🔆 Geography of the Chagos Archipelago
📍 Location:
✅ Comprises 58 islands located about 500 km south of the Maldives in the Indian Ocean.
🔆 History of the Chagos Archipelago
📍 Colonization:
✅ First colonized by the French in 1715 along with Mauritius.
✅ Slave labour from Africa and India was brought in during the late 18th century for coconut plantations.
✅ The UK took control in 1814 after Napoleon Bonaparte’s fall.
✅ In 1965, the UK constituted the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT), with Chagos as a key part.
🔆 Mauritius’ Claims Over Chagos
📍 Administrative Attachment:
✅ Chagos was administered with Mauritius as a British colony.
✅ When Mauritius gained independence in 1968, Chagos remained with Britain after a 3 million pound grant was given for its detachment.
🔆 Strategic Importance of Chagos and Diego Garcia
📍 Military Significance:
✅ In 1966, Britain allowed the US military to use BIOT for defense purposes.
✅ Diego Garcia, the largest island, became a key US military base in 1986.
✅ The base played a crucial role in the “war on terror” after the 9/11 attacks.
🔆 International Pressure on the UK
📍 ICJ Ruling (2019):
✅ The International Court of Justice (ICJ) advised the UK to withdraw its colonial administration within six months.
✅ The ICJ ruled the 1965 detachment of Chagos from Mauritius was illegal.
🔆 UK-Mauritius Agreement (Key Details)
📍 Sovereignty:
✅ Mauritius gains sovereignty over Chagos except Diego Garcia.
📍 Resettlement:
✅ Mauritius is allowed to resettle the Chagossians on Chagos, excluding Diego Garcia, where 2,000 islanders were evicted for the US naval base.
📍 Trust Fund:
✅ The UK has promised a new trust fund for the Chagossians.
📍 Location:
✅ Comprises 58 islands located about 500 km south of the Maldives in the Indian Ocean.
🔆 History of the Chagos Archipelago
📍 Colonization:
✅ First colonized by the French in 1715 along with Mauritius.
✅ Slave labour from Africa and India was brought in during the late 18th century for coconut plantations.
✅ The UK took control in 1814 after Napoleon Bonaparte’s fall.
✅ In 1965, the UK constituted the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT), with Chagos as a key part.
🔆 Mauritius’ Claims Over Chagos
📍 Administrative Attachment:
✅ Chagos was administered with Mauritius as a British colony.
✅ When Mauritius gained independence in 1968, Chagos remained with Britain after a 3 million pound grant was given for its detachment.
🔆 Strategic Importance of Chagos and Diego Garcia
📍 Military Significance:
✅ In 1966, Britain allowed the US military to use BIOT for defense purposes.
✅ Diego Garcia, the largest island, became a key US military base in 1986.
✅ The base played a crucial role in the “war on terror” after the 9/11 attacks.
🔆 International Pressure on the UK
📍 ICJ Ruling (2019):
✅ The International Court of Justice (ICJ) advised the UK to withdraw its colonial administration within six months.
✅ The ICJ ruled the 1965 detachment of Chagos from Mauritius was illegal.
🔆 UK-Mauritius Agreement (Key Details)
📍 Sovereignty:
✅ Mauritius gains sovereignty over Chagos except Diego Garcia.
📍 Resettlement:
✅ Mauritius is allowed to resettle the Chagossians on Chagos, excluding Diego Garcia, where 2,000 islanders were evicted for the US naval base.
📍 Trust Fund:
✅ The UK has promised a new trust fund for the Chagossians.
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Himachal’s Durgesh Aranya Zoological Park to Become India’s First IGBC-Certified Zoo
Located in Kangra’s Dehra (Bankhandi), Durgesh Aranya Zoological Park is set to achieve IGBC certification, a first for Indian zoos. The park features 34 enclosures across its Van Vaibhav Path and Biodiversity Court, hosting 73 species, including Asiatic lions, crocodiles, and indigenous birds.
