Dances of Maharashtra

Folk dances of Maharashtra have evolved mainly from the rural areas. Several folk dances in Maharashtra are preformed during the time of festivals or other occasions. the state has been famous for its vibrant music and the folks forms like Tamasha, Koli, Povadas, Lavani, Kala, Dhangari Gaja etc.

Povada: Povadas are presented in the Marathi ballads form. This form form describes the events in the life of the great Maratha ruler, Shri Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Through the Povada, people remeber Shivaji, a famous hero of his period.

Tamasha: The work tamasha in Persian language means fun and entertainment. The tamasha dance form has been believed to be delivered from the ancient form of Sanskrit drama the 'Prahasana' and the 'Bhana'. The instruments which are used in this dance form are 'Tuntuni', 'Dholaki', Manjeera', 'Harmonium', 'Halgi', 'Daf', Ghungaroos'.

Koli: Koli is another folk dance of Maharashtra which got its name from fisher folk of the state called 'Koli'. The koli are known for their lively dances and separate identity. The dances of these fishermen posses elements taken from their occupation, which is fishing. The dance incorporates elements that this community is most familiar with sea and fishing.

Dhangari Gaja: Dhangari Gaja is one of the most famous folk dance performed in the Maharashtra. As the dhangars of Solapur herd to green pastures for grazing for their cattle, they become acquainted with the nature. Inspired by the scenic beauty they compose poetry, called ovi writing about the nature and their god Biruba.

Lavani: Lavani is mixture of traditional dance and song, which is performed mainly to the beats of 'Dholaki' an instrument like a drum. This folk dance is executed by beautiful women wearing sarees of nine-yards. The word Lavani derived from Lavanya, meaning beauty. This form is combination of dance and music, which is dealt with different and varied topics such as society, religion, politics, romance etc.

Indian River System

India is the fifth country in the world with favorable water resources after Canada, Brazil, Russia and Congo. Rivers of India plays an important role in the lives of the Indian people. The river system provides irrigation, potable water, cheap transportation, electricity as well as provides live-hood for a large number of people all over the country. Indian rivers are mainly divided into following two types:

1. Himalayan Rivers
2. Peninsular Rivers

1. Himalayan Rivers: As the name suggests, these rivers originate from Himalayan Mountains. These rivers again divided into two types. Trans Himalayan & Himalayan. The Trans-Himalayan Rivers originate beyond the Himalayas e.g. the Indus, the Sutlej, the Brahmaputra. Himalayan rivers are those which originate in the Himalayas and flows the Northern planes e.g. the Ganga, the Yamuna.

The Ganga River System: The Ganga originates in Gangotri glacier, the river acquires its name after its head streams Alakhanda and Bhagirathi unite the Devaprayag. The total length of Ganga is over 2,525 kms, shared by Uttanchal, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal. Later on Ganga flows into Bangladesh known as Padma. The Yamuna and the Sone are main right bank tributaries, on left hand tributaries includs Ramganga, Gomati, Gandak, Kosi.

The Indus River System: The Indus rises in Tibet near Manas sarovar lake (at an altitude of 5,180 meters). Flowing west-wards it enters India in Ladakh district of Jammu and Kashmir. It receives Himalayan tributaries such as the Gartang, Zaskar, Dras Shoyk, Shigar. Its well known Punjab tributaries which make the Panjnad are Sutlej, Ravi, Beas, Chenab and Jhelum. Indus with a length of 2,880 kms is considered as on of the longest rivers of the world. India can utilise 20% of its discharge under the Indus Water Treaty with Pakistan.

2. Peninsular Rivers: These Rivers originate in Western Ghats and are dependent on rainfall for water. These rivers flow in valleys with steep gradients. Narmada, Tapi, Govdavari, Krishna, Cauvery and Mahanadi are the major rivers.

Narmada Basin: Its originates in Amarkantak hills in Madhya Pradesh and flows towards west to join the Arabian Sea. It covers the states of Madhya Pradesh & Gujarat.

Tapi Basin: It originates in Madhya Pradesh and covering the states of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat joins the Arabian Sea.

Godavari Basin: The Godavari originates in Nashik in Maharashtra and covers the states of Madhya Pradesh, Orissa and Andhra Pradesh. It is known as Dakshin Ganga due to its area covered (1465 kms) and reaches Bay of Bengal.

Krishna Basin: Its rises near Mahabaleshwar in Maharashtra and covers area of 1400 kms. It flow through Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana,  Andhra Pradesh and reaches Bay of Bengal.

