Analog IAS institute-Why to Opt Sociology for IAS Exam Part- 1 By Saroj Samal (Gold-Medalist)

WHY TO SELECT SOCIOLOGY FOR IAS EXAM

WHY TO SELECT  SOCIOLOGY  FOR IAS EXAM

                                                       SAROJ  SAMAL

What is the best optional for civil services? Why an optional is more scoring than other? These are the questions often asked by many students preparing for the civil service examination.

        Certainly, it is crucial that an aspirant should select the right optional, Selection of an improper optional can really cost a candidate dear. Let me tell you emphatically that there is no such thing like best optional. Nor any optional is more scoring than other. I may assert that it is not the optional which scores, rather it is the candidate who scores. Therefore, right optional means an optional which is the right one for a particular candidate. Now the question arises as to which optional is the right one for whom.

        In my view, the first criterion of choosing an optional is that you should really like and enjoy learning it. The second criterion in selecting an optional subject, especially if you have not already studied it at graduate or post-graduate level, is that whether proper guidance is available in that subject. By proper guidance, I mean a teacher who can take genuine personal interest to help you cultivate right frame of mind.

Cultivating the right frame of mind is more important than reading many books. The third criterion is the extent to which it is contributing to G.S, Essay paper and interview.

        Viewed from the above angle, no doubt, Sociology is one of the popular optional for the civil service examination. In the recent years, two candidates from non-Sociology background topping the successful list of IAS examination bears testimony to the fact of the popularity of Sociology. One of the advantages of opting for Sociology is that one doesn’t require early training at college or university level to do well in the Civil service examination. In fact, if we look at the syllabus prescribed by the UPSC, the questions asked in the exams, we find that even those who have studied sociology at university level have only a marginal advantage as compared to those who did not. Quite often, candidates with Engineering, Science, Medical, English literature and Psychology background have been able to score good marks in sociology papers of UPSC civil service exam.

        However, two qualities are essential for scoring good marks in sociology. Firstly the candidate should be able to write analytically. Secondly the candidate should be inquisitively interested in contemporary social issues.

    

        The reason for Sociology being the most popular optional is that it is the optional which is less technical. So it can easily be covered and mastered by a candidate during a short period of time. Secondly sociology, if properly understood, can help in covering some sections of G.S, Essay paper & interview.

Let me tell you, how sociology contributes to the above areas of study. I am presenting these in a point-wise manner with an integrated approach.

CONTRIBUTION OF SOCIOLOGY FOR G.S, ESSAYS AND INTERVIEW

1.     Impact of globalization

2.     Social exclusion, protective Discrimination and Reservation for SC, ST & OBC.

3.     Tribal problems, issues of Tribal Integration and Development

4.     Rural Development

5.     Status of women, Feminism, Atrocities against women & women empowerment.

6.     Disparities in Education, Privatisation of Education & Universalisation of Primacy Education, Project of U.E.E: The saga of spectacular achievement & conspicuous failure.

7.     Democratic Decentralisation and empowerment of marginalized citizens.

8.     Modernity, its impact on caste system, weakening and strengthening of caste        system, caste and politics, Future of caste system in India, Gandhi & Ambedkar on caste.

9.     Religion & Science, weakening and strengthening of religion in the era of science

10.   Secularism, Secularisation, Communalism & Fundamentalism, Problems of Religious Minorities

11.   Instability of marital institution and increasing rate of divorce in India & Emerging issues in marriage and family.

12.   Increasing rate of farmers suicide in India & contract farming.

13.   Population explosion & policy to tackle it.

14.   Naxalism, Terrorism & Regionalism in India.

15.   Ecological imbalance,  Environmental pollution & Sustainable development.

16.   Corruption & Institutionalised mechanism to tackle it.

17.   Democratic socialism, mixed Economy, Poverty Eradication Programmes and Employment generation in India since Independence.

18.   Land Acquisition Policy, SEZ and Societal Reaction.

19.   Inter-generational gap and youth unrest in India.

20.   Nationalism, Multinational state, Ethic movements & Ethno-nationalism in India.

21.   Ageing, Old Age problems & policy for old age pension (Social assistance scheme)

22.   Land Reform, Green Revolution

23.   Increasing rate of crime & Ammendment of criminal law and Juvenile Justice & Capital punishment.

24.   Patriarchy, Khap Panchayat and Honour killing

25.   Anti-caste, Anti-Brahmin movement and Buffalo nationalism in India.

26.   Gandhism, Marxism & Maoism.

27.   Democracy, Civil Society & Social Movement

28.   Mushrooming of temples on the roadside, emergence of different religious cult and religion in modern India

29.   Philosophies like communism, socialism and capitalism & their impact on society

If you analyse the latest changes introduced by the UPSC in restructuring the syllabus of general studies, you can reach at the conclusion that topics of sociology are there in every paper of the syllabus of general studies since 2013. 

