1) Unsubstantiated claims about the achievements of India’s past do more harm than good for the future India. Comment.(250 words)

Topic– Salient aspects of Art Forms, Literature and Architecture from ancient to modern times.

1) Unsubstantiated claims about the achievements of India’s past do more harm than good for the future India. Comment.(250 words)

epw

Why this question

India has recently witnessed several high claims about Its past achievements in science and technology. In this context it is essential to understand whether such claims are helpful for India or not.

Directive word

Comment- here we have to express our knowledge and understanding of the issue and form an overall opinion thereupon.

Key demand of the question.

The question wants us to express our opinion as to why/ why not unsubstantiated claims about India’s achievements in the past are helpful for India’s future.

Structure of the answer

Introduction– write a few introductory lines about some of the claims made recently about India’s past achievements. E.g mention the claims about aeroplanes and in-vitro fertilization etc.

Body-

Discuss why such unsubstantiated claims are not good for India’s future. E.g

• It is not that India has not had great achievements. But, as is the case with much of science, the great ideas derived through inductive studies have since been taken over by more deductive methods of European science that have scaled even greater heights.
• Hence, there is really no need to invent false achievements of our ancestors. Equally interestingly, all such claims are post facto and none have predicted any future discovery.
• They will invite ridicule and discredit even genuine studies of the work of our ancestors.
• They distract India from its path forward, exploring science and technology using its limited resources.
• They set bad precedents for our coming generations by giving respectability to irrational claims.
• When subscription to such claims is considered a test of one’s loyalty to the ­nation, they become seriously poisonous and disruptive etc.

Conclusion– based on your discussion, form a fair and a balanced conclusion on the given issue.