CHAPTER 69 The human nature unto which I felt that I belonged, and reverenced with love, was not a punctual presence, but a spirit diffused through time and space, with aid derived of evidence from monuments, erect, prostrate, or leaning toward their common rest in earth, the widely scattered wreck sublime of vanished nations. Wordsworth The Prelude Sir Hugo carried out his plan of spending part of the autumn at Diplo, and by the beginning of October his presence was spreading some cheerfulness in the neighborhood, among all ranks and persons concerned, from the stately home of Brackenshaw and Ketchum to the respectable shop parlors in Wanchester. For Sir Hugo was a man who liked to show himself and be affable, a liberal of good lineage, who confided entirely in reform as not likely to make any serious difference in English habits of feeling, one of which undoubtedly is the liking to behold society well fenced and adorned with hereditary rank. Hence he made Diplo a most agreeable house, extending his invitations to old Wanchester solicitors and young village curates, but also taking some care in the combination of the guests, and not feeding all the common poultry together so that they should think their meal no particular compliment. Easygoing Lord Brackenshaw, for example, would not mind meeting Robinson the attorney, but Robinson would have been naturally piqued if he had been asked to meet a set of people who passed for his equals. On all these points Sir Hugo was well informed enough at once to gain popularity for himself and to give pleasure to others, two results which eminently suited his disposition. The rector of Pentecoate now found a reception at Diplo very different from the haughty tolerance he had undergone during the reign of Grandcourt. It was not that the baronet liked Mr. Gasquan, it was that he desired to keep up a marked relation of friendliness with him on account of Mrs. Grandcourt, to whom Sir Hugo's chivalry had become more and more engaged. Why? The chief reason was one that he could not fully communicate, even to Lady Malinger, for he would not tell what he thought one woman's secret to another, even though the other was his wife, which shows that his chivalry included a rare reticence. Duranda, after he had become engaged to Myra, felt it right to make a full statement of his position and purposes to Sir Hugo, and he chose to make it by letter. He had more than a presentiment that his fatherly friend would feel some dissatisfaction, if not pain, at this turn of his destiny. In reading unwelcome news, instead of hearing it, there is the advantage that one avoids a hasty expression of impatience, which may afterward be repented of. Duranda dreaded that verbal collision which makes otherwise pardonable feeling lastingly offensive. And Sir Hugo, though not altogether surprised, was thoroughly vexed. His immediate resource was to take the letter to Lady Malinger, who would be sure to express an astonishment which her husband could argue against as unreasonable, and in this way divide the stress of his discontent. And in fact, when she showed herself astonished and distressed that all Daniel's wonderful talents and the comfort of having him in the house should have ended in his going mad in this way about the Jews, the Baronet could say, Oh, nonsense, my dear! Depend upon it. Dan will not make a fool of himself. He has large notions about Judaism, political views which you can't understand. No fear, but Dan will keep himself head up or most. But with regard to the prospective marriage, she afforded him no counter-irritant. The gentle lady observed without rancor that she had little dreamed of what was coming when she had Myra to sing at her musical party and give lessons to Annabelle. After some hesitation, indeed, she confessed it had passed through her mind that after a proper time Daniel might marry Mrs. Grandcourt, because it seemed so remarkable that she should be at Genoa just at that time. And although she herself was not fond of widows, she could not help thinking that such a marriage would have been better than his going altogether with the Jews. But Sir Hugo was so strongly of the same opinion that he could not correct it as a feminine mistake, and his ill-humour at the disproof of his disagreeable conclusions on behalf of Gwendolyn was left without vent. He desired Lady Malinger not to breathe a word about the affair till further notice saying to himself, If it is an unkind cut to the poor thing, meaning Gwendolyn, the longer she is without knowing it the better, in her present nervous state, and she will best murn it from Dan himself. Sir Hugo's conjectures had worked so industriously with his knowledge that he fancied himself well informed concerning the whole situation. Meanwhile, his residence with his family at Diplo enabled him to continue his fatherly attentions to Gwendolyn, and Denise Lady Malinger, notwithstanding her small liking for widows, was quite willing to second him. The plan of removal to Offending had been carried out, and Gwendolyn, in settling there, maintained a calm beyond her mother's hopes. She was experiencing some of that peaceful melancholy which comes from the renunciation of demands for self, and from taking the ordinary good of existence, and especially kindness even from a dog, as a gift above expectation. Does one who has been all but lost in a pit of darkness complain of the sweet air in the daylight? There is a way of looking at our life daily as an escape, and taking the quiet return of morn and evening, still more of the star-like outglowing of some pure fellow feeling, some generous impulse breaking our inward darkness, as a salvation that reconciles us to hardship. Those who have a self-knowledge prompting such self-accusation as hamlets can understand this habitual feeling of rescue. And it was felt by Gwendolyn as she lived through and through again the terrible history of her temptations, from their first form of illusory self-pleasing when she struggled away from the hold of conscience, to their latest form of an urgent hatred dragging her toward its satisfaction, while she prayed and cried for the help of that conscience which she had once forsaken. She was now dwelling on every word of Durandus that pointed to her past deliverance from the worst evil in herself, and the worst infliction of it on others, and on every word that carried a force to resist self-despair. But she was also upborn by the prospect of soon seeing him again. She did not imagine him otherwise than always within her reach, her supreme need of him blinding her to the separateness of his life, the whole scene of which she filled with his relation to her. No unique preoccupation of Gwendolyn's, for we are all apt to fall into this passionate egoism of imagination, not only toward our fellow men, but toward God. And the future which she turned her face to with a willing step was one where she would be continually assimilating herself to some type that he would hold before her. Had he not first risen on her vision as a corrective presence which she had recognized in the beginning with resentment, and at last with entire love and trust, she could not spontaneously think of an end to that reliance which had become to her imagination like the firmness of the earth, the only condition of her walking. And Duranda was not long before he came to Diplo, which was a more convenient distance from town than the Abbey. He had wished to carry out a plan for taking Ezra and Myra to a mild spot on the coast while he prepared another home which Myra might enter as his bride and where they might unitedly watch over her brother. But Ezra begged not to be removed unless it were to go with them to the East. All outward solicitations were becoming more and more of a burden to him, but his mind dwelt on the possibility of this voyage with a visionary joy. Duranda in his preparations for the marriage which he hoped might not be deferred beyond a couple of months wished to have fuller consultation as to his resources on affairs generally with Sir Hugo, and here was a reason for not delaying his visit to Diplo. But he thought quite as much of another reason, his promise to Gwendolyn. The sense of blessedness in his own lot had yet an aching anxiety at his heart. This may be held paradoxical, for the beloved lover is always called happy, and happiness is considered as a well-fleshed indifference to sorrow outside it. But human experience is usually paradoxical, if that means incongruous with the phrases of current talk or even current philosophy. It was no treason to Myra, but a part of that full nature which made his love for her the more worthy that his joy in her could hold by its side the care for another. For what is love itself for the one we love best, an enfolding of immeasurable cares which yet are better than any joys outside our love? Duranda came twice to Diplo and saw Gwendolyn twice, and yet he went back to town without having told her anything about the change in his lot and prospects. He blamed himself, but in all momentous communication likely to give pain we feel dependent on some preparatory turn of words or associations, some agreement of the others mood with the probable effect of what we have to impart. In the first interview Gwendolyn was so absorbed in what she had to say to him, so full of questions which he must answer about the arrangement of her life, what she could do to make herself less ignorant, how she could be kindest to everybody, and to make amends for her selfishness and try to be rid of it, that Duranda utterly shrank from waving her immediate once in order to speak of himself, nay from inflicting a wound on her in these moments when she was leaning on him for help in her path. In the second interview when he went with new resolve to command the conversation into some preparatory track he found her in a state of deep depression, overmastered by some distasteful miserable memories which forced themselves on her as something more real and ample than any new material out of which she could mold her future. She cried hysterically and said that he would always despise her. He could only seek words of soothing and encouragement, and when she gradually revived under them with that pathetic look of renewed childlike interest which we see in eyes where the lashes are still beaded with tears it was impossible to lay another burden on her. But time went on and he felt a depressing duty to make the difficult disclosure. Gwendolyn, it was true, never recognized his having any affairs, and it had never even occurred to her to ask him why he happened to be at Genoa. But this unconsciousness of hers would make a sudden revelation of affairs that were determining his course in life all the heavier blow to her, and if he left the revelation to be made by different persons she would feel that he had treated her with cruel inconsiderateness. He could not make the communication in writing.  