UPPSC 2021 (Mains General Studies Paper-4)

Ans. Individual morality means the morality an individual practices in personal life. The sources of this morality are family, society, school and organizations. It must be stated that often individual morality is not different from public morality. For instance, the morality that a person is truthful and honest in individual life is also the moral value of the public life. The only difference in most cases between the individual morality and public morality is that the standard of morality in individual life may be higher than those being practiced in public life by people at large. Nonetheless, individual morality in personal life significantly impacts the morality in public life. An officer who is truthful and honest, kind and compassionate, transparent and impartial in personal life will bring these

qualities in his public dealings.

Ans. Gandhi believed that as human beings, men can never reach the perfection of divine virtues. Still, they should strive with all their strength to follow the virtues of truth, love, nonviolence, tolerance, fearlessness, charity and service to mankind.

Gandhi equated God with truth and designated his religion as religion of truth. He used to say God is Truth, which he later changed to “Truth is God”. He

believed that “only way to see God is to see him through his creations and identify oneself with it”. This is possible through service to humanity.

Gandhi emphasised on internal (mental) and external (physical) cleanliness. He said: “Cleanliness is next to Godliness”. He advocated moral self-purification. Gandhi believed that Men should adopt only good means to attain noble objectives. As per him: “No good can follow from bad deeds, even if they are well intentioned. “Gandhi’s Ahimsa was not only refraining from killing but also show love for the whole mankind and all living beings.

Ans. Corruption in most cases results from misuse of public funds, government treasury resulting in or even caused by administrative inefficiency. Corruption breeds ill-administration, lack of development, lawlessness, apathy, and public discontent.

The great scholar Kautilya has in his Arthshastra has discussed the issue of corruption at length and how to prevent it. Kautilyan bureaucracy was a centralized merit based system entrusted with important functions including the responsibility of revenue assessment and collection.

Corruption can be checked with both long term and short-term measures. Development of public morality is the cornerstone of combating corruption in the long term, while zero tolerance against corruption, mechanism of checks and balances in the use of public funds, and stringent policy of carrot and stick can go a long way in bringing down corruption. With strong checks against corruption, it is possible to build an ethical and prosperous society.

Ans.(a) Ethical governance: The concept of “governance” is the process of decision-making and the process by which decisions are implemented (or not implemented). Ethical governance is characterized by & major values. It is participatory, consensus oriented, accountable, transparent, responsive, effective and efficient, equitable and inclusive and follows the rule of law.

These distinctive characteristics make the society progressive, ethical, prosperous, value-oriented, efficient and result oriented.

(b) Probity in public life: Probity in public life are the standards that society expects those elected or appointed to public office to observe and maintain in the conduct of the public affairs to which they have been entrusted. These standards safeguard the nation from corruption by politicians and public officials who have been given almost unrestricted access to public resources together with the power to take decisions that impact on the lives of everyone.

Ans. This is a clear case of disproportionate use of force against a peaceful protest. The instruction of the police superintendent was unfortuante. The protest doesn’t seem to have gone violent while beating the non-violent protestor is clearly wrong. In fact in case the violene develops as a result of the police beating, the superintendent of the polie would be responsible. The policeman became over ethusiastic becase his officer had instructed him to teach them a lesson.

It was unethical on part of the police officer and the policeman. The public servants are expected to work as servant leaders. The use of force or violence on innocent protestors is unethical and reminds of the colonial method of dealing with the natives. The police should act as an ehtical force in the manner of servant leaders with their focus on maintaing law and order, not as an instigator of violence.

Ans. An attitude is one’s opinion or standpoint about something. It can be described as “a set of emotions, beliefs, and behaviors toward a particular object, person, thing, or event”. Attitudes are based on a person’s experiences, values, beliefs, and emotions. Therefore, they are personal responses set according to personal preferences.

Aptitude measures a person’s ability to acquire a new skill or ability. It’s a measure related to intelligence. Attitude, on the other hand, is one’s mental perspective about a particular issue or person. The main difference between aptitude and attitude is that aptitude is a person’s natural ability to learn something, while attitude is a person’s feelings, opinions or perspectives about something.

Ans. Empathy is the ability to sense other people’s emotions, coupled with the ability to imagine what someone else might be thinking or feeling. Empathy allows people to build social connections with others. By understanding what people are thinking and feeling, people are able to respond appropriately in social situations.

