UPSC Mains Indian Society
Previous Year Questions (PYQs)

How do you account for the growing fast food industries given that there are increased health concerns in modern society ? Illustrate your answer with the Indian experience.

Critically analyse the proposition that there is a high correlation between India's cultural diversities and socio-economic marginalities.

Do you think marriage as a sacrament is losing its value in Modern India?

Child cuddling is now being replaced by mobile phones. Discuss its impact on the socialization of Children.

Explore and evaluate the impact of 'Work from Home' on family relationships.

Examine the uniqueness of tribal knowledge system when compared with mainstream knowledge and cultural systems.

How does Indian society maintain continuity in traditional social values? Enumerate the changes taking place in it.

Customs and traditions suppress reason leading to obscurantism. Do you agree?

What makes Indian society unique in sustaining its culture? Discuss.

Do we have cultural pockets of small India all over the nation? Elaborate with examples.

In the context of the diversity of India, can it be said that the regions form cultural units rather than the States? Give reasons with examples for your viewpoint.

The spirit of tolerance and love is not only an interesting feature of Indian society from very early times, but it is also playing an important part at the present. Elaborate.

Describe any four cultural elements of diversity in India and rate their relative significance in building a national identity.

The life cycle of a joint family depends on economic factors rather than social values. Discuss.

Distinguish between gender equality, gender equity and women's empowerment. Why is it important to take gender concerns into account in programme design and implementation?

Explain why suicide among young women is increasing in Indian society.

Examine the role of 'Gig Economy' in the process of empowerment of women in India.

What are the continued challenges for women in India against time and space?

'Women's movement in India has not addressed the issues of women of lower social strata.' Substantiate your view.

The women's questions arose in modern India as a part of the 19th-century social reform movement. What are the major issues and debates concerning women in that period?

How does patriarchy impact the position of a middle-class working woman in India?

Why do some of the most prosperous regions of India have an adverse sex ratio for women? Give your arguments.

Discuss the various economic and socio-cultural forces that are driving increasing feminization of agriculture in India.

Male membership needs to be encouraged in order to make women's organization free from gender bias. Comment.

Critically examine the challenges of demographic transition in contemporary India.

What is the concept of a 'demographic winter'? Is the world moving towards such a situation? Elaborate.

Discuss the main objectives of Population Education and point out the measures to achieve them in India in detail.

"Empowering women is the key to control population growth". Discuss.

Critically examine whether growing population is the cause of poverty OR poverty is the main cause of population increase in India.

Discuss the changes in the trends of labour migration within and outside India in the last four decades.

Achieving sustainable growth with emphasis on environmental protection could come into conflict with poor people's needs in a country like India – Comment.

In dealing with socio-economic Issues of development, what kind of collaboration between government, NGOs and private sector would be most productive?

Why did human development fail to keep pace with economic development in India?

How have digital initiatives in India contributed to the functioning of the education system in the country? Elaborate your answer.

COVID-19 pandemic accelerated class inequalities and poverty in India. Comment.

'Despite implementation of various programmes for eradication of poverty by the government in India, poverty is still existing'. Explain by giving reasons.

"An essential condition to eradicate poverty is to liberate the poor from the process of deprivation." Substantiate this statement with suitable examples.

How does smart city in India, address the issues of urban poverty and distributive justice?

Why do large cities tend to attract more migrants than smaller towns? Discuss in the light of conditions in developing countries.

Does urbanization lead to more segregation and/or marginalization of the poor in Indian metropolises?

How is the growth of Tier 2 cities related to the rise of a new middle class with an emphasis on the culture of consumption?

What are the environmental implications of the reclamation of the water bodies into urban land use? Explain with examples.

What are the main socio-economic implications arising out of the development of IT industries in major cities of India?

Account for the huge flooding of million cities in India including the smart ones like Hyderabad and Pune. Suggest lasting remedial measures.

How is efficient and affordable urban mass transport key to the rapid economic development of India?

"The growth of cities as I.T. hubs has opened up new avenues of employment, but has also created new problems". Substantiate this statement with examples.

With a brief background of quality of urban life in India, introduce the objectives and strategy of the 'Smart City Programme.'

