INSIGHTSONINDIA www.insightsias.com | www.insightsonindia.com SECURE SYNOPSIS MAINS - 2018 OCTOBER - 2017 GS -I C o p y r i g h t s © I N S I G H T S A C T I V E L E A R N I N G www.insightsonindia.com 1 www.insightsias.com www.insightsonindia.com 2 www.insightsias.com Table of Contents Topic: Indian culture will cover the salient aspects of Art Forms, Literature and Architecture from ancient to modern times. _______________________________________________________________________________ 6 Q) ” Just as a patriarchal culture cannot tell stories of truly empowered women, so also, it cannot envision a truly supreme goddess.” Comment on the depiction of women as goddess in the Indian art. (200 Words) __________________________________________________________________________ 6 Q) Discuss the architectural and cultural significance of Taj Mahal. (200 Words) _______________ 6 Q) Abdur Rahim Khan-e-Khana, along with Amir Khusrau, symbolises our syncretic culture. Comment. (200 Words) ____________________________________________________________________ 8 Topic: Modern Indian history from about the middle of the eighteenth century until the present- significant events, personalities, issues ___________________________________________________________________________ 8 Q) Discuss Gandhiji’s views on modernity, religiosity, science and spirituality. Also comment if his views on these aspects are relevant today. (200 Words) _______________________________________ 8 Q) Examine the impact certain literary works has had on formulation of Gandhiji’s ideas. (200 Words) __________________________________________________________________________________ 9 Q) Discuss the relevance and significance of political philosophy of Jayaprakash Narayan. (200 Words) _________________________________________________________________________________ 10 Q) Comment of significance and relevance of Rammanohar Lohia’s seven revolutions (sapta kranti). (200 Words) _____________________________________________________________________________ 10 Q) Discuss the nature and significance of the events that led to liberation of Goa i 1961. (200 Words) ________________________________________________________________________________________ 11 Q) The historical evidence on the ‘Tiger of Mysore’ Tipu Sultan can be read as competing narratives ranging between visionary to freedom fighter to bigot. Discuss critically relevance and significance of such narratives today. (200 Words) ______________________________________________________ 12 Topic: The Freedom Struggle – its various stages and important contributors /contributions from different parts of the country. ______________________________________________________________________________ 13 Q) Why are Dalits denied equal rights despite laws against such a denial? Examine Dr Ambedkar’s views on the limitations of the present policies and the solution he offered for protection of rights of Dalits. (200 Words) ____________________________________________________________ 13 Q) Was Sir Syed Ahmad Khan indeed the father of the two-nation theory or was he merely advocating modern ideas of multiculturalism and differentiated citizenship? Critically examine. (200 Words) _____________________________________________________________________________ 14 Q) “Robert Clive founded the British Raj, Lord Macaulay sowed the seeds of its end.” Critically comment. (200 Words) ___________________________________________________________________ 15 Q) While Nehru was a natural democrat, Sardar Patel was pragmatist. Comment. (250 Words) _ 16 Topic: Post-independence consolidation and reorganization within the country. ________________________ 17 Q) Multiple dialogue processes in Kashmir lack consistency, continuity, and comprehensiveness. Comment. (200 Words) ___________________________________________________________________ 17 Q) How did Jawaharlal Nehru try to resolve Kashmir issue. Give a critical account. (200 Words) 18 www.insightsonindia.com 3 www.insightsias.com Topic: Political philosophies ___________________________________________________________________ 19 Q) Plutocracy is the antithesis of democracy. Do you think India treats different classes in Indian society differently when it comes to an development agenda? Comment. (200 Words) ___________ 19 Q) “The tyranny of democracy undermines democracy.” Comment. (200 Words) ________________ 20 Topic: Salient features of Indian Society; Social empowerment; Population – issues _____________________ 20 Q) Discuss critically the causes behind rising suicides among the youth in India. (200 Words) ___ 20 Q) Traditional norms that affect social principles such as gender rights must be examined on priority. Comment. (200 Words) ___________________________________________________________ 22 Q) The root of the problem of lack of sanitation in India lies in institutional discrimination against the scheduled castes. Comment in the light of objectives of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. (150 Words) ________________________________________________________________________________________ 22 Topic: Role of women ________________________________________________________________________ 23 Q) What explains the decline of the already low female labour force participation rate in India, particularly during a period of rapid economic growth? Examine. (200 Words) _________________ 23 Q) Social Media campaigns can raise voices but have limited actionability. With reference to the Me Too campaign, examine how can social media campaigns be more effective. (200 Words) ________ 24 Q) “As marriages in India come under the purview of personal laws, the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act (PCMA) stops short of invalidating child marriage.” In the light of recent Supreme Court judgement criminalising sex with a child bride, discuss the statement. (200 Words) ______ 25 Topic: Poverty and developmental issues ________________________________________________________ 26 Q) Inequality is reprehensible not only because it is inherently unfair and unjust, but because it can cause harm in a number of domains of everyday living. Discuss. (200 Words) ______________ 26 Q) Both China and India have recorded appallingly unequal growth over the last three decades, but in China, even though it is not a democracy in the sense of permitting free expression of public opinion, its growth process over the period 1980–2014 has been relatively much less unequal than India’s. Examine why. (200 Words) ________________________________________________________ 27 Q) Access to the internet is now fundamental to life and liberty. Comment. (200 Words) ________ 28 Topic: Changes in critical geographical features (including waterbodies and ice-caps) and in flora and fauna and the effects of such changes ____________________________________________________________________ 29 Q) Write a critical note on the working and findings of the Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage associated with Climate Change Impacts (WIM). (200 Words) _______________ 29 Topic: Urbanization – problems and remedies ____________________________________________________ 30 Q) Multiplicity of agencies and functional overlap deter effective urban governance. With reference to the recent incident in Mumbai, critique on how urban governance can become more seamless. (200 Words) _____________________________________________________________________________ 30 Q) How is urbanisation affecting social and cultural life of rural migrants in Indian cities? Examine. (200 Words) _____________________________________________________________________________ 31 Q) Urban Health Disorders are a self inflection despite resource availability. Comment. (200 Words) ________________________________________________________________________________________ 32 Q) Mumbai’s new proposed development plan focuses on providing employment space for 80 lakh persons and is depending on additional metro systems and the controversial coastal road project to take the potential load off the rail network. In the light of recent tragedy of stampede, comment its new development plan. (200 Words) _______________________________________________________ 32 www.insightsonindia.com 4 www.insightsias.com Topic: Factors responsible for the location of primary, secondary, and tertiary sector industries in various parts of the world (including India) __________________________________________________________________ 33 Q) Affordability and cleanliness are the twin pillars of Responsible Tourism. Analyse the impact of these focus areas on Tourism suggesting additional priority areas. (200 Words) _______________ 33 Q) Recently India began shipment of wheat to Afghanistan through the Iranian port of Chabahar. Discuss the geography of this route and its strategic importance for India and Afghanistan. (200 Words) _________________________________________________________________________________ 34 NOTE: Please remember that following ‘answers’ are NOT ‘model answers’. They are NOT synopsis too if we go by definition of the term. What we are providing is content that both meets demand of the question and at the same time gives you extra points in the form of background information. www.insightsonindia.com 5 www.insightsias.com General Studies Paper - I Topic: Indian culture will cover the salient aspects of Art Forms, Literature and Architecture from ancient to modern times. Q) ” Just as a patriarchal culture cannot tell stories of truly empowered women, so also, it cannot envision a truly supreme goddess.” Comment on the depiction