INSIGHTSIAS IPM TEST SERIES-2020 Test YL2010/ IPM 10

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INSIGHTSIAS IPM TEST SERIES-2020

Test YL2010/ IPM 10 Synopsis

SECTION A

Topic 1: Threats to India's Federalism - real or imaginary?

Introduction:

K.C.Wheare calls Indian Federalism as ‘Quasi Federalism’ .He remarked that, ‘Indian

Union is a unitary state with subsidiary federal features rather than a federal state with

subsidiary unitary features’

What is federalism?

Form of government wherein there is division of power between central and provincial

or state governments. (Elaborate a bit on it)

Indian form of federalism –

Quasi federalism- more powers with central government

Reasons for it

● background of partition

● fear of balkanisation

● resource crunch and poverty

Body-

Features:

- Dual polity

- Written constitution

- Division of powers

- Supremacy of constitution

- Independent Judiciary

- Bicameralism

(Note: Features need to be discussed briefly and not elaborately)

Evolution of federalism in India-

1950s-1960s:

More concentration of power in central – planning commission, 5-year plans etc

1990s:

Moving towards devolution- 73rd, 74th amendment: cooperative federalism

Present: Competitive Sub-federalism

Real threats:

• Language imposition- Hindi (recent agitations)

• Position of governor – with respect to passing of Bills, president’s rule,

appointments

• Article 356 – misuse by ruling party at centre

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https://t.me/UPSC_PDF https://t.me/UPSC_PDF

http://www.mains.insightsias.com/

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• Regionalism- Nagalim issue, Bodoland, Dravida Nadu Demand

• Demand for separate flag

• Economic Disparities

• Threats from outside – Ex. Support for Khalistan Movement

• Finance commission: Terms of condition (15th F C)

Imaginary threats:

• Single constitution and single citizenship

• Election commission (Integrated Election Machinery)

• Amendment powers- Article 368(concentration of power in centre)

• Formation, alteration of boundaries of states- Article 2, 3

• Central agencies like CBI

• All India Service

Elaborate on these aspects with more examples and relevant issues. Can add other

threats as well.

Note: These points can be inter changed as well, depending on the arguments of the

student

What steps have been taken so far

✓ Interstate council

✓ GST Council

✓ Niti Ayog

✓ 14th Finance Commission (42% devolution)

What more is needed: ✓ Frequent meetings of Interstate councils

✓ Strengthening of local governments- More finance and subjects under their

jurisdiction

✓ Fiscal federalism

✓ respecting cultural diversity

Conclusion:

Can use keywords like cooperative/competitive/collaborative Federalism

Can end with appropriate quote or futuristic statements

“Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat”

TOPIC 2: "Local self-government is a Utopian concept impractical and

undesirable."

General structure of the essay:

• Introducing democracy and linking it with Local Self Government.

• Definition of Local Self Government.

• Stand about the topic.

• Thesis statement.





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• Brief history of Local Self Government

• Why does Local Self Government utopian concept?

• Local Self Government non-utopian concept- practical and desirable.

• What are the measures to be taken to make it desirable and practical?

• New perspective of Local Self Government.

• Conclusion.

Introduction:

One can start the essay with Abraham Lincoln Gettys burg speech.

The Gettysburg Address is a speech that U.S. President Abraham Lincoln delivered

during the American Civil War where he defines democracy as

"Government by the people of the people and for the people"

It means that people are sovereign in democracy. The realization of this goal at grass

root level that is at village and urban level refers to local self-government.

Wherein Either people directly rule themselves or they elect rulers to rule them.

Definition of local self-government:

M K Gandhi in his book " Hind swaraj" written in 1909 mentions about gram swaraj.

" My idea of Grama Swaraj is that it is a complete Republic independent of its

neighbors for its own vital wants and yet interdependent for many others in

which dependence is necessary"

Gram swaraj, or village self-rule, was a pivotal concept in Gandhi’s thinking. It was

the centerpiece of his vision of economic development in India. Gandhiji’s Gram

Swaraj was not the reconstruction of the old village but the formation of fresh

independent units of villages having self-sufficient economy.

Self-sufficiency in basic needs was one of the fundamental conditions of Gandhian

village reconstruction. Food, clothing and other basic necessities should be

produced at the village itself, which would lead to full employment of almost

each able-bodied person and would prevent the rural-urban migration in search

of employment and better opportunities.

The Gandhian idea of Gram Swaraj can be extended to include urban local bodies

as well.

Stand about the topic- (can be)

The idea of local self-government as propounded by Gandhi is plausible, practical

non-Utopian and desirable. However, if we expand the definition of local self-

government to include a village or city having complete or absolute executive

legislative and judicial independence, then this type of local self-government

seems impractical undesirable and Utopian.

Thesis statement:

In this essay we are going to explore a Brief history of Local Self Government, why

does Local Self Government utopian concept? Are there any successful models

of local self-government? What are the measures to be taken to make it desirable

and practical and finally New perspective of Local Self Government?





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Tracing the roots of local self-government:

1700 BC during Rig Vedic time' Sabhas' were local self-governing bodies with the

passage of time Shahbaz you called as panchayat it means Council of five

persons. During Chola era- village Assemblies.

In 1882 Lord Ripon resolution on local self-government it is called as Magna Carta

of local self-government.

In 1950 the Indian Constitution under article 40 provided for Panchayat Raj

institutions it states that the state shall take steps to organise village panchayats

and endow them with such powers and authorities to enable them to function as

units of self-government.

In 1993 73rd and 74th constitutional amendment provided for Panchayati Raj

institutions and urban local bodies respectively.

Local self-government is a Treasure in the mirror and Utopian concept:

1. To ensure that sovereignty unity and integrity of India any nation is protected

local self-governments cannot enjoy absolute independence they have to be part

of nation if Nation has to survive. Hence the idea is utopian.

2. Lack of political will to transfer powers to the local self-governments example

11th and 12th schedule.

3. Lack of own revenue generation capacity. Example, a village in in forest.

4. Autonomy leading to separatist movements, for example pathalgadi Movement

in Jharkhand.

5. National agenda may be compromised.

6. Khap panchayat-

Supreme Court declared illegal and democratic because of order for honor killing.

7. deeply entrenched caste system upper caste dominating lower caste.

8. lack of awareness about political rights and lack of self-governing skills.

9. Urban local bodies versus special purpose vehicles.

Local self-government successful models:

(Countering the given statement)

Panchayat model

Kerala model more than 40% of the state revenue is utilised by panchayats all the

11 subjects mentioned in the constitution have been transferred.

(If it is possible in Kerala possible throughout the India)

Best urban local body model

Ahmedabad model- self revenue generating capacity.

UK city models

(If it is possible in Ahmedabad possible throughout cities of India)

Measures to be taken to realise dream of local self-government:

1. making it mandatory to transfer all the subjects mentioned in 11th and 12th

schedule.

2. training and awareness-Gram Swaraj Abhiyan.

3. implementing second administrative Reforms Commission recommendation on

local self-government.





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4. establishing separate body at state level to approve plans prepared by the villages

and the cities.

5. Reservation 2 to schedule caste scheduled tribes and women ensures people

participation.

New perspective:

More refined form of local self-government can be autonomous district councils

provided by sixth schedule of the constitution. These autonomous district

councils enjoy taxing powers, legislative powers, judicial powers and executive

powers.

Conclusion:

Conclude based on the stand taken in the introduction.

