DAILY ANSWER WRITING
SECURE SYNOPSIS: 05 OCTOBER
2019
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1.
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Festivals of India often are demonstrations of living
personification of environment. Do you agree? Discuss with suitable
examples.(250 words)
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ANS.
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Introduction:
The veneration of
nature is an age- old practice in India. Such age-old practices of veneration
of nature in India are based on the understanding that nature is the source
of our lives and our well-being. Indians have always believed in the concept
of ‘Nature as a nurturer’ and have acknowledged the sacredness of Earth and
other life forms around them. They were all considered sacred and worshipped
through number of festivals.
Body:
Following are few
festivals which are living embodiment of reverence towards environment.
·Worship of Nature:
o
The Banyan tree is
considered a sacred tree and is given a special mention in the ancient Hindu
scriptures.
o
Chhat puja is
celebrated in Bihar worshipping sun.
o
Rivers are considered
sacred since vedic period as it is around them civilizations grew. Ex:Pushkaram
festival dedicated to worshiping of rivers. Dip in rivers is believed to
erase all sins.
o
Practices like Vat
vriksha puja around Banyan tree, Tulsi puja have become very part of everyday
life.
o
Sacred groves are
venerated even today by many tribals and forest dwellers.
·Seasonal in nature
o
Most of the festivals
specific to the Hindus are seasonal in nature. They announce the go in season
and mark the harvesting seasons.
o
All the seasonal
festivals are celebrated during two harvesting seasons kharif ‘ August-October)
and rabi (March- April). Besides, spring season is another period of seasonal
festivities.
·Seasonal Festivals are
Agro-based
o
The base of all
seasonal festivals is ‘Agriculture.’ Festivals are observed because either
the new crop is sown or crop is harvested.
o
In Punjab, from Lohri
onwards peasants start cutting their winter crop. Pongal, Bihu and Onam
celebrations mark the harvesting of paddy crop.
o
On the day of Pongal
with the new crop Shankarai Pongal’ (rice cooked in milk and jaggery) is prepared
and distributed as Prasadam.’ Sugarcane, which is another crop harvested at
this time is also distributed as part of Trasadam.’
·Worship of Animals:
o
Since agriculture of
is the base of all these seasonal festivals, its closely related component is
cattle-worship.
o
Pongal in South or
Bihu in North-East, cattle are worshipped. The first day of Bohag Bihu
(mid-April) called Goru Bihus is in fact the day of cattle festival.
o
Third day of Pongal
called Mattu Pongal is dedicated to cattle (matu) worship. Their horns are
polished and flowers hung around their necks.
o
Celebration of Naga
Panchami, Hornbill festival, cows as kamadhenu have element of protecting
wildlife.
· Worship of Fire:
o
Fire worship is
another important feature of seasonal festivals. We get references of fire
worship as early as the Harappan period (at Kalibangan).
o
Magh Bihu (mid-
January) celebrations are centred around bhelaghars (specially constructed
structures of thatched grass and green bamboos): Men and women spend whole
night in these structures. Bonfire is arranged. In the morning these
bhelaghars are burnt as symbol of fire worship.
But sadly, people
nowadays celebrate such festivals in ways that defeat the whole purpose of
the worship of nature. Festivals mentioned above are fundamentally linked to
nature and carry the eternal message of protecting and respecting nature.
Irrespective of such strong links between nature and various traditions in
India, the awareness and enthusiasm amongst most Indians regarding the
importance of nature conservation is peculiarly low.
The need of the hour
is to raise awareness amongst people regarding the real significance of
India’s age-old traditions with regard to nature conservation. Interestingly
the general outlook of Indian people and their understanding of various
issues are deeply embedded in the cultural and religious context. And such a
disposition can be channelled to develop a strong connection with nature.
Conclusion:
Living in harmony with
Nature has been an integral part of Indian culture. Many Indian festivals
epitomize a deep connection between man, nature and society. If one
delves into the significance of the various indigenous festivals of India, it
quickly becomes apparent that most of these festivals are celebrations of
Mother Nature and her power as well as bountifulness.
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2.
