UPSC 2023 ESSAY PAPER

SECTION – A

• THINKING IS LIKE A GAME, IT DOES’T BEGIN UNLESS THERE IS AN OPPOSITE TEAM.
• VISIONARY DECISION-MAKING HAPPENS AT THE INTERSECTION OF INTUITION AND LOGIC
• NOT ALL WHO WANDER ARE LOST
• INSPIRATION FOR CREATIVITY SPRINGS FROM THE EFFORT TO LOOK FOR MAGICAL IN THE MUNDANE

SECTION – B

• GIRLS ARE WEIGHED DOWN BY RESTRICTIONS, BOYS WITH DEMANDS- TWO EQUALLY HARMFUL DISCIPLINES
• MATHEMATICS IS THE MUSIC OF REASON
• A SOCIETY THAT HAS MORE JUSTICE IS A SOCIETY THAT NEEDS LESS CHARITY
• EDUCATION IS WHAT REMAINS AFTER ONE HAS FORGOTTEN WHAT ONE HAS LEARNT IN SCHOOL

SECTION – A

THINKING IS LIKE A GAME; IT DOESN’T BEGIN UNLESS THERE IS AN OPPOSITE TEAM

HOOK: QUOTE

“Our best capacity is realized only with a strong opponent”

Mohd Ali

BACKGROUND

• We can write the story of how the Vietnamese safeguarded their country from American Assaults in the war.
• The story of our freedom struggle can be a background (history)
• Any current affairs dimension – solar as a solution to energy security
• An opinion – to not align with any block and stay independent
• An idea – Need or a desire to free ourselves from the colonial rule
• A realization that I am not born to be a slave, but to be master of my own destiny.

THESIS STATEMENT

1. We don’t value our adversaries in life. We look at them as obstacles, not realizing that they are the reason for our growth and rise from shadow.
2. Everything that a man has discovered is a result of thinking in the presence of an opponent.

DIMENSIONS

• Importance of having an opponent in one’s life
• Valuing the capabilities of the opponent
• Ability to understand the strength of the opponent and countering strategy
• When does thinking start – willingness to do or not to do? We need to make a choice.
• Thinking starts with a belief that I can do it
• Thinking helps us to define our plan, strategize and execute
• Opposite team – could be a person, a challenge, a situation or even the capacity to find a reason for an action

CONCLUSION

• Give points related to us that we thought and we did
• Give points related to what we are thinking and are going to do

VISIONARY DECISION-MAKING HAPPENS AT THE INTERSECTION OF INTUITION AND LOGIC

HOOK:

“An effort to bring a major change in the absence of intuition and logic is like going on a road trip without a map”

BACKGROUND

• Give the dimension of the success of Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan ‘
• Give the idea of a visionary decision to land on the moon
• We can Talk about our vision to rise as a voice of the south

THESIS STATEMENT

• “Our ability to understand something instinctively, without the need for conscious reasoning, if supported by logic, can bring miracles”
• “Many times in our life, if logic fails, intuition helps, but if both intersect at a common point then there is no looking back”
• Every big success, if seen closely, is an intersection of intuition and logic

DIMENSIONS

• Intuition and logic are parts of decision-making. All it entails is processing information and making judgements.
• Intuition can help us to make quick decisions. Logic helps us to be objective.
• How to develop intuition?
• How to develop logic?
• the art of balancing the both
• It is okay if they are complementary – but what if they are conflicting?
• recognition primed decision (rpd)
• making others accept your intuition and logic

NOT ALL WHO WANDER ARE LOST

HOOK:

            “Half of the discoveries in the world are a work of wanderers-From America to India”

BACKGROUND

• Story of the discovery of America and India. Some other scientific inventions can also be taken.