TOPIC 3: Survival of democracy rests on the independent Judiciary

Essay structure:

• Introduction

• Context

• Thesis statement

• Meaning of keywords

• Democracy

• Independent judiciary

Body:

- How survival of judiciary depends on the independent judiciary

- Where lack of independent judiciary led to failure of democracy

- Where it helped in making democracy strong

- Factors which affects the judicial independence

- Other factors essentially for survival of democracy

- Why survival of democracy is necessary

- Negative impact of complete independent judiciary

- Anti thesis

- Way forward

- Conclusion

- Introduction:

(you can introduce with a quote or just by decoding the topic)

"An independent judiciary is the crown jewel of our democracy :

- Nan Aron

Context:

Recent incidence in Maldives

Four senior most judges holding conference in independent India first time





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(You can add other points here)

Thesis statement:

In this essay we are going to discuss how survival of democracy depends on

independent judiciary .Along with this other factors which also necessary for

democracy .

Anti-thesis how democracy itself necessary for independent judiciary.

Meaning of keywords:

“Democracy is the government OF the people, FOR the people and BY the

people.”

-Abraham Lincoln

For democracy judicial independence is necessary. In general, Judicial

independence is the concept that the judiciary should be independent from the

other branches of government. That is, courts should not be subject to improper

influence from the other branches of government or from private or partisan

interests. Judicial independence is important to the idea of separation of

powers. It serves as a foundation for the rule of law and democracy.

Body:

How survival of democracy is based on Independent Judiciary:

From political perspective:

By striking down the laws regulation which affects the fundamental rights of

people through judicial review. Judiciary acts as custodian of constitution and

act as savior for democracy by taking care the Government policies , Acts,

rules laws regulation are in consultation with the basic principles of the

democracy.

Through various judgment judiciary has played important role in free and fair

elections so helped in protecting democracy .

For preventing the criminalization of politics- Jan Chaukidaar case S.C

debarred person in custody from voting

MPs, MLAs to be disqualified on date of criminal conviction

In Lily Thomas v. the Union of India case .

From Social perspective:

Independence, the judiciary can safeguard people's rights and freedoms which

ensure equal protection for all.

E.g. Sabarimala judgment

Striking down the sect 377 of IPC

Vishaka guidelines to protect the harassment at work places

NALSA judgment where Supreme Court recognized transgender as third

gender





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From Economic perspective:

A pillar of economic growth as multinational businesses and investors have

confidence to invest in the economy of a nation who has a strong and stable

judiciary that is independent of interference.

Where Judiciary play a role in surviving the democracy:

Strong judiciary not only helped India get through difficult time of Emergency

but helped in making most successful largest democracy of the world

Supreme Court strike down the NJAC because it was affecting the

independence of judiciary which is basis for the separation of power and basic

structure of constitution.

Where lack of independent Judiciary led to failure of democracy:

The 1975 ADM Jabalpur Case, also known as the habeas corpus case, is

debatably most controversial decision of Supreme Court, where a constitutional

bench unabashedly declared that under emergency provisions no one could

seek the assistance of any court in India to try and save his liberty, life or limb

threatened to be taken away by the State.

While in case of Pakistan weak democracy and political interference led to

unstable democracy. On similarly Maldives experienced same in recent times

Myanmar- Rohingya issues

Factors which affect the independent Judiciary:

- Political interference in appointments

- Media trial- Arushi Talvar case

- Lack of security of tenure to judges

- Post retirement appointments for the judges

Other factors essential for the survival of democracy:

- Free and fair elections

- Rule of law

- Strong institutions

- Vibrant media

- Informed citizens

Why survival of democracy is necessary:

Democracy is the one the best tried and tested form of governance and strong

institutions and democracy is essential for its survival.

Negative impact of completely independent judiciary:

"Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely"





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So, abuse of power by judges. Self-interest, ideological dedication and even

corruption may influence the decisions of judges without any checks and

balances in place to prevent this abuse of power if the judiciary is completely

independent.

If the judiciary and executive are constantly feuding, no government can

function well.

Also, an extremely independent judiciary would lack judicial accountability,

which is the duty of a public decision-maker to explain and justify a decision

and to make amendments where a decision causes injustice or problems.

It can also lead to Judicial overreach.

Anti-thesis:

Democracy itself necessary for the independent Judiciary:

Democracy gives freedom to each of its organ to act independently

Democracy makes executive and legislature accountable to people so they

deferrers from interfering in judiciary

Indian constitution have special provisions for separation of power. Like Art

211 prohibits discussion of any judges of supreme court or high court in

parliament with respect to discharge of duty as judge

Way forward:

Need for institutional and transparent appointment process for judges

Security of tenure

Cooling off period After retirement

Procedure to deal with judicial corruption apart from impeachment which is

difficult to process

Conclusion:

There is need of maintaining fine balance between various organs of

democracy rather than complete independent judiciary for survival of

democracy . Its duty of not only independent organs of democracy to work for

protecting democracy but also, it's duty of all citizens also to contribute to

make the survival of democracy possible.

(You can write futuristic and optimistic conclusion)

TOPIC 4: To achieve inclusive development, rights must be compromised

Structure of the essay:

1. Introduction

2. Thesis Statement

3. Body

● meaning of Inclusive development and rights





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● why compromising certain rights necessary for inclusive development

● rather than compromising rights, rights itself necessary for inclusive

development

4. Way forward and Conclusion

1. Introduction:

Can start with quote/ anecdote/story or any current issues/news related to topic.

For instance

Oxfam International report titled An Economy of the 99 percent, brought to light the

income inequality issue in India. According to the report, India's richest 1% holds

58% of the country's wealth and that 57 billionaires in India have the same wealth

as that of bottom 70 percent of the population.

Further India ranks 130 on Human Development Index which ranks countries based

on life expectancy, education and per capita income indicators. On the Global

Gender Gap Index, India ranks 108.

Also, the news of The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of

Atrocities) Amendment Bill 2018 rules out any provision for anticipatory bail

for a person accused of atrocities against SC/STs, notwithstanding any court

order.

We also read the news that direct benefit transfer (DBT) scheme that government

has expanded significantly has helped to save more than Rs 80,000 crore

2. Thesis Statement:

Will depend on once understanding of the topic

For instance, here will first argue why compromising certain rights necessary for

inclusive development and then why rights need not be compromised To achieve

inclusive development then way forward

3. Body:

● Meaning of key terms Inclusive Development and Rights

Inclusive Development: Inclusive development is a pro-poor approach that equally

values and incorporates the contributions of all stakeholders - including

marginalized groups in addressing development issues.

It means having access to essential services in health and education by the poor,

providing equality of opportunity, empowering people through education and

skill development. It also encompasses a growth process that is environment

friendly growth, aims for good governance and helps in creation of a gender

sensitive society.

Inclusive development also promotes transparency, accountability, and enhances

development cooperation outcomes through collaboration between civil society,

governments and private sector actors.

Rights: Rights are legal, social or ethical principles of freedom or entitlements.ie,

Rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed

to people, according to some legal system, social convention, or ethical theory.





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Rights are often considered fundamental to civilization, being regarded as

established pillars of society and culture.

● why some argue compromising rights necessary for inclusive development

Property rights vs inclusive development:

Article 17 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) enshrines the

right to property as follows:

(1) Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with

others.

(2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property

Even in India There were two Articles in the 1949 Constitution which provides the

right to property, i.e. Art. 19(1) (f) and Art. 31, but both the articles were deleted

from the Indian Constitution by the 44th Amendment Act.

