 Good evening aspirants. Welcome to the Hindi news analysis by Shankar Ayes Academy. These are the list of articles chosen for today's analysis. The link for the handwritten notes and the time stamping for the displayed articles is given in the description box below. And for the benefit of smartphone users, the time stamping is also provided in the comment section. Let's move on to the first article analysis. This discussion is based on this news article which mentions about the destruction or demolition of illegal constructions in the area surrounding Gulbarga Fort and the Great Mosque in the Fort. So in this regard, we will be discussing the provisions related to the demolition of illegal constructions in a protected area. And we will also see some important facts about Gulbarga Fort and the Great Mosque in the Fort. The discussion can be linked to the syllabus that is given here for your reference. Now the news article mentions that the High Court of Karnataka has asked the Deputy Commissioner of Kala Buragi to fix date for the demolition of 282 illegal constructions in the area. These illegal constructions were identified by the Archaeological Survey of India. These were constructed in the protected area of Gulbarga Fort and the Great Mosque in the Fort of Karnataka. This demolition has been ordered by the court under the provisions of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act of 1958 or in short AMASR Act of 1958. This has been ordered by the court because the Gulbarga Fort and the Great Mosque in the Fort are ancient monuments of national importance and it is a protected area under the AMASR Act. Under this act if you see a protected area means any archaeological site and remains which is declared to be of national importance either by this act or under this act. And in particular the section 19 of this act deals with the restrictions on enjoyment of property rights in the protected areas. And the subsection 1 of section 19 states that no one can construct any building within the protected area and no one can carry out mining, quarrying, excavating, blasting or any operation of the same nature in this area. And they cannot even utilize such area without the permission of central government. This is even applicable to the owner or the occupier of this protected area. So it was found by the Archaeological Survey of India that many illegal constructions were carried out in the protected area of Gulbarga Fort. And based on the subsection 2 of section 19 of this act the court has ordered for the demolition of such illegal constructions. The section 19 subsection 2 mentions that any building constructed by any person within a protected area in the contravention of the provisions of subsection 1 shall be removed within a specified period. So based on this provision the High Court has ordered for the demolition of illegal constructions that are present in the area of protected area of Gulbarga Fort. So in the context of this news article let us see some interesting facts about the Gulbarga Fort and the great mask in the fort that is mentioned in the news article. First let us see the history of the region. According to historians in the early 14th century the Deccan was occupied by Muhammad Tughlaq and Muhammad Tughlaq brought the entire region under the rule of Delhi Sultanate. After this later in the 14th century Gulbarga became the capital of Bahamini Kingdom which existed from 1347 to 1527. And at that time Gulbarga was a newly founded independent state and it was the capital of the Bahamini Kingdom until 1424 because after that the capital was transferred to Bidar and it was transferred during the rule of Ahmad Shah I. So on a whole the Bahamini ruled over the most of the Deccan until the late 15th and early 16th century when the kingdom was divided into five independent states. And the most significant contribution of the Bahmanis was in the field of art and architecture. The buildings that they have left at Gulbarga, Bidar and other places have an important place in the history of Indo-Islamic art. So in this manner the Gulbarga Fort also assumes significance because it was built by Alauddin Hassan Bahman Shah who was not only the ruler of Bahmani dynasty but he was also the founder of Bahmani dynasty. This fort is well fortified with double fortification which means it is provided with defensive works to protect against the attacks from outside. And this fort was a Naradurga type of fort which means it is a manmade fort that is it is protected by able bodied men with no natural defenses. The fort has 15 towers that are mounted with 26 guns and one of the gun is 25 feet long that is it is 8 meters long. And this fort stands to the northwest of the city and it has a rectangular plan and this fort is enclosed by a double wall which has a thickness of 50 feet. And these double walls have basions at intervals. Basions means the projecting part of the fortification so as to allow defensive fire in several directions as you can see in this picture. And this fort is surrounded by a deep and wide moat which is 30 feet wide. A moat is nothing but a deep wide ditch which surrounds a castle or a fort and it is filled with water and a moat is intended as a defense against the outside attacks. As you can see in this picture this picture is only for the depiction of a moat and it is not the actual Gulbarga fort. In addition to this the really massive projecting basions also held a revolving platform for the cannons. So on a whole we can say that this fort displays an almost impregnable defense system with a wide moat having draw bridges that completely surround 3 miles of the fortifications of this wall. And the 15 towers and 26 cannons ensured that this fort was one of the mightiest of all forts. And the colossal or the huge western entrance has 4 gates and it has 4 courtyards and each one of this is so fortified that it would be impossible to pass through these gates and courtyards unharmed. So this fort is said as an excellent example of military architecture. In addition to the awesomeness of this fort, this fort is also known for its huge formidable dungeon which is the Balahisar. This Balahisar is rectangular with 4 great towers and this Balahisar has grey black sandstone walls which have no opening below the level of granulations except the entrance. And this Balahisar was in the centre of the