He went down to Diplo again, feeling that every other peril was to be incurred rather than that of returning and leaving her still in ignorance. On this third visit Duranda found Hound's Merrick installed with his easel at Diplo, beginning his picture of the three daughters sitting on a bank in the Gainesboro style, and varying his work by rambling to Pentecoat to sketch the village children and improve his acquaintance with the Gasquans. Hound's appeared to have recovered his vivacity, but Duranda detected some feigning in it, as we detect the artificiality of a lady's bloom from its being a little too high toned and steadily persistent, a fluctuating rouge not having yet appeared among the advertisements. Also, with all his grateful friendship and admiration for Duranda, Hound's could not help a certain irritation against him, such as extremely incautious, open natures are apt to feel when the breaking of a friend's reserve discloses a state of things not merely unsuspected, but the reverse of what had been hoped and ingeniously conjectured. It is true that poor Hound's had always cared chiefly to confide in Duranda, and had been quite incurious as to any confidence that might have been given in return. But what outpour of his own affairs is not tempted to think any hint of his friend's affairs is an egotistic irrelevance. That was no reason why it was not rather a sore reflection to Hound's that while he had been all along naively opening his heart about Myra, Duranda had kept secret a feeling of rivalry which now revealed itself as the important determining fact. Moreover, it is always at their peril that our friends turn out to be something more than we were aware of. Hound's must be excused for these promptings of bruised sensibility, since he had not allowed them to govern his substantial conduct. He had the consciousness of having done right by his fortunate friend, or as he told himself, his medal had given a better ring than he would have sworn to beforehand. For Hound's had always said that in point of virtue he was a dilettante, which meant that he was very fond of it and other people, but if he meddled with it himself he cut a poor figure. Perhaps in reward of his good behaviour he gave his tongue the more freedom, and he was too fully possessed by the notion of Duranda's happiness to have a conception of what he was feeling about Gwendolyn so that he spoke of her without hesitation. When did you come down, Hound, said Duranda, joining him in the grounds where he was making a study of the requisite bank and trees? Oh, ten days ago, before the time Sir Hugo fixed, I ran down with Rex Gasquan and stayed at the rectory a day or two. I am up in all the gossip of these parts. I know the state of the wheel-right's interior, and have assisted at an infant school examination. After Anna, with the good upper lip, escorted me, else I should have been mobbed by three urchins and an idiot, because of my long hair and general appearance which departs from the pentechote type of the beautiful. Altogether the village is idyllic. Its only fault is a dark curate with broad shoulders and broad trousers who ought to have gone into the heavy drapery line. The Gasquans are perfect, besides being related to the Van Dyke Duchess. I caught a glimpse of her in her black robes at a distance, though she doesn't show to visitors. She was not staying at the rectory, said Duranda? No, but I was taken to Ophondine to see the old house, and as a consequence I saw the Duchess's family. I suppose you have been there and know all about them? Yes, I have been there, said Duranda quietly. A final place, an excellent setting for a widow with romantic fortunes, and she seems to have had several romances. I think I have found out that there was one between her and my friend Rex. Not long before her marriage, then, said Duranda, really interested, for they had only been a year at Ophondine. How came you to know anything of it? Oh!  I learned to gloat on the signs of misery and others. I found out that Rex never goes to Ophondine, and has never seen the Duchess since she came back. And Miss Gasquan let fall something in our talk about charade-acting, for I went through some of my nonsense to please the young ones, something that proved to me that Rex was once hovering about his fair cousin close enough to get singed. I don't know what was her part in the affair.  That is always the way, when an exceptionally worthy young man forms an attachment. I understand now why Gasquan talks of making the law his mistress and remaining a bachelor. But these are green resolves. Since the Duke did not get himself drowned, for your sake, it may turn out to be for my friend Rex's sake. Who knows? Is it absolutely necessary that Mrs. Grandcourt should marry again, said Duranda, ready to add that Hans's success in constructing her fortune's hitherto had not been enough to warrant a new attempt? New monster, retorted Hans!  Burn herself in perpetual suitee while you are alive and merry? Duranda could say nothing, but he looked so much annoyed that Hans turned to the current of his chat, and when he was alone shrugged his shoulders a little over the thought that there really had been some stronger feeling between Duranda and the Duchess than Myra would like to know of. Why didn't she fall in love with me, thought Hans, laughing at himself? She would have had no rivals. No woman ever wanted to discuss theology with me. No wonder that Duranda winced under that sort of joking with a whiplash. It touched sensibilities that were already quivering with the anticipation of witnessing some of that pain, to which even Hans's light words seemed to give more reality. Any sort of recognition by another giving emphasis to the subject of our anxiety. And now he had come down with the firm resolve that he would not again evade the trial. The next day he rode to Offendin. He had sent word that he intended to call and to ask if Gwendolyn could receive him, and he found her awaiting him in the old drawing-room where some chief crises of her life had happened. She seemed less sad than he had seen her since her husband's death.  She was all the more alive to the sadness perceptible in Duranda, and they were no sooner seated. He had a little distance opposite to her.  But I am not so to-day. I have been sorry ever since. I have been making it a reason why I should keep up my hope and be as cheerful as I can, because I would not give you any pain about me. There was an unwanted sweetness in Gwendolyn's tone and look as she uttered these words that seemed to Duranda to infuse the utmost cruelty into the task now laid upon him, but he felt obliged to make his answer a beginning of the task. I am in some trouble today, he said, looking at her rather mournfully. But it is because I have things to tell you which you will almost think at a want of confidence on my part not to have spoken of before.  I shall seem to have made an ill return to you for the trust you have placed in me, never to have given you an idea of events that make great changes for me. But when we have been together we have hardly had time to enter into subjects which at the moment were really less pressing to me than the trials you have been going through. There was a sort of timid tenderness in Duranda's deep tones and he paused with a pleading look as if it had been Gwendolyn only who had conferred anything in her scenes of beseeching and confession. A thrill of surprise was visible in her, such meaning as she found in his words had shaken her but without causing fear. Her mind had flown at once to some change in his position with regard to Sir Hugo and Sir Hugo's property. She said with a sense of comfort from Duranda's way of asking her pardon, You never thought of anything but what you could do to help me, and I was so troublesome. How could you tell me things? It will perhaps astonish you, said Duranda, that I have only quite lately known who were my parents. Gwendolyn was not astonished. She felt the more assured that her expectations of what was coming were right. Duranda went on without check. The reason why you found me in Italy was that I had gone there to learn that. In fact, to meet my mother. It was by her wish that I was brought up in ignorance of my parentage. She parted with me after my father's death when I was a little creature. But she is now very ill, and she felt that the secrecy ought not to be any longer maintained. Her chief reason had been that she did not wish me to know I was a Jew. A Jew! Gwendolyn exclaimed in a low tone of amazement with an utterly frustrated look as if some confusing potion were creeping through her system. Duranda colored and did not speak, while Gwendolyn, with her eyes fixed on the floor, was struggling to find her way in the dark by the aid of various reminiscences. She seemed at last to have arrived at some judgment, for she looked up at Duranda again and said as if remonstrating against the mother's conduct. What difference need that have made? It has made a great difference to me that I have known it, said Duranda emphatically, but he could not go on easily. The distance between her ideas and his acted like a difference of native language, making him uncertain what force his words would carry. Gwendolyn meditated again and then said feelingly, I hope there is nothing to make you mind. You are just the same as if you were not a Jew. She meant to assure him that nothing of that external sort could affect the way in which she regarded him, or the way in which he could influence her. Duranda was a little helped by this misunderstanding. The discovery was far from being painful to me, he said. I had been gradually prepared for it, and I was glad of it. I had been prepared for it by becoming intimate with a very remarkable Jew, whose ideas have attracted me so much that I think of devoting the best part of my life to some effort at giving them effect. Again Gwendolyn seemed shaken. Again there was a look of frustration, but this time it was mingled with alarm. She looked at Duranda with lips childishly parted. It was not that she had yet connected his words with Myra and her brother, but that they inspired her with a dreadful presentiment of mountainous travel for her mind before it could reach Duranda's. Great ideas in general which she had attributed to him seemed to make no great practical difference, and were not formidable in the same way as these mysteriously shadowed particular ideas. He could not quite divine what was going on within her. He could only seek the least abrupt path of disclosure. That is an object, he said after a moment, which will by and by force me to leave England for some time, for some years. I have purposes which will take me to the East. Here was something clearer, but all the more immediately agitating, Gwendolyn's lips began to tremble. But you will come back, she said, tasting her own tears as they fell before she thought of drying them. Duranda could not sit still. He rose and went to prop himself against the corner of the mantelpiece at a different angle from her face, but when she had pressed her handkerchief against her cheeks she turned and looked up at him, awaiting an answer. If I live, said Duranda, some time—they were both silent—he could not persuade himself to say more unless she led up to it by a question, and she was apparently meditating something that she had to say. What are you going to do, she asked at last, very mildly? Can I understand the ideas, or am I too ignorant? I am going to the East to become better acquainted with the condition of my race in various countries there, said Duranda gently, anxious to be as explanatory as he could on what was the impersonal part of their separateness from each other. The idea that I am possessed with is that of restoring a political existence to my people, making them a nation again, giving them a national center, such as the English has, though they too are scattered over the face of the globe. That is a task which presents itself to me as a duty. I am resolved to begin it, however feebly. I am resolved to devote my life to it. At the least I may awaken a movement in other minds, such as been awakened in my own. There was a long silence between them. The world seemed getting larger round poor Gwendolyn, and she more solitary and helpless in the midst. The thought that he might come back after going to the East sank before the bewildering vision of these wild-stretching purposes in which she felt herself reduced to a mere speck. There comes a terrible moment to many souls when the great movements of the world, the larger destinies of mankind, which have lain aloof in newspapers and other neglected reading, enter like an earthquake into their own lives, where the slow urgency of growing generations turns into the tread of an invading army, or the dire clash of civil war, and gray fathers know nothing to seek for but the corpses of their blooming sons, and girls forgot all vanity to make lint and bandages which may serve for the shattered limbs of their betrothed husbands. Then it is as if the invisible power that had been the object of lip worship and lip resignation became visible according to the imagery of the Hebrew poet, making the flames his chariot, and riding on the wings of the wind, to the mountains smoke and the plains shudder under the rolling fiery visitations. Often the good cause seems to lie prostrate under the thunder of relenting force. The martyrs live reviled, they die, and no angel is seen holding forth the crown in the palm branch. And it is that the submission of the soul to the highest is tested, and even in the eyes of frivolity life looks out from the scene of human struggle with the awful face of duty, and a religion shows itself which is something else than a private consolation. That was the sort of crisis which was at this moment beginning in Gwendolyn's small life. She was for the first time feeling the pressure of a vast mysterious movement, for the first time being dislodged from her supremacy in her own world, and getting a sense that her horizon was but a dipping onward of an existence with which her own was revolving. All the troubles of her wifehood and widowhood had still left her with the implicit impression which had accompanied her from childhood, that whatever surrounded her was somehow specially for her, and it was because of this that no personal jealousy had been roused in her relation to Dharanda. She could not spontaneously think of him as rightfully belonging to others more than to her. But here had come a shock which went deeper than personal jealousy, something spiritual and vaguely tremendous that thrust her away and yet quelled all her anger into self-humiliation. There had been a long silence.  