IMPORTANT

PERSONALITIES
THEIR PHILOSPHIES & QUOTES

II

ESSAY WITH EDUKEMY

VOLUME-1
 CONTENTS
S.No. Content Page No.

1 MAHATMA GANDHI 3

2 SWAMI VIVEKANANDA 7

3 LEE KUAN YEW 10

4 ROSA PARKS 13

5 NELSON MANDELA 15

6 MOTHER TERESA 17

7 J. K. ROWLING 19

8 HELEN KELLER 21

9 HILLARY CLINTON 23

10 BILL GATES 25

11 A. P. J. ABDUL KALAM 27

12 ELON MUSK 29

13 MODEL ESSAYS 31

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 GANDHIAN
PHILOSOPHY

Nai Talim
In 1937, Mahatma Gandhi seeded an important idea to Personal
revamp the education system, at a conference in Wardha,
Maharashtra through Nai Talim. Gandhi felt a need to nullify
Notes
what the education at the time of British Raj was trying to
create – distinctions between knowledge and work, teaching
and learning, among others. He also considered education
as a medium to combat the dominant societal malice of
‘untouchability’ associated with caste-based vocations, such as
spinning, weaving, basket-making, leather-work, and pottery.
He envisioned his scheme of education as the one that
would lead to silent social revolution by eradicating poisoned
relationships between classes. He was a believer in the power
of education and wanted education to be accessible to all.
This, he thought, would then help changing the dominant
mindset that considered:
• manual work as inferior to mental work
• education to be a prerogative of upper castes alone
“By education, I mean an overall, all around drawing out the
best in child and man, in body, mind, and spirit,” Gandhi said.
He wanted an education system in which education and
labour are complementary and felt this move in turn would
help in eliminating unnatural division between ‘haves’ and
‘have-nots’, rural-urban divide through equitable balances.
The dignity of labour and skill-based learning were the
hallmarks of the Gandhian approach.
Swaraj
Swaraj for Gandhi was not freedom from the British. He
said, clearly, “Real swaraj will come, not by the acquisition
of authority by a few, but by the acquisition of the capacity
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by all to resist authority when it is abused. In other words,

swaraj is to be attained by educating the masses to a sense
of their capacity to regulate and control authority.”
Although the word swaraj means self-rule, Gandhi gave it
the content of an integral revolution that encompasses all
spheres of life.
• At the individual level swaraj is vitally connected with
the capacity for dispassionate self-assessment, ceaseless
self-purification and growing swadeshi or self-reliance.
• Politically swaraj is self-government and not good
government (for Gandhi, good government is no
substitute for self-government) and it means continuous 3
 Personal effort to be independent of government control, whether
it is foreign government or whether it is national. In
Notes other words, it is sovereignty of the people based on
pure moral authority.
• Economically, poorna swaraj means full economic
freedom for the toiling millions.
For Gandhi, swaraj of the people meant the sum total of the
swaraj (self-rule) of individuals and so he clarified that for him
swaraj meant freedom for the meanest of his countrymen.
And in its fullest sense, swaraj is much more than freedom
from all restraints, it is self-rule, self-restraint and could be
equated with moksha or salvation.
Swaraj means vast organising ability, penetration into the
villages solely for the services of the villagers; in other words,
it means national education i.e., education of the masses.
And in the Gandhian discourse, education of the masses
means conscientization, mobilisation and empowerment,
making people capable and determined to stand up to the
powers that be.
Sarvodaya
Sarvodaya is a term meaning ‘Universal Uplift’ or ‘Progress
of All’. The term was first coined by Gandhi as the title of his
1908 translation of John Ruskin’s tract on political economy,
“Unto This Last”, and Gandhi came to use the term for the
ideal of his own political philosophy. Later Gandhian, like
the Indian activist Vinoba Bhave, embraced the term as a
name for the social movement in post-independence India
which strove to ensure that self-determination and equality
reached all strata of Indian society.
Inspirations from Ruskin’s Book:
• That the good of the individual is contained in the good
of all.
• That a lawyer’s work has the same value as the barber’s
in as much as all have the same right of earning their
livelihood from their work.
• That is a life of labour, i.e., the life of the tiller of the soil
and the handicraftsman is the life worth living.
Objects of Sarvodaya Movement:
The Sarvodaya Movement has as its target the establishment of
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a whole network of such self-supporting village communities.

• The family relationships which are confined at present
to the blood group will be extended to cover the whole
village where distinctions based on race, creed, caste,
language and so forth will completely be eliminated.
• Agriculture will be so planned that all the people will
have enough to consume. Industry will be conducted
on a cottage basis till all the people in the village are
gainfully employed.
• The needs of the village will be determined by the people
of the village themselves, through the Village Council,
4 representative of the whole village.
Principles of the Sarvodaya:
• Politics will not be the instrument of power but an Personal
agency of service and Rajniti will yield place to Lokniti.
• All people will be imbued with the spirit of love,
Notes
fraternity, truth, non-violence and self-sacrifices. Society
will function on the basis of non-violence.
• There will be no party system and majority rule and
society will be free from the evil of the tyranny of the
majority.
• The sarvodaya society is socialist in the true sense of
the term. All calling will be the same moral, social and
economic values. The individual personality has the
fullest scope for development.
• The sarvodaya society is based on equality and liberty.
There is no room in it for exploitation and class-hatred.
• Sarvodaya stands for the progress of all. All individuals
should do individual labour and follow the ideal of non-
possession. Then it will be possible to realize the goal of:
from each according to his work and to each according
to his needs.
• There will be no private property, the instrument of
exploitation and the source of social distinctions and
hatred.
• The gain to the individual would be small. The
development of each quality depends upon every
other. If all the qualities are improved a little, then the
individual would gain more.
Sarvodaya Movement:
Gandhi’s ideals have lasted well beyond Indian independence.
His followers in India (notably, Vinoba Bhave) continued
working to promote the kind of society that he envisioned,
and their efforts have come to be known as the Sarvodaya
Movement. Anima Bose has referred to the movement’s
philosophy as “a fuller and richer concept of people’s
democracy than any we have yet known.” Sarvodaya workers
associated with Vinoba, J. P. Narayan, Dada Dharmadhikari,
Dhirendra Mazumdaar, Shankarrao Deo, K. G. Mashruwala
undertook various projects aimed at encouraging popular self-
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organization during the 1950s and 1960s, including Bhoodan

