 A very good evening aspirants, we are happy to announce that Shankar IAS Academy is conducting a free all India prelims mock test. As you can see, the test will be conducted across 13 centres both in online and offline mode. The test starts on 15th of May 2022. Use this wonderful opportunity and check your progress with our free all India prelims mock test. The link for the registration is given in the description, kindly make use of it. Welcome to Hindu news analysis brought to you by Shankar IAS Academy, today is 30th of April 2022. The list of articles we are going to discuss today is displayed on the screen. You can go through it. Now, let's start our discussion. Look at this editorial. This editorial talks about making Hindi as a lingua franca. Here lingua franca means a short language of communication or a bridge language. See, it is a language used for communication between groups of people who speak different languages. Okay. In the current scenario, there is a plan of making Hindi as a lingua franca. Note that this is to replace English in interstate communication. This is suggested by the union home minister at the parliamentary official language committee. See, we all know that India is a harmonious nation following linguistic pluralism. Hence, the imposition of one language in neglect of the others in a multilingual state may be disastrous. And this is the crux of the news article given here. So, in this context, let us discuss about the constitutional provisions that talk about the Hindi language and then we will discuss about the pros and cons of implementing Hindi as lingua franca. Lastly, let us end our discussion with a way forward. Okay. Now, let us see that the syllabus relevant to this article is highlighted here for your reference. Just go through it. Now, let us start our discussion. Now, let us see about the constitutional provisions that talks about the Hindi language. Firstly, take article 343-1. It states that official language of the union government shall be Hindi in Devanagari script. Secondly, take article 351. It gives power to the union government to issue a directive for the development of the Hindi language. Also, note that the Hindi language is one of the 22 languages of the 8th schedule of the constitution. Okay. Here, you have to know that language to be used in the Supreme Court and High Court and for bills, acts, etc., is the English language. Having seen the constitutional provisions, now let us see how prevalent is this language in India. See, language is a medium and a means of putting one's thoughts and opinions to others. Am I right? According to 2011 census, India has around 1,635 languages, out of which 22 languages are mentioned in the 8th schedule of the constitution. First, let us see the advantage of using Hindi as a lingua franca. See, Hindi is still the most widely spoken language in the country with an estimated 528 million people declaring that Hindi is their native language and millions of people are comfortable with Hindi. Thus, usage of Hindi language along with respecting the various native languages would ensure better coordination and cooperation among all the states. It acts as a strong unifying factor and eliminates all regional differences. Okay. Here, we can take the examples of countries like Germany, Japan, France, Italy, etc. They use their respective languages as a means of communication even during international forums. This has enhanced the reputation of those countries. Also, those languages have gained a huge reputation worldwide. Similarly, if India uses Hindi, even in international forums, the prestige of Hindi and India would be significantly raised. Now, having seen about the pros of using Hindi as a lingua franca, now let us see its cons. See, only 8 of the 28 states in India have Hindi as their official state language. See, this is less than one-third of the states. Secondly, many in the states of Tamil Nadu, parts of Karnataka, Kerala, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and a few Northeast states does not know how to read, write or speak Hindi. This is because the scripts of their native language and the Dev Nagari script of Hindi greatly differ. So, it would be grossly inappropriate to enforce Hindi upon them, right? Thirdly, people in parts of Tamil Nadu and other parts of the country have gone to the extent of having anti-Hindi agitations. This shows that it is not just about language or just a communication, but also a very emotive issue to them. Thus, making them apprehensive that Hindi would largely benefit only those from the 8 Hindi speaking states and suppress their native language. See, while talking about the cons, I would like to quote the examples given by the author of this editorial. The author says that Pakistan and Sri Lanka are textbook examples of how stubbornness over language ruined nations. In East Pakistan, Jinnah forced that there should be only one language and that should be Urdu. This triggered Bengali nationalism and led to the eventual separation of East Pakistan from Pakistan. Then in case of Sri Lanka, the Sinhala Only Act of 1956 triggered intense enmity and distress between the Sinhalis and the Tamils. The act replaced English with Sinhala as the sole official language of the nation with the exclusion of Tamil. This friction sparked the decades-long civil war and ruined the nation. Okay? See, India is a land of many wonderful languages. So declaring one language as a national language would be totally unfair to other languages. But a certain framework should be established between the centre and all the state governments where Hindi can be used up to a certain level while giving due respect to various regional languages. This will mutually benefit everyone. For this, India should emulate the multi-linguistic accommodative policy of Singapore and South Africa, thereby avoiding the disastrous linguistic chauvinism of Pakistan or Sri Lanka. See, Hindi is the first language of the residents of only 12 of the states and union territories. This is according to the 2011 Language Census of India. So, imposing Hindi as a lingua franca would create disharmony among the Indians as