10 Nov 2026GS1Topic
Indian society: diversity, communalism, regionalism, secularism and women
Previous year questions
5 as set1 · UPSC 201710 marks150 words
In the context of the diversity of India, can it be said that the regions form cultural units rather than the States? Give reasons with examples for your viewpoint.
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Indian states were drawn mainly on language and administrative convenience. Culture, however, grew over centuries around rivers, dialects and local history. It often follows regions rather than state borders.
Regions as cultural units
Regions within a state: Rajasthan holds Marwar, Mewar and Shekhawati, each with its own dialect, dress and art. Maharashtra has Konkan, Vidarbha and Marathwada.
Regions across states: Bundelkhand spans Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. Bhojpuri culture and the Chhath festival unite eastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand.
Regions across borders: Mithila extends into Nepal, while Bengal and Punjab share language and culture with Bangladesh and Pakistan.
Where states shape culture
In Tamil Nadu and Kerala, state and cultural boundaries largely coincide. State languages, film industries and education now build a shared state identity too.
Indians hold layered identities, and the region remains the deepest cultural layer beneath the state.
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Decode
Decide whether regions, not states, are India's cultural units, with reasons and examples.
Implicit demand
The examiner wants a clear stand backed by named regions, and fairness about where states do shape culture.
Architecture
An introduction, three kinds of regions, a counterpoint, then a verdict.
Articulation
Regions within, across and beyond states make a neat three part frame. Money line: the region is the deepest layer.
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More regions
Tulu Nadu across Karnataka and Kerala.
Awadh in Uttar Pradesh.
Saurashtra and Kutch in Gujarat.
Kodagu in Karnataka.
2 · UPSC 201815 marks250 words
'Women's movement in India has not addressed the issues of women of lower social strata.' Substantiate your view.
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The debate over a quota for women from Other Backward Classes within the Women's Reservation Act (2023) shows an old concern. Many believe the women's movement has spoken mainly for upper caste, urban women.
The view substantiated
Elite origins: Nineteenth century reform targeted sati and widow remarriage, issues of upper caste families. Lower caste women's burdens of labour and untouchability received little attention.
Urban middle class agenda: After the 1970s, the movement focused on dowry deaths and rape law reform. These issues matter, but they reflected the concerns of educated urban women.
Caste blindness: Dalit women face caste and gender together. This led to the National Federation of Dalit Women (1995), which argued that mainstream groups ignored caste violence and manual scavenging.
Where the movement did reach them
Grassroots struggles: Savitribai Phule opened schools for girls of all castes in 1848. Hill women led Chipko (1973), and rural women in Andhra Pradesh fought liquor in the anti arrack movement.
Working women: The Self Employed Women's Association (1972) organised informal workers such as vendors and home based workers.
Law and policy: The assault on Bhanwari Devi, a village level worker, led to the Vishaka Guidelines (1997) and later the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act (2013).
Way forward
An intersectional approach should place caste, class and tribe at the centre. Kudumbashree in Kerala shows how self help groups can build leadership among poor women.
The women's movement began from the top, but its strength now depends on how far it reaches the bottom.
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Decode
Substantiate whether the women's movement ignored women of lower strata.
Implicit demand
The examiner wants evidence for the view, honest counter evidence, and a way forward.
Architecture
A current affairs introduction, three points for, three against, a way forward, then a verdict.
Articulation
Bhanwari Devi links a lower caste worker to national law. Money line: began from the top, strength depends on the bottom.
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Facts
Mathura custody rape case led to the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1983.
Kudumbashree, launched 1998.
Savitribai Phule and Fatima Sheikh ran schools for girls in Pune.
Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961.
3 · UPSC 201915 marks250 words
Do we have cultural pockets of small India all over the nation? Elaborate with examples.
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Migration for work, study and service has created many places where people from across India live together. These cultural pockets reflect the idea of a small India.
Where small India lives
Industrial townships: Bhilai, Jamshedpur and Bokaro drew workers from every state. Their schools, festivals and food reflect a national mix.
Metropolitan cities: Delhi's Chittaranjan Park celebrates Durga Puja, Mumbai's Tamils live in Matunga and Dharavi, and Kolkata's Marwaris trade in Burrabazar. Bengaluru's technology sector draws professionals from all states.
