This is question set #35 of ‘Clear IAS Mains High Value Answer Writing Test Series’. Mains High Value Answer Writing is a UPSC mains oriented program from ClearIAS.com that consists of 5 questions in each post, published around 8 pm every day. Each of the 5 questions are selected from 5 papers mentioned in UPSC Mains syllabus namely Essay, GS1, GS2, GS3 and GS4 (ethics). Selected questions of high probability to be asked UPSC mains are included in each of these mini tests. Aspirants can choose any question they wish to answer in the comment space provided below, specifying the question.
Note from Clear IAS Team
We have been noticing great improvement in the answer quality and comprehension skills in regular participants in Clear IAS Mains High Value Answer Writing Program. Our vision is to cover most of the important conventional and current topics for mains, so that serious and deserving aspirants who participate in this free program are always one step ahead in the competition. We have already seen many excellent answers from serious participants. Regarding evaluation, in the first 30 days, Clear IAS Team had been giving overall guidelines to write a good, high value answer, but in the coming days, we plan to award marks, so that aspirants will get a realistic idea about the UPSC expectations and quality they need to maintain in the answer.
Please note: Last year the toppers’ marks for General Studies varied from 300-400 out of 1000. (2013 CSE AIR 1, Gaurav Agrawal scored 338/1000 for GS). This means, 4 marks out of 10 for every answer in UPSC exam was excellent performance as far as 2013 mains GS was concerned. So our marking scheme too would be keeping those figures in mind. Please have a look at our marking scheme for coming days:
- 0.0-1.9/10 – Not satisfactory.
- 2.0-2.4/10 – Average.
- 2.5-2.9/10 – Good.
- 3.0-3.9/10 – Excellent.
- 4.0+/10 – Exceptional.
Questions for Answer Writing – Selections for today:
- Essay Paper: Should politicians’ private lives be public? (1500 words)
- GS 1 Paper: [Indian after independence/Congress Split] – In economic terms, the Congress split in 1969 was represented as one between the left and the right. Critically analyze this statement. What does that split signify for the Congress tradition and for India today? (200 words)
- GS 2 Paper: [Governance/Official Language] Hindi is the most popular language in India, but Hindi is not the national language of the country. Trace the major Constituent Assembly debates and Court rulings in India regarding the official languages/national languages in India. – (200 words)
- GS 3 Paper: [Internal Security/Bodo Accord] What was the significance of Bodo Accord in Indian Internal Security? Analyze possible solutions to the issues associated with Bodo Accord.(200 words)
- GS 4 Paper: [Public Administration/Committee on Ethics] Analyse the significance of Parliamentary committee on ethics . (200 words)
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PS: Aspirants can select any question they wish to answer in the comment space provided below specifying the question. Answering 3-4 questions, does not take much of your time. But for those who engage regularly in answer writing, the resultant score improvement in actual UPSC exam would be exponential.
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5.significance of parliamentary committee on ethics?
ANS:- Parliamentary committee on ethics was constituted by the chairman of rajya sabha on the recommendation of the Vohra Committee appointed in the year 1993 with a broad mandate to oversee the moral and ethical conduct of members and to examine the cases referred to it with reference to their ethical and other misconducts and to recommend measures for decriminalizing politics in India.
SIGNIFICANCE:
1. The committee has prepared a comprehensive code of conduct for members of rajya sabha for maintaining high standards of public behaviour.
2.It enforces the ideal that the members should acknowledge their responsibility to maintain the public trust reposed in them and should work sincerely to discharge their mandate for the common good of the people.
3.The committee also acts as the record keeper and overseer of the declaration of the assets and liabilities by members under the members of rajya sabha (declaration of assets and liabilities) rules 2004 framed by the chairman.
4.Te committe on ethics in its fourth report on 14th march 2005 identified 5 precuniary interests viz remunaratory dictatorship, regular remunerated activity,shareholding of controlling nature,paid consultancy and paid proffessional engagement.
5.Information about the assets and liabilities and pecuniary interests of the members can be provided to the general public in accordance with the such rules aand procedures laid down by the ethics committee.
6.The Committee also took notice of cross-voting and defections in the political parties and recommended open ballot system of voting.
Marks 2.5.
