Prelim Bits 01-01-2023 & 02-01-2023| UPSC Daily Current Affairs

Bhima-Koregaon Battle

The 205^th anniversary of the Bhima-Koregaon battle was observed at the Ranstambh (victory pillar) in Perne village in Pune.

• Lakhs of Ambedkarites paid floral tributes to the bravery of the Mahar soldiers who fought against the Peshwa forces in the Bhima-Koregaon battle.
• The Bhima-Koregaon battle was one of the last battles of the Third Anglo-Maratha War.
• The battle was fought between armies of Peshwa Bajirao II and British East India Company on January 1, 1818.
• Majority (about 500) of the British infantry was from the Mahar community.
• Significance - The battle ended the Peshwa dominance and seen as a as a victory of the Dalits against the injustices.
• The Jaystambh (Ranstambh) is a victory pillar, erected by the British government in 1821 in memory of its soldiers who fought in Bhima-Koregaon battle.
• Babasaheb Ambedkar visited Jaystambh on January 1, 1927, against the ban on the recruitment of the then untouchables in the British Army.
• His visit revitalised the memory of the battle for the Dalit community and asserted pride in them.

The 200^th anniversary of the Bhima-Koregaon battle was commemorated in 2018 and also saw caste conflict in Bhima-Koregaon and Wadhu Budruk.

References

1. The Hindu - Bhima-Koregaon battle anniversary
2. Indian Express – Bhima-Koregaon Battle Anniversary

Kole Bird Survey 2023

The 32nd Asian Water bird count at Kole Wetlands marks the lowest sighting in three decades.

• The water bird count at the Kole Wetlands was held as part of the annual Asian Water bird Count (AWC) 2023.
• The survey was jointly organised by the Kerala State Forest Department, Kerala Agricultural University & Kole Birders.
• A total of 9,904 birds of 90 wetland dependent species were counted this year which is a decline from last year survey.
• The whole data on the AWC 2022 has been uploaded into the eBird website.

Kole Wetlands

• The Kole Wetlands is a Ramsar site and an Important Bird Area.
• It spread over Thrissur and Malappuram districts of Kerala between the banks of Chalakudy River in the south and Bharathapuzha River in the north.
• Kole wetlands lies below sea-level and get submerged in the monsoon.
• The cultivation is done after the monsoon when water levels are low and fresh rainwater seeps down as groundwater.

References

1. The Hindu - Kole bird survey 2023
2. New Indian Express - Water bird numbers drop in Kole wetlands

108^th Indian Science Congress

The 108^th Indian Science Congress (ISC) will be held at Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University in Maharashtra.

• The 108^th Indian Science Congress (ISC) focuses on ways to increase the representation of women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields.
• Also provide them with equal access to STEM education, research and economic participation.
• This year’s theme: Science and Technology for Sustainable Development with Women Empowerment.

Other programmes to be organized alongside ISC

• A special programme to showcase the contribution of women in science and technology.
• Children’s Science Congress - To help stimulate scientific interest and temperament among children.
• Farmer’s Science Congress – To provide a platform to improve the bio-economy and attract youth to agriculture.
• Tribal Science Congress – Acts as a platform for scientific display of indigenous ancient knowledge system and practice, along with focusing on the empowerment of tribal women.

Indian Science Congress Association

• The Indian Science Congress Association (ISCA) is a professional body under Department of science and technology, Ministry of Science and Technology.
• The Indian Science Congress Association (ISCA) organizes the annual Indian Science Congress.
• The Indian Science Congress was first held in 1914.
• The objectives of ISCA
  1. Advancing and promoting the cause of science in India.
  2. Holding an annual congress at a suitable place in India.
  3. Publishing proceedings, journals, transactions and other publications.
  4. Securing and managing funds and endowments for the promotion of science, among others.

References

1. The Hindu - PM Modi to address 108th Indian Science Congress
2.  Live Mint - PM to address Indian Science Congress
3. The India Science Congress Association

Sarsa Rivulet

Sarsa rivulet associated with pivotal moment in Guru Gobind Singh’s life is dying.

• The Sarsa originates in the Shivalik hills in Himachal Pradesh.
• It flows through Solan district that borders Punjab, enters Rupnagar district in Punjab and eventually flows into the Sutlej.

Issue

• The Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh (BBN) industrial complex, one of India’s largest manufacturing hubs, is located near the Sarsa.
• Pharmaceutical waste being discharged into the Sarsa from BBN industrial complex has affected the river’s biota.
• It made the water unfit for human consumption and also causing the area to become prone to antimicrobial resistance.

Guru Gobind Singh and Sarsa

• On December 21, 1704, a battle took place on the banks of the Sarsa between the Khalsa and Mughal armies.
• Guru Gobind Singh’s mother and his two younger sons were separated from the main party consisting of the Guru.
• The Sarsa was where the Guru’s family got separated in the winter of 1704, never got together again.
• Gurdwara Parivaar Vichhora Sahib stands on the spot where the battle of Sarsa took place and the family was separated.

References

1. Down To Earth - Sarsa Rivulet is dying

Moon Missions in 2023

Various Moon missions from national space agencies and private space companies lined to head in 2023.

Ispace’s Hakuto R mission

• Hakuto-R is a lunar lander developed by ispace, a Japanese space technology.
• Though it was launched in December 2022, only expected to reach the Moon by April 2023.
• It was launched along with the Rashid Rover, the United Arab Emirates’ first lunar rover, and NASA’s Lunar Flashlight.
• NASA’s Lunar Flashlight - The mission’s trajectory will take it far beyond the Moon, to understand the presence of water in the Moon’s South Pole.
• Rashid Rover – It was the UAE’s first lunar rover, named after Dubai’s royal family.

India’s Chandrayaan-3

• The Chandrayaan-3 mission is scheduled to launch aboard a Launch Vehicle Marks 3 (LVM3) in June 2023.
• It will be a follow up to the ISRO’s Chandrayaan-2 mission which consists of a lunar lander and a lunar rover.
• The propulsion module behaves like a communications relay satellite for the spacecraft that land.

Russia’s Luna 25 mission

• Russia’s Roscosmos space agency plans to launch its Luna-25 mission to the Moon in July 2023.
• Luna-25 is a planned lunar lander mission, since the Soviet Union’s Luna-24 mission in 1976.
• The Luna 25 mission is scheduled to land at the Moon’s South Pole at a crater called Boguslavsky.

SpaceX’s dearMoon

• The week-long lunar tourism mission is scheduled to happen in 2023.
• The mission will be launched on SpaceX’s Starship launch vehicle.

References

1. Indian Express - Missions to the Moon in 2023