DAILY NEWS ANALYSIS

Exercise ‘Dharma Guardian’

• India and Japan participated in the exercise "DHARMA Guardian-2023" in Belgaum, Karnataka.

More On the News:

• It is a combined military exercise.
• It offers a rare chance for the armed forces of the two countries to work together in a way that strengthens the enduring ties of friendship between India and Japan.

• In terms of the security problems that both countries face against the backdrop of the current international situation, the yearly training exercise with Japan is essential and vital.
• During this collaborative exercise, the two forces will be able to exchange best practices for executing tactical operations under a UN mandate.
• It offers a venue for academic and cultural exchanges as well as social encounters, broadening their horizons in terms of knowledge and cooperation with a view to living in harmony throughout the Indo-Pacific region.
• This exercise's execution includes athletics, cross-training, and combat conditioning in real-world settings.
• It raises the degree of defense cooperation between the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Forces and the Indian Army and serves as a catalyst for several future collaborative initiatives to build on the successes already made.
• The first Dharma Guardian was introduced in November 2018 at the Indian Army's Vairengte Counter Insurgency Warfare Academy to advance military collaboration between India and Japan.

The importance of Japan :

• Japan's superior manufacturing capabilities may aid in the expansion of India's domestic defense sector.
• India can benefit from Japanese border infrastructure-building expertise.
• Japan provides significant development aid to India for specific projects. Bullet Train Project, for instance.
• Japan has also invested in India's Manufacturing zone and industrial corridors like Neemrana in Rajasthan.

Convergent Elements:

• Open Indo-Pacific: Both nations' prosperity and well-being depend on an open and prosperous Indo-Pacific region.
• Hegemonic China: India and Japan are concerned about China's expanding military capability and aggression in territorial disputes.
• American position in Asia: The two countries are compelled to take action in order to defend and sustain the rules-based order in their region as doubt over America's future role in Asia grows.

Other exercises:

• Comprehensive Tri-Service Exchanges that India and Japan participate in the lead to frequent armed forces staff meetings between the two nations.
• Bilateral exercises including JIMEX, Bilateral Maritime Exercises, and Passage Exercises are regularly engaged in by the Indian Navy and JMSDF.
• Every year, the Indian Army and JGSDF take part in the bilateral exercise Dharma Guardian. Multilateral exercises like MILAN and MALABAR are examples.
• The first "Veer Guardian" took place in 2023 and involved meticulous planning and deft execution by the air forces of India and Japan.

Historical perspective:

• Long-standing spiritual affinities as well as deep cultural and civilizational linkages have been the foundation of India and Japan's friendship.
• The Todaiji Temple in Nara, where an Indian monk named Bodhisena performed the consecration or eye-opening of the enormous statue of Lord Buddha in the year 752 AD, was the site of India's first known direct interaction with Japan.
• Swami Vivekananda, Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore, JRD Tata, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, and Judge Radha Binod Pal were notable Indians affiliated with Japan in modern times.
• The oldest organization for international friendship in Japan is the Japan-India Association, which was founded in 1903.
• Currently, Japan is Asia's most rich nation and India is its largest democracy.

Way forward

• The Indo-Japanese partnership has the potential to change the face of Asia and contribute to the preservation of an open and secure Indo-Pacific by focusing on shared interests.
• The economic front needs to be improved so that the demographic dividend of Asia as a whole can be used to benefit India and other Asian nations.
• A plan containing doable recommendations, like improving collaboration in counterterrorism, cyber security, and disaster relief.

Sagar Parikrama Program Phase III

The Department of Fisheries in Surat, Gujarat's Hazira Port, recently launched the third phase of the Sagar Parikrama Program.

More On the News:

• Sagar Parikrama is an initiative by the Government of India in the water across the coastal belt displaying unity with the fisherfolk, fish farmers, and concerned stakeholders as a spirit of 75th Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav.
• Through various fisheries schemes and programs being implemented by the Government of India, such as PMMSY, the objectives are to resolve the concerns of the fishermen and other stakeholders and facilitate their economic upliftment while focusing on a sustainable balance between the utilization of marine fisheries resources for the nation's food security and the livelihoods of coastal fishing communities.
• The "Sagar Parikrama" Phase I and II programs were held in March 2022 and September 2022, respectively.
• All coastal States and UTs are required to participate in the Sagar Parikrama program, which will depart from Gujarat, Diu, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, West Bengal, and the Andaman and Nicobar and Lakshadweep Islands via a predetermined sea route.
• The State Fisheries officials, Fishermen representatives, Fish-Farmers entrepreneurs, stakeholders, professionals, officials, and Scientists from all across the country shall accompany the Parikrama.