fort and it was used as a residence and it is a place of last refuge in times of war. Now let us discuss about the great mosque in the fort. This great mosque is the Jami masjid or the Jamiya masjid and it was erected in the fort by the Allahuddin Hassan Bahmani Shah who was the founder of Bahmani dynasty. And according to some inscription records, the Jami masjid was completed in 1367 but the aspects of the ornament that is present in the Jami masjid suggest that it was completed in the early 15th century during the reign of Ferocia. So there is a contradiction here that when this masjid was completed and it is said that the plan of Jami masjid resembles great mosque at Cordoba and this great mosque at Cordoba is a world heritage site. So in the same manner the Jami masjid is also built in the Persian style of architecture. Now this Gulbarga's Jamiya mosque is unique in India. It is because it is completely covered and it has a dome over the Mirhub. A Mirhub is nothing but a niche in the wall that indicates the direction of Mecca and towards this Mirhub only all Muslims pray. So there is a dome over the Mirhub and there are domes at each corner and this mosque has more than 70 similar domes. And this mosque has no open courtyard and all the light comes from the arcades. So this mosque is unusual as the central area which would normally have been an open courtyard is covered with numerous small domes. And three of the outer walls are not solid but they are made up of open arcades in this mosque. That is why this mosque is unique in India. And one another important thing that you should notice that the Gulbarga Fort and this Jamiya mosque is listed as one of the monuments under the monuments of Deccan Sultanate. And this monuments of Deccan Sultanate is listed in the tentative list of UNESCO. A tentative list is nothing but an inventory of the properties of a state where the state party intends to consider the UNESCO for nomination. So our country has nominated the monuments of Deccan Sultanate which also includes the Gulbarga Fort and the mosque. So we can hope that in the future this site may be given World Heritage Site status. But currently it is only listed in the tentative list under the monuments of Deccan Sultanate. So these are the information with respect to the Gulbarga Fort and the Jamiya mosque in the fort. With this we come to the end of this discussion. The respect practice question will be discussed in the last session. This news article is about the usage of pesticides and chemicals for ripening the fruits. The news article mentions the views of judges of Delhi High Court regarding the use of artificial ripening agents. In this regard the Delhi High Court has given its observations based on the petition initiated by the Delhi High Court on its own and also while hearing two other pleas by private individuals on the matter. The pleas sought directions from the authorities to curb the use of pesticides and other chemicals on food products especially the agricultural produce that is coming into Delhi. So in this regard the judges have spoken in specific about the calcium carbide which is a chemical that is used in artificial ripening of fruits. So in this context let us see what is meant by artificial ripening and then we will also see about the chemical calcium carbide and its effects on the quality of fruits and human health. The syllabus that is relevant to this discussion is given here for your reference. First what is ripening? Ripening is a physiological process of a fruit. In nature fruits ripen after they attain maturity by a sequence of physiological and biochemical events. This ripening process is irreversible. That is it cannot be changed back to a raw fruit. The general changes that are associated with the ripening process are softening of the fruit, change in color and development of characteristic aroma and flavor which are unique to individual fruits. As the fruit ripens there is a reduction in the sourness and there is increase in the sweetness of the fruit. Now if you see there are two types of fruits based on the ripening behavior itself. The types are climacteric and non-climacteric fruits. Climacteric fruits continue to ripen even after the harvest and during the ripening process the fruits emit ethylene. Whereas the non-climacteric fruits do not ripen further after the harvest. They produce a very small amount of ethylene and they do not respond to ethylene treatment. And some of the examples of climacteric fruits include mango, guava, banana, apple, papaya, sapota which is also known as sapodilla or chiku etc. Now some examples of non-climacteric fruits include orange, pomegranate, grapes, strawberry, watermelon, leechi etc. So just know that climacteric fruits produce ethylene gas. This ethylene gas is a plant hormone that ripens the fruit naturally. So remember this fact. Now in the recent decades if you see the demand for fruits has increased and now the fruits are sent to distant places. So for sending fruits to distant places ordinary transportation and refrigerator transportation is needed. And while the fruits are sent to distant places, firm fruits are sent. It is because they are least damaged during the marketing. And once these firm fruits reach their destination they are ripened in the destination markets because as we saw fruits rip even after they are harvested. So it is possible. And this ripening can happen by using the natural ripening agent like ethylene or they can be ripened by some other ethylene related hydrocarbons like acetylene. The fruits are ripened by getting them artificially exposed to these chemicals in order to quicken their ripening process. This process is what we call as artificial ripening. So this artificial ripening promotes ripening and it induces color changes to the fruit. The issue with this artificial ripening process is that the cosmetic quality of artificially ripened fruits is found to be improved but the organoleptic quality of the fruit is affected. See here cosmetic quality means the physical appearance of the fruit like color, shape and size. These are improved but the organoleptic quality which means the taste, aroma, flavor and texture this is affected by artificial ripening. These are the chemicals that are used in artificial ripening process. In case of non-climatic fruits the chemicals used in ripening of fruits