and Gramdan movements. Many groups descended from
these networks continue to function locally in India today.
Satyagraha
Gandhi called his overall method of nonviolent action
Satyagraha. This translates roughly as “Truth-force.” A fuller
rendering, though, would be “the force that is generated
through adherence to Truth.” Nowadays, it’s usually called
non-violence. But for Gandhi, non-violence was the word for
a different, broader concept-namely, “a way of life based on
love and compassion.” In Gandhi’s terminology, Satyagraha-
Truth-force-was an outgrowth of nonviolence. 5
 Personal Satyagraha, when used as a tool for social and political change,
aims to win over an opponent. There are three stages in this
Notes process:
• The first stage is that of persuasion through reason.
• The second stage is characterized by persuasion through
suffering. The satyagrahi, at this stage, dramatizes the
issues at stake by willingly undergoing self-suffering
instead of inflicting suffering on the opponent as a test
for the truth element in his cause.
• If neither persuasion through reason nor self-suffering
does succeed to win over the opponent, the satyagrahi
resorts to non-violent coercion characterized by tools
such as non-cooperation or civil disobedience.
According to Gandhi, “Satyagraha is literally holding on to
Truth, and it means therefore Truth-force.” Truth, for Gandhi,
was God. Gandhi defined his personal goal as to “seeing God
face to face.” Gandhi, in his experiments with satyagraha, both
in South Africa and in India, became more and more aware
of the relative character of truth as an operative principle.
The relative character of truth became evident to Gandhi as
each time the social and political problems he took up for
reform differed. In this respect, satyagraha is not a dogma.
It is neither static nor substantial. For Gandhi, holding on to
truth in satyagraha is a dynamic concept and satyagraha is a
technique of action.
In satyagraha, self-suffering is willingly accepted by the
satyagrahi himself with the specific intention of the moral
persuasion of the enemy. Self-suffering is neither an inability
to win over the opponent through violence nor a meek
submission to the will of the evil-doer. It is a fight against
an evil system and a tyrant with one’s soul force. In other
words, self-suffering is the way of the strong. Gandhi says,
“Non-violence cannot be taught to a person who fears to
die and has no power of resistance.”
Emphasizing on the inseparableness of truth and non-
violence in satyagraha, Gandhi considers truth and non-
violence (love) as the two sides of the same coin. Ahimsa and
Truth are so intertwined that it is practically impossible to
disentangle and separate them. Nevertheless, ahimsa is the
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means; Truth is the end. Means to be means must always

be within our reach, and so ahimsa is our supreme duty. If
we take care of the means, we are bound to reach the end
sooner or later.” In short, in the satyagraha movement for
Gandhi, truth is the ultimate goal and non-violence is the
means to it.
Satyagraha as a technique for social and political change,
has certain definite characteristics and features among
which adherence to truth, non-violence and self- suffering
have paramount importance.
6
 SWAMI
VIVEKANANDA

Biographical Details
• Swami Vivekananda was born as Narendra Nath Datta,
Personal
on 12th January, 1863.
• He was a monk and chief disciple of Ramakrishna
Notes
Paramhansa.
• He introduced Indian philosophies of Vedanta and
Yoga to the Western world and is credited with raising
interfaith awareness, bringing Hinduism to the world
stage during the late 19th century.
• He established Ramakrishna Mission in 1897, named
after his Guru Swami Ramakrishna Paramhansa. The
institution did extensive educational and philanthropic
work in India.
• He also represented India in the first Parliament of
Religion held in Chicago (U.S.) in 1893.
Salient Points of Swami Vivekanand’s Philosophy
• Social, Spiritual, and Intellectual quest for the youth
Swami Vivekanand emphasised the physical, social, spiritual
and intellectual quest for the youth. Vivekananda was of
the view that the youth can lead a successful life only when
they are physically fit. Vivekananda understood that while
most youth aspire not all are equipped with the mental and
physical stamina to pursue such a goal. Therefore, he asked
the youth to overcome fears and become stronger physically
and mentally. He said, “Power is within you; you can do
anything and everything. Believe in that, do not believe
that you are weak. Therefore, arise, awake, and stop not
till the goal is reached.”
As part of social quest, Vivekanand wanted the young to
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undertake social activities, not merely for the betterment of