Art. 19(1) (f) and Art. 31 abolished and made a constitutional right under Article

300A which states that no person can be deprived of his / her property except by

authority of law. because the Indian government wanted to bring land reforms

and encourage social justice (by taking land from landowners who have

surplus land and then distributing it to landless farmers).

It also aimed to establish equal distribution of resources.

Furthermore, it was to facilitate the acquisition of land for the developmental

activities.

Even article 39(b)

Privacy rights vs targeted delivery:

Some argue that Aadhaar project violated the Right to Privacy with respect to

personal demographic and biometric information collected, stored and shared.

However, proponents of Aadhar and The Supreme Court of India said that Aadhaar

Act truly seeks to secure to the poor and deprived persons an opportunity to live

their life and exercise liberty. Using Aadhaar as an enabler for providing

deserving section of the society their "right to food, right to livelihood, right to

receive pension and other social assistance benefits" by bringing their right to

life to "fruition".

This necessity of Aadhaar has arisen in order to ensure that such benefits are given

to only genuine beneficiaries.

On the one hand, it gives such individuals their unique identity and, on the other

hand, it also enables such individuals to avail the fruits of welfare schemes of

the government which are floated as socio-economic welfare measures to

uplift such classes.

Equality – Equity:

Meritocracy vs Reservation

Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) act vs provision

for anticipatory bail

You can also add Social Contract Theory- as citizens should be ready to lose or

sacrifice certain rights





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● However rather than compromising rights, rights itself necessary for

inclusive development because of many reasons

Large-scale informal employment: 80% of the Indian labour force is employed in

the informal sector. Informal sector jobs are more insecure without regular pay

and social security benefits. This increases the wage gap between formal and

informal sectors.

Further a huge proportion of the population is still dependent on agriculture but the

share of agriculture to the total GDP is not growing significantly.

Inter- intra- state inequalities: Growth has been different across sectors and

regions. For example, the Green Revolution has disproportionately benefited

Western India when compared to Eastern India.

Similarly, regional imbalances

Growing inequalities than ever before: Studies show that globalization and

opening up the economy has benefited the rich more than the poor, thus raising

the inequality. Global platforms like WTO have resulted in increased trade

competitiveness affecting the returns of local investors and producers.

Historical reasons: Discrimination against certain sections of the society since

historic times. This has affected their choice, opportunity, and accessibility to

education, employment and health. Though policies like Reservation have been

implemented since Independence, they were successful only in the economic and

political sphere that too to a limited section of people but not fully successful in

social upliftment

Lack of skill development and jobless growth leading to unemployment and

underemployment

Women: Women were treated to be subordinate and weaker to males. Girl

education is considered to be a burden on the family and women have limited

choices in employment.

Children: According to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the

Children – that India ratified in 1992 – all children are born with fundamental

rights.

● Right to Survival – to life, health, nutrition, name, nationality

● Right to Development – to education, care, leisure, recreation, cultural activities

● Right to Protection – from exploitation, abuse, neglect

● Right to Participation – to expression, information, thought, religion

Even though India’s children account for more than one-third of its population, their

interests have never been given priority. And their rights have been violated

every single day.

Similarly

Tribal- jal jangal jameen (livelihood) to issues of basic infrastructure (health

and education)





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Especially abled- basic access to dignity

LGBTQ- basic rights of privacy to dignity

To bring all these communities with mainstream society and make equal

participants and shareholders in development inclusive development with

legal back up (rights)is necessary

Also bring Global perspectives

Steps taken by the government for Inclusive Growth

● Summarize how inclusive growth or development did not become reality without

strong legal backup. Refugees of partition, CAD-Rural Development, self-

employment schemes to PDS successful when they were given legal back up

example innovation in art 21 from NFSA, NGT (right to clean environment) to

Art 371 (regional disparities), schedule five,six to FRA- 2006 (latest soligas

habitation rights - BRTiger reserve), RTE to RTI

● Poverty alleviation food programme to right (2002-03) bazil -lula disilva

Conclusion

SECTION B

TOPIC 5: Freedom of speech is fundamental to strong governance

Quotation: “Give me the liberty to know, to utter, and to argue freely according to

conscience, above all liberties” – John Milton.

Introduction:

Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a

community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of

retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The term "freedom of expression" is

sometimes used synonymously but includes any act of seeking, receiving, and

imparting information or ideas, regardless of the medium used. Freedom of

expression is recognized as a human right under article 19 of the Universal

Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and recognized in international human

rights law in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).

Article 19 of the UDHR states that "everyone shall have the right to hold

opinions without interference" and "everyone shall have the right to freedom of

expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart

information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing

or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of his choice". The

version of Article 19 in the ICCPR later amends this by stating that the exercise

of these rights carries "special duties and responsibilities" and may "therefore be

subject to certain restrictions" when necessary " or respect of the rights or

reputation of others" or " or the protection of national security or of public order

(order public), or of public health or morals". The governance of the nation is

directed on the true spirit and pursuance of freedom of speech. Appreciation of





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the role of free speech in good governance is essential to societal development.

However, there are lots of conundrums.

Thesis Statement:

In this essay we will discuss about the loanword’s free speech and good

governance. Then we will link free speech to good governance. The conundrums

and issues arising out of them will be discussed. Then we can make an ending

note saying the inherent beauties of free speech to make world jovial in all sphere

of life, including good governance.

What is Freedom of Speech and Importance?

Freedom of speech enjoys special position as far as India is concerned.

The importance of freedom of expression and speech can be easily understood

by the fact that preamble of the constitution itself ensures to all citizens inter alia,

liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith, and worship. The constitutional

significance of the freedom of speech consists in the preamble of the constitution

and is transformed as a fundamental and human right in Article 19(1) (a) as

“freedom of speech and expression. With the explanation of the scope of

“freedom of speech and expression”, the Supreme Court has said that the words

must be broadly constructed to include the freedom to circulate one’s views by

words of mouth or in writing or through audio-visual instrumentalities. Freedom

of Speech and Expression means the right to express one’s own convictions and

opinions freely by words of mouth, writing, printing, pictures or any other mode.

It thus includes the expression of one’s own idea through any communicable

medium or visible representation, such as gesture, signs, and the like.

Moreover, it is important to note that liberty of one must not offend

the liberty of others. Patanjali Shastri J., in A.K. Gopalan case, observed, ‘man

as a rational being desires to do many things, but in a civil society his desires

will have to be controlled with the exercise of similar desires by other

individuals’. It, therefore, includes the right to propagate one’s views through

the print media or through any other communication channel e.g.; the radio and

the television. Every citizen of this country therefore has the right to air his or

their views through the printing and or the electronic media subject of course to

permissible restrictions imposed under Article 19(2) of the constitution. In sum,

the fundamental principle involved here is the people’s right to know. Freedom

of speech and Expression should, therefore, receive generous support from all

those who believe in the participation of people in the administration.

What is good governance?

There is no single and exhaustive definition of “good governance,”

nor is there a delimitation of its scope, that commands universal acceptance. The

term is used with great flexibility; this is an advantage, but also a source of some

difficulty at the operational level. Depending on the context and the overriding

objective sought, good governance has been said at various times to encompass:

full respect of human rights, the rule of law, effective participation, multi-actor

partnerships, political pluralism, transparent and accountable processes and

institutions, an efficient and effective public sector, legitimacy, access to





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knowledge, information and education, political empowerment of people, equity,

sustainability, and attitudes and values that foster responsibility, solidarity and

tolerance.