across the world include methyl jasmonate and abscicic acid. And in case of climatic fruits ethylene gas is used for artificial ripening. And at present the only safe and worldwide accepted method for ripening of fruits artificially is by using ethylene only. So this artificial ripening is allowed in our country, yes it is allowed. In India the regulation 2.3.5 of the Food Safety and Standards Prohibition and Restriction on Sales Regulations of 2011 allows for the artificial ripening of fruits by using ethylene gas at a concentration up to 100 ppm that is 100 microliters per litre depending upon the crop, variety and maturity. So ethylene gas is the legally permitted chemical for ripening of fruit from 2016. But if you see normally we do not hear this name in news that is another chemical which makes the headlines that chemical is calcium carbide. It is the most common illegally used chemical for ripening of climatic fruits and some example of fruits where calcium carbide is used for artificial ripening are mango, banana, papaya and even sometimes it is used for fruits like sapota that is chiku then dates and tomatoes. Often during the mango season and certain other fruit seasons we hear this name calcium carbide very frequently in news. So what is this calcium carbide? Calcium carbide is a colorless chemical in its pure form otherwise it is grayish white to black in color. It has garlic like odor when it reacts with water this calcium carbide produces acetylene gas and this acetylene gas is also called as carbide gas. This acetylene gas is similar to ethylene gas as we saw already and this acetylene gas quickens the ripening process and why this is often used by fruit dealers is that calcium carbide is cheap and it is easily available in the market and this calcium carbide has some effects on the fruit quality. Fruits that are ripened with calcium carbide are overly soft and they are inferior in taste and flavor and fruits that are ripened with calcium carbide have a shorter shelf life. Shelf life is nothing but the period during which any food retains an acceptable quality from a safety and organoleptic point of view and the fruit which is ripened with calcium carbide may develop uniform surface color but if you see the tissue inside the fruit would not be ripe or it may remain green or it may remain raw. So sometimes you can see that the fruit seems to be ripened by the outer appearance but actually it is not ripened and in this table we have given you an idea to identify the fruits that are artificially ripened from the natural fruits and it gives the difference in terms of texture, taste and shelf life. Just have a look at it. This will help you not only for examination purpose but it will be also helpful in daily life. But the problem with calcium carbide is not only that it is illegal but also it has some potential health effects. This calcium carbide is a dangerous and corrosive chemical. It has carcinogenic properties that is it may cause cancer. So it is hazardous to human health. Also consumption of fruits that are ripened with the calcium carbide causes stomach upset and it will also disrupt the intestinal functions. Now since calcium carbide imitates acetylene gas it may affect the humans neurological symptoms also. This calcium carbide also contains traces of arsenic and traces of phosphorus hydride and these are poisonous substances. So the early symptoms of arsenic and phosphorus poisoning include vomiting, diarrhea, burning sensation of chest and abdomen then thirst, weakness, difficulty in swallowing etc. So from this you can say that calcium carbide is quite hazardous to human health and that is the reason it is banned in many countries. And as per the regulation which is available in India under the Food Safety and Standards Prohibition and Restriction on Sales Regulation of 2011 the use of calcium carbide for ripening of fruits is prohibited in India also. This regulation states that no person shall sell or offer or expose for sale or have those fruits in his or her premises which have been artificially ripened by use of acetylene gas. And as we saw earlier this acetylene gas is also known as carbide gas and we saw that calcium carbide is dissolved in water to produce acetylene gas. So from this regulation we can see that use of calcium carbide for ripening of fruits prohibited in India and persons who are involved in such prohibited activities will be subjected to penal actions such as imprisonment or fine or both according to the provisions of Food Safety and Standards Act of 2006. So this is the background regarding the artificial ripening and calcium carbide. Now today's news is that a two member bench of Delhi High Court has observed that use of pesticides and chemicals to ripen fruits amounts to poisoning the consumer. They also noted that invoking penal provisions against the culprits who use pesticides and chemicals will help in preventing such activities. So the bench noted that such persons have to be sent to jail and it could be even for two days also so that it will have some deterrent effect that is they will not repeat such activities again. So from this observation of Delhi High Court we can see that still calcium carbide is used as an artificial ripening agent in our country. And one of the worrying fact is that there is no kit available to test the presence of calcium carbide by consumers because the presence of calcium carbide can only be tested in laboratory with the help of proper equipment and additional chemicals. So as a consumer there is no way for us to know about whether the fruit has been ripened through calcium carbide or not using chemical tests other than a laboratory test. But based on simple texture, taste and shelf life you can say that as we have given in the table. So that is all about this news article. In this discussion we saw what is meant by ripening. We saw classification of fruits based on the ripening behavior. We saw also about the artificial ripening and then we saw about calcium carbide and its effects on the quality of fruits and human health. With this we come to the end of this news article discussion. That is a quick practice question will be discussed in the last session. Moving on to the next discussion. The news article mentions about the demand raised by the congress party. The party has demanded that India's economy need to be evaluated