Ethical Perspective - October 2021

THE ETHICAL PERSPECTIVE LUKMAAN IAS
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THE TABLE OF CONTENTS

• THE TRUTH IS WHAT THE VOICE WITHIN TELLS YOU 04
• THE PEACE AT THE HEART OF EDUCATION 05
• GANDHI’S PATRIOTISM WAS A MODEL FOR THE PRACTICE OF TRUE SECULARISM 06
• EDUCATE TO ACHIEVE ATTITUDINAL CHANGES 09
• DO WE NEED TO PAY MORE FOR QUALITY EDUCATION? 11
• WE ARE TRUSTEES OF THE EARTH AND THE FUTURE 13
• DON'T BE JUDGEMENTAL 14
• WHY INDIA’S BUREAUCRACY NEEDS URGENT REFORM 14
• A CRISIS OF COMPASSION IN INDIA 17
• TO END VIOLENCE, RAISE HUMAN CONSCIOUSNESS 19
• THE SILLY POINT: SUPPORT FOR THE NATIONAL CRICKET TEAM OR ITS PLAYERS IS NO
LITMUS TEST FOR PATRIOTISM 20
• THE FAIR PLAY 21
• THE HEART IS IN THE RIGHT PLACE 23
• THE SHOCKED BY FRIEND’S DEATH, MAN LAUNCHES 24/7 AID FOR ACCIDENT VICTIMS
IN 700 DISTRICTS 24
• A WORLD MINUS ADS 25
• THE CHEMICAL DRUGS CANNOT GIVE REAL HAPPINESS 26
• THE BHAGWAD GITA’S ADVICE ON BUILDING BETTER TIES 27
• TRUTH AND FACT OF DALIT ATROCITY 28
• THE LIVE-IN RELATIONSHIPS VS MORALITY: A CASE FOR STRENGTHENING DOMESTIC
VIOLENCE ACT 31
• THE ROLE OF ETHICS IN MEDIA AND TECHNOLOGY 32
• THINKER'S COLUMN: MOHAN DAS KARAMCHAND GANDHI 35
THE PRACTICE ETHICS TEST PAPER AND SOLUTIONS 37
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THE TRUTH IS WHAT THE VOICE WITHIN TELLS YOU

Religious traditions all over the globe regard truth based on revelation as absolute, imperishable and
beyond definition. The truth of instinct is higher than the truth of thought, reason higher than
sensory experiences, discriminative mind higher than that of calculative mind, and the soul, highest
of them all. ‘Ekam sad vipra bahudha vadanti’ – Truth is
one, but wise men speak of it differently, says the Rig
Veda.
Truth is the law of Being, and it is one of the three
attributes of God, others being chit, consciousness, and
ananda, bliss. In its highest aspect, Dharma is
synonymous with the truth that unfolds itself through the
cosmic order. Empirical truth may change, but absolute
truth equated with Brahman, the Supreme Being, never
changes.
Truth is self-evident, and the state or religious authority cannot suppress it. Mundaka Upanishad
says: ‘Satyam eva jayate nanritam, satyena pantha vitato devayanah’ – Truth alone conquers, not
falsehood. By truth is laid out the path of gods.
As a metaphysical concept, the truth may appear to be nebulous. However, as a social value, truth
applies to human life. To know the truth is a basic human urge, and truthful living is ideal for
householders. Mandala Brahmana Upanishad includes satya in the category of practices for self-
restraint. Narad Smriti considers the application of truth equal to a thousand sacrifices. The Buddha
spoke of Four Noble Truths as a means of attaining nirvana. Mahavir made truth an essential part of
the pancha mahavrata, five great vows of monks. Guru Nanak Dev says: ‘Sachahu orai sabh ko upar
sach aachar’ – All else falls short of truth. Nevertheless, higher still is truthful living.
Gandhiji worshipped god as truth only. He regarded his ‘experiments with truth’ as the most sublime
of all pursuits. Initially, he thought God is truth; but revised his opinion to say truth is god. To him,
truth is what the voice within tells you. He advised that if one cannot realise absolute truth, one
should adhere to relative truth. Experiencing truth meant the realisation of the oneness of
everything.
Truth and non-violence formed the praxis of his concept of swaraj, self-rule. Swaraj was not to be
viewed merely as a political goal to be achieved but as a ‘rule over the self’. He regarded attachment
to the truth as complete freedom, which implied the assertion of the power of conscience. His
doctrine of satyagrah, call to truth, was aimed as much at changing the minds of the British as those
of the Indians. A satyagrahi, votary of truth, was to kindle his soul by self-purification and self-
control. He was to hate sin, not the sinner, and wish that better sense prevailed on his adversary.
‘The seeker after truth should be humbler than the dust,’ he wrote.
Gandhi stood by truth and wanted everyone to realise truth for himself and not depend on second-
hand versions of it. He believed that the path of truth is strenuous and slippery, but it must be
trodden for spiritual growth. As he wrote in his autobiography: ‘Truth is like a vast tree, which yields
more and more fruit the more you nurture it.’
Mains Practice Questions:

What do you understand by the term ‘Gandhian Ethics.’ Discuss with examples the application of
Gandhian ethics in public service.
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PEACE AT THE HEART OF EDUCATION

Education can impart the skills and values needed to
prevent potential conflicts
On October 2 every year, everyone gathers to
celebrate the ideals of peace by marking the birthday
of Mahatma Gandhi and the International Day of
Non-Violence. The day presents an opportunity to
explore the causes of violence and reassert a
commitment to building a culture of dialogue through
education.
The COVID-19 pandemic has introduced new forces
of division globally. Levels of hate speech and fear of
the ‘other’ have grown, as people blame the virus. Forms of structural violence – the economic,
racial and gendered forms of injustice built into social systems – have been exacerbated as
marginalised groups, including displaced persons and racialised groups, have been
disproportionately affected. Around the world, the consequential surge in inequality is driving
instability and tension, fuelling potential social unrest.
The last 12 months in Burkina Faso have seen increasing attacks, including the burning of schools
and kidnapping of teachers, forcing 2,500 schools to shut down and depriving hundreds of
thousands of children of education.
United Nations urges end to attacks on schools, especially in Africa
In order to rebuild in solidarity, we must understand the root causes of human animosity and make
peace with one another. We must think about the structures, attitudes and skills that create and
sustain peace.
In ‘Pathways for peace’, a flagship 2018 report by the World Bank and the United Nations, it was
shown that many of the world’s conflicts arise from exclusion and feelings of injustice. Therefore,
the question is: how can ignorance and fear of the unknown be overcome through understanding
and dialogue?
A policy to strengthen equity

For UNESCO, education is a significant part of the answer because it can impart the skills and values
necessary to recognise and prevent potential conflicts and promote tolerance. As the educator,
Maria Montessori put it: “Preventing war is the work of politicians, establishing peace is the work of
educationists”.
Girl students look at a school that was damaged in an air strike in the southern Yemeni city of Taiz.
The conflict, among other things, is also devastating the country's education system with the fear of
being shot while going to school, resulting in high dropout rates. (FILE)
Education for peace has a rich history in India. The philosophies of various religions, cultures and
Gandhi have non-violence, syncretism and tolerance at their core.
The National Education Policy (NEP) of 2020 also presents a unique opportunity to strengthen
equity, justice and social cohesion. The policy has a broad focus on value-based and experiential
education, including promoting critical thinking, cultural exchanges, teaching in regional languages,
and a commitment to education for all.
This landmark document also advocates for reforms in curricula and pedagogy. As schools reopen,
we believe that peace education can be even more integrated within national curricula and the
broader learning environment to promote non-violence, conflict resolution and compassion.
Equipping children from a young age with the skills to respect the dignity of others is key to building
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resilient and peaceful societies. Teachers and educators also need to be equipped with skills to
promote peace through experiential and interactive methods. Intercultural competencies, like
empathy and critical thinking, are best learned through intercultural exchanges and scenario-based
learning and not rote learning.
A way forward
Global best practices, promoted through UNESCO, can offer a way forward. Our organisation’s
approaches to global citizenship, education and intercultural dialogue reinforce the idea that
peaceful societies are those that embrace diversity and difference. UNESCO’s work to promote
media and information literacy and sports for peace equips youth with skills to eradicate harmful
stereotypes and stand up against injustice.
Adolescence in conflict zones
Focusing on inclusion, UNESCO highlights the need to recognise and improve opportunities for
disadvantaged groups, like women and girls and persons with disabilities. UNESCO also promotes
schools as safe and non-violent spaces.
One year into the NEP 2020 and almost two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important to
assess priorities in education. Beyond discussions around innovation, technology and smart future
schools, we need to understand the potential of education systems and schools in building peaceful
societies. In times of crisis, education has the ability to provide hope and confidence.
Mains Practice Questions

Education is not an injunction, it is an effective and pervasive tool for all round development of an
individual and social transformation”. Examine the New Education Policy,2020 (NEP 2020) in light of
the above statement.
GANDHI’S PATRIOTISM WAS A MODEL FOR THE PRACTICE OF TRUE

SECULARISM
When Kanhaiya Kumar joined the UPA party, he presented the former leader of the UPA party, a
picture of contradictions – Mahatma Gandhi, Dr B.R.
Ambedkar and Bhagat Singh all in one frame. Undeniably,
politics is as much about perceptions as about ideology.
However, history testifies that Gandhi and Ambedkar cannot
be perceived to be sharing one photo frame, let alone any
semblance of ideology. One can either be Gandhi or
Ambedkar, but never both.
Differences between Gandhi and Ambedkar

Gandhi and Ambedkar had irreconcilable differences over very fundamental issues of religion and
caste. Swaraj probably would not have been possible had Gandhi not coerced Ambedkar into signing
the Poona Pact in 1932, which led to the abandoning of separate electorates for Depressed Classes
(as the Scheduled Castes were then referred to). This was when the struggle for independence
started weakening due to the demand for a separate country based on religion by M.A. Jinnah.
The divine strength of Mahatma perhaps rested in his clear, immediate priorities rather than the
stubborn idealism which lighted Ambedkar. In an article in his weekly English newspaper Harijan in
1939, Gandhi wrote:
“I know that many have been angry with me for claiming an exclusive right for Congress to speak for
the people of India as a whole. It is not an arrogant pretension, and it is explicit in the first article of
Congress. It wants and works for independence for the whole of India, and it speaks neither for
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majority nor minority. It seeks to represent all Indians without any distinction. Therefore, those who
oppose it should not count if the claim for independence is admitted. Those who support the claim
give added strength to Congress claim … In other words, and in reality, so far as India is concerned,
there can only be political parties and no majority and minority communities. The cry of the tyranny
of the majority is fictitious.”
Unfortunately, post-independence, Congress has frequently resorted to extreme minority
appeasement for electoral considerations, of which the Mahatma would have never approved.
In contrast to Gandhi, Ambedkar kept the political interests of the Depressed classes over the goal
of swaraj. In his undelivered speech titled ‘Annihilation of Caste’ in 1936, which he was supposed to
delivered at a conference by the Jat-Pat Todak Mandal [Society for the Break-Up of Caste System], at
Lahore, and later published, he wrote in the concluding para:
“Yours (Jat-Pat Todak Mandal) is more difficult than the other national cause, namely, swaraj. In the
fight for swaraj you fight with the whole nation on your side. In this (forum for breaking of caste),
you have to fight against the whole nation – and that too, your own. But it is more important than
Swaraj. There is no use having a swaraj, if you can not defend it. More important than the question
of defending swaraj is the question of defending the Hindus under swaraj. In my opinion, it is only
when Hindu society becomes a casteless society that it can hope to have strength enough to defend
itself.”
By the grace of the Constitution and ordinary wisdom of our countrymen, we have
defended swaraj exceptionally well against various threats such as the Emergency, the Khaliastan
movement, the Babri Masjid demolition, and the various tragic communal riots that our country has
witnessed. The peace and the grace with which the Supreme Court’s Ayodhya judgment was
accepted invalidates Ambedkar’s notion that India would be incapable of defending swaraj without
separate electorates.
Ambedkar’s idea of caste annihilation could not be tested on the scale of execution, but Mahatma’s
idea of ‘varna reformation’ is doing steadily well, as demonstrated by the steadfast and robust
affirmative action provisions prescribed in our Constitutional and statutory provisions.
Ambedkar espoused the annihilation of a system in an abrupt manner. Gandhi, though, was astute
to know that a system is first to be challenged, then weakened, and then left to die naturally.
Perhaps that is why reservation of seats in legislatures and educational institutions for Depressed
Classes was kept, and separate electorates were abandoned.
Gandhi called Ambedkar “a challenge to Hinduism”. Ambedkar indicted the Hindu religion for
entrenching caste and caste-based persecution; to this, Gandhi had a more rational view. In
response to Ambedkar’s ‘Annihilation of Caste’ speech, Gandhi wrote:
“Caste has nothing to do with religion. It is a custom whose origin I do not know and do not need to
know for the satisfaction of my spiritual hunger. But I do know that it is harmful to both spiritual and
national growth. Varna and Ashrama are institutions which have nothing to do with castes.”
On Ambedkar’s indictment of Hindu religion, Mahatma had said, “A religion has to be judged not by
its worst specimens, but by the best it might have produced.”
Gandhi’s secularism
Gandhi had the vision to invoke religion in politics as a unifying force rather than a divisive tact. He
knew that the struggle for Independence warranted unity of religion and castes, not separate
electorates. He managed to seek the support of the Congress party for the Khilafat
movement because he saw a great opportunity in it for Hindu-Muslim unity which was a sine qua
non for a mass struggle for Independence.
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Bal Gangadhar Tilak was opposed to it because it would look like an alliance with Muslims over a
religious issue, and Congress, too, sat on the fence. However, Gandhi was quick to use the
opportunity to build a mass movement in his pursuit of the supreme goal of swaraj.
“Myopic politicians and political parties forget that religion cannot be secular because a religion’s
conviction is to itself. It is the State which is enjoined to be secular. To be secular, a party is not
required to harp on minorities ad nauseam; the head of the State is not required to wear the
traditional attire of any religion on the occasion of a religious festive because they have no religion
as a State head.”
It is enough for them to maintain a religion their faith summons in personal life, like Mahatma, and
be secular in political disposition without deriding any community to appease others. They need not
show a superficial allegiance to a religion they don’t profess in their personal lives.
Former Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court M.C. Chagla, who held quite a few coveted Union
Minister posts in his career, wrote in his autobiography:
“I have, therefore, often strongly disagreed with the government policy of constantly harping upon
minorities, minority status and minority rights. It comes in national unity and emphasises the
differences between the majority and the minority community. Of course, it may serve well as a
vote-catching device to win Muslim votes. However, I don’t believe in sacrificing national interests in
order to get temporary party benefits, such as getting a few more seats in specific constituencies.
The Congress government has also often followed what I could only call the British policy of
communalism. In my view, if it is communalism to pass over and ignore a man with merit simply
because he happens to be Muslim or a Christian or a Parsi, it is also communalism to appoint a
person merely because he happens to be a Muslim or a member of some other minority
community.”
Gandhi was perhaps the archetype of true patriotism – a man who was Hindu to his core in his
personal conviction, yet flawlessly secular in his political disposition. For him, religion was a personal
means to a spiritual end and not a political means to gain power or win elections. “Hey, Ram” was
the outcome of a personal conviction and not political tokenism.
He unflinchingly supported secularism in governance by saying, “so far as India is concerned, there
can only be political parties and no majority and minority communities”.
EDUCATE TO ACHIEVE ATTITUDINAL CHANGES

The NEP 2020 recommends the integration of academic and vocational knowledge, which indicates
the impact of Gandhian education philosophy
The strength and resilience of Indian democracy receive
widespread appreciation. For the outside world, it is
amazing that a Prime Minister loses House confidence
by one vote and accepts it without even asking for a
recount. But the fading away of the Independence
struggle generation has led to severe erosion of values,
the impact of which is visible all around.
The violence and murder in Lakhimpur Kheri, the
lynching of a young Dalit person in Rajasthan and the
barbaric killing of a young man at the Singhu border are among the instances of avoidable loss of life
in a civilised society. Is it not a shame that blatant discrimination is practised even in ex gratia
payment to victims?
This is not the democracy that MK Gandhi and numerous other luminaries fought for. Selfish
motives, shortsighted goals and vested interests are denting India’s image globally. Gandhi found
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everything in India attractive as “India has everything that a human being with highest aspirations
could aspire for”. He found India “fitted for religious supremacy of the world”, and that India is a
karmabhumi, not a bhogbhumi. He was convinced that India’s mission was different from that of
others.
On October 20, 1927, he said about Hindu dharma: “I have found it to be the most tolerant of all
religions known to me. Its freedom from dogma makes a forcible appeal to me inasmuch as it gives
the votary the largest scope for self-expression. Not being an exclusive religion, it enables the
followers of that faith not merely to respect all the other religions, but also to admire and assimilate
whatever may be good in other faiths.” Gandhi did not mean that “everything in India that
attracted” him included abhorrent practices like untouchability, dowry, child marriages, and much
more. He loved India, its diversity, its culture and lamented its downfall over the centuries because
of foreign invaders and internal deficiencies. He was very clear in his priorities for the resurgence of
a new India: Education for all, dignity for all. As one goes through his writings that indicate his vision
for India, political freedom was only one of the steps towards a new democratic India; freedom from
hunger, poverty and ill-health was the prerequisite in the march towards equality, transparency,
brotherhood and human dignity. His was a unique endeavour, the essence of which could be
comprehended in that immortal sentence: “My life is my message.”
This was the level of transparency he had set for those who were to take over the reins of power
after India’s Independence. He preached only what he could practice. His approach, as is well known
by now, attracted global interest only because he became a unique example of courage, bravery and
commitment to conviction. Billions the world over were convinced during his lifetime that only the
Gandhian way could extricate mankind — and our planet — from the clutches of distrust, bigotry,
racism, caste prejudices, terrorism, fundamentalism and much more that jeopardised the very
human existence. The global foundation for a world of peace was to be laid in the pragmatic
implementation of the universalisation of education which, Gandhi thought, was the only ray of
hope for the suffering masses. The Hind Swaraj he penned in 1909 is now being perused with much
more respect and sincerity.
Violence must totally vanish from Gandhi’s land. One is convinced that the solution lies in reverting
to Gandhi and re-articulating his thoughts in the current idiom. While those in power have an
obligation to find immediate solutions, the long-term strategy must focus on education, right from
the early days to universities. Attitudinal transformation can be possible only through Gandhian
vision, the essence of which he had presented to the nation in the ‘Basic Education’, which he
thought was his most significant contribution. Why was Gandhi so enamoured by this idea? He
wanted education to draw the best out of “head, hand and heart”. This, he thought, was the best
way to transform a lay learner into a full-grown personality. It is indeed laudable that with literacy
below 20 per cent at Independence, India is touching 80 per cent and, that too, when population
growth has been more than three times. It has also led to certain aberrations in teaching and
learning, most prominent being the concentration on “head” and near-total neglect of “hand and
heart”. The consequences are before us. The 75-year experience must put the system on the right
path.
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The manner in which the National Education Policy-2020 lays focus on character building, value
inculcation and recommends the integration of academic and vocational education clearly indicates
the impact of Gandhian education philosophy. Sadly, the philosophy that Gandhi and his colleagues
had articulated was simply ignored by the earlier decision-makers. No effort was made to bring forth
a model of education rooted in Indian culture and, at the same time, committed to new knowledge.
This formulation would be complete when synchronised with Gandhi’s writing in the Young India
issue of June 3, 1926: “The highest form of freedom carries with it the greatest measure of discipline
and humility. Freedom that comes from discipline and humility cannot be denied; the unbridled
license is a sign of vulgarity injurious alike to self and one’s neighbours.”
To re-emphasise, education must concentrate on preparing men and women of character and
commitment who practise integrity, honesty and selfless service as their dharma.

