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1. Rahat Indori passes away- A fearless voice and people’s poet

Relevant for GS Prelims

Rahat Indori (1 January 1950 – 11 August 2020) was an Indian Bollywood lyricist and Urdu

language poet.He was also a former professor of Urdu language and a painter. Prior to this

he was a pedagogist of Urdu literature at Devi Ahilya University, Indore. He died on 11

August 2020 in a hospital from cardiac arrest. He was tested positive for infection with

coronavirus just a night prior to his death.

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Early life and education

Rahat Qureshi, later known as Rahat Indori, was born on 1 January 1950 in Indore to

Rafatullah Qureshi, a cloth mill worker, and his wife Maqbool Un Nisa Begum. He was their

fourth child. He did his schooling from Nutan School Indore from where he completed his

Higher Secondary. He completed his graduation from Islamia Karimia College, Indore in

1973 and has passed his MA in Urdu literature from Barkatullah University Bhopal

(Madhya Pradesh) in 1975. Rahat was awarded a PhD in Urdu literature from the Bhoj

University of Madhya Pradesh in 1985 for his thesis titled Urdu Main Mushaira.

Performance

Indori performed in Mushaira and Kavi Sammelan for 40-45 years. He had traveled widely

internationally to recite poetry. He attended poetic symposiums in almost all the Districts

of India and also traveled multiple times to USA, UK, UAE, Australia, Canada, Singapore,

Mauritius, KSA, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal etc.

Viral poem

A poem named Bulati Hai Magar Jaane Ka Nahi got viral in TikTok and started trending in

Facebook, Twitter and Instagram during 2020 Valentines week. People started using this

phrase as a meme.

Death

He had tested positive for COVID-19 on 10 August 2020 and was admitted to Aurobindo

hospital in Indore, Madhya Pradesh. He died on 11 August 2020 as he suffered through

cardiac arrest prior to his passing.

2. Why the Russian vaccine is a long way from being available in India, if

at all

Relevant for GS Prelims & Mains Paper III; Science & Technology

Russia has kept its promise, and approved a novel coronavirus vaccine for public use

without the final phase of human trials. It is the first coronavirus vaccine to be approved, though a Chinese vaccine has been cleared for ‘limited use’ much earlier, to be administered only on soldiers of the People’s Liberation Army.

The Russian vaccine, developed by Moscow-based Gamaleya Institute, has cleared

regulatory approvals in record time, less than two months after it got into human trials,

raising concerns over its safety and effectiveness. The other vaccine candidates in human

trials are not expected to be ready before early next year.

Production & availability Apart from Gamaleya Institute’s own facility, the vaccine is supposed to be produced at a plant owned by Sistema, one of Russia’s biggest business groups. Sistema said its facility









had the capacity to produce 1.5 million doses per year, and this capacity was being ramped

up.

For regions outside Russia, it might still be some time before the Russian vaccine is

available. A Reuters report on Tuesday quoted the head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund as saying that requests for 1 billion doses of the vaccine had been received from other

countries, and that international agreements had been secured to produce 500 million

doses annually. It did not name the countries which have showed interest in the Russian

vaccine.

Will it come to India?

There are two ways in which the Russian vaccine can be made available in India. The

Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) can ask Russia to conduct late-phase

human trials, usually both phase-2 and phase-3, on an Indian population. This is the usual

requirement for all vaccines developed outside of India.

Late-phase human trials are important because the vaccine’s efficacy can differ on different population groups. This is the route being taken by vaccine candidate being developed by

Oxford University, for example. The CDSCO recently gave its go-ahead to late-phase trials

on Indian volunteers. The Oxford vaccine trials are expected to begin this week.

Considering the extraordinary situation right now, CDSCO is also empowered to give

emergency authorisation without late-phase trials. It can say it is satisfied with the safety

and efficacy data produced during the human trials in Russia, and considering the

extraordinary situation, can grant approval for emergency use. The drug remdesivir was

recently granted similar emergency approval to be used as a therapeutic on novel

coronavirus patients. But this option is unlikely to be exercised with the Russian vaccine.

Unlike a drug that is administered only to patients, vaccines are inoculated to large number

of people. In the case of this disease, specifically, everyone needs to be vaccinated. The risks

involved are much higher. Also, remdesivir was an already approved drug for other

ailments and was just being repurposed for treatment for novel coronavirus, while the

vaccine is new.

No manufacturing agreement

The second issue is that of manufacture of the vaccine in India. More than 50% of vaccines

for all kinds of diseases are currently manufactured in India. It is expected that a bulk of

vaccines for novel coronavirus, wherever they are developed, would also be produced in

India.

Pune-based Serum Institute of India, the world’s largest manufacturer of vaccines by volume, has already entered into tie-ups with developers to mass-produce their vaccines.

Other Indian companies have also done similar agreements. There is no agreement for

production of Russian vaccine in India right now.