in terms of global misery index instead of evaluating it by the conventional gross domestic product. So in this context we will be discussing what is this global misery index. The syllabus that is relevant to this discussion is given here for your reference. First of all know that the misery index is not a regular publication like the democracy index or global hunger index. The concept of misery index was first developed by American economist named Arthur Oaken. We know that the literal meaning of misery means a state of suffering or unhappiness. So based on this Arthur Oaken developed misery index as an economy indicator to show how an average citizen is performing economically and in the Oaken's index there were two parameters. One was unemployment rate and the other was inflation rate and this indicator was initially applied to measure the health of American economy under each president of America. So when this misery index is higher then it means there is more unemployment rate and there is more inflation rate. It means more misery is felt by the average citizen. This index was further modified by several economists. One notable modification was done by Robert Barrow who is also an American economist. His index is known as Barrow misery index and after this another change was made by another American economist named Steve Hankey. He built upon Barrow's index and he started applying the index to countries beyond USA. So at present the modified misery index has four components. One is rate of unemployment, second is inflation rate, third is bank lending rate and the fourth is the percentage change in real GDP per capita. So from this you can see that the first three components are bad components that is if they are higher it means people are in more misery. But this index is offset or balanced by GDP per capita growth which is a good element or good component in this index. So for calculating the misery index the good component is subtracted from the sums of the bad components so that the overall misery of an average citizen can be calculated. And the recent misery index which was released was Hankey's annual misery index of 2018. This misery index was calculated for 95 countries and according to the index the worst performing countries in the world are Venezuela, Argentina, Iran and Brazil. And the best performing countries are Thailand, Hungary, Japan and Austria. And in this index India is ranked at 44th position and the major issue in India according to this index was the higher lending rates. But these indices were criticized by several other economists. For example the index tries to measure misery or happiness just based on the economic terms such as unemployment, GDP etc. And it does not consider the other development factors such as level of education, average years of living, women's participation in labor market etc. So that is why these indices were criticized by other economists. So this is the basic information that you should know with respect to the misery index. Now based on the current economic scenario in our country let us analyze the factors that contribute to the misery index. And let us see what is India's performance on these index. And the first component in this misery index is the rate of unemployment and as we know India's unemployment rate has touched 6.1 percentage for the fiscal year 2017-18 according to the periodic labor force survey. And according to economists this was the highest in the last 45 years. So this is not good for a country with a significant youth population. Then the second component is the inflation rate. And as we have discussed many times according to the consumer price index the retail inflation for December 2019 was 7.35 percentage. And this rate is nearly 6 year high. And this high rate is attributed mainly to the rising prices of vegetables such as onions. And this rate is also beyond the RBA's targeted range of 2-6 percentage of inflation. So in this component also we are not performing well. Then the next component is lending rates. See over a period of time lending rates in India has come down. Commercial banks have reduced their lending rates based on the successive cuts in the rapport rate by the RBI. So this is a positive news. But the investment rate is not picking up as the investors are worried about the persisting economic slew down in our country. So on a whole we can say that in this component we are performing averagely. Then the next parameter and the last component is the GDP per capita growth. As we have discussed many times that is a persisting economic slow down in India and we have discussed the reasons for the slow down in our previous analysis. And you would remember that for the July to September quarter of 2019 to 2020 which is the second quarter of financial year 2019 to 2020 India's economic growth was 4.5 percentage only. And this was also a 6 year low growth. So this situation has led to a fear that Indian economy is witnessing stagflation and as you know stagflation is the combination of high inflation and low growth and sometimes high inflation is associated with high unemployment. So in the good component also our country is not performing very good. So all this indicates that all is not well with the Indian economy. So this shows that majority of citizens especially the poor are living a miserable life. Since the budget 2020 to 2021 is about to come let us hope that government will take adequate steps to counter all the miseries and we will achieve the dream of becoming a 5 trillion dollar economy by the year 2024. Whether we come to the end of this discussion, the split practice question will be discussed in the last session. Moving on to the next discussion which is based on this news article. This news article is about the violation of ecological flow in Ganga by few hydro projects. So in the context of this news article we will be discussing in brief about the concept of ecological flow, the ecological flow notification for Ganga and the present issue. The syllabus that is relevant for this discussion is given here for your reference. Now let us see what do we mean by ecological flow. Ecological flow is also called as e-flow or environmental flow. So what is this environmental flow? Environmental flow is the minimum quantity and quality of water in a river wetland or coastal zone to maintain ecosystems and its