 A very good evening aspirants. We have a small announcement for you. We are happy to announce that Shankar IAS Academy is conducting a Free All India Problems Mark Test. As you can see, the test starts on 15th of May 2022. It will be conducted across 13 centres in both online and offline mode. So kindly use this wonderful opportunity and check your progress with our Free All India Problems Mark Test. The registration link for the mark test is given in the description. You can make use of. Welcome to Hindu News Analysis brought to you by Shankar IAS Academy. Today is 23rd of April 2022. The list of articles we are going to discuss today is displayed on the screen. Friends look at this editorial. This editorial is an insight into the fishermen issue between India and Sri Lanka. If you remember last month diplomatic deliberations happened between the countries through the India-Sri Lanka Joint Working Group. But even then proper solutions could not be arrived at and the issue is still continuing. So in this matter, author has provided some workable suggestions. Therefore, let us briefly see the fisherman issue and then the suggestions in detail. Before that the syllabus relevant to this article is highlighted here for your reference. You can go through it. If you read the editorial, the author mentions the fisherman issue as Park Bay issue because the concern is regarding the Park Strait and an island called Kachatiw. See Kachatiw is a tiny rocky island in the Park Strait. We know that Park Strait is a narrow channel of sea which separates Sri Lanka from India. And the Kachatiw is about 12 km from the Indian coast and about 18 km from the nearest Sri Lankan island. We know that the Strait is rich in marine resources which is why it is a preferred fishing location by fishermen of both countries for centuries. And historically Kachatiw is used by fishermen from both countries. Now what is the issue then? See the issues started with the demarcation of the international maritime boundary line which is IMBL. See IMBL is an invisible demarcation and is still not well defined. That is the problem. This means Indian fishermen will not know when they cross the invisible line and enter Sri Lankan waters right. They may also be drifted to Sri Lankan water in an adverse weather conditions. So they often cross the IMBL. But remember even after the demarcation Indian fishermen sometimes knowingly crossed the line as Sri Lanka was busy with handling its civil war. So no one was paying attention to them. This scenario changed when the civil war ended in 2009. After this when Indian fishermen crossed IMBL they are intercepted by the Sri Lankan Navy and are accused of illegal fishing. Here fishermen get arrested and their boats were confiscated by the Sri Lankan authorities. So this is the second issue. And the issue is further aggravated as the confiscated boats were auctioned off by the Sri Lankan government. But through diplomatic channel there exists a bilateral understanding between the government of India and Sri Lanka on the matter and to finalize the disposal of unsolvable Indian fishing boats. But still the boats are being auctioned. Also the IMBL issue should be seen with the Kachatiwu island issue. Why? Because Indian fishermen particularly Tamil Nadu fishermen has traditional fishing rights on this island. But an agreement was signed in 1974 through which the island was ceded to Sri Lanka by India under Mrs Indira Gandhi's government. We can understand that Tamil Nadu government's opinion was not sought before this action. So overall these affected the traditional fishing rights of Indian Tamil fishermen in the Park Bay. And along with this certain operational issues were also existed. This includes the use of mechanized fishing vessels and practicing bottom trawling by Indian fishermen. See in bottom trawling large fishing nets are dragged along the seabed. This scoops out huge quantity of prawns, small fishers etc on the seabed at one go. Know that this is an exploitative method of fishing and affects the marine resources. Therefore bottom trawling is banned in Sri Lanka. So when Indian side uses this technique it was opposed by Sri Lanka. And these are the important issues in the India Sri Lanka fisherman matter. Before seeing Arthur's suggestion for solving the issue you may have a question. What is the justification by Indian fishermen particularly Tamil Nadu fishermen to undertake the above matters of concern? See first as I already said the Park Bay is rich in marine resources. Therefore fisherman's livelihood depends on it. Second is traditional fishing relationship they had with the Sri Lankan fishermen. And thirdly there is a lack of fishing areas consequent to the demarcation of the IMBL. This means if fishermen only fish on the Indian side they do not get much resources. Rather the sea is shallow full of rocks and coral reefs. These are not ideal conditions for fishing. Now the fourth concern is the distance of IMBL from the Indian side. See the closest place in India to IMBL is in Tamil Nadu. It is the Dhanushkodi in Rameshwaram Taluk of Ramanadaburam district. As you can see in the map Rameshwaram is an island also called the Pamban island. And Dhanushkodi is the southernmost tip of the island and is 9 nautical miles from the IMBL. This distance is an issue because mechanized fishing boards are allowed only beyond 3 nautical miles from the coast. This is as per the Tamil Nadu state legislation called the Tamil Nadu Marine Fishing Regulation Act 1983. So often while going beyond 3 nautical miles the Rameshwaram fisherman crosses the IMBL by mistake. This is why we often hear that Rameshwaram fishermen have been