GS 2 Paper: [Governance/Official Language] Hindi is the most popular language in India, but Hindi is not the national language of the country. Trace the major Constituent Assembly debates and Court rulings in India regarding the official languages/national languages in India. – (200 words)
Ans : india is a multilingual country where choosing a single national language , for the purpose to build single national identity , was bound to bring in the difficulties . the issue was resolved when the constituent makers accepted all major languages as the ‘ languages of India ‘ or india ‘s national languages .
but the official work could not be carried out in so many languages . there had to be one common language for the centre to carry on the work and communicate with the states . hence the issue of official language or the link language surfaced . the obvious contenders were english and hindi / hindustani .
english why ?
as the administrative work under the britishers was done in english .
but it was decided in the pre independence time that english would not be continued after independence . Gandhi ji was convinced that the culture could not flower in a foreign language even though it represents the language of international commerce .
hindi / hindustani why ?
as it had already played important role in national struggle in mobilizing masses . hindi had been accepted by the leaders from non hindi areas during those times , such as , sardar patel . S C Bose etc .
the real debate in the constituent assembly occurred over 2 questions
– would hindi / hindustani replace english ?
– what would be the time frame ?
the issue od hindi or hindustani was soon resolved . Gandhi ji and Nehru supported the issue . but as partition was announced and urdu declared as national language of pakistan , the hindi movement gained momentum and demanded hindi as national language . they were forced to compromise to accept hindi in devanagari script as the official language and not the national language .
the issue of time frame produced a divide between hindi and non hindi areas . one demanding immediate changeover while other , for as much delay as possible . immediate adoption would place south india at an disadvantage in both educational and economic spheres especially for appointments in government and public sector .
it was decided that hindi to be official language and english to continue for all official purposes till 1965 , when it would be replaced by hindi .
the mistrust between the hindi and non hindi areas lead to protests and Nehru coming up with Official Language Act in 1963 which removed the restriction i.e. of 1965 .
Mrs Gandhi further amended in 1967 to resolve the matter . a virtually indefinite policy of bilingualism was adopted .
the issue of hindi as national language surfaces time and again . in a response to a PIL . Gujarat HC observed that hindi is not a national language but an official language along with english as mentiones in Part XVII , article 343 of the constitution .
Marks 3.0
thank you sir
1. GS 3 Paper: [Internal Security/Bodo Accord] What was the significance of Bodo Accord in Indian Internal Security? Analyze possible solutions to the issues associated with Bodo Accord.(200 words)
The conflict in Bodoland emerged from demographic changes like immigration and settlement which led to cultural, economical and political marginalization of Bodo people. The organized movement for an independent Bodoland began under All Bodo Student Union (ABSU). The conflict led to many deaths between 1989 and 1993. Bodo Territorial Accord was signed between the Indian government, the Assam government and the ABSU on 20 February 1993 which called for creation of Bodo Autonomous Council. On February 10, 2003, the central government, BLT and state government signed a new Bodo Accord for creation of a Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) under modified provisions of the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.
Issues in Bodo Accord
-The non-Bodos within the proposed BTC area are opposing the new Accord, as under the modified Sixth Schedule of the Constitution it provides special facilities to 25 per cent of the Bodos at the cost of 75 per cent non-Bodos.
-seeks to protect the land rights of the indigenous Bodos while allowing settler Muslims to freely acquire land
-The immigrants from Bangladesh enter into this area and procure the ration or Aadhar cards to establish their Indian nationality
-Migrants freely procuring land
-Community records on land holdings are not written down
Possible solutions:
-to activate a state owned and driven land record system
-work out a viable mechanism on generating a dataset on migration from Bangladesh and increase the presence of the police in areas that have already been identified as disturbed areas.
-help assuage local fears based on loss of land
-Priority in constituting committee to take decision regarding additional villages demanded by BLT
-Promoting cooperation between Bodos and Non Bodos by giving equal rights to Non Bodos
Marks 3.5.
The Indian national congress split in 1969 into congress (o) and congress (R). This power struggle between the two factions of the party got manifested into an ideological battle. In order to strengthen the position of congress (R)- which was led by Indira Gandhi and was in government, a series of populist measures like nationalization of banks , abolition of privy purse , Garibi Hato etc.. were introduced. These measures clearly indicate the leftist orientation(social ownership) of the government.
The syndicates, who belong to congress (O) opposed these populist measures, particularly the friendship treaty with Soviet Union in 1971. Soviet union was a socialistic country at that time. India signing of the treaty shifted its course from non-alignment to slightly leftward politics. It was severely opposed by the conservative (rightward) syndicates.
