Recently a state of emergency has been declared in which one of the following countries?
- (a)Maldives
- (b)Bhutan
- (c)Nepal
- (d)Myanmar
Correct — D, Myanmar. On 1 February 2021 Myanmar's military (the Tatmadaw), led by Min Aung Hlaing, staged a coup, detained State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint, and declared a one-year state of emergency — rejecting the results of the November 2020 election won by the National League for Democracy.
- (a)Maldives — There was no military takeover or state of emergency of this kind in the Maldives at this time.
- (b)Bhutan — Bhutan is a stable constitutional monarchy; there was no coup or state of emergency there.
- (c)Nepal — Nepal faced a political crisis over the dissolution of its parliament in this period, but not a military coup or the state of emergency the question refers to.
A state of emergency in Myanmar was declared by the armed forces after the 1 February 2021 coup, transferring power to the military and reversing a decade of partial democratisation. Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy had won the November 2020 polls; the army alleged electoral fraud.
Anchored to the April 2021 exam, the 'recent state of emergency' among these South Asian neighbours is Myanmar's post-coup declaration.
- Myanmar's military declared a one-year state of emergency on 1 February 2021.
- The coup was led by Min Aung Hlaing, Commander-in-Chief of the Tatmadaw.
- Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint were detained.
- It followed the November 2020 election won by the National League for Democracy (NLD).
- Confusing Myanmar's 2021 coup with Nepal's contemporaneous parliament-dissolution crisis.
- Assuming 'state of emergency' refers to India's own constitutional emergency provisions.
Asked as 'a state of emergency / coup was recently declared in which country' — a world current-affairs item.
In the latter half of the year 2006, in which one of the following countries did a military coup take place?
- (a) Cambodia
- (b) Laos
- (c) Thailand
- (d) Vietnam
Answer(c) Thailand
Same concept — identifying the country of a recent military coup from a current-affairs cue; the 2007 UPSC item asked the same for Thailand's 2006 coup, just as this NDA item points to Myanmar's 2021 coup and state of emergency.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The 2021 military coup in Myanmar detained which democratically elected leader?
- (a)Sheikh Hasina
- (b)Aung San Suu Kyi
- (c)K. P. Sharma Oli
- (d)Ranil Wickremesinghe
Answer(b) Aung San Suu Kyi — leader of the National League for Democracy.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Myanmar shares a land border with which of the following Indian states?
- (a)Kerala
- (b)Mizoram
- (c)Punjab
- (d)Gujarat
Answer(b) Mizoram — one of four Indian states bordering Myanmar (with Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Manipur).