Caste System of India

Untouchability  and Caste system in India: India is having caste system based society not only among Hindus but also other castes also. Earlier, the people in the lower hierarchies are not accessible to all the resources and are exploited by upper hierarchies as well, they were victims of untouchability practices.
Besides, there were untouchable castes  also were involved in menial jobs as manual scavengers, Agricultural labors, Skinner of animal hides and so on. There was the concept of Yajmani System, that is little share of produce was given to the non-touchable people. With time, change come in the social behavior of untouchable people due to commercialisation of Agriculture, Emergence of contractual relations and increased employment in factories, Markets, Army etc.

Movements of Pre-Independence Time: In Pre-Independence times, leaders like Jyotiba Phule started Satya Shodak Samaj and also written book called Gulamgiri creating awareness in the minds of untouchables people. There were also movements to make the lower caste people to enter the temples such as Guruvayur Satyagraha.
Babu Jagjeevan Ram, The prominent Harijan leader started Khet Majadoor Sabha and depressed Class League to alleviate the problems of depressed classes. Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar leader of depressed classes founded Independent Labor Party in 1936 and All India Scheduled Caste Federation in 1942. He also wrote a book called Annihiation of Castes against the caste system. Dr. Ambedkar tried to empower the depressed classes by providing them legal rights which can found the constitution.

Untuochability Movement after Independence:

• In 1956, Republican Party was formed to fight for the rights of Dalits under the leadership of Yashwantrao Chavan.
• In early 1970, a new trend called Dalit Panthers was emerged in urban areas showing waves of radical politics with student and youth support base.
• In 1978, there was an agitation to rename Marathwada University as Ambedkar university which resulted in anti-dalit riots.
• In 1980, in North India Bahujan Samajwadi Party was emerged under Kashiram with basic aim and strategy based on electroal power that is to empower the depressed classesin political manner.
• In 1990, Prakash Ambedkar tried to combine all dalit organisation for contesting Maharashtra assembly elections but was not successful.
• Non-Dalit parties and group like Ambedkar Sanghams and agricultural unions also played important role in fighting about the issues of Dalits.
• Break down of Yajmani System proved to be major break through.
• Conversion of dalits and reservation facilities are the obvious improvements in the status of depressed classes.

Subir Gokaran appointed as Executive Director of IMF

Renowed economist Subir Gokaran has been appointed as an Executive Director on the board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Mr. Gokarn's name was cleared by Appointments Committee of Cabinet headed by Prime minister Narendra Modi. He will replace Rakesh Mohan whose 3 years tenure ends in November 2015.

He will represent grouping of India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka & Bhutan on the IMF's Executive board with a total casting vote of 2.8 percent of which India has more than 2.3 percent. Earlier he had served as Deputy governor of RBI 2009 to 2012 and was the youngest Deputy Governors of the central bank at that time. He also had served as a nominee Board Member of the State Bank of India (SBI).

Executive Board of IMF:

• The executive Board of IMF is based in Washington and is responsible for conducting the day-to-day business of it.
• It comprises 24 Directors, who are appointed or elected by groups of countries or be member countries.
• It is headed by the Managing Director (MD) who serves as its chairman.
• The executive Board meets several times in each week and carries out its work largely on the basis of papers prepared by IMF management and staff.

Quiz: Current Affairs

1. Who has taken over as the Chairman of the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) on 1 Sept 2015?
Ans - Raghav Chandra
2. Who has been appointed as new Union Home Secretary on 31 Aug 2015?
Ans - Rajiv Mehrishi
3. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 31 Aug 2015 declared which as Domestic Systematically Important Banks (D-SIBs)?
Ans - SBI and ICICi
4. Highest mountain of North America was on 28 Aug 2015 renamed as?
Ans - Denail
5. Ratan P Watal on 31 Aug 2015 took charge as the?
Ans - Union Finance Secretary

6. Who was on 31 Aug 2015 appointed as CMD of India Trade Promotion Organisation?
Ans - L C Goyal
7. Which team won the Pro Kabaddi League in 2015?
Ans - U Mummba
8. Palakkad district in which state was recently declared as the first total HIV/AIDS literate district in country?
Ans - Kerala
9. Indian Cricket team on 1 Sept 2015 won the Test Series in Sri Lanka soil after how many years?
Ans - 22 years
10. Sports Minister recently recognized which among the following as sports discipline?
Ans - Yoga

Current Affairs: Awards

1. Mathematician Amalendu Krishna won 2015 Ramanujan prize for year 2015.
Mathematician Amalendu Krishna won 2015 Ramanujan prize for year 2015. He was bestowed with this award for his outstanding contributions in the area of algebraic cycles. Presently Krishna is mathematician professor at Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai.

