Subscribe to ForumIAS

PSIR - Strategy, resources & discussion

Anyone joining SR CC for 2021 ? 


                                                                                                                                           Thanks

3.7k views

Anyone joining SR CC for 2021 ? 


                                                                                                                                           Thanks

Pre ke bad will most probably join

This time, Maam is covering half of the cash course before pre itself.

3k views

Anyone joining SR CC for 2021 ? 


                                                                                                                                           Thanks

Pre ke bad will most probably join

This time, Maam is covering half of the cash course before pre itself.

Half? I think 6 lectures only. Have not joined her previous crash course, I think is 1 lecture is of 3 hrs then 6 lectures are manageable after prelims.

Yes that is what half means  and also test discussion separately. 

2.9k views

Rewl1said

Anyone joining SR CC for 2021 ? 


                                                                                                                                           Thanks

@babu_bisleri  Planning to. Giving June and July to psir, thought it would be good if answer writing can be included as well. Wbu?

Same plan but i am apprehensive about Online test as I am not sincere so giving test for 3hr at home is achilles heel.


PS : Anyone who faced similar problem and now able to complete 3 hr tests can tell me how to do it !

2.9k views
Mera case thoda alag hai .. last time I wrote for 3 hr was in college and woh toh jaldi ho jate the ..  and never got opportunity to write mains so kabhi offline test series nhi hui .. so FOMO kaafi bada hai
2.8k views

Guys for simulating a real 3 hour mains exam I think changing where you sit, if possible, will help. Or just clearing your desk. Anything to set it apart from the usual condition and reinforce to yourself that the 3 hours are not business as usual. 

From my limited experience, feeling tired and fatigued in a test won't happen if you know the answers well. You will feel excited to write the answers and won't even realise how the three hours go by. So finding the exam difficult to give could be a symptom of revision not being enough, and not a problem in itself that you need to worry about separately. 

So true about revision thing. May be I am unable to recall and write answers and hence running away. 

3.9k views

Rewl1said

Anyone joining SR CC for 2021 ? 


                                                                                                                                           Thanks

@babu_bisleri  Planning to. Giving June and July to psir, thought it would be good if answer writing can be included as well. Wbu?

Same plan but i am apprehensive about Online test as I am not sincere so giving test for 3hr at home is achilles heel.


PS : Anyone who faced similar problem and now able to complete 3 hr tests can tell me how to do it !

@babu_bisleri I write sectional test (1.5 hours) every morning. I know this is overkill but it became a necessity for me as I was taking 4-5 hours to complete a 3 hr test at home when I gave it casually ( It was so casual that I even used to have tea breaks between the test). So I decided to time the test and submit the paper as soon as the time's up even if the answer sheet is blank. Believe me, all the sincerity will come when you score a 20-30 out of 120. I did it for 2 weeks, now I complete the paper (full test- which I give every saturday) with 5 minutes to spare .

@whatonly you overcame this thing after pre ? Must have took some revision ! I feel confident wrt concepts in most of the psir topics but cant recall keyword and scholars of even Part a of Paper1 sometimes. As you suggested will try revising and write the paper. Thanks a ton !!


@Aquaman I can relate to the break b/w writing test thing, it is just me. Can I DM you ? like how you do it and all ?

3.8k views
» show previous quotes

Same plan but i am apprehensive about Online test as I am not sincere so giving test for 3hr at home is achilles heel.


PS : Anyone who faced similar problem and now able to complete 3 hr tests can tell me how to do it !

If anything I was pretty good with regards to timing for this mains. Initially I used to take 4-5 hours as well. But what helped me was to cut myself off after the 3 hr limit, irrespective of whether I completed or not. So my first few tests were all incomplete. Each test i would try to at least write one more answer than the previous test. Another tip is to print out the sheets given by the test centres because register pages are much bigger and you’ll basically lose time writing in those sheets as well. I also roped in my mother to be an “invigilator”. She would walk into my room in the middle of the test etc. I actively encouraged her to make some small noises/ disturb me on the pretext of “signing entry sheet” etc so that I would not get flustered during the actual exam as well. Plus you’ll realise that once you are thorough with the material your time taken per answer automatically drops. I also suggest keeping a watch and planning how much time you want to give per question and adhering very strongly to that.