Education hubs: Central universities, Indian Institutes of Technology and coaching centres in Kota bring students from every region together.
Institutions of the Union: Army cantonments, Kendriya Vidyalayas and public sector colonies mix families from across the country.
Historical settlements: Saurashtrians settled in Madurai centuries ago, and a Marathi community remains in Thanjavur from the Maratha period.
Migrant clusters: Odia workers in Surat's textile mills and Bihari workers in Punjab's farms carry Chhath and regional food with them.
Limits
Pockets can turn into ghettos, and sons of the soil politics has targeted migrants in several states. Language barriers also slow integration.
Initiatives such as Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat (2015) pair states to deepen this cultural exchange.
India's small Indias show that diversity can live side by side, and each one strengthens the larger whole.
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Decode
Elaborate whether small Indias exist across the country.
Implicit demand
The examiner wants many kinds of examples, old and new, and the limits of such mixing.
Architecture
An introduction, six types of pockets, limits, a policy line, then a verdict.
Articulation
Bhilai and Thanjavur show modern and historical pockets. Money line: diversity side by side strengthens the whole.
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Facts
Rourkela steel plant township.
Durga Puja in Delhi and Ganesh Chaturthi in Hyderabad.
Northeastern students and workers in Delhi and Bengaluru.
4 · UPSC 202110 marks150 words
Examine the uniqueness of tribal knowledge system when compared with mainstream knowledge and cultural systems.
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Tribal communities, about one in twelve Indians, hold knowledge built over generations through close contact with nature. It differs from mainstream systems in form, purpose and ownership.
What makes it unique
Oral and lived: Knowledge passes through songs, rituals and practice, not texts. Mainstream knowledge is written and codified.
Nature as kin: Sacred groves such as Mawphlang in Meghalaya protect forests through belief. Mainstream systems often treat nature as a resource.
Practical ecology: Apatani rice fish farming and Khasi living root bridges show sustainable design. The Onge read nature's signs and survived the 2004 tsunami.
Community ownership: The Kani tribe's plant knowledge led to the drug Jeevani, with benefits shared with the community. Mainstream systems rely on individual patents.
Protection
The Biological Diversity Act (2002) and the Forest Rights Act (2006) recognise these rights. Erosion and biopiracy remain threats.
Tribal knowledge joins people, nature and belief into one whole, and India's climate future may depend on learning from it.
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Decode
Examine what sets tribal knowledge apart from mainstream systems.
Implicit demand
The examiner wants contrasts in form, values and ownership, with tribal examples.
Architecture
An introduction, four contrasts, protection, then a verdict.
Articulation
Each point pairs a tribal example with a mainstream contrast. Money line: people, nature and belief as one whole.
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Facts
Traditional Knowledge Digital Library, 2001.
Jhum cultivation in the Northeast.
Ethnomedicine of the Gond and Baiga.
5 · UPSC 202210 marks150 words
Explore and evaluate the impact of 'Work From Home' on family relationships.
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The COVID 19 pandemic of 2020 made work from home common, and hybrid work has continued in many sectors. Its effect on families has been mixed.
Positive impact
More family time: Saved commuting hours allow shared meals, care of the elderly and closer bonds with children.
Fathers at home: Many fathers took a larger part in childcare and household work.
Women retain jobs: Flexible work lets many women continue careers after marriage or childbirth.
Negative impact
Blurred boundaries: Work spills into family time, and the always on culture creates stress and conflict.
Double burden: Women often juggle office work with most unpaid domestic work, which deepens inequality at home.
Space and privacy: In small homes, several members working and studying together causes friction.
Evaluation
The impact depends on house size, income and gender norms. Fixed hours, shared chores and a right to disconnect help.
Work from home brought families closer in time, but only shared responsibility brings them closer in spirit.
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Decode
Explore and evaluate how work from home changed family relationships.
Implicit demand
The examiner wants gains and losses, and a judgement on what decides the outcome.
Architecture
An introduction, three positives, three negatives, an evaluation, then a verdict.
Articulation
The double burden on women gives the answer a gender lens. Money line: closer in time, closer in spirit.
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Facts
Right to Disconnect Bill, a private member's bill, 2018.
Time Use Survey, 2019, showed women do far more unpaid work.