CONTENTS
- GURU TEGH BAHADHUR
- STATEHOOD DAY OF GUJARAT AND MAHARASHTRA
- OPERATION SAMUDRA SETU II
GURU TEGH BAHADHUR
Focus: GS I- History
Why in news?
PM bows to Sri Guru Teg Bahadur Ji on his 400th Parkash Purab.
Guru Tegh Bahadur (1621–1675)
- Guru Tegh Bahadur was the ninth of ten Gurus of the Sikh religion. He was born at Amritsar in 1621 and was the youngest son of Guru Hargobind.
- His term as Guru ran from 1665 to 1675. One hundred and fifteen of his hymns are in Guru Granth Sahib.
- There are several accounts explaining the motive behind the assassination of Guru Tegh Bahadur on Aurangzeb’s orders.
- He stood up for the rights of Kashmiri Pandits who approached him against religious persecution by Aurangzeb.
- He was publicly killed in 1675 on the orders of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb in Delhi for himself refusing Mughal rulers and defying them.
- Gurudwara Sis Ganj Sahib and Gurdwara Rakab Ganj Sahib in Delhi mark the places of execution and cremation of his body.
STATEHOOD DAY OF GUJARAT AND MAHARASHTRA
Focus: GS II- Governance
Why in News?
The Prime Minister has conveyed his greetings on Statehood day of Gujarat and Maharashtra.
- On May 1st, 1960, the bilingual state of Bombay was divided into two separate states by the Bombay Reorganisation Act, 1960: Maharashtra for Marathi speaking people and Gujarat for Gujarati speaking people.
- Gujarat was established as the 15th state of the Indian Union.
Maharashtra
- Capital: Mumbai
- Arabian Sea guards the western boundary of Maharashtra, while Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh are on the northern side. Chhattisgarh covers the eastern boundary of the State. Karnataka and Telangana are on its southern side.
- The State has been identified as the country’s powerhouse and Mumbai, its capital as the centre point of India’s financial and commercial markets.
- Maharashtra has two major ports, Mumbai Port and Jawaharlal Nehru Port (JNP) both located in Mumbai harbour.
- Bhil, Gond-Madia, Katkari, Koli, Oraon, Warli are the major tribes of Maharashtra.
Gujarat
- Capital: Gandhinagar
- The state is bounded by the Arabian Sea in the west, Pakistan and Rajasthan in the north and north-east respectively, Madhya Pradesh in the south-east and Maharashtra in the south.
- Gujarat is the first state in the nation to start a separate department of ‘climate change’ to tackle the issue of global warming.
- Kandla Port is the major port in Gujarat along with 41 minor ports.
- Gamit, Bhils, Dhodias, Bawcha, Kunbi are the major tribes present in the state.
OPERATION SAMUDRA SETU II
Focus: GS II- International Relations
Why in news?
Indian Navy has launched Operation Samudra Setu-II to augment the ongoing national mission for meeting the Oxygen requirements.
Key takeaways
- Mission deployed Indian Naval warships will undertake shipment of liquid Oxygen filled cryogenic containers and associated medical equipment in support of India’s fight against COVID-19.
- Two ships INS Kolkata and INS Talwar have entered port of Manama, Bahrain for embarking and transporting 40MT of liquid oxygen to Mumbai.
- INS Jalashwa is enroute to Bangkok and INS Airavat to Singapore for similar missions.
- Last year Indian Navy had launched Operation Samudra Setu as part of the Vande Bharat Mission and repatriated approx 4,000 stranded and distressed Indian citizens from Maldives, Sri Lanka and Iran.
Operation Samudra Setu
- The Indian Navy has launched ‘Operation Samudra Setu’ as a part of national effort to repatriate Indian citizens from overseas.
- This operation is being progressed in close coordination with Ministries of Defence, External Affairs, Home Affairs, Health and various other agencies of the Government of India and State governments.
- INS Jalashwa and INS Magar are being operated as part of efforts to repatriate Indian nationals from foreign shores.
- INS Jalashwa is the largest amphibious platform in the Navy.
Vande Bharat Mission
- Vande Bharat Mission became the biggest evacuation exercise to bring back Indian citizens stranded abroad amidst the coronavirus-induced travel restrictions.
- ‘Vande Bharat Mission’ will see 64 flights being operated to bring back around 15,000 Indian nationals stranded abroad.
- Air India and its subsidiary Air India Express will operate 64 flights to bring back stranded Indians from 12 countries.
- The mission has given priority to Indian citizens with “compelling reasons to return” – like those whose employment have been terminated, those whose visas have expired and not expected to be renewed under the present circumstances and those who have lost family members in recent times.
- The entire cost of travel will be borne by the passengers under the mission.