Would try this and start writing few test sectionals as well as flt to overcome my fear. This printout thing should help. Let see how it rolls when I attempt it for the very first time. Thanks 

6.8k views
» show previous quotes

Haan after prelims only. I didn't even do answer writing before prelims. That was not smart and could have backfired in my face, but I do think doing full length tests can wait until after prelims. Revision is far more important now.

Thanks. Full focussed on revision of complete GS and Optional. But to overcome my current fear, should go for some FLT practice. 

6.8k views
Ye PSIR wale konsa chawanprash khate hai?


lol

3.1k views
Ye PSIR wale konsa chawanprash khate hai?

jo SR muh se thook de ! 

lol

Why did I read this

Not a good day to have eyes 

That was a metaphor. 

Please avoid literal meaning and imagination, if you imagined already. :/

3k views

Jammusaid

Ye PSIR wale konsa chawanprash khate hai?

jo SR muh se thook de ! 

lol

Why did I read this

Not a good day to have eyes 

Yes, in fact, it is the first comment on page. Everytime, someone will come, would read this.

requesting@babu_bisleri  to edit it and then delete.

cool



3k views
» show previous quotes» show previous quotes

That was for leisure. And a long time back. It is a beautiful book. UPSC is a different game altogether. 


Republic is actually a very simple read. It doesn't feel like it was written so many years ago. And it is captivating. Aristotle's politics is something I just own but I haven't read. It is not for consumption, I guess. All this was a long time back, in 2016-17 vagere. Now, I just read Shubhra Ma'am Notes & pray to her portrait I have in my room. 

Portrait thing works ? 

3.1k views
I never criticised teachers for teaching in my life but way she handles the course is very disappointing. During our 1st lecture when she laid out the plan, she told that P1 PB is her favourite and she enjoy teaching it. What we saw was some exceptional teaching with given handouts for self reading and no dictation because there was no class for part b. LOL
3.3k views
@thesleepyhead She told us one day that the matter had been taken care of and then the telegram group was blocked so that no one could message and the doubt classes came to a minimum, and any doubt about the timeline of the course was hardly entertained.

As@babu_bisleri said, we were just given handouts and pdfs to go through, not much happened after that.


Wow! And last year, I was kinda feeling bad for not joining the course since everyone around me had joined it. 😂

But it's true, one of my friends told me that Plato went for 25 odd lectures in their batch and I was like, itna toh khud Plato ne nai bola hai :p

But ek baar mata ke darbar me chadhawa chadhana hota hai. Dekhlo kab chadhana hai. :P



3.1k views
Gym krne se answer writing ki speed badh jati hai ? Any research ?
3.5k views

Jammusaid

@whatonly @KropotkinSchmopotkin 

This question came in PSIR 2A (2019)

At that time, I had superficial knowledge about 2A. I knew in case ‘Democracy’ is asked, Huntington is to be quoted. I didn’t know then if in case, he has given 3rd Reverse Wave. I do remember this was how I introduced the answer. I feel it turns out very well. The examiner for sure, considered my negligence as extra ordinary assessment :D

Waise, I feel this question was asked in context of Yellow Vest Movement, France and in reference to growth of Social Movement seeking issue based instant justice.

Not comparative politics ? 

Yes social movement can be one of the points but low voter turnout ! Behavioural analysis I guess  

3.2k views

Jammusaid

@whatonly @KropotkinSchmopotkin 

This question came in PSIR 2A (2019)

At that time, I had superficial knowledge about 2A. I knew in case ‘Democracy’ is asked, Huntington is to be quoted. I didn’t know then if in case, he has given 3rd Reverse Wave. I do remember this was how I introduced the answer. I feel it turns out very well. The examiner for sure, considered my negligence as extra ordinary assessment :D

Waise, I feel this question was asked in context of Yellow Vest Movement, France and in reference to growth of Social Movement seeking issue based instant justice.

Wasn’t this from the topic - Politics for Participation and Representation under Comparative Politics?

How would you/anyone structure it with examples ? 

