UPSC Mains 2021 GS Paper 1 with Solutions | UPSC Previous Year Question Papers and Video Analysis PDF Download

Q .1. Evaluate the nature of the Bhakti Literature and its contribution to Indian culture. (150 words)   10 Marks

The Bhakti Literature can be traced back to both the Brahmanical and Buddhist traditions, as well as to the the ancient literature like Vedas, Upanishads and Gita. It is present in India long before the growth and arrival of Sufism in India. However, it was for the first time in South India between the 6th and the 10th century that Bhakti emerged from a religious doctrine into a popular movement based on equality.

Nature of the Bhakti Literature

• Egalitarian approach: It disregarded caste and gender, and carried their message of love and personal devotion to God to various parts of India.
• The bhakti literature is devotional and religious. eg. Kirtanas, Dohe, Padas, Ghosha, Thirumurais  etc.
• Emphasis on local and regional languages: Bhakti saints wrote and preached in vernacular languages. eg. Alvars and Nayanars used local Tamil language instead of Sanskrit. Surdasa preferred Brijbhasha. Due to this factor, they got acceptance by people easily.
• Reduced evils in society: The Bhakti literature began to be composed in the sixth century AD in south India by the Tamil poet-saints. Many social abnormalities existed in the society, e.g. caste rigidity, irrelevant rituals and religious practices, blind faiths, and social dogmas. The bhakti literature preached against all such evils.
• Simple approach to religion: The sophisticated philosophy of Vedas and Upnishadas literature was very difficult for ordinary people to understand. People were looking for a simple form of worship, religious activities, and social norms. Bhakti literature was an alternative—a basic form of devotion that provided salvation from the material life.
• Secular, non-sectarian and tolerant: Although, the bhakti literature was of bhakti literature propagated by Hindu saints, it was tolerant to other religions. Secularism is visible in it.
• It saw religion as a loving tie based on love between the worshipped and the worshipper, rather than a cold formal worship.

 Contribution of the Bhakti Literature to Indian culture

• The Bhakti literature spread easily among masses and influenced local culture. It led to disgorgement of immoral acts such as infanticide and sati, as well as the prohibition of wine, tobacco etc.
• Another notable influence was the creation of solidarity between the Hindu and Muslim communities. The secular character of bhakti literature, along with the sufi literature reduced the religious conflicts.
• The movement attempted to bridge the gap between the two by reducing the growing bitterness between them. The Sufi saints and Bhakti saints transmit a message of friendliness, amity, tolerance, peace, and equality to all.
• The bhakti literature promoted diversity of religious ideas in religion.
• It played a crucial role in the emergence of modern poetry in India.
• It contributed in growth of dance and music. Bhakti literature was used for devotional singing and devotional dances, like Kirtanas and Sattariya.

Contribution of the Bhakti Literature to South Indian Culture

• Contribution of Alvars:
  • They promoted Vaishnavism in South India through devotional poetry. eg. Divya Prabandha.
  • Tiruvaymoli by Nammalvar is a high regard book.
  • Andal was the sole female among the Alvars. Her Tiruppavai poems are recognised for the emotional ardour and simplicity. She has a cult following till today.
• Contribution of Nayanars: They promoted Shaivism  in South India. Thirumurai is a collection of their religious poetry, which is also known as the Tamil Veda. Its first seven books Thevaram, are widely accepted as a sacred literature today.
• In the south, the Bhakti movement aided the establishment of regional languages such as Telugu and Kannada.
  • Nannaya translated Mahabharata into Telugu in the 11th century AD. This is considered as the start of Telugu literary culture.
  • The popularity of Telugu grew due to the kirtans of the Vaishanava poet-saint Annamacharya.
  • Vallabhacharya’s writings have enhanced Telugu literature. eg. Bhagvata Tika and Subodhami.
  • The Kannada trinity of Pampa, Ponna, and Ranna had contributed to the language’s progress.
  • The Virashaiva sect gained popularity Under Basavesvara in the 12th century AD. He promoted the use of Kannada as a medium of instruction. His contemporaries, Allama Prabhu and Akkamahadevi, produced a new kind of literary creation – the Vachanas.

Contribution of the Bhakti Literature to North Indian Culture

• Ramananda popularised Bhakti in the 12th century AD. As a result, literary works in Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Bengali, Punjabi etc. become popular.
• Tulsidas wrote in Avadhi, which marked a departure from the Sanskrit tradition.
  • He made spiritual literature easily accessible to the common man. eg. Ramcharitmanas and Hanuman Chalisa.
• Kabir did not follow the stringent rules of grammar. His Dohe are used to spread his philosophy. Many of his verses are found in the Guru Granth Sahib also. He promoted secularism. He is respected by Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs in northern India, wrote in local dialects.
• Mirabai was a prominent female saint. Her songs represent passion, sexuality, and utter submission to her master Lord Krishna.
• Surdas wrote in Braj Basha. This Hindi dialect was later elevated to the rank of a literary language.
• The Gita Govinda by Jayadeva paved the way for the development of Bengali literature. It is regarded as the Bhakti period’s most Sanskrit poetic composition.
• Bengali poets Chaitanya and Chandidasa created Vaishnava literature. These poetries combines sexuality with spiritual zeal.
• Shankaradeva and Madhavadeva promoted Vaishnavism in Assam.
  • Kirtana-ghosa is the collection of their devotional songs.
• Bhattadeva enriched the Assamese prose by translating the Bhagavadgita into Assamese.
• Narasimha Mehta, Bhalana, and Akho contributed for the growth of Gujarati literature and Vaishnava Bhakti. Narasi Mehta is known as the Father of Gujarati Poetry.
• Bhakti literature contributed in the growth of Marathi. eg. by Namdev and Tukaram’s writings.
• The Dnyaneshwari or Bhavartha Deepika and Amrutanubhava by Saint Dnyaneshwar are venerated as sacred scriptures in Marathi. Dnyaneshwari is a commentary on the Bhagavad Gita.
• The Sufi movement’s mysticism and the bhakti movement’s spirituality influenced the development of Punjabi literature.
  • Guru Nanak Dev’s work belongs to the Nirguna school of philosophy in high respect.
  • Guru Arjan Dev composed the Sikhs’ holy scripture Adi Granth. His Sukhamani is widely regarded as one of the greatest mystic books of mediaeval times.

