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!
Yourreadingof law is superb. Awesome way how you've put your answer.
Thank you. Just wanted to mention for the benefit of everyone,
Whenever there is a scope to mention fundamental rights, remember that fundamental rights dont function as islands. (RC Cooper case, Maneka Gandhi case, Puttaswamy, Sabarimala) Whenever there is scope to mention one fundamental right, most often, there is scope to mention Articles 21, 14 and 19. There is also scope to mention constitutionalism, Constitutional morality, and rule of law. There is scope to mention the preamble and maybe even how sovereignty resides in the people.
If one can do that, the answer would imbibe the spirit of the constitution and not just the letter. Always remember that the Constitution was not just a document guaranteeing rights; it was the result of the freedom struggle. It is an organic, living document that encompasses the pursuit of individual development. It is not what each right protects alone that matters; but what each right enables.
Hope this helps.:)
GS 1: Effects of Lockdown on Women
1.
Economy: Women’s economic resources are being hit hardest. Economic crises hit women harder. Why?
- Women tend to earn less.
- Women have fewer savings.
- Women are disproportionately more in the informal economy.
- Women have less access to social protections.
- Women make up the majority of single-parent household
Oxfam India estimates the economic loss from women losing their jobs during the pandemic at about $216 billion, knocking off 8% from the country’s gross domestic product. World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Index 2020 ranks India 112th of 153 countries in offering equal opportunities to women and men, and women often don’t have the same access to health care and education as their male counterparts.
2. Psychological Impact: Emotional impact of the pandemic is disproportionately falling on women’s shoulders in most countries. Increases in unpaid care and domestic work, job and income loss, and the effects of the lockdown on gender-based violence are among the factors that may be contributing to higher rates of stress and anxiety among women.
3. Increased the unpaid care and domestic workload, and women are bearing the heaviest burden. Factors such as double shifts for working women, the absence of assistance of house-help, and the increased need for cooking, cleaning, caring and hygiene is further increasing and tipping our skewed balance of domestic work today.
4. Public transit was interrupted across regions, limiting many women’s mobility as they are less likely than men to own a vehicle.
5. Civil society organizations (CSOs) who provide services to women victims of violence have seen increases in the number of victims reaching out for help. More than 40 per cent of those CSOs saw increases in cases of violence perpetrated by family members. National Commission for Women has recorded a two-fold increase in gender-based violence across the country, with the body receiving 257 calls in the final week of March as opposed to 116 calls in the first week.
6. There are 11.8 million women with disabilities in India who experience considerable difficulties in the everyday lives. With high poverty levels, poor health conditions, lower incomes, lower education and a patriarchal system they face further dangers in COVID-19. Information to the deaf and those with intellectual disabilities was not available. Personal assistants and health care were not available. It was also seen that the policy of social distancing was excluding them as they were dependent on personal assistants.
7. Education: girls’ education was disadvantaged — as only 29% of Internet users in India are female, and there’s tendency for families with limited means to give preference to boys for schooling.
8. Women were at higher risk of contracting the virus because they are overrepresented in the health-care sector.
9. Provision of family planning and other sexual health commodities including menstrual health items were impacted as supply chains were under strains from the pandemic. Unplanned pregnancies due to lack of abortion facilities.
10. Small and growing businesses (SGBs) have been hit during the pandemic esp. women entrepreneurs. Gender-lens investing was becoming a part of mainstream conversations but that took a setback.
11. A positive effect of the pandemic, could be that employers start offering more flexible and work-at-home options to their employees. This would help educated women enter and stay in the labour force and not be forced to drop out after child-birth, though the long-term implications for career progression will be unclear in this option.
Since public health emergencies are not gender-neutral, it’s time to devise a gender-balanced response to fight them. Post Covid-19 situation may bring more and more behavioural and mental changes among women with huge post-traumatic stress. Policy decisions need to articulate gendered concerns during public health emergencies because gender-sensitive pandemic planning may substantially mitigate these concerns.