Social movement point is good ( i could think at the very moment when read@Jammu message). But yes I would have included that in my answer as I have read in why decline of political party and surely likhdeta but instantly strike nhi kiya 

3.1k views

D503said

reasons could be - decline of parliament and legitimacy crisis, neo liberal policies leading to govt playing a minor role in citizens' life as people depend more on private sector for services so voting has little value for them, fake news and political interference by foreign state actors like russia, changing political attitudes with respect to democracy.
USA is one example i remember, but i dont have precise data.

Haan. All good points!

Also

1. The failure of political parties to provide a real choice.

2. As people move up the social mobility ladder and acquire a certain standard of living, their day to day lives will not depend on the government schemes that elections will determine. 

It will be interesting to see if this year and the next, due to the pandemic, turnout among demographics where it is hitherto low now increases. I know a lot of people who until now were apolitical and didn't care much who ruled, but having suffered have strong opinions about their government.



2.7k views

D503said

reasons could be - decline of parliament and legitimacy crisis, neo liberal policies leading to govt playing a minor role in citizens' life as people depend more on private sector for services so voting has little value for them, fake news and political interference by foreign state actors like russia, changing political attitudes with respect to democracy.
USA is one example i remember, but i dont have precise data.

Haan. All good points!

Also

1. The failure of political parties to provide a real choice.

2. As people move up the social mobility ladder and acquire a certain standard of living, their day to day lives will not depend on the government schemes that elections will determine. 

It will be interesting to see if this year and the next, due to the pandemic, turnout among demographics where it is hitherto low now increases. I know a lot of people who until now were apolitical and didn't care much who ruled, but having suffered have strong opinions about their government.



It won't change much. India has 90cr voters. And a lot diverse to predict the increase trend. 

2.7k views

D503said

Jammusaid

Jammusaid

@whatonly @KropotkinSchmopotkin 

This question came in PSIR 2A (2019)

At that time, I had superficial knowledge about 2A. I knew in case ‘Democracy’ is asked, Huntington is to be quoted. I didn’t know then if in case, he has given 3rd Reverse Wave. I do remember this was how I introduced the answer. I feel it turns out very well. The examiner for sure, considered my negligence as extra ordinary assessment :D

Waise, I feel this question was asked in context of Yellow Vest Movement, France and in reference to growth of Social Movement seeking issue based instant justice.

I too think it’s under politics of representation and participation. The question is directly talking about participation and asking for examples, which makes me think they want less general theory (which Huntington’s would be) and more specific reasons. 

How would you guys answer?


Okay, I get your point.

I have a concern. I have studied everyhing in notes, etc, but I have never done it theme based / as per syllabus.

Like, I am habitual of writing X’s stuff in Y, Y’s in X, in case I could recollect it quickly. Overtime, I have realised it is not fetching me anything great. 

How do you see it, like this question that we are presently referring to, in case I get to write today, I won’t think just from Politics of Participation and Representation but would jot down everything I know from all sections.

Like presently in mind, Rousseau is roaming, so I might quote him, Roussea said Englishman won’t like to wait for another 5 years to change govt, englishman would seek quick legislation. So when voting comes, englishman won’t consider it important. I don’t know in which context he said this, but I am sure I would write it.

How do you see questions, like do you track it to topic in syllabus in mind.

Throw some enlightenment, others are also welcome to shed light.

i dont know if its true, but i have heard topscorers say that scholars and quotes se jyada they are loking for analysis nowadays. People have scored in 150's in paper 2 without quoting scholars. While those focusing on number of scholars have seen scores plummeting.

Iss Qn me toh scholars shayad hi koi jabardasti fir krna pade. Comparative politics waise bhi behavioural walo ne dominate kiya hai. Though abhi neo-institutionalism is on rise but still. 

PS : Not my analysis above, sab SR ma'am ka hai.

3.3k views

Jammusaid

Jammusaid

@whatonly @KropotkinSchmopotkin 

This question came in PSIR 2A (2019)

At that time, I had superficial knowledge about 2A. I knew in case ‘Democracy’ is asked, Huntington is to be quoted. I didn’t know then if in case, he has given 3rd Reverse Wave. I do remember this was how I introduced the answer. I feel it turns out very well. The examiner for sure, considered my negligence as extra ordinary assessment :D

Waise, I feel this question was asked in context of Yellow Vest Movement, France and in reference to growth of Social Movement seeking issue based instant justice.