The term ,,Weaker Section” in ordinary sense refers to the section of the population who are socially, economically, politically and educationally backward than the other sections of the population and have been suffering from different kinds of disabilities due to their backwardness.

Empathy is an important characteistic to solve the problem of weaker sections. Empathy enables to understand them better and feel the pain and suffering of the weaker section, so that their problem deserves due importance.

Ans. Emotional intelligence is defined as the ability to understand and your own emotions, as well as recognize and influence the emotions of those around you. The term was first coined in 1990 by researchers John Mayer and Peter Salovey, but was later popularized by psychologist Daniel Goleman. Emotional intelligene or EQ is very effective in administrative process. Leaders set the tone of their organization. If they lack emotional intelligence, it could have more far-reaching consequences, resulting in lower employee engagement. An adminsitrator has to execute multiple adminstrative taks. The adminstrators have to engage with several stake holders from common man to political leaders at different levels. Emotional intelligence facilitates the understanding of the problems of others and direct tasks successfully without encountering problems.

Ans. The task of civil servants is the development of the weaker sections for which compassion and tolerance are essential qualities. Since they are working in a plural democracy like India, they must be tolerant of diversity of culture, religions, and way of life. For them each individual must be equal and it is their responsibility to treat them with tolerance and compassion. However the voice of weaker sectionsget sometime lost. These people look up to the closest authority for their grievance. Being the permanent hand of the executive and closely involved at grassroot level it is imperative for a civil servant to work for their upliftment.

In order to foster tolerance and compassion in them, it is necessary for them to work at the grass roots level. They should be made to handle and interact with the last man of the society directly. They must listen to their problems empathetically and work to solve their problems.

Ans. (i) Objectivity and dedication: Objectivity the quality of being free from bias and subjectivity. You must not make decision on your values, emotions.Policy based / rule based decisions are examples of objective decision because you’re doing them as per the prescribed policy/rule. Dedication to public service means a person should have inner motivation or passion for working in the larger public interest. It is the commitment with passion and the personal urge to do something without any external formal instrument to enforce that urge.

(ii) Structure and function of attitudes:An attitude is made up of four interconnected components: cognitions, evaluative responses, behavioural

intentions, and behaviors. An attitude structure consists of these interconnected components.

Altitudes serve several important functions. It gives an up-front statement about which we really are or would like others to think who we are.Attitudes direct our future feelings and thoughts about the objects of those feelings and thoughts. Attitudes are cognitive structures that guide perception and help us fill the gaps when information is lacking.

Ans. The traditional Indian values are the values cherished by our ancestors and enshrined in our religious texts. These values encompass all aspects of our social and economic life. Some examples of these values are joint family norms, importance of education, respect for elders, religious tolerance, Indian belief system, importance of women, caste system, and several more. The values are perennial. However, the traditional Indian value system while preserving its core or spirit has undergone change under the impact of modern values. The modern values are the values derived under the impact of scientific thinking and other forces of modernism.

The examples of modern values are nuclear family or even single parent family, importance of secular and scientific education, belief in science, equality in all aspects of life, secular professions and jobs, and hierarchy of

roles, the modern governance and democratic polity.

The Indian value system has adapted and assimilated the modern values without departing from the core or spirit. Indians value secular education but religious texts are also important. The family has become nuclear but jointness in spirit is also seen. Some of the dysfunctional values like the caste system, untouchability, and ineqalities are gradually diminishing. As Gandhi maintained, “I do not want my house to be walled in on all sides and my windows to be stuffed. I want the culture of all lands to be blown about my house as freely as possible.” -Mahatma Gandhi, Young India, June 1, 1921.

Ans. Ethical perversions of Private sector. Three options of ethical life. Some of the ethical perversions of private sector are as follows:

(i) Focus on Profit: The sole motive of the private company is to make profit. The more the profit, the better the company. The primacy of profit can make the company exploitative and corrupt.

(ii) Large difference in salaries between the lower functionaries and higher functionaries: The salary difference between the bottom and the top is often more than 100 times. This can morally and ethically inappropriate.

(iii) Human Exploitation: Child labour is quite common in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. These child labourers often work for off-shore multinational companies. This is unethical.

Here are the three options of the ethical life.

There are generally three philosophical approaches to ethics which results in three options of ethical life.

