IASbaba's Think Learn and Perform 2017, UPSC Mains Answer Writing
SYNOPSIS- IASbaba’s TLP 2017 [17th Feb] – Day 25
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1. Emotional intelligence is more about managing your emotions than controlling it. Elucidate.
Emotional intelligence is the ability to identify and manage your own emotions and the emotions of others. It is generally said to include three skills:
- Emotional awareness, including the ability to identify your own emotions and those of others;
- The ability to harness emotions and apply them to tasks like thinking and problems solving;
- The ability to manage emotions, including the ability to regulate your own emotions, and the ability to cheer up or calm down another person
Controlling emotions would mean inhibiting the emotions which would have a negative connotation. This will create a psychological confusion as a person is unable to understand what exactly he/she is feeling. These suppressed emotions will also alienate a person from himself and this can also lead to an eventual emotional outburst.
Emotional intelligence is an art of managing one’s emotions. A person is able to understand what exactly he is feeling and then take decisions accordingly. This way he is able to maintain his conduct according to the situation and influence others emotions in his favour.
(Note: In order to enunciate you can put an example here.)
Best Answer 1 : Ironman
Best Answer 2 : gd
Emotions make us more humane and instead of blatantly controlling them, it would be prudent to manage them. Managing emotions brings the required equilibrium in our mental disposition through enhanced emotional intelligence in our mental disposition, affecting both personal and professional relations and life.
When Chanakya faced humiliation in the court of King Dhananand, he managed it by meticulously planning his defeat through Chandragupta Maurya, thereby fulfilling his revenge and also ending anarchy in the kingdom.
Similarly, unlike the ideology of violence and hatred against British prevalent in the minds of Indians, Gandhiji channelized the anger within the masses through Ahimsa, Satyagraha and Constructive works to build the nation on firm foundations of morality.
In everyday context, there are numerous instances:
1. Road rage: instead of fighting and coming to blows, anger must be managed through law.
2. Divorce: when people separate, they go through all sorts of feelings, from the urge to commit murder to suicide, instead of mudslinging and hatred, it is better to manage emotions and move on positively in life.
3. Depression: it is important to be self aware, mange depression through discussion and friends by knowing its root cause rather than giving in to suicidal tendencies.
4. Workplace: jealousy can be channelized through competitive spirit and team work.
5. Internet trolls: unpleasant comments and moral policing are managed through befitting replies.
Emotional intelligence is all about managing the head and the heart simultaneously.
Best answer 3 : Vibrant
http://iasbaba.com/2017/02/1-emotional-intelligence-managing-emotions-controlling-elucidate/
2.By giving suitable examples, discuss the significance of emotional intelligence in civil services.
Introduction:
Emotional intelligence constitutes awareness, and management of one’s own, as well as others emotions.
Body:
It is an essential quality for a civil servant to be able to conduct their duties to the best of their abilities. It helps them gauge a sensitive situation and approach it from the most sensible stand point. It also facilitates a quicker and more efficient interaction with their colleagues, superiors, subordinates, the people they serve, and other key stakeholders.
Having the presence of mind to understand when to argue and when not to, is another key aspect of a civil servant’s personality. An argument will be fruitful only when all parties involved accept ‘reason’ as the basis of reaching a conclusion. Indulging in futile arguments not only wastes time, but also damages relationships.
E.g.: water sharing by different villages from the same pond/lake can turn into violence, an emotionally intelligent civil servant will try to reason with all the stakeholder to come up with an amicable solution to the problem and will be able to persuade everyone to desist violence, he will prevent a water-sharing problem turn into a law and order problem.
EI will help the civil servant to manage conflict situations effectively. E.g. in a communal clash scenario, an officer with EI will not only take steps to maintain law and order but will take steps to prevent such incidents from happening in the future by trying to resolve the underlying problem, whereas an officer without EI will only see it as a Law and order problem and his highhandedness will cause more suspicion and animosity among the groups involved.
It also facilitates in efficient handling of office stress. Taking out the anger of work place at loved ones at home can be avoided if the officer is emotionally intelligent. Such separation of work and personal life will keep the officer from getting demotivated at work.
Conclusion:
Write a brief conclusion.
Best answer: Arjun
3. Should policy makers be emotionally intelligent? Substantiate by giving suitable examples.
Introduction:
Write a brief introduction.
Body:
Policy makers with EI will try to come up with solutions to real problems of the people and not the perceived problems of some. E.g. they will try to solve problems of education, sanitation and health problems of a regions and not perceived population increase of a particular community in the area.
Policy makers with EI will try and understand the special needs of different groups in the population and will try to solve them effectively. E.g. access to public places for the people with disabilities.
They will be able to foresee the problem and find the solution in advance rather than being reactive to it. E.g. in a communally sensitive place Policy makers with EI will try to build confidence among different communities to avoid any violence rather than stocking it for electoral gains.
They will be able to uphold human dignity and individual rights in place of religious superstitions e.g. the law banning social boycott and punishing women accused of practicing witchcraft are examples of protecting individual life and dignity in the face of group’s blind demands.
Another example is of Triple Talaq where the rights of women are taken away in the by patriarchal men in the garb of religion. EI will help in not only help in securing the women their legal rights but will also help in getting them equal status in the society.
Conclusion:
Write a short conclusion.
Best answer: sixdustbunnies
Emotional intelligence (EI) in policy makers is a must. Policy making is arduous work which is often met with interaction with people across all spectrums. An understanding of how to work with a group of people who may not be too keen on the interaction and achieve the best out of them is an essential characteristic expected from policy makers.
A policy has to have the best interest of all those involved, sometimes these interest may be conflicting, thus, it often requires a person who is willing to open their minds and rationally analyze all the different viewpoints being directed towards them without being biased by their own perception. It also requires a degree of compassion, sympathy and understanding with the most affected cohort.