I too think it’s under politics of representation and participation. The question is directly talking about participation and asking for examples, which makes me think they want less general theory (which Huntington’s would be) and more specific reasons. 

How would you guys answer?


Okay, I get your point.

I have a concern. I have studied everyhing in notes, etc, but I have never done it theme based / as per syllabus.

Like, I am habitual of writing X’s stuff in Y, Y’s in X, in case I could recollect it quickly. Overtime, I have realised it is not fetching me anything great. 

How do you see it, like this question that we are presently referring to, in case I get to write today, I won’t think just from Politics of Participation and Representation but would jot down everything I know from all sections.

Like presently in mind, Rousseau is roaming, so I might quote him, Roussea said Englishman won’t like to wait for another 5 years to change govt, englishman would seek quick legislation. So when voting comes, englishman won’t consider it important. I don’t know in which context he said this, but I am sure I would write it.

How do you see questions, like do you track it to topic in syllabus in mind.

Throw some enlightenment, others are also welcome to shed light.

I do think writing stuff drawn from syllabus as a whole is important. But as you say the risk might be that you miss the crux. 

In this question they mentioned turnout which is directly related to participation. And the issue of turnout itself is there under the participation wala topic, in SR notes itself. For me it's rarely a process of actually thinking about where the question has been drawn from. Usually i just see the question and the keywords take me to a certain place in my notes - it's very mechanical.

Maybe you can go through topic wise sorted PYQs. It will help map any new question to a topic.

BUT it is also important to be able to answer a question that isn't obviously from one topic. So what you're doing has a huge benefit.

Turnout wala kahan hai ? I read analysis of how different caste and class in SR ma'am but turnout wala can't recall. 

3.3k views

Guys !

Need suggestion !

I have not read newspaper since feb. What should I do now ? 

And also never followed any PSIR related Websites ORF types !

What to do for CA ?

I read only Vision IAS monthly.


3.9k views
» show previous quotes» show previous quotes

The standard example of the second one is the dramatic rise in Bush's approval ratings, right after 9/11. Also, rallying effect of Balakot strike was discussed at the time (a popular cynical view was that Modi did it only because of the upcoming elections).

Balakot, yes!

And sorry I didn't read your second point properly.

Bengal elections which recently happened  , tell me that either Covid still has not been an issue in india , maybe after 2nd wave it would be , or maybe it was an issue for some people as mishandling of pandemic was seen everywhere but it was taken over by the issues of regionalism, bengali culture , son/daughter of soil- even in Tamil nadu, Assam , COVID was not an issue but certainly 2nd wave would turn the tables.

I hope Covid become as issue- which I guess would become soon in the upcoming elections of UP. Thats why the BJP has come into a damage control mood.

And they have done pretty well in UP. Reaching peak at 38K which is phenomenal seeing the infra of UP. And moreover it was a proper peak when you compare with maharashtra which had plateauish kind of peak. UP is going to be a great case study unlike the Maharashtra failure which for the whole year cant control. Today Print founder shared an article on case study of Lucknow or I read on Better India. Rajasthan too did great. 

PS : Great means what the "intellectual breed" expected it to be based on infra and other factors. :P

3.2k views
» show previous quotes» show previous quotes

The standard example of the second one is the dramatic rise in Bush's approval ratings, right after 9/11. Also, rallying effect of Balakot strike was discussed at the time (a popular cynical view was that Modi did it only because of the upcoming elections).

Balakot, yes!

And sorry I didn't read your second point properly.

Bengal elections which recently happened  , tell me that either Covid still has not been an issue in india , maybe after 2nd wave it would be , or maybe it was an issue for some people as mishandling of pandemic was seen everywhere but it was taken over by the issues of regionalism, bengali culture , son/daughter of soil- even in Tamil nadu, Assam , COVID was not an issue but certainly 2nd wave would turn the tables.

I hope Covid become as issue- which I guess would become soon in the upcoming elections of UP. Thats why the BJP has come into a damage control mood.

And they have done pretty well in UP. Reaching peak at 38K which is phenomenal seeing the infra of UP. And moreover it was a proper peak when you compare with maharashtra which had plateauish kind of peak. UP is going to be a great case study unlike the Maharashtra failure which for the whole year cant control. Today Print founder shared an article on case study of Lucknow or I read on Better India. Rajasthan too did great. 

