Mission Mains 2021: GS 1
This is for those of you who are planning to write Mains 2020. Primarily, the agenda of this thread would be
1. Answer Writing Practice
2. Sharing examples - anecdotes from Current affairs relevant for Answer writing
3. Any doubts wrt. Paper 1!
Feel free to pool in your suggestions!
@upsc2020 Much needed thread,Plz include geo and histry 2 even static.Ths ques i think Diversity/Tolerance and flexibilty=continuity.
Sure.
9-10 minutes
culture remains an intrinsic part of human existence,.according to James Taylor we are culturally defined and without culture we feels rootless ,liable to be uprooted .
indian cuture is unique for it has sustained its basic elements by assimilating them with existing time and space.
Uniqueness comes from-
1.Way of life=major cultural elements were not rigid and were flexible enough to stay relevant as per its requirement
2.Asian values=Lee kwan yew describes asian values as value of obedience culture and community life.This sort of life is also evident in our culture as well.it makes us easier to follow and relate with our ancient culture and tradition
3.Another unique aspect of indian culture is that it appeals easily to common sense and is not perceived as a threat to non-followers.eg yogic tradition is currently followed by major religion around the globe
4.Indian constitution itself is a harbinger of the indic way of life.various part of DPSP ,FR's promotes what our tradition teaches us,which further has sustained our cultural beliefs.
5.Assimilation=various aspect of Indian system have been incorporated from other culture .indian architecture, languages and modern dressing approach is not overwhelmed by other cultures rather is incorporated in a unique way.
Finally, Indian culture has followed the Gandhian approach of letting the wind of a thousand culture blow above our home but not letting them uproot our own ideas.
How would you have answered this question?
1. What makes the Indian society unique in sustaining its culture? Discuss.
- Its Consntitutional backing of idea of secularism for e.g. preamble, FRs(A25 to 28),etc.
- Its historic/ancient Ideas and beliefs like Athithi devo bhava, vasudhaivakutumbakam
- Its concept of Unity in diversity e.g.- inter-religious harmony(Muslims celebrating Diwali, Hindus enjoying sewayi on Eid)
- Its phenomena of Social service-Religious practices nexus, example, langar in gurudwara or temple, donations during relief work like Uttarakhand floods
- Its historical background- e.g. being a slave of a foreing land for more than 200 years,(The pain and sorrow that a golden bird faces after being chained). A reason why India is strictly against imperialism/colonialism.
- It’s openness to various faiths and people from all over the world. For example, India-Japan cultural ties, India-Tibet ties(Buddhism).Foreigners visiting holy places like Rishikesh.
- Its cultural proximity with neighbouring nations. Example- cuisines it share with its neighbouring countries like Biryani and Korma famous in 3 countries of south asia(India, Afghanistan and Pakistan).
All these incidents and factors have culminated/resulted into present India which is Tolerant, Diverse, Open,Strong and Vibrant in nature.
How would you have answered this question?
1. What makes the Indian society unique in sustaining its culture? Discuss.
- Its Consntitutional backing of idea of secularism for e.g. preamble, FRs(A25 to 28),etc.
- Its historic/ancient Ideas and beliefs like Athithi devo bhava, vasudhaivakutumbakam
- Its concept of Unity in diversity e.g.- inter-religious harmony(Muslims celebrating Diwali, Hindus enjoying sewayi on Eid)
- Its phenomena of Social service-Religious practices nexus, example, langar in gurudwara or temple, donations during relief work like Uttarakhand floods
- Its historical background- e.g. being a slave of a foreing land for more than 200 years,(The pain and sorrow that a golden bird faces after being chained). A reason why India is strictly against imperialism/colonialism.
- It’s openness to various faiths and people from all over the world. For example, India-Japan cultural ties, India-Tibet ties(Buddhism).Foreigners visiting holy places like Rishikesh.
- Its cultural proximity with neighbouring nations. Example- cuisines it share with its neighbouring countries like Biryani and Korma famous in 3 countries of south asia(India, Afghanistan and Pakistan).
All these incidents and factors have culminated/resulted into present India which is Tolerant, Diverse, Open,Strong and Vibrant in nature.
You’ve got good diverse points and plenty of examples, so that’s good. But some lacuna in meeting demand of the question.
