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General Studies – 1
Topic: Modern Indian history from about the middle of the eighteenth century until the present- significant events, personalities, issues;
Reference: India’s Struggle for Independence by Bipan Chandra.
Why the question:
The question is part of the static syllabus of General studies paper – 1.
Key Demand of the question:
To write about Santhal Uprising and how it differed from other spontaneous movement.
Directive:
Comment– here we have to express our knowledge and understanding of the issue and form an overall opinion thereupon.
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
Give a brief context about the Santhal and their uprising against ‘Dhikus’.
Body:
In the first part, mention how many peasant and tribal revolts and rebellions were spontaneous, disorganized and reactionary. Give examples.
In the next part, write about the Santhal Rebellion. Mention the causes for the outbreak of the rebellion in brief. In detail, write about how the Santhal Rebellion differed from others. In the nature of the movement – nature of grievances, oppression on the Santhals, Leadership, full fledged conflict, capture of land by Santhals and outcomes etc.
Conclusion:
Conclude by writing about the legacy of the Santhal Hool.
Introduction:
Santhals were the agricultural people settled in Rajmahal Hills of Bihar. British turned to them for the expansion of the revenue through agriculture. Santhals agreed to clear forests to practice settled agriculture. In 1832, a large number of areas were demarcated as Damin-i-Koh or Santal Pargana. However, gradually the exploitation started from the British side and to such an extent, that it gave rise to Santhal Rebellion.
Distinctiveness of Santhal rebellion:
- The Santhals are the largest tribal group in India today as per the population figures. They are native to the Indian states of predominantly Jharkhand, West Bengal and Odisha.
- Until the 19th century, they lived their lives in harmony with nature and practised shifting agriculture and hunting. They lived in the hilly regions of Birbhum, Barabhum, Manbhum, Palamau and Chhotanagpur.
- These areas came under the Bengal Presidency whose rule passed onto the British after the Battle of Plassey in 1757. The Santhal life was disrupted by the onslaught of the Zamindari system that they introduced. They were rendered landless bonded labourers in their own homes.
- The local landlords occupied the Santhal lands and exploited them.
- The tribals engaged in commercial activity by the barter system. When currency was introduced because of the colonial intervention, they began to rely on the moneylenders. These moneylenders exploited them and reduced them to abject poverty. They were weighed down by heavy debts which kept mounting amidst the poverty and the humiliation of being landless in what was traditionally their turf.
- On 30th June 1855, two years before the Great Revolt of 1857, two Santhal brothers Sidhu and Kanhu Murmu organised 10,000 Santhals and proclaimed a rebellion against the British. The tribals took an oath to drive away from the British from their homeland. The Murmu brothers’ sisters Phulo and Jhano also played an active part in the rebellion.
- When the police came to arrest the brothers, the villagers killed the policemen. They were able to capture large parts of land including the Rajmahal Hills, Bhagalpur district and Birbhum.
- Although the rebellion took the government by surprise, they crushed it with a heavy hand. The British firepower was no match for the tribal methods of warfare composed of spears and arrows. About 15000 Santhal villagers including the Murmu brothers were killed and their villages destroyed.
- The landlords supported the government whereas the local people including the milkmen and the blacksmiths supported the Santhals.
- The Santhals were fierce fighters but they were honourable. According to some British observers of the time, the Santhals used poisoned arrows for hunting but did not use poisoned arrows against their enemies in war. It is ironical that the British came to ‘civilise’ the natives.
- Martial law was declared on 10th November 1855 and it lasted till 3rd January 1856.
- The British passed the Santhal Parganas Tenancy Act in 1876 which offered some protection for the tribals against exploitation.
The Santhal rebellion was overshadowed by the revolt of 1857 but it remains a watershed in the evolution of the modern Santhali identity. It played an important role in the creation of the state of Jharkhand in 2000.
Topic: Modern Indian history from about the middle of the eighteenth century until the present- significant events, personalities, issues;
Reference: India’s Struggle for Independence by Bipan Chandra.
Why the question:
The question is part of the static syllabus of General studies paper – 1.
Key Demand of the question:
To write about the evils prevailing in the India society which started the process of socio-religious reform movements and the methods adopted to achieve them.
Directive:
Elucidate – Give a detailed account as to how and why it occurred, or what is the particular context. You must be defining key terms where ever appropriate, and substantiate with relevant associated facts.
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
Begin by giving context to socio-religious reform movement of India in the nineteenth century.
Body:
In detail, mention the various evils – Sati, Child marriage, female infanticide, opposition to widow remarriage, caste system, lack of female education and communalism that were prevailing in the Indian society. Add how the British conquest of India exposed these drawbacks.