arrested by Sri Lanka. So to deal with issues and genuine problems of Indian fishermen many efforts have been taken. Main effort among them is the India Sri Lanka Joint Working Group. Joint Working Group meetings are being conducted to release the fisherman and fishing boards to discuss the procedures and protocols to be followed during the patrolling. The joint working group meetings also discusses about how to handle the fisherman in humanitarian matter and their release. The latest fifth meeting was held in March 2022. These are the salient points addressed. Go through it to know the efforts taken by the joint working group. This will be helpful in Maine's answer writing. Now what are the suggestions given by the author? Arthur's main suggestion is to include the fisherman of two countries in the negotiations. This is possible in the particular period of April to May. Why because this is when annual 45 day fishing ban is in place to conserve marine resources and facilitate fish breeding. In these negotiations what Indian fishermen needs to do? See they can present a road map for transition to deep sea fishing or alternative method of fishing. They can agree for a short and swift transition. Here the central and state governments can guarantee that the transition happens. Then what Sri Lankan fishermen needs to do? They have to understand that the transition to alternative methods of fishing needs some time. So in the meanwhile they shall refrain from adopting any rigid legal measures that will strain the India-Sri Lanka relationship more. Remember that Sri Lanka is going through an economic crisis and India is helping them. This should not be forgotten by the Sri Lankan government. Now the next suggestion is modifying the scheme on deep sea fishing to include the unit cost of fishing vessel along with running cost. See many schemes of the government are aimed at promoting deep sea fishing which is done by converting existing fish vessels or assisting in buying new one. They also provide subsidy. The problem is the subsidy is provided only for the unit cost. So Arthur is suggesting to cover the operational cost also. This will encourage more fishermen to go for deep sea fishing practices. Now the next suggestion is implementing Pradhan Mandri Matsya Sampatha Yojana in Tamil Nadu in a proactive manner. See Pradhan Mandri Matsya Sampatha Yojana is launched for a period of five years from fiscal year 2020 to 21 to fiscal year 2024 to 25 after the ending of blue revolution scheme. It aims to bring blue revolution through sustainable and responsible development of fisheries sector in India. This scheme is designed to address critical gaps in the fisheries value chain from fish production, productivity and quality to technology, post harvest infrastructure and marketing. Mainly it covers alternative livelihood measures also like seaweed cultivation, open sea cage cultivation and sea or ocean ranching. So implementing the scheme will enhance the earning of fishermen. Next suggestion is early commissioning of joint research on fisheries which was agreed in joint working group meeting. It will help to cover the issue faced by fishermen and also the adverse impact of bottom trawling. The research will pay way for arriving at scientific solutions. Now the final suggestion is establishing an institutional mechanism to regulate fishing activity in the region. It could be a permanent and multi-stakeholder mechanism which will enable to cover all the matters. Therefore, by adopting these suggestions author recommends to solve the fishermen issue in a more diplomatic and humanitarian manner. So that is all regarding this editorial. In this editorial we saw about Kachativ which is a tiny rocky island in the Park Strait. Park Strait is a narrow channel of sea which separates Sri Lanka from India. Then we have seen some of the issues like the use of mechanized fishing vessels and practicing bottom trawling by Indian fishermen. Then we have seen some important suggestions given by the author. The main suggestion is to include the fishermen of both the countries in the negotiations. Now the next suggestion is to modify the scheme on deep sea fishing to include the unit cost of fishing vessel along with running or operating cost. Now the next suggestion is to implement Pradhan Mandri Matsya Sampath Ayojana in Tamil Nadu in a proactive manner. And then the author suggests early commissioning of joint research on fisheries which was agreed in joint working group meeting. And the final suggestion is to establish an institutional mechanism to regulate fishing activity in the region. So with these key learned points we will move on to next news article discussion. Friends look at this news article. The article here says that Pallava style stones were found near Mahmalaburam. The stones are exposed due to the eroding action of the waves. Officers from Archaeological Survey of India have taken some stones to their local office to check their authenticity. We all know about the UNESCO World Heritage Site which is the group of monuments at Mahabalipuram right. And we all know that these monuments were built during the Pallava period. The question is whether these are the only monuments in Mahmalaburam that the Pallavas built. There is a local legend among the people in Mahmalaburam that there once was seven temples in Mahmalaburam that were so beautiful and they invited the envy of the gods. Of the seven temples only one is surviving which is nothing but the shore temple. People believe that the rest of the temples are now under sea due to sea action. So if the Archaeological Survey of India is convinced that the stones that are now discovered in