Test 22 Synopsis: Insights Ias Mains Test Series 2019

INSIGHTS IAS MAINS TEST SERIES 2018

TEST 22 SYNOPSIS
1. India saw its ablest viceroy in the form of Lord Curzon but he is destitute of a ray of
human emotion. Elucidate with respect to his tenure as viceroy of India. (10 Marks,
150 words).
Answer:
Lord Curzon became the viceroy of India between 1899 and 1905. He is the most
educated about the condition of India and had a crusading zeal to reform the
administration. His mind was set on efficiency, centralization and officialization. His
claim for the ablest viceroy of India is based on
Economic reforms
Agriculture:
He set up a separate agricultural department, constructed numerous canals and
extended irrigation, passed Punjab land alienation act of 1900.
Railways:
The longest mileage of railway lines is laid under his vice royality and he set up a
railway board as executive authority for railways.
Famine:
He appointed the MacDonnell commission which formulated moral strategy to
combat famines set up of relief works and appointment of famine commissioners
Curzon did implement a variety of measures, including opening up famine relief works
that fed between 3 and 5 million, reducing taxes and spending vast amounts of money
on irrigation works.
Police reforms:
He set up training institutes for police and set up an organisational structure which is
followed till today.
He established a central department of criminal intelligence.
Ancient monuments act of 1904 was passed to preserve the cultural heritage of
India.
Some of these measures implemented by him like the ancient monuments act, the
canals in Punjab, railway board are still intact today.
Absence of a ray of human emotion
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1. The partition of Bengal in teeth of public opposition which gave impetus to the
first mass based movement in the form of Swadeshi movement.
2. The passage of university act to curb the autonomy of universities inspite of the
opposition from all sections.
3. The continuous tradition of racial slurs and de meaning Indian character wherein
he stated that truth is a western conception.
4. Calcutta corporation act of 1899 which reduced the elected element and made the
nominated members into majority.
For a generation of Indian middle classes fed on the promises of self- government the
Viceregality of Lord Curzon was too annoying. This lead to the emergence of the first phase
of nationalist moment just after his Viceregality. Thus he is an efficient administrator but
not a statesmen who could take the people along.
2. The tradition of Ragamala paintings is a blend of painting, poetry and music which
represented the cultural ethos of India. Comment. (10 Marks, 150 words)
Answer:
Ragamala paintings are a series of illustrative paintings from medieval India based on
Ragamala or the "Garland of Ragas", depicting various Indian musical modes called
Ragas. They stand as a classical example of the amalgamation of art, poetry and classical
music in medieval India.
Ragamala paintings were created in most schools of Indian painting, starting in the 16th
and 17th centuries, and are today named accordingly as Pahari Ragamala, Rajasthan
or Rajput Ragamala, Deccan Ragamala, and Mughal Ragamala.
For nearly 400 hundred years ragamala was one of the most popular genres of Indian
miniature painting. Early Ragamalas at their root is the sacred essence of the raga –
five or more musical notes upon which a melody is played. More than just a sound, a
raga evokes an emotional response in the listener; it should ‘colour’ the mind.
Medieval Hindustani musicians associated each raga with a deity, naming the raga,
perhaps as a means of memorizing the melodic structure. Intrigued poets of the late
medieval period then personified the ragas and elaborated their tales in vivid verbal
imagery. These stories, along with other influential texts on Indian classical music,
provided the poetic source of ragamala painting like Rasika priya and Laur chand.
Images of dancing poses and personified musical notes were used to enliven the text.
In these painting each raga is personified by a color, mood, a verse describing a story of
a hero and heroine (nayaka and nayika), it also elucidates the season and the time
of day and night in which a particular raga is to be sung; and finally most paintings also
demarcate the specific Hindu deities attached with the raga, like Bhairava or Bhairavi to
Shiva, Sri to Devi etc.
The paintings depict not just the Ragas, but also their wives, (raginis), their
numerous sons (ragaputra) and daughters (ragaputri). Each painting is
accompanied by a brief inscription that suggests the mood of the raga, most frequently
love – in its various aspects – and devotion.
The six principal ragas present in the Ragamala are Bhairava, Dipika, Sri,
Malkaunsa, Megha and Hindola and these are meant to be sung during the six seasons
of the year – summer, monsoon, autumn, early winter, winter and spring. Which
were meant to depict the emotions like fear (bhairav), love (hindola, sri, Dipika),
peace (megh), joy and laughter (malkunas).
Hindu deities personify the ragas and their raginis, the ‘wives’ of the ragas. Sitting in the
centre of the top row Bhairava Raga is visualised as the many-armed god Shiva, his
body smeared with holy ash, with his bull Nandi at his feet. To the far top right, the
green Megha Raga is identified with the deity Vishnu; he wears a garland of flowers
and a peacock rests at his feet.
Devotion and Love, especially unfulfilled and consuming passion, is an overarching
theme of Ragamala Painting. While love in union is occasionally represented, scenes
of longing and loss frequently hold centre stage.
In the wake of devotional movements which swept through northern India from the
14th century, both Hindu and Muslim Mystics interpreted ‘love in separation’ as an
allegory of the human soul divided from God. It is personified by the Virahini, the
woman separated from her lover. Thus the essence of bhakti which is the emotional
longing for a deity of both Bhakti and Sufi movements is represented in pictorial
format by the Ragamala painters.
The Ragamala Paintings backgrounds also contained typical Indian themes with green
trees, blossoming flowers sometimes depicting the rural life and sometimes
reflecting the palace life of princes.
Thus the Ragamala Paintings represented painting, music, poetry and reflected the
cultural ethos of India.
3. British imperialism in India is a process driven by the interrelatedness between