1. Utilitarian ethics

2. Deontological ethics

3. Virtue ethics

The three options based on these three approaches ae Utiliatarian or the greatest good of the greatest number, Deontological based on the idea that people should be treated with dignity and respect. The third option is to lead a life based on virtue ethics based on virtues that make an ethical life relevant.

Ans. Work culture is an important part of any organization, especially when it has to provide citizen-centric service to the public at large. Recently the government has noticed the need of reinventing the work culture because of various issues ranging from delay in the delivery of service to failed mechanism to address the increasing public grievances and has put special emphasis to improve the work culture in all the government offices as part of efforts to ensure improved government functioning.

The present work cultrue of administrative structure suffers from negative cultural aspects like lack of discipline at all levels, basic mistrust of authority, poor superior-subordinate relationships. The present rigid hierarchical structure effectively rules out teamwork so necessary in the present context where an interdisciplinary approach often is the need of the hour. Government of India has an extended vertical structure which leads to examination of issues at many levels frequently causing delays in decision making on the one hand and lack of accountability on the other.Government organizations have tended to become top-heavy coupled with fragmentation and lack of authority, manpower and resources at the operational levels that have a direct bearing on citizens’ lives. Therefore change in culture is necessary. Good governance must be founded on moral virtues ensuring stability and harmony. Confucius described righteousness as the foundation of good governance and peace. The art of good governance simply lies in making things right and putting them in the right place.

Ans. The judicail control many not be always necessary in public adminsitration but there are extraordianry circumstances when judicial control may be needed as a check and balance. The doctrine of separation of powers implies that each pillar of democracy – the executive, legislature and the judiciary – perform separate functions and act as separate entities.

There have been some cases where the courts have issued laws and policy related orders through their judgments. These include the Vishakha case where guidelines on sexual harassment were issued by the Supreme Court, the order of the Court directing the Centre to distribute food grains (2010) and the appointment of the Special Investigation Team to replace the High Level Committee established by the Centre for investigating black money deposits in Swiss Banks. In 1983 when Justice Bhagwati introduced public interest litigation in India, Justice Pathak in the same judgment warned against the “temptation of crossing into territory which properly pertains to the Legislature or to the Executive Government”

The control exercised by the Courts over the administration is called judicial

control, that is, to the power of the court to keep the administrative acts within the limits of law. It also implies the right of an aggrieved citizen to challenge the wrongful act of administration in the court of law.

Here are some important forms of judicial control over administration: Rule of law, equality before law, supremacy of the constitution, judicial intervention, judicial review, statutory appeals, civil and criminal suits against public officials, the constitutional writs among several more.

Ans. Ram Murti’s conduct from ethical perspective is questionable. He has taken the advantage of an orphan boy. Although many people will his conduct ethical, it is not so from pure ethical perspective. From the context of deontological ethics, he has used the orphan boy as a means to his end. The constitution of India promises free education to a child. This is the guaranteed right under the right to education. If he is to take care of the old parents of Ram murti, when will he get the time for attending class and self- study? The motive of Ram Murti does not appear to be pure and ethical. Moreover, the fact that he has attached conditions for helping the orphan boy is in itself sufficient proof that his service is not self-less or ethical.

Ram murti has also promised daily wage to the orphan boy. The daily wage is against some form of work which in itself is unethical because at the age of 11, a child needs education and an environment to grow and develop.

Ideally, Ram murti should have helped the child unconditionally. He should have contacted the agencies or NGOs where the child could have been taken care of his needs. In conclusion, his act is unethical.

Ans. Moral Attitudes are attitudes of individuals towards moral issues, while

political attitudes are attitudes of individuals towards political issues.Moral attitudes are grounded in moral beliefs of “Right” and “wrong” action. Moral attitudes are stronger than moral principles. It has been well documented that ethical values are the highest among all types of natural values.

Examples of moral and political attitudes: Attitude towards Euthanasia (mercy killing)? Do you think of it as right? This is an example of moral attitude. What is your view of the reservation? It is time that India should stop giving reservations? Your attitude towards reservation is a political attitude. Our attitudes are formed in the background of current moral and political debates prevalent in society. For instance, some of the ongoing debates currently are Do you like the ideology of Communism? Do you prefer the concept of no-state and market control? Or do you prefer a free market? Attitude towards patriotism, democracy, plebiscite, reservation for women, eunuchs, equality, secularism, socialism, communism, scheduled castes and other minorities in politics, communalism, ideals of transparency and accountability, corruption, voting, political parties etc. comes under the broad umbrella of political attitude. Similarly, we can think of several moral debates currently going on in society, such as reproductive cloning, surrogate motherhood, abortion, sex selection, pornography, prostitution, dance bars, euthanasia, capital punishment, homosexuality, live-in relationships, incest, divorce, honour killing, consumerism, owning personal weapons, gambling, prohibition etc being some of them. Your attitude towards these issues comes under the broad category of a moral attitude.