1. So you’ve pinpointed the unique aspect of our society. But what’s lacking is showing how that uniqueness helps in sustaining our cultures
2. Some fodder points
Introduction- Talk about how india has sustained its core culture since the time of Rig Veda. Eg Naturalism, respecting elders etc
Body- what helps India in sustaining its culture is few unique features
A. Central role of family- helps in passing on culture and tradition to children, more effective in joint family. Eg celebrating auspicious days
B. Diversity- India is diverse in its language, religion, ethnicity etc
- Diversity helps be a natural barrier to homogenisation attempts because of differing sense and sensibilities
C. Traditionalism- Indian society is yet very much traditional and rigid which attempts to ward off attempts at change. Eg Patriarchy/ homely remedies for illness
D. Spirituality as a central theme- being attached to religion, spiritualism and its associated scriptures ensures that there remains a standard belief and practise of certain values and behaviour. Eg Food eating habit
E. Constitution- Indian constitution is a living document which ensures that Indian values are relevant via contemporary times. Eg Adopting principled distance model of secularism, clean environment as key to right to life
Despite such uniqueness there remains challenges in sustaining our culture from the forces of globalisation, rise of social media and modernisation attempts at many fronts.
Conclusion- To ensure that India remains true to its spirit of rich culture and heritage but also is open to genuine modernisation, focus should be on value education in school and village led development model to prevent impact of unwanted values associated with urbanisation.
(There can be much better points in conclusion too)
How would you have answered this question?
1. What makes the Indian society unique in sustaining its culture? Discuss.
- Its Consntitutional backing of idea of secularism for e.g. preamble, FRs(A25 to 28),etc.
- Its historic/ancient Ideas and beliefs like Athithi devo bhava, vasudhaivakutumbakam
- Its concept of Unity in diversity e.g.- inter-religious harmony(Muslims celebrating Diwali, Hindus enjoying sewayi on Eid)
- Its phenomena of Social service-Religious practices nexus, example, langar in gurudwara or temple, donations during relief work like Uttarakhand floods
- Its historical background- e.g. being a slave of a foreing land for more than 200 years,(The pain and sorrow that a golden bird faces after being chained). A reason why India is strictly against imperialism/colonialism.
- It’s openness to various faiths and people from all over the world. For example, India-Japan cultural ties, India-Tibet ties(Buddhism).Foreigners visiting holy places like Rishikesh.
- Its cultural proximity with neighbouring nations. Example- cuisines it share with its neighbouring countries like Biryani and Korma famous in 3 countries of south asia(India, Afghanistan and Pakistan).
All these incidents and factors have culminated/resulted into present India which is Tolerant, Diverse, Open,Strong and Vibrant in nature.
You’ve got good diverse points and plenty of examples, so that’s good. But some lacuna in meeting demand of the question.
1. So you’ve pinpointed the unique aspect of our society. But what’s lacking is showing how that uniqueness helps in sustaining our cultures
2. Some fodder points
Introduction- Talk about how india has sustained its core culture since the time of Rig Veda. Eg Naturalism, respecting elders etc
Body- what helps India in sustaining its culture is few unique features
A. Central role of family- helps in passing on culture and tradition to children, more effective in joint family. Eg celebrating auspicious days
B. Diversity- India is diverse in its language, religion, ethnicity etc
- Diversity helps be a natural barrier to homogenisation attempts because of differing sense and sensibilities
C. Traditionalism- Indian society is yet very much traditional and rigid which attempts to ward off attempts at change. Eg Patriarchy/ homely remedies for illness
D. Spirituality as a central theme- being attached to religion, spiritualism and its associated scriptures ensures that there remains a standard belief and practise of certain values and behaviour. Eg Food eating habit
E. Constitution- Indian constitution is a living document which ensures that Indian values are relevant via contemporary times. Eg Adopting principled distance model of secularism, clean environment as key to right to life
Despite such uniqueness there remains challenges in sustaining our culture from the forces of globalisation, rise of social media and modernisation attempts at many fronts.
Conclusion- To ensure that India remains true to its spirit of rich culture and heritage but also is open to genuine modernisation, focus should be on value education in school and village led development model to prevent impact of unwanted values associated with urbanisation.
(There can be much better points in conclusion too)
You wrote a full fledged answer under the heading “some fodder points”.
Nice. Haha!
How would you have answered this question?
1. What makes the Indian society unique in sustaining its culture? Discuss.
- Its Consntitutional backing of idea of secularism for e.g. preamble, FRs(A25 to 28),etc.
- Its historic/ancient Ideas and beliefs like Athithi devo bhava, vasudhaivakutumbakam
- Its concept of Unity in diversity e.g.- inter-religious harmony(Muslims celebrating Diwali, Hindus enjoying sewayi on Eid)
- Its phenomena of Social service-Religious practices nexus, example, langar in gurudwara or temple, donations during relief work like Uttarakhand floods
- Its historical background- e.g. being a slave of a foreing land for more than 200 years,(The pain and sorrow that a golden bird faces after being chained). A reason why India is strictly against imperialism/colonialism.
- It’s openness to various faiths and people from all over the world. For example, India-Japan cultural ties, India-Tibet ties(Buddhism).Foreigners visiting holy places like Rishikesh.
- Its cultural proximity with neighbouring nations. Example- cuisines it share with its neighbouring countries like Biryani and Korma famous in 3 countries of south asia(India, Afghanistan and Pakistan).