trade, revenue and military exigencies. Comment. (10 Marks, 150 words)
Answer:
The English East India Company (EIC) was founded by a royal charter in 1600, to
provide security and monopoly to traders who took up the risky venture of trading with
distant east. EIC was not given any overt mandate to carry on conquest or colonization
it is a just a collaborative endeavour of traders. But following factors motivated EIC
to pursue imperial expansion in India.
The British believed in ‘Mercantilism’ which saw import of goods by paying in gold /
silver as a loss to Britain. There also existed a triangular trade between India-china-
Britain. This lead to huge drain of gold as the productivity of Indian and Chinese
artisans was at a higher level than European artisans. Thus emerged the need to
intervene in the domestic politics to stop this drain of gold which occurred through.
1. The needs of monopoly lead the British to fight wars with French, Dutch and
Portugal.
2. The need to maintain the trading privileges in the form of Dastaks lead to the
intervention and subsequent conflicts of Plassey and Buxar.
3. The conflict with Mysore under Tipu also has a trade basis as he stopped
merchants from selling spices, sandalwood to Britain.
4. The needs of the Britain industry for cotton lead to annexation of cotton rich
Gujrat and Deccan regions from Marathas.
Revenue
1. Company’s commercial profit were insufficient for its military campaigns and to
maintain an administration.
2. The British believed in Mercantilism, so they’d desist from sending gold from their
homeland for military campaigns or to pay for the imports. All the financial
resources had to be mobilized from within India. Therefore, company had to start
collecting land-revenue from peasants.
3. Treaty of Allahabad granted the Company the Diwani (revenue collecting rights) of
Bengal, Bihar and Orissa.
4. To maximize their revenue collection, the Company official came up with three
types of revenue settlement systems. All the three systems with their own
deficiencies & misuses lead to maximum exploitation of the revenue.
5. The lure for revenue is a crucial factor in annexing agriculture and trade rich
Punjab, Sindh provinces.
Military exigencies
1. Company’s military officers always believed in aggressive military tactics to
discourage internal and external enemies.
2. The French threat to Indian possessions under Napoleon is an exigency which lead
Lord Wellesley to use subordinate alliance aggressively.
3. The imagined threat of Russian’s from central Asia lead to annexations of Punjab,
Sindh and intervention in Afghanistan’s internal politics.
4. Annexed states provided cheap soldiers in abundance for empire’s local and
international wars.
Thus the British imperialism in India is driven by the interrelatedness between trade,
revenue and military exigencies.
4. Discuss the contribution of Rajagopalachari to the pre and post independent India.
(10 Marks, 150 words)
Answer:
Chakravarti Rajagoplachari is a prominent national leader, politician and an erudite
scholar. He was influenced by the Gandhian model of politics and social service. He
became a lifelong follower of Gandhiji and Gandhiji called him his “conscience keeper”.
Pre independence role
1. He gave up a lucrative career as a lawyer based on the call for non-cooperation by
Gandhi.
2. He joined the Indian National Congress and participated in the agitations against
the Rowlatt Act, joining the Non-Cooperation movement, the Vaikom
Satyagraha, and the Civil Disobedience movement.
3. He was the general secretary of congress in 1921-22 and was a member of
congress working committee in crucial phases of the national movement.
4. In 1930, Rajagopalachari risked imprisonment when he led the Vedaranyam Salt
Satyagraha in response to the Dandi March.
5. In 1937, Rajagopalachari was elected Premier of the Madras Presidency and
served until 1940, when he resigned due to Britain's declaration of war on Germany.
During his tenure he passed Madras temple entry act and introduced prohibition in
state.
6. He was also inspired by the call for social reform by Tolstoy, Thoreau and Gandhi.
7. He later advocated co-operation over Britain's war effort and opposed the Quit
India Movement along with Bhulabhai Desai.
8. He favoured talks with both Muhammad Ali Jinnah and the Muslim League and
proposed what later came to be known as the C. R. formula.
Post-Independence role
1. In 1946, Rajagopalachari was appointed Minister of Industry, Supply, Education and
Finance in the Interim Government of India, and then as the Governor of West
Bengal from 1947 to 1948, Governor-General of India from 1948 to 1950, Union
Home Minister from 1951 to 1952 and as Chief Minister of Madras state from 1952
to 1954.
2. In 1959, he resigned from the Indian National Congress and founded the Swatantra
Party, which fought against the Congress in the 1962, 1967 and 1971 elections.
3. Swatantra’s formation was the first attempt to bring highly fragmented right-wing
forces together under the umbrella of a single party. The provocation was the left
turn which the Congress took at Avadi and the Nagpur Resolutions.
4. Swatantra (Freedom) stood for a market-based economy with the "Licence Raj"
dismantled, although it opposed laissez faire policies. The party was thus
favoured by some traders and industrialists, but at the state-level its leadership was
dominated by the traditional privileged classes such as zamindars (feudal landlords)

and erstwhile princes.
5. Located on the Right of the Indian political spectrum Swatantra was not a
communal party; its membership was not restricted on the basis of religion.
6. Rajagopalachari was instrumental in setting up a united Anti-Congress front in
Madras state under C. N. Annadurai, which swept the 1967 elections.
Thus Rajagopalachari a prominent national leader during the phase of national struggle
and a politician who gave alternative vision for the economic development of India is
honored with the first Bharat Ratna.
5. “The practice of Female Genital Mutilation can’t be protected under the guise of
Essential Religious Practice”. Critically comment. (10 Marks, 150 words)
Answer:
Female Genital Mutilation is a ritual practiced by certain Muslim communities
like Dawoodi and Bohra.
The issue is lying with the Supreme Court and is being justified on following grounds:
 It is sanctioned by the religion and is an Essential Religious Practice.
 State interference is against the diversity of India which needs to be protected.
It cannot be an Essential Religious Practice:
 As it is sexual violence against girls and hence inhumane.