@rashiv
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)
Q.Constitutional secularism is the cornerstone of India's pluralistic society. Comment. 150/200
Constitutional secularism, in the Indian context, refers to the Indian adaptation of the ideal of secularism. It is located in the Preamble and Articles 14, 15, 17, 19, 21 and 25-28 (Fundamental Rights) of the Constitution of India.
In the Indian Constitution, secularism does not mean that the State is blind to religion. Instead, it means that the State recognises and respects all religions.
How it is the cornerstone of Indian Pluralistic society
1. It recognises the deeply spiritual nature of the Indian citizen, of religious sects and of religions.
2. This spiritual nature is seen as part of individual and collective identity which shaped our composite culture.
3. Freely professing, practicing, and propagating religion is seen as an aspect of life and personal liberty under Article 21. (Puttaswamy v. UoI)
4. State equally promotes all religions (Eg. Haj Subsidy for Muslims, Kartarpur Corridor for Sikhs, Chardham Project for Hindus) to promote individual liberty. This enables the full development of the individual and of the religious group.
5. Discrimination existing within religions (A. 17) and diversity within religions (A.26) is recognised to enable independent development of such groups, which have a unique culture of their own.
6. In case of violation of these rights, a remedy to approach the Supreme Court is provided for in Article 32.
However, in order for these protections to be meaningful, constitutional morality must be imbibed in the hearts and minds of each individual. Otherwise, when the practices of religions come in conflict, these fundamental rights may be rendered meaningless.
Therefore, beyond the mere text, it is also our constitutionalism that serves at the heart of our pluralistic society.
Topic-Arts and Culture
Sub topic- Indian Handicraft (Toys)
Source- https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/far-from-a-happy-toy-story-traditional-toy-makers-face-chinese-goods-high-gst-and-lack-of-funds/article32876129.ece
Self notes:-
Q: Raising the legal age of marriage displays a lack of understanding of the reasons for the low age of marriage for women in India, which have little to do with the law. Comment.
Pointers in brief below:
Reasons for low age of marriage for women in India:
1. Society imposes a very high cost of raising girl child, especially in poor Indian families, which attempt to reduce those costs by marrying daughters off at a young age. Correlated with high preference for sons.
2. Families prefer to find brides within their own caste group/community, marriage-aged men look for younger female brides within their community.
3. Girls are often married off at a younger age because less dowry is expected for younger brides.
4. Girls are promised in marriage before they are born in order to secure their future. Upon adolescence, send-off ceremonies take place and they are sent to their husband’s home to commence married life.
5. Lack of Education and beliefs like paraya dhan make families assume that girl’s productive capacities benefit her marital family. Educating daughters is therefore seen as less of a priority than educating sons and hence, early marriage.
6. Customs like Atta Satta - It happends, where the parents of a boy cannot find their son a bride, they trade their daughter for a girl that will marry the son.
7. Fear of violence against women
8. Clash and inconsistency of personal religion laws which with Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006.
Myriad reasons economic, social, traditional, lack of education, stigma of unwed daughters choosing their life partner on their own, inability to protect unwed girls from unwanted sexual advances, belief that marriage is safer contribute to this problem.
A U.N. report released in late April predicted that COVID-19 could lead to an additional 13 million child marriages over the next decade all over the world.
India hosts the world’s largest number of child brides – 23 million, according to a 2019 report by UNICEF
Steps already undertaken:
1. Prohibition of Child Marriage Act 2006 imposes a fine and two years in prison for parents marrying off their underage children.
2. India committed to eliminating child, early, and forced marriage by 2030 in line with target 5.3 of the Sustainable Development Goals.
3. India acceded to the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1992, which sets a minimum age of marriage of 18, and ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in 1993, which obligates states to ensure free and full consent to marriage.