The Indian Green Building Council (IGBC), under CII (Confederation of Indian Industry), promotes sustainable infrastructure. IGBC’s voluntary rating systems align with global green building standards, aiming for India’s leadership in sustainable built environments by 2025.
This eco-friendly zoo emphasizes biodiversity conservation and low-environmental-impact design. It aims to boost Kangra’s eco-tourism, generate employment, and solidify the region’s status as Himachal’s “Tourism Capital.”
Relevance for UPSC: Aligns with SDGs, eco-tourism, CII’s role in sustainability, and IGBC’s certification frameworks.
Located in Kangra’s Dehra (Bankhandi), Durgesh Aranya Zoological Park is set to achieve IGBC certification, a first for Indian zoos. The park features 34 enclosures across its Van Vaibhav Path and Biodiversity Court, hosting 73 species, including Asiatic lions, crocodiles, and indigenous birds.
The Indian Green Building Council (IGBC), under CII (Confederation of Indian Industry), promotes sustainable infrastructure. IGBC’s voluntary rating systems align with global green building standards, aiming for India’s leadership in sustainable built environments by 2025.
This eco-friendly zoo emphasizes biodiversity conservation and low-environmental-impact design. It aims to boost Kangra’s eco-tourism, generate employment, and solidify the region’s status as Himachal’s “Tourism Capital.”
Relevance for UPSC: Aligns with SDGs, eco-tourism, CII’s role in sustainability, and IGBC’s certification frameworks.
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🔆 Narva River Dispute
📍 Context
- A new dispute emerged between Russia and Estonia, centered around the removal of navigation markers on the Narva River, which forms part of the border between the two countries.
📍 About Narva River
- Location: The Narva basin is situated in the Baltic Sea basin on the eastern part of Estonia and the northwest part of the Russian Federation.
- Transboundary Water Bodies:
✅ Lake Peipsi
✅ Narva Reservoir
- Connection: It connects Lake Peipsi with the Gulf of Finland (Baltic Sea).
#Places_in_news
Join @Mapping_prelims_mains
📍 Context
- A new dispute emerged between Russia and Estonia, centered around the removal of navigation markers on the Narva River, which forms part of the border between the two countries.
📍 About Narva River
- Location: The Narva basin is situated in the Baltic Sea basin on the eastern part of Estonia and the northwest part of the Russian Federation.
- Transboundary Water Bodies:
✅ Lake Peipsi
✅ Narva Reservoir
- Connection: It connects Lake Peipsi with the Gulf of Finland (Baltic Sea).
#Places_in_news
Join @Mapping_prelims_mains
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🔆Sudan:
✅It is a country located in northeastern Africa.
Bordering Countries: South Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Egypt, Libya, Chad, and the Central African Republic.
✅It borders the Sahara on the north and extends southward to the forests of West Africa and the Congo River basin.
✅Sudan also has a significant coastline along the Red Sea.
✅This narrow strip of water gives vital access to the Indian Ocean as well as the Mediterranean Sea through the Suez Canal.
✅Capital: Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, is located roughly in the centre of the country, at the junction of the Blue Nile and White Nile rivers.
✅Currency: Sudanese pounds (SDG)
✅Prior to the secession of the south in 2011, Sudan was the largest African country, with an area that represented more than 8 percent of the African continent and almost 2 percent of the world’s total land area.
#mapping
#Places_in_news
✅It is a country located in northeastern Africa.
Bordering Countries: South Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Egypt, Libya, Chad, and the Central African Republic.
✅It borders the Sahara on the north and extends southward to the forests of West Africa and the Congo River basin.
✅Sudan also has a significant coastline along the Red Sea.
✅This narrow strip of water gives vital access to the Indian Ocean as well as the Mediterranean Sea through the Suez Canal.
✅Capital: Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, is located roughly in the centre of the country, at the junction of the Blue Nile and White Nile rivers.
✅Currency: Sudanese pounds (SDG)
✅Prior to the secession of the south in 2011, Sudan was the largest African country, with an area that represented more than 8 percent of the African continent and almost 2 percent of the world’s total land area.
#mapping
#Places_in_news
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