At length something occurred to her that made her turn her face to Dharanda and say in a trembling voice, "'Is that all you can tell me?' The question was like a dart to him. The Jew whom I mentioned just now, he answered, not without a certain tremor in his tones, too. The remarkable man, who has greatly influenced my mind, has not perhaps been totally unheard of by you. He is the brother of Miss Lapidoth, whom you have often heard sing. A great wave of remembrance passed through Gwendolyn and spread as a deep, painful flush over neck and face. It had come first at the scene of that morning when she had called on Myra and heard Dharanda's voice reading and been told without then heeding it that he was reading Hebrew with Myra's brother. "'He is very ill, very near death now,' Dharanda went on nervously, and then stopped short. He felt that he must wait. Would she divine the rest?' "'Did she tell you that I went to her?' said Gwendolyn abruptly, looking up at him.' "'No,' said Dharanda, I don't understand you.'  Slowly the color dried out of face and neck, and she was as pale as before, with that almost withered paleness which is seen after a painful flush. At last she said, without turning toward him, in a low, measured voice, as if she were only thinking aloud in preparation for future speech. "'But can you marry?' "'Yes,' said Dharanda, also in a low voice. "'I am going to marry.' At first there was no change in Gwendolyn's attitude. She only began to tremble visibly. Then she looked before her with dilated eyes, as at something lying in front of her, till she stretched her arms out straight and cried with a smothered voice. "'I said I should be forsaken. I have been a cruel woman, and I am forsaken!' Dharanda's anguish was intolerable. He could not help himself. He seized her outstretched hands and held them together and kneeled at her feet. She was the victim of his happiness. "'I am cruel, too. I am cruel,' he repeated, with a sort of groan looking up at her imploringly. His presence and touch seemed to dispel a horrible vision, and she met his upward look of sorrow with something like the return of consciousness after fainting.  The look of sorrow brought back what seemed a very far-off moment, the first time she had ever seen it, in the library at the Abbey. Sobs rose, and great tears fell fast. Dharanda would not let her hands go, held them still with one of his, and himself pressed her handkerchief against her eyes. She submitted like a half-soothed child, making an effort to speak, which was hindered by struggling sobs. At last she succeeded in saying brokenly, "'I said I said it should be better, better with me for having known you!' His eyes, too, were larger with tears. She rested one of her hands from his, and returned his action, pressing his tears away. "'We shall not be quite parted,' he said. "'I will write to you always, when I can. And you will answer?' He waited till she said in a whisper. "'I will try.' "'I shall be more with you than I used to be,' Dharanda said, with gentle urgency, releasing her hands and rising from his kneeling posture. If we had been much together before, we should have felt our differences more, and seemed to get farther apart. Now we can perhaps never see each other again, but our minds may get nearer.' Gwendolyn said nothing, but rose, too, automatically. Her withered look of grief, such as the sun often shines on when the blinds are drawn up after the burial of life's joy, made him hate his own words. They seemed to have the hardness of easy consolation in them. She felt that he was going, and that nothing could hinder it. The sense of it was like a dreadful whisper in her ear, which dulled all other consciousness, and she had not known that she was rising. Dharanda could not speak again. He thought that they must part in silence, but it was difficult to move toward the parting, till she looked at him with a sort of intention in her eyes, which helped him. He advanced to put out his hand silently, and when she had placed hers within it, she said what her mind had been laboring with. You have been very good to me. I have deserved nothing. I will try, try to live. I shall think of you. What good have I been? Only harm. Don't let me be harmed to you. It shall be the better for me." She could not finish. It was not that she was sobbing, but that the intense effort with which she spoke made her too tremulous. The burden of that difficult rectitude toward him was a weight her frame tottered under. She bent forward to kiss his cheek, and he kissed hers. Then they looked at each other for an instant with clasped hands, and he turned away. When he was quite gone, her mother came in, and found her sitting motionless. Gwendolyn, dearest, you look very ill, she said, bending over her and touching her cold hands.  I am going to live! said Gwendolyn, bursting out hysterically. Her mother persuaded her to go to bed, and watched by her. Through the day and half the night she fell continually into fits of shrieking, but cried in the midst of them to her mother. Don't be afraid. I shall live! I mean to live!" After all, she slept, and when she waked in the morning light she looked up fixedly at her mother and said tenderly, Ah, poor Mama, you have been sitting up with me. Don't be unhappy. I shall live. I shall be better. CHAPTER 70 In the checkered area of human experience the seasons are all mingled as in the golden age. Fruit and blossom hang together. In the same moment the sickle is reaping and the seed is sprinkled. One tends the green cluster, and another treads the wine-press. Nay, in each of our lives harvest and springtime are continually one, until himself gathers us, and sows us anew in his invisible fields. Among the blessings of love there is hardly one more exquisite than the sense that in uniting the beloved life to ours we can watch over its happiness, bring comfort where hardship was, and over memories of privation and suffering open the sweetest fountains of joy. Dharanda's love for Myra was strongly imbued with that blessed protectiveness. Even with infantine feet she had begun to tread among thorns, and the first time he had beheld her face it had seemed to him the girlish image of despair. But now she was glowing like a dark-tipped yet delicate ivory-tinted flower in the warm sunlight of content, thinking of any possible grief as part of that life with Dharanda, which she could call by no other name than good. And he watched the sober gladness which gave new beauty to her movements, and her habitual attitudes of repose with the delight which made him say to himself that it was enough of personal joy for him to save her from pain. She knew nothing of Hans's struggle, or of Gwendolyn's pang, for after the assurance that Dharanda's hidden love had been for her, she easily explained Gwendolyn's eager solicitude about him as part of a grateful dependence on his goodness such as she herself had known. And all Dharanda's words about Mrs. Grandcourt confirmed that view of their relation, though he never touched on it except in the most distant manner. Myra was ready to believe that he had been a rescuing angel to many besides herself. The only wonder was that she among them all was to have the bliss of being continually by his side. So when the bridal veil was around Myra it hid no doubtful tremors, only a thrill of awe at the acceptance of a great gift which required great uses, and the velvet canopy never covered a more goodly bride and bridegroom to whom their people might more wisely wish offspring. More truthful lips never touched the sacrament marriage wine. The marriage blessing never gathered stronger promise of fulfillment than in the integrity of their mutual pledge. Naturally they were married according to the Jewish right, and since no religion seems yet to have demanded that when we make a feast we should invite only the highest rank of our acquaintances, few it is to be hoped will be offended to learn that among the guests at Dharanda's little wedding feast was the entire Coen family, with the one exception of the baby who carried on her teething intelligently at home. How could Mordecai have borne that those friends of his adversity should have been shut out from rejoicing and common with him? Mrs. Merrick so fully understood this that she had quite reconciled herself to meeting the Jewish pawnbroker and was there with her three daughters, all of them enjoying the consciousness that Myra's marriage to Dharanda crowned a romance which would always make a sweet memory to them. For which of them mother or girls had not had a generous part in it giving their best in feeling and in act to her who needed? If Hans could have been there it would have been much better, but Mab had already observed that men must suffer for being so inconvenient.  The Merrick's were rewarded for conquering their prejudices by hearing a speech from Mr. Coen which had the rare quality among speeches of not being quite after the usual pattern. Jacob ate beyond his years and contributed several small whinnying laughs as a free accompaniment of his father's speech, not irreverently, but from a lively sense that his family was distinguishing itself, while Adelaide Rebecca in a new sapath frock maintained throughout a grave air of responsibility. Mordecai's brilliant eyes sunken in their large sockets dwelt on the scene with the cherishing benignancy of a spirit already lifted into an aloofness which nullified only selfish requirements and left sympathy alive. But continually after his gaze had been travelling round on the others it returned to dwell on Dharanda with a fresh gleam of trusting affection. The wedding feast was humble, but Myra was not without splendid wedding gifts. As soon as the betrothal had been known there were friends who had entertained graceful devices. Sir Hugo and Lady Malinger had taken trouble to provide a complete equipment for eastern travel as well as a precious locket containing an inscription. To the bride of our dear Daniel Dharanda all blessings H and L M. The Chlesmers sent a perfect watch also with a pretty inscription. But something more precious than gold and gems came to Dharanda from the neighborhood of Diplu on the morning of his marriage. It was a letter containing these words. Do not think of me sorrowfully on your wedding day. I have remembered your words, that I may live to be one of the best of women who make others glad that they were born. I do not yet see how that can be, but you know better than I. If it ever comes true it will be because you helped me. I only thought of myself and I made you grieve. It hurts me now to think of your grief. You must not grieve any more for me. It is better. It shall be better with me because I have known you. Gwendolyn Grandcourt The preparations for the departure of all three to the east began at once, for Dharanda could