UPSC Mains Answer Practice GS 1 (Week 155) : protection of PVTGs and role of Persian in colonial and pre-colonial India

QUESTION 2

“Language in India has historically functioned as both a cultural bridge and an instrument of power.” Discuss in the context of the role of Persian in colonial and pre-colonial India.

QUESTION 1: “The protection of Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) has become a major governance challenge in the era of large-scale infrastructure expansion.” Discuss in the context of the Great Nicobar project.

Relevance: This question highlights the intersection of tribal rights, development, environmental conservation, and strategic infrastructure projects. It is important for understanding contemporary debates around PVTGs, the Forest Rights Act, sustainability, and inclusive governance.

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

Introduction:

— The Great Nicobar project exemplifies the growing conflict between infrastructure-driven development and the protection of Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups.

— The proposed ₹81,000 crore project involves a transshipment port, airport, township, and power plant to strengthen India’s strategic and economic presence in the Indian Ocean region. However, the project has prompted major governance issues over the rights of indigenous populations, particularly the Shompen tribe, a PVTG living on Great Nicobar Island.

Body:

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

— One significant obstacle is the issue of informed consent. The petition contends that the Gram Sabhas that approved the project were primarily composed of non-tribal settler panchayats rather than true forest-dwelling tribal populations acknowledged by the FRA. It also questioned the propriety of “proxy consent” supposedly gained on behalf of the Shompen by government authorities.

— PVTGs like the Shompen suffer special threats due to their semi-nomadic lifestyle, reliance on woods, limited connection with outsiders, and distinct cultural identity. The petition contends that displacement, ecological upheaval, and greater external contact may jeopardise their food sources, environment, and cultural survival.

— The central contention in the plea is that the entire process of obtaining tribal agreement for the diversion of land for the project under the Forest Rights Act of 2006 was vitiated and thus illegal since it did not adhere to the FRA’s 2006 regulations. According to the petition, no forest rights claim has been settled on the Great Nicobar Island.

— The plea states that three Shompen settlements, located within the proposed development area, including foraging and hunting regions which sustain the southern Shompen population on the GNI, will be “denuded and desecrated.” This, it is argued, will violate their rights to food, water and shelter by displacing their places of worship, forest groves used for horticulture and sources of safe, clean drinking water.

Conclusion:

— The Forest Rights Act acknowledges the pre-existing rights of Scheduled Tribes and other forest dwellers who have lived in the forests for at least three generations. Individual and community rights range from residence, farming, grazing, fishing, access, and collection and harvest of minor forest produce to forest conservation and management rights, as well as customary rights.

— Thus, the Great Nicobar dispute highlights India’s greater governance challenge: balancing strategic infrastructure expansion with environmental sustainability, legal compliance, and indigenous community rights. It emphasises the importance of open consultation, genuine tribe participation, and development approaches that consider both ecological and cultural diversity.

(Source: Forest Rights and the Great Nicobar Mega-Project: The case before the Calcutta High Court)

Points to Ponder

Why are PVTGs considered especially vulnerable to infrastructure-led displacement?

How do island ecosystems create unique governance and sustainability challenges?

Related Previous Year Questions

Smart cities in India cannot sustain without smart villages. Discuss this statement in the backdrop of rural urban integration. (2015)

Does tribal development in India centre around two axes, those of displacement and of rehabilitation ? Give your opinion. (2025)

QUESTION 2: “Language in India has historically functioned as both a cultural bridge and an instrument of power.” Discuss in the context of the role of Persian in colonial and pre-colonial India.

Relevance: The topic is important for understanding India’s composite culture, linguistic diversity, and historical processes of cultural exchange. It also connects language with administration, social mobility, knowledge systems, and state power in medieval and colonial India. UPSC can frame an analytical question on culture beyond art and architecture, especially on syncretic traditions and intellectual history.

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

Introduction:

— Language has historically been used in India not only as a means of cultural engagement, but also for administration, authority, and social mobility. The function of Persian in pre-colonial and colonial India clearly demonstrates its dual character.

— Persian flourished as the language of government and elite culture under various Indo-Islamic kingdoms, most notably the Mughals. It became firmly ingrained in governance, legal documents, diplomacy, literature, and intellectual discourse. Knowledge of Persian allowed access to official jobs and social prestige, making it a significant tool for political power and advancement.

Body:

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

— By the 18th century, Persian had become the dominant language of governance, high culture, and education across much of the Indian subcontinent. The language’s high prestige dates back to the 11th and 12th centuries, when Muslim rulers reached North India, especially the Delhi Sultanate and later the Mughal Empire.

— Religious surveys and books published during the colonial transition were frequently written in Persian by Indian experts from various socioeconomic and religious backgrounds. This reflected a common intellectual culture rather than a strictly defined linguistic area.

— The ongoing use of Persian throughout the early East India Company period shows how colonial officials depended on existing language and administrative traditions to regulate Indian culture. Persian became a means by which colonial officials gathered information about religious sects, customs, and social behaviours. Thus, language served as a vehicle for knowledge creation and government.

— From the 17th century and through the 18th century, Arzoumanov notes, Persian also became part of the Bhakti movement. “Persian, as a language, is being used by the Bhaktas to write on religious subjects. It becomes a Hindu language,” he suggests.

— The use of Persian, steeped in its own historical context, produced other kinds of anomalies. The word ‘firqa’, for instance, is used to designate religious and social groups. In the Islamic context, the word is used to refer to a prediction by the Prophet that the Muslim community would split into several subdivisions, each called a firqa. “Literally, it means a split, and the word ‘sect’ too literally means a split,” says Arzoumanov, adding that this word is then used to describe the Indian religious groups.

Conclusion:

— Thus, the history of Persian in India indicates that language was never just a method of communication. It facilitated cultural exchange while also serving as a tool for organising governmental authority, administrative control, and social hierarchies in both pre- and colonial India.

(Source: How Persian became the language of colonial India’s religious surveys)

Points to Ponder

How did Persian influence India’s administrative, literary, and cultural traditions?

How did the decline of Persian reshape social and political hierarchies in India?

Related Previous Year Question

Persian literary sources of medieval India reflect the spirit of the age. Comment. (2020)

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Previous Mains Answer Practice

UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 3 (Week 154)

UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 3 (Week 155)

UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 2 (Week 154)

UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 2 (Week 155)

UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 1 (Week 154)

UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 1 (Week 153)

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