Prerna Sthal to be Inaugurated on June 16

About Prerna Sthal

Prerna Sthal is an earmarked area within the Parliament House Complex.  where key statues, including that of Mahatma Gandhi, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and Bhim Rao Ambedkar, have been relocated from their original positions.

• Relocation with Speaker’s permission: The Parliament House Complex falls under the jurisdiction of the Honourable Speaker of the Lok Sabha. The Statues are being relocated within the Complex with the Speaker’s permission.

Importance of Prerna Sthal

• Provide detailed information about freedom fighters: The Prerana Sthal will also feature modern technology to provide detailed information about the lives and contributions of our great freedom fighters, offering visitors a deeper understanding and appreciation of their legacy. 
• Visitors can pay tribute to the leaders: This will also serve as a place for visitors to pay their tributes to these esteemed leaders.
• Part of the Redevelopment plan: The relocation of the statues of Mahatma Gandhi and Ambedkar was part of the plan to redevelop the Parliamentary precincts after the construction of the new Parliament building.
• Convenience of the Visitors: The Prerna Sthal is being developed in such a way that the visitors coming to visit the Parliament complex view the statues of these great persons conveniently and get inspired by their life experiences.

Kashmir’s Kheer Bhawani Temple Festival

About the Kheer Bhawani Temple/Ragnya Devi Temple

• Location: It is a Hindu temple situated at the north-east of Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India, in Ganderbal district’s Tulmulla. 
• Deity Worshipped: This temple is a home to Goddess Durga who is worshipped in the form of Maa Ragini.
  • The term ‘kheer’ refers to a ‘milk and rice pudding’ that is offered to propitiate the goddess
• Historical Mentions: There is a reference of Kheer Bhawani in Kalhana’s Rajtarangini and Brigu Samhita.
• Built by: The present structure of the spring, temple pond, and temple was established in the 1910s during the reign of Maharaja Pratap Singh of Jammu and Kashmir, with further renovations undertaken by Maharaja Hari Singh.

Significance of Kheer Bhawani Temple and the Temple Festival

• Prominent temple for Kashmiri Pandits: It is the most important temple for the Kashmiri Hindus in Kashmir, known as the Kashmiri Pandits.
• Belief of the sacred spring:  It is believed that the colour of the sacred spring water flowing beneath the temple here reflects the conditions in the Valley. 
• Symbol of Communal harmony: Throughout the years, the Kheer Bhawani Mela has evolved into a symbol of communal harmony and fraternity in Kashmir. Example-Muslims also participate in the Kheer Bhawani mela, setting up stalls outside the temple to promote ‘Kashmiriyat’. 

Bump Stocks

• Bump stock devices were declared illegal in the United States following the 2017 Las Vegas shooting, in which 60 people were killed and 869 people injured.

Bump Stock Devices 

• These are devices that allow a semiautomatic firearm to shoot more than one shot with a single pull of the trigger by harnessing the recoil energy of the semiautomatic firearm to which it is affixed so that the trigger resets and continues firing without additional physical manipulation of the trigger by the shooter.