not deny Ezra's wish that they should set out on the voyage forthwith so that he might go with them instead of detaining them to watch over him. He had no belief that Ezra's life would last through the voyage, for there were symptoms which seemed to show that the last stage of his malady had set in. But Ezra himself had said, Never mind of where I die, so that I am with you. He did not set out with them. One morning early he said to Dharanda, Do not quit me today. I shall die before it is ended. He chose to be dressed and sit up in his easy chair as usual, Dharanda and Myra on each side of him, and for some hours he was unusually silent, not even making the effort to speak, but looking at them occasionally, with eyes full of some restful meaning, as if to assure them that while this remnant of breathing time was difficult, he felt an ocean of peace beneath him. It was not till late in the afternoon when the light was falling that he took a hand of each in his and said, looking at Dharanda, Death is coming to me as the divine kiss which is both parting and reunion, which takes me from your bodily eyes and gives me full presence in your soul. Where thou goest, Daniel, I shall go. Is it not begun? Have I not breathed my soul into you? We shall live together. He paused and Dharanda waited, thinking that there might be another word for him, but slowly and with effort Ezra pressing on their hands raised himself and uttered in Hebrew the confession of the divine unity which long for generations has been on the lips of the dying Israelite. He sank back gently into his chair and did not speak again, but it was some hours before he had ceased to breathe, with Myra's and Dharanda's arms around him. Nothing is here for tears, nothing to wail or knock the breast, no weakness, no contempt, dispraise or blame, nothing but well and fair, and what may quiet us in a death so noble.


Welcome to the Hindu News Analysis by Shankar IAS Academy for the date 4th of January 2020. In our today's news analysis, we will be seeing a lot of news articles and editorials on the recent drone attacks by the United States which has led to the assassination of Iraq's military commander and then we will see a news article on Asha workers and such other news articles which are displayed here along with the page numbers of five different editions. The handwritten notes in PDF format and the timestamping of all the news articles taken up for today's analysis is available in the description section and also in the comment section for the benefit of the smartphone users. Let us now start our analysis. Today's prominent article of discussion is the assassination associated with the recent drone attacks by the US at Baghdad, the capital of Iraq. In the drone attacks that have been conducted by the US armed forces, Iranian Major General Qasem Soleimani who is the head of the Allied Quds Force and a top Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis Redkilled. Now one may think that this particular news is not of much importance from exam point of view or say from India point of view but you need to know about the happenings because it is surrounding the geopolitics of the Middle East. Now why Middle East is important because the majority of oil trade originates from the Middle East. If you see India is a huge importer of oil from the Middle East nations. So even small tension in the Middle East will affect the oil trade and if you see oil is a major source of fuel without which the world cannot run. So any tensions in the Middle East will create ripples across the world. So in this context let us approach this news article. Now if you see in today's editions there are many news articles on this particular event. If you see there is a news article in the front page then there are two three news articles in the foreign column and also a couple of business articles in the business column and then a couple of editorials in the editorial column. Now in the best interest of the viewers we have tried to club all these news articles and editorials and are providing you in a very crisp manner. So now let us start a discussion. The syllabus that is relevant to the analysis of this news article is given here for your reference. So we just saw that the news is the Iran Major General Qasem Soleimani who is the head of the Allied Quds Force of Iran and a top Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis were killed in the recent drone attacks which were conducted by the US armed forces as authorized by the United States President Donald Trump. So in this context we will discuss in brief about the recent escalation in US-Iran relations then about the importance of this Iran Major General Qasem Soleimani and then we will discuss in brief about the Quds Force of Iran then we will discuss about the concept of proxy war and finally we will discuss the possible global implications and the possible implications for India in particular. Now let us start with the recent developments in US-Iran relations. If you see nuclear deal was signed between Iran and US and southern European nations this is called as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action in short JCPOA which was adopted in the year 2015. Now the objective of that particular nuclear deal was to stop the proliferation of nuclear energy or nuclear power in Iran and in turn the economic sanctions that were imposed on it by the United Nations and countries like United States and European Union will be lifted. So this was the main objective of the Iran nuclear deal but if you see in the year 2018 the United States President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from this Iran nuclear deal and US imposed further sanctions on Iran. So this is what happened in the year 2018 then if you see in April 2019 the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of Iran was declared a terrorist group by the United States and also the Quds force of this Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was also blacklisted. Now we will see about both these in the later part of our discussions so just remember both these were blacklisted by the United States. And if you see in June 2019 few oil tankers which were carrying oil from Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates came under attack near the Gulf and if you see the United States blamed all these attacks on Iran. And then this was followed by a major attack on two oil facilities in Saudi Arabia and if you see this attack was blamed on the Houthi rebels of Yemen who were backed by Iran. So you can see both the parties are indirectly targeting each other and the latest was the attack on US Embassy at Baghdad in Iraq by the pro-Iran protesters. So as a retaliation the United States carried out the present airstrike and because of this airstrike General Soleimani of Iran was killed. So who is this General Soleimani? See he was a commander of the Quds force. So what is this Quds force? See after the 1979 Islamic Revolution in the country of Iran this Islamic Revolutionary Guard Cops of Iran was formed and this institution was tasked with preserving the Islamic Republic of Iran and the ideals of the 1979 Revolution which happened between Iran and USA. Within this IRGC that is the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Cops and allied group was formed which is the Quds force. So now this Quds force comes under this IRGC. This Quds force specializes in foreign missions. They provide training, funding and they also provide weapons to pro-Iran militias to name some like Asibullahs in Lebanon, then Hamas in Palestine and then Shia militias in Iraq etc. So this Quds force is an external operations wing and it works to widen the influence of Iran in the foreign countries where a portion of Shia Muslim population is present. Here you need to know that General Soleimani directed Iran's foreign operations for the past two decades. This included building networks and proxies across West Asia. So he was considered as the architect of Iran's spreading military influence in West Asia. And if you see he was also a well-known figure in the fight against the Islamic State because Soleimani trained the Shia militias in Iraq and these militias fought with the Islamic State along with the Kurdish militia and the Iraqi army. And during this United States also provided air support. So because of all these joint actions the Islamic State was brought down. That is the Islamic Caliphate was destroyed. So you can see that this general was playing a very prominent role in bringing down the Islamic State. But now because of the strained Iran-U.S. relations and because of the recent embassy attacks at Baghdad, U.S. conducted retaliatory strikes and because of this General Soleimani was assassinated. So this is the brief history of the strained relations between USA and Iran and the recent happening. Now according to the news article the Iraqi Prime Minister Abel Abdel Mahdi has said that the drone attack was a violation of the security arrangement which Iraq had with U.S. It means that U.S. is not supposed to conduct any attacks in Iraqi soil but U.S. violated this and conducted drone strikes because of which Iran's top military commander and an Iraqi militia commander were killed. Here you need to know that Iran is not going to take this incident very lightly. If you see during our recent analysis in the past month we have been seeing that West Asia is in turmoil. That is there are many problems happening in West Asia. For example the insurgency within the country of Yemen and then the indirect fight between Iran and Saudi Arabia and how they are trying to influence Syria. So you can see that there are a lot of problems that are happening in West Asia. Here most countries in West Asia like Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Yemen, Syria are all involved directly or indirectly in the conflict in this region. So this event assumes significance because if you see just after the killing of the gentle Soleimani Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has vowed to take revenge on those who were behind the attack. So we can tell that this could further escalate the existing regional proxy war that is happening between Iran and the United States and its allies. So in this context let us now see what is this proxy war or what is called as shadow war. They are interchangeably used in the news articles because if you see in the front page news article it is mentioned that a shadow war is happening between Iran and USA. So what is this proxy war? A proxy war occurs when a major power like USA or Russia instigates or when it plays a major role in supporting and directing a party to a conflict. But if you see this major power does only a small portion in the actual fighting. For example see now Iran and Saudi Arabia directly fighting. Just consider this as an example but in some way or the other USA is actually supporting Saudi Arabia. So you can tell that USA is actually supporting proxy war or it is conducting proxy war. Now let us see the geopolitics in West Asia. See this West Asia or the Middle East is divided into two blocks. One block is led by Saudi Arabia and its allies and the other block is led by Iran and its allies. And if you see this is largely on the regional lines because there are two major sects of Islam. One is the Sunni sect the other is the Shia sect. Saudi Arabia is a Sunni dominant country and if you see Iran it is a Shia dominant country. So the countries are divided based on Sunni and Shia largely. Now if you see the allies of Saudi Arabia they are the countries of United States, Israel then United Arab Emirates etc. Whereas if you see the allies of Iran they are the Hezbollahs in Lebanon then Hamas in Palestine then the Houthi rebels in the country of Yemen etc. Now let us consider the civil war in Yemen. If you remember or not 27 December we discussed in detail about what is happening in Yemen. We will just look at the brief of what is happening in Yemen. If you see there are two major groups. One is the supporters of the former president of Yemen Abdrabu Mansur Hadi and the other group is the Houthi rebels. If you see