society but also for their individual evolution and growth.
The social quest involves undertaking activities to mitigate
physical sufferings. As a part of the intellectual quest,
Vivekanand emphasised the importance of education as the
primary means for empowering the people. As part of the
spiritual quest, he stressed upon the highest level of spiritual
service-one of dhyan and sadhna.
• Rebuilding Indian society through Education
Among the various ways which Swami Vivekananda suggested
to rebuild the Indian society, Education was the primary
means for empowering the people. He once said, “The 7
 Personal education which does not help the common mass of people
to equip themselves for the struggle for life, which does not
Notes bring out strength of character, a spirit of philanthropy, and
the courage of a lion – is it worth the name? Real education
is that which enables one to stand on one’s own legs.” For
him, education meant secular learning that built character
and instilled human values in students.
• Realizing one’s purpose in life
Vivekananda held that the real birth of the individual takes
place when the purpose of his life germinates. Till the
purpose is not recognized, life is absolutely useless. He
pointed out that young people are made to think right from
their childhood about their careers or what they want to
be. In the process they forget some of the finer aspects that
life has to offer. It is extremely important not to decide the
purpose of life with the narrow objective to be something or
the other. Once the purpose of life is clear, all actions of life
become driven by that purpose.
• Interpretation of Religion
Swami Vivekananda was a follower of Vedanta. To Swami
Vivekananda religion was not only talk or doctrine or theory,
to him religion was realization, as he said, “it is being and
becoming, not hearing or acknowledging; it is the whole
soul becoming changed into what it believes.” According
to Vivekananda, an important teaching he received from
Ramakrishna was that Jiva is Shiva (each individual is divinity
itself). So he stressed on Shiva Jnane Jiva Seva, (to serve
common people considering them as manifestations of
God). According to Vivekananda, man is potentially Divine,
so, service to man is indeed service to God.
One of the most significant contributions of Swami
Vivekananda to the modern world is his interpretation
of religion as a universal experience of transcendent
Reality, common to all humanity.This universal conception
frees religion from the hold of superstitions, dogmatism,
priestcraft, and intolerance. Service to man as the visible
manifestation of the Godhead was the special form of
worship he advocated for the Indians.
Swami Vivekananda’s philosophy was assimilation of ideals
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prescribed in all religions. He did not restrict dharma to just

worshipping God. He removed barriers of purity separating
God and his worshipper.
• Nationalism
Swami Vivekananda’s nationalism is associated with
spiritualism. He linked India’s regeneration to her age-old
tradition of spiritual goal. He said, “Each nation has a destiny
to fulfil, each nation has a message to deliver, each nation
has a mission to accomplish. Therefore, we must have to
understand the mission of our own race, the destiny it has
8 to fulfil, the place it has to occupy in the march of nations,
the role which it has to contribute to the harmony of races”.
His nationalism is based on Humanism and Universalism, the Personal
two cardinal features of Indian spiritual culture. He taught
people to get rid first of self-inflicted bondages and resultant Notes
miseries.
The nature of his nationalism is not materialistic but purely
spiritual, which is considered to be the source of all strength
of Indian life. Unlike western nationalism which is secular
in nature, Swami Vivekananda’s nationalism is based on
religion which is the lifeblood of the Indian people. Deep
concern for masses, freedom and equality through which
one expresses self, spiritual integration of the world on the
basis of universal brotherhood and “Karmyoga” a system of
ethics to attain freedom both political and spiritual through
selfless service make the basis of his nationalism.
Important Quotes
• You have to grow from the inside out. None can teach
you; none can make you spiritual. There is no other
teacher but your own soul.
• Arise, awake and do not stop until the goal is reached.
• We are what our thoughts have made us; so, take care
about what you think. Words are secondary. Thoughts
live; they travel far.
• Be the servant while leading. Be unselfish. Have infinite
patience, and success is yours.
• Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life; dream of
it; think of it; live on that idea. Let the brain, the body,
muscles, nerves, every part of your body be full of that
idea, and just leave every other idea alone. This is the
way to success, and this is the way great spiritual giants
are produced.
• In a day, when you don’t come across any problems - you
can be sure that you are travelling in the wrong path.
• Truth can be stated in a thousand different ways, yet
each one can be true.
• The greatest religion is to be true to your own nature.
Have faith in yourselves.
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9
 LEE KUAN YEW

Personal Biographical Details

• First Prime Minister of Singapore, governing for three
Notes decades.
• Lee is recognised as Singapore’s founding father,
credited with rapidly transitioning the country from a
developing third world country into a developed first
world country within a single generation.
• Lee oversaw Singapore’s transformation from a crown
colony with a natural deep harbour into a developed
country with a high-income economy.
• Lee’s rule was sometimes criticised particularly in the
West for curtailing some civil liberties. They include
control of state media, repudiating the idea behind
public protests, as well as filing lawsuits against some
political opponents who he perceived had defamed
him. An advocate for Asian values, he argued that such
disciplinary measures were necessary for political
stability which, together with a strong rule of law, were
essential for economic progress.
Salient Points of Lee Kuan Yew’s philosophy
• Asian Values
Asian values, refers to a set of values promoted since the
late 20th century by some Asian political leaders and
intellectuals like Lee Kuan Yew as a conscious alternative to
Western political values such as human rights, democracy,
and capitalism. Advocates of Asian values typically claimed
that the rapid development of many East Asian economies in
the post-World War II period was due to the shared culture of
their societies, especially those of Confucian heritage. They
also asserted that Western political values were unsuited to
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East Asia because they fostered excessive individualism and