Major cities of India are becoming vulnerable to flood conditions. Discuss.

Smart cities in India cannot sustain without smart villages. Discuss this statement in the backdrop of rural urban integration.

Discussion the various social problems which originated out of the speedy process of urbanization in India.

Bring out the causes for the formation of heat islands in the urban habitat of the world.

Evaluate the impact of globalization on Indian youths with reference to social, political, economic and cultural spheres.

Do you think that globalization results in only an aggressive consumer culture ? Justify your answer.

Globalization has increased urban migration by skilled, young, unmarried women from various classes. How has this trend impacted upon their personal freedom and relationship with family?

Discuss the impact of post-liberal economy on ethnic identity and communalism.

Elucidate the relationship between globalization and new technology in a world of scarce resources, with special reference to India.

What is Cryptocurrency? How does it affect global society? Has it been affecting Indian society also?

Is diversity and pluralism in India under threat due to globalisation? Justify your answer.

Are we losing our local identity for the global identity? Discuss.

Why indentured labour was taken by the British from India to their colonies? have they been able to preserve their cultural identity over there?

'Globalisation is generally said to promote cultural homogenisation but due to this, cultural specificities appear to be strengthened in the Indian society.' Elucidate.

To what extent globalisation has influenced the core of cultural diversity in India? Explain.

Discuss the positive and negative effects of globalization on women in India.

Critically examine the effects of globalization on the aged population in India.

How do you understand disability? Substantiate the need for inclusive policy framework in India in this regard.

Do you think digital technology promotes social empowerment? Explain with examples.

Is caste disappearing in urban India? Illustrate your answer with examples.

Does tribal development in India centre around two axes, those of displacement and of rehabilitation ? Give your opinion.

Despite comprehensive policies for equity and social justice, underprivileged sections are not yet getting the full benefits of affirmative action envisaged by the Constitution. Comment.

Why is caste identity in India both fluid and static?

Given the diversities among tribal communities in India, in which specific contexts should they be considered as a single category?

Has caste lost its relevance in understanding the multi-cultural Indian Society? Elaborate your answer with illustrations.

"Caste system is assuming new identities and associational forms. Hence, caste system cannot be eradicated in India." Comment.

What are the two major legal initiatives by the State since Independence addressing discrimination against Scheduled Tribes (STs)?

Why are the tribals in India referred to as 'the Scheduled Tribes'? Indicate the major provisions enshrined in the Constitution of India for their upliftment.

How do you explain the statistics that show that the sex ratio in Tribes in India is more favourable to women than the sex ratio among Scheduled Castes?

Debate the issue of whether and how contemporary movements for assertion of Dalit identity work towards annihilation of caste.

Unity in diversity remains the defining feature of Indian society despite the challenges from communalism and regionalism. Comment.

Intercaste marriages between castes which have socio-economic parity have increased, to some extent, but this is less true of interreligious marriages. Discuss.

What is regional disparity? How does it differ from diversity? How serious is the issue of regional disparity in India?

Analyse the salience of 'sect' in Indian society vis-à-vis caste, region and religion.

Are tolerance, assimilation and pluralism the key elements in the making of an Indian form of secularism? Justify your answer.

Do you agree that regionalism in India appears to be a consequence of rising cultural assertiveness? Argue.

What are the challenges to our cultural practices in the name of secularism?

How the Indian concept of secularism different from the western model of secularism? Discuss.

Discuss whether formation of new states in recent times is beneficial or not for the economy of India.

'Communalism arises either due to power struggle or relative deprivation.' Argue by giving suitable illustrations.

Distinguish between religiousness/religiosity and communalism giving one example of how the former has got transformed into the latter in independent India.

Has the formation of linguistic states strengthened the cause of Indian unity?

What is the basis of regionalism? Is it that unequal distribution of benefits of development on regional basis eventually promotes regionalism? Substantiate your answer.

How do the Indian debates on secularism differ from the debates in the West?

Growing feeling of regionalism is an important factor in the generation of demand for a separate state. Discuss.

The ethos of civil service in India stand for the combination of professionalism with nationalistic consciousness - Elucidate.