ESSAYS

For Civil and Judicial Services Main Examinations

A P Bhardwaj

G K Publications (P) Ltd

(i)

CL Media (P) Ltd. has obtained the information contained in this work from sources believed to be reliable. CL Media (P) Ltd. nor its authors guarantee the accuracy or completeness of any information published herein, and neither CL Media (P) Ltd. nor its authors shall be responsible for any errors, omissions, or damages arising out of use of this information. CL Media (P) Ltd. and its authors are providing information through the work and are not attempting to offer any professional services.

CL MEDIA (P) LTD. Edition : 2019 Copyright © CL Media (P) Ltd.

No

part of this book may be reproduced in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronics, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning and or without the written permission of the publisher.

ISBN : 978-93-83454-47-1 ISBN : 978-93-88426-57-2 Typeset by :

CL Media DTP Unit

Administrative and Production Offices Published by : CL Media (P) Ltd.



A-45, Mohan Cooperative Industrial Area, Near Mohan Estate Metro Station, New Delhi - 110044

Marketed by : G.K. Publications (P) Ltd.



A-45, Mohan Cooperative Industrial Area, Near Mohan Estate Metro Station, New Delhi - 110044

For product information : Visit www.gkpublications.com or email to [email protected]

(ii)

About The Author A P Bhardwaj is a well known author and ELT expert based in Chandigarh. He has authored popular books on English, GK & CLAT with nationally and internationally recognised publishers. He is popular in Tricity as CLAT GURU & ENGLISH MASTER.

(iii)

(iv)

Acknowledgments

A

t the outset, I would like to acknowledge the timely initiative of GK Publications (part of CL Educate Ltd.) in being able to understand and foresee the need for a quality book on essays for Civil and Judicial Services Examinations. Special thanks to Sh. Sunil Agarwal and Sh. Prakash Kannath for their support and contribution. I most humbly acknowledge the contributions of my father-figure Shri M L Dhawan whose guidance and inputs must not go unnoticed. He being a renowned film critic gave me wonderful insights on the essay titled ‘Cinema and Society Mirror Each Other’. I remain highly motivated with his words when he takes pride in telling me that he is leaving his footprints on the sands of time with his hundreds of articles on Bollywood published in the ‘The Spectrum’ ( a Sunday supplement of The Tribune newspaper – a household name in Punjab) None of my projects could obviously be completed without the steadfast support of my wife Upasana Bhardwaj. Anaadi, my daughter, the driving force of my life, always inspires me to scale greater heights. The contribution of my one man army steno-cum-typist Suraj Chopra cannot be verbalized. Lastly the wishes and blessings of near and dear ones always play a great role.

AP Bhardwaj Chandigarh

(v)

(vi)

Dedicated to.... Padma Shri S S Virk IPS (retd) Former Director General of Police (Punjab & Maharashtra) A super cop by head and heart, an intellectual, a thinker, a visionary and the finest human being I have ever known in my life

(vii)

Preface “To love is to believe, to hope, to know; It’s an essay, a taste of heaven below.” Edmund Waller

I

t gives me immense pleasure to present my book “Essays for Civil and Judicial Services Examinations”. It is a sincere and honest effort on my part to help students prepare for writing quality essays in competitive examinations. It has been one of my dreams to help students understand the art and technique of writing good and impressive essays. Since the introduction of Essay paper in 1994, I have strongly felt the need of a quality book of Essays on the most important topics invariably asked in UPSC and State Public Service Commission examinations. “A good Essay must have this permanent quality about it; it must draw its curtain around us, but it must be a curtain that shuts us in, not out.” Virginia Woolf

At the outset, the book introduces students with the basic art and techniques of essay writing. It outlines the essence of essay writing for what it is being meant. It apprises the students with the essential facets of essay writing and makes them understand that essay writing is aimed to check one’s comprehension, personality and level of learning, information and knowledge. It also stresses upon the convergence of language and thought as one of the essentials of good essay writing. The prevailing myths about essay writing are cleared at the outset. One common myth is that essay writing is only a test of language. The book also highlights the multi-dimensionality of essays and the requirements of good essay writing. Having gone through the topics invariably asked in the last 20 years, I have followed an extremely eclectic approach to finalize the most potential and most important topics for this book on essays. The choice of topics has been finalized on class tested topics which are invariably asked in UPSC and State Public Service Commission examinations. It has been found that normally the foremost topics of essays asked in various examinations are on basic national issues like the journey of Indian democracy, the role of media, judiciary, bureaucracy, corruption, communalism, national unity and integration. (viii)