4. Government has also used cash incentives (such as the Dhan Laxmi scheme), adolescents’ empowerment programmes (Kishori Shakti Yojana) and awareness-raising to encourage behavior change related to child marriage.
Way Forward:
Approach is to empower and educate all stakeholders — children, village influencers, panchayat leaders, parents, teachers to make change possible at the grassroots. Through Bal Panchayats (children’s councils) officially recognized by Gram Panchayats, we sensitize kids about their rights. This gives them confidence to raise their voices against all forms of exploitations.
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.
Dear Friends , I request all of you to kindly mention some of the important topics of Physical Geography to be prepared for upcoming mains(Apart from cyclone, Tsunami, Environmental Geography, cryosphere , oceanography, Industries,Eq, volcano).
Thank you.
1. Urban Floods
2. Polar amplification
3. Lightning/Side Flash
4. Locust Swarms (Could be a part of Gs3)
5. Dams - Hydro Hegemony (in relation to Brahmaputra)
6. Effect of Local winds on weather
7. Himalayas importance
8. Wildfires
9. Iron Ore /Steel in Location o fResources
Q.Constitutional secularism is the cornerstone of India's pluralistic society. Comment. 150/200Secularism refers to distinction from religious matters. Constitutional secularism refers to the constitutional backing of the idea of secularism, example, SECULAR word in preamble of Indian constitution via 42nd AA 1976.
A pluralistic society, is a society where people having different kind of faiths, religious beliefs and practices co-exist and live peacefully. It is a society which is more tolerant, peaceful, and humane.
Constitutional secularism in India has led to existence of a pluralistic society in the following ways:-
- Backing of idea of secularism by a written Indian constitution, eg Preamble of Indian Constitution referring India as a SECULAR country along with the Fundamental duty of abiding by the constitution under part 4A has led to its acceptance and practice among the citizens.
- Provisions of Fundamental rights under part 3 of IC under article 25 to 28 have enabled Indian citizens to profess, practice and propagate any religion that they wish to.
- The difference between Indian Secularism from that of the western secularism, in the sense that apart from being clearly separated from the religious affairs in case of Western secularism, Indian state do take part in religious affairs of the country but with a positive attitude and this has resulted in equal treatment to all religions present in India. For eg, Indian state provides concessions to Islam followers for Haj pilgrimage, Indian state recently constructed the Kartarpur corridor on Indian side to facilitate Sikh pilgrimage, Indian state is developing the Char Dham route and likewise. All these mentioned examples reflect that all religions are equal in the eyes of Indian state which is an essential feature of Indian Secularism.
- The concept of Fraternity in Indian Constitution along with the concept of secularism has further strengthened the bonhomie among citizens of India having different beliefs and faiths. Such brotherhood is clearly reflected when a Muslim family decorates their house on the occasion of Diwali, when a Hindu friend visits a Muslim friend’s house on the occasion of Eid to have biryani and sewai, when people of all faiths are served langar at community kitchens at Gurduwaras.
- Adoption and practice of ancient philosophies such as Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam and Athithi Devo Bhawa have attracted foreigners too to India to seek mental peace and spirituality eg places such as Haridwar, Varanasi, golden temple, Fatehpur sikri, Jama Masjid etc.
India has come a long way post the 200 years of Divide and rule policy under the imperialist regime but still certain issues like oppression of lower castes, communalisation of politics, hate speeches and mob lynching are still plaguing the very peacefulness of this pluralistic Indian society. Steps such as effective implementation of Manual scavenging act 2013, criminalisation of mob lynching and curbing of circulation of fake news and hate speeches are all warranted.
That is a very crisp answer. Some points for value addition from my notes:
1. Ideal of secularism for India denotes equality among various religious communities as interpreted by the Supreme Court in the Ismail Faruqui v. Union of India judgment.
2. Constitutional secularism cannot be sustained by governments alone but requires collective commitment from an impartial judiciary, a scrupulous media, civil society activists, and an alert citizenry - which are all the foundations of a healthy democracy.