Next, mention various individuals and organisations that took up the cause of socio-religious reform movement in India. Raja Ram Mohan Roy and Brahmo Samaj, Ishawr Chandra Vidyasagar, M.G Ranade, Arya Samaj, Aligarh Movement and Jyotiba Phule etc.
Finally, mention the various steps that were taken to reform the India society. Reform from within, reform through legislation, reform through symbol of change and reform through social work. Give examples to substantiate your points.
Conclusion:
Conclude by writing how these played a part in revitalizing the Indian society as well as kindled nationalism among the masses.
Introduction:
The conquest of India by the British during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, exposed some serious weaknesses and drawbacks of Indian social institutions. As a consequence, several individuals and movements sought to bring about changes in the social and religious practices with a view to reforming and revitalizing the society. These efforts, collectively known as the Renaissance.
Body:
- Modernization not westernization was the aim:
- Abolition of Sati
- Influenced by the frontal attack launched by the enlightened Indian reformers led by Raja Rammohan Roy, the Government declared the practice of sad or the burning alive of widows illegal and punishable by criminal courts as culpable homicide.
- The regulation of 1829 was applicable in the first instance to Bengal Presidency alone, but was extended in slightly modified forms to Madras and Bombay Presidencies in 1830.
- Female Infanticide
- The practice of murdering female infants immediately after birth was common among upper class Bengalis and Rajputs who considered females to be an economic burden.
- But it was mainly due to the efforts of Pandit Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar (1820-91), the principal of Sanskrit College, Calcutta, that the Hindu Widows’ Remarriage Act, 1856, which legalized marriage of widows and declared issues from such marriages as legitimate, was passed by the Government.
- Vidyasagar cited Vedic texts to prove that the Hindu religion sanctioned widow remarriage.
- Jagannath Shankar Seth and Bhau Daji were among the active promoters of girls’ schools in Maharashtra. Vishnu Shastri Pandit founded the Widow Remarriage Association in the 1850s. Another prominent worker in this field was Karsondas Mulji who started the Satya Prakash in Gujarati in 1852 to advocate widow remarriage.
- Child Marriage
- The Native Marriage Act (or Civil Marriage Act) signified the coming of legislative action in prohibiting child marriage in 1872. It had a limited impact as the Act was not applicable to Hindus, Muslims and other recognized faiths.
- The relentless efforts of a Parsi reformer, B.M. Malabari, were rewarded, by the enactment of the Age of Consent Act (1891) which forbade the marriage of girls below the age of 12.
- The Sarda Act (1930) further pushed up the marriage age to 18 and 14 for boys and girls respectively. In free India, the Child Marriage Restraint (Amendment) Act, 1978 raised the age of marriage for girls from 15 to 18 years and for boys from 18 to 21.
- Social reforms and making of modern India:
- The reform movements of the nineteenth century were not purely religious movements. They were socio-religious movements. The reformers like Rammohun Roy in Bengal, Gopal Hari Deshmukh (Lokhitavadi) in Maharashtra and Viresalingam in Andhra advocated religious reform for the sake of “Political advantage and social comfort”.
- The reform perspectives of the movements and their leaders were characterized by a recognition of interconnection between religious and social issues. They attempted to make use of religious ideas to bring about changes in social institutions and practices. For example, Keshub Chandra Sen, an important Brahman leader, interpreted the “unity of godhead and brotherhood of mankind” to eradicate caste distinctions in society.
- Reform from Within:
- The technique of reform from within was initiated by Rammohun Roy and followed throughout the nineteenth century.
- The advocates of this method believed that any reform in order to be effective had to emerge from within the society itself. As a result, the main thrust of their efforts was to create a sense of awareness among the people.
- They tried to do this by publishing tracts and organizing debates and discussions on various social problems.
- Rammohun’s campaign against sati, Vidyasagar’s pamphlets on widow marriage and B.M. Malabari’s efforts to increase the age of consent are the examples of this.
- Reforms through Legislation:
- The second trend was represented by a faith in the efficacy of legislative intervention.
- The advocates of this method –Keshub Chandra Sen in Bengal, Mahadev Govind Ranade in Maharashtra and Viresalingam in Andhra-believed that reform efforts cannot really be effective unless supported by the state.
- Therefore, they appealed to the government to give legislative sanction for reforms like widow marriage, civil marriage and increase in the age of consent.
- Reform Through Symbol of Change:
- The third trend was an attempt to create symbols of change through non-conformist individual activity. This was limited to the ‘Derozians’ or ‘Young Bengal ‘who represented a radical stream within the reform movement.
- The members of this group prominent of them being Dakshinaranjan Mukherjee, Ram Gopal Ghose and Krishna Mohan Banerjee, stood for a rejection of tradition and revolt against accepted social norms.
