Editorial 1: A history of poor choices: Our designation of national monuments must be freed from the ‘slave’ mindset
Context:
- Monuments are memories etched in stone. Post Independence, there was little effort to correct the mindset of those responsible for writing history books who continued to think about monuments and archaeological sites in the British way and taught the history of our defeats and our enemies’ victories.
- Recently, decolonisation drive began, bringing out the sagas of King Suheldev, Rani Durgavati and Lachit Barphukan.
- It has highlighted the story of the founder-king of Delhi, Anangpal Tomar, declaring the neglected Anang Tal as a monument of national importance. It held national and international events at the Sindhu-Saraswati site of Dholavira and unveiled a new Shivaji-era inspired naval insignia.
A new direction of Indian culture:
- With the painstakingly produced report by the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister on Monuments of National Importance — authored by chairman Bibek Debroy
- there is hope that the remnants of the British slave mindset in the Archaeological Survey of India will change, giving way to rational thinking that reflects Bharat.
- This report is a big step in the right direction and may become the Bhagavad Gita guiding the direction in which the preservation and designation of monuments of national importance should go.
- The recommendations made by the report can be implemented without amending the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act and needs only executive orders.
Recognising the past personalities and their contribution in Indian history
- The way in which we have created a list of 3,695 monuments of national importance has some interesting facets.
- The samadhi in Satara of Maratha queen Tarabai Bhonsle, who fought the Mughals and ruled for 30 years, is in ruins.
- No one thought that it deserves the honour of being declared a monument of national importance.
- There is need for monument connected with the struggles of Dalits and B R Ambedkar’s life that has been declared as a national monument. No proposal to the effect has even been accepted.
- After a detailed site inspection by the NMA, the governor of Kerala recommended that the birthplace of Adi Sankara, Kalady, be declared a monument of national importance. The recommendation was not even responded to.
- The Mangarh hillock in Rajasthan was recommended by the NMA, along with the Minister of State for Culture, to be declared a Monument of National Importance. This was the site of the massacre of more than 1,500 Bhils by the British army on November 17, 1913. We are still waiting for action on it.
- There are more than a hundred monuments, like Tota-Maina ki Qabar and Dadi Poti ka Gumbad, which have absolutely no history. Nobody knows what they represent and whether they should be declared as Monuments of National Importance. Similarly, the designation of some as Monuments of National Importance defies logic, like Muhammad Ghori Ke Senapati Ki Chhatri.
Who decided that monuments like this are of national importance and why has there been no review of these decisions till now?
- Not a single monument of national importance from Kashmir, like the Martand Sun Temple, Parihaspora and Harwan Monastery, was ever recommended to be declared as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and none has been given even a security guard like we see at other sites.
- I had recommended that there be a relook at the functioning and mandates of all the agencies working on monuments, along the lines of what the Modi government did to the Yojana Aayog (Planning Commission).
Conclusion:
- There is need for reform in Archaeological Foundation to preserve the civilisational and revolutionary monuments of India which should be unshackled from the British slave mindset and given into the hands of those who know their subject
- These may be given a district-level archaeological tag which will bring a whiff of fresh thinking in this direction while promoting the rich heritage of Indian art and architecture along with recognising the contribution of personalities who contributed significantly.
Editorial 2: Flu cases rising in India, what is driving the surge?
Recent Context:
- The Centre last week reviewed the rise in cases of influenza, and states have been readying hospitals for a possible spike in infections.
- The Union Health Ministry has confirmed a death each in Haryana and Karnataka due to the H3N2 subtype of the flu virus this month. Data from the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme suggest at least nine people died of the flu in January.
Why is there an increase in flu cases?
- There were 3,038 laboratory confirmed cases of the flu in the country until March 9 this year, show the latest data from the Ministry.
- This isn’t unusually high; number is likely an undercount because not everyone tests for the flu and not all test results are reported to the government.
- Officials and experts said the current spike is because, first, this is the flu season. India usually sees two flu peaks every year between January and March and, post-monsoon, between August and October.
- The virus spreads as the season changes. Besides the flu, a spike has been reported in the cases of other respiratory infections such as adenovirus and Covid-19.
