UPSC Essentials | Mains answer practice — GS 1 : Questions on pollution in the Ganga river system and Gandhi’s idea of ‘originality in swaraj’ (Week 124)

QUESTION 1

“The Ganga is more than a river — it is central to India’s ecology, culture and livelihoods. Yet, pollution continues to choke its life.” In light of this statement, discuss the causes and consequences of pollution in the Ganga river system.

QUESTION 2

“Mahatma Gandhi argued that swaraj must be original — not a replica of Western models of governance and society.” Discuss the relevance of Gandhi’s idea of ‘originality in swaraj’ in contemporary India.

General points on the structure of the answers for UPSC Mains

Introduction

— The introduction of the answer is essential and should be restricted to 3-5 lines. Remember, a one-liner is not a standard introduction.

— It may consist of basic information by giving some definitions from the trusted source and authentic facts.

Body

— It is the central part of the answer and one should understand the demand of the question to provide rich content.

— The answer must be preferably written as a mix of points and short paragraphs rather than using long paragraphs or just points.

— Using facts from authentic government sources makes your answer more comprehensive. Analysis is important based on the demand of the question, but do not over analyse.

QUESTION 1: “The Ganga is more than a river — it is central to India’s ecology, culture and livelihoods. Yet, pollution continues to choke its life.” In light of this statement, discuss the causes and consequences of pollution in the Ganga river system.

Note: This is not a model answer. It only provides you with thought process which you may incorporate into the answers.

Introduction:

— The Ganga River is considered India’s most sacred river, the river has immense cultural and spiritual significance. It is India’s longest river with its basin spreading to around 27 per cent of the land mass and sustaining nearly 47 per cent of the population, making it one of the most densely populated regions in the world.

— The Ganga river basin spans across India, Nepal, Tibet (China), and Bangladesh. About 80 per cent of this basin area lies in India. The basin extends across 11 Indian states: Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal.

Body:

You may incorporate some of the following points in your answer:

— The Ganga is formed when the Bhagirathi and Alaknanda streams, which originate in the Gangotri glacier near Gaumukh, combine at Devprayag. The river enters the plains around Haridwar and flows approximately 2,525 kilometres before emptying into the Bay of Bengal.

— The Ganga River basin is severely polluted, with mounting concerns to biodiversity and environmental sustainability. Approximately 47% of India’s population relies on the Ganga basin for drinking water, irrigation, and other ecosystem services. The basin’s average population density is approximately 520 people per square kilometre. However, this density varies geographically and decreases from east to west. Population growth in the Lower Gangetic Plains has outpaced the available land and water resources.

— This reliance leads to resource overexploitation. According to World Bank estimates, the basin receives approximately 2,700 million litres of wastewater every day. The Middle Ganga Basin is the most polluted, with 500 million litres of industrial waste dumped into it each day. It has caused significant environmental degradation and public health concerns, such as newborn mortality from waterborne infections, land degradation, and biodiversity loss.

— The Ganga basin has significant issues, such as river pollution, annual flooding, groundwater depletion, and contamination. Several states have reported ground water contamination from arsenic, fluoride, iron, nitrate, chloride, and other substances.

— The Ganga Action Plan-I (GAP-I) was launched in 1985 to reduce pollution levels, including 25 towns in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and West Bengal as target areas. GAP-II was released in 1993, after its predecessor. The National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA) was founded in 2009 to oversee conservation planning, finance, and monitoring.

— The flagship ‘Namami Gange’ programme was launched in June 2014 and aims to achieve effective pollution abatement, conservation, and rejuvenation. The programme aims to ensure ‘Aviral Dhara’ (continuous flow), and ‘Nirmal Dhara’ (unpolluted flow) by conserving its geological and ecological integrity.

Conclusion:

— The Ganga Basin is sometimes referred to as India’s lifeline, supporting one of the world’s most densely inhabited regions. However, the high population density has resulted in imbalances between human demands and the basin’s land, soil, and water resource capacity. The unregulated exploitation of the basin’s resources has resulted in river pollution, groundwater depletion, contamination, flooding, biodiversity loss, and so on.