Define attitude? What is the process through which attitudes are formed? Elucidate.
DO WE NEED TO PAY MORE FOR QUALITY EDUCATION?

Education has been removed from the service sector to the corporate sector. Many private
universities address students as consumers
In present-day society, there is much discussion on
delivering education in a subsidised manner. Even an
illiterate parent feels that only if one pays there
would be quality and does not like their children to
be taught in government institutions. The quality of
education in many government schools and colleges
have been badly affected due to the over-indulgence
of political parties in education. Most of the teachers
and professors do not give dedicated service, as they
have financial security irrespective of whether they teach properly or not. There is no evaluation
system to monitor the quality of their teaching.
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Teachers who undertake research projects concentrate less on teaching as if teaching and research
are two different domains. Teaching has changed from a service to a workload-based profession.
This attitude has badly affected the quality of many public sector institutions.
The attitude of a few irresponsible people should not take away the right of meritorious students to
pursue their education at subsidised rates. Otherwise, what is the difference between a student who
scored high marks by regularly attending classes and an irresponsible student who somehow
managed to get through the exams?
Present-day bureaucrats, academicians and politicians all see education through commercial,
corporate eyes. There was a time when a scholarship was deemed to be a symbol of quality. Old-
time school teachers used to advise students that after qualifying 10th standard, one should be self-
sufficient in meeting the expenses of his or her studies. So, students used to work hard to get
admission to prestigious government institutions. Getting admission to a government college or
university is considered as a symbol of quality, as only merit prevails in these centres, whereas in
private institutions, with money, you can buy a seat. Students would vie for the National Merit
Scholarship and University Merit Scholarship.
The starting of private deemed universities and autonomous institutions like IITs, IIMs have
destroyed the social fabric of education. Even though clearing IIT -JEE and CAT is the most
challenging task in the life of a student, studying in IITs and IIMs is the most expensive education in
the country. After clearing such challenging examinations, a student is expected to get free
education.
Successive governments have removed education from the service sector to the corporate sector. In
many private university’s students are addressed as consumers in their official communication to
teachers. There is an organized effort by vested interests across the country to destroy good
institutions under the government sector. Even UGC is granting autonomy to every college that has
been accredited by NAAC. But all these accreditation processes are not fool-proof. You can see
science colleges without basic laboratory infrastructure or libraries getting A Grade and many
coming in the list of top 100 in NIRF. Most of the colleges show infrastructure on record, but in
reality, it is not accessible to students. On record, college authorities say that they function from 9
am to 5 pm, but in reality, the timings are from 9.30 am to 3.30 pm. The rest is shown as a tutorial
hour, gardening hour, etc.
This is why most students aspire for
institutions like central universities, where
education is highly subsidized. It is the
prize they get for their dedicated learning
and hard work. These are the places where
students enjoy total freedom to learn. The
centres of excellence in higher learning
should be made accessible for meritorious
students and kept exclusively for them. We
had fewer higher education centres in
earlier times, so only the best got
admission to such centres. However, over
the years, the government has created more central universities and autonomous institutions like
IISERs and IITs based on their policy of political appeasement. This is eroding the quality of higher
education.
Mushrooming of IITs, IIMs, IISERs and central universities have changed the demographic diversity
earlier observed on these campuses. In some institutions, one can see the over dominance of
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students from the host state, similar to a state university, instead of pan-India representation Today,
many IITs graduates are finding it difficult to get a job; that was not the case two decades back.
Instead of starting new institutions, the focus should be on improving the quality of already
established institutions. Every school, college and university funded by public money should rise to
the status of an international centre. Then only we would be able to bring academic enlightenment
to our students. Giving a free hand to private institutions will ultimately make education elusive to
the common man.
WE ARE TRUSTEES OF THE EARTH AND THE FUTURE

Not many see wealth entrusted to them as a trusteeship to be used to uplift the other. One of
Gandhiji’s contributions to the world was his economic and social philosophy of trusteeship.
Spiritually rooted as he was in Bhagwat Gita, Ramcharitmanas, Sermon on the Mount, and other
spiritual treasures, he said earlier on, “I understood … that those who desire salvation should act like
the ‘trustee’ who, though having control over great possessions, regards not an iota of them as his
own.”
Some of our great businessmen and industrialists were influenced by this philosophy. Among the
more famous ones are Jamnalal Bajaj and JRD Tata. They lived by this philosophy in their own
personal lives and demanded it of others.
Just as there is an economic and social philosophy of trusteeship, so also, we can speak of a spiritual
philosophy of trusteeship. In Confluence Media Meditations, they speak about the garden of the
mind, in which our thoughts are the seeds. We have the choice to either grow flowers or weeds. As
spiritual beings, we possess the treasures of our minds, words, actions, virtues, powers, time and
spiritual and physical wealth. We can use these treasures for the positive purpose of bringing not
only ourselves but for others also, closer to the Truth. Then we will be in a state in which the soul
experiences its original values of peace, love, joy, purity, power and wisdom. Our spiritual treasures
then become of immense value.
Among the concomitants of truth are: Simplicity of lifestyle and not using the wrong means in
pursuit of wealth. We have also to trust others as human beings. We find these days that there is a
trust deficit in our societies. What we need is
honesty and integrity, both vital to the whole idea
of trusteeship. Integrity is not merely intellectual
and financial integrity but involves other core
values of love, mutual trust and commitment.
When we experience impoverishment of our own
lives and see them as not useful or just ordinary,
it is often as Raina Maria Rilke, the poet, once
said: “We do not have the poet in us, to see and
cherish the richness of our own lives.” Many today are not aware of their inner riches. They compare
themselves to others and often feel shortchanged. But every life has immense value and richness, so
we need to cherish the joy of timeless moments and be present to both the moment and ourselves.
Benjamin Disraeli said that the claims of the future are represented by the suffering millions and the
youth of the nation are trustees of posterity. In fact, we all are trustees of posterity. That means that
we must pass on to the next generations a world that is in some way better than how we received it.
It means we are trustees of the earth, the environment and the future.
Finally, as trustees of our own lives and powers, we owe a responsibility to work for a future that is
more just, equitable and results in the progress of all. We have to work for the uplift of all sections of
society. Gandhiji taught us to dream big. Let us listen to the advice he gave us and create a better
world.
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DON'T BE JUDGEMENTAL
We love to judge others. And invariably, we do so without knowing much about the person we are
judging. We rejoice in it because it feeds on our prejudices. It shows
a lack of respect for the person whom we are judging. It reflects on
us, a Hadith suggests, it shows a lack of intellect. It most certainly
shows an insecure, egoistic personality and puts a strain on
relationships.
This is so because judgemental people rush to form their views not
based on facts but on perceptions. It is based on stereotyping
people. As has been said, there are three sides to a story - your
side, my side and the truth. Being judgemental means sticking only to my side.
The Bhagwad Gita states that godly people are averse to fault-finding, even of those who cannot
stop finding faults with others, which is what being judgemental is all about.
People forget the wise counsel of the scriptures - do not judge, or you too will be judged. Self-
awareness is the key to stopping being judgemental. This is difficult. It calls for an ability to
introspect, reflect and realise that you are not being fair either to the person whom you are judging
or to yourself.
For, as Bard has pointed out, there is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so. And, once
you free yourself of this burden and accept people as they are, it will make you a better person.
WHY INDIA’S BUREAUCRACY NEEDS URGENT REFORM

The civil services held India together after Independence, but if the country's potential is to be
realised, existing problems of inefficiency and inaction must be fixed.
Reforming India’s bureaucracy is a “mission
impossible”, similar to the punishment
meted out by Zeus to Sisyphus, of endlessly
rolling a boulder up a hill. While justifiably
criticising the bureaucracy for many of its ills,
we often forget that, like in every other
profession, the bureaucracy has its share of
the good, the bad and the ugly. To believe
that any other profession is the epitome of
goodness or competence, and thus can
replace the bureaucracy misses the wood for
the trees. India’s civil services have some of the best and brightest as also some of the worst, just
like in any collection of people. And they are sitting atop a prickly, unionised, rules-obsessed,
obdurate lower bureaucracy. However, the bureaucracy that took India through the last 75 years
can’t be the one to take it through the next 75 — we need a proactive, imaginative, technology-
savvy, enabling bureaucracy.
Today, we have a lot for which to thank the bureaucracy. This is often forgotten in the anger against
it, some of which is indeed justified. But for the civil services, and the Indian Administrative Service
(IAS) in particular, the country could not have been held together post-Independence, and much of
the impressive nation-building across sectors happened because of their dedication and
commitment. It is also forgotten that the bureaucracy, unlike the private sector, is a creature of the
Constitution and is bound by multiple rules, laws, and procedures. Many of these are well past their
expiry date and the Modi administration has done stellar work in doing away with over 1,500 of
them.
14
15
As per estimates compiled by the Institute of Conflict Management, the government of India (GOI)
has about 364 government servants for every 1,00,000 residents, with 45 per cent in the railways
alone. About 60 per cent and 30 per cent are in Groups C and D, respectively, leaving a skilled
skeletal staff of just about 7 per cent to man critical positions. Thus, the complaint that India’s
bureaucracy is bloated is factually incorrect. In fact, we are grossly understaffed. That we need not
be in many sectors is well-recognised — leave them to the markets — and politicians must get
bureaucrats out of business in more ways than one.
Further, faced with extensive judicial overreach (both justified and unjustified), reporting to an often
rapacious, short-sighted political executive, and a media ever ready to play the role of judge, jury
and executioner, the bureaucracy has in large part found comfort in glorious inaction and ensuring
audit-proof file work. Faced with such incentives, roughly half the bureaucracy becomes “the Wall”.
Twenty-five per cent is willing to do anything for the right bribe, with another 25 per cent focusing
on ensuring outcomes in extremely difficult circumstances.
How to increase the officers’ willingness to take decisions? One possible solution is to legally prevent
enforcement agencies from taking punitive action, like arrest for purely economic decisions without
any direct evidence of kickbacks. Instead, a committee of experts with commercial experience
constituted by the government should suggest whether it’s corruption or just a decision gone wrong.
Despite PM Modi's ability to get things done, some parts of the bureaucracy have been obstinate,
eschewing fast progress. For example, the progress of last-mile connectivity and electronics for
BharatNet, the recapitalisation and reform of failing banks, the distribution and transmission sectors
and the privatisation of space is moving, although slowly. Some of this is due to a bureaucracy
obsessed with accountability to processes and not to results. When an outstanding IAS officer like
Pradip Baijal is pulled out of his hospital bed to be produced before the courts after the CBI closed
an outlandish case against him, even the best officers become timid and cautious, lest something
returns to haunt them years after retirement.
Modi’s toughest challenge is to change an inactive bureaucracy to one that feels safe in taking
genuine risks. Lateral entry needs to expand to up to 15 per cent of Joint/Additional and Secretary-
level positions in GOI. Areas such as bad banks recapitalisation, new development credit institutions
and perhaps a sovereign fund for India, privatisation of everything that the government shouldn’t be
in, renewable energy, electric vehicles, climate change, global trade negotiations and information
technology, to name a few, are where problem-solving professionals are needed.
Changes in recruitment procedures, like the interview group spending considerable time with the
candidates and not deciding based on a half-hour interview, along with psychometric tests, will
improve the incoming pool of civil servants. Most importantly, after 15 years of service, all officers
must undergo a thorough evaluation to enable them to move further, and those who do not make it
should be put out to pasture. Give them full salary till they hit retirement age.
Lastly, every modern bureaucracy in the world works on technology-enabled productivity and
collaboration tools. India procures about $600 billion worth of goods and services annually — can’t
all payments be made electronically? Why not automate India’s $90 billion utility bills market at a
time when UPI transactions worth Rs 6 trillion happen every month? Can we not try to automate
every major touchpoint between the government, citizens, and businesses?
India cannot hope to get to a $5-trillion economy without a modern, progressive, results-oriented
bureaucracy, one which says “why not?” instead of “why?” when confronted with problems. Make
no mistake, despite working in a difficult, complex ecosystem, about a third of civil servants are
doing exceptional work, better than their peers in the corporate sector. The challenge remains to
realign incentives institutionally, to move those who are honest yet don’t perform, send home those
who steal/are non-performers and imbue more technology throughout the system.
Mains Practice Questions:
16
A positive attitude is considered to be an essential characteristic of a civil servant who is often

required to function under extreme stress, which contributes to being the positive attitude of a
person.
A CRISIS OF COMPASSION IN INDIA

It is not just a feature of the criminal justice system but has also come to be a hallmark of
majoritarian nationalism.
It is also common knowledge that the experience of incarceration in Indian prisons does not depend
on the crime individuals are accused of committing but on the social status and power of the
prisoners.
While releasing prisoners in view of the
Covid-19 pandemic, the high-powered
committee mandated by the Supreme
Court of India to decongest prisons did not
invoke the health vulnerabilities of
prisoners but recalled the crimes they
were accused of committing. It is also
common knowledge that the experience of
incarceration in Indian prisons does not
depend on the crime individuals are
accused of committing but on the social
status and power of the prisoners.
Both these seemingly unconnected
realities reflect one principle — that legal
practices and discussions in the public sphere continue to privilege the principle of retribution as
justice over rehabilitation. This lack of compassion may arise from the fact that a disproportionate
number of prisoners in Indian prisons come from Muslim, Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe
communities. Because of the abject poverty and powerlessness of most of the accused from these
groups, they have little access to quality legal representation or aid. They languish in prisons without
bail for periods even longer than the punishment mandated by the law they are accused of violating.
Many suffer continued incarceration even after securing bail, simply for the lack of surety or inability
to pay cash bail.
The lack of compassion is not only a feature of the criminal justice system. Withholding compassion
from certain categories of human beings has become a hallmark of majoritarian nationalism. This
was transmitted from the government to the digital public sphere and manifested as mob violence in
public spaces. Unfortunately, even judicial decisions have often revealed a similar lack of
compassion.
The current government will go down in history for its chilling ability to stare down protest and crush
dissenters. For example, in October 2015, the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) students
called off their strike of 139 days after failing to elicit a response from the government. Since then,
citizens, especially students and human rights defenders, have been damned for their opinions on
how they or their fellow citizens should be treated. Rohith Vemula’s “crime” was that he dared to
protest against injustice in spite of his social identity. Despite protests over JNU student Najeeb
Ahmed’s disappearance, there was no impression of a fair investigation. Since 2019, the repression
of dissent has become more pronounced and intensified. On practically any issue, peaceful
protesters are met with a ruthless attitude from the police and vigilante supporters of the
government. In some instances of Muslims being lynched, assailants were garlanded, feted in public,
and rewarded.
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Before long, it was not just charges of sedition and defamation; allegations of offences such as
incitement, rioting, damage to public property or attempt to murder were made against dissenters.
Unlawful custody, custodial torture, and criminal intimidation by police and investigative agencies
appear to have become a norm too. Remarkably, protesters, too demonstrated a total lack of fear of
any brutality. The allegations of the police's inhumane and humiliating treatment of protesters such
as Sadaf Jafar or No deep Kaur seem to render protestors fearless. By remaining undaunted, by
speaking up fearlessly, by not retracting their dissent at any cost, activists like Dr Kafeel Khan were
able to unmask the true face of this regime.
It bears pointing out that the only “offence” youth and student activists like Sharjeel Imam, Natasha
Narwal, Devangana Kalita, Meeran Haider, Asif Tanha, Safoora Zargar, Gulfisha, and Umar Khalid
committed is making speeches of dissent against the Citizenship Amendment Act 2019, a law they
considered immoral and discriminatory.
In this dystopian narrative, those who dared to protest were accused of violence, but those who
engaged in arson and killings were propped up as the righteous. The anti-CAA-NRC protesters were
charged with what was essentially anti-Muslim violence in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. Dalit
intellectuals and activists who participated in the Bhima Koregaon event were linked with anti-Dalit
violence, and human rights defenders have been accused of hatching a plot to assassinate the Prime
Minister. A mind-boggling, logic-defying framing was used to book and imprison Dalit and Muslim
activists and anyone who expresses solidarity with them.
The deplorable conditions inside Indian prisons, ranging from violence, torture, custodial deaths and
rape, poor quality of food and healthcare, have been documented. Prison authorities and personnel
routinely inflict unlawful punishment on prisoners, a majority of whom are undertrials. Human rights
activists and lawyers have been at pains to demarcate categories of prisoners that might be
considered deserving of judicial compassion. In such a scramble for the painfully limited quota of
mercy, activists who also dabbled in electoral politics like Khalid Saifi, Shifa-ur-Rahman, Ishrat Jahan
and Tahir Hussain often fall out of the categories of the worthies. Extraordinary laws such as NSA
and UAPA facilitate prolonged unjustified incarceration of individuals from marginalised
communities. By the time these students and human rights defenders would be able to establish
their innocence in higher judiciary and secure acquittals, years would pass away. Who would be
responsible for heaping physical torture, humiliation and years of incarceration on these young
students and activists, who otherwise could be acquiring and creating knowledge, helping and
providing a healing touch to their fellow citizens?
Where the norm ought to be bail, not jail, unfortunately, violation of human rights of incarcerated
individuals seems more a norm rather than an anomaly.
Indian prisons have alarmingly high occupancy rates, mass incarceration of the poorest and
powerless — this was a problem already crying for attention. Taking cognisance of this problem will
be an opportunity to rethink and reframe the debates on the protection of rights of the accused
persons.