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Discuss the contributions of Bhakti poets to the literature
of the times that not only led to development of Indian literature but also
contributed to social upliftment and transformation of the society.(250
words)
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Introduction:
Bhakti was accepted as
a means to attain moksha along with jnana and karma. The Bhakti Movement
originated in the seventh-century in Tamil, South India (now parts of Tamil
Nadu and Kerala), and spread northwards. It swept over east and north India
from the 15th century onwards, reached its peak between the 15th and 17th
century CE. The Bhakti Saints moved against the austerities propagated by the
Buddhist and Jain schools and professed that ultimate devotion to god was the
means to salvation.
Body:
Empowerment of lower
treads of Indian Society:
Impetus for growth of vernacular literature:
Conclusion:
Bhakti cult was
out-of-the-box thoughts on religion. It was mainly against the common
religious views, and most importantly, it was strongly against the caste
system.
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3.
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Indian federalism is a case sui generis”. Examine with
necessary justifications. (250 words)
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Introduction:
Federalism is a system
of government in which power is divided between a central authority and
constituent political units. The Constitution of India establishes a federal
structure to the Indian government, declaring it to be a “Union of States”.
Indian model of federalism is called quasi-federal system as it contains major features of both a
federation and union. It can be better phrased as ‘federation sui generis‘ or
federation of its own kind.
Body:
Uniqueness of principle of federalism in India:
Federal Features of the India Union:
Unitary Features of the Constitution:
The following four
characteristics highlighting the fact that the Indian Constitution is
not a “traditional federal Constitution”:
Challenges to Federalism in India:
Conclusion:
The Indian
Constitution is a constitution sui generis. On one hand, the constitution contains features
which are of high importance for a federal arrangement, at the same time it
contains provisions which fight for a strong Centre, thus making it
quasi-federal in nature. The fact to be appreciated here is that these dual
federalism provisions were deliberately incorporated to best fit a polyglot
country like India.
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4.
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India is witnessing a gender revolution in education,
but not in jobs. Critically analyse the statement listing out the causative
factors responsible for such a trend. (250 words)
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Introduction:
The recently
released periodic labour force survey (PLFS) data published by the NSSO shows that India’s female Labour Force Participation Rate
(LFPR)—the share of
working-age women who report either being employed, or being available for
work—has fallen to a historic low of 23.3% in 2017-18, meaning that over
three out of four women over the age of 15 in India are neither working nor
seeking work.
Body:
Status of women in education:
·
Female enrolment in
colleges is up from 47.6% in 2017-18 to 48.6% in 2018-19, the All India
Survey on Higher Education found.
·
In Uttar Pradesh,
there are 90,000 more women than men in higher education.
·
The surge of women and
girls in education is an ongoing trend that every year makes tiny, but
significant, gains.
·
In 2015, Mint did a
series of articles that documented how girls breached the gender gap in
primary and secondary school, with a gap of just 0.8% remaining at the class
10-12 level.
·
That generation of
girls is now headed to college. This is reflected in the growth of
universities from 903 in 2017-18 to 993 for 2018-19.
·
Perhaps the biggest
transformation has taken place in rural India where in 2016, 70% of
18-year-olds were already in college.
The success of this
often unsung revolution is partly to do with targeted government
interventions including scholarships, subsidies, and quotas for women. And
partly, it is due to aspiration and easier access to technology and information
in the post-liberalisation era.
Status of women in jobs:
·
A January 2019 study
by the Azim Premji University found that 96% of parents said education was as
important for girls as it is for boys, but only 52% saw it as a means to
employment for daughters, whereas for sons, it was 71%.
·
Without social support
structures for careers, education is in danger of becoming a goal in itself.
·
Female labour force
participation has plunged to 23.3% according to the 2018 Economic Survey.
·
More girls are
studying, but they are not necessarily landing more jobs.
·
Muslim women have the
lowest LFPR while among Hindu women, forward caste women have the lowest
LFPR, implying that social norms and religious conservatism might play a role
in women being “allowed” to work.
·
Rural women work
overwhelmingly in agriculture, which could offer a clue to understanding the
falling rates of rural workforce participation. It is likely that non-farm
jobs are rare, especially for women.
·
99% of (women workers
described as directors and chief executives) were self-employed, of which
around one-third worked as unpaid family workers
Factors responsible for such a fall in working rates of
women:
·
Maternity: Many women who
join the workforce are unable to re-join after having a child.