the supporters of President Hadi get their support from the Saudi led block whereas if you see the Houthi rebels are supported by the other block which is Iran. So you can see that here neither Iran nor Saudi Arabia nor US is much involved in the actual war. So this is what is called as the proxy war. And if you see this is the same scenario which is happening in countries like Syria and Iraq. So you can see that the two blocks expand their influence in the region. But overall if you see the country which is actually involved in the conflict only suffers a lot because of this proxy war. If you see this is much like Cold War politics when US and Russia were involved in proxy or shadow wars in several parts of the world like Korea, Vietnam etc. So this is the concept of proxy war or shadow war. Now let us discuss the possible global impacts because of the killing of this Iran Major General Qasim Soleimani. Here you need to know that Qasim Soleimani is a state actor. That is he represents a nation which is Iran because he was a Major General in Iran. He was not like those terrorists or leaders of Al Qaeda or Islamic State. So this is the reason why some of the countries are actually criticizing the assassination of Qasim Soleimani. And there are also apprehensions across the world that Iran will definitely avenge for its commander's death. So this is likely to take things out of hands for both Iran and US and this will further weaken the already fragile West Asian region. Because we saw that the relations between Iran and USA are strained. Now because of killing this commander the relations are further likely to strain. And if you see this event happened in Iraq so the impact would be severe on Iraq. So Iraq will become a competing ground for both US and Iran. Now what if Iran attacks the oil facilities of the other bloc and the oil tankers which are moving in the Persian Gulf and in the Gulf of Oman. We have discussed few such cases in the beginning. So you just know that if Iran can choke the state of Hormuz then it would impact the entire global oil supply. And if you see this editorial mentions the global oil prices have already seen a 4% rise within harsh of the incident. And there is also a news article on this particular price in the oil prices in the business column. We request you to go through the news article. So just have a look at it. So these are some of the possible global impacts because of the assassination of Iran's commander which have been discussed in the editorial. Now this editorial also discusses what can be the possible impacts on India because of the ongoing issue. Before that let us see the news article which discusses about India's reaction on the ongoing issue. According to the news article the Ministry of External Affairs of the Government of India has expressed its concerns over the escalation of events in West Asia. India said that the peace, stability and security in this region are of utmost importance to India. So this situation which is happening in West Asia becomes quite important because if you see the annual Resina Dialogue is expected to be conducted later this month in New Delhi. Here you need to know that Resina Dialogue is an annual multilateral conference which is committed to addressing the most challenging issues which are facing the global community. And this Resina Dialogue involves multi-stakeholder cross-sectoral discussion which involves the heads of state then the cabinet ministers and the local government officials as well as the major private sector executives and the members of the media and academics. See this Resina Dialogue is hosted by the Observer Research Foundation in collaboration with the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India. And according to this news article Iranian Foreign Minister is expected to participate in this year's Resina Dialogue. So on the sidelines of this Dialogue the rising tensions in West Asia might be a topic of discussion between India and Iran. So we need to wait and watch how the bilateral relations between India and Iran will move further because here India cannot directly criticize the United States or Iran for their roles in West Asia. And if you see India and U.S. enjoys a strategic relationship and India is planning to take it to the next level. At the same time India depends on Iran to meet its energy needs and also certain other products. And if you see simultaneously India is also developing Shabahar port in Iran to increase its accessibility to Afghanistan and the Central Asian countries. So it is quite a complex scenario because India is friends with both U.S. and Iran whereas U.S. is not in good terms with Iran. So India has to carefully balance the ties between U.S.A. and Iran at the same time. Now if you remember during the starting of analysis of this topic we saw that the stability of West Asia is quite important for all the countries of the world especially India considering the fact that India sources more than two-thirds of its oil from West Asia. If you see the main countries are Saudi Arabia and Iraq. So any attacks or any retaliations are bound to affect the oil supplies of India. If you see a similar such situation arose in the year 1990 when Iraq invaded Kuwait there was a brief war and instability in the West Asian region. And because of this the oil price increased quite high and because of this India's forex reserves depleted. Because at that point of time India's economy was a close economy then came the liberalization of India's economy post this 1990 war. So this 1990 war was also one of the reasons for liberalization of India's economy. Now apart from this we also know that West Asia is home to millions of Indian expatriates that is millions of those Indians who work and live there in West Asia. So any raise in tensions will have potential impacts on Indians who are living in West Asia. A classic example is the operation Rahat which we saw during our analysis on 27th December wherein India had to intervene to rescue the Indian nationals and also the foreign nationals from the country of Yemen. So this is yet another concern. And next if you see India's home to a large Shia population and some of them are getting radicalized and they're turning to Jihad. So all this will have serious implications on India's internal security. So this is another aspect which is the domestic aspect or we can tell which is a possible domestic impact for India in the future. Next if you see Iran is a neighbor of Afghanistan and Iran has the potential to weaken the ongoing peace talks between US and Taliban. Now if Iran intervenes and disturbs these peace talks, then it will further deteriorate the situation in Afghanistan. And because of this cross border terrorism can increase and it will affect the neighbors of Afghanistan including countries like India. So India has to take a balanced stand in maintaining its bilateral relations between Iran and US without affecting each other's interests at the same time. So these are some of the possible impacts of India because of the ongoing issue between Iran and USA. So this is all about the discussion of all these news articles and the editorials on the assassination of Iranian Major General Qasem Soleimani, who is the head of the Allied coups force. So based on this event, we tried to give you an idea of the strained relations between Iran and USA. Then we saw what is meant by proxy war or shadow war. Then we saw what may be the possible global impacts and what may be the possible domestic impacts for India because of this ongoing tensions between Iran and USA. Now have a look at the practice question. Let us move on to the next news article. This news article is with reference to the recent democratic action which was carried out by the Asha workers in the state of Karnataka in Bengaluru. So we'll take this opportunity to know who are Ashas and the role played by them in the community. Next we'll see if these Ashas are paid employees or not. Then we'll be discussing how they are usually compensated per month. And then we'll also see in brief about Asha's soft system, then mother and child tracking system in the course of analysis of this news article. The syllabus that is relevant for the analysis of this news article is given here for your reference. So who are these Asha workers? See Asha is an acronym for Accredited Social Health Activist. And all of them are women. This is because one of the important criteria for selection as Asha is that and Asha must be primarily a woman resident of a particular village. She can be either married or a widow or a divorcee and they have to be preferably in the age group of 25 to 45 years. So these Asha workers are health activists in a community. As health activists, they will create awareness on health and its social determinants. Then they will also mobilize the community towards local health planning. And then they will also mobilize the community towards increased utilization and accountability of the existing health services. Now if you see during the time before 2005, there were auxiliary nursing midwives. And then there were Anganwadi workers in the villages. If you see in case of auxiliary nursing midwives, they had to do health outreach services along with the existing nursing responsibilities. So their work was heavily burdened and more preference was given to the nursing responsibilities because of which the health outreach services in the rural areas were impacted. Now if you see in case of Anganwadi workers, they were engaged in organizing supplementary nutrition programs and other supportive activities under the integrated child development scheme. And their work was also heavily burdened. So the government came to a conclusion that both auxiliary nursing midwives and Anganwadi workers will not be able to perform the role of a change agent on health in a village. So a new band of community based functionaries called Accredited Social Health Activists were proposed. And such a position was given life under the National Rural Health Mission which was launched in the year 2005. So Asha workers came into being since the year 2005. If you see in this National Rural Health Mission, one of the core strategies is the appointment of Asha workers to facilitate the access to health services. If you see initially they were part of National Rural Health Mission, but after their successful and meaningful role as health activists in the rural areas, they were Asha's in National Urban Health Mission as well. Now if you see all of them come under the umbrella scheme, National Health Mission. So this is all about the introduction of how Asha workers came into existence. Now let us see some of the important roles and responsibilities. See the first and foremost responsibility is to take steps to create awareness and provide information to the community on determinants of health. Here when we say determinants of health, we are referring to components like nutrition, then basic sanitation and hygienic practices, then healthy living and working conditions and other health related services. Next if you see the Asha workers will counsel women on birth preparedness and then they will counsel about the care of the child. Then they will counsel about the importance of safe delivery, breastfeeding and complementary feeding. Then they will also counsel about the importance of immunization, contraception and prevention of common infections. So an overall counseling on birth preparedness and care of the child will be delivered by the Asha workers. Next if you see Asha workers will mobilize the community and facilitate them in accessing the health and health related services which are available at the village level or at the sub-center level or at the primary health centers. Now some of the services include immunization, then anti-natal checkup which is the checkup before the delivery of child, then the post-natal checkup which is the checkup after the delivery of the child. Then they can also avail services under integrated child development scheme, then sanitation and other services which are provided by the government. Then if you see Asha workers will arrange a