PYQ Vault · Paper 1 · Rights & Human Rights

The debate on human rights is caught between the

How the answer moves

The flow snapshot — the routes in, the body, the counter-view and the routes out.

Flow snapshot — how the answer moves
Intro routes
mment.
Body flow
R1 "caught between" = a deadlock → universalism over- reaches, relativism under-protects R2 each side half-right, half-blind → the debate advances only when their strengths combine
Counter-view
universalism (Kant, dignity, UDHR) → its limit: it carries Western liberal assumptions → cultural relativism (Boas, legitimacy through local context) → its limit: shields FGM / child marriage, becomes an authoritarian cloak → Asian values (Lee Kuan Yew) → Sen's reply: Asia too diverse, serves power not culture
Conclusion routes
relativism's charge of Western hegemony vs the universalist charge that relativism excuses abuse ki Donnelly's relative universalism → universal in principle, flexible in application, "culture is not destiny" r2) Gutmann's deliberation → shared principles applied through dialogue, not by imposing the dominant view

Model answer

Handwritten, in the form it would be written in the examination hall.

Handwritten model answer — UPSC PSIR 2024, Rights & Human Rights