I feel, a one liner needs to be added that constitution is the guiding force. Secularism as a value should be followed by citizens, wherein they respect plurality of cultures and ideas.
@AlexanderSupertramp This question can be in GS1/2. You can quote these articles and judgements for GS2.
As far as GS1 is concerned, we can rely on examples apart from the ones quoted by@TheNotorious . In The Discovery of India, Jawaharlal Nehru traced back the evolution of India’s composite culture through millennia of cultural osmosis. The State Emblem of India, the Lion Capital of Ashoka, from 250 BCE at Sarnath, has Buddhist roots.
can you share any compilation of important SC judgements with respect to various topics in news?
I have some handy right now from a compilation I downloaded sometime back.
- SR Bommai: Kept a check on the powers under Article 356.
- Keshavananda Bharati: Propounded the concept of Basic Structure of the Constitution
- Waman Rao, Minerva Mills: Upheld that Judicial review is part of the basic structure
- I.R. Coelho: Clarified the limits of Ninth Schedule of the Constitution and upheld importance of basic structure
- Navtej Singh Johar: Stuck down Sec 377 of IPC
- Maneka Gandhi: Interpreted scope of Art 21 and gave the concept of due process of law
- Shreya Singhal: Struck down Sec 66A of IT Act, 2000
- Puttaswamy (Privacy case): Upheld Right to privacy as a fundamental right
- Lily Thomas: On disqualification of convicted elected representatives
- Shah Bano Begum: Gave precedence to individual rights over personal laws.
How reverse migeration affected the condition of female labour population of India. What approach govt and other sectors should have taken to mitigate the situation?
- Rural India is incapable of absorbing the estimated migrant labour. Burden on scarce resources to increase, disguised employment in agriculture, reduced wages for labor in rural areas due to abundance of labor.
- Rural households, particularly those with migrating family members, lose out on income due to reduction in remittances and limited employment opportunities in the short term. Women resort to distress sales of their assets, such as livestock, or are forced to take loans from informal moneylenders.
- Single migrant women working as domestic helps, in salons, in restaurants, shop assistants will not find jobs matching their skill in rural areas.
- number of women trafficking for sexual exploitation increases. Women migrants generally have limited access to information about rules and regulations and very often fail to get the required help in cases of exploitation.
-Women registered to claim access to benefits at one location lose access upon migration to a different location. This is especially true of access to entitlements under the PDS.
There is a need to develop a migration management system . An app for Laborers where they can register with their Names, Age, Skill, Gender, Address at the origin. It will help the state governments to manage the migration streams, help in getting employment, ensure the safety and security of the laborers and track them in the times of crisis. This intervention can be particularly useful for ensuring the safety of female migrant labourers. The success of Arogya Setu app to track COVID cases is an encouraging example of how people are willing to adopt such initiatives.
Article 19(1)(e) of the Constitution, guarantees all Indian citizens the right to reside and settle in any part of the territory of India. Thus, it is incumbent upon the govts to provide for and protect for its populace.
The Brahmaputra is the lifeline of the northeastern part of India. It provides potable water as well as it has a high potential for hydropower generation. However construction the Chinese side has been seen as a cause of concern for the following reasons-The construction of several dams along the Yarlung (Brahmaputra) river on the Chinese side has been a repeated cause for concern for Indian officials and the local people, whose livelihoods and security depend on the river. Explain.
- China being an upper riparian state can overexploit water from the river and thus depriving India.
- the decreased flow can affect the viability of hydropower projects that have been executed or are planned by India.
- it releases water during peak season which causes flooding in low lying regions. Annual Assam floods are also caused due to this.
- overexploitation of river and not maintaining the environmental flow causes high river pollution affecting lower riparian states. recently the Siang river turned red due to high pollution.
- can lead to weaponisation of river- by storing huge quantities of water and releasing it all together without any warning to intentionally cause damage to India.