A MICRO POEM

"Smile is the name of a village below the lips

tear is the name of a river below the eyes

Love is the name of the ocean beneath the heart

life is the name of an oasis in the desert of despair"

...........SAROJ SAMAL

 MY NOVEL AT A GLANCE

Sometimes things so happen in life that I feel, before my journey starts,the road ends.The serpentine river of love was started in our life when I met you long ago ,while ,i was at 24 and you were at 21.Since that time ,the earth has revolved round the sun 17 times.We have reached at the middist of youth.our love has been cooled down and pacified,has become plane and wave-less just like mid ocean.Today while I saw you alone in your office, after a prolonged period of time,i sensed the same feeling in you for me.Today i feel ,your age has not progressed and the flowing river of time has become stationary before you.....................................You are the sweet memories of my past,you are the happy torment of my present and you will be the dreamy rainbow of my future.You are my pure and pristine love and you are the endless Spring of my life and you are the ceaseless rainfall of memory while the summer like your husband gives you company...............27-11-2015

A PARAGRAPH OF MY NEW NOVEL

*******************************************************************************************************************************

The mistakenly thought "never-ending" love-story of our life ended one-day suddenly and substantially.I parted company from you because of the mounting parental pressure of getting me married to a man who was highly placed and professionally settled.I forgot the sweet memories and end-less past of our life.Hence forward ,your heart started speaking the voice of voiceless and your eyes started wearing the spectacles of speechlessness and infidelity.You blamed me as a betrayer and heartless lady.But hey my sweet past,believe me,your sweet memories with me,make me combust internally,even today.But ,I am sure you will never come to my rescue to subside my internal combustion.Because,I am the legal wife of another man and all lovers are intolerant to the husbands of their past lady-lovers.

My sweet past........Have you ever thought about my endless internal combustion?Have you ever thought about my dualistic and dialectial .position?No man on the surface of the earth will be able to comprehend this incomprehensible feeling and no one will be able to deciphere this undecephered thought.And how can I expect you to understand it?Because you are my cruel,rude and inextinguishable past.You are my unseen torment.But believe me,I could not get the man ,i intended and the man i got in my life that i have never ever intended .Eventually ,you became the winner,of course, of not winning me.And I became the loser,of course,of not losing property,prosperity ,purpose,possibilities and material comfort.............

SOME PARAGRAPHS FROM MY NOVEL...................SAROJ SAMAL 07-12-2015

A TRIBUTE TO GANDHIJEE

A TRIBUTE TO GANDHIJI........................................

30th jan 1948,NATHURAM GODSE'S bullets finished M K GANDHI.OVER THE LAST 67 YEARS ,INDIAN NATION HAS BEEN REMEMBERING,COMMEMORATING,GANDHIJI,the iconic leader,the propounder and practitioner of the theory of "CHANGING THE HEART OF ENEMY" on the eve of " MARTYR'S DAY".
But in today's India,the intensity of intolerance is growing,the pace of violence is accelerating ,identity politics is proliferating and unsustainable model of growth is Precipitating........
Has the nation really internalized GANDHISM?Has the nation really taken Gandhism so seriously? The way our political class behaves,the way our apolitical intelligentsia thinks and the way our politicised masses act,it seems to me as if GANDHI has become the relic of the past,something an embarassment to to India's road to globalisation and development.