legalism, which threatened to undermine the social order
and destroy economic dynamism. Among Asian values that
were frequently cited were discipline, hard work, frugality,
educational achievement, balancing individual and societal
needs, and deference to authority. Critics of Asian values
disputed their role in economic growth and argued that
they were being used to protect the interests of East Asia’s
authoritarian elites.
Proponents of Asian values made several related claims. They
10 asserted that Asian values were responsible for the region’s
significant economic growth; that economic development
must be prioritized in societies that are climbing out of Personal
poverty; and, more generally, that civil and political rights
should be subordinate to economic and social rights. In
Notes
addition, because the state embodies the collective identity
and interests of its citizens, its needs should take precedence
over the rights of the individual. Accordingly, Asian-values
proponents were strong defenders of state sovereignty.
• Technology will change how government operates
Lee Kuan Yew recognized the importance of technology in
changing the systems of governance and if the governance
system does not respond to technological change then
it is likely to become obsolete. With the proliferation of
technology, the people will be better informed and they can
organize themselves. The reach of technology is so broad
that the government could no longer rely on just placating
and monitoring a few people.
• Importance of human capital for national
competitiveness
According to Lee Kuan Yew, the quality of a nation’s manpower
resources is the single most important factor determining
national competitiveness. It is a people’s innovativeness,
entrepreneurship, team work, and their work ethics that
give them the sharp keen edge in competitiveness.
Three attributes are vital in this competition—
entrepreneurship to seek out new opportunities and to take
calculated risks. The second attribute, innovation, is what
creates new products and processes that add value.The third
factor is good management. The economy is driven by the
new knowledge, new discoveries in science and technology,
innovations that are taken to the market by entrepreneurs.
So while the scholar is still the greatest factor in economic
progress, he will be so only if he uses his brains—not in
studying the great books, classical texts, and poetry, but in
capturing and discovering new knowledge, applying himself
in research and development, management and marketing,
banking and finance, and the myriad of new subjects that
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need to be mastered.
• Importance of family
“Singapore depends on the strength and influence of the
family to keep society orderly and maintain a culture of
thrift, hard work, filial piety, and respect for elders and for
scholarship and for learning,” Lee wrote in “From Third
World to First.” “These values make for a productive people
and help economic growth.”Confucian societies believe that
the individual exists in the context of the family, extended
family, friends, and wider society, and that the government
cannot and should not take over the role of the family. 11
 Personal Important quotes
• If you do not know history, you think short term. If you
Notes know history, you think medium and long term.
• A nation is great not by its size alone. It is the will, the
cohesion, the stamina, the discipline of its people, and
the quality of their leaders which ensure it an honorable
place in history.
• Throughout history, all empires that succeeded have
embraced and included in their midst people of other
races, languages, religions, and cultures.
• The ultimate test of the value of a political system is
whether it helps that society to establish conditions
which improve the standard of living for the majority of
its people.
• You need a certain standard of literacy, moral and ethical
values, to be able to run a one man, one vote system.
• Between being loved and being feared, I have always
believed Machiavelli was right. If nobody is afraid of me,
I’m meaningless.
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12
 ROSA PARKS

Biographical Details
Rosa Louise McCauley Parks (February 4, 1913 – October
Personal
24, 2005) was an activist in the Civil Rights Movement,
whom the United States Congress called “the first lady of
Notes
civil rights” and “the mother of the freedom movement”.
Important lessons from the life of Rosa Parks
• Standing Up for Justice:
On December 1, 1955, in Montgomery, Alabama, Parks
refused to obey bus driver James F. Blake’s order to give
up her seat in the “colored section” to a white passenger,
after the whites-only section was filled. Rosa Parks taught
the world a valuable lesson: we can fight for our beliefs by
not tolerating everyday acts of injustice and oppression.
Our awareness of these injustices and our willingness to act
against them may be present in our own private thoughts,
in words shared with others, or through actions of visible
defiance and civil disobedience. Parks’ act of defiance and
the Montgomery bus boycott became important symbols
of the modern Civil Rights Movement. She became an
international icon of resistance to racial segregation.
• Disrupt convention
One of the most important lessons that we can draw from
the life of Parks is to disrupt convention. The reason many
things don’t get done or are never achieved is because we
tend to box ourselves into conventional thinking. In doing so
we struggle to understand why things are not changing.
• Importance of courage in life
Nobody knows now how much courage it took Rosa Parks
to remain in her seat that day. She was probably terrified.
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Terrible things happened to African American people who

fought back against the status quo.
When Rosa Parks had first joined the National Association
for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in 1943,
her husband was against it. He was afraid that something
would happen to her. Fear is a constant in everyone’s life. It’s
a natural process that kept human beings safe in the past.
But in our modern world, that fear is often out of proportion
to the situation. You may fear the future or the unknown,
but there is little chance that those fears will kill you. And yet
too often people let those fears stop them from achieving
the things that really matter. 13
 Personal Quotes
• Each person must live their life as a model for others.
Notes • I have learned over the years that when one’s mind is
made up, this diminishes fear; knowing what must be
done does away with fear.
• Memories of our lives, of our works and our deeds will
continue in others.
• I would like to be remembered as a person who wanted
to be free... so other people would be also free.
• Racism is still with us. But it is up to us to prepare our
children for what they have to meet, and, hopefully, we
shall overcome.
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14
 NELSON
MANDELA

Biographical Details
• Nelson Mandela was the former President of South
Personal
Africa
• He was a South African anti-apartheid revolutionary,
Notes
politician, and philanthropist, who served as President
of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. 
• Notable works: Long Walk to freedom
Important lessons from the life of Nelson Mandela
• Passion Produces Perseverance
When you find a cause worth fighting for, you become
passionate and passion fuels the fires of perseverance.
Opposed to the policies of his country’s white minority
government, Mandela led a non-violent action against
apartheid in South Africa. It was a choice that landed him
in prison for 27 years. He emerged from incarceration and
became South Africa’s first ever black president. It was
the first time Mandela himself was able to vote in his own
country.
• Learn the art of compromise
“You mustn’t compromise your principles, but you mustn’t
humiliate the opposition. No one is more dangerous than
one who is humiliated.” – Nelson Mandela
“If you want to make peace with your enemy, you have to
work with your enemy. Then he becomes your partner.” –
Nelson Mandela
Whether in politics or in relationships, compromising and
negotiating are essential tools.
• Change Begins From The Inside-out
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If there was a silver lining to his years of imprisonment,