 Diversity cannot be used as a reason to substantiate inhumane rituals.
 An act which is a crime under POCSO Act, 2012, it cannot be Essential Religious
Practice.
 It violates Articles 15, 19 and 21.
 State intervention is hence justified as it needs to protect constitutional values.
An Essential Religious Practice which is based on Social Morality cannot be beyond

Constitutional Morality as ruled in Navtej Singh Johar vs Union of India 2018
case recently.
6. Enumerate the impact of globalization on Tribal Communities in India. (10 Marks,

150 words)
Answer:
Globalization as a post-1991 phenomenon in India has had both positive and negative
impacts on the tribal population which is 8.6% of total population as per 2011 census.
Positives:
- Tribal products like getting a market through the formation of TRIFED.

- NGOs become a dominant phenomenon and INGOS thriving under
globalization become a link between tribes and state bridging governance deficit
- INGOS bring in new consciousness about environment, women issues and
tribal movements get linked environmental issues and women participation.
Ex: Narmada Bachao, Silent Valley Movement etc.
Negative Consequences:
- Displacement of tribal communities by development projects Ex: Vedanta in
Orissa
- MNC preparing tribal products has made Tribal lose rights over Minor Forest
Produce.
- MNCs through ‘bio prospecting’ and ‘bio piracy’ have got IPR over Traditional
Knowledge Systems of tribes like Neem.
Erosion of tribal culture through homogenization of globalization Ex: Loss of many tribal
dialects.
7. Increase in Sea-Surface Temperature (SST) will have disastrous consequences

across the world. Discuss. (10 Marks, 150 words)
Answer:
Oceans cover more than two-thirds of the earth’s surface and play a very important role
in regulating the earth’s weather and climate.
Currently, oceans absorb more than 90% of the heat that is trapped in the
atmosphere from increasing levels of greenhouse gases, which raises the temperature
of the water at the sea surface.
Sea surface temperature increased during the 20th century and continues to rise. From
1901 through 2015, temperature rose at an average rate of 0.13°F per decade.
- Changes in sea surface temperatures influence
 Atmospheric circulation and
 The amount of water vapour present in the air
Thereby it affects weather and climate patterns worldwide.
- Changes in sea surface temperature and its impact on marine biodiversity
 Coral bleaching and coral death
 Migration of marine species
- Increase in sea surface temperature leading to ocean acidification.
- Leads to melting of ice, rising the sea level and its impact on coastal ecology like
mangrove.
- The tropical cyclones are becoming more frequent and intense because of
increasing SST.
There is linkage between increasing SST and El-nino phenomena.
8. Describe the salient features of Sagar Mala Project and highlight its role in Port-led
Development of coastal regions in India. (10 Marks, 150 words)
Answer:
India, is the second largest country in Asia, has a coast line about 7500 km and is
studded with 13 major ports and close to 200 minor ports. The major ports in India
are Calcutta, Haldia, Paradip, Visakhapatnam, Ennore, Chennai, Tuticorin, Cochin, New
Mangalore port trust (NMPT), Mormugao, Jawharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNTP), Mumbai,
and Kandla.
Approximately, 95 per cent of the country’s trade by volume (70 per cent in terms of
value) is moved by sea. Major ports handle about 75 per cent of the total cargo and the
rest by intermediate and minor ports.
Sagar mala initiative: Port - led Development
The Sagar Mala Project envisages a model of port-led development.
It seeks to develop a string of ports around India's coast.
The Sagarmala is a series of projects to leverage the country’s coastline and inland
waterways to drive industrial development.
Sagarmala, integrated with the development of inland waterways, is expected to

reduce cost and time for transporting goods, benefiting industries and
export/import trade.
The project is mammoth with 150 initiatives spread across four broad areas.
1. Modernise port infrastructure, add up to six new ports and enhance capacity.
2. Improve port connectivity through rail corridors, freight-friendly
expressways and inland waterways.
3. Create 14 coastal economic zones or CEZs and a special economic zone at
Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust in Mumbai with manufacturing clusters to enable
port-led industrialisation.
4. Develop skills of fishermen and other coastal and island communities.
9. Discuss and illustrate traditional craft industry in India and analyse the
reasons for its decline. (10 Marks, 150 words)
Answer:
Handicrafts are a part of the country's rich cultural heritage and play a significant
role in national economy. This industry is a small scale industry, the products of
which are artistic in character and require skill and craftsmanship in their manufacture
Under the small scale sector, the handicrafts may be found either in the form of village
industry or as cottage industry.
Though a clear demarcation of handicraft sector is a difficult task, the two basic
characteristics possessed by them, i.e.
1. Most of the work should be done by hand.
2. The resultant products should have some artistic or aesthetic value, which
demarcate this sector from other village and small industries
The Indian handicrafts industry is highly labour intensive, cottage based and
decentralized industry. The industry is spread all over the country mainly in rural and
urban areas. Most of the manufacturing units are located in rural and small towns.
Important examples of craft industries in India are:
- Bamboo handicrafts
- Bell metal handicrafts
- Coir industry
- Brass handicrafts
- Clay and pottery handicrafts
- Jute handicrafts
- Weavind or emboirdery handicrafts
Kanchipuram sarees, Bidri works of Karnataka, Kashmir shawls, Terracota works of
Assam, Wood works of Saharanpur, Metal works of Orissa (Tarkashi) , Carpet weaving
of Mirzapur etc. are some famous craft industry products.
Reasons of decline of craft industry:
- Issues of market access
- Globalization and its impact on Indian industry
- Availability of raw material
- Issues of credit and demand
- Issues of infrastructure
- Issues of upgradation of skills and employment
10. What do you understand by Monsoon Trough? Discuss how it is responsible for
heavy rainfall along foothills of Himalayas. (10 Marks, 150 words)
Answer:
Monsoon Trough:
The portion of the ITCZ which extends into or through a monsoon circulation, as
depicted by a line on a weather map showing the location of minimum sea level
pressure.
Process
- A zone of low-pressure builds up over northwest India as a result of excessive
solar insolation.
- With the advance of the monsoon this heat low gradually extends eastwards until it
forms an elongated low pressure running parallel to the Himalayan Mountains in a
west to east direction.
- The trough happens to be a very important feature and controls half of the
Monsoon rains across the country in virtue of its position.
- The trough has an oscillating nature and shifts north or south of its normal position
due to either Monsoon systems moving from Bay of Bengal to central parts of the
country or due to the Western Disturbances in the Western Himalayas.
- During the Monsoon season, there are periods when the Monsoon trough shifts
closer to the foothills of Himalayas, which leads to sharp decrease in rainfall over
most parts of the country.
- However, rainfall increase along the foothills of Himalayas, Northeast India and
parts of the Southern Peninsula (Rayalseema and Tamil Nadu). Such a synoptic
situation is known as the ‘break’ Monsoon period. Middle of August is most prone
to ‘breaks’ and that too longer breaks. Consequently, Northeast and parts of South
India receive good showers while rest of the country remains mainly dry.
11. Upanishads represents highest watermark of Vedic philosophy and