Scott to the pregnant women and children who require treatment or Asha workers themselves will accompany the pregnant women and children who require treatment to the nearest health facility. So for accompanying a pregnant women, the Asha workers will be paid few hundred rupees as incentive per task. Then if you see the Asha workers will provide primary medical care for minor ailments such as diarrhea, fevers, and they will also provide first aid for minor injuries. And then if you see Asha workers will also be a provider of dots which is directly observed treatment short course under revised national tuberculosis control program. Then if you see the Asha workers will also inform to the sub-centers or the primary health centers about the births and deaths in their village or area of operation. And then they will also inform about any unusual health problems or disease outbreaks in the community. And next if you see the Asha workers will also promote construction of household toilets under the national sanitation campaign. So these are some of the important trolls which are played by the Asha workers. Now if you observe the role it is mainly for those services for which degree in nursing or medical sciences is not required. So the Asha workers provide basic health care services and support. So if you see another selection criterion for Asha is that they should be illiterate women with formal education up to eighth class. And this may be relaxed if no suitable person with this qualification is available in a particular village. So one thing we can say that even though Asha workers provide for primary medical care for minor ailments and first aid for minor injuries, they cannot perform the medical role or the treatment role which is played by a nurse or a doctor who treat major ailments and they cannot perform any secondary or tertiary treatments like conducting surgeries, et cetera. Next the Asha workers also cannot conduct delivery of the babies. Now if you see in 2012 UPSC prelims exam there was a question where UPSC gave a statement telling that Asha workers can conduct the delivery of a baby. See this is an incorrect statement. So you can see that there was a question in UPSC prelims on the responsibilities of Asha workers. So remember the main functions and responsibilities. Next, are Asha workers paid? No, according to the National Institute of Health and Family Welfare which is an autonomous organization under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and Asha is not a paid employee. They would not be entitled to any pay or honorarium but they will be eligible for compensation for various services provided by them under various schemes and programs of the central government and the state governments. So they're generally paid task based incentives and again these incentives have to be approved by the concerned state government or the central government depending upon the program. Say if it is a fully state scheme then the incentive has to be approved by the state government. So the actual problem is this process of receiving compensation is a tough job for an Asha worker in our present governance system. This is because after completing every task they have to report. Like this there could be several tasks that might have been done by a particular Asha worker in a month. Now all these have to be reported and approved by the concerned governments for processing the incentives. So this adds burden to the already existing work done by the Asha workers. So this is the state of the much hyped or the much talked accredited social health activists in our country which gives importance to health and determinants of health. And there are also certain other government reports that say these Ashas are also not given any formal letter of appointment by the government. Now we could somehow get to know why there is peaceful protest or democratic action by the Asha workers in Bengaluru in Karnataka. The issue is that there is no prescribed or fixed monthly pay or honorarium. Now one of the demands made by these Asha workers was that there should be a fixed monthly honorarium of rupees 12,000 for every one of them. Also there is system that comes under the union ministry of health and family welfare if you see. This system is called as the mother and child tracking system. This was introduced in December 2009. If you see this is a comprehensive system which facilitates in ensuring timely delivery of the full spectrum of healthcare services to pregnant women and to the children up to five years of age. The approach is through name-based tracking of each beneficiary. So the system is expected to help in the reduction of the infant mortality rate and the maternal mortality rate. Under this system financial incentives are given to Asha's per month. The demand is that there should be at least 3000 per month under this program. And there is also issue with respect to the dispersal of pending amount under the system. And if you see the reports say that such incentives are pending for a period of 15 months which is more than a year. Next in this news article you can also see Asha Soft. See this Asha Soft is an online monitoring and payment system which facilitates health department to capture beneficiary wise details of services which are provided by Asha workers. Now even in this system there are payment delays or there are no payments in some cases because of wrong data entry and other technical issues with this online system. And if you see in the state of Karnataka the system is called as Asha Nidhi. Next if you see as per the central government it has recently increased the amount of routine and recurring incentives under national health mission for Asha workers. And this is with effect from October 2018 where the Asha workers are entitled for a payment of rupees 2000 per month. Earlier if you see it was 1000 per month. Then in addition to this the central government has also enrolled the Asha workers in insurance schemes. This is done by taking the entire financial premium burden under two important social security schemes that are implemented by the central government. One is the life insurance and the next is the accident insurance. The scheme for life insurance is Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bhima Yojana and the scheme for accident insurance is Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bhima Yojana. Here we have to delineate two things. One is the income security and the other is the social security. The insurance cover for these Asha workers cannot be considered as income security rather it can be considered as social security. So we can see that a lot has to be done for ensuring income security for Asha workers in India. Here both the central government and the state governments have to play meaningful roles. But if you see among them more responsibility lies with the state government because public health is a state subject. It comes under the state list in seven schedule of Indian constitution. So you can see that the role of the state governments is more related to Asha workers. So we will hope that in addressing the plight of Asha workers both the central government and the state governments will play their due roles of cooperative and competitive federalism. So this is all about the discussion of this news article in the analysis of this news article. We have seen who are Asha's, the role played by them in the community and then we saw whether the Asha's are paid employees or not and then we saw if they are usually compensated per month and then we also saw in brief about Asha's soft system then the mother and child tracking system during our analysis. Now have a look at the practice question. Let us move on to the next news article. This news article is about meatier shovel. It tells that meatier shovels are expected tonight. That is on the night of 4th January 2019. So in this context we'll discuss about what is meant by asteroids, then what is meant by meteoroids, then about the meatier shovel that is quadrantids which is mentioned in the news article. Then we will also see what is meant by perhelion and aphelion and then about perigee and apogee. The syllabus that is relevant to the analysis of this news article is given here for your reference. First let us see about the planetary objects like asteroids and meteoroids. See asteroids are smaller than a planet but they are larger than meteorites. If you see most of the asteroids in our solar system are found in the main asteroid belt as you can see in this picture. This is a region between the planets Mars and Jupiter. But if you see certain asteroids also hang out in other locations around the solar system. For example you can see some asteroids which orbit the sun in a path that takes them near the earth. If you remember we discussed about Bennu asteroid in our 15th December 2019 analysis. We request the viewers to have a look at it for further subject clarity. Now if you see one asteroid can smash into another asteroid. So this can cause small pieces of the asteroid to break off. So all these small pieces are called as meteoroids as you can see in this picture. Now you also need to know that meteoroids not only come from asteroids but they can also come from comets and certain other planetary objects. So what are comets? Comets orbit the sun just like asteroids. But if you see comets are made of ice and dust but not rock. So we can tell comets are less dense than asteroids because asteroids contain rock. Now when comets orbit takes it towards the sun then the ice and the dust begin to vaporize. So the vaporized ice and dust is what becomes the comets state. So you can see in the news articles that comets tail was visible in the sky. This is nothing but the vaporization of ice and dust. Now you need to know there are two types of comets. One is periodical comets and the other is non-periodical comets. Now what is meant by periodical comets? They are those comets which have regular orbits around the sun and they occur at fixed intervals. For example if you see we have halus comet. You can see this halus comet in an interval of 76 years only. Now if you see the non-periodical comets they do not have any regular orbit or there is no regular time intervals. So this is the difference between periodical and non-periodical comets. Now we will see the difference between meteoroid, meteor and meteorite. See if a meteoroid comes close enough to Earth and when it enters the Earth's atmosphere then it vaporizes and it turns into a meteor. So this will appear like a streak of light in the sky. So because of this appearance these steaks of light are sometimes called as shooting stars. But here you need to note that meteors are not actually stars. And also if you see sometimes these meteors are confused with comets because both of them tend to show like same phenomena that is both of them leave streaks of light in the sky. But these two things are very different because comets vaporize because of the heating effect of the sun. Whereas meteor leaves streak of light because of the heat generated by the Earth's atmosphere when meteoroid enters the atmosphere of the Earth. So the meteor showers happen within the Earth's atmosphere and the comet event happens away from the Earth's atmosphere. Now here you need to note one more thing. Sometimes meteor does not vaporize completely in the atmosphere.  