- They were highly influenced by “the regenerating new thought from the West” and displayed an uncompromisingly rational attitude towards social problems.
- Reform Through Social Work:
- The fourth trend was reform through social work as was evident in the activities of Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, Arya Samaj and Ramakrishna Mission.
- There was a clear recognition among them of the limitations of purely intellectual effort if undertaken without supportive social work. Vidyasagar, for instance, was not content with advocating widow remarriage through lectures and publication of tracts. Perhaps the greatest humanist India saw in modem times, he identified himself with the cause of widow marriage and spent his entire life, energy and money for this cause.
- The Arya Samaj and the Ramakrishna Mission also undertook social work through which they tried to disseminate ideas of reform and regeneration.
- Creating unity through reform:
- In the evolution of modem India, the reform movements of the nineteenth century have made very significant contribution. They stood for the democratization of society, removal of superstition and abhorrent customs, spread of enlightenment and the development of a rational and modem outlook.
- Among the Muslims the Aligarh and Ahmadiya movements were the torch bearers of these ideas. Ahmadiya movement which took a definite shape in 1890 due to the inspiration of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian, opposed jihad, advocated fraternal relations among the people and championed Western liberal education.
- The reform movements within the Hindu community attacked a number of social and religious evils. Polytheism and idolatry which negated the development of individuality or supernaturalism and the authority of religious leaders which induced the habit of conformity were subjected to strong criticism by these movements.
- The opposition to caste was not only on moral and ethical principles but also because it fostered social division. Anti-casteism existed only at a theoretical and limited level in early Brahmo movement, but movements like the Arya Samaj. Prarthana Samaj and Rama Krishna Mission became uncompromising critics of the caste system.
- More trenchant criticism of the caste system for its abolition, as evident from the movements initiated by Jotibha Phulle and Narayana Guru. The latter gave the call-only one God and one caste for mankind.
- The urge to improve the condition of women was not purely humanitarian, it was part of the quest to bring about the progress of society. Keshub Chandra Sen had voiced this concern: ‘“no country on earth ever made sufficient progress in civilization whose females were sunk in ignorance”.
Conclusion:
An attempt to change the then prevalent values of the society is evident in all these movements. An attempt was made at the modernization of the Indian society and appeals were made to reason, rationalism and tolerance. The scope of their activities was not confined to religion only but included the society as a whole. Although they devised different methods and were also separated by time, they showed a remarkable unity of perspective and objectives. They gave a vision of a prosperous modem India and subsequently this vision got incorporated in the Indian National Movement.
Topic: Indian culture will cover the salient aspects of Art Forms, literature and Architecture from ancient to modern times.
Reference: Indian Express
Why the question:
Ancient Indian art is highly rich in its traditions. Our myths and lore eulogise the artists. The roots of ancient Indian art and culture go back to the Indus Valley civilisation. The artists in those days were very creative with their sculptures and terracotta seals that have beautiful relief figures depicting animals and humans. The article covers the same.
Key Demand of the question:
Directive:
Trace – find or describe the origin or development of. Follow or mark the course or position of something.
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
Start by giving a brief intro about the glorious and rich Indian sculpture.
Body:
As you have to trace the development of Indian sculupture, divide your anser in to various time period starting from Indus Valley, Maruayn age, Post Mauryan age, Gupta age and Post Gupta age. Also, cover about the development of Sculpture in South India under the Cholas. Also, mention about religious sculptures – Buddhist, Jain and Hindu.
Cover the major and defining features of the sculpture of that age with examples
Conclusion:
Conclude by stressing on the importance of sculpture in the rich cultural history of India.
Introduction:
Sculpture art is one of the most ancient art forms in India. Archaeological studies have confirmed that Indians were familiar with sculptures about 4000 years before.
Sculpture Making During Indus Valley Civilization:
Sculpture representation started with knowledge of Terracotta and effective chiselling of stones.
- Apart from sculpturing in terracotta and stone, ancient Indian artists were masters in bronze sculpting as well.
- The Lost Wax Technique or the ‘Cire-Perdu’ process has been known from the time of the Indus Valley Civilization itself. This process is in use even today.
- The statue of the Dancing Girl found from Mohenjo Daro is one of the finest examples of Indus Valley art. It is a bronze statue showing remarkable achievements of the artists of the Indus Valley. The figurine is about 4 inches tall. Datable to 2500 BC. It is said to be in the tribhanga it is one of the oldest bronze sculpture.
- Bronze is an alloy of basically copper and tin. Sometimes zinc was also added although most of the component is copper.
- The alloy-making process of mixing metals was known to the ancient Indians.
- Bronze sculptures and statuettes of various icons of Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism have been found from various parts of India dating from the 2nd century CE to the 16th century CE.
