MAINS DAILY QUESTIONS & MODEL ANSWERS
Q1. Has religion increased the social cohesiveness in Indian society? Examine.
GS III – Indian Society
Introduction:
- Social cohesion is defined as the willingness of members of a society to cooperate with each other in order to survive and prosper. It involves building shared values and communities of interpretation, reducing disparities in wealth and income, and generally enabling people to have a sense that they are engaged in a common enterprise, facing shared challenges, and that they are members of the same community.
Religion as a source of social cohesion:
- Religion gives people the opportunity to share common values, create a sense of unity and foster a sense of community.
- Religious rituals, traditions, customs are not meaningless, but they contribute to social cohesion.
- Religious diversity is not always a source of conflict or societal dysfunction, but it enriches our life by discovering unity within diverse religious communities.
- Religious institutions serve a greater purpose for the betterment of humanity.
- Many faith communities encourage altruistic values such as compassion, kindness, and mercy for the greater good of humanity.
- Common goals and adherence to altruistic values help them collaborate with one another in constructing a healthy social environment.
- Moral philosophy emphasized by religious institutions establishes a sense of responsibility that transcends beyond personal to social responsibility.
Religion as source of conflict:
- Religion, for many, is a source of conflict on various levels; social, economic, and political.
- Throughout world history, humanity has suffered greatly in the name of nationality and religion.
- There is a negative connotation with religion, because crusades, jihad, holy wars, or violence are part of religious history.
- Religious extremists can contribute to conflict escalation. They see radical measures as necessary to fulfilling God’s wishes.
- Many religions also have significant strains of evangelism, which can be conflictual. Believers are called upon to spread the word of God and increase the numbers of the flock.
- For example, the effort to impose Christianity on subject peoples was an important part of the conflict surrounding European colonization.
- Religious nationalists tend to view their religious traditions as so closely tied to their nation or their land that any threat to one of these is a threat to one’s existence.
- Therefore, religious nationalists respond to threats to the religion by seeking a political entity in which their faith is privileged at the expense of others.
Conclusion:
- Therefore, in part, the solution is to promote a heightened awareness of the positive peace building and reconciliatory role religion has played in many conflict situations. More generally, fighting ignorance can go a long way. Interfaith dialogue would be beneficial at all levels of religious hierarchies and across all segments of religious communities. Where silence and misunderstanding are all too common, learning about other religions would be a powerful step forward. Being educated about other religions does not mean conversion but may facilitate understanding and respect for other faiths. Communicating in a spirit of humility and engaging in self-criticism would also be helpful.
Q2. Discuss the potential of e-Governance, to improve public service delivery in India.
GS II – Governance related issues
Introduction:
- E-Governance is basically associated with carrying out the functions and achieving the results of governance through the utilization of what has today come to be known as Information and Communications Technology. It is basically the application of ICT to the processes of Government functioning in order to bring about ‘Simple, Moral, Accountable, Responsive and Transparent’ (SMART) governance.
Potential of e-governance in India:
- Increased effectiveness and efficiency: Improved government services in terms of accomplishing the government purpose and functioning.
- Better services: E-government can provide quick and timely services to stakeholders.
- Transparency by dissemination and publication of information on the web: This provides easy access to information and subsequently makes the system publicly accountable. Also as the web enables the free flow of information, it can be easily accessed by all without any discrimination.
- Accessible anytime and anywhere: As e-government services are provided through web-enabled technology they can be accessed anytime and anywhere.
- User-centred ICT enabled services: The services are primarily intended for the use of citizens, businesses, and the government itself.
- Reduced cost and time: As the services are provided through internet they are effective in terms of time and cost.
- Economic Development: The deployment of ICTs reduces the transaction costs, which makes services cheaper. For example, rural areas suffer on account of lack of information regarding markets, products, agriculture, health, education, weather, etc. and if all this could be accessed online would lead to better and more opportunities and thereby prosperity in these areas.
- Social Development: The access to information empowers the citizens. The informed citizenry can participate and voice their concerns, which can be accommodated in the programme/ project formulation, implementation, monitoring and service delivery. Web-enabled participation will counter the discriminatory factors affecting our societal behaviour.
- Reduced bureaucracy: E-government minimizes hierarchy of authority for availing any government services
- Automation of Administrative Processes: A truly e-governed system would require minimal human intervention and would rather be system driven.
- Enhanced communication and coordination between government organizations: An automated service can be accessed by different organizations coordination and further communication became relative
- Paper Work Reduction: An immediate impact of automation would be on the paperwork. Paperwork is reduced to a greater extent with communication being enabled via electronic route and storage and retrieval of information in the electronic form. All this has led to the emergence of less paper office’.
- Quality of Services: ICT helps governments to deliver services to citizens with greater accountability responsiveness and sensitivity. Quality of services improves, as now the people are able to, get services efficiently and instantaneously.
- Elimination of Hierarchy: ICT has reduced procedural delays caused by hierarchical processes in the organisation. Through Intranet and LAN, it has become possible to send information and data across various levels in the organisation at the same time.
- Change in Administrative Culture: Bureaucratic structures have been plagued by characteristics aptly described by Victor Thompson as ‘bureau-pathology’. From the day s of New Public Administration, efforts have been made to find ways to deal with the pathological or dysfunctional aspects of art.
- Strategic Information System: Changing organisational environment and increasing competitiveness have put pressures on the performance of the functionaries. Information regarding all aspects needs to be made available to the management at every point to make routine as well as strategic decisions.
- Some of the e-Governance models implemented in India: Customs and Excise (Government of India); Indian Railways; Postal Department; Passport/Visa; Bhoomi – Automation of Land Records (State Government of Karnataka); Gyandoot: Intranet in Tribal District of Dhar (State Government of Madhya Pradesh); e-Mitra – Integrated Citizen Services Centre/ e-Kiosks (State Government of Rajasthan) etc.
Conclusion:
- APJ Abdul Kalam, former President of India, has visualized e-Governance in the Indian context to mean: “A transparent, smart e-Governance with seamless access, secure and authentic flow of information crossing the interdepartmental barrier and providing a fair and unbiased service to the citizen.”
- Thus, e-Governance has led to better access to information and quality services for citizens; Simplicity, efficiency and accountability in the government and expanded reach of governance. In the light of wide range of e-Governance initiatives that have been carried out in India with varying degrees of success as well as the diversity of conditions in the country, the report recognizes that e-Governance projects have to be designed for specific contexts and environments