What is a “crisis of compassion”? How does it manifest itself in the public domain?
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TO END VIOLENCE, RAISE HUMAN CONSCIOUSNESS

The violence that is happening in parts of Bangladesh is distressing.
We are violent towards each other because we identify ourselves with different things and have
forgotten that we are human beings. We have become this or that religion, this or that country, this
or that race – all kinds of things except humans, everything What is meant by Consciousness?
except being a life.
Consciousness is a state of
Violence is not on the street. Violence is in the human mind. alertness and being aware, active
The fundamental source of this is the limited identifications and vigilant of the self and
that you have created. If someone belonging to something surroundings with volition, based
else disagrees with you, a fight will happen. If you say harsh on memory and personal identity.
things and things go out of control, hands will rise. If hands
This state is ineffable and intrinsic
are not enough, sticks will rise. If sticks are not enough,
and express itself in the presence
swords will rise. If that is not enough, guns will come.
of the soul through activation of
Once you create an identity, the whole force of who you are – different sensing and perceptive
your intelligence, emotions, capability, strength, everything body organs but may pass through
serves that identity. Our problem is that we have never lighter densities and variable
nurtured human consciousness on the planet on a large scale. dimensions in quantum nature if
If you are not willing to invest in that, you will suffer this the soul leaves the body.
endlessly.
People want to know, “What to do with
those men who have killed other people?
Shouldn’t they be killed?” Let's understand
this: Right now, if someone came and killed
someone in your family, the news cycle will
run for 24 hours; if more people die, it will
run for a few days. Then the news will be
forgotten.
But the person who lost someone dear to
them, not only will they not forget it in their
lifetime, they will sow the seeds of anger, resentment and hatred in their children’s hearts. So, when
theirs die, they will carry that hurt and kill someone here. Then you carry that hurt and kill someone
there. There is no end to this. Macho-ism is not the answer. If you kill someone, you are not
mitigating the problem in any way, you are just magnifying it.
This is a very deep-rooted problem that we have divided the world in the form of nations, religions,
race, caste and creed. As a generation of people, if the youth do not strive to eliminate these
divisions, fights will happen. If my identity and your identity are absolutely separate, me wanting to
put you aside, and if you do not go away, to put you down is the natural consequence of a strong
sense of identity. And as we get more equipped and powerful, the numbers that will die will
increase.
We beseech every young person in the world – the most important thing to do right now is to raise
human consciousness. Because what we are referring to as consciousness is not a limited identity, it
is a limitless identity. If you are really concerned, you must understand that this is a lifelong mission.
This is not going to go away if you just feel guilty for one day, and go shout a slogan somewhere or
tweet about it. Any problem of this magnitude cannot be solved overnight. If we start working for it,
maybe we can bring about a solution in a few generations. We should not just react to the
immediate expression of the problem. We need to invest our life in solving the problem at its very
roots.
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Quotes:
‘Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already
devoid of stars’.- Martin Luther King, Jr.

In the context of defence services, “patriotism’ demands readiness to even lay down one’s life in
protecting the nation. According to you, what does patriotism imply in everyday civil life? Explain
with illustrations and justify your answer.
SILLY POINT: SUPPORT FOR THE NATIONAL CRICKET TEAM OR ITS PLAYERS IS
NO LITMUS TEST FOR PATRIOTISM
People who allegedly celebrated the victory of Pakistan against India in a T20 cricket World Cup
match on October 24 are facing the brunt of the state. All of them are Muslims. In Rajasthan, a
young schoolteacher has been terminated by a
private school, and the police have charged her
under IPC Section 153B for 'imputations,
assertions prejudicial to national integration. In
Jammu and Kashmir, the police have registered
two cases against unknown persons under the
Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and
other sections. In Uttar Pradesh, three students
from J&K have been charged under IPC Sections
153A (promoting enmity between groups), 505
(creating or publishing content to promote enmity) and, later, Section 124A, sedition. The wisdom,
propriety or acceptability of celebrating Pakistan’s victory is beside the point. From moral, tactical,
and practical perspectives, this sweeping policing is unwise. No democracy, least of all a country of
India’s size and diversity, can demand unyielding uniformity and conformity from its population, on
all questions and at all times.
It is unlikely that any of these charges will stand judicial scrutiny, but that only makes this spectacle a
ridiculous distraction for the stretched law enforcement system. Far from enforcing national
integration as the purported aim of this heavy-handed police action is, it will only brew more
resentment and social disharmony apart from derailing young lives.
An unremitting loyalty test of citizens can be a self-defeating pursuit for a country like India that has
global ambitions. People of Indian origin live around the world, with split loyalties. There are U.S.
citizens who chant victory for India at gatherings in their home countries addressed by the Indian
Prime Minister, and there are British and Australian citizens who boo their own country in favour of
India during sporting events. Sports teams around the world have members of foreign origin.
Infusion of toxic hyper-nationalism in sports is bad in such a world; more so for India. While the NDA
has been championing this link between cricket and nationalism, other parties are not far behind as
the incident in Rajasthan, a UPA-ruled State, shows. The ruling party in Delhi was one step ahead
and questioned the NDA government for allowing the cricket match with Pakistan. Had all this been
on account of an unspoken link between cheering for the national cricket team and support for a
united India, the police would have also charged those who mercilessly trolled Mohammed Shami, a
Muslim in the Indian cricket team. True, it would have been wonderful for the Indian cricket team to
enjoy the unqualified support of the entire nation, but, surely, there is no reason to charge those
who support another team with sedition. The Indian state looks silly now, and the whole episode
bodes ill for cricket the country.
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THE FAIR PLAY

The State's tendency to charge anyone under the UAPA is facing a sustained legal challenge
A pushback is discernible from the judiciary against the inappropriate use of the draconian Unlawful
Activities Prevention Act, 1967. The State banking on UAPA to arrest and charge anyone with
terrorism is facing a sustained legal challenge. On
Thursday, the Supreme Court granted bail to a
Kerala youth held under UAPA since 2019 for
Maoist links, saying mere association with or
support to a terror organisation, the CPI-ML
(Maoist) in this case, is “not sufficient” to prove
the offence. The “intention of furthering the
activities of a terrorist organisation” is missing,
the court pointed out. The NIA court, which
originally gave bail to the accused, did not prima facie find any evidence in the charge sheet showing
this “intention”. The Kerala High Court, which set aside the bail order, did not record this prima facie
finding, the Supreme Court observed. Giving bail in UAPA cases is a cumbersome affair as the court
has to satisfy itself that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the charge of terrorism against
the accused is prima facie not true. In this case, both the NIA court and the apex court came to that
conclusion. It is not often that such a conclusion comes about. A prima facie analysis tests the
judge’s perspicacity to weigh evidence filed by the prosecution and defence. That is possible more in
civil cases than UAPA cases because the evidence in the former is mostly documentary. Moreover, a
Supreme Court judgment in 2019 said that a court cannot go into the merits of a case or scrutinise
the admissibility of evidence when deciding on bail.
As a result, in most cases, bail is ruled out. In the case of Stan Swamy, who was old, not in good
health, hardly a flight risk and where the court had the power to place enough restrictions on him,
bail was still not granted. One can only hope the court found a prima facie case against him. The
pushback began in a startling case of judicial activism this June when the Delhi High Court gave bail
to three student activists on the ground that protests, like inflammatory speeches and roadblocks,
were not terrorist acts under UAPA. The court rejected the prosecution case built around WhatsApp
messages and statements of witnesses who later turned “approvers” and said that tough penal laws
could not be applied to ordinary protests which should be dealt with under ordinary criminal laws.
The Supreme Court did not intervene in the High Court bail order while not treating it as a
precedent. The court rightly felt the issue had “pan-India ramifications” and it had to “decide” on the
“many questions involved” for the “good of the entire country”. The judiciary has so far been
restrained in ensuring that draconian provisions, arbitrarily used, do not come in the way of granting
bail to the accused. That is changing. It is time to hold the State to higher standards and disallow it to
get away with questionable prosecutions.
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22
THE HEART IS IN THE RIGHT PLACE

We need a young brigade with a social service bent of mind in all-India services.
A young lawyer has succeeded in her efforts to
seek compensation for widows of manual
scavengers who died while unclogging
Mumbai’s sewers.
The evil practise of manual scavenging had
been banned by the promulgation of the
Prohibition of Employment as Manual
Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act of 2013.
Municipal and local bodies entrusted with the
task of disposing of solid waste in ever-
burgeoning cities had been left with no
alternative but to invest in costly machines and accoutrements to do the job of cleaning the sewers
and protecting lives.
Some municipalities were short of money, but even the well-heeled ones like Mumbai relegated this
task to low priority. I ascribe this attitude to the fact that this task of cleaning sewers manually is
assigned to one community alone in our caste-ridden society. And to compound the crime of
neglect, the economic situation does not permit the traditional scavengers from seeking alternative
sources of income. Their children take the more readily available route of an assured job even if they
are well educated since the job market today is unfavourable.
The inhuman tradition of employing manual scavengers is still widely prevalent in Maharashtra and a
few other states. The municipalities cross legal hurdles by arranging for willing hands through the
medium of contractors. The 2013 legislation had made offences covered by the Act non-bailable. My
dear friend, Kewal Semlani, before he breathed his last some years ago, was passionately involved in
fighting this evil. The well-known social activist and Magsaysay Awardee, Bezwada Wilson, is
involved in the stoppage of this cruel practise, known only in the Indian subcontinent.
The Public Concern for Governance Trust (PCGT), which engages young students in studies of such
injustices prevalent in our society, has been researching the problem for the past year. It began with
three interns from TISS who started the ball rolling. It was taken up by students of law and other
disciplines who produced added inputs for a research treatise that is in the making.
In the meantime, Isha came into our orbit. Unknown to us, she and her mother Abha, a friend and
the wife of YP Singh, an IPS officer who resigned because he could not stomach the injustices
spawned by the work culture, had befriended three widows of such scavengers who died by inhaling
toxic gasses in the sewers. Mother and daughter, both lawyers, took up their cause pro bono and
approached the High Court for compensation to the three women.
Isha argued the case so passionately that the judges delivered a landmark judgment, identifying the
office of the District Collector as the institution primarily responsible for the safety and the lives of
the manual scavengers, even though they died cleaning the septic tank of a private housing society.
The court accepted her argument of 'strict liability. Since manual scavenging is banned, it is the
state's duty to ensure no person is engaged as a scavenger and is strictly liable for it. The BMC was
ordered to pay Rs 10 lakh to each widow, a small substitute for lives lost but welcomed all the same
by impecunious families who had lost their breadwinners. The court also directed the government to
rehabilitate the widows and their families by way of scholarships etc. It also questioned what action
the police had taken and why nobody had been convicted for the crime.
The PCGT lost no time in inviting Isha to address our students. Her commitment to the cause, her
compassion, her knowledge of the subject and the sheer force of her spoken word impressed us. She
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has been selected for my old service, the IPS. Her mother belonged to my father’s service, the Indian
Postal Service. She, too, resigned after 20 years. YP and Abha are practising in the High Court. I wish
we had more young people like her joining the All-India Services.
After the catastrophe that has hit the service in Maharashtra recently, with the police on the lookout
for its now absconding leader, the mantle of redemption in the shape of this young new entrant is
heart-warming. We require officers with a social service bent of mind.
Last week, Abha invited members of the press to impress upon them the inhumanity involved in
using humans to clean sewers. The fact that the authorities take scarce notice of the law, that they
break the law repeatedly, that no thought is given to the human rights of the poor, that
compensation is the least the municipality or the government can do for families living on the verge
of penury, that the state should think of adopting fatherless children and educate them.
But this subject is not of sufficient interest to their readers, conditioned as our traditional society is
in allocating jobs by caste.
PCGT representatives present for the press conference did speak out for the scavengers. They came
away with the realisation that an uphill task awaited them. PCGT's young students came across jail
manuals in some states where prisoners on arrival are allotted tasks on the basis of their caste. One
would have thought that such a practice is repugnant to the basic values prescribed in the
Constitution. All political parties swear to end caste discrimination. But it is there in the jail manuals,
in black and white, and will remain there till an Isha or an ex-intern of the PCGT brings it to the
notice of the courts.
THE SHOCKED BY FRIEND’S DEATH, MAN LAUNCHES 24/7 AID FOR ACCIDENT
VICTIMS IN 700 DISTRICTS
Vimal Singh is a Bengaluru-based entrepreneur whose startup, ReadyAssist, aims to offer 24/7
roadside assistance in cases of accidents and vehicle breakdowns across the country.
In 2015, Bengaluru-based Vimal Singh lost a close
friend to a road accident. "He was his junior in
college, and they'd even lived together for a couple of
years."
Vimal's friend was heading home after attending a
function and made a pit stop at Nagercoil for lunch.
"He called him around that time and told me he'd be
home soon. That was the last time we spoke," Vimal
says.
On his way home, his friend got into an accident, and
his phone was unfortunately locked (tied to a specific carrier network), and so he couldn’t make a
call. People eventually arrived at the scene and took him to a nearby hospital, but Vimal’s friend had
sustained a severe head injury that required grave medical attention. Because he was unable to
make the call-in time, a clot had already formed in his blood, and by the time doctors completed all
their scans, it was too late to save him.
Meanwhile, when the friend didn’t arrive home in time, Vimal began frantically trying to reach him.
When he was finally able to connect and realised his friend had been in an accident, he tried to send
help, but around four hours had already passed. “Another thing that struck him was that the hospital
waited to start his treatment till they received the money needed,” he notes.
Despite trying their best to shift him to another hospital and get him better help, ultimately, Vimal’s
friend passed away.
24
“This left a deep impact on him. He remained confined to his home for at least three to four months
to recover. The grief soon morphed into a larger need to help people who might need assistance
after major accidents,” Vimal says.
24/7 Roadside Assistance

So the same year, he began by offering services nearby out of his own pocket — anyone who met
with an accident could reach out to Vimal, who would pay upfront for the medical procedure in
order to fast track the treatment, and then settle with the family once they arrived at the hospital.
"For him, it was just about rotating some money to save a life," he says.
Wanting to further his reach, Vimal spoke to a friend and asked if he would like to be involved. The
duo began by going to hospitals to reach out to accident victims, which is when they grew more
accustomed to the larger problems that existed within the ecosystem. “Identity, information, data
management — all of these factors were brought to light for us. So they started building solutions
for everything, step-by-step. This involved technological, structural and operational solutions, which
eventually became ReadyAssist,” he explains.
ReadyAssist is a 24/7 roadside assistance service that offers services of repairs in case of vehicle
breakdowns or help in case of accidents. Headquartered in Bengaluru, the company promises to
deliver these services within 30 minutes. While the repair services are chargeable, accident recovery
services are free of cost.
The company has a presence across 700 districts, with a major presence in 63 of them and limited
support in the rest owing to challenges such as higher altitudes, rocky terrains, among others. In
March 2020, they clocked a turnover of Rs 4 crore, which was a massive jump from Rs 3 lakh,
clocked in the same period the previous year.
ReadyAssist offers two models of service — on-demand and subscription-based. On-the-spot
breakdown service, as well as general repairs, are available for both bikes and cars for direct
consumers, large vehicle rental companies, and corporates alike. It has also recently extended its
support to electric vehicles (EV) and has partnered with three EV companies for this without
disclosing their names.
A WORLD MINUS ADS

Social media outrage against brand campaigns is
fuelled by intolerance to progressive values.
In a land of matchless diversity, where 138 crore
people live, it is perhaps not surprising that
social conflicts run along several lines, including
caste, class, gender, language and religion.
Deepening fault lines touch every part of life,
and advertising, which at a basic level nudges a
consumer to make a purchasing decision but
also does social messaging, is learning it the
hard way. With the start of the festival season,
at least two companies, Fabindia and Dabur,
have had to pull out ads days after the launch for "offending sentiments" and huge social media
outrage. In the case of Fabindia, people protested against the use of the words "Jashn-e-riwaaz" for
a new collection of clothes ahead of Deepavali. The brand later clarified that all its products in
"Jashn-e-riwaaz" are "a celebration of Indian traditions” and that its Deepavali collection was yet to
be launched. Yet it chose to withdraw the ad. Noted ruling party from Bengaluru led the campaign
against Fabindia, calling for an economic boycott; a hashtag #NoBindiNoBusiness also did the rounds
25
in protest against the models in the ad without

bindis. Dabur's Fem brand had to pull out a Karwa
Chauth ad which showed a same-sex couple
observing the rituals. A Ceat ad featuring Aamir Khan
asking people not to burst crackers on the roads to
upset the right-wing, which said it should have also
addressed the "problem of blocking roads" for
namaz.
While advertisements that do not stick to the script
can be a breath of fresh air, there are some which
miss the mark completely with the messaging. So, if
Shah Rukh Khan's latest Cadbury ad urging people to buy from small Kirana shops, this Deepavali is
making the right noises, Kent RO's atta and bread maker ad last year and its tone-deaf portrayal of
house-helps was decried. Tanishq, a jewellery brand co-owned by the Tatas, had to withdraw an ad
last year that showed a Muslim family organising Hindu baby shower rituals for their Hindu
daughter-in-law. It got vitriolic comments, with some accusing the Tatas of promoting "Love Jihad".
Another opposition party, MP and others were aghast that a symbol of Hindu-Muslim unity could irk
a section of people. They cried foul that nuance was getting lost in the cacophony of perceived hurt
sentiments. If advertising is about selling a product, no company will willingly put out a campaign
that may hurt its brand. The messaging must be sensitive, and that comes when a marketing team
has its ear to the ground. It is nothing unusual for some ad campaigns to fail. But, worryingly, many
brands have had to withdraw their campaign material after manufactured social media outrage that
was fed by intolerance of progressive values and religious bigotry of the worst order.
CHEMICAL DRUGS CANNOT GIVE REAL HAPPINESS