- Most of the images were used for religious and ritualistic purposes.
- The metal casting process was also used for making articles of daily use like utensils.
Sculpture Making in North India:
- Chariot at Daimabad: datable to 1500 BC.
- Images of Jain Teerthankaras
- Found in Chausa, Bihar belonging to the Kushana Period (2nd century CE).
- Images show the mastery of artists in modelling masculine human physique.
- A remarkable depiction of Adinath or Vrishabhanath (the first Teerthankara) with long hair (generally the Teerthankaras are shown with short curly hair).
- Buddha images have been found in north India, particularly UP and Bihar.
- Standing Buddhas with the right hand in Abhaya Mudra.
- Gupta and pre-Gupta period.
- The Sanghati or the robe is wrapped over the shoulders and turn over the right arm, while the other end of the robe covers the left arm.
- The clothes of the Buddha figures are thin.
- Youthful and proportionate figures.
- Bronze images from Dhanesar Khera, UP: Mathura style drapery which is a series of dropping down curves.
- Buddha image at Sultanganj, Bihar: Sarnath style, less drapery.
- Bronze from Phophnar, Maharashtra: Vakataka images, contemporary to Gupta period. Influenced by the 3rd century Amaravati style from Andhra Pradesh. These images were portable and were carried by monks from place to place for personal worship or installation at a vihara.
- Himachal Pradesh and Kashmir regions’ Buddhist and Hindu deities.
- Period: 8th, 9th and 10th centuries.
- Growth of different types of iconography of Vishnu images is seen.
- Worship of four-headed Vishnu: Chaturanana or Vaikuntha Vishnu.
- Nalanda School of Bronze (Buddhist)
- Emergence: 9th century CE. Pala period.
- In regions of Bengal and Bihar.
- Four-armed Avalokiteswara: Good example of a male figure in the tribhanga pose.
- During the Vajrayana phase of Buddhism, the worship of the female form was seen. Tara images were popular.
Sculptures of South India:
The bronze casting technique and the sculpting of bronze images reached its zenith in the south during the medieval period.
- Pallavas:
- Best Pallava bronze: Icon of Shiva in Ardhaparyanka asana (one leg kept dangling).
- Right hand in Achamana Mudra (indicating he is about to consume poison).
- Period: 8th century.
- Cholas:
- Chola bronze art is the most sought-after today in the world of art.
- Period: 10th – 12th century CE.
- Exquisite pieces of art developed during this period. This technique is still practised in south India, particularly in Kumbakonam.
- Great patron of Chola bronze work: widowed Queen Sembiyan Maha Devi (10th century).
- World-famous image: Shiva as Nataraja. (discussed below)
- Wide range of Shiva iconography in the Tanjore region.
- Kalyanasundara Murti: 9th century; marriage is represented by 2 separate statuettes; Shiva and Parvati’s marriage or panigrahana.
- Ardhanarisvara image: union of Shiva and Parvati is represented.
- Nataraja Sculpture:
- Shiva’s dance is associated with the end of the cosmic world.
- Nataraja means ‘Lord of the Dance’.
- Shiva is seen balancing on his right leg. The foot of the right leg is suppressing the apasmara (the demon of forgetfulness or ignorance).
- His left hand is in Bhujangatrasita stance (depicting kicking away tirobhava or illusion from the devotee’s mind).
- Four arms are outstretched.
- Vijayanagara:
- Period: 16th century.
- Portrait sculpture is seen wherein artists tried to preserve the knowledge of the royal patrons for the future generation.
- Tirupati: There is a life-size standing bronze sculpture of King Krishnadevaraya with his 2 queens Tirumalamba and Chinnadevi.
- The physical body is shown as graceful and yet imposing.
- The king and his queens are in praying posture (Namaskara Mudra).
Sculpture art was therefore the most significant way of expression of advanced scientific development during ancient time.
General Studies – 2
Topic: Indian Constitution—historical underpinnings, evolution, features, amendments, significant provisions and basic structure.
Reference: Business Standard
Why the question:
Indians are facing momentous change, a shattered economy, an almost absent opposition, a reticent judiciary, and no real means to represent themselves before the power except with their physical selves.
Key Demand of the question:
To analyze the various ways that the citizens can engage with the state and to see the why people resort to protests rather than go through the electoral route or litigation.
Directive:
Critically analyze – When asked to analyse, you have to examine methodically the structure or nature of the topic by separating it into component parts and present them as a whole in a summary. When ‘critically’ is suffixed or prefixed to a directive, one needs to look at the good and bad of the topic and give a fair judgment.
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
Write about three lawful ways to engage with the State: Vote, litigation and protest.
Body:
In the first part, mention why protests are seen as the only way to influence the government and reasons for increasing trends of protests over the past decades. Emergence of populism, Lack of effective opposition, lack of judicial checks and single party majority etc. Give examples to substantiate your points.