Evaluation and Conclusion

• Although the bhakti literature did not depart from the orthodoxy, and it failed to create the political awakening, it made a wider appeal to the common people. The popularisation of the Bhakti cult was aided by Bhakti literature.
• It made a critical departure from the previous devotional writings, which were largely written in Sanskrit and concentrated on ceremonies and rituals. It also contributed to the growth of regional languages.

Q.2. Trace the rise and growth of socio-religious reform movements with special reference to Young Bengal and Brahmo Samaj. (150 words) 10 Marks

The socio-religious reform movements arose among all Indian communities during the 19th century. They challenged the British supremacy and the power of the priestly class. They campaigned for the abolition of castes and untouchability, purdah system, sati, child marriage, social inequalities, and illiteracy.

Young Bengal and Brahmo Samaj represent two important points of these reformist movements.

The rise and growth of socio-religious movements can be traced to these reasons:

• The British invasion of India in the 18th and 19th centuries uncovered severe flaws in Indian social systems. The responses were varied, but the necessity to improve social and religious life was a widely held belief.
• It also introduced entirely new sets of concepts and a social realm. The exposure to post-Enlightenment rationalism, which came to represent modernity, influenced the attitude of a small set of Indians.
• The advent of western education and ideas has far-reaching consequences on Indian society. A small number of people began to investigate the nature of their own civilization through the lenses of usefulness, reason, justice, and progress. The public’s opinion gradually emerged.
• The arguments between Orientalists, experts of Eastern countries such as India on one side, and Utilitarian’s, Liberals, and Missionaries on the other, facilitated the spread of ideas, at least among the upper classes. The resulting cultural shift prompted reflection on Indian customs, institutions, and culture.
• Role of the educated elite class: They provided the backbone of religious reform movements. E.g., Raja Ram Mohan Roy.
• Rising tide of nationalism and democracy during the late 19th century also influenced Indian renaissance movement.

Contribution of Young Bengal Movement

Derozio motivated his students to think freely and rationally by drawing inspiration from the French Revolution. Below was the ideology of the movement.

• All authority should be questioned.
• Decadent practises and traditions must be avoided.
• Women’s rights and education were also promoted by the movement.
• Combating societal ills such as child marriage, child labour, sati etc. were the main objectives of the movement
• Disseminated principles from the French Revolution such as liberty, fraternity, and equality.
• They aimed to foster value-based and logical thinking rather than rote learning through scientific information.

Contribution of Brahmo Samaj

• Condemn polytheism and idolatry.
• Faith in divine avatars was abandoned.
• It rejected the idea that any text could have ultimate power over human reason and conscience.
• The caste system was criticised.
• On the doctrines of karma and soul transmigration, Brahmo Samaj took no firm stance.
• The Samaj maintained its focus on human dignity, resistance to idolatry, and condemnation of societal ills such as Sati.
• The Samaj advocated for widow remarriage, women’s education, the eradication of polygamy, and the improvement of ryots’ living conditions.

Conclusion

The reform movements of the 19th and 20th centuries made significant contributions to the development of contemporary India. They represented societal democratisation, the abolition of superstition and heinous habits, the spread of enlightenment, and the development of a reasonable and modern worldview.

Q.3. Assess the main administrative issues and socio-cultural problems in the integration process of Indian Princely States. (150 words)   10 Marks

While the British were departing India after nearly 200 years of rule, Indian authorities faced a difficult task: uniting and integrating a major portion of the country into a single political unit. When dealing with princely states, this was a huge issue. Despite the fact that the British ruled a large portion of British India directly, there were several princely states that were ruled indirectly by the British. After India and Pakistan were partitioned, there were still over 500 tiny princely states in India that were not part of the two countries.

The problem in front of Indian leaders was twofold.

• Of transforming the states into viable administrative units;
• Of absorbing them into the constitutional units.

Challenges with Princely states were:

• During India’s declaration of independence, Britain stated that princely states could either join India or Pakistan, or they could remain independent.
• This clause caused a lot of uncertainty.
• The rulers of princely states were unable to contemplate relinquishing their power under the Indian Constituent Assembly.
• For a variety of reasons, these governments used varied administrative techniques; some were aristocratic, others had substantial contrasts between them, and people with different beliefs, attitudes, and cultures, to name a few.
• Following the end of British supremacy, princely kingdoms began to want independence.
• It was thought that after the British left, the situation in the Princely states would devolve into lawlessness and disorder, and that having ties to a power centre would help to manage the situation.
• The emergence of hundreds of separate states will render India’s freedom effort worthless.
• As a result, princely state merger became a top priority for Indian authorities.
• By August 15, 1947, rulers of all 652 states had signed the Instrument of Accession, with the exception of Junagarh, Kashmir, and Hyderabad.
• The Nawab of Junagadh wanted to join Pakistan, but his people preferred Indian sovereignty.
• Hyderabad aspired to be a sovereign state.
• Kashmir was ruled by a Hindu ruler and had a Muslim majority. The prince envisioned the state as an autonomous entity, and he was hesitant to join either India or Pakistan.
• The integration process was hampered by three significant issues: first, their aspiration for independence, second, their desire to integrate with Pakistan, and third, the difficulties of administrative integration following political integration.
• Pakistan was also influencing these states’ decisions by providing them financial and political incentives if they acceded to Pakistan. For Indian leaders, this was a major headache.

The following are the steps taken to overcome these obstacles:

• Viceroy Lord Mountbatten and Congress leaders began negotiations with the rulers to guarantee that princely states did not succeed in their drive for independence.
• Sardar Patel, the principal architect of India’s creation, appealed to monarchs’ patriotic feelings to join the Indian dominion in terms of defence, communication, and foreign affairs.
• The rulers consented to transfer control of Defense, External Affairs, and Communication under the terms of an Instrument of Accession (IoA).
• Various states have joined the Indian Union, but others were still on the verge of leaving.
• In the event that the Hyderabad force was employed, a plebiscite was held in Junagadh, and the Maharaja of J&K signed an IoA after Pakistan threatened to attack.
• The act of joining did not imply integration. Following the British exit, princely states formed the States Peoples Congress, which demanded full democratic representation.
• Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel took use of the chance to negotiate for full integration into India, promising the monarchs tax-free privy purses, the right to keep their titles, property, and palaces in exchange.
• Part A-Chhattisgarh, Gujarat-incorporating minor states into contiguous provinces.
• At the same time, other states, such as Himachal Pradesh and Manipur, will be administered centrally for strategic or exceptional reasons mentioned in Part C.
• After two years of independence, the country was fully integrated. Apart from the diplomatic manoeuvrings of Congress leaders, the integration process was propelled by popular outcry and demands.