However, there is a significant degree of consensus that good

governance relates to political and institutional processes and outcomes that are

deemed necessary to achieve the goals of development. It has been said that good

governance is the process whereby public institutions conduct public affairs,

manage public resources and guarantee the realization of human rights in a

manner essentially free of abuse and corruption, and with due regard for the rule

of law. The true test of "good" governance is the degree to which it delivers on

the promise of human rights: civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights.

The key question is: are the institutions of governance effectively guaranteeing

the right to health, adequate housing, sufficient food, quality education, fair

justice and personal security?

Key attributes of good governance

The concept of good governance has been clarified by the work of the former

Commission on Human Rights. In its resolution 2000/64, the Commission

identified the key attributes of good governance:

• Free Speech

• transparency

• responsibility

• accountability

• participation

• responsiveness (to the needs of the people)

By linking good governance to sustainable human development, emphasizing

principles such as accountability, participation and the enjoyment of human

rights, and rejecting prescriptive approaches to development assistance, the

resolution stands as an implicit endorsement of the rights-based approach to

development.

Resolution 2000/64 expressly linked good governance to an enabling environment

conducive to the enjoyment of human rights, free speech and "prompting growth

and sustainable human development." In underscoring the importance of

development cooperation for securing good governance in countries in need of

external support, the resolution recognized the value of partnership approaches

to development cooperation and the inappropriateness of prescriptive

approaches.

How are free speech and good governance are linked?

Free speech and good governance are mutually reinforcing. Human rights principles

provide a set of values to guide the work of governments and other political and

social actors. They also provide a set of performance standards against which

these actors can be held accountable. Moreover, free speech principles inform

the content of good governance efforts: they may inform the development of

• legislative

• frameworks,

• policies,





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• programmes,

• budgetary allocations and

• other measures.

On the other hand, without free speech, good governance cannot be respected

and protected in a sustainable manner. The implementation of human rights

relies on a conducive and enabling environment, where deliberations,

discussions and free speech are there. This includes appropriate legal

frameworks and institutions as well as political, managerial and administrative

processes responsible for responding to the free speech and needs of the

population.

The links between good governance and free speech can be organized around

four areas:

• e.g. Democratic institutions and free speech

When led by free speech values, good governance reforms of democratic institutions

create avenues for the public to participate in policymaking either through formal

institutions or informal consultations. They also establish mechanisms for the

inclusion of multiple social groups in decision-making processes, especially

locally. Finally, they may encourage civil society and local communities to

formulate and express their positions on issues of importance to them.

• E.g. Service delivery through raising a voice

In the realm of delivering state services to the public, free speech reforms advance

good governance when they improve the state’s capacity to fulfil its

responsibility to provide public goods which are essential for the protection of a

number of human rights, such as the right to education, health and food. Reform

initiatives may include mechanisms of accountability and transparency,

culturally sensitive policy tools to ensure that services are accessible and

acceptable to all, and paths for public participation in decision-making.

• E.g. Rule of law and free speech

When it comes to the rule of law, free speech led good governance initiatives reform

legislation and assist institutions ranging from penal systems to courts and

parliaments to better implement that legislation. Good governance initiatives

may include advocacy for legal reform, public awareness-raising on the national

and international legal framework, and capacity-building or reform of

institutions.

• E.g. Anti-Corruption

In fighting corruption, free speech led good governance efforts force on principles

such as accountability, transparency and participation to shape anti-corruption

measures. Initiatives may include establishing institutions such as anti-

corruption commissions, creating mechanisms of information sharing, and

monitoring governments’ use of public funds and implementation of policies.

Conundrums in Free Speech and Aspirations for Good Governance:

• “Freedom of speech includes to offend people.”

~Brad Thor

e.g. Communalism

Hate Speech

Propaganda





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• “Freedom of speech gives you the right to stay silent.”

~Neil Gaiman

• “Freedom of speech doesn't protect speech you like; it protects speech you don't

like.”

~Larry Flynt

• “Freedom of speech doesn't mean freedom from judgement.

~Jackson Pearce

e.g. Environmental Issues

Court Cases

Irrational decisions by legislature, executive and bureaucracy sometimes

• (Write Counter Arguments of your all arguments summarizing them in a

paragraph)

Solutions:

• To comply Constitutional Frameworks

• Social media regulation

• Vibrant cyber laws

• Judiciary activism

• Awareness amongst people and separate desk in offices

• Social Audit and feedback mechanism

• Decent grievance redressal mechanism

• Checking propagandas

Way Forward:

The free speech in India, the largest democracy of the world is different from world,

being much liberal and progressive. Educating the masses for their social

upliftment needs to be in its ambit as well. In a country where there is large scale

poverty, unemployment and underdevelopment, a healthy free speech for good

governance as a responsibility towards development is a need of the hour. It has

a role to play behind the formation of public opinion which can force the political

parties to address the core issues haunting the country’s progress. In that respect

media is thus referred to as the fourth pillar of democracy. However; public

opinion can be manipulated by vested interests to serve their own goals.

Good governance is an ideal system which is difficult to achieve in its totality. In

other words, no country or society has ever said to achieve good governance in

totality. We can only come close to this by our activities with the aim of making

this ideal a reality. The journey of India from developing nation to a developed

nation will depend on the role played by the free speech and media in the country.

It needs to be focused on real matters, which are mostly social and economic in

nature, instead of trying to divert the attention to the known issues. Achieving

good governance requires the understanding and participation of every member

of society. The free speeches, their significant roles and contents, are considered

to be the most powerful weapon to make this achievement a reality.

“Freedom of speech is a guiding rule, one of the foundations of democracy, but at

the same time, freedom does not imply anarchy, and the right to exercise free

expression does not include the right to do unjustified harm to others.”





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~Raphael Cohen Almagor

TOPIC 6: Social Reforms are a must to achieve administrative reforms

Meaning of Administrative Reform:

Human behavior, outlook, attitude and many others are constantly changing and the

impact of changes falls upon society in general and upon administration in

particular. The public administration must make sincere and serious efforts to

meet the new demands which are resultants of changes in outlook and behaviour.

Viewed from this perspective the public administration can never remain static.

In other words, the administrative system should be reformed so that it can meet

the new demands of society. Here arises the necessity of reforming

administration.

Let us define reform. It means to make changes, especially an institution or practice

in order to improve it. This is the general meaning of reform. But reforming

administration has separate connotation. The administrative system of a state can

never be permanent or be applicable to all cases. Administrative reform is

defined by Gerald Caiden as “the artificial inducement of administrative

transformation against resistance”. Caiden has further clarified the term reform-

Reform is different from re-organisation or changes. But re-organisation is not

ruled out of reform.

A recent critic says that there is difference between changes and reforms. All

reforms are changes, but all changes cannot be considered as reforms. Changes

are linked with piecemeal alternations and very often sporadic. The purpose of

change is not to bring about large-scale or radical alternations – changes always

do not have specific and positive purposes. Sometimes changes are introduced

half-heartedly.

The changes may be reactionary. On the other hand, reforms aim at wide and

sometimes radical changes in a system. Reforms are always normative and are

introduced with specific purpose in mind. The Reformation Movement in Europe

was launched with certain specific purposes and these were to reform the out-

dated concepts and dogmas of Christianity. So reforms sometimes assume the

character of movement. But the administrative reform does not fall in the

category of movement.

It has already been noted that reforms are normative in nature. They are introduced

for the attainment of specific purpose. It is generally said that the idea of

introducing reforms arises only when the prevailing system appears to be

unworkable or fails to meet the basic demands of society. The administrative

reform falls in this category.

The purpose of administration is to meet the demands of people and execute the

policies taken by the government. But when it is felt that the prevailing system

of public administration fails to reach the target and to meet the demands of

people then—and then only —the question of reforming administration arises.