2. Helena Ndume, Jorge Sampaio awarded with first-ever Nelson Mandela Prize.
Helena Ndume of Namibia and Jorge Sampaio of Portugal were on 24 July 2015 awarded  with the first-ever Nelson Mandela Prize by the United Nation at the Headquarters in New York.
Ndume, a female ophthalmologist was awarded for treating blindness and eye-related illness in Namibia and throughout the developing world.
While, Sampaio, the former president of Portugal from 1996 to 2006 and also the formal mayor of Libson from 1989 to 1995 was awarded for his contribution to his country for his struggle for the restoration of democracy in Portugal.

3. Ramachandra Guha selected for Fukuoka Asia Culture Prize 2015.
Historian Ramachandra Guha was on 24 July 2015 chosen for the Fukuoka Asian Culture Prize 2015 in the Academic Category. Guha was best known for his book India After Gandhi, will speak on Gandhi, India and the World at the event. The aim his lecture would be to increase awareness of the value of Asian cultures as well as to establish a framework within which Asians can learn from and share win each other.

Current Affairs

February Current Affairs:

1. Union government on 12 February 2015 constituted a three member special investigation team (SIT) to re-open and re-investigate 1984 anti-Sikh riot cases. Who will head the SIT? Pramod Asthana
2. Cricketer Brendon McCullum was named the country's Sportsman of the year on 11 February 2015. He belongs to which country? New Zelaand
3. Name the Indian-origin scientist who has recently won the prestigious $ 500,000 National Science Foundation Career award? Gurpreet Singh
4. Indian Navy had recently conducted Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster relief (HADR) exercise at? Lakhadweep Islands
5. Unmanned SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket was recently launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. This Satellite will be used by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric (NOAA) to monitor? Sun
6. Which tech giant announced on 11 February that it has acquired Sunrise Atelier, the New York City based maker of the popular and well-regarded Sunrise calender for iOS and Android? Microsoft
7. Yaduveer Gopal Raj Urs is new heir of which Royal Family? Mysuru Royal Family
8. Which company recentaly became the first company to reach a market value of $ 700 billion? Apple
9. World Radio Day was observed every year on? 13 February
10. Which among the following train derailed on 13 February 2015 near the border between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, in which, ten passengers died and over 100 were injured? Bangalore-Ernakulam Intercity Express

Bhagat Singh

Bhagta Singh aka Shaheed Bhagat Singh aka Bhagat Singh Sandhu was an Indian socialist and a revolutionary. He is considered to be one of the most influential revolutionaries of the Indian Independence Movement. He was born in Sikh family. His family had earlier been involved in revolutionary activities against the British Raj. When Bhagat Singh was a teenager, he studied European revolutionary movements. He became attracted to anarchist and Marxist idoologies.

He became involved in numerous revolutionary activities. He quickly gained prominence in the Hindustan Republican Association and became on of the it's chief leaders. Eventually, the name of the organisation was changed to Hindustan Socialist Republican Association. This happened in the year 1928. Lala Lajpat Rai was killed at the hands of the police. Bhagat Singh wanted revenge for this incidence. He became involved in the number of the British Police Officer John Saunders. The police tried to capture him. However, Bhagat Singh was successful in avoiding arrest.

He made a plan to bomb the Central Legislative Assembly. He partnered with Bhuwaneshwar Dutt for this task. He bombarded the assembly with the two bombs. They were shouting slogans of revolution and threw pamphlets. After the bombarding, they surrounded. He was held on this charge in prison. He underwent a 116 day fast in jail and so he did not have food for that long. He did this to demand equal political rights for both British and Indian political prisoners. In response to this determined protest, he gained nationwide support.

His mentor as a young boy was Kartar Singh Sarabha, whose photo he always carried in his pocket. Singh is himself considered a marter by Indians for acting to avenge death of Lala Lagpat Rai. After studying Russian Revolution, he wanted to die so that his death would inspire the youth of India which in turn will unite them to fight the British Empire. While in prison, Singh and other had written a letter to Lord Irwin, wherein they asked to be treated as prisoners of war and consequently to be executed by firing squad and not hanging. Prannath Mehta, Bhagat Singh's friend, visited him in the jail on 20 March, four days before his execution, with a draft letter for clemency, but he declined to sign it.