FEATURED TOPIC: THE NORTHWEST PASSAGE

FEATURED TOPIC: THE NORTHWEST PASSAGE

About the Northwest Passage

The Northwest Passage connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans along the northern coast of North America

• The Northwest Passage is a sea route connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans along the northern coast of North America
• The route which involves passage through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago of islands
• The Northwest Passage has been sought by explorers for centuries to drastically reduce shipping times from Europe to East Asia
• Due to permanent Arctic ice, the Northwest Passage has remained frozen and un-navigable for centuries
• However, due to global warming and consequent melting of Arctic ice, the Passage may become open to navigation in the near future, leading to serious questions of sovereignty
• The first successful exploration of the Northwest Passage was by Roald Amundsen (Norway) 1903

Sovereignty dispute

• The sovereignty dispute regarding the Northwest Passage is centred around the US and EU on one side and Canada on the other
• Canada claims that the Northwest Passage, running as it does through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, is internal Canadian waters. This would allow Canada to block the Passage if desired
  
• The US and EU contend that the Passage is an international strait. This would mean that Canada would have the right to regulate and tax shipping through the Passage, but would not have the authority to close it.
  
• In 1988, Canada and the US signed the Arctic Cooperation agreement that stipulated that US Coast Guard ships would require permission from Canada to use the Passage
  

Effect of climate change

• In Sep 2007, the European Space Agency used satellite images to state that the Northwest Passage had opened up due to ice loss related to global warming
• The Agency’s report has led to speculations that the Passage may open up for shipping much sooner than expected
• Hapag-Llyod cruises (Germany) have started offering Northwest Passage cruises following opening up of the Passage

RECENT NOTEWORTHY DEVELOPMENTS

1. India and Bangladesh sign culture pact
   1. India and Bangladesh have signed a comprehensive cultural exchange plan
   2. The Cultural Exchange Programme cements ties in the fields of art, youth affairs, sports and mass media
   3. The Programme is a follow-up to the Cultural Cooperative Agreement signed in 1972
   4. Major highlights of the CEP include
      1. Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) and counterpart academic institutions and museums to exchange one scholar each
      2. Exchange of students in the field of theatre
      3. Exchange of library personnel
      4. Exchange of reading material between the National Library of India and the Public Library of Bangladesh
      5. Exchange of officials from the Archaeological Survey of India and the Bangladesh Department of Archaeology and Museums
      6. Exchange of writers. Sahitya Akademi to publish an anthology of poetry from Bangladesh, in return to a reciprocal gesture from Dhaka
      7. Exchange children’s paintings, books etc
      8. Exchange of rare publications, facilitated by the Salarjung Museum (Hyderabad)
      9. Exchange of radio and TV programmes, and two journalists
      10. Both countries to organise film weeks in the other country
2. Mumbai retain Ranji Trophy
   1. Mumbai defeated Karnataka in the finals to retain the Ranji Trophy
   2. This is the 39^th Ranji Trophy title for Mumbai
   3. The Ranji Trophy is named after Kumar Shri Ranjitsinhji Vibhaji, Maharaja Jam Sahib of Nawanagar
   4. The Ranjit Trophy was launched as the Cricket Championship of India in 1934
3. Longest annular solar eclipse observed

   

   The Jan 2010 Annular Solar Eclipse as observed from Trivandrum
   1. The longest annular solar eclipse of the millennium was observed on 15 Jan 2010
   2. The eclipse was seen as an annular eclipse in a narrow strip of south India, comprising southern Kerala and Tamil Nadu. It was seen as a partial eclipse in central Africa, the Middle East and parts of Burma and China
      
   3. The magnitude of the eclipse was 0.91
      i.e. it blocked 91% of the Sun
      
   4. With a duration of 11 min 7.8 sec, it was the longest annular eclipse of the millennium and the longest until the year 3043
   5. An annular eclipse is one where the Sun looks like an annulus i.e. a ring. This occurs when the Moon’s apparent diameter is smaller than that of the Sun
   6. To study the eclipse, the Vikaram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) launched sounding rockets from Trivandrum and Sriharikota. The sounding rockets are to collect data on atmospheric structure and dynamics during the eclipse
      
   7. The longest total solar eclipse of the century occurred in July 2009, also over India. It will be longest until the year 2132
      
4. Madras Music Season winding down
   1. The Madras Music Season is a series of Carnatic music events hosted in Chennai every year.
   2. The Madras Music Season was launched in 1927 to mark the opening of the Madras Music Academy
   3. The Season consists mainly of events of Carnatic music and also dance, drama and other non-Carnatic forms
      
   4. With over 1200 performances by over 600 artists, the Madras Music Season is considered to be one of the largest cultural events in the world
   5. It is held in the Dec-Jan period every year, marking the Tamil month of Margazhi
5. New Governors appointed
   1. President Pratibha Patil has cleared the appointment of five new Governors to different states
   2. M K Narayanan to be Governor of West Bengal. His previous appointments include National Security Advisor (NSA) 2005-2010 and Director of the Intelligence Bureau (IB) 1987-1990
      
   3. Shivraj Patil to be Governor of Punjab and Administrator of Chandigarh. He was the Minister of Home Affairs 2005-2008
      
   4. K Sankaranarayanan to be Governor of Maharashtra. He is the outgoing Governor of Jharkhand and was Governor of Arunachal Pradesh 2004-2007
      
   5. M O H Farooq to be Governor of Jharkhand. He is the outgoing Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, and was Chief Minister of Pondicherry thrice
      
   6. Shekhar Dutt appointed Governor of Chhattisgarh. He is the outgoing Deputy NSA and was formerly Defence Secretary
      
   7. E S l Narasimhan appointed Governor of Andhra Pradesh. He is the outgoing Governor of Chhattisgarh and was formerly Director of the IB