In other words, the prospect and the prevailing situation move in opposite

direction. Reform becomes inevitable.





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Origin of Administrative Reforms:

Caiden in his Dynamics of Public Administration has said that the reform of public

administration can be dated to the second half of the nineteenth century and in

support of his contention he has advanced the following reasons. In his opinion

(and in the opinions of large number of public administrations) USA was the

pioneer in the field of administrative reforms.

American capitalism started its progress from the middle of the nineteenth century

and this resulted in the large amount of investments in various fields. But it was

found that public investment and private initiative in the field of economic

development must be accompanied by rapid and proper change in the field of

public administration. But the public services and public administration lagged

behind the growth of both private and public investments and a necessity for

reforming the public administration was felt.

This may be regarded as the beginning of public administration. The capitalists and

industrial magnates thought that, without proper public administration,

investment proposals and public investments will never be successful. In other

words, civil servants of high efficiency must be employed for the successful

investment proposals.

There was another dark side of public administration in USA. What is generally

called bureaucratic ethics was spectacularly absent in the administrative system.

But it was felt that without morality and ethics the public administration can

never achieve the goals for which it was ordained.

Let us quote few lines from Caidens’ book: “public morality left much to be desired

and frequent scandals and disasters hardly improved the public image of

officialdom. Something had to be done to reform the administrative system of

government more in keeping with contemporary needs to improve the standard

of public service and root out the inefficiency and corruption”.

Throughout the world there was a movement to reform the administration. The

reform was felt primarily for two reasons. One is: the public administration must

create a congenial atmosphere for the investment. The other reason was that, as

far as practicable, the public administration must be efficient and moral or

ethical.

We call the administrative reform as a special type of movement because various

important aspects of public administration, were the consequences of the

movement.

In the field of administrative reform Goodnow has a special place. He is regarded

by many as the “Father of American public administration”. He made few

proposals or suggestions which were designed to reform administration.

Goodnow suggested that special research institutes should be established for the

continuous and effective research in public administration. He said that young

and energetic graduates should come to do research in public administration.

The public administration should be made fully suitable for a changing society and,

to achieve this goal, extensive research work should be started and continued.

Bureaucracy is the root cause of many evils and for that reason it ought to be

controlled. It is impossible to control it by ways of direct democracy. Naturally,





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the only way of controlling bureaucracy is by way of reforming public admin-

istration.

Reform Based on Ideology:

There is a close relation between administrative reform and ideology. At least many

public administrators believe so. At first, we shall briefly analyse what is

ideology. According to one critic, “An ideology is a value or belief system that

is accepted as fact or truth by some groups.” In an ideology there are certain

attitudes which are related to political, economic and social issues: The believers

of an ideology think that through the application of the ideology which he

supports his objectives can be achieved.

Through the application of an ideology social movement can be started and the

reform of public administration falls within the category of social movement or

the change of social system. The social system can be changed through the

reform or radical change of the whole administrative system.

In what way an ideology helps the administrative reform. When an administration

fails to meet the requirements of the people a movement is launched to highlight

the inability of public administration and, simultaneously, movement is

launched. The purpose of the movement is to explain the drawbacks or

limitations of public administration to the general public.

The sponsors of the movement explain their purposes to the people. Common people

may not always be aware of the complexities of public administration keeping

this in mind the leaders of the reform movement explain everything to the public

and, at the same time, place alternative proposals to the public. Strictly speaking

many may object that this is not, strictly, ideology. But here we interpret it in a

wider sense.

It is to be remembered that in order to ensure reform in administration large scale

support of people is necessary. It is because of the fact that there may be some

men who oppose reform. So, in order to make administrative reform successful

a movement is essential. On experience it has been found that there is strong link

between movement and emotion. People shall be emotionally aroused in favor

of administrative reform.

In this field, emotion has something to do. It has been maintained by a critic that

ideology promotes solidarity — as is the case with Marxism and Leninism.

Sorol’s myth of the general strike is a classic example. Ideology provides a sense

of orientation when one is lacking. It mirrors a universal picture and a reference

point for individual actions as well as social policies. To sum up, ideology always

plays an important role in the field of politics and public administration is an

important part of politics.

Hence if any party or organisation wishes to have large scale reform in public

administration it should be its duty to convince the people of the necessity of

administrative reform. Without people’s co-operation reform will remain a

distant hope.

Some people say that in developed nations ideology does not always play a crucial

role in the field of administrative reform. But in new nations or developing

countries the ideology has been found to play a necessary role. In the developing





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nations “there is constant presence of industrialisation, modernisation and

development and the greater part of this pressure falls upon public admin-

istration.

But since the concepts of industrialisation and modernisation are constantly

changing the public administration will have to adjust with all these changes and

hence the reform of public administration is essential. New nations generally

follow certain norms or principles of ideology. In one way or other ideology

enters into the picture.”

In Marxism-Leninism there is special importance of public administration or

management in the development process of society. It has been observed by

Varlamov (Socialist Management and Leninist Concept): that human progress

through management is becoming the motto of numerous scientific symposia,

international congresses and conferences.

It is with management that administrators and politicians, theoreticians and practical

workers, and specialists in the natural and social sciences link their hopes and

projects, their plans and forecasts, and practical activities.” Varlamov further

writes, “The future of every country, if not of our entire planet, depends upon

management, upon its objective, and social contents, functions and principles.”

So is the immense value of management in both social development and

reconstruction. The point to note is that public administration or management

cannot be separated from ideology.

At least socialist thinkers think in this line. So, if ideology plays an important role

in administration, we think, reforms will also be guided or influenced by the

concept of ideology. It is generally said that the persons who want to introduce

certain reforms must be influenced or guided by some sort of ideology. The

influence of ideology upon administrative reform is not a Utopia, it is absolutely

practical.

The government and public administrators introduced numerous administrative

reforms to face the realities of changes that fell on public administration. It is

observed that if science and technological progress are merged with public

administration that will produce best results. But both science and technology

are changing—so public administration will change and it is through reforms.

The administrator proceeds slowly but steadily to achieve his goal. He knows that

without reforming public administration it cannot be used as a weapon for the

attainment of people’s demands. In this age of globalisation men’s demands are

changing and increasing. The public administration must keep note of this.

Reasons of Reforms:

Why administrators and academics are so much concerned about the reforms of

administration? It is not difficult to find out the reasons. To put it in other words,

in every society there exists certain conditions which demand that the

administrative system should be changed.

Otherwise it would not be able to meet the growing and changing requirements

of the people:





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(1) An important reason or condition of reform is there is a clear gap between the

existing system and what people or clients want. In other words, the prevailing

structure of administrative system is incapable of meeting the demands of society

naturally, the public administration must be reformed—it shall be made suitable

for the new and demanding situation.

(2) There is a second reason which is weightier. The colonial powers of Europe

administered the colonies of Asia and Africa following their own method, and

rules and the chief purpose of colonial administration was to elongate the

colonial rule. There was another purpose and it was to fulfill the aims of

colonialism.

After the colonies achieved political freedom, it was found that the colonial system

of administration was not in a position to meet the requirements of the newly

independent states. At the same time, the rulers of the new states realised that the

old system of public administration could not be jettisoned. The necessary parts

of the old colonial public administration can be kept and something new should

be added to the old body to make the whole updated public administration

suitable and meaningful. This can be treated as the starting point of

administrative reform.

