1. The integration of the princely states was a result of the successful interplay of persuasion, diplomacy and force. Do you agree? Substantiate.
(This is a straight forward question where people have written some very good answers. In these questions, there is hardly something new which you can write to surprise the examiner. But people generally lose their marks by committing some trivial mistakes.)
Points to remember while answering this question:
Best Answer: Rishabh
The integration of over 500 princely states without waging a civil war was no mean feat. The lapse of paramountcy had created a big problem. The credit for the current territory of India goes to the then home minister Sardar Patel and VP Menon. Following were the methods deployed to integrate the princely states together:
1) Persuasion: Nehru who had excellent relations with the then viceroy Mountbatten convinced him to take hold of the situation and the viceroy extended invitations to all the princes for a meeting, seeing the background of the viceory many princes signed the instrument of accession early on. Many were persuaded with the offering of privy purse and role of governors in the Union. Eg Mysore . Jodhpur was assured of enough trade routes and ports for its trading rights helped integrate them.
2) Diplomacy: Indian integration of Junagadh , when the Nawab refused to join India and instead joined hands with Pakistan, India cuts of all essential supplies and transportation lines to the state. Patel had even instigated the vassals and the chiefs to revolt against the Nawab. Finally plebsite occurred and without the use of any weapon , Patel had won.
Attack on Kashmir by the tribals ,since Kashmir had not signed the instrument of accession till then , Maharaja Hari Singh appealed India for help and India put down the condition that only after the signing of the accession possible help could be rendered. Bhopal was also closely won over diplomatically by Patel.
3) Force: The Nizam of hyderabad was in favour of PAKISTAN but the general opinion was to stay put, Operation Polo and Catepillar were launched to curb anti nationalist feelings of the Nawab.
Indian naval forces were the first to reach the Karawati base in Lakshwadeep instead of the Pakistani forces .
Integration of Goa came through use of force as the Portuguese revolted .
The above steps shaped what we call the “Union of India” in current times.
2. What did ‘Kamraj Plan’ recommend and what were its objectives? Do you think the plan was unique having no parallels in India’s post independence political history?
Introduction:
K Kamraj, was the Chief Minister of Madras state, in the wake of Sino-Indian war 1962 suggested to the Prime Minister of India the following things:
The major objectives of this plan were:
Significance and uniqueness:
Conclusion:
Write a short conclusion.
Best answer: Peeku
Kamraj plan was an effort to strengthen the Congress party internally and was made by K Kamraj, the then Chief Minister of Madras. It was made to infuse a new life into the party and restore the balance between the party and the government. The plan recommended that leading Congressmen like cabinet ministers, Chief Ministers etc should voluntarily resign and focus on strengthening organizational aspect of party. Nehru was made authority to decide whose resignation to accept. Response was immense and saw resignation of Babu Jagjivan Ram, Lal Bahdur Shastri, Morarji Desai, S K Patil etc.
The main objective of the plan was to dispel from the minds of the Congressmen the lure for power, and creating in its place a dedicated attachment to the objectives and policies of the organisation. It was about re-connecting with the masses and knowing their concerns. The plan also aimed at building the party at grass root level after disastrous war with China which had demoralized Indians immensely.
Politics revolves around holding position and having power, and this plan was exact opposite. The leaders chose to abandon their positions to win the confidence of the nation which makes it unique and unparalleled in India’s post-independence political history. The plan is an example of selflessness, sacrifice and political generosity.
3. The early neglect towards becoming agriculturally self-sufficient and over dependence on food aid resulted into christening of the country as a ‘ship to mouth’ economy. Discuss. How the crisis was addressed? Who were the drivers of the transformation that followed?
Introduction:
Introduction should contain –
Provide reasons for the early neglect – (should include these points)
How the crisis was addressed?
Provide the names of the drivers of the transformation that followed and conclude the answer.
Best answer: Snowy
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4. With the exponential rise in the number of telecom users in general and internet users in particular, ICT can become a potent tool of social and economic inclusion. Examine.
(A very general question with lots of data/ information available with the students. Indicative guidelines have been given as most of the points are already been covered under the best answers mentioned below.)
Introduction: –
Your introduction should include the growth story of telecom/ICT in India (in brief)
Add facts/ figures with proper references.
http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/IT.NET.USER.P2?end=2014&start=1990&view=chart
(This link contains data related to telecomm growth.)
Body: –
Your answer’s body should mention the areas in which ICT can play an important role for economic and social inclusion. You can either go with separate heading for each sector or Under the broad headings of Social and economic inclusion. It is up to you.
Conclusion: –
Your conclusion should mention the challenges in front of the penetration and usability of ICT based solutions in India (In brief) and then end in an optimistic note.
Best Answer 1 : SherniZaad
One of the fastest development India has witnessed in any field is the ITC especially after the 1991 reforms. “Reforms” are termed successful only if they are able to “Transform”. ICT has immense potential of bringing socio- economic transformation in following ways:
Social Transformation:
1)Education Revolution – various online platforms (IASBABA) and government services using ICT (SWAYAM, MOOC) etc. are already creating the impact.
2) Telemedicine – medical benefits are now reaching even the remotest of places bringing health facilities to all. Schemes like m- cessation, kilkari are brilliant steps in health sector.
3) Judicial services– move towards e- courts and using ICT tools have made judicial accessibility easier.
4) Agriculture – India’s most neglected sector is now hoping to see success using ICT like E Market, kisan portal, etc.