a whole. Moreover, there are better ways to foster national unity than imposing a language, like creating a common market for the country through a single simplified tag structure. Okay? Hence, to conclude, a multi-linguistic accommodative policy is essential to maintain peace and harmony in a multi-linguistic country like India. So that's all regarding this editorial. In this editorial, we saw some of the constitutional provisions related to Hindi language and then we saw about pros and cons of using Hindi as a lingua franca. With this, let us conclude this editorial and take up the next news article. Look at this news article. This news article is about a direction given by Madras High Court. The court said that entire forest in the state, mainly the Sholaf forest of the western gods might die if immediate steps are not taken to arrest the spread of exotic and invasive species. The Madras High Court directed the center as well as the state government to use the MG Nareka funds to completely remove such species. The court also said proceeds from selling the wood of the failed invasive species should be maintained as a separate corpus fund. The revenue generated from the sale of wood should be used for further removal of invasive species. This is about the news article. So in this discussion, let us learn about some basic ecologic terms like keystone species, flagship species, exotic species, invasive species, alien species and edge species. This is extremely important in terms of prelims. Now let us start our discussion. Let us take keystone species. What is this keystone species? A keystone species may be a plant or animal species which plays a unique and crucial role in its ecosystem. Disappearance of the keystone species might drastically affect the functioning of the ecosystem. So by focusing on conservation of the keystone species, the healthy functioning of the ecosystem can be ensured. The example of keystone species can be bees and bats. See without bees and bats, pollination will be seriously impacted. Another example would be saguaro cactus. Native to the Sonaran desert of the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, the saguaro cactus is a keystone species that provides critical nesting spots for birds like red-tailed hawks and woodpeckers. The saguaro cactus also provides food to various animals. So this is about keystone species. Now moving on to flagship species. What is this flagship species? See a flagship species is a species selected to act as an ambassador icon or symbol for a defined habitat. A flagship species might also be chosen for a particular issue, campaign or environmental cause. By focusing on the conservation of that species, the status of many other species which shares its habitat may be also improved. Important point to note here is that flagship species may or may not be a keystone species. It is not mandatory that flagship species must be a keystone species. The classic example for flagship species is the giant panda. We all know pandas are cute and cuddly. They are cherishmatic and generate a lot of buzz about conservation. But note that pandas are not keystone species. In Indian perspective, tigers are flagship species. In case of tiger, they are both flagship and keystone species. Now moving on to exotic species. Exotic species refers to a plant species or an animal species that is non-native. They are introduced into an area where it does not occur naturally. The introduction of the exotic species may be deliberate or accidental. It is not always considered a nuisance or invasive. That is not all exotic species are invasive. For example, some of the non-invasive exotic species includes various dog breeds like Labrador, Husky and Pug. Although they are not native to India, they are not invasive. See exotic species are also called as alien species. Now moving on to invasive species. See invasive species include any non-native species that significantly modifies or disrupts the ecosystem it colonizes. Edge species may arrive in new areas through natural migration but they are often introduced by human activities. Examples for invasive species in India include Lantana, Vatil, Eucalyptus and Prosopis juleflora. Now moving on to edge species. See what is this edge species? For understanding edge species, we must first understand what ecotone is. Ecotone is a zone of junction or a transition area between two biomes. Classic example of ecotone is mangrove forest. Note that mangrove forest represent an ecotone between marine and terrestrial ecosystems. Sometimes the number of species and the population density of some of the species in the ecotone that is the transition zone between the biomes is much greater than either biome. This is called edge effect. The species that are affected by this edge effect that is a species that are found abundantly in the ecotone are called edge species. See most birds are edge species because the density of birds is greater in the ecotone. So that's all regarding this news article. Now we will do a quick recap. What have we seen so far? We have seen about various species. First we saw about keystone species. A keystone species may be a plant or animal species which plays a unique and crucial role in its ecosystem. Disappearance of the keystone species might drastically affect the functioning of the ecosystem. Then we have seen about flagship species. They are selected to act as an ambassador, icon or symbol for a defined habitat. Then we have seen about exotic species. It refers to plant species or animal species that is non-native. Then invasive species include any non-native species that significantly modifies or disrupts the ecosystem it colonizes. Then finally we saw about edge species that are found abundantly in the ecotone. Ecotone is nothing but a zone of junction or a transition area between two biomes. With these keystone points now we will move on to next news article discussion. Now look at this news article. This news article talks about custodial death. The article says that a tribal man from Kurava community died in the sub-jail while he was in judicial custody. The family of the victim claim tortured by the