Ans. The root cause of gender related negative attitude is patriarchy. The notion of patriarchy applies to societies that value male dominance and subordination of women. The male centric society and culture gives too much emphasis on the importance of male while the subjugation of females is seen to be normal. Therefore, it is normal for males to work and earn money while females to live in household and do household chores. The gender roles are defined and maintained for generations. The patriarchy defines the roles and expectations of each gender and their violation is resisted and questioned. Often, the resistance can take violent proportions such as dowry death, honor killing, female foeticide etc.

It is well known that gender related negative attitude is rigid. It is rigid because the attitude is not formed in a short period or as fashion or fad. In fact, the attitude is deep rooted in the human psyche which has been inherited as practice over long past. Therefore, it is impossible to break this attitude over the short term. Since the society as a whole inherits and maintains this attitude, the resistance to change in attitude also comes from the society as a whole.

Ans. One’s upbringing, beliefs and practises of their family and close ones, widely prevalent practices in society etc. all affect the formation of a person’s attitude towards social problems. At times, if we witness first hand someone’s societal problems or know someone who has gone through such problems, it helps us relate, sympathise, and develop a deeper understanding of the nature of the social problem.

Here are some examples: Our attitude towards a social problem like farmer suicide develops as we read news reports, watch TV and discuss and debate on farmer’s suicide in class room and seminar rooms. In some cases, those who are exposed to the rural back ground may have witnessed the cases of farmer’s suicide. These factors together help us develop our attitude towards this social problem.

Another example is the social problem of caste system. Since most Indians belong to some or the other caste, they experience caste system first hand. Over a period of time, under the impact of education system some of us might change our attitude to caste system as we read about caste hierarchy and evils like untouchability. Yet there are others who retain the traditional attitude towards caste because they have not be exposed to the modern learning. Therefore, we may have diverse or contrasting attitude on the same social

problem.

Ans. Dedication is the quality of commitment in the spirit of service before the self. The task of transforming India is so enormous that it needs administrators of high quality who are dedicated to the task. The dedication must be to serve the people with complete selflessness, and impartiality. Dedication is the eminence of people to be devoted or loyal to a duty or purpose, thought or action. Dedication is vital personality trait of an individual. In organizational framework, faithful employees work towards achieving the organizational goals. Dedication will carry person through a lack of motivation. It is his ability to continue acting when motivation is lacking. Dedication will drive to certain task rapidly. There are some occupation in which employees dedicate

their lives to public service even sacrificing their personal life and comfort. Impartiality is the quality of objectivity. An objective approach is particularly important in science, and in decision-making processes which affect large numbers of people (e.g. politics, necrocracy). In some circumstances, an objective approach is unmanageable because people will naturally take a biased, self-interested approach. That is, they will select out those views and facts which agree with their own.

To maintain objectivity in public services, administrators must provide information and advice, including advice to ministers, on the basis of the evidence, and accurately present the options and facts. They must take decisions on the merits of the case. Wherever needed, they should take due account of expert and professional advice.

Ans. If I was in Rajeev’s place, I would have tried to understand the whole situation as to why and how the car pushed my bicycle? Did the driver deliberately push me or whether it was accidental? The very fact that the driver stopped after pushing me indicates that probably he did it accidently.

There are several reasons a driver can make mistakes such as poor-quality road, narrow road, some mechanical fault with the car, the driver could have been tired and sleepy. I could not have ruled out any of these possibilities. If the driver had hit me with wrong intentions, he would not have given me even the chance to abuse and fight. He could have easily driven away and I could not have done anything except noting down his number. Moreover, if the driver had wrong intentions he would have hit me so hard that I wouldn’t have got even a chance to abuse him.

For all these reasons stated above I would have given the driver a chance to explain his rash and negligent driving. It is quite likely that the driver would have explained me the reason for it and I would have appreciated his reason with a polite warning to be more careful in future.

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