·
The landmark
legislation Maternity Benefit Act, 2017, which entitles a woman to 26 weeks
of paid maternity leave, is becoming a big hurdle as start-ups and SMEs have
become reluctant to hire them.
·
The increased cost for
companies and this may discourage them from hiring women.
·
The share of women
workers in the agriculture sector dropped from 42% in 2004 -05 to 35.5% in
2011-12. This decrease in FLPR in agriculture can be attributed to increased adoption of
technology in agriculture.
·
The gender pay gap was 34
per cent in India, that is, women get
34 per cent less compared to men for performing the same job with same qualifications.
·
In the organised
sector, women professionals even in the highest ranks of labour (legislators,
senior officials, and managers) are also paid less compared to their male
counterparts. However, these women constitute only one per cent of the total
female work force and the gap is lowest as they are aware of their rights.
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Concerns about safety and Harassment at work site, both explicit and implicit.
·
According to NSSO,
urban males accounted for 16% of India’s population, but held 77% of all jobs
in computer-related activities in 2011-12. This shows how gender has become a
discriminatory factor for certain white-collared jobs.
·
Higher Education levels of women also allow them to pursue leisure and other
non-work activities, all of which reduce female labour force participation.
·
Insufficient availability of the type of jobs that women say they would like to do, such
as regular part-time jobs that provide steady income and allow women to
reconcile household duties with work.
·
According to the
reports, about 74 per cent in rural areas and about 70 per cent in urban
areas preferred ‘part time’ work on a regular basis while 21 per cent in
rural areas and 25 per cent in urban areas wanted regular ‘full-time’ work.
·
Marriage is a career stopper for the majority of Indian women and this
cultural abhorrence towards women working is a not-so-subtle way of ensuring
that the escape routes out of a marriage are minimised, if not entirely
closed
·
Social norms about
household work are against women’s mobility and participation in paid
work. Childbirth and taking
care of elderly parents or in-laws account for the
subsequent points where women drop off the employment pipeline.
·
The cultural baggage about
women working outside the home is so strong
that in most traditional Indian families, quitting work is a necessary
precondition to the wedding itself.
·
When increases in family
incomes are there, due to the
cultural factors, women leave the work to take care of the family and avoid
the stigma of working outside.
Way forward:
·
Non-farm job creation for women: there is a need to generate education-based jobs
in rural areas in the
industrial and services sectors
·
The state governments should make policies for the
participation of rural women in permanent salaried jobs.
·
The governments should
also generate awareness to
espouse a positive attitude towards women among the public since it is one of the most
important impediments in women’s participation in economic activities.
·
Local bodies, with aid
from state governments, should open more crèches in towns and cities so that
women with children can step out and work. The crèches will open employment
opportunities for women.
·
Supply side reforms to improve infrastructure and address other
constraints to job creation could enable more women to enter the labour
force.
·
Higher social spending, including in education, can lead to higher
female labour force participation by boosting female stocks of human capital.
·
Skilling the women:
o
Initiatives such
as Skill India, Make in
India, and new gender-based quotas from corporate boards
to the police force can spur a
positive change. But we need to invest in skill training and job support.
o
The private sector
could also take active part in training women entrepreneurs. For example:
Unilever’s Shakti program, which has trained more than 70,000 rural women in
India as micro-entrepreneurs to sell personal-care products as a way of
making its brands available in rural India
·
Equal pay: The principle of
equal remuneration for work of equal value that is protected by Indian law
must be put to actual practice. Improved wage-transparency and gender neutral
job evaluation is required to achieve this end.
·
Assuring safe access to work: It is important to improve existing transport and
communication networks and provide safe accommodation for women who travel to
or has migrated for work.
·
A useful and easily
implementable idea would be to give income tax benefits to women. It would be a bold and effective step to
increasing India’s female workforce participation.
·
For political
empowerment of women, their representation in Parliament and in decision
making roles in public sphere is one of the
key indicators of empowerment.
·
Gig Economy provides women
flexible work options to pursue their career while not missing important
milestones in their family lives.
·
Drawing more women
into the labour force, supplemented by structural reforms that could help
create more jobs would be a source of future growth for India. Only then
would India be able to reap the benefits of “demographic dividend” from its
large and youthful labour force.