One of the most intelligent men of the 20th century, Aldous Huxley, lived under the illusion that
through LSD, you can achieve the same spiritual experiences that Gautam Buddha had, that Kabir
had, that Nanak had. Thinking of the soma of the Vedas,
he wrote in his book, Heaven and Hell, that in the
future, the ultimate drug would be created by science –
synthetic. Its name will be in the memory of the first
drug used by the religious people: soma. Its name will
be soma.
Now there are thousands of young people suffering in
jail for taking drugs. We see it as the beginning of a
search for something beyond the ordinary world,
although they are searching in the wrong way.
Drugs won't give them reality; they can create a reality, but it is going to last for a few hours, and
then they will have to inject the drug again. And each time, they have to inject greater and greater
quantities because they go on becoming immune.
There is a great upsurge for drugs in the younger people, which has never been seen before. They
are ready to suffer imprisonment, and they come out, and they still take drugs.
We see it as a misdirected young generation. There is nobody to tell them that drugs won’t fulfil
their desire and their longing. Only meditation, only silence, only transcending beyond your mind is
going to give you contentment and fulfilment.
But they cannot be condemned as they are being condemned and punished. The older generation is
responsible because they don't have alternatives for them. We propose the only alternative: As you
become more and more meditative, you don't need anything else. You don't need to create reality
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because you start seeing reality itself. A created reality is just false; it is a dream. Maybe a sweet
dream, but a dream is a dream, after all.
The thirst is right. It is just that they are wandering, and their religious leaders, political leaders,
governments and educational institutions are not capable of giving them the right direction. We take
it as a symptom of a great search that has to be welcomed. Just a right direction has to be given. We
need, urgently, the birth of a new man; we need, urgently, the rebel to change all this sickness and
ugliness that is destroying many, many people in the world.
Everybody needs to know himself, his reality. It is good that the desire has arisen. Sooner or later,
we will be able to turn our younger people in the right direction. Many people who have become
meditators have gone through all the drug trips. And as they became meditators and started
meditating, by and by, their drugs disappeared. Now they don't need them. No punishment, no jail,
just a right direction – and the reality is so fulfilling, is such a benediction that you cannot expect
more. Existence gives you – in such abundance – the richness of being, of love, of peace, of truth
that you cannot ask for more.
BHAGWAT GITA'S ADVICE ON BUILDING BETTER TIES

The relationships we form are vital to our mental and
emotional wellbeing. We have an inborn desire to
connect with people. However, as our lifestyles
become more reliant on digital tools, these simple
interactions are under threat.
We have relationships at various levels – professional,
social and family. Work isn't just about the pay cheque;
and it's about meeting like-minded people, sharing
ideas and working towards common goals. Happy
family life is a foundation on which our personality develops. Sharing and forming ties at family get-
togethers create bonds that give us a sense of belonging. Communities help individuals cope with
the stress, struggle and chaos of modern life.
However, in modern times relationships are breaking at an alarming rate. The joint family system is
vanishing. Today, the nuclear family is the norm. Single parenthood is increasing. Organisations are
experiencing high-attrition rates, and people do not even know their neighbours.
Because of increasing selfishness and lack of self-sufficiency, as a result, you become dependent.
There are expectations from the other person, you make demands, and when these are not met,
there is conflict and bitterness. This is called attachment. When the person is around, you argue and
fight. When the person is absent, you miss him. Attachment breeds suffering, and eventually, the
relationship breaks down.
Once you develop inner strength and grow spiritually, you no longer need to lean on people. You
establish wonderful relationships with them. You love them for what they are with no strings
attached. And they, in turn, adore you. This is pure love or detachment.
How do you get detached? Get attached to something higher, and the lower attachment wanes
away. Feel for the larger community, nation, all beings, and finally God. Devotion to God has no
meaning unless you love all beings. In the Bhagwad Gita, Krishna gives 35 qualities of a devotee. The
very first trait is 'one who hates no being’. Devotion is not about professing love to God; it is the
ability to love one's fellow beings.
The Gita says there are no adversaries out there. Your worst foes are within. Question your beliefs
and prejudices. Revisit your convictions. And you will realise the enemies you see everywhere are
your friends. You will view even wrongdoers with compassion. And embrace the whole world with a
feeling of oneness.
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Enlarge your circle of love. When you identify with the body, you see maximum differences. Align
with the mind, and you feel one with the family. Stretch to the intellect, and your circle of oneness
includes the entire nation. In the end, understand the Spirit as the common chord that holds the
whole universe. You feel one with all beings. And cease to feel hatred or revulsion towards anybody.
This is devotion. Then Krishna loves you whether you love him or not. He declares that such a person
is exceedingly dear to him.
Where do you begin? With the people, you dislike most. Change your attitude towards them. Look at
things from their perspective. There is instant relief! You feel happy. And grow spiritually. This helps
more than any prayers, visits to temples, or pilgrimages.
Quotes
“No one who does good work will ever come to a bad end, either here or in the world to come.”
― The Bhagavad Gita
TRUTH AND FACT OF DALIT ATROCITY

Atrocities against Dalits have increasingly become so intensely barbaric in nature that while
imagining their occurrence goes beyond human
sensibilities, describing them becomes even more
difficult. It is needless to mention that barbarism, in
its most heinous form, erupts in atrocity such as
custodial death, public lynching, and mutilation of
human bodies. The reactions to caste atrocities,
however, occur on a spectrum. For example, at one
level, violence against Dalits—though with scarce
ethical and social sensibilities—may lead to moral
condemnation of Dalit killings. Some reactions on the other end of the spectrum may not even have
moral/ethical value inasmuch these reactions contain only a dry and detached description of
violence against Dalits, thus surreptitiously allowing space for convenient reading of the tragedy. The
mutilated body of a Dalit labourer hanging by the policy barricades encouraged some to bracket it
with the ongoing road blockade. Thus, reactions to atrocities are also available even to hypocritical
persons who may shed fake tears on such violent happenings.
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Although the "authentic" expression of moral condemnation against such heinous violence is less
offensive than fake expression, such condemnation is also deficient on one very important count. It
seeks to short-circuit the connection between the fact and the truth. Put differently, since such
moral condemnation is emotionally driven by the very "factual" and visual inhuman nature of
atrocity, it tends to replace the need to gain a social insight into the larger presence of truth in
society and social mentality. Hence, such expressions that occur with immediacy may not be
adequate to provide us with an insightful understanding of the intricate relation between truth and
fact. For example, the death of a Dalit either in the temple, or in the fields, or at the border, or even
in the police station is factual. It becomes a factual matter because it has happened at a concrete
site and was carried out by a concrete person with definite intentions. Such a factual account of
atrocity can aid the process of establishing the truth that is clinically processed and legally
established.
Thus, the scope of the truth gets limited to the extent that it is accessed through a forensic
examination and post-mortem or through a long-drawn legal process. Gleaning out the truth using
the technical and legal processes is important on the grounds that it helps in identifying the accused
and fixing the responsibility on the former. Such a positivist conception of truth processed through
forensic examination and legal argumentation tends to define this truth in terms of the individual
rather than the system of social and administrative relations. However, such attempts at
individualising truth replace the need to locate it in the larger sphere of administrative processes
and politics. For example, in the recent case of custodial death of a Dalit youth, the supporters of the
Uttar Pradesh government did make a demand to file a first information report against the police;
however, at the same time, they seemed to accept the larger truth that the police, after all, is one of
the important parts of the state.
The larger truth can be discovered through a clear understanding of the politics of producing not
only sacred space, like religious places but also texts and even language. It is then considered
imperative, particularly by those who are socially dominant, to also ideologically convert some
people into an object of defilement and deviance. One could thus argue that the deaths of Dalits
that have occurred within the sacred premises are arbitrarily attributed to the act of defilement,
while custodial deaths are justified by the dominant as the result of the pathology of deviance.
Finally, let us address the knotty issue of representation—who can speak for the Dalits subjected to
continuous caste atrocities? This question becomes important in the context where the self-
proclaimed Dalits who are indifferent parties become the representatives of such a tragedy just
because they are from that caste.
The possible answer to this subjective question has to be sought in universal rather than narrow
terms. Those who have the moral capacity and will to tell the larger truth can take forward the
humanitarian cause of the Dalits even if they may not be Dalit by birth, gender, and class. Further,
we need to also appreciate that although the truth is much larger than the fact, the very need to
bring various dimensions of truth becomes possible because of the very fact of the atrocity. Put
differently; the fact provides an initial condition for the illumination of the larger truth. This would
mean that the mere moral condemnation or tragic description of atrocities is not enough to
understand the exact truth content of Dalit atrocities. We need to understand the truth in terms of
its political construction through the political production of sacred objects and spaces.
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THE LIVE-IN RELATIONSHIPS VS MORALITY: A CASE FOR STRENGTHENING

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ACT
The apex court held that two adults living together
could not be considered unlawful.
The Supreme Court of India, for the first time in the
case of S. Khushboo v. Kanniammal (2010), gave legal
recognition to live-in relationships by categorizing
them as “domestic relationships” protected under
the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence
Act, 2005 (“DV Act”). The Court held that a live-in
relationship comes within the ambit of the right to
life enshrined under Article 21 of the Constitution of India. The Court further held that live-in
relationships are permissible and that the act of two adults living together, in any case, cannot be
considered illegal or unlawful. However, they have become a developing area of controversy with
respect to the types of live-in relationships that are recognized. The Supreme Court in Indra Sarma v.
V.K.V. Sarma (2013) categorized live-in relationships into two—domestic cohabitation between two
unmarried individuals and domestic cohabitation between a married and unmarried individual or
two married individuals. The Supreme Court has only recognized the former and not the latter. This
article explores the contours of the validity of the latter category of relationships.
Conflicting views
The High Courts of Bombay, Allahabad and Rajasthan have repeatedly refused to grant protection to
such live-in couples, citing reasons that a live-in relationship between a married and an unmarried
person is illegal. The Punjab and Haryana High Court went a step further and referred to these
relationships as unacceptable, claiming that they destroy the country’s ‘social fabric’. However,
the Delhi High Court, taking a contrarian stand, adopted a wider approach, upholding the rights of a
female live-in partner, irrespective of the marital status of both individuals.
Nature of relationship and bigamy

Section 2(f) of the DV Act defines a domestic relationship as a relationship in the ‘nature of marriage’
between two people/adults living in a shared household. There are two main reasons for recognizing
relationships in the aforementioned ‘latter’ category. Firstly, in our opinion, live-in relationships
involving a married person fall within the four corners of ‘domestic relationships’ under the DV Act.
This view found judicial endorsement by the Madras High Court in the case of Malarkodi @ Malar v.
The Chief Internal Audit Officer (2021), wherein, adopting a wide interpretation of Section 2(f), the
Court acknowledged it to be broad enough in its scope to encompass relationships of the
aforementioned latter category. Furthermore, it is pertinent to note that the definition of live-in
relationships as the law is understood currently was conceptualized during the erstwhile adultery
regime, which has since been declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in Joseph Shine v.
Union of India (2018), thus wiping off adultery from the criminal statute books. In view of this, it is
imperative that the aforementioned latter category of live-in relationships must be recognized,
particularly from the perspective of the DV Act.
Secondly, a strong case can be made that a live-in relationship between a married person and an
unmarried person does not fall within the penal scope of bigamy (Section 494 Indian Penal Code).
The provision is explicitly clear that it is only a second 'marriage' during the lifetime of the husband
or wife that can attract criminality. Nowhere does the section say that a live-in relationship that is in
the 'nature of marriage' will be considered to be an implicit marriage under personal law. The object
of the DV Act was primarily to provide protection for the wife or female live-in partner from violence
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at the hands of the husband or the male live-in partner. When a woman, whether married or not, is
in a domestic relationship with a man, the focus of the DV Act violation enquiry is centred on the
tangible harm caused to the woman and the consequent protection of the woman. Any denial of
protection would be a grave injustice to the women who are suffering. Unfortunately, the Bombay,
Allahabad, Rajasthan, and Punjab High Courts have denied such victims protection on the moral
grounds that such relationships violate the sanctity of marriage and promote bigamy. However, we
respectfully disagree; the courts could not be further away from the correct position. Acceptance of
the aforementioned category of live-in relationships as akin to a domestic relationship for the
purposes of Section 2(f) of the DV Act does not ipso facto promote bigamy, nor is it an attack on the
institution of marriage. By just considering the live-in couple to be in a domestic relationship, the
married woman/wife is not being deprived of her matrimonial rights of maintenance, legitimacy &
custody of children etc. It merely acknowledges the existing factual reality of our society and
astutely promotes the salient goals of protection of women enshrined under the DV Act.
The way forward
People may view a live-in relationship between a married person and an unmarried person as
unethical, but moral policing is not an option, especially when the arrangement is sanctioned by the
touchstones of fundamental rights. In view of the contradictory findings of various courts on the
matter concerned, it is laudable that the Punjab and Haryana High Court is the first court that has
recently constituted a larger bench to consider the above stated vexed position of the law. However,
the Punjab and Haryana High Court's findings will not be the final say on the matter. Ultimately, this
controversy can be settled either by the Supreme Court of India ironing out the differences between
the respective high courts or by way of central legislation clarifying the position.
ROLE OF ETHICS IN MEDIA AND TECHNOLOGY

Ethics of technology
Ethics of technology is a field of ethics relating specifically to the ethical questions specific to the
technological advances, including its alternatives, benefits, risks & limitations & most of all, its
immediate & long-range impacts on society. It
seeks to understand and resolve the moral issues
that surround the development and practical
application of mechanical and electronic
technology. Techno-ethics is a term related to
technology and ethics which focuses on
discovering the ethical use of technology,
protecting against the misuse of technology, and
hence making an understanding of common
principles to guide new advances in technological development. The ethical use of new technology is
important in society today, particularly in areas where technological advances have a transforming
effect on society, and the best example is digital media and social media, which in today's world has
a great impact on society because a maximum number of people are affected by technology
nowadays. Ethical problems increase as technological advances happen because technology
provides numerous opportunities for action for which well thought out ethical policies might not
have been developed.
A company can collect all the related information the users put on any social networking site & can
use that information to target advertising to them. The same information can be sold and used to
sway political opinions as well.
Examples- Facebook & Faceapp
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As social media have become a primary mode of expression and communication for almost everyone
in the world, such social media widely used is Facebook which now stores almost everyone's private
information about where their place of residence, photos, family details, etc. well Facebook
advertises different software, applications, etc. one such application is face app, there is an
obligation on Facebook that how can it allow third party access your Facebook Id including all your
personal information because by clicking on the agree to terms button face app can access too much
and much more of the data form Facebook.
This is because our relationship with technology creates new opportunities for action and raises new
ethical considerations that did not exist previously, and that's why techno-ethics provides a unique
theoretical foundation to extend the existing relation between technology and ethics. Ethics of
technology is ethics applied to technical domains and domains depending heavily on technology.
Ethical issues surrounding business, technology, and personal data
The digital space provides us with a vast expanse of data and information on a domain that is easily
accessible to all through all and, as such ethical aspects with regards to the data getting threatened
or sold. Well, we see all the benefits of having all the information at our fingertips, but it has a deep
downside as well. The fact is just that technology has put our personal information at the fingertips
of almost all the businesses of the world. Many organizations collect data for their own purposes,
but that data is sold many times to different organizations and has become an income stream for
many organizations. Companies monitor customers and collect as much information in the name of
security. Ethical issues arise when they continuously monitor their customer's activities, like
browsing habits. This information is then sold, and so the people who know about your browsing
habits can also discover your deepest secrets.
Example- If a woman is pregnant, she might go up for something online, and by the moment she
makes pregnancy-related searches, her information is surveilled by the company within seconds, she
will be identified by the companies watching her and then her profile is shared multiple times, and
the process of selling then begins after a while she will then find herself with a lot of ads related to
pregnancy.
In some areas like these, such applications of technology start infringing on the rights of individuals
and maybe unethical in nature.
Educating our “selves”: the ethics of technology