PS : Great means what the "intellectual breed" expected it to be based on infra and other factors. :P

Or may be not! I am based in UP, my paternal and maternal family got infected from Covid-19. They didn't go to hospital and my paternal grandparents are based in village and they can tell that many people are effected and most of them did not go hospital and some of them died too! 

You can never be sure of the data provided by govt. Lucknow is a big city, talk about villages. Not even one centre of vaccine in my village. This is GROSS MISHANDLING of covid. GROSS. 

My grandparents want to get vaccinated but for that they have to go to a town. Sad reality , none of it is exaggeration. 

If we talk about the data thing, then apply it to all the states, fairly !! So some 5-7% error is there then apply adequately to other states. Even MH has huge rural population. Jharkhand Chhatisgarh and even Rajasthan. 

3.2k views
» show previous quotes» show previous quotes

The standard example of the second one is the dramatic rise in Bush's approval ratings, right after 9/11. Also, rallying effect of Balakot strike was discussed at the time (a popular cynical view was that Modi did it only because of the upcoming elections).

Balakot, yes!

And sorry I didn't read your second point properly.

Bengal elections which recently happened  , tell me that either Covid still has not been an issue in india , maybe after 2nd wave it would be , or maybe it was an issue for some people as mishandling of pandemic was seen everywhere but it was taken over by the issues of regionalism, bengali culture , son/daughter of soil- even in Tamil nadu, Assam , COVID was not an issue but certainly 2nd wave would turn the tables.

I hope Covid become as issue- which I guess would become soon in the upcoming elections of UP. Thats why the BJP has come into a damage control mood.

And they have done pretty well in UP. Reaching peak at 38K which is phenomenal seeing the infra of UP. And moreover it was a proper peak when you compare with maharashtra which had plateauish kind of peak. UP is going to be a great case study unlike the Maharashtra failure which for the whole year cant control. Today Print founder shared an article on case study of Lucknow or I read on Better India. Rajasthan too did great. 

PS : Great means what the "intellectual breed" expected it to be based on infra and other factors. :P

Or may be not! I am based in UP, my paternal and maternal family got infected from Covid-19. They didn't go to hospital and my paternal grandparents are based in village and they can tell that many people are effected and most of them did not go hospital and some of them died too! 

You can never be sure of the data provided by govt. Lucknow is a big city, talk about villages. Not even one centre of vaccine in my village. This is GROSS MISHANDLING of covid. GROSS. 

My grandparents want to get vaccinated but for that they have to go to a town. Sad reality , none of it is exaggeration. 

If we talk about the data thing, then apply it to all the states, fairly !! So some 5-7% error is there then apply adequately to other states. Even MH has huge rural population. Jharkhand Chhatisgarh and even Rajasthan. 

That what is actually my point! None did good , NONE. and so it must be an issue, either in UP or in any other state.  

Things are never absolute. And definitely not in the elections. Newspaper sab jagah aata hai India me.

3.2k views

Jammusaid

What are the weaknesses of representative democracy? Hit me with points. I have some points of my own but I wanna see if I'm missing something.

- profile of representatives - generally limited to males with law background or public service, at times criminals

- oratory skills / public perception of representative - plays a major role 

- Elitist Theory of Power

- procedural aspects - In India, votes secured in percentage terms has no relation with number of representatives elected

- divide between representative and represented - is increasing

- once a representative, becomes representative for 5 years.


while writing these, I feel the flaw is in practise, not in theory.

theoretically, i feel flaw can be just what Derrida says, every communication is miscommunication. Implying every representation is mis representation.

14 tarik ke test ki tyari achhi lag rhi hai :P

3.2k views

Jammusaid

What are the weaknesses of representative democracy? Hit me with points. I have some points of my own but I wanna see if I'm missing something.

- profile of representatives - generally limited to males with law background or public service, at times criminals

- oratory skills / public perception of representative - plays a major role 

- Elitist Theory of Power

- procedural aspects - In India, votes secured in percentage terms has no relation with number of representatives elected

- divide between representative and represented - is increasing

- once a representative, becomes representative for 5 years.


while writing these, I feel the flaw is in practise, not in theory.

theoretically, i feel flaw can be just what Derrida says, every communication is miscommunication. Implying every representation is mis representation.