Mandela said it was to look in the mirror and create within
himself that which he most wanted for South Africa: peace,
reconciliation, equality, harmony and freedom. Perhaps his
most profound impact and greatest legacy was to teach us,
through vivid, living, personal examples, to be human before
anything else.
Self-awareness is a sign of great leadership. Mandela
understood that if he was going to lead his nation out of
racial discrimination and into a peaceful democracy he
would have to “be the change.” 15
 Personal • Forgiveness is the key to focussing forward
Mandela taught us that at some time in our lives we are all
Notes victims of something, but we get to choose whether or not
we will be victimized. No child is born to discriminate. We
learn to hate. And, if we learn to hate people based on their
gender, political affiliation or the color of their skin, we can
also learn to love, even in the direst of circumstances. The
Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa is a
testimony to this.
Quotes
• It always seems impossible until it’s done.
• Education is the most powerful weapon which you can
use to change the world.
• I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but
the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does
not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.
• I have fought against white domination, and I have fought
against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of
a democratic and free society in which all persons live
together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is
an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if
needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.
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16
 MOTHER TERESA

Biographical Details
• Mother Teresa, known in the Catholic Church as Saint
Personal
Teresa of Calcutta, was an Albanian-Indian Roman
Catholic nun and missionary.
Notes
• She was born in Skopje, then part of the Kosovo of
the Ottoman Empire. After living in Macedonia for
eighteen years she moved to Ireland and then to
India, where she lived for most of her life.
Important lessons from the life of Mother Teresa
• Everyone has a role and a different purpose
Although Mother Teresa welcomed whoever wanted to
serve the poorest of the poor, she didn’t expect people to
be like her and live her life. She once told a cricket player
that he couldn’t do what she did, and she couldn’t do what
he did. We must each strive to be the best at what we are
gifted at, and that is making something beautiful for God.
• Do small things with great love
It’s one of her most well-known quotes and her life was
the epitome of just that. In the journey of making one’s
life remarkable, a person has to make a number of small
sacrifices every single day. She believed in something as
small as a smile making all the difference. “We shall never
know all the good that a simple smile can do. Every time you
smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person,
a beautiful thing.”
• There is no greater hunger than the hunger of the heart
Mother Teresa rightfully stressed that the greatest disease is
not TB or leprosy but rather being unwanted, unloved and
uncared for. We can cure physical diseases with medicine,
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but the only cure for loneliness, despair, and hopelessness

is love. She was not just focussed on economic poverty but
also a poverty of loneliness and also of spirituality.
Quotes
• If you are humble nothing will touch you, neither praise
nor disgrace, because you know what you are.
• We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop
in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of
that missing drop.
• Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your
strength lies. 17
 Personal • Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small
things with great love.
Notes • I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone
across the waters to create many ripples.
• I choose the poverty of our people. But I am grateful to
receive the [Nobel] prize in the name of the hungry, the
naked, the homeless, the crippled, the blind, the lepers,
of all those people who feel unwanted, unloved, uncared
for throughout society, people that have become a
burden to the society and are shunned by everyone. –
Excerpt from Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech
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 J. K. ROWLING

Biographical details
• JK Rowling is a British author and philanthropist,
Personal
famous for writing the Harry Potter series.
• Rowling was working as a researcher and bilingual
Notes
secretary for Amnesty International in 1990 when she
conceived the idea for the Harry Potter series while
on a delayed train from Manchester to London. The
seven-year period that followed saw the death of her
mother, birth of her first child, divorce from her first
husband, and relative poverty until the first novel in
the series, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone,
was published in 1997.
• Rowling has lived a “rags to riches” life in which she
progressed from living on benefits to being named
the world’s first billionaire author by Forbes.
Important Lessons from the life of JK Rowling
• Importance of Perseverance
One of the most important lessons that one can learn from
the life of JK Rowling is that we can build our life from rock
bottom, laying a foundation for our dreams and goals.
Rowling was a single parent living on government support
and the first draft of her book was sent to 12 different
publishers before Bloomsbury accepted it.
• Taking responsibility of our lives
Everyone has experiences when they were younger that
shaped them into who they are, but individuals have a
choice as they get older, to make their own mold. Rowling
said “I do not blame my parents…there is an expiry date for
blaming your parents for steering you in the wrong direction.
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I discovered that I had a strong will and more discipline than

I had suspected.” The day we realize that we don’t have to
do what others expect us to, we find our first step to success.
Our environment plays an important role in our upbringing
but we should not let it determine the trajectory of our lives.
• Importance of chasing your passions
Rowling had a job teaching at schools, but spent a majority
of her spare time writing her first novel of the series, Harry
Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. She was a single mother
who was in poverty and did all she could to survive. Despite
the odds, she continued with her passion for writing. It is 19
 Personal important to pursue one’s passion even when one is engaged
in other work.
Notes • Imagination is everything
Imagination is something that every single person should
have, especially when they want to succeed.As Rowling herself
said “Imagination is not only the unique human capacity to
envision that which is not and therefore the fountain of all
invention…we have the power to imagine better.”. She clearly
understood that our unique thoughts and perceptions could
essentially change our lives.
Quotes
• Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if
one only remembers to turn on the light.
• It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live.
• It is our choices...that show what we truly are, far more
than our abilities.
• What’s comin’ will come and we’ll meet it when it does.
• You sort of start thinking anything’s possible if you’ve got
enough nerve.
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 HELEN KELLER