represents a break from the materialism of earlier Vedic thought. What are the
essential elements of Upanishadic thought? (15 Marks, 250 words)
Answer:
Vedic thought and philosophy of Early Vedic period are concerning themselves with
meeting the material aspirations of people. They are concerned with Victory in battle
for which they chose Indra to be the central god. Prosperity by having more cows under
their control. And the prayers are meant for more number of sons as their physical
labour is crucial in rise of family prestige. Most of the public and private ceremonies
are directed to meet these ends.
With the emergence of more settled agriculture societies in the Later Vedic period these
material aspirations further accentuated resulting in considerable enlargement in
rituals. This prevailing concern for materialism and associated Brahmanism resulted in
a reaction to it in the form of Upanishads which concentrated on nature of human life,
life after death, metaphysisc’s and the causes for human suffering.
Upanishads have dominated Indian philosophy, religion and life ever since their
appearance. The Upanishads are respected not because they are considered revealed
(Shruti), but because they present spiritual ideas that are inspiring. The Upanishads
are treatises on Brahman - knowledge, which is knowledge of Ultimate Hidden Reality,
knowledge is a means to freedom, and philosophy is the pursuit of wisdom by a way of
life.
The Upanishads include sections on philosophical theories that have been at the
foundation of Indian traditions. For example, the Chandogya Upanishad includes one
of the earliest known declaration of Ahimsa (non-violence) as an ethical precept.
Discussion of other ethical premises such as Damah (temperance, self-restraint),
Satya (truthfulness), Dāna (charity), Ārjava (non-hypocrisy), Daya (compassion)
and others are found in the oldest Upanishads and many later Upanishads.
Prominent ideas of Upanishads
1. Brahman
Brahman is the universal soul which is the embodiment of divinity in the world.
Brahman is the only reality in the world and the world is a reflection of the divinity
essential to this Brahman.
2. Atman
The word Atman means the inner self, the soul, the immortal spirit in an individual, and
all living beings including animals and trees. Ātman is a central idea in all the
Upanishads, and "Know your Ātman" their thematic focus.
3. Relation of atman and brahman
The ultimate analysis has declared that there is no difference between Brahman and
Atman finally leading to declaration of tatvamasi and aham brahmasmi.
4. Moksha/salvation
Mokṣha, or release, is the goal of every man; and release consists in the soul's freedom
from the need to be re-born. This can come from the knowledge/bhakti/ritual. This
gives one of the basis for the diversity of religious thought.
5. Theory of karma and samsara
To explain the life after death and the cause of suffering in individual life they
propounded the theory of karma. This is the spiritual essence that one carries from one
life to another. This theory exhorted on the need for ethicality in life as is not only
linked to the current life but also the spiritual wellbeing of soul.
Thus Upanishads represent the highest watermark of the vedic thought and set up a
proper philosophical basis for Hinduism as a religion.
12. One of the last strongholds of oil imperialism and European colonialism it
(middle-east) cultivates a fiery nationalism as a weapon against foreign oppression.
Comment. (15 Marks, 250 words)
Answer:
Middle-east region is one of the geo politically crucial and strategically oil rich
regions in the world. The imperial powers in the region did not want to lose hold over
this oil rich region and started interfering in its affairs even post-independence.
The first manifestation of which is the artificial Sykes Picot line drawn according to
the imperial interests of Britain and France rather than the national interests of people
on the ground.
They propped up monarchies in Middle-east who would work in their interest rather
than democratizing them which can be seen in case of Khadiv of Egypt and the royal
family of Saudi Arabia.
They followed neo colonial policies the best manifestation of which are the Suez crisis
of 1956 and the support to a friendly monarch in Iraq by Britain.
The manifestations of oil imperialism were very clear in the installation of Reza
Pahlavi in Iran and support to favourable dictators in Arabian Peninsula by USA.
The artificial creation of a homeland for Jews in form of Israel by Britain and
continuous support to Israel by USA shows reflections of imperialism.
This imposition cultivated a sense of fiery nationalism in the middle-east to fight back
this foreign interference and oppression the manifestations of which are
1. The Pan Arabian unity and ideology which tried to build a supra national identity
of Arabs across the artificial national frontiers drawn by the imperial powers.
2. The continuous military coups which tried to replace the west imposed
dictatorships. Ex Iranian revolution of 1979 the Baathist revolution in 1957 in
Iraq.
3. The fiery nationalism of Arabs is reflected in the opposition to the existence of Israel
as a state which is backed by the west. Which lead to the four Arab Israel conflicts
in the form of the 1948 war, the Suez crisis, the six day war and the Yom Kippur war.
4. The emergence of Muslim brotherhood in middle-east as a strong political party
with democratic ethos and which is critical of the western interference in the
middle-east.
5. The fight for Kurdish nation state by people living in Iraq, Syria, Turkey and Iran is
also a manifestation of the same nationalism.
6. The recent trend of Arab spring is also backed by opposition to foreign backed
monarchies in Bahrain, Tunisia, Yemen and Egypt.
7. The extreme form of this nationalism sometime manifests itself as terrorism as is
the case with Hamas and Hezbollha.
Thus the presence of oil and the still persistent foreign intervention in the countries of
middle-east are pushing the people towards radical nationalism and religious
fundamentalism.
13. Explain why the newly independent states in Africa suffered so many problems
and asses to what extent the problems were of their own making. (15 Marks, 250
words)
Answer:
The newly independent states of Africa faced numerous difficulties to establish
themselves as nation states. Some of them faced the problem of national integration
while others faced economic difficulties. The problems of Africa can be broadly
divided into the following thematic patterns.
Problems in Africa
1. Civil wars
It is an issue of tribal differences and the artificial demarcation of boundaries by

