The Supreme Court bench ruled that the Hindu's claim that the Ram was born in Ayodhya is undisputed. The court upheld the claim that the disputed Ram Janmbhoomi-Babri Masjid site is the birthplace of Ram. The court ruled that the whole of the disputed land will be given to the Hindus for the construction of a Ram Temple and five acres of alternate land will be provided to the Sunni Waqf Board for the construction of a Mosque.
Supreme Court in its landmark judgement on November 9, 2019 dismissed Nirmohi Akhara's claim to the land but the court mandated its representation in the trust to be set up by the centre.
The Ayodhya verdict was read out by a five-judge constitution bench led by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and comprising Justices SA Bobde, Ashok Bhushan, DY Chandrachud and S Abdul Nazeer.
The case, which dates back decades – with even some antecedents in the 19th century – has been the source of great communal tension in India, particularly since the now-ruling Bharatiya Janata Party made the demand for a temple a key plank of their political mobilisation ini the 1980s, sparking riots and deaths around the country. The Supreme Court decided to hand the disputed site over to a trust, managed by the Central government, which will oversee all activities including the construction of a Ram temple. While reiterating that the demolition of the Babri Masjid was illegal, the court ordered that the government has to acquire an alternative plot of land on which a mosque can be built.
Key Points
- The whole of the disputed Ayodhya land to be given to the Hindu parties for construction of Ram Mandir.
- The Sunni Waqf Board to be allotted 5 acres of alternate land in a prominent place in Ayodhya.
- The alternate land will be provided either by the centre or the state.
- The centre will hand the disputed land to the trust that will be set up within 3 months.
- Nirmohi Akhara will also be given representation in the board of trustees.
- The trust will monitor and manage the construction of the grand Ram Temple at the site.
- The judgement has not made any party a winner or a loser: SC.
- The Hindu belief that Lord Ram was born in Ayodhya is undisputed.
KASHMIR MAP RE-DRAWN
Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh became Union Territories on October 31st. The Government of India has also issued maps showing the distribution of territories between the two.
If you see the map, you’d notice that Ladakh is significantly larger than Jammu & Kashmir. That’s because in addition to the districts that were originally within the Ladakh region, the government has also shown areas of Gilgit-Baltistan that are under Pakistan’s control as being part of Ladakh. Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and its capital Muzaffarabad have been included in Jammu & Kashmir.
This reflects India’s stated view that as far as official records go, these territories are an integral part of the country.
LAKSHYA SEN WINS AGAIN
India's Lakshya Sen bagged his second successive BWF World Tour Super 100 title with a win at the SaarLorlux Open in Germany on Sunday. He defeated China’s Weng Hong Yang. This is Sen’s third straight singles title, having won the Belgian International Challenge and Dutch Open Super Tour 100 earlier this year. He has also previously won the Asian Junior Championship. Ranked at #51 in the men’s game before the win, Sen has now broken into the Top 40 and is ranked #42.
NEW CM FOR HARYANA; MAHARASHTRA WAITS
Manohar Lal Khattar has been made Chief Minister of Haryana for the second time in a row. His appointment happened at the end of October after his political party, the Bharatiya Janata Party tied up with another political party once the state election results came out.
The elections to Haryana’s legislature was a close fought one, unlike in 2014 when the BJP won easily. This time, the BJP won just 40 of the 90 seats, short of the majority mark of 46. Election rules in India state that in order to form a government, a political party needs to win a majority of the seats being contested.
Having failed to win outright on its own, the BJP reached out to the Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) headed by Dushyant Chautala which had won 10 seats. With the BJP-JJP combination forming the government, Khattar has been made CM with Dushyant Chautala as Deputy CM.
In Maharashtra, the picture is not as clear. The BJP had fought the elections along with the Shiv Sena. The combination won a majority but are now fighting over the chief minister's post. The Shiv Sena wants the chief minister's post to be rotated between the two parties while the BJP is no mood to do so. In light of this fight, a different combination of political parties may end up forming the government. We will have to wait and watch.
