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”UPSC Prelims Bits For Today” is every day published in the morning between 11:00 AM to 12:00 Noon and contains selective current affairs articles. ”UPSC Prelims Bits For Today” covers various topics from UPSC Prelims Syllabus and is very helpful and time managing for UPSC Aspirants. The framing of this daily current affairs compilation article is easy to read and understandable also.
In the ”UPSC Prelims Bits For Today” article, we focus on UPSC Preliminary exam-oriented current affairs covering various sections from leading National Newspapers, PIB, and other various official sources.
Alluri Sitarama Raju
In News
Prime Minister Narendra Modi plans to be in Bhimavaram, Andhra Pradesh on July 4. He will launch the year-long celebrations on the 125th birth anniversary of Alluri, enabling a new generation to be aware of the heroics of Alluri and the sacrifices he made for the tribal community.#
What Alluri Sitarama Raju did?
- Hundred years ago, in August 1922, the forests of the Godavari Agency in the Madras Presidency witnessed attacks on three police stations over three continuous days.
- Alluri Sitarama Raju, along with 500 tribal people, attacked the police stations of Chintapalli, Krishnadevipeta and Rajavommangi and walked away with 26 police carbine rifles and 2,500 rounds of ammunition.
- Sitarama Raju did not belong to the tribal community, but understood the restrictions that the British colonial administration placed on the tribal way of life.
- Forced labour, embargoes on collecting minor forest produce and bans on tribal agriculture practices led to severe distress among the Koyas of the Godavari Agency area.
- Known as the “Rampa Rebellion” or “Manyam Rebellion”, between August 1922 and May 1924, Alluri led a protracted battle against the British in support of the tribal community. Legend has it that Alluri himself would forewarn the British officers of an imminent attack and would challenge them to stop him with the superior resources that they had at hand.
Know about Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav
- It is the structured efforts of identifying and curating episodes in our past that we have lacked so far .
- On March 12, 2021, India began a 75-week countdown to the 75th anniversary of Independence.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav from Sabarmati Ashram and unveiled one of the world’s largest programmes of this nature in terms of scope and participation.
- Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav gives us the opportunity to celebrate the unsung, the unknown and the underappreciated.
- It is a unique opportunity for the governments at all levels to come together with civil society, NGOs, spiritual organisations and passionate individuals to recognise the people and events that made us India.
- Now Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav has been extended for one additional year till August 15, 2023.
- This give us several such opportunities to pay tributes to our heroes and recognise their contributions in building Ek Bharat, Shresht Bharat.
National Investigation Agency
In News
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has taken over the probe into the June 28 killing of tailor Kanhaiyya Lal (48) in Rajasthan’s Udaipur.
About NIA
- It is a central agency mandated to investigate all the offences affecting the sovereignty, security and integrity of India, friendly relations with foreign states, and the offences under the statutory laws enacted to implement international treaties, agreements, conventions and resolutions of the United Nations, its agencies and other international organisations.
- Headquartered in Delhi, the NIA has its branches in Hyderabad, Guwahati, Kochi, Lucknow, Mumbai, Kolkata, Raipur, Jammu, Chandigarh, Ranchi, Chennai, Imphal, Bengaluru and Patna.
When did the NIA come into being?
- In the wake of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack in November 2008, which shocked the entire world, the then United Progressive Alliance government decided to establish the NIA.
- In December 2008, former Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram introduced the National Investigation Agency Bill.
- The Home Minister had then said the agency would deal with only eight laws mentioned in the schedule and that a balance had been struck between the right of the State and duties of the Central government to investigate the more important cases. The Bill was passed by the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.
- The agency came into existence on December 31, 2008, and started its functioning in 2009.
- Till date, the NIA has registered 447 cases.
What are the scheduled offences?
- The list includes the Explosive Substances Act, Atomic Energy Act, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, Anti-Hijacking Act, Suppression of Unlawful Acts against Safety of Civil Aviation Act, SAARC Convention (Suppression of Terrorism) Act, Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against Safety of Maritime Navigation and Fixed Platforms on Continental Shelf Act, Weapons of Mass Destruction and their Delivery Systems (Prohibition of Unlawful Activities) Act and relevant offences under the Indian Penal Code, Arms Act and the Information Technology Act.
- In September 2020, the Centre empowered the NIA to also probe offences under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act that are connected to terror cases.
Chakma Community
In News
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has asked the Deputy Commissioner of Arunachal Pradesh’s Changlang district to submit an action-taken report (ATR) on a complaint alleging harassment and false prosecution of some Chakma villagers.
Who are Chakmas and Hajongs?
- The Chakmas and Hajongs are ethnic people who lived in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, most of which are located in Bangladesh.
- Chakmas are predominantly Buddhists, while Hajongs are Hindus. They are found in northeast India, West Bengal, Bangladesh, and Myanmar.
Why does Arunachal Pradesh have a problem with Chakmas?
In the 1960s, the Chakma refugees were accommodated in the relief camps constructed in the “vacant lands” of Tirap, Lohit and Subansiri districts of the erstwhile North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA), a political division governed by the Union government. In 1972, NEFA was renamed Arunachal Pradesh and made a Union Territory, and subsequently, it attained statehood. The locals and regional political parties opposed re-settling refugees in their land fearing that it may change the demography of the State and that they may have to share the limited resources available for them.
Status of granting citizenship to Chakma People
In 2015, the Supreme Court directed the Centre to grant citizenship to Chakma and Hajongs who had migrated from Bangladesh in 1964-69. The order was passed while hearing a plea by the Committee for Citizenship Rights of the Chakmas. Following this, the Centre introduced amendments to the Citizenship Act, 1955. The Bill is yet to be passed, as the opposition says the Bill makes illegal migrants eligible for citizenship on the basis of religion, which is a violation of Article 14 of the Constitution.