...........SAROJ SAMAL

A TRIBUTE TO TARGETS OF TERROR IN PAKISTAN

It is a matter of terrible tragedy and brazen barbarism that 30 student of Bacha Khan University in Pakistan have been mercilessly murdered and more than 50 have been greviously hurt by bullets of the most dastardly and cowardly activity of the terrorist out-fit Tehreeq-e-Taliban.I feel the pain of their parents and the grief of Pakistan Government.I express my sense of solidarity and homage to those students who became the victims of violence and targets of terror today.
These barbarians Talibans who claim to be great believers of the GOD ,in the name of Jeehad ,have killed the students in the premises of the University.No religion of the world gives approval of killing innocent people as a revenge against the governmental policy. Rather this dastardly action reflects the desperate attitude of Talibans and it radiates immoral and irreligious orientation of perpetration of terror of Taliban community.
This is hightime for Pakistan Government to change it's orientation toward the terrorists. The Talibans were aided,abatted and supported by the intelligence agency of Pakistan (ISI) to promote,propagate and preserve terror in neighboring countries. It is the right time for Pakistan to understand and realise that one should not do business of any kind with any terrorist group."You can not keep snakes in your backyard and expect them to bite your neighbors only" .This is high-time that Pakistan should change it's policy of fighting terrorism. It is ironical and hypocritical that Pakistan fights terrorism on one hand and harbors terrorism on other .The Pakistan government must stop distinguishing between Good
terrorists(attackers of Pathankot air base in India,i.e,J-E-M and its leader Massud Azhar) and Bad terrorists(attackers of Baccha Khan University in Pakistan i.e,Tehreeq-e-Taliban.)
Let us stop the politicisation of terrorism and intellectualization of fundamentalism.Let there be a global endeavor to tackle terror.Because terrorism of any kind has enormous destructive,detrimental and devastating consequences for global civilization.Terrorism does not have any colour,religion and nationality.Let India and Pakistan join hands for rooting terrorism out in an unequivocal manner.Let us see two countries divided in line of history and politics be united in the common agenda of erasing the face of horror of terror.

PROBLEMS OF URBANIZATION AND  

SMART CITIES IN INDIA

The Union Cabinet’s nod on 29th April 2015 to the 100 smart cities project and a new urban renewal mission is an important first step toward dealing with an old problem that has only got progressively worse over the years: urban liveability. A shade less than a third of India’s population now lives in urban areas, overcrowded cities and towns with infrastructure bursting at the seams. This problem will only worsen with little or no intervention happening. The proportion of the urban population can only go in one direction — upward — as more Indians migrate to the cities and towns in search of jobs. Cities are engines of growth, and as a result attract a lot of people. The country’s urban population contributes over 60 per cent of India’s GDP; in 15 years this will be 70 per cent. On the other hand, there is little incentive for people to migrate out of cities. Earlier attempts at providing better urban infrastructure or at creating new townships have not been able to deal with the issue of liveability satisfactorily. Even successful special economic zones have had to contend with the issue of lack of social infrastructure, which usually means access to avenues of education, health, arts, sports, and so on. There are numerous definitions of a smart city but the Modi government’s idea of one usefully encompasses institutional infrastructure (governance), physical infrastructure, as also social infrastructure.

What is a smart city ?

A 'smart city' is an urban region that is highly advanced in terms of overall infrastructure, sustainable real estate, communications and market viability. It is a city where information technology is the principal infrastructure and the basis for providing essential services to residents. There are many technological platforms involved, including but not limited to automated sensor networks and data centres. Though this may sound futuristic, it is now likely to become a reality as the ‘smart cities’ movement unfolds in India.

In a smart city, economic development and activity is sustainable and rationally incremental by virtue of being based on success-oriented market drivers such as supply and demand. They benefit everybody, including citizens, businesses, the government and the environment

The concept of smart cities originated at the time when the entire world was facing one of the worst economic crises. In 2008, IBM began work on a 'smarter cities' concept as part of its Smarter Planet initiative. By the beginning of 2009, the concept had captivated the imagination of various nations across the globe.

The Cabinet approval marks the first of many steps, as also the easiest, that will be required for the project. The challenges start now. Of course there is no doubt that this has created tremendous enthusiasm amongst many possible stakeholders, including service providers who have been part of smart city projects elsewhere in the world. Countries such as Japan, Singapore and Germany, among many others, have evinced interest to be a part of this. Yet, in its scale and complexity the project will be second to none. The official estimates of per capita investment requirement is Rs.43,386 for a 20-year period, or a total investment of Rs.7 lakh crore. Creating a smart city isn’t just about creating the physical infrastructure — roads, clean water, power, transport and so on, things India finds difficult to deliver to its citizens nearly seven decades after Independence. It is hoped that public private partnerships (PPP) will deliver but the mechanism seems to need a lot of tweaking in order for it to work, a fact acknowledged in the recent Budget. The big challenge will be to create self-sustaining cities, which create jobs, use resources wisely and also train people. This also means more autonomy for these cities. Whether that can happen is a moot question depending heavily on the maturity of the Indian political system.

                                                                    References:The hindu,Aug15,2014 &                                                                                                               May1,2015