(3) In order to incorporate the importance of ecological factors upon the public

administration it is necessary that the prevailing system of administration should

be changed or reformed. Fred Riggs is the first man who drew our attention to

the immense importance of ecology on public administration. The reforms of

public administration must be made in the background of the entire social system

including ecology. Let us quote few lines from a critic: “It should be stressed

that … I do not suggest that reforms must necessarily be designed within the

social content only as that would be self-defeating. The argument is that the

reformers must be cognizant of these limitations and try to reform comprehen-

sively. Any reform attempt should keep the entire social and political fabric as

its target”.

The impact of ecology upon the society is so comprehensive that it cannot be

ignored. But the old public administration did not feel it necessary to refurbish

the public administration in the background of the entire social system including

ecology. After Riggs succeeded in drawing our attention to the importance of

ecology in public administration it was felt that the old structure of public

administration should be reformed, otherwise it will have no relevance at all.

(4) The public administration in general has been built up in the background of

Weberian model of bureaucracy. But Weber built up his model of bureaucracy

at the beginning of the last century. During the last one hundred years there have

occurred sea-changes in the administrative systems and Weberian model has

proved its incapability to face new situations. This inspired the public admin-

istrators to reform the public administration.

(5) Globalisation and liberalisation have necessitated the reforms of public

administration. I have already noted this aspect or point. The impact of

globalisation or liberalisation is so far-reaching that the administrative system of

a country cannot remain neutral. Particularly the public administration of





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developing nations is overwhelmingly influenced. The old public administration

makes itself irrelevant for the new circumstances created by globalisation.

The government or top executive feels the necessity of reforming administration.

The economic systems of earlier centuries were interdependent, but their

interdependence today has surpassed all previous records. If a state wants to

survive it must accept the reality which means that the administrative system

must be changed to make it relevant for the prevailing situation. This however,

is not imaginary. The public administration of many countries has been forcing

to reform in the light of changes that took place in the eighties and nineties of

the last century.

(6) No country today is thinking of direct democracy of the Athenian type. But there

is no denying the fact that the advancement of democracy has made people very

alert and they are endeavoring to influence administration. But the old Weberian

model of bureaucracy does not fully encourage this. Naturally the old Weberian

bureaucracy faces problems and the authority proceeds to reform.

There is no question of rejecting the old bureaucracy, simultaneously the new trend

cannot be neglected. The net result is that the administration is to be reformed.

It is to kill two birds with one stone. A state cannot run its administration without

bureaucracy. Again, peoples’ aspiration must be honoured.

Implementation of Reforms:

Reforming public administration is essential because time outlook of people, society

—all are changing. Naturally, public administration or administrative system

will also change. In other words, the public administration of every state is

reformed. But the problem is to propose reforms and to implement them are quite

separate. Again, there are several methods of implementing them. Caiden the

noted author of public administration, thinks that there are several ways of

executing reform.

The important way of implementing the reform is political revolution. In Russia,

China and in several other countries public administration was thoroughly

changed or reformed after revolution. The revolutionaries, in order to execute

their policies, schemes and ideas changed the old administrative system. But

complete change or abolition of old administration are not possible or advisable.

After coming to power Lenin kept the bureaucratic system but he was forced to

follow Marxist principle and ideology. However it is admitted on all hands that

revolution is a very important way of reform.

When the old system of public administration proves its incapability to cope with

the new situation or changes the old, public administration is reformed. This is a

normal procedure and it is adopted everywhere. There is a famous proverb-old

order changed yielding place to new. To put it in other words, various sorts of

change such as change in political sphere, change outlook. Changes in behaviour

force the authority to change or reform public administration. The administrative

system cannot or should not be rigid. The rigidity in public administration will

create chaos or discontent among the citizenry. It should not be allowed to

persist.





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Public administration is reformed through legal ways. There are different legal ways

of reforming public administration. Sometimes the legislature enacts a law for

specific purpose. That purpose is served but that law indirectly aims at changing

certain aspects of public administration. Originally it was not the purpose of law

to reform administration. But the execution of law reforms the public

administration.

Sometimes the decisions of judges indirectly reform the administration. It is to be

remembered here that the judges had no intention to change any part of public

administration, but his judgement has done the job indirectly. This very often

happens in USA and India.

The personal behaviour or attitude is a potent cause of the change of public

administration. A very powerful person or a man of high imagination comes to

power and he wanted to implement the dreams which he nourished in mind

intended to execute them. In this case the person concerned must be courageous

and he must have sufficient hold over the whole administrative system.

The authority is sometimes forced to implement or introduce reforms being

pressurised by public or pressure groups or interest groups. Particularly in liberal

democracies various types of groups are quite active and elites want to satisfy

their needs. All these forces the authority to reform public administration. The

outlook and political philosophy of a party is another cause of reform and that

reform is forthwith implemented in order to keep the election pledges.

New Areas of Administrative Reforms:

Administrative reform is a broad term and naturally its area is quite wide. The true

administrative reform does not mean piecemeal reforms that take place here and

there in the vast body of public administration. Every issue that concerns the

government may also come under the umbrella of administrative reform. Viewed

from this perspective we can say that administrative reform includes numerous

issues. It is because the chief aim of public administration is to help the state in

achieving its goals.

Caiden in his Dynamics of Public Administration says that a true public

administration must consider the following issues as its subjects. He says:

“Public administration no longer stops at the housekeeping end of these and other

public activities, such as forestry, laboratory administration, gallery

administration, archives and engineering”. According to Caiden the subject

matter of public administration is very wide and it is concerned with all sorts of

public authorities. If so, whenever an attempt is made to reform public

administration all the important subjects and areas must come under the purview

of administrative reform.

It has been suggested that whenever attempts are made to reform public

administration the following areas should be included:

1. Population growth and control, family planning, public hygiene, sex education.

2. Drug control should be the subject of administrative reform. The term drug control

is a very wide term. The public administration should see that the sale and





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distribution of harmful drugs must be banned. Intoxicants and smoking be

prohibited.

3. The public administration must keep an eye on space laws and related problems.

4. In any society there are various forms of public service providers. It is the duty of

central public administration to see that the service centers are performing their

duties sincerely and properly. If this is not done the administrative reform must

try to put everything in proper form.

5. Though academic institutions enjoy autonomy; they are not outside the purview

of general public administration. The state administrative authority keeps an eye

over the activities of these institutions, If the functions of educational institutions

adversely affect the public morality law and order the public administration must

try to take steps against this tendency. If the prevailing system fails to do the

needful, the reform in public administration must be made.

6. Foreign affairs do not remain outside the general public administration. Two

centuries ago there was practically no existence of international relations in

today’s sense and the public administration had no serious concern about the on-

going of international relations. Today the situation has changed completely. The

state administration must see that the incidents at international level do not go

against the core interests of state. If there is anything wrong public administration

takes steps and if it is not capable it must be reformed Caiden has suggested the

reforms of public administration from this perspective.

7. An important area of administrative reform is electoral system. In all democratic

countries elections are held periodically. But electoral system and election are

ruled by certain laws and procedures and it is known to all that these are framed

by the general public administration under the guidance of government or the

concerned minister. Parliament enacts laws and public administration

implements them. Necessary changes and amendments are done by the public

administration department.

Problems of Administrative Reform:

Change and reform are both essential for every system and especially very important

for public administration. But the essentiality of reform does’ not mean that its

attainment and implementation are very easy tasks and naturally can be smoothly

implemented. Here lies the problem of administrative reform.

This we can analyse from number of angles and some are stated briefly:

1. The situation for administrative reform appears to be imminent. The prevailing

system of public administration is unable to cope with the changes that have

engulfed the society. In other words, there has developed a very big gap between

the capacity of public administration and the growing demands and

requirements.