In the next part, though protests are a constitutional right, mention about the limitations of protests and the need to make use of all the three modes available in the democracy to hold the government accountable. Suggest steps to strengthen the voter accountability and litigation.
Conclusion:
Conclude with a way forward.
Introduction:
Democracies offer their citizenry three lawful ways in which to engage with the State: Vote, litigation and protest. All three are equal and all three equally legitimate. Peaceful assembly is a fundamental right both in the United States and in India, under Article 19. A fundamental right is one that enjoys a high degree of protection from State encroachment.
Body:
- Purpose of a protest:
- Protests encourage the development of an engaged and informed citizenry.
- They strengthen representative democracy by enabling direct participation in public affairs.
- They enable individuals and groups to express dissent and grievances, to share views and opinions, to expose flaws in governance and to publicly demand that the authorities and other powerful entities rectify problems and are accountable for their actions.
- A clear issue or problem is identified.
- A symbol of some kind is used to shine a bright light on the issue and to galvanize support.
- The protest is conducted peaceably.
- The issue and the proposed solution are communicated clearly (i.e., what the protestors want and how to get it).
- Emergence of populism, Lack of effective opposition, lack of judicial checks and single party majority
- The significance of the right to protest in a democracy:
- Convinced that protests constitute a fundamental pillar of democracy and complement the holding of free and fair elections;
- Recalling that protests occur in all societies, as people stand up for their civil, political, economic, cultural and social rights, struggle against repression, fight against poverty, protect the environment or demand sustainable development, and thereby contribute towards progress;
- Bearing in mind that participating in protests enables all people to individually and collectively express dissent and seek to influence and strengthen governments’ policymaking and governing practices, as well as the actions of other powerful entities in society;
- Highlighting that the right to protest embodies the exercise of a number of indivisible, interdependent and interconnected human rights, in particular the rights to freedom of expression, freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, the right to take part in the conduct of public affairs, the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, the right to strike, the right to take part in cultural life, as well as the rights to life, privacy, liberty and security of the person, and the right to freedom from discrimination;
- Recognizing that a free and independent media and digital technologies are essential for ensuring the public is informed about protests and their context, for facilitating and organising protests, for enabling the free flow of information between all actors concerned in protests, and for monitoring and reporting on violations;
- Acknowledging that digital technologies and the internet also provide a platform for online protests.
- Emphasizing the invaluable role of civil society, including journalists and human rights defenders, in protests, including through their organisation and mobilisation of others, and by documenting, reporting on, and demanding accountability for violations of the rights of protesters;
- Expressing our abhorrence at brutal repression against many protests, including the unnecessary, excessive and unlawful use of force, arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances, torture, summary executions or extrajudicial killings;
- Deeply concerned by legal, policy and law enforcement measures that deter, prevent or obstruct protests, including detention, harassment and intimidation, and disproportionate criminal, administrative and civil sanctions against protesters;
- Cognizant that the development of surveillance technologies and the data retention capabilities of both public authorities and private actors may violate the human rights of protesters and have a chilling effect on protests generally;
- Desiring to demand that governments fulfil their obligation to respect, protect and facilitate the enjoyment of the right to protest without discrimination of any kind, to avoid unlawful, unjustified or unnecessary restrictions, and to ensure accountability for violations; and to encourage private entities to meet their responsibilities in this regard.
- The right to protest and freedom of association can be limited in certain circumstances.
- The interests of national security or public safety
- The prevention of disorder or crime
- The protection of health or morals
- The protection of others’ rights and freedoms.
- Of the three legitimate ways of engaging the State effectively and meaningfully, protest has become the only way in which the State under a powerful ruler can be influenced. It shows the failure of the democratic system in India.
- Make use of all the three modes available in the democracy to hold the government accountable.
Conclusion:
During points of widespread tension or controversy within a society, it is important for government institutions to recognize this right. A democracy’s ability to preserve its citizen’s right to protest is a result of that democracy’s “political health.
General Studies – 3
Topic: Issues related to direct and indirect farm subsidies and minimum support prices;
Reference: The Hindu
Why the question:
Many media reports, based on data by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), have ostensibly stated that the support provided to Indian agriculture is extremely low or negative, and, therefore, net taxed.
Key Demand of the question:
It’s a three part question, first part demands the methodology of Market price support, second part, the reasons for divergence between international and domestic prices, and the third asks the limitations of OECD methodology.
Directive:
Illustrate – A similar instruction to ‘explain’ whereby you are asked to show the workings of something, making use of definite examples and statistics if appropriate to add weight to your explanation.
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
Begin by describing market price support for agriculture in clear and simple terms.