Mahmalaburam are indeed from the Pallava period then the local legend will not just remain a myth but will turn into history. So this is about the news article. In the context of this news article let us learn about Pallava architecture. See Pallavas were one of the ancient rulers of South India. They ruled over mainly the northern part of Tamil Nadu and the northern part of Tamil Nadu was called Tonday Mandalam. Their rule lasted approximately from 560 CE to 906 CE until they were replaced by the Imperial Cholas. Pallavas left behind many inscriptions and monuments. Although the Pallava kings were mostly Shaivite, several Vaishnava shrines also served from their reign. From various inscriptions, Buddhist and Jain influence on Pallavas can also be found. See in the early phase most of the Pallava works were rocket and this in the later phase evolved into structural temples. First let us take the rocket temple phase. Now what is the difference between rocket and structural temples? In case of rocket temples, the temples is curved out of a whole rock block while in case of structural temples it is built using several blocks of rocks. So look at this image here. This is the famous Mandagapattu temple. This was built by Pallava king Mahendraverman. The Pallava king Mahendraverman was a pioneer in rocket architecture and the Mandagapattu temple was the first rocket temple built by him. If you observe the image closely, the rocket cave structure has two pillars in the front. On either side of the entrance you can see two Dwarapallas who are gatekeepers and this is about the Mandagapattu temple. The next famous rocket architecture of this period is the Panchapandava Rathas. The Tamil Dravidan tradition of rocket monuments is perfectly illustrated by the Panchapandava Rathas. The five Rathas are Draupati Ratha, Dharma Raja Ratha, Bhima Ratha, Arjuna Ratha and Nagula Sahadeva Ratha. See the outer walls of the Rathas especially of Arjuna, Bhima and Dharma Raja are decorated with various motifs. The main motif being mythology and the sculptures of gods, goddesses, monarchs and scenes from mythology decorate the outer walls of the Rathas. The last famous rocket monument of this period is Arjuna's penance or the descent of the Ganges. Look at this image here. It is a giant open air rock relief curved on two monolithic rock boulders. The legend depicted in the relief is the story of the descent of Ganges to earth from the heavens led by Bhagiratha. There are more than 150 beautiful life-like figures in this monument. If you see, you can notice a figure in the middle of the monument. This represents the descent of the river Ganges from heaven. You can also note that most of the living beings in the monument are seen facing the river and many appear to be rushing towards it. You can notice here Arjuna doing his penance and you can also see Lord Shiva blessing him. See if you find time just look at this image for some time and you will find so much details in it. Look here, here is a cat doing penance like Arjuna and it is surrounded by rats. This is why this open air rock relief is very famous. This is filled with many small details and meanings and this monument keeps surprising you with a new detail every time you look at it. Now moving on, the rocket temple architecture stale started going into decline around 700 CE. Around the same period the structural temples came into prominence. The main reason why the structural temples replace the rocket temples is that the structural temples provided a wider scope to the sculptor to use his skill. Now let us see some of the structural temples of the Palava period. Look at this image here. This is the famous shore temple and this was built by Pallava king Narasimha Verma II. He also goes by the name Rajasimha and this temple is oriented to the east facing the ocean. If you study the temple closely you will find that it actually houses three shrines, two to Shiva and one to Vishnu. This is unusual because temples normally will have a single main shrine and not three areas of worship. What does this signify then? This shows that the shore temple was probably not originally conceived like this and different shrines may have been added at different times. Now moving on in the shore temple compound there is evidence of a water tank and an early example of Gopuram. This is all about the shore temple. In addition to the shore temple the Palava king Narasimha Verma II also built the Kanchi Kailasanatha temple and another structural temple of this era which is the famous Kanchi Vaikonta Perumal temple was built by Palava king Nandi Verma II and this is about the Palava period architecture. What have we seen so far? We have seen about Palava architecture and Palava were one of the ancient rulers of South India. They ruled over mainly the northern part of Tamil Nadu which was called Tonday Mandalam approximately from 560 CE to 906 CE and we have seen that most of the Palava kings were shy white and then we saw about the difference between the rocker temple and structural temples that is in case of rocker temples the temple is carved out of a whole rock block while in case of structural temples it is built using several blocks of rocks. Then we have seen Mandagapattu temple which was built by Palava king Mahendra and then we saw Pancha Pandavaratas and Arjuna's penance. Then we have seen some of the details about famous shore temple which was built by Palava king Narasimha Verma II. So that is all regarding this news article now we will move on to next news article discussion. Now look at this news article this news article mentions about a campaign which aims at documenting the title flooding in Kerala. Under