- the ecology would be threatened-
- Brahmaputra and its tributaries are the lifelines of the biodiversity hotspot - eastern Himalayas and western ghats.
- people dependent on the fisheries sector would lose employment or incomes would go down.
- National waterways mission would be affected due to irregular flow of the river. NW2 passes through the Brahmaputra.
The solution to this problem is developing water development mechanism through consensus with China. brahmaputra-yarlong water treaty in the lines of Indus water treaty could be devised to resolve future water disputes.
» show previous quotes» show previous quotes» show previous quotesThe Brahmaputra is the lifeline of the northeastern part of India. It provides potable water as well as it has a high potential for hydropower generation. However construction the Chinese side has been seen as a cause of concern for the following reasons-
- China being an upper riparian state can overexploit water from the river and thus depriving India.
- the decreased flow can affect the viability of hydropower projects that have been executed or are planned by India.
- it releases water during peak season which causes flooding in low lying regions. Annual Assam floods are also caused due to this.
- overexploitation of river and not maintaining the environmental flow causes high river pollution affecting lower riparian states. recently the Siang river turned red due to high pollution.
- can lead to weaponisation of river- by storing huge quantities of water and releasing it all together without any warning to intentionally cause damage to India.
- the ecology would be threatened-
- Brahmaputra and its tributaries are the lifelines of the biodiversity hotspot - eastern Himalayas and western ghats.
- people dependent on the fisheries sector would lose employment or incomes would go down.
- National waterways mission would be affected due to irregular flow of the river. NW2 passes through the Brahmaputra.
The solution to this problem is developing water development mechanism through consensus with China. brahmaputra-yarlong water treaty in the lines of Indus water treaty could be devised to resolve future water disputes.
Lovely no-nonsense answer.
Would have mentioned in the conclusion "in light of the present geopolitical scenario between India and China, the aggressive Chinese approach towards development of the Yarlung must be viewed seriously. If negotiations towards a consensus-based Water Development mechanism fails to yield results, India may seek to hold China accountable under customary international Law for causing transboundary harm."
Just to connect it to current events. Thanks for the answer!!
Q.Constitutional secularism is the cornerstone of India's pluralistic society. Comment. 150/200Secularism refers to distinction from religious matters. Constitutional secularism refers to the constitutional backing of the idea of secularism, example, SECULAR word in preamble of Indian constitution via 42nd AA 1976.
A pluralistic society, is a society where people having different kind of faiths, religious beliefs and practices co-exist and live peacefully. It is a society which is more tolerant, peaceful, and humane.
Constitutional secularism in India has led to existence of a pluralistic society in the following ways:-
- Backing of idea of secularism by a written Indian constitution, eg Preamble of Indian Constitution referring India as a SECULAR country along with the Fundamental duty of abiding by the constitution under part 4A has led to its acceptance and practice among the citizens.
- Provisions of Fundamental rights under part 3 of IC under article 25 to 28 have enabled Indian citizens to profess, practice and propagate any religion that they wish to.
- The difference between Indian Secularism from that of the western secularism, in the sense that apart from being clearly separated from the religious affairs in case of Western secularism, Indian state do take part in religious affairs of the country but with a positive attitude and this has resulted in equal treatment to all religions present in India. For eg, Indian state provides concessions to Islam followers for Haj pilgrimage, Indian state recently constructed the Kartarpur corridor on Indian side to facilitate Sikh pilgrimage, Indian state is developing the Char Dham route and likewise. All these mentioned examples reflect that all religions are equal in the eyes of Indian state which is an essential feature of Indian Secularism.
- The concept of Fraternity in Indian Constitution along with the concept of secularism has further strengthened the bonhomie among citizens of India having different beliefs and faiths. Such brotherhood is clearly reflected when a Muslim family decorates their house on the occasion of Diwali, when a Hindu friend visits a Muslim friend’s house on the occasion of Eid to have biryani and sewai, when people of all faiths are served langar at community kitchens at Gurduwaras.