Body:
In the first part of the body, taking examples from the article, mention the working of market price support for agriculture. Write about the various components that are considered. Cite illustrations from the article.
In the next part, mention the factors that affected the positive or the negative gap between domestic and international prices. Changes in supply and demand conditions in the domestic and international market, shocks such as the COVID-19 pandemic, weather conditions, depressed international price, and subsidies given by other countries etc.
In the last, part mention the limitations of OECD methodology to calculate Market Price Support.
Conclusion:
Conclude by giving balanced views of Market Price Support and its need for Indian agriculture.
Introduction:
The global trade tensions and new pressures on food supply chains arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. OECD report giving world alternative policies that can distort markets and detract from a level international playing field. The measuring government support in agriculture, fossil fuels, and fisheries and estimated support and related market distortions in the value chain. The OECD maintains up to date regulatory information and indicators on trade facilitation, non-tariff measures, export restrictions in the raw materials sector, and trade restrictions in services sectors
Body:
- Agricultural Policy Evaluation of India by OECD:
- OECD Report stated that the support provided to Indian agriculture is extremely low or negative, and, therefore, net taxed.
- The OECD estimates the support to the farmers in terms of producer support estimates (PSE), which mainly comprises the following two elements: market price support and budgetary payments.
- The OECD has estimated that Indian farmers received negative support to the extent of minus ?2.36-lakh crore and minus ?1.62-lakh crore in 2010 and 2019 respectively.
- The estimated by the OECD was higher than the total budgetary allocation of the Ministry of Agriculture at 1.09-lakh crore in 2019.
- The agriculture support increased from 1.61-lakh crore to 3-lakh crore, between 2015 to 2019, growth registering 85%.
- Expenditure on the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sammann Nidhi, (PM-KISAN), the National Food Security Mission, crop insurance, input subsidies such as fertilizer and electricity, are some of the measures covered under the 2019 OECD estimates.
- The negative market price support was estimated at minus 4.62-lakh crore in 2019.
- What is Producer Support Estimate (PSE):
- The OECD’s aim is to measure the total amount of money transferred through agricultural policies.
- Many governments support farmers by propping up domestic prices, behind tariff barriers and through export subsidies, but also through public expenditure going directly to farmers.
- Taken together, these transfers are called the Producer Support Estimate (PSE).
- The consequences of the OECD methodology:
- If the domestic price for a product is less than its international price, then support for that product would be negative.
- A negative market price support for a product in one year can turn into huge positive support in another year on account of the relative movement of domestic and international prices.
- If in a particular year, the government does not provide any additional support compared to a previous year, the level of support calculated by the OECD can change.
- This will arise if there is a change in either the gap between the domestic price and international price for a commodity, or its production, in the two years.
- Why the gap between international and domestic prices?
- The OECD assumes “government interventions” that lead to a gap between the international and domestic prices.
- But if the government suppose does not implement any Programme, the gap can still arise due to domestic and international factors.
- The Changes in supply and demand conditions in the domestic and international market due to COVID-19.
- The pandemic, weather conditions, depressed international price due to subsidies given by other countries, among other factors, can generate price gap.
- Question the methodology:
- The OECD numbers suggesting negative support, farmers, policymakers, and other stakeholders need to understand the pitfalls and limitations in the underlying methodology.
- The unpredictability in the inherent data, the total support can move from huge negative to huge positive.
- For India, the negative support as a percentage of the total value of agriculture production has substantially reduced in recent years.
- It is possible that support to Indian farmers in the near future becomes one of the highest in the world due to pitfalls in the OECD methodology.
- This might set alarm bells ringing, particularly in the developed countries, which may aggressively question India’s support measures.
- Why Governments should renew effort to reform support to agriculture:
- Governments worldwide provide more than USD 500 billion in often ineffective and trade distorting support to farmers each year, efforts to reform these policies have largely stalled, according to a new OECD report.
- The report shows that 54% of support is provided through policies that artificially maintain domestic farm prices above international levels.
- Governments can support farm households and rural communities without negative effects on global markets.
- Way forward:
- By removing the link between support and farm production decisions, and investing instead in needed public services, governments can build an enabling environment in which farmers have the freedom to make business decisions in response to evolving market opportunities at home and abroad.
- At the same time farm policy should be better targeted, improving access to technologies that will drive both productivity growth and sustainable resource use.
- Just as beauty lies in the eye of the beholder, the amount of subsidy depends on the methodology adopted for calculating it. Rather than it’s human value and rights.
General Studies – 4
Topic: Ethics and Human Interface: Essence, determinants and consequences of Ethics in-human actions; dimensions of ethics; ethics – in private and public relationships.
6. What are sources of ethics and their ideals in Indian tradition? (150 words)
Reference: Ethics by Lexicon publications.
