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Post by Lisbeth Salander on Oct 27, 2014 21:08:15 GMT 5.5
I came across the following statement, "Sometimes Indian secularism is termed as positive secularism as state does not remain apathetic to the religion, rather it provides equal protection to all religions and there are provisions for religious minorities which assure them of practice and propagation of religion." I have a few queries. Do we need this concept? Isn't secularism sufficient? Does it have any con? Is it simply a populist ideology? References: Positive SecularismIs secularism dead? |
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Post by Don Quixote on Oct 27, 2014 23:50:14 GMT 5.5
Lemme rephrase the question slightly:
Is "positive secularism" a populist ideology? Isn't secularism sufficient? Also, what if any, are the cons of "positive secularism"?
Secularism as established in the West entails a strict separation of the Church from the activities of the State. In the historical context which led to the concept, the emphasis on Church is not to indicate a particular religion, but that it was essentially a power struggle between two institutions, the State led by the Monarch and the Church which was largely seen to be corrupt, collecting various levies and appropriating them for itself (rather than for people), etc. Similar model was adopted in most modern states of West which came into being in the 19th century.
In the Indian context, unlike in any other large nation, the size of the religious minorities was huge and then of course there were pockets of the country where these minorities (in larger context) formed majority in the area. Therefore to unite the entire country without allaying the fears of majoritarianism would have been neigh an impossible task but for the creative reinterpretation of secularism by the national leadership. Being a deeply spiritual nation, it would have been a tough task to have the average (uneducated) person distinguish between secular (in the strictest sense) and non-secular aspects of life, especially in professional sphere. The minorities would have been bound to get heckled if one were to adopt a simple separation of state from church interpretation of secularism in India.
On the contrary, in the concept of positive secularism, while the state remains largely aloof from religious affairs, it grants full freedom to all communities, and where it does support/promote certain activities, it tries to balance out between communities so that no one feels left out or is oppressed. Therefore positive secularism is what binds the multi-religious nation of India into a united State.
While the concept of positive secularism has many advantages in keeping the country united, unchecked, it can also lead to appeasement of communities, vote bank politics, competitive populism leading to burden on the exchequer, etc.
For instance, the GoI has been subsidising the Haj pilgrimage for poor Muslims for a long time because it is an important part of the Muslim life rituals; but citing this, there have been demands and certain state governments have acceded to them for similar trips to Jerusalem for Christians, increase in number of trips to Mansarovar, etc. Similarly, political parties have been known to raise the bogey of religion based reservations for the minority communities before elections. At the other end, parties also raise the "secular card" on genuine questions like mass influx of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants and do not let a healthy debate take place.
Yet, it is not just a populist ideology, because it is only positive secularism which keeps the multi religious fabric of the nation intact.
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Post by Lisbeth Salander on Oct 28, 2014 17:16:27 GMT 5.5
Don QuixoteThank you for clearing my doubt! A balanced and holistic answer. I wouldn't be able to replicate it. Copying it 
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Post by Lisbeth Salander on Oct 29, 2014 11:49:50 GMT 5.5
I have been trying to study constitutionalism as an extension of the basic structure (GS-2), but I'm confused about the depth that is required for GS paper. A possible question on the topic is given below:
Q. Constitutionalism and democracy have been interpreted as both intimately related and intrinsically opposed. Critically examine.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 30, 2014 9:18:14 GMT 5.5