Then there are topics on social issues, such as of status of women and their empowerment, the Right to Education (a constitutional obligation still unfulfilled), which always attracts attention of educationists and intelligentsia, and hence are always important. Since 1990, India has been undergoing substantial economic and social change with the dawn of Liberalisation, Privatisation and Globalisation (LPG). Also, the proliferation and penetration of social media and social networking is the most formidable and monumental change India has been witnessing. So, social change and impact of social media are the most burning topics of discussion, and hence, are again obvious choice of topics for essays in many examinations. Passive euthanasia, recently made a legal reality by the Supreme Court of India, is now a hotly debated topic earning mixed responses from all the quarters of the society. It has wide ranging impact on each and every individual of the society, so it becomes quite imperative of every thinking human being, to have his/her views on it will be a popular topic for essay writing for many years to come. Terrorism and environmental pollution are the global problems and issues of serious concern all over the world. They attract attention of all question setters without exception. Hence no serious candidate can afford to ignore them. So all in all, the 20 topics in this book carefully selected provide a bird’s eye view of the probable topics that can be asked. While preparing essays on these topics, every effort has been made to avoid redundancy and verbosity. A thorough understanding and study of these topics is quite imperative for all serious aspirants appearing for UPSC, SSC and State level Civil and Judicial Examinations. A few essays like “The March of Indian democracy,” “Human rights” and “Role of media, judiciary and bureaucracy” etc may prima facie seem a bit lengthy. But these topics have been left open ended, so that readers can discern the various dimensions of the issues and pick out the best during their preparation. Hence the number of words may surpass the normal limit. In some state superior judicial services examinations, candidates are expected to present a very comprehensive and integrated essay. Hence, such lengthy essays would be useful to aspirants. “I am trying to put more elements of the essay into my writing.” Ryszard Kapuscinski

For each topic, profuse use of quotes from diverse sources has been given to make students understand their beauty and contextual use. Such quotes reinforce the quality of the essays and project a holistic and developed personality that will impress the examiner. “What I am best at is reading a book and then writing a critical essay.” Rivers Cuomo

As in the write-up titled ` Art of Essay Writing’ provided later, special stress is given on the importance of reading. The above quote of Rivers Cuomo highlights the importance of reading for effective writing.

(ix)

So in order to enable the students learn important words, phrases etc, so as to think clearly and write concisely and convincingly, a section on elements of vocabulary have also been provided in Part II of the book. The essays provided in this book will be by and large catering to the students preparing for: 1. UPSC Civil Services (Mains) Compulsory English and Essay Paper 2. UPSC IES/ ISS (Mains) Compulsory English and Essay Paper 3. UPSC ACPF (Mains) Compulsory English and Essay Paper 4. UPSC CAPF (Mains) Compulsory English and Essay Paper 5. State Civil Services (Mains) Compulsory English and Essay Paper 6. State Subordinate and Superior Judicial Services Examinations Compulsory English and Essay Paper 7. SSC – CGL (Mains) Compulsory English and Essay Paper 8. Graduation and Post-Graduation Level English and Essay Paper I hope this book will greatly benefit the students in their preparation and future endeavours. Constructive suggestions and criticism is welcome and will be greatly appreciated. A P Bhardwaj Chandigarh

(x)

The Art of Essay Writing

A Multifaceted & Multi-Pronged Perspective “I really love that the idea of essay is an investigation. That’s all anyone’s life is.” David Shields “An essay is a thing which one does himself; and the point of essay is not the subject, ..... but the charm of personality.”