Biographical details
• Helen Adams Keller (June 27, 1880 – June 1, 1968)
Personal
was an American author, disability rights advocate,
political activist and lecturer.
Notes
• She lost her sight and hearing after a bout of illness at
the age of nineteen months. She then communicated
primarily using home signs until the age of seven when
she met her first teacher and life-long companion
Anne Sullivan, who taught her language, including
reading and writing.
• After an education at both specialist and mainstream
schools, she attended Radcliffe College of Harvard
University and became the first deafblind person to
earn a Bachelor of Arts degree.
• Keller was a prolific author, writing 14 books and
hundreds of speeches and essays on topics ranging
from animals to Mahatma Gandhi. Keller campaigned
for those with disabilities, for women’s suffrage, labor
rights, and world peace.
• The story of Keller and Sullivan was made famous by
Keller’s 1903 autobiography, The Story of My Life, and
its adaptations for film and stage.
Important Lessons from the life of Hellen Keller
• It’s a terrible thing to see and have no vision.
If anyone realized the importance of having a vision for
life, it was Helen Keller. One of her many accomplishments
included being the first deaf and blind person to earn a
Bachelor of Arts degree. Helen did not see her limitations
as an excuse not to pursue her dreams. Many people go
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through their lives with perfect vision, but fail to have a clear
vision as to where they want to go and who they want to
become. Helen did not let her literal lack of vision stop her
from having big dreams. Where many people would have
used Helen’s disabilities as a setback and would be focused
solely on surviving, Helen was focused on thriving.
• What we are looking for is within us
Many people spend their entire lives chasing the next “big
thing” thinking that something or person out there is going
to make them happy and bring them fulfillment. Helen
recognized early on that happiness was not found, but
rather created. Happiness and confidence were attributes 21
 Personal she championed from within, not things she would magically
find one day if she searched long and hard enough. She was
Notes an author, speaker, and activist with a spirit of determination
that served as an advocate for people with disabilities for
generations to come.
• Importance of experience in life
Helen Keller didn’t think life was merely to be endured. And
as someone who lived with great challenges, this was an
incredibly positive perspective. She said, “Life is a succession
of lessons which must be lived to be understood.” Helen
Keller taught us all that life’s experiences – even those that
are painful or scary – are what life is all about.
Quotes
• Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.
• Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.
• The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot
be seen or even touched - they must be felt with the
heart.
• Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see the
shadows.
• Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the
overcoming of it.
• Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing
can be done without hope and confidence.
• When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but
often we look so long at the closed door that we do not
see the one which has been opened for us.
• The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but
no vision.
• Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking
alone in the light.
• What we have once enjoyed we can never lose. All that
we love deeply becomes a part of us.
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22
 HILLARY
CLINTON

Biographical details
• Hillary Clinton is an American politician who was the
Personal
First Lady of the United States from 1993 to 2001.
• She was a U.S. Senator from New York from 2001 to
Notes
2009
• She was also United States Secretary of State from
2009 to 2013, and the Democratic Party’s nominee for
President of the United States in the 2016 election.
• Women’s rights are human rights
Hillary Clinton’s speech at a UN conference in Beijing in 1995
propelled the idea of women’s rights as human rights into
the mainstream after centuries of society sidelining gender
equality as “women’s issues.” The excitement and energy that
Clinton’s speech generated at the Fourth World Conference
on Women helped elevate the idea to one that fuels modern
feminism and international efforts to achieve gender parity.
In her speech at the conference Clinton highlighted a “litany
of violations against women,” including rape, female genital
mutilation, dowry burnings, and domestic violence—which
Clinton labeled as human rights violations.
• Chase your dreams and invest all your energies in them
After her loss in the US presidential elections of 2016, Clinton
said that, “This loss hurts, but please never stop believing
that fighting for what’s right is worth it.” When confronted
with defeat, being disappointed is a very humane response.
However the strength of our character lies in wiping off the
dust and trying harder in the future. Clinton in her speech
after the election results addressed all young women and
encouraged them to never doubt that they are valuable and
powerful and deserving of every chance and opportunity in
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the world to pursue and achieve their own dreams.

• Leadership requires being gracious in defeat
Losing is a reality of competition and life. After her defeat
in the 2016 elections, Hillary Clinton not only congratulated
Donald Trump but also expressed her gratitude towards the
people who stood with her.
Quotes
• Fear is always with us, but we just don’t have time for it.
Not now.
• Always aim high, work hard, and care deeply about what
you believe in. And, when you stumble, keep faith. And, 23
 Personal when you’re knocked down, get right back up and never
listen to anyone who says you can’t or shouldn’t go on.
Notes • The worst thing that can happen in a democracy–as well
as in an individual’s life–is to become cynical about the
future and lose hope: that is the end, and we cannot let
that happen.
• There is a sense that things, if you keep positive and
optimistic about what can be done, do work out.
• We need to be as fearless as the women whose stories
you have applauded, as committed as the dissidents and
the activists you have heard from, as audacious as those
who start movements for peace when all seems lost.
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 BILL GATES

Biographical details
• An American business magnate, investor, author,
Personal
philanthropist, and co-founder of the Microsoft
Corporation along with Paul Allen. 
Notes
• Gates has pursued a number of philanthropic
endeavors. He has given sizable amounts of money
to various charitable organizations and scientific
research programs through the Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation.
Lessons from the life of Bill Gates
• Pursue success, but remember those less fortunate
Six months before his mother lost her battle with breast
cancer, she wrote a letter to Gates’ wife ending with the
words: “From those to whom much is given, much is
expected.” Gates never forgot his mother’s words and they
led him to co-create the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
He and his wife also partnered with Warren Buffet to create
The Giving Pledge, a campaign to convince the world’s
wealthiest to give away the majority of their fortunes during
their lifetimes. Bill Gates spends his days working to fund
causes ranging from education to eradicating Polio.
• Determination is the key to success
In his commencement speech at Harvard in 2007, Gates
told the graduating class, “Determine a goal, find the
highest-leverage approach, discover the ideal technology
for that approach, and in the meantime, make the smartest
application of the technology that you already have…The
crucial thing is to never stop thinking and working.” Focusing
on what a person wants and working towards it at every
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opportunity is the only way to reach the goals.

