UPSC Essentials | Mains answer practice — GS 1 : Questions on significance of the Kumbh Mela in India’s independence movement and higher education (Week 88)

— Underlining keywords gives you an edge over other candidates and enhances presentation of the answer.

— Using flowcharts/tree-diagram in the answers saves much time and boosts your score. However, it should be used logically and only where it is required.

Way forward/ conclusion

— The ending of the answer should be on a positive note and it should have a forward-looking approach. However, if you feel that an important problem must be highlighted, you may add it in your conclusion. Try not to repeat any point from body or introduction.

— You may use the findings of reports or surveys conducted at national and international levels, quotes etc. in your answers.

Self Evaluation

— It is the most important part of our Mains answer writing practice. UPSC Essentials will provide some guiding points or ideas as a thought process that will help you to evaluate your answers.

THOUGHT PROCESS

You may enrich your answers by some of the following points

QUESTION 1: Discuss the link between the quality of elementary education and higher education institutions in India. How does the foundation created during primary school affect leadership and general quality in higher education?

Introduction:

— Education is essential for realising individual potential, creating an equitable and just society, and advancing national progress. Providing universal access to quality education is critical to India’s continuous rise and leadership on the global arena in areas such as economic growth, social fairness and equality, scientific advancement, national integration, and cultural preservation.

— The global education development goal, expressed in Goal 4 (SDG4) of the 2030 goal for Sustainable Development, accepted by India in 2015, is to “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all” by 2030.

Body:

— It has been observed in intellectual circles at prestigious universities, well-established schools, and systems that manage a huge number of institutions. The trust gap suffered by government schools is a prime example, and practically every Indian family agrees. The Indian education system witnessed a significant shift in attitudes from “why educate” to the demand for “good education in a good school not only for boys but also for girls”.

— The post-independence increase of school education, and thus higher education, was unavoidable. However, there was a significant shortage of educated and competent people, as well as a constitutional mandate to provide free and compulsory education to all children until they reached the age of 14.

— The quality of higher education institutions, including their leadership, is directly related to the quality of basic education.

— We have inherited the legacy of great academics and researchers, who may motivate young people to pursue professional goals that benefit society as a whole.

— There are occasions where a single leader has transformed an institution. Every great university is always remembered, coupled with one brilliant individual who propelled it to new heights. For example, Madan Mohan Malaviya, Syed Ahmed Khan, Rabindranath Tagore, and Zakir Husain were instrumental in the founding of BHU, AMU, Vishwa Bharati, and Jamia Malia Islamia.

— A primary school should instill a culture of punctuality, respect for hard work, and complete attention to the worth of every minute, all while contributing to nation building.

Conclusion:

— This National Education Policy 2020 is the first education policy of the twenty-first century, and it seeks to address our country’s numerous expanding developmental imperatives.

— The Central Advisory Board on Education (CABE), chaired by the Union Education Minister, is made up of a diverse group of state education ministers, academics, and important institutions from around the country. They might discuss and address topics such as education policy and the selection procedure for vice-chancellors, as well as how to develop leaders at all levels of educational institutions, including primary schools.

(Source: How quality of higher education is tied to primary education by J S Rajput, http://www.education.gov.in)

Points to Ponder

Read more about the National Education Policy, 2020

Enrollment in higher education

Constitutional provisions related to education

Related Previous Year Questions

Discuss the main objectives of Population Education and point out the measures to achieve them in India in detail. (2021)

How have digital initiatives in India contributed to the functioning of the education system in the country? Elaborate your answer. (2019)

QUESTION 2: Examine the significance of the Kumbh Mela in India’s independence movement. What role did this religious group play in promoting nationalist movements and mobilising the populace against colonial rule?

Introduction:

— On November 1, 1858, a great durbar was held in Allahabad in what is now known as Malaviya Park. Lord Canning, the Viceroy, read the Queen’s momentous proclamation, which ended the East India Company’s 250-year reign and transferred the government directly to the Crown.

— The site of the proclamation was also significant; Allahabad would quickly become a major focus of political and religious activities, notably the Maha Kumbh, which is held every 12 years.

— Allahabad became the centre of government and public life. A High Court was founded in 1867, Muir Central College in 1877, and Allahabad University in 1887. The city would soon be home to a burgeoning student population, as well as existing powerful Indian families.

Body:

— One of the first changes to affect the Kumbh Mela was the emergence of an influential Hindu ‘lobby’ that wanted to create a space within the colonial state where Indian political sovereignty was respected.

— One component of this development was the types of things available for purchase at the fair. In the early nineteenth century, the mela drew luxury goods from as far as Persia. Fanny Parks, a British travel writer, reported the presence of pearls, semi-precious stones, bows and arrows, sable and costumes, and Persian and Arabic books in the 1830s mela. In contrast, from the late nineteenth century onwards, devotional goods such as trinkets, pamphlets, religious paraphernalia, idols of Hindu gods and goddesses, puja materials, and the like began to appear.

— The Kumbh Melas provided a platform for the spread of nationalist ideologies beginning in the early twentieth century. “As nationalism developed, the hub of politics emanating from Allahabad’s notables, such as Motilal Nehru, Madan Mohan Malaviya and Purushottam Das Tandon, gave it a national reputation, giving the pilgrimage an extra dimension,” according to Maclean.

— From the early twentieth century onwards, pilgrimage manuals began to recommend that pilgrims visit Allahabad’s secular attractions, such as Minto Park (later known as Malaviya Park) and Anand Bhavan, the house of Motilal Nehru.

— In his writings, Jawaharlal Nehru recounted pilgrims who, after bathing at the Sangam, would frequently visit the Bharadwaj Ashram, which was across from his residence.

— During the 1907 mela, for example, Hindu ascetics were reported to preach swadeshi and nationalism. According to Maclean, the local press at the time endorsed this development as a task appropriate for sadhus as national exemplars.

— By the 1930s, Congress was actively using the mela to disseminate the message of civil disobedience. According to Gould’s book, both the Kumbh and Magh Melas in the early weeks of 1930, sanyasis played a key role in turning the festivities into political rallies.

— During the 1930 mela, for example, the British government disseminated information about the Sarda Marriage Act (1929), which prohibited the marriage of girls under the age of 14 and boys under 16.

Conclusion:

— Since the late nineteenth century, the Allahabad Kumbh Mela has served as a venue for showcasing nationalist emotions through religious events. “Part of this was due to the British government’s stance of not intervening in religious matters. So religion became a stage for nationalist activity,” explains Lochtefeld. For example, the Ganesh Chaturthi became a nationalist event in the 1890s.

(Source: How Kumbh Mela became a platform for nationalism during Independence movement by Adrija Roychowdhury)

Points to Ponder

Read about Nationalist movement

How did Ganesh Chaturthi become a nationalist event in the 1890s?

Related Previous Year Questions

What were the events that led to the Quit India Movement? Point out its results. (2024)

Since the decade of the 1920s, the national movement acquired various ideological strands and thereby expanded its social base. Discuss. (2020)

Previous Mains Answer Practice

UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 1 (Week 86)

UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 1 (Week 87)

UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 2 (Week 88)

UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 2 (Week 87)

UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 3 (Week 88)

UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 3 (Week 87)

Subscribe to our UPSC newsletter and stay updated with the news cues from the past week.

Stay updated with the latest UPSC articles by joining our Telegram channel – IndianExpress UPSC Hub, and follow us on Instagram and X.