UPSC Mains Topic-Wise Previous Year Questions – Salient Features Of Indian Society/Diversity Of India

The UPSC Mains Topic-Wise Previous Year Questions on the Salient Features of Indian Society and Diversity provides a comprehensive examination of the diverse cultural, social, and demographic aspects that shape the unique tapestry of India.

Role of Women and Women’s Organisations

1. Write a short note on the issue of gender equality in India. (2003, 10Marks)
2. Write a short note on equal rights for women in parental property. (2005, 2Marks)
3. What is meant by ’empowerment of women’ in India? (2006, 2Marks)
4. Explain the social constraints in bringing about gender equality in Indian society. (2006, 10Marks)
5. Write about female foeticide in about 20 words. (2006, 2Marks)
6. What are the implications of gender disparities in India? (2006, 15Marks)
7. What were the main recommendations of the Platform for Action (PFA) adopted at the Beijing Women’s Conference, in 1995? (250 words) (2007, 30Marks)
8. Examine whether rural women in India have been empowered by their active participation in the Panchayati Raj System. (150 words) (2008, 15Marks)
9. “Decline in the sex ratio in India is an alarming signor for India’s future social development.” Discuss. (150 words) (2008, 15Marks)
10. “Male membership needs to be encouraged in order to make women’s organizations free from gender bias.” Comment. (200 words) (2013, 10marks)
11. How does patriarchy impact the position of a middle-class working woman in India? (2014, 10Marks)
12. Why do some of the most prosperous regions of India have an adverse sex ratio for women? Give your arguments. (2014, 10Marks)
13. Discuss the various economic and socio-cultural forces that are driving the increasing feminization of agriculture in India. (2014, 10Marks)
14. Women empowerment in India needs gender budgeting. What are the requirements and status of gender budgeting in the Indian context? (2016, 15Marks)
15. 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) (2017, 15Marks)
16. ‘Women’s movement in India has not addressed the issues of women of lower social strata’ Substantiate your view. (2018,15Marks)
17. “Empowering women is the key to controlling population growth”. Discuss (150 words) (2019, 10marks)
18. What are the continued challenges for women in India against time and space? (250 words) (2019, 15Marks)
19. Examine the role of ‘Gig Economy’ in the process of empowerment of women in India. (150 words) (2021, 10marks)
20. Explain why suicide among young women is increasing in Indian society. (150 words) (2023, 10Marks)

Poverty & Development Issues/Urbanisation

1. What is PURA? Discuss its major objectives. (2004, 30Marks)
2. Explain the nature and causes of the growing slum problem in the metropolitan cities of India. (2007, 10Marks)
3. “The conditions of the urban poor are more deplorable than that of their rural counterparts.” Give your views. (250 words) (2008, 30marks)
4. Examine the status of urbanization among the states in India and bring out spatial inequalities. (2009, 15Marks)
5. Discuss the extent, causes, and implications of the ‘nutrition transition’ said to be underway in India. ΟΟΣΑ) (2011, 20Marks)
6. Write about the significance of counter-urbanization in the improvement of metropolitan cities in India. Tebe (2011, 12Marks)
7. Discuss the various social problems which originated out of the speedy process of urbanization in India. (200 words) (2013, 10Marks)
8. Critically examine whether the growing population is the cause of poverty or poverty is the main cause of population increase in India. (2015, 12.5Marks)
9. Examine how the decline of traditional artisanal industry in colonial India crippled the rural economy. (250 words) (2017, 15Marks)
10. “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) (2017, 15Marks)
11. ‘Despite the implementation of various programs for eradication of poverty by the government in India, poverty still exists. Explain by giving reasons. (2018, 10Marks)
12. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated class inequalities and poverty in India. Comment. (150 words) (2020, 10Marks)
13. Examine the uniqueness of tribal knowledge systems when compared with mainstream knowledge and cultural systems. (150 words) (2021, 10Marks)
14. What are the main socio-economic implications arising out of the development of IT industries in major cities of India? (250 words) (2021, 15marks)
15. How does Indian society maintain continuity in traditional social values? Enumerate the changes taking place in it. (250 words) (2021, 15marks)
16. Given the diversities among tribal communities in India, in which specific contexts should they be considered as a single category? (150 words) (2022, 10Marks)
17. Why did human development fail to keep pace with economic development in India? (250 words) (2023, 15Marks)
18. Does urbanization lead to more segregation and/or marginalization of the poor in Indian metropolises? (250 words) (2023, 15Marks)

Family

1. The life cycle of a joint family depends on economic factors rather than social values. Discuss. (2014, 10Marks)
2. Describe any four cultural elements of diversity in India and rate their relative significance in building a national identity. (2015, 12.5 Marks)
3. Discuss the main objectives of Population Education and point out the measures to achieve them in India in detail. (250 words) (2021, 15Marks)
4. Explore and evaluate the impact of ‘Work From Home on family relationships. (150 words) (2022, 10Marks)
5. Do you think marriage as a sacrament is losing its value in Modern India? (150 words) (2023, 10Marks)

