Rhinos return to Assam Laokhowa Burachapori sanctuaries after 40 years (GS Paper 3, Environment)
Why in the news?
- Rhinos have returned to Laokhowa and Burachapori wildlife sanctuaries of Assam, 40 years after the population of pachyderms in the area was wiped out due to poaching.
- These protected areas had also witnessed human encroachment over the years, which was cleared by the authorities in 2023.
Key Highlights:
- A total of 51.7 sq km of forest cover has been retrieved through eviction drives in 2023.
- Two rhinos have been spotted in the Laokhowa-Burachapori wildlife sanctuaries, which are part of 'Greater Kaziranga', after almost a gap of 40 years.
- The Laokhowa-Burachapori forest in Nagaon district had a population of 45-50 rhinos till 1983.
- Other than rhinos, the protected area also has 10 tigers.
Poaching:
- Large-scale encroachment and poaching wiped them out although stray rhinos from Orang National Park across the Brahmaputra River and the Kaziranga National Park to the east were known the enter the WLS very briefly.
- The eviction drive was carried out from February 13 to 15 last year, which led to a clearing of 1,282 hectares of forest land and 817 hectares of unsurveyed government land.
Aditya L1 reaches destination, in orbit around L1
(GS Paper 3, Science and Technology)
Why in news?
- The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has placed the Aditya-L1 spacecraft in a halo orbit around the Lagrangian point (L1).
- India’s maiden solar mission, Aditya-L1, reached the L1 point, 127 days after it was launched on September 2, 2023.
Details:
- After a 1.5-million-km journey, the spacecraft was placed in the orbit following a firing manoeuvre carried out by ISRO scientists and engineers at the ISRO Telemetry Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC), Bengaluru.
- The insertion of Aditya-L1 into this halo orbit presents a critical mission phase, which demands precise navigation and control.
- Aditya-L1 carries seven payloads to observe the photosphere, chromosphere, and the outermost layer of the sun (corona) using electromagnetic and particle detectors.
Periodic orbit:
- The orbit of Aditya-L1 spacecraft is a periodic halo orbit which is located roughly 1.5 million km from earth on the continuously moving sun-earth line with an orbital period of about 177.86 earth days.
- This halo orbit is a periodic, three-dimensional orbit at L1 involving sun, earth and a spacecraft.
- This specific halo orbit is selected to ensure a mission lifetime of 5 years, minimising station-keeping manoeuvres and thus fuel consumption and ensuring a continuous, unobstructed view of the sun.
What is Lagrangian Point 1 (L1)?
- The Aditya L1 spacecraft has reached Lagrange Point 1, a unique spot in space outside the orbit of the Moon to give a clear view of the Sun throughout the year.
- Lagrangian Point 1 (L1) is a stable point in space where the gravitational forces of two large bodies, such as the Earth and the Sun, balance the centripetal force felt by a smaller object, like a satellite.
- It lies along the line connecting the two larger bodies and allows satellites to maintain a relatively constant position.
- Objects positioned at L1 remain in a stable configuration relative to the Earth and the Sun, making it an advantageous location for certain types of satellites, like those used for solar observations or monitoring space weather.
- However, maintaining a satellite at L1 requires constant adjustments due to gravitational perturbations from other celestial bodies.
What’s next?
- The Aditya L1 now has a five-year-long mission in front of it during which it will observe the sun using a package of seven instruments.
- The spacecraft will study the layers of the Sun, especially the corona which remains an enigma to solar physicists.
Digital tools set to save Kashmiri script
(GS Paper 1, Culture)
Why in news?
- For centuries, the Kashmiri language has survived only through oral traditions; by 2013, those who could write the script fell to just 5%.
- In 2024, two tech giants, Microsoft and Google, will infuse a new lease of life into the language, whose rich literature continues to remain accessible only to a small section of people.
Kashmiri in Google Translate:
- In November 2023, an online campaign was on to get Kashmiri included in Google Translate as well; this demand has also been accepted and is likely to be rolled out in the next six months.
- The initiatives are likely to benefit 70 lakh Kashmiri speakers living in the erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir, including those in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
- In the 1970s, it was Radio Kashmir and the J&K Cultural Academy that played a key role in enhancing the prospects of the Kashmiri language, giving it a fillip.
- Besides, singers like Ghulam Ahmad Sofi and Abdul Rashid Hafiz ensured that the language survives through folk music.
Campaign by AMK:
- The Adbee Markaz Kamraz (AMK) an umbrella platform of 30 cultural organisations in the valley, is at the forefront of efforts to promote Kashmiri.
- It was the AMK campaign that pushed around 17,000 people to write to Google in November and December last year, urging the company to include Kashmiri in its translation app.
Official language:
- Urdu was introduced as an official language during the Dogra monarchy in Kashmir prior to Independence. Kashmiri was introduced as a subject up to the primary level after 1947, only to be withdrawn in 1955 for unknown reasons.
- An earlier AMK campaign, however, resulted in the re-inclusion of Kashmiri as a subject in schools up to Class 8 by 2001. Later, Kashmiri was introduced as an optional subject at the undergraduate level in 2008.
- In 2020, the Union government passed the Jammu and Kashmir Official Languages Bill, including Kashmiri in the list of official languages of the Union Territory (UT).