Conclusion

Overall, India was able to incorporate all of the princely kingdoms in its territory within a few years of independence through smart diplomacy, persuasion, and the timely use of force. India was able to apply better methods for better integration of states through democratic centralised credentials of Indian state, resulting in a strong sense of togetherness among diverse states after all these years after independence.

Q.4. Differentiate the causes of landslides in the Himalayan region and Western Ghats. (150 words)   10 Marks

Landslides are the mass movement of soil, rocks or debris from a mountain slope under the influence of gravity. Landslides are caused by geology, morphology and human activity.

The causes of landslides in the Himalayan region and Western Ghats can be discussed as:

• Plate Tectonics: Himalayan region is tectonically active as the Indian Plate is moving towards the north at the rate of 5 cm/year. This movement leads to collision of the Indian Plate with the Eurasian Plate, that causes frequent tremor and isostatic imbalances. But the Western Ghats are tectonically more stable as compared to the Himalaya.
• Exogenetic forces: The Himalayan region is the source of many rapid flowing rivers such as the Ganges, the Indus, the Brahmaputra etc. These running rivers cause a large scale erosion of mountainous region  which also a cause of landslide. In the Western Ghats, perennial rivers are rare.
• Rock structure: The  Himalayan region  is composed of a sedimentary rocks which are more prone to denudation and erosion as compared to the other rocks. While, the major part of Western Ghats is composed of a basalt rocks which shows great resistance to erosion and denudation.
• Human interference: The development activities such as construction of roadways and railways, haphazard urbanization ignoring the slope aspects of the landscape etc aggravated the occurrence of landslide. As the Western Ghats is notified as Biodiversity Hotspot, the human interference is less as compared to the Himalayan region and less prone to landslides.

Q.5. Despite India being one of the countries of the Gondwanaland, its mining industry contributes much less to its Gross Domestic Product(GDP) in percentage. Discuss.  (150 words)   10 Marks

The mining sector’s contribution to the country's GDP is 2.3-2.5 % at present. Mineral production in India grew at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.72% between 2013-14 and 2017-18 and India  is the 3rd largest steel producer, with a production of 101.4 million tonnes of crude steel in 2017.

Issues with mining industry:

The mining sector is encountering issues such as depleted output, squeezed margins, high taxation, lack of green clearances, and poor investment in fresh exploration. The sector is also facing with other issues such as delays in operationalizing mines.

• Loss of Public Revenue: Driven by lobbying, political donations, and corruption, minerals are frequently sold at prices significantly lower than the actual worth price. Illegal mining has a similar effect while additionally causing loss of public revenues. According to the International Monetary Fund, due to unsustainable mining, many governments of resource-rich nations face declining public sector net worth.
• Large Number of Small Mines: In India, many small mines operate in most states. These present difficult challenges for sustainable development as their financial, technical, and managerial limitations restrict their ability to take adequate corrective measures.
• Growing Inequality & Loss of Natural Wealth: Naturally, the extractors are keen to extract as quickly as possible and move on which deepens inequalities, as a few extractors acquire wealth without proper redistribution to the people. It also results in the loss of natural wealth. For example, it is estimated from the annual reports of Vedanta that over eight years (2004-2012), the State of Goa lost more than 95% of the value of its minerals.

It is necessary to widen the exploration basket through increased reconnaissance and prospecting operations and requires an infusion of funds to achieve this. Thriving competitiveness and growth in the Indian mining sector is an imperative for the survival and success of not only this industry but the economy as a whole.

Q.6. What are the environmental implications of the reclamation of the water bodies into urban land use? Explain with examples. (150 words)   10 Marks

Lakes and wetlands are  important waterbodies of urban ecosystem which perform significant environmental, social and economic functions — from being a source of drinking water and recharging groundwater to supporting biodiversity and providing livelihoods.

Their role becomes even more crucial in the present context, when cities are facing the challenge of rapid unplanned urbanisation.

The reclamation of waterbodies and its environmental implications :

• Numbers of waterbodies declining rapidly:  Bangalore had 262 lakes in the 1960s; now only 10 of them hold water. At least 137 lakes were listed in Ahmedabad in 2001; construction work started on 65 of them. Hyderabad has lost 3,245 hectares of its wetlands.
• Concretisation has been a major problem in several cities and towns, according to The National Disaster Management Guidelines: Management of Urban Flooding report, published by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) in 2010.  31 per cent of the country was urbanised in 2011. Natural streams and watercourses, formed over thousands of years due to the forces of flowing water in the respective watersheds, have been altered because of urbanisation.
• there have been large scale encroachments on the natural drains and the river flood plains. Consequently, the capacity of natural drains has decreased, resulting in flooding.Urban water bodies have been a victim of unplanned urbanisation in India, because of which they face several threats such as encroachment, disposal of sewage, groundwater decline leading to fall in the level of water, unplanned tourism and absence of administrative framework
• Pollution: There has been an explosive increase in the urban population without corresponding expansion of civic facilities such as infrastructure for the disposal of waste.
• The water bodies have been turned into landfills in several cases. Guwahati’s Deepor beel, for example, is used by the municipal corporation to dump solid waste since 2006. Even the Pallikarni marshland in Chennai is used for solid waste dumping.
• Adding to the sorry state of urban water bodies is the misuse by local communities for their cultural or religious festivals such the immersion of idols. Heavy metal concentration can be found in lakes in Nagpur and Bhopal and the Hussainsagar Lake in Hyderabad after idol immersion every year.
• Encroachment: This is another major threat to urban water bodies. As more people have been migrating to cities, availability of land has been getting scarce. Today, even a small piece of land in urban areas has a high economic value. These urban water bodies are not only acknowledged for their ecosystem services, but for their real estate value was well. Charkop Lake in Maharashtra, Ousteri Lake in Puducherry, Deepor beel in Guwahati are well-known examples of water bodies that were encroached.
• The size of this city wetland has been decreasing rapidly. Once a bird sanctuary, it is now the dumping yard of the city: Dumping of solid waste, sewage discharge and construction of railway stations and roads have shrunk this wetland.
• Illegal mining activities: Illegal mining for building material such as sand and quartzite on the catchment and bed of the lake have extremely damaging impact on the water body. For example, the Jaisamand Lake in Jodhpur, once the only source of drinking water for the city, has been suffering from illegal mining in the catchment area for the last 20 years despite a court order to stop mining in 1999.Badkhal Lake in Faridabad has dried up in the same way. Unmindful sand mining from the catchment of Vembanad Lake on the outskirts of Kochi has decreased the water level in the lake.
• Unplanned tourism activities: Using water bodies to attract tourists has become a threat to several urban lakes in India. Tso Morari and Pongsho lakes in Ladakh have become polluted because of unplanned and unregulated tourism. Another example is that of Ashtamudi Lake in Kerala’s Kollam city, which has become polluted due to spillage of oil from motor boats.

