PYQ Vault · Paper 1 · Indian Political Thought
Do you think that the Buddhist traditions have lent ereater ethical foundation to the ancient Indian political thought? Give your arguments.
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
R1 moral concerns already present in Indian thought → Buddhism's shift = Dhamma over Danda as the test of power R2 Parekh's "rebel child of Hinduism" → breaks Brahmanical hierarchy while sharing Karma/rebirth → raises the ethical bar
Body flow
Agganna Sutta / Mahasammata → consent + function, not divine command → Four Noble Truths / Eightfold Path / Five Precepts → governance as means to reduce suffering → Dasa-rajadhamma / Dhammaraja → ruler as moral exemplar → Ghoshal vs Kautilya → supremacy of moral law over the state → ASoka → welfare, rajukas, tolerance, conquest by Dhamma
Counter-view
deepened, did not invent → shared Hindu premises → Kshatriya prominence retained → coercion + caste left intact → order depends ona virtuous ruler → Thapar: ideals hard to institutionalise
Conclusion routes
re claim holds → Buddhism placed the state under Dhamma → compassion / equality / welfare become the measure of power R2 “greater” = moral law made supreme over the state → authority as an instrument of emancipation, even if the ethic was deepened, not originated
Model answer
Handwritten, in the form it would be written in the examination hall.
