Recently RBI governor gave an ‘India Panglossian', when talking about the Indian economy.
He said that RBI is not maintaining a Panglossian countenance and smile away every difficulty of the Indian economy.
‘Pangloss’ is a fictional character in Voltaire's novel ‘Candide’.
Pangloss means “a person who views a situation with unwarranted optimism”.
The term "Panglossianism" describes baseless optimism of the sort exemplified by Pangloss's beliefs.
A Panglossian way of life is convinced whatever happens is for the best, and hence make no effort to change it.
The Indian economy is losing steam has been confirmed by numbers from all key sectors and the governor acknowledged all these bottlenecks
He said, RBI is closely monitoring and a revival in growth is now the top priority for every policymaker.
XDR TB – A deadly disease
Worldwide, TB has surpassed HIV-AIDS as the leading cause of death due to infectious diseases.
In 2017, over 13 lakh people died of the disease.
XDR TB is known as the extensively drug-resistant strain.
Recently the US-FDA approved a three-drug regimen against the most lethal form of multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis.
It has approved ‘Pretomanid’ Tablets in combination with ‘Bedaquiline’ and ‘Linezolid’ for the treatment.
A trial in the US, which enrolled 109 patients with the XDR strain, was able to cure 90% of them.
Out of 10,800 cases worldwide, India accounted for 2,650 cases or almost one-fourth.
As per WHO, two-thirds of cases of the XDR-strain are in China, India and Russia.
WHO explains that XDR can be contracted in two ways.
It may develop in a patient who is already receiving treatment for TB and misuses the anti-TB drugs, or
It can be contracted from a person who already has the disease.
Often, XDR TB may go undiagnosed since lower-middle-income countries lack the infrastructure to detect it.
Ending the TB epidemic by 2030 is among the health targets of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).
Sikkim - From Chogyal rule to Indian state
Last week in Sikkim, 10 MLAs from the Opposition SDF defected to the BJP, adding to the political uncertainty..
The current instability follows a unique event, the voting out of a government in power for the first time in Sikkim’s history.
Since joining India in 1975, Sikkim has seen its government changed only twice.
Sikkim became part of the Indian union in 1975 as its 22nd state.
For 333 years before 1975, Sikkim was ruled by the ‘Chogyals’ (kings) of the ‘Namgyal dynasty’ of Tibetan descent.
According to one account, the first ruler, Penchu Namgyal, was installed as king by Tibetan lamas in 1642.
The Sikkim kingdom included the Chumbi valley and Darjeeling.
Chumbi Valley is part of China now. After 1706, there were a series of conflicts between the powers of the region.
It includes Sikkim, Nepal, Bhutan, and Tibet, resulting in a shrinking of Sikkim’s territorial boundaries.
In 1814, Sikkim allied with the East India Company in the latter’s campaign against Nepal.
After the Company won, it restored to Sikkim some of the territories that Nepal had wrested from it in 1780.
In 1841, the Company purchased Darjeeling from the Namgyal rulers.
A treaty in 1861 made Sikkim a de facto protectorate of British India.
Subsequently, the ‘Calcutta Convention of 1890’ demarcated the border between Sikkim and Tibet.
The Lhasa Convention of 1904 affirmed the Calcutta Convention.
After India became independent, in 1950, a treaty was signed between Maharaja Tashi Namgyal and India, It stated that, “Sikkim shall continue to be a Protectorate of India and, subject to the provisions of this Treaty, shall enjoy autonomy in regard to its internal affairs.”
The gaping income inequality and feudal control over key resources led to popular discontent against the Chogyal rulers.
In December 1947, diverse political groupings came together to form the Sikkim State Congress.
In 1949, the Chogyal agreed to appoint a five-member Council of Ministers, with three Congress nominees, and two of his own.
In 1953, the Chogyal introduced a new Constitution, and 4 general elections were held based on separate electorates.
In 1973, the royal palace was besieged by thousands of protesters.
The Chogyal was left with no choice but to ask India to send troops for his assistance.
Finally, a tripartite agreement was signed between the Chogyal, the Indian government, and 3 major political parties.
In 1974, elections were held, in which the Congress emerged victorious over pro-independence parties.
In the same year, a new constitution was adopted, which restricted the role of the Chogyal to a titular post.
The Chogyal resented this and refused to deliver the customary address to the elected Assembly.
In the same year, India upgraded Sikkim’s status from protectorate to “associated state”, allotting to it one seat each in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
The Chogyal was unhappy with this move and sought to internationalise the issue.
This did not go down well with Sikkim’s elected leaders, and a referendum was held in 1975.
A majority voted in favour of abolishing the monarchy and joining India, with only few voting against.
Subsequently, India’s Parliament approved an amendment to make Sikkim a full state.