The article showcases the relationship between ethics and technology. The article also relays
emphases on Aristotle's beliefs. The article also talks about Technological advances, which continue
to offer a fruitful site to investigate the effects of ethics on a present-day scenario such that it seeks
to understand and resolve moral issues that surround the development and practical application of
technology. The article also emphasises how technology can influence the way we live also is it
possible to know the potential consequences of those actions.
As they mentioned above in the theme "Ethics of Technology" in the example of Facebook and face
app that Facebook leaked a lot of information, and for that, there are a lot of potential
consequences we cannot blame the face app as before entering everyone has agreed to the terms
and conditions of the app and hence unknowingly we allowed it to access is private information such
harmful that the face app can even post on your timeline and actually that shows how much
information the Facebook has leaked to a third party application. As I said above, this is totally
ethically wrong.
Ethics of Media
Media ethics is one of the divisions of ethics which deals with the specific principles and standards
which media must follow, including broadcast media, film, theatre, arts, etc. Digital media ethics has
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sought nothing less than to address the ethical issues evoked by technological advances. Media
ethics does involve promoting and defending all the values such as universal respect for life and the
rule of law and legality. The fundamental objective of journalism is to facilitate people with all the
news and information on matters of public interest in a fair as well as accurate in an unbiased and
decent manner and language. Ethics tells us about collecting and disseminating the information,
ensuring the authenticity of that news, using socially acceptable language while keeping just in mind
that how; this will impact society because the advancement of technology or digital media has a
great impact on society. Ethics emphasizes standards of decency in today's technologically advanced
media journalism, such as media should not discriminate or inflame hatred on the grounds of
nationality, religion or prejudge the guilt of an accused without the actual judgement of the court.
Ethics also emphasizes the right to privacy because such acts may endanger people, which should
not happen.
Journalism scandals are one such included incidents that are either intentional or accidental but run
contrary to the generally accepted ethics of media. News can be manipulated according to the
needs; images & videos can be manipulated. Corporations, as well as the governments, may attempt
to manipulate the news and also media sometimes manipulate the way public officials conduct
themselves. Since anything that is shown on TV or printed in newspapers is considered the truth
nowadays.
The media should practice generally accepted core values of ethics, but almost at times, the media
fails to follow them. Core values emphasized on media ethics be: -
Honesty and fairness: the duty of media is to not falsify any information published as it will affect
society as a whole because media plays an important role in shaping opinions, beliefs and
individuals.
Example: The Daily Mail (London Based News Outlet): – The news was found guilty of publishing a
false statement regarding a global leader spending billions of dollars to combat global warming
based on manipulated data. But after that, it was forced to publish a lengthy note at the beginning
of the article to clarify its mistake.
Respect for Privacy: media should respect the privacy of an individual as it can seriously affect the
person’s life. Ethics emphasizes the duty not to endanger people.
Example: Case "Ride Along" Wilson vs Layne- The Supreme Court scolded the media for a perceived
inattention to the privacy rights because the presence of reporters inside the Wilsons' home was not
at all related to the objectives of the authorized intrusion. The media should really think of
respecting the privacy of an individual as these are ethical policies.
Duty not to use dishonest means to obtain information.
Duty not to prejudge the guilt of an accused and to publish the dismissal of charges against or
acquittal of anyone about whom the paper previously had reported that charges had been filed or
that a trial had commenced because as media has an influence on people, it makes their judgement
on the basis of information provided by the media.
Example: In a court of law, justice should be proved beyond reasonable doubt and not by emotion
but by media prejudging puts a lot of pressure on the judgement from a judge who is under
tremendous pressure from all sections of the society.
Duty not to publish offensive materials: ethics relays emphases on the media not to inflame hatred
on such grounds as race, nationality, etc. media should cover general standards of decency and
taste.
Example: The Huffington Post- the Huffington Post published a blog arguing that trump supporters
"deserve to die", but it was deleted later. This post was totally against the core values of ethics.
Digital age 2.0 and its challenges on media ethics
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The article relays emphasis on challenges on media ethics due to the evolution of technology. The
articles main objectives are the main concerns I mentioned in the above-mentioned theme, "Ethics
of Media", that is right to privacy, the right of access to information, what ethical problems are
related to the evolution of media from traditional to online publishing. Online newspapers, websites,
podcasts etc., are all examples of digital media. Digital platform raises ethical challenges for both
professionals and citizens like privacy, such that media should respect the privacy of an individual.
As discussed in the case of "Ride Along", in which the Supreme Court found media guilty of infringing
the privacy of Mr Wilson, as is discussed in this article stating the UN general assembly decision
concerning increasing concern and thus reaffirming the human right to privacy.
As again discussed above, the honesty and fairness the article relays digital manipulation of photos
and videos and thus giving a misrepresentation as mentioned above in the case of "The Daily Mail
(London Based News Outlet)".
Conclusion: Ethics involves promoting and defending all the values such as universal respect for life,
and the rule of law and legality. But With the advancement of technology, digital media has come
into existence, and with this, it is creating new challenges to the core traditional ethical values. The
code of ethics is widely accepted in digital media as media ethics, but it is often seen that media fails
to perform the set code of ethics and performs activates which might endanger an individual,
sometimes media infringes the right to privacy of person, which is both ethically and morally wrong
but they do so in order to increase their channels or publications ratings as in fact sometimes they
also misrepresent information. All these increase challenges to ethics, but the rules laid down by the
government protects these rights and thus maintain the set code of ethics. The right to privacy is
one that protects the rights of people so that no one, even the media, can infringe them or else
harsh punishments would be given just to protect the moral and ethical rights.

What do the following quotations mean to you in the present context?
"Privacy is a myth, Just like Democracy."
THINKER'S COLUMN
“If we want to reach real peace in this world, we should start educating children.”
“Service without humility is selfishness and egotism.”
“A coward is incapable of exhibiting love; it is the prerogative of
the brave.”
“Gentleness, self-sacrifice, and generosity are the exclusive
possession of no one race or religion.”
“Do not judge others. Be your own judge and you will be truly
happy. If you try to judge others, you are likely to burn your
fingers.”
Knowledge gained through experience is far superior and many
times more useful than bookish knowledge.”
“Strength does not come from physical capacity; it comes from
an indomitable will.”
“Truth is by nature self-evident. As soon as you remove the
cobwebs of ignorance that surround it, it shines clear.”
“When you are right, you have no need to be angry. When you
are wrong, you have no right to be angry.”
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“There is nothing that wastes the body like worry, and one who has any faith in God should be
ashamed to worry about anything whatsoever.”
“A person who is worried about the outcome of his work does not see his goal; he sees only his
opposition and the obstacles before him.”
“Compassion is a muscle that gets stronger with use.”
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THE ETHICS PRACTICE TEST PAPER AND ITS SOLUTIONS

QUESTION PAPER
SECTION A
Ethics takes a back seat when matters come related to the security and safety of the country.
Examine the statement.
Ethics of Care which is feminist ethics, has been getting increasing significance in all walks of life.
Comment.
“People in their natural state are basically good. But this natural innocence, however, is corrupted by
the evils of society.” Jean Jacques Rousseau. Comment.
“It is our choice of good or evil that determines our character, not our opinion about good or evil.”
Aristotle. Comment.
“The management of risk associated with conflict of interest is fundamental to ensuring high levels
of integrity and public trust in the public sector.” In the light of the statement, explain actual,
potential or perceived conflict of interest.
Do the funds received from foreign countries for various purposes including development and
activities pursued by civil society for public cause, have serious ethical issues? Justify your view
It is the fragile moral attitude of people which has not uplifted ethics in politics in India. Comment.
Discuss the principles of ethics of Kautilya as the philosophical foundation for the governments and
governance in India.
What are impediments to inculcating emotional intelligence in civil services? How emotional
intelligence can address the problem of professionalism in civil services?
The prevailing view is that ‘human values in society have declined’. What is your view? Give reasons
in support of your view.
Will you agree that the gap between ethics in public relations and ethics in private relations has
blurred due to changes in society that give more emphasis on ethical egoism in place of ethical
altruism? Explain.
There is a strong relationship between work culture and quality of service. Explain with appropriate
examples.
Transparency and accountability now seem to be two sides of the same coin having the potential to
transform the traditional bureaucracy infamous for secrecy and formalism. Analyse the statement.
SECTION B
There is an IPS officer who has entered in new relation without divorcing his first wife. The matter
was like this: When he entered in new relation then he filed for divorce. Meanwhile, he fathered a
child from the new relation. His wife complained to the government of the state about his new
relation, "he entered into a second marriage without having annulled the first."
Suppose you are the officer designated for supervising the disciplinary proceedings against the said
officer then what should be your courses of action for enquiry? Will you recommend compulsory
retirement in the public interest? Give justification.
Do you think that it is a case of lack of absolute integrity to which a civil servant is supposed to
adhere? Give justification
Discuss the significance of absolute integrity as a civil service value.
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There is a company in India that is a supplier to one of the biggest corporate companies in the world.
The company has over 10000 employees of which most of them are on contract and some are
permanent employees.
Recently, the company faced the ire of its contractual employees as they went berserk, attacking the
company— setting cars on fire, breaking windows, doors, looting the products manufactured by the
company, etc.
The workers complained about non-payment of their salary for months, long hours of work, etc.
However, the incident is being considered very bad for India's global image as a business-friendly
environment and can harm foreign investment.
Suppose the parent company appoints you to immediately rush to India and address the problems
as its image will also suffer due to salary issues and workers’ complaints.
What should be your approach and steps in the resolution of problems? Also, give justification for
your actions.
Due to the covid-19 crisis, there are some reports of people committing suicides including migrant
labourers. Although the crisis is not only a factor as in general also, the present society has
registered an increase in suicides. It seems the covid-19 has aggravated suicides. For instance,
recently, one very young talented actor has also committed suicide which has triggered the debate
on nepotism in Bollywood in particular, and in society, in general.
In your view what people should do when they face adverse situations and they get feelings of
committing suicide?
How should people carry their career challenges?
Should we blame others for not getting the right support as in the case of the actor wherein the big
actors have been sharply criticized for not supporting actors having no forefathers in Bollywood?
A businessman has ordered products from China as he has been doing business with Chinese
products for some time. He has already paid for the products and they are on the way to deliver.
Meanwhile, the government of India decides to ban some products from China which also includes
his products. Since there are anti-China sentiments running high in the country, he fears his
business.
Suppose you were in his place then how will you deal with the situation? Which philosophy should
guide your action-moral realism vs. moral idealism? Give justification to your view.
Recently some people and animals died due to inhaling toxic styrene gas that leaked from the LG
Polymers industrial plant in Visakhapatnam. This gas leak was also a reminder of the 1984 Bhopal
gas tragedy in which hundreds of people died which makes news from time to time as the issue has
not been satisfactorily addressed.
It is being estimated that the toxic styrene gas leak would have both short-term and long-term
impacts on both the human population close to the plant and environment and an objective
assessment of the impact will take time.
Suppose you are the Head of the Committee set up by the state government to suggest measures
and compensation to the affected people, including the relatives of those who have died then what
measure will be recommended? In your view, what are the ethical issues and who should be held
morally responsible for this gas leak disaster and why?
There is a conversation among two civil services aspirants Mr A and Mr B regarding the newly
qualified civil servants. Mr A tells Mr. B:
After joining civil services, the behaviour of new entrants become more elite and they also don't
resist corruption. They become corrupt at a very early stage of their career.
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Giving preference to home cadre goes against the spirit of civil services values such as dedication to
work as the home care is given the first choice by most of the candidates.
Training doesn't have much influence as one can find some civil servants prejudiced and stereotyped
even after going through over a year of formal training.
The lateral entry is going to further affect the motivation and dedication of civil servants.
Suppose you are Mr B then evaluate the above views of Mr A, giving justification to your view.
SOLUTIONS
Q1. Ethics takes a back seat when matters come related to the security and
safety of the country. Examine the statement.
APPROACH
The introduction should mention what constitutes ethics in IR.
Explain with the help of examples, how ethics takes a back seat when matters come related to the
security and safety of the country.
Also mention that many countries still follow ethics in IR.
Give relevance of views of some philosophers like Mahatma Gandhi and Rabindranath Tagore on
the issue.
Conclusion: Indian philosophy teaches lessons of ‘vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ (Universal
Brotherhood), ‘Atithi Devo Bhava’.
International relations should be guided by ethical standards such as respect to sovereignty, peace
and harmony, working for the global common good, promoting equity, equality, dignity, respect.
However, the obligation of national security and safety sometimes leads to compromise of ethics
such as human values like compassion, values to human life etc.
Example-1: The recent issue of Rohingya community refugees in India. The government of India has
decided to identify them and deport them to Myanmar.
Example-2: During the COVID-19 pandemic time, countries are trying to secure vaccines for their
citizens ignoring equitable access of vaccines to under-developed countries. Such vaccine
nationalism for the safety of own nationals shows that there is a lack of empathy and compassion
towards people who are not citizens of the country.
Thus the conflict seems to be in the Citizen and human values. The incidence of refugees from the
Middle East and North African countries to Europe and European countries not allowing them to
stay in their territories suggests the same conflict.
Even countries that cherish freedom, democracy and liberty still rely greatly on force and violence.
Using force may seem attractive and decisive, but it is counterproductive in the long run. Your initial
intention may be to use limited force, but once you have committed violence, the consequences are
unpredictable. Violence always creates unexpected complications and violent responses.
Despite having necessary resources with us and international organisations like United Nations, we
are not able to give shelter and food to those people facing war-like conditions in their own
countries.
However, there are instances that show that countries have given security and safety second
preference over human values and ethics.
Example-3: Germany, Bangladesh have accommodated refugees who fled their home countries due
to fear of persecution. These countries are providing essential goods and services like food, shelter,
medicines etc. It shows that there is still ethics in international relations.
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Mahatma Gandhi has said the human values are ultimate. Also, Rabindranath Tagore has given more
preference to humanity than nationalism. Thus there is a need to rethink these policies adopted by
countries to build strong international social capital.
Conclusion: Indian philosophy teaches lessons of 'vasudhaiva Kutumbakam' (Universal Brotherhood),
'Atithi Devo Bhava'. Therefore, all countries should adopt a humane approach while dealing with
refugees and migrants and also ensuring equitable access to needy people in under-developed
countries.
Q2. Ethics of Care which is feminist ethics has been getting increasing
significance in all walks of life. Comment.
APPROACH
The introduction should mention the traditional view of men being more morally competent than
women.
Explain about ethics of care.
How it is becoming more significant in all walks of life?
Conclusion: Ethics of care is a contemporary view which tries to propagate gender justice, tries to
re-establish ethical standards set by normative ethics theories so that they become more
objective, appropriate & rational.
It has been found that moral values preferred by men and women are different.
Values preferred by Men Values preferred by women

Authority/ power Responsibility
Autonomy/ independence Care/ love
Control/ command Inter-dependence
Courage Informal behaviour
Formal behaviour compassion
Discipline
Traditionally, there is the view that men are morally more competent thanthan women. But if we
take some examples such as Indira Gandhi as Iron lady of India, Margaret Thatcher, we cannot say
that they were morally incompetent. On the other hand, Rajiv Gandhi was a good leader but his
character was affected by Bofors Scam.
Therefore the traditional view is not appropriate and the above examples suggest that women can
be competent too. Rather a moral competency should be analysed by taking into consideration the
following factors:
Socialisation
Circumstances/ conditions in which women live.
Level of opportunities for women in the society in different walks of life.
Biological differences.
Due to such factors, there cannot be complete equality between men and women but as John Rawls
says, those who are at powerful positions should not exploit the powerless. i.e. there should not be
any exploitation in the name of background and gender.
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Ethics of care propounded by Carol Gilligan and Claudia Card rejected male biasness in ethics. e.g.
considering males as courageous or associating such values with men and different values with
women. They tried to rebalance ethics through ethics of care based on love, care, compassion etc.
This has broadened the ethical standards by bringing gender perspectives and making them more
rational.
In post-modern times (from the 1970s onwards), such a feminist approach has had a profound
impact on governance and development. It has resulted in making society more
engendered/egalitarian and women have been allowed in male bastion areas such as combat forces.
Relevance in contemporary times:
Women in any other organisation face two important concerns:

Glass ceiling effect: the women's progress after a level is either stopped or slowed down. For
instance, women can reach the middle level of organisation, but from middle level to top-level there
are many restrictions faced by them. One of the important factors responsible for it is less
acceptance by subordinates as female heads.
Hobson’s choice: The concept was given by Camilla Strivers. It means that female faces a dilemma
that either to accept a male-biased organisation and become part of it by adopting such work
culture or reject such culture and get rejected by the other members of the organisation.
Gender aspect has become an important aspect of governance today & society is also encouraging
the same to break the traditional glass-ceiling barrier & women are breaking many traditional male
batons.
Society should promote gender justice & eliminate gender discrimination. Many social evils & issues
are based on gender-biased views which become the basis for gender discrimination. In all
organisations, workplace ethics should promote a gender-friendly environment.
Conclusion: Ethics of care is a contemporary view which tries to propagate gender justice, tries to re-
establish ethical standards set by normative ethics theories so that they become more objective,
appropriate & rational.
Q3. “People in their natural state are basically good. But this natural
innocence, however, is corrupted by the evils of society.” Jean Jacques
Rousseau. Comment.
APPROACH
The introduction should mention human nature.
Explain how human beings are inherently good (Aristotle).
Explain how this goodness in humans is corrupted by social evils.
Conclusion: Wise men should come out of their comfort zone and play an active role to tackle such
social evils.
A human being is unique in terms of having the ability to think and act accordingly. But this unique
ability made human beings act differently, which gives rise to many facets of human nature.
According to Aristotle, human is social, political & ethical, animal. He considers human nature as a
positive, progressive and thinking being. Due to this, the human being has the ability to critically
think and question. Human behaviour is purposive. Human has a purpose in life & the main purpose
is Eudemonia - happiness. i.e. the main aim of life is happiness.
Rousseau is one of the most important modern political philosophers influencing the French
Revolution. He belongs to the social contract school led by Hobbes and Locke. His work the General
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Will, which gives the philosophy of ‘we are the people’ was based on his view of human nature that
everyone is born free, but shackled by society. It is also true to a large extent that how society has
corrupted human beings. Some references are as follows:
Social
Human being
Rational/ Able to
Political critically question
Social evils corrupt the inherent goodness in human beings:

Social evils are largely present in society as people are not able to critically question those social
norms, practices on the basis of rational thinking and reasoning.
Caste discrimination, Communal violence leads to the loss of human dignity and respect in society.
People facing such discrimination and violence start thinking negatively that society works in this
way on the basis of Matsya Nyay. Therefore, they also indulge in violence in return to seek justice.
Social evils of alcoholism, substance abuse make people pleasure-seeking, self-centred and involve
in immoral acts of stealing, domestic violence etc.
Superstitions, blind beliefs make people do irrational acts such as animal, human sacrifice. This
shows the loss of human values like compassion towards other living beings.
Peer pressure and fear of sanctions by society make people get influenced by social evils, and thus
they start behaving in confirm with social norms though they may think that the practice is
immoral/unethical.
But it is not only the environment that forces people not to be in their natural state of innocence.
Human has also negative human nature like selfish, short and brutish as explained by Hobbes which
cannot be completely ignored.
Conclusion: However, wise men should come out of their comfort zone and play active roles to
tackle such social evils. They should try to persuade people and spread awareness about rational and
critical thinking. They can lead by example through exemplary actions against such social evils
without fear. Kant also says that the main aim of human life is to do good and avoid evil.
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Q4. “It is our choice of good or evil that determines our character, not our
opinion about good or evil.” Aristotle. Comment.
APPROACH
The introduction should briefly explain virtue ethics.
Explain the statement.
Give argument in favour and against the statement.
Conclusion: According to Gandhiji, there should be harmony in thoughts and actions. For example,
if a person even thinks of stealing in mind, he will be considered an unethical person.
The virtue ethics of Aristotle deals with the quality of human actions based on his character. He
emphasises virtues(quality) which is always positive and is an objective standard. Virtue is different
from value as initially, the value may not be necessarily a standard one. Values can be positive or
negative. They differ from person to person but virtues will not differ.
A behaviour cannot be either good or evil, but a person can have good or bad character traits.
Aristotle said that all people are composed of a combination of vice (bad character traits) and virtue
(good character traits). He uses this concept to explain the thesis: Virtue is a disposition (person's
inherent qualities of mind and character) concerned with choice.
Aristotle argued that since different people may act differently in the same situation, there are no
inherently bad actions. The Virtue Theory claims that an action is good if performed by a person
based on virtue and bad if performed based on vice. This enforces the thesis that virtue is a
disposition because a virtuous person will theoretically make the right choice in any situation.
Arguments can be made both for and against this thesis. One example of where the thesis can be
applied is in the situation of self-defence. If a woman is attacked by a man with a gun and is about to
be violently raped, but somehow gets the gun away from the man and shoots him to save herself, it
will not be said that she is a bad person or that what she did was wrong. It will most likely be said
that she is brave and that she did what was right (given the situation).
An argument against the thesis is that some actions are morally wrong on every level. Kantian
deontology describes certain actions that are bad, independent of the person performing the action.
For example, it is wrong for a person to kill another person. Therefore, someone who kills another
person has done a bad thing, whether they have good or bad character traits doesn't matter,
because the action itself is not moral.
Conclusion: According to Gandhiji, there should be harmony in thoughts and actions. For example, if
a person even thinks of stealing in mind, he will be considered an unethical person.
Q5. “The management of risk associated with conflict of interest is

fundamental to ensuring high levels of integrity and public trust in the
public sector.” In the light of the statement, explain actual, potential or
perceived conflict of interest.
APPROACH
The introduction should define conflict of interest and give one example.
Explain the meaning of the given statement.
Explain actual, potential or perceived conflict of interest.
Conclusion: ARC-II has recommended that Conflict of interest should be comprehensively covered
in the Code of Ethics and in the Code of Conduct for civil servants.
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Conflict of interest means conflict between personal values and professional values of a civil servant
or in professional commitments there is role of private affairs which may affect impartiality/integrity
in decision making.
Example: One IAS officer's wife is also posted in the same state and there is a promotion due for her
but you are the officer who will scrutinize the proposals including your wife, then there is a conflict
of interest and you should demit yourself from such duty especially in her case.
A conflict of interest can arise from avoiding personal losses as well as gaining personal advantage -
whether financial or otherwise.
The management of risk associated with conflict of interest is fundamental to ensuring high levels of
integrity and public trust in the public sector, because:
If not managed effectively, conflict of interest may result in corruption, nepotism.
Integrity is the highest standard of behaviour by civil servants. When civil servants exhibit integrity,
there is public trust in the public sector.
An actual conflict of interest Potential conflict of interest Perceived conflict of interest

An actual conflict of interest This refers to circumstances A perceived or apparent conflict
occurs when an individual or where it is foreseeable that a of interest can exist where it
institution has two conflict may arise in future could be perceived, or appears,
competing interests, one of that a public official’s private
and steps should be taken
which interferes or interests could improperly
undermines the ability to now to mitigate that future influence the performance of
fulfil responsibilities. risk. their duties – whether or not
Example- A civil servant Example- A public servant this is in fact the case.
when surprised to discover working in the law
that one of the bidders is department of government Example- Husband of a public
his/her cousin. This is an for a long time, intends to join servant working in forest
actual conflict of interest;
a private law firm after department wants to start an
where he/she is confronted NGO for the betterment of
with a dilemma between retirement, then there is a
tribal people. She may perceive
professional duty to be an potential conflict of interest.
that in future there can be a
objective and personal duty Established ethical principal conflict of interest between her
to family. suggests that a person should professional duty and duty
recuse himself/herself from a towards her personal
position of making any relationships.
decision whenever there is a
potential conflict of interest
involved.
Also, an ethical person
himself/herself tries to avoid
any such situation involving
conflict of interest while
discharging his/her duties.
Conclusion: Conflict of interest should be understood, located and eliminated by civil servants. ARC-
II has recommended that Conflict of interest should be comprehensively covered in the Code of
Ethics and in the Code of Conduct for civil servants.
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Q6. Does the funds received from foreign countries for various purposes
including development and activities pursued by civil society for public
cause have serious ethical issues? Justify your view.
APPROACH
The introduction should explain the importance and need for international funding.
Discuss the ethical issues in international funding.
Conditionalities should be just and acceptable to receiving country.
Conclusion: Donor agencies should evolve some common ethical standards in international
funding with the consensus of all countries.
Developing countries like India are fast-growing economies. To sustain those economies, there is a
need to invest either by state or private sector. The state has limited resources and capacity to fund
large scale infrastructure projects as well as to improve social sector indicators like health and
education. Therefore, there is a need for international funding.
There are various models and sources of international funding like international donor agencies
(IMF, World Bank, IDA), foreign investments by developed countries in terms of FDI, FII, Charity
NGOs like Forbes foundation etc.
International funding has some ethical issues involved which are as follows:
Whether they affect the freedom or sovereignty of the country? E.g. IB report suggests that
Greenpeace NGO is hampering the economic growth of the country by protesting at the Kudankulam
nuclear power plant, Funding non-state actors who destabilise the development process.
Are there any vested or hidden interests behind such funding? E.g. recently the Bill and Melinda
Gates foundation has been found to promote vested interests of US companies in the Indian health
sector by influencing health policies.
Aid conditionality: are they transparent and clear?
Funding has also become objectionable due to their link between terrorism, insurgency & other such
activities in the country that's why promotes transparency in Foreign funding. E.g. IB report in 2013
said that many NGOs working through foreign funding in India are involved in anti-development
propaganda.
The government of India has undertaken many amendments to FCRA Act 2010 so as to make foreign
funding to NGOs more transparent.
Conclusion: Without such Aid and help, many developmental issues in developing and
underdeveloped countries will not be solved. Therefore, those donor agencies should understand
this and evolve some common ethical standards in international funding with a consensus of all
countries.
Q7. It is the fragile moral attitude of people which has not uplifted ethics in
politics in India. Comment.
APPROACH
The introduction should define moral attitude.
Explain how the fragile moral attitude of people has not uplifted ethics in politics in India.
Also provide a counterview that there are people who seek ethics in politics.
Conclusion: People should be more aware of their rights, more assertive in exercising their rights
46
so as to improve political & democratic government & promote peace, harmony & stability in
society.
A moral attitude is an attitude based on the moral convictions of a person towards his/her actions.
Moral attitude is developed over a period of time. The socialization process helps in the
development of moral attitudes.
People have an attitude like hospitality, friendliness helping type but at the same time, people are
also complacent, selfish and culture of avoiding hard works. Therefore, moral attitude is also
decided by the nature of socialization & stages of moral development in society.
The fragile moral attitude of people has not uplifted ethics in politics in India:
Politics has been misusing the moral attitude of people for wrong ends. E.g. political parties trying to
mobilise people on a communal and caste basis.
The moral attitude which manifests in strong emotions is sometimes used to promote communal
riots genocides.
Politics is promoting intolerance in society as people are divided on the basis of moral attitudes.
Counterview: India has a reflection of both positive and negative types of the attitude of people.
Such attitude is considered essential for the survival of democracy and good governance.
Many people think that there is hardly any ethics in politics, but at the same time, some people think
that there must be ethics in politics that's why good people are also coming to politics, such as
IITians.
It is the relevance of moral attitude that today there is a free and fair election and greater
transparency in governance.
Presently, the world is undergoing a phase of assertive attitude, which can be both positive &
negative, when the attitude is characterized by the falsehood of facts with emotional appeals, it's
not good for society. i.e. post-truth world wasn't moral attitude & it should be rejected, as it affects
scientific & rational attitude.
Conclusion: People should be more aware of their rights, more assertive in exercising their rights so
as to improve political & democratic government& promote peace, harmony & stability in society. At
the same time, the moral attitude of the people should be positively utilized by the political leaders
so as to build a strong social capital.
Q8. Discuss the principles of ethics of Kautilya as the philosophical

foundation for the governments and governance in India.
APPROACH
The introduction should mention Kautilya and his work.
Discuss Kautilya's principles of ethics and give their present-day relevance in the system of
governance.
Conclusion: Kautilya's ethical principles are of great relevance and significance to promote
integrity and probity in the administration and make it more people-centric.
Kautilya is considered a philosopher, economist and political scientist who knew about the art of
governance. He is considered among the most popular leaders in India in the field of governance. He
wrote 'Arthashastra' which means the science of governance.
Kautilya's principles of ethics and their relevance in the system of governance:
Principles of Ethics Explanation Relevance
47
Role and duty of the "The happiness of the king lies in the The PM/CM/DM positions in the
king happiness of subject” government have the role and
duty of the king.
King's happiness is not important as
They do service to the people by
the happiness of people. The king
solving their problems and
should be concerned about the providing them basic facilities to
problems of people & solve those live a decent standard of life.
problems.
It is described in our Shastra that the
king should treat his subject as children
& himself as a father.
Welfare State King should ensure the happiness of Presently, there is a high
subjects. incidence of poverty and
backwardness. Therefore,
He should take steps for the welfare of
PM/CM/DM should try to reduce
people. poverty.
‘SabkaSaath, SabkaVikas’.
Ensuring social justice.
Rule of law and Even if the king was the source of Upholding rule of law is an
justice power & He was a law onto himself, important responsibility of
still, there was the practice of rule of PM/CM/DM (government
institutions).
law & Justice.
There should be equality in every
Kautilya describes that there should aspect of work in the
not be 'MatsyaNyaya' (Fish rule) (big government.
Fishes should not eat smaller ones) i.e. Government should try to reduce
powerful should not exploit the economic inequality in the
powerless. country.
Quality/Ethics in 'Quality of administration depends on Very high Corruption Perception
administration the quality of people in administration'. Index.
Therefore, there was an emphasis on Anti-corruption institutions like
the quality of civil servants. It means Lokpal, CVC and CBI should be
Kautilya gave due significance to strengthened.
morality & ethics in administration. Ethics paper in UPSC recruitment
process for civil servants.
merit-based recruitment.
Code of conduct and Code of
specialisation i.e. expertise. ethics.
test for morality & integrity. Lateral entry in civil services.
Prajna (intelligence test IAS)
Vakyashakti (Communication)
He codified 40 types of corruption.
Conclusion: Kautilya's ethical principles are of great relevance and significance to promote integrity
and probity in the administration and make it more people-centric.
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49
Q9. What are impediments of inculcating emotional intelligence in civil

services? How emotional intelligence can address the problem of
professionalism in civil services?
APPROACH
The introduction should define Emotional Intelligence.
Mention the impediments of inculcating emotional intelligence in civil services.
Explain how emotional intelligence can address the problem of professionalism in civil services.
Mention ways to inculcate EI in civil servants.
Conclusion: The growing complexities of the issue in the governance process, newly evolved
problems need appropriate orientation, knowledge with civil servants to deal with such situations.
Emotional Intelligence is defined as knowing and understanding one's own emotions and others'
emotions and regulating one's emotions to behave in a socially desirable manner. In a simple way, it
is about the intelligent management of emotions for effective behaviour.
Impediments of inculcating emotional intelligence in civil services:
"Anyone can become angry. But to become angry at the right time at the right person in the right
proportion can be done by only a few persons." - Aristotle.
Bureaucratic attitude: The civil servants still have the colonial mindset and it is reflected in the
bureaucratic work culture in India. It is characterized by complacency, nepotism and elitism.
Civil Servants lack values like empathy, compassion, open-mindedness, tolerance, understanding
about right and wrong. These values are important for high EI in civil servants.
Lack of democratic environment: organisations in India don't appreciate the free expression of
views/values/emotions/innovations/initiativesa .
Societal perspective: Many a time, people becoming emotional is considered weak and negative. E.g.
we often hear people saying 'don't become emotional or 'he is highly emotional person.'
Own value system and Character: Civil servants have their own value system and Character
developed through a process of socialization, real-life experiences and knowledge. As they have
entered a Kantian phase (last stage) of Moral development as given by Lawrence Kohlberg, it
becomes difficult to change their values and make them more compassionate.
Emotional intelligence can address the problem of professionalism in civil services in the following
way:
A person with high emotional intelligence can understand their own emotions as well as those of
others. He/she has empathy, flexibility, open mind, considerate, tolerance, compassion and
understanding about right and wrong. Such qualities help a person to become innovative, creative,
the courage of conviction and confidence.For civil servants, it helps in solving the problems of
society, maintaining unity and integrity, security, harmony in the society. It leads to socio-economic
transformation and bring positive changes in society.
According to research done by Daniel Goleman, 80% of success at work depends on EI while 20% on
IQ. The civil servants should have high EI along with aptitude and skills to tackle the difficult
situations they face in day-to-day administration.
The changed role of Civil servants: Traditionally, IQ, formal behaviour, neutrality were considered
important for civil servants. However, the role of civil servants has changed in recent times. The
emergence of good governance, citizen-friendly administration, quality of service delivery, social
justice has led to the increasing demand for soft skills from civil servants to achieve them. This can
be achieved through building the Emotional Intelligence of civil servants.
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Interaction with people in day-to-day administration: EI increases the productivity of civil servants
through behavioural competence. When civil servants interact with people especially vulnerable and
marginal sections of society, they need to have a strong EI for the effectiveness and productivity of
their actions.
EI among civil servants can be improved through the following methods:
Management games.
Mentoring.
Sensitive training.
Yoga, meditation, recreation.
Psychological counselling.
Conclusion: Civil servants require more behavioural competence to approach a situation. This has
been a contentious issue with the young civil servants. The growing complexities of the issue in the
governance process, newly evolved problems need appropriate orientation, knowledge with civil
servants to deal with such situations. However, it is seen that the young civil servants are lacking
such an attitude. They are highly surrendering in nature with poor Emotional Intelligence(EI).
Q10. The prevailing view is that ‘human values in society have declined’.
What is your view? Give reasons in support of your view.
APPROACH
The introduction should define human values.
Explain with examples, references why it is being said that human values in society have declined.
Give reasons for the decline in human values.
Also, give the positive side that humanity is still present in society.
Conclusion: “You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the
ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty.” – Mahatma Gandhi
Human values are those values that are essential for people to behave as a human. Since the person
is born as a human different from other animals. Society has evolved some values due to human
interface, interaction with other fellow humans.
E.g. If one human observer any other suffering human, there is a feeling of sympathy, compassion.
Such feeling automatically comes & at that time human become oblivion to caste, religion,
background, status etc.
It is being said that 'human values in society have declined', which can be observed from the
following instances:
The way the world responded to the refugee issue, it shows a lack of human values of compassion,
love and care and value to human life. E.g. Rohingya refugees, Syrian refugees.
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The way people responded selfishly during the lockdown in India was by not helping people,
stigmatising COVID-19 patients and their families, stocking of food grains and other essential goods.
It shows that there is the decline of human values like empathy and compassion towards weaker
sections of society.
An increasing number of domestic violence cases during the lockdown in India shows that women
are still not treated with dignity and the patriarchal nature of society still persists.
During the COVID-19 pandemic time, countries are trying to secure vaccines for their citizens
ignoring equitable access to vaccines to under-developed countries. Such vaccine nationalism for the
safety of own nationals shows that there is a lack of empathy and compassion towards people who
are not citizens of the country.
Reasons: ‘Human nature is selfish, brutish, short. – Thomas Hobbes.’ Therefore, when there is an
emergency situation, the true nature of human beings is reflected through the act of selfishness as
seen during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Faulty socialisation: Society does not emphasise on the propagation of human values among children
through the socialisation process. E.g. daughters at home are not treated equally sons by their
parents. This leads to prejudiced attitude development among men leading to unequal, undignified
behaviour towards women at home as well as at work and in public places.
Lack of strong leaders in society who uphold and promote human values. This makes people follow
that leader who polarises society on the basis of caste, religion, nationality etc.
However, one can also say that humanity is still there in our society:
Germany, Bangladesh have accommodated refugees who fled their home countries due to fear of
persecution. These countries are providing essential goods and services like food, shelter, medicines
etc. It shows that there is still humanity in the world.
Many people helped migrant labour with food, money and travel arrangements during the initial
period of lockdown in India. It shows the presence of empathy and compassion among the people in
society.
COVAX (Vaccine Alliance): Bringing together governments, global health organisations,
manufacturers, scientists, the private sector, civil society and philanthropy, with the aim of providing
innovative and equitable access to COVID-19 diagnostics, treatments and vaccines. The COVAX pillar
is focused on the latter. It is the only truly global solution to this pandemic because it is the only
effort to ensure that people in all corners of the world will get access to COVID-19 vaccines once
they are available, regardless of their wealth.
Conclusion: “You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean
are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty.” – Mahatma Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi has said the human values are ultimate. Also, Rabindranath Tagore has given more
preference to humanity than nationalism. Indian philosophy teaches lessons of ‘vasudhaiva
Kutumbakam’ (Universal Brotherhood), ‘Atithi Devo Bhava’.
Q11. Will you agree that the gap between ethics in public relations and ethics
in private relations has blurred due to changes in society that give more
emphasis on ethical egoism in place of ethical altruism? Explain.
APPROACH
The introduction should give the meaning of all key terms in question.
Explain with examples, how the gap between ethics in public relations and ethics in private
relations has blurred.
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Mention why individuals at important positions in society should behave responsibly

