TLP Mains 2015
Complete Strategy for Geography TLP Geography-Archives
Geography Optional Synopsis [Day 4 & 5]
Geography TLP: Day 4 synopsis
3. Write a short note on ‘population as social capital’. (25 marks)
Directives: We got some really good answers for this one. All of you must have gone through them. Here we give you some additional important points that must be incorporated in your answer:
- What is social capital? Is is quantitative or qualitative?
- Why collective effort is important?
- Emergence of a proactive civil society and its positive impacts
- Women’s organisations and their role in socio-economic empowerment
- Self help groups and their role in mobilizing the distressed rural populace
- Social capital in education e.g. social audit of schools
- Limitations of social capital e.g. Its tendency to decay over time, abuse of social capital for personal political gains, tokenism, lack of equity in the sense that not all have access to it and so on.
- Examples from around the world. Someone very well talked about the Patel community of Gujarat.
4. Census in India doesn’t reveal the quality of it’s people – it only reveals the quantity. Critically comment. (15 marks)
Directives: Many geographers believe that the census in India must be revisited in order to make is more effective, useful and representative. Currently, not only the process is having wasteful overlap with other enumeration practices but also heavily rely upon quantitative data. For example, we know the enrollment ratio but there is limited information on academic outcomes. Similarly, although there is data available for average annual expenditure on healthcare, we don’t know exactly the morbidity status of our population. While census enumerates physical assets within a family, equity in their distribution is not reflected in the data. If we also think about the gender angle, the census falls short on presenting a true picture of the status of women in India. For example, the biggest concern is the lack of factoring in the economic contribution of women through their work in farms, household and unorganised sector. These are serious fallouts. Your answer must revolve around these pointers.
5. The findings of the Census 2011 reiterates the hopelessness that the nation’s girl child are staring at. Elucidate (15 marks)
Directives: Follow spatial analysis in this question. Most of you have written more of a GS answer than a geography one. You were expected to briefly the explain the trends of Child Sex Ratio (CSR) in representative states i.e. the ones in the north-west part of the country and also the matrilineal north-eastern states where CSR is declining. Moreover, the declining Child Sex Ratio (CSR) is only a symptom of the underlying problems that encompass cultural, societal and technological aspects. The best approach would have been to analyse the life cycle of a girl child and enumerate all the handicaps imposed by her milieu ranging from foeticide, infanticide, lack of nutritional care, discrimination within the family and so on. In conclusion, you were supposed to briefly enumerate the possible strategies to control this trend.
Geography TLP: Day 5 synopsis
3. Regions exist in minds and not in reality. Critically comment. (25 marks)
Directives: The question is one of geographical thought. This question is asking you to critically comment which means you were supposed to write both in favour and in against of the statement by taking as many examples as appropriate. Geographers who see region as a tool and not an end itself consider region to be an abstract reality. They argue that we carve out regions sin our minds to study with ease various geographical features/ phenomena. There can’t be a fixed boundary. There are many examples. Think about their boundaries and interconnectedness and you would understand our point.
- India as a cultural region extends beyond the political boundary of our country and encompasses an area ranging from Western Asia till Indonesia in the east.
- Indian diaspora
- There is no definite boundary to demarcate the developed from the underdeveloped. Both occur in pockets and may be co-existent in an area.
There can be many more such examples
4. What principles are followed in carving out regions. Explain in detail. (15 marks)
Directives: This is a blue blooded geography question. It requires nothing but a good memory. You can find this in any of the references mentioned in the detailed geography plan.
5. Discuss in detail the concept of growth pole and growth centre as given by Perroux. How relevant are his ideas today? Also explain the modifications of the concept by Boundeville. (15 marks)
Directives: This is a standard geography theory question. You can find this in any of the references mentioned in the detailed geography plan. We are no providing any directives therefore. If you have any concern regarding this question, please let us know.