So when they land on the Earth they are called as meteorites. Now we will see about meteor shower. See meteor showers happens at certain times of the year. If you're lucky you might be able to see more meteors in the sky than usual. Now if you look at this news article it mentions the word quadrantids. This is nothing but the early January meteor showers which occurs every year. And these quadrantids are considered to be one of the best annual meteor showers. Therefore if one is lucky one can see a meteor or two during today's night. So stay tuned towards the sky tonight to witness a meteor shower which is going to happen. Now coming back to the news article. This news article also mentions that on 4th of January the Earth comes closest to the Sun and they have wrongly mentioned this as apheleon but know that this signifies perihelion. So perihelion signifies the Earth comes closest to the Sun. Now what is apheleon? It signifies the farthest distance between the Sun and the Earth as you can see in this picture. Now if you see this picture this also explains perigee and apogee. Here perigee indicates the shortest distance between the moon and the Earth whereas apogee indicates the longest distance between the moon and the Earth. Here you need to know the average distance between the Sun and the Earth and the moon and the Earth. The average distance between the Sun and the Earth is about 149 million kilometers which is one astronomical unit. And if you see the average distance between the moon and the Earth is about four lakh kilometer. Next if you see this news article also mentions that on the night of 10th January and in the early morning of 11 January there would be a penumbrial lunar eclipse. So stay connected with us. We'll see more on what is meant by Umbra and Penumbra in the coming days. So this is all about the discussion of this news article. In the context of this news article we have seen what is meant by asteroids and meteoroids. The difference between an asteroid and a meteoroid then the difference between the meteor and the meteorite. And then we saw about perihelion and apheleon. And finally we saw about perigee and apogee. Now have a look at the practice question. Let us move on to the next news article. This news article is based on a report that was published by an independent think tank which is doing legal research in India. This think tank is the Vidhi Center for Legal Policy. If you see this center conducts legal research to make better laws and to improve the governance for the welfare of the public and for the public good. So this Vidhi Center for Legal Policy has released a report wherein it has discussed if the all India judicial services required at present or not. So in this context we'll be looking about the need for all India judicial services in this news article analysis. The syllabus that is relevant to the analysis is given here for your reference. This report name is Primer on the all India judicial service a solution in search of a problem. So what do we mean by all India judicial services? In analysis when we are saying all India judicial services we are referring to AIJS for the post of district judges or the judges of lower courts. This all India judicial service was first proposed by the 14th report of the law commission in the year 1958. And if you see the service is an idea that is proposed to conduct a national level examination to recruit judges for the lower courts across the country. So what are these lower courts? It refers to those courts that are subordinate to the supreme court and the high court in India. Generally if you see the high courts and supreme court are collectively called as higher judiciary and those courts that are subordinate to high courts are called as lower judiciary. Therefore the creation of all India judicial services is aimed at creating centralized cadre of district judges. At present the recruitment of district judges and other important stakeholders in the lower judiciary is with the high courts and the state governments. So the creation of an all India judicial service will transfer the recruitment and the appointment powers of the lower court judges from the high courts and state governments to a centralized system. But if you see creation of such an all India service as implications on federalism and the federal principles. So what do we mean when we say federalism? See federalism is a political mechanism and this mechanism involves at least two orders of government in the same political space. So they'll have shared rules and self rule in constitutionally divided jurisdictions. Here when we tell two orders you can relate it to the central government and the state government. So in their constitutionally divided jurisdictions both the central government and the state government will be working autonomously in their exclusive areas and both are functionally interdependent while at the same time both are cooperative in their concurrent areas. So it is a mix and match. They work separately then they work together wherever required. Now you know that there is a seven schedule in Indian constitution which endless the union list, the state list and the concurrent list. So you can see the exclusive domains of the central government in the union list and the state government in the state list. And also you can see some subjects in the concurrent list where both the orders that is both the central government and the state governments have a cooperative role to play. So we have constitutionally divided jurisdictions. As of now if you see the recruitment for the lower court judges is being done by the high courts and the state governments. Now why are we saying high courts and state governments? Now you can refer to this image which is the front page of a notification for the recruitment of district judge at entry level under direct recruitment for Tamil Nadu state judicial service. Here you can see both the government department of the state government of Tamil Nadu and also the High Court of Judicature Madras. Nothing but the Madras High Court. So you can see that both high courts and state governments are together involved in recruiting lower court judges. Now in addition to the recruitment the news article also mentions that even the appointment of district judges and subordinate judiciary are done by the respective state governments at present. See this is based on article 233 of Indian constitution. This article mentions about the appointment of persons to be district judges and posting and promotion of district judges in any state. Such appointments shall be made by the governor of the state in consultation with the High Court which is exercising jurisdiction to that particular state. So now consider if there is going to be an all India judicial service then this domain of recruitment and appointment which is now with the state governments will be centralized. And under a centralized system there are three possibilities. One possibility is that the recruitment will be totally taken care by the Supreme Court. And the second possibility might be the recruitment will be carried out by both the Supreme Court and the central government together. And there is also a third possibility where the recruitment will be totally done by the central government. But if you see to maintain the independence of judiciary this third option of recruitment totally by the central government may be rolled out. So these are the three possibilities if at all all India judicial services take shape. So why there is a proposal for all India judicial services? See this proposal was to deal with the challenge of increasing judicial vacancies in the lower courts. As a result of vacancies of judges in the lower courts the prosecution of many cases is delayed. And in many cases it takes years to complete the prosecution in the court and to deliver the judgment. Then if you see there is another problem which is the lack of representation for the marginalized sections in the recruitment of judges for lower courts. And also if you see there is one more criticism which is the present mode of recruitment has failed to attract the best talent. One of the reasons said by those who criticized this is that if there is a nationwide exam then there is an increasing possibility to attract best talent as judges for the lower courts. But if you see such a proposal also has many disadvantages. Here the language will be a barrier in the delivery of justice. How? Say a person who does not know Gujarati language cannot be posted as a district judge in Gujarat. So similarly a judge who does not know Tamil language cannot be posted as a district judge in Tamil Nadu. So similarly there are some other challenges for the all India judicial services as well. So let us discuss about the challenges of creation of an all India judicial service in our future news analysis. Next if you see there was one more criticism which is in the present system the remuneration and the pay for judges in the lower courts are not better. So consider all these criticisms now. Now let us come to the news article wherein we'll discuss this report released by Vidhi Center for Legal Policy. See this Vidhi report has found that all India judicial service is not a solution for the problems which are cited in the present system. The core point is that most of the reasons for creation of an all India judicial service for appointing lower court judges no longer exist or they have been resolved through changes in rules, regulations and practices. That is the report means to tell that some of the reasons which have been laid out by those who criticize are no longer valid in the present scenario. Then if you see this report has also given some other reasons emphasizing the fact that there is no need for an all India judicial service. See one criticism we just saw was that there are too many vacancies in the lower courts. Yeah they are high but not in all the states. To be specific the vacancies are high in some specific states. But overall if you see many states are able to ensure timely and efficient recruitments. So do you think can all India judicial service be a solution for this problem? No this is because we need to ensure that in those specific states the recruitments are carried out in prescribed time frame and those authorities who are delaying the process must be held accountable. So this will set the things right and if once things are right and if the vacancies are properly filled then there is no need for an all India judicial service. Then if you see this report also tells that these states which are unable to tackle their vacancy problem efficiently may also be facing other difficulties like lack of courtrooms or lack of administrative capacity. So this report asks a question which is for these challenges can we alter the entire system? And this report suggests that we have to ensure that sufficient funds are made by the central government and the respective state governments to ensure the required number of courtrooms and other infrastructure and administrative capacity so that there is no need to alter the entire system. And one criticism which we saw was regarding the less representation of marginalized sections in the recruitment of judges in the lower courts. See this is not correct. It is because many states are already reserving posts for marginalized communities and also for women whenever they conduct recruitment. So in such a scenario there is no requirement for an all India judicial service. So this is what the report tells. Next if you see this report has also pondered around the remuneration and the pay for judges of lower courts. At present if you see in India we have a system of national judicial pay commissions. These commissions are making recommendations to improve the pay and the service conditions of the judges. But see you have to note one thing here it is up to the state governments to implement the recommendations that are made by the national judicial pay commissions. So what can be a solution here? So this report suggests that whatever recommendations that are given regarding the pay and service by the national judicial pay commission must be binding on the state governments. So this is one simple way to address this issue instead of creating an all India judicial service. So you can see that this video report is of the opinion that since the problems are not diagnosed properly in order to treat the existing symptoms and diseases that are plaguing this judicial system a wrong treatment is being suggested to create an all India judicial service. So the video report clearly spots the small, small irregularities in the existing system and it tells that if these irregularities can be fixed then the judicial system will be functioning properly in the present setup itself. So this is all about this report and whatever we have discussed till now is important for your mains examination. So just have an