Q3 · UPSC Civil Services Mains 2018 · GS I · 10 marks · 2 min read

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Throw light on the significance of the thoughts of Mahatma Gandhi in the present times.

Topic: The Freedom Struggle. Syllabus: The Freedom Struggle — its various stages and important contributors / contributions from different parts of the country. Same official PYQ from year-wise 2018 and The Freedom Struggle.

Revision summary

Satyagraha still judges how protest and power use violence and hate. Swaraj and Antyodaya still test whether growth reaches the last person. Trusteeship and village industry speak to inequality and jobless growth. The fight against untouchability is unfinished in atrocity and scavenging. The Constitution and law must carry Gandhi’s ethic into a modern state.

Model answer

Flow diagram

flowchart TD
  G[Gandhi] --> S[Satyagraha means]
  G --> W[Swaraj village last person]
  G --> U[Communal unity]
  S --> P[Present politics]
  W --> P
  U --> P

Conclusion

  • Use satyagraha as non-violent civic action, trusteeship as corporate and public duty, and swaraj as local self-rule inside a constitutional republic.
  • Teach Gandhi as a living method for peace, sanitation, and the poor, not only as a national anniversary.

Gandhi still matters because India still faces communal heat, caste hurt, and a growth path that can forget the last person. His thoughts stay useful when they shape means, not when they are reduced to a portrait.

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