 Good evening aspirants. Welcome to the Hindu News Analysis by Shankara IS Academy for the date 16th of September 2022. The articles taken up for today's discussion are displayed here. With this, let's move on to the news analysis. Have a look at this news article. This news article talks about a meeting chaired by Chief Secretary of Tamil Nadu yesterday. In the meeting, it was discussed about drafting a policy for organic farming in Tamil Nadu. So, in this background, let us understand what is organic farming and some of the government's initiative to promote it in India. So coming to the question, what is organic farming? See, organic farming is a method of farming in which crops are grown using organic manure, bio fertilizers and by adopting other nature-friendly practices. Or to put it more simply, it is a farming method in which the use of synthetic chemicals and fertilizers are strictly prohibited. Here note that manure is obtained naturally by the decomposition of dead plants and animals while bio fertilizers or living organisms when added to the soil will result in improved plant productivity. Most importantly, organic farming reduces reliance on external inputs and it also maximizes productivity by making the best use of ecological principles and processes. Ultimately, it will result in lower crop cultivation costs. Now, let us see some of the initiatives of Government of India to promote organic farming. First initiative, which we are going to discuss is Paramparhat Krishi Vikas Yojana, shortly known as PKVY. See, under PKVY, organic farming is promoted through adoption of organic village by cluster approach. Here, in cluster approach, farmers come together to form a land cluster having at least 50 acre land. This land will be used for organic farming as part of the scheme. PGS certificates are given for the products produced here. Note that PGS or participatory guarantee system is a process of certifying organic products which ensures that their production takes place in accordance with the well lay down quality standards. Second scheme, which we are going to discuss is Mission Organic Value Chain Development for the Northeastern Region. See, this scheme was brought in to realize the potential of organic farming in the Northeast region of the country. This scheme promotes third party certified organic farming of niche crops of Northeastern region through former producer organizations. It primarily focuses on exports. Here, niche crops are nothing but crops that specifically grow in the Northeastern part of our country. Other schemes regarding organic farming are given here for your reference. You can have a look. This is all with respect to the schemes of Government of India regarding organic farming. Now, let's see a few additional facts relating to organic farming in India. First, Sikkim, one of the Northeastern states of India practices organic farming. From the year 2003, Sikkim has stopped the import of chemical fertilizers into the state. Its farmers only use organic manures for cultivation. This has resulted in Sikkim becoming the first organic state of the country. Second, India is an import dependent nation with regards to chemical fertilizers. It imports a huge quantity of fertilizers from abroad, which depletes its foreign currency reserves. Now, with growing research towards organic farming in India, a move towards organic farming will help India solve its perennial problem of import dependence on fertilizers. Through this discussion, we have learned about organic farming and some of the major schemes of Government of India regarding it and a few additional facts regarding organic farming in India. With this, let's move on to the next news article. Have a look at this news article. This article reports about the defection of the members of Legislative Assembly of Goa. This is in news because recently in Goa, eight MLA's of the Congress Party had defected to the ruling BJP party. In this context, we will learn about the Anti-Defection Law, its provisions, exceptions mentioned in the law, its shortcomings and then finally recommendation of various committees relating to the law. The syllabus for this discussion is highlighted here for your reference. Now, let's see what is Anti-Defection Law. For better understanding, first we have to know what defection means. See, the word defection basically means to abandon one's duty or allegiance. Now, in the political sense, defection refers to the act of changing one's party's allegiance. For example, we will take the recent defection in Goa. Here, the eight MLA's were initially got elected from the Congress Party. But now, they had vacated the Congress and joined the BJP. This is what is called as defection. So, to address this evil of political defection, the Anti-Defection Law was passed in the year 1985. Now, let us see in detail about this Anti-Defection Law. See, the 52nd Constitutional Amendment of 1985 added a 10th schedule to the Constitution. The schedule speaks about the Anti-Defection Law. Here, the Anti-Defection Law lays down the procedure by which the members can be disqualified on grounds of defection by the preceding officer of the legislature. They can be disqualified based on a petition by any member of the House. Note that the term members include both the members of the Parliament and the members of the State Legislative Assembly. Now, let's see about some provisions of the Anti-Defection Law. See, Section 2 of the Anti-Defection Law provides for the disqualification of the members of the House belonging to any political party on the following grounds. Firstly, if the member voluntarily gives up the membership of the party, he shall be disqualified. Second, if the member