police. But the police claim that the victim has multiple seizures while he was in custody due to alcohol withdrawal syndrome. This is about the news article. See, custodial death is an important issue. Yesterday, while discussing about death penalty, we saw that in the last decade, four people were executed under capital punishment. But the number of custodial deaths is very high. Recently in August 2021, our union minister of state for home affairs mentioned that in the past three years alone, 348 people died in police custody in India while 5,221 died in judicial custody. Next contrast the extremes between execution under capital punishment and custodial death. See, in this discussion, we are not going to talk about custodial death. We will wait for a good editorial article about the manners of custodial death and discuss it in detail. So instead in this discussion, let us look into the difference between police custody and judicial custody as our prelims exams are nearing. Before getting into police custody and judicial custody, let us first see what is an arrest. Yesterday, we saw that the CRPC was reenacted in 1973. The CRPC deals with the procedure for the administration of criminal law in the country. In CRPC chapter 5, section 41, lists the legal provisions about arrest. A person is arrested mainly to put a restriction on his or her freedom of movement. So in essence, arrest directly curtailes the personal liberty of a person. See the process of arrest can be done by a police officer or officer of investigating agency if the officer is satisfied that the arrest is necessary. And why they are arrested? First, a person is arrested to prevent from committing the offense further. And then an arrest can be made to prevent tampering of evidence and for proper investigation. Now, does the person being arrested have some rights? Yes, they actually do have some right. The CRPC does provide some rights to the arrested person. Firstly, an arrested person has the right to be informed about the grounds of arrest. Secondly, there is an application on the person making the arrest to inform about the arrest to a nominated person. Thirdly, the arrested person also has the right to meet an advocate of choice during interrogation. Fourthly, the law also makes an examination by a medical practitioner mandatory after the arrest. Finally, the most important right provided to the arrested person is that the arresting authority cannot detain a person in custody for more than 24 hours without producing him or her before a magistrate as per section 57 of CRPC. We also know that Article 22 of the Constitution of India also has provisions for protection of a person during arrest or detention. These are some of the basic rights provided to the arrested persons. Having seen the basics about the arrest, now let us move on to police custody. What is police custody? We know that according to section 57 of CRPC, the arresting authority cannot detain a person in custody for more than 24 hours. Once this 24-hour period expires, the arrested person has to be produced before a judicial magistrate. The judicial magistrate under section 167 of CRPC can extend the arrested person to be in custody of the police for not more than 15 days. This period, that is, in the first 24 hours and next 15-day period, the person in custody is under the control of the officer who made the arrest. This period is called police custody. So, in essence, the police custody means that the person is confined at a lock-up or remains in the custody of the officer. Having understood the basics about police custody, now we will see what is judicial custody. See, after the lapse of 15 days or the police custody period granted by the magistrate, the person may be further remanded to judicial custody. Judicial custody means that the person is detained under the purview of the judicial magistrate and the person is lodged in central or state prison. See, this 15 days of judicial custody is not always provided by the magistrate. In some cases, courts may directly remand a person to judicial custody. If the court concludes that, there is no need of police custody or extension of police custody. The judicial custody can extend up to 60 days or 90 days as a whole. So, this is about judicial custody. So, to summarize, the difference between judicial custody and police custody is that in case of police custody, the person who is arrested is held in the lock-up, that is, the police station. And in case of judicial custody, the person is lodged in the state or central prison. Now, the next difference is that in case of police custody, the arrested person is under the purview of the officer who made the arrest, while in case of judicial custody, the person is under the purview of the judicial magistrate. Further, in police custody, the investigating authority can directly interrogate a person, but while in judicial custody, officials need permission of the court for questioning. These are some of the basic differences between police custody and judicial custody. So, that is all regarding this news article. Now, we will move on to next news article discussion. Look at this news article. This article is about Nilgiri Thar. The article says that survival rate of newly-born Nilgiri Thars is found to be the highest at Rajamala in Iravikulam National Park than in other isolated natural habitats. The survival rate in Iravikulam National Park is 18% while in other habitats, it is just 4%. The reason behind the high survival rate in Iravikulam National Park is very interesting. The reason is that in Iravikulam National Park, there is a presence of humans and vehicular traffic unlike other habitats of Nilgiri Thar. Due to the presence of humans and vehicular traffic, Iravikulam National Park has less number of natural predators like tigers, leopards, and wild jackals. That is the reason why the survival rate of Nilgiri Thar is high in Iravikulam National Park. This is about the news article. In this context, let us revise about Nilgiri Thar. First, let us know about the habitat of Nilgiri Thar. See, Nilgiri Thar is a mountain angulate endemic to the southern part of western