Samajho UPSC Essay Series | Part 4 | Theme-wise Previous Years Essay Papers

Following subsections consists of theme wise previous years essays of CSE Mains examination.

• The process of self-discovery has now been technologically outsourced. 2021
  
• Your perception of me is a reflection of you; my reaction to you is an awareness of me. 2021
  
• Philosophy of wantlessness is Utopian, while materialism is a chimera. 2021
  
• The real is rational and the rational is real. 2021
  
• Mindful manifesto is the catalyst to a tranquil self -2020
  
• Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication -2020
  
• Ships don’t sink because of water around them ships sink because of water that gets into them. -2020
  
• Life is a long journey between human being and being humane. -2020
  
• Values are not what humanity is, but what humanity ought to be -2019
  
• Best for an individual is not necessarily best for the society -2019
  
• Courage to accept and dedication to improve are two keys to success -2019
  
• Wisdom finds truth -2019
  
• ‘The past’ is a permanent dimension of human consciousness and values. -2018
  
• A people that values its privileges above its principles loses both. -2018
  
• Customary morality cannot be a guide to modern life. -2018
  
• A good life is one inspired by love and guided by knowledge. -2018
  
• Reality does not conform to the ideal, but confirms it. -2018
  
• We may brave human laws but cannot resist natural laws. -2017
  
• Joy is the simplest form of gratitude. -2017
  
• Need brings greed, if greed increases it spoils breed. -2016
  
• Character of an institution is reflected in its leader. -2015
  
• Lending hands to someone is better than giving a dole. -2015
  
• Quick but steady wins the race. -2015
  
• With greater power comes greater responsibility. -2014
  
• Words are sharper than the two-edged sword. -2014
  
• Be the change you want to see in others (Gandhi)-2013
  
• Discipline means success, anarchy means ruin -2008
  
• Attitude makes, habit makes character and character makes a man. -2007
  
• There is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so. -2003
  
• Search for truth can only be a spiritual problem. -2002
  
• If youth knew, if age could. -2002
  
• The paths of glory lead but to the grave. -2002
  
• The pursuit of excellence. -2001
  
• Youth culture today. -1999
  
• Truth is lived, not taught -1996
  
• Disinterested intellectual curiosity is the lifeblood of civilisation. -1995
  
• Our deeds determine us, as much as we determine our deeds. -1995
  
• When money speaks, the truth is silent. -1995
  
• Useless life is an early death. -1994
  
• Youth is a blunder, manhood a struggle, old age a regret -1994
  
• He would reigns within himself and folds his passions and desires and fears is more than a king. -1993
  
• Compassion is the basic of all morality of the world -1993
  

• Hand that rocks the cradle rules the world. 2021
  
• Patriarchy is the least noticed yet the most significant structure of social inequality -2020
  
• Fulfilment of ‘new woman’ in India is a myth. -2017
  
• If development is not engendered, it is endangered. -2016
  
• Managing work and home – is the Indian working woman getting a fair deal ?-2012
  
• Women’s reservation bill would usher in empowerment for women in India. -2006
  
• If women ruled the world -2005
  
• The hand that rocks the cradle -2005
  
• Whither women’s emancipation? -2004
  
• Empowerment alone cannot help our women. -2001
  
• Women empowerment: challenges and prospects. -1999
  
• Woman is god’s best creation. -1998
  
• The new emerging women power: the ground realities. -1995
  
• Greater political power alone will not improve women’s plight. -1997
• Men have failed: let women take over. -1993

• From traditional Indian philanthropy to the gates-buffet model-a natural progression or a paradigm shift? -2010
  
• Culture is what we are, civilization is what we have -2020
  
• Indian culture today: a myth or a reality? -2000
  
• Modernism and our traditional socio-ethical values. -2000
  
• The composite culture of India. -1998
  
• New cults and godmen: a threat to traditional religion -1996
• The Indian society at the crossroads. -1994

• Neglect of primary health care and education in India are reasons for its backwardness. -2019
  
• Destiny of a nation is shaped in its classrooms. -2017
  
• Education without values, as useful as it is, seems rather to make a man more clever devil-2015
  
• Are the standardized tests good measure of academic ability or progress? -2014
  
• Is the growing level of competition good for the youth? -2014
  
• Credit – based higher education system – status, opportunities and challenges -2011
  
• Is an egalitarian society possible by educating the masses ? -2008
  
• Independent thinking should be encouraged right form the childhood. -2007
  
• “Education for all” campaign in India: myth or reality. -2006
  
• What is real education? -2005
  
• Privatization of higher education in India. -2002
  
• Irrelevance of the classroom. -2001
  
• Literacy is growing very fast, but there is no corresponding growth in education. -1996
• Restructuring of the Indian education system. -1995

• Biased media is a real threat to Indian democracy. -2019
  
• Is sting operation an invasion on privacy? -2014
  
• Does Indian cinema shape our popular culture or merely reflect it? -2011
  
• Role of media in good governance -2008
  
• How has satellite television brought about cultural change in Indian mindsets? -2007
  
• Responsibility of media in a democracy. -2002
  
• Mass media and cultural invasion. -1999
• The misinterpretation and misuse of freedom in India. -1998

• Poverty anywhere is a threat to prosperity everywhere. -2018
  
• Alternative technologies for a climate change resilient India. -2018
  
• Digital economy: A leveller or a source of economic inequality. -2016
  
• Innovation is the key determinant of economic growth and social welfare. -2016
  
• Near jobless growth in India: An anomaly or an outcome of economic reforms. -2016
  
• Crisis faced in India – moral or economic. -2015
  
• Can capitalism bring inclusive growth? -2015
  
• Was it the policy paralysis or the paralysis of implementation which slowed the growth of our country? -2014
  
