PYQ Vault · Paper 1 · Caste, Religion & Ethnicity
Religion is still an important factor in Indian politics. Discuss.
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
Rk! secularism adopted, communal electorates abolished → yet religion never left → Arts. 25-28 protect belief; faith still drives mobilisation, identity, voting R2 start from live flashpoints (Ram Mandir / CAA / NRC) → religion visibly active today → trace it back to its colonial embedding
Body flow
colonial inheritance → Bipan Chandra's three stages of communalism → divide-and-rule + separate electorates + Partition institutionalise it → contemporary majoritarian turn → Savarkar's Hindutva → ethnic- territorial nation, minorities outside the core → mobilisation through conflict → Brass: organised, managed violence → fear converted into vote polarisation → religion not only communal → Gandhi's ethical use → Bhargava’'s “principled distance” as the state's response
Counter-view
religion rarely acts alone — it competes and combines with caste, welfare, development
Conclusion routes
R1 remains important but not the sole driver → guard religious freedom without polarisation weakening citizenship R2 religion has moved from colonial communal representation → contemporary ideological nationalism → important, but works with governance and development
Model answer
Handwritten, in the form it would be written in the examination hall.