Significance:

• In order to understand the issues facing coastal fishermen, the program will interact with fishermen, fisher communities, and stakeholders.
• To raise the standard of living and economic prosperity of those who live in rural areas.
• The Government of India has chosen a holistic strategy to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in order to increase opportunities for livelihood.

Important information regarding India's coast and marine industry:

• The nation's 8118 km of coastline, which spans 9 maritime States and 4 Union Territories, supports the livelihoods of 2.8 million coastal fishermen.
• India is the third-largest fish producer in the world, contributing 8% of the total worldwide fish production.
• The nation produces 162.48 lakh tonnes of fish altogether, of which 121.21 lakh tonnes come from inland sources and 41.27 lakh tonnes come from marine sources

International Mother Language Day

• Every year, International Mother Tongue Day is observed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to encourage mother tongue-based multilingual education.
• It was discovered on February 21, 2023, World Mother Language Day, that India is losing many of its languages as a result of modernization and globalisation, mainly because of the lack of education.
• "Multilingual education - a must to transform education" is the theme for 2023.

Background and History:

• The concept of International Mother Language Day originated in Bangladesh.
• The day (February 21) also honours Bangladesh's protracted battle to preserve its native Bangla language.
• This day was declared by the UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization's General Conference in November 1999. (UNESCO).
• In its resolution from 2002, the UN General Assembly praised the declaration of the day.
• The United Nations General Assembly urged its members to "support the preservation and safeguarding of all languages used by peoples of the globe" in a resolution that was adopted on May 16, 2007.
• At that time, the UNGA declared 2008 to be the International Year of Languages in order to encourage multiculturalism and multilingualism as well as unity in variety.

What is International Mother Language Day?

• In 1999, UNESCO designated February 21 as International Mother Language Day, and since 2000, people all around the world have observed it.
• The day also honours Bangladesh's protracted battle to preserve its native Bangla language.
• Rafiqul Islam, a Bangladeshi resident in Canada, proposed the idea to designate February 21 as International Mother Language Day.
• Goal: To protect cultural diversity, UNESCO has emphasised the value of mother-tongue-based education. To that end, the International Decade of Indigenous Languages was established.
• According to the United Nations (UN), a language vanishes every two weeks, wiping out the world's whole cultural and intellectual legacy.

Significance of the Mother Language Day:

• Languages are crucial for people and the environment because of their complex effects on identity, communication, social integration, education, and development. However as a result of processes of globalisation, they are coming under more and more pressure or maybe going extinct.
• Based on global data, the overall figures demonstrate that:
• 40% of people worldwide lack access to education in a language they can speak or comprehend.
• At least 43% of the 6,000 or so languages that are believed to be spoken worldwide are in risk.
• A language vanishes every two weeks, carrying with it a complete cultural and intellectual legacy.

Global Efforts for the Protection of Languages:

• The International Decade of Indigenous Languages will run from 2022 to 2032, according to the UN.
• Earlier, the United Nations General Assembly had proclaimed 2019 as the International Year of Indigenous Languages (IYIL).
• The Yuelu Proclamation, issued by UNESCO in Changsha (China) in 2018, is essential in directing international efforts to preserve linguistic diversity and resources.

India & Languages:

• There are 121 official languages and 270 mother tongues in India, according to the 2011 Census. 22 of the 121 languages spoken on earth have official status.
• The National Education Policy (NEP 2020) that was implemented in India places a strong emphasis on using the mother language as much as possible. A "Three Language Formula" will be used, allowing the state government to teach regional languages in addition to Hindi and English.
• The National Translation Mission (NTM), a program to create a translation as a business in general and to promote higher education by making scholarly books available to students and academics in Indian languages in particular, was also introduced by the Indian government.
• The Program for Conservation and Preservation of Endangered Languages has also been introduced by the government. This program focuses on protecting endangered languages.
• Project Navlekha was also presented by Google. an effort to increase the relevance of online material for Indian consumers, particularly in regional tongues.

India's Initiatives to Protect Indigenous Languages:

• The government has introduced the "Bhasha Sangam" program to encourage schoolchildren to study and value other languages, particularly their mother tongues.
• Also, the initiative seeks to enhance cultural diversity and multilingualism.
• Central Institute of Indian Languages: The Central Institute of Indian Languages, which is devoted to the study and advancement of Indian languages, was also founded by the government.
• The Commission for Scientific and Technical Terminology (CSTT) is funding the publication of university-level books in regional languages by offering publication grants.
• It was founded in 1961 with the goal of improving technical vocabulary in all Indian languages.

Way Forward

• The loss of languages could pose a serious threat to global culture and history if appropriate global measures are not implemented. Linguistic and cultural diversity are promoted by International Mother Language Day.