Q.7. Mention the global occurrence of volcanic eruptions in 2021 and their impact on regional environment. (150 words)  10 Marks

Overall, 46 volcanoes were in continuing eruption status as of 9 December 2021. An eruption marked as “continuing” does not always mean persistent daily activity, but indicates at least intermittent eruptive events without a break of 3 months or more.

Some of the volcanonic eruptions in 2021 are:
Kilauea, United States; La Palma, Spain; Ulawun, Papua New Guinea; Krakatau, Indonesia, Merapi, Indonesia, Semeru, Indonesia; Etna, Italy; Bezymianny, Russia; Reventador, Ecuador; Ibu, Indonesia; Stromboli, Italy.

Volcanic eruptions have directly and indirectly benefited environment:

• Volcanic materials  break down and weather to form the most fertile soils on Earth.
• The internal heat associated with young volcanic systems has produce geothermal energy.
• Metallic minerals mined in the world–such as copper, gold, silver, lead, and zinc–are associated with magmas found deep within the roots of extinct volcanoes.

Q.8. Why is India considered as a sub-continent? Elaborate your answer. (150 words)   10 Marks

The Indian plate is a separate tectonic plate that covers the majority of the subcontinental Indian land area. This Indian plate is found in the northern part of the Indo-Australian plate. This is considered to be due to the current isolation from other regions and separation from other parts of Asia due to mountain barriers. The Indian tectonic plate was fused with the Eurasian plate before being divided into a small continent.

India’s subcontinent is a huge, relatively self-contained landmass that forms a subdivision of the continent. This is a vast landmass, similar to Greenland, but smaller than most of the known continents. A globe is a huge landmass, but a subcontinent is a smaller chunk of a continent. For example, Asia is a continent, whereas India is a subcontinent inside Asia.

India a Subcontinent

• Because India is a separate landmass and not just a country, it is sometimes referred to as a subcontinent. It is not as huge as a continent, but it possesses some of the characteristics of one, thus it is not classified as such.
• Geologically, earlier India was a continent, that rifted from the supercontinent Gondwana during the Cretaceous and merged with the Eurasian landmass 55 million years ago.
• Geographically, it is the peninsular region in South-Central Asia.
• It covers 2.4% of the earth’s total land area. It has a long land frontier of about 15,200 km and coastline of about 7516.6 km.
• It’s natural frontiers like the Himalaya’s in the North and the Deccan Peninsula in the South give it a unique political identity.
• From a political perspective, the Indian subcontinent consists of at least 7 countries : India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives.
• The people of the Indian subcontinent have shared ethnic, linguistic, cultural and historical connections.

In this sense, India, together with other countries such as Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, and a number of other small countries and islands, is the world’s largest landmass. As a result, it is known as the Indian subcontinent.

Q.9. Examine the uniqueness of tribal knowledge system when compared with mainstream knowledge and cultural systems. (150 words)   10 Marks

Indigenous peoples around the world have preserved distinctive understandings there cultural experience, that helps them in guiding the relations among human, non-human, and other-than human beings in specific ecosystems. These understandings are called as the traditional knowledge or aboriginal knowledge.

They call for reliance upon local resources and carefully interacts between living beings and natural processes within an ecosystem in order to ensure human survival.

They are essentially the Knowledge Keepers as the traditional understandings is shared by all members of a tribal community, ethnic group, kin network, or family. They specializes as the preserver of  information are notably called as the  gatekeepers as the tribal leaders, ritual Practitioners, medicine people.

They also help in maintaining unique floral and faunal communities through measured harvests and ritual activities .

Indigenous groups also pave for much attention to the local spirits and also preserve the environment through the sacred groves.

They have a religious tenets of ecological awareness and sacred ecology through  instructive narratives and dynamic interactions with local environments, intended to ensure long-term survival. It is often regarded that the Human health is a natural by-product of environmental health.

Traditional ecological knowledge provides for practical measures that are intended to preserve cultural heritage and protect ancestral landscapes and lifeways.

Oral traditions also passes on to the traditional scope of knowledge that can teach, carry, and reinforce other knowledge as the tribal tends to live in the corpus of the whole society and assures of the community involvement.

It interlinks the past, present, and future generations. It has to variably maintained that the sound interaction that they have with nature is crucial. They have the remarkable sex ratio and almost nil rape cases in there society.  Lack is in the assimilation of their knowledge system with the mainstream.

Thus the government must make sure that the economic standards of the populace are improved along with the increasing participation of them in the political arena despite of the government measures in the TRIFED, RERA and the Forest Rights Act need is the implementation of these measures.

Q.10. Examine the role of ‘Gig Economy’ in the process of empowerment of women in India. (150 words)   10 Marks

A gig economy is a free market system in which temporary positions are common and organizations hire independent workers for short-term commitments.   

Gig economy can help in process of empowerment of women in India in following ways:   

1. Gig employment allows part-time work and flexible working hours which allows women to balance their traditional roles (homemakers and care giver) with employment.   
2. Gig employment complemented by work-from-home (WFH) and technology has addressed the issue of safety during travel and night shifts. Also, new employment opportunities for women in tier 2 and 3 cities have emerged.   
3. It provides women with on-demand work allowing her join and drop-out of work force as per her own will.  
4. Gig employment helps women earn extra income, boosted her confidence and gives decision making power all of which are important component of women empowerment.  

