News In Short 12-12-2024

Vaikom Satyagrah

Syllabus: GS1/Modern History

Context

• 2024 marks the 100 years of Vaikom Satyagrah (1924).

About

• Cause: The movement was initiated against the practice of untouchability.
  • In Vaikom in the erstwhile Travancore princely State, members of the lower castes, particularly Dalits, were denied the right to walk on roads leading to the Vaikom Shiva Temple. 
• Leadership: It was led by T.K. Madhavan, K. Kelappan, and other prominent leaders.
  • Mahatma Gandhi also supported the cause, sending his advice, although he did not physically participate in the protests initially.
  • E.V. Ramasamy Periyar, a prominent social reformer and leader of the Self-Respect Movement, also lent support to the movement.
• Protest: Participants in the Satyagraha (non-violent resistance) demanded the right of Dalits to use public roads and approach the temple like other castes.
  • They engaged in peaceful marches and acts of civil disobedience, despite facing violent opposition from upper-caste groups.
• Outcome: After over a year of protest and negotiations, the Government eventually allowed Dalits to use the public roads leading to the temple, marking a victory for social equality and the end of caste-based discrimination in the region.
• Significance: The Vaikom Satyagraha played a vital role in the social reform movement in Kerala and was an important part of the broader struggle against untouchability and caste oppression in India.
  • It also marked the first major organized movement against untouchability in the Indian independence movement.

Source: TH

Saydnaya Prison

Syllabus: GS1/Places in News

Context

• Thousands of detainees, primarily political prisoners, were freed from Syria’s Saydnaya Prison. 

About

• The Saydnaya prison, also spelt Sednaya, was established in the 1980s in a small town near to the capital Damascus in Syria.
• It was administered by the Syrian military police for decades, with the first detainees arriving in 1987.
• It served as a “human slaughterhouse” while subjecting its detainees to inhumane conditions.

Geographical Location of Syria

• Syria is located in the Middle East, in the western part of the Asian continent. 
• It shares borders with Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, Israel and Lebanon to the southwest, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. 
• Syria occupies a strategic position, linking the Levant region with the rest of the Arab world. 

Source: IE

Abetment of Suicide

Syllabus: GS2/ Polity and Governance

Context

• The Supreme Court of India held that mere allegations of harassment are not enough to invoke charges of abetment of suicide under Section 306 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

About

• Section 306 IPC states that “if any person commits suicide, whoever abets the commission of such suicide, shall be punished with imprisonment for up to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine.”
• For a conviction there must be clear evidence of direct or indirect acts of incitement to commit suicide.

Supreme court ruling

• The prosecution must prove beyond doubt that the accused played a definitive role in the abetment. 
• Without clear evidence of an active role in provoking or assisting the suicide, a conviction under Section 306 IPC cannot be sustained.

Source: DH

World Malaria Report

Syllabus: GS2/ Health

Context

• According to the World Malaria report, released by the World Health Organization (WHO), India has seen significant progress in reducing malaria incidence and mortality rates.

Key findings

• The malaria caseload in India was reduced by 69 percent from 6.4 million in 2017 to two million in 2023. 
• In 2023, India accounted for half of all estimated malaria cases in the WHO South-East Asia Region, followed by Indonesia, which accounted for just under one-third.
  • The Region had eight malaria endemic countries in 2023, accounting for 4 million cases and contributing 1.5 per cent of the burden of malaria cases globally.
• Bhutan and Timor-Leste, from the Region, reported zero malaria deaths since 2013 and 2015, respectively, while Sri Lanka was certified malaria-free in 2016.

What is Malaria? – Malaria is a life-threatening disease spread to humans by some types of mosquitoes. It is mostly found in tropical countries.  – Transmission: It is caused by plasmodium protozoa.The plasmodium parasites spread through the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes.Blood transfusion and contaminated needles may also transmit malaria.  – Types of parasites: There are 5 Plasmodium parasite species that cause malaria in humans and 2 of these species – P. falciparum and P. vivax – pose the greatest threat. The other malaria species which can infect humans are P. malariae, P. ovale and P. knowlesi. 1. P. falciparum is the deadliest malaria parasite and the most prevalent on the African continent. P. vivax is the dominant malaria parasite in most countries outside of sub-Saharan Africa.   – Symptoms: Fever and flu-like illness, including chills, headache, muscle ache and fatigue.

Source: DDNEWS

Ghost Gun

Syllabus: GS2/ Governance

In Context

• Ghost guns are becoming more common in crimes, posing a growing threat to public safety.
  • The Biden administration has taken steps to regulate ghost guns by requiring serial numbers and background checks for kits and parts.

What are Ghost Guns?

• Ghost guns are homemade firearms that lack serial numbers, making them virtually untraceable by law enforcement.
• They can be assembled from kits or individual parts purchased online or at gun shows, often without background checks.
• Ghost guns are becoming more common in crimes, posing a growing threat to public safety.

Need For Regulation

• Ghost guns pose a threat to internal security by enabling criminals to acquire firearms without background checks or traceability.
• The use of 3D printing to manufacture gun parts raises concerns about the accessibility of firearms and the need for technological regulation.
• Gun violence is a major social issue in many countries (like US), and the proliferation of ghost guns adds another layer of complexity to the problem.

Source: IE

Shortfin Mako Shark

Syllabus: GS3/Species in News

Context

• A young shortfin mako shark has been tagged for the first time in the Mediterranean Sea by researchers from the United States.

About

• It is a large, predatory shark that lives in the open ocean. 
• It is the fastest shark and is one of the fastest fishes on the planet. 

• Shortfin mako sharks are known to be highly migratory, with individuals making long migrations every year.
• Habitat: It is found offshore in tropical and warm temperate waters of all oceans, but has been known to travel to cooler waters at times.
• The main threats to this species are overfishing and bycatch. 
• Conservation Status:
  • IUCN: Critically Endangered.
  • Appendix II species under CITES.

Source: DTE