UPSC CSE mains PYQs General Studies - l , Indian Society :
Indian Society :
Salient features of Indian Society, Diversity of India. Role of women and women’s organization, population and associated issues, poverty and developmental issues, urbanization, their problems and their remedies. Effects of globalization on Indian society. Social empowerment, communalism, regionalism & secularism.
Q.1) Has caste lost its relevance in understanding the multi-cultural Indian Society? Elaborate your
answers with illustrations. [150 Words][10 Marks] [2020]
Q.2) COVID-19 pandemic accelerated class inequalities and poverty in India. Comment. [150
Words][10 Marks] [2020]
Q.3) Do you agree that regionalism in India appears to be a consequence of rising cultural
assertiveness? Argue [150 Words][10 Marks] [2020]
Q.4) Is diversity and pluralism in India under threat due to globalization? Justify your answer. [250 words][15 Marks] [2020]
Q.5) Customs and traditions suppress reason leading to obscurantism. Do you agree? [250 words][15 Marks] [2020]
Q.6) How have digital initiatives in India contributed to the functioning of the education system in the country? Elaborate your answer [250 words][15 Marks] [2020]
Q.7) What makes the Indian society unique in sustaining its culture? Discuss. [150 Words] [10 Marks] [2019]
Q.8) “Empowering women is the key to control population growth.” Discuss. [150 Words] [10 Marks] [2019]
Q.9) What are the challenges to our cultural practices in the name of secularism? [150 Words] [10 Marks] [2019]
Q.10) Do we have cultural pockets of small India all over the nation? Elaborate with examples. [250 Words] [15 Marks] [2019]
Q.11) What are the continued challenges for women in India against time and space? [250 Words] [15 Marks] [2019]
Q.12) Are we losing our local identity for the global identity? Discuss. [250 Words] [15 Marks] [2019]
Q.13) “Caste system is assuming new identities and associational forms. Hence, caste system cannot be eradicated in India.” Comment. [150 Words] [10 Marks] [2018]
Q.14) ‘Despite implementation of various programmes for eradication of poverty by the government in India, poverty is still existing’. Explain by giving reasons. [150 Words] [10 Marks] [2018]
Q.15) How the Indian concept of secularism different from the western model of secularism? Discuss. [150 Words] [10 Marks] [2018]
Q.16) ‘Women’s movement in India has not addressed the issues of women of lower social strata.’ Substantiate your view. [250 Words] [15 Marks] [2018]
Q.17) ‘Globalisation is generally said to promote cultural homogenisation but due to this cultural
specificities appear to be strengthened in the Indian society.’ Elucidate [250 Words] [15 Marks] [2018]
Q.18) ‘Communalism arises either due to power struggle or relative deprivation.’ Argue by giving
suitable illustrations. [250 Words] [15 Marks] [2018]
Q.19) In the context of the diversity of India, can it be said that the regions form cultural units rather than the States? Give reasons with examples for your view point. [150 Words] [10 Marks] [2017]
Q.20) The women’s questions arose in modern India as a part of the 19th century social reform
movement. What are the major issues and debates concerning women in that period? [250 Words] [15 Marks] [2017]
Q.21) Distinguish between religiousness/religiosity and communalism giving one example of how the
former has got transformed into the latter in independent India. [250 Words] [15 Marks] [2017]
Q.22) “The growth of cities as I.T. hubs has opened up new avenues of employment, but has also created new problems”. Substantiate this statement with examples. [250 Words] [15 Marks] [2017]
Q.23) To what extent globalisation has influenced the core of cultural diversity in India? Explain. [200 Words] [12.5 Marks] [2016]
Q.24) “An essential condition to eradicate poverty is to liberate the poor from the process of deprivation.” Substantiate this statement with suitable examples. [200 Words] [12.5 Marks] [2016]
Q.25) Why are the tribals in India referred to as ‘the Scheduled Tribes’? Indicate the major provisions enshrined in the Constitution of India for their upliftment. [200 Words] [12.5 Marks] [2016]
Q.26) With a brief background of quality of urban life in India, introduce the objectives and strategy of the ‘Smart City Programme.” [200 Words] [12.5 Marks] [2016]
Q.27) What is the basis of regionalism? Is it that unequal distribution of benefits of development on regional basis eventually promotes regionalism? Substantiate your answer. [200 Words] [12.5 Marks]
[2016]
Q.28) Describe any four cultural elements of diversity in India and rate their relative significance in building a national identity. [200 Words] [12.5 Marks] [2015]
Q.29) Critically examine whether growing population is the cause of poverty OR poverty is the mains cause of population increase in India. [200 Words] [12.5 Marks] [2015]
Q.30) How do you explain the statistics that show that the sex ratio in Tribes in India is more
favourable to women than the sex ratio among Scheduled Castes? [200 Words] [12.5 Marks] [2015]
Q.31) Discuss the changes in the trends of labour migration within and outside India in the last four decades. [200 Words] [12.5 Marks] [2015]
Q.32) Discuss the positive and negative effects of globalization on women in India? [200 Words] [12.5 Marks] [2015]
Q.33) Debate the issue whether and how contemporary movements for assertion of Dalit identity work towards annihilation of caste. [200 Words] [12.5 Marks] [2015]
Q.34) How does patriarchy impact the position of a middle class working woman in India? [150
Words] [10 Marks] [2014]
Q.35) Why do some of the most prosperous regions of India have an adverse sex ratio for women? Give your arguments. [150 Words] [10 Marks] [2014]
Q.36) The life cycle of a joint family depends on economic factors rather than social values. Discuss. [150 Words] [10 Marks] [2014]
Q.37) Discuss the various economic and socio-cultural forces that are driving increasing feminization of agriculture in India. [150 Words] [10 Marks] [2014]
Q.38) How do the Indian debates on secularism differ from the debates in the West? [150 Words] [10 Marks] [2014]
Q.39) Discussion the various social problems which originated out of the speedy process of
urbanization in India. [200 Words] [10 Marks] [2013]
Q.40) Male membership needs to be encouraged in order to make women’s organization free from gender bias. Comment. [200 Words] [10 Marks] [2013]
Q.41) Critically examine the effects of globalization on the aged population in India. [200 Words] [10
Marks] [2013]
Q.42) Growing feeling of regionalism is an important factor in the generation of demand for a separate state. Discuss. [200 Words] [10 Marks] [2013]