the campaign people were asked to take photos and videos capturing the severity of tidal flooding. In this manner let us know what is tidal flooding and its impacts. As you know flood is a natural disaster and it can be caused by a number of factors depending on the factors there are many types of flooding and one among them is the tidal flooding. See tidal flooding is also called as coastal flooding it is the temporary inundation of coastal areas during exceptionally high tides or storm surges. See high tide occurs when tides reach anywhere from 1.75 to 2 feet above the daily average high tide. Here they start spilling onto streets or start bubbling up from storm drains. So it is also called high tide flooding. Nowadays in many coastal cities minor tidal flooding occurs right these are high tide flooding only but are non-life-threatening floods but around the world it is also called by different names such as recurrent flooding, sunny day flooding, shallow coastal flooding or nuisance flooding. Now what about storm surges? See storm surge is also a coastal phenomena it is the abnormal rise in the sea level generated by a storm. This rise is over and above the predicted astronomical tides. Generally a surge is generated due to interaction of air, sea and land. Now during a cyclone or a storm the cyclone provides the driving force in the form of very high horizontal pressure gradient and very strong surface winds. This makes the seawater to flow across the coast along with strong winds and heavy downpour. So ultimately inundation happens. The degree of destructive potential depends on the storm surge amplitude associated with the cyclone. So remember that storm surge is an inherent destructive aspect of cyclones and that is why large number of casualties occur during tropical cyclones. Climate change and the resultant sea level rise worsen the impacts of storm surges. So overall tidal flooding occurs when there are higher than normal water level along the coast which are caused by tidal changes or thunder storms that result in flooding. This flooding can last from days to weeks. The situation becomes much worse if high tide combines with the storm surge. So remember that tidal flooding is not caused by the overflow of inland waters like rivers and streams and also it is not caused by an unusual accumulation of water due to heavy rains or dam breaches etc. One of the important features of tidal flooding is this type of flooding usually occurs over a short period of time. But still it can quickly cause significant impacts to low lying coastal areas. Plus it occurs when coastal defense are unable to contain the normal predicted high tides. Also with rising sea level more and more cities are becoming increasingly exposed and vulnerable to tide flooding. Now what are its impacts? See they affect the low lying and exposed assets or infrastructure. So it affects road, harbor, public storm, water system, wastewater systems and freshwater systems. Particularly private and commercial properties are also affected by the flooding. It also erodes beaches and embankments. It results in invitation of human settlements affecting lives and livelihood. It affects our health also by contamination and spreading of infection or disease. It also inundates the agricultural fields. This damages the crops thereby destroying the vegetation and also reduces soil fertility. So that is all regarding tidal flooding. In this discussion we have learned about tidal flooding. It is also called coastal flooding. It is a temporary inundation of coastal areas during exceptionally high tides or storm surges. Storm surges are nothing but the abnormal rise in the sea level generated by storm. Then we have seen some of the impacts of tidal flooding. With this learning we will move on to next news article discussion. Now look at this article. It says that a webinar on epilepsy management is going to be conducted as a part of the wellness series presented by Naravi hospitals and the Hindu. This is the crux of the article given here. In this context let us learn about epilepsy from Prillim's perspective. First of all what is epilepsy? C. As per World Health Organization epilepsy is a chronic non-communicable disease of the brain that affects around 50 million people worldwide. It is characterized by recurrent seizure. C. A seizure is nothing but a sudden uncontrolled electrical disturbance in the brain. C. They are brief episodes of involuntary movement that may involve a part of the body or the entire body and they are sometimes accompanied by loss of consciousness and loss of control of bowel or bladder function. Note that it affects people of all ages and World Health Organization statistics shows that around 50 million people worldwide have epilepsy and it is very common in India especially in children. Now with this basic understanding let us see why this is occurring. C. Epilepsy is not contagious. Not contagious means it cannot spread by contact. Although many underlying disease mechanisms can lead to epilepsy the cause of the disease is still unknown in about 50% of the cases globally. See the causes of epilepsy are divided into several categories. They are structural, genetic, infectious, metabolic, immune and unknown categories. Some of the examples include brain damage from prenatal or perinatal causes, example a loss of oxygen or trauma during birth and low birth weight etc. And other examples includes congenital abnormalities or genetic conditions with associated brain malformations and severe head injury, a stroke that restricts the amount of oxygen to the brain and then infection of the brain such as meningitis, encephalitis or neurocystic circuses, genetic