UPSC Preparation

Since ancient times, most philosophies have preached that the goal of life should be to live a life of happiness and satisfaction. However both of there have been the most elusive of human endeavors.  One of India’s neighboring Countries has even ventured to measure the Gross National Happiness of its people.         Happiness (joy) like all other human emotions is very subjective and relative. A famous writer wrote that he cried for shoes until he saw a man without legs. Human nature of seeking betterment and advancement from the current state of affairs has been the prime reason for most of our advancement. However, when human are blinded by ambition and sacrifice our inner place this very factor becomes detrimental to our well being. Buddhism preaches that desire(drive to seek/possess) is the root cause of all misery.         A moment of reflection on the positive and the bright side of all that we have been bestowed wi...

Hypocrisy in Constitution: The preamble of Indian constitution to establish a ‘Sovereign, Secular, Socialistic, Democratic Republic’. After1991 economic reforms, the socialistic goals of the constitution have taken a back rest if not scarified. There are provisions in constitution which do not have punitive enforcement measures. eg. Articl 18, Abolition of titles, Fundemental duties,etc. The fundamental duties prescribe numerous duties to a citizen. The law is silent on the punishment if their duties are not followed performed. The height of Indian contradiction and deceit can be seen in article 105. The 44 th Constitutional Amendment Act omitted the reference to British house of Commons in the provisions pertaining to Parliamentary privileges albeit without any real change in the actual meaning. Legal hypocrisy in India:-         The judiciary is one of the most respected institution in Indian democracy. It has been the watchdog of Indian democracy and gu...

Hypocrisy in social setup: India is hailed for its community orientation. The dominance of community over individual is well documented across the nation. Even in ancient texts the most preferred from of marriage was Bhrama marriage (arranged marriage) and Ghandharva marriage (eloping and marrying) was ranked as not-allowed. But there is a dark side to this well published social orientation. Saas-Bahu conflict, social ostracism, informal community barriers are prevalent in the Indian society.  Families are not just avenues of altruism.  The Government passed the Domestic violence Act in 2005, recognizing the brutalities women after face in their caring families. But, the irony is that there is still no statutory recognition of marital rape. Marriages are not just made in heaven; most of them are minted in RBI. Despite the passage of Dowry Prohibition Act, there has been less change in the ground. The trend in some places has shifted from making demands to a subtle “give what y...

Hypocrisy in treatment of women: India is a land of Goddesses. They are worshiped with lot of reverence. Logically, it ought to translate into love and respect for women. But, our skewed sex ratio says a different story. India is ranked as one of the worst places to be born as a girl. She faces her first challenge even before birth.  Female infanticide is so prevalent in India that for a girl to have been born in India is in itself an achievement of sorts. Due to increased awareness drives few come out in open with their preference for boy child but often confide in private about their preference. It is indeed rare to find someone who prefers girl child and professes it openly. Nowadays we have many with indifference, that they are willing to accept either girl as boy but it is still extremely rare to find people preferring a girl child. While  Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen brought out the number of  missing women in India 100 million, The Economic Survey of 2018 has brought...

Hypocrisy in cultural outlook: We often pride ourselves with our rich tradition and cultural heritage. We conveniently overlook regressive practices such as Sati, female infanticide, practice of untouchablity, etc. Even Gandhi, compelled by tradition performed rituals to gain back acceptance into his caste (which he had supposedly lost by travelling across sea). India’s first Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru was well aware about the complex nature of Indian society. He acknowledged the herculean task of venturing to build a modern secular nation in a deeply traditional and religious society. Despite all efforts we seem to have made only hypocritical progress in developing 'scientific temper'. A recent study by Centre for the Study of Developing Societies pointed out that Indian youth look modern, but inclined to conservatism and intolerance. Indians have increasingly embraced modernity. Or have we? Mall culture has gained traction. But do we judge a girl wearing a nine fe...

Hypocrisy in creation of ANC: The Indian National Congress (INC) which led the freedom struggle has been attacked by both sides. It was alleged that A.O Hume promoted INC as a safety value to vent out the fermenting anger against British rule. The British too criticized the INC consisting of minority power hungry educated elite. Though, there is no doubt regarding the beneficial role if INC in freedom struggle the prolonged preference for moderate methods such as Prayer, Petition and Protest have been widely criticized as too soft and perhaps pro-British.  Despite all the rush to secure freedom, Indians were inclined for a transfer of power on January 26,1948 so as to not miss the significance of Poorna Swaraj day. It was due to Mountbatten's insistence  that 15 Aug, 1947 was the day on which, ' India woke to freedom'. Hypocrisy of  “Father of Nation” : Gandhi, the face on Indian freedom struggle, whom Subash Chandra Bose gave the title of “Father of Nation” has had to fa...

Hipocricy In Ancient India: Amartya Sen opens his famous book, “The Argumentative Indian” with the opening; “Prolixity” is not alien to us in India. The substitution of the word prolixity with hypocrisy might ring true to a large extent. One might interpret the Indian varna system as the extreme manifestation of Indian hypocrisy. The very attribute of pretending to be pure and thus superior is a statement of sorts in itself. Perhaps, even the ‘Benevolent Despotic British’ couldn’t device such a machination. The ancient law text, Manusmriti prescribed that the maximum punishment the king can give for a brahmin offenders was to banish him from his kingdom. On the other hand, it prescribed severe and inhuman punishment to the lower castes.  According to ancient texts marriages were categorized into Anuloma (Allowed) and Pratiloma (prohibited). Pratiloma involved a lower caste man marrying an upper caste women. It would be an under attribution to consider this as hypocrisy.  There...

We Indians are hypocrites Hypocrisy is defined as pretending to have values, virtues and traits that one does not have. It is a form of living a pretentious life. Indians have often been criticized for their hypocritical traits. It is not that there traits are absent in citizens of other nations, but Indians have been under focus because of our vast exaggerations, pretentions and above all our numerical strength doesn’t allow things to get brushed aside. Hipocricy In Ancient India: Hypocrisy in freedom struggle: Hypocrisy in cultural outlook Hypocrisy in treatment of women: Hypocrisy in education: Hypocrisy in body politic Legal hypocrisy in India: Hypocrisy in social setup Hypocrisy in International Relation:              For a nation that refuses to include sex education in its curriculum, we have a huge population and HIV positive cases. Similar cases of hypocrisy are prevalent all around the world. Indian exceptionalism makes it a case of incr...

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