THE IMPORTANCE OF GRETA THUNBERG
The 16 year old Greta Thunberg’s speech at the United Nations Climate Action Summit. has grabbed the attention of the world as she takes on politicians who aren’t doing enough about climate change. What makes her so important?
Greta’s story
Greta was a 15 year old studying in Sweden when she decided to express her agitation over the lack of action from governments against climate change. She started protesting outside Sweden’s parliament in August 2018, staying out of school in a ‘school strike’ so as to draw the world’s attention to her message
Her view is simple and clear: science has evidence that out planet is warming up very fast and if nothing is done about it, future generations will suffer. She has demanded immediate action from governments to pull back our planet from this crisis.
Earth’s average temperatures have been rising steadily as humans burn fossil fuels like coal and petrol to light up homes and offices, drive cars and fly planes. The temperature rise is causing changes in rainfall patterns, droughts, floods and storms. It is causing ice in polar regions to melt and this could eventually cause sea levels to rise, flooding islands and coastal cities.
Greta’s actions have inspired children all over the world to join a global ‘School Strike for Climate Change’. She has spoken at many forums, addressing politicians with her clear message to do something about climate change before it is too late.
Why is she important?
Will Greta convince governments to do something? We are not sure, but one thing is clear-her actions have captured the attention of many people and got them thinking about the problem of climate change. If they are convinced, then they might be able to force politicians they elect to do something. That’s when real change will begin.
FIGHT AGAINST SINGLE USE PLASTIC
Plastic waste is one of the largest environmental problems today as the material does not decompose and become part of the soil for hundreds of years. The Indian government plans to use Mahatma Gandhi’s 150th birth anniversary to begin a movement against the use of single use plastic.
Single use plastic refers to plastics that are used only once before being thrown away. Major single use plastics include plastic bags, plates, cups, spoons and sachets used to sell small quantities of soaps, shampoos and food items. Earlier the plan was to ban their use across India but the government seems to have decided against such a move. The feeling is that the economy and businesses aren’t doing well and banning plastic sachets would hurt their sales and therefore the money they earn.
Instead, the government plans to focus on strictly enforcing (implementing) the already inplace ban on certain single use plastics like polythene bags and Styrofoam. Styrofoam is especially popular for making use-and-throw plates (you may have seen them carelessly thrown on the street after an event/picnic/party) and for packaging.
Well, even though this is less than what was originally planned, it is definitely a start!
MONSOON HANGS ON, CAUSES FLOODS
After making a late start, the south-west monsoon is in no hurry to leave. Heavy rains have been reported in many parts of India at the end of September with cities as far apart as Pune and Patna experiencing floods.
The south-west monsoon season lasts from June to mid-September. However, this year, at the end of September, it was still raining heavily in many parts of India and the weather office says that the monsoon season isn’t over yet.
In Patna, the capital of Bihar, three days of heavy rain until Monday saw the city getting completely flooded. Even the deputy Chief Minister of the state, Sushil Modi, had to be rescued by boat from his house. With the city under water, food packets are being dropped by helicopter for people who are stuck in their houses.
Earlier, Pune witnessed intense rainfall that saw floods across the city. Roads, buildings and vehicles were damaged by the flood water.
The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), which tracks the weather, says that the monsoon winds will start moving out of India around October 10. Never before has the withdrawal of the monsoon been so delayed. In the process India has received 9% more rainfall than usual. This is the highest rainfall received in the last 25 years.
Messi is FIFA player of the year
Lionel Messi has beaten Cristiano Ronaldo to win the FIFA award for best men’s player of 2019.The Barcelona star scored more league goals than anyone else in Europe last season, registering 36 times as he helped the Spanish side win another La Liga title.It is also the sixth time the 32-year-old has won the award, helping him move one ahead of rival Cristiano Ronaldo.
Messi and Ronaldo have dominated the award since 2008, with their string of victories only interrupted by Luka Modric last year.It was the second award of the night for the Argentinean forward, who was also included in the FIFA men's team of the 2018-19 season.