imperial masters.
Ex: Congo civil war, Nigerian civil war.
2. Economic issues
Most of them were single product export driven countries like coffee of Ghana,
rubber from Congo and oil from Libya. So the prices of these commodities in
international market determined their economic stability.
3. Absence of political maturity
Which is clearly reflected in the transition of democratically elected leaders to
authoritarianism undermining the political institutions. Ex Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana.
4. Underdevelopment
Because of the absence of investments in infrastructure, education or industry by
colonial masters during the long phases of colonial rule. There were only a handful of
school graduates in the Belgian Congo by the time of their independence.
5. Cold war
The super power conflicts of the world during this phase had impact on African nations
as can be seen in the Suez crisis and Angolan civil war.
6. Rise of Extremism
Based on religious fundamentalism like the rise of Boko Haram in chad and Niger.
The Al-Qaeda has included a number of bombing attacks in North Africa and supporting
parties in civil wars in Eritrea and Somalia. From 1991 to 1996, Osama bin Laden and
other al-Qaeda leaders were based in Sudan.
7. Disasters
Natural disasters like the drought and famine in Sub-Saharan Africa have haunted
these countries from the time of independence. HIV also acquired pandemic
proportions in African countries by mid-1980s.
Responsibility of colonizers and world politics
The border disputes, underdevelopment and civil wars can be considered as colonial
hangover. The neo colonial policies which tried to support dictatorships and impose
economic policies on Africa are a responsibility of the colonial powers (IMF imposed
economic restructuring). The cold war rivalries of the age also lead to civil wars and
delayed interventions in cases of human right violations.
Responsibility of Africans
The problems in Africa do not begin and end with Britain, France, and the United States.
Surely some of them are internal to the various countries — corrupt elites, sectarian
conflict, and social inequality have all played a part. The examples of which are the
government of Idi Amin in Uganda, the sectarian conflict between the Fulanis and Ibos
of Nigeria and the social inequalities between Hutu and Tutsi tribes in Rwanda caused a
genocide.
Thus the problems of independent nations in Africa though colonial in origin have been
aggravated by the domestic conditions and the lapses of leadership in most African
countries.
14. Territorial Consolidation of India is a process not an event with continuously

changing basis for consolidation. Examine. (15 Marks, 250 words)
Answer:
India is a land of unity in diversity and the accommodation of this diversity in the
process of national integration is a crucial aspect of nation in the making. Our
constitutional makers keeping this diversity in view made India into an indestructible
union of destructible states. This constitutional flexibility and the maturity of national
leadership helped India to consolidate as a strong nation.
The internal reorganization of the nation is not an event but a process with a changing
ideological basis for consolidation.
1. The Nagpur session of congress in 1920 gave a linguistic basis for the formation
of provincial congress organizations which laid basis for a linguistic identity
based politics.
2. The need for territorial unity and national integration lead the national leaders to
coerce and cajole the princely states to be part of the Indian union after the lapse
of British Paramountcy.
3. Initially the states were divided into groups based on their experience of the
colonial rule
4. The adoption of a federal model of organizing the administration and
governance of the country by the constitution gave a new foundation for the
expression of diversity in territorial terms.
5. Despite of the initial anxieties of the national leadership who opposed internal
linguistic reorganization for the fear of Balkanization the linguistic reorganization
by the States Reorganization Act of 1956.
Ex: Andhra Pradesh was created by merging Andhra State with the Telugu speaking
area of the Hyderabad State. Travancore State was merged with the Malabar
district of the Madras State to form Kerala state. Patiala and East Punjab States
Union were merged with Punjab.
6. The formation of the states based on ethnicity of the population occurred in the
north east with formation of Nagaland, Mizoram, Manipur.
7. The formation of the states of Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand in 2000 gave a new basis
of territorial consolidation based on tribal identities.
8. Now under-development and the need for special care in administration is
becoming a new basis for division of states. With the formation of Telangana as the
newest state on this basis. And the demand for the creation of Vidharbha from
Maharastra and saurashtra from gujrath being the latest demands.
Thus the basis for territorial consolidation is an evolutionary concept which changes
with the needs of the public and level of development of the nation.
15. “Disability is a social problem”. Critically examine the statement and enumerate
the features of Mental Health Care Act, 2017. (15 Marks, 250 words)
Answer:
Disability is often seen as a biological and a natural phenomenon. But viewing it as a
social problem brings in an alternate view to accept societal responsibility in bringing
about their disability and hence working towards their development.
Disability is a Social Problem:
The idea of a physical and a biological ‘ideal’ is created by the society and accordingly
infrastructure is created which are not suited to the lifestyle of the disabled. So
the world is constructed on the presumption of an ideal which needs to be corrected
and hence the need to change the social infrastructure rather than the biological
capabilities of the disabled.
Advantages of recognizing it as a social problem

