Hindu Editorial Analysis Today – UPSC Daily Current Affairs

Model Answer

Classical Mendelian genetics, built on Gregor Mendel's foundational experiments, explains inheritance through the transmission of specific DNA sequences from parents to offspring, following predictable rules of dominant and recessive traits. This framework has been extraordinarily powerful — enabling genetic medicine, crop improvement and forensic science. However, it leaves significant aspects of biological inheritance unexplained.

Recent research from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, published in Nature Genetics, demonstrates that several inherited traits in mice do not follow simple Mendelian rules. Instead, they are influenced by epigenetic mechanisms — changes that affect gene expression without altering the underlying DNA sequence. DNA methylation, where methyl groups attach to DNA and can suppress or activate gene activity, is the primary mechanism involved. The study identified at least five new genes displaying genomic imprinting — a phenomenon where the same gene produces different effects depending on whether it was inherited from the mother or father. Two likely instances of paramutation were also identified, where one gene copy influences the other's activity across generations.

These findings have significant implications. They broaden our understanding of heredity beyond DNA sequences to include regulatory layers. They suggest that some genetic diseases, reproductive disorders and complex traits may be driven partly by epigenetic rather than sequence-level variation — meaning current Genome-Wide Association Studies, which focus on DNA sequence variants, may miss important disease associations. The research also opens questions about intergenerational health effects of environmental exposures, nutrition and stress.

Epigenetics does not replace Mendelian genetics — it enriches it. The complete understanding of heredity requires examining DNA sequence, methylation patterns, parent-of-origin effects and gene regulatory interactions together. This expanding picture is the "second volume" of the genetic instruction manual — essential for medicine, agriculture and fundamental biology.

Model Answer

The Makkah Joint Defence Agreement, signed on 07 August 2026 by Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan, represents a significant new security arrangement in West Asia. Its collective-defence language — "an armed attack against one shall be regarded as an attack against all" — draws immediate comparisons with NATO's Article 5, though its operational scope, enforcement mechanism and institutional structure remain unclear given that the full text has not been published.

The MJDA reflects several converging strategic pressures. Saudi Arabia faces genuine security vulnerabilities — threats to oil infrastructure, challenges from Iran and its proxies, and concerns about the reliability of existing security arrangements with traditional Western partners. The agreement represents Riyadh's attempt to diversify its security partnerships and build alternative defence frameworks. Türkiye brings defence industrial capacity, regional influence and an established relationship with both Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. Pakistan adds a longstanding military partnership with Saudi Arabia alongside nuclear capability.

For India, the MJDA raises several strategic considerations. Pakistan's membership requires monitoring but not overreaction — the agreement does not transform Pakistan's fundamental vulnerabilities or alter the India-Pakistan strategic balance. The more substantive concerns relate to India's energy security and economic interests. India imports a large share of crude oil from the Gulf, hosts millions of workers in Gulf countries and trades extensively with Saudi Arabia. Any instability in the Gulf directly affects India's energy import bills, remittance flows and supply chains.

India's strategic response should be guided by its established principle of strategic autonomy — maintaining constructive relations with Saudi Arabia, Türkiye, Iran, the United States and other regional actors without joining competing blocs. Strengthening the India-Saudi Arabia relationship, diversifying energy import sources, ensuring maritime security in the Arabian Sea and Red Sea, and carefully monitoring the MJDA's operationalisation are the immediate policy priorities.

Model Answer

Delimitation — the constitutional process of redrawing electoral constituency boundaries and reallocating Lok Sabha seats among States based on Census population data — is approaching a critical moment. The 2027 Census is expected to trigger a fresh exercise under Articles 81 and 82 of the Constitution. But this is far more than a technical boundary-drawing exercise — it is a moment that will test the compatibility of India's democratic and federal values.

The democratic argument is clear: the principle of "one person, one vote, one value" requires that representation reflect actual population. States with larger populations should receive proportionately more Lok Sabha seats to ensure citizens have roughly equal political weight. Since population growth has been uneven — faster in northern States like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Rajasthan, and slower in southern States like Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh — a strict population-based reallocation would significantly increase northern States' share and reduce the southern States' relative representation.

This is precisely where the federal argument becomes compelling. Southern States achieved slower population growth in significant part because they successfully implemented family planning, women's education and health programmes that the Centre itself promoted as national policy. Penalising these States with reduced parliamentary representation creates a perverse incentive — rewarding demographic growth rather than responsible governance.

Beyond seat reallocation, constituency boundary drawing itself carries risks. Gerrymandering techniques — cracking voter groups across constituencies or packing them into fewer ones — can distort electoral representation even with population-equal constituencies. An independent Delimitation Commission using transparent, objective criteria is essential to prevent partisan manipulation.

The exercise is further complicated by its link to implementing women's reservation — the 106th Constitutional Amendment requires both a fresh Census and delimitation. A transparent, consultative and federal-sensitive approach — perhaps with transitional measures protecting States that have achieved population stabilisation — is essential for this exercise to strengthen rather than strain India's democratic federal compact.