🔆 Constantine Joseph Beschi (Veeramamunivar) – In the News

📍 Why in the News?
Recently, Emerald Publishers released the English translation of the first Tamil biography of Veeramamunivar (Constantine Joseph Beschi), written by A. Muttusami Pillei.

📍 Who was Constantine Joseph Beschi?
✅ Italian Jesuit missionary and renowned Tamil scholar
✅ Maintained close friendship with Chanda Sahib, Nawab of Carnatic
✅ Even served as Dewan under Chanda Sahib

📍 Muttusami Pillei’s Views on Beschi
✅ A devout religious missionary
✅ Appointed Dewan of Tiruchi; Nawab gifted him 4 villages (yielding ₹12,000 annual revenue)
✅ Held office till 1740
✅ Practiced strict asceticism – abstained from flesh & fish
✅ Studied Sanskrit, Telugu, and Tamil, becoming a master of Tamil literature

📍 UPSC Relevance – History (Literature)
Beschi’s scholarship and role as Veeramamunivar highlight the interaction of European missionaries with Indian languages & culture, contributing to the evolution of Tamil literature.

#History #UPSCPrelims #Literature #art_and_culture

🔆 Why Earthquakes Occur & Why Afghanistan is So Vulnerable

📍 Recent Quake
✅ A 6.0 magnitude earthquake struck northeast Afghanistan (Nangarhar province, depth 8 km), killing 800+ people and injuring 2000+.
✅ Afghanistan faced 3 major quakes in 2023 (1,300 deaths) & a 5.9 quake in 2022 (1,300 deaths).

📍 Causes of Earthquakes
✅ Occur when two blocks of Earth slip past each other, releasing elastic strain energy as seismic waves.
✅ Earth’s crust: made of tectonic plates, colliding or sliding past one another → creates faults & slips.
✅ Key terms:
• Hypocenter → point inside Earth where quake starts.
• Epicenter → point directly above hypocenter on surface.

📍 Depth & Magnitude
✅ Shallow quakes (<70 km) more dangerous as energy reaches surface quickly.
✅ Magnitude vs Strength: Magnitude = size of seismic waves; Strength = energy carried.
✅ Magnitude 6 quake = 10x amplitude & 32x energy of magnitude 5.

📍 Afghanistan’s Vulnerability
✅ Lies at collision zone of Indian & Eurasian plates → highly active seismic region.
✅ India moving towards Eurasia at 45 mm/year → releases ~15% of global seismic energy annually.
✅ Hindu Kush: recorded 12 quakes >7 magnitude since 1900.

🔎 Prelims Q
Q. The Hindu Kush region is highly earthquake-prone because it lies at the junction of which tectonic plates?
a) Indian & African
b) Indian & Eurasian
c) Eurasian & Pacific
d) Arabian & African
➡️ Ans: b) Indian & Eurasian



✍️ Mains Q
Explain why Afghanistan is among the most earthquake-prone regions of the world. How does tectonic plate movement make it vulnerable? (10M/150W)

#Geography #UPSC

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Q. Which one of the following is the targeted group under the “Pradhan Mantri Swanidhi Scheme”?

🔆 Mini-Cloudbursts on the Rise: IMD Chief

📍 Why in Focus?
The IMD has reported an increase in mini-cloudbursts and uneven monsoon rainfall trends across regions in 2025.

📍 Key Highlights:
✅ Mini-cloudbursts (20 cm+ rainfall in a day) have increased, though large cloudbursts remain rare and hard to forecast.
✅ Monsoon (June–Aug) recorded 6% above-normal rainfall; Northwest India got 26% more rain.
✅ Eastern & Northeastern India saw 17% less rain than normal.
✅ Extreme rainfall in Himachal, J&K, and Uttarakhand was due to a mix of western disturbances and Bay of Bengal storms.
✅ Since 1980, September rainfall has shown an increasing trend.

📍 Implications:
✅ Flash floods & landslides → higher vulnerability in Himalayan states.
✅ Uneven rainfall impacts agriculture, water security, and infrastructure.
✅ Calls for stronger early warning systems & climate adaptation.

✅ Prelims Question:
Which of the following causes mini-cloudbursts in North India?
A. Western disturbances only
B. Bay of Bengal cyclones only
C. Confluence of western disturbances & Bay of Bengal storms
D. Monsoon trough shifts alone
Ans: C

✅ Mains Question:
“Uneven monsoon patterns and the rise of mini-cloudbursts highlight India’s increasing climate risks. Discuss their causes and implications for disaster management.” (250 words)

✨ #Disaster_Management #IndianMonsoon