Conclusion: Even if the boundary between them is blurring but still in many cases, there will be a
clear line between public & private ethics. Such as the privacy rights of people shouldn't be
infringed by public life.
Ethics in private relation means ethical standards followed by people in their private relations such
as family, friends, groups community which are private in nature & people may have their own
moral standards like family values, personal values, values in their social relations. E.g. A person may
have moral standards like vegetarianism, respect for elders, sacrificing life for family members etc.
When two or more persons behave in any organizational contact or at any public places they
become public relations & there are ethical standards for public relations.
Ethical egoism is based on the premise of 'what is good for the individual is good for society. Jeremy
Bentham gave this concept. It forms the basis for Utilitarian theory in Normative ethics i.e.
Maximum pleasure, Minimum pain. It focuses more on individual liberty, freedom and happiness.
The ethical altruism concept was given by J.S. Mill. Human action should not only bring pleasure to
the individual but also to society. i.e. society should experience benefit from human activity more
than losses.
There are some guiding principles for ethics in public relations:
Organizational interest should be given preference over personal interest.
Public interest should be given preference over private interest.
Private values should be sub-ordinate to organization values.
There is increasing emphasis on ethical egoism in society i.e. people are given more individual
liberty, freedom. Because of this, the gap between ethics in public relations and ethics in private
relations has blurred.
Since organisations also belong to society & there's a close relation between ethics public & private
life both can't be completely separated because of following factors:
Crony capitalism, consumerism and individualism have made society more money-driven- they are
due to increasing ethical egoism.
According to the integrity system/value system, there should be consistency in the behaviour of
people. People shouldn't have dual standards of behaviour; otherwise he/she be considered a
hypocrite. E.g. as Tarun Tejpal, Ram Rahim, Asaram Bapu. They preach in public life, good values but
in private life, there are allegations of misbehaviour/misconduct.
There is the concept of conflict of interest. Therefore, to avoid it, consistency in behaviour should be
taken or private values are also taken into consideration. E.g. A woman is to be appointed as an
independent board of directors. She's the wife of the minister but company policy is that on board
there shouldn't be any member who has political affiliation & even if a woman is highly qualified she
should not be appointed as a member.
Characters quality of agent, as per Aristotle is also essential for quality of conduct. The character
takes into consideration the background of humans. In fact, the character is an indication of past
behaviour & not present.
All people holding responsible positions should behave responsibly. i.e. merely holding any
important position gives moral obligation. Which is known as 'Fiduciary Responsibility & such people
should behave in a responsible way. They aren't as free as to behave as other people such as:
Therefore individuals at important positions in society should behave responsibly because:
Their behaviour has simply influenced a large number of people.
They should set some high precedents or exemplary behaviour rather than demeaning the portion
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It becomes to be very difficult to distinguish public life from private life in such cases.
Conclusion: Even if the boundary between them is blurring but still in many cases there will be a
clear line between public & private ethics. Such as the privacy rights of people shouldn't be infringed
by public life. Eating social life, living, marriage, personal choices are some of the affairs which
should be kept separate from public affairs. In fact, separation is also important for disciplined
behaviour such as neutrality in civil services.
Q12. There is a strong relationship between workplace culture and quality of

service. Explain with appropriate examples.
APPROACH
The introduction should define work culture and give factors influencing it.
Give three types of work culture and its characteristics.
Explain how they affect the quality of service delivery.
Conclusion: The work culture of any organisation has a direct impact on the quality of service
delivery.
It is about the way of life of people in organisations. It is the totality of values, objectives, processes,
procedures, communication, decision making, leadership and interface with citizen/clients etc. by
organisations. How people work behave, communicate in organisations.
The work culture is influenced by:
Foundational values
Rules, Procedures
Technology
Communication
Subject matter dealt with by organization
Personnel management/policies.
In India, there are 3 types of work culture in organizations:
Bureaucratic Semi-professional Professional

In the government sector In PSUs. Incorporate sector.
or civil sector. Less formal culture. Reflects western culture,
From 1990 onwards they are management practices.
trying to match the Efficiency/profit is the main motive.
corporate sector.
Relevance with quality of service:
Work Culture Efficiency, Improved Quality of

quality of service delivery
Responsibility,
product and
Duty, services
Bureaucratic work culture Innovation

in India is famous for red-tapism, elitism, status quo, secrecy and
corruption while delivering the services to people. These characteristics were British legacy, but
today the role and functions of Civil services have changed and thus require changes in work culture
also.
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Work Culture of ISRO

It promotes a more informal environment in an organisation.
The organisation has more autonomy in terms of its management and work culture (independence
from line ministries is important for a high performing organisation.)
The right ecosystem to attract talent and build its knowledge capabilities.
It is considered one of the best work cultures in the world.
The IT sector has the most informal work culture. It is because of the subject matter they deal with.
Since they have to innovate continuously, it is not possible informal environment. Similarly, ISRO has
also informal work culture. Therefore, if Bureaucracy wants to innovate, it should have a less formal
culture.
Both Public & Private sectors are good for some traits of quality of service, but they do have some
problems. The private sector lacks the motive of public service. It has a profit motive. It is client-
oriented, i.e. lack of uniformity in treatment.
The public sector gives uniform treatment to all. It lacks social security, social safety net although it
has quality products & services. The public sector has a service motive, uniformity in treatment but
generally, it lacks the quality of service e.g. employees lack soft skills.
Improved work culture through professionalism, application of ICT, Performance-based appraisal,
strengthening tools like RTI and Social Audit leads to improved quality of service delivery. E.g. the
application of ICT in administration decreases the time required for service delivery. It also improves
transparency and accountability in administration.
Conclusion: The work culture of any organisation has a direct impact on the quality of service
delivery. Therefore, every organisation should strive to improve its work culture so as to satisfy their
customers (people in the case of government) through quality service.
Q13. Transparency and accountability now seem to be two sides of the same
coin having the potential to transform the traditional bureaucracy
infamous for secrecy and formalism. Analyse the statement.
APPROACH
The introduction should define accountability and transparency.
Explain how they are two sides of the same coin.
Explain their potential to transform the traditional bureaucracy.
Conclusion: There is a lack of internal accountability and open accountability without which ethics
in governance will suffer.
According to PM Narendra Modi, Good governance is known as "ART as Good Governance.'

Accountability
Responsibility
Transparency.
Accountability can be defined as the answerability of a person for his/her actions. It is more of a
formal concept based on laws, rules and procedures. It is upheld by external mechanisms.
It's a formal concept because there are explicit mechanisms for upholding accountability of
civil/public servants such as procedures & processes, Laws & Rules, Ethics & Values, Institutions to
uphold accountability of civil servants.
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Transparency refers to the availability of information to the general public and clarity about the
functioning of governmental institutions.
Transparency and accountability -two sides of the same coin:
An increase in transparency leads to more accountability.
When civil servants follow open accountability, both accountability and transparency is followed in
administration (Open accountability = accountability + transparency). Therefore, both go hand-in-
hand.
Transparency through RTI has also transformed the concept of accountability. Now accountability
also includes responsiveness and responsibility.
Potential to transform the traditional bureaucracy infamous for secrecy and formalism:
ARC-II considers RTI as the most important legislation after independence. It marks the era of light
and ends the era of darkness.
When citizens have accessibility to decisions of government, that how, for what & why the decision
has been made & what's output/outcome of decision then it results into transparency, openness &
inside government become outside. Therefore, transparency is the opposite of secrecy.RTI has
overriding power on the Official Secret Act 1923.
Transparency in government organisations makes them function more objectively, thereby
enhancing predictability. Accessibility to information empowers the people. Therefore, by promoting
transparency, civil servant upholds the public interest as well as reduce corruption as corruption
usually thrives in secrecy.
Since 2005, RTI implementation experiences have also shown that many corruptions. Have been
exposed like Vyapam and also after investigation, punishments have also been given. Now it has
become a movement led by MKSS and other civil society.
The governments have also pro-active disclosure of information.
Changing accountability:
The practice of social audit and e-governance have resulted in bottom-up accountability also known
as social accountability.
There is greater participation of people and an emphasis of improving the performance of
government.
Conclusion: Though there is external accountability, Civil servants try to follow law and rules in
letters and not spirit. There is a lack of internal accountability and open accountability without which
ethics in governance will suffer. There is a need for ensuring what the World Bank says in its report
on governance in 2018, Actionable Accountability.
Q14. There is an IPS officer who has entered in new relation without
divorcing his first wife. The matter was like this: When he entered in new
relation then he filed for divorce. Meanwhile, he fathered a child from the
new relation. His wife complained to the government of the state about his
new relation, "he entered into a second marriage without having annulled
the first."
Suppose you are the officer designated for supervising the disciplinary proceedings against the said
officer then what should be your courses of action for enquiry? Will you recommend compulsory
retirement in the public interest? Give justification.
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Do you think that it is a case of lack of absolute integrity to which a civil servant is supposed to
adhere? Give justification
Discuss the significance of absolute integrity as a civil service value.
THE ANSWER
Values at stake
Trust/Truth
Absolute Integrity as per the All India Services Conduct Rules
Sanctity of relationship
Character
Courses of action for enquiry:
Action Details of action

Knowing and Knowing the provisions of All India Service (Conduct) Rules 1968
understanding stage regarding marriage. It says ‘no member of the Service having a spouse
living, shall enter into, or contract, a marriage with any person.’
Knowing about the disciplinary action provisions for violation of conduct
rules by the Government of India.
Understanding issues and concerns involved in the case, especially about
the step by step conduct of the IPS officer between two relationships.
Intervention stage Summoning the first wife of the IPS officer to know more about her
allegations.
Show cause. Notice to IPS officer to submit his arguments/explanation to
allegation towards him. This will ensure procedural justice and natural
justice.
Asking IPS officer to present marriage certificate and other documents
regarding filing a divorce.
Arrange a meeting of IPS officer, first wife and second wife together for
enquiry at the office. Here, cross verification of all claims can be done.
After knowing the views of all stakeholders in the case and verifying
documents, the officer can come to the conclusion that whether IPS
officer has violated Conduct Rules or not and disciplinary action can be
taken accordingly
If an allegation of the first wife is found true after enquiry, IF NOT FOUND guilty then the matter
should be closed. Or if found guilty, the officer should be dismissed from the service rather than
asking for compulsory retirement, if in this case the. Conduct rules permits.
Justification: Integrity is very important to the value of civil servants not only in public life but
personal life and relationship also. Ethics in private relationships affects ethics in public relationships
and vice versa.
The private relation of husband-wife is sacrosanct based on values of mutual trust, truth, honesty
and integrity. IPS officer in this case has broken that trust and it reflects the weak character of the
officer. Such officers will surely involve in corrupt activities. Civil servants are supposed to have a
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strong character which shows the uniformity of behaviour across the situation be it private or public
life.
All India Service (Conduct) Rules 1968states that a. civil servant is supposed to maintain absolute
integrity in all situations and should have any unbecoming types of conduct. This is a case of
unbecoming type conduct wherein if. A civil servant cannot maintain integrity and trust with wife,
cannot be considered fit for maintaining integrity as a civil servant.
Hence, disciplinary action in such a case should be dismissal from service, or if not then compulsory
retirement, so that, there is no misgivings that the misconduct has not been enforced.
It is a case of lack of absolute integrity because: yes if found guilty
IPS officer has not shown honesty in the relationship and breached the trust in the relationship.
Civil servants are supposed to have absolute integrity as it shows the highest standard of behaviour.
One should be. Clear in one's relation, to be decisive as administrator
If a civil servant lacks absolute integrity then the civil servant may involve in corrupt practices or may
not take the best possible decisions in a given situation.
Absolute integrity requires uprightness and strong character of the civil servant which here in this
case IPS officer lacked.
Significance of absolute integrity as civil service value:
Civil servants enjoy immense power and discretion to make decisions in administration. This requires
absolute integrity on the part of civil servants to take a most appropriate and best possible decision.
Role model and law enforcer: a civil servant has a strong impact on society and has to enforce the
law, hence, the character is the most important virtue.
Absolute integrity is required for prudent utilization of public funds.
Absolute integrity is required among civil servants to overcome the potential conflict of interest.
Conclusion: The question is not about the right to life and privacy in personal relations. It is more
about being absolutely clear in one's relation. One can. Having a second marriage but being in
relation and entering in relation and entering in another marriage is disrespectful to marriage as an
institution in India as well as both women. It shows not only a lack of integrity but also a lack of
social ethos.
Absolute integrity is required in both the private and public life of a civil servant. Absolute integrity
promotes ethics in governance as civil servants will seek to make administration more transparent,
accountable and responsible.
Q15. There is a company in India that is a supplier to one of the biggest

corporate companies in the world. The company has over 10000
employees of which most of them are on contract and some are
permanent employees.
Recently, the company faced the ire of its contractual employees as they went berserk, attacking the
company— setting cars on fire, breaking windows, doors, looting the products manufactured by the
company, etc.
The workers complained about non-payment of their salary for months, long hours of work, etc.
However, the incident is being considered very bad for India's global image as a business-friendly
environment and can harm foreign investment.
Suppose the parent company appoints you to immediately rush to India and address the problems
as its image will also suffer due to salary issues and workers’ complaints.
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What should be your approach and steps in the resolution of problems? Also, give justification for
your actions.
THE ANSWER
Ethical Mapping/Decision Premises

The companies. Act 2013 and corporate governance
Corporate accountability and responsibility
Appropriate channel for dissent and grievance redressal
Labour laws including contractual labour laws and HR practices
Image of the country and the company
Humane treatment to the workforce- by considering them as social capital and not only
labourers
The Steps in the resolution of problems:
Actions Details
Knowing and After reaching the company site, immediately assessed the situation and
understanding sought an explanation from the company officials.
stage Take the stock of the situation- how many contractual workers, how many
permanent workers in the company, since how many months the payment
of workers is pending, any complaint filed by workers, etc.
Know about the sequence of incidents that happened on that day of the
rampage.
Meet with workers representatives and know their grievances.
Know the HR practices by the companies
Intervention stage Put company on probation by not giving new orders.
Seek the report from the company on adherence to the parent company's
guidelines/HR PRACTICES on the matters of labour standards and
safeguards.
Requesting the company to IMMEDIATELY disburse the pending salaries of
workers so that image of the company, as well as the parent company, is
not further tarnished.
SETTING grievance redressal platforms and portals to reach out to workers,
listen to their grievances and sort out them.
Interact with workers union/representatives if any, promise them for
immediate and fair action
Asking the company to implement labour standards and safeguards so as to
have new orders from the parent company.
Meeting workers and assuring that their concerns are being heard and
actions are being taken to their grievances. Meeting of company
management with worker unions TO develop amicable relations.
The Justification: Not paying salaries for so many months, working overtime shows a lack of
corporate accountability on part of a company.
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Work without pay for prolonged time without the consent of the workers is. Unjust, inhuman and
doesn't suit present-day society wherein workers are now considered as social capital and
companies are promising for corporate social responsibility.
It is also the responsibility of the company to take care of its workers. Gandhiji said that corporate
companies should work in the trusteeship principle. A lot has been written now on compassionate
and ethical capitalism.
Social justice needs to be sure to workers as they are vulnerable people who do not have bargaining
power against the company.
There is a need of avenues for workers to channelize their grievances - representative associations
and unions - and adequate collective bargaining mechanisms as well as social dialogue.
Immediate and strong action is needed to protect the image of the parent company as well as the
image of the country. No country and or a good company today can tolerate such behaviour.
Conclusion:
“Commerce without morality is a sin” – Mahatma Gandhi
The incident shows that there has been no strict adherence to labour standards and safeguards,
thereby pointing to the tough balance that needs to be maintained between fulfilling production
targets (profit motive) and ensuring industrial peace. The company should become a product of
crony capitalism, growing with a motive to earn more without the capability to pay to the.
Workforce.
Already the corporate companies are facing anti-trust issues in the US (The big five like Google,
Facebook, Apple, Amazon and Microsoft) which created a huge trust deficit and therefore, no
company can afford to behave like this. Hence, the Company should adopt a robust labour policy.
And HR PRACTICE so that in long run there is no recurring of such incident.
Q16. Due to the covid-19 crisis, there are some reports of people committing
suicides including migrant labourers. Although the crisis is not only a
factor as in general also, the present society has registered an increase
in suicides. It seems the covid-19 has aggravated suicides. For instance,
recently, one very young talented actor has also committed suicide
which has triggered a debate on nepotism in Bollywood in particular,
and in society, in general.
In your view what people should do when they face adverse situations and they get feelings of
committing suicide?
How people should carry their career challenges?
Should we blame others for not getting the right support as in the case of the actor wherein the big
actors have been sharply criticized for not supporting actors having no forefathers in Bollywood?
Ethical mapping
Understanding the meaning of life
Mental/psychological health
Emotional Intelligence
Balancing professional and personal life
Objectivity, scientific temper and logic-based approach
Importance of meaningful social life
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People should do the following when they face adverse situations and they get feelings of
committing suicide:
Remember that problems are temporary, but suicide is permanent. Taking your own life is never the
right solution to any challenge you may be facing. Give yourself time for the circumstances to change
and for the pain to subside.
Eliminate access to lethal methods of suicide: Get rid of any firearms, knives, or dangerous
medications if you worry that you might act on suicidal thoughts.
Take medications as directed: Some anti-depressant medications can increase the risk of having
suicidal thoughts, especially when you first start taking them. You should never stop taking your
medications or change your dosage unless your doctor tells you to do so. Your suicidal feelings may
become worse if you suddenly stop taking your medications. You may also experience withdrawal
symptoms. If you’re experiencing negative side effects from the medication you’re currently taking,
speak with your doctor about other options.
Avoid drugs and alcohol: It may be tempting to turn to illegal drugs or alcohol during challenging
times. However, doing so can make suicidal thoughts worse. It’s critical to avoid these substances
when you’re feeling hopeless or thinking about suicide.
Stay hopeful: No matter how bad your situation may seem, know that there are ways of dealing with
the issues you face. Many people have experienced suicidal thoughts and survived, only to be very
thankful later. There is a good chance that you’re going to live through your suicidal feelings, no
matter how much pain you may be experiencing right now. Give yourself the time you need and
don’t try to go it alone.
Talk to someone: You should never try to manage suicidal feelings on your own. Professional help
and support from loved ones can make it easier to overcome any
challenges that are causing suicidal thoughts. There are also numerous organizations and support
groups that can help you cope with suicidal feelings. They may even help you recognize that suicide
isn’t the right way to deal with stressful life events.
Make time for things that bring you joy. Even if very few things bring you pleasure at the moment,
force yourself to do the things you used to enjoy.
Remember your personal goals. You may have always wanted to travel to a particular place, read a
specific book, own a pet, move to another place, learn a new hobby, volunteer, go back to school, or
start a family. Write your personal goals down.
Take psychological counselling: nowadays there are clinics offering psychological counselling due to
the increase in the stressful life of people.
b ) People should carry their career challenges in the following way:

Remain positive: Staying positive will help you to be motivated and focused on overcoming any
challenge, from job rejections to coworker conflict.
Admit when you need help: There are times when you will need to ask for help. Whether it is asking
a friend to do a mock interview with you or asking a supervisor for skills training, assistance can help
you develop confidence.
Look at the challenge from all sides: It is a good idea to consider all aspects of a challenge. Write
down a list of all of the possible solutions to a problem, even the ones that do not seem feasible. You
can then choose the solution that seems best from that list.
Know when to delegate: If you are in a management role, you will need to know when to delegate a
challenge to another member of your team. Not only does delegation help your workload, but it also
allows employees to learn new skills and stay motivated.
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Set small goals: Try to divide each challenge into smaller pieces that you can complete instead of
trying to do everything at once. This can assist you in tracking progress and identifying barriers to
your project completion.
c) Should we blame others or not?