- Acceptance that it is not natural and hence can be changed.
- Puts an onus on the society to work for them.
- Respects them as ‘differently abled’ and not ‘disabled’.
It is on this idea the “Accessible India” campaign is based which recommends re-
engineering of physical infrastructure to suit the needs of the differently-abled.
Key Features of Mental Health Care Act, 2017
- Rights of persons with mental illness: It gives every person right to access mental
healthcare from services operated or funded by the government. It also includes
good quality, easy and affordable access to services. It also provides right to equality
of treatment, protect such persons from inhuman treatment, access to free legal
services, medical records and right to complain in case of deficiencies in provisions.
- Advance Directive: It empowers a mentally-ill person to have the right to make an

advance directive that explains how they want to be treated for the requisite illness
and nominate their representative.
- Mental Health Establishments: Every mental health establishment must register

with the respective Central or State Mental Health Authority. For Registration, the
concerned establishment must fulfill different criteria as mentioned in the Bill.
- Procedure and process: It also outlines the procedure and process for admission,
treatment and subsequent discharge of mentally ill persons.
- Community based treatment: It focuses on community based treatment and

special provisions for women and health.
- Mental Health Review Commission and Board: It will be quasi-judicial body

responsible for reviewing procedure for making advance directives. It will advise
the government on the protection of rights of mentally ill persons’. It will constitute
Mental Health Review Boards in states’ districts will help of state governments.
- Decriminalizing suicide: It effectively decriminalizes suicide attempt under the

section 309 (attempt to commit suicide) of Indian Penal Code (IPC) by mentally ill
persons by making it non-punishable.
- Prohibits electro-convulsive therapy: It will be not used for minors. It will be

allowed only with the use of anesthesia.
16. “Death Penalty eliminates criminals, not crime”. Critically discuss the
statement in the context of recent demands of death penalty against sexual
crimes. (15 Marks, 250 words)
Answer:
Recently, there has been a renewed debate over capital punishment, after a popular
outrage over the need for it against rape and sexual crimes against women in the
context of Nirbhaya, Kathua and Unnao cases.
Accordingly under Juvenile Justice Act, even a juvenile between 16 and 18 can be tried
as an adult after consent from the Juvenile Justice Board and under Criminal Laws
Amendment Bill 2018 rape of a girl below 6 would attract death penalty. These
stringent punishments were supported by the Justice Verma Committee constituted
after Nirbhaya case.
Arguments in favour of Capital Punishment:
- Retribution: All guilty people should be punished according to the crime. The
magnitude of the punishment should match the seriousness and heinousness of the
crime. It was supported by the judiciary in Dhananjay Chatterjee’s case.
- It leads to deterrence. That is it instills fear in the public reducing the rate of
crimes.
- Rehabilitation: Many times when death penalty has been announced, the criminals
have pleaded guilty, reformed and rehabilitated themselves.
Arguments against capital punishment:
- It is against the value of human life.

- Right to live is a constitutional guarantee under Article 21.
- It is against the principle of retribution.
 It is not retribution but vengeance.
 Many times due to procedural loopholes, innocents may be convicted. This
completely is against ethics of retribution of ‘an eye for an eye’.
 Due to long and torturous procedure involved in the judiciary the convicted has
to undergo a lot of ‘anticipatory suffering’ before the execution. This does not
match with the magnitude of the crime
 It is not retribution if it is not given for a particular types consistently.
- It is against various Principles of Deterrence

 No statistical evidence to show that it has led to decrease of crimes.
 No evidence to prove that it is more effective in deterrence when compared to
life imprisonment.
 It is morally flawed as it is unacceptable for someone to pay for the predicted
future crime of others.
 Deterrence doesn’t work with criminal who are insane, who cannot exercise
their own will and those who are psychologically disturbed.
 Instilling fear in public can no longer happen as punished in public view is no
longer civilized.
- Methods used like hanging are cruel and inhuman. Lethal injections considered
soft cannot be done without the assistance of medical practitioners. And assisted
killing goes against medical ethics.
Reformation of criminal, from the above arguments is efficient both ethically and utility
wise. And it is more pertinent in sexual crimes which are manifestations of deep rooted
social malaise based in patriarchy, misogyny, male chauvinism and threatened male
psyche. It require attitudinal changes and not death penalty as sexual crimes and capital
punishment are symptoms of same culture – the culture of violence.
17. Bring out a detailed analysis of Tropical Cyclones. Under what conditions re-
curvature of tropical cyclones takes place? (15 Marks, 250 words)
Answer:
Cyclones are the centres of low pressure surrounded by closed isobars having
increasing pressure outward and closed air circulation from outside towards the
central low pressure in such a way that air blows inward in anti-clockwise in the
northern hemisphere and clockwise in the southern hemisphere.
Tropical cyclones are the atmospheric disturbances which usually occurs between
8-20 N/S during the summers over sea or oceans only. They are violent and destructive
atmospheric storms.
Tropical cyclones are called by different names in different parts of the world.
Hurricanes in Caribbean Sea, Typhoon in South China Sea, Willy willies in Australia
etc
Essential condition for its formation
 Large sea surface with temperature higher than 26°c.

