MAINS DAILY QUESTIONS & MODEL ANSWERS
Q1. Recent years have seen a marked acceleration in Indo-US relations, partly as a result of advancements in their defence collaboration. Analyse.
Paper & Topic: GS II – International Relations
Model Answer:
- India and the U.S. relationship currently mostly relies on its defence connections. The “New Framework for India-U.S. Strategic Partnership” was signed at 2005’s Defence Relations. Increased personnel exchanges, team training exercises, maritime security and counter-piracy cooperation, and trade between the three services are the results of this. The US recognises India as a “Major Defence Partner” and promises to encourage technology transfer on a par with that with its closest friends and partners.
Significant advancements in India-USA defence relations during the past few years include the following:
- In order to quickly expand India’s defence industrial base, find fresh prospects for technical advancement, and promote Indo-U.S. trade, the Defence Technologies and Trade Initiative (DTTI) was created. trade. relationships in business.
- By enabling simpler access to each other’s facilities for supplies and services for their armed forces, the signing of the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Understanding (LEMOA) and the Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA) in 2016 improved military cooperation between the two countries. The 2018 COMCASA implementation aims to improve interoperability between the two nations’ armed services while providing India with access to state-of-the-art communication infrastructure.
- India became the first country in South Asia to be granted a Strategic Trade Authorization-1 (STA-1) designation when the United States did so in 2018. This has allowed American enterprises to sell a far wider range of items to Indian high technology and military customers more successfully and provided India license-free access to a number of dual-use military technologies.
- During the 2020 2+2 dialogue, the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA) was formally signed. It aims to deliver topographical and aeronautical information and products to India in order to aid geospatial intelligence, navigation, and targeting (especially of long-range missiles). Additionally, this would considerably strengthen defence ties.
- India-U.S. This programme, called the Defence Acceleration Ecosystem (INDUS-X), intends to improve cooperation between the Indian and American defence innovation sectors. INDUS-X will focus on advancing cooperative opportunities for high-tech manufacturing, research, and development in the defence sector. The initiative aims to look at possibilities for joint manufacture of jet engines, long-range artillery, and army vehicles.
- India-U.S. Earlier this month, a roadmap for industrial collaboration in the defence sector was unveiled as part of the US-India Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET) agreement. It aims to hasten technology partnerships and joint creation of military assets like air defence and ground systems.
- Various defence initiatives are being collaborated on by American and Indian businesses. For instance, American defence industry behemoths like GE have worked with Indian aerospace giants Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, Tata Advanced Systems, Mahindra Aerostructures, and Godrej & Boyce to build marine turbines and commercial aircraft engines.
Q2. Although Indian women have made progress in many areas, patriarchal beliefs are still largely upheld in society. Examine the underlying causes of this patriarchal mindset and the steps necessary to change it.
Paper & Topic: GS I – Women Empowerment
Model Answer:
- In a patriarchal societal framework, men are disproportionately in positions of power and privilege. It is essentially a system of male control in many areas of life, such as morality, social privilege, decision-making, property ownership, and political leadership. Women’s subordination is made obvious in numerous ways in both the public and private spheres since they are denied rights and access to many things that are easily accessible to men. The position of middle-class working women in India has been hampered by persisting traditions from the past and women’s innate submissiveness.
There are several reasons why Indian society is patriarchal, including:
- Historical causes: In the past, women had to overcome a lot of challenges because of a social structure that was male-dominated and patriarchal, the maintaining of outmoded conventional beliefs, and other factors. Only traditional tasks like childrearing and childbirth were expected of women. Manu Smriti, for instance, thought that marriages could never be dissolved and that widows were never permitted to remarry.
- Caste system: It has been shown that patriarchy and the caste system in India have a long history of coexisting together. The patriarchal practise of endogamy, or being married within one’s caste, has long been a crucial component of maintaining the exclusivity and purity of the caste system. Endogamy prevents women from having children by putting rigorous regulations on marriage and sexual practise.
- The normalisation of patriarchy: Patriarchal values and beliefs are transmitted from one generation to the next via the socialisation process. The process of socialisation entails the internalisation of social rules and concepts. This socialisation process serves as the cornerstone for the socialisation of patriarchy in society.
- Institution of Marriage: When the daughter-in-law is the first to be expected to help out around the house, patriarchy is subtly mirrored in families and marriage. The decision of whether the daughter-in-law should work or not, and if so, what career she should pursue, ultimately rests with the husband and the in-laws.
- Existence of Stereotypes: Indian girls are occasionally denied their constitutional right to an education because of conventional views on the role that women are expected to play at home. The gender wage gap in rural India develops as a result of girls spending more time taking care of domestic duties than do boys, which also contributes to the misconception that girls’ education is pointless and that their primary obligations will be to take care of the home, get married young, have children, and then raise them.
- Economic factors: In India, both men and women are unable to advance in their salaried and paid positions; nonetheless, the situation is particularly bad for women due to the country’s pervasive poverty and weak economic management. There is an obvious gender difference in rates of labour force participation in both rural and urban areas.
The following actions are necessary to combat the patriarchal mindset:
- putting new ideas into action: creating an environment through sensible economic and social policies that will enable women to fully grow and realise their potential.
- Women must be urged to appreciate their self-respect and be aware of their rights in order to debunk myths. NGOs and schools must collaborate in order to combat gender stereotypes and increase awareness of women’s rights. Other steps, such as aiding groups for boys and girls that teach girls non-traditional skills like photography, journalism, and athletics, should also be considered.
- Child protection measures include helping panchayats become “child-marriage free” and bolstering the legal and judicial institutions to end prejudice against women. Other measures include preventing child marriage and early marriage.
- Gender sensitivity refers to recognising and taking into account societal norms and discriminations in order to acknowledge the various rights, duties, and responsibilities of women and men in the community and the connections between them. The development process must take gender equality into account.
- Equal access to decision-making: In order to achieve the empowerment goals, it is critical to provide equal weight to women’s participation in all levels of decision-making and equality in the distribution of power.
- Redefining socialisation: Parents should act in a way that shows their children that everyone has a place in the world. For instance, a working male at home who helps his wife out at work or spends time cooking with her will have a big impact on the child. The child learns that no one is barred from doing any labour and that no one is forbidden from doing any work as a result.
- There have been improvements in the last 30 years for women’s access to governance, family planning, healthcare, and employment opportunities. Despite this, there is still a long way to go before women in India are fully free.