5) equality – ICT doesn’t discriminate and provides the benefit cut in across gender, caste, religion which strengthens India’s social fabric. Ex- Mahila-e- haat aims to empower women bringing gender divide.
Economic Transformation:
1) Subsidies – need of India but marred with leakage and corruption has now become effective due to JAM trinity, Pahal etc.
2) Good governance – “maximum governance minimum government ” is possible with the help of ICT in the form of e- governance, digital India, etc., potent of increasing employment opportunities and economic development.
3) Financial inclusion – banking services are now at the touch of the screen and schemes like PMJDY, MUDRA etc. will help reach the benefits to marginalized sections.
Effective usage of ICT has massive power to transform the Indian society from its roots. It now lays in our hands how positively we use this tool to make India inclusive and a better place for all. Digital India can help achieve this goal faster.
Best Answer 2: CSE2016 aspirant (ABG)
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Best Answer3: – Dark Energy
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Best Answer 4: Anjlika Gupta (Though she has crossed the word limit but mentioning here as it contains points in detail.)
In the era of Globalization, expression and exchange of ideas and dissemination of information has an added dimension different from paper and ink to touch and blink. With virtual reality gearing up to turn technological wheel, Information and communication technology (ICT) even in its primitive form can be a boon to society in following ways: –
Inclusion in in itself not only entails financial but also social, cultural, economic and political. An inclusive and participatory society acts not only as a bulwark to government and policy initiatives but also perpetuate those initiatives which are highly important for a progressive democratic society.
5. The recently concluded Indo-African Forum Summit was a reaffirmation of India’s commitment of partnering in the developmental project of Africa. However, in real terms very little has moved on the ground in terms of resource mobilization, people to people contact and confidence building vis-a-vis China. Do you agree? Critically examine.
(Indicative guidelines have been given as most of the points are already been covered under the best answers mentioned below.)
Introduction: –
Your introduction should tell about the Indo- Africa relationship in brief and also include the recent developments (Indo- Africa Summit, visits by President and PM to various countries, trade deals etc.)
Body:
Brief mention of Africa as a continent i.e. strategic, economic, energy etc.
Your answer should focus on India’s present status in Africa w.r.t. China in terms of resource mobilization, people to people contact and confidence building.
Conclusion:
You should conclude by stating the different approach of India’s diplomacy in terms of Africa and how they are making inroads in African countries slowly but steadily.
Best Answer 1: SherniZaad
India and Africa trace their connection since colonial era. Their friendship deepened during Non-alignment movement and now the recently held Indo- African summit aims to take this friendship to new heights. However, the growing Chinese intervention in Africa is suppressing India’s efforts in following manner: –
1) Africa’s trade balance with India is mere $70b whereas that with China its $200b.
2) India’s bureaucratic hurdles and red tapism have slowed down the progress of Indian projects unlike China’s who are swift and quick in this line. ex- naval base at Djibouti.
3) Recent racial discriminations of Africans in India have marred India’s cultural and friendly ties with Africa.
However, despite the black spots, we can’t deny India’s philanthropic intentions of developing Africa in the following ways: –
1)India’s generic drugs help cure life taking diseases like AIDS in Africa.
2) recent pulse growing deals in Africa aims to provide employment opportunities as well as tackle food security in Africa which is known for its hunger and malnutrition.
3) India also provides line of credit, educational benefits in the form of scholarships etc. to boost inclusive growth in Africa and people to people contact.
4)It’s also investing in countries like Mozambique for energy exploration.
5)Private Indian Companies see huge potential in Africa and are investing greatly.
6) India sends highest UN peacekeeping forces in Africa.
However, Chinese investment style seems more of fulfilling their own self-interest of accomplishing OBOR, Maritime silk route initiatives rather than upliftment of Africa. Moreover, India Africa summits, regular visits of Indian dignitaries to Africa show India’s seriousness and positive interests towards Africa’s development.
Best answer 2: MDA
Indo-African relations that largely hinged on the common struggle against colonialism, poverty, disease, illiteracy and hunger have witnessed a major break-through in economic ties (Africa’s fourth largest trading partner) and strategy change through IAFS. However, the Delhi Declaration 2015 and the India-Africa Framework for Strategic Cooperation (establishing a monitoring system) also show that Africa is gauging India’s commitment on real time resource mobilization, people contact and confidence building.
Areas of concern:
# 9 billion USD concessional credit( LOCs) was approved for 140 projects in over 40 countries of which only 60 projects are complete
#Lack of significant progress in the establishment of capacity building institutions in Africa as promised at the previous two summits
# Since IAFS-II in 2011,only 24,000 scholarships across 300 training programmes in 60 institutions have been utilized
#Africa’s expectation in public health goes beyond the supply of affordable medicine to cover assistance in developing the continent’s public health services capacities.
Even though India-Africa trade stands at USD70bn against China’s USD200bn, Chinese approach to Africa is that of ‘neo-colonialism’ marked by establishment of its Confucius Institutes, media presence. India is engaged in people to people contact. China-African relations revolve around trade and Africa’s industrialization. Indo-African relations revolve around ‘progress through partnership’ which takes a longer gestation period.
India already enjoys Africa’s support on key issues like UN security council reforms etc. Way ahead lies in understanding intra- and inter-state politics in Africa, improving maritime security, engaging with African students (against racial attacks), terror-sensitization and addressing Africa’s take on climate change issues.