 A certain minimum value of the coriolis force is required to provide the initial
torque. Between 0-8 N/S cyclones are not formed.
 Small differences in the vertical wind speed.
 A pre-existing weak- low-pressure area or low-level-cyclonic circulation.
 Upper divergence above the sea level system.
Process
 Along the ITCZ line, at regions where temp > 26˚c the lower pressure is
developed. Along the low pressure the convergence of the trade winds takes place.
After the convergence, convection of the air takes place, leading to formation of the
cumulonimbus clouds. Latent heat of Condensation is released which source of
energy for tropical cyclone.
 As the storm system rotates faster and faster, an eye forms in the centre. It is very
calm and clear in the eye, with very low air pressure. Higher pressure air from
above flows down into the eye.
 When the winds in the rotating storm reach 39 mph, the storm is called a "tropical
storm". And when the wind speeds reach 74 mph, the storm is officially a "tropical
cyclone" or hurricane.
 Tropical cyclones usually weaken when they hit land, because they are no longer
being "fed" by the energy from the warm ocean waters. However, they often move
far inland, dumping many inches of rain and causing lots of wind damage before
they die out completely.
 Eye region
 A mature tropical cyclone is characterised by the strong spirally circulating wind

around the centre which is called the eye.
 The eye is an area with calm weather descending air.
 It is characterized by light winds and clear skies.
 Eye wall
 Around the eye is the eye wall, where there is a strong spiraling rise of air to
greater height reaching the tropopause.
 The wind reaches maximum velocity in this region and torrential rain occurs
here.
 From the eye wall, rain bands may radiate and trains of cumulus and
cumulonimbus clouds may drift into the outer region.
Extra (Need not write)

Tropical cyclones are always accompanied by torrential rain. Because of the steep
pressure gradient, strong winds occur. The wind speed rises rapidly from nearly zero in
the eye to its maximum value at a radius between 10 and 100 km from the centre. The
strongest winds occur near the leading edge (in front) of the storm.
The destruction associated with tropical cyclones results not only from the force of the
wind, but also from the storm surge and the waves it generates. The storm surge is
experienced as a rapid rise of sea level near that portion of the eyewall associated with
onshore winds, sometimes reaching a height of more than 6 metres and accompanied
by very large wind-driven waves. Much of the death toll in tropical cyclones is due to
the storm surge.
Recurvature
In Northern Hemisphere, recurvature of a TC is defined as the situation when a TC
transits from a mainly westward track to a northward and sometimes even an
eastward track.
Recurvature happens because of angular momenta with respect to earth rotation

axis.
Tropical cyclones usually come under Westerlies after recurvature and hence it
moves into higher latitudes.
Jet-stream when located above tropical cyclones helps in maintaining low pressure,
and path of jet-streams helps for recurvature.
18. Discuss the distribution of marine resources in Indian Ocean. Also comment on
important marine disputes between India and its neighbouring countries. (15 Marks,
250 words)
Answer:
The Indian Ocean is bounded by
- Iran, Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh to the north.
- The Malay Peninsula, the Sunda Islands of Indonesia and Australia to the east.
- Antarctica to the south.
- Africa and the Arabian Peninsula to the west.
In the southwest it joins the Atlantic Ocean south of the southern tip of Africa, and to
the east and southeast its waters mingle with those of the Pacific Ocean.
Mineral resources
Oil and Petroleum – Persian Gulf, Mumbai High, Southern Sumatra, Western
Australian coast
Metalliferous Nodules – (containing zinc, copper and silver) – Red sea, Agulhas bank
of South Africa
Phosphorite deposits - Coast of Arabian Peninsula, Bay of Bengal near Andaman
Islands
Manganese deposits – Southern Indian Ocean
Other minerals of potential commercial value are
 Ilmenite (a mixture of iron and titanium oxide)
 Tin
 Monazite (a rare earth)
 Zircon
 Chromite, all of which are found in nearshore sand bodies.
Biological resources
 Fish
 Corals
 Mangroves etc.
Important marine disputes

India – Pakistan
 The issue of Sir creek
 The Kachchh- Karachi coast and issues of fishing.
India – Sri Lanka
 Demaraction of marine boundaries and fishing encroachment issues in Palk bay.
 Katchatheevu island issue.
India - Bangladesh
 Maritime boundary issue of Ganga – Brahmaputra delta including New
Moore Island.
19. What do you mean by integrated Watershed Management and what is its
significance in Dryland Agriculture of India. (15 Marks, 250 words)
Answer:
A Watershed can be defined as an independent hydrological unit. It is a drainage
basin or catchment area of a particular stream or river.
Watershed management is a holistic approach which aims at optimising the use of
land, water and vegetation in an area to deviates drought, moderate floods, prevent soil
erosion, improve water availability and increase fuel, fodder and agricultural
production on a sustained basis.
Main principles of watershed management based on resource conservation,
resource generation and resource utilisation are:
- Utilising the land based on its capability.
- Protecting fertile top soil.
- Minimising silting up of tanks, reservoirs and lower fertile lands.
- Protecting vegetative cover throughout the year.
- In-situ conservation of rain water.
- Safe diversion of surface runoff to storage structures through grassed water
ways.
- Stabilisation of gullies and construction of check dams for increasing ground
water recharge.
- Increasing cropping intensity through inter and sequence cropping.
- Alternate land use systems for efficient use of marginal lands.
- Water harvesting for supplemental irrigation.
- Ensuring sustainability of the ecosystem.
- Maximising farm income through agricultural related activities such as dairy,