votes in the House against the direction of his party or if he completely abstains from voting against the direction of his party without obtaining any prior permission, then he can be disqualified. Based on the above grounds, we can say that a member elected on a political party ticket should continue in the party by obeying the party's direction. If not, there is a chance that they may face disqualifications. Now, coming to the independent members. See, the independent members, that is, members elected to the House independently without being a member of any political party. They will be disqualified if they join any political party after the elections. And now, coming to the nominated members. They can be disqualified if they join any political party after the expiry of six months from the date on which they join the House. This means that the person can join any political party within six months of taking a seat in the House. However, the law provides two exceptions in relation to this procedure of disqualification. Now, we will see about these exceptions. First one is regarding merger. See, if a member voluntarily gives up the membership of the party as a result of his original party being merged with another party, then they will not be disqualified. A merger is construed to take place provided that two-thirds of the member of the party have agreed to search merger. Coming to the second exception. If a member after being elected as the preceding officer of the House, voluntarily give up the membership of his party and rejoins the party after he ceases to hold that office. In this situation, they cannot be disqualified. This exception has been provided with a view to uphold the dignity and impartiality of the office of the speaker. Note that the 91st Constitutional Amendment Act of 2003 omitted an exception provision. The omitted provision mentioned about disqualification on ground of defection doesn't apply in case of split. The deleted provision said that if the member voluntarily gives up the membership of the party as a result of split of group of members from their original party, then they will not be disqualified. Once again, remember that this provision was removed by the 91st Constitutional Amendment Act. This is all about the exception provisions. Also remember, any question regarding the disqualification arising out of defection will be decided by the preceding officer of the House. Here, the preceding officer means the speaker. Originally, the Act provided that the decision of the preceding officer is final and cannot be questioned in any court. But this was changed in the year 1993. In the famous Kihoto Holohon case, the Supreme Court declared that this particular provision is unconstitutional, since it takes away the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court and the high courts. It further said the preceding officer while deciding a question under the 10th schedule should function as a tribunal, which means that speaker's decision can be subjected to judicial review in terms of shortcomings. Now, let's see about some of the shortcomings in the anti-defection law. Speaking about the speaker's power in disqualification on the grounds of defection, he or she is the ultimate deciding authority on the questions arising out of disqualification. This particular provision leads to controversy because if a member from another party joins the ruling party, then the speaker, who is generally from the ruling party, may delay the proceedings in favour of his party. Another problem with the anti-defection law is that individual decision making of the members of the political parties gets affected because of it. Members of a political party are simply instructed to do what their party whips want them to do. These are some of the problem areas with respect to the anti-defection law. Now, let's see some of the recommendations of the various committees to restructure the law. First, starting with the Dinesh Goswami committee on electoral reforms, it recommended the issue of disqualification should be decided by the president or the governor on the advice of the Election Commission of India rather than by the speaker of the House. If implemented, it will result in reducing the political bias of the decisions made under the anti-defection law. Now, coming to the second recommendation, the Law Commission report of 1999 said, the provision which exempts mergers from disqualification should be deleted. Note that the 10th schedule legalises wholesale defections while punishing retail defectors. Now, coming to the final suggestion, Constitution Review Commission of 2002 suggested that the defector should be barred from holding public office or any renumerative political post for the duration of the remaining term. The vote cast by a defector to topple a government should be treated as invalid. This suggestion was included to help maintain a stable government. That's all regarding the recommendations. Through this discussion, we came to know about the anti-defection law, provisions of it and the need for restructuring the law. With this, let's move on to the next news article. Take a look at this news article. This news article talks about Kutub-Shagi-Tooms complex. Now, suddenly it is in news because yesterday, Karnataka's minister for urban development inaugurated six restored wells inside the Kutub-Shagi-Tooms complex in Hyderabad. The minister even stated that the restored heritage site will assist in making it a solid case for UNESCO World Heritage City status. So, in this background, let us revise about the Kutub-Shagi dynasty. Kutub-Shagi dynasty refers to the Muslim rulers of the Kingdom of Golconda in the southeastern Dekhan region