We can determine the absolute necessity of EI through the example of Uniform Civil Code. One who is involved in the creation of a draft UCC would need to take into account and consider the views of the most affected groups, even though they might not only be reluctant, but opposed to the policy as a whole. They would also have to deal with perhaps conflicting interests from different religious groups, all the while keeping the universal concept of morality in mind.
Given the very nature of work of a policy maker, it is imperative that they work on reason and logic rather than letting their emotions run wild.
4. The ongoing strike of cab operators in the National Capital Region and the associated difficulties being faced by commuters are stark reflections of the lack of transport planning in the overall scheme of urban planning. Comment.
Commuters had a harrowing time after auto-rickshaw and taxi drivers in the National Capital Region went on strike to protest app-based taxi services. After Delhi, protests by drivers may spread to Bengaluru, Hyderabad.
As the cabs went off the road in the Capital, Metro trains and buses were choked and auto-rickshaws were hard to find especially during rush hours.
Lack of transport planning in the overall scheme of urban planning:
- Despite the increasing levels of urban mobility in Indian cities, access to places, activities and services is becoming increasingly difficult in terms of convenience, cost and time. In fact, present levels of urban mobility are already generating a crisis situation characterized by high levels of congestion, environmental pollution, traffic fatalities and inequity eventually leading to a situation of undesired accessibility crisis.
- As cities sprawl, the share of Non-motorised Transportation are reducing drastically creating increased reliance on private modes of transport. Urban design that fosters walking and cycling is under threat as sprawl-based urban design is becoming the norm in big cities.
- Most of the cities all over India have a higher threat of losing walking and cycling share to private motorised transport in the coming decades. Cities have neither invested in infrastructure for NMT nor have a formal public transport alternative to prevent shift to personal transport modes. Sidewalks and cycle tracks are the most neglected in infrastructure planning.
- Gaps in Laws and Regulations: Presently, there is no legislation at central, state or local level that comprehensively covers urban transport requirements of Indian cities. The current systems of laws, regulations and governance for urban transport are the legacy of an era when Indian cities were sparsely populated and had not yet witnessed the kind of transport problems they are encountering today.
- The deteriorating quality of public transport service reinforces the impact of the rapid decentralization of Indian cities. Both trends encourage a shift away from space-saving public transport toward individual motorized transport.
Unless the government strengthens the public transport network and end to end multi-modal connectivity is achieved, the dependence on private vehicles will keep spiking and the associated difficulties will be faced by commuters.
Best answer 1: Arjun
Best answer 2: Axi Tak
5. What should be India’s approach to Iran keeping in mind the recalibrated stance of the US in the region? Discuss.
Note: A lot of attention is being paid to US president-elect Donald Trump’s policies pertaining to South East Asia and Middle Eastern countries.
One of the foremost questions around Trump’s victory has been in relation to the future of the Iran nuclear deal, where on more than one occasion he had spoken about reversing the nuclear deal, which was signed between P5+1 and Iran.
Iran offers tremendous economic opportunities as it is home to some of the world’s largest untapped oil and gas reserves and beyond energy, Iran offers a well educated, young population and a strong domestic manufacturing base.
For India, overriding goal is securing energy, followed by preserving access to Afghanistan, maintaining influence in what India perceives as a swing state in the debate over Islam, expanding strategic relations and advancing other business relationships.
Therefore, keeping these above points in mind, provide your viewpoints what approach should India follow in its foreign policy to be able to balance its ties with Iran while also expanding relations with other western countries and GCC contries.
India sees Iran as an enormous actual and potential energy supplier, and a balancing power on Pakistan’s opposite border. Thus, Indian policy tries to advance its interests with Tehran, appease the West, and largely ignore the looming crises.
Even when sanctions had been imposed against Iran (earlier), India did not totally snap economic ties, though there was a considerable reduction and scaling down.
- Therefore, India should maintain diplomatic silence and non-alignment with either country. It should continue all its economic ties and projects in Iran i.e. it should ensure the continued development of Chabahar port project and investing in the Chabahar Free Trade Zone.
- India should push for joint consultations with Asian partners who have invested or are considering investments in Iran, specifically in Chabahar. Therefore, working with Japan on this matter and should consider including South Korea as well.
- It is expected that the United States will try to isolate Iran in global platforms and also to pass resolutions in UN against Iran in future. India will need to abstain from any such voting to keep it balanced.
- Barring a bilateral shock, India should continue to seek to establish a relationship with Iran that’s not too close, not too far, but just right. It should use its goodwill, try to bridge the gap between US and Iran, negotiate their differences diplomatically.
(Refer best answers for more dimensions)
Best answer 1: Kartik
Best answer 2: Valar dohaeris
West Asia is probably the most complicated ground for international diplomacy and relations and more so for India as it has its- energy, strategic, security and diaspora’s interests in the region. Iran being one such challenge for the same reasons.
Complexities come on the surface after renewed sanctions from USA on Iran widely supported by Saudi Arabia and its allies in the middle east. India being a country engaged with all the nations involved needs to calibrate its approach given fast changing circumstances-
- Keep economic and diplomatic arrangements alive- USA under new govt is highly unpredictable in its foreign policy- India can’t suffer on that account
- Can always use its goodwill to act as mediator in the talks.
- Peaceful use of nuclear is every nation’s right and India must acknowledge that- however it is always open to tough stance when brought concrete evidence of nuclear proliferation- given rampant terrorist activities that can easily spill-over to India in that region
India needs though out plan and must avoid any immediate reaction to issues related to Iran as every nation involved has vested interests in the region. With China making inroads in West-Asia, last thing India needs is isolation from collaborative opportunities for pleasing other nations