However, gig economy comes with its own set of constraints such as:    

• Gig economy works purely on market principle of demand and supply. It views humans just as another resource. Easily replaceable low skill gig laborers are exploited by employers. There is also lack of certainty regarding availability of work and stability of career.   
• Lack of benefits: Flexi-workers usually are not entitled to minimum wages, insurances, PF, retirement plans, paid leave, maternity benefits, etc.   
• Pay difference: Permanent employees have a grade-pay plus benefits like travel allowance, etc. Gig workers are paid strictly as per the amount of work.   
• Restricted growth: Low skill gig workers cannot move-up the organizational hierarchy and not considered for promotions.   

In short term, gig economy can be a step towards increasing female labour force participation and women empowerment. But, in long run, predictable and formal employment with opportunities of upskilling is required. 

Q.11. To what extent did the role of the moderates prepare a base for the wider freedom movement? Comment. (250 words)   15 Marks

The moderate period, which lasted from 1885 to 1905, was crucial in the promotion of moderate nationalism in India. They took a variety of public issues and demands and set the ground for the next phase of the national movement.

Moderates’ methods for spreading their views include:

1. Prayer, petition, persuasion, and philanthropy.
2. Their demands, like their agitation, were constitutional.
3. Their tactics were dubbed “Passive Resistance.” Their method of operation was based on boycott.

The moderates prepared a base for the wider freedom movement in following ways:

1. Critique of British dominance from an economic standpoint:
   The moderate phase leaders revealed the truth about British colonialism’s harmful effects on India’s economy. In his book Poverty and UnBritish Rule in India, Dadabhai Naoroji proposed the drain theory to explain India’s economic exploitation. According to the theory, the British exported a portion of India’s wealth to Britain for which India received no advantage. The wealth of India was exported to Britain in the form of wages and pensions paid to British officials, interest paid on British loans, and payments for services like as shipping and banking.
2. Demand for economic reforms:
   • Reduce land revenue and protect peasants from zamindars’ illicit revenue collecting.
   • To cut down on military spending.
   • Increase the amount of money allocated to activities like health and education.
   • To get rid of the salt tax.
   • To enhance plantation labourers’ working conditions.
   • With the support of agricultural banks, give lower-cost credit to peasants.
   • They asked that Indian industry be developed and protected by increasing tariffs on imports and government assistance.
3. Demands for constitutional reforms and propaganda in the legislative councils:
   • Increase the number of Indians in the councils.
   • They requested more control over financial problems such as the budget.
   • The long-term goal was to achieve self-government.
4. Demand for administrative reforms:
   • There is a push to increase the number of Indians in government jobs. They said that because British bureaucrats and officers are paid well, an increase in the number of Indians would lessen the government’s financial burden. Second, Indianization of government services would lessen the wealth drain caused by British officials’ wages and pensions being sent back to the UK. Finally, they chastised the British for discriminating against Indians by excluding them from key administration positions.
   • They urged that Indian civil service examinations be held simultaneously in India and England. This was done in order to enhance Indian participation in government services.
   • They demanded the separation of the Executive and Judiciary to prevent arbitrary police and bureaucratic operations. They also chastised the bureaucracy for being repressive and authoritarian, as well as the judiciary for being expensive and time-consuming.
   • They requested that several unjust laws, such as the Arms Act and the License Act, be repealed.
   • They requested that municipal and local governments be reformed to give them more power and resources. This was done to improve the administration’s overall welfare and administrative efficiency.
5. Demands for protection of civil rights in India:

   • The British government in India had an authoritarian character and more than often it tried to curtail the Civil rights of Indians through draconian laws. The moderates demanded protection of rights like right to free speech and liberty, right to association, freedom for free press etc. They demanded for the removal of Preventive Detention Acts, which was arbitrarily used by the British. Leaders like Bal Gangadhar Tilak and several journalists were arrested on sedition charges for making provocative statements. This led to increase in the protests due to increased awareness among the masses.

Criticism of moderates
The moderate phase leaders were criticized for the methods they used i.e. 3 P’s -prayers, petitions and protests. These methods were criticized as being inadequate for challenging the British might in India. Further the lack of participation of masses in the movement has been criticized as the major drawback as the leaders were mainly educated middle class professionals like lawyers, teachers, journalist and civil servants etc. The masses mainly played a passive role during the moderate phase of national movement.

Conclusion

Although, the moderates failed to appeal the wider population and to convince the government, they laid a crucial foundation base, on which the future of the freedom struggle was based. Extremists, Gandhi Ji , and other freedom fighters used this base to finally achieve the independence in 1947.

Q.12. Bring out the constructive programmes of Mahatma Gandhi during Non-Cooperation Movement and Civil Disobedience Movement. (250 words)   15 Marks

The constructive programme was the product of Gandhi’s vision of a non-violent society. It grew out of the knowledge he had grasped of the naked reality of our country at that time through his intense travels throughout the nation. These programmes were not a passing thought but a creation of well-planned and thoughtful strategy of his mind. It was Gandhi’s firm conviction that self-reliant villages form a sound basis for a just, equitable and non-violent social order, which can be a guiding principle for all citizens, constructive workers and policy makers in India.

In 1920 Gandhi launched the constructive programmes through the Congress. Gandhi aimed at re-generating a new society on a non-violent basis by empowering the masses through training and discipline in constructive programmes, and to achieve the same, he laid increasing stress on the necessity of working on this programme by any Satyagrahi. He said, “Civil disobedience is not absolutely necessary to win freedom through purely non-violent effort, if the cooperation of the whole nation is secured in the constructive programme.”

Gandhi did not follow a particular pattern in giving the programmes but he placed the issues according to their necessity. Through these programmes, he tried to touch many spheres of life, and many of them encompass more than one field of life, i.e. economic, political and social. We now discuss the agenda and aspects of the main programmes here.