- Adoption and practice of ancient philosophies such as Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam and Athithi Devo Bhawa have attracted foreigners too to India to seek mental peace and spirituality eg places such as Haridwar, Varanasi, golden temple, Fatehpur sikri, Jama Masjid etc.
India has come a long way post the 200 years of Divide and rule policy under the imperialist regime but still certain issues like oppression of lower castes, communalisation of politics, hate speeches and mob lynching are still plaguing the very peacefulness of this pluralistic Indian society. Steps such as effective implementation of Manual scavenging act 2013, criminalisation of mob lynching and curbing of circulation of fake news and hate speeches are all warranted.
That is a very crisp answer. Some points for value addition from my notes:
1. Ideal of secularism for India denotes equality among various religious communities as interpreted by the Supreme Court in the Ismail Faruqui v. Union of India judgment.
2. Constitutional secularism cannot be sustained by governments alone but requires collective commitment from an impartial judiciary, a scrupulous media, civil society activists, and an alert citizenry - which are all the foundations of a healthy democracy.
I feel, a one liner needs to be added that constitution is the guiding force. Secularism as a value should be followed by citizens, wherein they respect plurality of cultures and ideas.
@AlexanderSupertramp This question can be in GS1/2. You can quote these articles and judgements for GS2.
As far as GS1 is concerned, we can rely on examples apart from the ones quoted by@TheNotorious . In The Discovery of India, Jawaharlal Nehru traced back the evolution of India’s composite culture through millennia of cultural osmosis. The State Emblem of India, the Lion Capital of Ashoka, from 250 BCE at Sarnath, has Buddhist roots.
can you share any compilation of important SC judgements with respect to various topics in news?
https://www.scobserver.in/the-desk
https://www.scobserver.in/court-cases
GS 1: Effects of Lockdown on Women
1.
Economy: Women’s economic resources are being hit hardest. Economic crises hit women harder. Why?
- Women tend to earn less.
- Women have fewer savings.
- Women are disproportionately more in the informal economy.
- Women have less access to social protections.
- Women make up the majority of single-parent household
Oxfam India estimates the economic loss from women losing their jobs during the pandemic at about $216 billion, knocking off 8% from the country’s gross domestic product. World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Index 2020 ranks India 112th of 153 countries in offering equal opportunities to women and men, and women often don’t have the same access to health care and education as their male counterparts.
2. Psychological Impact: Emotional impact of the pandemic is disproportionately falling on women’s shoulders in most countries. Increases in unpaid care and domestic work, job and income loss, and the effects of the lockdown on gender-based violence are among the factors that may be contributing to higher rates of stress and anxiety among women.
3. Increased the unpaid care and domestic workload, and women are bearing the heaviest burden. Factors such as double shifts for working women, the absence of assistance of house-help, and the increased need for cooking, cleaning, caring and hygiene is further increasing and tipping our skewed balance of domestic work today.
4. Public transit was interrupted across regions, limiting many women’s mobility as they are less likely than men to own a vehicle.
5. Civil society organizations (CSOs) who provide services to women victims of violence have seen increases in the number of victims reaching out for help. More than 40 per cent of those CSOs saw increases in cases of violence perpetrated by family members. National Commission for Women has recorded a two-fold increase in gender-based violence across the country, with the body receiving 257 calls in the final week of March as opposed to 116 calls in the first week.
6. There are 11.8 million women with disabilities in India who experience considerable difficulties in the everyday lives. With high poverty levels, poor health conditions, lower incomes, lower education and a patriarchal system they face further dangers in COVID-19. Information to the deaf and those with intellectual disabilities was not available. Personal assistants and health care were not available. It was also seen that the policy of social distancing was excluding them as they were dependent on personal assistants.