• To win big, sometimes you have to take big risks
When Bill Gates dropped out of Harvard to pursue his
business idea, he was gambling with his future. He took a
massive risk but made it work through with patience, careful
planning, and perseverance. Not everyone has the luxury of
taking such risks in life, but there is rarely a perfectly built
bridge between where one is and where one wants to be.
Quotes
• Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into
thinking they can’t lose. 25
 Personal • Life is not fair; get used to it.
• Until we’re educating every kid in a fantastic way, until
Notes every inner city is cleaned up, there is no shortage of
things to do.
• As we look ahead into the next century, leaders will be
those who empower others.
• It’s fine to celebrate success but it is more important to
heed the lessons of failure.
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26
 A.P.J. ABDUL KALAM

Biographical details
• Dr. Kalam was an Indian aerospace scientist who
Personal
served as the 11th President of India from 2002 to
2007.
Notes
• He was born and raised in Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu
and studied physics and aerospace engineering.
He spent four decades as a scientist and science
administrator, mainly at the Defence Research and
Development Organisation (DRDO) and Indian Space
Research Organisation (ISRO) and was intimately
involved in India’s civilian space programme and
military missile development efforts.
• He came to be known as the Missile Man of India for
his work on the development of ballistic missile and
launch vehicle technology.
• He also played a pivotal organisational, technical,
and political role in India’s Pokhran-II nuclear tests in
1998.
Lessons from the life APJ Kalam
• Have Goals and Be Ready to Fight For Them
Dr. Kalam regularly warned his young listeners that the
world is trying its best to make them like everyone else. He
encouraged them to be unique, to have goals, and to be
ready to fight for both when needed.
• Think & act different
“My message, especially to young people is to have courage to
think differently, courage to invent, to travel the unexplored
path, courage to discover the impossible and to conquer the
problems and succeed” he emphasized.
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Empathy for your colleagues

Dr. Kalam was a leader who made sure his team members had
a work-life balance. It was once, under a very tight project
launch a scientist working under him requested an early
leave as he was supposed to take his son to an exhibition.
Engrossed in his work, it was three hours late when the
scientist realised that he forgot his parental duties. Going
back home with a guilty heart he was amazed to know that
his son was not at home. Instead, he was at his exhibition.
It was Dr Kalam, who on noticing that the scientist was not
leaving his work, thought to keep his father’s promise to the
child by taking him to the exhibition. 27
 Personal Quotes
• You have to dream before your dreams can come true.
Notes • You should not give up and we should not allow the
problem to defeat us.
• If you want to shine like a sun, first burn like a sun.
• All of us do not have equal talent. But, all of us have an
equal opportunity to develop our talents.
• Don’t take rest after your first victory because if you fail
in second, more lips are waiting to say that your first
victory was just luck.
• Excellence happens not by accident. It is a process.
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28
 ELON MUSK

Biographical details
• Elon Reeve Musk is a business magnate, industrial
Personal
designer, and engineer. He is the founder, and chief
designer of SpaceX and product architect of Tesla
Notes
• In 2002 he founded Space Exploration Technologies
(SpaceX) to make more affordable rockets. Its first
two rockets were the Falcon 1 (first launched in 2006)
and the larger Falcon 9 (first launched in 2010), which
were designed to cost much less than competing
rockets.
Lessons from the life of Elon Musk
• Not let reality kill creativity
Each of Elon Musk’s visions – high-performance electric
vehicles, reusable rockets and colonizing Mars, affordable
solar power harnessing, and so on – sounded outrageous at
first. Elon Musk didn’t just make them possible; his team is
making them mainstream.
• Challenge reality
Einstein said, “You can’t solve problems with the same
thinking that caused them.” Elon Musk has exemplified this
thinking process. For example, people have said battery
packs will always be expensive, because they’re expensive
to make, and that’s just how it is. Yet Musk realized when
batteries are broken into their fundamental components
(cobalt, nickel, aluminum, carbon, polymers, and a steel can)
and built, costs go down dramatically. This led to Tesla Energy,
or revolutionary energy storage for sustainable homes and
businesses. By challenging the status quo, Musk developed
home energy storage that’s causing radical change.
• Make Room For Failure
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According to Elon Musk, if things are not failing, you’re not

innovating enough. When innovation is the motivating factor,
one will find many ways to get things done. It is possible for
people to accommodate failure and prevent it from ruining
them by making a contingency plan to help them take the
next step when failure does come around.
Quotes
• I think it is possible for ordinary people to choose to be
extraordinary.
• When something is important enough, you do it even if
the odds are not in your favor. 29
 Personal • Some people don’t like change, but you need to embrace
change if the alternative is disaster.
Notes • Persistence is very important. You should not give up
unless you are forced to give up.
• The first step is to establish that something is possible;
then probability will occur.
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30
 MODEL ESSAYS

S.No. Content Page No.

1 ESSAY TOPICS THROUGH THE YEARS 32

2 MODEL ESSAY 1 THE TOPIC IS DIFFERENT. IT IS 37

“INDIA SHOULD NOT BE PYRAMIDAL BUT AN
OCEANIC CIRCLE OF COMPLETE EQUALITY

3 MODEL ESSAY 2 THE TOPIC AGAIN IS DIFFERENT 48

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SPIRITUALITY &
SCIENCE IS NOT NECESSARILY CONTENTIOUS BUT
IT HAS ITS CHALLENGES

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31
 YEAR 2020
SECTION A

1. Life is long journey between human being and being humane

2. Mindful manifesto is the catalyst to a tranquil self
3. Ships do not sink because of water around them , ships sink because of water
that gets into them
4. Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication

SECTION B

1. Culture is what we are, civilization is what we have

2. There can be no social justice without economic prosperity but economic
prosperity without social justice is meaningless
3. Patriarchy is the least noticed yet the most significant structure of social
inequality
4. Technology as the silent factor in international relations

YEAR - 2019
SECTION A

1. Wisdom finds truth.

2. Values are not what humanity is, but what humanity ought to be.
3. Best for an individual is not necessarily best for the society.
4. Courage to accept and dedication to improve are two keys to success.