• GDP (Gross Domestic Product) along with GDH (Gross Domestic Happiness) would be the right indices for judging the wellbeing of a country-2013
  
• Should a moratorium be imposed on all fresh mining in tribal areas of the country? -2010
  
• Urbanisation and its hazards -2008
  
• Protection of ecology and environment is essential for sustained economic development. -2006
  
• Resource management in the Indian context. -1999
  
• Urbanization is a blessing in disguise. -1997
  
• Economic growth without distributive justice is bound to breed violence. -1993
• Ecological considerations need not hamper development. -1993

• There can be no social justice without economic prosperity but economic prosperity without social justice is meaningless -2020
  
• Neglect of primary health care and education in India are reasons for its backwardness. -2019
  
• The focus of health care is increasingly getting skewed towards the ‘haves’ of our society. -2009
  
• Food security for sustainable national development -2005
• Reservation, politics and empowerment. -1999

• Farming has lost the ability to be a source of subsistence for the majority of farmers in India. -2017
  
• Tourism: Can this be the next big thing for India? -2014
  
• Is the criticism that the ‘Public-Private-Partnership’ (PPP) model for development is more of a bane than a boon in the Indian context, justified ?-2012
  
• Are our traditional handicrafts doomed to a slow death? -2009
  
• Special economic zone: boon or bane -2008
  
• BPO boom in India. -2007
  
• Globalization would finish small-scale industries in India. -2006
• Multinational corporations – saviours or saboteurs -1994

• What is research, but a blind date with knowledge! 2021
  
• Technology as the silent factor in international relations -2020
  
• Rise of Artificial Intelligence: the threat of jobless future or better job opportunities through reskilling and upskilling. -2019
  
• ‘Social media’ is inherently a selfish medium. -2017
  
• Cyberspace and Internet : Blessing or curse to the human civilization in the long run -2016
  
• Technology cannot replace manpower. -2015
  
• Science and technology is the panacea for the growth and security of the nation-2013
  
• Science and Mysticism : Are they compatible ?-2012
  
• Increasing computerization would lead to the creation of a dehumanized society. -2006
  
• The lure of space. -2004
  
• Spirituality and scientific temper. -2003
  
• Modern technological education and human values. -2002
  
• The march of science and the erosion of human values. -2001
  
• The cyberworld: its charms and challenges. -2000
  
• Value-based science and education. -1999
  
• The modern doctor and his patients. -1997
• Computer: the harbinger of silent revolution. -1993

• History repeats itself, first as a tragedy, second as a farce. 2021
  
• Dreams which should not let India sleep. -2015
  
• Fifty Golds in Olympics: Can this be a reality for India? -2014
  
• Is the Colonial mentality hindering India’s Success? -2013
  
• In the context of Gandhiji’s views on the matter, explore, on an evolutionary scale, the terms
• ‘Swadhinata’, ‘Swaraj’ and ‘Dharmarajya’. Critically comment on their contemporary relevance to Indian democracy -2012
  
• How far has democracy in India delivered the goods? -2003
  
• Why should we be proud of being Indians? -2000
  
• What have we gained from our democratic set-up? -2001
  
• What we have not learnt during fifty years of independence. -1997
  
• Whither Indian democracy? -1995
  
• What we have not learnt during fifty years of independence. -1997
• My vision of India in 2001 a.d. -1993

• Impact of the new economic measures on fiscal ties between the union and states in India.-2017
  
• Water disputes between States in federal India. -2016
  
• Cooperative federalism : Myth or reality. -2016
  
• Creation of smaller states and the consequent administrative, economic and developmental implication -2011
  
• Evaluation of the panchayati raj system in India from the point of view of eradication of power to people. -2007
  
• Water resources should be under the control of the central government. -2004
• The language problem in India: its past, present and prospects. -1998

• There are better practices to ‘best practices’. 2021
  
• How should a civil servant conduct himself? -2003
  
• The country’s need for a better disaster management system. -2000
  
• The VIP cult is a bane of Indian democracy -1996
  
• Need for transparency in public administration -1996
  
• Politics without ethics is a disaster. -1995
  
• Politics, bureaucracy and business – fatal triangle. -1994

• We may brave human laws but cannot resist natural laws. -2017
  
• Justice must reach the poor -2005
  
• Judicial activism and Indian democracy. -2004
• Judicial activism. -1997

• South Asian societies are woven not around the state, but around their plural cultures and plural identities. -2019
  
• Geography may remain the same ; history need not. -2010
  
• Preparedness of our society for India’s global leadership role. -2010
  
• ‘Globalization’ vs. ‘Nationalism’ -2009
  
• National identity and patriotism -2008
  
• Globalizations and its impact on Indian culture. -2004
  
• The masks of new imperialism. -2003
  
• As civilization advances culture declines. -2003
  
• My vision of an ideal world order. -2001
  
• The implications of globalization for India. -2000
  
• India’s contribution to world wisdom. -1998
  
• The world of the twenty-first century. -1998
• Modernisation and westernisation are not identical concepts. -1994

• Technology as the silent factor in international relations -2020
  
• Has the Non-Alignment Movement (NAM) lost its relevance in a multipolar world ? -2017
  
• Importance of Indo-US nuclear agreement -2006
  
• India’s role in promoting ASEAN co-operation. -2004
  
• Restructuring of UNO reflect present realities -1996
• The global order: political and economic -1993

• Management of Indian border dispute is a complex task. -2018
  
• In the Indian context , both human intelligence and technical intelligence are crucial in combating terrorism -2011
  
• Are we a ‘soft’ state ? -2009
  
• Good fences make good neighbours -2009
  
• Is autonomy the best answer to combat balkanization? -2007
  
• Terrorism and world peace -2005
  
• True religion cannot be misused. -1997