Conclusion:
With more than 75%
women not contributing to the economy, the nation is not only losing on the
economic part but also the development of 50% of our population. The numeric
consequences of reducing obstacles to women’s full economic participation far
exceed the demographic advantages of having a larger pool of young workers.
It is thus high time to talk of the gender dividend along with the
demographic dividend.
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5.
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In the rising threats of water scarcity, critically
analyse India’s relations on river water sharing with neighboring
countries.(250 words)
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Introduction:
According to a report
by NITI Aayog, titled ‘Water Quality Index’, India is currently ranked 120 among 122
countries. Water remains a politically contested issue in much of South Asia.
The region is facing water shortage and agrarian difficulties, and it will continue to face increasing demands on
energy and water with rapid industrialisation. Over-extraction of groundwater is of particular concern, with an estimated
23 million pumps in use across Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan.
Moreover, salinity and arsenic contamination affects over 60% of groundwater in the
Indo-Gangetic plain.
Body:
Water relations with neighbours:
·
India-China:
o
Both Brahmaputra and
the glaciers that feed Ganga originate in China. As an upstream riparian
region, China maintains an advantageous position and can build infrastructure
to intentionally prevent water from flowing downstream.
o
Owing to previous
tendencies where the Chinese have been reluctant to provide details of its
hydro-power projects, there is a trust deficit between the two neighbours.
o
China’s dam-building
and water division plans along the Brahmaputra is a source of tension between
the two neighbours, despite the two having signed several MoUs on
strengthening communication and strategic trust.
o
China has now plans to
build four more dams on the Brahmaputra in Tibet. Both India and Bangladesh
worry that these dams will give Beijing the ability to divert or store water
in times of political crisis.
·
India-Bangladesh:
o
Sharing the waters of
the Teesta river, which originates in the Himalayas and flows through Sikkim
and West Bengal to merge with the Brahmaputra in Assam, is perhaps the most
contentious issue between two friendly neighbours, India and Bangladesh.
o
The river covers
nearly the entire floodplains of Sikkim, while draining 2,800 sq km of
Bangladesh, governing the lives of hundreds of thousands of people.
o
For West Bengal,
Teesta is equally important, considered the lifeline of half-a-dozen
districts in North Bengal.
o
Bangladesh has sought
an “equitable” distribution of Teesta waters from India, on the lines of the
Ganga Water Treaty of 1996 (an agreement to share surface waters at the
Farakka Barrage near their mutual border), but to no avail.
o
In 2015, Prime
Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Dhaka has generated some expectations to
take forward the previous issues on fair and equitable water sharing
agreement.
o
But Teesta remains an
unfinished project, as in India individual states have significant influence
over transboundary agreements. This arrangement sometimes impedes the
policymaking process. For example, one of the key stakeholders of the Teesta
agreement, West Bengal is yet to endorse the deal.
·
India–Nepal:
o
Water cooperation
between Nepal and India have been agreements signed on major rivers like
Kosi, Gandaki, Karnali or Mahakali, essentially for large hydroelectric and
irrigation projects by building dams or barrages.
o
No project except the
Kosi barrage has been completed yet. Smaller rivers have also been ignored.
o
There have been
various disputes over this agreement fuelled by floods in the Kosi region.
o
India and Nepal have
also had disputes over the issue of compensation of the Kosi dam.
o
Moreover, Nepal had
considered India’s construction as an encroachment on Nepal’s territorial
sovereignty.
·
India–Pakistan:
o
Both India and
Pakistan since partition have experienced friction over various water
conflicts.
o
The countries early
leaders anticipated this fierce rivalry over the waters that connect their
volatile border.
o
As a result, after
numerous dialogues and through careful negotiations, both countries signed an
accord called the Indus Waters Treaty in 1960, which clearly determined how
the region’s rivers are to be divided.
o
In this treaty,
control over three eastern rivers of the Beas, Ravi and Sutlej was given to
India, while Pakistan got the control over western rivers of the Indus,
Chenab and Jhelum.
o
In 2005, Pakistan
challenged India’s 450 MW Baglihar dam project on the Chenab river before the
World Bank, but lost the case in the end.
o
In 2011, both
countries went head to head again at the International Court of Arbitration
(ICA) over India’s 330 MW project in Kishanganga project in Jammu and
Kashmir.
o
The latest dispute is
over hydroelectric projects that India is building along the Chenab River.