Components of Gandhi’s constructive programme during Non-cooperation and Civil Disobedience movements:

Communal unity:
According to Gandhi, communal unity does not merely mean political unity but should be an unbreakable unity of hearts, and can be achieved only by living like people and living with them as they live. This was what Gandhi did and achieved. That is why he wanted every Congress man to be one with the people and to represent in his own person every Hindu and non-Hindu to achieve such a unity. He wanted them to cultivate personal contacts and friendship with people of different faith other than his own, and to have the same respect for their faith as for his own.

Removal of Untouchability:
Gandhi held that untouchability was a blot and curse upon Hinduism. It was an age-old social evil which had to be removed to establish social equality in the society. Gandhi endeavoured to abolish this evil. He started the ‘Harijan’ newspaper to explain his ideas to people and he travelled throughout the country to raise funds for Harijans. He also accommodated a Harijan family in his Kochrab ashram, thereby courting discontent of ashramites and an economic boycott from the rich.

Promotion of Khadi:
Gandhi presented Khadi as a symbol of nationalism, economic freedom, equality and selfreliance. It was his belief that reconstruction of the society and effective Satyagraha against the foreign rule can be possible only through Khadi. Khadi is the core of the constructive activities as recommended by him. He called Khadi the sun of the solar system of the village economy. According to him there could be no Swaraj without universal and voluntary acceptance of Khadi. In his scheme of reconstruction for free India, villages should no longer depend on cities. In the task of village upliftment, he gave first priority to khadi and other village industries. India being a country of agriculture, the farmers spend half the year without work in idleness. So Gandhi thought spinning was the best option for them as productive activity.

Prohibition:
In Gandhi’s scheme of constructive programme, prohibition was a vital social and moral reform. Gandhi attached much importance to this because the people in villages and cities would be incapable of moral effort which was necessary for Satyagraha unless they were free from the grip of intoxicants. He also felt that women and students had a special opportunity to advance this reform. By acts of loving service they could acquire on addicts a hold which would compel them to listen to the appeal to give up the evil habit.

Village industry:

For Gandhi, Khadi is the sun of the village solar system and other village industries are the planets. Khadi takes the Central place in the upliftment of village economy. Without khadi, the other industries cannot grow. Similarly, without the revival of other essential industries khadi cannot make satisfactory progress. In order to make the villages selfreliant, the development of both the industries is essential as they are inter-dependent. Village economy remains incomplete without the revival and growth of other cottage industries such as hand-grinding, hand pounding, paper, soap etc. The development of such industries will make the villages self-sustained units and will end the exploitation of the villages by the cities.

Basic education:
Gandhi was clear that the education of citizens is a backbone of any society. So he envisaged a new educational system for non-violent society of his dream and experimented it for many years. Basic Education should be connected with life and should lead to the development of mind, body and soul. It was Gandhi’s unflinching faith that there are abundant power and potentiality in children. The nature and surroundings of society in which the children are born and brought up can itself be very educative for their life and development. They can learn many things by dealing with practical work and by direct experiences

Upliftement of Women:
In his mission of Swaraj, Gandhi needed the cooperation of women, kisans, labourers and students. So, he had planned to work amongst them through constructive programme, which was a concrete plan to generate awareness in them and get their support in the freedom struggle. He believed that the movement cannot succeed without the active participation of women.

Economic equality:
Gandhi holds that economic equality is the master key and the only solution to non-violent independence. So long as there is a gulf between the rich and the poor the construction of non-violent society is clearly impossible. A violent and bloody revolution is bound to happen unless there is a voluntary abdication of rich. Therefore, Gandhi suggests the way of equal distribution of wealth through his theory of Trusteeship, which implies that the rich people are not the owners of their wealth but they are only trustees.

Kisan:
India being an agricultural country, kisans are in majority in its population. Gandhi believed that if they are made conscious of their strength, no power on earth can resist them. The effective method of organising kisans is displayed by Gandhi’s kisan movement in Champaran, Kheda, Bardoli and Borsad.

Labours:
Gandhi considers Ahmedabad non-violent labour union as a model for India to copy. Labour should have its own unions. The Union should have its own schools, hospitals and a crèche for workers’ children. It should also have a maternity home, its own printing press, khadi depot and residential quarters. Moreover, the union should run night schools for the general and scientific education of workers. They should teach the workers the science of conducting a successful strike. Besides, capital should be labour’s servant and not the master. The aim of constructive programme was to elevate the status of labour

Students:
According to Gandhi, the current education is unnatural and to acquire knowledge in foreign language in the place of mother tongue is a waste of time for students. Gandhi set out a clear programme to train and prepare the students, who are the future leaders of the nation, as to what they should do and should not do. Students, in his opinion, should keep away from party politics, political strikes and coercive and secret ways. They should take to spinning, use khadi and village products, learn the national language and enrich their mother tongue.

Q.13. “There arose a serious challenge to the Democratic State System between the two World Wars.” Evaluate the statement.

The  world wars have been analysed from multiple perspectives of causes and factors leading to the crisis. Challenge to democratic state system was a fundamental challenge in the inter-war years in light of events that followed.   

Several challenges to democratic state system emerged in inter-war years, such as:  

• Rise of Hitler to power in Germany was amidst weak institutional checks.  Nazi Party soon became the only political party in Germany. Communism was banned. Constitution was suspended.  
• Poor conceptualization of minority rights facilitated ethnic targeting of Jews and Romanis and growth of imperialistic ideas like lebensraum.  
• Political intolerance of communism by the capitalist bloc countries led to oversight of German excesses, such as in Munich Agreement.  
• Spanish civil war was a result of unresolved political contestation between Nationalist Party and the Communist Party.  
• Rise of ultra-nationalism and conscription promoted militarism in international politics.  
• Militant rise of fascists under Mussolini in Italy was supported by liberal classes.  

However, the challenges to Democratic State System were not only limited to the inter-war years:  

• The democratic traditions in Germany had been weak since days of Bismarck.  
• The major democracies of the time from USA to UK had been practicing colonialism which is fundamentally opposite of democratic ideals.  
• Self-interest of capitalist countries and support for dictatorial regimes in Germany and Italy had domestic democratic legitimacy in UK, France etc. due to economic and ideological reasons.  

The inter-war period saw crisis of democratic values as we understand them today. The democratic shortcomings actively led the world to the second world war. 