Me who has finished SR paper 1booklets dreaming to have such fingertips PSIR wisdom...

How you people manage to have brilliant points.. I know one has to think after reading theory.. But this simultaneously undermine me and motivate too...

Mujhe toh 2 saal ho gye even after multiple revisions cant write even 10 marker and subah ka padha bhi yaad nhi rehta. Not demotivating you but achhi tarah se padho :). Jo achhe se padhte hai unhe yaad rehta hai.

2.9k views
Cold war 2.0 ka question due hai na mains me ?
3.2k views
There was a ques on Emerging WO. In this we had scope to write about US-China equation and also redefined role of Russia. 
But as such CW2.0 not asked.

Besides I don't see much emphasis on renewed US-Russia rivalry. Most articles are about US-China competition. 

So I feel it has less chance but yes it can be prepared since we have time. 

Woh India's vision of emerging WO tha i guess !

Russia ke saath nhi. China ke saath hi hoga CW ab. Pehle Nuclear deterrence tha ab shayad Cyber deterrence ho.(Maine hi socha hai, lol ... dont quote) 

Both are selecting and forming group with other countries. Lets see how it roles in next 15 years, when it would be time for the elephant to Rise. 

3.2k views

“There have been some prominent shifts in the world, in the recent past leading towards gradual unfolding of a new world order in coming future”. Comment .


Maine jyada likha isme and hence shi se structure nhi hua .. wrote from 2001 and 2008 later about Russia resurgence .. also axis of evil and China rise .. middle kingdom ... end me how India sees the multipolar world. But kuchh zyada ho gya likhne ka .. Joseph Nye ka 3D chess board likhna hi bhul gya ...yeh sab kahani btane ke chakar me. End me socha likhun but answer end krr rha tha tab .. lol .. how you guys manage this thing... wrote my first answer after like 6 months 

3.2k views

Jammusaid

Why is India considered as an Elephant in IR lexicon.

Is this answered in Does the Elephant dance, if somebody has read it.

Copied from Quora. Kehna main bhi yehi chahta tha but niche english achhi likhi hai

India is often regarded as elephant for two main reasons:

  1. Due to its unrealised might and untapped potential.
  2. And an elephant not being attacked by carnivorous for its strength and size yet not exploiting it's strength and rather staying peaceful
3k views

@Jammu or anyone, where can I find SR’s crash course video explaining structure of answers, etc.

Mile toh bhejna mujhe bhi bhai

3k views

“There have been some prominent shifts in the world, in the recent past leading towards gradual unfolding of a new world order in coming future”. Comment .


Maine jyada likha isme and hence shi se structure nhi hua .. wrote from 2001 and 2008 later about Russia resurgence .. also axis of evil and China rise .. middle kingdom ... end me how India sees the multipolar world. But kuchh zyada ho gya likhne ka .. Joseph Nye ka 3D chess board likhna hi bhul gya ...yeh sab kahani btane ke chakar me. End me socha likhun but answer end krr rha tha tab .. lol .. how you guys manage this thing... wrote my first answer after like 6 months 

Anyone ?

3.3k views

Jammusaid

“There have been some prominent shifts in the world, in the recent past leading towards gradual unfolding of a new world order in coming future”. Comment .


Maine jyada likha isme and hence shi se structure nhi hua .. wrote from 2001 and 2008 later about Russia resurgence .. also axis of evil and China rise .. middle kingdom ... end me how India sees the multipolar world. But kuchh zyada ho gya likhne ka .. Joseph Nye ka 3D chess board likhna hi bhul gya ...yeh sab kahani btane ke chakar me. End me socha likhun but answer end krr rha tha tab .. lol .. how you guys manage this thing... wrote my first answer after like 6 months 

Anyone ?

Regarding managing this thing, when I started writing, I was a miserable writer. I used to write stories of Plato, Aristotle, and analysis was completely missing.

Then, I started answer writing as a workshop thing. Like along the margins, I would jot down points that I want to include. Then while writing, I would connect those points. This exercise would take 2-3 minutes extra in framing the answer and then another 2-3 minutes in thinking while writing.

After some time, I could jot down those points in mind, and then while writing, everything soon started coming in flow. This was more amazing when I started writing in perfectly time bound manner.