Effects of Globalisation on Indian Society

1. “Globalization has brought about a distinct class divide in India instead of ushering in a classless society.” Critically examine this argument. (250 words) (2008, 30Marks)
2. Critically examine the effect of globalization on the aged population in India. (200 words) (2013, 10Marks)
3. Discuss the positive and negative effects of globalization on women in India. (2015, 12.5 Marks)
4. How do you explain the statistics that show that the sex ratio in Scheduled Tribes in India is more favorable to women than the sex ratio among Scheduled Castes? (2015, 12.5 Marks)
5. To what extent globalization has influenced the core of cultural diversity in India? Explain. (2016, 12Marks)
6. 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 viewpoint. (150 words) (2017, 10Marks)
7. ‘Globalization is generally said to promote cultural homogenization but due to this cultural specificities appear to be strengthened in Indian Society! Elucidate. (2018, 15Marks)
8. What makes Indian society unique in sustaining its culture? Discuss. (150 words) (2019, 10Marks)
9. Do we have cultural pockets of small India all over the nation? Elaborate with examples (250 words) (2019, 15Marks)
10. Are we losing our local identity for the global identity? Discuss. (250 words)
    (2019, 15Marks)
11. Are diversity and pluralism in India under threat due to globalization? Justify your answer. (250 words) Kabelnetun (2020, 15Marks)
12. What is Cryptocurrency? How does it affect global society? Has it been affecting Indian society also? (250 words) (2021, 15Marks)
13. How is the growth of Tier 2 cities related to the rise of a new middle class with an emphasis on the culture of consumption? (150 words) (2022, 10Marks)
14. Elucidate the relationship between globalization and new technology in a world of scarce resources, with special reference to India. (250 words) (2022, 15Marks)
15. Child cuddling is now being replaced by mobile phones. Discuss its impact on the socialization of children. (250 words) (223, 10Marks)

Communalism, Secularism, Regionalism & Caste System

1. Write a short note on the rehabilitation of street children in India. (2005, 10Marks)
2. “Political boundaries and regional boundaries need to be co-terminus.” Do you agree? (2005, 10Marks)
3. What is regionalism? In which way regionalism has affected the Indian polity? (250 words) (2007, 30Marks)
4. Examine the role of caste in Indian politics. (150 words) (2008, 15Marks)
5. Examine the impact of regional political parties in Indian politics. (150 words) (2008, 15Marks)
6. ‘As we live in a plural society we need the greatest freedom to express our opinions even if others find it offensive’ – Do you agree? Discuss with reference to some recent incidents in the Indian context. (2009, 15Marks)
7. A growing feeling of regionalism is an important factor in the generation of demand for a separate State. Discuss. (200 words) Wall (2013, 10Marks)
8. How do the Indian debates on secularism differ DM from the debates in the West? (2014,10Marks)
9. What is the basis of regionalism? Is it that the unequal distribution of benefits of development on regional basis eventually promotes regionalism? Substantiate your answer. (2016, 12Marks)
10. What are the two major legal initiatives by the State since Independence addressing discrimination against Scheduled Tribes (STs)? (150 words) (2017, 10Marks)
11. The spirit of tolerance and love is not only an interesting feature of Indian society from very early times, but it is also playing an important part at the present. Elaborate. (250 words) (2017, 15Marks)
12. Distinguish between religiousness/religiosity and communalism giving one example of how the former has been transformed into the latter in independent India. (250 words) (2017, 15Marks)
13. “The caste system is assuming new identities and associational forms. Hence, caste system cannot be eradicated in India.” Comment. (2018, 10Marks)
14. How the Indian concept of secularism is different from the western model of secularism? Discuss. (2018, 10Marks)
15. ‘Communalism arises either due to power struggle or relative deprivation! Argue by giving suitable illustrations. (2018, 15Marks)
16. What are the challenges to our cultural practices in the name of secularism (150 words) (2019, 10Marks)
17. Has caste lost its relevance in understanding the multi-cultural Indian Society? Elaborate your answer with illustrations. (150 words) (2020, 10Marks)
18. Do you agree that regionalism in India appears to be a consequence of rising cultural assertiveness? Argue. (150 words) (2020, 10MMarks
19. Customs and traditions suppress reason leading to obscurantism. Do you agree? (250 words) (2020, 20Marks)
20. Analyze the salience of ‘sect’ in Indian society vis-a-vis caste, region and religion. (250 words) (2022, 15Marks)
21. Are tolerance, assimilation and pluralism the key elements in the making of an Indian form of secularism? Justify your answer. (250 words) (2022, 15Marks)
22. Why is caste identity in India both fluid and static? (250 words) (2023, 15Marks)
23. Discuss the impact of the post-liberal economy on ethnic identity and communalism. (250 words) (2023, 15Marks

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