Blame is a defence. And spending time constantly defending ourselves is really a part-time job that
also leaves us to shut down to what others have to offer us in terms of lessons and growth.
If you use blame to avoid accountability, you are also avoiding speaking truthfully about how you
feel and accepting and listening to how others feel. Constantly sidestepping this powerful,
vulnerable process of negotiating and communicating means you are not likely to develop empathy
for others.
Blame has been found by a recent study to be contagious. If you blame, those around you are more
likely to then turn and blame others for things. In other words, you are spreading the tendency to
avoid responsibility to those around you, both at work and at home. Think about the implications
that bring, especially if you have young children or are in a position of leadership where others look
up to you.
Blamers were found to be more ego defensive and also chronically insecure. So the more you blame,
the less your sense of self-worth. The more self-worth you have, the more you will be able to
manage to be responsible for yourself. And the more you can accept your own humanness and
capacity for error, the more you are likely to accept and understand it in others, too.
NOTE
If we start blaming for failures and rejections, then most of the people should do that, and it
should start first from the family itself as there are different manifestations of discrimination in
family and rejections of some people over the other.
If Mahatma Gandhi had started blaming the English for throwing him out of the train, then he
should not have become a mahatma. Similarly, if Vivekananda had started blaming the Americans
when his all belongings including money were stolen, then he could not have become the greatest
Indian contemporary philosopher. Hence, only the weak can commit suicide. And one needs to
face all troubles without getting prejudiced.
However, one needs to advocate for justice in every field. One should show courage to accept our
own mistakes and even point out the injustice in the organization (in this case film industry).
Objectively assessing the situation from all aspects before coming to a judgement about someone,
criticizing someone is required. For all this, a person should have strong character with virtues of
courage, justice, temperance and wisdom (Aristotle).
Conclusion: There are times when we all have doubts about our future and feel low, but remember
this is not the end. One should not stop trying and end life. If one is having suicidal thoughts, talk
about them with family or friends. He/she can also seek professional help or attend counselling or
therapy sessions for it.
The philosophy of Gita and Buddha also offer help in terms of Nishkam Karma and relinquishing
desire. The Vedas say the main aim of life is to be good, hence, it is hums who has self-imposed
success. Pressure, which to some kill and to many liberates.
Q17. A businessman has ordered products from China as he has been doing
business of Chinese products for some time. He has already paid for
the products and they are on the way to deliver. Meanwhile, the
government of India decides to ban some products from China which
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also includes his products. Since there are anti-China sentiments

running high in the country, he fears his business.
Suppose you were in his place then how will you deal with the situation? Which philosophy should
guide your action-moral realism vs. moral idealism? Give justification to your view.
Decision Premises
National security and Patriotism
Commerce and business
Moral idealism vs. moral realism
Vasudhaiva kutumbakam
Moral responsibility
The anti-China sentiments have increased in India after the unwarranted incursion of the Chinese
army in the Ladakh region beyond LAC. Galway Valley conflict led to the loss of life of twenty Indian
soldiers. This has made the whole country filled with anger towards China. Therefore, people are
resorting to banning the use of Chinese goods. May leaders and influential personalities like Sonam
Wangchuk also called for banning the use of Chinese goods. The government has taken certain
measures to ban products from China.
In such a situation, a businessman can take the following recourse:
He can look into if the order can be cancelled or postponed for a certain period of time. As he is
doing business with Chinese products for some time, he may have good relationships with
businesses in China. So, they can be requested to deliver the order once the situation normalizes
and the government ban is revoked.
If the order has been dispatched and cannot be taken back to China, then receive the order and act
as per the government guidelines. Intimate the government officials about the date of the order that
was before the government banned Chinese goods.
A businessman should store the goods for a while and should not sell in the market as the sentiment
is not good and it may hurt the sentiment of people. People may react in a negative manner or
violently which may affect their business.
Once the sentiment subsides, the situation along the border stabilises and the government ban is
revoked, then he can sell the good in the market and earn profit.
He can also talk to the trader's association, and there can be cooperative efforts to deal with the
situation as there can be other businessmen who may. Have the similar problems
Even they can take government view and seek compensation
Here the businessman should act according to moral realism because:
If businessmen act according to moral idealism by rejecting the order of Chinese goods and joining
the anti-China sentiments, it will make a loss in the business but will show patriotism.
Moral realism in this case says that one should show moral responsibility towards the country but
with knowing the realities on the ground. Ground realities say that we are so much encircled with
Chinese products that it is very difficult suddenly for everyone to avoid the use of those products. It
is a situation that says business and border aggression cannot go. Hand-in-hand
One should be aware that the sudden ban of Chinese goods is neither feasible nor a sustainable
solution to the action of China along the border.
CONCLUSION:
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The patriotic feeling is a good thing and one should be proud of own country. Moral realism is a
hard approach to deal with any diplomatic conflicts. National security should also not be
compromised.
But jingoism and hyper-nationalism can never provide a solution to the problems that stare us in our
face and hence efforts should be made to resolve regional disputes through dialogue and
consultation. This makes it imperative to maintain close exchanges at the highest levels to iron out
differences.
Banning, in the long run, will be detrimental if it is not for security threats. In a globalized world,
there is too much interdependence. India should follow Kautilya’s Saptanga Principles and Mandala
Theory which talks about establishing a very strong economic system for tackling external threats.
Hence, a true retaliation will be achieving equilibrium, that is, developing a competitive economy
that can balance out if not outcompete in a short run of coming 1-2 decades.
Q18. Recently some people and animals died due to inhaling toxic styrene gas that leaked from
the LG Polymers industrial plant in Visakhapatnam. This gas leak was also a reminder of
the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy in which hundreds of people died which makes news from
time to time as the issue has not been satisfactorily addressed.
It is being estimated that the toxic styrene gas leak would have both short-term and long-term
impacts on both the human population close to the plant and environment and an objective
assessment of the impact will take time.
Suppose you are the Head of the Committee set up by the state government to suggest measures
and compensation to the affected people, including the relatives of those who have died then what
measure will be recommended? In your view, what are the ethical issues and who should be held
morally responsible for this gas leak disaster and why?
THE ANSWER
Ethical mapping/Decision premises

The protection of environment act, other laws/rules dealing with hazardous chemicals
Corporate accountability and responsibility
Planet, profit and people principle
Moral responsibility
“Commerce without morality is a sin”- Mahatma Gandhi
Environmental ethics
As head of the Committee, the following recommendations can be given:
Taking the stock of the situation from all different perspectives like:
Loss of human life and destruction/damage to resources like soil, water, human population, air, etc.
Long term effects of the accident
Status of EIA done by the company
Adherence to SOP and discrepancies in the operation of the plant
Learning from the Bhopal gas tragedy and after effects
Compensation to be paid by the company will have two components:
Compensation paid by the government to the families of deceased persons and those who were
hospitalised, their hospital expenses etc.
Environmental compensation and restitution of the damaged property
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Remedial measures to prevent recurrence:

Hazard identification and evaluation in local community, Preparation of Guiding Principles for
Accident prevention, preparedness and response for the on-site and off-site emergency plans have
to be reviewed.
A detailed study of risk assessment and disaster management studies is to be carried out by the
industry.
Industry shall prepare a comprehensive health monitoring programme along with reputed hospitals
for the suspected population at least for five years. District administration shall monitor the
programme for its proper implementation.
Preparation of a comprehensive EIA report in accordance with MoEF&CC guidelines.
Regular Safety audit to be conducted by a certified third party for facilities at industries premises
handling hazardous chemicals and gases.
Installation of an automatic siren when any parameter goes out of control. The siren has to be within
and outside the industry so that villages around are alarmed around the same time.
Awareness campaigns in the villages around the industries to make them aware of the measures to
be taken in case of an accident from the industry.
Periodic inspection by the Department of Factories and Safety.
Ethics issues:
Loss of human life
Lack of corporate accountability and responsibility
Crony capitalism
Lack of accountability on part of the administration
The harmful impact on the environment (Environmental ethics not followed)
LG Polymers company should be held morally responsible for this gas leak because:
It appears that the company did not take proper care of the storage tank resulting in leakage of gas.
Every human life is precious and it should be valued and respected. Profit motive or carelessness
should not result into the death of a person.
It also appears that the company was in violation of environmental law and thus should be legally
held responsible too.
The company has a moral responsibility to provide compensation to relatives of those who died
because of gas leaks.
The company does not work in isolation. It works in society which is one of the important
stakeholders in the corporate sector. Therefore, companies have corporate social responsibility.
High Power Committee Report on LG Polymers accident:

Liability for the accident: The LG Polymers bears absolutely liability as a polluter, based on the
orders of the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India in the case of M.C. Mehta and Anr vs Union of India
& Ors 1987.
Cause of the accident: The accident in the LG Polymers Styrene storage tank, M6 Tank can be
attributed to the poor design of the Tank, inadequate refrigeration and cooling system, absence
of circulation systems, inadequate measurement parameters, weak safety protocol, poor safety
awareness, inadequate risk assessment and response, poor management, slackness of
management, insufficient knowledge amongst staff, insufficient understanding of the chemical
properties of Styrene, especially during storage under idle conditions and total breakdown of the
67
emergency response procedures. The accident was further aggravated by the staff on shift duty
who failed to alert the residents of the nearby colonies through an emergency siren, which led to
the loss of human and animal lives and damaged flora and fauna in the nearby areas.
CONCLUSION:
Nothing is more paramount than safety, security, health and environment for any industry. The
company management should evolve protocols and SOPs to maintain the operating parameters
within safe limits that do not lead to accidents, which go out of proportions to harm people,
property and the environment.
At the same time, the Government needs to shed its bureaucratic approach of doing EIA. The burden
should be on the department concerned with EIA that why it has not been done rather than the
company. this will bring a pro-active approach and any such accident can be stopped in future from
recurring.
Q19. There is a conversation among two civil services aspirants Mr A and Mr

B regarding the newly qualified civil servants. Mr A tells Mr. B:
After joining civil services, the behaviour of new entrants become more elite and they also don't
resist corruption. They become corrupt at a very early stage of their career.
Giving preference to home cadre goes against the spirit of civil services values such as dedication to
work as the home care is given the first choice by most of the candidates.
Training doesn't have much influence as one can find some civil servants prejudiced and stereotyped
even after going through over a year of formal training.
The lateral entry is going to further affect the motivation and dedication of civil servants.
Suppose you are Mr B then evaluate the above views of Mr A, giving justification to your view.
Ethical mapping/Decision premises

Civil services values- Integrity, Probity, Dedication to public service
Strong aptitude but the weak attitude of civil servants
Societal prejudices, stereotyping being reflected in the administration
Bureaucratic work culture
Professionalism in civil services
View Evaluation Justification

no.
1 Civil service has some status As the civil servants have passed the exam
associated with society. It comes conducted by UPSC, they have enough aptitude
with a lot of power and with them such as skills and competence to deal
responsibility. However, it is with the situation. However, when they enter the
generally observed that After civil services they require more behavioural
joining civil services, the behaviour competence to resist corruption.
of new entrants become more elite The socialisation process also has a strong impact
and they also don’t resist on the moral development of a person. Negative
corruption. values such as greed, patriarchal values are
The civil servants still have the inculcated strongly in the socialisation process of
colonial mindset and it is reflected some people which becomes difficult to change.
68
in the bureaucratic work culture in Code of conduct or ethics will be the external
India. It is characterized by check on the behaviour of the people. However, as
complacency, nepotism and elitism. Thomas Hobbes says 'human is a selfish animal',
Mr B's view: There is a need for unethical people will find a way around the codes
professionalism in civil services. The or may adhere to them only in letter and not in
professional work culture refers to spirit. This does not make them good people.
such an environment in an Professionalism in the public service is an
organisation where people are overarching value that determines how its
responsible, dutiful, committed, activities will be carried out. It encompasses all
sincere, responsive, cooperative other values that guide the public service such as
and work in a team. It also reflects loyalty, transparency, diligence, punctuality,
the attitude of 'mind your business effectiveness, impartiality, expertise.
in the work culture.
2 Home care is not always the choice Civil servants need to have foundational values
of many civil servants, rather the such as Commitment and dedication to service,
majority of civil servants choose the the spirit of public service so as to become
cadre which will not have many responsible at work.
hurdles in their work in future. Also, The main aim of civil service is the 'service motive'
most of the civil servants want to that citizens should be served with spirit. i.e.
work in progressive states and not selflessness, devotion, dedication and
in underdeveloped states. commitment. There is an element of willingness in
This goes against the public service it.
spirit, dedication to work. Because, Public service spirit helps Civil servants in:
if they are not allocated their
Increasing dedication and commitment at work
desired cadre then it may result in
less commitment to work and less Helps in going the extra-mile for delivering public
satisfaction from service. service (working beyond office hours to serve
people)
Mr B's view: Cadre priority should
be given to states which are in need Efficiency in public service
of the development and not the
home cadre that provides comfort
for work and less inconvenience.
3 The training experience of civil Behaviour is a reflection of attitude in general. But
servants suggests that most of the there is a cyclic process between behaviour and
civil service probationers take attitude. Ethical conduct can be observed when
training very casual and not as a there is a change in behaviour through systematic
learning experience. training.
At the same time, it is also true that Training institutes should act as an alma mater of
some civil servants are prejudiced teaching ethics and integrity to newly recruited
and stereotyped even after going civil servants.
through over a year of formal They should promote case study based training
training. Such attitude is further where the trainee will get knowledge and
reflected in administrative competence in solving dilemma like situations.
decisions.
The training institute should document the work of
There is more emphasis on skills
69
training and less on value trainees so that the next batch can learn from their
inculcation in those available good work.
training modules. Training programmes should include various
Mr B's view: The training module management games, role play, Yoga, meditation.
needs to focus more on changing Mentoring by the seniors and designated officers
the attitude of probationers. to junior civil servants.
Sensitive training and Psychological counselling of
civil servants.
4 It is being said that lateral entry will Lateral entry will bring competition to civil
demoralize bureaucracy but it is for servants which ultimately bring out the best
those who have complacent among them.
attitudes and inefficient
Lateral entry will bring professionalism in civil
performance. services which is the need of the hour to change
India Bureaucracy is infamous for the bureaucratic work culture.
Elite, Chalta Hai attitude which It should be also kept in mind that employees
results into poor governance. The through lateral entry may lack civil service values,
present government is determined public service motive and thus such exercise
to change this attitude and work should be in a limited manner.
culture and it is considering lateral
entry as one such measure.
Mr B's view: Lateral entry should be
there but it should be first
introduced at a higher bureaucracy
level in a gradual manner.
Conclusion: It appears that the views of Mr A are pessimistic to some extent and only views the
negative side of the story. There are many young civil servants who work dedicatedly outside the
home cadre too. It is the will and commitment of this civil servant which drive them to do exemplary
work. They are the true role models for civil service aspirants.
70
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THE ETHICAL PERSPECTIVE LUKMAAN IAS

THE TABLE OF CONTENTS

THE TRUTH IS WHAT THE VOICE WITHIN TELLS YOU

Mains Practice Questions:

PEACE AT THE HEART OF EDUCATION

A policy to strengthen equity

Mains Practice Questions

GANDHI’S PATRIOTISM WAS A MODEL FOR THE PRACTICE OF TRUE

Differences between Gandhi and Ambedkar

EDUCATE TO ACHIEVE ATTITUDINAL CHANGES

Mains Practice Questions

DO WE NEED TO PAY MORE FOR QUALITY EDUCATION?

WE ARE TRUSTEES OF THE EARTH AND THE FUTURE

WHY INDIA’S BUREAUCRACY NEEDS URGENT REFORM

A positive attitude is considered to be an essential characteristic of a civil servant who is often

A CRISIS OF COMPASSION IN INDIA

Mains Practice Questions

TO END VIOLENCE, RAISE HUMAN CONSCIOUSNESS

Mains Practice Questions

THE FAIR PLAY

THE HEART IS IN THE RIGHT PLACE

24/7 Roadside Assistance

A WORLD MINUS ADS

in protest against the models in the ad without

CHEMICAL DRUGS CANNOT GIVE REAL HAPPINESS

BHAGWAT GITA'S ADVICE ON BUILDING BETTER TIES

TRUTH AND FACT OF DALIT ATROCITY

THE LIVE-IN RELATIONSHIPS VS MORALITY: A CASE FOR STRENGTHENING

Nature of relationship and bigamy

ROLE OF ETHICS IN MEDIA AND TECHNOLOGY

Educating our “selves”: the ethics of technology

Mains Practice Questions

THE ETHICS PRACTICE TEST PAPER AND ITS SOLUTIONS

Values preferred by Men Values preferred by women

Women in any other organisation face two important concerns:

Social evils corrupt the inherent goodness in human beings:

Q5. “The management of risk associated with conflict of interest is

An actual conflict of interest Potential conflict of interest Perceived conflict of interest

Q8. Discuss the principles of ethics of Kautilya as the philosophical

Principles of Ethics Explanation Relevance

Q9. What are impediments of inculcating emotional intelligence in civil

Mention why individuals at important positions in society should behave responsibly

Q12. There is a strong relationship between workplace culture and quality of

Bureaucratic Semi-professional Professional

Work Culture Efficiency, Improved Quality of

Bureaucratic work culture Innovation

Work Culture of ISRO

According to PM Narendra Modi, Good governance is known as "ART as Good Governance.'

Courses of action for enquiry:

Action Details of action

Q15. There is a company in India that is a supplier to one of the biggest

Ethical Mapping/Decision Premises

The Steps in the resolution of problems:

b ) People should carry their career challenges in the following way:

c) Should we blame others or not?

also includes his products. Since there are anti-China sentiments

Ethical mapping/Decision premises

Remedial measures to prevent recurrence:

High Power Committee Report on LG Polymers accident:

Q19. There is a conversation among two civil services aspirants Mr A and Mr

Ethical mapping/Decision premises

View Evaluation Justification

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