Arthur Benson

The word ‘essay’ literally means an attempt or, to try to do something; and essay writing thereby means an interesting, educating and thought provoking attempt of writing. Essay writing is a multifaceted, multi-pronged and herculean effort to make a perfect use of thoughts and language, giving cohesive expression of your inner and outer self, in catchy and captivating words, which should go straight to the head and heart of the reader. As the noted essayist, Arthur Benson wrote, “An essay is a thing which one does himself; and the point of essay is not the subject, .... but the charm of personality.” So, essay writing is essentially and apparently meant to check one’s comprehension, thinking pattern, level of learning and expression. It is also a reflection of one’s personality. There is a widely prevalent myth about essay writing that it is only a test of language. However, in practice, this is not so. Language is undoubtedly the medium of expression, carrier of ideas and costume of thoughts but essay writing is intrinsically and primarily the actualizations of one’s true self in one’s own words through a particular subject. Essay writing is a free flow of ideas that involves considerable skill, proficiency and experience. The art of essay writing demands great skill to buttress your thoughts and reinforce your ideas. This skill needs to be developed deliberately and diligently. The management and articulation of ideas and language in cogent, coherent and convincing style are emblematic of good essay writing skills. The primary purpose of essay writing is to check the ability to perceive, conceive, internalize, analyze and reproduce the ideas logically, rationally and reasonably. It is determined to take note of alertness of the mind, keenness to observe, inquisitiveness to know and learn and as a result to grow incessantly. So to all intents and purposes, essay writing is a means to assess the level of comprehension, which in the ultimate reckoning means to evaluate overall personality and maturity of the writer.

(xi)

Essay writing demands from you a well built and properly laid thought process, which is essentially structured and properly layered. It also demands an impression of organically and evenly developed personality, able to cope up with any situation, counter any pressure and steadfastly perform, without bias, prejudice and angst. As essay writing is the test of one’s expression through a perfect convergence of thoughts and language. One must be competent to express views on a subject clearly, coherently and convincingly. The expression in the essay should be simple but impressive, not simplistic. The abstruse and ambiguous expression is never paying. Redundancy and verbosity, superfluity and superficiality should be avoided altogether. The potent warning by the essayist R.B. Sheridan can be followed as a guide in this regard: “Never say more than is necessary.” Without being a good reader, one can never be a good writer. So reading, reading and reading is the only salvation for good writing. One of the greatest essayists of all times Stephen King wrote: “If you don’t have the time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that.” So it is of imperative necessity to develop the habit of regular reading from diverse sources which will boost your learning and broaden your thinking. This will automatically start manifesting in your writing and consequently your writing will start giving a powerful, stunning and forceful impression. Without being a good reader, one can never be a good writer. So reading, reading and reading is the only salvation for good writing. One of the greatest essayists of all times Stephen King wrote: “If you don’t have the time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that.” Dr A P J Abdul Kalam said: Learning gives creativity; creativity leads to thinking; thinking provides knowledge and knowledge makes you great. So was said by Aldous Huxley: “Words can be like X-Rays. If you use them properly, they will go through anything. You read and you’re pierced.” So essay writing is an X-Ray of your personality, thinking pattern, your level of learning, information and knowledge. To make an effective impact through essays, one must therefore have a strong armoury of thoughts and a rich repository of vocabulary. Words play the role of a clinching fist in essay writing. They must be in consonance and coherence with grammar, sentence structure and free flow of ideas. The value and beauty of words have been explained by writers from time to time: “A word after a word after a word is power.” “Words are a lens to focus on one’s mind.” “Words are the body of thoughts.”

Margaret Atwood Ayn Rand Carlyle

“Thought is impossible without words.”

Emerson (xii)

We think with words. It follows almost like a law of mathematics that the more words you know, the more clearly and powerfully you will think and the more ideas you will invite into your mind. You may have a million dollar idea, but it will be worthless if you cannot convert it into words and convince others of its value. The right words and their right use at a right time is the best means of expression and that is the power and glory of words. The requirements of good essay writing can broadly be summed up as: 1. A good command over language with a rich repository of vocabulary and armoury of thoughts. 2. Conceptual clarity of grammar is a pre requisite of good writing. 3. Grammatical and spelling mistakes are to be avoided at all costs. 4. The use of adjectives wherever required to embellish the sentences is desirable but your essay should not be a claptrap of unwanted adjectives. 5. The wrong use of punctuation marks can mar the chances of good score because it can spoil the whole essence of an essay. 6. To be adroit maneuverer of weaving ideas and words, you must, over the passage of time, blend your natural talents and spontaneity with diligently developed writing skills. 7. Coherence and cogency are the biggest strengths of a good essay. 8. Candour and forthrightness in an essay is always rewarded. 9. Bumptiousness in your writing is very damaging. From the ongoing discussions, it becomes clear that regular reading from diverse sources has no substitute for assimilation of ideas and thoughts. To develop a rich repository of vocabulary it is worth to read the internationally acclaimed “Word Power Made Easy” by Norman Lewis and keep enriching your knowledge from various other sources. You may also improve your vocabulary and sharpen your intellect with ideas from some popular books listed below: • India After Independence by Bipan Chandra • India After Gandhi by Ram Chandra Guha • Social Problems in India by Ram Ahuja • The Constitution and Citizenship Values by Subhash Kashyap • Social Change in India by M N Srinivas.