All these incidents and factors have culminated/resulted into present India which is Tolerant, Diverse, Open,Strong and Vibrant in nature.
This answer suits more to the question -
The spirit tolerance and love is not onlyan interesting feature of Indian society from very early times, but it is also playing an important partat the present. Elaborate 250 words -(Mains 2017.
Q. Women's leadership and representation in the technology sector remains low. What according to you are the reasons? Explain.
The STEM sector which encompasses majority of the broader technology sectors is valued at a over $150bn in India. Despite its reach, women representation lacks in STEM with mere 14% participation according to UN report.
Reasons for low representation and leadership
1. Gender stereotype- from the time of birth, girl child’s interest are shaped by stereotypes surrounding her. This impacts aspirations of many girls to aim for technological sector.
2. Educational attainment- Women enrolment in higher secondary is very low due to gender bias against women in accessing higher education
3. Dual burden- handling home and work takes mental toll on women, on account of which very few continue to attain leadership position
4. Glass ceiling- Prevents women from getting promotion to lead a company
5. Nature of technological sector- research requires long term investment into a specific area of interest. With low pay and child bearing responsibility, women find it disadvantageous to enter it.
Despite such systemic issues, India has been taking strides to correct the gap
A. 1:1 ratio for men and women in BSc enrolment, while women are more than men in MSc enrolment
B. India has the highest female graduates in STEM field globally
C. Government push via - Companies Act mandating women director in all firms (technology related too)
- ISRO’s young scientist programme will interest girls to take up science and technology related careers
The need is to take advantage of higher female graduate in STEM sector and imbibe them in proffsssional sphere. Role of CII and NASSCOM are crucial to promote industries to ensure gender diversity and parity at all levels. While civil society and educational reform should tackle attitudinal challenge against girls to unshackle their potential in technology.
‘Globalisation is generally said to promote cultural homogenisation but due to this cultural specificities appear to be strengthened in the Indian society.’ Elucidate. 15 marks (Mains 2018)
Pointers
1. Introduction- Define globalisation
- Why it promotes homogenisation
2. Body
A. Homogenisation in India- English language, Attire (jeans), McDonaldisation, use of technology, changing value system (individualism), promote rationality and liberal ideals
B. In India- due to perceived threat to culture, inequality giving rise to relative deprivation, cultural specificities rising
C. Cultural specificities- regional language in education, traditional medicine, rise of yoga, call of self reliance, regional cinema
3. Conclusion- The World Economic Forum correctly notes that, post covid globalisation will need to see roll back to traditional wisdom in culture. Need is for society to be open and flexible to modernisation while blocking attempts at westernisation. India can take a lead with its rich cultural heritage and its ability to hybridise plethora of cultures.
@upsc2020 pls review10- 11 minutesAccording to plfs women workforce participation remains at 23% this is much more pronounced in Stem field.Unesco 2018 report shows that 44% of bachelors grad. and 41% doctoral are women in India however they are limited in field of education and medicineIssue=Demand side1)Societal norms= pushes toward caregiving role-limited option to work - Feminisationof workforce,eg teaching nursing2)Stem field calls for demanding work hour-lack of enabling infra such as safety standards last mine connectivity.3)Family roles are seen as duty of women-perpetuated by govt policies-Maternity leave act but no paternal leave actSupply side1)Skills -acc to skill India report only 49% graduates employable; only 4% women chose benefit under skill India mission showing a pervasive gap in skills2)Corporate culture seen as unsafe-only 30 % corporates have institutionalized vishakha guidelines and js verma recommendation on sexual harassment (NITI aayog)3)wage gap-wb reports shows that women are 10 times underpaid than menAll this has institutionalised biases against women narrowing their opportunity to grow in STEM fieldIMF report have shown that if women are to get equal opportunity of work India gdp would grow 2-3% faster.Need a joint and concentrated effort.
i am reiterating my written ans.
1. Poor nutrition to girl compare to boy child >Cognitive develop less >equal competition for technical entrance
2. Biased choices of stream - Arts for girls, because good tech colleges are only in major cities ,all families not capable to send
3. Entrance like JEE NEET need special preparation/coaching, not invest in girls, required money (low income - then priority to boy )
So poor representation in tech institute reflected in Job
JOB :
1.tech job mostly in major cities, while other in local area like teacher, nurse etc
2 post marriage - have to change job city to city (if available) for In-laws house.
3. Existing low % in tech sector - discourage further new women, among male dominated- safety, dignity concern
4. factory laws restrict women's night duty, & women employee restricted in Mining sector.
5.Maternity law - leaves harm profit making private sector, (As not morally upright) so not prefer
6. Glass ceiling and pink collarisation is other issue
upsc2020,
upsc2020,
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