Q.14  Briefly mention the alignment of major mountain ranges of the world and explain their impact on local weather conditions, with examples.

A mountain range is a sequential chain of mountains or hills with similarity in alignment. The major mountain ranges of the World include, the Himalayas, The  Alps mountain range, The  Atlas mountain range, the Andes mountain range and the Rocky mountain ranges.  

The alignment of these ranges and their impact on local weather condition can be seen as:  

A. The Himalayas

• Himalayas extend for a 2500 km from west to east, in an arc shaped manner.   
• They protect the Indian subcontinent from the frigid, dry winds blowing from the Tibetan plateau.  
• It acts as barrier for monsoon winds, causing rainfall in India, it also is responsible for the for the Taklamakan and Gobi Desert as they fall in the rain shadow area.  

B. The Alps 

• It is the highest mountain range system of Europe, stretching for 1200 km, west to east, across 8 alpine countries, such as: France, Switzerland, Italy etc.  
• It influences precipitation patterns, in South Europe and Eurasia.  
• Alps influence presence and direction of local winds like, Foehn, Mistral etc. 

C. The Atlas  

• The Atlas Mountain range stretches through Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia in a South West to North East direction.  
• It separates the Mediterranean region from the Sahara Desert.  
• It causes high rainfall in the region between them and the Mediterranean Sea by capturing the moisture laden winds  
• They also act as a rain shadow, preventing the rainfall in the desert region of Sahara.  

D. The Andes 

• They are the longest continental mountain ranges in the world.   
• They extend from North to South through seven South American countries.  
• The north, east and the South West part of the Andes is rainy and moist.  
• Andes acts as the rain shadow for the Atacama Desert.  

E. The Rockies 

• Rockies extend from the northernmost part of British Columbia to New Mexico in Southwestern United States.  
• The size and locale play important part in formation of warm snow-eater Chinhook winds.  
• Rockies capture the moisture laden winds from the Pacific and cause ample rainfall in its windward side, while giving a rain-shadow effect to the deserts in Southwest North America.  

Mountain ranges play an important role in influencing the local weather patterns and lifestyles of the people. For this reason, they are important for not only the geography but also the various cultural and economic factors. 

Q.15. How do the melting of the Arctic ice and glaciers of the Antarctic differently affect the weather patterns and human activities on the Earth? Explain. (250 words)  15 Marks

Arctic is an ocean covered by thin layers of perennial sea ice and surrounded by land while Antarctica is a continent covered by very thick ice cap. The melting of ice and glaciers in the two affects the weather pattern and human activities differently as seen below:  

 The melting of ice and glaciers in Arctic and Antarctic will have irreversible consequences for the humans as well as the global weather patterns. The need of the hour is to adopt sustainable approach to minimise the effects of global warming. 

Q.16. Discuss the multi-dimensional implications of uneven distribution of mineral oil in the world. (250 words)   15 Marks

Mineral oil is unevenly distributed across the world. The immense strategic importance of mineral oil and its lop-sided distribution across the globe have many multi-dimensional implications such as:  

• Economic implications: Uneven distribution of the mineral oil across the world, leads to economic consequences like inflation, for the importing country. For example, India is susceptible to global shocks in oil prices.  
• Regional conflict: As the mineral oil resource is strategic in nature, its uneven distribution leads to great power conflict over the control of the region. For example, disputes in oil rich regions of middle East.  
• Energy Security:  The un-even distribution of the mineral energy resource has led to high degree of energy insecurity in the oil deficient countries. It also, directly affects their strategic autonomy.   
• Diplomatic leverage : The lop- sided distribution of the vital mineral oil resource is a vital factor in leveraging its availability for diplomatic gains. For example, India’s major dependence on Middle East for oil, provides it with a diplomatic bargain over India.  
• Balance of Trade: The un-even distribution of the mineral oil resources affects the balance of trade between the importing and the exporting countries. This in turn affects the Foreign-exchange reserves of the country.  
• Growth: Un-even distribution of mineral oil also has led to un-even growth across the globe. Rise in import prices directly hamper the capabilities of the government to spend on welfare objectives.   
• Vested interest in oil economy has potential to delay transition to clean energy and decarbonizing the world industry. 

Thus, the un-even distribution of the mineral oil resources leads to various implications ranging from economic to energy security and adoption of renewable energy sources. This highlights the need for India to diversify its energy basket both in terms of content and geography.  

Q.17. What are the main socio-economic implications arising out of the development of IT industries in major cities of India? (250 words) 15 Marks

The IT industries in India are concentrated in the major metropolitan cities of India such as Bengaluru, Mumbai, Chennai etc. This isolated concentration of the IT industries in these cities have several socio-economic implications such as:  

1. Economic empowerment: Development of IT industries in major cities, have led to the economic empowerment, rise of new middle class through higher employment opportunities and development of ancillary businesses.  
2. Gender parity: As the labour force participation of women in quality jobs is comparatively more in major cities, due to development of IT industries, it has led to their financial independence and empowerment.  
3. Cultural changes: The concentration of IT industries in major cities have also seen cultural changes. A marked shift towards accepting western language, rise in nuclear families, shift in food choices and modes of recreation could be seen. For example, café culture of Bengluru.  
4. Social infrastructure: Development of IT industries have given boost to the social infrastructure. This could be seen in high availability of schools, hospitals etc.  
5. Migration: As these cities have become the centre of knowledge economy, there is a marked preference in youths to migrate into these cities for better career opportunities leaving senior citizens behind in tier 2-3 cities. 
6. Un-balanced development: Concentration of IT industry in a handful of cities, have led to the neglect of many tier 2, tier 3 towns. This has created an un-healthy development divide in the country. There is also a huge wage gap between IT workers and other workers.  
7. Security challenges: The late-night work culture, rise in affluency have parallelly enhanced the security challenges for the citizens and administration alike with incidents of thefts, eve-teasing etc. on a rise.  

The development of IT industries has come as a boon for the country. Its development should be decentralized into tier2 and tier3 cities also, so as to ensure an inclusive development in the growing knowledge economy.  

Q.18. Discuss the main objectives of Population Education and point out the measures to achieve them in India in detail. (250 words)   15 Marks

Population Education is an educational programme which provides for a study of the population situation of the family, the community, nation and world. The purpose of population education is to develop rational and responsible attitudes/ behaviour in the students towards population/demographic situations.  