gods. What are angulates? Angulates primarily consist of large mammals with hooves. Now, Nilgiri Thar is found in a roughly 400 kilometer stretch in the western gods which falls in the states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. They can be found mostly in open montane grassland habitat of rainforest ecoregion. They mostly dwell at elevations from 1200 to 2600 meters of the southwestern gods. As we saw in the news article, the Iravikulam National Park in Anamalai Hills, Kerala is home to the largest population of the Nilgiri Thar with more than 700 individuals. And Nilgiri Thar can also be found in isolated habitats like Pothadi, Kambakallu, Kundala, Sankumala, Mishapuli Mala, Silent Valley, Sukkanadumala etc. In addition to this, smaller populations of Nilgiri Thar can also be found in the Pallani Hills, Steeveeliputur, Megamalai and Agastya Ranges. Now, moving on to its conservation status, it has been listed as endangered by IUCN. In case of India, it has been listed under Schedule 1 of the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972. Now, let us see some additional points about Nilgiri Thar. First, know that it is a state animal of Tamil Nadu. Second, look at this image here. In the image, you can notice a light gray area and the back of the Thar. See, only adult male Nilgiri Thar develop this gray spot. Due to this feature, they are also called saddlebacks. Next, the species is diurnal. That is, they are active during the day. And the Nilgiri Thar are most active grazing in the early morning and late afternoon. Finally, let us see its reproductive behavior. See, Nilgiri Thar usually mate during the monsoon season and give birth during January to February. The female gestates for about 180 days and usually gives birth to one kid per pregnancy. This is all you have to know about Nilgiri Thar. With this, let us conclude this discussion. Now, let us do a quick recap. What have we seen so far? We have seen that Nilgiri Thar is a mountain angulate endemic to the southern part of the western guards. They can be mostly found in open mountain grassland habitats of rainforest ecoregion. And we have seen about the conservation status. It has been listed as endangered by IUCN and it is listed under Schedule 1 of Wildlife Protection Act of 1972. And we have also seen that it is the state animal of Tamil Nadu. So, that is all regarding this news article with all these key learned points. Now, 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. It was asked in the preliminary exam 2021. With reference to India, consider the following statements. Judicial custody means an accused is in the custody of the concerned magistrate and such accused is locked up in the police station, not in jail. During judicial custody, the police officer in charge of the case is not allowed to interrogate the suspect without the approval of the court. Now, we have to find the correct statement. See, as I said, this question appeared in 2021 prelims paper. We can easily answer this question from our discussion. See, here statement 1 is incorrect. In the discussion, we saw that in case of police custody, the accused is in the custody of the officer who made the arrest and is locked up in the police station. And in case of judicial custody, the accused is in the custody of the concerned magistrate and such accused is locked up in the state or central prison and not in the police station. So, statement 1 is incorrect and statement 2, it is correct. See, during judicial custody, the police officer in charge of the case is not allowed to interrogate the suspect without the approval of the court. It is only during the police custody, the police officer in charge of the case is allowed to interrogate the suspect without court approval. So, statement 2 is correct and statement 1 is incorrect. So, our answer here will be option B2 only. Now, look at the second question. Let me read out the question. Consider the following statements about umbrella species. Statement 1, an umbrella species is a large animal or other organism on which many other species depend. Statement 2, umbrella species are very similar to keystone species, but umbrella species are usually migratory and need a large habitat. Here, we have to find the incorrect statement. Please always ensure whether the question is asking for a correct statement or incorrect statement. See here, both the statements are correct. Umbrella species are species that are selected for conservation-related decisions because the conservation and protection of these species indirectly affects the conservation and protection of other species within their ecosystem. See umbrella species usually have a large area requirement due to their migratory pattern. And note that the protection extended to other species by the presence of the umbrella species is known as the umbrella effect. And the example for umbrella species is tiger. Like by conserving the tiger, we can conserve all species within its range. Okay, so here both the statements are correct and the question demands incorrect statement. So, our answer here will be option D, neither one nor two. Now, look at the last question for today. Consider the following statements about Irrevi Kulam National Park. Statement 1, Irrevi Kulam National Park is situated in the Kannan Devan Hills of the southern western Ghats. Statement 2, in this national park, you can witness the mass flowering of Neela Kurunji flowers. And we have to find the correct statement here. See here also, both the statements are correct. Irrevi Kulam National Park is situated in the Kannan Devan Hills of the southern western Ghats. The national park is located in the Devi Kulam Taluk of Idiqui district in Kerala. See, as we saw in the discussion, Irrevi Kulam National Park holds the maximum population of Neel Girithar. In addition to this, in this park, we can witness the mass flowering of Neela Kurunji flowers that happens once in 12 years. And also, Animudi Peak is the highest peak in South India is inside the park. So here, both the statements are correct and our answer will be option C, both 1 and 2. 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.