- Second, fewer flu infections during the pandemic has resulted in a large reservoir of people with lower immunity.
- “Every year there is a subclinical spread of influenza and people acquire some immunity to it. But during the pandemic, people masked up, stayed away from crowded areas, avoided gatherings, and this spread could not occur. Hence, there is an increase this year,
- Third, the flu virus is prone to changing its structure. “This means that we see an increase in flu cases usually every other year,
- Fourth, India’s burden of conditions like diabetes and heart disease — which are risk factors for severe disease — is huge even among the young. The yearly flu shot is not readily available in government set-ups, and its uptake is not high.
- Researchers have said that although there seems to be a growth advantage — seeing as it is replacing previously dominant variants — whether it could lead to a surge or to severe cases is not known. Hospitals are still reporting Covid-19 cases with upper respiratory tract symptoms and fever, similar to what is seen with the flu.
So have Covid-19 cases spiked as well?
- Larger numbers of Covid-19 cases have been reported over the last two weeks. But the base is low — weekly new cases increased from 2,082 during the week ended March 8 to 3,264 during the week ended March 15, according to government data.
- “Only 10% of patients hospitalised with respiratory symptoms in Delhi were found to have the H3N2 flu. Another 15% actually had Covid-19
- As per officials, New Covid infections had increased in the southern states and Gujarat over the last couple of weeks
- The Centre has written to six statesTamil Nadu, Telangana, Kerala, Karnataka, Gujarat, and Maharashtra — asking them to carry out adequate and proactive testing, monitor new and emerging clusters of infections, keep an eye on influenza like illnesses (ILI) coming to health facilities, and send samples of international travellers, sentinel sites, and clusters for genomic sequencing.
Is it unusual for people to die of the flu?
- It actually isn’t. While it causes mild symptoms like fever, cough, and runny nose in most people, like Covid, it can lead to complications like pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) that can lead to death.
- Very young children, old people, people with comorbidities such as heart disease, diabetes, and kidney disease, pregnant women, and those with a weakened immune system — such as people who have undergone transplants — are at higher risk of getting severe disease.
Is H3N2 a new sub-type of influenza?
- No, it is one of the sub-types of the influenza virus that has been known to cause seasonal infections just like the 2009 pandemic subtype H1N1 that has been in circulation since. In fact, H3N2 caused a flu pandemic back in 1968.
- “The sub-type was detected in India in 1996 and has since caused outbreaks too. The only difference this year is that the disease seems to be a little more severe than we would usually see with H3N2,”
- It was the second most commonly found virus in respiratory samples during August-September 2021 surge — the most common being the Victoria sub-type. There are two main sub-types of influenza viruses: Type A has sub-types such as H1N1 and H3N2; the two lineages of influenza B are Victoria and Yamagata. Influenza A is usually associated with more severe disease and deaths.
Why is the flu shot updated every year?
- The list of subtypes to be included in the yearly flu shot is updated by the World Health Organisation twice a year depending on the types in circulation.
- The ICMR network of viral laboratories test respiratory samples throughout the year from sentinel sites to keep an eye on the ups and downs in the numbers of flu cases, but more importantly to track the sub-types in circulation. There is a need to continuously update the vaccine because of the constantly evolving nature of influenza viruses.
- It can undergo an “antigenic drift” to acquire mutations that change the part that cause the body to elicit an immune response. The Covid-19 equivalent would be the spike protein which too has changed, though not enough to render a vaccine using the original virus useles
Conclusion: What should be done to prevent infections?
- Influenza spreads when people inhale infected droplets released by patients when they cough or sneeze. These droplets can survive on surfaces, and can spread if a person touches the surface and then touches their eyes, nose, or mouth.
- Chances of transmission can be reduced by ensuring that the mouth and nose are covered when you sneeze or cough, and by washing hands frequently. It is best to remain at home when sick, and to drink plenty of fluids.
- Masks should be used in crowded places to prevent the spread of infection
- Along with government should issue advisory on regular interval to aware the people about the transmission of virus and should also take curative action parallelly.