Some noted books for personality development are given below: • Light From Many Lamps by Eichler Watson • The Guiding Light by A P J Abdul Kalam • The Warrior of Light by Paulo Coelho • Mega Living by Robin Sharma • The Wisdom of Ages by Wayne Dyer • The Road to Character by David Brooks (xiii)

The reading of biographies and autobiographies also leave a long lasting impression on your personality. Once you systematically work hard on these verticals of essay writing, you will notice a considerable enhancement in your writing skills. A TALISMAN ON ESSAY WRITING FOR COMPETITIVE EXAMINATIONS The Do’s & Don’ts









• One must be very careful about the choice of topic for essay writing. • The topic must be of your choice, close to your heart and must meet or approximate your area of interest. • Before putting your ideas into black and white, you must have an anatomical framework of essay in your mind with broad bifurcation into opening, body and conclusion. Without it, you will rummage and end up making a mess of your own ideas. • Try to start with a quote. • The opening should be poignant, perspicacious and piercing. • Then start linking ideas and filling the gaps. • The words should be incisive and penetrating to make the ideas precipitate properly. • Instead of making repetition of same words, the invariables/synonyms should be used to impart ornamental touches to your writing. • The sentences should be crisp and not too long. Too long sentences should be avoided because there are chances of grammatical and structural mistakes. Never ever name or blame any party or government. • The use of abrasive language should be avoided. • Try to remain balanced, natural and spontaneous. • Don’t take your focus away from the topic. Stick to your topic and buttress your thoughts with examples and illustrations and reinforce your ideas with quotes and sayings of authorities on the concerned discipline. • Don’t be judgemental. • Don’t thrust your writing with utopian optimism and abysmal pessimism. • Economy of words is always rewarding. • The conclusion should always give a hope of bright and sustainable future. • Always bear in mind that essay writing is a reflection of your comprehension, expression and level of learning, information and knowledge. • In the words of Henry Miller, “Writing is its own reward.” (xiv)

Contents PART I : 20 ESSAYS ON KEY TOPICS 1. The March of Indian Democracy – Achievements, Failures, Challenges and Remedies

1.1-1.12

2. Role of Judiciary in Indian Democracy

2.1-2.12

3. The Role and Responsibility of Media in Democracy

3.1-3.7

4. Role and Position of Indian Bureaucracy

4.1-4.8

5. Corruption in India – Roots, Repercussions and Remedies

5.1-5.6

6. Terrorism – A Global Threat

6.1-6.4

7. Passive Euthanasia is Now a Legal Reality in India

7.1-7.7

8. Status of Women in India – A Perennial Subject of Debate

8.1-8.6

9. National Integration Fosters Unity, Integrity, Fraternity and Solidarity

10. Environmental Pollution and Sustainable Development 11. Judicial Activism and Judicial Restraint Must Go Hand in Hand

9.1-9.6 10.1-10.7 11.1-11.11

12. Judicial Reforms – Need of the Hour

12.1-12.10

13. Human Rights and Inhuman Wrongs

13.1-13.9

14. Women Empowerment in India– An Elusive Goal?

14.1-14.6

15. Right to Education – A Constitutional Obligation Still Unfulfilled in India

15.1-15.9

16. Unity in Diversity is The Biggest Strength of India

16.1-16.6

17. Social Change in India Since Globalisation

17.1-17.6

18. Secularism, Communalism and Power Politics

18.1-18.10

19. Uses and Abuses of Social Media and Social Networking

19.1-19.6

20. Indian Cinema and Society Mirror Each Other

20.1-20.5

(xv)