Source: The Indian Express

3. As the curtains fall on Rajasthan drama, four takeaways from a month

of crisis

Relevant for GS Prelims & Mains Paper II; Polity & Governance

He kept the Congress on tenterhooks for a month, threw a big challenge at the veteran

Ashok Gehlot, and raised the hopes of the BJP. But a month after he raised the banner of

revolt against Gehlot, the Rajasthan Chief Minister, leaving the Congress government

headed by him on the edge of a precipice, Sachin Pilot is back.

Pilot says he had never left the Congress — so there is no question of being back.

Technically he may be right, but for all practical purposes he had been waging a battle against the party’s government for a month, during which time he was removed from the

posts of Deputy Chief Minister and Rajasthan Congress president.

So, what is it that the 42-year-old Pilot gained by openly starting a rebellion, and where

does his short-lived revolt and his staged comeback leave him? Where does it leave the

Congress and the Gehlot government in Rajasthan? And who has emerged stronger, and

how has the balance of power shifted?

Sachin Pilot: A setback, but he lives to fight another day

The month-long rebellion has proved that Pilot was in a hurry, and underprepared to take

on a heavyweight like Gehlot. Pilot overplayed his card and perhaps underestimated the

political acumen of Gehlot, the grizzled veteran of many political battles.

The chief minister had the full support of the Congress high command, and together they

employed an array of political, legal and psychological manoeuvres that left Pilot cornered. The Congress’s decision to sequester all the MLAs in a hotel turned out to be the key as Pilot, who the Congress alleged was in touch with the BJP, could not wean away any more MLAs from the Gehlot camp. Gehlot’s repeated allegations that he was working in tandem with the BJP struck a chord with many leaders — Pilot’s repeated statements to the contrary notwithstanding.

Realising that he may not be able to manage the numbers to topple Gehlot, Pilot has beaten

a retreat. But his stature within the party stands diminished.

Those close to him say that he has been able to get an assurance from the Gandhis that he

could be considered for the Chief Minister’s job closer to the Assembly elections due in December 2023. But as the saying goes, even a week is a long time in politics — no one can

be certain about what happens a year later.









So, for now, Pilot has lost pretty much everything: his posts – that of Deputy Chief Minister

and state Congress president – the trust of the leadership, and the respect of party

colleagues. He will have to work hard to regain all of that. This, ironically, is a man whose

name would crop up in discussions about the post of Congress president.

Ashok Gehlot: Chief Minister emerges stronger

The 69-year-old has proved that he is indispensable for the Congress in Rajasthan, and he

still has enough firepower to take on rivals both inside and outside the party.

Gehlot has ensured that his government stays, which was the top priority for the Congress

leadership too, given that the party has been at the receiving end of repeated political

machinations and power play by the BJP — the most recent instance being in Madhya

Pradesh.

He used the rebellion by Pilot, the trigger for which interestingly was Gehlot’s decision to file an FIR into allegations of horse trading, to achieve multiple goals. He has rallied the

majority of the MLAs with him, and proved once and for all that Sachin’s claim for the Chief Minister’s post is numerically untenable.

He has also brought out the rift in the BJP in Rajasthan, painted it as a party hungry for

power even in the midst of a pandemic, and managed to sow the seeds of doubt in the

minds of the Gandhis and the Congress leadership about Pilot’s intentions. Rahul Gandhi had, in the first Congress Working Committee meeting after the party’s defeat in the Lok Sabha elections in 2019, mentioned that some leaders had pressured the party to

secure tickets for their wards. He had mentioned Gehlot — as also then Madhya Pradesh

Chief Minister Kamal Nath. Gehlot has now redeemed his position by aggressively fighting

back a bid to topple his government.

Such a powerful pushback was unexpected, even considering all of Gehlot’s experience and abilities. So aggressive was his comeback that he even forced the BJP to move its MLAs out

of Rajasthan. The shoe was on the other foot.

Gandhis and Congress: Some powerful messages

The Gehlot-Pilot tussle revealed the growing friction between the young and old leaders in

the Congress, but it also resulted in the redrawing of some internal equations. While the old

guard stood solidly behind Gehlot, the contradictions in Team Rahul came out in the open.

Young leaders who had climbed the ladders of the party through the NSUI and the Youth

Congress were clearly unhappy with the likes of Pilot, who they argued had got too much

from the party in too little a time. Many of them felt it was time the hardworking leaders in

the party were rewarded, not the likes of Pilot or Jyotiraditya Scindia.









The crisis also brought the leadership confusion in the Congress back into focus. At the

same time, the Gandhis used the crisis to send out some clear political messages.

One was that they were willing to listen to grievances, but would not brook open rebellion

even by those who were close to them. Pilot was close to Rahul Gandhi, but his sacking was

aimed at sending a message that personal equations matter only till a point.

But they did give him a long rope, sending out the message that the party values young

talent, and wants to retain them at any cost.

The patch-up too was aimed at sending out that message.

While Ahmed Patel and K C Venugopal did the groundwork, the party wanted Pilot to meet

Rahul. It wanted to convey that Rahul was working behind the scenes to save the

government and prevent the exit of Pilot.

Rahul had in the past been accused of remaining aloof and inaccessible, and of not showing

the eagerness to resolve crises and prevent the exit of leaders. The surprise aspect was the

emergence of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.