Why the question:
The question is part of the static syllabus of General studies paper – 4.
Key Demand of the question:
A very straightforward question where we have to determine the source and ideals of ethics in Indian culture and philosophy.
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
Start by mention that the India tradition is repository of numerous ethical and moral discourses.
Body:
In detail mention the various sources – Vedas, Upanishads, Dhramashastras, Smritis, Buddhist canon, Jaina ethics, Bhagwad Gita, folk talks, teachings of sufi and bhakti saints, teachings of modern philosophers like Swami Vivekanada and Mahtma Gandhi etc.
Describe the major ethical and moral tenets of the above mentioned sources or teaching of the personalities.
Conclusion:
Conclude by drawing the contemporary importance of the above.
Introduction:
Ethics is a branch of philosophy that deals with moral values. The moral code of the people is an indicator of their social and spiritual ways of life. The true essence of human life is to live amidst worldly joy and sorrows. Ethics is primarily concerned with the moral issues of the world.
Sources of ethics and their ideals in India:
- In the knowledge tradition of India, ethics has its origin in its religious and philosophical thinking. From time immemorial, various religious faiths have flourished here.
- Every religious and every philosophical system of India has a prominent ethical component. Ethics is the core of all these systems.
- In every religious tradition, good moral conduct is considered essential for a happy and contented life.
- Without following the path of righteousness no one can attain supreme goal (moksha) of life. For this one has to perform good deeds and avoid wrong-doing.
- India has a very ancient history of thinking about ethics. Its central concepts are represented in Rigveda, one of oldest knowledge texts not only of India but of the entire world.
- In Indian tradition, the concept of ṛta gave rise to the idea of dharma.
- The term dharma here does not mean mere religion; it stands for duty, obligation and it is a whole way of life in which ethical values are considered supreme and everyone is expected to perform his or her duty according to his or her social position and station in life.
- In the Bhagavad-Gītā, selfless action (niśkāma karma) is advocated. It is an action which is required to be performed without consideration of personal consequences. It is an altruistic action aimed at the well-being of others rather than for oneself. In Hinduism this doctrine is known as karma yoga.
- Similarly, the importance of ethics and ethical values is highlighted in epics and philosophical texts like, Upaniṣads, Rāmāyaṇa, darśana-śāstras and dharma-śāstras.
- The Dharsana śāstras are philosophical texts, which provide rational explanations of the ethical issues; the universal moral problems faced by man in daily life are placed in a philosophical context.
- In the dharma-śāstras, emphasis is on the social ethics.
- In these texts the inter-personal and social relations are placed in an ethical framework for guidance. In these texts the ethical problems are discussed in an indirect manner.
- In Buddhism, the word Dhamma is used, which is the Pali equivalent of the Sanskrit word dharma.
- According to Buddhism, the foundation of ethics is the pañcaśīla (five rules), which advocates refraining from killing, stealing, lying, sexual misconduct and intoxicants. In becoming a Buddhist, a lay person is encouraged to take a vow to abstain from these negative actions.
- Jainism is another important religion of this land. It places great emphasis on three most important things in life, called three gems (triratna).
- These are: right vision (samyaka dṛṣṭī), right knowledge (samyaka jñāna) and right conduct (samyaka cāritra). Apart from these, Jain thinkers emphasize the need for reverence (Shraddha). There are other moral principles governing the life of Jains.
- Sikhism also lays great stress on ethics in human life. Truth is higher than everything else, higher still is truthful conduct, according to Guru Nanak.
- The cardinal values according to Guru Granth Sahib are compassion, charity, contentment, non-enmity and selfless service.
- During the middle ages, the Bhakti movement arose in India. It was an all-India movement of social reform and spiritual awakening. It played a very important part in reawakening moral consciousness in India. Jayadeva, Nāmdev, Tulsīdās, Kabīr, Ravidās and Mīra are some of the prominent saints of this movement. Most of these saints came from the downtrodden sections of society. Rejecting the distinctions of caste, colour and creed, they spread the message of human equality. They were saint poets. In their vāṇī (poetic compositions) they propagated the ideals of love, compassion, justice and selfless service. These are the ethical values which we need even today.
- Finally, the constitution of India also acts as a source of ethical guidance through its sources such as Basic Text of the Constitution, Constituent Assembly debates, Freedom struggle, and Case Law Histories etc.
Conclusion:
Multiple sources act as basis for ethics in India. However, almost all the sources teach the same cardinal values of truth, non-violence, compassion and love.
Topic: Contributions of moral thinkers and philosophers from India and world.
7. Write a short note on the ethical philosophy of Thomas Hobbes. (150 words)
Reference: Ethics by Lexicon publications.
