”UPSC Prelims Bits For Today” is every day published in the morning between 11:00 AM to 12:00 Noon and contains selective current affairs articles. ”UPSC Prelims Bits For Today” covers various topics from UPSC Prelims Syllabus and is very helpful and time managing for UPSC Aspirants. The framing of this daily current affairs compilation article is easy to read and understandable also.
In the ”UPSC Prelims Bits For Today” article, we focus on UPSC Preliminary exam-oriented current affairs covering various sections from leading National Newspapers, PIB, and other various official sources.
What is Ibn Batuta’s ”Rihala”?
Who was Ibn Battuta?
- Ibn Battuta (1304-1369) was a Moroccan traveller. His account widens our understanding of the Sultanate with an Afro-Asian perspective.
- He entered India through northwestern gateway, touched Indian soil in 1333 and left India in 1344.
- He not only travelled extensively Indian territories but also held prominent position of Qazi of Delhi for long seven years under Muhammad bin Tughlaq.
What is Ibn Battuta’s Rehla?
- Ibn Battuta’s Rehla throws valuable light on the judicial, political, military institutions, postal system, literati, court etiquettes, and agricultural produce (particular mention is made of mango and betel-leaf), trade, weights and measures, customs and manners during Muhammad bin Tughlaq’s period.
- A detailed account of Muhammad Tughlaq’s transfer of capital, his devastating Qarachil expedition, severity of famines is provided by Ibn Battuta. Another interesting account which otherwise is not available to us is his description as well as praise of the effective postal system.
Description Of Port Cities!
Ibn Battuta’s book, The Rihla, talks of his travels in the Maldives and all throughout the Indian Ocean trading ports, and is perhaps the best depiction of the port cities, types of vessels, cargo traded and merchant families of the dhow route’s early days.
What was Dhow Route?
- The arc of coastal trade (also called the dhow trade) stretched from the East African coast and further east to Aden, Muscat, and Hormuz, before reaching the west coast of India, and by the late 18th century, Bombay.
- Sailors have harnessed the Indian Ocean’s monsoon winds for at least two millennia. The Swahili term “dhow” encompasses a diversity of sailing ships, from coastal fishing boats to ocean-going vessels.
- Dhows drew the cosmopolitan urban communities of Indian Ocean world together. The seasonal patterns of monsoons meant that sailors would stay in distant ports for months at a time. They took sojourns in the cities of east Africa and the Horn, the Arabian Peninsula, Persia, India, and beyond to China, Sumatra and Java.
- Dhow routes created intricate loops of cultural exchange – gold and cotton, migrants and merchants, and marriages that tied together people from distant lands. Indian Ocean cities and their citizens continue to reflect the long duration of this cultural dynamism.
Which are the Components Of OBOR?
- The One Belt One Road initiative focuses on improving connectivity and cooperation among Asian countries, Africa, China and Europe. The emphasis is on enhancing land as well as maritime routes.
- The OBOR consists of two components; namely the Maritime Silk Road Initiative (MSRI) and the Silk Road Economic Belt (SREB).
- It constitutes a massive geopolitical project that aims to construct landscapes to enable flow of trade and investment by ‘promoting economic cooperation and connectivity’ between Asia, West Asia, Africa, and Europe.