SECTION B

1. South Asian societies are woven not around the state, but around their plural
cultures and plural identities.
2. Neglect of primary health care and education in India are reasons for its
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backwardness.
3. Biased media is a real threat to Indian democracy.
4. Rise of Artificial Intelligence: the threat of jobless future or better job
opportunities through reskilling and up skilling.

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32
YEAR 2018
SECTION – A

1. Alternative technologies for a climate change resilient India.

2. A good life is one inspired by love and guided by knowledge.
3. Poverty anywhere is a threat to prosperity everywhere.
4. Management of Indian border disputes – a complex task.

SECTION – B

1. Customary morality cannot be a guide to modern life.

2. “The past’ is a permanent dimension of human consciousness and values.
3. A people that values its privileges above its principles loses both.
4. Reality does not conform to the ideal but confirms it.

YEAR 2017
Section – A

1. Farming has lost the ability to be a source of subsistence for majority of

farmers in India.
2. Impact of the new economic measures on fiscal ties between the union and
states in India.
3. Destiny of a nation is shaped in its classrooms.
4. Has the Non- Alignment Movement (NAM) lost its relevance in a multipolar
world?

Section – B

1. Joy is the simplest form of gratitude.

2. Fulfilment of ‘new woman’ in India is a myth.
3. We may brave human laws but cannot resist natural laws.
4. Social media is inherently a selfish medium.
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YEAR 2016
Section ‘A’

1. If development is not engendered, it is endangered.

2. Need brings greed, if greed increases it spoils breed.
3. Water disputes between states in federal India.
4. Innovation is the key determinant of economic growth and social welfare.

2
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33
 YEAR 2018
SECTION – A

1. Alternative technologies for a climate change resilient India.

2. A good life is one inspired by love and guided by knowledge.
3. Poverty anywhere is a threat to prosperity everywhere.
4. Management of Indian border disputes – a complex task.

SECTION – B

1. Customary morality cannot be a guide to modern life.

2. “The past’ is a permanent dimension of human consciousness and values.
3. A people that values its privileges above its principles loses both.
4. Reality does not conform to the ideal but confirms it.

YEAR 2017
Section – A

1. Farming has lost the ability to be a source of subsistence for majority of

farmers in India.
2. Impact of the new economic measures on fiscal ties between the union and
states in India.
3. Destiny of a nation is shaped in its classrooms.
4. Has the Non- Alignment Movement (NAM) lost its relevance in a multipolar
world?

Section – B

1. Joy is the simplest form of gratitude.

2. Fulfilment of ‘new woman’ in India is a myth.
3. We may brave human laws but cannot resist natural laws.
4. Social media is inherently a selfish medium.

YEAR 2016
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Section ‘A’

1. If development is not engendered, it is endangered.

2. Need brings greed, if greed increases it spoils breed.
3. Water disputes between states in federal India.
4. Innovation is the key determinant of economic growth and social welfare.

2
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34
Section B

1. Cooperative federalism: Myth or reality.

2. Cyberspace and internet: Blessing or curse to the human civilization in the
long run.
3. Near jobless growth in India: An anomaly or an outcome of economic reforms.
4. Digital economy: A leveller or a source of economic inequality.

YEAR 2015
Section ‘A’

1. Lending hands to someone is better than giving a dole.

2. Quick but steady wins the race.
3. Character of an institution is reflected in its leader.
4. Education without values, as useful as it is, seems rather to make a man more clever
devil.

Section B

1. Technology cannot replace manpower.

2. Crisis faced in India – moral or economic.
3. Dreams which should not let India sleep.
4. Can capitalism bring inclusive growth?

YEAR 2014
Section A

1. With greater power comes greater responsibility.

2. Is the growing level of competition good for the youth?
3. Are the standardized tests good measure of academic ability or progress?
4. Words are sharper than the two-edged swords.

Section B
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1. Was it the policy paralysis or the paralysis of implementation which slowed the
growth of our country?
2. Is sting operation an invasion of privacy?
3. Fifty Golds in Olympics: Can this be a reality for India?
4. Tourism: Can this be the next big thing for India?

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 YEAR – 2008
1. Role of the Media in good governance.
2. National identity and patriotism.
3. Special Economic Zones: Boon or Bane.
4. Discipline means success, anarchy means ruin.
5. Urbanisation and its hazards.
6. Is an egalitarian society possible by educating the masses?

ABSTRACT TOPICS:
1. Life is long journey between human being and being humane. --2020
2. Culture is what we are, civilization is what we have. --2020
3. Mindful manifesto is the catalyst to a tranquil self. -- 2020
4. Ships do not sink because of water around them , ships sink because of water that
gets into them. -- 2020
5. Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. -- 2020
6. Wisdom finds truth. --2019
7. Values are not what humanity is, but what humanity ought to be. --2019
8. Best for an individual is not necessarily best for the society. --2019
9. Courage to accept and dedication to improve are two keys to success. --2019
10. A good life is one inspired by love and guided by knowledge. --2018
11. Customary morality cannot be a guide to modern life. --2018
12. A people that values its privileges above its principles loses both. --2018
13. Reality does not conform to the ideal but confirms it. --2018
14. Joy is the simplest form of gratitude. --2017
15. Need brings greed, if greed increases it spoils breed. --2016
16. Lending hands to someone is better than giving a dole. --2015
17. Quick but steady wins the race. --2015
18. Dreams which should not let India sleep. --2015
19. Words are sharper than the two-edged swords. --2014
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