Significance of the split in the congress:
1) The split infact strengthened the leadership of the congress to a single pivotal person- Indira Gandhi. The populist measures also helped to secure majority in the 1971 elections .
2) However, Indian national congress earlier, was an organization that represents from the grassroots to the top including educated, uneducated, employed, women, unemployed,rich etc..After the split, the congress became an organization of only poor, minorities, tribals etc.. The entire organization rested on the shoulder of single person- Indira Gandhi.
Significance of the split on India:
1) Many welfare measures were addressed to the poor people.
2) However, in the words of Nijlingappa-”Tragedy takes over democracy , when a leader who rises to popularity due to the populist measures turns into a political narcisst”
3) The emergency at the national level in 1975 has huge atrocities and violation of people’s rights on the part of the government.
The historical event and its consequences should be taken as a precedent to ensure our rationality to populist schemes in future politics.
Marks 3.0. While answering questions here, we suggest writing questions first before start answering. That can help you write more relevant points, without deviating from the question.
thanks clearias for reviewing… hereafter i wil start with question..
Parliament is the institution referred to as “The temple of democracy”. The representatives to the parliament have to conduct themselves with moral and ethical behavior. However, recent decades witnessed an increasingly unethical behavior of the members of the parliament.
In 1997,Rajya sabha instituted the parliamentary committee on ethics on the basis of the recommendation of Vohra committee to decriminalize the politics.
Significance of the ethics committee:
1) It prescribes code of conduct to the members of the parliament and political parties. Incase of unethical behavior of the members, it recommends actions against them.
2) In the wake of the recent incidents like pepper spraying, force-feeding by a member of the parliament, political brawl on the floor of the house- the ethics committee’s need is largely felt by the nation. However, the performance of the committee has not been preciously felt.
3) The image of the parliamentarians has been corroding among the people of the nation due to the unethical behavior. Ethics committee with more teeth is needed to instill the confidence of the people on the politicians
The representatives need to set high standards in their conduct as they lead the country. They need to function as role models.Criminalisation of politics has wider dimensions- Only the function ethics committee will not bring the desired change. The need of the hour is both electoral and political reforms.
clear ias review my answer
Marks 2.5.
GS 2 Paper: [Governance/Official Language] Hindi is the most popular language in India, but Hindi is not the national language of the country. Trace the major Constituent Assembly debates and Court rulings in India regarding the official languages/national languages in India. – (200 words)
India is a multilingual country and setting one language for diverse India is unrealistic but for official purpose there should be one language to facilitate the working.According to the article 343 (1) of the Constitution of India, “The Official Language of the Union government shall be Hindi in Devanagari script.”
The issue of Hindi to be the official language is as old as the independent India.
– In 1950, Indian constitution declared hindi as the official Indian Language. However, English was to be continued for 15 yrs.
– The Parliament passed Official Language Act in 1963 to ensure the continuant use of English for official purposes.
– But in 1964 a proposal of making an end of the use of English resurfaced. due to pan-India protests the proposal was dropped.
– In 1965, Anti-Hindi Agitation was passed against Hindi as the official language of India.
– In 1967 an amendment act was passed making English to be used freely till a resolution is made.
– The issue of Hindi as national language resurfaced time and again. The Gujarat HC in his judgement concluded that hindi is not a national language but an official language along with english as per article 343 of the constitution .
Marks 2.5. Utkarsh, you missed the Constituent Assembly debates.
India is a land of linguistic diversity .Hindi is spoken by around 41% of the people , as their native language(census 2001) . There are concentrated in the north parts of India, referred linguistically as Hindi belt.The other parts speak different languages .This clearly shows that every language of India needs special significance irrespective of the numerical majority.That is the reason why Hindi is not given “National language “ status.
Constituent Assembly debates:
1)Regarding the language in which constitution should be written: Many members asked for Hindi as a language of constitution. However, drafting committee rejected , saying that the foreign language could better articulate the technical and legal terms of the document.
2) Hindustani as a National language: Hindustani is considered a synthesis of Hindi and Urudu Hence considered for national language. However it was opposed by Hindi members. They wished to have the sanskritised Hindi as national language. This was inturn opposed by major non Hindi speaking representative members.
3) Official language:
Finally, a compromise arrived in the assembly that Hindi written in Devangiri script will be official language of the union. But for fifteen years English would continue for official purposes of the union. By the official language Act of 1963, English continued as official language due to the Ant-Hindi agitation from south india.
