UPSC Essentials | Mains answer practice — GS 1 (Week 31)

QUESTION 2

Why does it rain in southern India in December?

General points on the structure of the answers

Introduction

QUESTION 1: Discuss how the concept of Indian Union Territories was developed and implemented.

Body:

— The issue of language had become a burning factor in the popular sentiment of Independent India by 1948-49.

— For instance,

(i) The Kannada speakers across the states of Madras, Mysore, Bombay and Hyderabad who had been demanding a separate administrative unit since the late 20th century renewed their movement.

(ii) The Marathi and Malayalam speakers both desired respective political units of their own.

(iii) Additionally, a distinct Mahagujarat movement had begun. The ultimate spark, however, came from the Andhra statehood movement in the early 1950s.

— After the creation of Andhra Pradesh on October 1, 1953, the Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru appointed a States Reorganisation Commission (SRC) to make recommendations to resolve the linguistic problem in India.

— The commission comprised of Justice Fazil Ali, KM Panikkar and HN Kunzru. The Commission reported that the “existing structure of the States of the Indian Union” is due to the “growth of the British power in India and the historic process of the integration of former Indian States”.

— The Commission submitted its report in September, 1955, recommending the reorganisation of India’s administrative units to form 14 states on linguistic lines and six centrally administered territories. (This was the first time that the term Union Territory (UT) was used)

— The original six UTs consisted of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the Laccadive, Minicoy and Amindivi islands (later renamed as Lakshadweep), Delhi, Manipur, Tripura, and Himachal Pradesh.

— The character and evolution of Union Territories in India is fascinating, given that there is very little homogeneity among these tiny enclaves spread across the country, other than the fact that they are all administered by the Centre.

— Recently, in 2019, Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh became separate Union Territories.

Indian states after Independence

— This division is reflected in the Constitution of Independent India as Parts A, B, and C.

— Part A states included former Governor states such as Bombay and Madras.

— States like Mysore and Saurashtra were included in Part B, which had an elected legislature.

— The Chief Commissioner was in charge of Part C states such as Delhi and Himachal Pradesh.

— Part D states were later established as territories administered by the central government with no provision for a local legislature. This category included only the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Conclusion:

— By The Constitution (Seventh Amendment) Act, 1956, the territories were declared to be Union Territories.

— The five Portuguese territories of Goa, Dadra, Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu were also added to the list of Union Territories after their liberation in 1961.

— The Goa, Daman, and Diu Reorganisation Act was passed by Parliament in 1987, granting Goa statehood. Daman and Diu were kept as separate Union Territories.

(Source: How the idea of Indian Union Territories was conceived and executed by Adrija Roychowdhury and Srijana Siri)

Points to Ponder

Indian states during the British Rule

7th amendment of Constitution of India

Related Previous Year Questions

The political and administrative reorganization of states and territories has heen a continuous ongoing process since the mid-nineteenth century. Discuss with examples. (2022)

Has the formation of linguistic states strengthened the cause of Indian unity? (2016)

QUESTION 2: Why does it rain in southern India in December?

Introduction:

— North-East (NE) monsoon is associated with the seasonal reversal of surface and lower tropospheric winds, which starts by October.

— During the NE monsoon season, the pressure gradient reverses (from land to the Indian Ocean) resulting in northeasterly trade winds, which is the basic state of the system.

— The southward movement of the continental tropical convergence zone (CTCZ) and the subtropical anticyclone in the upper troposphere is responsible for the change in surface pressure gradient and lower tropospheric winds.

— Therefore, the NE monsoon is often described as the retreating phase of the southwest monsoon.

Body:

— In southern India, the northeast monsoon is critical for Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Puducherry, Karaikal, coastal Andhra Pradesh, Rayalaseema, and Yanam. Tamil Nadu receives nearly 48% of total annual rainfall (443.3mm) from October to December, which is critical for rabi cultivation.

— NE monsoon is relatively dry, stable and has less vertical extend compared to the southwest monsoon.

— The NE monsoon rainfall varies from diurnal to synoptic, intra-seasonal to inter-annual time scales.

— The inter-annual variability of the NE monsoon rainfall has an impact on agricultural production and water resources throughout south peninsular India.

— South Asia also experiences many extreme weather events during the NE monsoon season, such as heavy rain, strong winds, and floods.

Recent Examples

— The annual rainfall of India’s southernmost district, Kanyakumari, is 760mm, whereas the district has already recorded 1050.7mm during October 1 – December 20, 2023.

— The India Meteorological Department (IMD) stated that Thoothkudi, Tirunelveli and Kanyakumari districts of Tamil Nadu had received about 100 per cent or more surplus rain during these three days over the previous week (December 6 – 13, 2023).

— In 2015, the city of Chennai experienced deluge in 2015, which resulted significant loss of life and property.

Conclusion:

— In India, the NE monsoon season (Oct-Dec) contributes about 11% of its annual rainfall over the country as a whole.

— In comparison to the northern parts of the country, the south peninsula receives significantly more rainfall. During this season, many districts on the south peninsula receive 30-60% of their annual rainfall.

— South Peninsular India’s water resources and agricultural output are impacted by the NE monsoon rainfall’s interannual variability.

(Source: Why Tamil Nadu has witnessed heavy rainfall in December 2023 by Anjali Marar, mausam.imd.gov.in)

Points to Ponder

ITCZ

ENSO

Difference between south-western and north-eastern monsoon

Cyclone Michaung

Related Previous Year Questions

Why is the South-West Monsoon called ‘Purvaiya’ (easterly) in Bhojpur Region? How has this directional seasonal wind system influenced the cultured ethos of the region? (2023)

What characteristics can be assigned to monsoon climate that succeeds in feeding more than 50 percent of the world population residing in Monsoon Asia? (2017)

How far do you agree that the behaviour of the Indian monsoon has been changing due to humanizing landscapes? Discuss. (2015)

Previous Mains Answer Practice

UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 1 (Week 30)

UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 1 (Week 29)

UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 2 (Week 31)

UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 2 (Week 30)

UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 3 (Week 30)

UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 3 (Week 31)

Subscribe to our UPSC newsletter and stay updated with the news cues from the past week.