idea about the criticism of the existing judicial system in India and just ponder around the implications if an all India judicial service is required. Now let us see the constitutional procedure to create the all India judicial service as an all India service. So whatever we are going to discuss now will be important from prelims point of view. See the central government through parliament can initiate the process of creating an all India judicial service. This can be done as per article 312 of Indian constitution. So this article 312 deals with all India services. As per clause one of this article if the council of states that is if the Rajya Sabha passes a solution supporting creation of an all India judicial service for the post of district judges then parliament can by law create such a service. So for this what needs to be done first the Rajya Sabha as to pass a resolution by not less than two thirds of the members present and voting. Once such a resolution is passed then the parliament can amend articles 233 and 234 of Indian constitution to create an all India judicial service. And this amendment can be done through a simple majority. So remember this here you need to know that article 233 deals with the appointment of district judges as we saw earlier and article 234 deals with the recruitment of persons other than district judges to the judicial service. So just remember this article 312 from exam point of view and you also need to know one more thing in this article you can see including an all India judicial service this was amended as per the 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act which was passed in the year 1976. So just remember this. So this is all about the discussion of this news article. In this news article we have discussed about the report which has been released by the Vidhi Center for Legal Policy on the need for all India judicial services and in connection with this we saw article 312 from prelims point of view. Now have a look at the practice question. Let us move on to the practice questions discussion session. Look at this first question. This question is on accredited social health activists. Two statements have been given and you need to choose the correct statements. Look at the first statement it tells that Ashas are accredited social health activists who play a very important role in counseling women about birth preparedness and care of young child. Yes this statement is correct. This is one of the main function and responsibility of the Asha workers. Now look at the second statement it tells that they provide secondary medical care for major ailments and first aid for minor injuries. If you see the qualification of Asha workers is that they just need to be literate and they should have completed eighth standard. So basically they deal with the primary medical care for minor ailments and they deal with the first aid for minor injuries. If you see the secondary medical care involves specialists wherein the doctors who are working in the primary healthcare refer patients for specialized treatments to the higher hospitals which forms a secondary medical care. So this statement goes wrong. So you have to choose the correct statements from this question. The correct answer is option A11B. Now look at this next question. The question is quadrantates often seen in news refers to. One they have given quadrilateral grouping of India, Japan, US and Australia. Second option is early January meter showers then early January comments streak then right angular location of sun, earth and moon. See quadrantates are nothing but early January meter showers which happen every year and they're considered to be one of the best annual meteor showers. So what are these meteor showers? See when two asteroids collide with each other meteoroids are formed and when such a meteoroid comes close enough to earth and when it enters earth's atmosphere it vaporizes and turns into a meteor which appears like a streak of light in the sky which is called as meteor showers. Sometimes because of their appearance these steaks of light are called as shooting stars. Now if you see quadrantate is one such meteor shower which happens regularly every year during the month of January especially in the early weeks of January. So here the correct answer to this question is option B early January meteor showers. If you see option A it is actually the quad group which is a quadrilateral grouping of India, Japan, US and Australia. So the correct answer to this question is option B. Now look at the next question. This question is about perihelion. Two statements have been given and you need to choose the correct statements. The first statement it tells that perihelion signifies the shortest distance between the sun and the earth. Yes this statement is correct. See during the orbiting of earth around the sun the earth comes closest to the sun in the month of January and this is called as perihelion. And if you see usually in every July month of every year the earth goes farthest from the sun when it orbits around the sun. So that is called as aphelion. So remember the closest distance between sun and the earth is called as perihelion and the farthest distance between the sun and earth is called as aphelion. Now look at the second statement. It tells that during perihelion northern hemisphere experiences summer season. Here you need not think much on physical geography terms. We just saw perihelion happens during the month of January. Now during January northern hemisphere experiences winter season and southern hemisphere experiences summer season. So just by the fact you can tell that this statement goes wrong. Now we need to know why different seasons happens in the earth. It is because of the revolution of the earth around the sun. That is one factor. The second factor is the tilt of axis of the earth. So now imagine if the tilted hemisphere that is the northern hemisphere if it is facing the sun then northern hemisphere experiences summer. Now if the southern hemisphere faces the sun then the southern hemisphere experiences the summer season. So based on revolution of the earth and based on tilt of axis of the earth we can differentiate the seasons of the earth. Now you can ask how days and nights happen. It is because of the rotation of the earth not because of the revolution of the earth. So remember this difference. So far we have seen about perihelion then we saw the causes for why there are different seasons in the earth. Now also know that the average distance between the sun and the earth is about 149 million kilometer which is known as one astronomical unit. And if you see the average distance between the moon and earth is about 4 lakh kilometer. So between moon and the earth the shortest distance is called as the perigee and the longest distance is called as the apogee. So remember the facts that we discussed now it will be helpful from exam point of view. Now we need to choose the correct statements for this question. We just saw the second statement is wrong. So the correct answer to this question is option A 1 1 E. Now look at this next question which is about article 312. The question is article 312 of Indian constitution deals with option A power of president to consult supreme court then creation of one or more all India services then option C procedure for impeachment of president then option D superintendents direction and control of elections to be vested in an election commission. See article 312 deals with creation of one or more all India services. So the correct answer to this question is option B creation of one or more all India services. If you see option A the power of president to consult supreme court it is discussed in article 143. And then if you see article 123 deals with ordinance making power of the president. Next if you see the procedure for impeachment of president it is mentioned in article 61. If you remember during our 20th December analysis we have compared the procedure of impeachment of Indian president and US president in detail wherein we also discussed article 61. You can just refer to that analysis to have a better clarity on this impeachment procedure of the president of India. Next if you see option D which deals with superintendents direction and control of elections to be vested in an election commission is discussed in article 324 which also discusses in detail about the election commission of India. So the correct answer to this question is option B creation of one or more all India services. Now let us look at the main questions. Look at this question the question is best as has become the hotbed for proxy war between major regional powers in the light of the above statement explain the concept of proxy war and explain its impacts on India. Now try to explain the concept of proxy war with an example from the ongoing tussle which is happening in West Asia. So explain what is meant by proxy war then explain the ongoing proxy war that is happening in West Asia. Here one block is the Saudi block the other block is the Iranian block and say how other regional powers like USA or Russia is playing a significant role in conducting proxy wars like for example the recent drone strikes by US in Baghdad which killed the Iran commander of Quds Force, Qasem Soleimani and the Iraqi Shia Malaysia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis and now Iran is also playing a ploy by attacking the ships and the oil facilities of Saudi Arabia and its allies as an example. Then explain how this will impact India. In fact it will impact the entire global countries because it has quite a significant portion of oil trade then you can touch upon the plight of Indians who work and stay in the Gulf and then you can also touch upon the central Asian relations then you can also discuss about the complex combination of the bilateral relations of India with Iran and USA at the same time and how it will get impacted. So try to diversify your views when you try to explain the impacts of the ongoing proxy war on India. This question carries 15 marks try to answer in 250 words. Please post your answers in the comment section we will review and give you suitable feedback in the next seven to 10 working days. Now look at this main question. The question is most of the reasons for the creation of the all India judicial service for the strict judges more longer exist or have been resolved already evaluate. Now this is a straightforward question in our today's discussion we saw. Why many reasons which were supported for the creation of all India judicial services for district judges are no longer valid and how many of the issues have been resolved already. So try to give your answers in 150 words. This is a 10 mark question. You can post your answers again in the comment section we'll review and give the feedback in the next seven to 10 working days. With this we come to the end of the analysis of all the news articles taken up for today's discussion and also the practice questions discussion session. If you like the video, press the like button, comment and share and do subscribe to Shankar IAS Academy YouTube channel for latest videos and updates. Stay focused and motivated friends. Thank you.


Hey guys, come behind the scenes and check out today's victory against La Grona. Good afternoon. Hello. Hello, good morning. Yes, from the 11th field of Real Madrid City. And yes, we see movement because, just behind me, we see how Taísa heats up. Right now, the orders come down. To continue ahead and to try to get to the second with the goal of Chifra, to make the game of our three points again at home. And here we don't get too strong and we have to go like this, it's the same line. Yeah, it's really important. I've been injured for a while now, so it was a great feeling to help the team. And, you know, as a forward, you want to score goals, so that was a great feeling to get my second for the season. Putting us in front of the marker always gives us a lot of security. And the truth is that we were going well, we had chances, but we didn't finish the goal. And going to rest with that marker in favor has been very positive.