of India. They ruled from 1518 up until 1687, during which Aurangzeb annexed the whole of Dekhan to the Mughal Empire. Note that they were one of the five successor states of the Bhagmani Kingdom. The other Dekhani Sultanates were Agmadnagar, Berar, Bidar and Bijapur. These five Sultanates ruled cumulatively the region present between the Bindian Range and the Krishna River during the medieval period. First, let us see about how Kutub-Shagi dynasty occupied the present-day Telangana region. See what happened is, in 1463 disturbances broke out in the Telangana area of the Bhagmani Kingdom of Dekhan. Sultan Kuli Kutbul Mulk was sent to suppress the uprising. Note that Sultan Kuli Kutbul Mulk was one among the high-ranking military officer under the Mogamadshah Bhagmani who ruled the Bhagmani Kingdom. That is why he was sent to silence the protestors. And when he was successful, he was appointed as the Subhadara of Telangana with Golconda assets headquarters in 1495. Later, with the disintegration of the Bhagmani Kingdom in the early 16th century, Sultan Kuli gained virtual independence. As a result, he established the Kutub-Shagi dynasty. It flourished from 1518 until 1687 when Aurangazup Saharmi invaded the Dekhan. You can see the extent of the kingdom in the image given here. So, the dynasty spanned 171 years in the history of South India. And during this period, Yelid Kings ruled the land and its people. Note that the Kutub-Shagi rulers were great builders and patrons of learning. They not only patronized the Persian culture, but also the regional culture of the Dekhan. The Golconda fought Kutub-Shagi tombs and the Charminar are proof of it. Now look at these beautiful images. These are the Golconda fought Kutub-Shagi tombs and Charminar. Even though not located within the same complex, these three monuments together represent the earliest Kutub-Shagi layer of Hyderabad's history. The Kutub-Shagi tombs alone houses seven tombs dedicated to the former kings of Golconda. Now, talking about specifically the Kutub-Shagi architecture, see, the general architecture plan of these tombs include a raised square base and arched corridor runs around the main building. It generally consists of a single or double-story building with a dome and huge bulbous dome built on the cylinder. A small lattice wall all around the cylinder not only covers it, but also gives an ornamental look to the dome as if it is wearing a necklace. All the buildings are perfectly symmetrical which is a distinct feature of Islamic architecture. The actual grave lies underground below the ornate grave in the main hall. The internal ceiling of the dome is painted with the motifs of the time. So, this is all about the tombs architecture of Kutub-Shagi dynasty. With this, we have come to the end of this particular article discussion. Through this discussion, we have seen about the Kutub-Shagi dynasty and the process through which the first ruler of this dynasty occupied power and also about their tomb architecture. With this, let's move on to the Prillinth practice question discussion. We have two different questions taken up for today's discussion. Coming to the first question, it's a two statement question. Let me read out the question. Consider the following statements. Natural forming does not use chemical or organic fertilizers on the soil. Coming to the second statement, there is no ploughing, soil tilling and beading in natural forming. The question asks for the incorrect statement. Statement one is correct. See, even though both natural and organic forming methods are chemical-free, organic forming still uses fertilizers and manures, such as compost, verirumi, compost, etc. Natural forming does not use chemical or organic fertilizers on the soil. In reality, no additional nutrients are put into the soil or given to the plants. Natural forming increases the breakdown of organic matter by microorganisms and earthworms right on the soil surface, gradually adding nutrients to the soil over time. So, statement one is correct. Now, coming to the second statement. Because of this unique forming method, ploughing, tilling, mixing, manure, beading, and other fundamental agro activities are not done in natural forming. So, statement two is also correct. So, the correct answer for this question is option D. Neither one nor two. Now, coming to the second Prillinth practice question. Consider the following pairs. We have four pairs of dynasties given. We have to match the dynasties with the regions they have ruled. The question asks for how many pairs given are correctly matched. The answer for this question is option D. All four pairs. Let's see briefly about the Bhagmani kingdom and the breakup of the Bhagmani kingdom into five different kingdoms. Bhagmani kingdom, being one of the great medieval Indian kingdoms, was founded against Mogamathbin Thuklaq of the Delhi Sultanate. After nearly 150 years of rule, the Bhagmani kingdom disintegrated into five different kingdoms in the early 16th century. These kingdoms were ruled by five different dynasties. Nizam Shagis ruled the Agamagdnagar, Kutub Shagis ruled the Hyderabad, which we have seen deeply in our news analysis today. Barid Shagis ruled the Bidar region, Imad Shagis ruled the Berar region. And finally, Vijapur was ruled by the Adil Shaghi kingdom. With this, we have come to the end of the Prillinth practice question discussion. I have displayed a main's practice question. Interested aspirants can write your answers and post it in the comment section. With this, we have come to the end of the video. If you have liked today's video, like, comment, share. And if you want to see further videos like this, please subscribe to Shankar I.S. Academy.