THESIS STATEMENT

• All that is gold does not glitter.
• Not all those who wander are lost;
• The old that is strong does not wither,
• Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

DIMENSIONS

• Wandering need not be physical only, it can be mental and spiritual as well
• Wandering can also mean the courage to take a path least preferred
• Readiness to face opposition
• The ability to accept new things, some known and some unknown
• Holding an opposing viewpoint need not always mean being wrong
• We can communicate to ourselves the best while wandering
• The ability to connect with nature is best while wandering
• Wandering may seem directionless, but it may lead to beautiful destinations
• Wandering can also help us to disconnect from the thoughts influencing our actions
• Wandering can also give peace of mind

SECTION – B

GIRLS ARE WEIGHED DOWN BY RESTRICTIONS, BOYS WITH DEMANDS- TWO EQUALLY HARMFUL DISCIPLINES

HOOK:

            “We kill a girl with restrictions and boys with expectations”

“The day a girl can walk without fear at midnight – India will celebrate its real independence” Gandhi

BACKGROUND

• Different fields of restrictions and expectations
• The iron curtains of gender biases (Field of Science/Defense)
• A must be required?

THESIS STATEMENT

• The fixation on the roles of a girl and a boy based on the historical construct is itself flawed and reduces society to a time clock.

DIMENSIONS

• We are chained by our own inabilities rather than strengths
• The boundaries of restrictions and expectations
• The scope of these restrictions and expectations
• The burden of history and culture
• Even in the absence, the burden of judgement
• The courage to face the restrictions and rise above the expectations
• The cost of restrictions and expectations (individual/societal)
• The audacity to not pass the same to the next generation
• The limitations created by these expectations
• Are these restrictions rightful?
• The moral compass of the restrictions and the societal role in its determination
• Is the society taken as an excuse-or it is the society to be blamed

A SOCIETY THAT HAS MORE JUSTICE IS A SOCIETY THAT NEEDS LESS CHARITY

HOOK:

            “The progress of a society can be measured more from justice than Charity”

BACKGROUND

• Justice to the voiceless. Women Reservation Bill
• Rights of the Minorities
• Traditional Forest Dwellers
• The rightful place for animals in the society
• The right of the environment

THESIS STATEMENT

• The idea of justice is a pre-cursor to the idea of charity
• The requirement of charity is a reflection of injustice
• Charity is a duty and not a favour, as society has failed to earn justice to the needy.

DIMENSIONS

• The responsibility to ensure justice
• Having the strength to say it is not charity but an effort to undo injustice
• Justice as a matter of right
• The societal idea of justice.
• Interlinking of justice and charity – the presence of one, negates the need of other.
• The role of historical events in coming to a common ground on what is justice
• The willingness at least to give charity
• Individual/familial/societal/national/international/humanitarian
• Education/Job perspective
• The right to choose a path of life – be it education/relationship/job etc.
• Ethical quotient of justice

EDUCATION IS WHAT REMAINS AFTER ONE HAS FORGOTTEN WHAT ONE HAS LEARNED IN SCHOOL

HOOK:

            “Truthful/Rightful Education creates an eternal bond with the subject and the society”

BACKGROUND

• Historical construct
• The idea of duty

THESIS STATEMENT

• Education, in essence, is a bridge between individual and society
• Education empowers you to use it as a tool to interact with the society
• It helps to improve your outlook towards society and peer group from a neutral perspective

DIMENSIONS

• The idea of the difference between education and literacy
• The eternity of the education
• Ability to handle critical situations
• Looking at it as a source for improvement rather than accomplishment
• The acceptance of a change and its continuation even after coming out of the control button
• The need to unlearn to learn
• Not an End In Itself, But A Means To It

MATHEMATICS IS THE MUSIC OF REASON

HOOK:

“There is no study in the world which brings into more harmonious action all the faculties of the mind than [mathematics],”

James Joseph Sylvester

BACKGROUND

• Importance of Mathematics in society
• Any action not supported by mathematics – creates ripples that remain forever

THESIS STATEMENT

• The object of pure mathematics is that of unfolding the laws of human intelligence.

DIMENSIONS

• Be it economic, social or political – if the reasons is not based on mathematics, it is bound to fail. Give examples
• Mathematics – supersedes all opinion
• The chances of failure are minimal if decisions are taken based on reasoning supported by mathematics rather than just based on intuition
• Reasoning and intuition – the magical pairing
• Mathematics can help us prepare for any eventuality
• One must be mindful not to be driven purely by math – but with a combination of math and logic
• The societal norms at times precede reasoning based on math
• The importance of timing with math – math is a failure if not timed well
• The burden of mathematics is also fatal