Why the question:
The question is part of the static syllabus of General studies paper – 4.
Key Demand of the question:
Another very straightforward question to write about ethical philosophy of Thomas Hobbes.
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
Give a brief introduction of Thomas Hobbes.
Body:
In the body, briefly cover the major aspects of the teachings of Hobbes. Cover Hobbes’ Hedonistic views, Ethical Egoism, his views on rightness or wrongness of an action, Social Utilitarianism and Moral Positivism.
Write about Hobbes’ other theories on the state and individual liberty. Also, add a sentence or two of critique of Hobbs.
Conclusion:
Conclude by highlighting the importance of Hobbes’s ethical theory.
Introduction:
Thomas Hobbes presents himself as the first true political philosopher, the first to offer exact knowledge of justice, sovereignty, and citizenship. Hobbes claims, moreover, that his systematic political science will revolutionize political practice, enabling us to build more stable, peaceful, and productive societies. Hobbes emphasizes several ideas that have become central to modern politics and modern political science. He argues that human beings are not naturally social or political, that the state of nature is a state of war, and that we must self-consciously create a government that is based on mutual consent and that presupposes a fundamental equality among its members. These ideas are most comprehensively set forth in the Leviathan (1651), which text serves as the basis for this introduction to Hobbes’s thought.
Hobbes’s Political Science
Hobbes aims to elaborate a definitive and unambiguous science of the political good. Hobbes gives an account of political order that portrays it as a self-conscious construction, an artifice we craft to remove ourselves from a pre-political state of nature. His political science proper therefore constitutes only the section of the Leviathan that concerns the “consequences” that follow from this choice, namely, the rights and duties of the sovereign and of the subjects that are necessary to maintain this basic political agreement. This choice, however, follows upon our passions and our speech, especially our calling “good” the object of our desires, and pleasure the appearance of it.
The State of Nature
Hobbes develops his account of the state of nature from the claim that human beings are naturally equal. By this he means that each individual possesses the natural right to preserve himself, and furthermore the natural right to claim all things, or seek all power, that he judges necessary to this end. Moreover, Hobbes writes, in the state of nature we are, for practical purposes, equal in physical and mental capacity, since no one is strong or smart enough to defend himself with certainty against the threats that arise from the efforts of other individuals to preserve themselves.
According to Hobbes, this rough equality of ability leads each person to have an equal hope of acquiring good things for himself. As individuals strive to accumulate goods, they compete with each other, and consequently create an atmosphere of distrust. The attempt to acquire things, and to preserve them from the encroachments of others, causes us to try to dominate and control those around us. These three things—competition, distrust, and the desire for glory—throw humankind into a state of war, which is for Hobbes the natural condition of human life, the situation that exists whenever natural passions are unrestrained. This desire to preserve ourselves against the threat of violent death is the core of Hobbesian psychology.
The Social Contract
The first step is for individuals to decide to seek peace and to make the arrangements necessary to attain and preserve it. It becomes clear that the only way to have peace is for each individual to give up his natural right to acquire and preserve everything in whatever manner he sees fit.
As Hobbes stipulates, this must be a collective endeavour, since it only makes sense for an individual to give up his right to attack others if everyone else agrees to do the same. He calls this collective renunciation of each individual’s right to all things the “social contract.” The social contract inverts the state of nature while also building upon some key passions responsible for the state of nature: it amounts to a more intelligent way to preserve oneself and safely acquire goods.
Hobbes presents the social contract in the context of elaborating his “laws of nature,” which are the steps we must take to leave the state of nature. In calling these rules “laws of nature,” Hobbes significantly changes the traditional concept of natural law, in which nature offers moral guidance for human behaviour. By contrast, Hobbes’s laws of nature are not obligatory in his state of nature, since, as he makes clear, seeking peace and keeping contracts in the state of nature would be self-destructive and absurd. In other words, acting against the laws of nature cannot simply be called unnatural or unjust—for Hobbes, nothing is naturally just, unjust, or blameworthy. Justice only exists as a convention, in the context of a civil society.
Hobbes’s political ideas aroused much controversy in his time, and they continue to be contentious. Some disagree with Hobbes’s claim that politics should be viewed primarily as an instrument to serve self-interest, and side with Aristotle in thinking that politics serves both basic needs and higher ends. On this view, Hobbes’s attempt to divert public debate from tackling controversial but fundamental questions hampers our pursuit of wisdom, happiness, and excellence. Others argue that Hobbes’s systematic focus on achievable goals has made possible the security and prosperity that those in modern Western nations enjoy, and furthermore that these conditions give us the leisure and peace to pursue knowledge and excellence in private life. In either case, Hobbes’s contribution to the framework of the modern world makes a study of his work important to understanding our political horizons.