Objectives of Population Education are

• It helps to understand how family size can be controlled as population limitation can facilitate the development of a higher quality of life in the nation.  
• To develop an understanding of the influence of population trends on the various aspects of human life – social, cultural, political and economic;  
• It helps to understand that a small family size can contribute materially to the quality of living for the individual family.  
• To develop an understanding of scientific and medical advancement enabling to get an increasing control over famines, diseases and ultimately death and the imbalance thus created between death rate and birth rate  

Measures to achieve the objectives 

India was the first country to explicitly announce its Population policy in 1952. The aim of the programme was to reduce birth rates “to stabilize the population at a level consistent with the requirements of the national economy”.   

1. The government launched the National Family planning program with the aim of controlling population growth in a socially desirable direction by reducing Total fertility rate to 2.1 (replacement rate).  
2. The government has taken concerted steps to encourage use of contraception devices.  
3. The government has launched the National Family Planning Indemnity Scheme (NFPIS) under which clients are insured in the eventualities of deaths, complications and failures following sterilization.  
4. Accreditation of NGO facilities to increase the provider base for family planning services.  
5. The government is also utilizing  ASHA workers to provide delivery of contraceptives and educate people in rural and urban areas about family planning. 
6. School curriculum has been designed to educate children regarding advantages of small family, reproductive biology, etc. to make positive change in attitude of children.   

 India is projected to become the most populous nation by 2027 overtaking China. This huge population can become a bane if not engaged properly. So, it is imperative for the policy makers to adopt population education initiatives to devise policies and educate people about them to ensure that this huge population remains as an asset.  

Q.19. What is Cryptocurrency? How does it affect global society? Has it been affecting Indian society also? (250 words) 15 Marks

A cryptocurrency or crypto is a virtual currency secured by cryptography. It is designed to work as a medium of exchange, where individual ownership records are stored in a computerised database. The cryptocurrency works on blockchain technology and is free from control of government agencies.  

Cryptocurrency is a new emerging technology which is revolutionizing the way people make monetary transactions. Crypto has affected global society in both positive and negative way as discussed below:   

1. Increasing usage of Cryptocurrency is economically integrating the global society. Currently, the world is divided in terms of different currencies. Crypto bypasses this division and is increasingly becoming a sought-after way of transacting.  
2. Cryptocurrencies take away the sovereign power of issuing currency. Thus, making economic policy ineffective and diluting the bond between citizen and government.   
3. The transactions in crypto are cheap and faster. Thus, it makes capital more mobile/volatile posing risk to macroeconomic stability and consequent social consequences.  
4. Cryptocurrency has emerged as a new asset class (alternative of gold). However, fluctuation in the value of cryptocurrency has made both kings and beggars.   
5. Crypto is used by terrorist organization, drug cartels to smuggle contrabands which negatively impacts society at large. Anonymity in cryptocurrency has potential to increase crime in society. 
6. With increasing acceptance of crypto, people who are digitally illiterate are being left behind. Thus, it can lead to a disproportionate rise in inequality.  

Effect of Crypto on Indian Society  

Crypto is still in a  nascent phase in India, with a huge uncertainty about its future. As RBI initially banned crypto trading in 2018, which was reversed by the Supreme court later. The following are the effect of crypto on Indian society  

• With the rise of cryptocurrency, a new crypto community has emerged – that includes amateur investors, professionals and jobs have come up in the society. Example: Multiple crypto-exchanges have come up.   
• India is the largest receiver of remittances. However, the people lose money on conversion, processing charges, and switching to crypto will help people to get rid of these expenses.  
• As an asset, cryptocurrency has offered huge returns in the past, so it has become a fad among Indian youth to invest in these volatile assets, overlooking the risk associated with it.   
• India became victim to ransomware attacks like Wannacry etc. and the ransom was collected in crypto-> may promote culture of digital extortion. 

To make use of the revolutionary potential of underlying technology behind the cryptocurrency, while avoiding its negative consequences, a proper regulatory framework is required.

Q.20. How does Indian society maintain continuity in traditional social values? Enumerate the changes taking place in it. (250 words) 15 Marks

Certain social values like tolerance, collectivism, spiritualism, non-violence etc have been part of our traditional value system since time immemorial. Indian society has maintained continuity in traditional social values through:   

• Institution of family has ensured that traditional values pass-on from one generation to next through socialization.   
• Collective celebration of festivals reinforces values like brotherhood, fraternity, purity, triumph of good over evil etc.  
• Social gatherings from functions to bhajan-kirtan etc. provide avenue for sharing ideas and values.  
• Marriages, sometimes inter-caste, has helped in preserving community values.   

 India has been able to maintain continuity in traditional social values because of following reasons:  

• Flexibility: Indian culture has been flexible in accommodating different and even diverging viewpoints.   
• Evolution: Indian value system has evolved with time adopting progressive elements and abandoning regressive practices. For example: Socio-religious reform movements of India.  
• Assimilation of different values and culture: Foreigners got Indianized when they came to India. For example: Scythian and Mughals.   
• In different eras, saints like Buddha, Mahavira, Shankaracharya, Ramanuja, Guru Nanak, etc. always emphasized spirituality over materialism, peaceful coexistence over aggressive dominance.   

 However, social values are changing under the influence of technological, political and economic forces. Following changes are taking place:   

• Decline of tolerance: Incidents like the issue of Namaz in Gurugram and Haridwar Dharma Sansad show a trend of rising intolerance.  
• Rise of individualism and decline in collective values. Materialism and excessive competition have led to an increase in selfish pursuit of personal goals while the collective need of society is often ignored.     
• Nuclearization of family and decline of joint family as an institution.    
• Modern education has made progressive values like gender equality, non-discrimination on caste lines etc. a part of the value system.  
• Information technology has facilitated quick transfer of information and changed the traditional way of socialization obsolete. Now social media is influencing our social values both in a good and bad way. For example, the MeToo campaign or the recent Bulli Bai case.  

 Although, the forces of modernization have altered the balance of Indian traditional social values. However, the interaction between the two is dynamic. The traditional Indian values like ‘Vasudev Kutmbakam’ continue to assert their significance and their role in maintaining harmony in the world.