Additional Information

• Nitrogen-fixation involves converting atmospheric nitrogen into its more reactive constituents, such as — nitrates, nitrites, or ammonia.
• These compounds support agriculture and plant growth. On the contrary, a lack of nitrogen stunts the growth of crops. About 90 per cent of the biotic nitrogen is fixed by microorganisms present in the soil.
• Lightning also contributes to nitrogen-fixation.

• Legumes: Legumes are a family of plants that includes beans, peas, lentils, peanuts, soybeans, and alfalfa. Legumes have a symbiotic relationship with bacteria called rhizobia, which live in the roots of the plants. The rhizobia bacteria convert atmospheric nitrogen into ammonia, which is then used by the legume plant.
• Non-legumes: There are also a number of non-leguminous nitrogen-fixing plants, such as actinorhizal plants (e.g., alders) and cyanobacteria (e.g., Nostoc). Actinorhizal plants have a symbiotic relationship with bacteria called Frankia, which live in the roots of the plants. Cyanobacteria are photosynthetic bacteria that can fix nitrogen from the atmosphere.

Here are some examples of nitrogen-fixing plants:

• Legumes: beans, peas, lentils, peanuts, soybeans, alfalfa, clover, vetch, lupins, chickpeas, cowpeas, mung beans, adzuki beans, lima beans, black-eyed peas
• Non-legumes: actinorhizal plants (e.g., alders, willows, poplars, sea buckthorn), cyanobacteria (e.g., Nostoc, Anabaena,Oscillatoria), azolla, mosquito fern, Gunnera, Blasia (liverwort), hornworts

• Sangu pushpam (butterfly pea flower), fenugreek and agathi keerai (vegetable hummingbird) are some nitrogen-fixing plants that can be grown in home gardens.

The Hoysalas

• The Hoysalas, which began as provincial governors under the Western Chalukyas, held power in Karnataka from the 10th century to the 14th century.
• The dynasty came to power when the two dominant empires of the South, the Western Chalukyas and the Cholas crumbled.
• The capital of the Hoysalas was initially located at Belur, but was later moved to Halebidu(or Dwarasamudra).
• It was an important period in the development of South Indian art, architecture, and religion.
• The empire is remembered today primarily for Hoysala architecture – ~100 surviving temples are scattered across Karnataka.
• No known monuments other than temples, like palaces or forts, survive from the Hoysala period.
  • This is one of the paradoxes of the early medieval and medieval non-Islamic world, because the non-temple buildings were all built in either mud or brick or wood.

Sacred Ensembles of the Hoysalas

• Three Hoysala-era temples in Karnataka recently made it to UNESCO’s World Heritage List, under the collective entry of ‘Sacred Ensembles of the Hoysalas’.
  • The three temples include the Chennakeshava temple in Belur, the Hoysaleswara Temple in Halebidu, and the Keshava Temple in Somanathapura.
• The Chennakeshava temple, dedicated to Lord Vishnu, was consecrated around 1117 AD by the mighty Hoysala king Vishnuvardhana, to mark his victories against the Cholas. It is thus also called the Vijaya Narayana temple.
• The other Vaishnava shrine, the Kesava temple, was built in Somanathapura around 1260 by Somanatha, a general of Hoysala King Narasimha III.
• The Hoysaleswara temple in Halebidu is believed to be the largest Shiva temple built by the Hoysalas, and is dated to the 12th century.

About the Hoysala Temples:

• Hoysala temples are known for the rare beauty and finesse of their wall sculptures, and have been described as art which applies to stone the technique of the ivory worker or the goldsmith.
• One notable feature of Hoysala architecture is the use of soapstone, a malleable stone that is easy to carve.
• This is one of the reasons behind the abundance of intricate sculptures (animals, scenes of daily life, depictions from the epics and the Puranas)one can see on the temple walls.
• The temples are generally built on stellate (star-shaped) platforms, and have several structures inside the complex.
• Another special feature of Hoysala architecture is the unique confluence of styles – Hoysala architecture is an amalgamation of 3 distinctive styles (Dravidian, Vesara and the North Indian Nagara style).
• An interesting feature of Hoysala temples is that they are ‘signed’ – the sculptors, masons leave behind their names, and sometimes a few more details.
• These Vaishnava and Shaiva shrines were built at the time Jainism was prominent in the region, and thus mark a turn towards Hinduism.

Additional Information

• The Supreme Court in B.R. Singh versus Union of India in 1989 upheld the right to form associations or unions as a fundamental right under Article 19(1)(c) of the Constitution. 
  • The State or the courts could “reasonably” restrict the formation of unions, associations, cooperative societies under Article 19(4) of the Constitution only if there is danger to public order, morality, sovereignty or integrity of India.
  •  The restrictions must be based on logic and not arbitrary. The necessity to form unions is obviously for voicing the demands and grievances of labour. “Trade unionists act as mouthpieces of labour,” the court had noted.

On collective bargaining

•  ‘Collective bargaining’ is defined in Article 2 of the International Labour Organization (ILO) Collective Bargaining Convention of 1981 as negotiations between employees and employers or their organisations to determine working conditions and terms of employment. 
• The product of successful collective bargaining is a collective agreement. Collective bargaining is statutorily recognised in the Industrial Disputes Act. The Act provides that in case of failure of collective bargaining, the State steps in to refer the matter to a conciliation officer. The case is further referred to a labour court or an industrial tribunal if the conciliation officer does not succeed.

On the right to strike

• The right to strike labour is a legal right recognised with certain restrictions under the Industrial Disputes Act. 
• The Supreme Court described strikes as a “form of demonstration” by workers for their rights. 
• The right is recognised by almost all democratic countries. 
• The ILO considers the right to strike as a corollary of the right to organise.
• However, the 1947 Act does not recognise the right to strike as absolute.
  • Section 22 prohibits strikes in breach of contract or without giving employer notice within six weeks before striking or within 14 days of giving such notice; or before the expiry of the date of strike specified in the notice or during the pendency of proceedings before a conciliation officer and seven days after the conclusion of such proceedings.
  •  In the All India Bank Employees case, the Supreme Court said the right to form an association was a “guaranteed” one, but the methods used by the unions to achieve their purposes must adhere to the existing industrial laws of the land.

• Lebanon shares its borders with Syria to the north and east, and Israel to the south.
• Jordan and Iraq do not share a direct land border with Lebanon.