poultry, sheep and goat farming.
- Improving infrastructural facilities for storage, transport and agricultural
marketing.
- Setting up of small scale agro-industries.
- Improving socio-economic status of farmers.
The Integrated Watershed Management Programme (IWMP) one of the Flagship
programme of Ministry of Rural Development is under implementation by the
Department of Land Resources since 2009-10 after integrating three area development
programmes namely
- Desert Development Programme (DDP),
- Drought Prone Areas Programme (DPAP) and
- Integrated Wastelands Development Programme (IWDP),
The rain-fed areas of India amongst the most challenging for the sustenance of agrarian
economy. They are entirely single cropped areas, prone to drought, soil erosion,
depleting water tables etc. Within watershed areas emphasis is on water conservation,
issues of land degradation, vegetation conservation etc. which helps in Dry land
Agriculture.
20. Analyse the causes of desertification in India. Suggest remedial measures to

control it. (15 Marks, 250 words)
Answer:
Desertification is defined as a process of land degradation in arid, semi-arid and
sub-humid areas due to various factors including climatic variations and human
activities.
Or
Desertification results in persistent degradation of dryland and
fragile ecosystems due to man-made activities and variations in climate.
Causes of Desertification
Overgrazing:
Animal grazing is a huge problem for many areas that are starting to become desert
biomes. If there are too many animals that are overgrazing in certain spots, it makes
it difficult for the plants to grow back, which hurts the biome and makes it lose its
former green glory.
Deforestation:
When people are looking to move into an area, or they need trees in order to make
houses and do other tasks, then they are contributing to the problems related to
desertification. Without the plants (especially the trees) around, the rest of the
biome cannot thrive.
Farming Practices:
Some farmers do not know how to use the land effectively. They may essentially
strip the land of everything that it has before moving on to another plot of land. By
stripping the soil of its nutrients, desertification becomes more and more of a reality
for the area that is being used for farming.
Urbanization and other types of land development:
As mentioned above, development can cause people to go through and kill the plant
life. It can also cause issues with the soil due to chemicals and other things that may
harm the ground. As areas become more urbanized, there are less places for plants
to grow, thus causing desertification.
Climate Change:
Climate change plays a huge role in desertification. As the days get warmer and
periods of drought become more frequent, desertification becomes more and more
eminent. Unless climate change is slowed down, huge areas of land will become
desert; some of those areas may even become uninhabitable as time goes on.
Stripping the land of resources:
If an area of land has natural resources like natural gas, oil, or minerals, people will
come in and mine it or take it out. This usually strips the soil of nutrients, which in
turn kills the plant life, which in turn starts the process toward becoming a desert
biome as time goes on.
Natural Disasters:
There are some cases where the land gets damaged because of natural disasters,
including drought. In those cases, there isn’t a lot that people can do except work to
try and help rehabilitate the land after it has already been damaged by nature.
Remedial measures
- Encourage adoption of science based and traditional sustainable land use
practices, through research and development, extension of knowledge, pilot
scale demonstrations, large scale dissemination and access to institutional
finance;
- Promote reclamation of wasteland and degraded forestland, through
formulation and adoption of multi-stakeholder partnerships;
- Prepare and implement thematic action plans incorporating watershed

management strategies, for arresting and reversing desertification and
expanding green cover;
- Promote sustainable alternatives to shifting cultivation, where it is no
longer ecologically viable, ensuring that the culture and social organization of
the local people are not disrupted; and,
- Encourage agro-forestry, organic farming, environmentally sustainable
cropping patterns and adoption of efficient irrigation techniques.

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INSIGHTS IAS MAINS TEST SERIES 2018

INSIGHTS IAS MAINS TEST SERIES 2019

3. British imperialism in India is a process driven by the interrelatedness between

dominated by the traditional privileged classes such as zamindars (feudal landlords)

 As it is sexual violence against girls and hence inhumane.

An Essential Religious Practice which is based on Social Morality cannot be beyond

6. Enumerate the impact of globalization on Tribal Communities in India. (10 Marks,

- Tribal products like getting a market through the formation of TRIFED.

7. Increase in Sea-Surface Temperature (SST) will have disastrous consequences

 Migration of marine species

- Increase in sea surface temperature leading to ocean acidification.

There is linkage between increasing SST and El-nino phenomena.

Sagar mala initiative: Port - led Development

The Sagar Mala Project envisages a model of port-led development.

It seeks to develop a string of ports around India's coast.

Sagarmala, integrated with the development of inland waterways, is expected to

11. Upanishads represents highest watermark of Vedic philosophy and

It is an issue of tribal differences and the artificial demarcation of boundaries by

14. Territorial Consolidation of India is a process not an event with continuously

Disability is a Social Problem:

Advantages of recognizing it as a social problem

Key Features of Mental Health Care Act, 2017

- Advance Directive: It empowers a mentally-ill person to have the right to make an

- Mental Health Establishments: Every mental health establishment must register

- Community based treatment: It focuses on community based treatment and

- Mental Health Review Commission and Board: It will be quasi-judicial body

- Decriminalizing suicide: It effectively decriminalizes suicide attempt under the

- Prohibits electro-convulsive therapy: It will be not used for minors. It will be

Arguments in favour of Capital Punishment:

- It is against the value of human life.

- It is against various Principles of Deterrence

 Large sea surface with temperature higher than 26°c.

 A mature tropical cyclone is characterised by the strong spirally circulating wind

Extra (Need not write)

Recurvature happens because of angular momenta with respect to earth rotation

Important marine disputes

- Maximising farm income through agricultural related activities such as dairy,

20. Analyse the causes of desertification in India. Suggest remedial measures to

- Prepare and implement thematic action plans incorporating watershed

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