syndromes and a brain tumor. These are the examples. C. One seizure does not signify epilepsy. This is because up to 10% of the people worldwide have one seizure during their lifetime. A person is diagnosed with epilepsy if they have two or more unprovoked seizures that were not caused by some known or reversible medical conditions like alcohol withdrawal or extremely low blood sugar. Now let us see the prevention measures. C. An estimated 25% of epilepsy cases are preventable. Preventing head injury is the most effective way to prevent post-traumatic epilepsy. Adequate perinatal care can reduce new cases of epilepsy caused by birth injury. The use of drugs and other methods to lower the body temperature of a feverish child can reduce the chances of febrile seizures. The prevention of epilepsy associated with stroke is focused on cardiovascular risk factor reduction. Examples measures to prevent or control high blood pressure, diabetes and obesity and the avoidance of tobacco and excessive alcohol use. C. Central nervous system infections are common causes of epilepsy in tropical areas where many low and middle income countries are concentrated. Elimination of parasites in these environments and education on how to avoid infections can be effective ways to reduce epilepsy worldwide. C. Epilepsy has significant economic implications in terms of healthcare needs, premature death and lost work productivity. Although the social effects vary from country to country, the stigma and discrimination that surround epilepsy worldwide are often more difficult to overcome than the seizures themselves. People living with epilepsy can be targets of prejudice. The stigma of the disease can discourage people from seeking the treatment. Keeping all this in mind, World Health Organization and its partners recognize that epilepsy is a major public health concern. World Health Organization and the International League Against Epilepsy and the International Bureau of Epilepsy let the global campaign again epilepsy to bring the disease out of the shadows. And this is to provide better information and raise awareness about epilepsy and to strengthen public and private efforts to improve care and reduce the disease impact. So that's all regarding epilepsy and this news article. Now with all these key learned points let us move on to next part of our news article discussion which is nothing but preliminary practice questions discussion. Now look at the first question that is regarding tidal flooding. Which of the following statements is or are correct with reference to tidal flooding? Option A, it occurs as a result of water overflowing from river channels. Option B, it is caused by exceptionally high tides and not by storm surges. And option C, it results in inundation of agricultural fields and reducing soil fertility. Option D, it is a minor type of flooding and always non-life threatening. See here, the correct answer is option C. Option A is incorrect because flooding that occurs as a result of water overflowing from river channels is called river flooding or fluvial flooding. It happens due to high rainfall and due to the low capacity of the ground and rivers to observe and transport the water. And statement B, it is incorrect because tidal flooding is caused by both high tides and storm surges. And option D, it is also incorrect because not all tidal flooding are minor. Only the high tide flooding is minor and is often non-life threatening whereas storm surge results in high casualties. So, our final answer here is option C. Now look at the second question. Consider the following statements with reference to epilepsy. Statement 1, it is a neurological disorder but is contagious. Statement 2, it is caused due to generic factors only. Now you have to find the correct statement. Here, the statement 1 is incorrect. See, the first part is correct. Epilepsy is a chronic disease of the brain. It is characterized by recurrent seizures. But the second part of the statement is incorrect because epilepsy is not contagious. Statement 2, it is also incorrect. The causes of epilepsy are divided into structural, genetic, infectious, metabolic, immune and unknown causes. We saw examples of it also. So, it does not occur because of generic factors alone. So, both the statements are incorrect. Here, our final answer is option D, neither one nor two. Now look at the third question. Consider the following statements about Mahendra Varman 1. Statement 1, he is also known as Mamalla. He built the famous city of Mamallapuram. Statement 2, he defeated Chalukya king Pulikesh into in the famous battle of Vattapi. Statement 3, he wrote the Sanskrit play, Matavilasa Prahasana. Now you have to find the correct statement. See, the first two statements are wrong because both the statements are not about Mahendra Varman 1 but his son Narasimha Varman 1. See, Narasimha Varma 1 is also known as Mamalla and he built the famous city of Mamallapuram. Mahendra Varma was defeated by Pulikesh in 2 in the battle of Pulallur. To avenge the defeat of his father, Narasimha Varman 1 defeated Pulikesh in 2 in the battle of Vattapi. Since he captured Vattapi from the Chalukyas, he is also called Vattapi Kundan. Now moving on to the third statement. See here, the third statement is correct. Mahendra Varma 1 wrote the Sanskrit play, Matavilasa Prahasana. So here, our final answer is option C, three only. The main question is displayed here. Write your answer and post it in the comment section. If you like the video, hit the like button, post your comments and share the video with your friends. And don't forget to subscribe Shankar IS Academy YouTube channel. Thanks for watching.