7. Education: girls’ education was disadvantaged — as only 29% of Internet users in India are female, and there’s tendency for families with limited means to give preference to boys for schooling.
8. Women were at higher risk of contracting the virus because they are overrepresented in the health-care sector.
9. Provision of family planning and other sexual health commodities including menstrual health items were impacted as supply chains were under strains from the pandemic. Unplanned pregnancies due to lack of abortion facilities.
10. Small and growing businesses (SGBs) have been hit during the pandemic esp. women entrepreneurs. Gender-lens investing was becoming a part of mainstream conversations but that took a setback.
11. A positive effect of the pandemic, could be that employers start offering more flexible and work-at-home options to their employees. This would help educated women enter and stay in the labour force and not be forced to drop out after child-birth, though the long-term implications for career progression will be unclear in this option.
Since public health emergencies are not gender-neutral, it’s time to devise a gender-balanced response to fight them. Post Covid-19 situation may bring more and more behavioural and mental changes among women with huge post-traumatic stress. Policy decisions need to articulate gendered concerns during public health emergencies because gender-sensitive pandemic planning may substantially mitigate these concerns.
@rashiv
Data
- 20% increase in violence against women worldwide (UN)
Impact
- UN Women- 1.5 trillion $ loss due to violence on women
- Women impact->impacts child->demographic dividend
- Failure of protection of HR
- Reduces gains achieved in past years
- Suicides
Way forward
- Gender auditing and perspective during crisis
- UN Women- strengthen services like helpline, digital counsellor, online reporting
- message from law enforcement officers to reassure women and against men. Eg Mumbai police on Twitter
- women part of decision making process to have inclusive outcomes
How would you have answered this question?
1. What makes the Indian society unique in sustaining its culture? Discuss.
I would focus on two or three pillars of Indian society that sustain its culture.
#1 Sarv Dharma Sambhava:
#2 All the world is one big family ( Vasudhaiv Kutumbakam )
#3 Atithi Devo Bhavah: Treat the Guests like Gods
#4 God is everywhere - Kan kan me Bhagwan ; we worship everything ; animate inanimate objects , animals, nature, fire,
These doctrines Of Indian society have made india a hospitable land for new cultures , making it possible for them to be assimilated and absorbed in the Indian way of life, and yet retaining the diversity - such that no moutside culture feels threatened by us.
examples: Buddhism , Jainism absorbed , Buddha incarnation of Vishnu ; Islamic Thoughts assimilated in the Indian society making Islam less radical and more open in India compared to how it developed in other parts of the world. And so on.
#3
Q9. Examine the uniqueness of tribal knowledge system when compared with mainstream knowledge and cultural systems.Q20. How does Indian society maintain continuity in traditional social values? Enumerate the changes taking place in itI have read ncert sociology and have some basic idea on the topics in syllabus but I'm struggling to answer these type of questions.How to go about such questions anyone?
Try to keep it simple. A good answer emerges when we do not try to think out of the box rather use the ideas we've already read.
Q9. Try to think-
How tribal knowledge is stored, disseminated?
What does tribal knowledge stand for?
What makes tribal knowledge unique? That's why the question has been asked.
Basically, if you ponder over the why, what, where, when etc., you would be able to write down points relevant to the question asked.
Q10.
Show the linkages with examples and emerging trends.
In Society, remember these key points -
- Write your own observations that you've come across/read
- Think and ask simple questions as I mentioned. Society is a sum of common people! Simple ideas will appeal more to examiner
- Delineate different kinds of societies- rural, urban, tribal, Indian, Western etc. Write down their key features. These can be used in any kind of questions from 'Society'.
- Every question in 'Society' would essentially be a contrast and compare nature. Think of a framework beforehand. Think about the anchor points around which you'll compare two societies. Eg. Q9 gives the clue that knowledge can be an anchor point. Two societies can be compared around this anchor!
These are some basic observations. If you still face difficulty in brainstorming any question, feel free to post here.
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