Daily test Questions
1. Vanbandhu Kalyan Yojana
2. Justify the ethics of confidentiality in public life
3. What is GAAR? Why is it controverisal? How does the government propose to bring about stability in this matter?
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Post by Lisbeth Salander on Oct 30, 2014 20:06:39 GMT 5.5
3. What is GAAR? Why is it controverisal? How does the government propose to bring about stability in this matter? Before writing an answer on GAAR, one may read gaar-in-simple-words . |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 31, 2014 12:02:05 GMT 5.5
Daily Test Questions
1. " A strategic relation between India and Vietnam is in the offing." Discuss
2. Comment on Statement of Values for public servants
3. Internet of Things in India
4. Humane Society International's contribution to India's policy on cosmetics recently
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Post by Lisbeth Salander on Oct 31, 2014 20:57:33 GMT 5.5
anyone plz provide some link , some substantive views related wid LABOUR-MATERIAL ratio aspect of MNREGA.some points ,for and against and other aspects ..plz someone throw some light. This point has a bearing on recent concerns about the productive value of NREGA works. There is a widespread belief that NREGA works can be made more productive by raising the material-labour ratio, because material-intensive works lead to the creation of tangible assets instead of earth structures that get washed away. This belief has no basis. It is all the more dubious, bearing in mind that material-intensive works are more vulnerable to corruption. Thousands of useless pucca structures have been built under programmes such as the Integrated Action Plan (IAP), Backward Regions Grant Fund (BRGF) and Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) — more for the purpose of siphoning off material funds than to create productive assets. On the other hand, some labour-intensive works can be very productive, e.g. land levelling and contour bunding. Even a good earth road is often much better than a pucca road built with sub-standard material by a corrupt contractor. Judging from recent experience, there is nothing wrong with the current 60:40 norm for the labour-material ratio in NREGA works. Lowering the norm to 49:51 (an odd figure, perhaps borrowed from the stock market) would severely dilute the employment objective of NREGA without doing anything to make NREGA works more productive. A far better way of enhancing the productive value of NREGA works would be to provide more technical assistance to Gram Panchayats. Much remains to be done to ensure that NREGA is corruption-proof — not just the wage component but also the material component. Meanwhile, the transparency safeguards that have been painstakingly built into NREGA are crying to be extended to other domains. In this and other respects, the programme is a great learning tool. This process aspect of NREGA deserves more recognition than it has received so far. ~ Jean Drèze |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 2, 2014 10:12:57 GMT 5.5
Daily Test Questions
1. Under what circumstances was National emergency imposed in 1975 in India? Why was it criticized?
2. What was unique about the 1969 Presidential election in India?
3. Dhrupad
Daily Test Questions
1. What are F-Gases?
2. Differentiate between secrecy and privacy.
3. Why is " living will" in news recently?
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Post by Deleted on Nov 4, 2014 11:38:31 GMT 5.5
Daily Test Questions
1. Delhi Declaration of SAARC Education Ministers' Meet 2014 October."
2. State the role of Indian parliament in the treaty making field.
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Post by Lisbeth Salander on Nov 5, 2014 0:32:05 GMT 5.5
Daily Test Questions 2. State the role of Indian parliament in the treaty making field.  please review. Found this article . In my opinion mentioning DTAA would enrich your answer. |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 5, 2014 8:52:41 GMT 5.5
Found this article . In my opinion mentioning DTAA would enrich your answer. i welcome your point :)but i think DTAA can be used only as an example showing treaty made.mentioning anything otherwise wud go beyond d demand of question...coz article is on line of separation of power ,judicial dictation on sovereign function is assessed...whereas demand of the question as i understood is to locate the place of parliament in treaty making ...if you read the article one more time the crux is in following lines taken from article .parliament has no role in pre ratification time i.e. at the time of negotiation and acceptance only during implementation it has. once a treaty was concluded by the Government in exercise of its sovereign powers, it was the duty of all three branches - Legislature, Executive an Judiciary - to help implement it if it was within the constitutional framework. so i think mentioning relevant articles pertaining to parliament and constitutional aspects is the need.. do you agree?? well written answer. Only thing I observed- just mentioning article nos and not elaborating on their content seems to give a feeling of specialist, not generalist. so IMO, elaborating on their content along with their no will give a better impression. |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 5, 2014 10:26:50 GMT 5.5