Court rulings: Gujarat Highcourt in 2010 stated that, in India, majority people in india accepted Hindi as a national language . But there was nothing mentioned in constitution or law to declare Hindi as national language . It is an official language and enjoys the same status as 22 other official language in eight schedule of the constitution.
In 2014, Supreme court accepted Urudu as the second official language of the state Uttar Pradesh. The judgement is supported by Article 345 of the constitution-“state can have one or more official language”
Conclusion: “Linguistic secularism” denoted the respect for all languages and protecting the mother tongue is need of the time.
i
jagan , nice answer , especially the supreme court order .
just one correction , there are just two official languages of the union i.e. hindi and english as per the article 343 of the constitution .
in eighth schedule , there are 22 scheduled languages .
dhillonz, thanks for the correction…i used the word “official” by mistake
Keen observations Dhillonz. Keep it up.
Marks 3.5. Jagan, you are comprehending questions well. Keep it up.
thanks clearias for reviewing
Bodo’s represent the land in the northern parts of Assam. They are the ethnic groups who inhabited the land for centuries . In the later 1970’s and 80’s –Bodo people started demanding for separate statehood due to underdevelopment and backwardness. All Bodo Students Union(ABSU) involved in militant struggle.
2003 Bodo Accord and signifigance:
Government of india and State of Assam entered into agreement with bodos and formulated the bodo accord.
1. Bodo Accord created Bodo territorial areas distrcits(BTAD) and Bodo territorial Council (BTC) for autonomous administration under sixth schedule of the constitution. The districts include Kokrajhar, Baska, chirang and Udalguri
2. Seek to protect the land rights of indigenous Bodos
3. Large amount of financial assistance is provided for development activities
4. In terms of internal security, Bodo Accord provided only a temporary solution to the internal security problems by providing autonomous administration.
Real Issues:
1. The land remains a strife between various ethnic groups . bodos constitute only 25 % of the total inhabitants. The remaning Non- bodos feel under represented in employment, administration and so on due to the Bodo accord.
2. Lot of illegal immigration from Bangladesh is changing the demography of the land.They acquire lands in that area, which creates strife with the Bodo. The accord which seek to protect the land rights is considered not doing the same by the bodos.
3. Non- bodos feel that the Bodos are deriving more benefits .
Solution
1. Violences in Korajahar in 2012 and other districts in 2014, clear indicates the social tensions in that region. Therefore political mediation and talks between different ethnic groups to resolve the disputes need to be undertaken.
2. Illegal immigration from Bangladesh should be checked.
3. Civil societies should play a larger role in bringing peace, counselling to victims in these violences, rehabilitation from refugees camps.
4. Centre and state must coordinate in keeping the situation under control
Democratic solution protection both the interest of Bodos and Non- bodos should be strived for by the different stakeholders.
Marks 3.5.
In economic terms, the Congress split in 1969 was represented as one between the left and the right. Critically analyze this statement. What does that split signify for the Congress tradition and for India today?
ANSWER:
The split in the congress in 1969 was a significant event in the politics of india.
Viewing the split from an economic perspective, it appears that most of the right wingers in the party left after the split. However they cannot be clubbed with the rightists such as the jan sangh because the right leaning members in the congress had all along supported the congress’ socialist policies, role of the public sector, support to cooperativization. And even after the split the congress – I still could not successfully implement the program on land reforms in state like bihar.
Hence it is also needed to view the split from the prism of a generational change. Most of the members in the congress I were in their 40s and some in their 20s, with some exceptions of those being from the 1920s.
Another perspective on the split is based on the small coterie influenced by the thinking of CPI around the prime minister. They exerted undue influence and clout. All important decisions were influenced by this group. However this group failed during the takeover of grain trade.
Thus the 1969 split cannot be seen from a single dimension of right versus the left.
The split has been a set back for the congress tradition as the congress O consisting of the senior members were ignored. The democratic and secular principles that the congress had so long upheld were sidelined with the split as the un- constitutional group began exerting influence over major decisions of the prime minister. Even today such a split signifies the charismatic personality of a dominant person in the party may be overwhelming for the party and the will of the person may have to prevail even if that results in ignoring the old and senior members in the party. There may be undermining of the party as it gets eclipsed by the single most influential person.
Marks 3.0.