In Optional answer writing, I have observed depth is more important than multiple dimensions. So even if some points are missed, while is likely the case given that we have to write in paragraphs and there is word limit, it’s totally fine. 

Primacy should be given to writing what is asked, and addressing the context, which your points wrt specific question have very well addressed

Shi baat hai bhai.. yeh wali cheez try krta 

3.1k views

Hi to all the very cool, but erudite veterans here,

I've started out recently, armed with PSIR as the weapon of choice, absence of familiarity with the subject led me to seek refuge under the very towering Shubhra Ranjan, she's started out promisingly with Western Political Thought, which I feel (after stalking this thread here) is probably the superstructure of the PSIR syllabus.

My question here is besides revising Ma'am's class notes everyday, should I also be supplementing this with a textbook at this stage, like OP Gauba, Sushila Ramaswamy, or should I wait for Western Political Thought to get over, get really cozy with Maam's notes and then begin reading other texts? 

Also, I have made a booklist for PSIR, but after scouring through the internet, I saw quite a handful of toppers vouch for just Maam's notes and some addition value addition here and there. Do you all attest to this? Are there books which are essential must reads? (Gauba, Sushila Ramaswamy, Bhargava, Baylis and Smith, Andrew Heywood) I feel a little uneasy with the idea of taking up an optional and not going through the textbooks. SR also very convincingly in her first lecture dissuaded from taking up any readings, she then very reluctantly, doled out the names of certain textbooks.  

To avoid complacency, I've started out with reading Maam's notes of Paper-2, so that I would also be covering the Paper-2 groundwork on my own simultaneously with Maam's lectures of Paper-1.

Please help me out here, any help on this front would be a lifesaver! @whatonly @Villanelle @babu_bisleri @KropotkinSchmopotkin @Jammu 

(this thread is absolutely dope, a lot of golden nuggets here, thank you to all of you! )


Bhai I haven't given mains. And non psir background hai mera + mujhe books bhi padhna pasand nhi. Notes bhi yaad nhi hote :(. Books etc kaafi personal choice hai but main nhi padhunga kabhi. I havent even read ncerts in my school days toh psir ki books toh itni moti hoti hai .. kaun padhe. Only notes + crash course material ( agar kabhi zindagi me pre clear hua toh :P)

3k views

Jammusaid

» show previous quotes

Yes friend, considerably true. Lion is another graceful animal that is seemingly wrongly placed in India :D

Couple of months back, S Jaishankar was asked who, in his opinion, were the two greatest leaders India ever had. Answering one of’course is easy. Natural choice is Gandhi, but if two are asked, a realist personality like Kautilya, in my opinion would have looked appealing. But he said Lord Buddha. May be intention was to capitalise the legacy of Buddhism.

Going by the logic, if some day, who is the greatest animal is asked, answering it would not be difficult :D

Kautilya was never the leader btw. He was always the Amit Shah.

Lion is America out and out. An elite and hegemon, whose command everyone follows. 

Ohh you are unaware what a realist Buddhist were. Buddhism denotes expansion. Culture as well as territorial. In Sanatan Dharam only Buddhism and Jainism (till some extent) follows expansionism. 


PS : yeh info Kahan milti hai jaishankar ne kya kaha ? 🤔🤔🤔

3.6k views

Yeh shi thread hai.

Iss thread pe bich bich me forumias wale promotion krne nhi aate 😂😂😂

3.6k views
Yeh dono scholars maam ke notes me nhi hai. 
3.2k views

@whatonly  @Villanelle Would you use "brahminical patriarchy" in an answer, or would you be worried that a conservative examiner would hold that against you? Talking about a purely academic context of course eg "Uma Chakravarty uses the term "brahminical patriarchyto draw attention to the intersectionof caste and gender oppression."

Context- While writing answers I'm always worried that my urban naxal membership card is showing

I used both brahminical patriarchy (Uma Chakravarty) and capitalist patriarchy (Zillah Eisenstein) in my answers this year. 
Do not worry about these things. There's full freedom to call a spade a spade in our subject, especially when something is well-established in academic circles!

Ho sakta hai kisi Socialist Dalit or Socialist OBC checked your paper. Lol. Should have written more reservation in the Way forward.