benefits. Now this environmental flow or ecological flow assumes importance when there are competing water uses and where flows are regulated. So e-flow helps to allocate water among multiple and competing uses in a watershed or in a river basin. And here competing water uses can be hydro power projects. It could be for industrial use. It could be for drinking water purpose. It could be for irrigation, etc. So now what is the need to maintain ecological flow? The need is that the ecological flow helps for integrated management of river flows which in turn helps to meet the needs of people, agriculture, industry, energy and ecosystems within the limits of available supply. So ensuring of ecological flow will help to sustain the functioning of an ecosystem and its dependent species which also includes human beings. So that is why there is a need to maintain ecological flow. So in this context let us understand the e-flow notification that is issued by the centre in 2018. Before that you should note that in 2016 the centre had formed an authority called as the National Mission for Clean Ganga for Rejuvenation, Protection and Management of River Ganga Basin. It was formed as per the provisions of Environment Protection Act of 1986 and it comes under the Ministry of Jal Shakti. Now one of the objective of this authority was to maintain the magnitude of ecological flow in the river Ganga and its tributaries that is required to be maintained at different points in different areas at all times. It is because maintaining the flow was essential to ensure water quality and it is essential for the environmentally sustainable rejuvenation protection and management of river Ganga and its tributaries. Now with respect to the power of central government there are certain provisions in the Environment Protection Act of 1986. In this Act the section 3 and 5 confers certain powers on the centre. This section enables the centre to issue directions to any person, officer or any authority and such person, officer or authority shall be bound to comply with the directions given by the centre and these directions also includes the power to direct the closure, prohibition or regulation of any industry or operation or process or stoppage or regulation of electricity or water or any other services. So using this power in 2018 the centre issued the e-flow notification to ensure minimum environmental flow in Ganga and this notification was aimed at ensuring proper flows at locations that are downstream of structures or projects meant for diversion of river flows and this diversion could be for the purposes like irrigation, hydropower, domestic and industrial and other requirements but for the notification 3 years was given for the existing projects in the river to ensure proper compliance to the mandated environmental flows. But this time was later modified by National Mission for Clean Ganga. The NMCG advanced the date of compliance for the existing projects to December 2019 and the Central Water Commission which functions under the ministry of Jalshakti is the designated authority to ascertain the actual flow and the actual amount of water present in the river Ganga and the CWC shall also submit flow monitoring compliance report on quarterly basis to the National Mission for Clean Ganga. So what is the e-flow mandated in the notification? See as we know river Ganga originates from Gangotri Glacier and Uttarakashi district of Uttarakhand it originates as river Bhagirathi. Then later the Alaknanda river which is a left bank ministry of Ganga joins Bhagirathi at Deva Prayag and from Deva Prayag only the river is called as Ganga. So based on the notification for the upper stretch of river Ganga a 20 percentage monthly average flow is mandated between November and March which are the dry season and the upper stretch of Ganga is from its origin in the glaciers till Haridwar and this percentage is calculated with respect to the flow of the preceding 10 days. Now next for the lean season that is during October, April and May 25 percentage flow is mandated and then for the monsoon months of June to September a 30 percentage monthly average flow is mandated. In addition to this the e-flow notification also mentions minimum flow during the monsoon and non-monsoon period at few barrages such as at Bhimagoda in Uttarakhand, Vijnaur, Narora and Kanpur. So this is the mandated e-flow based on this 2018 notification. Now this notification is important because the notification mandates a minimum supply of water in the upper stretches of Ganga throughout the year. So the hydropower projects that do not comply with the notification can face closure under the environment protection act of 1986. Now this point is important because power producers generally hold water to create additional reserves so that they can increase power generation and they can increase their profits. And this was done at the cost of the ecosystem because additional reserves for power generation means a decrease in the flow of the river. So this notification will end the creation of additional reserves at the cost of ecosystem and thus this notification affects the profit of hydropower companies. Hence several power generation companies have sued the center seeking compensation for their loss of profits. And today's news is that 4 out of 11 hydropower projects that are present in the upper stretches of Ganga are not following the e-flow notification and the non-compliant projects are given in this table for your reference. So in this discussion what is important is the definition of ecological flow or e-flow then the importance of the notification issued by the center in 2018 regarding the e-flow in Ganga and what is the e-flow mandated by this notification. And we have discussed all these aspects with this we come to the end of this discussion that is a practice question will be discussed in the last session. Moving on to the last discussion for the day which is based on this editorial. This editorial talks about how the freedom of speech and expression which is enshrined in the Indian constitution as well as the restrictions on such freedoms is being misused in the current political arena. The syllabus that is relevant to this discussion is given here for your reference. Now before discussing the editorial let us first understand the fundamental right on freedom of speech and expression. See this freedom of speech and expression is a natural right which a human being acquires on birth. Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression. Moreover liberty to express opinions and ideas without fear of punishment plays significant role in the development of the particular society and the development of the state. So we can say that freedom of speech and expression is the essence of the society and it must be safeguarded all the time. And especially in a democracy the right to free expression is not only the right of an individual but it is also a right of the community to hear and to be informed. So to ensure this right the Indian constitution has listed this right as a fundamental right and it is enshrined in the right to freedom under article 19. And this right is particularly mentioned in article 19 clause 1 sub clause 8 which guarantees that all citizens shall have the right to freedom of speech and expression. This right is available only to the citizens of India and it is not available to any person who is not a citizen of India that is it is not available to foreign nationals. And also know that the right to freedom of speech and expression as a fundamental right is guaranteed to individuals or associations against the action of the state but it is subject to the reasonable restrictions under article 19. So what does this freedom actually implies? This freedom implies that every citizen has the right to express her views, opinions, beliefs and convictions and it can be expressed freely by word of mouth writing, printing, through picturing or in any other manner also. And even Supreme Court gave a list of freedoms which are considered as freedom of speech and expression. And some of them are right to propagate one's view as well as propagating views of others then freedom of press, then commercial advertisements then right to demonstration and so on. So these are all considered as freedoms under freedom of speech and expression. So on a whole we can say that freedom of expression and speech is a liberty to communicate with others and also in immunity from interference by others. It means a person may write or say whatever she pleases as long as she does not infringe any law or she does not infringe the right of others. For example, right to fly national flag freely with respect and dignity is an expression of one's allegiance and pride for their nation. Similarly voting can legitimately be regarded as a form of expression also. But remember that this right to speech and expression is not absolute. That is because the constitution allows the government to limit freedom of expression in the interests of sovereignty and integrity of India in the interest of the security of the state based on decency or morality or it also limits freedom of expression in relation to contempt of court defamation. And this is given under Article 19 Clause 2. However these restrictions were not sufficient and the rights of Article 19 Clause 1 sub clause A were held by some courts as more comprehensive and open to wide interpretation. Even this article debarred the state from punishing or preventing the abuse of this freedom. So that is why to change this scenario the First Amendment Act of 1951 added three more grounds. These grounds are friendly relations with foreign states, public order and incitement to an offense. So based on these grounds reasonable restrictions are placed on the right to speech and expression. So this is the background about freedom of speech and expression. Now coming to the editorial discussion this editorial raises a concern regarding the hate speech. It is because the kind of political campaigns in recent days raises a question that whether free speech constitute hate speech also or not. Because in the name of free speech politicians and authorities have found provocative statements in open stage. So whether it should be considered as free speech and allowed or should it be considered as hate speech and restricted. So these remains biggest question around the freedom of speech. But if you see the US model they allow everything according to the editorial they even allow the hate speech and there are no restrictions on speech and expression. For instance we can take the example of comedy shows. These comedy shows are very popular around the world and they are also popular in US. The comedy shows are one of the ways in which people know about things that are happening around them. And in US through the stand-up comedy they even make fun of somebody who is in power and they can even criticize the policies and politics in a humorous way. But if we consider India in contrast to the US model our country does not allow such blanket freedom of speech. And one such example is sedition and as we know sedition is a criminal offense under section 124 capital A of Indian Penal Code. According to this section of IPC whoever brings or attempts to bring hatred or contempt or disaffection by words spoken or by words written or by signs or any visual representation towards the government or towards any law established by the government then they can be punished. And the punishment shall be imprisonment for life with fine or imprisonment up to three years with fine. So in our country if we show disaffection by words even that is brought under sedition. So that is why we are saying that our country's model is different from US model. And this is what the authors of this editorial are trying to establish. And this can be clearly understood with one another example because you would remember that in 2012 two girls in Mumbai got arrested under section 66 capital A of IT Act of 2000. They were arrested for criticizing the shutdown of Mumbai after the death of Shiv Sena leader on Facebook. They were arrested under this section because this section dealt with punishment for sending offensive messages through communication service. But later if you see in 2015 this section was declared as unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. And this case came to be known as the Shreya single versus Union of India case. Now in this single judgment Justice Nariman says we have to adopt the test that was used by US Supreme Court in the Brandenburg case of 1969. He notes that in that case the distinction between advocacy and incitement was really highlighted. So what is this advocacy and