PSIR Paper 1 UPSC 2013 - Question Paper with Solutions 

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SECTION-A

1. Comment on the following in approximately 150 words each:

PSIR 1a "Personal is political". UPSC 2013, 10 Marks

PSIR 1b "Original position". UPSC 2013, 10 Marks

PSIR 1c "Covenants without swords are but words and of no strength to secure a man at all" (Hobbes). UPSC 2013, 10 Marks

PSIR 1d Sri Aurobindo's "idea of freedom". UPSC 2013, 10 Marks

PSIR 1e Syed Ahmed Khan as a modernizer. UPSC 2013, 10 Marks

PSIR 2a Discuss the communitarian critique of liberalism. UPSC 2013, 20 Marks

PSIR 2b Examine Ambedkar's critique of Marxism. UPSC 2013, 15 Marks

PSIR 2c Explain, as per Gramsci, the distinction between hegemony and domination. UPSC 2013, 15 Marks

PSIR 3a Analyse the relationship between natural rights and human rights. UPSC 2013, 20 Marks

PSIR 3b Examine the significance of Dharma in ancient Indian political thought. UPSC 2013, 15 Marks

PSIR 3c Discuss in what sense Marx's understanding of state can be considered as materialistic. UPSC 2013, 15 Marks

PSIR 4a Explain Berlin's notion of value pluralism. UPSC 2013, 20 Marks

PSIR 4b Analyse, as per Kautilya, the Saptanga theory of the state. UPSC 2013, 15 Marks

PSIR 4c Comment on the assertion of Laslett that Filmer and not Hobbes was the main antagonist of Locke. UPSC 2013, 15 Marks

SECTION-B

5. Comment on the following in approximately 150 words each:

PSIR 5a Marxist understanding of India's freedom movement. UPSC 2013, 10 Marks

PSIR 5b Significance of the Preamble. UPSC 2013, 10 Marks

PSIR 5c Decline of Indian Parliament. UPSC 2013, 10 Marks

PSIR 5d Gandhian perspective of development and its contemporary relevance. UPSC 2013, 10 Marks

PSIR 5e Compare and contrast Chipko Movement with Narmada Bachao Andolan. UPSC 2013, 10 Marks

PSIR 6a Explain the phenomenon of ethnic politics in India in recent times. UPSC 2013, 20 Marks

PSIR 6b Analyse the significance of Article 32 of the Indian Constitution. UPSC 2013, 15 Marks

PSIR 6c Examine the role of Supreme Court as the final interpreter of the Indian Constitution. UPSC 2013, 15 Marks

PSIR 7a "Cooperative federalism produces a strong central, or general government, yet it does not necessarily result in weak provincial governments that are largely administrative agencies for central policies. Indian federation has demonstrated this." (Granville Austin)
Examine the uniqueness of Indian federalism in the light of the above statement. UPSC 2013, 20 Marks

PSIR 7b Explain to what extent the concept of "one-party dominance" (W.H. Morris-Jones) model is relevant in Indian politics today. UPSC 2013, 15 Marks

PSIR 7c Analyse the position of the Prime Minister of India in a coalition regime. UPSC 2013, 15 Marks

PSIR 8a Examine the significance of the verdicts of the Supreme Court in the Golaknath and Keshavananda Bharati cases for an understanding of the scope of Article 368 in regard to Fundamental Rights. UPSC 2013, 20 Marks

PSIR 8b Point out and comment on the historic importance of the document "Towards Equality (1974)', for women's movement in India. UPSC 2013, 15 Marks

PSIR 8c Examine the changing structure of Panchayati Raj institutions with special reference to the 73rd Constitution Amendment Act. UPSC 2013, 15 Marks