— The route forward must change from reactive pollution control to proactive ecosystem management, leveraging cutting-edge technologies and fostering community participation throughout the Ganga basin.

(Source: Pollution strangles Ganga, India’s sacred lifeline)

Points to Ponder

Read more about Ganga Basin

Read about tributaries of Ganga River

Read about schemes related to rivers in India

Related Previous Year Questions

Discuss the distribution and density of population in the Ganga River Basin with special reference to land, soil and water resources. (2025)

The groundwater potential of the Gangetic valley is on a serious decline. How may it affect the food security of India? (2024)

QUESTION 2: “Mahatma Gandhi argued that swaraj must be original — not a replica of Western models of governance and society.” Discuss the relevance of Gandhi’s idea of ‘originality in swaraj’ in contemporary India.

(Express archive photo)

Note: This is not a model answer. It only provides you with thought process which you may incorporate into the answers.

Introduction:

— Hind Swaraj captures Gandhi’s early political thought on matters related to India’s colonial subjugation by the British. It was written some years before he assumed the leadership of the national movement.

— Perhaps Mahatma Gandhi’s most well-known book is Hind Swaraj, which is structured in the style of a dialogue between an editor and his reader. Gandhi composed this book in just nine days, from November 13 to 22, 1909, on board the ship Kildonan Castle on his way back to South Africa from London.

— Gandhi returned to India in 1915, having spent two decades in South Africa. The book thus captures his thoughts prior to leading India’s national movement into what is known as the’mass movement period’.

Body:

You may incorporate some of the following points in your answer:

— Prior to the mass movement phase, and particularly in the early days of the Indian National Congress, the national movement was defined by polite petitions to right the wrongs of British rule in India. These early nationalist stirrings were far from a demand for the end of British rule and ultimate independence for India.

— Hind Swaraj is very critical of the role of lawyers and barristers, not as individual professionals, but as a wider structure of the profession, which Gandhi believes aims to benefit from the prolongation of disputes.

— The central theme of Hind Swaraj is its condemnation of contemporary civilisation and its corrupting influence on society’s moral fabric. Gandhi does not see British colonial expansion as coming from a position of strength, but rather from weakness; the British, he claims, had veered from their own strengths. The primary basis for this critique of modern society is its over-reliance on machinery.

— Hind Swaraj is especially critical of the expansion of the huge metropolis, as Gandhi sees major metropolitan centres like Calcutta (now Kolkata) and Bombay (now Mumbai) as breeding grounds for moral degeneration.

— Gandhi then posits that modern civilisation is the “plague”, and contrasts it with the enduring values of Indian civilisation. He feels that self-rule or swaraj could not be attained by adopting the ways of the British.

Conclusion:

— Gandhi believes that passive resistance is the best approach to end British tyranny, while violent opposition is ethically immoral. A significant element of Hind Swaraj is the dichotomy between’soul force’ and ‘physical force’. Passive resistance entails self-suffering in order to effect the desired change over time. We typically associate resistance with physical, mechanical, and external force exerted by the oppressed against their rulers, which Gandhi referred to as ‘body force’.

— His idea of passive resistance involved the internalisation of suffering by the oppressed. The ‘soul force’ generated through this process of suffering has the potential to bring about more profound change, even in the heart of the oppressor, as it is connected to a larger struggle for truth or satyagraha.

(Source: Why does Gandhi emphasise originality in swaraj?)

Points to Ponder

Read about Gandhi and Indian National Movement

Read about other books written by Gandhi

Related Previous Year Questions

Bring out the constructive programmes of Mahatma Gandhi during Non-Cooperation Movement and Civil Disobedience Movement. (2021)

How different would have been the achievement of Indian independence without Mahatma Gandhi? Discuss. (2015)

Previous Mains Answer Practice

UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 3 (Week 124)

UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 3 (Week 123)

UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 2 (Week 124)

UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 2 (Week 123)

UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 1 (Week 123)

UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 1 (Week 122)

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