incitement that is specified by the Justice Nariman. To understand these terms you should first understand what the Supreme Court of US said in the Brandenburg case. This Brandenburg case established the Brandenburg test. The Brandenburg test distinguishes between advocacy and incitement to imminent lawless action or imminent unlawful action. This test says in order to punish a person his speech or advocacy should direct towards incitement or it should produce imminent lawless action. And secondly his speech or advocacy should likely to incite or produce such action. So advocacy could be punished only where such advocacy is directed to incitement or likely to incite unlawful actions. So mere discussions or advocating certain point of view is not considered as incitement. And in this case it was noted that advocacy is different from actually preparing or inciting individuals to engage in illegal acts. So this Brandenburg test is one example case on the freedom of speech differentiates between advocacy and incitement. Now citing this Brandenburg case only Justice Nariman highlighted that only incitement is not afforded any protection and incitement must be punished but not advocacy. Because as we saw advocacy is merely advocating a certain point of view it does not amount to incitement. Then the authors also mention about another example on freedom of speech. This example is the phrase pronounced by the Justice U.S. Supreme Court. And this phrase explains what is free speech and what is not. The phrase is the most stringent protection of free speech would not protect a man in falsely shouting fire in a theater and causing a panic. See this phrase had nothing to do with fire or theater. It is just an analogy that is quoted by the Justice to highlight the importance of freedom of speech. What this phrase explains is that if a person falsely shouts fire in theater and causes panic with his words. So if there is no place for argument then it is not a free speech and it should not offer any protection to him. But if there is some scope for argument then no matter how provocative that speech or action is then it should be allowed. So this phrase by Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes of U.S. Supreme Court highlights the importance of free speech, debate, discussion and dissent to the citizens. So both these examples, the Oliver Wendell example and the Brandenburg tests are very tricky because it allows every speech including hate speech unless until it incites violence. And if we agree with them then we agree with what happened in the Nazi Germany where hatred and intolerance towards the Jews community was expressed and this led to unprecedented persecution of Jews by Nazis. So blindly we cannot allow hate speech also. So as a society, as a community, as a country and as a nation we have to ask ourselves whether we really want to allow hate speech. And in this aspect India is similar to European model because for both the countries that is for both the European countries and India hate speech is not the free speech. Both of these countries won't tolerate hate speech even though it may have put restrictions on debate, dissent and freedom of speech and expression. One example for this could be the schedule cast and schedule tribes prevention of atrocities act of our country because this act prevents hurtful speech against the schedule cast communities and the schedule tribe communities. So on a whole we can say that the freedom of speech and expression followed by our country is similar to the European model and it is not based on the US model. And to conclude we can say that in today's scenario there is no clear distinction between the political speech and the kind of restrictions on political speech. Speech that is pertaining to religion and which causes offense to religion is today becoming a part and parcel of political campaigning. So we can't clearly distinguish which is hate speech and which is political speech. So to define what kind of speech is hate speech one has to ask the following questions such as who is making the speech, who is it addressed to and who is addressing or attacking a community that is oppressive or a community that is dominant. So if you can answer these questions then we will know clearly whether the speech which is made in the manner of free speech is a hate speech or not. So being one of the largest democracies of the world the right to free speech and expression is an essential ingredient of our country. But free speech is not an excuse for hate speech and the public indulge in hate speech in the name of free speech and they should not end up defaming other people or other communities beliefs or sentiments. With this we come to the end of this discussion. The displayed practice question will be discussed in the next session which is the practice questions discussion session. This question is a previous year question which was asked in 2017 In this question pairs are given one side commonly used or consumed materials are given the unwanted chemicals or the controversial chemicals that are likely to be found in these materials are given and we have to choose the correct pair. The first pair is lipstick lead. The question asks whether lead is found in lipstick. This pair is correct because lead is a common impurity that is found in cosmetic lip products such as lipsticks and also in other cosmetics such as eyeshadows blushes shampoos body lotions etc. So this pair is correct then the second pair is soft drinks brominated vegetable oils. Now in this brominated means it is treated with bromine and this brominated vegetable oil is a food additive and it is sometimes used to keep citrus flavouring from separating out in some sodas and soft drinks so that means it is used in soft drinks also so this pair is also correct but also know that this food additive is banned in Europe and Japan. Now if you know both these pairs are correct then you can arrive at the final answer which is option D 1, 2 and 3 because no other options have both 1 and 2. Now this third pair is also correct with this Chinese fast food monosodium glutamate. See this monosodium glutamate or MSG was in use and it is a glutamate or it is a salt of glutamic acid and it is a non-essential amino acid. This monosodium glutamate is a neurotransmitter and it transports messages from one nerve cell to another