MAINS DAILY QUESTIONS & MODEL ANSWERS
Q1. What diverse contributions did Acharya J C Bose make, and how did his work influence the scientific community in India?
GS III – Science and Technology
Introduction:
- Pandit Jagadish Chandra Bose is regarded as one of the most notable first Indian scientists. He was a botanist, physicist, biologist, and science fiction author. He is also regarded as the founding father of radio science. Along with making major contributions to plant science and laying the groundwork for experimental science in the Indian subcontinent, he was a pioneer in the field of radio and microwave optics research.
The multifaceted contributions of Acharya J. C. Bose:
- In addition to being a biologist and physicist, Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose was also an early science fiction author.
- Bose is credited with creating the Cresco graph, a tool for tracking plant growth, and is regarded as the founder of Bengali science fiction.
- Later on, Bose made several groundbreaking findings in the field of plant physiology. By measuring the response of plants to different stimuli using his own invention, the Crescograph, he was able to establish the scientific parallelism between plant and animal tissues.
- Bose’s experimental demonstrations and approach to teaching made him well-liked by the students.
Significant contributions to science:
- The growth of experimental science in India is credited to Bose.
- The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineering dubbed Bose the “Father of Radio Science” for his discovery of wireless communication.
- At what is now Presidency University in Kolkata, he was the first to demonstrate the wireless transmission and reception of electromagnetic waves.
- The Mercury Coherer is a radio wave receiver that was created by Bose. Guglielmo Marconi utilised this apparatus to construct a radio. Bose thereby played a significant role in the development of both sound technology and the contemporary radio.
- Solid-state physics has benefited from Bose’s advances to the coherer, an early type of radio detector, made possible by his experiments on the quasi-optical characteristics of very short radio waves (1895). Bose thereby played a significant role in the development of sound technology.
- He established the Bose Institute, one of India’s oldest and most prestigious scientific institutions. The Institute was Asia’s first multidisciplinary research institute when it opened its doors in 1917. On this particular occasion, he gave his well-known speech, “The voice of life,” and committed the institute to serving the country.
- From the time of the institute’s founding until his passing, he was its director.
- In order to make his research easier, he built automatic recorders that could detect incredibly minute motions. These devices generated some remarkable results, like the quivering of wounded plants, which Bose understood to be a sign of plant sensation.
Way Forward:
- In every aspect, Bose was a pioneer in multimedia communication. In his honour, a lunar crater bears his name. The Nervous Mechanism of Plants (1926) and Response in the Living and Non-living (1902) are two of Bose’s notable works. Due to his extraordinary accomplishments and contributions, he was made a knight in 1917 and elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1920.
Q2. Discuss the moral obligations of a leader in contemporary political systems using the ideas from Thiruvalluvar’s Thirukkural as a basis. How may these ideas be applied in a contemporary state to guarantee the welfare of its citizens and advance moral leadership?
GS II – Modern Indian History
Introduction:
- The legendary poet Thiruvalluvar wrote the 1,330 couplets, or Kurals, that make up the Tirukkural, also known as the Sacred Verses, or simply the Kural. The Kural goes into great depth about the fundamental traits of leadership, such as courage, empathy, clarity, listening, etc.
- It states that leadership is an attitude. Age, experience, or skill level are irrelevant. It’s a mindset, a perspective on the world that emphasises tremendous accountability and ownership. It all comes down to how eager you are to give up your life for others.
According to Thiruvaluvar, a leader should possess four key attributes:
- Delegation Listening Courage Clarity
- The moral obligations placed on leaders in contemporary political systems
- A leader need to be In difficult circumstances, he must make wise choices, avoid soft selling, and act courageously in the given circumstance. He requires both physical and moral bravery to confront the unanticipated setbacks.
- Whereas in the past monarchs faced their adversaries directly on the battlefield, today’s battles are fought in the mind when making vital choices. It takes courage to act in a physical or mental manner.
- A leader ought to show his subordinates generosity or consideration; after all, if the correct people aren’t rewarded when they should be, they’ll get discouraged.
- A manager should treat employees’ concerns about their jobs with consideration and care.
- A leader ought to show mercy when remissions are granted and generosity when compensations are authorised.
- A leader needs to be well-informed and wise enough to use logic, contemplation, and foresight to balance the advantages and disadvantages of various situations. He ought to announce remedial actions to address the problems.
- A leader should be able to inspire others; nevertheless, in times of extreme need, he must inspire himself by using auto recommendations. At crucial moments, he shouldn’t rely on his subordinates to inspire him.
- An effective leader must always be on guard; this is a necessary component of good leadership.
- Both physical and mental vigour will aid in closing some organisational gaps.
- The modern management employs adjectives like commitment, vision, assertiveness, optimism, decisiveness, determination, and confidence to describe the qualities of a successful leader. However, Thiruvalluvar had, in a broad sense, accommodated all these micro characteristics.
Way Forward:
- Actually, being a leader is more than just holding a job; it’s about successfully guiding a company towards its objectives. The crucial duty of doing the right thing and inspiring others to do the same falls on a prospective leader.
- “A leader ought to act morally. Influence people to act morally.
