19.04.19 APSC (Assam) Current Affairs

ASSAM

Assam History : Decline and fall of the Ahom Kingdom – II

In 1769, the rebels occupied Ahom capital. Though Ahoms recaptured the capital, the rebellion continued till 1806.

Srimanta Sankardeva established the Mahapuruxiya Dharma in the 16th century, a

proselytizing religion that opened itself to all including the Muslims and tribesmen. The religion provided opportunities for social and economic improvements to common tribesmen, and the sattras provided a safe haven from mandatory labor under the Paik system.

The Ahom rulers saw a threat and Sankardeva himself had to escape to the Koch

kingdom during the reign of Suklenmung to avoid persecution. A later king, Prataap

Singha, demolished the Kalabari and Kuruabahi sattras and his successors followed a

similar policy of oppression.

The Dundiya rebellion was a late 18th-century uprising against the Ahom kingdom in

the Borphukan’s domain. The rebellion was headed by Haradutta Bujarbarua who, with mercenary troops, managed to occupy most of northern Kamrup before being beaten back.

The Ahom kingdom emerged from these rebellions much weakened. About one half of the population of the kingdom perished and the economy was totally destroyed.

Gaurinath Singha’s successors Kamaleswar Singha and Chandrakanta Singhawere

reduced to nominal rulers due to their own incompetencies. The real power was in the hands of the Prime Minister, Purnananda Buragohain. This fuelled tensions among other chiefs and one such chief, Badan Chandra Barphukan, Viceroy of Lower

Assam was particularly opposed to the Buragohain.

The Barphukan plotted the murder of Purnananda Buragohain, but the latter came to know about it. The Buragohain sent Maheswar Parbatiya Phukan to arrest Badan

Chandra Barphukan. Coincidentally, Barphukan’s daughter was Purnananda

Buragohain’s daughter in law, who warned her father about the developments. The

Barphukan fearing execution rushed to Calcutta to seek help from the Bristish, but was unable to do so. Thereafter he was able to escape to Burma and sought the help of the Burmese King. The Burmese agreed and attacked Assam with a strong army in 1817.

There were three Burmese invasions of Assam between 1817 and 1826, during whichtime the Kingdom of Assam (Ahom) came under the control of Burma from 1821 to1825. Locally, this period, called the manor din by the Assamese and Chahi-TaretKhuntakpa (seven years of devastation) in Manipuri, is remembered with horror.

Theperiod ended with the defeat of the Burmese in the First Anglo-Burmese War and the subsequent annexation of the kingdom to British territory.

INTERNATIONAL

SpaceX to fly its DART planetary defence mission

NASA announced that SpaceX will fly its Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) planetary-defencemission. The total launch cost for NASA is estimated to be about $69 million.

DART – Double Asteroid Redirection Test

It is a planned space probe that will demonstrate the kinetic effects of crashing an impactor spacecraftinto an asteroid moon for planetary defense purposes. The mission is intended to test whether a spacecraft impact could successfully deflect an asteroid on a collision course with Earth.

Bhopal gas tragedy among the world’s major industrial accidents of the 20th century: UN

The 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy which killed thousands of people is among the world’s “major industrial accidents” of the 20th century according to a UN report.

UN warned that 2.78 million workers die from occupational accidents and work-related diseases each year.

The report released by the UN labour agency International Labour Organization (ILO) said that in 1984, at least 30 tons of methyl isocyanate gas, which was released from the Union Carbide pesticide plant in Bhopal, affected over 600,000 workers and nearby inhabitants.

The report titled ‘The Safety and Health at the Heart of the Future of Work – Building on 100 years of experience’ said the Bhopal disaster was among the world’s “major industrial accidents after 1919”.

NATIONAL

GSLV phase-4 programme got Cabinet nod

The Union Cabinet approved continuation of the ongoing Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle(GSLV) programme phase-4 consisting of five rocket flights during 2021-2024.
GSLV programme phase-4:
The phase four will enable the launch of two-tonneclass of satellites for geo-imaging, navigation, data relay communication and space sciences.
The total fund required for GSLV phase four completion has been pegged at Rs 2729.13 crore.
This fund includes the cost of five Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicles (GSLVs), essential facility augmentation, programme management, and launch campaign, along with the additional funds required for meeting the scope of the ongoing programme.
The GSLV continuation programme was initially sanctioned in 2003, and two phases have been completed and the third phaseis in progress and expected to be completed by the fourth quarter of 2020-21.
GSLV Phase 4 continuation programme will meet the launch requirement of satellites for providing critical satellite navigation services, data relay communication for supporting the Indian human spaceflight programme and the next interplanetary mission to Mars.
It will also ensure the continuity of production in Indian industry. It will also meet the demand for the launch of satellites at a frequency up to two launches per year.

ECI launches Voter Turnout App

Election Commission of India (ECI) launched a new mobile app for the voters across the country to see the realtime availability of voter turnout during the election season in the country.
The beta version of the ECI’s Voter Turnout app is available for download on the Google Play Store and as of now it has been downloaded over 5,000 times.
The captures the real-time information gathered by the Returning Officers following which it calculates the estimated totals.

PAN-India Single Emergency Helpline Number 112 joined by 20 states

So far the number of states and Union territories that have joined a pan-India network of single emergency helpline number ‘112’ amounts to 20.
The 20 states and UTs include Himachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Puducherry, Lakshadweep, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Dadar and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, Jammu and Kashmir and Nagaland.

The Emergency Response Support System(ERSS) envisages a single pan-India emergency number ‘112’ that is internationally recognised to target all types of emergencies.

The helpline, ‘112’ is an integration of police (100), fire (101)and women (1090) helpline numbers and the project is being implemented under the central government’s Nirbhaya Fund (2012 Delhi gangrape case).

The Nirbhaya Fund was set up by the central government for projects specifically designed to improve the safety and security of the women.
The single number for emergency services is similar to ‘911’ in the United States.

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