because it is said to enhance flavours so some scientists believe that it excites nerve endings and it exhibits neuro-excitatory properties that is it has the ability to stimulate neurons and this monosodium glutamate is commonly used in Chinese fast food so this pair is also correct. Now this next question is a very simple question based on right to freedom of speech and expression first statement is it is guaranteed under article 19 clause 1 of Indian constitution. This statement is correct because it is particularly provided in article 19 clause 1 sub clause a. So this statement is correct the second statement is it is available to both citizens of India and foreign nationals. Now this statement is wrong because this right is available only to the citizens of India and it is not available to foreign nationals here the question asks for the correct statement the correct answer to this question is option a. one only. Now this question is with reference to the ecological flow notification of 2018. The first statement is it is a 10 year plan by the Niti IO to rejuvenate river Ganga and its tributaries. Now this notification is with respect to river Ganga and its tributaries only but it is not a 10 year plan. This is a notification that was issued to ensure minimum environmental flow in Ganga. So this statement is wrong. Then the second statement is one of its objective is to build more hydroelectric projects in the upper stretches of river Ganga. Now just in first statement we saw that this notification is to ensure minimum environmental flow in Ganga. So logically if you see if there is more hydroelectric projects then there will not be more flow in the river. So logically also this statement is wrong and particularly this notification is aimed at curbing practices like water holding by the existing hydro projects so that ecological flow is ensured in river Ganga. So it does not aim to create more hydro projects. So this statement is also wrong. Now this third statement Central Water Commission is the designated authority to ascertain the actual flow of water in the rivers. Now this statement is correct. Central Water Commission functions under the Ministry of Jalsakthi and it is designated this authority and the CWC shall submit flow monitoring compliance report on a quarterly basis to the national mission for clean Ganga. Now in this question the question asks for the incorrect statement. Yes statement one and two are incorrect. So the correct answer to this question is option A one and two only. Now this question is a previously question which was asked in 2012 lead ingested or inhaled is a health hazard. After the addition of lead to petrol has been banned what still are the sources of lead poisoning. So this question asks the sources of lead poisoning 4 options are given smelting units and pencils paints, hair oils and cosmetics. Now we all know that pencils contain lead. Lead is also common impurity which is found in cosmetic products and it is also found in hair oils and cosmetics and it is used in smelting units also and they are also used in paints. So all these 4 are sources of lead poisoning. Some other common sources of lead include car batteries, radiators some inks etc. So the correct answer is option D one two three and four. Now this question is based on Hankey's annual misery index. 4 statements are given and we have to choose the correct statement. First statement it is released by the United Nations Development Program along with the Human Development Report. Now first remember that this is not a UN developed index so you can eliminate option A and option D. The second option is it is released by the International Labor Organization showing miseries of the laborers in different sectors. Now remember that this Hankey's annual misery index is a kind of economic indicator which is based on 4 components such as rate of unemployment, inflation rate, bank lending rate and the GDP per capita. So the correct answer to this question is option C which mentions all the 4 parameters. According to the 2018 index India was ranked at 4th position and the major issue in India was the higher lending rates. Now this question is based on calcium carbide. In India calcium carbide is indiscriminately used despite being prohibited. It is used extensively as a pesticide in agriculture, preservative in processed foods, fruit ripening agent, moisturizing agent in cosmetics. Now the correct answer to this question is fruit ripening agent. You hear more about calcium carbide in use with respect to fruit vendors who use calcium carbide to ripen the fruits artificially. So this is also a very simple question and a very direct question. And also remember that using calcium carbide as an artificial ripening agent is prohibited in India as per regulation 2.3.5 of food safety and standards prohibition and restriction on sales regulation of 2011. Now this question is based on Gulbarga 4. It was built by the founder of Bahmani dynasty. Now this statement is correct. It was built by Allauddin Hassan Bahman Shah who was the founder of Bahmani dynasty. Now the second statement states Jamia Masjid is situated in this fort. This statement is also correct. Jamia Masjid which is a very unique mosque in India is situated in this fort only and it was also erected by the founder of Bahmani dynasty Allauddin Hassan Bahmani Shah. Now the third statement is it is a Naradurga type fort and an example of military architecture. Now this statement is also correct. Naradurga type of fort means it's a man-made fort and that fort is protected by able-bodied men and it has no natural defenses. And this fort has 15 towers that are mounted with 26 guns and this fort has double fortification. So this fort displays an impregnable defense system. So it is one of the mightiest of all forts and it is also an excellent example of military architecture. So this statement is also correct. So the correct answer to this question is option D 1 2 and 3. Now let us see one main question based on GS paper 2. The right to freedom of speech and expression is not absolute. Discuss. You can write the answer for this question and post it in the comment section. We will review your answer and appropriate suggestion will be provided within 10 days. With this we have come to the end of today's Hindi news analysis. 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