Daily test Questions
1. What are the implications of the suicide bomber attack on the Wagah border for India?
2. Do you think MGNREGA should focus on the most backward blocs? If so, Why? If not, why not?
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Post by Lisbeth Salander on Nov 5, 2014 16:41:59 GMT 5.5
Found this article . In my opinion mentioning DTAA would enrich your answer. i welcome your point :)but i think DTAA can be used only as an example showing treaty made.mentioning anything otherwise wud go beyond d demand of question...coz article is on line of separation of power ,judicial dictation on sovereign function is assessed...whereas demand of the question as i understood is to locate the place of parliament in treaty making ...if you read the article one more time the crux is in following lines taken from article .parliament has no role in pre ratification time i.e. at the time of negotiation and acceptance only during implementation it has. once a treaty was concluded by the Government in exercise of its sovereign powers, it was the duty of all three branches - Legislature, Executive an Judiciary - to help implement it if it was within the constitutional framework. so i think mentioning relevant articles pertaining to parliament and constitutional aspects is the need.. do you agree?? Of course, by the word 'mentioning' I meant it was to be used as an example. When you use examples from the news in your answer, the examiner observes that you are able to apply the particular concept in the current scenario, and especially in the context of India. |
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Post by Lisbeth Salander on Nov 5, 2014 16:58:40 GMT 5.5
@nkit yes...i agree with you...you have raised a very valid issue ...i also want to know this. same question i had also raised once in a test series on another question relating to constitution ...and I was told that in GS mentioning just article will do everything coz..it gives the impression that you have command on consti article wise and it is needed coz constitutional is written in dis way only and constitution is interpreted and -analysed only thru article interrelations... secondly...it saves your words otherwise, word limit is crossed...thirdly-going for explanation gives examiner intro- ductio typ feeling...and he is not interested in knowing what an article has. he just wants to know only how articles are interpreted and co-related to reach the answer.... i also want to knw hw to accommodate articles in a question...what are your views?? should we explain them?? what do other members think? Same view here. I've seen some of Vision answers and observed that the students got good marks by just mentioning various articles. Elaboration was not necessary. |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 6, 2014 12:35:51 GMT 5.5
Daily Test Questions
1. What is India's extended neighborhood? Write briefly about our interests in these regions.
2. Write on the considerations based on which Britain wants to rethink its its participation in the European Union.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 6, 2014 12:37:00 GMT 5.5
@nkit yes...i agree with you...you have raised a very valid issue ...i also want to know this. same question i had also raised once in a test series on another question relating to constitution ...and I was told that in GS mentioning just article will do everything coz..it gives the impression that you have command on consti article wise and it is needed coz constitutional is written in dis way only and constitution is interpreted and -analysed only thru article interrelations... secondly...it saves your words otherwise, word limit is crossed...thirdly-going for explanation gives examiner intro- ductio typ feeling...and he is not interested in knowing what an article has. he just wants to know only how articles are interpreted and co-related to reach the answer.... i also want to knw hw to accommodate articles in a question...what are your views?? should we explain them?? what do other members think? Same view here. I've seen some of Vision answers and observed that the students got good marks by just mentioning various articles. Elaboration was not necessary. could u plz post a few of them? |
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Post by Lisbeth Salander on Nov 6, 2014 22:03:28 GMT 5.5
@nkit
Sorry, I seem to have misplaced the answer(s).
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Post by ratendra on Nov 7, 2014 0:57:18 GMT 5.5
@ss too much underline .... Minimize dem ...rest is gud
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Post by ratendra on Nov 7, 2014 0:59:37 GMT 5.5
And start para from one point either beginning or either middle...
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Post by Deleted on Nov 7, 2014 10:17:55 GMT 5.5
Daily Test Questions
1. Has the Ninth Schedule of the Indian Constitution worked as a tool for escaping judicial review?
2. Under what conditions can a public sector enterprise be privatised according to you?
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Post by Lisbeth Salander on Nov 7, 2014 19:18:29 GMT 5.5
ratendra thanks.. nice observations ..your suggested points are valuable for me..i will try to underline less. although i dont belive in underlining yet i did it dis time just to knw the memebers view... some suggest for underlining and some suggest for avoiding it... yeah.the point regarding begining of para is absolutely right,next time i will follow the rule.Thanks. I have a habit of underlining keywords in my answers, but there are many aspirants who've scored good marks without underlining. One should take care not to overdo it as suggested by ratendra. Also, if at all you underline, please highlight 'words'. Like in your case, you did it casually as if doing it just for the sake of it. Sometimes it wasn't even clear what point you were trying to draw attention to. |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 8, 2014 20:28:55 GMT 5.5
Daily Test Questions
1. How is nuclear fusion better than fission? Write a few lines on the fusion reactor being built in France and the role of India in it.
2. Should India be concerned about the China-Sri Lanka relationship?
3. How is climate change as it is taking place likely to impact on health, according to the recent IPCC report?
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Post by Deleted on Nov 9, 2014 8:25:58 GMT 5.5
Daily Test Questions
1. Comet 67P
2. What are the main issues in the negotiations about the nuclear talks with Iran?
3. India's stand on climate talks.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 11, 2014 10:10:22 GMT 5.5
Daily Test Questions
1. "Dignity of labour is the need of the hour to make "Make in India" a success." Comment
2. Recently enacted energy sector reforms in India and their importance.
3. Ethical challenges faced by a Police officer- mention a few of them and resolve the dilemma of at least one.
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