4.2k views
@babu_bisleri Haan IGNOU notes se uthaya tha shayad


Cool. Iss janam me SR ratt lete hai fir Uma ji ke pass jaenge 

4.2k views

Anyone got 14th June paper 1 part a test questions ?


3.7k views
Anyone got 14th june test qn of SR test series paper 1 part a ?
3.7k views

SR Notes

Vision mains 365 

SR test papers ( if upper 2 dont suffice)


3.2k views

SR Notes

Vision mains 365 

SR test papers ( if upper 2 dont suffice)

@FC 

3.1k views

FCsaid

» show previous quotes

@FC 

thankyou.

Yeah...SR notes aren't very useful or this I think...I have found some good answers with respect to that on test series of both GS & PSIR...so trying to compile from that itself + google baba ofc.

Mujhe toh SR notes useful lage iss topic pe.

Best of luck bhai 

3k views

Have anyone of you noticed that PSIR 2019 result wasn't upto that level which it's known for(280/290+) as in 2019 Vishaka Yadav scored just 246, which is quite unusual for topper. This might be anomaly. But even another rank holder Mukund Kr(rank 50+), who scored 221. And both of them performed relatively poor in paper 2nd, scored 107 and 97 respectively. And both of them performed good because of their high GS scores. I have read few answers of Pari Bishnoi but didn't able to find her marks. 

I have come across only Mahajan Sumit Rajesh(rank 200+), who got 286 marks.

And if I'm correct then this year also not many candidates from PSIR background have qualified for interview as compared what I usually see.

So, what is the reason behind the low score of PSIR toppers? Moreover is it because of UPSC "fanda" to start giving high marks in one optional as compared to other. I mean there overall tactics to become lenient in one particular GS paper and in optional and to become quite strict in others. OR SR notes is not at all sufficient for paper 2(which indeed the case but if one go by previous year toppers, it doesn't seems). Orare we not able to fulfill the requisite demand of the questions especially in paper 2.

Whose answer copy, you find most relevant ? No point in seeing answer copies of Mukund or Vishakha. They both rode on GS. Navneet Maan has exceptional score in PSIR but her GS score is not that good else the 50 marks diff in optional than AIR 6 and still she was in 30s like around 15-20 marks less. So Vishakha like covered here 50+ 15-20 marks in GS.

I know someone getting 248 but her rank is 200+ too.Other topper in and around 50s had score around 260 or so. So may be 240 range was good for 150+ rankers but subjective nature of this exam dont let any analysis to succeed as GS and essay is also there. Even in answer copies have so much variation and in optional that increase many times.

I want to create an algo if all topper marks and copies are available for better analysis but alas. UPSC is so secretive. The whole process seems fraud.

5.1k views
Anyone got SR maam Crash course latest videos and notes ? I can pay.
3.4k views
Anyone selling Shubhra maam test series ? 
4.2k views

Today Crash Course paper is same as June one or different as Batch 1 dont have any test today ?



3.2k views

Today Crash Course paper is same as June one or different as Batch 1 dont have any test today ?



Anyone ?

4.5k views
Anyone made crash course notes of today and last week lectures. Please share. I joined late
4k views
Any group for discussing PSIR papers ? 
4k views

Please send Vision and Forum GS Mains Test paper for 2022.

Please Send SR test series 2022 papers.

Thank You !

5.8k views
Can anyone please give/point me to a full review of PSIR optional? Thinking to shift from mechanical engineering after giving three mains with it, quite interested in GS2 Polity and International relations. 

Choose a shorter optional.

Anthro or Psychology or Pub Ad 

If can read Philosophy then that also could be an option.

Choose Sanskrit if you have background in it. Very short syllabus, may be the shortest. 

PSIR and Geo are the worst amongst the humanities optional.

5.8k views

Psir guys !!

What is the good score in psir test series of SR ma'am ?

5.4k views
Anyone selling onlyias or SR test series ?
3.5k views
Anyone selling :-
1. Shankar or Forum ias test series
2. only ias or SR test series ?
3. Any Essay/Ethics test series
3.3k views
Any alternative for Shubhra Maam Crash course videos or test discussion videos ? I scored only 62 last time in PSIR paper 2 
4.5k views
Write your comment…