Q1. According to both national and international law, the indigenous communities living in this territory must be consulted before any oil extraction process is planned on or near their territory. However, this was not followed with the indigenous Waorani community in Ecuador. Hence, the community won a landmark lawsuit against government bodies in April 2019.
Due to the recent turn of events, their initiative has been receiving praise. Name the area that they sought to protect.
Q2. The word originates from a Scandinavian word meaning “a meeting” for judicial or legislative purposes. The present meaning of the word came into popular usage in the English Inns of Court in the 16th century to describe exercises held for aspiring lawyers to gain experience in the art of persuasion.
Identify the term.
Q3. In the late 1950s, John Scurlock was experimenting with plastic and rubber covers for usage in tennis courts and swimming pools. One day, he noticed that his employees seemed to be having fun with his invention and got the idea that children might enjoy doing the same. He created a variation of this invention that has been extremely useful in fire rescue missions, especially to save people who are stuck in heights and need to jump off buildings.
What is this fun invention?
Q4. C.V. Raman was convinced he had conceived an idea that would win him the Nobel Prize, but he didn’t have enough money to buy a spectrograph. He shot a letter to a businessman stating his demand in no less clear words: “Give me money to buy a spectrograph. And if you give me the money, I promise I will bring the Nobel Prize in one year.”
The businessman fulfilled Raman’s demand by funding the cost of the spectrograph. Name this ‘nationalist businessman’.
Q5. In 1986, the Indian Army began a massive military exercise, codenamed “Operation Brasstacks”, in Rajasthan. This was considered the biggest such exercise since World War II; the operation saw 600,000-800,000 troops stationed within 100 miles of Pakistan. Viewing the exercise as a direct threat, Pakistan mobilised troops of its own, until the two armies were in firing range along the border.
On February 21, 1987, President Zia-ul-Haq flew into Jaipur to meet the Indian Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi. Tensions eased thereafter, and both countries soon withdrew a part of their troops from the border. This episode saw President Zia-ul-Haq wield, for the first time, a diplomatic tool that has since been a mainstay of India-Pakistan relations.
What diplomatic tool is this?
Q6. In 2018, the UAE introduced a programme which allowed illegal residents in the country to rectify their visa status. This grace period programme, also known by another term, shares its etymology with a medical condition, wherein one loses their memory, or rather, becomes ‘forgetful’.
It is also the name of a human rights organisation started by British Lawyer Peter Benenson. Identify the organisation.
Answers
1. Amazon Rainforest 2. Moot 3. Inflatable/bouncy castles 4. GD Birla 5. Cricket 6. Amnesty, from the Greek, ‘amnesia’
Courtesy: Walnut Knowledge Solutions