In other words, the public administration is unable to meet the needs of people or

clients and, in that case, reform appears to be indispensable. But the problem is

the reform may not be able to satisfy the demands of people and in that situation

reform will be unsuccessful.





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2. The administrative reform is not a day to day affair. That is, public administration

cannot be reformed frequently. When to reform and how much to be reformed

pose big problems and these cannot be solved easily. The authority will start

reforming public administration when the necessity will be fully ripe. Men will

ardently desire a reform in public administration. But here is a problem again. A

section of the society wants reform while the other section may feel that it is

unnecessary. The reconciliation between the two opposing groups may prove an

impossibility.

3. A reform must be a long-term process. But the problem is it is not possible for the

administrators to anticipate the future. The result is today’s reform may appear

to be irrelevant in the near future. But an administration cannot be reformed

frequently. None can overcome this problem. Reform is essential and future

irrelevancy is certain.

4. An important objective of administrative reform is to ensure the support of the

clients for the reform and participation of people in administration. Here lies a

very big problem. Without people’s support a reform proposal can never be

executed. Particularly in a country where there are large number of parties and

the relation between them is far from cordial. When the party in power proceeds

to introduce certain reforms in public administration other parties will or may

object.

Again, in a class society where there are two powerful classes any reform that aims

to give some special privileges to a class working class, the capitalist class will

strongly object; or if any reform goes against the interests of elites or any

powerful interest groups others will object and try to scuttle the reform proposals.

Party rivalry or anti-government attitude stands on the way of the

implementation of reforms.

This happens in democracy. We have already discussed the issue of participation of

people in administration. But participation of men in public administration

cannot always be ensured. A participation must always be preceded by political

socialisation which, briefly stated, means that people must have interest in

political affairs and must have desire to participate.

Even if a reform scheme is accepted its implementation may create problems. People

may not cooperate with the authority. In a transitional state the backwardness of

people in outlook, thought and behaviour may force the authority from executing

the reforms. We hold the view that reforming administration is essential, but the

reforms may not be successful if these are not accepted by the people.

In the light of the above analysis we say that the success of administrative

reforms depends upon certain preconditions and some are briefly stated:

1. The authority must be serious and sincere about the reforms. That is, the authority

is adamant that for the betterment of society public administration must be

reformed.

2. The authority is sure that the reforms in public administration will bring about

desired and improved results. If not, the authority should not try to reform.

The authority, through its machinery, should try to gauge the attitude or mentality

of the people about the reform proposals. In a democracy nothing can be imposed





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upon the people by applying coercive measures. The authority shall try to

anticipate what people actually want and what the reforms are prepared to offer.

There shall be a conciliation between the two.

The authority must be able to prove or establish that the present form of public

administration is not able to satisfy the requirements of the general public. The

public will also agree with the authority. When this happens, administrative

reform will be able to achieve success. There is also the problem of

implementation. For the successful implementation of reform, an efficient

government machinery is essential.

People’s cooperation is also deemed as a precondition. Even various forces -both

national and international may try to scuttle the reform proposals. In this regard

utmost alertness on the part of authority is required. Finally, we hold the view

that it is the duty of the authority to create a favourable atmosphere for the reform

proposals so that the general public can accept it easily.

TOPIC 7: Poverty is the result of arrogance and ignorance

Note: these are just key words and few dimensions. The students can interlink and

diversify the essay with arguments and examples.

Introduction:

Either can be started with an anecdote, quote or any story of own creation.

Quotes: poverty has many roots but the tap root is ignorance – lyndon b Johnson

Extreme poverty anywhere is threat to human security anywhere – kofi annan

BODY-

Meaning of keywords:

Poverty

Poverty is a state or condition in which a person or community lacks the financial

resources and essentials for a minimum standard of living.

Arrogance

Arrogance is when a person believes he or she is better than others and knows more

than everyone else, or when a person believes he is capable of something he

really isn't.

Ignorance

Ignorance is a lack of knowledge and information. It is the state of being unaware.

Note: As many sections overlap students can also club arrogance and ignorance in

multiple domains and address poverty.

How poverty is result of arrogance

1. Historical perspective:

• Arrogance and Ignorance has led to downfall of many empires e.g.: Mughal

empire





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• The arrogance of the colonial nations led to colonialism and imperialism in

the name of development of backward civilization. Example: slavery

2. Arrogance Diminishes wisdom: people tend to think less critically what lies

ahead. example during housing bubble in US, real estate boom, ponzi scheme

3. Reduces the hunger for learning and knowledge

4. Unsustainable development leading to climate catastrophe

How poverty is result of ignorance in multiple domain

1. Ignorance is the door to misconceptions and false opinions, which lead

to pursuing bad ideas and ignoring good ones.

2. Ignorance of the consequences of actions lead to bad decisions.

Ignorance of individual

1. Lack of legal knowledge / provisions, facilities provided

Example: A farmer unaware of existing technologies or methods of cultivation,

supportive price.

2. Neglect of education, health, hygiene and sanitation

3. Lack of understanding of local environment

4. Frauds: falling into fake money traps and human trafficking leading to perpetual

poverty.

Ignorance of society

1. Neglect of vulnerable sections

Example: transgenders, tribal, destitute, Dalits, women etc.

Ignorance of state and nations

1. Policies of government leading to state of poverty.

Example: Focus on industries and neglect of social welfare: post-independence

India- displacement of tribals,

Venezuela crisis, present North Korea situation: investment on defence.

2. Conflicts and war

Example: world wars, present Syrian crisis

3. Wrath of nature/ climate change

Example: tsunami, cyclone, flooding, consequent drought – Somalia climate

refugees

Other types of poverty-

Moral poverty:

Moral poverty is the poverty of being without loving, capable, responsible adults

who teach you right from wrong. It is the poverty of being without parents and

other authorities who habituate you to feel joy at others' joy, pain at others' pain,

happiness when you do right, and remorse when you do wrong.

Example: orphan or abandoned children.





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Poverty in Humanitarian ethics

e.g.: Lack of compassion, empathy, values

• Perpetuation of economic poverty has manifested into moral poverty.

• It is a cycle, as Economic Poverty leads to intellectual poverty further leading to

moral poverty and overall moral poverty leading to economic poverty.

Effects of poverty

On Individuals

1. Malnutrition, illness leading to life threatening diseases.

Due to lack of proper nutrition, the individuals do not grow up with a healthy body

and mind. This can lead to a shorter lifespan too

2. Further pushing to illiteracy

3. Addiction towards alcohol and substance abuse

4. Poor housing & living conditions, a classic cause of diseases

Note: 10000 children die every day due to poor housing conditions.





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On Society and Nations

A Society with widespread poverty will face serious problems. These problems can

affect everyone living in that society in some or other way.

l. Corruption: Poverty encourages corruption. People try to make money in all the

illegal means to be rich. In doing so, those in power or official jobs will engage

in corruption.

2. Criminal activities: Poverty affected societies have a high amount of violence

and criminal activities. Due to lack of education and other means of livelihood,

they tend to go for criminal activities. There can be theft, robbery, murders etc.

All these criminal activities are direct effects of poverty.

3. Lack of happiness: In a society, happiness is directly linked to wealth. Having

money provides comforts and makes you live well.

4. Erodes values and ethics in society

5. Further poverty is a major cause of social tensions, discrimination and threatens

to divide a nation

6. It has given rise to terrorism, naxalism etc. thus threatening the stability of nations,

affecting world peace.