The BJP: Unexpected vulnerabilities laid bare

For many in the Congress, the BJP was the invisible hand behind the crisis in Rajasthan. But

as it turned out, the crisis only exposed the divisions in the Rajasthan BJP.

Many Congress leaders believe the party should thank former Chief Minister Vasundhara

Raje for saving the Gehlot government. Raje, the Congress believed, was not keen to

support the propping-up of an alternative government.

Unlike in Madhya Pradesh, where Shivraj Singh Chouhan and other senior leaders were in

the loop about the negotiations in the run-up to toppling of the Kamal Nath Government,

Raje was missing in action in the developments in Jaipur.


4. Reading the Supreme Court verdict on Hindu women’s inheritance rights

Relevant for GS Prelims & Mains Paper II; Polity & Governance

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court expanded on a Hindu woman’s right to be a joint legal heir and inherit ancestral property on terms equal to male heirs.

What is the ruling?









A three-judge Bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra ruled that a Hindu woman’s right to be a joint heir to the ancestral property is by birth and does not depend on whether her father

was alive or not when the law was enacted in 2005. The Hindu Succession (Amendment)

Act, 2005 gave Hindu women the right to be coparceners or joint legal heirs in the same way a male heir does. “Since the coparcenary is by birth, it is not necessary that the father coparcener should be living as on 9.9.2005,” the ruling said.

What is the 2005 law?

The Mitakshara school of Hindu law codified as the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 governed

succession and inheritance of property but only recognised males as legal heirs. The law

applied to everyone who is not a Muslim, Christian, Parsi or Jew by religion. Buddhists,

Sikhs, Jains and followers of Arya Samaj, Brahmo Samaj are also considered Hindus for the

purposes of this law.

In a Hindu Undivided Family, several legal heirs through generations can exist jointly.

Traditionally, only male descendants of a common ancestor along with their mothers,

wives and unmarried daughters are considered a joint Hindu family. The legal heirs hold

the family property jointly.

Women were recognised as coparceners or joint legal heirs for partition arising from 2005.

Section 6 of the Act was amended that year to make a daughter of a coparcener also a coparcener by birth “in her own right in the same manner as the son”. The law also gave the daughter the same rights and liabilities “in the coparcenary property as she would have had if she had been a son”.

The law applies to ancestral property and to intestate succession in personal property —

where succession happens as per law and not through a will.

The 174th Law Commission Report had also recommended this reform in Hindu succession

law. Even before the 2005 amendment, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra and

Tamil Nadu had made this change in the law, and Kerala had abolished the Hindu Joint

Family System in 1975.

How did the case come about?

While the 2005 law granted equal rights to women, questions were raised in multiple cases

on whether the law applied retrospectively, and if the rights of women depended on the

living status of the father through whom they would inherit. Different benches of the

Supreme Court had taken conflicting views on the issue. Different High Courts had also

followed different views of the top court as binding precedents.

In Prakash v Phulwati (2015), a two-judge Bench headed by Justice A K Goel held that the benefit of the 2005 amendment could be granted only to “living daughters of living coparceners” as on September 9, 2005 (the date when the amendment came into force).









In February 2018, contrary to the 2015 ruling, a two-judge Bench headed by Justice A K

Sikri held that the share of a father who died in 2001 will also pass to his daughters as

coparceners during the partition of the property as per the 2005 law.

Then in April that year, yet another two-judge bench, headed by Justice R K Agrawal,

reiterated the position taken in 2015.

These conflicting views by Benches of equal strength led to a reference to a three-judge

Bench in the current case. The ruling now now overrules the verdicts from 2015 and April 2018. It settles the law and expands on the intention of the 2005 legislation “to remove the discrimination as contained in section 6 of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 by giving equal rights to daughters in the Hindu Mitakshara coparcenary property as the sons have”.

How did the court decide the case?

The court looked into the rights under the Mitakshara coparcenary. Since Section 6 creates an “unobstructed heritage” or a right created by birth for the daughter of the coparcener, the right cannot be limited by whether the coparcener is alive or dead when the right is

operationalised.

The court said the 2005 amendment gave recognition of a right that was in fact accrued by the daughter at birth. “The conferral of a right is by birth, and the rights are given in the same manner with incidents of coparcenary as that of a son and she is treated as a

coparcener in the same manner with the same rights as if she had been a son at the time of

birth. Though the rights can be claimed, w.e.f. 9.9.2005, the provisions are of retroactive

application, they confer benefits based on the antecedent event, and the Mitakshara

coparcenary shall be deemed to include a reference to a daughter as a coparcener,” the ruling said.

The court also directed High Courts to dispose of cases involving this issue within six

months since they would have been pending for years.

What was the government’s stand?

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta argued in favour of an expansive reading of the law to allow

equal rights for women. He referred to the objects and reasons of the 2005 amendment. “The Mitakshara coparcenary law not only contributed to discrimination on the ground of gender but was oppressive and negated the fundamental right of equality guaranteed by the Constitution of India,” he submitted.






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