THE FIGHT FOR AAREY
Earlier this month environmentalists clashed with the Maharashtra government over the cutting of trees in Aarey Colony in Mumbai to make space for a shed needed for the Mumbai metro project. The case in now in the Supreme Court, which will hear it on October 21.
The trouble began when Mumbai Metro began planning to clear out a part of Aarey colony, which is large expanse of green meant for dairy farming, to build a shed for the metro network. Environmentalists began protesting as this would involve cutting down of trees. The case was heard by the Mumbai High Court which dismissed the petition filed by the environmentalists on October 4.
Mumbai metro officials immediately ordered the cutting trees and began clearing the area for the project. Newspaper reports said that 1500 of the 2500 trees that were marked for felling have been cut. Those fighting the creation of the shed have now taken the matter to the Supreme Court asking it to overturn the decision of the Mumbai court. The Supreme Court has asked the government to stop cutting any more trees until it decides the case.
Why is Aarey important?
Aarey colony is a green area that is on the edge of the Sanjay Gandhi National Park, the largest green zone in congested Mumbai city. Environmentalists argue that any move to clear a part of Aarey is equal to destroying a green lung that purifies the city’s polluted air. Plus, the worry is that the shed would become the first of many projects that would eat into the green belt, little, by little. The problem is that Aarey isn’t officially labelled a forest, so it doesn’t get protected automatically. Green campaigners would rather the government shift the metro shed to another area so that it can be built without loss of green cover. But the government and Mumbai metro officials argue that Aarey is the most convenient location. Without doubt, the metro project is critical for Mumbai and would actually help the city tackle pollution as more people take public transport, but the question is-should we reduce the size of one green lung to make another?
LEWIS HAMILTON WINS 6th F1 TITLE
With a second place finish in the US Grand Prix, British race car driver Lewis Hamilton sealed his sixth Formula 1 Championship title last Sunday. That places Hamilton, who races for the Ferrari team, just one short of equaling Michael Schumacher’s all time record of seven titles.
Despite a low starting position in fifth place (F1 drivers are lined up for a race based on how quickly they drove in the qualifying round held before the race), Hamilton quickly moved up to lead the race before finally finishing second behind his Ferrari teammate Valtteri Bottas.
Hamilton has won the last three Championships and locked this one up with two races left. He is so far ahead of the rest of the drivers that even with last two races of the year yet to take place, his top spot is secure. The sixth championship win also moves Hamilton past Argentina’s Juan Manuel Fangio, the ‘Godfather’ of F1 drivers who won five titles in the 1950s. Hamilton told journalists after the victory, “I remember watching this sport when I was younger. It's beyond surreal to think that this journey, that my life journey has brought me to this point.”
NORTH INDIA CHOKES ON BAD AIR
The celebrations of Diwali were followed by the desolation of polluted air across North India. Absence of winds, humidity in the air and smoke from crop burning in Haryana and Punjab created a perfect storm of pollution that choked the millions who live in the plains of northern India.
Who’s to blame?
A lot of fingers were pointed at farmers who were burning the stubble left after the rice harvest to clear fields for the planting of wheat. While machines that manage the stubble are being sold, they are expensive and not always available. The late end to the monsoon also added to the problem. It left the farmers with little time between the rice and wheat crops-in their urgency, burning the stubble was the easiest option. Governments in Punjab and Haryana were also slow to stop farmers from burning the stubble. Had they acted quickly, it may have helped reduce the pollution.
Diwali rule broken
Crop fires were only a part of the problem. Despite there being rules about using only green crackers on Diwali, people in Delhi, Gurugram and Noida burst polluting crackers without caring for the rules. Since none of the noisy crackers were environment-friendly, every bang you heard on Diwali was the sound of someone breaking the law.
Climate challenge
Added to this was a layer of clouds over northern India especially over the National Capital Region that didn’t let the pollutants disperse. Still air became an enemy too as winds would have also dispersed pollutants.