According to Pakistan, these projects violate the treaty and will impact its
water supply.
·
India–Bhutan:
o
India and Bhutan
hydro-electric power cooperation started more than five decades ago.
o
Initially, the
cooperation was based on the development of small-scale hydro projects such
as Tala, Chukha and Kurichu.
o
Bhutan has the
potential to generate 30,000 MW of hydro-power.
o
In 2006, both
countries inked a Power Purchase Agreement for thirty five years that would
allow India to generate and import 5000 MW of hydro-power from Bhutan, the
quantum of which increased to 10,000 MW in 2008.
o
On the other hand, the
people of Bhutan raised objections to such projects on their long run effects
in the country.
Way forward:
Near-term hydro
diplomacy in south Asia could start with less sensitive areas like
Conclusion:
Water politics has
far-reaching consequences for the prosperity and security of countries. While
this transboundary issue is integral to the national development policies of
these countries, it needs better analysis and understanding on the part of
the countries involved. The water disputes in South Asian subcontinent deal
with the complex orientation of the rivers of the region that cut across some
countries in the region complemented by a tense and uncompromising
geo-political situation amongst the fellow riparian countries brings out the
strategic role played by water in the region.
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6.
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Mahatma Gandhi fostered an attitude of encouraging
multiple religious attachments in his discourse; in this context discuss what
according to him constitutes practicing plurality? How can it be
fostered?(250 words)
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Introduction:
Gandhi’s conception of
religion is primarily concerned with spiritual development. It is
essential not only for the countries practicing religious pluralism but also
for the re-education of the human race. His idea on
religion and world endorses the view
of the political philosopher Thomas Paine
who considered the world as his
country, all mankind are his brethren
and to do good is his religion.
Body:
Gandhiji’s ideas of religious plurality:
·
For Mahatma Gandhi, in
the same way as for Ghaffar Khan and Maulana Azad, the real challenge was to
ensure that the secular public sphere could uphold the constitutional rights
for all religious minorities.
·
Through his “soft reading”
of the Hindu scriptures, as also the texts of Christianity and Islam, Gandhi
found a clarion call for active non-violence in all these religions.
·
As such, he thought
faith can only push a person, be that a Christian, a Jew or a Muslim, to
promote peace and non-violent social change.
·
For him, the basic
principles of religions were not just pious ideals, but actual laws of action
in the world.
·
He pointed out that
selfish priests, Brahmins, and mullahs had distorted the teaching of
Christianity and other religions, and misled the people.
·
All religions held
soul force to be superior to brute force… There is no room in religion for
anything other than compassion.
·
A man of religion will
not wish ill even to his enemy. Therefore, if people want to follow the path
of religion, they must do nothing but good.
·
Like Rabindranath
Tagore, Gandhi’s religion was not confined to temples, churches, books, and
other such outer forms. Gandhi was convinced that a mere doctrinaire approach
in the field of religion does not help to create inter-religious fellowship.
·
Dogmatic religions do
not help promote creative dialogue. Dogmas tend to directly or indirectly
breed an attitude of dislike towards other religions.
·
Mahatma Gandhi’s
mission was to find a common ground based on non-violence among religions.
·
Disheartened by the
“us-and-them” divisions and mutual disregard between the Muslims and the
Hindus, Gandhi engaged in an open dialogue with Islam and the Muslims.
·
He never accepted the
argument that Hindus and Muslims constituted two separate elements in Indian
society.
·
In Gandhian
conception, oneness is attained by accepting all radical others as equally
significant because they variously manifest one Supreme Being.
·
Thus, to tolerate is
to refrain from interfering in the life of others not despite our hatred for
them, but because we love them as alternative manifestations of our own
selves or because we deeply care for some basic norm common to all of us.
Conclusion:
Gandhi’s religious
vision encouraged multiple attachments, multiple belongings, and multiple
religious identities. It’s time to challenge the idea of religion as a
monolith and follow Gandhi who encouraged multiple religious attachments
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