
- In 1814, Sikkim allied with the East India Company in the latter’s campaign against Nepal.
- After the Company won, it restored to Sikkim some of the territories that Nepal had wrested from it in 1780.
- In 1841, the Company purchased Darjeeling from the Namgyal rulers.
- A treaty in 1861 made Sikkim a de facto protectorate of British India.
- Subsequently, the ‘Calcutta Convention of 1890’ demarcated the border between Sikkim and Tibet.
- The Lhasa Convention of 1904 affirmed the Calcutta Convention.
- After India became independent, in 1950, a treaty was signed between Maharaja Tashi Namgyal and India, It stated that, “Sikkim shall continue to be a Protectorate of India and, subject to the provisions of this Treaty, shall enjoy autonomy in regard to its internal affairs.”
- The gaping income inequality and feudal control over key resources led to popular discontent against the Chogyal rulers.
- In December 1947, diverse political groupings came together to form the Sikkim State Congress.
- In 1949, the Chogyal agreed to appoint a five-member Council of Ministers, with three Congress nominees, and two of his own.
- In 1953, the Chogyal introduced a new Constitution, and 4 general elections were held based on separate electorates.
- In 1973, the royal palace was besieged by thousands of protesters.
- The Chogyal was left with no choice but to ask India to send troops for his assistance.
- Finally, a tripartite agreement was signed between the Chogyal, the Indian government, and 3 major political parties.
- In 1974, elections were held, in which the Congress emerged victorious over pro-independence parties.
- In the same year, a new constitution was adopted, which restricted the role of the Chogyal to a titular post.
- The Chogyal resented this and refused to deliver the customary address to the elected Assembly.
- In the same year, India upgraded Sikkim’s status from protectorate to “associated state”, allotting to it one seat each in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
- The Chogyal was unhappy with this move and sought to internationalise the issue.
- This did not go down well with Sikkim’s elected leaders, and a referendum was held in 1975.
- A majority voted in favour of abolishing the monarchy and joining India, with only few voting against.
- Subsequently, India’s Parliament approved an amendment to make Sikkim a full state.
Source: PIB, The Indian Express