Steps to be taken to address arrogance and ignorance – to overcome poverty

The best anti-poverty program is a world class education: Barack Obama

1. Need of holistic education along with emotional intelligence: To imbibe the spirit

of learning, continuous learning is the key. Such education should be accessible,

affordable and available to all.

2. Steps to increase financial IQ through financial education.

3. Judicious consumption and Ecological literacy

4. Concentrating on multiple dimensions of poverty and targeting efficiently with

universal access. We have moved from single dimensional poverty index to

multi-dimensional poverty index.

Example: certain occupational groups- casual agricultural labours, concentration of

poverty in certain parts of country, persistent among certain marginalized group

like women, tribals, Dalits.

5. Anti-poverty programs with Behavioural change and awareness.

Conclusion

Note: student can interlink the keywords of the topic and conclude how individual

change is the key.

As Nelson Mandela said “poverty is not an accident like slavery and apartheid. It is

man-made and can be removed by the actions of human beings. Hence one must

overcome arrogance and ignorance to achieve the long-cherished dream of our

century in SDG 1- zero poverty.





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TOPIC 8: Social Justice rests on health and education for All

Structure of the essay:

• Introducing concept of social justice and linking with given context (Health and

education)

• Thesis statement(optional)

• Definition of terms in one’s own way in next Body part- with diverse aspects

• Try to link the topic with writeup. In this essay one can think beyond box from

conventional method of healthcare and Education system.

• Make sure one justifies the write-up/aspects mentions with suitable arguments.

• Conclusion – Sab ka sath sab ka vikas; we need intelligent minds not just

intelligent policy; Relative discrimination is bound to remain however we can

work on our failures- learn from best practices local to global level.

INTRODUCTION: one can start with defining social justice, how it is different

from economic and political justice.; Ex- Social justice and inclusion have

become important parts of the modern world. They allow pupils to reach their

full potential and to become fully integrated in all the spheres of life. However,

these terms are ever changing and require a lot of thought and determination to

be fully fulfilled.

It is good to imagine a world where society maximizes health and closes the

health gap; where all constituent members can build consensus and coalitions;

and where individuals accept personal responsibility. For instance- WHO

Commission on the Social Determinants of Health concluded that “the social

conditions in which people are born, live and work are the single most important

determinants of good health or ill health, of a long and productive life, or a short

and miserable one- Hence concept of Social Justice play vital role for Equity in

Healthy life with educated minds.

Define the terms-

1. Term social justice is normally used when referring to the ideas of equality and

providing equal opportunities→ Views of social justice can change depending

on who is discussing the topic.

We may start with certain provisions of the Constitution, which is the fundamental

law of the land. The preamble itself says: “We, the people of India, having

solemnly resolved to constitute India into a sovereign, socialist and democratic

Republic and to secure to all its citizens—Justice, social, economic and

political….”

The State, according to Article 15(1) of the Constitution, “shall not discriminate

against any citizen on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, and place of

birth or any of them.”

But, we see countless cases of social and economic injustice, the increasing

inequalities in most spheres of human activity and the endless discrimination





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against the weaker sections of society→ hence we need concept of Healthy

society with educated minds.

2. Term Health: Health has special meaning to individuals and communities at

large. Good health is necessary for human well-being, providing intrinsic value

for comfort, contentment and pursuit of the joys of life. But good health does

more than that. It is important in allowing individuals to exercise a range of

human rights – both civil and political.

Health is necessary for well-functioning societies. If a population does not have a

decent level of health, it is very difficult to ensure economic prosperity, political

participation, collective security and so forth.

Amartya Sen helpfully distinguishes “good health policy” from “good policy for

health”.

3. Term Education: Free education (role of state), Compulsory education

(responsibility of parents)- 86th CAA introduces Fundamental duty 51A(k);

One can comment how Indian education system aspire for Free universal education-

towards social justice; yet there exists discrimination w.r.t caste, color, creed.

hence social justice must be more than mere imparting education.

Later part of essay may have concerns with present issues w.r.t social inequalities-

comment on how social justice can be ensured by EDUCATED minds and

HEALTHY society (here one can think beyond conventional education system

and healthcare)

4. Term for All: concept of “Equity”” universal” must be highlighted.

Here one can dwell on concept on Universalization – is it utopian idea (because

relative discrimination always remains) vs Indian concept of Positive

discrimination (Reservation policy, special status, unity in diversity as guiding

principles)

One can add theories like:

1. Utilitarian view that health care is important for maximizing the sum total of

utilities.

2. Procedural views that focus on guaranteed due process (attributable to health

care—not in terms of equality in health care delivery -equal amounts or types,

irrespective of health consequences.).

3. Capability view of health does not specify which type of health care (e.g., a list

or basic benefits package) should be guaranteed and to what level. Rather, it

recognizes the need for further specification through a democratic process that

combines both procedural and substantive principles. Ex- A.Sen's notion of

“basic capabilities” provides guidance.

A. Social Justice- towards Health and Education: This part must be given

importance in essay.

In this essay you can dwell on Health (beyond conventional health aspect- ex:

society free from violence, corruption etc.…) and Education (beyond schooling-

as aware and active citizen, knowledge-based society etc.)





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Ex- According to Aristotle, society's obligation to maintain and improve health rests

on the ethical principle of “human flourishing and human health”; Flourishing

and health are inherent to the human condition.

Hence, It can be argued, therefore, that public policy should focus on the ability to

function, and that health policy should aim to maintain and improve this ability

by meeting health n education. needs (impact on equality of opportunity)

B. Social Justice- does not mean ensuring Health and Education: you can dwell on

this aspect in few para.

Ex-John Rawls purports in his book, A theory of justice, natural goods like health

are not included as social values or social primary goods (“liberty and

opportunity, income and wealth and the bases of self-respect”) that are “things

that every rational man is presumed to want.” He adds that “health and vigor,

intelligence and imagination, are natural goods; although their possession is

influenced by the basic structure, they are not so directly under its control.

He discusses basic health care later in his book, Law of Peoples, Rawls does not

include health in the list of social primary goods subject to distributive

principles.

Indian we follow- Universalisation of education – equity aspect, positive

discrimination.

Can we measure progress?

National level: indicators used include: observance of/adherence to declarations of

human rights, Gross National Product per capita (GDP), Gross National

Happiness (GNH), Social Progress Index

Individual level: material wealth, income, employment, health, safety and security,

education, equality and opportunities to exercise valued human capabilities.

Role of various stakeholders-

1. Global institutions have important roles in the implementation of a capability

approach to health because they can help generate and disseminate the

knowledge and information required to reduce health disparities. The global

health institutions should be linked to other institutions in a coordinated and

integrated way. Ex- Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), for

example, recognises the importance of integrating public policies

2. Domestic institutions- ministries of finance, economic planning, taxation,

labour, industry, and education as well as with citizen groups and the private

sector, to create a multisectoral national and international efforts (Ex- tobacco-

control effort of FCTC)

3. Local and community can be discussed along with role of Media, other

stakeholders.

CONCLUDE: -It is necessary to provide special facilities (equity concept) to those

who have been kept out of the mainstream society. Special care has to be taken

to ensure that they are able to exercise their rights as full citizens.

If it ensures widest diffusion of literacy and education among them, no cost should

be counted too high. Since disabilities have been imposed on entire communities,





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those measures should have the highest priorities which directly benefit the

largest number of individual members of these communities.





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INSIGHTSIAS IPM TEST SERIES-2020 Test YL2010/ IPM 10